Fan Xian did not dare to be careless. He quickly stood up and bowed, then cupped his hands in salute. He looked at the diplomatic officials of the Kingdom of Qing with a warm expression and said sincerely, "I have only been in Taichang Temple for a few days, and I do not even understand the music of the court. The Palace appointed me as deputy, presumably to let the Northern Qi rebels see that the people of the Qing Kingdom cannot be casually killed. They only want me to be a memorial. They don't actually want me to do anything during the negotiations. " He chuckled and continued, "I know nothing about the relations between nations. I only hope that I will not be a hindrance to you. I hope you will not hesitate to enlighten me."
After all, he was not someone who had been in the bureaucracy for a long time. Fan Xian's words were a bit excessive and reckless. But this kind of straightforward speech actually made the officials of the Chamberlain of Dependencies feel very comfortable. Originally, when they learned that Assistant Minister Fan's son was going to participate in the negotiations, these self-proclaimed professionals of the Kingdom of Qing always felt a little uncomfortable. It was like a group of carrion crows, and suddenly a vulture had flown in for a bone.
Since Fan Xian had made it clear that he was not here to fight for credit, the people of Honglu Temple were naturally much happier. Xin Qiwu also nodded his head in approval. Of course, everyone knew that if they could successfully demarcate the border, they would be able to obtain a large amount of tribute silver and be rewarded accordingly. This nobleman, who was clearly here to gild his name, would certainly receive what he deserved.
After the meeting, Xin Qiwu led Fan Xian to a small room that had been prepared for him. He pointed to a large cabinet filled with documents and said, "The relevant information is all here. The most important thing in this negotiation is that Northern Qi wants to give some silver in exchange for a large piece of land, which we have already occupied. Dongyi does not have any requests. They only want to settle the last two assassinations. The first is the Niulan Street incident related to Fan Xian. The two female assassins have already been proven to be the disciples of Sigu Jian's second disciple. The second is the matter of the manor at the foot of Cang Mountain, but... "
He looked at Fan Xian and paused for a moment before continuing, "As you know, that matter is a bit complicated, so the court will not be able to come up with any good evidence."
Fan Xian nodded. Smelling the stale air in the room, he began to feel a headache coming on. Would he have to deal with these things for the next few days? As if reading his mind, Vice-chancellor Xin smiled and said, "If Master Fan does not wish to stay on duty, you may take it home with you. But you are not allowed to take a single step out of the yamen, as long as it is marked in red."
Fan Xian was overjoyed. Although he knew that the old man did not want to see him as an eyesore, he still gratefully said, "To tell the truth, I have no idea why I came here today. If you do not mind my laziness, I am willing to sleep at home every day."
For a mere eighth-level functionary to make such a joke with a fourth-level vice-minister of Honglu Temple, Fan Xian reckoned he was a rare anomaly in the Qing Kingdom. Xin Qiwu paused for a moment before bursting into laughter. He lowered his voice and said, "Master Fan, the Eastern Palace has high hopes for you."
Fan Xian smiled. Now that he knew who Xin Qiwu was, he did not dare to be vague. He quickly replied, "Please do not worry, sir. I understand. My father often teaches his sons that as an official, I must abide by the rules of an official."
Hearing this reply, Xin Qiwu, who was the Crown Prince's confidant, nodded with satisfaction. "Count Sinan is devoted to the country. I have always admired him."
The two of them exchanged a few more indifferent words before Vice-chancellor Xin left. Fan Xian watched him leave and gradually narrowed his eyes. His father had indeed said that as long as the Crown Prince was on the throne, the Fan family would naturally be loyal to the Crown Prince. But even Fan Xian himself did not believe these words. Xin Qiwu, who was clearly a member of the Eastern Palace, would not believe it so easily.
Appointing Fan Xian as deputy envoy was only a cautious attempt by the Eastern Palace to see if the Fan family could move a little closer to the Crown Prince's throne, even if it was just a little.
— — —
In the following dozen days, Fan Xian did as he said. Every day, he shut himself in the manor and slept. Of course, for him, sleeping itself was a necessary process of cultivation. As for the official matters, after he took back some information, he handed it over to Wang Qinian and let him make the decision to come up with a proper negotiation plan.
Fan Xian knew very well that Wang Qinian would secretly report to the old cripple of the Overwatch Council. Since that was the case, he handed over this complicated and boring task to Wang Qinian. Whether it was for the sake of his mother or his father, Chen Pingping could not allow Fan Xian to lose face in court. Of course, he would handle it appropriately.
When it came to using resources that he could use, he did not hold back.
As expected, a few days later, Wang Qinian came to the small room they had agreed upon, looking haggard. He handed over a thick folder. Fan Xian curiously opened it, and his eyes lit up. He saw that it was divided into two parts. One was the internal reference material that only the high-ranking officials of the Office of the Grand Herald were allowed to see, and the other was the prepared file on the negotiations with Northern Qi.
The material clearly analyzed the internal situation of Northern Qi, including the scheming between the young Emperor and the Empress Dowager, Imperial Advisor Ku He being a pacifist, and so on. The material clearly stated that the Empress Dowager's younger brother, the Marquis of Ning, had been attacked by the civil officials of Northern Qi because of his defeat. Thus, the young Emperor did not care how much money he had to pay or how much land he had to cut off. As long as the people were angry, he could use this opportunity to weaken the power of the Empress Dowager. Because the Empress Dowager was anxious to calm things down and free up her hands to reorganize the court, her instructions for this negotiation were mainly to be patient.
Of course, these things hidden in the dark could not be seen by the foreign officials of the Qing Kingdom. Only the secret power of the Overwatch Council, through spies all over Northern Qi, could find out every little thing, and then put them together and analyze them, could come to such a clear conclusion.
"Wonderful." Fan Xian sighed. "With this information in hand, the officials of the Office of the Grand Herald will be laughing their heads off." He paused, then asked curiously, "How reliable is this information?"
The corners of Wang Qinian's eyes drooped. It seemed that he had not slept well for the past few days. "Very reliable. Yan Bingyun has already made a name for himself in Northern Qi, and the entire intelligence network is very reasonable. With mutual reference, there should be no problem."
Fan Xian could not help but feel some respect for the young man called Yan Bingyun. For the sake of the country, he was content to be a rat in the shadows, and he had done so for many years. As the son of a high-ranking official in the court, it was not easy. How could he know that the reason Yan Bingyun was pitifully staying in Northern Qi was because of the attempted assassination when Fan Xian was 12 years old? If Fan Xian knew about this, he did not know whether he would feel guilty or laugh out loud.
"Wang Qinian, I didn't expect you to be so good at intelligence analysis as well as tracking." Fan Xian knew exactly where this dossier had come from, but he did not point it out.
Wang Qinian could only return the courtesy, not daring to claim credit.
"Fine, I'll go to the Office of the Grand Herald tomorrow and discuss this with the vice-minister." Fan Xian saw that Wang Qinian seemed to want to say something, and asked curiously, "Is there anything else?"
Wang Qinian said awkwardly, "Sir, this information cannot be given to the Office of the Grand Herald."
"Why?"
"Because... the secrets involved are of the highest level. The entire Office of the Grand Herald, including the Minister of the Grand Herald, has no right to access them."
Fan Xian slapped his forehead and laughed bitterly. "Then what do you think we should do? Let the Council go through normal channels and give it directly to the Office of the Grand Herald. "
Wang Qinian sighed. If it were not for the fact that the Director wanted Fan Xian to astonish everyone in the negotiations and pave the way for his future career, he would not have ordered the entire Sixth Bureau to work through the night to write this dossier. This dossier looked ordinary, but it contained the blood, sweat, and tears of the Overwatch Council's intelligence analysts. If Fan Xian were to simply give it to the Office of the Grand Herald, the Director would probably jump out of his wheelchair in anger.
— — —
It was the end of summer, and the heat was still hot. The people on the streets of the capital and the black dogs on the streets were somewhat dispirited by the weather. On the eighth day of the eighth month, an auspicious day, the Northern Qi and Dongyi envoys arrived at the last official resting place to the northwest of the capital. The Emperor of the Kingdom of Qing had personally issued an edict allowing the two envoys to stay in the Emperor's palace. The protocol officials of the three sides argued for a few days, and finally decided on a schedule and arrangements for their arrival in the capital.
The people of the capital were all roused. They felt that in their ordinary and boring lives, there had suddenly been an autumn rain. In their minds, the envoys of these two countries were not here to negotiate, but to present their letters of surrender.
As the deputy envoy for negotiations, Fan Xian was naturally part of the group that welcomed the envoys. From the west gate of the capital, he waited for the officials of the two countries, and arranged for them to stay in the official resting place. The faces of the Northern Qi envoys were clearly unsightly. After all, they had been the losers in this battle of commanding the vassal states. Furthermore, many of their soldiers had been captured, and most importantly, a lot of their land had been occupied.
"Sir, who is this?" The highest-ranking official in the Northern Qi envoys was the younger brother of the current Empress, Chang Ninghou. He looked down at the handsome young man from above, and his heart was filled with anger. The Kingdom of Qing did not value him. The official receiving him was only a minor official from the Office of the Grand Herald, and yet they had allowed such a young man to be the deputy envoy. It could not be helped that they were looking down on him.
"I am Fan Xian. Greetings, Master Marquis."
Fan Xian's face was full of smiles as he looked at the enemy. The intelligence report from the Overwatch Council in his bosom made it clear that this man was just a decoration. The man in the sedan behind him, Zhuang Mohan, was the real deal. He had been arranged by the palace to live in a side courtyard.
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