Volume 1, Chapter 293, Peace Envoy

"Today, the soldiers on the border must withdraw. Anyone who objects will be killed along with his entire clan!"

Xiang Yun spoke each word in a cold voice, and then in front of all the civil and military officials, he personally took two imperial edicts, began to write the order to withdraw the troops, and then stamped it with the jade seal that symbolized his status as emperor!

During this time, all the civil and military officials in the audience did not dare to make a sound, because they knew that Xiang Yun was really angry.

Xiang Yun was just about to collect the two imperial edicts and order them to be distributed, when he suddenly seemed to have thought of something. He strode to Jiang Yue, who was still kneeling, and said in a cold voice, "Hand over your seal of the great general of the country!"

Jiang Yue's body stiffened when he heard that. He slowly raised his head and looked at Xiang Yun with pleading eyes, but what he saw was Xiang Yun's extremely cold eyes.

In this state, Xiang Yun obviously did not want to repeat what he had just said. Jiang Yue could not help but slowly close his eyes, and then said in a trembling voice: "Your humble servant, obey your order!"

Then Jiang Yue slowly took out the tiger-roaring-sky-shaped seal from his arms and placed it solemnly in Xiang Yun's hand.

At this moment, his body seemed to be drained of strength. He collapsed decadently, his eyes dull and he was at a loss.

Xiang Yun gave him a cold look, then took Jiang Yue's seal and returned to the dragon throne. He spread out the two imperial edicts on the jade table and stamped them one by one.

Xiang Yun then put the two imperial edicts away, looked at the Minister of War Zhao Yuanxi, and said in a cold voice: "Zhao Yuanxi, listen to my order, I order you to stamp the two imperial edicts with the seal of the Ministry of War immediately after leaving the court, and send them to Longxi Pass and Hongri Pass at full speed day and night!

The troops stationed at the two passes must return to me as quickly as possible!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanxi hurriedly stepped out of the line and bowed, saying, "I obey your order!"

Soon Xiao Guazi brought the two imperial edicts and handed them to him. Zhao Yuanxi held the imperial edicts tightly, feeling like they were a hot potato, but he could do nothing about it as it was the emperor's order.

The matter of withdrawing troops was now settled, and no one spoke out against it. Xiang Yun once again used his tyranny to explain a fact to the civil and military officials, that is, in this court, he, Xiang Yun, still had the final say!

Jiang Yue still knelt there without moving, and no one came forward to pull him. At this time, Xiang Yun looked around at all the ministers and said slowly: "The survival of an empire cannot be maintained by war. There is no conflict of interest between the Great Yun Empire and the White Mist Kingdom and the Red Sky Dynasty, so I don't understand why this war has to continue!"

"War can only lead to bigger wars!" Xiang Yun then looked at Jiang Yue and said in a cold voice: "Jiang Yue, I hope you can understand that this is not a small fight like leading troops to suppress bandits, nor is it like repelling the Black Witch Kingdom in the past. Retreating means victory!"

"The Dayun Empire is facing two huge countries whose national strength far exceeds that of the Empire. Their weapons and military forces will only be much stronger than ours. If we really fight a life-and-death battle with them, even if we win the war, what will it matter? What have we gained?

Nothing, it will only create eternal hatred between the two countries!

We will leave two huge enemies for our descendants. Every year in the future of the Dayun Empire will be spent in endless war. By then, the dead will pile up like mountains and the bones will be like the sea. The people will live a truly miserable life! "

"Let's not talk about the distant past, let me talk about the present! The White Mist Country sent out 5 million troops, the Scarlet Sky Dynasty sent out 8 million troops, and at the Longxi Pass alone, 160,000 Fire Cloud soldiers were killed or injured in just one month!

Jiang Yue, you said that you can repel the 5 million troops of the White Mist Kingdom in 20 days. I hope you can answer, what will you use to repel it? Will you use your flesh and blood, or the elite troops of the Great Cloud Empire, and the lives of the Fire Cloud Army! "

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue suddenly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, dying on the battlefield to defend the territory is the honor of the soldiers of the Dayun Empire. None of us is afraid of death!"

"Do you think what you said is very good and heroic?" Xiang Yun refuted in a stern voice: "I admit that there will be deaths in war, but the start of the war cannot be caused by the stupidity of you powerful people!

You are wasting the elite soldiers of my Great Cloud Empire. Do you treat them as human beings? "

The whole place was silent. In fact, many people were confused and puzzled by Xiang Yun's scolding until now.

This war was initiated by the Baiwu Kingdom and the Chixiao Dynasty from the very beginning. They immediately dispatched troops for defense just to keep the border intact.

Everyone couldn't understand why the emperor said they were wrong for such a correct choice. If they didn't station troops at the border, would they just sit back and watch the enemy invade the country, plunder and occupy the territory? Wouldn't this be a move that would lead to the destruction of the country?

Xiang Yun scolded Jiang Yue so much that he was speechless. It's not that Jiang Yue had nothing to refute, but given the current situation, there was no need to say anything more. After all, Xiang Yun's attitude now was that he was wrong, and if he said more, it would only bring more abuse.

Xiang Yun paused for a moment, then sat upright on the dragon chair and asked in a cold voice, "Who gave the order to mobilize 20 million Fire Cloud troops to the border?"

Zhu Qiyu, Wang Shu, and Liu Yiyi quickly stepped forward. Zhu Qiyu cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this matter was proposed by me, perfected by the Right Prime Minister, approved by the Central Prime Minister, and then supervised by the General Guarding the Nation and hosted by the Ministry of War."

"This is just nonsense!" Xiang Yun cursed in a low voice, and then said unhappily: "Left Prime Minister, listen to my order. I appoint you as the Dayun envoy. On behalf of the Dayun Empire, you will lead ten people from the Ministry of Rites and immediately set off to the White Mist Kingdom to meet their monarch and negotiate peace!"

"Right Prime Minister, listen to my order. I appoint you as the Dayun envoy. On behalf of the Dayun Empire, you will lead ten people from the Ministry of Rites and immediately set off to the Chixiao Dynasty to meet their monarch and negotiate peace!"

"I don't care what methods you two use, you must do your best to stop this war. If you can't convince the two countries to withdraw their troops, then you two don't have to come back!"

When these words were spoken, it was like a bolt from the blue that exploded in the court. His Majesty actually sent two prime ministers to serve as envoys to negotiate peace. Isn't this price a bit too high?

Zhu Qiyu and Wang Shu knelt down hurriedly, kowtowed to Xiang Yun again and again, then cupped their hands and said in unison: "Your humble servants obey your command!"

It was at this time that Zhu Qiyu and Wang Shu finally understood Xiang Yun’s thoughts and the "benevolence and righteousness" of an emperor.

They both knew very well that if the war continued, the number of casualties would surely reach millions, and in the end, it would even be possible that the entire Dayun Empire would be dragged down. The Dayun Empire, which had finally restored people's livelihood, would be devastated again because of this war.

Your Majesty is already extremely distressed by the death and injury of just 160,000 soldiers, so it is absolutely impossible for him to let more soldiers die!

However, the decision made by His Majesty was very simple. Instead of sacrificing millions of soldiers, it would be better to... sacrifice their two important ministers. No matter what, the position of prime minister could more or less intimidate the monarchs of the two countries.

This is the emperor's "benevolence and righteousness". Exchanging two lives for the safety of millions of soldiers and tens of millions of civilians, even the two of them would think this deal is worthwhile.

However, in order to achieve this, the two of them must be brave and confident. If they go to the enemy country and show cowardice, they will probably lose their lives in vain. Whether to go or not also depends on their own wishes.

At the same time, the two men also realized that when the enemy invaded, they did not think of sending envoys to negotiate peace, but directly sent troops to fight... Using a weak country to fight two strong countries, this in itself is a mistake!

Now that His Majesty has asked the two of them to go, it is very likely that he will let them pay with their lives for the trouble they have created themselves!

Liu Yiyi stood aside without saying anything, and the other six ministers did not dare to speak. Only Jiang Yue could not sit still at this time, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, the two prime ministers are the pillars of the Dayun Empire, and they must not be cut off. I am willing to go as an envoy to negotiate peace!"

Upon hearing this, Xiang Yun slammed the jade table and said coldly, "How dare you! Do you still have the right to speak here?"

"Come here!" Xiang Yun shouted, and a large number of imperial guards rushed in. Xiang Yun said in a cold voice: "General Jiang Yue, who openly disobeyed the imperial order, committed treason, and delayed military affairs, shall be punished with 100 strokes of the cane, stripped of his official title, demoted to a groom, and sent to the Imperial Stables to raise horses. Without the imperial order, he shall not be allowed to enter the government!"

This severe punishment made Zhu Qiyu and others even more frightened. Raising horses was not a big deal, at most it was a matter of face, but being caned 100 times was severe.

If it was an ordinary palace maid, twenty strokes of the stick would cripple her. For a normal adult, fifty strokes of the stick would cause severe injuries, making it impossible for him to get out of bed for ten days or half a month!

Although Jiang Yue has some skills now, if he is hit by a hundred sticks, he will be skinned alive if not dead. The emperor wants to teach Jiang Yue a severe lesson.

"Yes!" Several imperial guards agreed, stepped forward, grabbed Jiang Yue and walked out. Not long after, there was a burst of severe beating sounds outside the hall. It sounded like the people who were beating him showed no mercy and used all their strength in every fight.

As a result, the civil and military officials in the Golden Palace became even more frightened.

Xiang Yun continued, "All military affairs in the hands of the former general will be handed over to the Minister of War Zhao Yuanxi for supervision."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuanxi quickly replied: "I obey your order!"

"Dismiss the court, the left and right prime ministers stay!"

Soon, only Xiang Yun, Zhu Qiyu, and Wang Shu were left in the Golden Palace. Xiang Yun got straight to the point and said, "Pack your bags and set off immediately after you return. The journey is long, but I hope you can travel day and night. After all, the soldiers and civilians on the border cannot wait!"

"I understand!" The two of them responded quickly.

Xiang Yun stood up and walked to the two of them, looking at them coldly. The two of them stood where they were, not daring to move or speak. They just lowered their heads, nodding in silence.

Xiang Yun thought for a moment and asked, "Are you scared?"

Zhu Qiyu quickly said, "I am not afraid."

Wang Shu also said: "I am not afraid either!"

Xiang Yun nodded upon hearing this, then smiled and said: "I hope that after you arrive in the enemy country, you will also have the confidence to face me now; I hope that you two will remember one thing, once you enter the enemy's territory, you can die, but you must not lose face for the Great Yun Empire!

If you die in a foreign land, I can confer upon you the title of Duke, guaranteeing you great fortune for three generations. If you bring shame to the Great Yun Empire, I will execute all nine generations of your clan."

After Xiang Yun finished speaking, he flicked his sleeves and strode out of the Golden Palace.

At this moment, Zhu Qiyu's body suddenly went limp and he fell to the ground, staring blankly ahead, feeling extremely uncomfortable. "To serve the king is like serving a tiger. The ancients were honest and would not deceive me."

Wang Shu laughed loudly at this time, his eyes red, looking at the empty dragon throne in the hall, and shouted arrogantly: "A real man can only shed blood and sweat!"

Wang Shu then knelt down on both knees in front of the empty dragon throne, clasped his hands and shouted: "Your Majesty, just rest assured. This humble servant will make the eight million troops of the Chixiao Dynasty retreat, and then forge an everlasting friendship with the Chixiao Dynasty!"

"Hahaha~" After saying that, Wang Shu immediately stood up, without even looking at Zhu Qiyu standing beside him. He just kept laughing as he left the Golden Throne Hall and laughed all the way out of the palace.

I couldn't tell whether that loud laughter was truly heroic or contained a feeling of helplessness and indignation.