Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 595 Negotiation

Yang Dafu attacked Thang Long City, and Yan Keyi led the remaining troops to escape from Thang Long City. Although Yan Keyi ran away, he lost both the land of money and Thang Long City, and had no large army. Even if Yan Keyi escaped, he had already lost the power to influence the situation in Annan.

After Yan Keyi escaped from the city, in order to avoid being caught by Yang Dafu's men, he deliberately made a big detour and finally fled to the north. Yan Keyi now had no place to stand in Annan and could only surrender to the Qian Dynasty.

However, Yan Keyi's value has long disappeared, and it is no longer possible for the Qian Dynasty to spend a lot of effort to help him become the ruler of Annan. Even Yang Dafu's hope of becoming king in Annan is slim.

Han Xiong led his troops south. Before the expedition, Meng Jun wrote a secret letter to Han Xiong, asking him to choose one of the two directions based on the situation in Annan. This was because Meng Jun did not personally lead the troops south and did not have a special understanding of the local situation in Annan.

As for these two directions, one is that the imperial court controls the important areas in northern Annan, and for the rest of the areas, it follows the example of Myanmar and controls them by setting up generals and ministers in Annan, and other means.

The second direction is that the Qian Dynasty directly controls Annan, just like the imperial court directly governs it, sets up temporary officials, and abolishes the Kingdom of Annan.

These two directions were discussed by Meng Bian and Han Xiong. If there was not much resistance to abolishing Annan, the court would directly annex it. If there was great resistance, the court would follow the example of Myanmar.

After Han Xiong and Meng Bian led the army south, the Qingluan Guard went deep into many towns in the north in an attempt to understand the situation in Annan. However, what they learned shocked both Han Xiong and Meng Bian.

It turned out that Li Chengdong had been extremely cruel in exploiting the gentry of Annan, especially in the northern part, where the gentry were almost wiped out, and every town and village was filled with people who had migrated from Guangdong and Guangxi.

After learning about the situation, Han Xiong sent an urgent secret letter to Meng Jun, saying: "I have been ordered to manage the affairs of Annan since the army marched south. During this period, I sent the Qingluan Guard to penetrate into many towns and villages in the southern border of Annan to investigate the national conditions in detail.

When Li Chengdong ruled Annan in the past, he acted cruelly, especially in the northern border. The gentry in the north were almost extinct, and most of the people in the villages and towns were immigrants from Guangdong and Guangxi. From this point of view, if all the places in Annan were the same as the northern part of Annan, the court would directly govern this area without much resistance, because the local forces would be weakened, and the implementation of the new policy might be smooth.

However, the army has not yet reached all the southern regions, and the situation in the south is still unknown. The customs and habits of Annan may be different in the north and south. Therefore, it is too early to decide whether to directly govern Annan.

Therefore, I think that we need to learn the actual situation in various places in detail before making a decision. If the south is like the north, and the government orders are carried out without any obstacles, then we can abolish the Annan Kingdom and set up temporary officials to govern it directly, which can become the foundation for eternity. If the resistance is quite large and the people's sentiments are complicated, then we can follow the example of Burma, control it when the opportunity arises, and then make plans later. "

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Shortly after Yang Dafu took control of Thang Long City, the Qian Dynasty army began to move southward. Han Xiong had a smooth journey this time and encountered almost no resistance.

Soon after Yang Dafu took control of Thang Long City, he sent Wu Wenxian as the chief negotiator, two deputy envoys, and some entourage to the Qian army camp for negotiations.

Yang Dafu didn't feel it at first, but after taking control of Thang Long City, he felt a little aggrieved. He was like a pawn crossing a river, trying to get chestnuts out of the fire for the Qian Dynasty. Now the Qian army was going to gain the greatest benefit without much effort.

However, Yang Dafu also knew that the Qian Dynasty was very powerful. Even when Li Chengdong was at his peak, he could not compete with it, not to mention that the various places in Annan had now fallen apart.

After weighing the pros and cons, Yang Dafu decided to send an envoy to the Qianjun camp for negotiations in order to gain a favorable situation.

Wu Wenxian and his party went all the way north and only met the scouts of the Qian army when they were more than a hundred miles north of Thang Long City. After seeing Wu Wenxian and his party, the scouts sent someone to report and led Wu Wenxian and his party towards the main camp.

Not long after, Wu Wenxian and others approached the Qian army camp. From afar, they saw that the camp was heavily fortified, military flags were fluttering, and there was a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

When they were near the camp, the soldiers on guard had already received orders and did not block their way. Instead, they took over from the scouts and acted as guides.

Arriving in front of the central army tent, Wu Wenxian took a deep breath, straightened his clothes and walked in steadily. Inside the tent, Han Xiong sat in the main seat, sizing up his former opponents with sharp eyes.

Wu Wenxian was the first to salute, and he was very polite: "I am Wu Wenxian, and I am here to discuss matters with the Duke on the orders of General Yang Dafu."

Han Xiong nodded slightly, motioned them to take a seat, and said in a steady tone: "Why did Yang Dafu send you here? You may as well speak frankly."

Wu Wenxian cleared his throat and said sincerely, "General Yang now controls Thang Long City and many important places in Annan. However, we know that the Qian Dynasty is powerful and famous, and it is far beyond the resistance of the small country of Annan. Therefore, General Yang intends to make peace with the Qian Dynasty and is willing to treat it as a vassal and pay tribute every year."

Yang Dafu did not expect that he could follow the example of Korea, but in negotiations, he could not reveal his cards right from the start. Although Wu Wenxian had been in secret contact with the Qingluan Guards, he could not do it too obviously on the surface.

After Wu Wenxian finished speaking, the deputy envoy at the side hurriedly presented the gift list that had been prepared long ago. On it were listed various rare and valuable specialties of Annan. There were two copies of the gift list. Yang Dafu's meaning was very clear: one was for the emperor and the other was for the Duke of Korea.

Han Xiong did not respond immediately, but casually flipped through the gift list. After a moment, he looked at Wu Wenxian sharply, "Our army has already moved south. Even Li Chengdong's conditions are much better than these. Does Yang Dafu think that our army is moving to covet these gifts?"

All members of the delegation felt nervous and then turned their eyes to Wu Wenxian. However, Wu Wenxian was not too nervous. Anyway, it was impossible for him to become the ruler of Annan. No matter what the result was, he would not lose.

Therefore, Wu Wenxian smiled and asked softly, "I understand what the Duke said, but I don't know what arrangements the Duke has made for Annan and General Yang?"

The messenger arrived too quickly, and the Qingluan Guards sent by Meng Bian to investigate in the south had not yet reported back. At this moment, Han Xiong did not know what to do for a moment.

However, Han Xiong still spoke in a calm tone, "Annan used to be the governor of Jinghai Army, but later it became an independent country due to the civil strife in the Central Plains. In the former Ming Dynasty, it also established the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration Office. Of course, the decision on the land of Annan still needs to be approved by Your Majesty, but before that, my mission is to make sure that there is no one to resist in Annan!"