The next morning, Emperor Shichong of Zheng State received the Tang envoy Wu Shiqiu at Huiyou Hall. Wu Shiqiu presented Li Yuan's letter of state, and officially recognized Zheng State on behalf of the Tang Dynasty. Immediately, Wu Shiqiu and the monarchs and ministers of Zheng State discussed the conditions for exchanging land.

Wang Shichong did not agree or object, but ordered people to send the warrior back to the VIP hotel for rest. He needed to think about this matter carefully.

In the imperial study, Wang Shichong was walking back and forth with his hands behind his back. He felt a little embarrassed. The land west of Wuguan has always been his heart affair. Wuguan is too close to Luoyang. Although most of the Tang army is deployed in Tongguan, there are not many Tang army in Wuguan, only a few thousand people, it still makes him feel a huge pressure.

If the Tang army was willing to exchange land for him with other conditions, of course he would not be able to do so, but the Tang army also wanted Xiangyang County. Although Xiangyang County had made him in a hurry recently, he also had a plan for the southern expedition. If Xiangyang County was replaced by the Tang army, his own plan for the southern expedition would be ruined.

Especially when it was changed to Xiangyang County, how could he explain to Zhang Xuan? I am afraid that the alliance between him and Zhang Xuan would be ruined.

Wang Shichong was very entangled and hesitant, and he himself didn't know whether he should exchange with Tang Jun.

At this time, a eunuch reported at the door, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the King of Chu, is asking for a meeting!"

Wang Shichong looked at the eunuch for a long time before slowly coming to his senses, "Oh! Let him come in!"

After a moment, Wang Shiyun hurried into the imperial study. He was also present when Wang Shichong officially met the warrior in the morning. He remained silent during the negotiations. He knew that such things must be persuaded to his brother alone.

"I'm going to see your Majesty!"

"Second brother, don't be polite. It sounds so awkward."

"Even if it is a brother, the relationship between the monarch and the subject cannot be avoided, otherwise it will affect His Majesty's emperor's power."

"Is there anything wrong?" Wang Shichong asked with a smile.

"Weichen came for the negotiations between the Tang envoys, and we have been considering this matter."

"What's your attitude?"

After all, Wang Shiyun was the Prime Minister of Shangshu Ling. Although he was a mediocre person, he still had some vision and wisdom. Wang Shichong relied on him very much. He wanted to hear the opinions of Shangshu Ling.

"Actually, Weichen thinks this is a good deal."

"Why?"

"If Your Majesty does not resolve Zhu Jie's affairs one day, it will not be able to resolve the conflict with Xiangyang in one day. But I know that Your Majesty must consider the stability of the military morale, so it is impossible to touch Zhu Jie. In this way, Xiangyang County will become a useless person. It is a pity to eat it. The west of Wuguan is related to the security of Luoyang. If the Tang court sends troops, we can at least resist west of Wuguan and Hongnong County, giving Luoyang a gap and block. Otherwise, the Tang army will directly face the city and catch us off guard, which will put a lot of pressure on us."

"I have considered this issue, but I am considering expanding south. If Xiangyang County is lost, it will block the Zheng army's way southward, so I really can't make up my mind."

Wang Shiyun smiled and said, "Your Majesty thinks Li Yuan wants Xiangyang County?"

Wang Shichong was stunned. He did not consider this issue. He had been considering himself, but he did not consider the purpose of Li Yuan's proposal to exchange land. Wang Shichong pondered for a moment and suddenly realized, "Do they also want to attack Jingxiang?"

"In addition to this reason, I really can't think of any other reason. The Tang army is afraid that we will form an alliance with the Northern Sui Dynasty, so we dare not attack Luoyang for the time being. However, Zhang Xuan is preparing to launch the Jiangnan Battle. How could Li Yuan not be anxious? He is eager to destroy Xiao Xian and expand the territory of the Tang Dynasty to the south. If Your Majesty also wants to fight south, it will collide with the Tang army's strategy. At that time, the Tang army will suppress Luoyang. Will Your Majesty return? If you give up the fight in the south, then what is the meaning of Xiangyang?"

Wang Shichong was finally told, yes! If the Tang army expands to Jingxiang and the south, it will be difficult for him to compete with the Tang army for the south. After all, the Tang army has too much constraints on him, and Xiangyang will be really useless for him.

Wang Shichong was silent for a long time and said, "I am worried that after exchanging land with the Tang army, it will annoy Zhang Xuan."

"This is the main reason why I want to persuade Your Majesty. In the battle of Zhua County, Your Majesty and Zhang Xuan had already broken off their affection. Therefore, Zhang Xuan and us allies were not because of the friendship, but because we have value in use. Both sides joined forces to deal with the Tang army. Even if Your Majesty and the Tang army exchanged land, as long as Your Majesty's use value is still there, Zhang Xuan would not turn against Your Majesty. But more importantly, if one day Zhang Xuan wants to destroy us, who will we ask for help?"

Wang Shichong's brows gradually frowned, and he finally understood what the Fourth Brother meant. Perhaps one day they would really form an alliance with the Tang army to deal with the Northern Sui Dynasty.

Wang Shiyun said lightly again: "We are sandwiched between the Sui and Tang dynasties. The most important thing is to master the balance. Tang strong will join forces with Sui and resist Tang, while Sui strong will join forces with Tang to resist Sui. Your Majesty, we must leave some room for ourselves and not really offend the Tang Dynasty. Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that one day we will join forces with the Tang army to deal with the Sui army."

Wang Shiyun's persuasion made Wang Shichong wake up. His brother was right. Luoyang was sandwiched between the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The most important thing was to balance. He used Xiangyang County to exchange land west of Wuguan to ease his tension with the Tang Dynasty.

Wang Shichong finally agreed to Li Yuan's proposal to exchange land, and used Xiangyang County to exchange land that was hundreds of miles west of Wuguan in the Tang Dynasty, and agreed to the Tang Dynasty to borrow the Han River for a price of 10,000 yuan. The Tang army immediately retreated to Tongguan. Wang Shichong sent Zhu Jie to lead 10,000 troops to take over the land that was west of Wuguan.

On the south, Li Yuan appointed Wu Shiwei as the general manager of Xiangzhou, took over Xiangyang County and was responsible for integrating the rebel army in Xiangyang County. Wu Shiwei was warmly welcomed by the soldiers and civilians of Xiangyang, which made Li Yuan very happy. Considering that Wu Shiwei's subordinates were insufficient, he appointed Wuwei General Sang County as the deputy general manager. He led more than 20 elite officials and led a 3,000 elite army to take a boat to Xiangyang County through the Han River to assist Wu Shiwei in integrating the rebel army in Xiangyang and controlling Xiangyang County.

Due to Wang Shichong's betrayal, the Tang Dynasty's forces squeezed into Jingxiang. The situation in Jingxiang suddenly became severe. The Tang army began to transport grain and armour to Xiangyang County on a large scale.

Ten days later, under Wang Shiyun's persuasion, Wang Shichong once again agreed to the Tang army's land access request. The Tang army veteran Qu Tutong led 20,000 elite Tang army through Xiyang County and directly entered Xiangyang County. With the 20,000 Xiangyang rebel army that had been integrated by the warrior and Sang Xian, the Tang army had an army of 40,000 in Xiangyang County.

Qu Tutong built warships in Xiangyang County, trained the army, stored food and food, actively prepared for war, and patiently waited for the arrival of the spring season.

......

Meng Haigong's army had retreated to Wu County. Meng Haigong officially proclaimed himself emperor in Wu County and established the Kingdom of Wu. The reign was named Mingzheng. He enthroned his son Meng Yi as the crown prince and his brother Meng Dangui as the general. The territory he controlled reached the west to Xuancheng County, the south to Wuling, and the north to the Yangtze River, and thousands of miles east-west.

Meng Haigong appointed Han Dan, the chief secretary of Shen Faxing, and Mao Wenshen, the counselor of left and right, and appointed Li Baiyao, the former prefect of Kuaiji County, as the Secretary of the Secretariat, and Yin Qian, the former county magistrate, as the Minister of Personnel. He also recruited a group of scholars from Jiangnan who were poor and from poor backgrounds to serve as officials.

Meng Haigong adopted the practice of cracking down on the aristocratic people and winning over the lower class, announced the exemption of all taxes, began to rectify military discipline, and did not allow the army to disturb the people anymore. Despite this, because he had been too deeply poisoning the people in Jiangnan before, this series of actions did not eliminate the doubts of the people in the lower class, and the support of the people in Jiangnan has always been at a low level.

But for Mr. Meng Hai, the most urgent thing was not to win back the support of the lower class people, but the Battle of Jiangnan that the Sui army was about to start. The huge pressure of war made Mr. Meng Hai unable to sleep or eat. At this moment, Lin Shihong sent an envoy to negotiate and form an alliance with Mr. Meng Haigong to deal with the Sui army's invasion in the south. This action made Mr. Meng Haigong overjoyed. He immediately agreed to Lin Shihong's request for alliance. At the same time, at the request of Lin Shihong, his son Meng Yi rushed to Jinhua County, Dongyang County, and became an alliance with Lin Shihong's son Lin Zhengtai, and the two became brothers.

There is already a hint of warmth in Jiangnan in early February. In early spring, flocks of ducks swim in the river, making rattles from time to time, weeping willows begin to sprout, shepherd boys blowing flutes on the back of cows, and groups of birds circling happily above their heads.

That morning, a young peddler walked along the official road next to the Jiangnan Canal near Wuxian in Wujun. He wore a soft hat, a short gray cloth collar, and a short and thick cloth shoe. He had a cloth belt around his waist. The young man was not tall, short and sturdy, with an honest and honest face, carrying a full set of goods and a rattle in his hand.

He walked while beating the rattle, followed by a few jumping children and two local dogs sticking out their tongues. The young peddler was not angry at all, and his face was full of smiles, not giving the child some malt sugar.

At this time, a tea shed appeared in front of him. The peddler might be a little thirsty and walked into the tea shed with a load on his shoulder.
Chapter completed!