Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 348: The Small-minded Guo Songtao

Capital, Forbidden City.

The Hall of Nourishing Heart!
"Your Majesty, the latest news is that the Tang bandits advancing westward from Tianjin have already captured Xianghe and are not far from Tongzhou."

Lin Ronglu trotted up to Yi, his face full of anxiety.

You know, Tongzhou is less than a hundred miles away from Beijing.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Tang army has already reached right under the nose of the Qing court!

Upon hearing this, Yi's expression became serious and he asked.

"Have the Tang bandits almost reached Tongzhou? Their advancing speed is really not slow."

"Do you have any plan to repel the enemy?"

Although he had already made up his mind to lead his army south to Jining for a decisive battle with Li Yi.

But this does not mean that Yi no longer cares about the capital.

Everyone was silent when they heard this.

Just as the atmosphere in the Yangxin Palace was gradually becoming stagnant, Shengbao spoke.

"Your Majesty, I have a plan that may temporarily delay the progress of the Tang bandits' westward advance."

Hearing this, Yi felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Tell me quickly!"

Shengbao took a deep breath and then spoke.

"According to the news sent back by Zhili Governor-General Cai Bingwen, the Tang bandits advanced westwards, relying entirely on the North Grand Canal for their logistics."

"If the Qing Dynasty can block the North Grand Canal, it can slow down the Tang invaders' advance."

The Tang army now consumes a huge amount of guns, artillery and ammunition in combat and is extremely dependent on logistics.

Given the transportation conditions at that time, the only way to maintain the Tang army's logistics was through water transportation.

Therefore, it is indeed a good idea to delay the advance of the Tang army by cutting off the North Grand Canal.

When Yi heard this, a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

After a moment, he nodded and said.

"Well, that's fine."

Shengbao continued.

"Besides that, I think the Qing Dynasty should also prepare a plan in advance for the Tang thieves to move westwards and threaten the capital after the main force of the Qing Dynasty moves south."

"To be on the safe side, perhaps we can order the nobles in the capital to leave the city early..."

When Yi heard this, he hesitated at first.

They were worried that if the nobles in the capital left the country early, it would affect the morale of the army.

After all, as the saying goes, if even the Eight Banners have run away, what war are they fighting for?
However, Yi soon thought of his child who was still breastfeeding.

In the end, fatherly love triumphed over reason, and Yi made a prompt decision.

"What Shengbao said makes sense."

"It's better to prepare in advance, just in case."

"If my army wins, the nobles can return at any time even if they leave the country."

"If the army is defeated, they will be safer if they leave early."

Upon hearing this, Shengbao, Ruilin, Baojun and others started speaking.

"Your Majesty!"

Their families are also in Beijing now.

Allowing the nobles and relatives in the capital to leave the capital first means allowing their families to leave the capital first. How can they not be happy?

After saying this, Yi continued to ask.

"By the way, how are the preparations for our army's march south going?"

"When can we mobilize the troops?"

Shen Guifen stood up and replied.

"In reply to the emperor, the army is almost ready, and the logistics such as food, fodder, weapons, etc. are also ready."

"We can set out south within three days at the earliest!"

Upon hearing this, Yi nodded with satisfaction.

"Well, so good."

"This southern expedition should be launched sooner rather than later."

"We need to catch the Tang bandits and concentrate on disaster relief, while the defense line is empty and move south. Once the Tang bandits have completed the disaster relief work, all units will return to the designated defense line to deploy."

"By then, even if the Qing Dynasty wants to move south again, it will be too late..."

Upon hearing this, everyone responded in unison.

Soon after, the Qing army began to make preparations for its march south.

……

Guangzhou, Department of Foreign Affairs.

After receiving Li Yi's call back, Guo Songtao finally met with Vietnamese Ambassador Hu Longshan.

In a tea room, Guo Songtao and Hu Longshan sat opposite each other.

There was a teapot on the stove next to it, bubbling with steam.

In addition, incense was burning in the incense burner, and the whole room was filled with a light sandalwood scent.

As soon as Hu Longshan sat down, he couldn't help but speak anxiously.

"Director Guo, I came to see you today to discuss peace between our two countries and to temporarily stop the fighting."

"I wonder what the Tang Dynasty thinks about this matter?"

Guo Songtao smiled, put down the teacup in his hand, and then said.

"Since Vietnam dared to offend the Tang Dynasty and proclaimed itself emperor, it should have expected this day to come."

"Didn't Ambassador Hu say before that he wanted to occupy Guangdong and Guangxi and compete with the Tang Dynasty?"

"Why are you here to ask for peace now?"

"Isn't it time to fight against each other?"

Guo Songtao still remembered the last time Hu Longshan offended him.

He is a man who holds grudges. Since the Vietnamese have taken the initiative to seek peace this time, don't blame Guo Songtao for using the other party's previous words to pressure them.

When Hu Longshan heard this, his old face suddenly became gloomy.

But in the end, he gritted his teeth and said.

"What happened before was caused by my ignorance, arrogance and lack of respect for others." "I hope that Master Tang will be magnanimous and give me a chance to make amends."

Hu Longshan was squeezed out by Guo Songtao and felt his old face burning.

But in order to seek peace, he had no choice but to endure it.

Otherwise, if the conflict with the Tang Dynasty intensifies and the scale of the war continues to expand, Hu Longshan's weak arms and legs will not be able to bear it.

Upon hearing this, Guo Songtao sneered, his expression full of sarcasm.

Hu Longshan felt even more ashamed and angry.

But Guo Songtao finally spoke.

"It's not impossible for Vietnam to seek peace!"

"But this war of our Tang Dynasty has cost us a lot of money and manpower, and we have to send our troops on a long expedition. We cannot fight in vain."

"Vietnam must pay some price as compensation to my Tang Dynasty."

Hu Longshan took a deep breath and then spoke.

"Please let the Tang Dynasty know clearly."

Guo Songtao nodded and said.

"First, the Vietnamese king must issue an edict of repentance, give up his title of emperor, and submit to the Tang Dynasty."

"From now on, when the ruler of Vietnam succeeds to the throne, he must accept the title bestowed by the Tang Dynasty. Otherwise, it will be considered as a forged imperial edict to usurp the throne."

The reason the Tang Dynasty used to declare war on Vietnam was that the Vietnamese leader had committed treason by proclaiming himself emperor.

Since we want to negotiate now, we naturally have to let the King of Vietnam go to the emperor's position.

Well, you have to do the whole act!
Hu Longshan took a deep breath and nodded in agreement.

"can!"

The Vietnamese side has long been mentally prepared for the fact that the Vietnamese leader will go to the Emperor.

Given the style of the dynasties in the Central Plains throughout history, it would be impossible for them to allow anyone to dare to call themselves emperor under their noses.

If Vietnam wants to negotiate, the most basic condition is for the King to go to the Emperor.

In other words, we can only talk if we agree!
Guo Songtao continued.

"In addition, Vietnam must cede all the land north of Thanh Hoa to the Tang Dynasty as war compensation to our Tang Dynasty."

Hu Longshan said with some excitement when he heard this.

"This is impossible!"

"The land of northern Vietnam is the ancestral land of our country, Vietnam. How can we abandon it so easily?!"

The authorization for peace talks that Nguyen Phuc Thi gave to Hu Long Son did not include ceding territory.

In other words, ceding territory is not beyond negotiation, but the Vietnamese side cannot accept that the Tang Dynasty would cede the entire northern Vietnam with a wave of its hand.

You know, north of Thanh Hoa, almost the entire Red River Delta is included.

The Red River Delta is one of the two main grain producing areas in Vietnam and the most densely populated area in Vietnam. Its importance is no less than that of the Mekong Delta.

If the Red River Delta was completely taken away by the Tang Dynasty, the rule of the Nguyen family would really be shaken.

Upon hearing this, Guo Songtao just shook his head and said.

"The land occupied by our great Tang army is our territory."

"Since Vietnam is unwilling to agree to this, there is no need to discuss it. Let's continue to fight on the battlefield."

"Oh, I forgot to remind Ambassador Hu."

"Japan, Siam, Cambodia, Laos and other countries have already promised to send troops to assist the Tang Dynasty in its war against Vietnam."

"I believe that countries will soon send troops to the Vietnam battlefield."

"I hope Vietnam will not make mistakes!"

It has already been decided that Japan will send 5,000 troops.

In addition, after receiving diplomatic notes from the Tang Dynasty, Siam, Cambodia, Laos and other countries also chose to send troops to support the Tang Dynasty in the war.

Although the number of troops sent out is not large, yours is one thousand while his is only a few hundred.

But no matter how many there are, just tell me whether or not you have sent out troops!

More importantly, more countries have expressed their views that they will never stand with Vietnam.

In this way, Vietnam's way of borrowing troops from other countries will be cut off.

The threat in Guo Songtao's words was very clear.

Otherwise, you, Vietnam, will agree to the Tang Dynasty's request to cede territory.

Otherwise, you, Vietnam, can just wait to be surrounded and destroyed!

Hu Longshan picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and said with a grim expression.

"This matter is of great importance. I cannot make a decision. I need to report it to the court and ask the king to make the decision."

"I hope the Tang Dynasty can give us some time!"

Guo Songtao smiled, raised his glass and said.

"can!"

"We can discuss other conditions first."

Hu Longshan couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard this.

It’s fine to just cede land, but why are there other conditions?

However, as a defeated country, he could only endure it.

Guo Songtao continued.

"In addition, Vietnam must pay the Tang Dynasty 10 million taels of silver as war reparations."

"Well, if Vietnam can't come up with that much cash, they can pay with grain at a discount."

Hu Longshan couldn't help but think of the root cause of the outbreak of the war between the Tang Dynasty and Vietnam.

In fact, it’s just two words: food!
To put it bluntly, the Tang Dynasty wanted to buy grain, but Vietnam refused to sell it, so the Tang Dynasty rolled up its sleeves and started to rob it.

If I had known that I would have to use grain as war reparations to compensate the Tang Dynasty today, I would have sold the grain honestly from the beginning.

At the very least, if Vietnam had not listened to the slander of the Western barbarians, but had honestly sold grain to the Tang Dynasty.

Now, not only does the country not have to cede land in northern Vietnam, it can even earn real money from selling grain to enrich the national treasury.

Looking back now, I realize that I was foolish for a moment and ended up losing both the wife and the army.

I regret it!
Hu Longshan took a deep breath and agreed to it.

Well, although Vietnam did not authorize Hu Longshan to cede territory during this peace request, it did authorize him to pay compensation.

(End of this chapter)