Chapter 555 Who Wouldn’t Like It
Bingzhou and Youzhou are adjacent to each other, and Yanmen and Shanggu County are separated only by Dai County.
When Sun Ming, accompanied by his confidants and a small group of soldiers, arrived at the agreed location with some doubts, it was already the hour of Hai.
As soon as they arrived at the gate of Zhuolu County, they heard people from above ask them, "But is it General Sun Ming?"
After receiving a positive answer, the city gate slowly opened.
The city gate was brightly lit, and you could see a thin-faced old man wearing a cloak standing inside the gate, with a young man next to him.
"I am Xue Xu, and I am here to respectfully welcome General Sun. Please come in. Our governor is waiting for you at the restaurant next door."
Hearing this, Sun Ming was surprised. He knew the name Xue Xu. This person held a very important position in the Pingzhou forces. How could he be the one to come and greet him?
Sun Ming took a deep breath, squeezed the horse's belly, and prepared to urge the horse forward.
"General?" Muye called softly. If they went in and it turned out to be a trap, they would be caught in it.
"Go in!" After Sun Ming said that, the horse under his crotch carried him and trotted into the city.
Sun Congyi beside him hurriedly followed without saying a word. He was extremely glad that he had returned early, just in time for his father to come to Shanggu County. If he had been any later, he would have missed it.
Sun Ming didn't know what his son was thinking. His mind was completely focused on the matter at hand.
Pingzhou was sincere, having Xue Xu bring only one person to greet him, and then telling him that Lü Songli was waiting for him at the nearby restaurant. Sun Ming knew that Pingzhou was telling him that if they were really up to something, they could easily take the two of them hostage and leave the city.
Of course, Sun Ming believed that Pingzhou must have arranged sufficient defensive forces to protect the two men, but he was confident that it would be no problem for him to force his way out of the city at this distance.
The Sun family father and son both went in, and the others hurriedly followed.
After entering the city, Xue Xu led Sun Ming and his two generals to the second floor of the restaurant.
Xue Xu: "Governor, General Sun has arrived."
On the entire second floor, there were only a man and a woman sitting around the fire, and the woman had two guards behind her.
Hearing this, they all stood up.
"General Sun, I have long admired you."
"General Sun, how are you?"
Sun Ming thought that the young woman in front of him must be Lü Songli, the ruler of Pingzhou. He had never seen Lü Songli before, but he had seen Qin Heng beside her.
"Governor Lu, General Qin--" Sun Ming greeted them.
Lu Songli's gaze fell on Sun Congyi, who was standing next to Sun Ming, and he smiled gently, "Is this General Sun?"
"Lu - Lu Erjie, no, that's not right, Governor Lu, I am Sun Congyi." Sun Congyi said with some stuttering. It was terrible. The aura of Lu Erjie was even stronger than before.
Everyone present looked at him. His father frowned, Muye was surprised, and the others in Pingzhou were happy.
Lu Songli smiled and said, "You can continue to call me Second Sister. You're welcome. I heard Mingzhi mention you before. I was grateful for your help with Xie Zhan's matter before."
Meeting his father's gaze, Sun Congyi shook his head repeatedly.
Lu Songli smiled and didn't care.
Then both parties took their seats as host and guest.
As soon as Sun Ming sat down, he said, "Governor Lu, I have to say, you are very courageous."
Lu Songli smiled slightly. "General Sun is worth the risk. And when it comes to courage, General Sun is no less courageous for coming here alone."
Sun Ming did not comment on her compliment.
Lu Songli knew that he was worried about the Sun family army and the two places of Yanmen and Daijun, so he said seriously, "General Sun, Yanmen can no longer be defended."
"Yes." Sun Ming nodded and did not deny it.
Sun Congyi, standing by, thought to himself, "Isn't this normal? Their Sun family army of 100,000 soldiers is facing a Xianbei army of 300,000. Even if they can hold the city, it will be difficult to offset the difference in the 200,000-man army."
"General Sun, Song Mo sent the 100,000 troops led by Yang Yingqin, who were supposed to support you, to the south to cooperate with Xie Zhan in encircling and suppressing the two kings. Therefore, there will be no reinforcements to support Yanmen and Daijun. Do you still want to hold on?" Lu Songli asked.
Sun Congyi, Muye, and the others opened their eyes wide upon hearing this. Oh my god, what had they heard? The emperor sent troops to the south, not to encircle and suppress Xie Zhan, but to cooperate with Xie Zhan to encircle and suppress the two kings?
Sun Ming obviously already knew the news, so he looked relatively calm. Actually, it cannot be called calm, it should be called giving up.
"The emperor's order cannot be disobeyed."
Lu Songli nodded. "What a great imperial decree that cannot be disobeyed! General Sun knew it was impossible but still did it. He didn't care about his own life, nor did he care about the lives of his soldiers."
Muye on the side said unconvincedly, "The general loves his soldiers like his own sons—"
Sun Congyi nodded repeatedly, "Second Sister Lu, you don't know, my father plans to lead a death squad at the forefront, to perish together with the Xianbei army, and to cover the retreat of the remaining troops."
When his father glanced at him, Sun Congyi shut up. Anyway, he had explained what he needed to explain and expressed his position. From now on, he might as well keep quiet.
Is that so? General Sun is truly loyal to the imperial court, the Dali court, and Song Mo.
"But General Sun, with all due respect, these are meaningless sacrifices."
Muye thought, how could it be a meaningless sacrifice? At least they died together, and they could kill many Xianbei soldiers. But it was not until later that he realized that his idea was indeed wrong.
At this time, Lu Songli continued, "General Sun, I know your purpose for doing this, and your starting point is good. This approach is indeed the best solution between the court's pressure and your inner choice."
"But have you ever thought about it? When you wanted to preserve some sparks for the Sun Family Army and were unwilling to wipe out all of them, you had already violated Song Mo's will."
"Song Mo is a stubborn and self-righteous man who hates being disobeyed. If you do this, he won't understand your difficulties. Even if you die fighting for Dali, you are guilty of forcing the Sun family army to retreat. Your family will still suffer from your decision."
"For details, please refer to our Qin family and my father-in-law, Qin Yue. The death of the former crown prince was due to a struggle for the throne among the princes. My father-in-law was innocently implicated. Even if he had single-handedly inflicted heavy damage on the Qiang and Hu tribes before his death, the Qin family would not have been spared."
Sun Ming was shocked. Lu Songli's words pointed out the situation he was most reluctant to face.
Hearing this, Qin Heng felt mixed emotions. General Sun was luckier than his father Qin Yue.
But Qin Heng also knew that Emperor Kangcheng was in power at the time, and his father had no choice. Unlike Sun Ming, he still had a choice.
Sun Congyi was furious when he heard this. "Dad, did you hear that? Song Mo is ridiculous. How dare he punish us?"
"If the imperial court was truly at its last gasp, and the Sun Clan Army swore to defend the border to the death, I wouldn't have said anything even if the entire Sun Clan Army was wiped out. But the imperial court clearly had reinforcements, yet Song Mo sent them to the south to quell the rebellion. Doesn't he know what's more important, what's more urgent? He's choosing to sacrifice our Sun Clan Army!"
No one spoke presently. This was probably the sorrow of a military commander.
General Sun closed his eyes and said, "Governor Lu, you have been coveting the Sun family army for a long time, right?"
Sun Ming had guessed it from the last time the Liaodong Chamber of Commerce provided them with cold-resistant supplies and some military supplies at prices lower than the market price. Even if this move was not intentional, it was suspected of being an inducement, and there was always a covetous intention.
Lu Songli did not deny it. "The Sun family army is loyal and brave, capable of fighting and winning battles. Who wouldn't like them?"
Muye's eyes widened. How could a woman like Lu Songli be so open about her purpose? She was indeed worthy of being the governor of a state.
The other members of Sun Jiajun were also a little at a loss. Such straightforward appreciation really made them feel at a loss as to what to do.
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