Chapter 794: Night Trial (Part )

"Although the prince promised Zhao Xin not to kill Liu Xunyi, he never said he would save him. Moreover, the prince can only be completely at ease if Liu Xunyi becomes dead." Wang Dechen's eyes were filled with a treacherous look, and he said confidently, "How can I allow my woman to have ulterior motives? Ordinary people cannot tolerate this, let alone a hero like the prince? As long as Liu Xunyi signs the deed to cede the three prefectures, even if he returns to Lin'an smoothly, the Song Dynasty court will definitely not let him go. By then, he has offended both the court and the martial arts world. It can be said that there is no way to go to heaven or to the earth, and the only way is death!"

Hu Lie frowned, half believing and half doubting, "De Chen, are you... teaching me to abandon the righteous path of benevolence and morality and adopt villainous tricks?"

"Your Highness, you are wrong!" Wang Dechen corrected him righteously, "Your Highness is not targeting anyone, nor has he done anything wrong because of a love affair. From the beginning to the end, Your Highness has only one thing in mind, which is to help the Khan conquer the Han land south of the desert and return every inch of grass and trees in the world to the Mongolian territory. Therefore, Your Highness follows the way of heaven, is kind and righteous, and only does what should be done. How can you talk about petty tricks? Right now, the southern army is short of food and grass, and urgently needs the harvest from the three prefectures of Xingyuan to supplement military supplies. Therefore, no matter who comes here with the title of 'Song Dynasty's Marriage Envoy', they will have to go through this disaster. Liu Xunyi... is just unlucky and happened to be unlucky."

"This……"

"Rather than saying he was unlucky, it's better to say he brought it upon himself. After all, karma comes in waves, and retribution comes out. Liu Xunyi has caused all this, and he can't blame anyone else." Wang Dechen added, "In the beginning, he became the 'Envoy for Peace' to avoid being hunted down by the Central Plains martial arts community. This title was undoubtedly a talisman for him, saving him from the misfortune of being surrounded by enemies. Now, the 'talisman' has become a 'death warrant'. The same title of 'Envoy for Peace' saved him from dire straits, but now it has put him in an irretrievable situation. In the final analysis, when he killed Luo Tianjin, he had already doomed himself to this evil consequence."

At this point, Wang Dechen suddenly changed the subject and said worriedly, "The only problem right now is whether Liu Xunyi can sign the cession deed obediently?"

"What do you want to say?" Hu Lie's face was gloomy and his tone was ambiguous, as if he was hesitant inside.

"Although I have only met Liu Xunyi once and don't know him very well, based on his performance in front of us yesterday, it is not difficult to see that he is a stubborn person, and he is not afraid of death." Wang Dechen said faintly, "I know this kind of person quite well. The more you ask him to do something, the more he won't do it. This kind of stubbornness in his bones will probably not be shaken even if you threaten him with death. Therefore...

Wang Dechen's voice suddenly stopped and he cast a cautious look at Hu Lie, as if testing his attitude.

"Why?" Hu Lie thought, "Don't keep me in suspense."

"Excuse me for being blunt, but even if the prince sends Su He to persuade him, I'm afraid he won't be able to shake Liu Xunyi's resolve." Wang Dechen said frankly, "In his mind, ceding the three prefectures is tantamount to selling out his master for personal gain and colluding with foreign countries."

"kindness."

Hu Lie's reaction was very strange. A simple "yes" was neither an affirmation nor a denial, which made people suspicious and confused.

Wang Dechen couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked in a low voice: "The prince just said that he would find another person to help Su He persuade Liu Xunyi tomorrow. I wonder who that person is..."

"Zhao Xin." Hu Lie blurted out without thinking.

"This..." Wang Dechen was stunned, "The prince asked Zhao Xin to lobby Liu Xunyi? But Zhao Xin and him are clearly..."

"I have already discussed the pros and cons of this matter with Zhao Xin. Although she has not stated her position, I can see a hint of hesitation in her eyes." Hu Lie explained calmly, "In her heart, the lives of innocent people are more important than the three prefectures. I asked her to weigh the pros and cons herself. Although she may not necessarily speak for us, she will definitely not sit idly by and watch Liu Xunyi disregard the lives of innocent people."

"That being said, I think the chances of success are still slim." Wang Dechen said intermittently, "It's not that I want to boost others' morale and destroy my own prestige, but it's really... it's easy to change a country but hard to change one's nature. If Liu Xunyi is stubborn by nature, even if Zhao Xin takes action... I'm afraid it won't help."

"This part...I know."

"What?" Hu Lie's answer was beyond Wang Dechen and Yin Zhan's expectations. Their faces changed, and their eyes were filled with astonishment. "Does the prince know?"

"Yes." Hu Lie nodded gently, "It is difficult for Su He and Zhao Xin to convince Liu Xunyi, and I... never expected them to be able to convince Liu Xunyi."

"The more I watch your Highness play this game, the more confused I am." Wang Dechen frowned, puzzled. "Since your Highness knew that Liu Xunyi would not agree, why did he waste his breath on Su He and the others? More importantly, if Liu Xunyi would rather die than obey, we won't get the cession deed. It's a small matter that he doesn't fall out with the Song Dynasty court, but we won't get the hundreds of thousands of shi of military rations we desperately need, which is a big problem."

"This move of mine is not a futile one, but... it is for the public good and my own selfish reasons."

"Appreciate further details."

"For the selfish ones, they want to give Zhao Xin some face and let her know that this matter is not caused by my unreasonable and greedy behavior. It is because Liu Xunyi is ignorant of the overall situation and stubborn, which ultimately hurts others and himself." Hu Lie's words were not fully expressed, and there was something else behind his words. "For the public interest, they want Liu Xunyi to reject the conditions proposed by me, so that the Song Dynasty will always owe us for the matter of Yunya Town. In this way, Mongolia will be kind and righteous to the Song Dynasty, while the Song Dynasty will be kind and righteous to Mongolia. Whatever happens in the future... people in the world can only blame Liu Xunyi's scholarly spirit and the Song Dynasty court for borrowing bandits to rob, but they can't blame us for being eager for revenge and interfering in other people's business." "Does the prince mean... to put the blame for the failure of the peace talks on Liu Xunyi and the Emperor of the Song Dynasty?" Wang Dechen pondered, "While preparing for the future war,... we will win the heart of a beauty?"

"Haha..." Hu Lie did not answer directly, but laughed out loud, "Dechen, this matter still requires you to cooperate with me in another play. I want Zhao Xin to see carefully that my mind, my literary and military strategies, and my ambitions are far beyond the reach of a little Liu Xunyi. Now that the Khan wants me to stay in Helin for a few more days, and then set off south after the Nadam Festival, I can take this opportunity to deal with these trivial matters of love, so as not to be upset in the future and affect military and national affairs."

"As the saying goes, 'a saint forgets about emotions' and 'a great sound is silent'. A hero like your Highness is not only invincible in battles, but can also make plans when it comes to love." Wang Dechen jokingly flattered, "It seems that our suggestion to your Highness to kill Liu Xunyi is not in your Highness's eyes at all. What your Highness really wants is not only Zhao Xin's body, but also her heart."

Hu Lie raised his eyebrows and said teasingly, "Where did General Wang learn such a smooth talk? What? Are you no longer thinking about military tactics and battle formations, but only thinking about flattery?"

"Your Highness, you are making fun of me!" Wang Dechen thought to himself and said suspiciously, "Then our military rations..."

"That was the first thing I came to discuss with you overnight. This is the second one." Hu Lie said calmly, "Yesterday morning, you asked me how to deal with Sui Zuo who was not doing his job well. We were halfway through the discussion when Liu Xunyi and his men arrived. Now, I can tell you clearly that Sui Zuo will serve as the commander of the Jingbei camp despite his crime."

"Then... should we call the 'King of Hexi' back?"

"No! Let An Chen continue to stay in the Jingbei camp and help Sui Zuo handle military affairs."

“This…” Wang Dechen was stunned, seemingly not understanding Hu Lie’s intention, and reminded him, “Your Highness, An Chen’s official position and status are far more noble than Sui Zuo’s. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to let him assist Sui Zuo? Why not instead order An Chen to be the commander-in-chief and Sui Zuo to be the deputy commander…”

"No!" Hu Lie said in a tone that left no room for doubt. "Let Sui Zuo be the main one and An Chen be the auxiliary one. Tell An Chen not to bear any grudges. This is just a temporary arrangement. I will definitely call him back to Helin within a year."

Wang Dechen seemed to understand, but he was puzzled and asked, "Why is it arranged like this?"

"Because there are some things that An Chen can't do, they must be done by Sui Zuo."

"what's up?"

"Lead troops south, surprise attack Qinhuai, harvest in autumn... and grab food."

"hiss!"

When Hu Lie said this, Wang Dechen and Yin Zhan took a deep breath and looked at each other with horror on their faces.

"Your Majesty, are you...preparing for a response?"

"That's right!" Hu Lie said bluntly, "I am sure that Liu Xunyi would rather die than obey, but I will give him a few more chances for Zhao Xin's sake to show my magnanimity. But these are just gimmicks for the occasion. Hundreds of thousands of brothers in the southern army are starving right now, and no matter how many gimmicks there are, they can't make a living. Therefore, I decided to act according to the circumstances and prepare a set of expedient plans in Helin and Hexi. One static and one dynamic, one open and one hidden, we will take a two-pronged approach to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

"But...if we rashly invade the south, we may be doing it without a legitimate reason." Wang Dechen said in a dilemma, "Especially now, the prince has just married the princess of the Song Dynasty, and the friendship between the Mongols and the Song Dynasty is at a critical juncture. If we turn against each other right away, regardless of whether Sui Zuo's Jingbei camp can break through the Qinhuai natural barrier before the autumn harvest, even if they do...I'm afraid the spit of the world will drown us."

"Who said we started out without a name?" Hu Lie smiled meaningfully, "This is the most critical and difficult move in the entire plan. Liu Xunyi will help us solve it right away."

Wang Dechen thought for a moment, his eyes suddenly changed, and he suddenly realized: "Your Highness means..."

"If Liu Xunyi signs the cession deed, then Chen can legitimately go south to collect grain. If Liu Xunyi doesn't sign the cession deed, Sui Zuo can use the name of 'thoroughly investigating the bloodbath in Yunya Town' to lead his troops across the Qinhuai border with great fanfare." Hu Lie said word by word, "We will only rob grain, not occupy cities or fight, so we don't need too many troops. When the time comes, 50,000 troops from the Jingbei camp will go out together, and Sui Zuo will lead 2,000 troops to march south in a swagger, which will surely attract all the attention of the Song Dynasty's official army to himself. Taking this opportunity, 8,000 soldiers will disguise themselves and infiltrate the three prefectures of Xingyuan, and directly seize the granaries and granaries of each city. There is no need to entangle, let alone linger in the battle. The remaining 40,000 troops will ambush north of Qinhuai, fortify the walls and clear the fields, and prepare for... unexpected needs."

……

(End of this chapter)