It was snowing, and heavy snow fell down. In less than an hour, the earth turned white.

Xu Ping sat on the chair in the back yamen pavilion, watching the snowflakes flying all over the sky. Among the snowflakes, the tall Yinshan Mountains in the distance disappeared, the towers in the city disappeared, and even the flowers and trees in the garden became blurred.

Next to it is a stove, and the wine is warmed by the stove. The water from the warm wine is already steaming. A small table is filled with a few plates of simple dishes and wine glasses. Not far away, Tan Hu led a few soldiers and Xiao Hujiu, preparing roasted lamb.

Xiao Hu was born in a noble family and now he is a rare person. Xu Ping did not treat him badly. Tan Hu always watched him personally. The two sides ceased to fight, and the Khitan would definitely take this person back. Of course, he had to wait for the price when he went back. Better to Xiao Hu, he would be grateful to him after he returned to the court. Xu Ping didn't know, at least he would not become an enemy, and would not hate the Song Dynasty to the core.

In this peace talks, the real person in charge was Xu Ping, Fan Zhongyan was the deputy, and Fu Bi and Zhang Maoshi were the people who were ordered to do things. This did not require a clear edict. Among all the officials in this area, only Xu Ping had the right to act cheaply. In negotiations with the Khitan, only Xu Ping could make the decision. The Protectorate did not interfere in the local area, but the entire Dangxiang area, plus the several states seized from the Khitan, had not yet been lifted from military control. Wu Zunlu, Fang Xie and Fan Zhongyan were all subordinates before Xu Ping transferred the power. In extraordinary times, it must be an extraordinary system. The battle was fought by Xu Ping, and the territory was snatched from the enemy. Of course, he had the most say in how to end the war.

With such heavy power, Xu Ping must not be inquisitive about everything, just grasp the general direction. Zhuge Liang's everything is his own due to his personality. He died young at the age of 54 and was almost exhausted. To tell the truth, Xu Ping does not have such a strong sense of responsibility and mission. As long as the general direction is not biased, things must be done by others.

The Khitan was under too much pressure, and the matter of peace talks could not be decided by Xiao Guanzhi and Liu Liufu, and they did not dare to take charge at this time. Yelu Dilie and Wang Weiji had to get a precise bottom line from the royal court, and the princes and ministers had to discuss a result before they could set off. There was no Fengzhou yet. The people did not come, and Fu Bi and Zhang Maoshi could only wait in Yunneizhou.

These days, Fan Zhongyan and Fu Bi and Zhang Maoshi discussed the specific details of peace talks. According to the Chanzhou oath, the peace talks include announcing that friendship will no longer be fought, the amount of annual monies and how to pass, how to delineate the boundaries, the future of each other's borders will not invade each other, the other side's fugitives will not be allowed, the military deployment of the border areas, and how to finally take the oath. This is the content of the oath to be written, and it is also written in unclear text, and the two sides must reach a tacit understanding. For example, the relationship between the two countries is the brother of the Song Dynasty and the Khitan as their younger brother, and the Chanzhou oath did not state it, but the exchanges between the two sides are based on this generation. As well as the etiquette of the envoys, how to arrange trade between the two countries, how to exchange official documents, and the corresponding yamen. Details of the format of the official documents and the mutual address must be determined.

In the future, the more clear the two sides confront each other, the better. It is unrealistic to expect to make the other party tired of dealing with it. The larger the vague area, the less clear the signal it sends, which can easily lead to strength and nowhere to be used.

For example, it is clear that the military deployment of both sides is nothing more than their respective defense facilities, and the cities on the border will be as old as before. They must not use any excuse to dig ditches, plant trees, or build cities. There will be unwritten tacit understanding of how many troops they deploy in the border areas and where they are stationed. Only in this way can it be easy to operate. With the current national strength of the Song Dynasty, the deployment of about 500,000 troops on the entire border will not cause too much burden. If the Khitan wants to maintain such troops, it will greatly consume its national strength. Stabilize, make large-scale military mobilizations in the areas behind the front line, or hold military exercises, which will make the other side busy.

Xu Ping had never heard of how the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other during the Cold War, but they were just following the same thing. As opponents, the exchanges between the two sides were particularly close, rather than not not interacting with each other. On the one hand, the envoys kept coming and going, while on the other hand, they each took strict precautions, and every move of the other party should be paid attention to and responded to. Forty years of peace, both sides had experience and had rules to follow in all aspects. The Khitan was in an offensive before, and the consciousness of confrontation was not so strong and without experience. Xu Ping would teach them.

If the Khitan was not sensitive to the military pressure of the Song Dynasty on the border, the Song Dynasty could attack the forces around it, such as the tribes on the grassland that mainly blocked the divine destiny, such as the Jurchens in the Northeast, and even Goryeo. After a few quarrels, the Khitan would naturally know that peace was not enough to be a pledge, and that piece of paper was only used by both sides to argue, and real peace depends on strength.

If you don’t discuss peace, there is no oath, and the two sides are separated from each other. Instead, there is no means to oppress the other party except for real fighting. With the oath, you think that peace in the world will be even worse. If your strength changes, the relationship between the two parties will naturally change. How can you allow others to sleep soundly next to your bed? Taizu has said it once, when the military becomes strong enough to overwhelm the Khitan, naturally there will be people saying it.

There is no way, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers, even one male and one mother. In history, the peace of the Song Dynasty and the Khitan for more than 100 years was finally based on the fact that both sides were equal in strength, no one could afford it, and no one could destroy each other. Once this balance was broken, peace would inevitably not exist, no matter what method was adopted. As long as the Song Dynasty did not reclaim the farming areas dominated by the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, there would be no real peace, and peaceful confrontation was just an acceptable means of struggle. For example, during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union would not give up Europe and could not fight, so there would be only a Cold War.

It is precisely because of the peace of each other that everything must be clearly determined and cannot be tolerated. A true brotherly country does not need to be divided so clearly. Everyone is well-versed in their own people. The negotiation task this time is arduous. It is not just a truce and no fight is allowed, but it involves all aspects and everything must be decided.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and you can't see the figure clearly within a few steps.

Xu Ping stood up straight and said to Tan Hu and Xiao Hu, who were roasting pork there: "It's snowing heavily, bring the stove and meat into the pavilion. Prince Consort, it's so snowing today, let's have a glass of wine together."

The soldier brought the utensils and meat in. Xiao Huji followed behind Tan Hu, entered the pavilion, stomped his feet hard, and crossed his hands at Xu Ping: "Thank you, the Protector! It's so snowy. I haven't seen such heavy snow in recent years!"

After saying that, Xiao Hu saw it and looked at the warm wine beside the stove, obviously greedy.

Xu Ping smiled and said, "The weather is cold, so the prince consort drinks a glass of wine to get rid of the cold. This is brewed at my home, and the capital is a bit famous."

The soldier came up to pour the wine. Xiao Hujiu caught it and said to Xu Ping: "The wine brewed by Dupu's house is sweet and mellow, and powerful, and is also very famous in the Khitan! It has been famous for a long time, but I didn't expect that I would be blessed today, and finally it came to my mouth."

While saying that, he took the full wine glass, raised it and drank it all. He closed his eyes and savored it for a while, and then said, "It's really a good wine! I've lived for so many years and I've never drunk such a good wine. I'm so lucky."

After saying that, Xiao Hu saw the wine glass and said, "It's a pity, it's a pity that I won't be able to drink such good wine again when I go back!"
Chapter completed!