On December 12, Zhao Ziliang believed that whether or not to hold peace talks with the big cannibals must be determined as soon as possible and could not be delayed forever, so he summoned several major confidants and ministers to discuss.

"The ministers have different opinions on the peace talks, but this matter must be decided as soon as possible, of course we don't want to see the face of the big cannibal, but because the army is outside, if it is in a state of rest all the time, it will not only consume a lot of grain, grass and materials, but also lead to a decline in morale. Several of you are the king's ministers of the humerus, and the king wants to hear your opinions! ”

The ministers present mainly included Chu Ge, Zhao Hu, Chen Qing, Liu Dan, Du Fu, Zheng San, and others, and none of these people expressed their stance at yesterday's military and political meeting.

The scene cooled down, but since Zhao Ziliang asked, the ministers couldn't help but keep silent, the generals were not good to stand up and express their stance first, if the generals stood up first, it would be tantamount to forcing Zhao Ziliang, although they were simple, but they were not stupid, this political consciousness still existed, so this matter can only be the civil officials who stand up and express their stance first.

Zheng San, as the oldest Wenchen with the most qualifications, can only stand up first, he understands Zhao Ziliang's temper, so he also has something to say, and he can say whatever he thinks in his heart, so as not to arouse Zhao Ziliang's disgust, I saw him bow to Zhao Ziliang and say: "King, if you consider the overall situation, the minister thinks that we should negotiate peace with the big cannibals, as long as we can get enough benefits in the negotiations, even if the army is withdrawn, what's the matter?" Negotiation can allow our vested interests to be recognized and legitimate, after signing the treaty, the big cannibals will not dare to easily repent, but if they do not negotiate and sign the treaty, the big cannibals can repent and provoke at any time, although the signing of the treaty is not safe, but this is finally a constraint, at least those local officials and generals of the big food do not dare to openly disobey! This is one aspect; On the other hand, now that the Great Food Country is in chaos, and there are four or five caliphs in its country, we should now give up our place and let them fight on their own, instead of getting involved, if we continue to participate, it is very likely that they will put aside their prejudices and unite against us, so that we will lose more than we gain! As for the economic losses to our country if we continue to fight, this point is clear even if the minister does not say that the king! ”

Zhao Ziliang touched his short beard, turned his head to look at Liu Dan, Du Fu and the others, and asked, "What do you think?" ”

Du Fu arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, the minister agrees with Lord Zheng's statement, although it is true that if you continue to fight, you can occupy more territory, but it will cost a lot of capital, it is better to let them consume strength internally, it seems to be more in the interests of my Western Qin!" ”

Liu Shan stood up and arched his hand: "Great King, the Roman Empire has more than 1,000 years of national ancestry, the Eastern Roman Empire has more than 300 years of heritage, and the rule of the Great Food Country has been more than 100 years, and even the history of the Frankish Kingdom is longer than that of my Western Qin. In addition to our Han people, I am afraid that the people of other tribes do not have much cohesion, Weichen thinks that we should not be afraid of war, but we can not blindly carry out war, there must be a degree, a long war will inevitably consume national strength, will increase the burden of the people, will drag down the economy, which is not conducive to our strengthening of domestic rule, the focus of my Western Qin in the last one or two hundred years should be to strengthen the cohesion and centripetal force of the people of various tribes and the Han people to the imperial court, as long as we are united in the people of Western Qin, Even if we experience a crushing defeat in a foreign war, it will not damage the foundation of the imperial court in the slightest, but if we lack cohesion and centripetal force internally, then as long as there is a defeat or a major rebellion in the country, the kingdom may disintegrate! ”

These words seemed to be a bit taboo, and several other ministers and generals all broke out in a cold sweat when they heard it, and the general and marching Sima Chen Qing pointed at Liu Shan and shouted: "Lord Liu, you are so alarmist, you are really presumptuous, you actually said such a rebellious thing in front of the king!" ”

Liu Dan knelt down and said to Zhao Ziliang: "The minister's mouth is unobstructed, capital crime, capital crime!" ”

The lobby was quiet, Zhao Ziliang's face sank like water, and no one was so frightened that he didn't dare to breathe loudly, and beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of everyone present.

"Liu Qing, get up, you are not guilty!" Zhao Ziliang's voice broke the silence.

Liu Danzhan trembled and got up and stepped aside, reached out and wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, but he felt that his entire back was wet.

Zhao Ziliang got up and came to the hall and walked to the gate with his hands behind his back, "Liu Qing said a fact that none of us can avoid and have to admit, the foundation of our Western Qin Kingdom is too thin!" Our kingdom can not withstand major changes, there are hundreds of tribes in the country, in addition to the Han people, the most populous tribe is the Tianzhu people, the population of other tribes is more or less, these tribes have their own cultural heritage, if we want to continue the rule of the Western Qin Kingdom, we must create our own civilization of the Western Qin people, and the most critical step in this process is to integrate all the tribes in the country, so that hundreds of tribes in the Western Qin Kingdom have our common respect culture and the same beliefs, This is the pillar that strengthens the cohesion and centripetal force of our people in Western Qin! In fact, over the years, the king's governance has always been carried out around this purpose, and the effect is obvious, but this is not enough, the development of Western Qin needs to involve all the people, so that they believe in their hearts that they are part of this kingdom! If the foreign war is won, this is undoubtedly a way to strengthen the cohesion and centripetal force of the people, but the war also has drawbacks, especially the long-term war, the impact on the economy and the lives of the people will have a great impact, what we need now is to strengthen the cohesion of the people in the country, the war against the big food country has reached this step is enough, we are now a truce, wait until we govern the country well, so that all the people can live a full and warm life, At that time, there will be no worries about conquering the Great Cannibal! ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Ziliang turned around, swept his gaze to several generals and asked, "Whether to continue the fight or peace talks, what are the views and opinions of the military?" ”

Chu Ge first stood up and hugged his fists and said: "King, the minister is a military general, and the military general only cares about the war, not about political affairs." Whether to fight or not to fight is decided by the king and the court, and how to fight is decided by the ministers. From a military point of view, at present, our army has no logistical worries, morale is still high, and we have won a lot of battles and victories during this period of time, and the Great Food Country is divided and cannot do its best to deal with us, and now is the best time to attack the Great Food Country. However, just now a few adults said a few reasons for the armistice negotiations, and the minister thinks it is also very reasonable, as for how to choose, the minister does not dare to say anything, only the king's order is obeyed! ”

The other generals also clasped their fists and said: "Only the king's order is obeyed!" ”

Zhao Ziliang pondered for a moment and looked at Liu Dan: "Liu Dan!" ”

"The minister is here!"

"Ordered you to preside over the negotiation with the big food, you don't come forward in person for the time being in the specific negotiations, after all, you are the vice minister of the Government Council, what is the level of Sabit is not enough, first send an official with a grade that is not inferior to him to talk to him, this king thinks that I am afraid that this Sabit will not be able to be the master, if we want to achieve our goals and meet our conditions, they will definitely send higher-level officials, and then you will come forward!"

Liu Shan arched his hand and said: "The minister obeys the order!" ”

Zhao Ziliang pondered for a few seconds and then said to everyone: "Since the peace talks have been decided, then there is no need for this king to stay here, there are still many things in the royal court that need to be dealt with by this king, and in a few days this king will return to Xinjing with the Guards and the Dragon Guard, and after the negotiations are concluded and the armistice treaty is signed, the armies will continue to divide the divisions, as for the order of the armies and divisions and the issue of the remaining garrisons, after the armistice treaty is signed and delivered to Xinjing, the king's own will will come, and then the armies will be carried out according to the will!" ”

Everyone saluted together and said in unison: "Obey the order!" ”

The next day, Zhao Ziliang came to Mansour's residence, and Mansur at this time made Zhao Ziliang startled. From a distance, Zhao Ziliang saw Mansour's withered face, his spirit was sluggish, and he was almost more than ten years old, how could it become like this in just a few days.

Zhao Ziliang summoned the eunuch who served Mansur and asked, "What's going on?" How did Lord Mansour become like this? ”

The eunuch replied, "Your Majesty, the chief of the faithful could not sleep all night, and after three days his hair turned white, and the villain knew that it was because he had heard that the princes had called themselves caliphs!" ”

Zhao Ziliang walked over to Mansur, and the eunuch who had just now led the way in front of him, walked up to Mansur and saluted: "Commander of the believers, His Majesty the King of Western Qin has come to see you!" ”

Mansur had a turban around his head, and outsiders could not see that his hair was completely white, only that his temples were white. His reaction was a little sluggish, only to see him slowly raise his head, and it took several seconds to see clearly that it was Zhao Ziliang, stood up and said, "It turns out that the King of Western Qin is here, do you have anything to do today?" ”

Zhao Ziliang waved his hand, and all the people around him quickly retreated, leaving only him and Mansur.

After the two of them sat down, Zhao Ziliang said: "Your Excellency Mansur, there are two pieces of news to tell you, which should be good news for you: first, Xiqin and Dashi are going to cease war and negotiate peace, and your son Mahdi sent an official named Sabit with a mission to ask for an armistice and peace talks, and this king has agreed, and sent someone to negotiate with his mission, and now the negotiations are underway; Second, regardless of whether the negotiations can finally reach a ceasefire and sign an armistice treaty, this king is ready to return to Xinjing! ”