Tibet

The first day of negotiations went smoothly. The imperial court recognized the legality of all military positions and military positions of the Jianghan Army. It also recognized that all state and county officials appointed by Li Ye in Shannan East Road were official officials of the imperial court. In addition, it also recognized The resources currently owned by Jiang Hanjun are legal, which mainly refers to land and real estate.

In return, Li Ye also officially handed over Jiangnan West Road to the imperial court and promised to withdraw troops from Jiangnan West Road as soon as possible.

This was a good start, and everyone was happy. Since Li Ye decided to go to Longyou and Hexi, there was no need to retain the Jiangnan West Road. He handed it over to the court as a favor in exchange for the court's recognition of the Xiangyang officials he appointed.

But soon, in the second round of negotiations, the two sides had differences regarding the arrangements for the transition period between Jing and Xiang. The court only gave Li Ye three months, but Li Ye hoped to use one year for the transition, that is to say, one year Only later did Li Ye withdraw all his troops, but the imperial court wanted to take over the defense three months later.

In the official room, Li Bi reported to Li Ye: "Actually, the imperial court is afraid that His Highness will choke the water transportation in the south of the Yangtze River, so it hopes that we leave as soon as possible."

Li Ye paced back and forth with his hands behind his hands. He stopped and said to Li Mi: "Before, I wanted to exchange Jingxiang for long-term control of Hanzhong. But then I thought about it. One year in Hanzhong is still a little too short. I I hope to control Hanzhong for at least three years. Of course, I don’t want the local government in Hanzhong. I want a piece of land in Hanzhong as our important logistics area. If the court makes concessions in Hanzhong, then I can also make concessions in Jingxiang.”

Li Mi nodded, "Then I will start the third round of negotiations tomorrow, start talking about Hanzhong, fight for Hanzhong, and gradually make concessions in Jingxiang. You can first return the defense of Dengzhou to the imperial court, and secondly, you can return the defense of the states outside Xiangzhou." The county is handed over to the imperial court, and there are warships that can be handed over to the imperial court!"

"The warships will wait. That is a matter of last consideration. Government power can be handed over first. If the imperial court agrees to hand over Liangzhou and Xingzhou in Hanzhong to me, I can immediately resign as the Observer of Shannan East Road, but there are A principled strategist must grasp that it is not that we make concessions first, but that we make certain concessions after the other party makes concessions first."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I fully understand this and can grasp the pace of negotiations."

Li Ye asked again: "Is Cheng Yuanzhen still traveling around?"

"He is back today, and they are probably discussing the next step of the negotiation together. During today's negotiation, the humble position revealed a little bit. The army will use Hanzhong as its logistics to attack Longyou. They should understand it!"

In the inner hall of the VIP hotel, more than a dozen court officials were sitting together to discuss today's negotiations. Eunuch Cheng Yuanzhen looked a little tired, resting his head on his hands and squinting his eyes to take a nap.

Li Yu slowly said to everyone: "The other party proposed a buffer period of one year, which is absolutely not allowed. When I left, the emperor made it very clear that Jingxiang would be delayed for three months at most, but the other party insisted on one year. Everyone said , what should we talk about next?”

Li Yu looked back at Cheng Yuanzhen and said with a smile, "We want to hear Zhijian Cheng's opinion!"

Cheng Yuanzhen waved his hands and said: "Since the emperor has set a deadline, what else is there to say? It's only three months, and they have to leave if they don't want to!"

This means that standing up and talking will not hurt your back. If there is no room for negotiation, then why are you negotiating?

Li Yu sighed and said: "If we insist on asking the other party to leave for three months, then we will have to make major concessions in other aspects."

"Your Majesty is right. I also think that Jianghan Junjun has other agendas."

An official stood up. His name was Yuan Zai, an official named Duzhi Langzhong. He came to Xiangyang this time as a negotiation assistant.

He stepped forward and saluted: "In fact, Li Mi has hinted to us in the end that they will use Hanzhong as their logistics base. This shows that they may stay in Hanzhong for a long time."

Li Yu nodded, "Yuan Shijun is right. The other party must want to stay in Hanzhong. We will encounter this problem tomorrow."

The negotiations continued early the next morning. This time, Cheng Yuanzhen also joined the negotiating team. He sat next to Li Yu as the deputy representative and said nothing.

Li Mi said calmly: "We have an army of 150,000 people moving westward. If we include our families, there will be no less than 300,000 people. But the problem is that Longyou and Hexi have been occupied by Tubo. The army must first fight the Tubo army to compete for territory." .

It is impossible for us to drag our family members and food supplies to fight the Tibetan army, so we definitely need a logistics place. Now it seems that the logistics place is most suitable in Hanzhong. If the imperial court agrees to lend Hanzhong to us for two or three years, Then it is entirely possible for us to leave Jingxiang within three months. "

"Two or three years?"

Li Yu was surprised, "Hanzhong is so big, we can't leave it all to you, and it will take such a long time."

Li Bi's face sank and he said coldly: "Then it's still yesterday's plan. One year later, we will hand over Jingxiang to the imperial court."

"No! No! No!"

Li Yu quickly waved his hand and said: "I mean, of course."

Cheng Yuanzhen, who was squinting at the side, suddenly interrupted Li Yu, "Li Taichang, it is not up to us to decide whether Hanzhong can be lent to King Qi!"

Li Yu sighed and said: "How about this! Regarding the matter of borrowing Hanzhong, let me ask the emperor and the court for instructions. I really do not have the authority to agree or not."

Li Mi asked again: "Does Ambassador Li intend to use the eagle letter to ask the court for instructions, or does he want to send someone to deliver the letter?"

"The matter is so important that Ying Xin can't explain it clearly. I will definitely send someone to deliver the message!"

Li Bi smiled slightly and said: "In that case, we might as well continue to talk about the authority of the Longyou and Hexi Jiedu envoys, as well as the court's support for us. What can the court give us?"

Just as the negotiations between the two parties were in full swing, Gao Lishi once again came to Xiangyang in a low-key manner.

Li Ye secretly met with Gao Lishi at the internal guard office.

Gao Lishi handed a roll of edict wrapped in yellow satin to Li Ye, "This is the edict that His Highness wanted. The Supreme Emperor gave it to him happily. He also hopes that His Highness will abide by his promise and let King Yong's army enter Shu."

Li Ye smiled lightly and said: "In fact, I have given one hundred and fifty five thousand stone warships to King Yong. If Gao Weng is willing, we can wait for King Yong's fleet in Jiangling and then enter Shu together!"

Gao Lishi was overjoyed, "Can I still catch up?"

"We should be able to make it in time. I can arrange for the army to send Gao Weng to Jiangling, and then send someone to inform King Yong. Gao Weng will board the ship directly on the Jiangling River."

"Thank you very much. I'll leave in a moment. I heard that His Highness is going to Longyou and Hexi?"

Li Ye nodded and said solemnly: "Tubo has annexed Longyou, Hexi and Shuofang, and the country of the Tang Dynasty has fallen into the hands of foreigners. As a member of the Tang clan, I have the responsibility and obligation to lead the army to Longyou and Hexi. Defeat Tibet and regain our Han country."