Fu Weilin

  Fu Weilin sat in the mule cart with his eyes closed, surrounded by two circles of guards. The inner circle consisted of eight men dressed as Zheng's soldiers, while the outer circle was made up of three hundred men who had shaved their foreheads and sported ugly queues. Despite being surrounded by enemies, Fu Weilin appeared calm and composed, not because it was customary for envoys to be spared during wartime, but because he had represented Zhu Jin on a mission to the same destination over a decade ago and had gained experience from that trip, making the current skirmish seem insignificant to him.

  The carriage suddenly stopped, and the driver reported: "Sir, Mr. Su requests that you come out to talk."

  So-called Su Daren is the minister of the Kang Shengwang Jie Book, who was sent to Siming for negotiations. These days, two people traveled together, although they were on different sides, but also became "friends" who could talk about anything.

  "Su brother!" Fu Weilin got out of the mule cart and casually swept around, only to see a banyan tree with a trunk diameter of over ten meters on one side of the road. On its branch head, a wine flag was still prominently inserted. He suddenly understood what the other party meant. "This day is really hot!"

  "Right," Su Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and pointed to the wine shop. "Just in time, let's have a bowl and take a break."

  "Alright!" Fu Weilin accepted the task with a smile, although he didn't know what the other person was up to. His mission was to delay the Qing army's attack on Haicheng and Siming as much as possible. Now that the other person was willing to cooperate, he naturally agreed. "However, having wine without dishes won't do, let the shopkeeper prepare some delicious food, and I'll have a drink with Brother Su."

  "Stop, stop!" Su Yu begged for mercy. "Brother Fu is a great talent, this humble move of mine is purely amateurish, let's just drink and chat, no need to compose poetry." Fu Wei Lin burst out laughing, and the two walked on, with the leading Qian Zhu arranging everything in advance. As soon as they sat down, wine and food were already served. "You guys go ahead and have a drink to quench your thirst, but don't get too carried away." Qian Zhu retreated with a smile, and Su Yu immediately grabbed the wine jug to pour a full cup for Fu Wei Lin. "This is indeed a good wine shop, I passed by here on my way to Xiamen before, the wine still has some flavor."

  Fu Weilin savored it and nodded slightly: "Indeed, it's not bad. Although it can't compare to Shaoxing nu'er hong or Zhuangyuan hong in terms of its smoothness and aftertaste, the lingering fragrance is a rare delight in this desolate wilderness. Come, let me toast you first!"

  Two people drank up, and then each took two mouthfuls of dishes into their mouths to chew slowly. Since it was a roadside stall, there weren't many good dishes, half a steamed mountain chicken, a plate of smoked dog meat that filled the nostrils, a dish of pickled wild ginger, and a plate of fresh water celery. Two meat and two vegetarian dishes were not much different from those sold in famous restaurants in big cities.

  "Fu brother, I heard that your side still has some reservations about the war?" After eating a mouthful of food and chatting idly for a bit, today's play is going to get interesting. "Is this true?"

  "Brother Su, where did you hear the news from?" Fu Wei Lin made a very surprised expression, but unexpectedly, he admitted it straightforwardly. "Good skill, knowing even the internal affairs of our clan, no mistake, our clan's heir had indeed suggested abandoning Hai Cheng and Si Ming, and even withdrawing from Qiong Zhou to Dong Ning, only because Wu Ping Bo Liu Guo Xuan strongly advised against it, so the king didn't waver again."

  "Wu Pingbo Liu Guoxuan is just a martial artist, and it's only natural that he wouldn't advocate for withdrawal. The fat Su Mine wiped the sweat from his forehead again. "On the other hand, your family's young master has great courage and boldness, which is quite rare. I heard that recently, he married Chen Yonghua's daughter."

  "Yes," Fu Weilin slowly teased Su Kuang. "Director Chen has given much guidance to Shisun, and Shisun was able to stabilize Dongning with his support. Even this time, Shisun came to offer advice to the king through Director Chen's personal messenger." In fact, these were not secrets, and Su Kuang would know that Zheng Kechang had married Chen Yonghua's daughter, so he would also know about the internal conflicts within the Ming court. "However, this time Shisun was mistaken. If it weren't for Lord Liu's persistence, there wouldn't be this scene of you and I enjoying wine together today."

  Su Yu raised his cup to take a sip of wine, trying to cover up his embarrassment. However, after taking one mouthful, he turned his eyes and another question came out: "Liu Guoxuan's overnight construction of the beautiful city is indeed impressive. I heard it was done using some kind of cement. What is this cement thing? Can Brother Fu explain it to me?"

  "What is cement, I don't know either," said Fu Weilin, not that he really didn't know, but even if he did, he wouldn't have admitted it. "After the trial production was successful back then, General Chen and Governor Yang Xian had jointly issued an order prohibiting the disclosure of the cement manufacturing process, so Su is asking a blind man." Su's purpose was not achieved, and he was getting frustrated, when Fu Weilin asked in return, "Don't just talk about our province's affairs, Brother Su. I heard that your side also has many differences regarding the peace talks with our province?"

  "Who says it's not?" Su Yu also sighed. "Now in the Fujian officialdom, although King Kang is the leader, but Yao Qisheng, that old guy, is not willing to give up the credit of recruiting Guixiang to King Kang. He's been busy running around, preparing to take a share from it. But don't worry, Brother Fu, all the officials in the province are on King Kang's side." As he said this, Su Yu lowered his voice. "The border closure order has cut off many people's paths to wealth, and Yao Qisheng is one of them."

  Fu Weilin picked up a piece of wild ginger and chewed it in his mouth, the pungent flavor rushed up, making his mind clear. He carefully analyzed Su Kuang's words, true or false, and finally came to the conclusion that the seal order was indeed a double-edged sword, making both Qing and Zheng sides extremely uncomfortable, but this was not the key to the problem.

  "Kang Qinwang will eventually return to Beijing after all. If Yao Qisheng continues to intervene, I'm afraid this trip will end in failure again."

  "The prince also wants to get rid of him, but..." Su You's voice was still low, as if afraid of being overheard by the Green Camp soldiers nearby. "But, Yao is still in imperial favor, so it's not easy to take action against him. So, Brother Fu, I'll say something from the heart: if this negotiation can be settled, then let's settle it, and avoid everyone losing face when the prince returns to Beijing." Before Fu Weilin could respond, a loud horsing sound came from one end of the road, and the two men looked up to see a Qing army cavalryman rushing towards them. "Brother Fu, don't worry," Su You explained. "It's probably the person I sent to Xinghua to transmit the message who has returned."

  As they spoke, the groom had already seen their location and came galloping over, reining in his horse within ten paces and dismounting to kneel before them: "Reporting to Your Excellency, I have come from Xinghua to report that the families and attendants of Wu Fu-yuan and Ding Guo-dong have been waiting for some time; please hurry on your journey."

  "See, I was wrong." Su Yuanchang showed off to Fu Weilin, as if the two dignitaries were able to do so because of his face. "Both of you gentlemen are eager to negotiate a successful agreement as soon as possible, and turn swords into jade belts, allowing the people to live in peace and prosperity."

  In the early Qing dynasty, the governor-general was mainly in charge of military affairs and concurrently in charge of civil administration, while the governor was mainly in charge of civil administration and concurrently in charge of military affairs. Although there were differences in rank between the two, there was no subordinate relationship in reality. Moreover, just as the provincial treasurer had a restraining effect on the governor, the governor also played a restraining role on the governor-general. Therefore, Yao Qisheng was not an indispensable part of the negotiations between the two sides.

  Su Yu pointed at the two men's path: "The hospitality of the prefecture and county along the way, why was it so respectful? Isn't that also for this reason?"

  It seems that Su Yu felt that his words were not stimulating enough for Fu Wei Lin, so he deliberately used a tragic tone to say: "Brother Fu, this burden is not light!"

  Isn't it a heavy burden? Fu Weilin sneered to himself, both sides were puppets on strings. He had to listen to Si Ming's every move, and as for the Qing court, even Kang Sheng might not dare say such big words. What kind of heavy burden was this? However, since Su wanted to put on a show, Fu Weilin naturally had to play along, so he deliberately revealed a hint of confusion in his eyes.

  "Fu brother, look, the messengers of several seniors are waiting," Seeing Fu Weilin's thoughtful expression after hearing his words, Su Kuang's heart was so happy that his beard almost curled up. However, there were still people in Xinghua City who were waiting and had a higher status than him, so he couldn't help but urge them to hurry. "Shall we continue on our way after finishing this cup?"

  "Ah!" Fu Weilin made a dazed expression. "Alright, alright, let's get going, let's go."

  ??”

  In the 30th year of Yongli (Kangxi 18), Fu Weilin went to Fuzhou for negotiations, which was the 13th negotiation between Zheng Qing and Ming Zheng since the time of Zheng Chenggong. In this negotiation, Fu Weilin represented the Ming Zheng side and continued to request the retention of Siming and Haicheng, and stated "The small Haicheng, after the negotiation is concluded, will be a public place for both parties. If Kangxi is in Fujian, the vassal lord will come and go; if Kangxi returns to Beijing, each side will set up officials to come and go". For this reason, the Ming Zheng side was willing to "pay 60,000 taels of silver as tribute from the East and West Oceans every year".

  Prince Gong, who had originally insisted on "Zheng Fang's interpretation of the East returning to the imperial court, and the islands being returned to the imperial court, with Penghu as the boundary, trade and commerce would be allowed, and following the example of Korea, a plea would be made for eternal friendship", was somewhat at a loss. Ji Xucheng, who did not want to stay long in this hot and humid place in Fujian, used the fact that Haitan is part of Min territory and under the jurisdiction of the provincial government as an excuse to shift the problem to the provincial side.

  The contradiction was handed over to Yao Qisheng and a group of Fujian officials. Yao Qisheng, who was originally excluded from the negotiations, took advantage of the situation to put forward a tough proposition: "Every inch of land belongs to the king, who dares to discuss the borders lightly as if they were public property?" As soon as this argument came out, all the officials in the province were speechless. From then on, the negotiations between the two sides broke down again.

  "Sir, a letter has been delivered from outside," Fu Weilin's guard handed over the letter with an unusual expression. "It is from Governor of Fujian, Yao Qisheng." Fu Weilin was taken aback and then heard his guard continue, "The person who left the letter said that Yao Qisheng invites you to a dinner party at his residence tonight and insists that you must attend."

  "Got it." Fu Weilin crumpled up the note and dismissed his guards. "You can go down first."

  "Sir!" The guard did not back down, but instead seemed like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

  "Do you have something to say?" Fu Wei Lin looked at his opponent. "Speak directly, I don't believe you still trust anyone else here!"

  "The adults think that they cannot go, but Yao Qisheng on the one hand refuses to negotiate with Ben Fan, and on the other hand invites the adults to drink wine, must have another plan, in case"

  ??”

  "What if it gets back to Siming, I won't be able to explain it to the king." Fu Weilin chuckled. "Of course we have to go, how else will we know what kind of trickery Yao Qisheng is up to?" Fu Weilin stood up and walked in front of the guard, gently patting his chest. "Don't worry, the king isn't a suspicious person, nothing will happen." The guard retreated with some doubts, and Fu Weilin stood by the window, muttering to himself. "Yao Qisheng, is this a trap or an attempt to surrender? If it's really a surrender, what should I do next?"

  ??”