bookrandom Chapter 201 Taking advantage of the situation
Chapter 201 Taking advantage of the situation
At sunset, the afterglow of the setting sun will infinitely lengthen the human shadow.
"Kang Dang"
Ning Cen slowly placed the wine glass he had just taken a sip of on the stone table.
Since returning to the capital, His Majesty has allowed him to recuperate in his residence on the pretext of recuperating from his injuries, and even exempted him from the morning court session.
He has been recuperating in the mansion for half a month now.
He was not a fool, so he naturally knew His Majesty's intentions. It was just that the wolf cub had grown sharp fangs and began to fear the military power in his hands, fearing that his achievements would become too great and threaten the emperor.
But what does it matter if I know? Do I still need to question His Majesty?
Besides, his Qingwu is still in the palace.
Now he only hoped that His Majesty would consider their old friendship and treat Qingwu better because he was so tactful.
When Ning Cen thought of Ning Qingwu, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth unconsciously.
I wonder if my daughter is doing well in the palace. It has been more than a year since we last saw each other.
In the past half month since he came back, he has submitted several petitions to Ji Xun requesting to enter the palace to visit his daughter, but they were all rejected.
It’s really not easy to see my daughter.
Ning Cen picked up the wine glass on the stone table and took another sip.
Holding the wine glass in his hand, he looked around the huge Ning Mansion.
There are traces of Ning Qingwu everywhere here.
Whenever he looked at a place, the image of his daughter laughing and playing there would unconsciously appear in his mind.
Now, he is the only lonely man left in the Ning Mansion.
Ning Cen stood up and prepared to go out for a walk when a servant hurried over and said, "Sir, the Queen has sent someone to deliver a letter."
Qingwu’s letter?
A hint of doubt flashed across his eyes, and he took the letter from the servant and opened it to read it.
The content of the letter made Ning Cen's face more solemn. His hand gripped the letter paper tighter and tighter, and veins on the back of his hand bulged.
After reading the last word of the letter, Ning Cen felt complicated.
He didn't know how to feel disappointed that the emperor he was loyal to was actually evaluating him like this behind his back.
Or should I feel sad that my daughter has been entrusted to the wrong person and her husband has never liked her.
His Qingwu has really changed a lot. In the past, Qingwu would definitely ask him for help when something big happened like this.
Now, she is actually planning a countermeasure without telling anyone.
The person next to him wanted to harm his father. Ning Cen could not imagine how painful Qingwu must have been that day.
He originally thought that if he became stronger, he could become a solid support for his daughter, but he never expected that the final outcome would be like this.
Ning Cen took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself.
After a moment, he folded the letter, held it in his hand, and walked towards the study.
Some time ago, after conquering the State of Wu, Ji Xun had the surviving soldiers stationed on the border over there, which was near Anguo.
After returning to the country, Ji Xun transferred all the remaining soldiers of Ning Cen who were still in the capital there.
The reason for choosing that place was mainly because it was the farthest from the capital of Yue State. In this way, it would not be so easy for Ning Cen to rebel.
Unexpectedly, the process of Ning Cen leading his subordinates to submit to An Guo has become much easier.
On the other side, after three days of rushing, the envoys from the State of Yue finally arrived at Anguo.
In the Anguo court, Yun Zhi sat high on the dragon throne, looking calmly at the envoys from the Yue Kingdom below.
After bowing respectfully, the envoy hurriedly explained his purpose, "Your Majesty, the Yu and Liao countries have formed an alliance and intend to attack our country. Your Majesty is willing to offer generous conditions in exchange for your country's support. I hope Your Majesty will agree."
Yun Zhi narrowed her eyes slightly, looking at the anxious envoy below, and slowly said, "Conditions? I wonder what conditions Yue Kingdom can offer that will tempt me?"
Yun Zhi had actually anticipated that Vietnam would ask them for help.
As for agreeing to help, that is impossible. The conditions that Yue State can offer now are nothing more than a few cities, gold, silver, jewelry and the like. It cannot provide more.
It’s not as cost-effective as their direct attack.
Besides, if I don't kill you now while you're sick, will I wait for you to recover and then bite you back?
However, it can create the appearance of taking advantage of someone's misfortune.
In that case, the State of Yue would only think that An Guo wanted to take advantage of the situation and ask for more, thus relaxing its vigilance against An Guo.
Who would have thought that while the two countries were still negotiating the terms of aid on the surface, they had already prepared troops to attack you in secret.
Yun Zhi couldn't help but smile slightly when she thought of Ji Xun's curse when he found out that she had no intention of helping Yue State from the beginning.
I think that scene is very interesting.
When the envoys below heard Yun Zhi's question about "conditions," they quickly read out the conditions offered by Yue State. "Your Majesty, if your country is willing to lend a hand and repel Yu and Liao, our country is willing to offer ten cities, 100,000 taels of gold, and 300,000 taels of silver. There is absolutely no objection."
Yun Zhi chuckled and looked at him with interest. "Ten cities? These are not enough to make me send troops. You should go back and prepare for their two countries to attack you."
The envoy's face turned pale, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. "Your Majesty, what conditions do you require for your assistance?"
Yun Zhi tapped the armrest of the dragon throne gently, and after a moment's contemplation, he said, "I want 30% of your Yue Kingdom's territory, as well as half of the salt fields that were previously owned by Wu Kingdom. In addition, you must pay us Anguo five years' worth of gold, countless rare treasures, and thousands of bolts of silk and satin."
The envoy was so shocked that he almost collapsed to the ground. "Your Majesty, these... these conditions are really too harsh. I hope Your Majesty can consider our previous friendship in attacking the State of Wu and reduce them a little."
"Friendship? We don't have any friendship. We joined forces to attack Wu before because of profit. Now that everything has been distributed, there is naturally no connection anymore."
The envoy looked at Yun Zhi's resoluteness and refused to give in. He gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, I cannot make the decision on this matter. I will report to His Majesty and give you a reply."
Yun Zhi nodded slightly, "Go, and it's better to go quickly, otherwise it will be bad if the country is destroyed."
The envoy left in a hurry.
After the envoy left, the ministers in the court looked confused.
Does this mean you won't attack Yue State but are ready to help?
The ministers looked at each other and saw the same confusion in their colleagues' eyes as their own.
Oh, forget it, who cares? They just have to listen to His Majesty. If His Majesty says to fight, then they fight; if His Majesty says to help, then they help.
Among the bewildered ministers, a few had a vague idea of Yun Zhi's thoughts, but they were not quite sure.
Looking at the many ministers below who were still confused, Yun Zhi did not intend to explain.
Although a group of spies have been dealt with before, we don’t know if there are any omissions. If the news leaks out, it will be troublesome.
"When there is something to do, we will start to act, but when there is nothing to do, we will retreat."
As soon as Yun Zhi finished speaking, the court fell silent.
Seeing that no one spoke, Yun Zhi stood up and said, "Dismiss the court!"
The ministers saluted and then dispersed.
After walking out of the hall, Yun Zhi went towards the study. Now it was time to decide on the commander-in-chief and deputy general.