Chapter 2368

"Meet peace?" Yue Yongshou repeated the word to make sure his ears heard it correctly.

In Yue Yongshou's memory, since he came to Jinzhou, he had never heard officials from Haihan openly discussing topics related to peace negotiations with the Manchus. He could not even understand Haihan's firmness towards the Manchus.

Where did the hostility come from? After all, the two countries are thousands of miles apart and have never interacted with each other before. Why on earth could they have such deep hatred?

He could only guess that maybe the ancestors of the Haihan people were Han people from Liaodong and had been persecuted by the Manchus, so they were so persistent in attacking the Manchus. Or maybe there was some kind of shocking treasure in the area controlled by the Manchus, and the Haihan people were bound to get it.

And then quickly, not hesitate to use military means to this end.

As for the Haihan people's claim that they sent troops to Liaodong to help the Ming Dynasty resist foreign enemies, Yue Yongshou didn't believe a word of it. These Haihan officials were obviously extremely philistine figures, so how could they go all the way to send troops to Liaodong for the benefit of the Ming Dynasty?

And fight to the death with the Manchus.

But regardless of the real reason, Yue Yongshou can be sure that Haihan will never take the initiative to negotiate peace with the Manchus. Chen Yixin said that the Manchus sent people to negotiate, which is consistent with the current situation.

Yue Yongshou said: "Then General Chen must have rejected them without hesitation, right?"

Chen Yixin said noncommittally: "Isn't Mr. Yue curious about what kind of armistice conditions the Manchu and Qing Dynasties have given us?"

Yue Yongshou said: "The Manchu barbarians are rude by nature, and they don't have any negotiation strategy. They probably intend to use money as a condition, hoping that the Haihan Army can show their favor!"

Yue Yongshou's guess was mostly correct, and he seemed to have a relatively good understanding of the Qing Dynasty's temper. Chen Yixin responded: "Sir Yue is right, the Manchu Qing intends to give me a large sum of money in exchange for the opportunity to negotiate an armistice and peace talks.

Although I am not a money-grubbing person, I have to admit that the price they offered is really not a small amount, and it is hard not to be tempted."

Chen Yixin deliberately did not say the specific number, leaving room for imagination to Yue Yongshou. Sure enough, Yue Yongshou became a little anxious after hearing this: "General Chen, the Manchu Qing's peace negotiation with your country is probably just a delaying tactic. These barbarians have no faith.

But the general must not be fooled by them!"

Chen Yixin said: "Master Yue, don't worry, I am still considering it and have not agreed to their request."

Yue Yongshou became even more anxious when he heard this. Chen Yixin said that he was still considering it, which means there is a possibility of agreeing. This is definitely not a good thing for the Ming Dynasty. If Haihan really ceased war with the Manchus, then tens of thousands of Qing troops would be stationed in the north.

The elites can be transferred to the border of Ming Dynasty within a month, and then the external military pressure faced by Ming Dynasty will be even more difficult to resist.

"General Chen, the Manchus are the common enemy of our two countries. Their move is to deliberately sow discord. General Chen has a sharp eye. How could such a clumsy childish trick succeed? He must have seen through their conspiracy long ago.

I was over-concerned just now, I hope the general will not blame you."

Seeing that direct persuasion had no effect, Yue Yongshou immediately changed his strategy and tried his best to put a high hat on Chen Yixin. He first spoke favorably to Chen Yixin. In this way, even if Chen Yixin was interested in the conditions offered by the Manchu Qing, he would not give up because of his face.

Will agree so easily.

Of course, this was just his wishful thinking. How could a senior general like Chen Yixin, who was so decisive and decisive, be easily influenced by his simple words?

Chen Yixin smiled and said: "Master Yue is really good at talking. When the Manchu envoy came earlier, I should have asked you to come forward to deal with him."

Yue Yongshou said seriously: "If this person is still in Jinzhou, I would like to meet with him for a while and argue the rights and wrongs face to face. I hope General Chen will do it."

Chen Yixin was originally setting up a trap for him, so naturally he would not explain whether the Manchu envoy had left or not. He immediately changed the subject: "Actually, Mr. Yue may not know something. Our country maintains a garrison in Jinzhou and fights with the Manchu Qing Dynasty for several times every year."

Times, the military expenditures in this area are very large. And the benefits we can obtain from the war are very limited. Therefore, for our country, Jinzhou is actually a huge gold-swallowing beast. It can only get out but not enter. Every year

It takes a lot of money to put in."

"Our country is too far away from the Golden State, and the domestic people lack understanding and understanding of the situation here. They don't quite understand why our country would send troops to such a distant place to participate in a war with no results. So recently

There are also many voices of doubt in the country, hoping that the Executive Committee can take the initiative to abandon Jinzhou and deploy troops to other places to avoid wasting military expenditures and precious lives of soldiers."

Chen Yixin paused for a moment when he said this, and carefully observed Yue Yongshou's reaction before continuing: "The anti-war voice in the country is very high, and the Executive Committee is currently facing a lot of pressure. For our country, if this

There is nothing gained by continuing to fight a war with no end in sight, so maybe ending it as soon as possible will be beneficial to everyone."

Although Yue Yongshou is not a military expert and does not know whether the domestic situation in Haihan is really what Chen Yixin said, he also understands the meaning behind Chen Yixin's words - Jinzhou is too expensive and there is no money to be made.

When he saw no actual benefits, Haihan already had the intention of giving up.

As for whether this is the will of the official or the people, or whether the official wants to find a reason to give up, it is of little significance to delve deeper at this time. Yue Yongshou's most urgent task now is to try his best to persuade Chen Yixin to give up the armistice.

idea.

"General Chen, you can't do it!" Yue Yongshou had lost interest in the sumptuous banquet in front of him, and his anxiety was palpable: "If your country chooses to cease the war, the Qing army will definitely attack the Ming Dynasty with all its strength. By then, the Ming Dynasty will inevitably be devastated. General

How can you just sit back and watch?"

Chen Yixin looked embarrassed and said: "Of course I don't want to cease the war, but if the executive committee decides to terminate the war, then I can only obey the order. After all, our country's interests must come first. If this war cannot bring benefits to our country,

If we look at the actual benefits, then continuing to fight is indeed a bad deal."

Yue Yongshou was secretly angry when he heard this, thinking that you Haihan people regard the alliance between the two countries and the transnational war as a business. If you always put profit first, you are indeed a first-class philistine. But he also understands that Chen Yixin said it straightforwardly, but all

This is the truth. If there is no benefit, why would the Haihan Army want to attract firepower for the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong? These thousands of troops are stationed in Jinzhou. Even when there is no war, it is not easy to maintain so many troops.

Chen Yixin spoke so clearly that if Yue Yongshou wanted to use the name of righteousness to persuade him, it seemed that he was not strong enough.

Yue Yongshou said: "General Chen, the imperial court is actually grateful for the heroic performance of the Haihan Army in Jinzhou. Why don't you, general, wait and write to the imperial court to explain the difficulties here and see what kind of support measures the imperial court can provide?

, to relieve the Haihan Army from worries."

Chen Yixin deliberately declined: "There's no need to bother, right? Your country's fight against the Qing army will inevitably require a large amount of materials and military expenditures. Should you meet your country's own needs first? As for our army... After the armistice, Jinzhou

There is no need to station so many troops, and a group of people can be transferred back to the south, and local military expenditures will naturally be reduced."

"No trouble, no trouble!" Yue Yongshou responded quickly: "Since the two countries are cooperating to fight against the Qing Dynasty, of course we cannot let the navy and Han army bear the responsibility alone. Our country should also contribute."

Yue Yongshou's words were very beautiful, but Chen Yixin was only dubious about his statement. Not to mention whether Ming Dynasty was willing to provide assistance to the Haihan Army. Even if it was, Ming Dynasty would probably not be able to squeeze out oil and water to supply Haihan Army.

Yue Yongshou's promise will most likely remain just words and will not be implemented at all.

Chen Yixin said slowly: "I hope Mr. Yue can understand that the materials and military expenditures required by the Jinzhou garrison are very large. If it is just a drop in the bucket, it may not be enough to change the decision of the executive committee."

Chen Yixin repeatedly emphasized that the Haihan Army's expenditure in Jinzhou was a "large amount", naturally in order to squeeze as much as possible from the Ming Dynasty for better compensation conditions. Of course, this is not something that Yue Yongshou's authority can decide.

Chen Yixin could only put pressure on the Ming court through him. The more anxious Yue Yongshou felt, the more weighty the information he reported to the court would be.

Yue Yongshou did feel the pressure at this time. If Haihan chose to cease the war, the court certainly could not blame Haihan, so someone had to bear this responsibility. As an official on behalf of the Ming Dynasty who was sent to Jinzhou, he coordinated and communicated with the Haihan people to ensure

It was his duty. When Haihan made a decision that was not conducive to Ming Dynasty, it was of course his dereliction of duty.

If the imperial court places the blame on him, it will be difficult to save his career in the future, no matter how much he boasted about his achievements and personal relationship with General Haihan in memorials in the past.

But Yue Yongshou also understood very well that he was not a big shot, and his influence in the court was minimal. A memorial to express his merits might make the big shot feel happy after reading it, but submitting a report of complaining and applying for aid would not be easy.

You won't be welcomed by others.

It is very likely that Yue Yongshou, who was regarded as a meritorious official by the court two months ago, will be dismissed from his post due to the crime of "serious dereliction of duty."

Moreover, Chen Yixin's current attitude obviously did not intend to leave him much room for mediation. He just wanted to force him to come up with specific conditions immediately, which doubled Yue Yongshou's pressure.

"If I had known this, I should have found a way to turn down this banquet today!" Yue Yongshou couldn't help but regret his decision. But in fact, he also understood that escaping can't solve the problem, and he can't push it away for a while. He still has to face it after all.

In this situation, he could only remind himself secretly in his heart not to panic and to sort out the current situation first without making any omissions.

"General Chen, can you tell me more about the specific conditions listed by the Manchu envoy? And whether he left any documents, tokens, or anything else that I can see, so that I can give them to the court.

When reporting on the situation in Golden State, it would be better to describe the details more fully to obtain better aid conditions for your country."

After Yue Yongshou calmed down, his thinking became much clearer. He first had to confirm that there was indeed a Manchu envoy who came to visit Chen Yixin and asked to discuss the armistice. Otherwise, if Chen Yixin was talking nonsense, he, as the Ming Dynasty's special envoy to Jinzhou, would not be able to find out the truth.

Wouldn't it be a big joke to just apply for assistance from the imperial court?

Of course, he generally knew that Chen Yixin was unlikely to joke about this kind of thing. The Manchu Qing Dynasty probably really sent people here, but whether the conditions offered by Chen Yixin were what Chen Yixin claimed remained to be investigated.

Chen Yixin responded: "Master Yue has doubts about what I just said, and wants me to repeat it so that I can check the details?"

When Yue Yongshou saw Chen Yixin's ugly expression, he was immediately frightened and quickly explained: "How dare you doubt what the general said! I just want to know more details... For example, who sent the envoy here?"

Chen Yixin said: "The envoy's boss must be familiar to Mr. Yue. He was the military commander of Dongjiang Town at the time. He has now become a prince in the Manchu Qing Dynasty and is highly valued by Huang Taiji, so this job was entrusted to him.

superior."

"Ah...it turns out to be this traitor!" Yue Yongshou had naturally heard of Shang Kexi's name. At that time, everyone in the imperial court heard that Shang Kexi had brought tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, took away a large number of ordnance ships and defected to Houjin, and they couldn't help but curse him.

To forget one’s ancestors because of the number of people, one needs to kill the nine clans. However, Shang Kexi was most happy that most of his relatives died in the war in Liaodong, and he took all of the few people left when he defected, even if he wanted to kill them.

The family can't implement it either.

"Among the Han officials under Huang Taiji, there is no one who is most familiar with the environment in Liaodong. This may be the reason why he is responsible for negotiating peace talks with your army!" Yue Yongshou heard Chen Yixin mention Shang Kexi, and he already believed it in his heart.

Most of them. If the Qing Dynasty wanted to let people contact Jinzhou about armistice and peace talks, who else could be more suitable than Shang Kexi?

Chen Yixin said: "The envoy should be his confidant. Although I have sternly rejected him in person, it seems that he has no intention of giving up. It is estimated that after going back to ask for instructions, Shang Kexi will come to Jinzhou again and continue to tell us

Ask for an armistice and peace talks. Of course, the conditions they offer will definitely change by then, but I don’t know if they can tempt me.”

"The general has a strong will, how can he be disturbed by these external forces? If he can't move, he will definitely not be able to move!" Yue Yongshou quickly seized the opportunity to say a few good words.

Chen Yixin said: "Master Yue also knows our country's style of doing things. As long as the conditions are right, there is actually nothing that cannot be discussed. For example, before our country sent troops to North Korea to help the country repel the Qing invasion, it was because North Korea issued an order to the Executive Committee

The conditions that would be satisfactory to us. The reason why I refused was because I felt that the conditions he proposed would not be of any practical benefit to our country. If he can come up with more sincere conditions next time, I will report the truth to him, please.

The executive committee decides.”
Chapter completed!