…
"The prime minister of the country, Orton, pays homage to the general of the Celestial Dynasty!"
As soon as the Orton envoy arrived at the Han camp, they immediately came to see Bai Qi.
Along the way, he had learned about the outcome of the war. All 650,000 soldiers under Nanzhuan's command were wiped out, Liuli City fell, Ku Jin was beheaded under the city wall, and even Nanzhuan was now a prisoner of the Han army.
Although he had already expected such a result, seeing such a situation with his own eyes still gave him an unprecedented psychological shock.
Now he just hopes that the money and food he brings can appease Bai Qi and end this damn war as soon as possible.
But no matter what, he knew very well that within the next hundred years, the noble widow would never be able to regain her strength and compete in the Western Regions.
"It turns out to be Prime Minister Orton. Please get up and speak. Someone is here to offer you a seat and tea."
"Thank you, General Tianchao."
Orton stood up and sat down tremblingly. Facing the rumored "human massacre" in front of him, it was impossible for him not to panic.
But what surprised him was that this "human massacre" was completely different from the image he imagined. He looked about twenty-four or five years old, and had a handsome appearance, which made him feel very comfortable at first glance.
Bai Qi glanced at him and snorted softly: "I wonder what the purpose of Prime Minister Orton is here?"
Orton hurriedly stood up and saluted, trying hard to overcome the fear in his heart, and said slowly: "General, the conflict between the two countries only hurts the innocent people.
The conflict between the noble widow and the big man should sit down and discuss it carefully before the problem can be solved, instead of going to war like this and causing thousands of lives to be ruined. "
Bai Qi heard this and snorted: "Is Prime Minister Orton here to be a lobbyist?"
Orton was startled and said hurriedly: "I don't dare, please don't misunderstand me, General of the Heavenly Dynasty. What I want to say is that the two countries should stop fighting and negotiate for peace. We cannot continue such endless conquests."
Bai Qi's eyes turned cold: "If your noble widow hadn't gone too far in bullying others, why would I have raised an army to punish you? Last year, I told the world that
The land of the Western Regions has become the royal territory of the Han Dynasty. All city-states in the Western Regions are protected by the iron army of the Han Dynasty. The Yuezhi Kingdom is the first ally of the Han Dynasty in the Western Regions.
But you, your noble widow, ignored the edicts of my great Han Dynasty, and entered the country several times to harass the Yuezhi border residents, and even sold the Yuezhi people wantonly.
My great Han Dynasty also sent envoys to warn you, but not only did you not restrain yourself at all, but you even intensified your efforts and encouraged the people to plunder the Yuezhi Kingdom.
You simply didn't take my big man seriously, which made His Majesty Long Yan furious and had to send troops to punish your noble widow.
In fact, at the beginning of the war, if your noble wife took the initiative to propose peace talks, I would naturally be willing to listen and consider withdrawing troops and negotiating peace talks. Unfortunately, you are too conceited.
Do you think that just because there are less than 10 million people in the country, you can try to fight against my big man? You really overestimate your capabilities. Now a million-strong army has been defeated.
But you come to this handsome account and talk nonsense about the war between the two countries and the harm to Chiyu! Is it your turn to teach me? Don’t you know what the noble widow’s situation is now? "
The last shout was so frightening that Orton fell to his knees and said quickly: "General, please calm down. I made a mistake.
This time we come here to seek peace with sincerity. In order to compensate for the losses of the Heavenly Army, Your Majesty,
I was specially ordered to bring 124,000 stones of grain and grass, 122,000 gold ingots, 1.4 million silver coins, 6,000 cattle, and 30,000 sheep.
There are also three hundred jars of fine wines and twenty boxes of gold and silver utensils. I just ask the general of the Celestial Empire to stop fighting and make peace, and not to fight anymore. "
When Bai Qi heard this, he was startled in his heart: "I really didn't expect that Guiwu's country would be so rich. The peace gifts he sent here are more than what I plundered in Guiwu's territory.
It seems that all the rich people are in the capital of Guiwu, so it is necessary to go there in person. "
So he said solemnly: "Prime Minister Orton, do you think this money can make me withdraw my troops? How can I care about your mere gift?"
Orton said hurriedly: "The noble widow is not as rich in land and resources as the big man. This is the greatest sincerity I can show as a small country. I hope the general in heaven will accept it."
Bai Qi was silent for a moment, then glanced at Old Feng who was busy writing beside him. After the two exchanged glances, he said again: "Prime Minister Orton, I am sending troops to show that I attach great importance to our allies in the Western Regions.
It's not for your extraneous things, but since you sent these things, it is enough to prove the sincerity of your country. So, this money and food will be regarded as your ransom to redeem your noble widow and soldiers.
When you came here, you also saw that those noble widows and soldiers were strictly guarded by my army. The money and food were considered as three thousand quotas.
You pick three thousand people to go back with you. "
When Orton heard this, he replied numbly: "What does this mean, General of the Heavenly Dynasty?"
Bai Qi retreated tactically: "Those prisoners will only be a waste of food for me. If they were released, they would be afraid of causing unnecessary threats to our army.
In this case, I'll simply sell you a favor and let Prime Minister Orton take 3,000 prisoners back. "
Orton was startled and asked in a low voice: "Only three thousand people can be taken away? What about the remaining people?"
Bai Qi's eyes turned cold: "Prime Minister Orton, are you asking too many questions?"
Facing Bai Qi's cold and chilling eyes, Orton was so frightened that he didn't even dare to breathe.
"Can you bring more people?"
"Okay, add five hundred people, thirty-five hundred people."
"Can...more?"
"Four thousand people, stop bargaining with me. The general is not a businessman. I don't have that much time to spend with you here."
In the end, Bai Qi exchanged this huge amount of money and food for five thousand people and enough dry food for each person to support him until he returned to the capital.
With so much money and food in exchange for only 5,000 lives, Old Feng was impressed by Bai Qi's shameless businessman model.
However, when he thought that the money and food would eventually be used for the future construction of the Western Region and the post-war recovery of various parts of the Central Plains, Old Feng had no other ideas.
…
On the same day, Orton personally went to the place where the prisoners of the noble widow were being held, and personally selected 5,000 prisoners to follow him back to the capital.
These five thousand people have been carefully selected. They are all people with connections to the upper class society in the country and basically have master backgrounds.
As for the rest, Orton was really helpless.
There was still a problem. Orton originally wanted to take him away with him, but when he thought that this guy was often against him, he gave up the idea of taking him back and let him destroy himself.
Orton knew very well what kind of tragic fate the noble widow who could not be taken away would suffer, but now he no longer cared about it.
As soon as Orton left, Bai Qi's expression suddenly dimmed and he immediately ordered: "Send an order to give these prisoners some food.
Then they went to clean up the battlefield in batches and buried the dead. After the repairs were completed, I gave them a good meal. After the war, I set them free.
In addition, officers at all levels were prepared with crossbows, muskets, and spears, and were closely guarding the prisoners of war, waiting for orders from the commander-in-chief. "
"Here!"
This order was cold and ruthless, and Old Feng's writing hand on the side kept trembling.
Even though he already knew what Bai Qi was going to do, but...
More than 400,000 lives! Even if they are not from the Central Plains.
Bai Qi's words decided their life and death, how terrifying and decisive he was in killing them.
