Chapter 165 Meng Kun Meng Kun
Since ancient times, Yunzhou has been a battleground for military strategists and the throat fortress of the Great Zhou. If Yunzhou is lost, the territory of the Great Zhou will become a scorched earth.
The Xianbei had captured three cities before, but why was the emperor only angry and not worried? It was because those three cities were new cities. After the Great Zhou opened up trade, the people of the Great Zhou and the Xianbei people exchanged what they had and gradually built several small cities outside Yunzhou.
With more and more merchants coming in these years, these three small towns have become increasingly prosperous, but to be honest, the emperor may not care much about these small places.
At this moment, Prince Cheng led his men slowly onto the city wall of Yunzhou. This city wall was built more than two hundred years ago during the previous dynasty, and it was repaired every year after the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, until it was like a solid wall of steel.
Various scratches can be vaguely seen on the stone bricks of the city wall, bearing traces of the cruelty of history.
The soldier leading the way saw Prince Cheng stop to look and said, "Some soldiers, bored while guarding the city wall, scratch a mark on the bricks to mark the date. As long as it doesn't damage the wall, the general usually doesn't care."
After hearing this, Prince Cheng turned around and asked, "How many years have you not been back?"
The soldier was slightly stunned, then smiled innocently and said, "I was born and raised in Yunzhou. I can go home anytime I want."
"The accent doesn't seem like it." Prince Cheng said.
The smaller soldier then said, "My father is from the south. He was sent to guard the border and never returned. He got married and had children in Yunzhou. He never lost his accent, and I have a bit of it too."
After saying this, the little man cursed himself for speaking too much and said quickly: "My Lord, my Lords, let me take you to see the general first. He is up there."
Prince Cheng didn't say anything else and just followed him up.
Su Fengzhang was listening to their words from behind. What he saw and heard along the way was enough to let him know that the soldiers in Yunzhou might not be treated well. He had seen the prosperity of the Great Zhou in the capital, but he did not expect that guarding the border was completely different.
When they stepped onto the city wall, it was already sunset. The afterglow of the setting sun happened to fall on the top of the city wall, making the figure standing with his back to them look particularly majestic and tall.
Hearing the sound behind him, the man turned around. His weathered face was solemn. Even though his hair had turned white, his yellow eyes were still extremely sharp. This was Meng Kun, the old General Meng, who had been guarding Yunzhou for decades.
Seeing who was coming, Meng Kun clasped his fists and said, "Prince Cheng!"
"General Meng!" Compared to when he faced Song Wei, Prince Cheng was extremely respectful to this old general.
Meng Kun carefully examined Prince Cheng, as if trying to identify someone in him, but he quickly retracted his gaze and said loudly, "Your Majesty, the Prince has come to visit in person. I apologize for not being able to greet you from afar!"
Prince Cheng said politely, "General Meng is guarding the country's borders, so how can he be disrespectful? It was my fourth brother who was reckless and reckless, causing the general immense trouble."
Hearing this, Meng Kun laughed and suddenly pointed to the bottom of the city wall and said, "Please look, Prince. Do you know what that is?"
Prince Cheng looked in the direction of his finger. The city wall of Yunzhou was extremely high. In order to avoid surprise attacks, there were no tall trees within a few miles outside the city wall. This was cleared by people sent by Meng Kun.
And now, there is nothing under the city wall.
There were no Xianbei people stationed there, nor were there any people from the Great Zhou Dynasty. There were only some vague fragments of things.
Prince Cheng didn't know what he meant, so he asked, "General, please explain clearly."
Meng Kun laughed at himself and looked at the two people who followed him up: "I remember you, you are the kid from the He family."
He Jun always looked very self-important, but he did not dare to act rashly in front of this old general. He quickly saluted and said, "I am He Jun from the He family. Nice to meet you, General Meng."
"What did you see?" Meng Kun asked.
He Jun glanced down. He was a sharpshooter, so his eyesight was naturally excellent. But after looking again and again, he could only reply, "The battlefield has been cleaned up very cleanly."
Meng Kun did not comment on this, his eyes fell on Su Fengzhang: "Who are you?"
"I am Su Fengzhang, your humble servant, honored to meet General Meng." Su Fengzhang also saluted.
Meng Kun knew he was a civil official just by looking at his attire. He frowned deeply when he saw his handsome face. He obviously knew the emperor's standards for selecting officials.
However, Meng Kun still asked impartially: "So what did you see?"
Su Fengzhang took a look and replied, "The loess outside the city is stained with blood."
This made Meng Kun look at him a little longer, but he quickly turned his attention to Prince Cheng and said, "Your Highness, you know that military supplies have been shrinking year by year for the past four years. The Zhenbei Army guarding Yunzhou was said to have 200,000 soldiers, but now there are only 150,000 at most. Even with these 150,000 soldiers, they have to farm to make up for it on weekdays."
Prince Cheng naturally knew about this. The Zhou Dynasty had been peaceful for too many years, and the emperor spent a lot of money, so the Ministry of Revenue complained of poverty every year. It was clearly a peaceful and prosperous era, but the treasury was empty, so the country had to cut spending.
Logically speaking, no one can reduce the border, but there are many complexities behind this matter.
Meng Kun had no intention of delving into the matter and continued, "Although Xinsancheng isn't a fortress, it's Yunzhou's farming area. Now that it's been occupied, the Zhenbei Army's food and fodder will be a problem."
Prince Cheng quickly said, "Your Majesty is also aware of this. The second batch of grain and fodder is already on the way."
As for the first batch of food that had been tampered with, I'm afraid it will be of little use.
Meng Kun nodded and said, "With Prince Cheng's words, I feel relieved."
Prince Cheng also sighed in his heart. Judging from Meng Kun's attitude, he was afraid that the problems of the Zhenbei Army had been accumulating for a long time. If it were not for the outbreak of this war, the emperor in the court would not have realized this big problem.
Prince Cheng asked again, "General Meng, I wonder where the Xianbei are now, and where the Fourth Prince is?"
Mentioning the Fourth Prince, General Meng's expression turned cold. He said, "The Xianbei are in Yunxin City, using it as a base to recuperate. The Fourth Prince is also here."
Song Wei took the opportunity to remind them, "Meng Jiangjun wanted to reclaim this place before, but who would have thought that the Xianbei would push the Fourth Prince onto the city wall and threaten him, thus thwarting their plan."
General Meng glanced at Song Wei and could see that since these two were both military generals, their relationship was indeed average.
"In that case, please ask General Meng to send someone to inform the Xianbei people that the peace delegation has arrived." said Prince Cheng.
Meng Kun frowned, staring at Prince Cheng and said, "Does Prince Cheng really want to negotiate peace in person? If the Xianbei don't follow the rules and directly arrest you, I'm afraid the Zhenbei Army will be even more restricted."
Prince Cheng laughed and said, "Is there any difference between detaining one prince and detaining two princes?"
That was true, not to mention that everyone knew that the Fourth Prince was the Emperor's most beloved prince. His mother was Concubine Xu, the most favored concubine in the harem, and his uncle was the Minister of Revenue, who was once the Crown Prince's strongest rival.
Hearing him speak like this, Meng Kun's brows furrowed even further. "The Xianbei have the upper hand and have even captured the Fourth Prince alive. Proposing peace talks now would undoubtedly be an exorbitant price, putting the Great Zhou in a difficult position."
Song Wei quickly said, "Even so, it was His Majesty's wish to negotiate peace."
Meng Kun glanced at him and continued, "Of course we must negotiate peace, but the Xianbei are so ambitious that negotiating peace at this time will inevitably make the Great Zhou appear weak. According to my suggestion, we should directly send troops to recapture the three cities and drive the Xianbei out. Now the Fourth Prince is just a bargaining chip, but then he will become a talisman. They will definitely not dare to harm the Fourth Prince."
Before Prince Cheng could say anything, Song Wei was furious: "General Meng, I know you have your heart set on the Great Zhou, but there is no such thing as a guaranteed victory when leading troops to war. The Xianbei are showing weakness now. Who knows if it's a trap? What if you lose?"
"Let's not talk about anything else. The Xianbei people dared to chop off the Fourth Prince's ears now. Who knows if they will chop off his hands and feet later? Or even worse, they will directly kill the Fourth Prince as a sacrifice. If that really happens, His Majesty will be angry. Who can bear the consequences?"
Song Wei was the one who was most afraid that something might happen to the Fourth Prince, and he repeatedly advised, "Prince Cheng, the Fourth Prince is your biological brother. We can't just ignore him because of a momentary anger."
Meng Kun frowned, but did not refute it.
Prince Cheng also knew very well why Song Wei and Meng Kun had completely different attitudes.
After all, although they are both military generals, Song Wei is the Minister of War under the emperor's nose, and he has long lost the spirit of leading troops in battle. But Meng Kun is different. Although there have been few wars in the northern border in recent years, his rank as a general was also made through fighting.
Another thing is that Meng Kun's prestige in the Zhenbei Army is unparalleled. Even the emperor might not dare to act rashly. After all, the Zhenbei Army had already lost General Liu and General He. If they lose Meng Kun, who can guard the border?
Prince Cheng sighed and said, "Before we set out, my father told me to bring my fourth brother back."
As soon as he finished speaking, Meng Kun knew his attitude. He felt disappointed, but he still said, "Since that's the case, I will send someone to pass on the message. I just hope the Xianbei people don't have too many plans."
"Then I'll have to trouble General Meng." Prince Cheng was not optimistic about this. Since they had mobilized their troops, how could the Xianbei people not have many ambitions? They were lying dormant now, and I'm afraid they were just trying to outsmart Meng Kun.
Meng Kun nodded and said, "Prince, please go back first."
After he finished speaking, he paused, pointed at He Jun and said, "Why don't you leave this kid to me."
Everyone was shocked, but He Jun's eyes were filled with excitement as he shouted directly, "Prince Cheng, why don't you let me stay on the city wall and learn from Meng Jiangjun how to lead troops in battle."
Song Wei quickly said, "My two princes, isn't this against etiquette?"
"This is also what my father meant," Prince Cheng said. "He Jun, then you should stay here and be respectful to Meng Jiangjun."
"Yes, Your Highness." He Jun said loudly.
Before he even stepped off the city wall, Song Wei couldn't help but say, "Prince Cheng, Prince Xi is a prince after all, this..."
Prince Cheng seemed not to understand what he meant, and instead said, "Sir Song, this Sir Su is an envoy specially sent by the Emperor. He is very proficient in common things. Please, Sir Song, take him to familiarize himself with military supplies."
Song Wei's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously looked up at Su Fengzhang, only to see the latter smiling and bowing.
Su Fengzhang followed Prince Cheng down the city wall when he suddenly heard a familiar voice. The man was also surprised to see him, but the distance was too far, so the two could only look at each other and nod.
The soldier I saw patrolling under the city wall was none other than Liu Wei, who had led troops to rescue Yuexi Village.
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