Although Zhou Shangwen said a lot, for the current situation, the most valuable sentence is:
The prince will definitely withdraw his troops.
Yes, he will definitely withdraw his troops, no matter how many false pretenses of resistance he makes, but his only goal is to withdraw his troops.
In this regard, Lord Zhou Shangwen, who claimed to know the prince best, explained it this way:
The Crown Prince has the heart of a wise ruler, but not the ability. He only aspires to emulate the humble ministers of Zhou Gong, but he doesn't know how to employ his people. He has many ideas but few decisions, is good at plotting but indecisive, has great ambitions but little wisdom, appears fierce but is timid, is afraid of defeat but lacks authority, has many troops but poorly organized forces, and his generals are arrogant but his policies are inconsistent. Although his territory is vast and his food is abundant, it is barely enough to serve Your Majesty. He has sent the entire country and exhausted his troops on a long expedition. If things go wrong, he fears internal strife. Therefore, I, the guilty minister, have determined that he will withdraw his troops, for he is only concerned about his reputation.
As a modern person, Lin Hai has basically never popularized classical Chinese to everyone... Of course, his own level of classical Chinese is probably only about what he learned after finishing the junior high school textbooks for twenty years and returning a large part of it to the teacher.
The only person present who had received a very standard private school education was Shi Zhen'er. Of course, the main reason everyone looked at Shi Zhen'er was, "Can you help me translate this?"
And Queen Shi obviously understood it as: "Go teach this person who doesn't speak human language a lesson."
So when Shi Zhen'er personally came down, put the guard's straight knife on Zhou Shangwen's neck, and asked him to "speak human language", Lord Zhou refined his language and made the matter clear in three sentences:
The prince is ambitious and although he has some abilities, he is still far from being the wise ruler he wants to be.
He looks strong, but he doesn't know how to use it, which results in him being unable to exert his strength.
Moreover, this person is actually very timid. If he loses a battle, he will worry about problems in the rear, so he will definitely withdraw his troops. The main reason he doesn't withdraw now is that he is worried about his bad reputation after running away.
"oh..."
Now the rulers and ministers of Qinghe understood.
"To put it bluntly, he needs a way out, otherwise he'll find it difficult to step down."
Wang Zuo said sinisterly.
"If he can't get off the stage, then don't get off. There are too many people downstairs and there's no room for him to stand. Just stay on the stage."
Lin Hai continued.
"Since you've made your judgment, you should know the rules of Qinghe. If your prediction comes true, what kind of reward do you want?"
As soon as Lin Hai finished speaking, Zhou Shangwen immediately showed an overjoyed expression.
"I thank Your Majesty for your grace."
The elderly Mr. Zhou knelt down and kowtowed three times to Lin Hai at lightning speed. His movements were so agile that Lin Hai, who always claimed to have good eyesight and quick reactions, could only see his afterimage left on the ground.
"Don't you plan to pretend to be noble and loyal to the Chen Dynasty and try to ask for a high price? I didn't even say anything about the reward, and you're already thanking me?"
Lin Hai smiled.
"Your Majesty, I dare not lie to you. If I were twenty years younger, I would naturally feign aloofness, even going so far as to live in seclusion for a while, waiting for Your Majesty to offer a higher price. But I am old and cannot wait any longer. Moreover, the Qinghe court is overflowing with talented people. To be honest, I am not completely sure that Your Majesty will come. The Crown Prince still has a hundred thousand troops at his command. Once he returns, the Fourth Prince will be even less able to wait."
Zhou Shangwen actually told the truth.
"Alright then. I won't give you a specific position for now. After you go down, write down everything you know about the internal affairs of the Chen Dynasty, no matter what it is, and submit it to me regularly. If it's useful, I can guarantee that no matter what happens in the future, the Fourth Prince of the Chen Dynasty will be able to survive. I can even give him a chance..."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is indeed in agony.
As a crown prince, if a father is in a coma but refuses to pass away, anyone would be tormented.
What's more, he took the main force of the entire country out to have fun, but still lost.
Although the Chen Dynasty still had more than 100,000 combat-ready soldiers on the front line, and although the strength of the Chen Dynasty camp was slowly recovering as Liu Yong's plundering operations throughout the southwest were proceeding smoothly, both the prince himself and his civil and military officials knew that the battle was lost.
Once the news of the crown prince's defeat on the front line reaches the rear, let alone what actions the Liang army, which has been eyeing the central battlefield, will take, even what the second prince, who lives in the palace all day and refuses to come out, will do is worth everyone's deep consideration.
"Your Highness, for now, why not have General Liu lead the ten newly formed ruling divisions to continue confronting the Qinghe people? Your Highness, along with General Gao Chong, the cavalry commander, lead the cavalry back to Jiankang first?"
After a useless military meeting, Wei Chun, who was left alone, said this.
"I was the one who insisted on marching south. Now that I have lost my troops and territory, I am too ashamed to go back."
After discussing for a whole morning and finding no way out of the impasse, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said this, feeling very disappointed and exhausted.
"Your Highness, victory and defeat are common in war!"
Wei Chun raised his voice.
Now the Chen Dynasty is well aware that Zhou Shangwen surrendered to Qinghe. This is a huge blow to the Chen Dynasty. An old minister who is highly respected and valued by the prince has betrayed his country. No matter how you look at it, this is the responsibility of the top level, that is, the prince. It also indicates that the Chen Dynasty has lost the war so badly that it has almost no fig leaf left.
But for Wei Chun, Zhou Shangwen's defection also meant that the position above him was finally vacant. Although the reason for the vacancy was so dramatic, it was vacant. Wei Chun believed that as long as the time was right, he would be able to take it.
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