At this time, Li Hongji was disappointed, this former old friend, thought that he could consider it from his own position, how could he also come to persuade peace?

This time he finally led the army to go on the expedition, and if he really returned south without the size of the credit, he was afraid that his situation would be even more difficult after returning to China, and the younger brother who had been obscure for a long time was probably going to be happy......

Li Hongji just wanted to speak, but saw Meng Wat continue: "The Northern Expedition army was defeated under the city of Xuzhou, and Jiangbei rebelled again. Now our army is tired and isolated, and the Zhou army is in full swing, and the Northern Expedition is no longer possible! His Royal Highness is His Majesty's own son, and he must not be trapped in the Zhou Kingdom! ......”

Li Hongji said coldly: "Meng Tingshi, this Northern Expedition army is in vain, since this king has led troops to help, if he does not continue to fight, he will not live up to his father's expectations!" Besides, I, the king of the Tang Dynasty, where the destiny of heaven lies, how can I easily make peace with the northern kingdom because of a temporary setback? Meng Tingshi, there is no need to persuade him, unless his father decrees it, this king-"

Meng Wat interrupted directly: "Okay, since His Highness wants to fight, why has my army been moving to Xiapi City for a long time, without fighting or retreating?" Do you really have to wait for Your Majesty's will to come before making a decision? Although the subordinate officer does not understand military affairs, he also knows that fighters are changing rapidly!

Xiaguan went all the way north to this point, only to learn that Suzhou and other places had already been recovered by the Zhou army, and now this Picheng is a real lonely city, that Zhou Emperor Guo Wei is on a personal expedition, and if it is delayed like this, when the main force of the Zhou army goes south, it will be too late!

Your Highness, please make a quick decision! Whether it is war or peace, there must be no further delay! ”

Li Hongji was silent for a moment, how could he not know the truth of what Meng Wat said? The longer it dragged on in this Picheng, the more critical the situation became, and then he said angrily: "Do you think this king is delaying? This king has long wanted to go out of the city to fight a decisive battle with the Zhou army, but he is just helpless! ”

The helplessness of His Royal Highness King Yan, Meng Wat has long been clear, not to mention the two diametrically opposite contents of Chen Jue and Li Hongji, it can be seen from Liu Yanzhen's playful expression at this time.

But he also understands that Li Hongji is eager to make meritorious contributions, how can he allow himself to return without merit?

The atmosphere in the lobby was anxious, and sure enough, Liu Yanzhen also took the opportunity to jump out and lead several generals to speak: "What Meng Tingshi said is reasonable!" Please Your Highness immediately send an envoy to Zhou to negotiate peace! ”

Unexpectedly, Meng Hu's eyes suddenly sharpened: "At this time, it is impossible to negotiate peace!" ”

This Haozhou assassin turned too fast, including Li Hongji, the king of Yan, and all the generals present looked at each other at this time.

An adjutant general asked suspiciously, "Meng Tingshi, aren't you here to persuade His Highness to return south?" Isn't it impossible to delay? How is it unnegotiable! What do you mean? ”

At this time, Li Hongji couldn't help blinking his eyes, and didn't speak, just picked up the teacup and drank it all.

Meng Wat said in a deep voice: "The lower official is indeed here to persuade His Highness to return south!" But my Northern Expedition army was defeated, Xiapi was already an isolated city, and now there is a rebellion in Shouzhou, and when I am in trouble at home and abroad in the Tang Dynasty, the situation has been extremely favorable to the Zhou State!

Xuzhou was defeated before, and the Zhou army had already looked down on our army, and at this moment sent an envoy to sue for peace, how could the Zhou army easily agree? Perhaps extremely harsh and even humiliating conditions will be put forward! That's the sum of shame! Now that Your Majesty has no will, are you going to fall into injustice with Your Highness? ”

Li Hongji hurriedly asked, "What does Meng Tingshi mean?" ”

"Fight! Fight for peace! ”

Meng Wat straightened up, pointed to a general on the right and said loudly: "Xia Guan originally thought that my army was exhausted and unbearable to fight again!" But before entering the city today, Xia Guan witnessed this general Zhou Xingfeng leading the army to attack the Zhou camp, and the Zhou army was defeated several times in a row! It's a pity that the number of people on this trip was too small, so I had to retreat to the city!

Ladies and gentlemen, outside the city, there is only one division of the Zhou army, and my Northern Expedition army is the elite of the country, and it obviously has the strength to fight, why not attack with the whole army? If you want to make peace, you must fight first! Only by striking hard at the Zhou army, so that they do not dare to despise my Tang Dynasty Wang Shi, and then talk about peace talks! ”

Li Hongji didn't say a word, and sank his mind and looked around at the top of the room.

And Liu Yanzhen shook her head disdainfully, and laughed softly: "Meng Tingshi, you are too naïve to think about it!" How can it be so easy to fight, how can you allow you to talk on paper at this time? And I ask you, what if you lose this battle?

Zhou Tongjun just won by luck, now that our army has lost more than half, the army's spirit has long been floating, if you rush to war, resulting in the annihilation of the whole army, can you afford this responsibility?! ”

Meng Wat replied violently: "The whole army is annihilated? Won't it take a few days here to wipe out the army? Before you say war, you will lose first! Under the city of Xuzhou, Liu Tongjun was defeated unjustly! ”

"You!" Liu Yanzhen's face turned red, and she said angrily: "This is not your Haozhou!" This is the front line! A civil official, how dare to make a big statement here? Let me ask you again, even if the war is won, what if Zhou Jun is unwilling to negotiate peace with us? If we provoke them and send reinforcements to arrive, won't our army be even more dangerous? ”

"If Zhou Guo could send reinforcements to arrive, Xiapi City would have been broken a long time ago! Why can't Liu Tongjun see the situation clearly? Now that the emperor of the Zhou State is personally conquering Yanzhou, why not Xuzhou? That's because our army has been treated as nothing by the Zhou army!

Moreover, our army is an external enemy to the Zhou State, and Murong Yanchao is an internal trouble, and the Zhou State is also in internal and external troubles! At this time, Murong Yanchao has been holding out for several months, if our army can take it by surprise and fight a victory echoing from afar, the situation will definitely be reversed, doesn't Liu Tongjun understand? ”

Seeing that the debate between Meng Wat and Liu Yanzhen gradually turned into a dispute between the two groups of generals, although Li Hongji was silent, he thought about it at the moment. Maybe Meng Wat was wrong, because he undoubtedly gave himself the best answer.

In the current situation, it is indeed impossible to continue the Northern Expedition, but it is unwilling to return in vain. If you can win a victory, you will not be in vain, and you may be able to get out of the way later.

But if they want to fight, they will return to the original question: how could Chen Jue and Liu Yanzhen hand over their military power so easily......

At this time, I heard Meng Hu say loudly in a hurry: "Everyone, the defeat under the city of Xuzhou is irreparable, and the Northern Expedition cannot continue, anyway, it is all about making peace with the Zhou State, but seeking peace in shame or seeking peace by war, it is the same peace, but it is very different!" What Your Majesty will think of it at that time, please think about it!

The will of the court can't wait any longer, and if it drags on any longer, it will be a dead end! Seeking peace in shame is also a dead end after returning to the dynasty! Only by seeking peace through war is the way to survive! The Zhou army outside the city is just a partial division, do all the generals think that they are inferior to the Zhou army? ”

The dispute between the generals in the hall came to an abrupt end, and Meng Wat's very fanning remarks did play a great role.

Some generals who were negative because of the fiasco had previously supported Chen Jue and Liu Yanzhen's peace strategy of avoiding war and waiting for the emperor's order, but at this time they seemed to have begun to fall to Meng Hu's side and stopped talking.

It's not that these generals fully understand Meng Hu's intentions, since the defeat in Xuzhou, the army's morale has long been weakened, and they don't want to continue the Northern Expedition at all, so they obey the military orders of the commander Chen Jue and honestly wait for the arrival of the imperial court's will.

But why don't they want to end the difficult days in Xia Pi City as soon as possible? According to what Meng Wat said, anyway, seeking peace through war is ultimately peace, and it does not seem to go against the will of coach Chen Jue. The key is that after returning to the dynasty, maybe the emperor can really open the net!

No anti-theft

As for winning or losing, Zhou Xingfeng has led his troops out of the city many times in recent days, and it seems that he often wins, and they all see this.

Meng Wat has already spoken out, no matter how negative these generals are, they also consider themselves to be one of the most elite generals in the Southern Tang Dynasty, how can they really make people think that they are not as good as a general?

Seeing that many generals began to grit their teeth, Meng Wat nodded secretly, and then looked at Li Hongji: "I don't know the suggestion of the lower officials, what is Your Highness's opinion?" ”

"Very good!" Li Hongji replied crisply.

Liu Yanzhen saw that the faces of the surrounding generals changed one by one, and hurriedly spoke: "Your Highness, the last general thinks that you still have to discuss with Chen Envoy first!" It's a pity that Chen Xiangxiang is now sick ......"

Seeing that most of the generals seemed to be shaken in their minds, at the critical moment, Li Hongji finally made up his mind and said in a loud voice: "Zhou Xingfeng!" ”

Zhou Xingfeng, who had been standing on the right side for a long time, walked out quickly with his sword in his hand, and replied loudly: "The end will be!" ”

"I order you to lead 3,000 crane armor soldiers to the Shenwu Army camp immediately, and invite Chen Envoy to come, just say that this king has something important to discuss with him!"

Seeing that His Royal Highness King Yan seemed to be about to move, Liu Yanzhen interjected in a panic: "Your Highness, no, now Chen Envoy is seriously ill——"

Li Hongji didn't pay attention, but walked up to Zhou Xingfeng and said meaningfully: "If Chen Envoy is seriously ill, then bring him over!" If you can't bring it back, you don't have to come back to see this king! ”

"The last general commands!"

Seeing Zhou Xingfeng striding out of the lobby, everyone present changed color.

At this time, Liu Yanzhen knew that the situation had changed, so she couldn't help gritting her teeth and whispering a few words, leading seven or eight henchmen behind her and about to leave under an excuse, when Li Hongji suddenly raised his hand, and in an instant, hundreds of soldiers with sharp blades poured into the hall.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this matter is about the fortune of the Tang Dynasty! This king has no choice but to offend! ”