The news that the Tang army destroyed the Great Western Kingdom, beheaded Zhang Xianzhong, and then attacked Hanzhong with soldiers and horses from the three towns, as if it had grown wings, quickly spread to the capital of Dashun and to Li Zicheng's case.

Li Zicheng's face was as cold as iron, he crossed his hands, and saw the charcoal strips in the white copper charcoal stove in front of him crackling.

Opposite Li Zicheng, the two most trusted advisors Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance sat under him, and their faces were also full of worry.

Li Zicheng glanced at these two strategists coldly, and then sighed and said: "Two, now that the Great Western Kingdom has been destroyed, Zhang Xianzhong is dead, and the Tang army that entered the dog has been fighting Hanzhong with great strength, it is really hateful!" Then what should my Dashun country do now, so that it is appropriate? ”

Li Zicheng finished speaking, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance, but they were silent, looking preoccupied.

Seeing that the two of them didn't speak, Li Zicheng was unhappy, but said in a deep voice: "The two of you can speak as bluntly as you can, even if there are mistakes and omissions, I will never blame." ”

Hearing this, Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance glanced at each other, and were silent for a while, before Niu Jinxing mustered up the courage and said: "Your Majesty, the two of us think that the situation is so bad now, even if our country confronts the Tang Army with the whole country's troops, I am afraid that it will be difficult to stop it." Hence ......"

"Huh? Why? Li Zicheng was displeased when he heard this, and immediately interrupted him: "Isn't the Tang army planning to attack Hanzhong now, then I will fight him to the end, and transfer Liu Zongmin's 150,000 soldiers and horses from Henan back to Hanzhong, and resolutely block them from going north, what do you two think?" ”

"Your Majesty, the minister said it ugly, now in our country, there are only 150,000 mobile soldiers and horses left that can be mobilized at will." Niu Jinxing sighed: "If Your Majesty forcibly transfers the 100,000 soldiers and horses of his department back from central Henan, it may be able to temporarily block the Tang army's northward attack, but in this way, the central part of Henan will be empty, and the soldiers and horses of the sixth and seventh towns of the Tang Army, which are eyeing in the south of Zhili, will definitely take advantage of the situation to attack, then our army is not enough soldiers and horses, how can we stop it!" ”

"Prime Minister Niu is right." Song Xiance interjected on the side: "Your Majesty, my Dashun Kingdom now has limited troops, even if I dig the east wall to make up the west wall, it is embarrassing to appoint." And what I am lacking most now, in fact, is not money, nor soldiers and horses, but time to recuperate. If we can stop fighting with the Tang Army, make peace with it, and recuperate for a few years, then our army can regain its strength and reorganize its soldiers and horses, and only then can we fight with the Tang Army again and compete for the world again. ”

"Hmph, you said it lightly, Tang Jun is not a fool, how could he agree to my Dashun's request." Li Zicheng looked gloomy: "If I were Li Xiao, I would only strike while the iron was hot, and take advantage of your illness to kill you, how could I make peace with you and let you recuperate slowly." Isn't that a joke? ”

"Your Majesty, you think like this, but it is too strong for others to destroy your own prestige. From the point of view below, although the Tang army is now powerful, it wants to swallow the world immediately and wipe out our country like the destruction of the Great West, but it cannot. Song Xiance's eyes were burning: "Now Li Xiao has just destroyed Daxi and pacified Xichuan, but his rule may not be stable, and it will take time to digest and absorb the entire Sichuan, and even Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi and other places that were annexed before." And I, Dashun, still have more than 500,000 soldiers with armor, and the territory is vast and the depth is enough, the Tang army wants to destroy our country in one fell swoop like destroying Dashun, but it cannot. ”

"That being the case, why did the Tang army immediately attack our Dashun after destroying Daxi? Could it be that they have other motives in doing so? Li Zicheng said in a sullen voice.

Song Xiance nodded and said: "What the emperor said is that in my opinion, the reason why the Tang army is in a hurry to attack Hanzhong is not to swallow up the whole country of Dashun in one fell swoop. And I just want to take advantage of the lack of strength of our army, take Hanzhong, and get a security barrier in the northernmost part of Sichuan, so that we can deal with our army with leisure and work to ensure that Sichuan is safe. ”

"Advice is very true." Niu Jinxing took over on the side: "The Tang army took Hanzhong, and Sichuan was guaranteed, but after he took Hanzhong, even if he wanted to cross the Qinling Mountains and enter Guanshan, it was also very difficult. When I thought about the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang wanted to go on a northern expedition from Hanzhong, and went out of Qishan six times without success, which shows that its difficulty is not small. Therefore, if our army sends 100,000 soldiers and horses to deploy along the Qinling Mountains, the Tang army can only confront our army in the end. ”

"What if after the Tang army took Hanzhong, it didn't want to close Shaanxi, but took Henan? How will our army stand in the way? Li Zicheng was still hesitant.

"Your Majesty, in the land of Henan, there are nearly 300,000 soldiers and horses everywhere, and the garrison is much more solid, and it is not easy for the Tang army to try to take Henan as easily as before. Therefore, we think that Tang Jun will definitely act cautiously and will not act rashly. Niu Jinxing replied in a deep voice.

"Hehe, listening to you say this, then I will sit and wait for the Tang army to take Hanzhong, and wait for it to stop attacking on its own, so why bother to ask them to stop fighting and make peace? Wouldn't that be an extra step to do so? Li Zicheng looked puzzled.

"Your Majesty, you can't say that, if our army takes the initiative to make peace with the Tang army, it will have the initiative. It can not only prevent the Tang Army from misjudging the situation, but also be more beneficial to the demarcation of the border between the two countries in the future. Song Xiance continued: "If our army is passive and defends and confronts the Tang army for a long time, it will be a disadvantage for both countries, and it will be difficult for our Dashun to continue such endless attrition." If we can negotiate peace as soon as possible, it will be beneficial to both countries, and it is even better for our Dashun. Just as the Tang army is attacking Hanzhong now, Hanzhong is already undefendable, and if we turn the passive into the active, and simply take the initiative to send Hanzhong to the Tang army, in exchange for the terms of peace talks, wouldn't it be better? ”

Song Xiance's words made Li Zicheng frown deeply, but it was difficult to say a word, he just kept brushing his beard, he was silent for a while, but said angrily: "Even if I act like this, even if I give the Hanzhong cutter to Li Xiao, but after the thief won Hanzhong, he refused to stop the war, then wouldn't my Dashun break the ground in vain, and also destroy his own prestige, how can this be feasible?" ”

"Your Majesty, what you say is also reasonable. What decision Tang Jun will make in the end, we really don't know. It's just that at the moment my Dashun is in a passive situation, but the Tang army has the initiative, if our army does not surrender itself to seek peace, then it is certain that the Tang army will continue to attack, and my Dashun will no longer have a peaceful day to recuperate, in this way, Weichen is only afraid that the future of the country will be worried. Forgive Weichen for saying a heart-wrenching word, rather than sit back and wait for death, it is better to give it a try. Song Xiance said worriedly.

Li Zicheng's eyes were cold, his teeth were clenched very tightly, he was sitting on the dragon chair, like a beast that would explode at any time, and he could see that his heart was extremely angry and unwilling.

It's just that he was silent for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! I really didn't expect that our Lao Li would have walked such a narrow distance so far, which is really hateful! That being the case, I don't have any opinion, so let's do what you say. ”

Niu Jinxing and Song offered to make the two of them, and they all got up and responded: "Weichen respectfully obeys the holy commandment." ”