Chapter 481 Stalemate
Qin Sheng hid in the dark, shot an arrow to force Lin Ran back, and successfully covered his father-in-law's retreat. He immediately took another arrow and put it on the bow.
His eyes were sharp, like an eagle's, and he was determined to nip any danger that threatened his father-in-law's safety in the bud.
The whole situation changed rapidly. Except for a very few people who were mentally prepared, everyone gasped when they reacted.
Is Lü Desheng rebelling? Is he really rebelling?
Prince Gong's face was filled with seriousness and worry. "Your Majesty, you thought you could capture or kill Lü Desheng by surprise, but unexpectedly, the Lü family was well prepared. The Lü family is indeed rebellious."
Lü Desheng had indeed deceived him before! But even if Prince Gong figured it out, it didn't matter. Now, it was obvious that he had gone too far and was in trouble.
At this time, Lin Ran returned to the crowd and stopped being the leader.
Prince Gong questioned him, "Lin Ran, why didn't you kill Lü Desheng right away?"
Lin Ran paused, "I wanted to kill him, but I couldn't. Didn't you see those arrows shot from the dark? There was an archer hiding in the dark to protect him."
Prince Gong choked. The emperor had made this plan with the intention of catching Lu Desheng off guard, but after Lu Desheng was prepared, the advantage of surprise was gone.
When King Gong looked at Lu Desheng, Lu Desheng's men were protecting him and retreating.
Prince Gong shouted at his back, "Lü Desheng, you better think carefully. Treason is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of your clan!"
"Before anything serious happens, confess your guilt. I will plead with the Emperor to spare your life and pardon your family."
Lu Desheng sneered as he walked. It was already the time to reveal his true intentions, but he still said such things. How naive.
Lü Desheng, surrounded by his followers, retreated to the east, where he was backed by Liaoxi Commandery. He formed a triangle with the imperial officials backed by Yuyang Commandery and the Xianbei royal court negotiating delegation backed by the northern grasslands.
"Master Lu, please take a seat."
Someone tactfully brought over a throne, and someone else handed over a scarlet cloak.
Lu Desheng had just taken off the official uniform of the Dali Dynasty and was now only wearing casual clothes. He took the cloak, put it on himself, then lifted the hem of his clothes and sat down.
Facing Prince Gong's persuasion, Lu Desheng simply said, "Prince Gong, there is no need to say more. All of this is the result of Song Mo's coercion. Not to mention his persecution of our Qin and Lu families, the fact that he gave up Pingzhou alone is unforgivable."
"In order to fight against the Xianbei army, all the soldiers and civilians in Pingzhou shed blood and sweat to barely save their homes. But what did Song Mo do in the face of all this? And what did the court do? They ceded Pingzhou and Youzhou, causing the civilians to lose their homes and land! They were made to shed blood, sweat, and tears!"
"Song Mo is a coward in the face of the Xianbei foreigners, but I, Lü Desheng, am not. The emperor can abandon the people of Pingzhou, and the court officials can abandon them, but I, Lü Desheng, will never abandon them."
"I swear to live and die with Pingzhou and its people! As long as Pingzhou survives, I will survive; if Pingzhou perishes, I will die!"
These words were definitely what Lu Desheng really thought. Pingzhou was the foundation of both the Qin and Lu families. If Pingzhou was gone, they would have no way to survive.
Lu Desheng's tough declaration shocked all the Han people present, especially the soldiers and ordinary people in Pingzhou, who were most deeply touched.
Prince Gong's face was as gloomy as water. At this point, he no longer cared about right or wrong. He could only bite the bullet and deal with the matter.
The members of the Xianbei negotiation team were completely unprepared for such a sudden change.
They first thought that the Emperor of Dali was crazy. He actually dismissed a capable official like Lü Desheng. Before they could even rejoice, Lü Desheng rebelled?
Then they felt troubled. Pingzhou was in the hands of Lu Desheng, and it was difficult for them, the Xianbei, to take it.
And listen to what Lu Desheng just said? Not only did he call them Xianbei barbarians, but he also said that if he wanted to occupy Pingzhou, he would have to step over their corpses.
Not only that, his later declaration even shouted the slogan of living and dying with Pingzhou.
Such strong resistance is very disadvantageous to them.
Therefore, Lu Desheng must die.
"Prince Gong, under the current circumstances, you in Dali must give an explanation to our Xianbei royal court. Do the results of the negotiations just now count?" Tuoba Yu stated seriously.
"Prince Tuoba, we in Dali are committed to upholding the agreement we have reached."
Prince Gong kept a straight face, trying to ignore the heat on his face. He had to deal with the rebellion and stabilize the Xianbei.
Most of the officials present suddenly felt very strange. This condition was negotiated by Lu Desheng. Really...
They didn't know what to say.
Lu Desheng smiled playfully, "Prince Tuoba, I'm sorry to inform you that the results of the previous negotiation are invalid."
"Just now, I was the person in charge of the negotiations in Dali. Now, as the highest local governor and the highest administrative person in charge in Pingzhou, I disagree with the negotiation results."
Lu Desheng's words slapped Prince Gong in the face and also slapped the court in the face.
The faces of the court officials present were all very ugly.
The members of the Xianbei negotiation team headed by Tuoba Yu looked at Prince Gong at this time.
Seeing this, Lü Desheng said coldly, "Pingzhou is in my hands, and so is Tuoba Lian. If any of you Xianbei negotiating team members have any common sense, you will know who to talk to."
Lord Lu's indiscriminate attack made the members of the Xianbei negotiation team look unhappy.
They are just pretending to be stupid, not really stupid.
Upon hearing this, Prince Gong regretted not asking Pingzhou to hand Tuoba Lian over to the imperial court in order to avoid alerting the enemy. Now, Tuoba Lian, the bargaining chip, was no longer in his hands.
"Lü Desheng, are you sure you want to go your own way?" Prince Gong confirmed his attitude again.
Lu Desheng spread his hands and said, "Prince Gong, I have no choice. I can't just surrender, can I?"
At this time, Zuo Anmin, who had been silent the whole time, said sternly, "Prince Gong, why waste so much time talking to him? What he said just now was so high-sounding, but it was just an attempt to whitewash his wolfish ambitions and the fact that he, Lü Desheng, was plotting rebellion! Such a traitor should be executed on the spot!"
Zuo Anmin was extremely sad. He never expected that his nephew would die in Pingzhou.
Prince Gong said solemnly, "Prince Tuoba, please lead your Xianbei army to retreat temporarily and give us some time and space to resolve our differences, okay?"
Lu Desheng said jokingly, "Actually, you could be even more shameless and cooperate with the Xianbei."
But neither Tuoba Yu and others nor Prince Gong and others paid any attention to him.
Tuoba Yu naturally agreed to Prince Gong's words.
It was obvious that the two sides were about to fight.
He knew that the Han people had a saying: When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits.
This time, the Xianbei people will just play the role of fishermen and watch the show.
Wait until they are both exhausted, and then catch them all in one fell swoop.
"All officers and men, listen to my orders—" Tuoba Yu took out the command flag and waved it, "Retreat twenty miles!"
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