Facing the bleak cold wind, Zhang Song's delegation returned to Chengdu again after being away for a month.
The King of Shu sat in the middle of the hall, holding the official document of Chu in his hand, silent. As for the contents of the document, he had already reported it back immediately. The silence at this moment obviously meant that the contents of the document did not satisfy him.
Below the main hall, hundreds of civil and military officials were sitting around. Only Zhang Song was the one in the front, describing one by one his response to the King of Chu and the terms of peace proposed by the King of Chu.
"Sun Ce proposed that the old relationship with Shu could be restored only by beheading Zhang Ren, ceding Yong'an County to Chu, and paying the Chu army 30,000 taels of grain and grass."
As soon as he finished speaking, all the ministers started talking, and the court was very lively.
Liu Zhang held his forehead and refused to speak. Zhang Ren's head was easy to deal with. Although thirty thousand taels of silver was a lot, it was still available. However, ceding Yong'an County was simply cutting off Liu Zhang's flesh. Not to mention, ceding territory and seeking peace often symbolizes the lord's cowardice and cowardice. Once he compromises, what will the world think of Liu Zhang?
At this time, Meng Da, who was on the military attache's side, patted his official uniform, stood up and snorted coldly.
"Zhang Biejia is so scheming!"
"I heard that Zhang Ren is a younger brother of Zhang Biejia. As an envoy from the Kingdom of Shu, Mr. Zhang angered the King of Chu several times in front of the Chu courtiers, causing the King of Chu to put forward harsh conditions, probably just to prevent my king from agreeing. The conditions of Chu State are so that Zhang Ren can survive!"
Such an accusation shocked all the officials, and Liu Zhang also raised his eyes to look at Zhang Song.
There was no annoyance on Zhang Song's face, he just glanced at Meng Da and said calmly.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Ren falsely conveyed the decree and sent troops privately, which is a serious crime of "deceiving the emperor". Without killing, it is not enough to uphold the law of the country, and without killing, it is not enough to suppress Xiao Xiaoxiao! "
"This time, the hostility between the two countries started because of Zhang Ren. Killing Zhang Ren will eliminate Chu's excuse to send troops. As for ceding Yong'an, it is absolutely impossible! After that, just send someone to Chu with Zhang Ren's head. The state is discussing the matter of compensation in terms of money and food, but considering the current situation of the state of Chu, it is unwilling to go to war with my king."
Liu Zhang couldn't help but nodded slightly. This way of dealing with it had entered his heart. He thought that the Chu State, which had gone through two wars, had fallen through this step, and this was the end of its career.
"you!"
Meng Da stared at Zhang Song in shock. He did not expect that Zhang Song would sell Zhang Ren so decisively in order to clear himself out. This actually achieved his purpose of criticizing Zhang Ren, but compared with what he said just now, in the eyes of others, he was a villain in vain. Meng Da was so angry that his face turned red.
General Huang Quan on the side was anxious, and he quickly stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, this is not possible!"
"General Zhang is dedicated to opening up and expanding the territory of Shu. Although he has made mistakes, his crimes will not lead to death! If General Zhang is killed, it will definitely shake the morale of the army!"
"And Sun Ce has the heart of a tiger and a wolf, and has the ambition to conquer the world. Even if he is unable to fight anymore, at most two or three years, when he recovers, he will definitely raise an army to invade our territory! If there is no General Zhang to guard Yong'an, the Chu army will seize the opportunity. Guan, who can stop me?"
"General Huang Quan's remarks are ridiculous! Is there no one in Shu except Zhang Ren?"
At this time, an unhappy voice sounded.
Li Ping took a few steps, cupped his fists and bowed.
"Your Majesty, if the Chu army dares to invade, I am willing to lead the troops to retreat! I will make sure that the Chu army never comes back!"
"Okay, okay,"
Liu Zhang nodded with satisfaction and was about to speak.
"Report!"
Suddenly, a guard from outside the palace hurried into the palace, knelt down and reported.
"Your Majesty, many academic scholars and traveling scholars gathered outside the palace gate, saying that the king surrendered without fighting and ceded land to pay compensation was the act of a coward. They asked the king to withdraw his orders, release General Zhang Ren, and behead him. Kill the traitor Zhang Song and refuse to seek peace!"
"General Wu Ban has deployed additional troops and horses to guard the palace gate. Please let the king decide what to do now."
crazy! crazy!
These scholars are crazy!
No one expected such a change to happen outside the palace.
The ministers were shocked into silence, and unanimously turned their attention to Liu Zhang.
"False opinion
affairs of state! Arguing about government affairs! "
Liu Zhang was so angry that his face turned red and he was furious.
When will I stop fighting, surrender, cede territory and pay compensation? Even if I want to show a little weakness to Chu State, I haven't done it yet!
Where did the rumors come from these scholars!
What has become of Gu Chuan in the marketplace!
"Kill! Kill!"
"A group of scholars dare to force the palace! Do these scholars really think Gu dare not kill them? Tell Ban Wu to kill them all for Gu!"
The ministers panicked and started admonishing one after another.
"No, Your Majesty!"
"As soon as this incident was started, my king became the enemy of the Confucian scholars in the world. From now on, there is no place for him to stand among the scholars!"
Apart from the reaction of scholars all over the world, these ministers in the palace must have many members of their clansmen studying in academies near Chengdu. Who knows if they are among the famous scholars?
After some hard persuasion from the ministers, Liu Zhang finally calmed down a bit, but he was still not relieved and could only ask with a cold face.
"In your opinion, how should this matter be resolved?"
this!
Everyone looked at each other and lowered their heads, not daring to look directly into Liu Zhang's eyes.
Liu Zhang glanced around and named them.
"Fa Zheng, please tell me."
Only then did everyone dare to look up, and Li Ping was secretly happy.
Fazheng was not in a hurry, he looked directly at Liu Zhang and said calmly.
"To report to my king, I think it is appropriate for the internal affairs officer to prepare a plan and read it to the public outside the palace gate: First, I reprimand the scholars for listening to the rumors in the market and making irresponsible remarks about the government. My king is kind and thinks of his heart for the country. I will absolve them of their crimes and order them. Everyone dispersed immediately; secondly, Zhang Song was sent to Chu as an envoy to safeguard the state and had made great contributions to the country, but the rumors in the market were untrue; thirdly, Zhang Ren committed the crime of deceiving the king, and not killing him would not be enough to rectify the king's law, but my king Being generous, keeping his life till now is giving him a chance to make a difference, and you have to decide how to deal with it!"
"King me again, the only thing that threatens our country now is the enmity with the Chu State. Zhang Ren's life is not important, so it is better to abandon Yong'an as an abandoned son and let him organize his troops to test the Chu State. If the Chu State really has an army, If Chu is strong and can capture Yong'an, then my king will negotiate peace with the King of Chu. By then the grievances between the two parties will be settled, and it will be of no benefit to anyone to continue fighting; and if Chu is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and cannot capture Yong'an, wouldn't my king be able to do so? He kept both the land and the money, so what if Zhang Ren has lost his merits?"
Liu Zhang couldn't help but nodded.
The release of Zhang Ren not only responded to the previous criticism of scholars, but also showed his generosity. If Zhang Ren, an abandoned son, was thrown into Yong'an, if the Chu State was really tough on the outside and weak on the inside, as Fazheng said, he would not have to pay the price. If the Chu State really had the strength to take over Yong'an County, it would not be Liu Zhang who ceded territory to seek peace.
"Okay, let's do as the military advisor says. Retreat from the court."
After hearing this, all the ministers bowed and left one after another. Only some of them looked at Fazheng unwillingly.
After walking out of the hall, the ministers raised their heads and left slowly. Only the eunuch who had just drafted the decree hurried towards the palace gate.
In a corner of the palace, Fazheng caught up with Zhang Song, smiling playfully.
"Hey, Zi Qiao, wait for me!"
"Zi Qiao, you have worked hard for Zi Qiao on this mission to Chu. Is the King of Chu satisfactory?"
Zhang Song glanced at Fazheng and sneered.
"Sacrificing wine is really a good idea. Are you going to take me to the prison where Zhang Ren is imprisoned next and have me beheaded next year?"
Fazheng said helplessly.
"Zi Qiao misunderstood me!"
Zhang Song snorted.
"Misunderstand you? In front of others, you are a human; in front of others, you are a ghost. Which side of you is true and which side is false?"
After saying that, Zhang Song left quickly.
Fazheng gave a somewhat cynical laugh and then chased after him.
"Zi Qiao, wait for me!"
