Chapter 164 Yunzhou Yunzhou

"This is Yunzhou..."

Yunzhou is located in the northern border fortress. At this time, the snow is covered for thousands of miles, the towering city walls are scarred, and the smell of blood lingers in the cold air. There are few pedestrians on the streets. Occasionally, one or two people are in a hurry and cast hostile eyes at the convoy entering the city.

Before the war, the Great Zhou Dynasty had always had trade exchanges with various tribes on the grassland, so that the residents of the inland areas of Yunzhou also had a complex relationship. Now that the war has broken out, these foreign and mixed-race people have suffered from discrimination.

Su Fengzhang lifted the curtain and looked around. Yunzhou, a bitterly cold place, could certainly not be compared with the capital, but the shops with closed doors on both sides of the road still spoke of its former prosperity.

It’s a pity that this prosperity is like the moon in the water and cannot withstand the slightest suppression.

Just when Su Fengzhang was lost in thought, a burst of hurried horse hoofbeats sounded, and he saw a group of people wearing light armor. The one leading them was his old acquaintance, Song Wei Shangshu, who came in person to greet Prince Cheng.

"Your humble servant pays his respects to Prince Cheng." Compared to when he was in the court, Song Wei's face was now full of vicissitudes, his eyes were bloodshot, and one could tell at a glance that he had not had a good rest for a long time. Also, the Fourth Prince was captured alive under his nose, and Song Wei's pressure can be imagined.

"There's no need to be so polite, Lord Song." Prince Cheng walked out of the carriage and reached out to help him up.

Song Wei's expression did not soften at his gentle words, but instead grew even more solemn. He whispered, "Prince, General Meng is still guarding the front lines. Please follow me to the General's Mansion to rest."

Prince Cheng nodded and told the convoy to follow without saying anything more.

It was not until they entered the ancient general's mansion that Prince Cheng asked, "Sir Song, what is the current situation in Yunzhou?"

Song Wei gritted his teeth and said, "Not very good!"

"After the Fourth Prince was captured alive, General Meng was tied up and could only defend the city without a chance to counterattack. He was already at a disadvantage, and furthermore..."

"What else?" asked Prince Cheng.

Song Wei's expression grew increasingly grim as he led the group inside: "Prince Cheng will know once he sees it with his own eyes."

Although all the officials present knew that the Fourth Prince would not gain any benefit from being captured alive by the Xianbei, after all, the Xianbei did not have the good habit of treating prisoners well, but when they saw the bloody ear in the box, they were still shocked and the atmosphere became tense for a moment.

One of the elders almost gasped for breath as he shouted angrily, "Is this the Fourth Prince's ear?"

Song Wei nodded and said, "The Mengjiang army seized a good opportunity a few days ago and was originally planning to retake the city of Yunhai. However, the Xianbei people pushed the Fourth Prince to the front and threatened him, forcing the Mengjiang army to retreat."

"Meng Jiangjun had no choice but to give up a great opportunity."

"That was fine, but the next day, the Xianbei sent another man to deliver the Fourth Prince's... ear, threatening that if Meng Jiangjun dared to act rashly again, they would send the Fourth Prince's hand, a leg, or even his head!"

"This, this is simply outrageous, how dare they do this!"

"If this happens, wouldn't the Mengjiang army be afraid to act rashly? How can the Zhou Dynasty regain its homeland?"

The officials who had come to negotiate peace were all talking and indignant. However, Prince Cheng, noticing that his brother hadn't even twitched an eyebrow, turned and asked, "Lord Song, from what you're saying, it seems that the Mengjiang army has the upper hand this time?"

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Song Wei's face, but he still said, "That's right."

"After I arrived in Yunzhou with the Fourth Prince, I learned that the Xianbei were able to quickly capture the three cities of Yunzhou because they were causing chaos within the cities and colluding with the outside world, catching the Mengjiang army off guard."

"Meng Jiang's army has 200,000 soldiers under its command, and they could have quickly recovered the lost territory...but they didn't expect the Fourth Prince to fall into the hands of the Xianbei. Now they are afraid to act rashly, and instead..."

Prince Cheng raised an eyebrow and asked pointedly, "Since the Great Zhou had the upper hand, how could my fourth brother be captured alive?"

Why did the emperor insist on sending the fourth prince to fight in the first place? Was he really stupid and was planning to let his son die?

This is naturally impossible. After all, the emperor also knows that Meng Kun is a good fighter. Although the Xianbei people are aggressive, the possibility of Yunzhou falling is actually very low. The fourth prince can come here to take advantage of the military merit.

Who would have thought that the Fourth Prince was like a meat bun thrown at a dog when he arrived, and was directly taken away by the Xianbei people. This made the emperor furious, and he even wanted to punish Meng Kun and Song Weitong for a time.

Hearing Prince Cheng's words, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Song Wei's face. He lowered his head and said, "Prince Cheng, you may not know, but after we arrived in Yunzhou, we discovered that the food and military uniforms we brought were defective. The Meng Jiang army was furious and reported it to Your Majesty, but since the military supplies could not be delivered for a while, they decided to fight a quick battle."

"Including the soldiers we brought with us, there are 300,000 Zhou troops here. Just getting food is a big problem. Naturally, we can't delay it for too long. This was originally a good idea."

"Who would have thought that the Fourth Prince, having believed someone's rumors, would personally go into battle to boost morale, and he never returned."

Prince Cheng sneered, knowing full well the hidden meaning in Song Wei's words.

There was a problem with food and grass, and he believed Meng Kun's proposal for a quick victory. But why did the Fourth Prince go to the front line and was captured alive? Prince Cheng would not believe that Song Wei was not involved in this matter.

But at this moment, he glanced at Song Wei and saw that there were bloodstains on his face and the white cloth bandaged on his right hand was still stained with blood. He knew that no matter what role Song Wei played in this matter, he was probably regretting it now.

Prince Cheng had a good idea. If Song Wei knew that if he agreed to let the Fourth Prince take the risk of going to the front line to steal the military merit, it would directly lead to a series of events later, he would not agree even if his head was chopped off.

Who could have thought that despite being heavily protected, the Fourth Prince would deliver himself into the hands of the Xianbei people!

Thinking of that stubborn Meng Kun, Song Wei felt bitter in his mouth. He had already anticipated his tragic ending. Even if the Fourth Prince could come back alive this time, he would definitely be dismissed from office after returning to the court!

Prince Cheng did not delve into the events of that day, but simply asked, "Since the Xianbei people are asking for peace talks, then let's negotiate. Did they put forward any conditions?"

Song Wei lowered his head and said, "The Xianbei people only asked for the Great Zhou royal family to negotiate in person, and did not disclose anything else."

Prince Cheng raised an eyebrow. No wonder the Emperor had sent him on this trip. Besides him, the Crown Prince and Prince Rong were probably the only ones who could handle the situation. He then asked, "When will General Meng Kun be able to return?"

Song Wei continued, "Meng Jiang's army is on the city wall. He is worried about the Xianbei people and refuses to return home."

Although it was the Xianbei who proposed the peace talks, how could Meng Kun feel at ease with the army still there?

After thinking for a moment, Song Wei added, "Prince Cheng, when the Fourth Prince was captured, Meng Jiangjun insisted on pursuing him, completely disregarding the Fourth Prince's safety. Furthermore, it was he who advocated a counterattack a few days ago, which led to the Fourth Prince being..."

"Okay, let him talk to father about Fourth Brother's matter himself when he gets back." Prince Cheng said lightly.

Song Wei lowered his head quickly, knowing that in the heart of the Fifth Prince Cheng, the Fourth Prince might not be that important. After all, the royal family had no father and son, let alone brothers. They probably wished that all the other brothers would die before they would be happy.

But Song Wei did not want the Fourth Prince to die tragically. As long as the Fourth Prince was alive, he still had a glimmer of hope. If the Fourth Prince died, could the Emperor, who loved the Fourth Prince so much, let him go? At that time, he was afraid that his entire family would be executed.

Song Wei was so frightened by his own thoughts that he broke out in a sweat. Prince Cheng seemed to see through his thoughts and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Lord Song. Before I left the capital, my father repeatedly told me to bring my fourth brother back alive."

Song Wei's thoughts were seen through, and he quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Your humble servant Dingdang will do his best to help Prince Cheng accomplish this."

Su Fengzhang, who was standing at the back of the team, watched their conversation and felt that Song Wei should be grateful to the emperor. The person sent over at this time was the fifth prince instead of the crown prince. If the crown prince came, he would probably wish the fourth prince to die soon.

After receiving the assurance from Prince Cheng, Song Wei felt slightly relieved and looked up at the officials behind him.

He had been an official in the court for many years and was also the Minister of War. He was very familiar with many of the officials on this diplomatic mission. When he saw that those old officials looked pale, he couldn't help but frowned.

"Are you feeling unwell, my lords? Why don't you see a doctor first and recover before you go to negotiate peace?"

Without waiting for the adults to speak, Prince Cheng said, "It should be done this way, otherwise he would lie down before anyone else left."

The adults wanted to refuse, but they were exhausted from traveling for days, so they had no choice but to agree.

Song Wei glanced at the unfamiliar officials again, and heard Prince Cheng continue, "Sir Song, since General Meng is worried about returning, please lead the way. I will personally go to the city wall to pay my respects to General Meng."

Song Wei's face froze. The elders were the first to say, "Prince, I'm afraid this isn't appropriate. It's dangerous on the city wall, and besides..."

"What's wrong with that? General Meng is also an elder, so I should do the same."

Prince Cheng said forcefully, "The elders, please rest and recuperate. He Jun, Su Fengzhang, the two of you, come with me to pay a visit to General Meng!"

Song Wei glanced at the faces of the people present and was surprised that those old gentlemen were unable to suppress Prince Cheng at all. He originally thought that the one who would make the decision this time was the imperial tutor Li Huairen, but now it seems that Lord Li's face was pale and he had no way to resist Prince Cheng's words.

What Song Wei didn't know was that Prince Cheng had the final say along the way. He was a prince and a prince, and even though Tutor Li was the emperor's teacher, he was not as rank-bound as this one.

If Prince Cheng cared about his reputation among the literati, he would naturally give him some allowance, but this man was notoriously unruly.

"Lord Song, is there any problem?" asked Prince Cheng.

Song Wei quickly said, "No problem, I'll lead the way."

After they left triumphantly, Li Taifu sighed and frowned, saying, "When the time comes to negotiate peace, I wonder if the Fifth Prince will listen to our opinions."

Another old man at the back also said, "I'm afraid it's hopeless."

The two men thought of the Emperor's instructions at the same time and sighed deeply. They didn't know what was going on. Although the current Emperor was unreliable, he was at least respectful to the wise and humble. However, among his sons, the Crown Prince was violent, the Fourth Prince was hypocritical, and the Fifth Prince was unscrupulous. No matter who ascended the throne in the future, they were afraid...