An ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws. This matter cannot be hidden. Even if it is difficult to say it, it has to be said.
However, the consequences of saying it out loud were rather frightening to everyone present.
Shang Jianxiong's eyes widened, Shang Yongzhong was stunned, and Tian Yu was stunned.
Gao Jiancheng was expressionless, but his heart skipped a beat. However, he was already mentally prepared. After all, Niu Youdao had raised the issue of whether to kill the captives or not. He knew that Niu Youdao had considered killing the captives. But now, he could not help but lament. It seems like Niu Youdao is still determined to kill the captives. What the hell is going on!
Gao Jiancheng did not know that killing the captives was Meng Shanming's personal decision. He thought it was Niu Youdao's idea.
Tong Mo was obviously slightly dumbstruck, and then he cried out in surprise. "Sect Master Meng, what do you mean by that?"
"There are some twists and turns. Meng Shanming insists on killing the captives." Meng Xuan replied.
"Why didn't the three sects stop them? Can't they stop them?" Tong Mo asked angrily.
He could not accept this reality. He had spent a lot of effort on this negotiation. The Song Kingdom demanded an exorbitant price. One of their conditions for withdrawing was to hand over Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming to the Song Kingdom or kill them.
Tong Mo naturally wanted to get rid of these two troublemakers. But there was nothing he could do at this moment. Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming were not under the control of the Imperial Court. Furthermore, they could not afford to offend the two of them. Therefore, Tong Mo refused to protect them.
This was the first time in his life that he had spent so much effort to protect Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming. In the end, they were killed by the other party!
But how could Meng Xuan reply to this? It was not that he could not stop them. If the three sects wanted to stop them, they could. It was just that after listening to Meng Shanming's analysis, he felt that they could not stop them. But he could not explain this to these people.
The Song Kingdom's army had already surrounded the city. How could these people sacrifice themselves for the greater good? Was it possible for these people to sacrifice their entire family?
They had always been the ones who came up with grand strategies and sacrificed others. This time, it was hard for them to accept being the sacrificial lambs of Meng Shanming's grand strategy.
The crux of the problem was that these people were afraid that the situation would be out of control. In order to calm the people's hearts, they pretended to set an example and did not evacuate their families from the capital.
The reason why they did not retreat earlier was because they knew that if they retreated in the end, no matter who they were, they would not be able to leave. Only their families would not be abandoned by the imperial court, because they represented the imperial court.
At the very end, they were supposed to retreat, but in the end, they didn't because the situation had been reversed. What was already in the bag was no longer necessary.
Who would have thought that Meng Shanming would do such a thing? Great, they didn't leave when they could. Now that the Song army had surrounded Yan Jing, they couldn't leave even if they wanted to.
With the army surrounding the city, a group of cultivators could at most protect the high-ranking members of the imperial court and fight their way out. There was no way they could bring all the families of the high-ranking members of the imperial court with them. These people belonged to the people in the capital city who had too many children and grandchildren. Even a family of a hundred people was not considered a lot. If every cultivator in the capital city brought along a burden, how could they fight their way out? If he really did that, then even the cultivator himself wouldn't be able to escape.
Once the city was breached, the consequences were obvious.
Meng Xuan did not want to bicker with them. He knew that these people, who had been in the imperial court for a long time, were not easy to deal with. Thus, he did not mention Meng Shanming's grand strategy. The three major sects were sacrificing these people for their own benefits, so he was too embarrassed to say it out loud. He simply said, "Meng Shanming has the morale of the army and is insistent on his views. It is not good to force him under the current circumstances."
Tong Mo said, "Sect Master Meng, this matter concerns the two nations. It is good for the Yan nation and for the three major sects. The three major sects cannot sit and watch as Meng Shanming acts recklessly!"
Meng Xuan said, "Sit and watch? Once we force the frontline troops to rebel, we will no longer be a threat to the Song Nation. The Song army surrounding the city will have no more reservations and will attack the city. The crisis in the capital city will not be resolved. Meng Shanming firmly controls the military. If he insists on doing this, how can the three major sects force him? "
Shang Jianxiong trembled in anger as he said, "This must be that traitor Shang Chaozong's idea. He is plotting to harm me!"
If Shang Jianxiong insisted, Meng Xuan could not be bothered to explain. Shang Jianxiong was also certain that Shang Chaozong was plotting to harm him.
Tong Mo tried to persuade him again, "Sect Master Meng, why don't you warn them that the peace talks are for their own good. Destroying the Yan Kingdom won't do them any good. If they have any ideas, they can bring them out for discussion. On account of their contributions in the war, I believe Your Majesty will reward them generously. "
Then, he cupped his hands at Shang Jianxiong and said, "Your Majesty, Shang Chaozong has indeed made great contributions in commanding the army. Your Majesty, please reward him accordingly. You can also make Dingzhou under the rule of Prince Yong!"
Shang Yongzhong immediately cupped his hands and said, "I agree!"
Gao Jiancheng took a look at the situation and saw Tong Mo giving him meaningful looks. He immediately cupped his hands and said, "I agree!"
Shang Jianxiong maintained his composure and nodded solemnly. "Good! I approve! "
Seeing this group of people suddenly become so generous, Meng Xuan laughed coldly in his heart. He remained indifferent.
It was fine without Meng Shanming's advice. He had already been pointed out in detail by Meng Shanming. He already knew the great harm of compromising with the Song Kingdom. Dingzhou or not, nothing was as important as the interests of the three major sects.
It was useless for these people to agree. The three major sects would not agree now!
However, he would not reveal that the three major sects were sacrificing these people's interests. Naturally, the blame would fall on someone else. He shook his head and said, "Since Your Majesty knows what Shang Chaozong is thinking, why do this? It is better to defend the city with all our strength! Everyone, do not worry. Once the situation becomes irreversible, the three major sects will not sit by and watch you meet with danger. They will do their best to escort you out of danger. "
Having said this, he turned around and ignored their thoughts. He left calmly. He was unwilling and did not need to be long-winded.
The remaining people in the royal study all had ugly expressions.
The discussion had to continue. However, the topic of discussion changed from implementing the results of the negotiation to how to defend the city with all their might.
After the royal study was empty, Shang Jianxiong sat paralyzed in a chair. The grief and sorrow in his eyes were difficult to describe.
He did not understand how Yan had reached this step. Why did the court not have a single general who could fight? Even if there was one, how could they be forced into such a state by Shang Chaozong and the others?
In fact, he was very clear about the reason. Generals who could fight did not come from scheming in the Imperial Court, but were honed through actual combat on the battlefield. Those people had either been purged by him, or they had been forced to stand against him. It was just that he was unwilling to face this fact.
Tian Yu lowered his head in silence. As the Chief Minister of Internal Affairs, he was calculating the matters of the rear palace. If they had retreated earlier, killing the remaining people would have allowed them to retreat safely. Now that the Song army had surrounded Yanjing, there seemed to be too many people to take away. Did they have to kill again?
If they killed again, the impact would be great. They were either relatives of powerful officials or had given birth to children for the Emperor. Did they have to kill the birth mothers of their children?
"Prince, it has finally been as you wished."
After the three important officials left the royal study and walked some distance away, Tong Mo suddenly glanced at Shang Yongzhong and said this.
Shang Yongzhong was stunned. "Great Minister of Public Works, what do you mean? How can this Prince be willing to see things reach this stage? "
Tong Mo sneered, "If Your Highness hadn't done everything you could to stall the Imperial Court, how could the Imperial Court have ended up in such a state? Now, even His Majesty has to accompany you in defending the city. Isn't that as you wish?"
Shang Yongzhong said seriously, "Great Minister of Public Works, this Prince does not agree with what you said. Right now, my family is also trapped in the city. Is this what this Prince is happy to see? Furthermore, who was the one who suggested to His Majesty to keep me here? Do you really think that this Prince does not know? "
Tong Mo said, "You are the esteemed Great Minister of War Yan. The capital is in trouble, and the enemy is attacking. If the Great Minister of War is not here, are you going to let the officials lead the troops and kill the enemy? If not you, who will?"
Gao Jiancheng sighed. "Stop arguing. Look at the situation now. Is there any meaning in pushing the blame? Let's think about how to defend the city! "
It was Tong Mo who suggested it first. How can this Prince be blamed? Shang Yongzhong cursed in his mind. He did not dare to offend Tong Mo until the last moment. He was afraid that he would be killed by Tong Mo later. Thus, he quickly said yes. "Yes, yes, yes. Great Minister of Public Works is right. Prime Minister, this is not the time to argue about this. Everyone's family is in the city. Once the city is breached, everyone will be in trouble. The nonsense of the three major sects cannot be trusted. At most, they can only take us away. It will be difficult for the three major sects to lead so many people to break out of the encirclement. At that point, the three major sects will not care about the life and death of our family. They will think of ways to defend the city. Don't talk about us … "
He pointed to the back. "If it really comes to that, the harem will still think that there are too many people. I'm afraid that we will have to kill some of them. Do we have to go to this step as well?"
His words made the two bigwigs in the imperial court sigh and shake their heads.
It was true that Tian Yu forbade people from talking about this matter, but it also depended on who was talking about it. The discussion of these people was naturally not a wild discussion. Even if Tian Yu knew about it, she would turn a blind eye to it!
Gao Jiancheng cupped his hands and asked Tong Mo while walking, "Prime Minister, now that things have come to this, what should we do?"
Tong Mo sighed. "What else can we do? Tell the officials to go back to their homes! "
"Ah!" Shang Yongzhong was shocked. "Prime Minister, do you mean that every family should sweep the snow in front of their own door? Are … are we giving up just like that? "
Tong Mo rolled his eyes at him. "What are you thinking, Prince? Tell every family to go back and bring out all the servants and guards who can be of use. Send them to the top of the city to help defend the city. Also, tell the eunuchs in the palace that you can use. Don't let them stay idle. I will inform Tian Yu later. Also, ask everyone to use all the connections they can and gather all the connections in the cultivation world to help! "
"In addition, ask the families and their connections to take out all the food they have stored up. First, it is to ensure the supply of food for the army. Second, it is to calm the hearts of the people in the city. At this time, with the enemy in front of us, there can be no chaos in the capital. Tell everyone that no matter how much food they have stored up, it is useless. It will all belong to others. Tell them that I know who has how much food in their hands. If anyone dares to hide anything, don't blame me for not saying the ugly words first. When the time comes, don't blame me for not recognizing your family! "
Gao Jiancheng nodded in agreement. Shang Yongzhong also nodded repeatedly in agreement.
They were forced to this step by Meng Shanming. They were forced to a dead end by Meng Shanming. It was as if Meng Shanming wanted to kill prisoners of war to boost morale. Everyone in the imperial court had nowhere to hide their selfishness. They were forced to work together and stake everything to defend the city.
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