Eastern Jin Dynasty: My powerful father

Chapter 441: The Fall of the Yu State (VI)

"The Fu clan moved to Jiangnan. Oh! Jiangnan is a good place, with beautiful mountains, beautiful waters, and beautiful scenery."

Inside the central army tent, Huan Xi said to the Yu envoys:

"As for staying in Bingzhou or moving back to Longyou, you don't have to think about it anymore. What is there to be nostalgic about in these places? Instead, they make me feel uneasy.

"If Huan can't sleep, you guys can sleep well?"

How to settle the Fu family is the top priority of this negotiation. Today, Huan Xi summoned Fu Rong and others to the central military tent, wanting to hear their ideas.

As a result, these people either said they wanted to stay in Jinyang or go back to Guanxi.

Huan Xi was of course unwilling to do so. Since they did not mention it themselves, Huan Xi simply told them frankly that he would never let them stay in the north.

Li Wei, Fu Rong and others were horrified but also somewhat relieved after hearing Huan Xi's threat.

Huan Xi's move at least demonstrated his sincerity.

It is better to speak out the truth upfront, even though it may sound unpleasant, than to smile and nod in agreement to everything and then turn your back on your promises once the Fu family surrenders and the situation is under control.

The envoys of the State of Yu looked at each other, and finally turned their gazes to Li Wei, waiting for his decision.

Even before Fu Rong went south, he was warned by his mother, Empress Dowager Gou, in person to obey Li Wei in everything. After all, Fu Rong was just a young man under 20 years old. How could he be allowed to make the decision on such an important matter?

However, Li Wei had already reached an agreement with Huan Xi. After pretending to hesitate, he nodded and said:
"The Fu family's migration to the south of the Yangtze River was a blessing, not a curse. If they had stayed in Jinyang or returned to Guanxi, they would have come into contact with their clan members and old acquaintances. If someone was unwilling to give in and contacted them to restore the country, it would only harm everyone.

"If we move to the south of the Yangtze River and cut off contact with our old subordinates, Lord Liang can rest easy and the Fu clan can be saved.

"Even if someone else plots evil and rebels under the banner of the Fu family, I believe that with Lord Liang's wisdom, he will not harm innocent people."

Huan Xi was very satisfied with Li Wei's statement. He nodded and said:

"I am not Emperor Xuan, and I cannot do anything that violates the oath. Besides, you are not Cao Shuang. If you really go to Jiangnan, you will not be a threat to me.

"I have always loved reputation, so as long as you behave yourself, why would I have to bear the bad reputation of going back on my word?

"Remember, I don't care about your life or death, I care about my own reputation."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's hearts were relieved.

All this was caused by Sima Yi. He swore an oath by the Luo River and then wiped out Cao Shuang's three clans. Even if Huan Xi took them to the Yellow River and swore by the water, they would not believe it easily.

Huan Xi could only tell them all the good and bad things at once and let them experience his sincerity for themselves.

Fortunately, Li Wei is here, so there is no need to worry about no one being able to understand what he means.

"Mr. Liang is magnanimous and sincere, and we are convinced."

As Li Wei expressed his stance, the envoys from the State of Yu also bowed their heads in agreement.

Huan Xi nodded and no longer presided over the negotiations personally.

He handed over all the remaining matters to Quan Yi, who negotiated with the envoys one by one.

As for Huan Xi, he called Xie Xuan out of the camp to go fishing.

By dusk, when Huan Xi returned to the camp, Quan Yi had already negotiated all the terms.

"Mr. Liang, everything is listed above."

Quan Yi handed over the document.

Huan Xi took it and scanned the items on the paper in silence. After a moment, Huan Xi smiled again:

"Ziliang, you are the only one who can understand my thoughts best."

Quan Yi gave up what he should give up and fought for what he should fight for. For example, he did not want a single cent of the property of the Fu clan members and allowed them to take it to Jiangnan, but he also made it clear that they should not use the money to annex land in Jiangnan.

You can do some business, but you cannot buy land.

Of course, with their wealth, even if this generation does not engage in production, management, and focuses on squandering, I am afraid they will not be able to enjoy it all in this lifetime.

As for official titles, they lived peacefully in Jiangnan. At least until the Huan family unified the world and passed the power to Aman's generation, Huan Xi would not give them the opportunity to serve in the government.

By the time Aman came to power, the Huan family would have already firmly established their rule over the world, and the Fu family would have been completely forgotten by the people in the north. Aman would then naturally release the shackles on the Fu family.

However, the descendants of the Fu family could be prohibited from serving in official positions, but they could not be left out of the titles.

Quan Yi promised on behalf of Huan Xi that the descendants of the brothers Fu Jian and Fu Xiong who held the title of county duke in the State of Yu could be granted the title of founding county duke.

In the State of Yu, if the title was below that of County Duke, the title would be downgraded by one level.

At the same time, their fiefs were the lowest among the same level of titles.

Of course, when the Huan family establishes a country in the future, their titles will have to be lowered again.

Quan Yi emphasized that they recognized the titles conferred by Fu Jian and Fu Jian, not the titles temporarily conferred on their children and grandchildren by Gou after learning the news.

Those relatives of the Yu State who were within the five degrees of kinship with Fu Hong but were not descendants of Fu Jian and Fu Xiong, and who had titles, all submitted a petition to be granted the title of Guannei Hou, the second-to-last rank of title in the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

When the Huan family established their country, they were demoted to the rank of Marquis outside the Pass.

After reading it, Huan Xi was very satisfied with every clause.

In fact, Huan Xi was certainly confident that he could destroy the State of Yu by force.

The reason why he was willing to make certain concessions was that he was worried that Fu Shi would be pushed into a corner and would cause Gou Shi to lead Fu Hong and the Di people to defect to the State of Yan.

As the State of Yu was on the verge of destruction, the Murong clan of the State of Yan had become the only rival of the Huan family. As for the Jin family, it was nothing more than a plaything in their hands, not worthy of being on the stage, and could not be called a rival.

It is better to guard against the counterattack of the aristocratic families than to be wary of the orphan and the widow.

Huan Xi did not want the remnants of the Yu State to turn to the Yan State, so the conditions he offered were not too harsh. Although he did not allow them to serve as officials, he allowed them to retain their wealth and live a life of luxury.

He also left a promise that the ban on the Fu family would be lifted in the future.

Quan Yi, Li Wei, and Fu Rong had all signed the document, and it was only waiting for Huan Xi to stamp it before it could be sent to Jinyang and handed over to Gou.

Since Huan Xi was satisfied with the terms, he would not find fault with them. He used his seal on the spot and asked Li Wei to arrange his trusted confidants to escort the document to the north at full speed.

Wenxi is 700 miles away from Jinyang. Although some roads are difficult to travel, Fu Jian followed Huan Xi's example and built a post road from Hedong County to Jinyang in Hedong.

The postmen travelled day and night, delivering the message in an expedited manner for 800 miles, and actually managed to deliver it to Jinyang in just one day and one night.

Inside the Jinyang Palace, all the ministers gathered in the main hall. The young Heavenly King Fu Hong was sitting on a side chair, looking at everyone naively. He could hardly speak, but he opened his curious eyes and looked at everything in the main hall.

After reading the terms agreed upon by Li Wei, Fu Rong and others when they went south, Empress Dowager Gou put away the document and sighed:
"The matter has been settled, let's draft the edict."

There was fatigue in his tone that was hard to conceal.

(End of this chapter)