Chapter 629 Shouchun!

While sending the personal letter, Cao Changping also planned to spend some money to give some benefits to the important officials of Fengwu Army, asking them to help say some good words for him...
Cao Changping has already selected his targets. The two most important ones are An Miaoyi and Murong Qingwu. Having been in the officialdom of the Great Zhou for decades, Cao Changping is well aware of the power of pillow talk. An Miaoyi is Ye Mingsheng's wife and is also very popular in the Fengwu Army. If she says something, it will have a great influence on Ye Mingsheng.

Murong Qingwu is even more extraordinary. In addition to being the most talented woman in the world and having the halo of the Murong family, after she married Ye Mingsheng, the news that Ye Mingsheng had a crush on her in his early years spread out. Cao Changping knew about this matter. As a man, he knew very well that Ye Mingsheng was most likely to have a special feeling for Murong Qingwu. Therefore, if Murong Qingwu spoke up, then this matter might be successful!

For this reason, Cao Changping has specially ordered his men to collect ancient Chinese classics in Qi and Lu in the past few days, intending to please Murong Qingwu.

In addition to pillow talk, Cao Changping also planned to please Gu Sansi, He Jingyun and other close ministers of Ye Mingsheng. When he sent some gifts, he also sent over the specific conditions for peace talks with the Fengwu Army. There were not many conditions, only two, but they hit the nail on the head that day.

The first thing is to hand over the war criminal Duan Yanfeng and his eldest son Duan Chong!
Secondly, the Fengwu Army demanded 500,000 taels of silver as compensation for defeat!

In addition to these two points, the Fengwu Army also stated that the Qi Army could use money and food to redeem the tens of thousands of prisoners of war in the hands of the Fengwu Army.

At the same time as the negotiation conditions were delivered, Cao Changping also received other news, that is, nearly 100,000 Fengwu troops arrived at the border of Qi and Lu and held various military exercises with live ammunition, as if they would just start fighting if they couldn't reach an agreement on the talks...
Although he had long realized that the Fengwu Army would not easily agree to peace, Cao Changping still felt a headache when he saw the two conditions of the Fengwu Army. Although the compensation for defeat was 500,000 taels of silver, it was a lot, but this one was a bit pitiful and there might be some room for bargaining.

But the first one was something Cao Changping absolutely could not accept. Everyone knew that Duan Yanfeng had been very kind to him, Cao Changping, and this battle had nothing to do with him. It was he, Cao, who had invited him to fight. Now that the battle was lost, he handed over the man. If this got out, it would be a shame for the world.

If he really did so, he would be labeled as ungrateful and would never be able to hold his head up for the rest of his life. In addition, his soldiers would become disheartened and disloyal, and no one would be willing to work for him wholeheartedly. Handing over Duan Yanfeng would be like a bowl of chronic poison. Based on these considerations, Cao Changping politely declined the Fengwu Army's request.

However, the Fengwu Army's attitude was also tough. They stated that handing over Duan Yanfeng and his son Duan Chong was a prerequisite for the peace talks between the two armies. If Cao Changping did not comply with this condition, the peace talks would be cancelled. Facing the arrogant and rude Fengwu Army, Cao Changping was very angry and wanted to have a big battle with the Fengwu Army immediately. However, the situation was stronger than the person, and he did not have the capital to turn against the Fengwu Army...
Just when Cao Changping was in a dilemma, the content of the negotiation between the Qi Army and the Fengwu Army was immediately leaked by someone with ulterior motives, saying that Cao Changping was planning to embezzle military pay to pay war preparation indemnity to the Fengwu Army. As soon as the news came out, there was an uproar within the Qi Army.

For the lower-level soldiers, the Qi army had a long history of withholding military pay, which was often paid several months late. There was no pension at all for the killed or wounded soldiers. Even so, their military pay had to be compensated to the Fengwu Army, which was really unbearable. When the news spread, a mutiny broke out in the Qi army camp.

Cao Changping was also furious when the news of the peace talks came out, but seeing that the situation was getting worse and worse, Cao Changping could only grit his teeth and use the few silver in the silver treasury to pay his brothers a month's salary to calm the emotions of the Qi army soldiers. Then he arrested several generals who led the riot to serve as a warning to others. With this carrot and stick approach, he finally suppressed the development of the situation temporarily.
Although the lower-level soldiers made a big fuss, Cao Changping thought it was just a minor matter. What really distressed him was that when the Fengwu Army demanded the handover of Duan Yanfeng, the senior generals of the Qi Army all remained silent without exception. Although these people did not say anything, remaining silent at this time was already a very clear attitude.

The suffocating pressure from the Fengwu Army outside and the internal disunity made Cao Changping fall into deep depression. Could it be that he could only drink poison to quench his thirst and become an ungrateful person?

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Huainan, Shouchun

Surrounded by countless Anqing army soldiers, the proud Xu Zhaojie rode on a tall horse and slowly walked into Shouchun City.

Looking at the hundreds of Shouchun dignitaries in front of the city gate who were showing him fawning smiles, Xu Zhaojie couldn't help but sigh in his heart while feeling proud.

It was not easy for him to fight this battle!

Originally according to Xu Zhaojie's plan, with his surprise attack, this should be a crushing battle that would not give Feng Keqin any chance to breathe and would directly take over the remaining territory in Huainan. In the first half of the battle, it was exactly as he had imagined. The Huai Army, which was already at a disadvantage in the war, was caught off guard and encountered an all-out sneak attack by the Anqing Army. As expected, it was quickly defeated. Not only did it lose the strategic location of Kangyin, but it also lost almost all of its elite forces.

Just when Xu Zhaojie won the Battle of Kangyin, good news came from Hebei and Henan that the Qi army had entered the battlefield and tied down the Fengwu army. The appearance of this good news immediately made Xu Zhaojie active. He immediately organized troops to encircle Shouchun, preparing to kill Feng Keqin in one fell swoop and see if there was a chance to go north again after taking Huainan and drag the Fengwu army to death in the quagmire of war.

However, just when Xu Zhaojie was feeling complacent and fantasizing about how to capture cities and territories, reality slapped him hard in the face!

The siege supplies he carefully prepared were intercepted by the Fengwu Army’s cavalry before they left Anqing. However, the Fengwu Army’s cavalry did not burn the captured supplies. Instead, they distributed the money and food to the common people, earning a good reputation for themselves...
Xu Zhaojie saw through Ye Mingsheng's conspiracy to lure him into a trap at a glance, but he didn't have any good solution. With the Fengwu Army fanning the flames and watching covetously, if the supplies were really snatched back from the hands of the people, it would definitely intensify the already tense conflict. Therefore, Xu Zhaojie could only scold Ye Mingsheng for a whole morning, and then reluctantly reorganized the transportation of supplies.

In order to capture Shouchun as soon as possible, Xu Zhaojie organized forces to rebuild the city while actively contacting all parties in Shouchun City. Although Feng Keqin in Shouchun City was tough and refused to surrender, with the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Kangyin, the Huai Army, which had lost almost all its elite troops, was already showing signs of defeat, and Feng Keqin only had Shouchun as his base.

Therefore, his original supporters had begun to waver in their hearts. It is human nature to be afraid of death and to seek profit and avoid harm. There are many people in the world who share wealth and status, but only a few who can share hardships. So under Xu Zhaojie's active enticement and promises, the Huainan dignitaries in Shouchun City also began to move, wanting to jump off Feng Keqin's broken ship to stop the loss in time.

Finally, after Xu Zhaojie made a series of promises, this group of people began to act. Although Feng Keqin also had many troops loyal to him, when the two sides were fighting internally, Xu Zhaojie took the opportunity to attack the city. After only one night of fierce attack, with the help of internal support, he completely captured the political and economic center of Huainan.

The defeated Huainan governor Feng Keqin did not choose to surrender to Xu Zhaojie. He resolutely chose to set himself on fire, ending his life and his more than ten years of rule in Huainan with a fire.

"I am here to see you, Lord Marquis!"

Seeing Xu Zhaojie coming over, a trembling old man at the city gate immediately stood up with the help of his family, leaning on a cane, and bowed to Xu Zhaojie and said:

Seeing this person appear, Xu Zhaojie, who was riding on a horse, couldn't help but smile and said, "How is Cao Gong these days? It has been seven years since I last saw him in Luo'an. I really want to thank Cao Gong for his great help in taking Shouchun today!"

Cao Chuan, who had served as the Junior Minister of the Dali Temple and the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, looked at Xu Zhaojie on horseback, with a hint of imperceptible anger in his eyes, but on the surface, this nearly 70-year-old man remained calm and said:
"Thank you for your concern, my Lord. I am already half buried in the ground, and I can only serve you as a servant!"

Seeing Cao Chuan, who used to boss him around so arrogantly, being so humble now, Xu Zhaojie couldn't help but feel very happy and said with a smile:

"I think you are in good health, Lord Cao. If you can't survive for another three to five years, Zhaojie will need your help to take over Huainan this time!"

"Your Majesty is too modest. If you need any help, I and the Cao family will do our best!"

Cao Chuan cupped his hands again and said with a smile:

After saying a few more polite words, Xu Zhaojie walked into the city contentedly, surrounded by the crowd.

As Cao Chuan was old and frail, he had not left the house for a long time. This time he came to meet Xu Zhaojie on purpose. After the meeting, he asked his eldest son Cao Rui to continue to follow Xu Zhaojie, while Cao Chuan himself, accompanied by his youngest son Cao Heng, got on the carriage back home...
Inside the carriage, thinking of Xu Zhaojie's behavior when he was riding on a horse, he couldn't help but complain:

"Dad, Xu Zhaojie is so rude! Our Cao family and their Xu family are old friends, and you are his uncle. When his father died and his Xu family was about to lose the title of Marquis of Zhenyuan, Xu Zhaojie was begging for help everywhere like a stray dog, but it was you who helped his Xu family and saved their title!"

"Let's not talk about the distant past. If our Cao family hadn't taken action, Xu Zhaojie would be outside Shouchun City in the cold wind. He just entered Shouchun and acted like this. If he was allowed to take control of Huainan, what would happen?"

Although Cao Chuan was somewhat disappointed with Xu Zhaojie's attitude, he did not say anything about his youngest son's complaints. He just shook his head and said:

"Go back and tell your family to be careful in the future and never let anyone catch you!"

Hearing his father's instructions, Cao Heng was stunned for a moment, then said in a low voice with some disbelief:
"Dad, are you saying that Xu Zhaojie wants to attack our family?"

"Xu Zhaojie is so ungrateful? Our family helped him a lot this time. Why is he so ungrateful so soon?"

Cao Chuan shook his head and said:

"That's not the case! But Xu Zhaojie's attitude is definitely not as good as I expected. Anyway, it won't hurt to be careful!"

Cao Heng breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Dad, I understand. I will give the orders when I get back..."

While the Cao father and son were having a secret conversation, Xu Zhaojie was also attending a celebratory banquet in the city. Because there was an even grander banquet in the evening, Xu Zhaojie simply spoke a few words to the Huainan dignitaries at the banquet, drank a few glasses of wine, and then left.

Just as Xu Zhaojie was resting his eyes in the room, his deputy general Liu Chaohu walked to his side. Hearing the familiar footsteps of Liu Chaohu, Xu Zhaojie slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing this, Liu Chaohu asked respectfully:

"My Lord, what should we do with those Feng family members?"

Although Feng Keqin died by self-immolation, his Feng clan was still alive and well. There were thousands of Feng family members. With the defeat of Feng Keqin, these people were suddenly reduced from royal relatives in Huainan to anxious prisoners.

However, it is difficult for the Anqing army to deal with these Feng relatives!

The most important reason why Xu Zhaojie, who had the imperial court's order for the southern tour, was able to sit firmly on the position of Inspector General of Anqing was that he gained the trust and support of Feng Keqin. This enabled him to defeat Chen Chongshan, the local Anqing leader, and firmly grasp the military power of the Anqing army in his hands. It was with such a foundation that Xu Zhaojie was able to develop and become the overlord of the south today!
The reason why Feng Keqin supported Xu Zhaojie in the beginning was not only because Xu Zhaojie was a good actor, but also largely because of his relationship with Feng Keqin...

(End of this chapter)