Chapter 2751 Siege
As soon as Prince Gao Wu was sent back to the Heavenly Prison, Zhang Hui was dragged out.
He rolled his eyes and went to see the King of Goguryeo obediently.
This time, not only the King of Goguryeo was present in the hall, but also Goguryeo's ministers.
When it comes to persuading people to surrender, of course one person's plan is short, while three people's plan is long.
The King of Goguryeo offered what all men in the world dreamed of: official positions, titles, and even land.
In addition, there are beauties, money, whatever you want. The only request is to persuade the Jin emperor to negotiate. He is willing to cede the land west of Liaodong City to Jin, and Goguryeo will become a vassal of Jin.
Zhang Hui thought to himself, he had been staying in the Sky Prison for several days, why did he meet the Fifth Prince and him today?
And they also offered such generous conditions.
Could it be...
Zhang Hui's eyes lit up slightly. Could it be that His Majesty and others have arrived with a large army?
He immediately lowered his eyes to hide the brilliance in them. After a moment, he raised his head and solemnly addressed the King of Goguryeo, "Your Majesty, do not worry about me. Goguryeo was originally a vassal state of the Great Jin, but for many years you have violated the will of your master. Not only did you seize Silla and Baekje, which were also vassal states, but you also forced them to become your subjects. You have also repeatedly invaded the borders of the Great Jin. The disaster that Goguryeo is facing today is all the retribution for the lack of moral conduct of the Gao royal court. Blah blah blah..."
Zhang Hui is the Minister of Rites. Talking about etiquette could take three days and three nights. Let's start with the relationship between the two countries. Jin was the master and Goguryeo was the vassal. This was determined at the beginning of the founding of the country. The letter of credence was personally delivered by you, Goguryeo. Yet, you repeatedly violated the master-vassal agreement and turned around to provoke the master.
As for the internal affairs of Goguryeo, the royal court of the Goguryeo family has been extravagant and fond of war in recent years, and the people under its rule have suffered terribly.
Finally, he talked about their chaotic rule of law. Although it was impossible for nobles to be punished the same as common people if they broke the law, based on his understanding during his time in the domestic city, the nobles here could do whatever they wanted to ordinary people, and no one could stop them.
If a kingdom is like this, it is almost the same as being destroyed.
Even if the Jin Dynasty did not destroy him, he would have destroyed himself in a few decades.
Since they are all going to perish, it doesn't make any difference if it happens a few decades earlier.
Zhang Hui's eyes lit up and he cursed even more vigorously, quoting from classics to scold the King and his ministers of Goguryeo. The King of Goguryeo was so angry that his chest ached and he almost vomited blood when he was scolded like this.
Seeing that his fingers were shaking, Zhang Hui finally shut his mouth. He was also afraid that he would be so angry that he would die and have to pay with his life.
Zhang Hui was thrown into the sky prison again. Fortunately, he was not beaten, but he had less food to eat.
Prince Gao Wu couldn't support him at all, after all, there was a wall between them.
However, Zhang Hui's trip made him even more certain. He whispered to Prince Gao Wu, "Your Highness, our Majesty has arrived outside the city. The inner city must be under siege. Can you think of a way to pass on some information?"
Prince Gao Wu was so excited that he almost leaned against the wall. "Is this true? How did you know?"
He was also asked to talk, how come he didn't know?
Zhang Hui said affirmatively: "It's true. If you don't believe me, just ask someone and you'll know."
The army besieging the city made such a loud noise that it couldn't be a secret. I'm afraid the jailers in the prison all knew about it. Unfortunately, he had no money, no connections, and no favors, so he could only rely on Prince Gao Wu for this matter.
Zhang Hui smacked his lips. Bai Shan was right to ask him to bring Prince Gao Wu with him. A person is much more useful than a jade pendant.
After all, the jade pendant is a dead object, while people are alive. As long as Prince Gao Wu is held tightly, there will be endless possibilities.
Prince Gao Wu started making a fuss next door. After all, he was the king's son, and the jailers did not dare to neglect him. Even though they knew it was fake, they still had to question him.
The emperor made arrangements, with four armies going one day at a time to besiege the city. Today, Gao Zhi was the one to besiege the city. Since they were here, they had to be given a chance to meet.
So Prince Gao Er persuaded everyone to surrender at the city gate, and the soldiers, officials and people in the city were all stunned.
Although I had heard that the second prince had committed treason, there is still a big difference between hearing about it and actually seeing it.
The shock felt by the people in the inner city, especially the common people, was beyond words. Even the high-ranking officials began to doubt the future of the kingdom.
"The Second Prince has always been shrewd, but even he chose to surrender..."
"The fifth prince also surrendered. Even if he was thrown into prison, he was unwilling to return to the royal court and was determined to follow the Great Jin."
"Is it really the time of fortune?"
"It's hard to say. Now most of Goguryeo is in their hands."
"Isn't there still Jian'an City?"
"Jian'an City is already isolated. Although Jin has not attacked it, it has conquered the surrounding cities. Can Jian'an City still remain unscathed?"
"That fellow Lu Min shouldn't have just stayed in Jian'an City. If he had sent troops to help Anshi City, maybe..."
"Humph, with the reinforcements coming in and out of Anshi City, plus the local garrison of nearly 250,000 people, it's still broken. Even the Second Prince who was defending the city has surrendered."
Amidst the discussions, someone couldn't help but secretly go to the Heavenly Prison to contact the Fifth Prince.
Of course, facing a powerful enemy, they would not go there in person, but instead bribed the yamen runners to send some food to the fifth prince.
So the fifth prince found a letter in his steamed bun.
Fifth Prince: ...
He spat out the paper and unfolded it with a look of disgust...
Yin Li entered the room holding a small bamboo tube and said, "Your Majesty, there is news coming out from the inner city."
He opened the bamboo tube and took out the rolled paper inside and presented it to him.
The emperor opened it and took a look, then handed it to him. "It's a letter from Zhang Hui. They are now imprisoned in the Sky Prison, and the Gao family wants to negotiate peace."
Yin Li said, "I've sent a letter, but Goguryeo hasn't replied yet."
The emperor scoffed and said, "It's only been a day. They certainly can't make up their minds that quickly."
Yin Li asked, "Your Majesty, should we attack the city and scare them?"
The emperor thought for a moment and shook his head. "It's just snowed, and the weather is cold. The city gates will easily freeze. Attacking the city now is very disadvantageous. If we just scare the city, it won't be enough to make us pay such a high price. Pass the order down, surround it, but don't attack."
He paused and said, "Let each army select some people to join the verbal battle. It would be best if we can curse someone out."
Yin Li: "...you can't curse?"
"Let the Ministry of Rites come up," the emperor said. "Aren't there several people from the Ministry of Rites with us? And the civil officials, if you have nothing to do, go and take a look. Once they've finished scolding us, go and preach the truth. Why are we attacking Goguryeo? We, the Great Jin, are in the right. Persuade them to surrender."
Yin Li responded with a "yes".
Therefore, in addition to taking care of the aftermath of the captured cities, the civil servants also had to take turns going to the city gates to persuade the enemy to surrender.
Some people's voices are not loud enough, so we have to pick a smarter soldier to pass on the message, which is so tiring.
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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