Chapter 344 The Emperor's Troubles
The Huns retreated as promised, about fifteen miles away from the temporary negotiating tent, five miles longer than the Chu people, but the terrain was flat and there was no city wall to block them. Once an attack was launched, this disadvantage would soon disappear.
The location of the tent was good. It was on a high ground with a wide field of vision. Wang He rode outside and watched the Huns army. He was ready to issue a warning at any time. Meng E followed the emperor.
The Xiongnu side also arranged it in the same way: two people entered the tent and one stayed outside, but this person paid little attention to the movements of the Jincheng side. Show disdain.
Jin Chuiduo didn't recognize Meng E, nor did she see that she was disguised as a man. After entering the tent, she sat on the felt blanket like a Huns, and her entourage stayed by her side. It seemed that she didn't care about this negotiation either.
Only Jin Chuiduo cares.
"You shouldn't take so many people on a northern tour." Jin Chuiduo's first sentence was accusatory.
"Da Danyu shouldn't take the Huns south to enter the customs." Han Ruzi smiled. Jin Chuiduo was still so beautiful. To suppress with seriousness and pride, Zhang Qinyan used his eyes and skills to improve his beauty. For Han Ruzi, neither of them was completely successful.
"In the future, many people will frequently mention my mistakes, so don't be in a hurry at this moment." Han Ruzi could imagine that if he could escape this disaster, he was afraid that it would be difficult for him to leave the capital for half a step.
Jin Chuiduo lowered his eyes and raised his eyes again, saying: "Da Chanyu wants you to be the emperor of Chu, he said that he needs a strong ally, not a weak subject. Only in this way can we jointly deal with the Western strong enemy."
"Well, and I need an ally on the steppe, not an invader within the Great Wall, the Huns must withdraw from Chu."
Jin Chuiduo leaned forward slightly and said to the emperor opposite: "The people around me do not understand the Chu language, so I can tell you frankly: Da Chanyu will not give up the land he has already obtained, and he longs for the city wall. Protection has reached the point of paranoia, and all negotiations can only be carried out on this basis. I am here to save your life, because...you saved the Jin family once."
"Then I might as well say bluntly, I will not be the first Emperor of Chu to give up the land, and Da Chanyu also understands this. He asked you to come to the peace talks, but he was just making up doubts. His real purpose is to make peace. Take action to annihilate the Chu army outside the Great Wall."
When a person is in a desperate situation, he often has all kinds of fantasies. He always thinks that gold will fall from the sky, treasures will gush out of the water, and there will be lost property on the ground... Han Ruzi is not immune, but after learning about the situation in various places from Cai Xinghai, He calmed down, abandoned his fantasies, and made only the simplest inferences.
So the facts suddenly became clear.
"What Da Chanyu wants is not a section of the city wall, but the entire Great Wall. In this way, the north has dangers to defend, and the south can hold Da Chu hostage at any time. He needs a strong ally, but this ally must be obedient and accept his command. ."
Jin Chuiduo sighed softly, Da Chanyu naturally wouldn't tell her the whole plan in his heart, but based on her understanding, Han Ruzi's guess would not be wrong, "Even so, you can still survive and have a chance to recover. lost ground..."
Han Ruzi smiled again, "I am the emperor, the emperor of Great Chu, I would rather die here and let the capital have a new emperor, rather than bear the charge of breaking and splitting the great Chu Jiangshan."
Jin Chuiduo stared at him, was silent for a while, and said, "That's not what the envoys sent from the capital said. They are willing to pay all the price in exchange for your life."
The messenger sent by Han Ruzi was Qiao Wanfu, who had a low status, and the messenger in the capital was Feng Ju, the minister of officials.
"The envoy from the capital adheres to my mother's will, and the decision made does not count."
Jin Chuiduo returned to normal sitting position, "Then what are you going to do? Just waiting to die for the country?"
"I haven't reached the point where I will die: there are loyal ministers in the capital, the army in the north is gathered, and the army is led by Chai Yue in the south, who is leading an army to attack the country of Yan. His choice is very correct. I just want to talk."
"So, you went out of town to negotiate with me just to delay time?"
"It's to ask for your help, please help me delay a little time, even if it's only a few days."
Jin Chuiduo pondered for a long time, "The Qi army in Linzi City has made a promise to the envoy of Da Chanyu, and will soon mobilize all the troops to attack the Chai Yue army from the rear, and the Xiongnu army will go south to cooperate. Da Chanyu does not just want to defeat The Chu army outside the Great Wall, he is choosing an opportunity, and you won't even have the chance to negotiate."
"I believe in the generals of Da Chu and are willing to take risks."
"You always..." Jin Chuiduo showed a bit of accusation, and immediately restrained, "Okay, I will tell Da Chanyu that you intend to negotiate, but you must first meet the envoy from the capital to communicate the situation. , a visit and a visit may buy you a few days."
"thanks."
"This is just a little reward." Jin Chuiduo stood up, "By the way, you have to compensate King Youxian, a princess of Chu."
"Um?"
"One of your deserters kidnapped King Youxian's favorite concubine."
Han Ruzi couldn't help laughing.
The corners of Jin Chuiduo's mouth moved, but she couldn't hold back her smile, "No matter what the background of this deserter is, it's too much. King Youxian put this account on your head, claiming that the peace talks were successful, and Da Chu must compensate one. A princess, if it doesn't work, he has to snatch one back from the capital."
Han Ruzi put away his smile, if the main force of the Chu army was defeated one after another, the threat of King Youxian would no longer be a joke, "Okay."
Anyway, the negotiation is just a delay, and Han Ruzi can temporarily accept any conditions.
Jin Chuiduo walked to the door, turned around and said, "I can understand your choice."
In order to return to the grassland to become a Huns, Jin Chuiduo resolutely did not regret even killing her father. In a sense, she really understood that Han Ruzi would rather die in battle than surrender to Da Chanyu.
After the Huns left, Han Ruzi sat in the same place for a while, and Meng E reminded in a low voice, "It's time to go back."
The whole Jincheng was in extreme tension. Seeing the return of the emperor, they opened the door early to welcome him, and the cheers continued from the city gate to the Daiwangfu.
Jin Chuiduo did not promise how long the truce would last, nor did he say how he would restrain King Youxian, so Han Ruzi could not stay in the city steadfastly, but reduced the number of soldiers on duty so that everyone could have a chance to rest.
In the evening, he attended Chao Hua's funeral. This was during wartime. There were thousands of mountains and rivers away from his hometown in southern Beijing, so he could only be cremated. The bodies of Chao Hua and many soldiers were cremated in a corner of the city, and then buried in the ground. So as not to be humiliated by the Huns in the future.
It was not until late at night that Han Ruzi returned to his residence. Fan Zangshan sent someone to send a message that the Huns did not move forward on a large scale, but sent a small army to guard the siege equipment outside the city. Fan Zangshan wanted to lead his troops out of the city. Have a surprise attack.
Han Ruzi did not allow it. It was impossible for the Huns to let the Chu army succeed in the second surprise attack. There must be a counterattack plan, and Jin Chuiduo was working hard to facilitate peace talks, so there was no need to provoke trouble.
He couldn't sleep, couldn't read, ate a little food, turned everyone off, and paced back and forth in the study alone.
The King of the East Sea, who was supposed to rest, came, did not speak, sat at the table, and flipped through the books on it.
Han Ruzi guessed that Liu Jie or Zhang Youcai had called the King of the East Sea, and couldn't help but sighed, the emperor's hesitation and anxiety should not be seen by anyone, but what could be hidden from the eunuch who served him personally?
"Have you read a lot of history books?" Han Ruzi stopped and really needed to talk to someone.
"I've read everything that should be read, there's nothing I can do, the old gentlemen are watching closely." The King of the East Sea put down the book and turned around.
"I hope to be the emperor in the book, always calm and unpredictable, and Longyan's anger can solve all problems."
"Historical officials are also officials. What the emperor says, he writes how he writes. In the history of the country, His Majesty will definitely not lose to Emperor Wu."
"Hey, Emperor Wu opened up the territory and defeated the Xiongnu, how can I compare with him?"
"When Emperor Wu was a wealthy country and a strong people, the so-called take advantage of the situation. Even if our grandfather was a mediocre emperor, he could still do a great job. His Majesty is in troubled times and is about to build the power of resurrection. How could he lose to Emperor Wu?"
As long as he wants to, the King of the East Sea will indeed please others, especially the emperor. Han Ruzi smiled and shook his head. This kind of flattery didn't mean much to him, but it was indeed useful. Gradually, the smile disappeared, and he was still troubled by that problem.
"When I returned to the city, the army and the people cheered. I was thinking, is what I did right? I refused to surrender to Da Chanyu, and I might eventually kill everyone in the city. If I surrender..." Han Ruzi sighed, " If he can convince Da Chanyu that I am surrendering sincerely, he may let Jincheng go."
The King of Donghai did not speak immediately, but after waiting for a while, he said, "Allow me to say something that is outrageous. If I were the emperor, I would definitely surrender. What the Huns want, there is only one request, let me continue to be the emperor, even if only I am willing to leave half of the country."
This is exactly what the mother Wang Meiren did, and Han Ruzi did not respond.
The King of Donghai stood up, "So I haven't been able to compete with Your Majesty, so I'm not the Emperor, so no one is willing to fight for me, Your Majesty still doesn't understand? The subjects of Great Chu used to stay away from the court and stay out of the way. Emperor Huan, the Empress Dowager and His Majesty first ascended the throne. At that time, they could not be allowed to act. But now, His Majesty is surrounded, but Da Chu is not in chaos, the imperial court in the capital is still in operation, Feng Shili is defending the westbound checkpoint, Cui Hong and Chai Yue are going to fight Da Shanyu, and the Chu army outside the Great Wall is still in operation. There is more and more gatherings... There is only one reason for this: His Majesty is insisting, so they are also insisting."
Han Ruzi showed a reluctant smile, only he knew how difficult this kind of persistence was.
"Sometimes things are so strange. When Da Chu is at its most critical and His Majesty is in danger, His Majesty's throne is also the most stable." The King of the East Sea bowed, and these words were not only to the Emperor, but also to tell himself that he finally Lose all possibility of competing for the throne.
"I'm going to rest." Han Ruzi said, calming down.
The East Sea King bowed and stepped back.
Han Ruzi went back to the bedroom to rest. Soon after, the sound of the piano came from outside the house. The mood was different from before. It was sad and generous, like an elegy.