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Chapter 129 Negotiation Bottom Line

Chapter 129 Negotiation Bottom Line
Xu Chongguang listened to Lu Chengqi's "high-spirited talk", and began to remonstrate: "Your Majesty, the use of military force will make Dashun forever!"

Lu Chengqi laughed suddenly, and said: "What Xu Qing said, it is not acceptable to be blindly militaristic. I have calculated the account, this time only tens of thousands of troops were mobilized, and the cost of food and salaries was as high as one million yuan. If it takes a long time Some, if we use more troops, I am afraid that this number will have to be increased. I asked the Liao Kingdom for a million coins, just to fill this hole, do you understand my painstaking efforts?"

Xu Chongguang nodded, and said: "Your Majesty's concerns have been discussed by the ministers. But the Liao Kingdom may not be able to provide so much money."

Lu Chengqi smiled slyly, and said: "That's why I said that they can be allowed to exchange cattle, sheep and horses. These Khitan people are not stupid, and they certainly would not exchange horses. But cattle and sheep, they have a lot of them, so naturally they will I readily agree. In this way, my Dashun is not too disadvantaged, after all, cattle and sheep are not worth much in Liao Kingdom, but they are quite valuable in my Dashun..."

Xu Chongguang nodded and said, "That's right. In Chang'an City, a cow is worth more than ten guan, and a sheep is worth four or five guan. If it was in the Liao Kingdom, it would not have such a price."

The cabinet minister Zhu Xucai also said: "Your Majesty's move is equivalent to the exchange of the cattle that my Dashun scarcely needs, and good governance. There is no shortage of farming cattle in Dashun, and the hides, tendons, and horns of farming cattle are used to make weapons. , I, Dashun, have already set it as a prohibited item. According to Yichen, it is impossible for the Khitan people to exchange cattle. The value of sheep is high, and the Khitan people also breed more, so maybe they will exchange it."

Lu Chengqi did not think of this level. In fact, as early as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, bow-making skills reached a very high level.There are detailed records in ancient books on the materials used to make bows and the requirements for the production process. The six materials recorded in the "six materials for the bow" are: wood stems (including zhe, mulberry, orange, papaya, jing, bamboo, etc.), ox horns, Beef tendons, glue (glue made from the skin, bones, tendons or viscera of deer, horses, cattle, rats, fish and rhinos), silk and lacquer.The craftsmanship of the bow is really very particular. The bow is dried in winter, the corners are soaked in spring, the tendons are cured in summer, and the three are combined with silk, glue, and lacquer to make the bow body in autumn. In order to determine its shape, the bowstring will be installed in the next spring for inspection, and it will take three years to make a good bow.Among them, the largest amount is beef tendon and horn.The remaining cowhide is also very useful. It is generally used to make siege equipment and cover incoming arrows.Or made of leather armor, it can also effectively resist arrowheads.Cowhide is also an important material for making boots. It can be said that a cow is extremely useful whether it is dead or alive.

"Dashun Law" clearly stipulates that "those who slaughter farm cattle privately will be fined a hundred times and sentenced to hard labor." If a farm cattle dies naturally, the local county magistrate will send yamen servants to verify it. , gluten, only allowed to sell its meat.The price of cattle is not expensive, but the value of beef is nearly [-] cents per catty. The price is frighteningly high, and non-rich families cannot afford it.

After understanding the value and potential value of a cow, Lu Chengqi didn't think that the Khitan people would trade cattle for it.That is to say, the only thing that can be exchanged is sheep.

After Lu Chengqi understood this, he said: "Zhu Qing is right. The Khitan people are not fools. They will exchange cattle. That is to say, we can only ask for 20 sheep. Well, these sheep from the grassland , the gimmick is not bad, maybe you can sell one for ten pennies. How about this, Feng Qing, Liu Qing, as negotiators of my Dashun, the bottom line of the negotiation is that the Khitan people will not violate the border within three years, 15 Compensation for a single sheep. These two conditions are the most basic, and the rest should be won if they can be won, anyway, the Khitan people will not be able to live well.”

Feng Chengping, minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Geng, a member of the cabinet, readily agreed, and Lu Chengqi "taught" some negotiation skills, and the meeting was considered to be over.

After the ministers had left, a servant came forward to report that the envoy of the Goryeo Kingdom had been asking to see him for many days.Lu Chengqi thought for a while, it was not an option for these Koryo sticks to spy on Dashun every day in Chang'an City, he looked at the time and said, "You can't treat one more favorably than another, let them have an audience tomorrow."

After the servant got the imperial edict, he went to the Tongwen Hall to proclaim the edict.Unfortunately, Cui Jie'an, the envoy of the Goryeo Kingdom, was not in the Tongwen Hall at this time. He had been waiting in the North Station of Duting for a long time, hoping to get the latest news.

Not long after, Yeluliang returned angrily to the North Station of the Duting, scolding Lu Chengqi in Khitan dialect for disregarding etiquette, not being a state of etiquette, and at the same time furious, vowed never to compromise.Fortunately, Cui Jie'an couldn't understand the Khitan language, Yeluliang also stopped cursing angrily when he saw an outsider present.

Cui Jie'an asked: "Angel of Shangguo, I don't know what conditions Emperor Dashun negotiated with Shangguo to release him this time when he summoned him? Did he say when he summoned our envoy from Koryo?"

It was fine if Cui Jie'an didn't say it, but this remark immediately brought out Yeluliang's anger that had been suppressed just now.Furiously, he repeated Lu Chengqi's words again, and even scolded Lu Chengqi for disregarding etiquette.Even Cui Jie'an couldn't please him, and was sprayed bloody.

It's no wonder Yeluliang was so angry. Even in Khitan's most difficult time, he never surrendered to anyone, and was never forced by any country to pay compensation.But today Lu Chengqi is really aggressive, blocking all his escape routes, knowing all his trump cards, and putting him at a disadvantage every moment. Negotiations like this, not to mention Yeluliang, are rare in the entire Khitan history.

After Cui Jie'an silently digested the information, he waited for Yeluliang to finish his anger before he said, "Angel, I believe that Dashun is a wolf's ambition this time, and he has evil intentions, so we must guard against it. Just imagine, the cattle, horses and sheep are all produced in the Shang Kingdom. Dashun doesn’t produce many things that are abundant. Fortunately, sheep are not of much use other than wool. But cattle and horses are different, they are all strategic things.”

Yeluliang didn't expect the usefulness of cows, but after being reminded by him, he came to his senses, and once again scolded Lu Chengqi for being unkind.Seeing that Yeluliang fell into his own trap, Cui Jiean was secretly happy, and continued to make suggestions: "It goes without saying that horns and tendons are necessary for making bows and arrows. Horses can't even be given. Dashun lacks good horses the most. If Dashun can make up for it If the short board is fixed, Shangguo will suffer from it."

Yeluliang nodded and said, "Do you have a good strategy?"

Cui Jiean whispered a few words in Yeluliang's ear, Yeluliang's face changed from gloomy to sunny, he clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Master Cui, your strategy is very good, you can't beat these cunning Han people." Cui Jiean didn't think so For humiliation, but complacent.In his heart, he believed that Goryeo was called "Little China", and he had long regarded himself as the inheritor of Chinese culture.The thinking of these Goryeo sticks is really beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Yeluliang still had some doubts, he said hesitantly: "Your Majesty doesn't give me much time, so what?"

Cui Jie'an looked like he was planning a strategy, as if he knew about it long ago, and said: "Angel, don't worry, the little emperor Dashun is more anxious than you. From the point of view of my ministers, the little emperor Dashun is an impatient person. How can it afford it? The minister concluded that within ten days, he will end this negotiation."

Yeluliang thought about Lu Chengqi's character carefully, and said, "Of course, Master Cui is really clever!" The two looked at each other and smiled, as if nothing could escape their palms.

(End of this chapter)

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