Chapter 644 Negotiate Again
Chapter 644 Negotiate Again
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of an official office, and Su Wei saw the sign above it at a glance: "Zi Zheng Tang, Prince Jin's Mansion."
An official in his thirties came out to greet them. Zhang Yunqiu introduced him, "This is the recorder of the Zizhengtang, Lu Hongyu. He has five subordinates and is responsible for the daily affairs of the Zizhengtang, organizing and recording meeting documents, etc."
Zhang Yunqiu introduced Su Wei to him, and Lu Hongyu bowed solemnly and said, "I have heard of the great reputation of the old prime minister for a long time. I am very lucky to meet him today!"
Su Wei immediately took a liking to this military officer Lu. He stroked his beard and smiled, "His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin said that the Council of State will hold a meeting in the Council of State Affairs in two days?"
Lu Hongyu nodded, “I’ll make arrangements for Mr. Su!”
Su Wei followed him into the circular meeting hall. Lu Hongyu arranged a special seat for Su Wei, put a name tag on it, and took out a large leather bag. Inside was a set of purple official uniform, an official hat, and a jade medal for advisors. There was also a draft of a motion to be discussed the day after tomorrow. This was a relatively top-secret document, and it was marked with the word "top secret" on it.
This sense of ceremony gave Su Wei enough face, and he finally put his mind at ease. The position of advisor was not really a sinecure, but the highest-level staff officer.
Lu Hongyu smiled and said, "The day after tomorrow morning, the carriage from the Prince of Jin's Mansion will come to pick up Lord Su."
Su Wei was a little embarrassed because he didn’t have his own mansion yet!
Zhang Yunqiu smiled and said, "Everything has been arranged. I will take Lord Su to the official residence to have a look right away."
The two of them got on the carriage again, and Su Wei couldn't help asking, "Does Envoy Zhang know about the salary and benefits?"
Zhang Yunqiu nodded, "According to the court system, the salaries of officials are divided into three parts: rice, land, and materials. The rice salary of a third-rank prince is 360 dan per year, and it's the same here, but there are also many other things, such as sheep, cotton, seasonal fruits and vegetables, specialties, and ice and charcoal.
Although he had no land, his salary was much higher than that of the imperial court. The prince's tutor received a monthly salary of 200 strings of coins, and the advisory subsidy was 100 strings of coins per month. In fact, Su Gong had a monthly income of 300 strings of coins, which was at least three times that of the imperial court.
In addition, there is a ten-acre official residence, an official ship, an official car, and twenty guards. "
Su Wei was happy. Although he had no land, his monthly income of three hundred strings of cash was enough to support him comfortably in his old age.
The next morning, Yin Shishi arrived in Jingkou, and Liu Wenjing went to the dock in person to greet him.
Yin Shishi looked at the many elephants on the dock in surprise and asked with a smile, "Liu Changshi, where did these elephants come from?"
Liu Wenjing smiled slightly and said, "These elephants all came from Jian'an County. They helped dredge the canal before. After the canal was completed, they stayed in various ports to load and unload goods. These elephants are very smart and capable, and they provide great convenience to the ports."
"Camels are actually pretty good too. Are the camels that Your Highness brought from Hexi still there?"
Liu Wenjing nodded, "Still there, mainly transporting supplies in the mountainous areas."
Liu Wenjing led Master Yin Shishi and his party into the city and stayed at the Yingbin Inn. He said to him, "Your Highness will meet with Prime Minister Yin this afternoon. Let's talk business from tomorrow!"
Yin Shishi asked in a low voice: "Does His Royal Highness Prince Jin accept the negotiation plan?"
Liu Wenjing smiled and said, "In principle, it's acceptable, but we need to discuss the details!"
"I understand!"
In the afternoon, Xiao Xia met with his old subordinate Yin Shishi, and asked Liu Wenjing to arrange a banquet to welcome Yin Shishi and his party.
The next morning, the negotiations between the two sides officially began.
The chief negotiator of the court was Yin Shishi, and his deputy was Duan Wenjing, the Minister of Rites. The chief negotiator of the Jiangnan Road was Liu Wenjing, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and his deputy was Zhang Liang, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites. This was only Zhang Liang's nominal position, and his actual position was the General of the Intelligence Department. Yin Shishi said slowly: "I believe that the General Administration Office has also seen the court's edict. The war against Goguryeo has ended. Some temporary measures at that time will be gradually cleared, and some political orders will also be completed. At that time, in order to facilitate the navy, the court allocated Donglai County to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin for garrison. At that time, it was agreed that the three-year period would end this year. The court would take back Donglai County, and Qi County, Beihai County and Gaomi County would also be taken back together. Of course, considering the contribution of His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin, we will also give certain compensation. The emperor agreed to assign Xiangyang County to the jurisdiction of the General Administration Office of Jiangnan Road as the price of withdrawing troops. I hope we can reach a satisfactory agreement this time."
Liu Wenjing said solemnly: "Donglai County is very important to us because we still have to control Goguryeo. We have 10,000 troops stationed in Pyongyang, the former capital of Goguryeo. We must provide support and logistical supplies, otherwise Goguryeo will march north again and take back the lost territory. We can return the administrative and financial power of Donglai County to the court, but we still have to retain the right to station troops. Please understand this, Emperor and the court!"
This reason was so powerful that Master Yin Shi was speechless for a moment. He had never thought of it beforehand and had no response plan.
After a while, Yin Shishi said, "It seems that I have to report to the court and the emperor. If you have any details, please bring them up and I will report to the emperor at the same time."
Liu Wenjing took out a list and said, "There are still more than a dozen officials who I hope the court can transfer to Jiangnan to serve."
Yin Shishi took over the list, which was basically composed of officials from the Supervisor of Craftsmen, including He Chou, the Junior Supervisor of Craftsmen, Li Chun, the Chief Clerk of the Supervisor of Craftsmen, Liu Zhuo, the Calendar Director of the Bureau of Astronomy, Chao Yuanfang, the Doctor of Imperial Physician, Wang Xiaotong, the Doctor of Mathematics, etc., a total of thirteen officials.
Yin Shishi nodded, "I will report to the court!"
After the negotiation ended, Yin Shishi sent the King of Jin's request to the court via pigeon letter.
The next morning, Yu Shiji hurried to report to Emperor Yang Guang.
"Your Majesty, this is the proposal put forward by the other party during the negotiation between Prime Minister Yin and the Jiangnan General Administration Office."
Yang Guang read the content and said slowly: "The other party wants to keep Donglai County to support Liaodong. What do you think, Prime Minister?"
"Your Majesty, can the Liaodong court be taken back?" asked Yu Shiji.
Yang Guang did not say anything, but shook his head for a while, "To manage Liaodong, we need naval warships, so let the Prince of Jin manage it!"
"In that case, the Jiangnan Province General Administration Office wants the right to station troops in Donglai County. Your Majesty, can you agree to this?"
Yang Guang nodded and said, "Take back the administrative and financial power of Donglai County. The right to station troops can be given to them, but only in Donglai County. Qi County, Beihai County and Gaomi County must be returned to the court unconditionally."
"Your Majesty, where are the dozen or so ministers?"
Yang Guang did not think highly of these technical officials. He pondered for a moment and said, "Except He Chou, the other twelve officials can be transferred to Jiangnan. Ask He Chou about his own wishes. If he also wants to return to Jiangnan, I will grant him his wish. In addition, since I agree to release them, I will not give the power of Xiangyang County to the King of Jin."
He Chou was about sixty years old, thin, extremely smart and capable, a native of Bashu, and grew up in Jiangling. When the Southern Liang Dynasty fell, he was taken to Chang'an along with the craftsmen and officials. He was highly regarded by Emperor Yang Jian for his outstanding talent.
During the reign of Emperor Yang Guang, Yang Guang paid more attention to the master craftsman Yuwen Kai, especially during the first attack on Goguryeo. He offended Yuwen Kai because of the floating bridge incident and was implicated in the Yun Dingxing case, so he was demoted to the junior supervisor of craftsmen.
Yu Shiji came to ask He Chou for his opinion. He Chou pondered for a while and said, "Does the emperor want me to go, or does he want me to stay?"
Yu Shiji said calmly: "The emperor lets you decide for yourself!"
He Chou understood that it was tasteless to eat and a pity to throw away. This was the emperor's attitude.
Thinking about how he had offended Yuwen Kai and how hard life had become, and how he had been away from the south for more than 30 years, he finally had the chance to return to his roots. Why shouldn't he seize it?
"I'll go!" He Chou made a decisive decision.
(End of this chapter)