Chapter 330
The emperor held a court meeting in front of the sickbed. The higher-ranking generals and officials stood beside the emperor, the lower ones lined up outside, and the lower ones stood in the courtyard. There were more than a hundred people in total.
The door was open, but everyone spoke in a low voice. The people outside couldn't hear anything and could only act as if they were listening.
Han Ruzi lay on the chair, closed his eyes and rested, with a tired look on his face. The news of the emperor's illness had already spread, and he didn't need to hide it any more.
Deng Cui was the general defender of the city, and he reported the latest battle situation. In the end, he finished in a few words, "Every time the Huns eliminated a support army, they would come to the city to show off. So far, it has been three times."
Although the officials of the Ministry of War did not command operations, they understood all the deployment of troops, so they stepped forward to fill in the time, and detailed the defenses in all directions of Jincheng and the estimated number of enemy troops. Although Jincheng was not large, it had stored a lot of food and grass. It is used to supply Mayi City outside the Great Wall, and it is just in use now, and it will not be a problem for a few months...
Han Ruzi occasionally hummed, indicating that he was still listening.
As for the method of breaking out of the siege, all the officials also offered ideas, but they were all based on the fact that the Huns would kill themselves if they did many injustices, and that the Chu army all over the world came to the rescue at the same time. To put it bluntly, they were waiting for a miracle to happen.
As the chief general, Deng Cui didn't say a word, and even rudely looked at the emperor's residence to kill time.
When everyone finally finished speaking, they fell into silence all of a sudden, the emperor didn't even make a sound of um, as if he was already asleep, no one dared to disturb, no one dared to leave, he just stood silently.
After a full quarter of an hour, the emperor finally opened his eyes, barely got up with the help of the eunuch, and asked weakly, "Where is Da Chanyu?"
The ministers looked at each other in dismay, wondering if the emperor had a dream, and people woke up from a dream but didn't wake up, so they asked such endless words.
Deng Cui still seemed to have nothing to do with him, so the Ministry of War officials had no choice but to reply: "The banner of the Xiongnu Da Chanyu has never appeared outside the city, and the ministers and others speculated that he may have led his troops south to fight the Qi rebels. merged."
The news of Jincheng is blocked, and the situation outside can only be guessed.
Han Ruzi shook his head gently, "The Huns may go south, but Dadan won't. He doesn't dare to go too far from the grassland." He raised his eyelids laboriously, looked at the ministers in the house, and said, "Which lord just talked about peace talks? ?"
An official from the Ministry of Rites hurried forward and said, "Wei Chen once mentioned peace talks, and Wei Chen thought that..."
The official eagerly wanted to add some qualifications to his proposal so as not to cause trouble, but the emperor had already nodded, "Okay, let's follow Lord Lou's method and negotiate with Da Shanyu. When can Lord Lou leave?"
"Ah?" Lord Lou was taken aback, "According to Wei Chen's humble opinion, now is not the time for peace talks, we need to wait for the Chu army..."
Han Ruzi shook his head, "I can't wait, Lord Lou is ready today and will leave the city tomorrow."
Lord Lou threw himself on his knees, regretting too much, and did not dare to refuse on the spot.
But the emperor was not as confused as he imagined.
"Lord Lou can't do it alone, you have to choose a deputy. Which Aiqing volunteers to serve?"
The emperor didn't seem to understand the current situation at all, and he also blamed the Ministry of War. He was used to reporting more good news and less sorrow, and he said that defending the city was not serious at all, so the emperor made the decision to negotiate in his sleep, thinking it was a very important thing. easy thing.
All the ministers used their peripheral vision to scan the officers of the Ministry of War, and the officers of the Ministry of War who were still chatting just now stared at their toes, motionless, and did not say a word.
Fortunately for everyone, the emperor already had a candidate in mind, "Where is Qiao Wanfu?"
More than half of the people in the room had never heard of the name "Qiao Wanfu". Some officials immediately turned around and asked the people from the outside world. The officials from the outside world went to ask the people in the courtyard, and finally found Qiao Wanfu among the consultants.
Qiao Wanfu was originally Ao Cangling, but because of his meritorious battles, he was promoted to the standing attendant of Sanqi. In fact, he was only one of the emperor's many advisers, and his real power was not as good as that of the little Ao Cangling.
Qiao Wanfu was short in stature. When he heard the summons, he rushed forward, but the officials at the door didn't see it and kept asking, "Qiao Wanfu, who is Qiao Wanfu?"
"It's a humble job." Qiao Wanfu replied.
The official searched for a while, and finally saw the man running with his hand raised, thinking to himself, the emperor is really sick.
Qiao Wanfu had not been summoned by the emperor for a long time, and he was unavoidably apprehensive. As soon as he entered the room, he knelt down and walked on his knees in front of the emperor.
Han Ruzi lay down again, his eyes slightly closed, as if he didn't notice Qiao Wanfu's arrival, or he forgot, and none of the ministers opened their mouths to remind him.
The eunuch who was serving closely pressed lightly on the emperor's shoulder. The emperor opened his eyes again, looked at the two envoys kneeling on the ground, and hummed softly.
The eunuch Zhang Youcai nodded to Liu Jie, the supervisor of the Central Division, and Liu Jie said loudly: "The ministers step down, and the second and second envoys stay."
The ministers obeyed the order, filed out according to their grades, and left the emperor's residence.
Lou Xun, an official of the Ministry of Rites, is a dignified old minister. He made a proposal for peace talks as usual, but he never expected that the emperor would agree to it, and handed over the heavy responsibility to himself. husband.
Liu Jie asked the two of them to die, and then left with the other eunuchs, leaving only two guards. This is the rule in the palace. Unless the emperor's personal permission is obtained, the supervisor of the central division cannot observe the affairs of the monarch and the minister.
Han Ruzi asked, "How does Master Lou plan to persuade Da Chanyu to accept the peace talks?"
"This... this... According to the humble opinion of the minister, of course, he understands it with reason and moves with emotion. I think that the Huns have lived in the grasslands for a long time, and they must have various discomforts after entering the customs. This way, they may be persuaded to leave. But the question now is where is the big single, we must first find out..."
"Go out of the city and ask the Huns." The emperor gave the answer and turned to Qiao Wanfu. This is the real messenger in his mind. Unfortunately, the position is too low. The temporary promotion may be seen through by the Huns. "What do you think, Mr. Qiao?"
Qiao Wanfu was completely unprepared, and quickly stabilized his mind, "Since it is a peace negotiation, can you tell me your Majesty's goal?"
Han Ruzi nodded slightly, "Of course the Huns retreated outside the Great Wall."
"Difficult, does Your Majesty have lower goals?"
"The Huns returned to the outside of the Great Wall, and the two sides are about brother states, and the customs and cities communicate with each other."
"It's also difficult, does Your Majesty have lower goals?"
"The Huns returned to the outside of the Great Wall, and the Great Chu paid compensation on an annual basis. The amount can be negotiated."
"Well, it's not easy, can Your Majesty set aside a piece of land in the customs to accommodate the Huns?"
Before waiting for the emperor to speak, Lou Xun was already shocked, "The ancestors of the Chu ancestors opened up their territories, how can their descendants surrender to outsiders? Your Majesty, this statement must not be opened, this Mr. Qiao is slanderous, and should take the lead. felony."
Lou Xun saw that the messenger that the emperor really liked was Qiao Wanfu, and he was only escorting him.
Qiao Wanfu knelt down immediately, not daring to argue.
Lou Xun suddenly had the fighting spirit and continued: "Qiao Wanfu is not a peace talk, but a betrayal of the country. Whether it succeeds or not is a trivial matter, I am afraid that he will show weakness to Da Shanyu and make the Huns more confident in the siege of the city..."
"Lord Lou, I already understand what you mean, you go to prepare first, and leave the city early tomorrow, don't delay."
Lou Xun did not dare to resist the decree, he hesitated for a while, and had to retreat.
"Get up and talk." Han Ruzi said.
Qiao Wanfu got up and stood with his hands down, still not quite understanding the emperor's intentions.
"Master Qiao seems to know the way of business."
"Wei Chen did not succeed in learning the Dao, so he transferred to such a small art."
"There is a specialization in the art industry, the Dao needs to be inherited, and the small art must be learned by someone, not to mention the way of business that benefits the world, it is not a small art."
"His Majesty's knowledge is beyond the reach of Wei Chen."
Han Ruzi chuckled, the emperor's words can be praised, it is not easy to get officials to get rid of this "habit", "Qiao Wanfu, do you understand why I chose you as deputy envoy?"
"Wei ministers are stupid, they just act according to the order, and they don't dare to assume the holy will."
"There are powerful enemies outside the city. What I want is not to 'act according to the order'.
Qiao Wanfu was slightly surprised. Although the emperor's voice was weak, it didn't look like a seriously ill person. He couldn't help but raise his eyes and glanced at it quickly. He didn't see anything, and he replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. The minister thought that the Huns were the people of the Huns. It is a foreigner who does not understand etiquette, does not pay attention to benevolence and righteousness, and it is difficult to speak the right way. Because of his greed for profit, he needs to be lured by the way of management."
Han Ruzi nodded, Qiao Wanfu did not disappoint him, originally he still had a lot of things to explain, but now he doesn't need to say, "Da Danyu will definitely meet you, but this trip is very dangerous, and Da Danyu may kill the Chu envoy at any time. vent your anger, are you ready?"
"Wei Chen is not afraid of death, but Lord Lou..."
"He is the servant of the Ministry of Rites, and it is his duty to send envoys to the Xiongnu and guard against the enemy." Han Ruzi had to send a minister anyway, and Lou Xun could only be considered unlucky.
"Wei Chen understands."
Han Ruzi thought for a while, "I will never cede the land. In other matters, I will let Lord Qiao decide. I have a secret letter for you, and I can show it to Lord Lou when necessary."
Qiao Wanfu is only a deputy envoy, and there must be a secret order to call the shots.
Qiao Wanfu decreed to retire, seriously preparing to send the Xiongnu as an envoy, but Lou Xun was trying to find a way to delay, and there were some officials who were familiar with him. Difficulties were raised in many details such as the communication between the Huns, each of which took a day or two to resolve.
The emperor issued three imperial decrees in a row, each one being more severe than the other. When night fell, Lou Xun finally gave up his resistance and invited his relatives and friends in the city to say goodbye in tears.
At dawn the next day, the envoy and the deputy envoy left the city with six entourage. Under the watchful eyes of the people at the top of the city, they slowly advanced towards the Huns camp. After half an hour, they were intercepted by a team of Huns cavalry, but they did not shoot them. Instead, it was brought into the camp, and the people in the city could never see it again.
Han Ruzi once again held a court meeting in front of the sick bed. This time, no one dared to talk nonsense. The court meeting ended soon. The emperor left Deng Cui alone. Breathe easy.
Han Ruzi had to entrust Deng Cui with a heavy responsibility.
"How many troops does General Deng need to repel the Huns?"
"200,000 can give you a fight, 300,000 will win, and if you get 500,000, you can't teach the Huns to go back beyond the Great Wall."
There is no ready-made army of 500,000 people in Da Chu, Han Ruzi said: "Only outside the Great Wall are more troops stationed, and together there may be 200,000 to 300,000."
"But they came to rescue one by one, and I'm afraid they will be exhausted in a few months."
"So I will send General Deng to coordinate the troops outside the Great Wall in person."
The imperial envoy Zhuo Ruhe was mobilizing the army outside the fortress, and Han Ruzi also sent someone to send the imperial edict, but he felt that it was not enough. Zhuo Ruhe was a civil minister and could not command the army. Zhang Yin, the Marquis of Piyuan of Broken Iron City, had no news. Han Ruzi must send a General.
Deng Cui didn't show any surprise and thought for a while, "Then I need a month to assemble the army."
"Twenty days, tonight I will send someone to take you out of the city."
"Okay." Deng Cui agreed very happily, and didn't even ask how the emperor could send him out of the siege. Since he could escape, why didn't the emperor himself escape.
"Ye escape is unpredictable, General Deng must be prepared." Han Ruzi said.