"Haha, do you think this Ye City is easy to fight? Besides, we don't have many explosive packs now. If we really attack Ye City, the casualties of both armies will not be small. Even if you occupy the capital of Chu State, don't forget There are still hundreds of thousands of Chu troops on the border between Chu and Qin. If the Emperor of Chu is gone by then, they will be heartbroken and surrender to the Qin State. If they join forces with the Qin Army to fight, who can stop them? Live? If we really get to that point, not to mention that there is no hope for the restoration of E State, even Zheng and Chen may not be able to escape. Besides, Chu State will be left as the front line for E State to face the powerful Qin State in the future. What's wrong with being a shield? A little impatience will ruin a big plan, do you understand?"
Ximen Ruoen stopped and thought for a long time, and finally understood Chen Xiaomu's good intentions. She stretched out her hands to hold Chen Xiaomu's arms, and said softly: "Husband, if the country of Hubei is restored, I will not allow you to leave the country of Hubei. We, husband and wife, are in the front office, and you are in the background, working together to govern the country of Hubei into a powerful country where the people can live and work in peace and contentment, are not invaded by other countries, and the country is rich and the people are strong.
Chen Xiaomu smiled and stretched out his hand to rub Ximen Ruoen's little head and said, "Don't worry, I am also preparing to find a long-term shelter for the two of us, so I will spare no effort to restore your country of Hubei."
"Oh, it turns out you have selfish motives too!" Ximen Ruoen puffed out his mouth, stamped his feet, hugged Chen Xiaomu's arm like a coquettish figure and shook it vigorously twice.
The two of them joked and played all the way back to the tent. As soon as they sat down, they suddenly heard the sound of people and horses braying for joy outside the tent. At this time, Zhang Yun hurried in and said to Chen Xiaomu excitedly, "Mr. Chen, look who's here! "Chen Xiaomu just stood up and was about to look out. Suddenly, he was hugged tightly by a person who jumped out from behind Zhang Yun. He was almost choked and couldn't breathe. The person hugged Chen Xiaomu and shouted excitedly, "Chen Xiaomu. Sir, you are truly the reincarnation of the military god. We have been chasing after Xinhe County after handing it over to Zheng Jun. Unexpectedly, you have already reached Yecheng, the capital of Chu. Now, our country of E has finally recovered. The country is hopeful. On the way to pursue you, I have taken in more than 10,000 soldiers from Hubei who followed the Chu army to Zheng. Now, plus more than 10,000 people brought from Xinhe County, there are nearly 30,000 on my side alone. There are men and horses!”
Chen Xiaomu finally broke free from Du Fengxian's arms, glared at Du Fengxian and said: "You old Du, you are not big but you are very powerful. I almost strangled me to death by you!"
Du Fengxian laughed loudly and said: "Old Du is not overjoyed to see you, young master, attack Yecheng, the capital of Chu, within a few days."
Xiao Cheng walked from behind everyone in front of Chen Xiaomu, straightened his clothes, and knelt down for Chen Xiaomu with a plop. Chen Xiaomu was startled, and he hurriedly stretched out his hands to pull Xiao Cheng up, but Xiao Cheng insisted on kneeling. Living on the ground and refusing to get up!
Chen Xiaomu had no choice but to ask, "General Xiao, isn't it good to stand up and speak? Why do you have to kneel down?"
Xiao Chengduan kowtowed to Chen Xiaomu upright, and after bowing again, he said, "I am kowtowing to thank Mr. Chen for his kindness in rebuilding our country of Hubei."
Chen Xiaomu suddenly felt moved in his heart, and his eyes were a little wet. He couldn't help but sigh, "Without the help of you loyal ministers and righteous men of the country of E, I can't do anything even if I have three heads and six arms! So when I want to say thank you, I must first thank you. Yourselves." After saying that, he turned to Li Gui, who was standing behind him, and said, "Captain Li, send someone to inform each camp that we will hold a banquet today and take out all the good things we usually save. Welcome people from afar. brothers."
"Okay" Li Gui agreed happily, turned around and walked out of the tent to set up.
"Oh, by the way, what did you do with those scholar soldiers from Chu State?" Chen Xiaomu suddenly remembered the student Lin Jin who insisted on becoming his disciple. He was really afraid that Du Fengxian and others would kill these people in order to get rid of the burden. .
"Alas" Du Feng sighed first and said: "These sour scholars are really hard to serve. Originally we were planning to abandon them in Xinhe City and hand them over to Zheng Jun for management, but these people are afraid that Zheng Jun will come and take revenge." They insisted on following us. At that time, I thought that Mr. Chen had said that keeping them would be useful, so I brought them out without saying a word. Unexpectedly, as soon as these people left Xinhe County, they started to have diarrhea, and they all complained incessantly. Two of us soldiers were asked to serve one of them. At that time, I really wanted to kill all these grandsons one by one and give them a happy meal. But after thinking about it again and again, I couldn't bear to do it, so I gave each of them enough. They were given solid food for six days and sent away!”
Chen Xiaomu sighed slightly, acquiescing to Du Fengxian's handling method. Du Fengxian then asked Chen Xiaomu excitedly, "Mr. Chen, when will we start attacking the city?"
Chen Xiaomu smiled and said: ''You like fighting so much? "
''Hehe, if we fight this battle as soon as possible, everything will be fine and we can start preparing for the restoration of the country wholeheartedly! "Du Fengxian said with a smile.
"That's such a cheap thing!" Chen Xiaomu shook his head and said: 'Do you think that the Chu Kingdom will be destroyed if Ye City, the capital of Chu, is captured? Don't forget that there are nearly 200,000 border guards on the border of Chu State. This is an armed force that cannot be underestimated. Now there are also hundreds of thousands of Chu troops in Ye City opposite us. If we really fight, we will win. It’s also hard to predict whether you’ll be negative enough. "
When Du Fengxian heard what Chen Xiaomu said, his heart suddenly went cold. He stuttered and asked Chen Xiaomu, "Mr. Chen, these twenty-four prayers have been completed, and only this last tremor is left. Is it possible to abandon this matter?"
Chen Xiaomu glared at him, "Who did you hear that I wanted to abandon it? I was just negotiating with the representatives sent by Emperor Chu Xiong Ze from the city to prepare for a peaceful settlement of the war."
"Negotiation!" Du Fengxian's eyes widened in surprise and he almost screamed.
"What? Isn't this bad? We have preserved our strength and can restore the country of Hubei." Chen Xiaomu said easily.
"Okay, okay!" Du Fengxian reached out and scratched his head, "I'm afraid that Xiong Ze won't let it go. Have you ever seen a child taken out of a wolf's mouth to live with?"
"In short, I have made both good and bad plans. If the negotiation fails, we will have to fight with each other. If we fail to attack Yecheng, we will retreat to Xinyangguan. If Yecheng is captured, we will defend Yecheng and then send representatives to go there. The Qin State negotiated and gave up the original Chu State's territory to the Qin State in exchange for Qin State's support for the restoration of Hubei! Of course, this was a last resort."
Du Fengxian was stunned by Chen Xiaomu's words. He had never seen such a thoughtful person before.
Xiong Ji and Shi Lei returned to Ye City. The morning meeting in the main hall had already ended. The two were directly introduced to Xiong Ze's imperial study. Before the two of them finished saluting, Xiong Ze sat on the dragon chair and asked impatiently, "Did you see that Zhuzi when you went out of the city? I just heard from the city gate official that there was a loud noise outside the city. What happened?"
Shi Lei turned around and glanced at Xiong Ji. Seeing that Xiong Ji was silent and had no intention of speaking first, he cupped his hands to Xiong Zeyi and said in a deep voice: "The old minister and the princess will go to the first person they see after they leave the city." It’s this illegitimate child!”
"Oh." Xiong Ze heard that there was some lingering resentment in Shi Lei's tone. His heart sank and he asked urgently, "Does he have any intention of making peace?"
Shi Lei told him and Xiong Ji what happened after they went out of the city to meet Chen Xiaoben and what Chen Xiaomu said. We have such a thorough understanding of the country’s situation, so that the war we launched to destroy Hubei not only wasted all our previous efforts, but also ended up becoming a laughing matter in other countries’ mouths! Where can we put the face of Chu State!”
"Father," Xiong Ji, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said: "I think Chen Xiaomu's conditions are not without merit. Now we should try our best to avoid fighting with Chen Xiaomu's Zheng army outside the city. Let's not talk about the outcome. , I am afraid that the Qin army will take advantage of the situation when we are both injured and march eastward to gain the advantage of the fishermen. In the face of the doom of the country's destruction, Chen Xiaomu's conditions for us to withdraw from Hubei seem acceptable. Isn't there a saying that the two powers harm each other, whichever is the lesser. What’s more, we can also adopt a compromise approach and negotiate with Chen Xiaomu to minimize the losses to the Chu State."
"Oh, what compromise do you have? Let me tell my father." Xiong Ze suddenly became more energetic after hearing this. He sat up from the dragon chair and stared at Xiong Ji and asked.
Xiong Ji hesitated for a moment and said: "My minister's thinking is a little immature. Probably Chen Xiaomu asked us to withdraw from Hubei. We can withdraw part of it, but it is impossible to withdraw completely, at least in the dozens of areas close to our border with Chu." The fertile land of the city cannot be retreated. It will serve as a buffer for future disputes between the two countries. This will not only facilitate the management of Chu State, but also eliminate the need to send troops deep into the hinterland of Hubei. Not only are the mountains high and the roads far away, it is difficult to manage. It is a bitter cold land, and it also has to face the northern grassland Tatars' plundering from the south twice a year, which is a headache even for the people of Qin. In this regard, a lot of Chu's troops are involved, especially under the current situation of serious shortage of troops. It also shows the embarrassment that our Chu State is beyond our reach. Instead of letting them rebel and break away in the future, it is better to let them go now to reduce the losses of our Chu State!"
Xiong Ze nodded while listening and said: "Well, Ji'er's idea is not bad. It not only relieves the siege of Yecheng, but also throws off the burden that has been burdened by Chu State, and leaves something for Chu State. A little respect! Mr. Zaifu, what do you think?" Xiong Ze leaned out from the dragon chair and asked Shi Lei.
Shi Lei nodded slightly and said: "Princess Changxing's idea is a good one, but I'm afraid that this illegitimate son will not agree. This son is cunning and cunning, and he will not be fooled easily!"
Xiong Ze said with a smile: "This is easy to handle. We can make concessions to him in terms of money. How about increasing the compensation from one million taels of silver to five million taels, or even a little more, as long as he agrees to our conditions." Everything is easy to talk about!"
Shi Lei stretched out his hand to stroke the beard hanging on his chest and laughed: "Your Majesty is wise, as long as we keep these dozens of wealthy cities close to Chu State, the annual tax revenue will be more than these millions of taels of silver."
Xiong Ze patted the armrest of the dragon chair and said, "Okay, let's do it like this. I will immediately send an order to Si Tianjian to draft the relevant contract documents and stamp them with the jade seal first. As soon as they agree, they will sign and take effect immediately, and they will not regret it. time."
