Chapter 2729 The Gap in the Heart
Seeing that he didn't take it, Bai Shan stood up and placed the jade pendant on his palm, smiling softly, "Prince Gao Wu gave me this token so that I could pass it on to the Second Prince. We have many ministers who have surrendered to the Great Jin, many of whom were once princes. Not to mention the distant past, General Ashina and General Qibi Heli were all once illustrious figures. After surrendering to the Great Jin, they remained illustrious figures, and even achieved greater achievements than before. Their fame, power, and wealth have only increased. Why should the Second Prince be so obsessed with an empty title?"
Bai Shan closed his fingers around the jade pendant and said meaningfully, "The Fifth Prince has a longer-term vision than the Second Prince on this point. If he can convince the King of Goguryeo, his achievements will be enough to make him a marquis. Isn't that more honorable than being a prince of Goguryeo?"
Prince Gao Er clenched the jade pendant in his hand, wanting to smash it on the ground in front of Bai Shan, but he didn't. Instead, he curled his lips and said, "No matter how round the moon in other countries is, it is not as beautiful as the moon in my own country."
Bai Shan said: "There were no countries in the world originally. It was only when people divided up the land that tribes and countries came into being."
"The Liaodong area has always been part of the Central Plains. It was only because of the war in the Central Plains that the Gao family took advantage of the chaos and rebelled. The imperial court should have reclaimed this land during the previous dynasty."
Gao Zhi said sharply, "So the previous dynasty was destroyed."
"But this dynasty will not be destroyed," Bai Shan replied coldly, undeterred. "Your Majesty is benevolent and does not wish to cause further trouble. Since your accession to the throne, Goguryeo has submitted its allegiance. But count carefully, how many times have you transgressed the border in the past twenty years? You've obstructed tribute from other nations, murdered civilians, violated the border, governed inhumanely, and oppressed the people. The court could punish you for any of these offenses. We've endured until now only out of your majesty's kindness, wanting to give you another chance."
"And now, I'm standing here trying to persuade you to surrender. This is the opportunity His Majesty is giving you and the Goguryeo royal court." Bai Shan locked eyes with him and said sharply, "The attack on East Third Street was led by Duke Zhao. Not everyone in the Jin Dynasty can tolerate this. Soldiers in the army need to accumulate military merits, they need to be granted titles, they need military merits. How many people in the court do you think are willing to surrender to you now?"
"It's only half of the people," Bai Shan said. "If you remain stubborn, there will be many people who want to use you to gain military merit."
Gao Zhi grinned, staring at Bai Shan with murderous eyes and said, "Come on, what do I have to fear?"
He spoke word by word, "I will perish with you."
Bai Shan stood up and sneered, "That will only happen when the Second Prince is able to go to the battlefield. Duke Zhao is currently on East Third Street. Prince, do you want to go meet him?"
Prince Gao Er stood up and shouted, "Come here, ask the envoy to go and rest."
Then he quickly walked down the stairs, snatched his sword from the hand of his personal guard and walked out.
When the others saw this, they immediately panicked and rushed out to chase after him.
Nuosa did not leave, but called someone over and said, "Send the envoy back to the guest house and treat him well. Don't neglect him."
"yes."
The official who received the order glanced at Bai Shan who was standing on the steps, lowered his head timidly, and bowed, saying, "Please come in, envoy."
Bai Shan smiled and bowed to Noosa, then turned around and left with the officials who had hosted him.
Nosa waited until they left before he hurried after them. Prince Gao II was not really impulsive enough to go to East Third Street to fight with Duke Zhao. He was not that stupid. He certainly could not defeat Duke Zhao. Even if there were thousands of troops between them, he was just commanding the troops. He did not think that he was better than the battle-hardened Duke Zhao in leading troops.
So he came out in a rage and went into the side hall.
Nuosa came over quickly. At that time, only three trusted ministers were left. Prince Gao Er found excuses to send away the others.
When Nuo Sa came over, he was playing with the jade pendant in his hand. When Nuo Sa came in, he took the jade pendant in his hand and smashed it hard on the ground.
The jade pendant shattered, fragments flying everywhere, startling everyone in the room. Nuosa paused, then stepped forward with a sullen expression and saluted, saying, "Prince, the envoy has been arranged to stay at the guest house."
Gao Zhi snorted coldly and asked, "Do you think Gao You really surrendered to the Great Jin?"
The others looked at each other, lowered their heads and said nothing.
Nuosa said, "We initially suspected that the Fifth Prince had met with misfortune, but the current situation is actually better than we anticipated."
Gao Zhi sneered, "What's good about it? You might as well be dead."
They initially speculated that Gao You was either arrested and imprisoned or committed suicide.
After all, he was an envoy, and the Jin Dynasty should not kill him, but they could imprison him and humiliate him. However, they never expected that they would bring him to Goguryeo, not only have him follow the army all the way, but also instigated him to rebel and even serve as an envoy to the Jin Dynasty to persuade them to surrender.
Gao Zhi was so angry that he almost lost his mind.
Nusa asked, "Prince, what should we do in this matter?"
"They're almost at Guoneicheng. What else can we do?" He said, "The most urgent task is to defend Anshi City. Old Five's efforts are in vain. Father will not surrender."
He sneered and said, "Do you think being an envoy of Jin will make you happy? Jin won't kill him, but my father will."
Regardless of whether he was an envoy or not, Gao You was still a prince of Goguryeo and the son of the king. It was only natural for a father to kill his son.
Nuosa pondered and said, "Those words were spoken by the envoys of Jin, but they may not be true. Prince, why don't you send someone back to the inner city immediately to inquire about the king's intentions?"
Gao Zhi pondered.
Yuan Yi said, "Send someone back. What should we tell the king if he asks about the battle in Anshi City?"
Gao Zhi lowered his eyes.
Yuan Yi caught a glimpse of Gao Zhi's expression and said in a low voice, "Besides, the Fifth Prince has already taken the lead in surrendering. If that were to happen...he would easily be granted a title and an official position."
For the first time, Nusa looked at Yuanyi sternly. The fierce look in his eyes scared Yuanyi so much that he lowered his head and subconsciously avoided his gaze.
Prince Gao Er remained silent. It was obvious that deep down he was not as strong as he appeared in front of Bai Shan, and he would rather die than live in disgrace.
Nuosa's face twitched and he was speechless for a long time. The room fell silent for a while.
After a long while, the second prince Gao said, "My father is in poor health. Let's put this matter aside for now. Goguryeo still has 300,000 troops. My father will not surrender according to Gao You's slander. Our top priority is to defend Anshi City."
Upon hearing this, Nuosa seemed to want to say something but hesitated. After a long while, he still said nothing.
Where did Goguryeo find its 300,000-strong army?
Not to mention that there is still a Jin army roaming and wreaking havoc in the hinterland, even the Liaodong army has defeated so many of them, so how could there be 300,000 troops?
Doesn’t the second prince know about this situation?
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
