Chapter 506: The Peace Agreement Reached

With a single edict from Liu Chengyou, the Han army stopped its attacks on the Tang army as promised, finally allowing the Tang troops barely holding the line along the Yangtze to catch their breath. For the first time in over a month since spring began, the flames of war north of the river fell silent.

Over in Jinling, Li Deming hurried back bearing the peace proposal, well aware of its weight. He went straight to the palace and presented it to the Tang sovereign in person. Faced with these three terms that would cripple his state, Li Jing did not appear overly agitated.

After all, if all fourteen prefectures north of the river could be offered up, nothing else really mattered. Still, Li Jing felt a bitter ache in his heart and said with some sorrow: "My late father laid the foundations of this imperial enterprise—must it end with me?"

"Your Majesty!" Li Deming could not help but console him: "There cannot be two suns in the sky. If we must submit as vassals to the Han, how could we claim equal standing? Lowering the imperial title is a necessity. This is an extraordinary measure. Once the peace agreement is concluded and the Han army withdraws north, with the external threat eliminated, Your Majesty may still use the full imperial regalia."

"Would that not be deceiving ourselves?" Li Jing mocked himself.

Li Deming felt a flicker of embarrassment but continued his persuasion: "In ancient times, King Goujian of Yue endured humiliation for twenty years and ultimately took revenge and destroyed Wu. I observe that the Han emperor is young and hot-blooded, the sort who craves glory and grand achievements. Having won this victory, he will surely grow arrogant and unrestrained, and in time bring calamity upon himself and chaos to his own state. Your Majesty need only swallow your shame, strive diligently to govern well, and a day will surely come when our rivers and mountains are restored!"

"It can only be so. I pray my late father will forgive this unfilial subject!" Li Jing let out a long sigh.

He then reviewed the contents of the peace proposal once more and said: "Is the annual tribute not excessive? Could it be reduced somewhat?"

Hearing this, Li Deming thought to himself that if it were any less, how would he account for it to the Northern Han. Without hesitation, he carefully replied: "Your Majesty, the Northern Han's greed far exceeds imagination. This figure was only reached after I argued strenuously on our behalf!"

"Alas..." Li Jing sighed in silence: "Let me think on it further!"

Seeing this, Li Deming only reminded him in a low voice: "Your Majesty, when this proposal was first raised, the Han army already suspended its attacks. If we delay too long, once the Han army finishes its rest and moves again, it will be even harder to withstand. When I was returning south, I happened to hear that the Han emperor has ordered the Han fleet north of the Huai River to be transferred south in full, intending to enter the Yangtze..."

Hearing Li Deming say this, Li Jing's expression indeed changed.

After taking his leave and exiting the palace, Li Deming worked without pause, networking throughout Jinling's court and officialdom—visiting relatives, colleagues, disciples, and various peace advocates, seeking to unite them in pushing the peace agreement through.

Li Deming was no fool; he knew this proposal would inevitably stir another storm in the Southern Tang court. Relying on himself alone would leave him isolated and vulnerable to humiliation from the likes of Li Zhenggu.

And as expected, when the specific terms of the treaty spread, another fierce uproar erupted. Jinling's court and officialdom split into two factions over the agreement, trading refutations, abuse, and accusations until the Southern Tang court became a veritable cesspool of chaos.

This time, however, the objections centered on the specific terms themselves. Most people felt the Northern Han's greed was excessive. Even if Huainan's fall and a division along the river were unavoidable, and calling oneself a vassal was merely a loss of face, the annual tribute was far too heavy a burden.

Given the Southern Tang's current situation—having lost troops and generals, and half of Huainan—bearing such a massive annual tribute would impose an extremely heavy financial strain on the state.

Yet amid this turmoil, Li Jing instead became fully resolute in pursuing peace. He merely sent Li Deming back across the river on some matters of detail to meet the Han emperor and make supplementary arrangements.

On this, Liu Chengyou naturally had no objections—good negotiation was all that was needed.

The Southern Tang proposed that captured Tang soldiers and civilians be released by the Han army. How could Liu Chengyou easily agree to this? All told, nearly a hundred thousand soldiers and civilians from the Huainan prefectures had been captured by the Han army—a hundred thousand able-bodied men and women. Liu Chengyou knew full well the importance of population, especially able-bodied people who could fight; they were a precious resource.

After weighing the matter, Liu Chengyou agreed to release the captives of Jiangnan origin, but among the prisoners, several thousand Tang officers had already defected to the Great Han and been incorporated into the Han army's order of battle. The parents, wives, and children of those officers and men would have to be sent by the Southern Tang to Huainan.

Upon learning this, Li Jing saw no reason to obstruct it and agreed. He further proposed to Liu Chengyou that the Southern Tang be permitted to purchase two hundred thousand shi of Huainan salt annually—for previously, the Southern Tang's salt supply had come almost entirely from Huainan. Liu Chengyou saw no need to create obstacles either, so long as equivalent value in currency or goods was exchanged.

Thereafter, the two sides also agreed on the number of troops to be stationed along the river after the cessation of hostilities—all matters open to negotiation.

And so, with back-and-forth exchanges lasting nearly five days, a peace agreement was finally reached.

On the twelfth day of the second month in the fifth year of Qianyou, Li Jing, sovereign of the Southern Tang, led his harem, imperial clan, and high ministers to confess fault before the ancestral temple, tearfully proclaiming the "Han-Tang Peace Treaty."

Afterwards, Chancellor Feng Yansi and others crossed north to present the final treaty to the Han emperor. With Liu Chengyou's approval, the agreement between the two sides was formally concluded. That night, Liu Chengyou hosted an imperial banquet for Feng Yansi and the other Tang officials.

During the feast, Liu Chengyou regarded Feng Yansi with particular favor and treated him warmly. Overall, Feng Yansi had played no small role in the Northern Han's campaign against Huainan, and counted as a "meritorious subject."

Yet under the Han emperor's strange, appraising gaze, Feng Yansi felt deeply ill at ease, responding awkwardly. Fine wine tasted like bitter water to him; his expression was heavy, even sorrowful.

In the Southern Tang court, Feng Yansi was more of a power-wielding treacherous minister, yet unlike Li Deming, he harbored no intent to sell out his country. Though he had agreed to the peace, when the Southern Tang truly signed such a calamitous, humiliating treaty, he could not help but feel grief.

When word reached Jinling, mourning filled the court and the streets. Whatever their previous stance, when the peace was concluded, everyone felt a measure of grief and humiliation.

As for the Tang sovereign Li Jing, he fell ill outright, barely able to attend to affairs. He again had his Imperial Younger Brother (Heir) Li Jingsui oversee the state, with civil and military officials assisting in the post-treaty handover matters with the Northern Han.

Within Hezhou, across from Dangtu, at the Liangshan military stockade, amid the bleak spring wind, banners bearing the characters "Tang" and "Lin" fluttered. Around the stockade, traces of the fierce assault and defense remained.

Inside the stockade, over three thousand Tang soldiers packed up their grain and armor and, in a solemn atmosphere, boarded ships to withdraw to Dangtu on the south bank.

Outside the stockade, over two thousand Han troops moved in and took over the defenses in orderly fashion. Zhang Yongde came in person, solely because this stockade had been held by the Tang general Lin Renzhao. He was quite interested in this Southern Tang commander who had added a defeat to his record.

Climbing the stockade tower and gazing out at the Tang army sailing toward Jiangnan, Zhang Yongde could not help but sigh: "That Lin Renzhao truly counts as a fine general. He built this Liangshan stockade so solidly that our army attacked for three days straight without taking it—that shows his ability. What a pity: he had the talent but not the time, and not the right master. How could he not be defeated!"

Aboard the Tang warships gradually receding into the distance, Lin Renzhao stood at the stern, likewise gazing back at Liangshan stockade. Amid the shifting figures within, looking at the Han banner raised high and fluttering in the wind, Lin Renzhao let out several loud laughs.

The laughter carried unmistakable mockery: "Soldiers shed blood to hold the line, and the enemy could not take it—yet with a single edict from the court, the river defense is handed over..."

Scenes like Liangshan stockade played out all along the river. On the north bank of the Yangtze, dozens of cities, towns, and fortifications of varying sizes were all evacuated by the Tang army, which withdrew to the south bank, abandoning the north entirely to the Han forces. Then, save for a few towns and stockades, most of the northern defensive bastions were destroyed.

Of course, most Tang soldiers felt relatively fortunate. After this period, the Tang troops guarding the river had largely been beaten into fear by the Han army. Ending the war in such a "dignified" manner and retreating south of the river was already a decent outcome.

There were those who burned with indignation like Lin Renzhao, to be sure, but they were ultimately a minority in the Tang army. It could be said that in less than half a year of assault and defense, the Northern Han's great army had broken the backbone of the Southern Tang military.