Northern Dynasties Imperial Industry

While the Northern Qi was still having many personnel disputes over the issue of sending hostages, the negotiations in Hongnong City were still going on.

Li Tai knew the current situation in the Northern Qi. The Hebei nobles had very little say in their regime, but their influence and appeal among the people were still considerable.

Li Tai arranged for Lu Shuhu and others to instill various perceptions in these Qi envoys. Although it was difficult to influence the decisions within the Northern Qi regime, it could enhance these people's awe and recognition of the Western Wei, and their willingness to negotiate was stronger.

And Qi Lord Gao Yan could not completely ignore the demands of these people. As long as these people still insisted on continuing the negotiations, Gao Yan would not dare to interrupt at will. In this way, Li Tai could rest assured that the lion would open his mouth without worrying about the collapse of the talks.

Although the previous request for the Northern Qi to abandon its title was not insisted on, it also pushed their bottom line very low. If there were any excessive demands in the future, Qi people would not immediately get angry after hearing them, but would choose to consider and weigh them. After all, they had heard of excessive demands before.

Although asking for hostages is also very important, it is mainly for the purpose of creating a sense of ceremony, and the actual significance is not too great. As for the Western Wei that Gao Zhan used to threaten Qi Lord Gao Yan to establish a hostage as a puppet, it was purely overthinking.

Now the attitude of the Western Wei is that it does not even recognize the legality of the Northern Qi regime. How could it use the Gao family to establish a puppet regime to split the Northern Qi?

And if it really takes this step, it will be similar to the Northern Zhou Dynasty in history and the Southern Dynasty. It must be prepared for a long-term coexistence and confrontation. But looking at the current situation in the Northern Qi, I am afraid that there is no need to prepare for any long-term confrontation.

What Li Tai really cares about is the practical issues such as land and population, and he hopes to obtain as many of these resources as possible from the Northern Qi.

When the army was still in Wusu City, when Duan Shao of the Northern Qi negotiated with the Western Wei, Li Tai put forward a series of human and land requirements. But at that time, these conditions were too harsh, and Duan Shao was not qualified to agree at all, so it was just said, and the two sides did not continue to talk in depth.

But now the situation is different. When Li Tai raised the previous request again, the Qi envoys dared not treat it as a joke anymore. They needed to take it seriously and consider it carefully.

Among the requests Li Tai put forward this time, the most important one was the ownership of some cities in Heluo and Huainan, especially the Heluo area.

At present, except for a few places such as Heyang and Jinyong, the rest of the Heluo area has basically been occupied by the Western Wei. The power of the Western Wei has covered the entire Heluo, all the way to Hulao City, which Sima Xiaonan surrendered, including some prefectures and counties in Henan.

So now Li Tai has basically regarded the Heluo area as a forbidden delicacy, ready to swallow up all of Heluo, and no longer retain the power of the Northern Qi. Under such circumstances, he proposed that the Northern Qi cede Jinyong, Heyang and other places that have not been captured to the Western Wei, which is also a more reasonable request.

As for the part that really asked for a sky-high price, it was Huaizhou on the north bank of the Yellow River, Xiangzhou, Yingzhou, Yuzhou and other places in Henan. If Beiqi agreed to all of them, the Western Wei would basically restore the sphere of influence in Henan when Hou Jing rebelled and surrendered with the land of Henan.

Although Li Tai also knew that it would be a bit difficult to get Beiqi to agree to this condition, he still raised it solemnly. After all, it would not cost money to try it out. What if Beiqi agreed?

Although Huainan was not the core interest of the Western Wei at the moment, Li Tai still focused on asking Beiqi to hand over some of the cities it occupied now, especially Guangling, an important town in the north of the Yangtze River.

After getting these places, on the one hand, the Western Wei could further strengthen its influence and blockade on the Southern Chen, and on the other hand, it could prevent Beiqi from directly communicating with the Southern Chen, so as to prevent them from cooperating behind their backs and fighting against the Western Wei, which had now become the strongest country in the Three Kingdoms.

In terms of preventing backstabs, Li Tai has always been vigilant and did not give any chance to enemies or allies. As long as he could think of and do the defense, he would never find it troublesome and would try his best to prepare.

Fortunately, Li Tai had been considerate enough to put forward more stringent requirements before, otherwise, if the Qi envoys were to face this series of conditions, they would have to turn hostile immediately and stop the peace talks.

But now, at least on the surface, the Western Wei had made great patience and concessions, and did not ask the Qi Lord to abandon his title and make these demands as a second choice. If the Qi envoys continued to glare and complain and refused, then the sincerity of the peace talks was not great.

But although the Qi envoys were very sincere and hoped that both sides could stop fighting and make peace, they could not agree to all these requirements, and even a 50% discount was a bit reluctant. They did not dare to report directly to the State Central Committee, fearing that the emperor would directly stop the negotiations in anger.

So they tried to get the Western Wei to lower the conditions while dragging their feet, preparing to report to the State Central Committee after the hostages sent by the State Central Committee arrived. After all, the more cost you put in, the harder it is to give up halfway. If the hostages were sent and the peace talks were stopped, it would inevitably add more concerns.

Under the mentality of deceiving the superiors and the subordinates, the Northern Qi team escorting the hostages also arrived in Hongnong City. When Li Tai learned that the hostage sent by the Northern Qi was Gao Xiaowan, the son of Gao Cheng, he could not help but sigh that the Gao family was really realistic, and the spirit of "people leave and tea is cold" was really brought to the extreme.

Originally, he thought that the most likely person from Northern Qi would be Gao Ji, the aunt's treasure. This boy was Gao Huan's youngest legitimate son. He had little influence on Northern Qi's regime and current situation, and he didn't seem to have any outstanding talents. After waiting in line for half a lifetime, when it was finally my turn, I was killed by my nephew who had no martial ethics, adding another joke to the Gao family's collection of jokes.

But I didn't expect that Qi Zhu Gaoyan was also shameless. Instead of sending his younger brother, he sent his eldest brother's only legitimate son out of the country. This was really a bit cold.

Gao Cheng's contribution to the Northern Qi Dynasty is by no means small, and he has always been arrogant. If Quanxia knew that his son was treated like this, I don't know how he would feel, let alone beating him three times, even beating his brother into his hands. The fish balls must not be able to satisfy my hatred either. So in troubled times, regardless of the level of achievements, the most important thing is to save your life first!

Regardless of these emotions in his heart, when the Northern Qi proton came to Hongnong, Li Tai also summoned him immediately.

He was somewhat curious and wanted to take a look at Gao Cheng's son so as to imagine his demeanor. His good appearance was recorded in history books, and his son Gao Changgong was even more famous for his handsomeness in later generations. This legitimate son must have been Not too bad either.

But when he saw Gao Xiaowan, he felt more or less disappointed. This boy is not ugly, he has a relatively strong build, and he can barely be considered a middle-aged man. He really cannot be described as handsome. It seems that the nine sons of Longsheng are really all different. Gao Xiaowan happened to avoid inheriting the advantageous appearance gene from his father.

Although his appearance is not outstanding, Gao Xiaowan still has a good demeanor. Even though he came to the Western Wei Dynasty to be a hostage, he did not feel trembling or worried because of it.

"Now that Gao Lang is here, he can settle down with peace of mind. If you have any discomfort in daily life, you can complain to the officials. If the peace talks go smoothly, the soldiers and people on both sides will have to thank you for your mission."

Although Li Tai has never met Gao Cheng, he has a good impression of him. At least when he led his army to sneak attack Jinyang and heard about the enemy, Gao Cheng did not kill his family in revenge. This made Li Tai I had the opportunity to plan arrangements and bring my family to Guanzhong. Therefore, he was happy to give Gao Cheng's son as much care as he could.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. Up to now, I have obeyed the King's orders. I also hope that the two countries can end the war and reconcile, and the border will be harmonious."

After Gao Xiaowan heard this, he quickly leaned over and said. His previous experiences in junior high school had greatly dispelled his youthful arrogance. The life and bloodline he was proud of in the past were worthless in the eyes of others, and his uncles were even more ruthless when plotting against his descendants. noodle. On the contrary, after meeting the King of Tang, his graceful and elegant temperament and kind and generous conversation gave him some comfort in his miserable mood.

The hostage Gao Xiaowan was directly arranged to live in the city lord's palace, while other accompanying personnel were led to the annex where the mission lived.

"May I ask, Your Majesty and Your Majesty, what is the current stage of the peace talks? Autumn is about to begin, the disaster situation in the country is severe, and there are barbarian invaders in the north. The sooner the war here calms down, the better!"

Lu Yao was responsible for escorting the proton to Hongnong. When he saw Prince Zhao and other envoys, he quickly asked. In order to fight the Western Wei Dynasty in the past, the country transferred a large number of soldiers from Beishan Great Wall and Youzhou. The border defense force was sharply reduced. After autumn, the Donghu tribe in the grasslands often invaded and caused trouble. Jinyang was also worried about this. .

Lu Yanshi in the mission was the younger brother of Lu Yao, and his family was from the Buliugu family of Xianbei. They were also close confidants of the emperor Gao Yan. After hearing this, Lu Yanshi sighed: "The people of Wei know that I am suffering from internal and external difficulties, and I am eager to seek peace. , so some of the conditions are extremely harsh and they refuse to let go, and so far there has been little progress.”

As he spoke, he recounted the territorial demands of the Western Wei Dynasty. After listening to this, Lu Yao's face suddenly changed, and he asked suspiciously: "How come these situations were not mentioned in the previous letters? Wei Wei People have such a big appetite and want to devour our country. If we had known this, why would we continue talking!”

When he first heard about these specific conditions, he was a little stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that the appetite of the Wei people was really so big, and the territorial demands they made even exceeded the land that Northern Qi had lost in consecutive battles!

But everyone in the mission had received more psychological indoctrination and influence than him. Hearing what Lu Yao said, Prince Gao Rui of Zhao County could not help but frown and said in a deep voice: "This statement must not be said easily to outsiders! If I Stopping the peace talks played into the Wei people's hands.

In recent days, I have seen troops from the Wei Dynasty frequently heading west carrying grain and grass. They must be to reinforce the front line and plan for a greater advance. The purpose of making such harsh demands is to make me retreat in the face of difficulties. However, if the delegation retreats, it will be difficult to restart dialogue and negotiations. After the Wei people understand our reality in Hebei, they may not give in easily! "