Chapter 354: Does the Prince Have a Hostage Candidate in Mind?

Under night, a group of soldiers wearing heavy armor were heading north quickly. When they passed a forest, a soldier riding a horse suddenly appeared in the distance.

The soldier ran into the heavy cavalry head-on. The soldier fell directly from his horse and looked dying.

The commander of this heavy cavalry immediately raised his hand to stop the soldiers from advancing. He quickly got off his horse and came directly to the soldier.

"I am He Ran, the commander of the Qinglong Guards. Tell me, what happened in Youping County?"

Hearing this, the soldier lying on the ground quickly took out a message from his arms, and then said: "Something happened to General Zhan and General Xu."

After saying that, the soldier fainted. It could be seen that the soldier barely had a good rest in order to deliver the information.

After hearing what the soldier said, He Ran's face darkened instantly, and he immediately said to the soldier next to him: "Take him down to rest and set up camp on the spot."

After the words fell, He Ran opened the information that the messenger had just given to him. The soldier next to him saw what He Ran was looking at, so he quickly brought the torch over so that He Ran could see more clearly.

Seeing the contents of the intelligence, He Ran was immediately shocked. Their heavy cavalry vehicle went north mainly to support the retreat of Dawu's main force.

Unexpectedly, the two great masters Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen actually disappeared, and the 200,000 Dawu soldiers surrendered directly. If this news was spread back to the capital, Emperor Wu would be furious.

Although the intelligence said that Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen were missing, He Ran instantly guessed that something unexpected had happened to them.

The intelligence also mentioned that the two of them went to Lingyun City to carry out the beheading plan and wanted to kill the two grandmaster-level generals of the North Kingdom. As a result, they entered the city and never came out. This can only mean that the two of them have encountered something. Unexpected.

He Ran did not believe that Zhan Hong and Xuxingwen, two loyal ministers of Dawu, would defect to the Northern Kingdom.

But to kill two grand masters, at least the northern kingdom must have grand master generals in Lingyun City, or the northern kingdom already has weapons that can kill the grand masters. If this is the case, then the true strength of the northern kingdom may be greater than they predicted. Even more terrifying.

Thinking of this, He Ran couldn't help but turn his head and glance at the heavy cavalry behind him.

Even if the 20,000 heavy cavalry led by him reach the front line, they will probably be crushed by the Northern Army.

This news must be reported to the court immediately. Thinking of this, He Ran immediately began to write a note, and then handed it to several soldiers together with the letter just now, asking them to spread the news of Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen's accident back to the capital overnight.

A few days later.

Dawu Chaotang.

Today's Dawu Court Hall was extremely quiet. At this time, Emperor Wu on the dragon throne had a gloomy face. Seeing that the ministers did not say a word, Emperor Wu's mood became even worse.

"Everyone likes to quarrel in the court so much. Why is it that now at the critical moment, all of you have become mute and can't say a word?"

The most important issue this morning was whether to continue fighting or seek peace with the North.

Most of the ministers in the court wanted to sue for peace. After all, the mysterious weapons of the North were too terrifying. If the fight continued, Dawu would not know how many people would die, and they might not have any hope of victory.

Since there is no hope of victory, then quickly sue for peace, and then find a way to steal the manufacturing methods of those weapons from the North Kingdom.

When Dawu has the same weapons as Beiguo in the future, they will take the initiative to attack Beiguo.

Although the ministers thought so in their hearts, no one dared to say it directly, because people knew very well that Emperor Wu was a hardliner, and he would never compromise with his enemies. If anyone asked for peace at this time, they would probably be provoked. Angry Emperor Wu.

So the ministers simply said nothing and just kept delaying it.

At this time, Emperor Wu's eyes fell on Chai Jiliang. Since Wu Yunwan's status as the eldest princess was revoked, Chai Jiliang was not as proactive as before in presenting the performance.

Nowadays, most of the officials from Wu Yunwan's faction have defected to other princes, and there are fewer and fewer officials from Chai Jiliang's faction. However, it is precisely the officials from Chai Jiliang's faction who are the hardworking ones. Now that Wu Yunwan has fallen, they can't work anymore. Less is especially much.

Emperor Wu asked at this time: "Chai Aiqing, do you think the war should continue, or should you take the initiative to seek peace with the Northern Kingdom?"

Upon hearing this question, Chai Jiliang stood in the middle of the hall, then raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the only way to seek peace is now."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wu's face turned darker.

Chai Jiliang continued: "I know that Your Majesty has great ambitions, but the power of Beiguo's weapons has far exceeded Dawu's. If we continue to fight, Dawu will only increase casualties."

Emperor Wu laughed at this time, and then said: "Seek peace? Do you all think that if Da Wu takes the initiative to seek peace, the Northern Kingdom will immediately stop the war?"

Chai Jiliang said at this time: "Your Majesty, the Northern Army has not moved south since they occupied Youping County. If they really wanted to attack Dawu, they would have sent troops to continue southward. With the current military strength of the Northern Kingdom, the Northern Army can occupy several more counties. It’s not impossible.”

At this time, a minister stood up and angrily said: "Master Chai, are you a Dawu man or a Northerner? You actually have the ambition of others to destroy Dawu's majesty!"

At this time, Emperor Wu stared at Chai Jiliang with a dark face and asked: "Then why does Chai Aiqing think the Northern Kingdom did not go south?"

Chai Jiliang said calmly:

"The reason why the Northern Kingdom did not go south is because the Northern Kingdom is not strong enough to destroy a dynasty. If the Northern Kingdom continues to move south, it will inevitably make other dynasties more wary of the existence of the Northern Kingdom. At that time, several dynasties are likely to join forces to deal with the Northern Kingdom. Therefore, I believe that even if the Northern King really has the ambition to annex the world, he will not attack Dawu at this time. "

"The Northern King sent troops to occupy Youping County mainly to intimidate the major dynasties and let them know that the Northern Kingdom has the strength to dominate."

"According to what I see, if the Northern King wants to conquer the world, he must first seek the throne of Daxia."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wu raised his brows slightly and fell into deep thought.

At this moment, a soldier's voice came from outside the hall, "Urgent report from Youping County!!!"

The hall instantly became quieter, and the ministers had anxious looks on their faces. They couldn't help but wonder whether the Northern Army had gone south.

Soon, the messenger entered the hall, knelt on the ground, and raised the envelope in his hands, "Your Majesty, General Zhan and General Xu are missing, and Dawu's 200,000 soldiers have surrendered to the Northern Kingdom!"

Hearing this, everyone in the hall immediately exploded.

Missing? ? ?

Are you kidding me?

Why did Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen suddenly disappear?

These two people are the pillars of Dawu. If something happens to them, it will be a heavy blow to Dawu.

After the eunuch under the dragon platform came to his senses, he quickly took the envelope from the messenger's hand and sent it to Emperor Wu.

Emperor Wu grabbed the envelope from the eunuch's hand, tore it open and read it. After seeing what was written in the letter, Emperor Wu fell into silence again.

At this time, the atmosphere in the hall became extremely dull, and people seemed to feel a huge pressure, which made people unable to breathe.

After an unknown amount of time, Emperor Wu finally spoke: "After Zhan Aiqing and Xu Aiqing led their troops back to Youping County, they planned to kill the two generals from the North Kingdom. However, they disappeared immediately after they went to Lingyun City. A hundred thousand troops were leaderless and finally surrendered to the Northern Kingdom..."

When Emperor Wu said this, he slapped the dragon chair with his palm. One side of the dragon chair instantly shattered. A force of warrior power was released from Emperor Wu's body. The civil servants in the court who had no skills were directly overwhelmed by this power. On the ground.

The ministers lowered their heads, shivered, and did not dare to take a breath.

After an unknown amount of time, the anger in Emperor Wu's heart subsided a little. He then calmed down and said, "My dear friends, did Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen defect to the Northern Kingdom, or were they killed? "

As soon as Emperor Wu finished speaking, an official from the eldest prince's faction stood up and said, "Your Majesty, these two old generals are loyal to the emperor and patriotic. They have conquered half of the country for Dawu and have accompanied several kings. Moreover, their families are still in Dawu. They It is absolutely impossible to betray Dawu!"

Xu Xingwen and Zhan Hong were both members of the eldest prince's faction. If they betrayed Dawu, the eldest prince's faction would have trouble with countless people related to the Zhan family and the Xu family.

Even if they really betrayed Dawu, the people of the eldest prince's faction would never admit it, so Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen must have died for their country. Of course, the two of them are indeed dead.

At this time, the Minister of War also stood up and said: "The two old generals must have fallen into the Northern Kingdom's conspiracy and died for the country!"

Later, many ministers stood up to speak. Anyway, the ministers did not agree that Xu Xingwen and Zhan Hong had betrayed Dawu.

About half an hour later, Emperor Wu's eyes fell on Chai Jiliang again, "Chai Aiqing also thinks that the two generals died for their country?"

Chai Jiliang stood up and said, "Yes."

Emperor Wu said: "The two of them are great masters. If they want to escape, who can keep them?"

It is not easy for a grand master to kill a grand master. If a grand master is determined to escape, another grand master may not be able to catch up.

As a result, Zhan Hong and Xu Xingwen disappeared without a trace after entering Lingyun City, as if they had disappeared. This made Emperor Wu have to wonder if the two of them had rebelled.

Chai Jiliang said at this time: "Your Majesty, Dawu has a great master, and the Northern Kingdom also has a great master. In addition, the Northern Kingdom has so many mysterious weapons, and they also have some methods that we don't know about. The two old generals are very Maybe he fell into the trap of the Northern Kingdom and died for his country.”

"I believe that it is impossible for these two old generals to betray Dawu and His Majesty."

Thousands of people in the families of Xu Xingwen and Zhan Hong were still in Dawu. How could they abandon their relatives and go directly to the North? If they rebelled, with Emperor Wu's temper, the Xu family and the Zhan family would definitely be bloody. It flowed into a river, so the two of them could only be dead.

Emperor Wu fell into silence again.

Time passed by, and Emperor Wu remained silent for a full quarter of an hour. During this quarter of an hour, the ministers in the hall did not say a word.

In the end, Emperor Wu seemed to have figured it out. He stood up directly from the dragon throne and said, "Retreat!"

Then he flicked his sleeves and left the hall.

For the next half month, Emperor Wu did not go to court. There were rumors that Emperor Wu was seriously ill.

Emperor Wu fell ill at this time, which made the ministers anxious. Now the army of the North Kingdom is stationed in Youping County and may go south at any time. As a result, Emperor Wu, as the king of a country, became a hand-off shopkeeper.

Fortunately, Emperor Wu finally issued an imperial edict, asking the second prince to lead the delegation north to seek peace in the Northern Kingdom.

When the imperial edict came out, the officials of the first prince's faction were very happy in their hearts. Seeking peace is not a good job.

On the one hand, Emperor Wu is a hardliner. He has launched so many wars in his life and has never sought peace with that force. This is his first time to seek peace. This is a shame and a stain for Emperor Wu.

In the future, Emperor Wu may think of this stain of the second prince when he sees him, and thus feel some disgust towards the second prince.

This is one aspect. On the other hand, Dawu was defeated in the war between Dawu and the Northern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom will definitely ask for a lot of territory and compensation. If the second prince does not handle it well and makes Dawu's losses even greater, the second prince will not think about the position of the crown prince in the future.

After Wu Yunwan heard that Emperor Wu was going to send someone to the Northern Kingdom, she tried every means to send someone to speak well of him and ask him to send her. However, Emperor Wu ignored her. Chai Jiliang had said this to Emperor Wu several times, but Emperor Wu not only did not agree, but demoted him.

Emperor Wu's reaction also made Wu Yunwan completely desperate. It seemed that her father was disappointed with her and would never let her interfere in politics again.

Northern Kingdom.

Today was sunny and windy, and Lu Chen rarely had afternoon tea with his wives and concubines in the yard.

The first phase of the war was over, and the next step was peace talks.

Lu Chen sat on a stone bench, drank a sip of Dragon and Phoenix tea, and then teased the child in Chu Yuqin's arms.

At this time, Dongfang Longyue, dressed in plain white, entered the yard. She was working at the newspaper today. When she was writing, she suddenly thought of the peace talks between Dawu and Beiguo, so she ran back to the palace to find Lu Chen, wanting to ask Lu Chen what conditions he planned to put forward during the peace talks.

Political consultations are like this. When an envoy from one country is going to another country, both countries will build momentum.

Dawu is going to come to Beiguo, so Beiguo will also build momentum, guide public opinion, and release some conditions for peace talks to make Dawu mentally prepared.

Dongfang Longyue came to Lu Chen with a notebook in her left hand and a pen in her right hand, "Prince, Dawu is about to have peace talks with Beiguo. I wonder what conditions Beiguo plans to put forward this time?"

Lu Chen replied: "This still needs to be discussed with officials in the Council Hall, and it has not been decided yet."

Although Lu Chen is a prince, this is a national event, and it still needs to be discussed by the Beiguo small court before a decision can be made.

Hearing Lu Chen's answer, Dongfang Longyue quickly wrote something on the notebook, and then Dongfang Longyue continued to ask: "What does the prince think? What does the prince think Dawu should compensate Beiguo for?"

Lu Chen thought for a while, and then said: "As for what to compensate, the first is gold, and the second is land."

"Of course, these two are the most basic. In addition, I plan to ask Dawu to open more trading cities, and in the future, all transactions between Dawu and Beiguo must use the currency that Beiguo will issue."

Dongfang Longyue's hand quickly recorded on the notebook. Seeing that Lu Chen did not continue, Dongfang Longyue continued to ask: "Are there any other conditions?"

Lu Chen said: "In order to prevent Dawu from retaliating against Beiguo in the future, Dawu must send hostages to Beiguo."

Hearing this, Dongfang Longyue was stunned for a moment, and the women in the yard were also stunned for a moment. They were not fools. When Lu Chen mentioned hostages, they thought of someone.

Dongfang Longyue asked directly at this time: "The hostage that the prince mentioned, is it appointed by the prince, or is it chosen by Dawu himself?"

Lu Chen said: "Since it is a hostage, it naturally has to play the role of a hostage. If Dawu is allowed to choose, Dawu chooses an insignificant person to come to the Northern Kingdom, then what kind of hostage is it, so the hostage must be chosen by the Northern Kingdom."

Hearing Lu Chen's answer, the women in the yard became more certain of their guesses.

Dongfang Longyue continued to ask: "Does the prince already have a hostage candidate in mind?"