The slender wooden stick, painted with red paint, kept moving on the silk military map, as if it was a torch that was about to ignite the map. The fire continued to spread across the Tang's territory.
After the great victory on the plateau, the Tang Western Army did not rest or return to help. Instead, they chose to cross the Pamir Mountains and go straight to Chaoyang City.
The army led by General Shu Cheng was alone in a foreign country. If they could finally conquer Chaoyang City and capture the Yuelun Royal Family, it would be of great strategic significance to the current tense situation.
Long Qing and the 2,000 cavalrymen were annihilated under the city of Chang 'an. The cavalrymen of the Wilderness were shocked and fearful. They lacked effective military command, so they could no longer pose much of a threat to the remnants of the Northeast Border Military and the Tang Army, which mainly consisted of the Volunteer Army. The situation at the Eastern Border was gradually stabilized and had entered the stage of clean-up.
The real threats were still in the North and the South. The Northern Battlefront Army had a lot of new soldiers and could even free the Gushan Commandery to help the Eastern Border. However, the Golden Palace had been preparing for decades to invade the East Border. The war was still extremely fierce, and the Tang Army was always in a passive state of defense. It was impossible to destroy the main force of the Golden Palace's cavalrymen in a short period of time, and then launch a large-scale counterattack.
The situation at the Verdant Canyon in the south was also very tense. The main force of the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army was made up of the South Jin Army, but its real strength was far more than that. Whether the Divine Hall Coalition Army attacked the Verdant Canyon or took a detour to the Eastern Border, it would bring great pressure to Chang 'an, and it was very likely that the war would be reversed again.
However, it was very puzzling that the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army's attack was much weaker than expected. Looking at the movement of the supplies, it seemed that they did not intend to take a detour to the North.
It was very quiet in the palace, and the ministers and generals were all very confused.
"What on earth is the Divine Hall thinking?"
Zeng Jing the Grand Secretary said, "Is it possible that the Divine Hall still wants to preserve their strength and wait for us and the Golden Palace to suffer losses before they really attack?"
"The Divine Hall wants to negotiate."
The Empress pointed to a letter on the table and said.
The letter was bright yellow, a color that only the West-Hill Divine Palace and the Tang Imperial Family were qualified to use.
The Empress's words made everyone in the hall speechless. No one could understand why the West-Hill Divine Palace would want to negotiate with them at this moment.
The hall became quiet again. No one spoke.
Even if the whole world were to attack the Tang Empire, the Tangs were not afraid. But the ministers and generals in the hall were not hot-blooded youths. The most valuable quality they had was calmness. As long as they calmed down, they would be able to clearly understand the difference in power between the Tang Empire and the whole world.
Whether it was population, resources, warhorses, or territory, the Great Tang was the strongest country in the world, but when compared to the rest of the world, it was undoubtedly at an absolute disadvantage.
Especially with the destruction of the Northeast Border Military in the capital of the Yan Kingdom, the blood of the Qinghe County navy dyed the Great Lake red, and the strength of the Tang Army suffered a heavy loss. Although the Academy and the imperial court had worked hard to temporarily alleviate the danger of the country's destruction, no one dared to say if the Tang Empire could continue to fight hard under the attack of the Golden Tribe Royal Court and the West-Hill Divine Palace Coalition Army from the north and the south, and no one dared to say how long the Tang Empire could last.
From a rational point of view, the West-Hill Divine Palace's proposal for peace was undoubtedly what the Tang Empire wanted to see the most. However, under such circumstances, the Tang Empire would definitely have to pay a great price. It was even possible to guess that the coalition army would definitely ask the Tang Empire to cede territory and pay compensation.
Since the founding of the Tang Empire a thousand years ago, the Tang Empire had always won every battle. No one had ever surrendered, let alone made an alliance. Could it be that they could no longer uphold the pride of their ancestors? If they were really forced to negotiate, who would do it? Who would dare to sign the document at the risk of being accused by the Tangs of betraying the country for glory?
That was the source of the silence in the hall.
The Empress said, "The ministers should discuss whether to negotiate or not and how to negotiate. In short, we should draw up a plan as soon as possible. We must be fast, because every day we delay will mean one more day of death."
…
…
In the imperial study, the Empress looked at the calligraphy sections that were not completely dry. She seemed to have thought of something. After a moment of silence, she said, "You heard it all."
Ning Que threw the pen into the water urn and wiped his hands with a piece of paper. He said, "Since the Divine Hall wants to negotiate, then we will accompany them. We can negotiate however we want, but we can't lose."
The Empress said, "Since we have the upper hand, if we are not willing to lose, the Divine Hall will definitely not agree. So since we want to negotiate, we must be prepared to lose."
Ning Que shook his head and said, "First of all, we have to understand why the Divine Hall suddenly wants to negotiate. You should know that the main force of the Divine Hall Coalition Army has not even fought a serious battle until today."
The Empress asked, "In your opinion, what is the reason for the Divine Hall's initiative to negotiate?"
There was a pot of freshly brewed rock tea on the desk and an exquisite tea set on the bookshelf. Ning Que took out the tea set and poured two small cups of tea. He pushed one cup to the Empress and drank the other one. Then he took out everything from the tea set box and put them into the delicately curved and beautiful tea tray.
The tea tray was like a sea and could hold countless tea sets.
Ning Que took the largest teapot from the tea tray and said, "Now we can confirm that the Abbey Dean has been crippled."
"So has the Hierarch."
He took a thin teaspoon from the tea tray and grabbed a few teacups with one hand. He continued, "The Great Divine Priest of Revelation, Master Qi Mei and Ye Su have also been crippled."
Finally, he tapped the wooden tube that contained the tea and said, "Liu Bai cut off Second Brother's right arm and Second Brother stabbed him in the chest. Liu Bai will not attack again in a short period of time."
Looking back at the magnificent war in the past few months, the Tang Army had fought bloody battles and ordinary people had risen up. But the real key was the battle between the powerhouses of the Academy and Haotian Taoism.
The Eldest Brother had held the Abbey Dean back for seven days, seriously injured Master Qi Mei in front of the Pamir Mountains and the Great Divine Priest of Revelation in front of the Verdant Canyon. The Second Brother had fought against several peerless powerhouses in front of the Verdant Canyon. He first defeated Ye Su and then injured Liu Bai. He had prevented the West-Hill Divine Palace Army from entering the Verdant Canyon with his fellow disciples. The Third Sister had crippled the Hierarch of the West-Hill Divine Palace and then joined forces with the Eldest Brother in Chang 'an to fight the Abbey Dean from the ground to the sky.
In addition to the God-stunning Array left by the Headmaster and the character written by Ning Que, Eldest Brother, Second Brother and Third Sister had directly changed the direction of the war.
"The Academy has indeed been crippled, but Haotian Taoism has paid a heavier price. I didn't expect that they would want to negotiate. I even feel that the news came a little late."
Ning Que looked at the Empress and said, "Now both sides need time to heal, so you don't have to worry about the Academy's attitude. You can negotiate as you like."
The Empress said, "Yes, time is in our favor."
Ning Que looked at the dim moon outside the window and said, "Maybe not."
The imperial study was silent. He and the Empress looked at the moon. They both knew that the key to the final outcome of the human world was on the moon in the night sky.
The Empress looked back at him and asked, "Does the Academy have any other opinions?"
"The Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters in the Back Mountain don't understand the political and military affairs, so they don't have any opinions for me to pass on to you. But I do have something to remind you."
"What is it?"
"If there is a way, please send a letter to the Pamir Mountains and ask General Shu Cheng to return."
Hearing this, the Empress raised her eyebrows and said, "According to the time, the Western Army will attack Chaoyang City and destroy Yuelun City in half a month. How can we ask them to give up now?"
"Chaoyang City must not be entered."
Ning Que thought of the peak under the Wilderness and the yellow temples among the peaks. He said, "The Academy and Taoism have both suffered great losses. I don't want someone like the Chief Preaching Monk to come to Chang 'an."
The Empress was from the Devil's Doctrine. Even though she had lived in the palace for a long time, she still knew about the legendary figures in the cultivation world. She understood Ning Que's fear and agreed.
She said, "The Military Ministry once had a plan to let the Western Army ignore Yuelun Kingdom and enter the Wilderness from the Pamir Mountains. They would try to find Chanyu's location when the main force of the Golden Tribe invades the south."
Ning Que thought of the Quagmire in the Wilderness and said, "This plan is too risky. It's better to give up. Let the Western Army withdraw from the Pamir Mountains and move to the Seven Stockaded Villages."
The Empress said, "Let's do it. But if the imperial court agrees to negotiate with the Divine Hall, the Divine Hall will definitely ask the Academy to negotiate. Will you or Mr. First show up then? "
"The Academy can't, at least not me."
Ning Que looked at the scattered teacups on the table and said, "If the Academy shows up, we won't regret it in the future. If I sign it, how can I kill people in the future?"
…
…
Chao Xiaoshu had been waiting for Ning Que in the duty room, waiting for him to leave the palace.
It suddenly began to snow in the night sky. Not long after, the square and the surrounding streets were covered with a thin layer of snow, which made the ground slippery. Chao Xiaoshu said, "The road is not easy to walk on. Let's have a drink first."
Ning Que nodded.
There was a soup shop at the end of the alley. It was already full of people. The easing of the war was quickly reflected in the lives of the people. However, the customers were not as noisy as usual.
Seeing that there were more customers, the shop owner moved tables and chairs outside the shop and asked if it was okay.
Chao Xiaoshu and Ning Que did not care. They began to eat the hot mutton giblets soup in the snow.
Before he raised his cup, Chao Xiaoshu suddenly asked, "What are you going to do with Li Yu?"
Ning Que was putting coriander into Chao Xiaoshu's bowl. Hearing this, he froze for a moment and then returned to normal. He said, "That's the Empress or the imperial court's business."
Chao Xiaoshu said, "I'm asking you."
Ning Que put down his chopsticks and looked at him. He said, "I remember that your relationship with her is very ordinary."
"After all, she is His Majesty's most beloved daughter."
After saying this, Chao Xiaoshu picked up the dipping sauce and put the fermented bean curd into Ning Que's bowl.
…
…
(I'm a little tired. I've written this chapter for a long time, but I won't collapse. I'll continue to write the next chapter, but it'll probably be written later. I have to go to work tomorrow to learn how to play * * *. I'll go to bed early. It'll be the same tomorrow.) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian.Com to vote for me. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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