Chapter 253: Layer upon Layer of Escalation
The chief steward sent most of his people to pursue him, while he himself led a few warriors back to recover.
Faced with this result, Tuoba Khan knew very well that the other party should have left last night, fearing that he would not be able to catch up.
"Southern people, Dali." Tuoba Khan said after pondering for a moment, "They should take the shortest road back to Dali, abandon the other two routes, and pursue directly towards Dragon City! Take the Eagle King with you!"
Among all the counties in Pingzhou, the one closest to their Shengle Palace is Longcheng in Liaoxi County!
"yes!"
"By the way, let's check who else the group met besides Qiu Mulingfang."
When the big housekeeper presented the results of the investigation, Tuoba Khan was mentally prepared, but he was also surprised to see that the other party had connected with so many people?
Very good, the eldest son has not grown up, but has been completely used!
Also, it was obvious now that Xianbei was not the only one who didn't take the contract seriously. Even people in Dali knew that this contract was empty and could not restrain Xianbei.
In this situation, Xianbei no longer has the upper hand, but can he refuse to sign the peace treaty and rescue his youngest son? cannot.
What upset him the most was that the other party saw through his attempt to keep a low profile.
Is it possible that the other party came here to warn him that if he insists on raising troops at this time, the other party will not mind announcing his ambition to the world, and everyone will die.
Originally, Xianbei wanted to use this contract to send troops unexpectedly in the future. Now, it's clear that this plan isn't working.
He still had to be on guard. The next time he raised troops to go south, would he play into the enemy's hands?
Moreover, the other party had a saying that spoke to his heart: Build walls high, accumulate grain widely, and slowly become king...
Tuoba Khan looked to the south where Dali was and sighed in his heart. There were too many smart people in Dali. Next time he raised an army, he needed to be cautious. Two years, make preparations within two years, and never raise troops!
"Horaizir, take the great seal of this Khan and go to the border of Houcheng. Tell the eldest prince that you promise to sign a peace treaty with Houcheng and that you must rescue the little prince. If the other party makes some innocuous suggestions, Ask them and grant them.”
"Yes!" the chief steward Heraizier responded.
"Go ahead."
The junction of Xianbei Grassland and Dali Longcheng
Looking at the Xianbei elites who were searching for something not far away, Zhou Da and others lay motionless in the grass.
"Captain, there are really soldiers chasing us. It's very dangerous, it's really dangerous."
"Don't move, don't talk!"
Until the eagle in the sky roared and flew away, the people below waited for a while before starting to speak.
"Mr. Xue knows things like a god."
"Let's go and meet Mr. Liu and Mr. Xue!"
"Yes, tell them that that bastard Tuoba Khan really sent people to hunt us down."
When going to Houcheng, Qin's mother decided to move her sons up the hierarchy. Now Qin Heng continues to be called the eldest son, and Qin Yan, Qin Zhao, Qin Sheng and others are called the second master, third master and sixth master respectively. Now everyone below is shouting.
After receiving feedback from Zhou Da and others, Xue Xu smiled easily. It seemed that Geshan Zhenhu's plan was successful.
"This is very close to our villa in Longcheng. Mr. Qin, do you want to go over and take a rest?"
Their mission is completed, they can just go back slowly.
Xue Xu believed that the Sixth Young Madam would definitely seize the opportunity.
Qin Sheng tied the baggage to his body and touched it to make sure that the things he just collected on the mountain were still there. "You guys go and rest for a while. I won't go. I have to rush back to Houcheng overnight."
He misses his wife.
He has good physical strength, is still energetic, and is not tired.
These people are weak and not as good as him, they are normal. He couldn't ask too much of them.
Xue Xu glanced at him, his waist was his waist, his legs were his legs, his physical strength was pretty good, well, very good.
"I won't rest any longer. I'll go back to Houcheng with you." He wanted to witness the results with his own eyes.
Zhou Da and others looked at each other and said, "Okay, they should just leave. Mr. Liu and Mr. Xue are going back. What does it mean for them to stay in Longcheng to rest?"
The next day, the Houcheng negotiating team headed by Lu Desheng and the Xianbei negotiating team headed by Tuoba Xun once again took the stage.
Lu Desheng found that the other party's negotiating team had a new person, and that person was standing on the left side of Tuoba Xun.
"Magistrate Lu, we promised to sign a peace agreement for a three-year truce. I hope you, Dali, will keep your word and release my brother as soon as the agreement is signed."
"Okay, Prince Tuoba is so happy! Don't worry, I will let you go. It's not cost-effective to hold him captive while our city has to provide food to support him."
Tuoba Xun:......
As soon as Lu Desheng raised his hand, Chen Ping presented the drafted agreement.
Lu Desheng handed it over, "Take a look and sign it if you don't have any objections."
Tuoba Xun took it and started to look through the treaty. He definitely had to take a look at it, and he had to act like one.
But what did he find? There is also a supplementary clause in this agreement, which states that Xianbei shall not harass or invade the four counties of Pingzhou, especially Liaodong County, within three years!
Tuoba Xun asked, "Why is this happening?"
"Is there anything wrong?" Lu Desheng asked back, "You Xianbei have promised not to go south to Dali to plunder within three years. So, of course, the prohibition of harassing or invading the four counties of Pingzhou is also included, isn't it?"
Members of the Xianbei negotiating team: After hearing this, this supplementary clause seems to be very reasonable.
Tuoba Xun wanted to say something else, but Heraizier next to him pulled him and he held it back.
Little guy, don't think we don't know what you are thinking. We gave you that idea.
Lu Desheng will tell him that this supplementary clause is of course a reward for our Houcheng. It is perfect for winning people's hearts.
The core personnel of the Xianbei Royal Court and Lu Songli know that this treaty is very empty.
This agreement cannot actually bind the other party.
The three-year truce agreed in the treaty will definitely be peaceful in the first year, but not necessarily in the second year. If they have face, they may start fighting in the third year. If they don't have face, it is very likely that the Xianbei will break the contract in the second year.
Whoever believes in this contract is stupid.
Tuoba Xun continued to read on.
Turning to the last page, Tuoba Xun screamed, "What is this?!"
The last clause of the agreement is: The Xianbei Royal Court must compensate Houcheng with thirty sheep, or fifteen cows, or fifteen horses, as food consumed by Tuoba Lian in Houcheng in the past few days.
Is Tuoba Lian a pig? Can he eat so much!
Lv Desheng looked at him with contempt, "Is there a problem? It's true that your little prince Tuoba Lian was captured alive by us, but they are your little princes, right? It doesn't make sense for us to support your people, right?"
"Of course not. We have raised him for a few days in Houcheng, and you must pay for his food and meals."
"Or are you, the Xianbei royal family, too poor to eat, and want to default on your debts?"
The Xianbei negotiation team was about to explode. These words were not very hurtful, but extremely insulting. This was too much to bear!
Tuoba Xun was aggrieved, "Giving rations is fine, but you are asking for too much!"
"Where is it too much?!" Lv Desheng asked back, damn, this time it was equivalent to sending Tuoba Lian back to you for free, so what's wrong with charging you a little interest?
"He's not a pig. He can't eat thirty sheep!"
"When we caught him, he didn't bring his own rations. If we hadn't given him food in advance, he would have starved to death. By then, let alone thirty sheep, he wouldn't survive even if you gave him a hundred."
"Give it to them!" He Laiqier made the decision not to waste time on such details.
"Bring fifteen horses to them." There are no cows and sheep here. If they want to give them, they have to go back and bring them. It's troublesome!
They are stationed at the border of the grassland and don't bring cows and sheep with them! They can only use war horses.
After Lu Desheng successfully received fifteen war horses, he began to sign the peace treaty.
Chen Ping, Liu Heshan and others sat obediently, looking at Lu Desheng's back with admiration. The new county magistrate of Houcheng, Lord Lu, showed them what it means to add layers of money! He really jumped back and forth on the other party's patience line. He learned a lot.