Back to the morning of the fifth day, in front of the Tianmen Pass, thousands of soldiers formed into square formations and surrounded a large tent in the central open space.
In front of the open space of Tianmen Pass, a huge army with flags of different colors was standing.
There were the silver-armored cavalry of the Royal Army, with their red flags featuring dragons. There were also the blue helmets, blue armor, white spears, and blue flags featuring tigers, disguised as the Southwestern Army by Chen Xu.
They were divided into two phalanxes and stood outside the moat of Tianmen Pass in a menacing manner.
On the city wall, red and blue flags stand intertwined, as if constantly warning the enemy that there are two armies guarding the city, making it extremely difficult to break through.
On the other side of the tent was the black wolf-patterned flag of the Xue family, the main force of the Northern Army. All the generals were covered in black armor and leather shoulder armor, which also looked magnificent and majestic.
On the other side, there were several rebel armies, also using black flags with wolf patterns, but their equipment was varied, mostly leather and cloth armor.
They distinguished the teams by the color of their headscarves and armbands. Some wore red scarves, some wore white armbands... Judging from the patterns, there were at least seven or eight different teams.
They stood facing the royal army, with half as many men as the king's.
The tent in the middle was a temporary tent set up by both sides for signing the armistice and peace agreement. It looked particularly small surrounded by thousands of troops.
But it is the most important thing.
Entering the tent was a long table with a long armistice agreement spread out on it. Shen Xu and several generals of the royal army sat on one side of the table, while on the other side sat Xue Yan's siblings, the generals of the Xue family army, and several representatives of the rebel army.
It was heard that the rebel general Zhang Cheng disobeyed orders and attacked Xiangyangling without authorization.
The rebels immediately became confused and started discussing with several uninformed generals of the Xue family.
Xue Yu pretended to be her brother, and now everyone recognizes her as General Xue. She and Xue Yan have already discussed the outcome and are preparing to sign a peace agreement.
Bang! A big man broke the table into several pieces with his bare hands.
"Don't sign! The royal army is about to be defeated. We can seize the young emperor's throne soon. What kind of bullshit agreement is this?"
In order to prevent anyone from taking the opportunity to disrupt the peace talks, the generals on both sides were unarmed. When they saw someone breaking the table, they immediately started cursing at each other.
Some people had already clenched their fists and were ready to fight at any time.
Shen Xu's heart had already flown to Xiangyang Mountain with the battle report. Song Lin's situation at the moment must be extremely dangerous. They have experienced four days of fighting. The casualties, trap losses and combat status on the mountain have definitely reached the limit.
Plus, she had sent a letter not long ago that made them relax...
If another 80,000 troops attacked the mountain at this moment, Wang Shi’s army would definitely be caught off guard!
The situation is extremely critical.
At this time, Xue Yan was unable to decide on his own whether to fight or surrender.
The rebels refused to sign the peace treaty and were waiting for the results of the battle at Xiangyangling.
Shen Xu gritted his teeth secretly, Husband, you must persevere and survive!
"Our military advisor said that there is no one on Xiangyang Ridge. You told us to surrender. Bah! Only bastards like you should surrender and beg for mercy on your knees."
Once the table fell, there was no barrier between the two sides, and the rough men of the rebel army began to curse.
"If it weren't for the female prime minister who had pity on the suffering people, how would you rebels have survived? Fight me if you want, I'm afraid of you. I don't know who will run out of Tianmen Pass like a stray dog!" The generals of the royal army were not to be outdone. They cursed and pushed each other.
They had just experienced a small victory, and heard that Song Lin and Li Fei had defended Xiangyangling for four days, killing 40,000 to 50,000 enemy soldiers. Their morale was high, and several of them refused to surrender and threatened to fight.
After all, after breaking through Yuji Pass, there is a vast plain in the north, which is a great battlefield for cavalry to gallop and kill the enemy.
At this time, the messenger delivered another battle report, saying that Zhang Cheng's troops were trapped in the trap array of Xiangyang Mountain. Both sides suffered casualties and were at a stalemate.
"General Xue, sign the peace agreement, and the court will immediately sign the bill to release grain, and let Zhang Cheng withdraw his troops immediately. We should not lose any more people on both sides!" Shen Xu stood up from his chair anxiously.
When the rebels saw that she was getting restless, they quickly dissuaded Xue Yu from signing the peace agreement, disagreed with the current peace terms, and demanded renegotiation.
The purpose is naturally to drag out the battle of Xiangyangling until it comes to an end.
Shen Xu frowned, his heart in a mess, but he heard Xue Yu shout, "Quiet!"
The noise in the tent suddenly quieted down. Not long after, someone started to make noise again. Xue Yu clenched his fist and punched the man in the face, causing him to howl.
Xue Yu winked at the guard beside him, and the man was dragged out of the tent.
Everyone looked at each other and suddenly fell silent. Seeing that the other general was so fierce, Master Wang didn't dare to say anything.
Xue Yu straightened his back and said loudly with full energy: "Can we still talk? What the hell are you arguing about?
What exactly are you fighting this battle for?
Want to take the opportunity to go south and plunder?
Or do you want to be an emperor and enjoy wealth and glory?
We have 23 million hungry people and their families behind us, eagerly waiting for food to be shipped to the north to save them.
Now that the imperial court is willing to open the granaries and release grain, why is there still bloodshed and sacrifice?
What I want is for the soldiers and civilians in the north to have enough to eat, not for me to win this war and fight to the death!"
One of the rebels whispered, "The northern people are upright and never bow their heads. They would rather not eat the charity given by the imperial court!
We want you to be the emperor, so that you can provide us with enough food."
"Yes, yes... We will follow General Xue. Don't surrender. If you want us to fight, we won't retreat even a single step!"
Several other generals also echoed.
"Fighting is like asking for death!" Xue Yu cursed without hesitation and loudly scolded the generals under his command, looking like a general with a strong aura.
That fierce aura was completely different from Xue Yan's.
Xue Yan calmly ordered someone to bring another table. He did not say anything to stop the rebels from delaying time, but wanted to see how the woman opposite would respond.
Even though this is a matter of life and death, it cannot stop his curiosity.
Shen Xu slowly sat down on the chair and said, “There are still several passes to the south. Even if you capture Xiangyang Ridge, you will have no chance of entering Panshi City.
Our power crossbows have a range of three hundred feet, and the iron ore reserves mined under the Imperial Master's order are sufficient for us to craft millions of arrowheads in the rear."
Upon hearing this, the Northern Army generals immediately became dissatisfied. "Since you can fight, why come here to negotiate peace? No matter how powerful your crossbows are, what good are they if no one fights for you?"
At this moment, news came from the scouts on the front line of Xiangyangling that Zhang Cheng had been unable to capture Xiangyang Mountain for a long time and was preparing to set fire to the mountain.
Shen Xu's hand, which was placed under her sleeve, was already broken by her own nails. If her husband refused to retreat and set fire to the mountain, wouldn't it be disastrous?
She said coldly, "Since you insist on being traitors, you're doomed!"
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