Li Qitian could never have imagined that he would one day be stuck in this dilemma. He wasn't stupid, but he couldn't remember how he had allowed things to develop to this point.
"Your Majesty, Pang Xiao's group has already deployed their troops outside the city. If you don't make a decision now, I'm afraid it will be too late." The officials led by Yu Ziqiu, Song Quan, and the others all knelt down. "Your Majesty, please prioritize the safety of the people!"
Li Qitian looked at the officials kneeling on the ground. His eyes were empty for a moment, but after a moment of extreme anger, he burst into laughter.
His smile grew deeper and deeper. Laughter overflowed from his throat like a broken windbox.
"Ridiculous, extremely ridiculous." Li Qitian's smile faded. He pointed at the kneeling officials. "What do you mean by prioritizing the people? Aren't you thinking about the safety of your entire family? If I ask for peace, I will be the ruler of a destroyed country. When the time comes, you can just continue to pledge allegiance to Pang Xiao like you pledged allegiance to Da Zhou? "
Everyone understood what he meant, but when it was put on the table, it really wasn't acceptable.
This was because most of the officials kneeling on the ground were surrendered officials of Beiji. Their thoughts had indeed been stirred up by the repeated proclamations.
After all, it had only been ten years since that incident. The deep-rooted sense of belonging couldn't be completely changed overnight. Moreover, in order to build the imperial mausoleum for himself, His Majesty didn't even care about the lives of the people. He even wrote IOUs for the salaries of the officials.
To serve such a ruler, the fact that they were firm in their beliefs and didn't immediately leave Da Zhou to avoid the disaster was already a sign of their determination.
Seeing that the officials didn't say anything and were all kneeling like wooden pillars, Li Qitian became even angrier. However, he couldn't say any more insults.
What was the use of being angry now? What was the use of being anxious?
Even if he killed all these people in a fit of anger, it wouldn't change the current situation. It would only make him as embarrassed as a defeated rooster.
The spy sent to find Ji Zeyu still hadn't returned.
Ask for peace? He didn't have anything more important than "unifying the country" to persuade Pang Xiao to give up the world at his fingertips. The only thing he could do now was to pray for a miracle and wait.
He was waiting for a massacre, waiting for a release. At that time, he would be filled with hot blood and people would say that at least he, the emperor, was not a coward who opened the door to surrender.
How pathetic!
What a joke!
%
"Wang Ye, according to your orders, the flanks have completely surrounded the capital. As long as you give the order, it will be taken down within a day. "
Pang Xiao nodded and ordered with a serious face, "Tell everyone not to disturb the people, not to burn, kill, and rape! Anyone who disobeys will be punished according to military law! "
"Yes!"
The deputy general relayed the message.
Ji Zeyu asked, "When do you plan to attack?"
Pang Xiao raised his eyebrows and smiled. There's no hurry. Everyone has traveled a long way, so we should give them some time to adjust. "
Ji Zeyu pursed his lips and smiled. He crossed his arms and said, "Do you think I don't understand you? You just pity the people in the city and give our people time to prepare. At the same time, give the people some time to adjust. In the future, if they can hide in their homes and try not to come out, many people will be saved. "
Pang Xiao laughed and patted Ji Zeyu's shoulder. "Forget it, you're right." His eyes were gloomy and helpless. "At first, I didn't want things to be like this."
No one had the ability to predict the future. Two years ago, Pang Xiao would never have thought that he would one day lead 300,000 soldiers to surround the capital. He didn't think that so many people would be willing to follow him and do such a rebellious thing.
These people saw him as a leader, so he had to be a leader that met everyone's expectations. Otherwise, he would definitely fall in the future, just like Li Qitian.
Speaking of which, things were really beyond his expectations and he was very tired. But when everything was no longer about his personal interests, but the interests of many people, he had no other choice.
"Wang Ye." Xie Yue and Xu Weizhi came forward and bowed to Pang Xiao and Ji Zeyu. "I wonder if Wang Ye intends to use peaceful means before using force or directly crush them with military strength? Do you intend to negotiate with His Majesty? "
Pang Xiao shook his head. "There's nothing to talk about. But we don't want to attack immediately. Let's leave it at that for now. "
"Yes." Xu Weizhi smiled. "Anyway, even if we don't do anything, it's enough to make them panic for a while."
Pang Xiao nodded and looked in the direction of the capital with his hands behind his back.
The banners flapped loudly in the wind. Past the fluttering banners and across the plains, one could see the towering capital standing alone. Behind it was the undulating shape of a mountain range, but everyone knew that the mountain was still far away.
Pang Xiao's soldiers surrounded the capital just like that. They didn't attack, nor did they do anything.
It was because of this silent attitude, coupled with the strong contrast in military strength, that all of the citizens were very frightened.
Qin Yining and Qin Huaiyuan sat side by side in front of the tent and looked at the people talking not far away.
Qin Huaiyuan said, "It's been too long. I'm sure the citizens in the city are terrified to a certain extent. This isn't a good thing for Yu Zhixi. "
"Everyone cares about their own lives. No one wants to lose their lives. Now that we're isolated outside the city gates, I don't know what Li Qitian's people will say about us in the city." Qin Yining rolled his eyes and came up with an idea. "I've put in a lot of effort to build up Wang Ye's reputation. We can't let others ruin it at such a crucial time. Why don't … we use the same trick again? "
Qin Huaiyuan raised his eyebrows. He obviously understood what Qin Yining was talking about. "You want to use the method from Xi Yue?"
"Yes. But we'll change it this time. "
Qin Yining stood up and patted the hem of his skirt. He smiled and said, "Father, I'll go talk to Wang Ye."
"Go ahead." Qin Huaiyuan leisurely picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea.
Qin Yining quickly walked over to Pang Xiao and the others.
Ji Zeyu saw Qin Yining walking over first. He stopped talking and nodded at Qin Yining in greeting.
Qin Yining smiled and bowed. He immediately said, "I just thought of an idea."
Pang Xiao lowered her head and looked at Qin Yining. She saw the light in his bright almond-shaped eyes and the crafty expression on his face. He looked like a cunning little fox. He couldn't help but smile and squint his eyes. He bent over and leaned closer to Qin Yining. "What's the idea? Let's hear it."
Qin Yining smiled and covered his mouth. He whispered a few words in Pang Xiao's ear.
Pang Xiao's tall body bent down to match Qin Yining's height. It was as if he wanted to protect her in his arms. Both of them were extremely beautiful. In the eyes of others, this scene was so beautiful that they couldn't bear to disturb it.
Ji Zeyu looked expressionlessly in the direction of the city wall. After a moment, he smiled.
Pang Xiao nodded repeatedly and scratched Qin Yining's nose. "You're so clever."
Qin Yining touched his nose and smiled. "I'm just suggesting. I don't know much about war. You can discuss it with Mr. Xie and the others. I'm going back to have tea with my father. "
"Okay, go ahead."
Pang Xiao looked at Qin Yining's back gently and attentively. She called Ji Zeyu, Xie Yue, and Xu Weizhi to discuss it.
%
The Jingji Guards guarding the city stood on the north gate tower. They looked at the snow-white sea in the distance with melancholy. When they looked up, they suddenly saw a round object flying in the sky.
That object floated and flew higher and higher. It was heading towards the capital. The Jingji Guards didn't dare to be negligent. They hurriedly shouted, "Sir! Look at what that is! "
When everyone heard this, they hurriedly came over and looked up at the sky.
"It looks like a kite? There's more than one! "
As they spoke, several kites of different shapes flew over. They looked down along the thin lines of the kites and saw a few fast horses galloping under the city gate. The riders on the horses were wearing the Tiger Army's black soft armor. They were holding the kite's reel in their hands.
"What are they trying to do? Are they trying to provoke us? "
"We didn't open the city gate to fight, so they're here to look down on us?"
"The Tiger Army has always been brave and fierce. Now that Prince Zhongshun is leading them, they probably want to fight. They're so bored that they're playing with kites?"
…
The Jingji Guards all guessed that they were boosting the enemy's morale and undermining their own. However, the Shangguan didn't refute them because they felt the same way.
Even when they saw the Tiger Army riding back and forth under the city gate and leisurely flying kites, they didn't dare to be rash. They didn't dare to shoot an arrow first, afraid that it would start a war.
After the time it took for two incense sticks to burn, the kites flew higher and higher. They were already above the city.
Suddenly, a kite fell from the sky in a circle.
Upon closer inspection, they saw that the string was broken.
Before the Jingji Guards could be surprised, they suddenly realized that the kites had broken their strings and fell directly into the city.
Everyone looked down and realized that the string was cut off by the Jingji Guards themselves.
They deliberately used the wind to let the kites fly into the city. Then, they cut the string and let the kites fall freely.
The Jingji Guards felt that something was wrong. One of them hurriedly reported to the Shangguan. The Shangguan hurriedly ordered someone to inform Your Majesty. Another group of people entered the city to think of a way to find the kites.
Just as this news was being reported up the chain of command and the people below were anxiously looking for the kites, there were already commoners in the city who had picked up the kites that had fallen on the streets. They could clearly see the words on them.
They were written in plain language so that all commoners could understand them.
The meaning was also very simple: Prince Zhongshun will not massacre the city and will not harm any innocent commoners. The commoners are innocent. If you don't want to participate in the struggle of the imperial court, you only need to hide in your homes and close your doors. The Tiger Army and the Southern Pacifying Army will not disturb the commoners.
The person who picked up the kites happened to be literate and had always admired Prince Zhongshun. When he saw what was written on it, he immediately read it under the curious gazes of the surrounding people.
The surrounding commoners were all very surprised.
"Prince Zhongshun deliberately thought of a way to tell us this?"
"That's right! How could Wang Ye think of using a kite to send us a message? "
"I told you Wang Ye wouldn't kill the innocent."
"Naive! Have you ever seen a war without killing commoners? "
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