Fan Man's lips trembled, his face was pale, and he clenched his fists tightly, eager to rush up and kill Fan Xun alive. It has been half a month since he received news from Fan Jinsheng, and he already felt a little uneasy in his heart, but he has always believed in Fan Xun's judgment, and he believes that even if Fan Jinsheng can't defeat the Yue Guo Naval Division, he won't suffer too much setback, maybe he chased far away at sea, and the news was too late to send back for a while.

But he never expected that Fan Xun sent the news of Fan Jinsheng, and the whole army was wiped out, and none of them slipped through the net.

Fan Man didn't believe the news, even if Fan Xun offered Fan Jinsheng's saber, he wouldn't believe it.

Eight thousand sailors who have been in the sea for many years will be wiped out, and there will be no survivors? Who believes?

However, Fan Man has been fighting hard in the court and on the battlefield for many years, how to say that he is also a hero, although he is very angry, he still let himself not break out, he knows that it is useless to lose his temper at this time.

"How many sailors are there in Yue Kingdom?" Fan Man exhaled a breath of turbidity, put down Fan Jinsheng's saber, and asked calmly.

Fan Xun sweated like rain, as soon as he received Shi Bao's solemn statement, he knew that he had been deceived by the Yue people again, either the strength of the Yue people was far less than 10,000, or the warships of the Yue country were far more than what he saw, of course, it was more likely that both were wrong. At first, he was still a little lucky, hoping that Shi Bao was cheating him again, but then he glanced at Fan Jinsheng from a distance and got Fan Jinsheng's saber, and he believed it.

It only took three days for Fan Xun, who was distraught, to rush back from Linyi to Temu City, and the continuous galloping for three days and nights made him exhausted, and his physiology and psychology reached the point of collapse, at this time, as long as Fan Man yelled at him, maybe he would die of exhaustion.

Fan Man didn't yell at him, but this kind of anger hidden in his heart was even more terrifying.

Fan Xunqiang didn't fall down, but he didn't know what to say anymore, he only knew what was wrong now, and he still didn't count how much he was wrong. How many troops did the Yue Kingdom have, and how strong were their warships? Fan Jinsheng may have counted these, but Fan Jinsheng is in the hands of the Yue people, and they have no chance to talk at all.

The Yue people did it on purpose, Fan Xun knew this, but he was helpless.

"Minister...... Ignorance. Fan Xun finally spit out these words and fell to the ground softly. Fan Man's body moved, hesitated for a moment, sighed, and ordered someone to carry Fan Xun down to rest. His eyes fell on the national letter brought back by Fan Xun, which was still a dignified and atmospheric Chinese character, but now in his eyes, every word was a fang-dancing claw, and his face was hideous.

After a long time, Fan Man opened the national book, and after reading the two words, he frowned, and several particularly long white eyebrows trembled, and then his brows tightened.

Sun Shao's tone was very polite, far from the arrogance in Fan Man's conjecture, he first explained the battle of Jinou Island, he was not present at the time, so Fan Jinsheng's annihilation was not in his plan, it was the Funan Navy Division that chased too closely, and the soldiers were angry, so he made a ruthless move. Then he said very kindly, I have fought and fought, but it is better to settle the dispute, let's make peace, I am willing to send Fan Jinsheng back, as long as you pay the ransom of the ten war elephants, my request is that the soldiers of these ten war elephants are all natives of Funan and can speak simple Chinese. As for your sailors, I am screening, if they are from Funan, then I will not interfere with their going and staying, and those who are willing to stay in my Yueguo Sailors, I welcome, and those who are willing to return to Funan, I will let them go. Others, I can't let it go so easily, otherwise I won't be able to explain to the soldiers, you have to pay the ransom, and the ransom amount is up to you, no matter how much I accept.

Then, Sun Shao changed his words and began to talk about the negotiation between the two sides, Sun Shao opened his mouth, not only asking Fan Man for the narrow strip south of the Chen Kingdom, but also asking Fan Man to hand over all the west coast, including Lin Yangguo (ancient Thailand), to him. His reason is very simple, you have no sailors, you have no strength to guard the coast, and you can't even deal with pirates, so it's better to leave it to me, and I will help you deal with pirates.

Compared with this condition, other things such as the amount of rice that Funan asked to provide him with each year, and the right to garrison the port of O-Erita, were not worth mentioning. Most of these places that Sun Shao wanted were subject countries of Funan, and the land directly controlled by Funan accounted for less than one percent of the area of Funan, but this was the passage between merchants between Tianzhu and Dahan and Nanhai Zhudao, and the annual commercial tax accounted for six or seven percent of all taxes paid by Funan, and if all of these were handed over to Sun Shao, then Funan would no longer have the strength to develop.

Even if the land in Funan is fertile, what kind of wealth can you make from farming alone? Three or five years of accumulation may not be enough to fight a big war.

Fan Man gritted his teeth angrily, his big hand clenched the national letter tightly together, his eyes were wide with anger, his nose was open, and his heavy breathing was clearly audible, fortunately, Fan Xun was not in front of him, otherwise it was really hard to say whether he would be scared to death.

Fan Man threw the national letter aside, stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth in the hall quickly, his steps were big and urgent, stepping on the floor and clattering, strong body, vigorous movements, people couldn't see that he was an old man over sixty years old. He paced quickly, stopped, looked up at the beautifully decorated roof, shook his head and sighed, and sneered repeatedly, and after a while, he suddenly stopped, stared at the national letter that had been crumpled by him, and sneered: "Come on, fight." ”

Fan Chang and the others were quickly summoned, and Fan Man, who had regained his calm, handed them the letters of state that had been re-leveled in turn, and said in a calm tone: "Jin Sheng has been defeated, and the entire army of the Navy has been annihilated, this is the letter of the Yue State asking for negotiations, you can see how to deal with it."

Fan Chang was the first to read the national book, and before he could finish reading it, he jumped up and scolded: "These shameless Yue country dogs dare to bully me like this, do they think that if they defeat our sailors, they can be unscrupulous?" Father, son is not talented, I am willing to ask troops to attack Yuenan, recapture Linyi, and teach these Yue country dogs a lesson. ”

"Don't worry, wait for them to see, and we'll discuss it together." Fan Man waved his hand, signaling Fan Chang to be calm and not to be impatient. Fan Chang's face was flushed with anger, but he didn't dare to disobey Fan Man's orders, so he sat down angrily and threw the national letter into Fan Jun, the general next to him. Fan Jun saw it, and his face was also full of anger, and he handed over the national letter to the next one.

After a short time, there were a few more estrus beasts in the hall, all of them with heavy snorts and anger.

"Let's talk about the ransom first." Fan Man said lightly: "First, whether to redeem or not, and second, how much money should we pay for redemption." ”

Everyone unanimously turned their attention to Fan Chang, Fan Zhan died in battle, Fan Jinsheng was captured, Fan Xun was tired and half dead, and Fan Chang was the leader among the courtiers. Fan Chang hesitated: "Of course you have to redeem it, but how much money to redeem should be discussed." The Yue people are cunning and untrustworthy, the reason why they do not offer a price, but let us bid, it seems to be generous, but in fact it contains evil intentions, and the sons are worried that the money is less, which will make the soldiers feel cold, and there may be people who are greedy for the wealth of the Yue country, and would rather join the Yue State Sailor than come back. They are familiar with our coast, and with their help, it is very disadvantageous to me. If you pay too much, I'm afraid it will be a little unsustainable. The sailors are all gone, even if we don't agree to the conditions of Yue Guo, I'm afraid that the commercial tax will be greatly reduced, and the ransom for these thousands of people will ......"

Fan Man was silent, he heard some discordant voices from Fan Chang's words, Fan Chang didn't seem to be willing to redeem these people, including his brother Fan Jinsheng, as for what price and so on, it was all an excuse, how could Funan State not even be able to pay the ransom of thousands of sailors.

"What do you think?" Fan Man turned his gaze to Fan Jun and the others.

Fan Jun and the others were a little hesitant, of course they wouldn't be unable to hear Fan Chang's words. Fan Jinsheng was defeated, even if he was redeemed, he would not be able to be the prince, it is already a sure thing that the crown prince is Fan Chang, is it necessary to get along with Fan Chang at this time? However, Fan Jun and the others are worried, after all, Fan Man is still in power, from his heart, he must hope to take back Fan Jinsheng, although he has always liked Fan Chang rather than Fan Jinsheng, but father and son are father and son after all, and he can't just let his son's surname be cut off in the hands of the Yue people.

"The minister thinks that, as the eldest prince said, redemption is to be redeemed, but how much it costs must be considered."

Fan Jun and others said the same, but the meaning was basically the same, neither offending Fan Man nor Fan Chang. Fan Man sneered in his heart, but his face was silent: "Okay, let's send an envoy to talk to him about the price." Now, let's discuss his other demands, and you say, are we going to cut the land or not? ”

"Of course you can't cut it." Fan Chang blurted out without thinking. "Although we don't have a sailor, we still have enough foot soldiers to control the harbor along the way, shouldn't their sailor dock? If we give him all these places, our strength will be greatly affected, and their strength will increase dramatically, which is like drinking salt water to quench our thirst, and the more we drink, the thirstier we will become, until we die of thirst. ”

"If we don't cut it, we will prepare for war throughout the country, not only to recruit the strong men in the country, but also to recruit the soldiers of the subject country." Fan Man said worriedly: "Last time, I was messed with by that old man Liu, saying that the Funan people are also descendants of Yan and Huang or something, and now the people are very uneasy, if we recruit them to fight with the Yue State Naval Division, I am afraid it will cause chaos, and the Naval Division is not in battle, our prestige is greatly reduced, and there will be people in the subject country who are ready to move and levy them...... Will it work? ”

Fan Chang's speech was sluggish, he was obviously not as thoughtful as Fan Man. However, he thought for a moment, and then retorted: "Those demagogic nonsense, although there are a lot of rumors in Temu City now, how many ordinary people know about it?" As long as you hit those who spread rumors, it shouldn't be a problem to control the hearts of the people. As for those subject countries, even if they have different intentions, can they still move their families into the sea? Their families are still on the land after all. If we allow them to scatter everywhere, in case they are bewitched by the Yue people, won't they cause even more chaos? ”

Fan Man was silent, watching Fan Chang talk eloquently. Fan Chang finally said his plan, although the sailor was defeated, but Funan's combat strength was still there, and he should gather a large army, invade Funan, seize Linyi, and drive the Yue people into the sea. If they have no place to stand, can they keep drifting on the sea? When the time comes, they will only have one way back to Zhuya. If you want to negotiate, you can talk about it at that time, and if you talk now, Funan will suffer too much.

Fan Man didn't comment, but said at the end, if you want to fight, you have to make peace first, stabilize the Yue people first, and mobilize a large army to attack Yuenan. As long as Yuenan is taken, Linyi will be in the bag. The top priority is to redeem Fan Jinsheng and those sailors first.

Fan Man didn't discuss with Fan Chang again, he directly agreed to the ransom demand of the ten war elephants, as for those sailors and soldiers, he also offered a usual price, and then authorized Fan Xun, you go to Lin Yi to talk again, no matter what, you have to delay them for three months. I am only holding down the Yue people for three months, so that they don't join forces with the Wu people, and I can take Yuenan, and how to talk about it when the time comes, it is up to them to have the final say.

Fan Xun felt ashamed, although his body was still very weak, but he still went on the road, because he could no longer ride a horse, Fan Man sent someone to Linyi to report first, and then asked Fan Xun to rush to Linyi in a soft chair, it was okay to walk slowly, anyway, it would take time. At the same time, Fan Man began to recruit troops, and before, the army had been recruited, and now they were just integrated and handed over to Fan Chang and Fan Jun and others to rush to Yuenan.

Fan Man stayed by himself and led an army of 30,000 to defend Temu City, he believed that even if the Yue Guo Naval Division was powerful, it would be very difficult for them to land and capture Temu City. Fan Man, who has fought all his life, has enough confidence in this.

Receiving the reply from Fan Man's first envoy, Sun Shao sneered twice and did not say a word. He had never dreamed that Fan Man would surrender without a fight, in that case, he would not have been able to dominate Funan for so many years. Sun Shao has never been afraid of playing tricks and tricks, and scheming is not useless, but in the face of strength, scheming is just icing on the cake. He is not a reckless man, and neither is Fan Man, so the competition between them is not only scheming, but also strength, and this strength is not only hard power such as being outnumbered, but also soft power, such as economy, such as culture. Besides, if you want to talk about power schemes, Fan Man is such a barbarian, he has told some stories of the Han people by hearsay, and he wants to compete with Sun Shao, who has been instilled with two thousand years of power strategy culture for more than ten years.

Simmer the soup slowly, Sun Shao has time to make moves with Fan Man.

Sun Shao found Sun Song, Zhou Xun and others, He Da, who had just arrived in Linyi, also received a summons, they hurried over, Sun Shao said Fan Man's reply roughly, He Da pulled his short beard and sneered: "This old monkey still wants to use a strategy to delay the army, distant friends and close attacks, but, after all, he has never seen the big market, if he really wants to divide Wu Yue, how should he spread a little benefit, back then the Qin State in order to make friends and attack closely, but even the family moved out to bribe the Qi Yan countries, but this old monkey refused to even verbally suffer, He took us for fools. ”

Sun Song was not so excited, but said lightly: "Countrymen, they only know how to drill mountains and forests, they don't know anything, it's normal." ”

He Da glanced at Sun Song: "Do you mean that Fan Man is a countryman, or do you mean that I am a countryman?" ”

Sun Song was stunned for a moment, then remembered that He Da was also a person who drilled mountains and forests, and hurriedly laughed: "Bozhi, why do you think so?" Can Fan Man compare with you? He stands with you, a beggar standing next to the rich man. You, it's true, you have to have confidence in yourself, can I, Sun Song, say that you don't have knowledge? ”

Heda tugged at the well-cut brocade robe on his body and smiled a little smugly. He had never seen the king of Funan, but he had seen the merchants of Funan. The weather in Funan is hot, and the people of Funan have no habit of dressing, usually with a cloth pocket around their waists and naked tops, both men and women. Of course, the merchants who can go to Zhuya will not do this, but their clothes and clothes should be compared with those of the big Hans, and it is by no means unreasonable to say that they are monkeys. Heda is also a Han people who pay a lot of attention to appearance, the clothes are luxurious, and he is tall, a talent, the black and thin Funan people are not like monkeys in his eyes?

"Okay, Bo Zhi is here, and he hasn't been picked up yet, Ziqiao said the wrong thing, so punish him for giving Bo Zhi a pick-up." Sun Shao waved his hand, "Let's all go and accompany you." ”

The crowd burst into laughter.

Sun Song grinned, laughed twice, and then said: "Great King, Bo Zhi is right, except for the conditions for the redemption of Fan Jinsheng, the Funan people are all in between, in my opinion, they are likely to be preparing for war." Once a big war occurs, Wu Yue will inevitably join forces to resist the enemy, I don't know how the king is going to plan? ”

Sun Shao smiled: "Join forces to fight the enemy, that's no problem, it's just that people can't go too much, my 20,000 tiger and wolf army of Yue Kingdom has entered Yuenan, can the people of Wu still sleep peacefully?" While they are guarding against the Funan people, I am afraid they will also guard against us. Rather than this, it is better to do less, so as not to backfire. Here plus the men and horses brought by Bo Zhixin, there are a total of 8,000 people, 16,000 people from Cui Qian's department and Yuehai's department are already on standby in Funan Bay, I will take 1,000 people to Funan Bay to meet them, and the other 7,000 people will be led by the queen, waiting to enter Yuenan and assist Zigao in the battle. ”

Sun Song breathed a sigh of relief, he was worried that Sun Shao would take the opportunity to seize Yuenan, even if he didn't have this plan, but if there were too many people entering Yuenan, Sun Deng would also be worried, and now that Sun Shao arranged it like this, it seemed that Sun Shao not only did not have this idea, but also had taken into account the suspicions that might arise.

Guan Feng was stunned for a moment, and met Sun Shao with a suspicious gaze: "I'll stay?" ”

"You stay." Sun Shao nodded solemnly, put away his smile, raised his voice and shouted: "Heda, Zhou Xun, Ding Feng." ”

He Da, Zhou Xun and Ding Feng got up and clasped their fists and saluted: "The minister is here." ”

"The three of you obey the queen's command and assist the state of Wu in defending the front line of Changshan." Sun Shao especially said to Ding Feng: "You take the Destruction Battalion and double as the queen's subordinate battalion, and you must be careful of the queen's safety." ”

"Whoa." Ding Feng replied loudly: "Please rest assured, as long as there is a minister, the queen will never be harmed in the slightest." ”

"I believe in you." Sun Shao smiled, turned around and said to Sun Shangxiang: "Fifth General, your Flying Tiger Battalion will also stay, and it will also serve as the queen's personal guard battalion, and Sun Song will be responsible for all matters related to the Wu State at that time." Remember, this time we are cooperating in the war, and as long as our interests are not harmed, we must take Prince Wu as the main force and listen to his command. ”

"Whoa." Sun Shangxiang didn't dare to slack off and promised to do so. Sun Shao's words are equivalent to handing over the command of the overall situation to Sun Deng, and even Guan Feng has to listen to Sun Deng's command, which is a huge concession made for Sun Deng's meritorious service, the reason why she is the captain of Guan Feng's personal guard, on the one hand, is because Guan Feng is the queen, and safety cannot be ignored, on the other hand, it is also hoped that she will use the dual identity of her best friend and elder to not make Guan Feng too embarrassed, and at the same time avoid Sun Deng and others from going too far.

"In addition, Dahu is an aggressive person, you should watch her carefully and don't let her do any damage."

"Whoa." Sun Shangxiang agreed again.

"The King." Guan Feng stood up and said to Sun Shao with a resolute expression: "The concubine can't agree to the king's arrangement. ”

Sun Shao was a little puzzled, thinking that she was unhappy that she asked her to listen to Sun Deng's arrangement.

"Please take all the Destroyer Battalion with you." Guan Feng laughed softly: "There are the fifth general, General Fuyue and General Zhou, my safety is no problem at all, but the king is going on an expedition, General Zuo and General Hou are all sailors, although they can also go ashore to fight, after all, they are not as elite as the Destroying Front Battalion." With the Destroyer Battalion by the king's side, the concubines and generals can fight with peace of mind. ”

Sun Shao was a little ashamed, he was a little worried about the belly of a gentleman with the heart of a villain, how could a woman like Guan Feng be as complicated as she thought. He smiled and shook his head: "Don't worry, I didn't take a thousand Destroyer Battalion with me, besides, I won't land and fight easily." ”

Guan Feng insisted repeatedly, but Sun Shao still refused, and Guan Feng had no choice but to retreat.

"The king is leaving, is he only going to play a role?" Lu Ji said puzzledly: "If this is the case, it is enough to have General Zuo and General Hou, even if there is any contradiction between them, all it takes is an edict from the king to specify who is the chief general and who is the deputy general, why bother the king himself?" There are not enough troops here, why doesn't the king sit in Linyi? ”

Sun Shao shook his head: "Shi Zhongrong sent back the news, Wu Guo is recruiting troops, and the strength of the army should not be a problem." I'm going to Jinou Island, just to put more pressure on Fan Man, only if he can't go all out, the battle of Changshan will be more hopeful. He smiled and continued: "I asked him for the land south of Jin Chen, but he didn't give it, so I had to rob it." This time I'm going to make a boning knife and cut his flesh one by one. Don't worry, I have force, but I won't act only by force, soft and hard, I have to compete with Fan Man, and I have to convince him no matter what. ”

Lu Ji realized.

(To be continued)