Volume 10 Chapter 303

Chapter 303 Li Hong and the ministers of Zhen State were at a loss for what to do about the current passive situation, and no one could think of a good solution. Read the full text.

Finally, the Right Prime Minister Qin Shu stepped forward cautiously, cupped his hands and said: "Great... King, a million coalition troops are already at the gates of the city, and our capital has less than 400,000 defenders. It is really... difficult to resist. In my humble opinion, we... only have one way left to negotiate peace with the coalition forces..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Hong slammed the table and interrupted Qin Shu's words. Qin Shu asked him to negotiate peace, which Li Hong could never accept. With the current situation of Zhen State, there was no capital for peace talks. Negotiating peace was equivalent to surrender, which was equivalent to pulling him off the throne or even the throne, and he had to go to Yin Zhun to apologize. How could Li Hong accept such a humiliation?

"The enemy has already surrounded the capital, and the survival of Zhen is hanging by a thread. As a minister of Dazhen, you don't seek a strategy to defeat the enemy and share the worries of the country and the king, but instead you deceive the people and ask me to surrender to the coalition? What's the point of keeping you, who are afraid of death?!" As he spoke, Li Hong said loudly: "Where are the swordsmen? Drag this traitor out and behead him!"

At Li Hong's command, several guards outside the hall rushed in immediately, two of whom stepped forward to grab Qin Shu's arms and walked out without saying anything.

Qin Shu was so scared that his face turned pale and his body trembled. He shouted repeatedly: "My king, please spare my life. I am wronged. Please spare my life..."

At this time, Li Dan hurriedly stepped out and waved to the guards who were pulling Qin Shu out, then bowed to Li Hong and said: "Father, Mr. Qin's advice... may be inappropriate, but it is also out of loyalty to you..."

Loyalty? Li Hong raised his eyebrows. He did not see any loyalty from Qin Shu. Before he could speak, Li Dan continued, "What's more, the coalition forces are now besieging the city and have defeated the armies of Huaning and Tongcheng. People in the capital are in a panic. If you kill the ministers at this time, I'm afraid it will make people in the city even more confused. I hope you will think twice."

If someone else had advised him, he might not have listened, but it was his son who asked for mercy, and what Li Dan said was not unreasonable.

Li Hong pondered silently for a moment, and the coldness on his face gradually eased. He raised his head, waved his hands at the guards, and said in a deep voice, "You all go down!"

Then, he glared at Qin Shu fiercely, without saying anything more, and looked around at the ministers and said, "From now on, whoever dares to talk about peace talks lightly, don't blame me for turning my face and being ruthless, and punishing me severely!"

The ministers of Zhen State were all frightened and shrank their necks. They lowered their heads one by one, and dared not breathe. Qin Shu shrugged his shoulders and quietly slipped back to his seat, glancing at Li Dan gratefully.

To put it bluntly, Qin Shu was Li Dan's pathfinder.

Li Dan himself was not in a position to speak up for peace with the coalition forces, so he used Qin Shu's mouth to test his father's attitude, which resulted in Li Hong's anger. Li Dan now understood that his father would never accept this matter, and could only think of other ways.

After the court was dismissed, Li Dan had just returned to his mansion when the two secret arrows left by Tang Yin came to ask for an audience. Li Dan invited them to his study and then roughly told them what happened in the court.

Now it seems that it is unlikely to persuade Li Hong to abdicate on his own initiative. The only way is to use force to forcibly pull him off the throne. But this also involves one point, whether it is Li Dan or the coalition forces.

If Li Dan takes action himself, he is not sure that he can subdue his father now, and if the coalition forces take action, Li Dan must find a way to let the coalition forces enter the city. However, it is easier said than done.

The four gates of Xitang are guarded by Li Hong's trusted generals and heavily garrisoned. Without Li Hong's handwritten order and token, no one can open the gate. Even though Li Dan is the prince, he does not have that authority.

The two secret arrows have been following Li Dan for a while, and they both understand his difficulties.

One of the secret agents named Lu Jian suggested: "As the crown prince, it is easy for you to enter and leave the palace. If you can steal the token of King Zhen and open the city gate, it will not be difficult."

Li Dan smiled bitterly, sighed faintly, and said: "The token has always been carried by my father, it is not easy to steal it. Moreover, even if I can steal the token, I still can't open the city gate without my father's handwritten order."

Lu Jian's eyes turned, and a light flashed in his mind, saying: "The four generals guarding the gate will not be there all the time. If you take the token when they are not there, with your status, the generals below should not dare to make things difficult for you."

"This..." Li Dan thought about it carefully, nodded slowly, and felt that the method Lu Jian said could be tried, but how could he steal the token?

Li Dan was not in a hurry. He could wait and think of a solution slowly, but the secret arrows could not wait. They knew their situation too well. The food and grass in the army were only enough to sustain the needs of ten days. Now it was almost ten days. If they could not break through Xitang, the whole army would be in danger.

Lu Jian said seriously: "Sir, my king hopes that this war can end as soon as possible so that he can return to Fengguo as soon as possible. Therefore, the matter of welcoming the coalition forces into the city must be done quickly. It is best to do it in the next few days."

After a pause, he reminded meaningfully: "If you can do things quickly and well, my king will be very happy. In the future, it will be easier to plead for Zhenguo in front of the emperor."

Although he is just an ordinary member of the Dark Arrow, he now represents Tang Yin and speaks in style, with a sense of pride between the lines.

Li Dan frowned and pondered for a long time. Finally, he made up his mind and said seriously: "Okay! I will go to the palace tonight to meet my father..."

"Yes!" Lu Jian was delighted, raised his hands, and said slowly with a smile: "The success or failure of the matter is all up to you, young master."

On the other hand, the situation of the coalition was not as bad as the Dark Arrow personnel thought. After defeating the two Zhen armies led by Xu Bufan and Guan Zhan, the coalition naturally captured Huaning and Tongcheng together.

Even though the people in the city continued to resist the invading coalition, they did not pose much threat due to the lack of regular military organization.

After capturing Huaning and Tongcheng, the coalition forces seized a large amount of food and supplies in the city, which ensured the coalition forces' logistical supply to a certain extent. However, it was true that the coalition forces were eager to break through Xitang, because the Chuanmo coalition forces were about to advance to Xitang, and Tang Yin was anxious to enter Xitang before the Chuanmo coalition forces.

Millions of coalition forces besieged Xitang. Although the Zhen army in the city did not dare to go out to fight, troubles continued.

There were still hundreds of thousands of Zhen people living in the outer city of Xitang. Now that Xitang has been closed, they can't get in, and the outer area is surrounded by the coalition forces, so they can't get out. Hundreds of thousands of people need food and drink every day. It's okay to be trapped for a short time. After a long time, the fear will naturally spread. In addition, the Zhen people are rough and impulsive, and they often attack the coalition camp at night to rob food.

The allied camp was heavily guarded, and the Zhen people were often shot and killed by the allied soldiers before they could get close. Even if some lucky ones managed to sneak into the allied camp, they would be discovered soon. The lucky ones could escape in time, while the unlucky ones were captured by the allied forces. The final result was that their heads were chopped off and hung on the wall of the allied camp for public display.

The allied forces besieged Xitang for only three days, and more than a thousand people from the Zhen Kingdom were shot and captured. The rows of severed heads hanging on the wall of the camp were shocking.

However, the high-pressure measures of the allied forces did not stop the Zhen people. Not only did the incidents of stealing the camp not decrease, but they increased. The allied soldiers who were on guard and patrol at night were often attacked by the Zhen people. Some were knocked unconscious, some were beaten to death, and their armor, dry food, and weapons were robbed, and finally they were found naked.

As the number of casualties among the allied forces continued to increase, the conflict between the two sides became more intense. There were even several times when a large number of allied soldiers rushed into the outer city of Xitang and massacred the people of Zhen State. As a result, the hatred between them deepened, and the incidents of Zhen people attacking the allied forces at night became more frequent.

This is a vicious cycle. The large-scale riots of the Zhen people and the large-scale massacres of the allied forces may happen at any time.

Tang Yin certainly did not want to see such a thing happen. In the eyes of others, the Zhen people may be barbaric and uncivilized aliens, but in his opinion, the Zhen people are more valuable than gold, silver and jewelry, and are treasures that can make up for the national strength of Feng State.

He has been trying his best to suppress the allied forces, warning the allied forces not to enter the residential area of ​​the Zhen people without authorization, let alone massacre the people of Zhen State for no reason. However, he is the King of Feng after all. For his orders, most of the An, Huan and Yu armies are lip service, accepting them on the surface, but still doing their own thing behind the scenes.

On this day, Tang Yin was discussing military affairs with Lingshuang, Yueze, and Li Xin in the central military tent. A soldier ran in and reported that a chaste woman who called herself Di You wanted to see Tang Yin.

Upon hearing that the person seeking to see him was a chastity man, Li Xin sneered and said coldly: "How dare a mere chastity dog ​​to see the King of Feng? Drive him away. If he resists, he will be executed on the spot!"

The soldier who reported the news agreed and was about to leave when Tang Yin stopped him. He smiled at Li Xin and said: "I know this Di You. The reason why I was able to sneak into Xitang was all thanks to his help."

"Oh?" Li Xin was stunned and murmured: "It turned out to be him!" After a pause, he was surprised and happy and said: "Could it be that he came here this time to tell his brother that there is a way to enter Xitang?"

"If so, it would be great." Tang Yin did not want to attack Xitang by force. Not to mention the casualties, it was unknown whether he could win. Now he was counting on Li Dan in the city. If Li Dan could not help, the coalition forces could only attack by force. If Diyou, the local tyrant, knew a way to sneak into the city without anyone noticing, it would be a huge help to our side. ! ~!