"King Yong raised an army, which was actually a rebellion..."
"The imperial court has great righteousness and has an army of millions. Your rebellion will be defeated..."
"The Emperor is benevolent and does not want to harm more lives. Those who surrender can have their crimes pardoned..."
In Zhao Yanxun's mouth, he read out the key sentences written on the paper.
To put it simply, this is a letter of persuasion to surrender, and its straightforward language is obviously intended for ordinary soldiers.
Putting away the surrender letter, Zhao Yanxun asked: "Are these a lot of things?"
The guard quickly replied: "That's right, this thing was scattered on the river bank, and the wind blew it everywhere!"
Nodding, Zhao Yanxun signaled the guard to retreat.
Standing aside, Zhang Meng said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I will go and pass on the order right now. Let the ministries collect the surrender letters they picked up and burn them with fire!"
Although he is a bit stupid, he also knows that this thing will disturb the morale of the army.
Glancing at Zhang Meng, Zhao Yanxun said calmly: "Why are you so anxious...could it be that just this thing can make them betray me?"
"If that's true, let's not fight this fight at all!"
Zhang Meng quickly lowered his head and replied: "Yes!"
At this moment, it was almost noon, and it was obviously time to go back to attend the meeting.
In fact, the chief officers of each guard station have already rushed to Hanbei City at this moment.
These people gathered outside the government office lobby and talked among themselves.
Some complained that their troops had been attacked by zombies, some boasted about how many ships they had built, and some complained to the cavalry guard about the difficulties in supplying their military supplies.
In times of war, this kind of meeting is the best mechanism for mutual communication and coordination to solve problems.
"Your Majesty is here!"
Hearing the report coming from outside, everyone in the courtyard fell silent and stood facing the gate.
Seeing Zhao Yanxun walking up the steps, everyone present paid their respects and said: "See you, Your Majesty!"
"Everyone, get up and go in to discuss matters!" Zhao Yanxun said in a deep voice.
After saying this, Zhao Yanxun walked directly into the hall, and all the generals followed him.
Taking a seat at the main seat, Zhao Yanxun glanced at everyone in the hall and said: "Old rules, talk about your respective situations, and everyone can work together to solve it!"
"Wu Jianqing, starting from your first guard!"
After being called upon, Wu Jianqing immediately walked to the center of the hall and started talking about today's affairs straight to the point.
The matter is complicated, and each commander will speak for one to three minutes, during which they will also discuss solutions to the problem.
Everyone discussed for more than half an hour to coordinate tomorrow's affairs.
"Listen up, everyone, there are errands to be done... but you must also prepare your respective subordinates to fight tough battles at any time!"
Speaking of this, Zhao Yanxun said in a serious tone: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. No art of war has ever said that the battle will take place in five or ten days..."
Everyone looked like they had been taught something. In fact, Zhao Yanxun didn't need to emphasize it. They were always in preparation for war, and the battle with the zombies never stopped.
Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yanxun took out a piece of paper, which was the letter of surrender issued by the imperial court.
"Circuit this thing around!"
Wu Jianqing, who was the closest, immediately took it over to look at it, and his expression changed drastically at just one glance.
"This thing came from the other side of the river. I'm afraid they copied thousands of them. What is their purpose...I think you can all see it!"
"To persuade us to surrender and to demoralize our military...this is indeed a good way!"
Wu Jianqing, who was the first to read it, replied: "Your Majesty, what those people on the other side are thinking of is really a threat to the rebels, but we are not rebels!"
"Your Majesty, in accordance with the destiny and the late emperor's edict, fight against the rebels and bring trouble to the country!"
"The brothers below are all willing to die for the prince, how can they remind the other side of these bullshit traitors!"
Hearing Wu Jianqing's words, Zhao Yanxun smiled.
Immediately afterwards, other commanders also scorned the "letter of persuasion to surrender".
Trying to disturb the morale of the military through this was simply wishful thinking in their eyes.
There are millions of troops in the imperial court, and most of the people present are from the Forbidden Army. How could they not know what is going on with the imperial army?
"My lord, I'm afraid that those losers on the other side want to threaten us... Do you think it's ridiculous or not?"
"That's it...hahaha!"
Knowing what is going on on the other side, everyone present also knows how powerful their own side is in combat.
As long as they built the ship and attacked it in one go, they were sure to defeat the imperial army.
To them, the threats in the surrender letter were incompetent and furious, just like a country threatening polar bears.
Signaling everyone to be quiet, Zhao Yanxun suppressed his smile and said: "So when you go back, you must tell your subordinates that the other side is threatening them and looking down on them... let alone their prince!"
"Arouse their anger, and when the time comes, they will burn the entire shore to the ground!"
All the commanders replied: "Yes!"
After being delayed west of the Han River for so many days, they were all holding their breath and just wanted to cross the Han River as soon as possible.
Immediately, Zhao Yanxun stood up and said: "Okay, let's go back!"
Everyone saluted again and then exited the lobby one after another.
…………
Two days have passed very quickly. According to the current shipbuilding progress of various departments, there are still five days before everything is ready to be completed.
On the other side of the river, the imperial envoys sent from the capital have also truly learned about the situation of Yong's army.
Reality gave them and the court a hard slap. Although the army led by Zhao Yanxun did not have a real number of 100,000, it still numbered 70,000 to 80,000.
The terrible thing is that these 70,000 to 80,000 people are all elites, and their strength is already stronger than the imperial army on the east bank of the Han River.
Today, there are only more than 25,000 imperial guards east of the Han River, and together with the 30,000 remnants of the two capital divisions in Guangyang, Hexi, they are no match for Yong's army in terms of military strength.
In other words, the current situation is very critical.
In a room in Donghe Fucheng, Meng Zhengqing said in a deep voice: "The report to the capital has been sent. Our errand is finally completed!"
On the chair next to Meng Zhengqing sat Qiu Youxian, the minister of the Ministry of War. This man was the representative of the Ministry of War, and he was now in the prime of life.
Just listen to Qiu Youxian say: "Sir, maybe there is something else you can do!"
"What else should we do? After Zhang An took office, he even recruited many civilian workers to transport grain and fodder to the front line. I really don't know what else to do!"
In Meng Zhengqing's view, all possible solutions have been exhausted, and now he can only wait for the court's reaction.
"Mr. Meng, I mean... there is still something we can do!"
"What's up?"
Under Meng Zhengqing's doubtful gaze, Qiu Youxian said calmly: "Mr. Meng, I am willing to cross Jiangxi to persuade King Yong to surrender!"
"Persuading King Yong to surrender?"
Meng Zhengqing was shocked by Qiu Youxian's idea, and secretly thought that this man might be too short-lived. Even King Yong had rebelled, so how could he easily persuade him to surrender?
Meng Zhengqing said: "Master Qiu, your courage is commendable, but your trip... I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve results!"
Qiu You first replied: "Even if we can't persuade him to surrender, if we can delay him for a few more days, we can buy time for the court to mobilize troops!"
With the memorials they submitted, after the imperial court knew the situation on the front line, it would naturally mobilize troops to support the front line.
But it takes time to mobilize the troops. If it doesn't last for ten days and a half, I'm afraid it won't be possible at all, and what's lacking right now is time.
In Qiu Youxian's view, the defense line of the Western Front Army was relatively fragile and could collapse if not careful.
Seeing that Qiu Youxian was loyal and had the courage to sacrifice his own life, Meng Zhengqing also respected him a little more.
"You have thought about it!" Meng Zhengqing said solemnly.
Qiu Youxian smiled and said: "Be loyal to the country and you will have no regrets even if you die!"
Although it is said that when an official becomes a senior official, it is difficult for him to be loyal to his original son, but everything is not absolute. Scholars who are deeply educated by loyalty to the emperor will always be able to uphold their original aspirations.
Meng Zhengqing said in a deep voice: "Then go ahead and take care of yourself along the way!"
