While sending the autographed letter, Cao Changping also planned to make some sacrifices, give some benefits to the important ministers of Fengwu Army, and ask them to help say something good... ····
For this, Cao Changping has already chosen his target. The two most important ones are An Miaoyi and Murong Qingwu. They have been together in the official circles of the Zhou Dynasty for decades. Cao Changping is well aware of the power of pillow style, and An Miaoyi is Ye Mingsheng. The palace lady is also very popular in the Fengwu Army. If she says a word, it will still have a great influence on Ye Mingsheng.
And Murong Qingwu is even more remarkable. In addition to being the most talented woman in the world and the aura of the Murong family, after she married Ye Mingsheng, it was also spread that Ye Mingsheng had a crush on her in his early years. Cao Changping knew about this As for the matter, as a man, he knew that Ye Mingsheng most likely had a special affection for Murong Qingwu, so if Murong Qingwu spoke up, then this matter might be settled!
For this reason, Cao Changping specially ordered his men to collect ancient classics in Qilu in the past few days, intending to please Murong Qingwu.
In addition to the pillow style, Cao Changping also planned to give Gu Sansi, He Jingyun and other Ye Mingsheng's confidants to give him some gifts. When sending some gifts, he also sent over the specific conditions for the peace talks with the Fengwu Army. There were only two conditions. , but it all hit home that day.
First of all, the first item is to hand over the war criminal Duan Yanfeng and his eldest son Duan Chong!
Secondly, the Fengwu Army demanded 500,000 taels of compensation for defeat!
In addition to these two items, the Fengwu Army also stated that the Qi Army could use money and food to redeem the tens of thousands of prisoners of war they had in the hands of the Fengwu Army.
At the same time that the negotiation terms were delivered, Cao Changping also received other news, that is, nearly 100,000 Fengwu troops came to the border of Qilu and held various military exercises with live ammunition. The posture of getting started directly...
Although he had long realized that the Fengwu Army would not easily agree to make peace, Cao Changping still felt a headache when he saw the two conditions of the Fengwu Army. The compensation for the defeat was 500,000 taels of silver. Although it was a lot, this one sold poorly. , there may still be some room for bargaining.
But this first point is absolutely unacceptable to Cao Changping. Everyone knows that this section of the rock peak has been kind to him, Cao Changping, and this battle has nothing to do with him. It was him, Cao, who invited him to come out, and now he has lost the battle. Yes, he handed the person over. It is really shameful for the world to spread this.
If he really does this, a label of ungratefulness will be affixed to him, making him unable to hold his head up for the rest of his life. In addition, his soldiers will be heartbroken, and no one will die for him. Handing over Duan Yanfeng is a bowl of chronic poison. Based on these considerations, Cao Changping declined the Fengwu Army's request.
However, the attitude of the Fengwu Army was also very tough. They stated that handing over Duan Yanfeng and his son Duan Chong was a prerequisite for peace talks between the two armies. If Cao Changping did not comply with this condition, the peace talks would be cancelled. Faced with the arrogant and rude Fengwu Army, Cao Changping was also very angry in his heart, and wanted to fight with Fengwu Army immediately, but the situation was stronger than the others, and he did not have the capital to fall out with Fengwu Army... ···············
Just when Cao Changping was in a dilemma, the content of the negotiations between the Qi Army and the Fengwu Army was immediately leaked by someone with embarrassment. It was said that Cao Changping was going to misappropriate military pay to pay combat readiness compensation to the Fengwu Army. As soon as this news came out, the Qi Army There was an uproar inside.
For the soldiers at the bottom, the Qi army has always been in arrears with military pay. The military pay is often delayed for several months before being paid. There is no pension for the dead and disabled soldiers at all. Even so, the superiors have to compensate their military pay to Fengwu. This was really unbearable. When the news came out, a mutiny broke out in the Qi Army camp.
When the news of the peace talks came out, Cao Changping was also furious, but seeing the situation getting worse, Cao Changping could only bite the bullet and use the few money in the bank to give a month's military pay to the brothers below to appease him. He calmed down the mood of the Qi army officers, and then arrested several generals who took the lead in making trouble as a warning to others. This combination of carrots and sticks finally suppressed the development of the situation for the time being.
Although the lower-level officers made a big fuss, in Cao Changping's opinion it was just a scabies disease. What really distressed him was that when the Fengwu Army asked to hand over Duan Yanfeng, the senior generals of the Qi Army all remained silent without exception. , although these people said nothing, remaining silent at this time is already a very clear attitude.
The suffocating pressure of the Fengwu Army from outside and the fragmentation inside made Cao Changping fall into deep depression. Could he really just drink poison to quench his thirst and become an ungrateful person?
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Huainan, Shouchun
Surrounded by countless Anqing Army soldiers, the proud Xu Zhaojie rode on a tall horse and slowly walked into Shouchun City.
Looking at the hundreds of Shouchun dignitaries who smiled flatteringly at him in front of the city gate, Xu Zhaojie couldn't help but sigh in his heart when he was proud.
This battle was really not easy for him!
Originally, in Xu Zhaojie's plan, under his surprise attack, this time it was supposed to be a devastating battle, without giving Feng Keqin any chance to breathe, and directly took over the remaining territory in Huainan. In the first half of the war, it was indeed like him. As expected, the Huai army, which was already at a disadvantage in the war, was caught off guard and encountered a full-scale sneak attack by the Anqing army. As expected, it was quickly defeated. Not only did it lose the strategic location of Kangyin, but also Almost all the elite effective forces were lost.
Just when Xu Zhaojie won the battle of Kangyin, good news came from the Hebei and Henan sides. The Qi army entered and restrained the Fengwu army. The appearance of this good news immediately made Xu Zhaojie active. He immediately They organized troops to surround Shouchun, preparing to put Feng Keqin to death in one go, to see if there was a chance to move north again after taking Huainan, and drag the Fengwu Army to death in the quagmire of war.
However, just when Xu Zhaojie was full of ambition and fantasizing about how to conquer cities and territories, reality gave him a slap in the face!
The siege materials he carefully prepared were intercepted and killed by the Fengwu Army's cavalry before they left Anqing. However, the Fengwu Army's cavalry did not burn the captured materials. Instead, they distributed the money and food to the people to provide for themselves. Earned a good reputation··························
Regarding the Fengwu Army's move, Xu Zhaojie saw through Ye Mingsheng's conspiracy to invite the king into the urn at a glance, but he had no good solution. The Fengwu Army was fanning the flames and watching with eager eyes. If they really snatched the supplies back from the hands of the people, it would definitely intensify. The conflict was already very tense, so Xu Zhaojie could only scold Ye Mingsheng all morning, and then helplessly reorganize the transportation of materials.
In order to capture Shouchun as soon as possible, Xu Zhaojie organized forces to re-engineer the project while also actively contacting all parties in Shouchun City. At this time, although Feng Keqin in Shouchun City had a tough attitude and refused to surrender, with the disastrous defeat of Kangyin, the losses The Huai army, which had lost almost all its elite troops, had shown its signs of defeat, and Feng Keqin was left with only the base camp of Shouchun.
Therefore, his original supporters have begun to waver in their hearts. It is human nature to be greedy for life and fear death, to seek benefits and avoid harm. No matter when there are many people in the world who are rich and powerful, but there are only a few who can share hardships, so in With Xu Zhaojie's active win over and his promise, the Huainan dignitaries in Shouchun City also began to make plans to jump off Feng Keqin's broken ship and stop their losses in time.
Finally, after Xu Zhaojie made a series of promises, the gang began to take action. Although Feng Keqin also had many troops loyal to him, while the two sides were fighting internal strife, Xu Zhaojie took the opportunity to attack the city, passing only one The violent attack at night, with the help of internal forces, completely captured the political and economic center of Huainan.
The defeated Huainan Governor Feng Keqin did not choose to surrender to Xu Zhaojie. He very resolutely chose to set fire to himself, ending his life and his more than ten years of rule in Huainan with a fire... ···················
"Little old man, pay homage to the Marquis!"
Seeing Xu Zhaojie approaching, a trembling old man at the city gate immediately stood up with a cane and the support of his family, raised his hands to Xu Zhaojie and said in greeting:
Seeing this person's appearance, Xu Zhaojie on the horse couldn't help but smile:
"How is Mr. Cao doing lately? It's been seven years since Mr. Cao and I parted ways in Luo'an. I'm so grateful to Mr. Cao for his help that we were able to capture Shouchun today!"
Cao Chuan, who once served as the Shaoqing of Dali Temple and the right minister of the Ministry of War, looked at Xu Zhaojie riding on the horse, a hint of undetectable anger flashed in his eyes, but on the surface, the nearly seventy-year-old man remained motionless. He said seductively:
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Hou. Half of the little old man's body has already been buried. I can only do some hard work for Mr. Hou!"
Seeing that Cao Chuan, who had commanded him so much in the past, was so humble now, Xu Zhaojie couldn't help but said with a smile:
"I see that Mr. Cao is very strong. If you don't survive another three to five years, Zhaojie will still need your help when he takes over Huainan!"
"Master Hou is being humble. If Master Hou needs help in any way, I and the Cao family will do their best!"
Cao Chuan cupped his hands again and said with a smile:
After saying a few more polite words, Xu Zhaojie, surrounded by everyone, walked into the city contentedly.
Cao Chuan was old and frail and had not left the house for a long time. This time he specially met with Xu Zhaojie. After the meeting, he asked his eldest son Cao Rui to continue to follow Xu Zhaojie, while Cao Chuan himself followed his younger son Cao Heng. Accompanied by his wife, we boarded the carriage back home...
In the carriage compartment, when I thought of Xu Zhaojie riding on the horse just now, he could not help but complain:
"Dad, Xu Zhaojie is so rude! Our Cao family and their Xu family are family friends, and you are his uncle. When his father died and the Xu family was about to lose the title of Marquis of Zhenyuan, Xu Zhaojie When they were begging for help everywhere like a bereaved dog, it wasn't you who gave the Xu family a hand and saved their title!"
"I won't talk about this far away. Let's just say that if our Cao family hadn't taken action now, Xu Zhaojie would be blowing cold wind outside Shouchun City. He had just entered Shouchun and Xu Zhaojie was acting like this. If he could sit firmly in Huainan , is that okay?"
Although Cao Chuan was a little disappointed with Xu Zhaojie's attitude, he didn't say anything about his youngest son's complaints. He just shook his head and said:
"When I go back, I will tell my family that I must be careful in the future and don't let others get caught!"
After listening to his father's instructions, Cao Heng was stunned for a moment, and then said in a low voice with some disbelief:
"Dad, are you saying that Xu Zhaojie is going to attack our family?"
"Xu Zhaojie is so ungrateful? Did our family help him a lot this time? Why did he die so quickly?"
Cao Chuan shook his head when he heard this and said:
"That's not the case! But Xu Zhaojie's attitude is indeed not as good as I expected. Anyway, there's nothing wrong with being careful!"
Cao Heng breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this, nodded and said
"Dad, I understand. I'll give the orders when I get back..."
While the Cao family and his son were having a secret conversation, Xu Zhaojie also attended a celebration banquet in the city. Because there was a grander banquet in the evening, Xu Zhaojie simply spoke a few words to the Huainan dignitaries at the banquet and drank a few glasses of wine. Just left the table.
While Xu Zhaojie was closing his eyes in the room, his deputy Liu Chaohu walked up to him. Xu Zhaojie slowly opened his eyes when he heard Liu Chaohu's familiar footsteps.
Seeing this, Liu Chaohu asked respectfully:
"Master Hou, what should we do with those Feng family members?"
Although Feng Keqin died by self-immolation, his Feng family is still alive and well. There are thousands of these Feng family members. With Feng Keqin's defeat, these people also came from Huainan's royal relatives. , suddenly became a prisoner of panic.
However, it was a bit difficult for the Anqing Army to deal with these Feng family members!
The most important reason why Xu Zhaojie, who had an order from the imperial court on the southern inspection tour, was able to secure his position as the inspection envoy in Anqing was that he had the trust and support of Feng Keqin. Only then was he able to defeat Chen Chongshan, the local faction in Anqing, and The military power of the Anqing Army was firmly in its hands. It was with such a foundation that Xu Zhaojie was able to develop later and become the dominant hegemon in the south today!
The reason why Feng Keqin supported Xu Zhaojie in the first place was, in addition to Xu Zhaojie's good acting, largely due to his family relationship with Feng Keqin... ··········
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