Zhao Wen's eyelids jumped involuntarily, remembering what he said to the emperor when he accepted the task.

The emperor said that the court had only one bottom line: it could not break with Sun Ce.

Although there is only one condition, it has different levels. How to grasp it depends on Zhao Wen himself. The best situation is of course that Sun Ce will be in charge of his sanctions, even if it is nominal, and even if it is only part of the tax; the worst situation is that Sun Ce will be independent, neither surrender nor pay taxes, as long as he does not become emperor or war.

When he heard this, Zhao Wen jumped up and accused the people who made this idea for the emperor, but the emperor calmly said that this was his own idea. The court now has no ability to start a war, and even if it is self-protection, it is not sure. It takes time to recuperate and accumulate strength, so it must not anger Sun Ce and attack Guanzhong. I asked Zhao Wen to serve as an envoy because Zhao Wen had contact with Sun Ce and had a certain emotional foundation. He also had some friendship with Zhang Hong, and maybe he could relax and gain more benefits for the court. If Zhao Wen could not accept the order, he had to send someone else.

The emperor was very calm, but Zhao Wen was very heartbroken. In desperation, he had to accept this mission, but at that time he made up his mind to win more benefits for the court and achieve the best situation as much as possible, so that Sun Ce could surrender and pay taxes.

However, when Zhao Wen saw the paper in front of him, he knew that he was too optimistic, but the emperor was more practical and had already confirmed Sun Ce's pulse.

There are only nine words on the paper on the case: guilty of Yuan Shao, establishing a vassal state, and governor of Jiaozhou.

It is easy to understand that Yuan Shao was guilty of being punished. Since the court planned to marry Sun Ce and made a choice, and the evidence of Yuan Shao's crime of forgery of the edict was conclusive, it was not necessary to cure him. It was more than enough to convict him of a rebellion. Whether the court was willing to pardon Yuan Tan was to say whether Yuan Shao was willing to pardon Yuan Tan, but this could not be changed. As soon as this edict was issued, even if the party members supported Yuan Tan, they had to consider their reputation, especially when Yuan Tan was basically unable to turn the tables.

Establishing a vassal state was to give Sun Ce a title. From then on, Sun Ce established his own ancestral temple, and his title inheritance was no longer restricted by the court, and the five prefectures were no longer subject to the imperial orders. The appointment and removal of officials was decided by Sun Ce. The people were no longer the people of the Han Dynasty, but Sun Ce's people.

The governor of Jiaozhou is the simplest, and it seems to be added casually, just to comfort Sun Jian and to fulfill his loyalty and righteousness.

Zhao Wen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Although these three conditions were too much, they had not yet broken the bottom line of the emperor. At least Sun Ce had no intention of starting a war. Even if the negotiation could not be reached, they should have ignored each other and would not start a war immediately. Besides, Jiaozhou and Youzhou changed at the same time. If Sun Ce had the strength to attack these two states, it would be more cost-effective than attacking Guanzhong. But at the same time, this also shows that Sun Ce was not interested in negotiations, and there was no difference between talking or not. Anyway, the court could not do anything to him now.

"Is General Sun going to proclaim himself king?" Zhao Wen deliberately looked angry.

Guo Jia smiled indifferently. "So what?"

Zhao Wenyu was choked and didn't know how to respond. He scolded him. Will Guo Jia turn against him? Isn't he showing too much weakness if he doesn't scold him?

"General Sun performed the kingly way in the five prefectures, and the people wanted to support the elderly and the young, and came with them. If they did not call themselves kings, they would be kings. What if the court disagreed? The reason why he gave this opportunity to the court was to leave some dignity for the court and save the people from the suffering of war. It was also considered accumulating virtue and doing good deeds, and there was still a lot of money."

Zhao Wen was feeling more and more heavy when he thought of the victims on Wuguan Road. Guo Jia's words were arrogant, but he had to admit that he was telling the truth. The world was great, and everyone was preparing for war, hoping to dig out every grain of food from the people's mouths. Even the matter of eating people was heard many times. Only Sun Ce was buried in the economy, farming, building workshops, developing industry and commerce, and opening schools. He was willing to publicly print books and was committed to making every ordinary person able to read books. What is this not the kingly way? The people have made their choices with their own actions. When there is a famine, they will spontaneously move towards Sun Ce's jurisdiction. This is the kingly land in their minds.

What is the difference between whether the imperial court enfeoffment is enfeoffment?

A sentence blocked Zhao Wen, and Guo Jia slowed down again. "Duke Zhao, whether it is a king or a duke, it is not much different for General Sun. It is just that he has the same purpose. The five prefectures have nothing to do with the court since then. In fact, this was expected when the emperor decided to move the capital to Guanzhong, and it was not an accident."

"Where are the taxes in the five states? " Zhao Wen said, picking up the teacup and lowering his eyelids, preventing Guo Jia from seeing his nervous eyes. The court was unable to retake the five states, and did not expect Sun Ce to pay the taxes according to the law, but he could not gain nothing, and he could collect a little bit.

"The tax will not be paid, but it can be traded. Of course, since it is a vassal state enthroned by the court, there are still tributes."

"Trade?" Zhao Wen automatically ignored the tribute. That little thing was not enough to be stuck in the gaps, not to mention that there were tributes and gifts from the superiors. The court could not take advantage of it, and if it was not done well, it would have to pay some more.

"The five states lack horses. Even if there is no cavalry, the post newspaper still requires horses. The court has mastered Liangzhou and can use Malay trade."

Zhao Wen put down the teacup and thought for a while. This condition is within the scope that the emperor can accept. Although it is not the best result, it is not bad. He has been traveling in Jingzhou and Yuzhou for a while and knew that Sun Ce was willing to spend money on Yichuan. When the world was in great order, the number of horses that could maintain an emergency in the five states was supported by a large number of horses. In order to ensure the rapid transmission of emergency messages, a Yichuan usually had to prepare two to three horses. The number of horses required in the five states was thousands. Sun Ce lacked horses, and it was far from enough at the moment. Only the main trunk line could cooperate with the horses. The horses used by Yichuan were only ordinary passenger horses, and the requirements were not as high as war horses.

Both the Central Plains and Jiangdong lack horses, which was Sun Ce’s biggest weakness, but it was not completely unsolvable. In addition to Liangzhou, he could also buy horses from Bingzhou and Youzhou. The court was unwilling to do this business, and some people were willing to do it. The price of ordinary horses on the frontier was between 4,000 and 5,000 yuan. One horse was worth at least 10,000 yuan. Apart from the expenses on the way, one could earn at least 3,000 to 4,000 yuan. For any merchant, this was a lucrative business and worth doing.

But for the court that was aiming for the revival, this little money was just a drop in the bucket, and it was not enough to get it now. We had to wait until the emperor pacified Liangzhou and had a horse in his hand before we could trade. The far water could not relieve the near thirst.

Seeing that Zhao Wen was silent, Guo Jia didn't urge him and slowly drank tea. They had already decided to make a decision, and it would be fine if they could make a better deal.

After a while, Zhao Wen raised his head. "Just just now, General Sun is willing to help His Majesty pacify Liangzhou. What does it mean?"

Guo Jia looked at Zhao Wen with pity. "Mr. Zhao, Your Majesty intends to use troops in Liangzhou, don't you know?"

Zhao Wen did not comment. He didn't know the emperor's specific plan, but in recent months, the emperor has signed several royal women as princesses and sent a large number of envoys to Liangzhou. Even Ma Chao, who had just returned to Guanzhong, married a princess. The emperor attached great importance to Liangzhou. It was nothing strange to say that he was interested in Liangzhou.

"General Sun knew that His Majesty was unwilling to give up and wanted to take Liangzhou to strengthen himself. Although this was a bit whimsical, General Sun was willing to fulfill him. As a young man, he was the emperor, who had no dreams or anything. Originally, General Sun did not pay a betrothal gift for taking a concubine, but the eldest princess was the eldest princess after all, and brought such a precious dowry from the secretary. General Sun was willing to break the exception and presented the Yingyu from the five states last year as a betrothal gift to the court."

Guo Jia pointed out the three words Jiaozhou Mu on the piece of paper. "Of course, in order to avoid family recession, I have to say something different."
Chapter completed!