Yang Yinglong didn't hide anything from Tian Xiufeng. He said whatever he needed to say.
"Sun Shitai betrayed my trust, so I put him under house arrest. But the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong. What he said seemed to make sense. The Emperor is not simple and has seen much of the world. I can't underestimate him just because he is young. This is the founding Emperor. Do you think I should withdraw my troops and submit a petition to ask for forgiveness?"
Yang Yinglong looked at Tian Xiufeng hesitantly.
Tian Xiufeng wasn't young anymore. She wasn't as jealous as she was when she was young. She just wanted to stand out.
After the sudden changes in the past few years, she was more or less frightened. She just wanted to live a peaceful life. Who would have thought that such a big thing would happen? She didn't want to suffer anymore. The outside world was tense, and she had sources of information. Her two brothers often sent her news.
"Husband, I think it's better to submit a petition to ask for forgiveness. The Qin Emperor knows the strength of Bozhou and won't force us blindly. If he forces us into a corner, an army of a hundred thousand is no joke. Even the powerful Emperor Taizu of the previous dynasty had to show his kindness to the ancestors, let alone this little baby emperor."
Yang Yinglong looked distressed.
"What a woman! A little baby emperor? He was the same age as Emperor Taizong. Do you dare to say that Emperor Taizong was a little baby emperor? Xiao Ruxun was known as the number one general of the previous Ming Dynasty. He had never lost a battle. From the Northern Barbarians to the Japanese pirates to the southern barbarians to the Francois, when was he ever defeated?
Such a person as the Emperor is indeed much more difficult to deal with than the previous Emperor. Look at him changing officials, and the army pressing on. He doesn't look like a pushover at all. If we really provoke him, he might even dare to attack us. He has even replaced the Ming Emperor. What is there to be afraid of? "
Tian Xiufeng looked troubled.
"So, we should submit a petition to ask for forgiveness and explain things clearly. Shouldn't we ask for peace?"
"Peace? I had a lot of grudges with the local officials in the previous dynasty. Now that there is a new group of people, we don't have a good relationship. It's good enough that they don't make trouble for me. How can I expect peace? Is it useful to write an apology form at this time? "
Yang Yinglong seemed a little reluctant.
"It doesn't matter if it's effective or not, we still have to write it. Right now, we're still his subjects in name, and we can't meet on the battlefield until the very last moment. Why don't we write a letter of apology and hand it over to resolve the misunderstanding? Then, we can continue to be the King of Bozhou. Isn't that good?"
Yang Yinglong frowned as he pondered.
"But since a few years ago, for some reason, it's not easy to sell our goods here. Our expenses are high, and our income is low. There are so many mouths waiting for me to feed them. If we don't have money, we'll starve to death in this deep mountain forest. That's why I brought people to rob everywhere. You say it's easy, but what are we going to eat?"
"Let the emperor handle it! We've already become his subjects, so why doesn't he give us some benefits? For example, helping us sell wood, paint, lead, and so on. This way, we can avoid the disaster of war, avoid mutual suspicion, and continue to make money. Isn't that great? "
Tian Xiufeng hurriedly suggested to Yang Yinglong.
Yang Yinglong thought about it again and again, but he also felt uncertain. After some thought, he still wrote a letter of apology and handed it over to the Sichuan Inspector-General's yamen.
Wang Xiangqian was busy arranging the transportation of provisions when he suddenly found out that Yang Yinglong had sent someone to deliver a letter of apology to the yamen. When he saw it, he couldn't help but find it very funny. At this juncture, he's only planning to beg for mercy?
Dream on!
The army is ready, the battle plan has already been drafted, and it has been sent to the generals of the various armies. Everyone is rubbing their palms in anticipation of a good battle to earn some military merits. You want a letter of apology to make the army of a hundred thousand to stop fighting, and you even want to find a way to sell wood for you? Aren't you dreaming a little too much?
The current emperor is not the previous emperor. Now, he's determined to act against you. Your fate has already been decided, so what's the point of struggling?
Taking ten thousand steps back, even if the emperor is willing, will the army of a hundred thousand be willing? Seeing the fat meat that's right in front of their mouths disappear, do you think the emperor doesn't care about what they think?
Compared to you, Yang Yinglong, the emperor cares more about what the army thinks.
Wang Xiangqian didn't know how to say these words, and he didn't want to waste his breath. At this juncture, there was no point. So, he sent his messenger back and said that he had to write a memorial to the emperor. As for the rest of the matter, he would wait for His Majesty the Emperor to respond before speaking with Yang Yinglong.
When Yang Yinglong heard this news, he was confused. He didn't know what Wang Xiangqian meant, but when he heard the messenger say that many grain carts were heading east of Chengdu, he didn't know what they were doing. Immediately, Yang Yinglong became alert.
Grain carts?
A frightening conjecture appeared, but he still didn't dare to believe it.
He decided to send scouts out to discuss the situation before making a plan.
However, just in case, he still sent someone to find his subordinates to discuss it together. But this group of people couldn't come up with a good plan no matter how they discussed it. Hearing this, Yang Yinglong's head became dizzy. He increasingly missed the carefree feeling when he discussed military discipline with Sun Shitai.
But not long after, he had no choice but to go find him. Wasn't this the same as slapping his own face?
This kind of thing couldn't be done.
Yang Yinglong rejected the idea of asking Sun Shitai for advice.
In the end, someone suggested to prepare for a rainy day. Why don't we go find the other chiefs to discuss it? We are all in the same boat. If the imperial court really wants to do something to us, we can work together and force the imperial court to back down, right?
Although there were many conflicts between the An, Song, Tian, and Yang families, they were still united when facing the imperial court.
Yang Yinglong felt that this was a good idea, so he immediately sent someone to write a letter to the other three clans. He wanted to sound them out and inquire about their thoughts. He wanted to form an offensive and defensive alliance so that Xiao Ruxun could see the combined strength of the chieftains and back off.
However, his actions and thoughts were quickly discovered by Black Water's spy and sent out. After Wang Xiangqian learned of it, his expression turned grave. He immediately arranged for this matter to be sent back to the capital by express route. He wanted the emperor to know and ask him to consider it carefully.
If the other three families were to get involved, it would be bad.
Wang Xiangqian did not know how great Xiao Ruxun's determination was. Otherwise, for a mere Bozhou, even if there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers, he wouldn't have mobilized 160,000 elites to fight. Wang Xiangqian had underestimated the combat prowess of the Qin army.
Half a month later, Xiao Ruxun received an urgent message from Black Water in the capital. When he heard the news, he immediately felt very happy.
Just when he was about to sleep, someone sent him a pillow. This gave him an excuse to deal with the other three families.
The other three families probably wouldn't agree to Yang Yinglong's request because they had their own concerns. They weren't stupid. If they really went against the imperial court, it would be a public provocation. When the emperor was angry, they didn't know what methods he would use to deal with them.
Even if they just cut off all trade on the surface, it would be enough to make them suffer.
However, it was hard to guarantee that they wouldn't play some tricks in private. These little tricks would be the evidence of trouble after killing Yang Yinglong.
Black Water's infiltration was not only in Bozhou. The other three families' territories were also filled with Black Water's spy.
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