Chen Yuanbin stood on the boat and looked at the blood-red river, feeling very depressed.
He couldn't tell whether the sunset made the river red or stained with blood, so he didn't want to see Li Xia anyway.
"Similar to the Liao and Jin Dynasties, the Yuan Dynasty could not go south and could only negotiate peace with the imperial court. Without Li Ni, the world would have been at peace. How could so many people have died? Life would be ruined, lives would be ruined."
The boat finally arrived under Li Ni's main ship.
Several rebels jumped down, searched Chen Yuanbin carefully, and escorted him to the boat to see Li Xia.
…
"Chen Yuanbin, who was appointed by Lang Quan of the Song Dynasty to pacify the Jinghu envoy to the Si Gan Office, was ordered to ask the traitor Li Xia... You regret it."
"Chen Yuanbin, aren't you afraid of death?" Fang Yankai stepped forward and asked.
This very dishonorable threat was not clever at all, but the murderous intent in Fang Yankai's tone was real.
Anyway, they all rebelled against the Song Dynasty and did not even declare war. His Majesty was morally ruined. Killing even one of Lu Wende's envoys would not make any difference.
Chen Yuanbin was afraid of death, so he remained silent for a moment, and when he spoke again his tone was a bit softer.
"I am here for the good of King Qin and want to give King Qin a way out."
Fang Yankai said: "My emperor is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He has ascended the throne and restored the Tang Dynasty..."
Li Xia is hidden at the junction of the light of the torch and the darkness of the night, majestic and oppressive.
He was like a sculpture, not saying a word, listening to Fang Yankai and Chen Yuanbin bickering over these nominal issues.
After that, Chen Yuanbin talked about the purpose of coming here this time.
"Now you have been surrounded by Lu Shaobao's army, and there is no chance of survival if you continue to resist. However, Lu Shaobao does not want Meng Yuan to take the opportunity to occupy Guanlong, Sichuan, Shu and other places. He can save your life and come to Lin'an to be raised..."
Fang Yankai glanced at Li Xia, no longer tit for tat, but began to test, and asked: "Lu Wende sent you? I think it should be Lu Wenhuan?"
Chen Yuanbin was secretly surprised.
In fact, this matter was indeed Lu Wenhuan’s idea.
Compared with Lu Wende's vigorous and decisive actions, Lu Wenhuan is more considerate of the overall situation.
In the current situation, not only did he not want to lose the military exploits of putting down the rebellion, but he was also worried about the loss of Ezhou, and he was also worried about the Mongolian and Yuan troops who were watching eagerly from the side... Lu Wenhuan believed that if Li Xia was willing to surrender, it would be the best outcome.
If Li Xia doesn't want to, sending someone here can at least test Li Xia's attitude. For example, if he is surrounded by many people, where can he get the confidence?
Chen Yuanbin would not reveal the details behind this, and said calmly: "No, I came here on the order of Lu Shaobao."
"It seems that the offensive has made no progress for several days and Lu Wende has lost confidence."
"No, you and others are surrounded here, and the baggage will be exhausted sooner or later. Master Lu has full confidence, but he is willing to give you a chance before annihilating you and others, so as to protect the people in the southwest and northwest from the disaster of war."
Fang Yankai glanced at Li Xia secretly, then sneered deliberately and said, "Why don't you speak frankly. It's time for the battle report from Ezhou to arrive, and Lu Wende is at a loss."
Chen Yuanbin only heard that Shi Jun had captured Yicheng, but there was no follow-up news.
He didn't think Shi Jun could capture Ezhou so quickly, so he shook his head and said with a smile: "No need to deceive me..."
"Just go ahead if you don't believe me." Fang Yankai said, "Go away. I won't kill you today. We'll wait until you acknowledge my title as emperor."
Seeing that he was really going to be expelled, Chen Yuanbin hesitated, but with a smile on his face, he said, "If you place your hopes on Shi Jun, who is far away alone, I'm afraid you will be disappointed."
"Yeah?"
"Our army has surrounded Shi Jun at Jingmen..."
Chen Yuanbin said while observing Fang Yankai's reaction.
Fang Yankai didn't even bother to make an expression, as if he found this kind of test too boring.
"That's enough. Go back and tell Lu Wenhuan that the Lu family brothers have fought against the Mongols. I hope they won't join forces with the Mongolians this time." Li Xia finally spoke, and after finishing his sentence, he had Chen Yuanbin taken away.
~~
"What do you mean? To drive a wedge between me and my sixth brother?"
When Chen Yuanbin returned to Lu Wende's tent and told the details of his meeting with Li Xia, Lu Wende couldn't help but cursed: "Does the dog think I'm stupid? Can he not even see through such a stupid trick?"
At this moment, some soldiers hurried outside the tent, reported the situation, and then entered the tent to whisper to Lu Wende.
Chen Yuanbin lowered his head and listened, and what he could faintly hear was "Li Ni sent someone to deliver a letter to the Sixth General."
Lu Wende didn't react much, but scolded Li Xia a few more times, and then dismissed the soldier.
"Let's just fight, just be a fool."
He turned to look at Chen Yuanbin and asked: "Li Nizhen thinks Shi Jun can win Ezhou? How is that possible?"
Chen Yuanbin lowered his head, but he remembered the instructions given by the Meng Yuan messenger... He advised Lu Wende to attack Li Xia at all costs.
So, no matter how Li Xia reacts to today's temptation, his answer will be the same.
"The city of Ezhou is well defended and cannot be captured by a hundred thousand Mongolian troops. Shi Jun's troops are less than 20,000, so it will be impossible to do so. Students have been able to determine that Shi Jun was only encircling Wei to save Zhao and only wanted to demoralize our military."
"Yeah?"
"Many clues indicate that Li Ni's army is about to run out of food, grass, arrows, and firearms, and is bluffing in an attempt to escape. Shaobao only needs to attack for a few more days to complete the battle..."
~~
Late at night.
Li Xia had expressed condolences to the wounded, walked out of the cabin, and saw Fang Yankai waiting on the deck, so he asked, "Is the messenger who went to see Lu Wenhuan back?"
"Your Majesty, you are back."
"Did Lu Wenhuan reply?"
"No reply, just a message..."
Fang Yankai was about to speak but stopped.
"Tell me." Li Xia asked, "What did Lu Wenhuan say?"
"He said, Your Majesty, there is no need to be so petty. Since you don't want to surrender... you are just waiting to be killed."
"It doesn't matter, as long as he is on guard against Meng Yuan." Li Xia said: "In short, the attitudes of all parties are clear. We just wait for Ezhou to win a big victory."
"It's time for Your Majesty to break out of the encirclement, otherwise I'm afraid..."
"Didn't I just say that? As long as Ezhou wins a big victory, Lu Wenhuan's attitude will change, and I don't need to break out."
"I am afraid..." Fang Yankai hesitated for a moment, but finally said it, "I am afraid that if the battle of Ezhou is lost."
"Lu Wende can trust Lu Wenfu, but you and I can't trust Shi Gong?"
"Although Commander Shi has an advantage, the terrain and military strength are completely different..."
Li Xia patted Fang Yankai on the shoulder and said, "Fang Qing, come with me for a walk."
The sudden "I" sound stopped Fang Yankai, and he followed Li Xia two steps behind.
"I said that I don't want to take risks in this battle and want to fight it safely. Fang Qing must believe that I am not showing off now, but must stay to contain Lu Wende. Because Xiangyang, Ezhou, and Jiangling seem to be three battlefields.
In fact, it was the same battlefield, a game with the Zhao and Song Dynasties. For example, Shi Gong won in Ezhou, but I escaped on the Xiangyang battlefield, which was not enough to deter the Song Dynasty..."
Li Xia is very patient with his closest officials.
He also had such a long conversation with Shi Jun before he went on the expedition, so he could trust Shi Jun.
While talking, Li Xia picked up a few wooden boards from the ground and erected them on the deck.
"This is the battle of Ezhou, the battle of Jiangling, and the battle of Xiangyang. You see, if the battle of Ezhou is won first, it will definitely affect the Jiangling and Xiangyang battlefields. Whether it is a small victory or a big victory, then our Tang Dynasty will be better than the Song Dynasty.
It is a powerful country that is difficult to defeat."
With a push of his fingers, Li Xia pushed down a wooden board, and the other two wooden boards were also brought down.
"I will not retreat, I will wait for one victory to bring another victory."
Fang Yankai could understand this, but in the end he reminded him, "Your Majesty has only been on the throne for a short period of time. If you are trapped in Xiangyang for a long time, you need to worry about the changes in the minds of your subordinates."
"I understand." Li Xia nodded and said, "Don't worry, it won't take too long. If Ezhou can win, it will be a quick victory."
He just knocked down the three wooden boards he had erected, but the real situation now is that the three battlefields have just been arranged and they are still waiting for the first victory.
~~
Outside Ezhou City at night, someone was raising a lookout tube to look at the towering city wall.
I saw that the light of torches was dense, and the defense was very tight.
As soon as he turned his eyes, the Wangze door was closed tightly.
"found it."
Another person picked up an arrow from the ground and handed it over.
"Find a way to send the news back... We will do it the night after tomorrow, and we will cooperate with both the inside and outside."
"Is it too early?"
"The battle of Ezhou must be won quickly."
"Is a quick victory okay?"
"You have to do it even if it doesn't work. In order to run Jinghu, the Public Opinion Department even withdrew from Lin'an five or six years ago. Is it a waste of our efforts for so many years?"