The emperor held a court meeting in front of the sickbed, and the generals and officials of higher status stayed by the emperor's side, the lower ones lined up outside, and the lower ones stood in the courtyard, totaling more than 100 people. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The door was open, but everyone lowered their voices to speak, and the people outside could not hear anything, so they could only make the appearance of listening.

Han Ruzi was lying on the chair, closing his eyes and recuperating, his face was tired, the news of the emperor's illness had spread, and there was no need for him to hide it.

Deng Cui is the general who defends the city, and he reports the recent battle situation, and the result is finished in a few words, "Every time the Huns eliminate a support army, they will come to the city to show off, and there have been three times so far." ”

Although the officers of the military department did not command the battle, they understood the deployment of all troops, so they stepped forward to fill in the time, and detailed the defense of Jincheng in all directions and the estimated number of enemy troops......

Han Ruzi hummed occasionally, indicating that he was still listening.

As for the method of breaking through, all the officials also offered plans, but they were all based on the fact that the Huns would kill themselves if they committed many injustices, and the rescue of the Chu army from all over the world at the same time, to put it bluntly, it was waiting for a miracle to happen.

As the main general, Deng Cui didn't say a word, and even looked at the emperor's residence a little rudely to kill time.

When everyone finally finished speaking, they fell silent all of a sudden, and the emperor didn't even make a sound, as if he had fallen asleep, and no one dared to disturb him, and no one dared to leave, just stood quietly.

After a full quarter of an hour, the emperor finally opened his eyes, reluctantly got up with the support of the eunuch, and asked weakly, "Where is Da Danyu?" ”

The ministers looked at each other, wondering if the emperor had a dream, but he didn't wake up from the dream, so he asked such a headless and endless word.

Deng Cui still looked like he didn't care about himself, and the official of the military department had to reply: "The banner of the Xiongnu Da Danyu has not appeared outside the city, and the ministers speculate that he is likely to lead his troops south to join the rebels of Qi." ”

Jincheng news is closed, and the situation outside can only be guessed.

Han Ruzi shook his head lightly, "The Huns may go south, but Da Dan will not, he doesn't dare to go too far from the grassland." He raised his eyelids with great difficulty, looked at the ministers in the room, and said, "Which lord just spoke of peace talks?" ”

An official from the Ministry of Rites hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Wechen once mentioned peace talks, and Wechen thought it was ......."

The official was eager to add some restrictions to his suggestion, so as not to cause trouble, but the emperor had already nodded, "Okay, just follow Lord Lou's method and negotiate peace with Da Dan Yu, when will Lord Lou leave?" ”

"Huh?" Lord Lou was taken aback, "According to Weichen's humble opinion, it is not the time for peace talks now, and we need to wait for the Chu army to ......."

Han Ruzi shook his head, "I can't wait, Lord Lou is preparing today and going out of the city tomorrow." ”

Lord Lou knelt down, regretting it so much that he didn't dare to refuse on the spot, so he could only obey his fate, but he was thinking about how to delay it in his heart until the matter was over.

But the emperor was not as confused as he thought.

"Lord Lou can't do it alone, you have to choose a deputy envoy, which Aiqing volunteers?"

The emperor didn't seem to understand the current situation at all, and he blamed the military department, he was used to reporting more good news and less bad news, and said that the defense of the city was not grim at all, so the emperor would make the decision to negotiate peace in his sleep, thinking that it was an easy thing.

The ministers all swept the military officials with their spare eyes, and the military officials who were still talking eloquently just now stared at their toes at this time, motionless, and did not say a word.

Fortunately for everyone, the emperor already had a candidate in mind, "Where is Qiao Wanfu?" ”

More than half of the people in the room had never heard of the name "Qiao Wanfu", and some officials immediately turned around and asked the people outside, and the officials outside went to ask the people in the courtyard, and finally found Qiao Wanfu in the group of advisors.

Qiao Wanfu was originally an Ao Cang Order, but because of his meritorious service in battle, he was promoted to a free cavalry attendant, but in fact, he was only one of the emperor's many advisers, and his real power was not as good as the small Ao Cang Order.

Qiao Wanfu was short in stature, and when he heard the summons, he hurried forward, but the official at the door didn't see it, and was still asking: "Qiao Wanfu, who is Qiao Wanfu?" ”

"Humble duty." Qiao Wanfu replied.

The official searched for a while, and finally saw the person running with his hands raised, and thought to himself, the emperor is really very sick.

Qiao Wanfu had not been summoned by the emperor for a long time, and his heart was inevitably worried, so he knelt down as soon as he entered the inner room and walked to the emperor on his knees.

Han Ruzi lay down again, his eyes slightly closed, as if he hadn't noticed Qiao Wanfu's arrival, or he had forgotten, and none of the ministers had opened his mouth to remind him.

The eunuch who served him lightly pressed on the emperor's shoulder, and the emperor opened his eyes again, looked at the two messengers kneeling on the ground, and hummed softly.

The eunuch Zhang Youcai nodded to Liu Jie, the central supervisor, and Liu Jie said loudly: "The ministers retreat, and the second envoy stays." ”

The ministers obeyed the order, retreated according to their ranks, and when they left the emperor's residence, they all breathed a sigh of relief, and turned to worry about the main and deputy envoys.

Lou Xun, an official of the Ministry of Rites, was a serious old minister, and he put forward a proposal for peace talks according to the usual practice, but he never thought that the emperor would agree, and put the heavy responsibility in his own hands, and he had been thinking about the golden cicada's plan to get out of his shell, and he didn't pay much attention to Qiao Wanfu, who was kneeling beside him.

Liu Jie asked the two to settle down, and then left with the other eunuchs, leaving only two guards, which was the rule in the palace, unless the emperor personally permitted, the central eunuch was not allowed to observe the deliberations of the monarch and ministers.

Han Ruzi asked, "How does Lord Lou plan to persuade Da Danyu to accept peace talks?" ”

"This ...... This one...... According to the minister's humble opinion, of course, it is to know the reason, move with affection, think that the Huns have lived in the grassland for a long time, and there will be all kinds of discomfort after entering the customs, so start from this, or they can be persuaded to retreat. But now the question is where the big order is, and we must first figure out ......"

"Go out of the city and ask the Huns." The emperor gave an answer and turned to Qiao Wanfu, this is the real envoy in his mind, but unfortunately the position is too low, and the temporary promotion may be seen through by the Huns, so he had to arrange an envoy, "What does Master Qiao think?" ”

Qiao Wanfu was completely unprepared, and quickly stabilized his mind, "Since it is a peace talk, can Your Majesty's goal be informed?" ”

Han Ruzi nodded slightly, "Of course, the Huns retreated to the outside of the Saiwai." ”

"It's difficult, Your Majesty still has a lower goal?"

"The Huns retreated to Saiwai, and the two sides were about brotherly states, and the cities were exchanged."

"It's also difficult, Your Majesty has a lower goal?"

"The Huns retreated to Saiwai, and outside the city, Dachu gave compensation on an annual basis, and the amount was negotiable."

"Well, it's not easy, can Your Majesty set aside a piece of land in the pass to accommodate the Huns?"

Without waiting for the emperor to speak, Lou Xun was already shocked, "The ancestors of the Great Chu Dynasty opened up their territory and expanded their territory, how can future generations give it to outsiders?" Your Majesty, this mouth must not be opened, this Lord Qiao is untrustworthy, and he should be guilty of a felony. ”

Lou Xun saw that the emperor's real favorite envoy was Qiao Wanfu, and he was just tied up, if he could make the emperor lose confidence in this person, he would be freed.

Qiao Wanfu immediately knelt down, not daring to defend himself.

Lou Xun suddenly had a fighting spirit, and continued: "Qiao Wanfu is not a peace talk, but a traitor, whether he succeeds or not, it is still a trivial matter, I am afraid that he will show weakness to Da Danyu, and make the Huns besiege the city even more fearless......"

"I already understand what Lord Lou means, you go and prepare first, and go out of the city early tomorrow morning, don't delay."

Lou Xun didn't dare to resist the order, hesitated for a while, and had to retreat.

"Get up and speak." Han Ruzi said.

Qiao Wanfu got up and stood with his hands down, still not quite understanding the emperor's intentions.

"Master Qiao seems to know how to run a business."

"Weichen can't learn the avenue, so he transferred to such a small technique."

"There is a specialization in the art industry, the avenue needs to be inherited, and the small art must also be learned, not to mention that the way of management benefits the world, not a small art."

"Your Majesty's knowledge is beyond the reach of Wei Chen."

Han Ruzi chuckled, the emperor's casual words could be praised, it was not easy for officials to get rid of this "habit", "Qiao Wanfu, do you understand why I chose you as a deputy envoy?" ”

"Weichen is stupid, he just acts according to orders, and he doesn't dare to think about the holy will."

"Surrounded by strong enemies outside the city, what I want is not to 'act according to orders', so you can 'speculate'."

Qiao Wanfu was slightly surprised, although the emperor's voice was weak, it was not like a seriously ill person, he couldn't help but raise his eyes and glance quickly, but he didn't see anything, and replied: "Yes, Your Majesty." Weichen thought that the Huns were people outside the country, who did not understand etiquette, did not pay attention to benevolence and righteousness, and it was difficult to say it in the right way, because of their greed, they needed to be lured by the way of management. ”

Han Ruzi nodded, Qiao Wanfu did not disappoint him, he still had a lot of things to explain, but now he doesn't need to say anything, "Da Shan Yu will definitely see you, but this trip is full of dangers, Da Shan Yu may kill Chu at any time to vent his anger, are you prepared?" ”

"Weichen is not afraid of death, but Lord Lou ......"

"He is a waiter of the Ministry of Rites, and it is his duty to send envoys to the Huns and observe festivals in front of the enemy." Han Ruzi had to send a minister no matter what, and Lou Xun could only be regarded as unlucky.

"Wechen understands."

Han Ruzi thought for a while, "Never cut the land, other things, let Master Qiao decide, I have a secret letter for you, you can show it to Lord Lou when necessary." ”

Qiao Wanfu is only a deputy envoy, and he must have a secret decree to make the decision.

Qiao Wanfu received the order to retire and seriously prepared to send an envoy to the Huns, but Lou Xun was trying to find a way to delay, and some familiar officials helped him, and put forward difficult matters from many details such as horses, retinues, scepters, letter wording, the opening of the city gates, and how to communicate with the Huns outside the city, each of which took a day or two to solve.

The emperor issued three holy decrees in a row, one more severe than the other, and when night fell, Lou Xun finally gave up his resistance and invited relatives and friends in the city to say goodbye in tears.

At dawn the next day, the main and deputy envoys went out of the city with six followers, and under the watchful eyes of the people at the head of the city, they slowly advanced to the Hun camp, and after half an hour, they were intercepted by a group of Hun cavalry, but they were not shot, but brought into the camp, and the people in the city could no longer be seen.

Han Ruzi once again held a court meeting in front of the sickbed, this time no one dared to talk nonsense, the court meeting ended quickly, the emperor left Deng Cui alone, most of the officials did not like this chariot general very much, felt that he was going to be unlucky, and was relieved.

Han Ruzi wanted to entrust Deng Cui with a heavy responsibility.

"How many soldiers and horses does General Deng need to repel the Huns?"

"200,000 can fight, 300,000 will win, if you get 500,000, if you dare to teach the Huns, you can't go back to Saiwai."

Da Chu did not have a ready-made army of 500,000, Han Ruzi said: "Only there are more garrisons outside the Cypriot Islands, and there may be two or three hundred thousand in total." ”

"But they came to the rescue one by one, and I was afraid that they would be exhausted in a few months."

"Therefore, I will send General Deng to coordinate the armies outside the Saiwai in person."

Qin Cha Zhuo Ruhe is mobilizing troops outside the Saiwai, and Han Ruzi also sent someone to send a holy decree, but he feels that it is not enough, Zhuo Ruhe is a civil servant and cannot command the army, and Zhang Yin, the Marquis of Biyuan, who is in the Broken Iron City, has no news, and Han Ruzi must send a general.

Deng Cui didn't show surprise, and thought for a while, "Then I need a month to gather an army." ”

"Twenty days, tonight I will send someone to take you out of the city."

"Okay." Deng Cui agreed very happily, and didn't even ask the emperor how he could send him out of the encirclement, since he could escape, why didn't the emperor himself escape.

"Running away at night is unpredictable, General Deng must be prepared." Han Ruzi said. (To be continued.) )