After reading it, I breathed a sigh of relief. The content of the letter did not make up my mind to kill him, I just wanted to hear his opinion.
He subconsciously wanted to advise him to stop. After all, preparations for negotiations had been made here. If an unexpected move was made, most people in the capital would be blocked by the Song State, including the Gao family.
Just when he was about to reply like this, he hesitated, got up and wandered into the study, Fan Zhuan's eyes following him around.
Again, Niu Youdao just wanted to hear his opinion, not to let him speak from the standpoint of the imperial court, nor to let him take into account his personal gains and losses. After thinking about it again and again, Gao Jiancheng decided to give a pertinent reply, and asked Fan Zhuan to find a new pen and ink. I used paper and inkstone to draft the manuscript myself.
…
"Six hundred thousand prisoners?" Luo Zhao asked in surprise, on horseback among the advancing army.
After he vomited blood in a rage, the monks cast spells to treat him, but his health was no longer a big problem.
News of Song's envoy Qian Liansheng came and he wanted to confirm whether there were indeed 600,000 prisoners of Song in the hands of the Yan army.
When attacking Yanjing here, we naturally have to pay attention to the internal situation of Yanjing, and we have long established contact with Song Dynasty envoy Qian Liansheng.
The reason why Qian Liansheng sent a message to ask here was that first of all Luo Zhao was presiding over the war and he must be familiar with the situation. Secondly, Luo Zhao's troops were approaching Yanjing, and the distance between them was close, so he could learn the real situation at the first time.
As the representative of the Song State in charge of affairs in the Yan State, he naturally had to know things well before he could bargain with the Yan State.
Of course, at the same time, Qian Liansheng also sent a message back to China to inquire and report the situation. However, Luo Zhao was close and received the news from Qian Liansheng first.
Wen You and others all shook their heads. In fact, they only knew the defeat of Jiang Fang's men and horses, and they did not know how many prisoners Meng Shanming had captured in a short period of time.
But one thing is for sure, I believe there are still some prisoners. After all, so many people have been defeated, how can we avoid being without prisoners? How many cannot be determined for the time being.
The main reason is that when the Song army was defeated in Qunluo Mountain, the scope was a bit wide, and the prisoners were also captured by various ministries under Meng Shanming's command around Qunluo Mountain. The prisoners were not detained together, and the total number of prisoners counted by each ministry was not known to outsiders for the time being. , unless there are spies placed in Meng Shanming's command center, it's almost the same.
The horseback riding of the marching army was not the place to talk about such things. Luo Zhao moved his horse out of the marching group and stopped on a flat ground outside the official road. Wen You and others also followed.
Several people jumped off their horses, and Su Yuanbai asked, "Six hundred thousand? Can the Yan army capture so many of our prisoners? Is it a scam?"
Luo Zhao thought and shook his head, "There shouldn't be any fraud. It's 10% true."
Su Yuanbai was surprised, "How can you see it?"
Luo Zhao: "Since we are going to negotiate, we must verify it. There is no need to cheat. It is difficult to capture so many prisoners with ordinary tactics, but Meng Shanming used water attack. The army was overwhelmed by the water and could not gather as an army to fight back. , thus losing military morale and morale, and it is entirely possible that 600,000 people will be captured."
This is the difference between understanding war and not understanding war. He can make judgments on things that others have no idea about.
However, as soon as these words came out, everyone felt quite heavy. Unexpectedly, Yan Guo had the bargaining chip first.
Dong Ying came and said: "Grand Governor, the Yan army has taken the 600,000 sons of the Song Dynasty as hostages. I am afraid that Yan Jing will not be able to take action."
At this moment, a flying general came to report, "Grand Governor, the imperial decree has arrived."
The so-called edict is an urgent message. At this time, it is not convenient to send people to set up a serious battle to convey the edict. The army fights and everything is kept simple.
Luo Zhao looked at the letter and was slightly silent, then passed it on to several people for circulation.
After looking at the situation, several people realized that, as Luo Zhao had expected, the imperial court really wanted to withdraw its troops and return reinforcements to stop Meng Shanming's army.
Chang Fei said: "The news from us is probably still on the way." The implication is that the court's decree has arrived first.
Luo Zhao narrowed his eyes and said, "The news that Qian Liansheng sent back to Yan State requesting negotiations is probably still on the way."
Su Yuanbai said: "Grand Governor, if the Yan army really has 600,000 hostages, we in the Song Dynasty cannot sit idly by and ignore it. It is no longer appropriate to continue to march into Yanjing. It is better to withdraw according to the order." Lest you be accused of resisting the decree!"
Luo Zhao's cheeks tensed up and he said word by word: "We will be out here, and you will not accept your orders!"
Several people looked at each other, and Dong Ying came to advise, "Grand Governor, why do you insist on going your own way? You also know that the government is in trouble. It has been confirmed that the war is unfavorable. If you continue to resist, I am afraid that many people will make trouble for you. We It’s also for your own good.”
Luo Zhao sighed: "If the battle is like this, I must be blamed for my death. I don't care about the consequences anymore. I'll just let it happen. I'm not a civil servant. I don't have to do anything to be safe. As long as nothing happens, I can hang out. I'm a military general. , can we hang out on the battlefield? So the minds of those civil servants can never truly conspire with us and other soldiers on the battlefield. Withdraw? How to withdraw now? Now that the situation on the battlefield is in favor of the Yan State, why does the Yan State still negotiate with me, the Song Dynasty? It is just because My army threatened Yanjing and forced them to negotiate!"
"Withdrawing now is the real way to seek death! Once the threat from Yanjing is lifted, do you think it is still necessary for the other party to negotiate with us?"
One sentence hit the point, making everyone look solemn.
"How likely is it that the results of the negotiations will be implemented? There is a chance to annihilate the three million main troops of the Song Dynasty. As an enemy, everyone will be jealous. If I were Meng Shanming, once the threat from Yanjing is lifted, the imperial court's will It can be regarded as a fart, and it will definitely break our faces. We, the Song Army, cannot easily cross the Dongyu River, and the consumption will also exhaust our food and grass, and then consume us to death."
"What's the point of the Shang Dynasty Sect's one hundred thousand cavalry coming and going like the wind, staring at us like wolves? They are looking for the best opportunity to strike, and they want to cooperate with Meng Shanming to kill my three million troops. . ”
"They have 600,000 hostages in their hands, and we don't have any bargaining chips in our hands, so we just withdraw like this? What else are we talking about? Once the threat from Yanjing is lifted, will it be surprising that they can let us go? Then they will have to destroy us If there is a chance, even if Meng Shan rebels and breaks his promise, Yanjing will turn a blind eye. What kind of negotiation? They will immediately forget about it. Our food and grass can still be returned to threaten Yanjing. ?”
"So we can't withdraw. We can only negotiate if we hold Yanjing in check! Besides, the court doesn't seem to know that our 600,000 hostages are in the hands of the Yan State. The news of Qian Liansheng has not yet reached the court, and the court does not know about the negotiations. What about the matter of withdrawing like this? Can any of you tell me how to withdraw?"
All said and done, he is still trying to win the support of the three major factions.
…
In the Song embassy in Yanjing, Qian Liansheng, who was waiting anxiously, received a message from Song Jing almost at the same time as Luo Zhao.
Song Jing's intention was to let him negotiate peace on the condition that Yan State withdraws its troops from Song State, and Song State stops attacking Yanjing and withdraws its troops from Yan State territory.
In fact, regardless of whether the Song State has to withdraw its troops, the Song State cannot break the pot like the Yan State, which is riddled with holes. It is impossible to let Meng Shanming roam around in the Song State, let alone force the Song State to a life-or-death situation. .
The purpose of the talks was to hold out possible hopes, and also to help the three million army led by Luo Zhao to retreat smoothly.
The incoming message did not mention the 600,000 prisoners at all. Qian Liansheng was secretly wondering. Did the imperial court not know about this or was Yan Guo talking nonsense? Based on his experience, the Yan court should not talk nonsense about this kind of thing.
Fortunately, Luo Zhao was close to him, so Luo Zhao's reply arrived quickly.
Luo Zhao said that the situation was complicated, and it was not yet possible to confirm whether the other party really had 600,000 prisoners, and the court probably did not know about it either. However, based on his judgment of the battle situation, it was entirely possible to estimate that 600,000 prisoners were there. .
Luo Zhao made it clear that he would not withdraw his troops in compliance with the order, and asked him to use the excuse that the Song State wanted to verify the 600,000 prisoners, and asked the Yan State to cooperate in the verification.
It was indeed to allow the Song State to confirm the situation of the prisoners, but also to stabilize the Yan State court first. If the matter was true, it could prevent the Yan army from murdering the 600,000 prisoners, who would take them after his army besieged Yanjing. The next one is a bargaining chip for the Song Dynasty!
Luo Zhao directly stated that he would not comply with the order, and Qian Liansheng was forced to cooperate. Moreover, as a negotiator, he also knew the importance of bargaining chips. In addition, it was indeed necessary to verify the 600,000 prisoners. He could not swallow it. The country will do whatever it says, it can only cooperate with Luo Zhao.
Qian Liansheng immediately went to Da Sikong Mansion to meet with Tong Mo for talks. Shang Jianxiong handed over the negotiation to Tong Mo.
When the Song Dynasty court received the news from Qian Liansheng that the Yan Kingdom requested negotiations, they were shocked. Only then did they learn that there were still 600,000 prisoners. They immediately sent a group of monks to verify, and at the same time, they also replied to the message to let Qian Liansheng think first. Method to stabilize the Yan court.
…
In Qunluoshan, after winning a water attack, the Yan army rested for a day. After the ground became drier, they were officially ready to set off.
Gong Lince, who received the news from Yanjing Meng Xuan, entered the Chinese military tent and saw that Meng Shanming was arranging the next steps for the generals, so he waited aside for a while.
After the arrangements were completed, Gong Lince revealed his intentions and told the court that the court was preparing to negotiate with 600,000 prisoners, and asked them not to touch those prisoners rashly.
After hearing this, all the generals were in an uproar and were all aggrieved. As a result, most of them were kicked out by Meng Shanming.
After the rest of the crowd retreated, Su Qitong said very dissatisfied: "Master Gong, the current situation is extremely beneficial to our army. Our Yan Kingdom is already in such a state of tatters, what else is there to be afraid of? Now the internal defense of the Song Kingdom is The Song State should be afraid of the emptiness. In order to protect Yanjing, releasing 600,000 elite soldiers of the Song Army is different from raising tigers. We must take advantage of the situation and cripple the Song State before we can stop!"
Zhang Hu was also dissatisfied and said: "If the Song army wants to attack, just attack it. No matter what those people in Yanjing do, don't they know how to run if they don't have long legs? When they are asked to support, they are faster than anyone else! When they are held back, they are faster than anyone else!" We have lost so many brothers in the battle here, and we have finally turned the situation around. Now the Song Dynasty is a lamb to be slaughtered in front of our army. The Song Dynasty started the war first, how can we let it go so easily! They actually want to negotiate for their release, and why? We need to make preparations to withdraw our troops, and I will be the first to refuse!"
These people are not on the same side as the imperial court. The life and death of Yanjing is none of their business. It is strange that they should give up such a great opportunity to avenge a mere Yanjing. It is strange that they can agree easily!