The two sides fought fiercely at the mouth of the West Bank for several days, and Yang Zhao and Bai Tingwan had few available troops.

In desperation, he could only retreat by water and flee to Minjiang County by sea.

Ning Ze did not send people to chase after him, but took the opportunity to divide his troops and garrison Zeshan and Loushan counties to consolidate the city defense.

When the news of the distress arrived in Wubao County, Ma Jian summoned the civil and military ministers, with a worried face: "The military situation on the front line, Ning Ze suddenly went south to launch a surprise attack from the rear, Baijingtang was captured, and our army was defeated, so we temporarily withdrew to the west bank to defend it." The situation is critical, what should I do?"

"The last general is willing to lead the troops into battle!" Ma Lian stood up and shouted with his fists clenched.

"Although the general is brave, how can he defeat Ning Ze?" Feng Qiao shook his head on the side, "Judging from the intelligence, I'm afraid that Zeshan County will fall into the hands of the enemy." It's not good that we've lost two counties!"

"That's why we must take it back as soon as possible!" said Ma Lian, "how can we let the enemy show off their might?"

"It's simple. Feng Qiao sighed, "After years of fighting, now our country's troops are insufficient, I'm afraid I can't do it!"

"If there are not enough troops, then recruit them in large numbers!" said Ma Lian, "Is there no money and food in the treasury?"

"Military advisor, is the treasury sufficient for money and food?" Ma Jian asked Feng Qiao.

Feng Qiao replied: "Your Majesty, there is still a surplus of money and grain in the treasury!"

"Then recruit more troops and horses, and go out to regain the lost territory as soon as possible!" Ma Jian said, "If necessary, I can also drive the expedition in person and share the battle with Na Ning Ze!"

"The last general is willing to go on the expedition with His Majesty!!" all the generals in the hall echoed in unison, and the momentum was like a rainbow.

Feng Qiao sighed: "Your Majesty, the problem now is not money and food! According to the Ministry of Households, more than half of the young and strong people in the country are now conscripted into the army, resulting in a decline in civilian labor. If soldiers are forcibly recruited, it will be a reckless force. If there is no young and strong people, how can they get married? At present, the problem is serious, and we must not shake the foundation and lose the support of the people!"

"Is the situation bad?" Ma Jian was shocked when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, now there are grievances in all parts of the country, and the people have been tired of war for a long time!" Feng Qiao said.

"How should this be?" I didn't expect this to happen, and Ma was anxious. Public opinion is the basis for him to sit firmly on the throne, if he ignores the forced conscription, first, it will seriously hurt the public opinion and make his prestige decline, and second, if the young and strong people in the country go to war, who will make the next generation? Without the next generation, the old people will die one after another, and the population will become smaller and smaller, and then who will farm the land and who will pay taxes? At that time, the foundation of the country will collapse!

Tang Wen Wu is also terrifying, this is not a joke.

Feng Qiao sighed lightly and said, "The only way to do this is to suspend the war and recuperate! The country is people-oriented, and it will bring about its own destruction by reckless force." ”

"Ning Ze took away my Zeshan and Loushan two counties, and Baijingtang also fell into his hands, did you just admit it?" Ma Jian said urgently.

"The eldest husband judges the situation and can bend and stretch!" Feng Qiao replied, "Only by enduring a moment's anger can you broaden the sea and the sky!"

Ma Jian reached out and rubbed his temples, he had a headache. After thinking for a long time, he looked at Feng Qiao: "Isn't there a better plan?"

"Your Majesty, now that Tang Niu and Lu Cong have withdrawn from occupation, and the countries have been fighting for years, the situation is not much better than ours!" Feng Qiao said, "At present, China is powerful, and it is difficult for our country to compete with it alone. ”

"In other words, I have no other way?"

"The minister is incompetent!" Feng Qiao shook his head, "If your colleagues offer a brilliant idea, it will be the best!"

Ma Jian looked around, and the ministers of civil and military affairs on both sides exchanged heads, but no one stood up.

Under the headache, he could only ask Feng Qiao: "If our country wants to ask for peace, Ning Ze may not withdraw its troops!"

Feng Qiao replied: "The minister is willing to go to Loushan to negotiate peace with Ning Ze in person, and try to redeem General Baijingtang!"

"No!" Ma Jian said hurriedly, "I can't do anything without the military division. What's more, if Ning Ze is not good for you, how can it be good? It is better to find someone else as an envoy. ”

"This ......" Feng Qiao turned his head to look around, and said in his heart, among so many civil and military generals, who has the guts?

Of course, Ma Jian didn't want Feng Qiao to take risks in the past, in case Ning Ze forcibly left Feng Qiao, or simply killed him, it would be over! Feng Qiao was extremely important to him, how could he let this superb military master risk his death?

Therefore, he looked around and asked loudly, "Who wants to go to Loushan and negotiate peace with Ning Ze as an envoy?"

The civil and military ministers looked at each other, but no one answered.

Ma Jian's face was a little ugly, and he said in his heart that there are so many people, and there is not even a single one who is bold?

Feng Qiao sighed, and was about to step forward to ask Ma Jian to send him over, when someone next to him suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the minister recommends one person to take on this responsibility!"

Looking at the sound, it turned out to be Nancheng Taichang Liu Qing.

Ma Jian hurriedly asked, "Who does Liu Qing recommend?"

"Back to Your Majesty," Liu Qing replied respectfully, "The minister recommends his nephew Liu Li!"

"Liu Li?"

"My nephew Liu Li has been studying with a famous teacher since he was a child, and he is rich and rich, and he is clever and clever!

"Hurry up and summon Liu Li!" Ma Jian hurriedly ordered.

Not long after, a handsome young man dressed in a white scribe's robe, who looked quite scholarly, came to the Golden Palace. I saw him step forward and salute respectfully, without panic: "Grass people Liu Li see Your Majesty!"

Ma Jian looked at him carefully, and saw that he was outstanding in appearance, neither humble nor arrogant, and immediately said: "I want to send you as an envoy to negotiate peace in the Ning Ze army, and by the way, redeem General Baijingtang, are you willing?"

Liu Li replied: "The grass people are willing to go!"

"This trip is dangerous, have you figured it out?" asked Ma Jian.

"If you can serve Your Majesty, the grass people will never give up!"

"Okay!" Liu Li put his mind at ease, "I have appointed you as Honglu Literature, as a subordinate official of Dahonglu, and is fully responsible for the negotiation of peace." On this trip, we must persuade Ning Ze to withdraw his troops and try to redeem General Baijingtang as much as possible!"

"Whoa!"

Liu Li received the will, took a boat directly from the port of Wubao County, and hurried to Loushan County.

Arriving at the port of Loushan County, the Chinese army that controlled the vicinity quickly came over, and the warships surrounded the envoy ship.

Liu Li was not in a hurry, came to the bow of the ship and shouted loudly: "I am the envoy of Nancheng, Liu Li of Honglu literature, and I am ordered by His Majesty to ask to see Ning Ze, the king of Danyang!"

"What kind of thing are you, our prince doesn't have time to see you!" The captain of this fleet did not give a good face, and said in a cold voice, "You pseudo-dynasty desires, either die under my sword, or quickly kneel and surrender!"

Liu Li was not afraid, and said loudly: "If the two countries are at war and do not kill each other! If the King of Danyang does not even know this, he will be ashamed of the people of the world! But I think that the King of Danyang will not be so shallow. If you overstep your authority without authorization, you will trap the King of Danyang in injustice!"

The face of the naval captain in front of him changed, and he wanted to scare and scare the other party, but he was frightened by him, although he was a little unwilling, he still said viciously: "Wait!"

He immediately took a boat ashore and quickly rode a fast horse to report to Loushan County.

When Ning Ze learned of the arrival of Nancheng's envoy, he said to everyone with a smile: "It must be here to negotiate peace! Now that Ma Jian's forces are unstable, Tang and Lu Cong have all died down, he has suffered a loss, and it is impossible for him to fight against Hua Guo alone. ”

So he summoned messengers into the city.

The captain of the navy received the order, returned to the port to let the envoy ship dock, and rushed to the city with Liu Li.

Liu Li came to the official office to see Ning Ze, stepped forward and bowed his hand and said loudly: "Foreign Minister Honglu Literature Liu Li, meet King Danyang!"

"No!" Ning Ze said with a smile, "The envoy has worked hard from afar. ”

Seeing Ning Ze smiling, as if he was very gentle, Liu Li knew that such a person was not easy to deal with.

And it is rumored that Ning Ze is a fairy-like figure, who can do almost anything from heaven to earth. I don't know if he will read his mind with magic.

took a deep breath and said respectfully: "The foreign minister was ordered to come and offer a boatload of Nancheng's famous property, please accept it with a smile!"

"Oh, so polite?" Ning Ze smiled, "Do you have something to ask for?"

"Envoys come and go, and they have their own courtesies!" Liu Li is neither humble nor arrogant.

"That being the case, Lone smiled and accepted!" Ning Ze laughed, "Come on, go and count the gifts brought by the messenger." ”

Someone immediately came, took the list handed over by Liu Li, and quickly left the city and rushed to the port.

After handing over the list, Ning Ze asked Liu Li to take a seat and ordered someone to put on a banquet.

At the banquet, Liu Li got up and said, "Thank you Lord for your hospitality!" The foreign minister was ordered to come here and bring a few words for His Majesty. ”

"Oh, what does Ma Jian have to say to Gu?" Ning Ze asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty has said that the princes are in dispute, and the people are suffering! In recent years, the forces of all sides have been fighting endlessly, and the people of the world are wailing all over the field, which is really unbearable! The prince has raised troops so far, have you ever thought about the suffering of the people?"

Ning Ze smiled when he heard this, and before he could speak, Chu Wenxiu next to him said: "Ridiculous! If it weren't for Ma Jian sending troops to loot the border of Jiangzhou, how could he start the war lightly?"

"Who is this ......?" Liu Li looked at Chu Wenxiu with a questioning expression.

"Huaguo Guangluqing Chu Wenxiu!" Chu Wenxiu responded with a fist.

"It turned out to be Chu Guanglu!" Liu Li arched his hand, "I heard that Huaguo was recruiting female officials, but I never thought that a woman could be Guangluqing, I admired and admired! Chu Guanglu's words were not right!"

"Oh, what's wrong?" Chu Wenxiu asked coldly.

"Chu Guanglu put the responsibility of the war between the two countries on our side, don't you know that before this, the two sides have been fighting for many years, whose fault is it and how can it be clarified? This plundering technique is also the first creation of the prince!"

Ning Ze touched his beard and smiled slightly, but did not speak.

Chu Wenxiu said: "Since the envoy said this, this official will reason with you! Dare to ask the envoy, the puppet emperor Ma Jian claims to be the emperor of Nancheng, where does this Nancheng come from?"

"The big stuff is falling apart, and the royal family is dark. For the sake of the common people in the world, Your Majesty will take on the responsibility of Dacheng Jiangshan Sheji!" Liu Li replied.

"Oh! You say that the Dacheng royal family is dark? I, Empress Yuanxi of Huaguo, was originally a princess of Dacheng, an orthodox royal family! If you want to inherit the Dacheng country, what is the matter with Ma Jian?" Chu Wenxiu asked loudly.

Liu Li said with a smile: "Since ancient times, I have never heard of a woman sitting for the emperor. This is the Chicken Si Chenye!"

"Since ancient times, I have never heard that women are not allowed to sit for the emperor!" Chu Wenxiu said, "If the envoy can find out which emperor has this ban, this official will bow down!"

"This ......" Liu Li was choked up for a moment, and immediately replied, "Since ancient times, men have sat in the country, and this is the usual ethics!"

"Can there be a ban on women from ascending the throne?"

"This ......"

"Your Majesty Yuan Xi is the blood of the orthodox royal family, and Ma Jian is a pariah who dares to speak out and be ashamed, and he actually wants to rob me of Dacheng?!" Chu Wenxiu scolded sharply.

Liu Li's face was red, and he didn't know how to respond.