Of course, the Imperial Court did not give up hope. Since the three factions were not willing to help, they contacted Shang Chaozong and Meng Shanming.
At this time, the imperial court was almost willing to grant all requests. Their meaning was that the Shang Dynasty could raise any conditions they wanted and that they could negotiate anything.
The reason was simple. No matter what they wanted, they had to get through this first. They had to calm Shang Chaozong down first. If they could not even get through this now, there was no point in talking about the future.
… …
The army finally walked out of the muddy area. Zhang Hu's horse was completely muddy. He looked back and saw Meng Shanming's carriage coming out of the muddy area.
The soldiers who came out of the muddy area were also covered in mud. Most of them had rolled up their trousers and their shoes were hanging on their shoulders.
The captives who were carrying the heavy supplies were even worse off. The Yan army had at least eaten their fill, while the captives only had some soup and water. Their ears were cut and they were injured. Now, they had to carry the heavy load. They were exhausted and some of them collapsed on the ground, not wanting to move.
This was the reason why Meng Shanming did not kill them. It was inconvenient to march in a flooded area, so he used the captives as labor!
Seeing some of the captives lying on the ground, the Yan soldiers immediately went up to them and kicked them, forcing them to get up.
Zhang Hu turned a blind eye to this scene and waited for the carriage to arrive before going over to welcome them.
Zhang Hu accompanied the carriages to the side and watched the rest of the people coming up. He asked Meng Shanming, "Are we really going to hand these captives over to the Imperial Court as bargaining chips?"
Meng Shanming said expressionlessly, "Inform all the tribes to kill them once they come up to the shore!"
"Kill them?" Zhang Hu was shocked.
Meng Shanming closed his eyes and did not say another word. Zhang Hu knew that he did not hear wrongly and went to execute the order.
What was killing them? It was burying them alive!
To Zhang Hu, it was better to kill Zi Zizai than to kill them. He did not understand why Meng Shanming had to do this. But Meng Shanming's words were the law!
After receiving Meng Shanming's order, all the clans that came out of the Qunluo Mountains immediately gathered all the captives they had captured and forced them to dig countless pits. After digging countless pits, they forced the captives into the pits.
The final scene was too horrible to look at. In countless pits, countless captives were wailing and begging for mercy.
However, everything was under Meng Shan Ming's control. They were injured, starved, exhausted, and forced to dig holes by themselves. Although there were six hundred thousand of them, they had already been defeated by Meng Shan Ming. Even if they gathered together, they would not be able to fight back.
The Yan soldiers could easily send them into the pit with just a kick or a gentle push. Once they went down, they would not have the strength to climb back up.
A group of Yan soldiers surrounded the pit and shoveled dirt into it. Cries and screams could be heard coming from the pit. Those who had the strength to climb up were shot down by the surrounding archers.
The sky was clear, and the sun was shining high up in the sky. It regarded all living beings as ants, and it was indifferent to the tragedy on the ground.
When all the pits were filled up, there was silence in the world. The people buried underground could not make a sound. The Yan soldiers who had witnessed this scene did not seem to want to speak either.
To these murderers, this was an unforgettable scene!
Of course, not all of them were killed. Meng Shan Ming left some alive and gave them a good meal. He asked them to report what they had seen and heard. He also asked them to bring a message back to the Yan army.
These captives, who had survived the disaster, almost crawled away. They would never forget the shock they experienced!
…
The Song court was quarreling. Some were neutral, while others were arguing fiercely. Because of Meng Shan Ming's request for a large amount of food, the situation was just as Gao Jiancheng had expected.
Facing the threat of the Yan army invading the country, the Song State wanted to negotiate. But when the Yan army took the initiative to negotiate, they knew that Luo Zhao's threat had worked. They immediately raised the price, withdrew their troops, and added the condition of punishing Shang Chaozong and Meng Shan Ming.
The Song State knew that the Yan army would not agree. They knew that the Yan court could not do anything to Shang Chaozong and Meng Shan Ming. But because of this, they increased the price.
This was the nature of negotiation. The lion would open his mouth and wait for the bargains to be made.
After all, who would retreat first, how far away, where to release the captives, and how many would be released were all problems. Neither side could trust the other side.
But after the Song State raised the additional condition, Meng Shan Ming also added a harsh condition. He wanted to exchange the captives for a large amount of food.
The army led by Meng Shan Ming was already a threat to the Song State. If they gave him enough food, once Meng Shan Ming tore apart the fake veil of the negotiation, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The Song court would not agree easily. But if they did not agree, they were worried that Meng Shan Ming would take the opportunity to cause trouble.
Being in a dilemma, how could the Song State not quarrel with each other? Everyone argued that they were in the right, and everyone argued that they were in the right. They quarreled endlessly for two days in a row.
At this moment, a voice came from outside, "Report!"
A eunuch rushed in as if he was grieving the death of his parents. The hall quieted down. The eunuch knelt down in front of everyone. He held the report with both hands and cried, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report from the frontlines. The old thief Meng Shan Ming is ruthless. Other than the hundred messengers, the rest of the six hundred thousand men of the Great Song were killed by the old thief!"
As soon as this report came out, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed, and all of them revealed extremely astounded expressions. Entrapment? Meng Shan Ming killed the 600,000 soldiers of the Song State?
Emperor Mu Zhuozhen, who was sitting on the high seat, turned pale. He stood up shakily and asked, "What did you say?"
Chief Eunuch Mo Gao rushed down and took the report from the eunuch.
The eunuch kneeling on the ground raised his head and cried, "Your Majesty, the 600,000 soldiers of the Song State were killed by Meng Shan Ming! Meng Shan Ming said that he received news that we were arguing about the rations in the court and did not intend to give them to him. He also said that the Song army is still approaching Beijing and has no sincerity in negotiating. He said that they are trying to fool him. He said that since the Song State does not care about the lives of their soldiers, there is no need for him to be courteous. Hence, he gave the order to bury the 600,000 soldiers alive! "
This was Meng Shan Ming's excuse. Meng Shan Ming followed Niu Youdao's advice. However, the excuse of the Song army approaching Beijing was added by Meng Shan Ming himself.
When Meng Shanming received the news that the Song army was still approaching Yanjing, he was not a pushover. He immediately thought of adding this clause. Meng Shanming accused the Song army of being dishonest and the Song Kingdom of not being sincere in the negotiations. However, he was actually slandering Luo Zhao.
Meng Shan Ming believed that the Song State's court and Emperor would not bear this responsibility. Only Luo Zhao could bear this responsibility!
Luo Zhao had a good plan. He wanted to use Beijing as a bargaining chip. How could Meng Shan Ming let him have an easy time?
They were all generals and naturally knew what was most dangerous. They were just afraid that the morale of the army would be shaken!
Luo Zhao was the commander-in-chief of the Song army. If Meng Shan Ming accused him of not caring about the lives of the 600,000 soldiers, the consequences would be obvious!
When two countries fought, they would do anything. Meng Shan Ming would not be courteous. He was also trying to kill Luo Zhao!
"Your Majesty, Luo Zhao is harming the country! We told him to retreat long ago. He disobeyed the imperial edict and relied on his military power to act willfully. Now, he caused the deaths of our 600,000 elite soldiers. Luo Zhao is a traitor who is harming the country! " Someone cried out sorrowfully. This person was the one who suggested Luo Zhao retreat. Now, he finally found a chance to prove himself right.
A military official immediately rebuked him, "Nonsense! This is clearly Meng Shan Ming's excuse. How can we fall for it! "
The Imperial Court immediately became a mess of noise.
Mu Zhuozhen, who was standing in front of the throne, read the report with both hands. His expression was unsightly, and his hands were trembling. Suddenly, he looked up and shouted, "All of you, shut up!"
The court instantly quieted down. After a moment of silence, Prime Minister Zi Pingxiu cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, no matter what excuse it is, Meng Shan Ming is ignoring the negotiations between the two countries. What he is trying to do is clear. We should immediately summon Luo Zhao to retreat!"
Mu Zhuozhen's face twitched. Then, he said sternly, "Break into Beijing and massacre the entire city! Take revenge for our Song Nation's soldiers! "
With these words, he made the final decision. Massacre Beijing first before retreating!
At this point, the Song Nation had suffered a great loss in the war they started. 600,000 elite soldiers were killed. It was shocking. If the Song Nation did not bring back some results, how would the Song Nation look at him, the Emperor?
…
The Yan carriages formed a convoy of more than ten carriages. They pulled more than 100 large chests as they traveled on the road. Flags requesting a meeting were hung on the carriages.
When the carriages passed through the mountains, several Song Nation cultivators who were in charge of patrolling flashed out of the forest.
Although this place was far from the Song Nation's main force attacking Yan, the Song Nation's soldiers had to have spies in the rear to guard against surprise attacks from the enemy.
When the Song Nation's patrolling cultivators saw the flags, they stopped the carriages.
After confirming the identities of both parties, the leader of the Yan army in charge of escorting the gifts took out a letter and handed it to the patrolling cultivator. "Previously, Governor Luo sent a gift to Commander Meng. Under Commander Meng's orders, we will return the gift to Governor Luo! This is a letter personally written by Commander Meng. Please pass it to Governor Luo. "
After the exchange, the patrolling cultivators did not make things difficult for the people escorting the gifts. There was no need to do so. When two armies fought, envoys were not killed. Hence, they let these people go.
However, the gifts in the carriages made the patrolling cultivators curious. They did not know what the gifts were, but they could smell the stench. They immediately opened the chests to check.
They untied the ropes on the carriages. Just as they loosened the buckle of one of the chests, they heard a "bang" sound. The lid of the chest sprang open, startling the patrolling cultivators.
They saw a pile of things gushing out of the chest like a spring. They spilled all over the ground, and there was a pungent smell.
What was coming out of the chest was something that looked like a fungus. What was that? When the patrolling cultivators saw what it was, they could not help but cover their mouths and retch.
Ears! They were actually all human ears!
The chests full of ears had already rotted during the transportation process. Hence, when the chests were opened, they popped out by themselves.
The densely packed ears were horrifying. Even though the patrolling cultivators were patrolling, it was their first time seeing such a disgusting scene.
The ears that spilled all over the ground could not be put back into the chests.
When they finally got used to it, the patrolling cultivators looked at the hundreds of chests on the carriages and looked at each other. Their eyes were filled with doubt. Could these chests all contain human ears?
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