After leaving Yanming Lake, Ning Que did not go to the palace directly. Instead, he went to the Building of Pines and Cranes for a drink. He did not drink much, and then he took a walk along Vermilion Bird Avenue. He did not walk far, letting the spring rain fall on his head, face, and body. Fortunately, the spring rain was gentle and his clothes were not very wet.
He gradually calmed down and accepted the infuriating changes of the situation for the Tang Empire and the Academy. He came to Sanyuanli.
His neighbors were preparing dinner. The smell of cooking oil mixed with the smell of burning firewood. It smelled good and made him feel calmer.
He stood at the stone steps in front of the courtyard and waited. After a while, the door of the courtyard was opened with a squeak. Second Brother walked out, and then there was a squeak in the night.
Ning Que bowed to the night and the stone steps and said, "The Drunkard and Haotian must have been promised by Haotian that they could live forever with self-consciousness. That's why they chose to obey."
Jun Mo said, "They can't survive the second Everlasting Night. That's their biggest fear."
Someone in the courtyard lit up the street. The night faded and two wheelchairs appeared.
Yu Lian said, "The Kingdom of Haotian will never allow self-consciousness to exist."
Jun Mo said, "The wisdom of a coward is no match for the stupidity of a brave man."
Eldest Brother did not participate in the discussion of his Younger Brothers and Sisters. He looked at the night sky quietly, at the bright moon behind the rain clouds, as if he was looking at the Kingdom of Haotian that would never return.
Jun Mo looked at Ning Que and said, "Sometimes anger can bring courage, but most of the time it is meaningless."
Yu Lian looked at Ning Que and said, "Now that you have calmed down, let's continue."
Ning Que understood what his Senior Brother and Senior Sister meant and asked, "How?"
Yu Lian said, "You can talk however you want."
Ning Que recalled that he and the Empress had said something similar and looked a little bitter.
Eldest Brother withdrew his gaze from the night sky and looked at him with a smile. "Little Brother, do your best, okay?"
…
…
It was very quiet in the main hall. Even the light from the candles seemed a little cold. All the eunuchs and palace maids were isolated far away. Only the Empress and Ning Que were in front of the table.
The Empress looked at the letter with a yellow cover on the table and did not speak. Ning Que looked at the summary dossier of the West-Hill Divine Palace's diplomatic corps and remained silent. However, he could not remain silent forever.
"Are there really cultivators who have survived the Everlasting Night?"
The Empress looked at Ning Que and asked. She still found it unbelievable.
Ning Que thought for a while and said, "A sage appears every thousand years. The Drunkard and the Butcher have been cultivating in the world for thousands of years. Even though he did not show his divinity outside the city, his state must be beyond the imagination of most ordinary people. In other words, worldly martial arts means nothing to him."
The Empress frowned slightly and asked, "Who is stronger, the Drunkard or the Abbey Dean?"
Ning Que thought for a while and said, "The Drunkard may be in a higher state, but his strength is not as strong as the Abbey Dean."
The Empress was puzzled and asked, "Why is it like this?"
"He and the Butcher have been walking in the darkness for countless years. Both their bodies and bodies have decayed. The Abbey Dean has always been walking in the light. With the departure of the Headmaster, he has reached his peak."
Ning Que said, "If either the Drunkard or the Butcher dares to walk into Chang 'an, I have seventy percent confidence to kill them. Even if they enter Chang' an together, I still have ten percent confidence."
The Empress said, "Ten percent confidence is basically the same as no confidence at all."
Ning Que said, "If it were other cultivators, it would be correct. But since they are facing the Drunkard and the Butcher, ten percent confidence is a hundred percent confidence because they are afraid of death."
The Empress said, "How can a Grand Cultivator with such an unfathomable state not see through life and death?"
"The Headmaster once said that cultivation is about time. The longer you live, the more powerful you will be. But the longer you live, the more afraid you will be of death. Eternal life is the greatest temptation, and death is the greatest fear."
Ning Que said, "The Drunkard and the Butcher are two such people. That is why they surrendered to Haotian. And it is also because of this that they dare not step into Chang 'an."
The Empress' eyes brightened and said, "Then outside the city?"
"If the two Senior Brothers and Senior Sister are in their peak state, maybe we can give it a try."
Ning Que thought of the flagon swaying in the spring breeze. He shook his head and said, "The problem now is that maybe no one can find or catch up with the two."
The light in the Empress' eyes gradually faded and she said, "That means the Drunkard and the Butcher are two big knives hanging over the Tang people's heads, and they can fall at any time."
Ning Que said, "The West-Hill Divine Palace dares to make these conditions because of this."
The Empress looked at the briefing file on the table and said after a moment of silence, "The existence of the Drunkard and the Butcher must be a secret. No one can know about it."
Ning Que understood what the Empress meant.
The Tang Empire had just come out of desperation. The people's confidence was gradually recovering, and the morale of the army was high. The Southern Battlefront Army had fought so hard, but they still refused to completely block the Verdant Canyon, because everyone was waiting for the day to counterattack.
If the Tang people knew about the existence of the Drunkard and the Butcher, their morale would definitely be seriously affected. A war without the possibility of counterattack would be endless torture for everyone.
Ning Que looked into the Empress' eyes and said, "How do the imperial court and the Academy explain the agreement with the West-Hill Divine Palace? The land ceded by the Tang Empire and the war reparations will definitely be known by people. "
The Empress smiled and said, "Humiliation brings courage and anger. If there is a way to release the anger, then the purest courage will be left."
Ning Que felt that the Empress's smile was beautiful, but somehow he felt cold. How could he let the Tang people and people completely release the anger brought by the humiliation of the agreement?
He didn't want to think further, and he felt that he was thinking too much.
"The people can hide it for the time being, but the ministers in the court must know the truth. The Academy doesn't want the court to fall into chaos again because of this. Since they are supported by the people, they should bear the mental pressure for the people at this time."
The Empress thought for a while and agreed with him. She rang the little golden bell on the table.
It didn't take long for more than ten of the most important ministers to come to the Night Hall.
The ministers were a little tired after entering the palace in the middle of the night. But thinking that the palace was urging them so urgently, they were afraid that the war in the Northern Borderline had started again, or the negotiation with the West-Hill Divine Palace had gone wrong. They didn't dare to be negligent.
Even though they had thought that the situation was very bad, they still didn't expect that the news waiting for them in the palace would be so terrible. For a moment, the Night Hall was silent.
"We can agree to any other conditions …"
A tired voice sounded in the hall. It was General Shu Cheng who had just returned to Chang 'an.
The expression of the general was very sorrowful because he knew that this treaty would be an indelible humiliation for the Tang Empire. Every single one of those conditions was like a thorn whipping his heart.
But those conditions could be agreed to. Under such a serious situation, the Tang Empire had no other choice. But one of the conditions proposed by the West-Hill Divine Palace was unacceptable.
He looked at the Empress and Ning Que and said word by word, "We can't give up the Xiangwan Plain."
…
…
The Western Army of the Tang Empire withdrew from the Pamir Mountains and most of them joined the Northern Army under the command of General Xu Chi. They were prepared for the possible war with the Golden Tribe cavalry in late spring. General Shu Cheng returned to Chang 'an so that Xu Chi could lead the two armies. At the same time, the Military Ministry of Chang' an needed a powerful general. He objected to the ceding of the Xiangwan Plain not because the military couldn't bear the humiliation, but because of the importance of the Xiangwan Plain.
The Xiangwan Plain was located in the south of the Seven Stockaded Villages in the Northern Borderline of the Tang Empire. It was a natural grassland that stretched for thousands of miles. It was the most suitable place for raising horses, and it was also the main source of the Tang Empire's warhorses.
One of the important reasons why the Tang Empire's cavalry could dominate the world was that the Xiangwan Plain had been providing the best warhorses for thousands of years.
The most important condition of the West-Hill Divine Palace's negotiation was to cede the Xiangwan Plain on behalf of the Golden Tribe Royal Court, which was absolutely unacceptable to the Tang Empire.
Last autumn, the Golden Tribe Royal Court's cavalry invaded the south like a pack of wolves. The Tang Empire's internal strife was still ongoing. The cavalry that followed His Majesty to the Wilderness was trapped in Helan City. The Northern Army was seriously unprepared and the Seven Stockaded Villages were defeated one after another. However, even under such a serious situation, General Xu Chi never thought of retreating. The Northern Army paid an unimaginable price and finally stopped the Golden Tribe cavalry from advancing a hundred miles to the south of the Seven Stockaded Villages.
Why? Because the Tang Empire had to keep the Xiangwan Plain. The horse farm was the foundation of the Tang Empire's prosperity for thousands of years. It was the foundation of the Tang Empire's army. It could even be said that the Xiangwan Plain was the Tang Empire.
The Golden Tribe Royal Court's cavalry was the Tang Empire's greatest enemy. If the Xiangwan Plain was ceded, the Golden Tribe Royal Court would definitely become more powerful, and the Tang Empire would become weaker.
A civil official said in confusion, "Compared to ceding Dongshan County, this grassland is nothing. Even if we lose some warhorses, we can always get them back from the Golden Tribe in the future."
Even at this moment, the officials of the Tang Empire still had a strong sense of optimism and confidence.
Shu Cheng said coldly, "The Divine Halls of West-Hill want us to pay for the warhorses and cede the Xiangwan Plain. In the future, even if the Tang Empire has good armors and weapons, it will have no mounts. How can we get them back? Since they have made such a plan, they will not leave any loopholes. They are trying to destroy the foundation of the Tang Empire. "
He was most worried that the Empress and the Academy did not understand the importance of the Xiangwan Plain. He looked at Ning Que and said sternly, "If we cede the Xiangwan Plain to the Golden Tribe Royal Court, the Tang Empire will not be far from being destroyed!"
The Empress looked at Ning Que and said, "If we cede the Xiangwan Plain, the Tang Empire will not be able to recover within a hundred years. The Divine Halls of West-Hill must be aware of this. That's why they made such a request."
Ning Que looked at the files on the table and did not make a decision for a long time.
…
…
(There is a chapter of 2,000 words left. Try to finish it before half past two.) (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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