Guo Shao and several of his generals came out of the broken courtyard, took the reins from Qin Shitou and mounted their horses. Others also mounted their horses, and then there were several shouts of "harness".
When they returned to the central army camp, they met Wang Pu. Wang Pu said: I have written a letter of persuasion and wanted to show it to General Guo.
Coming from Envoy Wang, it must be safe. Guo Shao said without hesitation, but still took it and looked at it. Since he had just discussed with someone how to rebel, he couldn't help but pay attention to Wang Pu again.
Guo Shao still remembers a story he read in a book. In history, after Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he passed by Wang Pu's portrait and said that if this person were still alive, he would not be able to obtain the throne. This can be regarded as a compliment in terms of both virtue and talent.
He recalled the incident after the Tokyo mutiny, when Wang Pu deliberately made suggestions to prevent the generals from having too much power; at that time, the Queen Mother and Guo Shao were of the same mind, and Wang Pu's letter had no effect at all, and its only use was to show his integrity and loyalty. Wang Pu was a person who cared about his reputation, so Guo Shao could not let Wang Pu participate in the early stage of the conspiracy, even though he had a good personal relationship with Wang Pu.
The more Guo Shao thought about it, the more he felt that it was a safer way for him to recognize Guo Wei's grandfather. He had risen from the Zhou Dynasty with the grace of the Zhou Dynasty, and if he recognized the status of Taizu Guo Wei, he would at least be more polite; otherwise, like the later Song Dynasty, it would be impossible to wash away the criticism of bullying orphans and widows to gain the country in an unjust way.
The general trend of the world moving towards unification and stability was largely due to the hard work of the two great rulers and civil and military ministers of the Later Zhou Dynasty. No matter how hard we try to cover it up, we cannot erase the fact that later generations took advantage of the situation.
Regardless of whether he will be named Taizu in the future, he is now an emperor, and his power and prestige are no different from those of the founding emperor, and it is nothing more than a name; but being Taizu is also a stigma, so what's the point? Moreover, Guo Shao lacks a sense of identity with his family ancestors in this era, and the psychological need to bring honor to his ancestors no longer exists. Before, Li Chuyun and others did not want to persuade Guo Shao, probably because they thought that bringing glory to his ancestors was Guo Shao's own business; he himself did not care, so why should outsiders persuade him
Guo Shao's choice was not only to acknowledge the achievements of his predecessors, but also to recognize the value of countless soldiers who shed blood and sacrificed their lives for the revival of China under the banner of the Great Zhou. The credit was not his alone, but he was just standing on a pile of corpses.
He handed back the letter of persuasion and said casually: "What Envoy Wang said is reasonable, reasonable, affectionate and righteous. However, who should we send to persuade him to surrender?"
Wang Pu looked back and said: Lu Dosun.
Among the civil servants accompanying behind, a young man came over and clasped his fists, saying: I have volunteered and am willing to take on this task.
Seeing this, Guo Shao immediately recalled the past and said, "When I was fighting in Qinfeng and Shu, it was Mr. Lu who was ordered to come and commend our soldiers. I received the appointment letter of Shengxiangdu Commander from you."
Lu Duosun said happily: I was just following orders and running errands. I didn't expect that Marshal Guo would remember such things so clearly.
I almost always remember the kindness others showed me, but I only remember the food and not the beatings. Guo Shao said with a smile.
The generals around him, such as Li Chuyun and Luo Yanhuan, burst into laughter after hearing this.
Guo Shao stretched out his hand and slapped Lu Duxun on the shoulder. Lu Duxun's mouth grimaced, revealing an expression of pain. Guo Shao said: There is only one ancient city left in the Southern Tang Kingdom. It is only a matter of time before it is destroyed. Now is the last step. You must come back alive, otherwise you will suffer a great loss.
Lu Duosun hurriedly clasped his fists and said: I am willing to do my best to help the Great Zhou Army recover Jiangnan as soon as possible.
There are still risks, but it is precisely because we are doing something that is worth our lives that it can be considered a credit. Guo Shao nodded and said: I hope Mr. Lu will live up to his mission.
Lu Duosun took the letter of surrender to Jiangning City. After being caught by the scouts, he took a hanging basket to the city. All the gates of Jiangning City were closed. The power to open and close the gates was restricted by several government offices. It was very troublesome to open the gates now. He was unable to meet the King of Southern Tang for a while, but the letter of surrender was taken away. The letter was first seen by many officials, and then it came into the hands of Li Yu in the deep palace.
There were some civil and military officials standing in the hall below, and people were immediately filled with indignation.
A general named Yan Yan stepped out from the back and said: "Your Majesty, I ask you to drag these people out and behead them, and then return their heads to the people of Zhou to show our determination to fight to the death."
Immediately, military generals such as Ma Chengxin and Ma Chengjun seconded the proposal.
Li Yu was sitting on the throne with a complicated heart, full of negative emotions. He had to wonder what these people were up to. They could still fight to the death to keep their country, but as long as the court had not made it clear that they would surrender, they really didn't dare to mention surrender even if they had wanted to surrender in their hearts.
Anyone who offers to surrender will be suspected of loyalty. You are waiting to sell out your master for glory, so you call for the killing of the Zhou envoys. At least you won't make any mistakes.
Li Yu looked back at the gentlemen in the hall, but did not see Chen Qiao. Chen Qiao went to Nando and his whereabouts were unknown after the Battle of Wankou. No one knew where he was now.
He fixed his eyes on Han Xizai and asked: "Mr. Han, what do you think we should do in response to the
Han Xizai was called by name and questioned, and he immediately said politely: I, your humble servant, agree with General Wang and others that there is nothing wrong with beheading the envoy.
There is a saying that when two countries are at war, they do not kill envoys. If our dynasty does this, it will show its enmity with the Zhou army. Li Yu said that although he has been in a bad mood recently, he is not crazy. If he kills the envoy, how can he protect his country
Han Xizai was stunned by the question and stood there in shock. Li Yu saw this and knew that the old man's words were just perfunctory: this guy was a noble family that could not escape from the north, and his group of northern scholars who migrated south were afraid of being suspected of having two hearts, so they did not dare to persuade him to surrender.
The court was silent. Li Yu sighed. He knew that he was powerless. However, Guo Shao must have remembered the revenge of sending people to assassinate him. The resentment was already formed. Even if he surrendered, he would not be able to survive and be forgiven.
At this moment, Huang Can, the top scholar chosen by Li Yu, stepped out and said with a fist: Your Majesty, I think it is inappropriate to kill the envoy.
Everyone looked at him sideways after hearing this. But after all, this person was the emperor's disciple, so it was better for him to say this.
Li Yu asked hurriedly: Why is it inappropriate
Huang Can raised his head and looked back at the hall, saying: "The state of affairs is like this. Even if you are unwilling to say it, the situation is clear at a glance. The commander of the Zhou army, Guo Shao, is no ordinary man. He conquered Shu in two months. In a few more months, he occupied a large area of land in the south of the Yangtze River and defeated more than 200,000 troops of our country.
Someone interrupted Huang Can rudely: Shu Kingdom is not ambitious, its ruler is dark and its ministers are incompetent, how can it be compared with our country
Huang Can said: Why has our country become like this in just two or three months? Why is it so unbearable to fight? It is because those people who were entrusted with the great trust of His Majesty did not serve the country, suffered repeated defeats, and threw His Majesty's grace behind their heads.
When Li Yu heard this, he felt that Huang Can was honest and outspoken, and he expressed his anger, which was a relief. If Zhu Lingyun of Hukou had not allowed Zhou Jun to go east, the defenders of Chizhou, Tongling and Dangtu would not have lost the city and territory so easily, Huangfu Jixun and Lin Renzhao would not have been defeated, and Liu Cheng would have made fewer mistakes. The Southern Tang Kingdom was not without strength, and the situation had deteriorated so much that it was all because of these people who had failed me and made me suffer.
At this time, a minister was unhappy and said: "Huang Zhuangyuan is eloquent, why doesn't he come up with a strategy for Your Majesty to repel the enemy?"
Huang Can said: Send people to spread the news that Guo Shaohui is planning to rebel and proclaim himself emperor, causing chaos in the country.
Some people will believe in this empty talk.
Huang Can said seriously: Guo Shao is already the Palace Guard Inspector, the highest military commander in the Zhou court, and he has made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion of the two Lis and conquering the Shu Kingdom. If our country does not exist this time, he will have made great contributions again; according to the old way of the Central Plains, it is just right that he does not rebel. The army is outside and he has the power. When he leads the troops back to the capital, it is a great opportunity to rebel and become emperor. Can this be called spreading rumors? Think about it, will Guo Shao really become emperor
There was a sudden buzz of discussion in the court. Many people had never thought about that before, but after Huang Can mentioned it, everyone speculated that Guo Shao might really become emperor.
Huang Can saw this and said: Also, didn’t the court send people by sea to contact Liao and Northern Han a while ago? If we surrender too quickly, the north will not have time to attack Zhou from behind for support.
After hearing the well-reasoned speech of this official with little experience and experience, Li Yu still did not feel any hope. The main reason was that the situation was too bad. There was only an isolated city left on the east side of the border.