Chapter 47 Zhu Chong’s Thoughts
When swords meet, the situation is naturally tense, and the atmosphere outside Songming City is about to reach freezing point in an instant.
Everyone in the delegation was shocked by this sudden change, but everyone calmed down immediately.
They are angels sent by the Ming Dynasty court and represent the Ming Dynasty court. Even though they are at a disadvantage now, the main envoy and the deputy envoy do not seem to be afraid. After all, they are not here to fight with others.
"I am an envoy specially sent by His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Please inform your superiors immediately and come to greet him."
Upon hearing the mastermind's words, the officers and soldiers of Songming City's expressions changed instantly. The leading general's expression turned even gloomier, and his tone became even colder than before, "Sent by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"
"That's right!" The master nodded neither humbly nor arrogantly. At this time, he had completely regained his composure, and his usual arrogant look appeared on his face.
Seeing him like this, the general's face grew even gloomier, and he retorted sternly, "My master is not here, so please come back tomorrow. Also, when you come tomorrow, no officers or soldiers are allowed to enter the city. Anyone who violates this will be killed without mercy!"
Upon hearing this, the chief envoy and the deputy envoy widened their eyes at the same time. They knew that the people of Songming City were arrogant, but they didn't expect them to be so arrogant.
"No, General, we are envoys sent by His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. We are here to discuss the important matter of Songming City's allegiance to the Ming Dynasty. Shouldn't you..."
"So what?" the general interrupted with a sneer, "Songming City is not under the jurisdiction of your Ming Dynasty. This is where my master has the final say. As for what should and shouldn't be done, just do as I just told you. No need to make any noise!"
Upon hearing this, the master was immediately furious, and his tone became cold. "General, are the rules of Songming City so rude? We have come here in compliance with the order of His Majesty, with the utmost sincerity of our Lord, but you..."
"What a fuss! I told you my master isn't here, what do you want?" the general said impatiently. "You come to negotiate after losing the battle, but you have no sense at all. You fight when you want to, negotiate when you want to. Your so-called sincerity is just this!"
"To tell you the truth, Songming City has its own rules. When guests come, we have fine wine. When enemies come, we have swords and guns. You are not worthy of being a guest of Songming City!"
The chief envoy was furious and wanted to pull the general aside to argue, but the deputy envoy pulled him aside and tried to persuade him in a low voice.
"Sir, didn't we agree before we came? How could you forget so suddenly? We are here to seek peace, not to fight!"
"But look at his attitude. Does he really think the Ming Dynasty is afraid of him?" The leader said angrily. "It's really like a scholar meeting a soldier. Even if I have a point, I can't explain it. They are clearly trying to embarrass us. We represent the reputation of the Ming Dynasty. How can we show weakness?"
"I'm not showing weakness. Why don't you understand?" The deputy envoy became even more anxious after hearing this. "We are here under imperial decree. If we start a fight just to save face without even meeting the person, how will we explain to His Majesty when we return?"
In fact, the deputy envoy had something else in his mind: If you continue to do this, I'm afraid all of us will die here today!
When the chief envoy heard what the deputy envoy said, he finally reacted. He looked around carefully and saw that the archers on the city wall had already drawn their bows and arrows and were aiming at his side. His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"Then in your opinion, what should we do next?" The chief envoy felt a little nervous and asked the deputy envoy.
"If you trust me, my lord, please leave the rest to me." The deputy envoy volunteered, and the main envoy agreed after hesitating for a moment.
The deputy envoy straightened his clothes and approached the general. He bowed and smiled and said, "General, we come here with the sincere intention of discussing matters with your master. If your master is not here today, please let him know when it would be convenient for you to visit."
The general sneered, "My master is so busy with official duties that how can I know when he will be free?"
The deputy envoy's expression froze for a moment, but he still wore a smile. "Then may I ask if there is a post station in Songming City..."
"Songming City does not welcome outsiders." The general interrupted the deputy envoy harshly with an impolite look on his face.
The deputy envoy was at his wit's end and could only plead, "Then may I ask, General, if you could inform your master that our visit concerns the future of our two families. The general does not wish for our families to be in utter ruin in the future, do you?"
The general frowned when he heard this and was about to explode, but after thinking carefully, he realized that this indeed involved the conflict between the Ming Dynasty and Songming City, and whether they would come to blows in the future. This was a serious matter and he could not act on impulse.
The general thought for a moment and said to the deputy envoy, "Then you must leave this place immediately and set up camp forty miles away. If my lord agrees to meet you, I will send someone to inform you."
"Thank you very much, General." The deputy envoy was overjoyed and returned to inform the master envoy. The master envoy was furious when he heard it, but he could do nothing and could only leave in disgrace with his men.
After seeing the Ming envoys leave and confirming that they had set up camp forty miles away, Yu Jin immediately returned to inform Zhu Chong, who was already in the Desheng Tower, and explained the situation.
"Wen Ze has worked hard." Zhu Chong listened and smiled faintly. "Let Shunde talk to them in ten days. After all, we are not the ones who are anxious."
Hearing Zhu Chong's words, Yu Jin immediately understood. Changsun Shunde, who was standing beside him, bowed and agreed.
Zhu Chong's relationship with the Ming Dynasty is now delicate, and there is limited space for development near Songming City.
Therefore, Zhu Chong planned to build eight urn cities outside Songming City to protect the city.
The urn city is a military defensive building whose main function is to protect the city gates, add a defense system to the main city, delay the enemy's siege time and increase the difficulty of the enemy's siege.
Zhu Chong's main purpose in building these urn cities was not to use them as defensive aids, but purely to share the population pressure of the main city.
Zhu Chong is now expanding his army, and the placement of the expanded troops is a problem, so he thought of using a urn city.
The eight urn cities can accommodate at least 100,000 troops and hundreds of thousands of laborers, which will greatly reduce the population pressure in the main city.
Of course, his idea is actually similar to the ring lines of later cities. The inner ring is the current main city of Songming, and the city wall is the second ring line. When the population increases in the future, he can continue to build a third ring line or even a tenth ring line. Anyway, he doesn't mind the trouble.
However, the current situation makes Zhu Chong feel a sense of urgency, and he needs time to help achieve all this.
Even with the help of the system, it would take at least a month to repair the eight city walls, so the arrival of the Ming Dynasty delegation gave Zhu Chong a way to delay time.
Anyway, the conditions remain the same, so let Changsun Shunde drag out the talks. After one negotiation, it will be delayed for at least a month.
By the time the city wall is repaired, no matter what the attitude of Zhu Yuanzhang or the delegation is, it will be of no significance to Zhu Chong.
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