Since the fall of Kangyong Pass, the State of Wu, having lost its biggest barrier, was like a sick tiger with its claws and teeth pulled out, and no longer posed any threat to the State of Song.
The Song army fought all the way from Kangcheng to Hucheng without any hindrance. Countless people came to surrender secretly, and there were also several cases where the people in the city took the initiative to open the city gates. Later, the Emperor Wu asked his confidants to guard the gates of every city in person, thus preventing surrender without a fight.
By this time, the Wu Kingdom had lost two-thirds of its territory, with only eleven cities remaining, including the capital.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Emperor Wu was so panicked that he was desperate and tried every possible means to cure his disease.
Not only did Qin Xingye receive a letter from the Emperor of Wu stating that he was willing to cede all the cities previously conquered by the Song State, he was also willing to offer large sums of money and beautiful women just to ask the Song army to withdraw.
Even Mingyue had envoys coming to lobby her, saying that as long as she was willing to cooperate in fighting a few battles, she would get whatever she wanted and that Emperor Wu would fulfill all her wishes.
Unfortunately, neither Mingyue nor Qin Xingye were interested in Emperor Wu's promise. What they wanted was a unified world and a peaceful and prosperous era.
However, Emperor Wu's jumping up and down to show his presence attracted Mingyue's attention, which reminded her of the saying "to catch a thief, you must first catch his leader".
So while the rest of the Song army was still marching according to the original plan, taking one city after another with an unstoppable momentum, Mingyue led her bandit troops all the way north, aiming for the Emperor of Wu in the capital of the Wu Kingdom.
When the bandits heard Mingyue say that he would take them to the capital of Wu to capture the emperor of Wu, they almost dropped their jaws in shock.
But by the time they reacted, they were all more excited than the other.
They were different from regular soldiers. They were a group of experienced desperadoes, so after being surprised at breaking into the enemy's base and capturing the enemy's emperor, they quickly accepted it.
It is naturally more convenient for more than 200 people to march alone than for hundreds of thousands of people. The group of people marched quickly, sleeping in the open air all the way, and it only took nine days for them to reach the capital of Wu.
Before entering the city, Mingyue thought for a moment and told everyone: "First, separate and enter the city individually, then find an inn to rest, and we will meet at the City God Temple in the south of the city in two days."
The bandits nodded in agreement. After traveling all night, everyone was exhausted.
Wait until everyone has had a good rest and is in good spirits before taking the next step.
However, Mingyue just had a good sleep and a good meal, and then she took the visiting card and went to the Prime Minister's Mansion of Wu State with openness.
When the servants of the Prime Minister's Mansion saw the visiting card in Mingyue's hand, they immediately smiled flatteringly: "Dear guest, please come in. Our master has been in the mansion recently. A few days ago, the master asked me to wait at the door. After waiting for a long time, I finally waited for you to come."
Some passers-by saw his expression and subconsciously wiped their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.
As the saying goes, the prime minister's door is filled with officials of the third rank. The servants of the prime minister's mansion are well-known and are the objects of flattery. I have never seen them show such a flattering look.
Mingyue's heart suddenly moved, but her face was calm and she said, "Please lead the way."
The servant smiled even more brightly, "It's all what I should do, it's what I should do."
Passing through winding corridors and garden rockery, Mingyue was brought to the prime minister's study.
By now the Prime Minister had already learned of Mingyue's arrival and was sitting in the study waiting.
As soon as the study door was opened, the prime minister immediately stood up and stepped forward to greet him.
When he saw Mingyue's appearance, he was stunned for a while, and it took him a long time to come to his senses and sighed: "I never thought that the world-famous military advisor Song would be so young and handsome. It's really the case that the younger generation pushes the older generation forward!"
Mingyue bowed slightly, performing a greeting as if they were equals, and then smiled modestly, "Thank you for your compliment, Prime Minister."
"No, no, with Military Advisor Song's ability, he will definitely be in a position above everyone else in the future. By then, I'm afraid I will have to rely on Military Advisor Song for support." Prime Minister Yuan hurriedly helped her up, shook his head with a wry smile.
According to the current situation in the world, it is inevitable that Song will unify the country. At that time, if he, the prime minister of Wu, wants to gain a place in Song, he can only rely on Song Mingyue.
This is also the reason why Mingyue received the highest level visiting card from the Prime Minister's Mansion, because it was the former Prime Minister who took the initiative to surrender to her.
The reason why Mingyue dared to come to the Prime Minister's Mansion alone was because she had a lot of evidence in her hand that the former Prime Minister had voluntarily handed over to her, and each of them was a serious crime that could lead to the execution of all nine generations of the family.
It is said that the former prime minister has been forming cliques for personal gain over the years, and his followers are spread throughout the court. Even the imperial guards in the palace have his disciples.
This is also the reason why Mingyue chose him. He has connections and manpower, and through him the goal can be achieved the fastest.
"In fact, if you want to continue to stay in this position, it is not difficult. You just need to do one thing." Mingyue drank a sip of the tea made from the top-grade snowflake tea and said meaningfully: "Perhaps you should have heard that the cities that our Song army conquered are still managed by the original Wu officials."
In fact, it was precisely because he knew this that Prime Minister Yuan wanted to follow Mingyue's path.
However, he knew that the position of prime minister was different from other positions. If the State of Song really wanted to unify the world, it would definitely place its own people in such a key position.
Just with Mingyue's words, everything seemed to turn around.
Prime Minister Yuan looked at Mingyue with fiery eyes: "As long as Yuan can fulfill his wish, I will go through mountains of swords and seas of fire, just at the command of Military Advisor Song."
Mingyue raised her eyebrows slightly: "It doesn't have to be like this, it's just to change the owner of Wu State in advance."
Prime Minister Yuan's eyebrows jumped fiercely: "You want to force the emperor to abdicate?"
Mingyue smiled and said, "Don't say it so harshly. I just want to invite Emperor Wu to visit my Song Kingdom."
The former prime minister was speechless. Isn't this the same meaning
But this matter is quite risky, and it would be bad for his reputation if it got out!
He originally wanted to please Song Mingyue so that when the Wu Kingdom was destroyed in the future, he could use this little friendship to exchange for a better position.
If he joins forces with the people of Song to force the emperor to abdicate, he will definitely be in a high position in the future, but he will also be a traitor, and it will be really unpleasant to say it out loud!
But then Prime Minister Yuan thought again, there were quite a lot of people who surrendered in the State of Wu, and if he just surrendered, it would really be insignificant.
The former prime minister was concerned about his reputation and reluctant to give up his interests. In the end, he looked at Mingyue with a little regret and said, "I need to think about it again."
Mingyue was not impatient, but smiled and said, "Okay, Prime Minister Yuan can think about it slowly. It just so happens that a few friends will invite Song to their house to have a chat. Then Song may think about it again."
As for what to consider? Naturally, it is to re-select people.
When Prime Minister Yuan heard this, he immediately felt a sense of crisis.
Only then did he remember that, yes, the other party was not without choices, she had many choices.
On the contrary, if he makes a mistake, there will be no such store in this village.
Prime Minister Yuan quickly said, "Military Advisor Song, I have already thought about it. Everything will be up to you."
Mingyue raised the corner of her lips slightly: "Then I'll trouble you from now on."
(End of this chapter)