News of the defeat in the war came back one after another. Huangfu Hui and Yao Feng were captured in the Battle of Chuzhou. Huangfu Hui died after being chopped off in the head during a PK with Zhao Kuangyin. Another of Yu Le's enemies died.
Li Jing sent Sizhou Ya general Wang Zhilang to Xuzhou to ask for peace from Chai Rong, saying "I would like to serve as a brother and provide you with gifts every year", but Chai Rong did not reply. In the face of continuous loss of land, Li Jing once again sent Zhong Mo, the Minister of Household Affairs, and Li Deming, the Minister of Works, to the State of Zhou to express that Tang was willing to surrender to Zhou and request Zhou to withdraw its troops. At the same time, he paid tribute to Zhou State of one thousand taels of gold, 5,000 taels of silver, one thousand pieces of brocade and silk, as well as royal clothes, rhinoceros belts, tea, and medicine. He also presented 500 oxen and fine wine to reward Zhou's army. In order to seek peace, Li Jing agreed to cede six states including Shouzhou, Haozhou, Sizhou, Chuzhou, Guangzhou, and Haizhou, and paid millions of gold and silk to Zhou every year. However, Chai Rong demanded that Tang cede all areas north of the Yangtze River and draw the river as the boundary, so the peace talks between the two countries failed.
In early April, the Zhou army captured Dongdu (Yangzhou) and captured Feng Yansi, who was staying in Dongdu. Soon after, Tian Changzhi envoy Geng Qian surrendered to Zhou. Li Jing sent Yin Yanfan, the envoy of Yuanyuan, to Runzhou to escort and transfer the royal family members, but Yin Yanfan killed 60 men among them, causing a murder of the royal family. Li Jing was so angry that he almost vomited blood, and sent someone to catch and chop Yin Yanfan in half. Later, the Zhou army captured Taizhou, and Taizhou governor Fang Ne abandoned the city and fled. Li Jing sent another envoy to ask for help from the Khitan, but soon after arriving in Huaibei, the envoy was captured by the Zhou army. Li Jing was furious, thinking that a traitor must have betrayed the news. At the same time, Wu Yue general Wu Cheng led his troops to conquer Changzhou, captured Zhao Renze, the Tang Dynasty's Changzhou regiment training envoy, and brought him back to Qiantang.
Under attack from both sides, Li Jing once again sent his right servant to shoot Sun Sheng as Sikong, and went to Zhou with Wang Chongzhi, the Minister of Rites, to seek peace, and donated 1,000 taels of gold, 100,000 taels of silver, and 2,000 pieces of Luo Qi. Chai Rong still refused and asked Li Deming and Wang Chongzhi to He brought back a letter of persuasion to surrender, asking Tang to cede all states and counties in Jiangbei to Zhou. Li Deming went out of business, and when he came back, he publicly praised Zhou's strong soldiers and horses, and persuaded Li Jing to agree to Zhou's request to cede territory. Li Jing was furious and beheaded Li Deming.
Yu Le read the Di newspaper in his yamen office and knew that the direction of the war had not changed. Alas! Good things come hard!
"Le, that adult is busy!"
Yu Le knew it was Qian Xiaobao as soon as he heard the voice.
"Brother Bao, what brought you here? If you are not on duty at Dali Temple, why are you here?"
"Oh, brother! I, I regret it. This Dali Sizhi is so idle. I, can I come back?"
"Brother Bao! Stop joking, this is not playing house! You have also graduated from the sixth level. This is something that many people cannot achieve in their lifetime!"
"Hehe, that's true, but! Alas, as you know, Huanyan and Mei Niang are both pregnant, and the family will need money to have a baby! This salary is not enough for expenses!"
Yu Le secretly cursed Qian Xiaobao. How much money did he get back from his trip to Bianjing? How could he spend enough money?
"Brother Bao, I really can't help with this matter. You have to figure out some things on your own!" The implication is that you can't always count on others! People don’t owe you what they deserve, and the matter about Juxian Tower has not been fulfilled yet!
"Le, I heard that you led people to raid many ministers' homes a few days ago. Hehe! You must have gained a lot!"
Yu Le was angry, what do you mean! Is this to blackmail me?
"Brother Bao, you can't say this nonsense! That's an errand for the emperor, and all the income is recorded. What you said will make me beheaded!"
Qian Xiaobao's IQ is really low, and he didn't realize the meaning of Le's words, "Le, if you have such a good thing in the future, please call me!"
Yu Le didn't answer. Adou really couldn't be helped up. How could a sixth-rank official say such a thing?
"Brother Bao, I have to go out to do errands. Let's talk about it later if you have anything else!"
"Oh, okay, then you should be busy first, Le, and don't forget me if something good happens, hee hee!"
Yu Le regretted it. The consequence of being charitable is ingratitude and possible betrayal. Some people really don't know what is meant and are selfish to the extreme. Yu Le thinks that Qian Xiaobao was infected by Huanyan. It was not like this before.
Just when Yu Le was about to go out, the prince invited him, so he came to the East Palace. Now that Li Hongji was the crown prince, he really apologized to Li Jingsui for taking the blame, and began to keep a low profile in his work.
"Happy! Now that the country is in crisis, do you have any good ideas?" Li Hongji said straight to the point.
"Your Highness, at this time we can only join forces to fight against Zhou."
"The Liao Kingdom won't send troops!"
"There are also Shu and Chu, and the Han in the north!"
"No one dares to go, for fear of being captured by the Zhou Kingdom!"
"I'm going to the Kingdom of Shu. I'm going home to see that my wife is giving birth again."
"You, you can do it, is this for public or private reasons?"
"Hey, take care of both public and private matters!"
"Okay! I'll report it to His Majesty."
Yu Le happily returned to the secret guard Yamen and called in the newly promoted Zhuo Fan.
"Zhuo Fan, I'm going home to see my wife. Please keep an eye on me during this period! Especially that one, His Royal Highness is very worried! I have carefully selected you, so you can't Let me down!"
"Principal, don't worry! I told you in school that I once heard you say that gold always shines. Just look at whether I am gold or not! Hehe!"
What Yu Le was thinking was that gold would never shine if no one dug it out!
"Zhuo Fan, the Zhou Kingdom has been doing a lot of detail recently, but you can't forget about other countries, especially the field staff. If there are any urgent matters, they should be dealt with immediately. If they can't be dealt with, they should go to the envoy to make a decision. Do you understand?"
"Yes, principal."
A simple and honest face gives people a sense of harmlessness, but it is cruel and ruthless!
Yu Le returned to his mansion and asked Mingcheng to buy some gifts. He was going home to see his wife give birth to a baby!
"Master, when can I come in?" Chunyi is very concerned about her status now, especially when Mingcheng calls her Yi Niang instead of Madam. She knows that this is a failure! I also felt a little unhappy.
"You have taken in hundreds of girls now, do you still have time to come home with me?"
"Ah! That, that, doesn't it look pitiful! I, I'm tempted."
"Humph, you are compassionate, but I have to pay for it. Do you know that I can't make ends meet now, and I have a new baby in the family! Oh, where is the money!"
"Tch, come on! Don't pretend to be poor with me. You can still hide this thing from me! I don't care. You must ask the eldest lady about me when you go back this time. Otherwise, I, I will find it myself. Madam, please ask me, I am yours anyway, and I will stick with you for the rest of my life." Tears flowed out as he spoke.
Yu Le was most afraid of the woman crying, so he hurriedly picked her up and walked into the bedroom. Everything could be solved in bed!
