Haotian thought for a moment and then said: "It makes sense for one soldier to exchange for five strong men. The people we were plundered at the beginning have now been working as coolies outside the Great Wall for four or five years. Even if they were strong and strong at the beginning, they are probably too thin now."
They are all skin and bones. Moreover, their status is all that of slaves, which is not a level lower than the status of these soldiers. So let Mr. Chu be as loud as possible and fight for as much as he can. But there is one thing
It must be clear that when these soldiers walked out of Xuzhou City, they could only take their personal belongings and their own weapons. As for their armor and horses, they must all stay behind. Of course, when they arrived at the river and crossed the river on their own,
During this period of time, we will definitely protect their safety."
Luo Xiang also nodded: "This is inevitable. If we don't guarantee their safety, can they guarantee the safety of our captives? Besides, there are only hundreds of thousands of people, what if we let them go back?"
Their heads are still ours after all, they are just temporarily stored with them."
"That's right! I, Hetao, must have this kind of courage and momentum!" Haotian patted his head and said excitedly: "Oh, by the way. Prince Trikebus of Beijing is also among this army of more than 100,000 people.
, we should inform the other party that our elite are ordinary people, but among their more than 100,000 people, there are still many princes, nobles and senior generals. If these people have no objection, they can also divide them one to five.
Or exchange in a ratio of one to six."
Luo Xiang and Xuanji both smiled. It seemed that Haotian's mind was not slow in thinking about this. If Chu Xiangcheng said this, even if the three Northeastern countries wanted to muddle through, it would be impossible. After all, if Bai Jing
Prince Trickbus actually paid a price that was only worth five or six slaves. If word spread, the entire Baijing royal family would be disgraced.
Luo Xiang agreed with a smile. He just informed Haotian about this matter. After Haotian agreed, the rest of the details, such as when and where the two parties exchanged, how many people were exchanged each time, etc., were all Chu
This is something that Xiangcheng should consider.
After a moment of silence, Haotian suddenly said: "The three northeastern countries have finally parted ways with the Holy Sect of Paradise."
"That is inevitable. The relationship between the Three Northeastern Kingdoms and the Paradise Holy Sect is only mutual use. Their alliance with the Paradise Holy Sect is far less close than that of the Eastern Japan and the Paradise Holy Sect. When we divided the Northeastern Allied Forces that surrounded Yuzhou Road, the Paradise Holy Sect
The Holy Sect hardly offered any help. Cheng Xianqing's high-profile founding of the country pushed the Holy Sect of Paradise to the forefront. What the three northeastern countries most hoped for was that the Holy Sect of Paradise could keep a low profile as much as possible, so that many forces within Qingfeng would fall into internal strife. However,
In this way, we had to take the lead in dealing with the Holy Sect of Paradise. Together, these factors finally made the three northeastern countries give up the Holy Sect of Paradise as an ally, and let them fight us to the death." Luo Xiang nodded and said: "Of course, we
It cannot be concluded that the Holy Sect of Paradise and the Three Northeastern Countries will not collude again. After all, both parties have common interests. If they are pushed into a hurry, they may collude."
"Yeah." Haotian nodded with half-squinted eyes.
Seeing that the two of them had finished talking, Xuanji opened his mouth and said: "There is one more thing, I don't know whether it is a blessing or a curse. Just yesterday morning, Jinhua and Mitsukoshi sent envoys to the Holy Capital of Tiandu to prepare to surrender to the empire.
"
Haotian was shocked, and his body suddenly bounced upright: "How is it possible? Jinhua Mitsukoshi and the Empire have been fighting for four full years. Although there are 300,000 troops in the Southern Military Region, there are five southern Yunnan tribes in the west and the Bliss Saint in the east.
To the south is Jinhua Mitsukoshi's 700,000-strong army. They now have an absolute advantage, how could they suddenly cease fighting and surrender?"
Xuanji smiled bitterly and said: "We also thought it was impossible. But Jinhua Mitsukoshi was indeed the first to cease the war. They explained that they had been fighting for several years, and the people and soldiers in the country were exhausted. The old foundation accumulated in the past
The war is almost over. In the past few years, the empire has been imposing an economic blockade on them, resulting in a shortage of various daily necessities in their country. Therefore, not only ordinary people are war-weary, but even the upper echelons of their country are also considering a strike.
possible."
Haotian's eyes flashed: "Is what they said true? What do they want?"
"They have indeed lost a lot of their accumulated foundation, and various domestic commodities are also lacking a lot, but to say that the people are war-weary, this is simply not possible." Xuanji said in a deep voice: "The condition they proposed is that the empire is absolutely
They are not allowed to station troops in the country and are not allowed to interfere with their domestic and foreign affairs. They only express nominal surrender to the empire, which means that except that they are still wearing the banner of an empire, the rest has nothing to do with the empire. The empire does not allow them to change their thrones.
Intervene, and the empire’s ongoing economic blockade must be lifted immediately.”
"An economic blockade? Isn't this a joke?" Haotian said disdainfully. Since half of the Zhang family fell, and the Li family was jointly raided by the Yizhou Song family and Cassimbas, the empire's industry and commerce can really be used.
Only Tiandu Shengjing and Hetao Yanzhou and Dingzhou areas are left. Although Yizhou Road is known as the land of abundance, the talents of the Song family and his sons have obviously not been highlighted in industry and commerce. Apart from their own territory, the current Yizhou Road area is barely
It can only supply the two states of Yingyi on South Dian Road. Although Dahu Road is rich, the wealth here is mainly expressed in the form of land. This is where the largest landowners in the country are located. Food is their specialty, but commerce is not their strong point.
.
Xuanji obviously understood what Haotian meant, so he followed Haotian's words and said: "The reason of economic blockade is unworkable. Even if the empire's economic blockade on them is lifted, the goods that can be exported to Jinhua Mitsukoshi must be
There are very few. As for their military and political autonomy and the right to change the throne, this was indeed restricted by the empire before. It is normal for them to take this opportunity to erase these now."
Haotian picked up his tea cup and took a sip. He squinted his eyes and asked, "A delaying strategy? Sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight?"
"It should be more about sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. After all, the Holy Sect of Paradise has become a serious threat that the empire must eradicate. Both Emperor Zhongxing and Cheng Xianqing have just ascended the throne, and both of them hope to use their external military exploits to suppress them.
To bring down their own internal resistance forces. But now Emperor Zhongxing's strength is obviously at a disadvantage. Therefore, they deliberately surrendered to the empire and let the empire draw troops from the Great Lake Road to fight against the Holy Sect of Paradise. Of course, if both sides lose in the fight, they will also
It will turn it into a delaying tactic."
Haotian put down the tea cup and rubbed his temples because of his headache. Seeing this, Xin Jiao quickly put his little hands on Haotian's head and gently massaged him.
"The ministers in the court must be able to see through the other party's intentions, and your Majesty must also understand the other party's intentions. However, the Holy Sect of Paradise cannot be unjust. If the arrogance of the Holy Sect of Paradise is not suppressed, then Your Majesty, the emperor, will be done. So.
Based on His Majesty's character, he will definitely take the risk of deploying troops from Dahu Road. Alas, Mr. Jingnan will have to worry again." Haotian sighed and said, but he seemed to have remembered something and asked quickly: "Where is the South Yunnan Road now?
What is the situation like? How are the interactions between the four ethnic groups in southern Yunnan, the Keshui tribe, and the Jinhua Dynasty?"
Xuanji quickly said: "The four southern Yunnan tribes and the Keshui tribe all claimed that their strength was weak, so they would never be involved in the war between Jinhua Mitsukoshi and the empire. They shrank all their forces back to their own territories. Among them,
Most of the Keshui people and property have been transferred to Dangwu Yaoshan County on the east bank of the Xijiang River. It is obvious that they are shrinking their military strength."
Haotian breathed a sigh of relief: "If you look at the strength of the five southern Yunnan tribes, they are not strong, but they are not weak either. The situation in the empire is now extremely chaotic. If they intervene again, then even if Duke Jingnan has three heads and six arms,
It must be over."
The three most prestigious generals of Qingfeng's army, Tie Zhen, had died in Xuzhou City, He Huairen was buried in Luoshui, and only Ouyang Jingzhong, the Duke of Jingnan, was still supporting the overall situation on Dahu Road. However, Qingfeng is now corrupted.
In this situation, even if Ouyang Jingzhong can always support Dahu Road, can he support the entire Qingfeng Empire? Besides, with Emperor Zhongxing as the superior, he can only keep his own one-third of an acre, right?
"Sir, the matter of the more than 100,000 Northeastern soldiers in Xuzhou City will be left to you and Uncle Chu. I will let them closely monitor the Blood Commander and the others, and they will never let the cooked duck fly. Military Advisor, Tiandu
You need to pay close attention to the situation on Shengjing and Yangzhou Road and Dahu Road, and don’t let others take advantage of the loopholes.”
The envoys from the five tribes in southern Yunnan finally arrived in the Holy Capital of Heaven. Emperor Zhongxing specially sent Gong Yangyi, the Minister of Rites, to greet them. Originally, this should have been the responsibility of Zhang Cangwu, the Minister of Rites, but Emperor Zhongxing thought that Zhang Cangwu was Huaihe after all.
The Zhang family of Huaishui firmly disagreed with the peace talks with Jinhua Mitsukoshi, so after careful consideration, they finally chose Gongyang Yi.
At the beginning, Emperor Zhongxing also named Liu Nanqiu, the Minister of War, to attend. After all, facing the envoys from the four countries, it would be a bit undignified if there was not a royal disciple to support the formation. But Liu Nanqiu rejected Emperor Zhongxing's order with a gloomy face. In Liu Nanqiu's view,
, there is only one battle between the Empire and Jinhua Mitsukoshi, and any peace talks are futile.
"We understand what you said, but Your Majesty does not." Liu Nanshu sighed and said.
Although the three Liu Nanqiu were imperial uncles and held great power, they were not the confidants of Emperor Zhongxing. Although Xiang Xing was the commander of the Eastern Army, he was not the confidant of Emperor Zhongxing either. Ma Ying, Huang Jie and
Although Chi Zhongtian is now the commander of a legion with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, they are not the confidants of Emperor Zhongxing. These people, except Chi Zhongtian, the rest are all old people from the period of Emperor Yinglie. If they can fulfill their duties loyally and abide by their duties
If so, Emperor Zhongxing wouldn't mind reusing them. But their opinions were contrary to Emperor Zhongxing's, so they were destined to be in an embarrassing situation.
At the spring festival banquet, Liu Nanqiu, Xiang Xing, Huang Jie and others did not attend, and they had already informed the world that Emperor Zhongxing was dissatisfied with them. If the current situation in the empire was not too corrupt, Emperor Zhongxing would
He was also afraid that something like Zhu Bingyang would happen, so he must have begun to reduce the military power of several people. Even so, Emperor Zhongxing still restricted some of Xiang Xing's power. As for Ma Ying, although no clear punishment was given, due to
In the Battle of Wangjiang Bridge, his Green Dragon Army only had more than 10,000 people left, and it has not been replenished until now. The Green Dragon Army is almost on the verge of organizational collapse again. Although there is a financial shortage factor, there are more
Liu Nanshang put the wine glass in his hand heavily on the table and said fiercely: "Your Majesty, it's not that he doesn't understand, it's just that he thinks he has the ability to control the overall situation. Ever since the traitor Cheng Xianqing became emperor, the Holy Sect of Paradise has been expanding.
Exposed, Your Majesty, he continued to mobilize troops to defend the Holy Capital of Tiandu. However, he did not think about it. The Great Lakes Road has now become the straw for our entire Qingfeng. If the Great Lakes Road is lost, then we will not have to fight. Tiandu
Even if Shengjing can be defended, everyone will starve to death."
Ma Ying remained silent, just drinking one mouthful of wine after another. He didn't blame anyone else, and he didn't know who to blame. After a long time, he let out a long sigh, which was full of desolation.
Liu Nanshu also drank a lot of wine and said bitterly: "I'm afraid the empire will not survive."
In the past, Xiang Xing and Huang Jie, two hot-tempered people, would have slapped the table and yelled at each other first, but now, both of them were speechless, drinking sullenly, not knowing what to say.
"Your Majesty will definitely be very unhappy if he knows that we are together." Huang Jie said loudly.
Liu Nanqiu snorted: "How can he be happy? Unless a few of us do what he wants, no matter what order he gives, we will carry it out without any objection. But if that happens, I'm afraid the empire will really
It’s over.”
The six people here all know that Emperor Zhongxing distrusts them and has already excluded them from his confidants. In fact, the differences between the two sides have been doomed for a long time. The six of them are the most determined leaders of the imperial court.
The faction was one of the core members during the period of Emperor Yinglie. However, the leaders at that time were the three pillars of Qingfeng. The power base of Emperor Zhongxing was the princes and nobles in Tiandu Holy Capital. These people just wanted to keep Tiandu Holy City.
Beijing, to preserve their wealth, was not interested in taking the initiative to fight resolutely. However, Liu Nanqiu and others had to persist in their persistence, because they understood that if this continued, the Qingfeng Empire would really be hopeless.