Chapter 196: It is of great importance (Part 1)

It was Zhang Huan's first time to come to Kaiyang County. He traveled for four days. At dusk on the fourth day, Zhang Huan finally arrived at the old nest that the Wei family had been operating for more than ten years under the escort of the three thousand Iron Cavalry.

At this time, Kaiyang County was already a gathering of storms. Pei Jun, the second-in-command-in-Tang Dynasty, arrived five days ago. He was accompanied by the newly-entered prince Zhan Shi, the secretary of the Central Secretariat, Li Mian, the minister of the Central Secretariat, and the minister of the Ministry of Revenue Pei You, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel Cui Yu, the minister of the Ministry of War Li Han, the chief minister of the Censor Yan Jiudu, and Cui Xian, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, came on behalf of his father, Cui Yuan, the right prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, as the landlord, the third-largest person in the Tang Dynasty, the Minister of War, Wei Yanhui, was there. Secondly, the Secretary of the Shangshu Wei Zheng, the Minister of Shaofu Temple, and other important officials of the Wei family also rushed to Kaiyang County.

Since Zhang Huan and Duan Xiushi were both personally bringing heavy troops, in order to prevent it, five days ago, Wei Yan mobilized 80,000 heavy troops from all over Longyou and stationed in various counties in Kaiyang County.

So far, Kaiyang County has never had so many important officials gathered together. It is because this is an extremely important negotiation. The Cui family and the Pei family have arrived in Hanzhong. They can send troops to Shu County just by waiting for the Wei army to arrive. However, the key to the Wei family's troops is whether this negotiation can achieve the expected goals.

When Zhang Huan was five miles away, a flying cavalry reported to Wei Yan. According to the prior arrangement, Zhang Huan and Duan Xiushi's army would be stationed in the military camp two miles away, and they themselves could lead 500 people to escort into the city.

When Zhang Huan walked to the city gate, he saw a group of officials waiting there from a distance. He turned over and dismounted and quickly met him.

The person who welcomed Zhang Huan at the city gate was Wei Yan, the Minister of War. Since the meeting at the beginning of the year, Wei Yan has not seen Zhang Huan for more than half a year. Perhaps because Zhang Huan had a beard, he felt that he was much more mature than the beginning of the year, completely different from the young man Yixing Ruifei two years ago. His eyes became calm and deep, and his joy and anger were no longer reflected, and he had a faint demeanor of a prince.

When Wei Yan saw Zhang Huan, he couldn't help but think of his son Wei Qing. He also had a gloomy face all day long and became the home guest. Many people in the capital said that he had a deep personality and was a young man from a noble family. Even Wei Yan himself thought his son was very good, and many young people were really not as good as him. But when he saw Zhang Huan today, Wei Yan knew what his son was.

Wei Yan couldn't help but sigh slightly. He was also a veteran. He actually knew very well that towering trees could not grow in the golden pink village of Chang'an. Only in difficult environments can one hone his talents. His son was too smooth and could not be achieved through his own efforts, so he lacked a kind of awe-inspiring majesty.

Just as he was thinking that Zhang Huan had already come up, he smiled and bowed to Wei Yan, "Shangshu Wei actually went out of the city to greet him personally. Zhang Huan can't afford it!"

Wei Yan smiled and hurriedly replied, "Where! Where! It's rare that Governor Zhang came to Kaiyang County for the first time. If I don't treat you well, I'm afraid that the Governor will refuse to come next time."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed together. At this time, Wei Yan saw Pei Mingyuan behind Zhang Huan at first sight, and he was stunned.

He said a little surprised: "Isn't this the fifth son of the Prime Minister Pei?"

Zhang Huan quickly smiled and pulled Pei Mingyuan up and introduced to Wei Yan: "Pei Mingyuan is now the judge of my Hexi army, so I will come with me this time."

After Pei Mingyuan returned from the Uighurs, Zhang Huan resolutely promoted him to the judge of the Western Liang Army. The position of judge was equivalent to the confidential secretary in the army, which was very important, but Zhang Huan trusted him very much and did not guard against him just because he was Pei Jun's eyes and ears placed beside him. Pei Mingyuan also felt Zhang Huan's sincerity, and gradually he regarded himself as a member of Hexi.

Seeing Wei Yan surprised, Pei Mingyuan quickly gave a deep bow, "My nephew came to Hexi in spring and failed to visit Uncle Shi, please forgive me."

Seeing Pei Mingyuan's calm demeanor, Wei Yan couldn't help but feel emotion. He turned around and sighed to Zhang Huan: "If I had known, I would have asked Wei Qing to go to the governor to hone his skills so that he would not have to attend those boring social events all day in Beijing."

"Assessing social engagements is also to accumulate connections in the officialdom. Uncle Shi should not be too harsh on Brother Wei."

The two of them just stood in front of the city gate and greeted each other. At this time, Wei Zheng, who was standing behind Wei Er, couldn't help it. He stood up and smiled and said, "Brother letting Governor Zhang stand in the cold wind all the time, it's not a way to treat guests!"

Wei Yan suddenly realized that he saw that the sun was gradually setting, so he pulled Zhang Huan and smiled and said, "Today I bought a small wine with Pei Xiangguo, which is specially for the governor to wash the dust."

"Thank you, I wonder if General Duan has arrived?"

"He has arrived at noon, and the governor will see him at that time."

The two of them walked and said, then they entered Kaiyang City.

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Night gradually fell, and it was early winter in mid-October. The sky was gray and there were piles of fallen leaves with white frost everywhere. The air conditioning at night added a bit of cold air. Occasionally, a gust of cold wind blew, and the frosted poplar leaves suddenly broke away from the branches and frosty flying in the air like a group of birds.

Although it was cold outside, the VIP hall in Wei Mansion was brightly lit and warm as spring. This was a lobby that could accommodate hundreds of people. The hall was carved with beams and painted buildings, and countless famous porcelain paintings were filled with them. At this time, dozens of seats were placed, and the tables were filled with various delicacies.

The important officials of the Tang Dynasty who came to Longyou to attend this meeting gathered together.

There were more than a dozen musicians sitting in the corner of the walls on both sides of the lobby, and a group of dancers were dancing lightly in the venue. The sound of silk and bamboo was melodious and melodious. The long sleeves in the venue were good at dancing, and the figure was light and graceful. More than a dozen maids were shuttled through the table like butterflies. Next to each guest, there was a beautiful girl who was like a flower, pouring wine and cloth dishes, and laughing.

Pei Jun and Wei Yan sat in the chairman, and there were two rows of seats on the left and right. The first seat on the right was the crown prince secretary Li Mian, the first seat on the left was Cui Xian, the minister of the Ministry of Rites who represented Cui Yuan, and Zhang Huan sat next to Li Mian. Directly opposite him was Duan Xiushi, the governor of Shuofang, and Cui Yu, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Duan Xiushi, the left is Li Fanyun, the special envoy of Cui Xiaofu.

Generally speaking, there is always a banquet before a major negotiation. This is not only a way to connect with feelings, but also a rehearsal of negotiations. During the meal, people will see many subtle arrangements, that is, some seemingly inconspicuous arrangements often determine whether the negotiation is successful.

For example, this negotiation is obviously just a small consultation meeting between three families in Helong area. It is like the owner of the family going out and taking care of neighbors with bad relationships, so that they don’t take the opportunity to destroy them at home. At most, this kind of care only requires a person like a private official and local security guard to provide guarantees or mediation in a centralized manner. There is no need to let more people participate.

But today, there were three cabinet ministers, four six ministers, as well as the Empress Dowager's envoy, the Censor Central Censor, the Right Chief of the Shangshu, the Shaofu Temple Minister, etc. Almost half of the heavyweight officials in the Tang Dynasty would gather together. This was actually putting strong political pressure on Zhang Huan and Duan Xiushi, warning them about the seriousness of the conclusion of the agreement and the serious consequences of the violation of the agreement.

And this is the biggest bet Choi Yuan and Bae Jun put in order to reassure Wei Yan to send troops.

Although everyone has beautiful girls around him, there is obviously no lubricant in front of these veterans of the world who have seen the world for a long time. Each of them either lowers their heads to drink or talks with each other, and the atmosphere in the lobby seems a bit depressing.

Zhang Huan toasted Duan Xiushi with a long glass of wine. This was the first time they met in two years. The last time was in Xishoujiang City, where they collaborated to kill Zhu Xicai.

Duan Xiushi is still loyal to Cui Xiaofu, and Cui Yuan doesn't care much about him. This almost fanatical royalist becomes more stubborn as he grows older, and is even a little paranoid. He ignores any court orders at all, but if the empress dowager's imperial edict is ordered, even if he is asked to disband the Lingwu Army, he might have followed it.

So Cui Yuan specifically told Cui Xiaofu about the importance of this attack on Zhu Li. In the face of the stability of the Tang Dynasty, Cui Xiaofu also put aside her dissatisfaction with Cui Yuan and issued an order to not drag down this southern expedition.

When Duan Xiushi saw Zhang Huan toasting him, he raised his glass slightly to return. Just before he entered the banquet, Duan Xiushi received a secret decree from the Empress Dowager Cui Xiaofu from Li Fanyun. The secret decree pointed out that Zhu Li would harm the country of the Tang Dynasty, and hoped that Duan Xiushi would not take the opportunity to seize Longyou after the Wei family sent troops.

Duan Xiushi smiled bitterly in his heart about the Queen Mother's will. He knew his own affairs. Don't say that Zhu Li had a grudge against him for killing his father. Even if Duan Xiushi had this intention, what would he use to seize Longyou?

Duan Xiushi and Zhang Huan's situation was slightly different. Zhang Huan occupied Wuwei and had the righteousness of regaining the lost territory of the Tang Dynasty and the material support of Pei Jun, so he could develop rapidly. Duan Xiushi got Lingwu purely because he took advantage of the loopholes of Wei Ye's encirclement and suppression of Zhang Huan. Wei Ye has always hated him to the core and laid heavy troops in Yan'an County and Hui County to siege him. In addition, Duan Xiushi had no support in the court, so Duan Xiushi had been troubled by food issues for more than a year and had no room for development.

A year ago, Duan Xiushi occupied Lingwu County with 30,000 people. Now, the deserters and wounded soldiers have reduced the available troops to less than half. If Wei Er hadn't been worried about Zhang Huan's assistance, he would have sent troops to attack Lingwu long ago.

Therefore, whether it is Cui Yuan, Pei Jun, or Wei Yan, they all know that Duan Xiushi is just a supporting role in the Longyou negotiation. The one who really needs to be prepared to attack Longyou is Zhang Huan, Hexi.
Chapter completed!