Chapter 437
Tang Yin followed Xiao Muqing's strategy, kept his troops in place, and waited for the arrival of reinforcements. As long as the Sanshui Army and Chifeng Army arrived, the total strength of his side would be close to 500,000. At that time, it would be easy to attack Zhangyu City.
Xiao Muqing's calculations were very good, but things are unpredictable. An unexpected event completely disrupted Tang Yin's deployment.
According to the intelligence of the Sky Eye and the Ground Network, the 200,000 troops of the Mo Kingdom have begun to gather on the border between Feng and Mo, and may attack Baguan at any time.
Baguan is the southern gate of Feng State, and its importance is equal to Tongmen. No matter what, Baguan cannot be lost. Now the garrison of Baguan is only more than 30,000 people. How can it resist the 200,000-strong Mo army? Tang Yin was forced to ask Le Tian to send a message to the Sanshui Army, asking Liang Qi to stop all the Sanshui Army from advancing towards Zhangyu, and immediately withdraw from Gaochuan County, and quickly reinforce Baguan in the south. In addition, he sent a message to Peng Haochu, the commander of the Chifeng Army, to temporarily station near Lishan City. If Baguan really starts a war, he can turn around and help as soon as possible.
He sent two consecutive military orders, which could temporarily alleviate the crisis of Baguan, but the reinforcements he was counting on also disappeared. At this time, he could only attack Zhangyu alone with the current more than 100,000 troops.
Tang Yin was of course very depressed about this situation. He had taken such a big risk to sneak into Mo Country just to prevent Mo Country from sending troops to Feng Country at a critical moment. As a result, what he feared came true. Mo Country now seemed to really intend to send troops to start a war. Wouldn't all his efforts and huge investment have gone down the drain?
After thinking about it, Tang Yin ordered Le Tian to send a letter to the Sky Eye spy lurking in Mo Country's capital Zhenjiang by carrier pigeon, asking him to meet Shao Fang and ask him why he didn't stop the Mo Country court from sending troops to Feng.
Now, the Mo Country court is also arguing over whether to respond to Feng.
The rescue letter sent by Zhan Wushuang has been passed to the hands of Yan Chu, the king of Ningguo. Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi are both generals of Ningguo and Yan Chu's right-hand men. The latter will certainly not stand by and watch them die. Yan Chu, in accordance with Zhan Wushuang's wishes, issued an order to the officials of Ningguo stationed in Moguo, ordering them to immediately visit the king of Moguo and request Shao Ting to send troops to attack Baguan to help Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi escape from the predicament. Moreover, Yan Chu made a solemn promise that as long as Moguo is willing to rescue the Zhan brothers, Ningguo is willing to donate 10,000 taels of gold and give up five cities. This condition is quite generous, and it can be seen that Yan Chu has spent a lot of money to save Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi.
After Shao Ting read the handwritten letter from Yan Chu forwarded by the historian of Ning State, he was also very tempted. He didn't care about the ten thousand taels of gold, which was nothing in terms of the national strength of Mo State, but the condition that Ning State was willing to give up five cities was too tempting. The border between Ning and Mo was a plain area with vast land and dense population, abundant grain production and developed commerce. Ning State ceded five cities, which was equivalent to allowing Mo State's territory to expand outward by dozens of miles. With dozens of miles of fertile land out of thin air, Mo State's national strength would also be greatly improved.
Shao Ting was moved by Yan Chu's proposal. He agreed to it without much consideration and promised that Mo State would send troops to occupy the pass and even invade Feng State to help the Zhan brothers break out of the siege of Feng Army.
Seeing that Shao Ting agreed straightforwardly, the historian of Ning State bowed and thanked him repeatedly, and left with satisfaction. At the morning court the next day, Shao Ting explained the matter in the royal court. The ministers in the court were all shocked when they heard it.
When people came to their senses, they all shook their heads secretly. Regardless of whether Shao Ting's decision was right or wrong, it was too rash to accept Ningguo's request without even discussing it with the ministers.
However, Taifu Zhang Rong was very happy. He had always been close to Ningguo. After Shao Ting finished speaking, Zhang Rong was the first to stand up and express his opinion. He bowed to Shao Ting and said repeatedly: "Your Majesty is wise. Accepting Ningguo's request will not only allow me to add five cities to Da Mo, but also send troops to Fengguo, and take the opportunity to seize Baguan. With Baguan in hand, my Da Mo will be invincible when it faces Fengguo in the future, and your Majesty can rest assured!" "Your Majesty is wise!" Seeing that Zhang Rong had stood up to express his opinion, the ministers who were close to Zhang Rong also came out one after another, bowed their hands, and repeatedly called Shao Ting wise.
Seeing this, Shao Ting couldn't help but laugh upside down.
He had just laughed twice when he suddenly heard someone among the ministers crying. Shao Ting and all the ministers were stunned, wondering who was so blind to cry at this time. People looked in the direction of the sound, and saw that the one crying was none other than the Right Prime Minister Dong Sheng.
If it was someone else, Shao Ting would have been furious, and even if he didn't punish him, he would have to expel him from the hall, but the one crying was Dong Sheng, and Shao Ting's anger disappeared, replaced by confusion. He poked his head and asked, "Lord Dong, you... why are you crying?!" It would have been better if he didn't say anything. After saying this, Dong Sheng took two steps forward and sat on the platform in front of the throne, crying even louder, and crying with his feet stamped and chest pounded, so sad. Zhang Rong watched from the side, and his teeth were itching. What was this Dong Sheng pretending to be crazy and stupid?
He took a deep breath, raised his hands to Shao Ting and said, "Your Majesty, Dong Sheng is rude and blatantly disrupts the court proceedings. He should be punished!" Shao Ting trusted and relied on Dong Sheng very much. He sighed and stood up. He walked up to Dong Sheng, pulled him up, and asked: "Why is Dong Aiqing crying?" At this time, Dong Sheng wiped the corners of his eyes and said quietly: "I am crying for the king. "Crying for my country, Mo!" "What do you say?" "Your Majesty, Ning Guo's ambition is known to all the world. Today it gave us five cities, but tomorrow it will take fifty cities from us. If your Majesty accepts Ning Guo's request and helps Ning Guo today, then we will be the ones who suffer tomorrow. Your Majesty, your Majesty, we must investigate, we must prevent, we must not worry!" "This..." After listening to Dong Sheng's words! After saying this, Shao Ting's originally excited mood immediately fell to the bottom, and a solemn look appeared on his face.
"Huh!" At this time, Zhang Rong snorted heavily and said: "Your Majesty, don't listen to Dong Sheng's nonsense and alarmist talk. Ning Guo and I are very different. We are in the same boat as each other. We have always been brothers. How could you possibly have a big relationship with me?" Don't be an enemy..." Before he could finish his words, Dong Sheng interrupted loudly: "My Da Mo merchants travel all over the world, but they were only expelled from the Ning State. In Xia Shang City, I Da Mo has been watched by generations of kings. Every time they want to send troops to annex, they end without success because of Ning Guo's obstruction. What kind of brotherly country is Ning Guo? Mr. Zhang won't be blinded by Ning Guo's money, right? The earl personally appointed by the emperor of the Haotian Empire was one level lower than the kings of the nine princes in terms of status, and his territory was also very small, only owning one city. The location of Xia Shang City is very interesting. It is between the three countries of Feng, Ning and Mo. It stands to reason that such a small city-state in a small place cannot survive for long when surrounded by the three powerful countries. However, Xia Shang City has existed for hundreds of years. Xia Shang City has many soldiers and generals, and no one dares to invade. It is because of the harsh environment that Xia Shang City has a tradition of being good at diplomacy.
The place where Xia Shang City borders the Feng Kingdom is a deserted land of the Feng Kingdom. It has basically no connection with the Feng Kingdom. It mainly deals with Ning and Mo. When the Ning Kingdom wants to send troops to it, it moves closer to the Mo Kingdom. And when Mo State wanted to send troops to it, it took the initiative to seek refuge with Ning State, wavering, and its historians were also eloquent, and helped Xia Shang City resolve crisis after crisis. As a result, Xia Shang City was weak and surrounded by powerful countries. Miraculously surviving for hundreds of years.
At this time, Dong Sheng proposed to go to the mall, which made Shao Ting secretly inhale, his brows gradually wrinkled, and his eyes drifted to Zhang Rong from time to time.
Zhang Rong is also a veteran. He has worked with Shao Ting for many years and knows Shao Ting's character well. His heart was shocked, and he hurriedly raised his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I see clearly that I have never received a single gold or silver from Ning Guo. Your Majesty, please check it clearly!" "Haha!" Dong Sheng chuckled lightly and said, "Master Zhang, if you check your heart If you are not ashamed, there is no need to be so nervous!" After a pause, he turned to look at Shao Fang, indicating that he should stand up and say something at this time.
Shao Fang understood. He stepped out and raised his hands and said, "Father, I agree with Xiang Dong's statement. It is not a wise move to use troops against Feng now." "Oh?" Unexpectedly, Shao Fang also said the same, and Shao Ting came. I was interested and wanted to know what he had to say. He smiled leisurely and said, "Fang'er, tell me, why shouldn't we use troops against Feng?" Shao Fang took a deep breath, looked around at the ministers present, and said seriously: "In view of my son, Ning Guo asks his father to send troops to save the country." It's just a small reason why Zhan Wushuang and Zhan Wudi escaped from trouble. There is another more important reason that was not explained. "What is it?" "It's dragging our country into trouble." As soon as these words came out, everyone present was shocked and looked at Shao Fang, including Shao Ting, with disbelief.
Shao Fang continued: "Father, the current situation in the Feng Kingdom seems to be chaotic, but in fact the strength of the Feng Kingdom is still strong, especially the combat power of the Feng Army, which is even stronger than during the Zhanhua period. With Zhan Wushuang, Zhan Wushuang, The 400,000 Ning army led by Wudi entered Fengdi and was completely annihilated by Feng's army. If our country sends troops against Feng, how many troops should we send? Do we really want to mobilize the entire country's troops for the five cities that Ning Guo verbally promised? Going to war with Feng State? Even if we win in the end, our country's national strength will be greatly damaged, and the loss cannot be replaced by just five cities. Moreover, in the eyes of Erchen, Feng State can contain Ning State, and Feng Ning two countries. The more fierce and fierce the fight, the greater the mutual consumption, the more beneficial it is to our country. Our country should sit on the sidelines and watch the fire, rather than actively intervene and get stuck in it. I hope my father will think twice!" His words basically covered all aspects! After analyzing it, all the ministers present secretly clapped their hands and applauded. Even Zhang Rong, who was so inclined to Ning Guo, was speechless and didn't know how to refute.
Dong Sheng's eyes shone and he nodded repeatedly. His Highness's mind was indeed shrewd, far beyond that of His Highness Shao Bo. He had indeed not misjudged him at the beginning.