The autumn of the 316th year of the Zhao calendar was later called the "eventful autumn" of the Great Zhao.
During this year, many bizarre things happened, such as the three thousand defeated armies breaking into the capital of Zhao, and the Zhao trying to destroy the Tang but failing miserably...
Da Zhao, this year is not favorable.
This is the consensus of the entire Chinese land. At the same time, no one can understand why the situation suddenly turned out to be what it is now, as everyone was certain before the war that Great Zhao could defeat Tang in one battle.
In that miraculous battle, too many talented generals, commanders, and strategists emerged in the Tang Dynasty... It was as if a spring breeze came overnight, and talents emerged like bamboo shoots, which was simply incredible... For a time, all empires began to be vigilant about the Tang Dynasty, believing that it was very likely to survive this disaster, be reborn from the ashes, and become a great country in China... Some people even said that "the Tang Dynasty should not be destroyed, and the King of Tang is destined to be king", and believed that the King of Tang would become the emperor sooner or later, replace the Great Zhao, and become the new tripod of the three powers...
In contrast, the rumors that "Zhao Shaodi is the true emperor who will stabilize China" that were previously circulated among the people have died down one after another - why does Zhao Shaodi make people feel extraordinary? Isn't it because of the number of talents under his command! But now? The Tang Kingdom has more than him! So what qualifications does he have to be the "true emperor" in the rumors
It can be said that after the loss of Zhaodu, the defeat in the war to "destroy Tang" that had been planned for several years and mobilized a large number of troops was like adding insult to injury for Emperor Zhao Shao...
For a moment, the halo that had always shone in everyone's eyes seemed to have dimmed a lot...
His throne was beginning to become unstable...
…
At this moment, Bailing City.
The saying that a defeat is like a mountain collapsing is indeed true.
When Emperor Zhao attacked Tang, he was as aggressive as a tiger, but once he was defeated, a large number of loopholes in the overall battle line began to appear. In addition, they originally thought that Tang could be defeated in one battle, and the soldiers of the three armies were all arrogant and contemptuous... Therefore, after the defeat, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse.
Fortunately, Emperor Zhao had also summoned many elite talents in his early years. Although the "talent pool" was suddenly given to the other side, resulting in a crushing defeat, he still had steady and capable generals who tried hard to stop the loss... This is why he only lost more than 100,000 Zhao troops in that battle. Otherwise... I'm afraid the entire army would have been wiped out...
But even so, the heavy heart of Emperor Zhao was not relieved at all... In this battle, he lost many soldiers and generals, and all his princes died in the chaos. Of the only two princes left, one was kidnapped by the immortals in the Savage River Basin and has no news since then. The other one fell into the hands of Chu Tianxiao and his whereabouts are unknown now. It is unknown whether he has been taken back to the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty...
If nothing unexpected happens, these two princes are no longer "suitable" to return to Da Zhao and inherit the throne.
That is to say, in a sense, Emperor Zhao Shao... is the last of his kind.
Even if he wanted to have another son, he had to find a new woman - because Zhaodu fell, all his women fell into the hands of the enemy without exception, and now he didn't know whether they were cuckolded by him, and how many times they were cuckolded...
Wife and children are separated, family is broken up...
This is the current situation of Emperor Zhao. It is really miserable and sad...
Under much pressure, Emperor Zhao had already started to have gray hair although he was not yet forty.
He stared blankly at the map of mountains and rivers hanging on the wall and was silent for a long time.
Finally at some point...
"… Elder, I want to gather the soldiers from Shangdang, Yundu, Fenghou… and raise an army to fight again! Is there a chance of victory?"
After saying this, Prime Minister Mo shook his head without even thinking, saying, "A lord should not raise an army out of anger, and a general should not fight out of resentment. Move when it is beneficial, and stop when it is not... Your Majesty, you should think twice before you act."
Emperor Zhao's eyes turned red: "Old Master, I only want to know if we can win with all our might!"
Mo Xiang sighed slightly and said, "If so... the outcome is uncertain. But your majesty, you are the master of the beautiful mountains and rivers of the Great Zhao, and you have deep roots. Even if you lose in the northern border for a while, the national strength is still there, and the strong army is still there... I heard that General Beigong has defeated the Wei army, and our Great Zhao is not completely defeated. Your majesty is young and strong, so why not wait for the right time..."
To put it in modern terms, what Mo Xiang said means that those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who wear shoes. Now that they have not lost their shoes and have gorgeous clothes, why should they gamble their lives for the gains and losses of a city or a place like those barefoot people
Hearing this, Emperor Zhao's expression changed slightly, and the murderous intent in his eyes slowly subsided... Prime Minister Mo was right, he was not a gambler who had lost all his money, and he had no way out, so why would he take such a crazy risk
"… The old man is right. I was too reckless." Emperor Zhao took a deep breath and said, "I just… am unwilling to accept this!"
"Your Majesty, I understand your feelings. But given the current situation, I hope Your Majesty will endure the humiliation for the time being and sign a ceasefire agreement with the Tang Kingdom..." Mo Xiang sighed and said.
"... I almost destroyed the Tang Kingdom before, and now I am defeated, but I want to stop the war... Will the other side agree?" Emperor Zhao was a little worried when he heard this, but Prime Minister Mo said firmly: "If the King of Tang is a fool, he may not give up at this moment, but he has his ambitions in Shenzhou, so he will definitely stop the war with Your Majesty!"
Emperor Zhao frowned and asked, "Why is that?"
"Because Tang is weak, it won't change overnight..." Mo Xiang said slowly, "It's true that the Tang invaders are fierce, but after years of attacks by our Great Zhao, plus the brilliant record in the early stages of this battle... Tang no longer has a strong army, and there are very few soldiers available. Most of the population has been plundered by us. It can be said that it is extremely desolate and needs to be rebuilt... At this time, the King of Tang cannot lead his army to attack Zhao again. After all, we in Great Zhao are not spineless. If we take a defensive stance, we can wear down Tang!"
"Therefore, as long as the King of Tang has ambition, he will definitely stop the war, focus on domestic affairs, gather people in ten years, and then march out of Laiyang to dominate China!"
Mo Xiang is indeed Mo Xiang. Although he cannot understand why so many talents suddenly appeared in Tang State, he can infer from the results that Tang State, which has so many talents, is no longer in a hurry, but will work hard to govern the country, rectify the mountains and rivers, and wait for the right time...
This is the wisest thing to do.
In this way, given time, the Tang Kingdom will surely rise, and sooner or later there will be a war with the Great Zhao Kingdom... Although the situation at that time is a headache, at this moment, the Great Zhao Kingdom needs more time than the Tang Kingdom!
Having lost the capital of Zhao and the southeast, they have to "deal with" much more things than the Tang Kingdom!
Since both sides need a buffer, then a ceasefire is a natural outcome...
But even if it was Prime Minister Mo, even if it was King Tang, even if it was the top talents summoned... they would not have thought that there was an "invisible" "loophole" in their plans...
That is, these people who came out of "exploding in one breath" don't have a lifespan of ten years at all! The so-called beautiful dream of ten years of life and accumulation can only last for more than a year, and they must wake up from the dream...
By then…
The Tang Dynasty will still be the weak Tang Dynasty. Having lost their top talents, they will be reduced to their original form in one day.
In other words, the "future situation" that people here are planning now is actually impossible to happen...
Because of the Tang Dynasty, there is no future.
Therefore, the biggest winner of this war is not the Tang Kingdom, but the one who planned all this behind the scenes... Chu Tianxiao.