"There really is a traitor!"
Fan Xian and Xin both opened their mouths at the same time, and then shut their mouths at the same time. Both of them believed that the head spy of Northern Qi was not a weakling who would speak under torture. Since he could so easily capture Yan Bingyun and learn his real name, it was clear that someone hidden in the Qing court had some sort of agreement with Northern Qi.
Xin shook his head. "Before this, even the Crown Prince and I did not know that Yan Bingyun had gone to Northern Qi. I think that there are no more than five people in the court who have the right to know about this. Even a fool would not believe that they had betrayed the country. There are always benefits to betraying the country, and in reality, the entire Qing Kingdom is run by His Majesty. What benefits could there be from betraying the country? "
Fan Xian and Xin looked at each other and saw the worry in each other's eyes. Both of them thought of a frightening possibility. What if it wasn't a traitor? What if it was a ploy by some official to attack the Overwatch Council?
Fan Xian thought back to when Wang Qinian had told him about Yan Bingyun, and he had felt it was strange. How did he know? Was the Overwatch Council so confident in their own internal control? Only later did he realize that Chen Pingping had told him through Wang Qinian. But he still felt some lingering fear. If the news had leaked from his side, he would not be able to escape death.
"Could there be such a crazy person? For the sake of a power struggle in the court, they would trample on the interests of the entire Qing Kingdom. "Xin shook his head with a bitter smile.
Fan Xian shook his head as well. Thinking of his trip to the palace, he knew that there were many such madmen in the Kingdom of Qing. He composed himself and asked, "Assuming that Yan Bingyun has been captured, what will His Majesty do?"
"Northern Qi underestimated His Majesty's determination." When Vice-Minister Xin thought of the lofty Son of Heaven, he immediately felt emboldened and said, "I will not yield even an inch of the territory that I have occupied."
Fan Xian was surprised. "What about Yan Bingyun?"
"Exchange!" Xin's expression was sinister. "Exchange prisoners. His Majesty has made up his mind. The previous prisoner exchange agreement will be canceled and a new one will be drafted. All we need to do is wait for Northern Qi to send Yan Bingyun's token for confirmation. After that, a new round of prisoner exchange negotiations will begin."
Fan Xian furrowed his brows and said, "Northern Qi thinks they're holding a big fish, so they probably won't agree."
"This time, we will send two more people back to Northern Qi," Vice-chancellor Xin said coldly. If Northern Qi is still unwilling, in three months, in the early winter, the Emperor will behead Northern Qi, capture the heads of a thousand people, send them back to Northern Qi, and the army will rise again. "
"Using power to suppress others can be considered a helpless move. I'm just afraid that Northern Qi will also fight to the death. There are 3,000 captives on both sides. No matter how much they kill, it will be useless." Fan Xian's hand lightly slapped the desk, and a strange thought suddenly welled up in his mind. "Who are the two people preparing to join in the exchange of prisoners? Can Northern Qi agree? "
"One is Xiao En, who has been locked up for 20 years." Xin Shaoqing looked at him warmly, knowing that this young man did not know Xiao En's name.
"This man was the head spy of Northern Wei. Before the second northern expedition, Director Chen of the Overwatch Council and Master Fei personally led the Black Knights and captured Xiao En alive on the day of his son's wedding. After he was captured, the Northern Wei spy network was like a group of dragons without a leader, and became a pile of loose sand. When the Emperor personally led the expedition, he was able to break through like a hot knife through butter, and beat a huge empire into its current weak state. Later, when the merit was discussed, the Overwatch Council was awarded the highest merit. At the time, we young scholars all believed that if Xiao En had not been so bold as to leave Shangjing of Northern Qi to attend his son's wedding, the imperial court would not have been able to capture him, and the subsequent battles would not have gone so smoothly. "
Hearing this story from decades ago, Fan Xian sighed and was speechless. He listened to Xin Shaoqing's last words.
"Of course, Xiao En was bold enough to leave Shangjing. Director Chen was even bolder, daring to enter 800 li into enemy territory. Although he paid the price of a pair of legs, he still managed to capture Xiao En. Before that, Xiao En of Northern Wei and Chen Pingping of Southern Qing were known to the world as the most fearsome dark ministers. After Xiao En was captured alive by Director Chen, naturally no one dared to compare him to him. "
Fan Xian listened with yearning. So that was how the old cripple's legs were broken. He had never imagined that Chen Pingping had such a heroic side to him.
"Exchanging Xiao En for Yan Bingyun." He thought for a moment, then judged purely from reason. "It seems we are at a disadvantage."
"Last night, several ministers thought so too." Xin Shaoqing looked at him with a smile. "But the Emperor and Director Chen did not think so. After all, Xiao En is already seventy years old, and once he was defeated by Director Chen, he naturally could not regain his former glory. Master Yan endured humiliation and hid in enemy territory for four years, and his contributions were self-evident. Exchanging an old man for the future of the Kingdom of Qing, what is wrong with that? "
Fan Xian nodded and asked curiously, "Were you afraid that Northern Qi would not agree? Who else did they add?"
"That woman was a request of Northern Qi in the past, so His Majesty simply agreed." Xin Shaoqing looked at Fan Xian and suddenly laughed. "I heard that the Emperor of Northern Qi was very fond of that woman. It seems that in the future, Master Fan, you have already made the young Emperor of Northern Qi a cuckold."
Fan Xian's expression was a little strange. "Could it be Si Lili?"
— — —
The negotiations were always divided into two parts. On the surface, the ministers of the Kingdom of Qing and the diplomatic mission of Northern Qi deliberated over every word at the negotiating table. Every title and every word displayed a certain kind of morbid stubbornness. Only in this way could the face of the Kingdom of Qing be preserved, and not be weakened in the final letter of credence. So every day, Honglu Temple was always noisy, with people banging on tables and trampling on chairs. It did not seem like two countries were negotiating, but more like shrews in a wet market cursing each other.
The other part of the negotiations was much colder and more direct. There were no officials from the Chamberlain of Dependencies present, and Northern Qi was not the leader of the diplomatic mission. Instead, they were hidden in the dark, and had the power to speak.
Yan Ruohai, the head of the Fourth Bureau of the Overwatch Council, was a well-known figure in the upper echelons of the capital, where officials were like roaming carp. He coldly signed the secret agreement for the exchange of prisoners and did not look at the document again.
On the agreement was the name of his own son. He could have resigned from the negotiations, but he had insisted on coming to take a look.
The unremarkable official from Northern Qi smiled and signed. He looked at Yan Ruohai and said quietly, "Do not worry, Master Yan. Your son is doing very well in this country."
Yan Ruohai said expressionlessly, "Today, I wanted to see how clever my colleagues in the north were to be able to capture the little brat that I raised. But when I saw you, an idiot, I knew what was going on."
The official did not fly into a rage. He only coldly retorted, "Master Yan, do not be too harsh with your words. You must know that your son is still in our hands. If we are idiots, then what is your son? And what are you? "
Yan Ruohai laughed coldly. He got up and walked out the door. "The problem is, my son was not captured by you."
Outside the door, Chen Pingping looked at him from his wheelchair and shook his head. "You have been in this position for too long. You are no longer as tolerant as you were."
"I can tolerate many things, but I cannot tolerate arrows shot from the back." It was clear that Yan Ruohai respected his superior very much. He slowly pushed Chen Pingping's wheelchair and walked to a quiet place.
Chen Pingping sat in his wheelchair and raised a finger. "In the court, who knows how many people want to die for you and me. This time, we can trade Xiao En for Bingyun. Next time, I will not have someone like Xiao En in my hands."
Yan Ruohai replied, "There will not be a next time."
"We must hurry and find that person," Chen Pingping said. Chen Pingping said, "This time His Majesty is standing on our side, because he clearly knows that some noble person wants to teach us a lesson. But I do not like the feeling of being provoked. "
"Yes, Director." Yan Ruohai knew that his old superior would think of a way to deal with this matter, so he was not in a hurry. "Although the prisoner exchange may not go smoothly, as long as Bingyun does not die, it will be a trial for the young. It is not necessarily a bad thing."
"That makes sense. So I have decided to let a young man go and temper himself. It won't take too long, just a few months."
"A few months? Is it about the diplomatic mission to Northern Qi? "
"Correct. And we must bring Yan Bingyun back in one piece. I hope he can handle it well."
"Who is it?"
"Before I leave, I will let the Eight Bureaus meet with him."
— — —
Everything proceeded smoothly. After the Kingdom of Qing paid a considerable price, the two sides came to an agreement on the exchange of prisoners and spies. Everyone was happy. The Kingdom of Qing gained face and territory. Northern Qi gained face, Xiao En, and the woman the emperor liked.
Only the envoy from Dongyi remained in the courtyard. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about him. The Kingdom of Qing was deliberately giving the other side the cold shoulder, using the incident at the foot of the Cang Mountains to extort more money. Dongyi was the gathering place of the world's largest merchants. Long before the Kingdom of Qing opened the southern ports, they had begun trading with foreigners. Although they only had Sigu Jian in martial arts, their financial resources were inexhaustible.
Three days later, the Emperor of Qing would hold a banquet for the two countries' envoys. As the deputy envoy, Fan Xian naturally had to attend the banquet in the palace. It would be his second time entering the palace, and it would also be the night he had planned.
He carefully prepared everything in his room, but occasionally his eyes would glance at the black leather suitcase peeking out from under his bed. In the past few days of official business, he had seen something more deeply. The Kingdom of Qing appeared to be powerful and insufferably arrogant, but because of the unspeakable thoughts of certain nobles in the court, there was still so much filth and darkness.
The royal family was ruthless, but not necessarily to the members of the royal family. More to the subjects of the world. Fan Xian knew very well that even if the Emperor knew who wanted to deal with his own secret service, he would not actually kill them, because those people could be his wife, his sister, his son, or even his mother.
"Be a person who thinks only for yourself." This was something Fan Xian had reminded himself countless times since coming to this world. His eyes gradually grew cold. He hid the slender dagger and carefully inserted the three poison-soaked needles into his hair.
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