Chapter 816: Rumors Govern Family Style

Love Shenjing, Association Hall of the Court of State Ceremonial, Tuman Tribe Hall.

In the morning, the cold wind was biting. It had just passed the Chen hour (8:00 AM), and officials were arriving at the hall one after another to take up their duties, while other clerks and servants were busy, each attending to their own affairs.

The Chief Clerk of the Association Hall, Liu Liu Xiaoping, arrived at the hall to take up his duties as punctually as usual.

Just as he entered the hall gate and passed the stable, he saw the groom laying out fodder in the manger. He only glanced at it casually, but suddenly stopped.

The Association Hall had a dedicated stable, well-constructed, mainly used for housing the horses of distinguished guests.

However, the hall was not filled with distinguished guests all year round. Although the stable occupied a large area, there were usually not many horses tethered there, and it was mostly in an idle state.

But ever since the Remnant Mongol mission entered the capital and the main members moved into the hall, the stable had been filled with over thirty warhorses every day.

Because the grassland people could not leave their horses, the mission members, except for the carriage servants, were almost all riding horses.

These thirty-odd warhorses were tethered in the hall's stable because they belonged to the essential members of the mission, while other warhorses were placed in temporary stables outside the hall.

Liu Liu Xiaoping passed this stable every day to take up his duties. He was a careful and cautious person and usually paid attention to things.

So he was very familiar with the appearance of these horses, but today there were two extra piebald warhorses in the stable, which looked very unfamiliar.

He asked casually, "Old Chen, these two horses weren't here yesterday. Has someone new moved into the mission?"

The groom, Old Chen, smiled and said, "Official Liu is truly careful. With so many horses, you could tell at a glance that these two were new."

"Before dawn, I estimate the city gate had just opened, and someone rode these two horses in a hurry into the hall."

"Someone urged me to feed them. These two horses must have been running for a long time; they've both lost weight. If they aren't raised well for two days, they'll be ruined."

"I heard these two people came from the north; they are messengers for those Mongols. They look very urgent."

Liu Liu Xiaoping's heart moved slightly upon hearing this, but his face remained calm, and he walked straight into the Chief Clerk's office.

As he walked along the veranda, he encountered several people coming toward him. The leader was dressed in gorgeous clothes, tall and straight, with a handsome appearance and an extraordinary demeanor.

Liu Liu Xiaoping knew that the entire Remnant Mongol mission consisted of rough grassland men.

Only the leader of the Ordos tribe, Nuoyan Noyan Taiji, was handsome and refreshing, with an elegant demeanor, quite different from the usual grassland people, possessing a bit of the Han style.

Although he was a Chief Clerk of the same rank, he did not participate in the specific peace negotiations and only met Nuoyan Noyan Taiji frequently, being familiar with his face.

They passed each other, and he only nodded in greeting, and Nuoyan Noyan Taiji returned the courtesy, and they brushed past each other.

Liu Liu Xiaoping returned to his office, walked to his desk, and pulled out a small booklet from an inconspicuous place on the bookshelf behind him.

He picked up his brush and wrote on it: December 18th, city gate opened, approximately the third quarter of the Mao hour (5:45 AM), two Remnant Mongol horses entered the city, their momentum urgent.

The horses ridden were thin and gaunt, caused by long-distance galloping. It is speculated that this is an urgent message from the Remnant Mongols from the north, suspected to be related to the peace agreement between the two states. To be investigated.

……

Nuoyan Noyan Taiji walked along the veranda under the eaves, watching the people coming and going in the hall, each attending to their own affairs.

It was an ordinary morning, and everything was operating on a normal track—flat and waveless, as usual, and it seemed it would be like this in the future.

But Nuoyan Noyan Taiji's mood was gloomy, and there was heavy pressure on his chest, giving rise to too many questions, giving him the illusion of suffocation.

Not only because there had been no reply from his father, Jilang Khan, but also because the Tuman tribe's messenger had entered the city urgently, and the peace agreement seemed to be facing changes.

The Khan Anda Khan of the Tuman tribe was a man of owl-like ambition, with a dark and tough temperament, and had long harbored the intention of taking advantage of the situation to move south.

If the four-percent increase in the mutual trade quota could not be achieved, and Khan Anda Khan used this as an excuse to abruptly interrupt the peace agreement,

a war between Great Zhou and Mongolia would be inevitable. The peace agreement between Great Zhou and the Ordos tribe would face variables, and his own plans would also fall through……

He entered the main hall of the hall and saw that in addition to Gaier Tai of the Yongxielun tribe, there were six or seven other mission members sitting there, and his heart was slightly surprised.

He had thought that Alitang had only invited the leaders of the three major tribes to discuss important matters of the peace agreement, but he hadn't expected him to call other mission officials as well.

These six or seven mission members were also essential figures in the mission, responsible for negotiating peace agreement matters with the Great Zhou Ministry of War.

Of course, their negotiation stance was entirely based on the instructions of the three major leaders of the mission—or more accurately, based on Alitang's instructions.

Alitang saw Nuoyan Noyan Taiji sit down and said, "The peace agreement and mutual trade between us and the Zhou people have been going on for over a month, but there has been no progress."

"The Zhou people are cunning by nature and fear the growing prosperity of Mongolia, so they have repeatedly suppressed the mutual trade quota we proposed, not yielding an inch."

"If this continues for a long time, this trip to the capital will be in vain, and we will waste manpower and grain."

"I have already received a message from the Great Khan. There is no need to waste time with the Zhou people anymore. We will sign the peace agreement document according to the mutual trade quota proposed by the Zhou people."

"We will finalize all matters of the peace agreement within five days, and the mission members will return north as soon as possible. As for the shortage of materials in each tribe, we will find other ways to deal with it……"

As soon as Alitang's words fell, everyone in the room looked surprised and shocked; the news was truly too sudden.

Among the three Remnant Mongol tribes, the Tuman tribe had the greatest strength, and neither the Ordos tribe nor the Yongxielun tribe could contend with them. The peace agreement was almost decided by the Tuman tribe alone.

Initially, it was the Tuman tribe that insisted on increasing the mutual trade quota by forty percent, which caused the peace negotiations between the two states to stall.

Now they were lowering the mutual trade quota again and wanted to sign the peace agreement document with it; their words and actions were somewhat childish.

The Remnant Mongol officials present whispered to each other, and Gaier Tai of the Yongxielun tribe spoke in a rough voice, his words already revealing dissatisfaction.

Only Nuoyan Noyan Taiji remained silent, but his thoughts were churning like a stormy sea.

Originally, Ale Tang had significantly increased the trade quota, which would inevitably make it impossible for the two sides to reach an agreement; this was an almost obvious result.

At that time, Alitang had even boasted that since the mission had arrived in the Love Shenjing, as long as they obtained the ideal mutual trade quota, there was no need to worry about the length of the peace agreement.

At that time, Nuoyan Noyan Taiji felt suspicious, vaguely feeling that the Tuman tribe seemed to be deliberately wasting time under the pretext of the peace agreement.

Nuoyan Noyan Taiji had repeatedly pondered what purpose this kind of behavior was for, but he could never grasp it.

Now the Tuman tribe had suddenly changed its demands, not only accepting an extremely low mutual trade quota but also being eager to sign the peace agreement document and have the mission members return north as soon as possible.

Such a stark contrast in their actions made Nuoyan Noyan Taiji increasingly suspicious. He had concluded that the reason for the matter must come from the messenger who arrived at the hall in the early morning.

As for what kind of news the messenger brought, no matter what considerations Alitang had, he could not easily make it public.

But as long as Great Zhou and Mongolia signed the peace agreement, the imminent border war could be temporarily buffered.

This was undoubtedly good news for the Ordos tribe, which did not want to be involved in the war and was secretly communicating with Great Zhou. Nuoyan Noyan Taiji had no reason to refuse.

……

Although Gaier Tai had complaints about Alitang's fickleness, he couldn't find a reason to object.

The Zhou people would not yield an inch, and their attitude toward the peace agreement was obvious. Even if they dragged it on, it would still be in vain.

Alitang saw that both Nuoyan Noyan Taiji and Gaier Tai had no objections, and thought that even if they were dissatisfied in their hearts, they were holding an attitude of acquiescence toward the early peace agreement.

He said, "Since you all have no objections, we will clarify the contract between the two states this morning, draft the initial peace agreement, and report it to the Zhou Emperor as soon as possible."

"Once the peace agreement is signed, both sides will follow up and supervise the details of the mutual trade in the last three days, and settle the matter as soon as possible."

"Our troops in the camp outside the city, including the eight hundred who entered the city, can carry their baggage in batches and leave the Love Shenjing one after another in these few days."

"Otherwise, once the peace agreement is signed, two thousand troops leaving together will cause road congestion and slow down the time to return north……"

Nuoyan Noyan Taiji felt increasingly strange hearing this. The signing of the peace agreement and the withdrawal of troops were being handled so urgently?

Moreover, he had the most anxious matter: could his father's reply be delivered within three days?

Now that there was still no news, the Ordos tribe could not continue to negotiate with Great Zhou on the matter of peaceful trade.

If such a situation really occurred, what reason did he have to continue to stay in the Love Shenjing…… ===== CHAPTER 817 =====