Chapter 236 Two Cities Fallen
"How much silver does the Grand Princess want?" Zhang Zhongzheng asked.
"She wants one million taels."
"Your Majesty, if you take out two and sell them to the dignitaries in the capital, each can be sold for three hundred thousand taels. Your Majesty only needs to take out four hundred thousand taels.
I estimate that people are generally reluctant to spend it unless it is absolutely necessary. If Your Majesty has money in the future and really needs it, it should not be difficult to buy it back."
"I didn't expect you to have such quick wit. Good, let's do this. Maybe the eldest princess can get it again, and there is no need to buy it back. Just consider it a favor from me to them.
You go and take care of it.
By the way, there are only two. If many people want them, you can auction them and give them to whoever offers the most money."
"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Zhongzheng also gave Lou Zhenxing a thumbs up in his heart and happily went to take care of this matter.
Unexpectedly, two thousand-year-old ginsengs were sold for 800,000 taels.
Lou Zhenxing only needed to pay 200,000 taels of silver to get the job done to Lou Shiyan.
When the silver was delivered to the princess's mansion of Lou Shiyan, it was more than a month later.
At this time, the Flame Kingdom and the Ice and Snow Kingdom had fought three times.
The Flame Kingdom was just defending the city and had no ability to counterattack.
Both sides suffered casualties.
Tan Fei was also a veteran for many years. Although he and Yun Ransheng discussed that they would lose in the end, they couldn't lose too badly.
Because of Tan Fei's proper command, the three attacks organized by the Ice and Snow Kingdom failed to enter the city.
Liu Chengwu was aroused.
He had to take down Yunhe City. This was the first time in more than a decade that he led so many soldiers. How could he live up to his reputation as a general without some military achievements ?
The Ice and Snow Country had not sent out so many troops to attack other countries for many years.
He also wanted to make achievements.
Liu Chengwu organized another meeting and prepared for a fierce attack. He must take down Yunhe City.
Otherwise, it would be a disgrace to the reputation of the Ice and Snow Country as a powerful country.
On July 28, the sun was scorching.
Liu Chengwu dispatched 150,000 troops and launched an unprecedented attack.
The dust was dancing, and the shouts of killing shook the sky.
Ladders, archers, siege vehicles, and battering rams all went out at the same time.
Qin Fei had also received the news that Liu Chengwu was going to launch a general attack and made arrangements in advance.
But facing such an attack, Yanyan couldn't hold out for long. He resisted for a while, but eventually let the enemy climb up the city wall and fled in disarray.
Unexpectedly, Qin Fei had just fled to the next city, Yonghe City, with his troops, when Liu Chengwu's pursuers also arrived.
He had to close the city gate in a hurry and organize resistance.
Fortunately, there were not too many pursuers.
Finally, the city gate was defended.
Unexpectedly, Liu Chengwu did not stay in Yunhe City to reorganize, but marched here and stationed his troops outside the city.
At this time, Qin Fei's heart was heavy.
I didn't expect the Ice and Snow Country's army to be so strong.
In the past, they had only fought a small battle, with both sides winning and losing, but it had never been so fierce.
If he wanted to win this war with only the soldiers he had, plus the soldiers brought by the second prince, it would be extremely difficult.
This time, although he discussed with the second prince to lose two cities as a price to lure Feng Zuwen to come, he also tried his best to resist.
Yun Ransheng followed behind and watched the whole process.
A person who grew up in a peaceful era has never seen the cruelty of an ancient battlefield.
When he saw the corpses being chopped to pieces by swords, missing arms and legs was still considered good, but the whole head was chopped off and the stomach was cut open, which made people want to vomit.
In the first two days, he had nightmares at night, and after watching it for a few days, he got used to it.
He wanted to dominate the whole world, so how could he be scared by the tragic scene on a battlefield.
After a few days of ideological construction, he also had the courage to walk up to the city wall and watch the battle.
On the battlefield, ordinary soldiers are like ants, not to mention the unarmed civilians.
If he unified this continent, wouldn't there be no war?
He must be this great man.
He asked his men to speed up the research on bombs.
With bombs as a killer, why fear the knife and gun.
Power, power!
Only with power can you be at the top and control the life and death of others. Only then can he realize his ambitions.
At this moment, Yun Ransheng's yearning for power reached its peak.
He closed his eyes, as if he could feel the breath of power, which was a suffocating charm. It seemed that as long as he stretched out his hand, he could hold the whole world in his hands.
This feeling made his heart tremble, and the blood in his body was boiling. A voice kept echoing in his mind: I want power, I want to control everything!
"Father-in-law, it's almost done, no need to sacrifice our soldiers." Yun Ransheng looked at the enemy soldiers who were still climbing up under the city wall, his eyes firm.
"Okay." Qin Fei was stationed in Yunhe City and had fought with the Ice and Snow Country many times, but none of them was so fierce.
He was really scared.
At this time, he really hoped that someone would take over quickly to resist the offensive of the Ice and Snow Country.
General Qin ordered the soldiers to retreat while fighting, and retreat to Minhe City in the evening.
Yunhe City and Yonghe City were occupied by the Ice and Snow Country.
Liu Chengwu did not move forward.
The next night.
Yun Ransheng asked someone to find the military inspector Liu Zehui.
Liu Zehui was appointed by the emperor himself.
Yun Ransheng investigated this person thoroughly before leaving.
He has a wife, children and an old mother. He is a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of War and a filial son.
He is middle-aged and behaves in a proper manner.
Liu Zehui is just a civil servant and does not understand military tactics.
These days, he watched General Qin lead the troops to fight against the Ice and Snow Country, and he was doing his best,
so he didn't say a word. And with the Second Prince here, he had no room to speak.
His position as a military supervisor was basically just a decoration.
It was impossible for him to participate in the discussions between Yun Ransheng and Qin Fei.
So he just brought a pair of eyes, and he had no right to command and arrange the army.
He only needed to write a memorial to the emperor every five days about what he saw.
"Your humble servant has met His Royal Highness the Second Prince." Liu Zehui saluted Yun Ransheng in a proper manner.
"Lord Liu, there is no need to be polite. I have been busy recently and have no time to have a meal with Lord Liu. Today, Your Highness is free. I specially invite Lord Liu to have a drink together." Yun Ransheng said gently.
"Thank you, His Royal Highness the Second Prince."
Naturally, he did not dare to refuse the invitation from the prince.
The maid served the food. Yun Ransheng took the initiative to invite him to sit down.
Liu Zehui was a little trembling.
He was not stupid. The Second Prince must have something for him to do when he invited him to dinner.
But he was only a fifth-rank official and could not resist.
"Lord Liu, I heard that you have an old mother at home who is over sixty years old?"
"Yes, my father died early, and it was my mother who raised me up. She
suffered a lot to send me to school. It was not until I passed the imperial examination that she finally didn't have to work so hard." Speaking of his mother, Liu Zehui felt a sense of admiration in his heart.
"Well, Lord Liu is a filial son. Tell me, if something happened to your mother, would you, as a son, be very sad?" Yun Ransheng said with a smile, but that smile was a bit playful, which made people's scalps numb.
"Your Highness, Second Prince, what do you mean by that?"
"Lord Liu, take a look at this. Is this something your mother often wears?" Yun Ransheng took out a gold hairpin inlaid with a piece of emerald from his arms. Liu Zehui
took it and saw that it was exactly what his mother often wore, and it was bought many years ago.
He was so scared that he stood up and said, "Second Prince, how come my mother's things are in your hands?"
"Master Liu, we are all smart people. As long as you do what I want, your mother will return to the Liu family safely."
Liu Zehui was so scared that he knelt on the ground and said, "Your Highness, I am just a small military inspector. I only need to report what I saw to the emperor. I didn't do anything else."
He has always known himself. The second prince is in the army, so how could he dare to do anything disrespectful.
"I don't need you to do anything against your conscience. You just need to write the report according to my request." Yun Ransheng said as he stepped forward and helped him up.