After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The tent was simply furnished, with just a table and not even a chair.

The group stood around the table.

The writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone on the table were swept aside to make room for the grotesque human head that was displayed.

The pale sunlight pierced through the white tents, casting faint shadows on the ground.

As everyone turned their heads slightly, their gazes focused on the young man with disheveled hair and a face stained with dirt and blood, the faint shadows on the ground also overlapped and intertwined.

The young man spoke in a flat tone, as if he were talking about something extremely unimportant.

It's no longer important?

Seeing the other party's nonchalant attitude, everyone looked on in astonishment.

Furthermore, after Jia Shi'an mentioned that the person leading the troops was the dignified Deputy Commander of the Plain White Banner, everyone's hearts sank even further.

As a fourth-rank official in the Censorate, Wu Yuanlei suppressed his anger. As soon as the other person finished speaking, his eyes widened slightly, and he immediately retorted:

"Why do you say that, Your Highness? If the enemy has only thirty riders, our delegation of nearly one hundred riders and fifty infantrymen is more than enough to contend with them!"

"But if they also send a hundred Green Standard Army soldiers to accompany them, we must immediately inform the Northern Dynasty delegation and order them to send troops to escort them!"

"Amurtu is no easy opponent. If this Deputy Commander of the Plain White Banner leads his troops to attack, won't we become fish on someone else's chopping block?!"

Zhao Shikuang and Jiang Heng also turned pale and quickly echoed each other.

"Lord Wu is right! Vice Envoy Jia, we should immediately inform Duanliang and order him to send troops from Chuzhou to escort them!"

"The Plain White Banner's armor is unparalleled! With both cavalry and infantry, how could Zhang Yaozuo possibly be a match for Amurtu?"

"Exactly! Zhang Yaozuo couldn't even control Tong Shun and the other two..."

"Zhang Yaozuo..."

"They're all dead..."

Time is tight.

The mission was about to depart, but he still needed to go back to take a shower and change his clothes.

Ning Nan pondered the wording of what he was about to say, and then casually made a remark.

"Hmm...they're all dead..."

"What?" His words had barely left his mouth when the others stopped talking abruptly.

His neck turned mechanically, and the words he hadn't finished saying stuck in his throat.

*Clap, clap* Ning Nan patted the heads on the table, his gaze sweeping over the group as he said:

"Here is Amurtu. Hmm, his head."

Everyone stared, mouths agape, their gazes shifting from him back to the grotesque figure on the table.

The severed head on the table stared in disbelief.

Ignoring the shock, astonishment, and disbelief in their eyes, Ning Nan calmly glanced at them and said:

"The left ears of thirty Tartars and one hundred bandits have been cut off as a record of their merits. If you gentlemen wish to see them, go find Qian Sijin... Hmm... Actually, none of that matters anymore... Let's talk about something more important..."

He skipped over the fact that thieves had their eyes on the delegation:

"Gentlemen, we bear a heavy responsibility on our shoulders on this journey north. His Majesty and the Emperor Emeritus have high expectations for us, and frankly speaking, the dangers our mission faces have exceeded my expectations."

Ning Nan took a slight breath and looked at them solemnly, saying...

"Therefore, I implore you four gentlemen... to heed my suggestions, so as to ensure our successful journey north!"

Then, Ning Nan carefully explained to the group their purpose for heading north and the obstacles they would encounter.

This was also his first real involvement in an diplomatic mission...

……

Their stated purpose in sending envoys was, of course, to facilitate an alliance between the North and the South.

There are three obstacles to achieving this goal.

The first issue is his personal feud with the Prince Yi's mansion.

After Hongfeng crawled between his legs, the problem was mostly solved.

Hongfeng naturally wished he could be killed.

However, with the eunuchs Gui Cai and Hong Jiao in his hands, when they arrive in Beijing, he can host a banquet for Hong Feng, apologize, and most likely the guests and hosts will have a pleasant time.

Otherwise... he has plenty of ways to get Gui Cai and Hong Jiao to tell him about Hong Feng crawling between his legs in Beijing.

The second problem hindering the mission was the issue of the area south of the Huai River. After Hongfeng had no chance of marrying into the Liang Dynasty, the Northern Dynasty naturally withdrew the condition of "the area south of the Huai River".

Let's get down to business.

After recovering from his shock, Wu Yuanlei, whose face had turned pale, sorted out his thoughts and said:

"This condition was not originally free. First, the Northern Dynasty still needed to station troops in Huai'an and Yangzhou and collect salt tax and silk for twenty years."

"Secondly, Daliang also needs to pay an additional ten years' worth of salt tax and silk in Huai'an and Yangzhou, to be paid in three installments within one year."

"Thirdly, our dynasty needs to supply the Northern dynasty with a certain amount of grain, armor, and weapons. The amount to be supplied initially, and the amount to be supplied each month thereafter, have all been discussed several times in previous alliance agreements, and both dynasties are aware of this."

Zhao Shikuang, the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, also composed himself at this moment and added:

"That's right, these are all negotiable. We can always talk about it again. We previously negotiated the salt tax to a maximum of ten years, but now we can easily extend it to twelve or thirteen years..."

Jiang Heng, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, nodded solemnly in agreement.

Jia Shi'an said to Ning Nan, "Your Highness, you may entrust the negotiation to us. We will certainly not fail in our mission."

The two exchanged glances.

Ning Nan nodded.

Only he and Jia Shi'an knew the mission's true purpose.

The other three, unaware of the truth, would instead lead the entire delegation in making the negotiations as if they were true, thus convincing the Northern Dynasty.

"As for the third question," Ning Nan solemnly raised his third finger, took a breath, and said, "it is how we can safely evacuate Beijing after we reach an agreement."

The other three did not notice anything amiss, believing that if an agreement could be reached, the mission's safety should be assured.

Only his gaze turned serious, mirroring Jia Shi'an's.

After Jia Shi'an thought about it for a moment...

Ning Nan glanced at the group, smiled, and bowed to them.

"I, Ning, am unworthy, but I would like to volunteer myself to you all. The fate of this mission is of paramount importance, and I, Ning Baixuan, hope that you will trust me and allow me... to take full responsibility!"

He wanted to go home to see his wife, Cui Cui, and wanted to launch a northern expedition to the Central Plains. He also wanted his wife and future daughters and grandchildren to be able to sleep in late.

He vowed to complete this mission and return successfully to the south!

……

The bright red sun climbed to the bare treetops, and as its rays swept across the landscape, the thick fog gradually dissipated.

They returned to their own tents.

The servant Du Gui prepared a bathtub for him and poured in hot water.

Master Ning sat inside and took a comfortable bath.

The others were not as particular as him. They used tents to create a makeshift bathhouse, and carried hot water in, washing themselves quickly.

Ning Nan, as the deputy envoy of the mission, has finally taken on the responsibility of deputy envoy today.

From today onwards, the two deputy envoys of the mission will each be in charge of one area.

Issues involving core negotiations were handled by Jia Shi'an, along with several officials in scarlet robes.

As for the mission's other issues, such as defense, logistics, procurement, laborers, mules, food, and all sorts of other matters, including a dozen or so minor officials in green robes, as well as several commanders of the cavalry and infantry, he was in charge of all of them.

Among them was Shangguan Zhao, a minor official in green robes who managed the grain transport laborers.

After changing his clothes and tying his hair up, Ning Nan called everyone over one by one to get to know them.

Whether they liked it or not, everyone had no choice but to accept it and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Vice Envoy Ning."

……

Around late afternoon, the large delegation entered Chuzhou City.

He doesn't attend any social gatherings or events.

As night deepened.

He received several people disguised as laborers who had sneaked in, in the courtyard arranged by the Chuzhou government office.