Deep within the palace of the Song Capital, a lady dressed in palace attire sat quietly in front of a dressing table. She looked like an elegant white lotus.
A group of palace maids helped her with her hair. She shook her head. She drew her eyebrows. She shook her head. She wore jewelry for her. She shook her head.
She wanted nothing. Her long hair draped over her shoulders. She wore no makeup as she looked at herself in the mirror.
Even though she wore no makeup, her beauty could not be concealed. She was still breathtakingly beautiful. However, the frailty in her eyes made people feel pity for her.
Her name was Ah Que. She was Emperor Mu Zhuozhen's most beloved concubine. It was rumored that she was the most beloved person in the Song Kingdom.
She did not want anything. This caused the group of palace maids to feel uneasy. They stole glances at the man behind the curtain.
Mu Zhuozhen, who was half-revealed behind the curtain, waved his hand. The group of palace maids retreated quietly.
Ah Que also stood up and left leisurely. When she passed by Mu Zhuozhen, it was as if she did not see him.
Mu Zhuozhen suddenly grabbed her arm and said with a pained expression, "Que 'er, I am the most upset. If I don't agree to the death of more than two million soldiers, the people inside and outside the palace will say that you bring disaster to the country. They will force you to your death. I have no choice!"
Faced with Shang Jianxiong's rude request, the Song Kingdom finally compromised after confirming that Meng Shanming would comply. Mu Zhuozhen agreed to hand over his most beloved woman. Yan also compromised on other conditions. 100 million gold coins became 30 million gold coins, and 100 thousand carriages of rations became 30 thousand carriages.
Ah Que cleared her throat and said, "Que 'er understands. Your Majesty has no choice."
Mu Zhuozhen asked, "Do you hate me?"
Ah Que did not say whether she hated him or not. "70 million gold coins, 70 thousand carriages of rations, and the death of two million soldiers. Que 'er did not expect that I am so valuable." As she spoke, she tried to push Mu Zhuozhen's hand away.
However, Mu Zhuozhen pulled her into his arms and wanted to kiss her passionately. Ah Que pushed him away and said quietly, "Some people say that Que 'er brings disaster to the country. 70 million gold coins, 70 thousand carriages of rations, and the death of two million soldiers. From today onwards, Que' er no longer owes the Song Kingdom anything."
Mu Zhuozhen was stunned. She left his arms and he stared blankly at her as she quietly left.
"Que 'er, We swear to the heavens that we will finally welcome you back one day!" Mu Zhuozhen suddenly roared loudly.
Ah Que didn't look back as she walked out the door. Chief Minister of the Imperial Household, Mo Gao, bowed deeply, his eyes glistening with tears.
Ah Que did not take a single piece of jewelry from the Song Kingdom. She did not even take any of the maids that were prepared for her.
Aside from the clothes on her body, she only accepted a veil from Mo Gao, the Minister of the Imperial Palace, to cover her face. Afterwards, she followed the cultivators on a large flying beast and flew away. Just as she said, she no longer owed the Song Kingdom anything.
He didn't make any noise when he left. He just quietly sent him off.
It wasn't something to be proud of, so he didn't intend to let too many people know about it. Yan also promised to keep it a secret, but it would be strange if he could keep his promise. It would be strange if Shang Jianxiong didn't make it known to the whole world.
Even though he knew that he could not hide it from the world, he still had to send it away quietly. It was impossible to send it away with great fanfare.
Under the eaves, Mu Zhuo watched as the black dot in the sky disappeared. His heart felt like it was being cut by a knife. He closed his eyes and muttered to himself, "The sparrow has flown away …"
…
"Great General, Marshal Meng's military order has arrived."
Inside the central military tent, a military order arrived. After reading it, the Fuzhou Provincial Governor Shi Xinmao immediately ordered, "Assemble the army and retreat immediately!"
"Yes!" The generals obeyed and left.
At this time, the Spirit Sword Mountain Elder Andrew asked, "Is the war over at the East Domain River over?"
Shi Xinmao said, "There's no fighting at all. The negotiation between the imperial court and the Song Kingdom has come to an end. The Song Kingdom has paid the price. The Song Emperor, Mu Zhuozhen, even gave his favorite concubine to His Majesty as a gift. The imperial court also sent the Crown Prince to the Song Kingdom as a hostage. The two sides formed an alliance to resist the Han Kingdom. Marshal Meng obeyed the imperial court's order and prepared to release Luo Zhao's troops. According to the agreement, our troops must retreat first and allow the Song Kingdom's provisions to come and supply Luo Zhao's troops. "
Zu Ande exclaimed, "How could this be? Didn't they want to cripple Luo Zhao's troops? Once the Song Kingdom retains a certain level of strength, the Han Kingdom can only pick the soft persimmon to pinch. Since it's not easy to make a move on the Song Kingdom, they might make a move on our Yan Kingdom? What the hell is Meng Shanming doing? He paid such a big price to achieve this situation. Why did his strategy change? "
Shi Xinmao handed the order to him and said, "Didn't Marshal Meng ask us to stay? Marshal Meng said to see if Wugong Mountain will make a move. If Wugong Mountain pursues into the Song Kingdom, we will retreat according to the plan. Luo Zhao's troops are tired and lack of food. They can't run fast. If Wugong Mountain doesn't pursue them, we will take the opportunity to provoke them and quickly turn back. We must reduce Luo Zhao's troops by a million! "
"Oh! I see. " Zu Ande looked through the instructions on the military order and nodded. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "We've already sent the crown prince over as a hostage to form an alliance. If we really make a move, the crown prince's life might be in danger!"
Shi Xinmao sneered, "Elder Zu, is that important to us?"
Zu Ande raised his eyebrows and didn't say anything.
…
"How's the food from Wei Kingdom?"
Meng Shanming, who was sitting in a wheelchair, asked.
Gong Lince said, "They are still on the sea. They will reach Yan territory in a few days. They will land in the Southern Province."
Meng Shanming said, "Leave a third for the Southern Province."
Gong Lince didn't have any objections. This was what they had agreed on. "The imperial court gave the Song Kingdom's compensation to Wei Kingdom and Qi Kingdom."
"Song Kingdom is willing to pay fifty million gold coins and fifty thousand carriages of food. His Majesty would rather ask for less than that woman. Don't you think it's ridiculous?" Meng Shanming asked coldly.
Gong Lince shook his head with a bitter smile and didn't say anything.
Meng Shanming moved his eyes away from Gong Lince's face and looked at the flowing river with a heavy heart.
He could tell that Shang Jianxiong's influence in the Yan territory was still important to the three major sects. It wasn't something that could be easily replaced.
From the perspective of the three major sects, it was understandable that they didn't want any internal strife in the Yan territory. Shang Jianxiong insisted on it, so the three major sects compromised.
"General, everything is ready." Zhang Hu came and reported.
Meng Shanming said expressionlessly, "Cross the river!"
With his order, the Yan troops officially crossed the river and returned to the Yan territory.
Luo Zhao's troops did the same. Both sides went upstream and returned downstream. They didn't disturb each other.
…
In the pavilion, Hui Qingping was sitting. Wu Gongling couldn't help but reach out to touch Hui Qingping's chin.
Slap! Hui Qingping slapped his hand away. Although they were husband and wife, she didn't care about Wu Gongling's reputation in broad daylight.
Wu Gongling was in so much pain that he clenched his teeth.
Dan Dongxing, the Acting Sect Master of Tong Xiang Pavilion, who walked into the courtyard and saw the situation, didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Previously, he thought that Wu Gongling was just joking. Who would have thought that this scoundrel would really get his way and get Hui Qingping?
He was one of the witnesses to the wedding. In order to keep it a secret, it was simple. There were only a few banquets.
The wedding didn't seem to be important. He heard from the disciple who was in charge of protecting Wu Gongling that Wu Gongling had already done the nuptial chamber before the wedding. He left the nuptial chamber with his injuries and went to the Tong Xiang Pavilion for treatment.
Recently, it seemed like they were in the nuptial chamber every day. Dan Dongxing really admired Wu Gongling and Hui Qingping. How could he tolerate someone like Wu Gongling?
"General, Madam." Dan Dongxing appeared and greeted them.
Hui Qingping couldn't get used to being called "Madam." Her face was cold.
Wu Gongling understood Dan Dongxing's meaning. He turned around and left with Dan Dongxing.
When they reached a remote place, Dan Dongxing teased, "General, you don't look so good recently. You need to control yourself!"
Wu Gongling laughed and asked in a low voice, "What's the matter?"
Dan Dongxing also said in a low voice, "Meng Shanming sent a letter. He wants us to cross the river immediately. Otherwise, Shi Xinmao's troops will change their route and come to us. He said he will keep his word!"
"Damn it!" Wu Gongling spat, "You all think I'm easy to bully. Just you wait!"
Although he said so, he was still a little afraid of Meng Shanming. Especially when Meng Shanming started a massacre in the Kingdom of Song, it made his hair stand on end. Now that Meng Shanming was willing to give him a way out of the Yan Kingdom, he had no reason to refuse.
In order to protect himself, this guy was unscrupulous. As soon as Jin Jue contacted him, he contacted Meng Shanming and sold Jin Jue out.
He was bargaining with Jin Jue and Meng Shanming at the same time.
Jin Jue underestimated his shamelessness. To be exact, Jin Jue underestimated Wu Gongling's fear of Meng Shanming.
Because he had been under Meng Shanming for many years, he knew what kind of person Meng Shanming was. If a traitor like him had no value, Meng Shanming would definitely deal with him.
Although what he did was despicable, he managed to protect himself in the war between the two countries. Otherwise, after Meng Shanming destroyed the Kingdom of Song's defense forces, a group of people would definitely come to deal with him first. As a result, he succeeded in making Meng Shanming forget his existence for a while. Meng Shanming led all his troops into the Kingdom of Song.
In fact, he not only sold out Jin Jue, but also sold out Meng Shanming. He was secretly bargaining with the Royal Court of Song.
He wanted to stabilize the situation first and decide which side he should agree to and who he should listen to. He wanted to see the situation of the war before making the final decision.
Even though he was despicable, in Dan Dongxing's opinion, the fact that this fellow was able to remain unscathed in the midst of several powerful forces and turn himself into the key to the battle showed that he was indeed quite capable.
…
"They crossed the river? They crossed the river without fighting? "Jin Jue was stunned. He quickly took the report and checked it.
The messenger general said, "Yes, Luo Zhao's troops crossed the river and returned to the Kingdom of Song. Meng Shanming did not stop them."
At this moment, another report came from outside. Someone came in and reported, "Wu Gongling learned that Luo Zhao's troops have crossed the river. They are gathering their troops to cross the river and prepare to chase after Luo Zhao's troops!"
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