Hearing these words, regardless of what they were feeling, everyone revealed joyful expressions. They stood up and raised their wine cups, drinking together with Xiao Ruxun.
Afterward, Xiao Ruxun clapped his hands, and a group of musicians entered the tent and began to play beautiful music.
"Today's banquet allows for wine, but there can be no women in the army, and there can't be any dance music for everyone. However, there is music. In the past, Confucius didn't eat meat for three months because of music. Today, we'll play along and carry on with this banquet!"
Xiao Ruxun said with a chuckle, causing the crowd to roar with laughter.
At the start of the banquet, the group of civil officials enjoyed the music while eating and drinking. They seemed to be very happy, but from time to time, they would whisper to each other and then glance at Xiao Ruxun. On the other hand, the generals seemed to be more relaxed and happy, eating and drinking with big mouthfuls of meat and bowls of wine.
After three rounds of wine, everyone was more or less done. They felt that they would get drunk if they continued drinking. Xiao Ruxun clapped his hands at an appropriate time, and soldiers came in to take away all the wine. The musicians also bowed and retreated.
"The battle has not ended yet. It's enough to drink a little. Don't get drunk."
Xiao Ruxun slowly said, "The crux of today's banquet is not to listen to music, eat, and drink, but to discuss how we should deal with the final obstacle before us. Shen Yicheng has closed all the gates of the capital and is guarding them. They can't come out, and we can't go in.
The capital's walls are tall, and attacking them by force is clearly not the best strategy. Moreover, there are many innocent people in the city, including His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. We cannot allow anything to happen to them, so we must discuss a safer method. "
After Xiao Ruxun finished speaking, everyone below had their own thoughts.
Li Rusong was the first to step forward.
"Commander-in-chief, as long as you say the word, Old Li will immediately lead the army into the capital and twist off Shen Yicheng's head!"
Li Rusong's words were very bold, and many generals immediately applauded him.
Zhao Hu seemed to agree with this idea.
"Commander, Commander Li is correct. Although the capital's walls are high, in the end, it's still just a city. Our army of two hundred thousand is well-trained and well-equipped. How can we not deal with a city? Even if we use the Red Barbarian Cannon to blast the city walls, we can still blast an exit! "
Zhao Hu's suggestion received even more cheers from the generals.
The officials kept quiet and looked at Xiao Ruxun.
As the head of the civil officials present, Ye Mengxiong naturally couldn't let this kind of thinking take over.
"Commander Li, General Zhao, it's fine to just talk about it, but don't actually do it. His Majesty and the Empress Dowager are in the capital, as well as more than a million civilians and many important facilities. We can't afford to lose any of these. Once the flames of war start, who knows how many losses will be incurred? Unless absolutely necessary, using troops to attack the city is the worst plan."
Yuan Huang also hurriedly said, "This old man agrees with Duke Ye's opinion. Using troops to attack the city is the worst plan, but attacking the heart is the best plan. If we can persuade Shen Yicheng to open the city and surrender, we can resolve the matter without resorting to weapons. Why do we have to make so many sacrifices?"
Xiao Ruxun laughed heartily.
"Hahaha, that's more like it! Can't all of you think about anything other than weapons, spears, swords, and halberds? The capital! What kind of place is the capital? As officials, can we attack the capital as we please? Moreover, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager are still trapped in the capital by traitors. With your attack, you've forced that traitor Shen into a dead end. What if he's driven to desperation? If something happens, which one of you can bear the responsibility? "
Seeing how Xiao Ruxun vetoed the generals' opinion to attack the city, Ye Mengxiong and Yuan Huang were gratified.
"Ji Xin, this old man has a suggestion."
Ye Mengxiong said.
"Duke Ye, please speak."
Xiao Ruxun smiled.
Ye Mengxiong slowly said, "This old man's suggestion is for this old man to personally enter the city and negotiate with Shen Yicheng. I want to persuade Shen Yicheng to open the city gates and end this war. This way, the army can resolve the matter without resorting to weapons. Isn't that perfect?"
"Duke Ye, you can't."
Xiao Ruxun solemnly shook his head and said, "I won't let this traitor Shen Yicheng go. I'll kill him. Even if I let His Majesty go, I won't let him go. This person forced the emperor to abdicate and he must die. At this moment, Duke Ye entering the city is equivalent to persuading him to hand over his life. Will he agree?
A cornered dog will jump over the wall, and a cornered rabbit will bite. Shen Yicheng is old, but in terms of sinister and ruthless, how can Duke Ye be his match? What if he uses Duke Ye as a bargaining chip to threaten me? What should I do? "
Ye Mengxiong hurriedly said, "Things have already come to this. Shen Yicheng should be aware of his own fate. At this moment, if we can persuade Shen Yicheng, this war can be ended. The people of Daming will no longer have to suffer from the chaos of war. They can live and work in peace. What's the point of my safety?"
"Duke Ye!"
Xiao Ruxun shook his head and said, "I understand Duke Ye's concern for the country and the people. But Duke Ye, Shen Yicheng isn't the only one in this city. Shen Yicheng is a traitor. How many of the civil and military officials in the imperial court would resist? They're all a bunch of rebellious officials!
Maybe Shen Yicheng is old and disheartened. It doesn't matter if he dies. But for some people, for their own power and lives, even if Shen Yicheng agrees, they won't agree. Shen Yicheng's reputation has declined. He's no longer the same as before. Whether Shen Yicheng is the one in charge or not, we don't know. "
Xiao Ruxun's words were reasonable. Ye Mengxiong and Yuan Huang were stunned. They looked at each other and hesitated. The civil and military officials also whispered to each other. They seemed to feel that what Xiao Ruxun said was very reasonable.
Yes, it was hard to say whether Shen Yicheng was the one in charge or not. If Shen Yicheng was no longer the one in charge, the situation would change again.
In short, the longer the army surrounded the capital, the more variables there were. No one knew what was going on inside the capital, so how could they be at ease in allowing Ye Mengxiong to enter the city and persuade the Tang army to surrender?
At this point, Ye Mengxiong had no other ideas.
Xiao Ruxun said, "At this moment, the most important thing is to ensure the safety of His Majesty and the Empress Dowager. We first have to understand whether Shen Yicheng is still the one in charge in the city. If he is, we have to think about how to calm his emotions and then we can think about breaking the city.
Unless the people in the capital are stubborn and we have no choice but to do this to protect His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, we absolutely cannot attack the city. Generals, remember this well. "
Zhao Hu spoke up right after Xiao Ruxun finished speaking.
"Commander-in-chief, we have the advantage, but can't we do anything?"
Xiao Ruxun sighed, stood up, and walked to Zhao Hu. He patted Zhao Hu's shoulder and looked at Zhao Hu, as well as the generals behind him.
"Our situation is no longer the same. We can't do things the way we did in the past. We have to know how to control ourselves, understand? Control. "
Xiao Ruxun slowly said.
Zhao Hu nodded.
"I got it."
Then, Qi Dayong walked behind Zhao Hu and began to take off his clothes.
To be precise, Qi Dayong helped Zhao Hu take off the soft armor he was wearing.
Strange.
"What are you doing?"
Xiao Ruxun looked at Zhao Hu strangely. "Zhao Hu, are you thinking of taking off your armor and returning to the countryside?"
Everyone was looking at Zhao Hu.
After his soft armor was removed, a cloth bag that was stuck to his chest and stomach was picked up by him. Then, he opened the cloth bag and took out an ochre yellow robe. He quickly draped it over Xiao Ruxun's body and immediately knelt on the ground.
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