Chapter 829 A Dream of Youth 361
A withered branch bent towards the window, covered with heavy snow.
It snowed again last night. Such harsh weather is a severe challenge for both the Great Zhou and the Northern Jin. Hunger and cold, either one can drive a person to death.
In the Northern Jin camp across the Yellow River, Gu Yan was already considering seeking peace. Although he had plundered a lot of grain and fodder along the way, the artillery fire from the Great Zhou yesterday was too fierce.
They were all stunned by the beating.
Gu Yan was very wary of Xie Ning. After all, if Xie Ning's artillery hadn't been so powerful, he could have captured Bingzhou when he received reinforcements, instead of having to march south in resentment to join forces with Commander Zou to attack the capital.
Such a deep penetration into the Central Plains is an extremely dangerous strategy.
If Xie Ning and the others hadn't come to their aid so quickly, they might have captured the capital during the internal strife of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Commander Zou was not in favor of peace talks. The military and government of the Great Zhou were corrupt, and it was in the midst of internal strife. What kind of influence could a young girl in power have?
Didn't the Great Zhou take over Xili while it was in internal strife?
At this time, the Great Zhou was in turmoil, which was a golden opportunity for the Northern Jin.
"What did Duke Xiao say?"
Xiao Chu remained silent until Commander Zou asked him, at which point he sighed, “The opportunity has passed. If we do not retreat, Northern Jin will be in grave danger.”
With reinforcements, they still have 100,000 troops here, and they have penetrated deep into the Central Plains. The longer this drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for the Northern Jin.
In the end, the generals agreed to make peace, but they insisted that the Zhou Dynasty bleed heavily to compensate for their losses, otherwise they would never withdraw their troops.
After the envoy standing in the court finished stating the Northern Jin's peace terms, the officials present almost vomited blood. How shameless! How could they have the nerve to ask for so much?!
Why don't you just rob someone!
Some ministers couldn't help but stand up and refute, but the Northern Jin envoy was also quick-witted and could refute several ministers by himself.
The Imperial Censor Qiu, whose face had turned black with anger, looked at Xie Ning, who was standing to the side with her head bowed and eyes lowered, and couldn't help but think to himself, "This little girl Xie Ning is usually very sharp-tongued, why is she not saying anything today?"
Shouldn't we have insulted that sharp-tongued Northern Jin envoy so badly that even his own parents wouldn't recognize him?
Xie Ning didn't really pay attention to the verbal battle between the Northern Jin envoys and other officials. She was preoccupied with the issue of supplies and the military issues that Yan Xi had mentioned to her the day before.
Despite the previous encirclement and defeat of the Northern Jin army, the Zhou army was severely understaffed, or rather, lacked capable personnel.
Whether they could go to the battlefield or not, the imperial court had to provide them with food.
Everyone knew in their hearts that this war could not continue.
Both sides were willing to negotiate peace, but neither could swallow their anger. The Northern Jin was too greedy, and the conditions for peace not only required them to make up for their losses in this war, but also to pay more tribute.
While everyone was taking a break from fighting, Xie Ning stared intently at the envoy from Northern Jin and said, "Does the envoy think that my Great Zhou dares not fight anymore? Why don't we make a bet and see whether Great Zhou will perish first, or whether your Northern Jin army, which has penetrated deep into our territory, will perish first?"
At this time, both Shiling and Zhengding have sent additional border troops and barbarian troops... With supply lines cut off and the cold winter upon us, how long can you hold out?
Other armies of the Great Zhou are already on their way to provide support. We don't mind waiting a little longer, even if it means losing some civilians and soldiers. But if we can leave behind 100,000 Northern Jin troops, it will be worth it.”
There was actually no support, but that didn't stop Xie Ning from making threats.
Seeing the Northern Jin envoy's face darken, Xie Ning slightly curled his lips, "Your Excellency, would you like to guess how much gunpowder I brought to the capital from Bingzhou this time?"
The Northern Jin envoy's face darkened further when he thought of the power of the gunpowder, crossbows, and rockets invented by Xie Ning.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
