Yun Xuan's voice had the desolation of a hero past his prime. "Brother Wen, do we have a choice?"
He sat down dejectedly on the stone bench and said sadly, "If Yang Fan is not dead, the Imperial Court will definitely know the truth. You do not need to deny it. Just look at Huang Jingrong's attitude of wanting to kill that Yang Fan. As long as this person is alive, he will definitely ruin his plans. What does it mean for the Imperial Court to know the truth? "
He raised his head to look at Wen Hao and said in despair, "This means that you and I have no one to rely on. No reinforcements will come, no one will stand up for us. What else can you and I do?"
Those with ambition did not necessarily have the corresponding courage and talent. Some people with ambition succeeded, but even more people with ambition had no talent, harming others and themselves in the end. Yun Xuan was precisely such a person. At the beginning, Wen Hao had been hesitant about using the power of the Imperial Court to force the Black and White Man to rebel. It was Yun Xuan who had persisted. Now that the situation was not good, he was the first to regret his cowardice.
Wen Hao said sadly, "At the beginning, I did not want to respond, but you were stubborn. Now that we have lowered our heads, other than being deserted by our own people, what else can we do? "
Yun Xuan heard his hesitation and his eyes lit up. "How can there not be? If we admit defeat now, we can at least preserve our strength. That way, even if you and I do not have a chance to replace him, what about our sons? Grandchildren? In a few hundred years, who will remember what you and I have done today? What we are fighting for is not our momentary glory and glory, but whose family will become the strongest power in Yao Province in the future.
If we do not agree to their conditions, once our elites are eaten up by them, do you think the other tribes will not follow suit and swallow us up? If Xun Qi and Meng Zhe Zhu are not good enough, they can go to Tubo or Nanzhao. What about us? They are a barrier outside of us. We cannot borrow the power of any one of them. We are finished! "
Wen Hao heavily punched the stone table. Blood seeped out of his hand, but he did not seem to feel it at all. Right now, he was extremely regretful. Regret was like a venomous snake biting at his heart.
Yun Xuan jumped in fright at his actions. After a moment of hesitation, he said in a low voice, "If … you really do not agree to let us kill him, then how about we hand him over?"
Wen Hao said in a deep voice, "What's the difference between this and us killing him with our own hands?"
Yun Xuan's eyelids drooped as he thought gloomily. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and said excitedly, "I've got it! I have a plan that will allow us to satisfy their demands without causing our reputations to be ruined! "
Wen Hao said, "What is it? Tell me."
Yun Xuan stood up excitedly and told Wen Hao his idea. Wen Hao's eyes lit up when he heard it, and he happily said, "This plan seems feasible!"
Huang Jingrong was standing behind the wall of trees, listening to the two of them discussing how to kill him. He was so angry that he felt like his liver was going to explode. He clenched his fists and wanted to jump out and scold them, but before he could take a step, he suddenly remembered that he had been abandoned by the two of them. This was not the time for him to show his power. If he jumped out, he was afraid that the two of them would kill him.
Huang Jingrong rolled her eyes, gritted her teeth, and quietly retreated to the backyard …
…
Normally, when attacking a city, other than working together from the inside and launching sneak attacks, there was nothing more than burning with fire, splashing with water, collapsing the city walls through the expansion and contraction of heat, digging deep holes in the ground to sneak into the city, or using scaling ladders and ramming logs. But in this mountain, all of these methods were useless. The main thing was to fight, charge, and countercharge.
It was just that because the terrain was different, it was impossible to carry out a large-scale battle, so the scale of the battle was relatively small. But to these soldiers, such a battle was unprecedentedly intense. Arrows flew in all directions, bamboo javelins were tossed out as if they were worthless, and the rocks they casually grabbed could be used as weapons. Every single step forward was a path of blood opened up with their bodies of flesh and blood.
There was no military discipline here, and there was no order to advance or retreat. No matter if it was attacking or retreating, the orders could not be made clear. The entire battle was spread out over the mountains and plains. Often, after an order was given here, it would take a long time before the soldiers scattered in the mountains, bushes, and forests understood the intentions of their commander through the reactions of others.
Especially for the individual soldiers scattered in the jungle, their environment was even more dangerous. The battle between them was not extremely bloody and heroic, but it always kept people in a state of tension. You didn't know whether an arrow would suddenly be shot from the bushes, whether a bamboo spear would suddenly be thrown from a tree, whether a hole full of bamboo thorns would suddenly collapse, and you couldn't be sure whether a group of enemies would suddenly appear out of nowhere.
This kind of battle, where one had to keep one's spirit at all times, was more torturous than the battle on the battlefield, where one could clearly distinguish between the enemy and one's own side, and it was easier for people to collapse. Many people became nervous because of this. Their comrades were killed by various insidious killing methods, and they were full of anger. Even if they suddenly encountered a small group of enemies, they would rather abandon their weapons and surrender to kill them all.
On the rugged mountain path, there were countless corpses. Some had purple faces and bulging eyes because they had been hit by poisoned arrows. Some had been pierced by bamboo spears, but because of the support of the bamboo spears, their bodies were still bent over. Some had been hacked to death by swords, and some had their brains split open in a scuffle. The hands of the deceased were still tightly gripping stones stained with red and white substances … even those who were used to seeing death were shocked when they saw this.
Wen Hao had sent out another messenger. This battle could not continue. If they continued, the Black and White Barbarians would suffer heavy casualties, but the morale of the soldiers was low, and the mountain stronghold lacked food and reinforcements.
The messenger waved a white flag and descended the mountain. Although the soldiers were already in a killing frenzy, they still maintained a shred of clarity when faced with the messenger who waved the white flag and did not attack them. Very quickly, a small leader discovered the situation and sent a few bodyguards to escort them down the mountain. However, the battle on the slope continued …
… …
When Xunqi heard the messenger's words, he could not help but laugh. "Hahahaha, Wen Hao and Yun Xuan have really embarrassed the men of Yaozhou. How could they think of such a method?"
Wen Hao's messenger's face alternated between red and white. This shameless idea had indeed come from his master, and he could not refute it.
Meng Zhe Zhu tapped his fingers lightly on the table and said with a faint smile, "Wonderful! Wonderful! First, let the two sides formally negotiate, then have us capture and kill Huang Jingrong. In this way, Huang Jingrong's death will at most be because they did not protect her well. However, the negotiations were already agreed upon by the four tribes, and it concerns the interests of the four tribes. The death of an outsider like Huang Jingrong will naturally not affect the negotiations. This is Wen Hao and Yun Xuan's decision to look at the big picture. It seems like we are the ones who seek revenge for the smallest grievance. "
Xunqi's face darkened and he shouted, "Wishful thinking! We will not agree! Go back and tell Wen Hao that if he wants to surrender, then surrender. Don't be so wishy-washy. Huang Jingrong is the main culprit behind the war between the four tribes, and she must be handed over! Otherwise, we can only fight to the death! "
"Wait!"
Yang Fan interrupted with a smile, "In order to extort money from Yao Prefecture, Huang Jingrong kidnapped the leader of Xunqi's tribe. In Yao Prefecture, in order to create trouble and gain favor from the imperial court, she also instigated the Wen and Yun Tribes to provoke the two Chieftains, inciting the war between the four tribes. It can be said that there are new and old grudges, personal hatred, and hatred for the tribes. Chieftain Xunqi killing her out of righteousness is not shameful. If the war continues, we are naturally not afraid, but so many brave warriors have already sacrificed their lives. Although the plans of Chieftains Wen and Yun are despicable, for the sake of the brave warriors of the tribes, why should the two Chieftains be calculative? Justice is in the hearts of the people! "
Meng Zhe Zhu said, "Hmm … since Imperial Envoy Yang has said so, I think there is no harm in agreeing to them."
The current Yang Fan was not the Yang Fan of the White River Stronghold. Now, the initiative was in his hands, and the outcome of the chaos in Yao Prefecture rested on his shoulders. His attitude would determine whether Yao Prefecture's future would be war or peace. Meng Zhe Zhu and Xunqi could not ignore his opinion.
"Alright, since Imperial Envoy Yang has said so …"
Xunqi glared at Wen Hao's messenger and said, "Why haven't you gone back and told your Chieftain to prepare early!"
"Yes, yes, yes!"
The messenger was overjoyed. The battle was still going on in the mountains, and with every moment they were delayed, who knew how many more people would die. His three sons were also warriors among them. Once he received the reply, he did not want to wait a moment longer. He hurriedly bowed to Yang Fan and the others, "Many thanks to the benevolent Imperial Envoy, many thanks to the magnanimous Chieftain Xunqi and Chieftain Zhe Zhu …"
Yang Fan smiled but did not say anything. If they continued to fight, Wen Hao and Yun Xuan would be crippled. Keeping these two ambitious people alive might not be a bad thing for the court, and it might also not be a bad thing for Xunqi and Zhe Zhu. The Black and White Man had already formed an alliance. Not only did they have the friendship of war, but they also had the relationship of father-in-law and son-in-law. If the third and fourth ranked tribes in Yao Prefecture were to fall, their territory and influence would definitely rise to another level. A person's ambition and desire would continuously grow along with their strength. At that time, it might be a bad thing for the court, the Black and White Man, or the White Man.
In the mountain stronghold, in the back garden of the Wen family's ancestral home, Huang Jingrong's face was green, and the muscles on his cheeks were tightly stretched. He looked at the two servants in front of him. These two were his attendants that he had brought with him from the capital. They were originally fierce and aggressive ruffians in the marketplace.
Huang Jingrong said, "This official has already said what needs to be said. Right now, we are grasshoppers on the same rope. I can't jump off, and you can't jump off. If we live, we live together. If we die, we die together. This is the result. The method that this official has just mentioned is the only way for us to survive. Have you two thought it through? Are you going to do it or not? "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
