Chapter 975: You Can Surrender

It's a town that can't be more ordinary.

For the current troubled times, the ruins of the town seem so natural. If there is anything in Gangbuk-do and Gyeonggi-do that has not been destroyed, it is only what is inside the high walls of Chang'an Fortress. At the beginning, the emperors of the Great Sui Dynasty were all working hard for the same dream to build the unparalleled city wall in this world. They firmly believe that as long as there is this circle of walls, Baili Chang'an will not be breached from the outside, and as long as the people of the Yang family still control Chang'an City, the world will still be the Yang family after all.

It's just that none of them thought that the opening of Chang'an City would not come from outside the city but from inside the city. The Yang family's dominance was shaken not because of outsiders, but because of their own Yang family.

Relatively speaking, this dilapidated town seems to be more reasonable than Chang'an City.

The Black Flag Army's hundreds of thousands of troops, plus no less than 50,000 soldiers, camped around the town to rest. After crossing the Yangtze River, the fatigue of the soldiers came not from the conquest but from the rapid march.

There is an east-west official road to the north of this town, and according to the Daozhi of the Great Sui, the north side of this official road belongs to Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi-do is huge.

If Chang'an City is the heart of the Great Sui, then Gyeonggi-do is the left chest of the Great Sui. Now this half of the chest has been tormented by the rebellion, where is there still the solemnity it once was.

Someone once said that to see how strong a family is, it depends on how many properties he has in Gyeonggi-do. Not all big families are willing to live in Chang'an City, and it is not bad to have a person in a family as a representative and be an official in the imperial court. If there are several people working in the court at the same time, then this is undoubtedly a super family.

For those who have people in the imperial court officials, in order to give support, the biggest convenience is that the family has purchased real estate in Gyeonggi Province, and there are a group of people who are dedicated to backing them.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that seven or eight out of ten big families of the Great Sui have real estate in Gyeonggi Province. Moreover, you don't know if the big courtyard with blue bricks and red tiles in a certain town is inhabited by dignitaries. These people may not all live in big cities, nor may they all live in big houses.

Gangbuk-do, which is close to Gyeonggi-do, is a heavy armor on the outside of the chest. It's just that this armor didn't work as expected. When the war began, Luo Yao cut and tore this armor with a very savage sword, leaving half of Gyeonggi Dao's chest exposed under the blade.

If it weren't for the war, the name of this town might never have appeared in the history books. If it weren't for Fang Xie here, even if there was a war, the name of this town would not have been spread. Of course, the town's natives certainly didn't want their dwellings to be famous because of the war. Of course, they wouldn't object to anything that happened in the town now, because they were already dead.

This place has been swept more than once.

Luo Yao's team, the team of Shengtu later, the team of the imperial court, plus Wang Yiqu Gao Kaitai's team, plus countless bandits composed of those chaotic soldiers and deserters.

This town has a particularly interesting name, called Yihe Town.

It is said that in the beginning, it was originally two small villages adjacent to each other, and there were frequent fights over the canals for watering the crops. In the time of the Great Zheng Kingdom of the previous dynasty, the construction of water canals was not as developed as it is now. Whoever controls the canal will ensure the defense of the crops. For this, the people of the two villages would fight every once in a while.

There were no fewer dead.

The dead were all men in the prime of life, so there were many widows in these two villages.

There are many widows, and there are many rights and wrongs.

It's a bit far......

Later, the village chiefs of the two villages felt that it was not a way to fight like this, and grabbed the water canal for the crops and grain, but the people who ate the grain died, is it worth it? So the two of them sat down and discussed, and decided that the water canal would be divided into two days, and the people of the two villages would take turns to use it. On that day, the village was full of gongs, drums, firecrackers, and firecrackers, and everyone wore red and hung colors, and I don't know how many people were drunk, and I don't know how many widows' doors were quietly opened......

Later, the two villages grew larger and larger, and the houses built gradually joined together. The people of the two villages discussed and simply merged the two villages into one place, which was called Yihe Town.

Those who first thought of these two words would never have imagined that this town would usher in a catastrophe many, many years later, and would not have imagined ...... In Yihe Town, two big men sat face to face, and one of them proposed peace.

……

……

Gao Kaitai had seen Fang Xie before.

Not in the city of Chang'an, but in the northwest. At that time, there was chaos in the northwest, and the Mengyuan wolf rode in, and if you find a place to dig up soil in the northwest, you may find a corpse. Emperor Yang Yi of the Great Sui Dynasty led his troops to quell the rebellion, and in the bloody battle in the northwest, Fang Xie led his team to run thousands of miles to rescue the driver, and Gao Kaitai was the first time to meet Lord Xiaofang, who had already been famous in Chang'an City.

See you after many years, and now Lord Xiaofang has become a national prince.

I heard that Her Royal Highness the eldest princess of the Great Sui is already preparing for Fang Jie's sealing ceremony.

Gao Kaitai had to sigh with emotion, people's encounters are really unpredictable. Even if he didn't look down on Fang Xie at the beginning, he just thought that this young man would be like him at most in the future, and he would be a general. Or, in Chang'an City, with those old scholars, become the youngest scholar in the empire.

The world changes and cannot be predicted.

Today's young man's face is no longer immature, and the depth in his eyes is actually with a touch of vicissitudes. It's a sign of real maturity, age isn't.

"Zhenguo Gong has a good demeanor."

Gao Kaitai cleared his throat and pulled his thoughts back to reality from the northwest: "A long time ago, when I first met Zhenguogong in the northwest, I told people that the future of Zhenguogong is limitless. I'm a fool, but I'm not wrong about it. At that time, the demeanor of Zhen Guogong was impressive. ”

Such polite words are not even nutritious.

Fang Xie smiled: "The general is polite, I said goodbye to the general in the northwest, but I didn't expect to see you again, and it's been several years since I counted the days." ”

He called Gao Kaitai a general, not Gao Kaitai's self-reliant King Yu.

Wang Yiqu proclaimed himself king in Gyeonggi Province and proclaimed himself the king of Thailand. Gao Kaitai called himself King Yu. The words Tai and Yu have good meanings. It's just that no matter how auspicious the name is, it can't affect the situation.

After so many years of ups and downs in officialdom, Gao Kaitai naturally could hear the meaning of Fang Jie's title, so he smiled a little self-deprecatingly, but he didn't care much about it. Now that the situation is like this, he is at a disadvantage, even if the outcome of the war is not yet decided, he himself knows in his heart that he has some chance of winning.

How strong the Black Flag Army is today is a matter on the table, whether it is a clear-eyed person or a blind person, he can see it clearly.

"yes...... At that time, it coincided with the national crisis, and he was not able to get close to Zhenguo Gong. At that time, I said goodbye, and I didn't expect to see each other again in the future. It's just that I didn't expect that seeing each other again would be such a situation. ”

Gao Kaitai sighed for a while, glanced at Fang Xie and said, "Why don't you see Her Royal Highness the Princess?" ”

Fang explained: "Your Highness is tired of traveling and is resting in the camp. If the general wants to see His Highness, I can send someone to ask. ”

"No, no, no"

Gao Kaitai shook his head: "It's not a rush to see His Highness, some things are more important now." ”

He said this without any restraint, and he didn't care much about the attitude of the eldest princess. In fact, these people now don't think the same, seeing Fang Xie is far more real than seeing the elder princess. Their ostensible respect for the eldest princess is a play, and if it weren't for the strong military strength of the Black Flag Army, what respect would they have for a princess of a dead country.

"I've always believed that if you can sit down and talk about something, you don't have to win or lose on the battlefield. You and I are all veterans of a hundred battles, and it hurts to die a single one. ”

Gao Kaitai took a sip of tea, smiled and said, "Zhen Guogong is willing to sit down with me to talk, so naturally he is also distressed about the lives of his subordinates." So, since there is such a possibility, I simply said it directly. ”

He beckoned, and a retinue of cronies approached with a map.

Gao Kaitai took the map, spread it on the table and pointed: "Zhenguo Gong is now strong in the army, I am ashamed of myself, this is the truth, and I don't need to be pretentious." I can't beat Chang'an City, so it's not impossible to let it out and hand it over to Zhenguo Gong to fight. It's just that something has to be explained in advance......"

……

……

Gao Kaitai pointed to the map and said, "Gyeonggi Province is so big that it is big enough for our people to avoid. I am willing to tear away the siege of Chang'an City and give the capital to Zhenguogong. However, I still have hundreds of thousands of brothers watching me, and I can't let them down too much. If I want to raise soldiers, I need land. There is a reason for planting crops, you have 10,000 catties of grain seeds and no land in your hands, and that kind of seed is useless even if it is rotten. ”

Fang Xie nodded: "Reasonable, you continue." ”

Hearing Fang Xie say this, Gao Kaitai felt that there was still a chance to go further, and his hand drew a circle on the map: "I can give up not only Gyeonggi Province, but also Gangbuk Province." Those who betrayed the lord before are now working under the hands of Zhenguo Gong, and I can not pursue it. As for the strength of their troops, it should be regarded as a congratulatory gift from me to the prince of Zhenguo in the near future. ”

"But ......"

Gao Kaitai glanced at Fang Jie's face, and seeing that Fang Jie's expression did not change, he continued: "I always have to think about my brothers, so ...... To the east of Gyeonggi-do, Sungseong-do and Taean-do, these two provinces are not too much for me. If Zhen Guogong nods, I'll go back and leave Gyeonggi Province now. ”

"It's a great place."

Fang Xie nodded: "Shuncheng Dao, Tai'an Dao, these two provinces have not experienced war, and they are the most prosperous and wealthy places east of Gyeonggi Province, so it is the best place to raise soldiers." The general is really good eyesight, and the good of this place is impeccable. ”

He glanced at Gao Kaitai: "But ...... What do I want to do with such a nice place? ”

Gao Kaitai's face changed, and after being silent for a long time, he gritted his teeth: "Northwest!" The tired land in the northwest may not recover in ten years. I just want the Northwest, is this possible? ”

Fang Xie nodded again: "This request is really not too much, and I also know very well how poor that place in the northwest is." The general's willingness to lead his troops back to the northwest is already a great concession, and I am very moved in my heart. But...... What do I want to do in such a broken place? ”

Gao Kaitai's face turned pale suddenly, he stood up sharply and pointed to the map and said, "In this place in the north of the river, you have to give me a place!" ”

Fang Xie picked up the map and folded it slowly and seriously: "I won't give you any places on this map." Outside of the map, you won't be given a single place. You said that you have hundreds of thousands of horses to raise and need space, don't be embarrassed, I can raise them for you. As for yourself, if you want a place to retire, I won't be stingy. ”

The corners of Gao Kaitai's mouth trembled a few times, and his fists couldn't be tighter.

"Zhen Guogong, this is going to war no matter what?"

He asked through gritted teeth.

"No"

Fang Xie smiled: "You can also surrender." ”