Volume 1 Chapter 305: A Foolish Ruler's Misfortune
Having just dealt with these trivial matters, Xiang Yun couldn't help but think of the tragic situation at Hongri Pass. Feeling annoyed, he asked loudly, "Where is Right Prime Minister Wang Shu?"
Suddenly, a member of the Anbu appeared, cupped his hands and said, "In reply to your Majesty, we have settled in Tianchan City yesterday. I believe we have already set out today to hand over to the Chixiao Dynasty and be sent to the capital of the Chixiao Dynasty."
Xiang Yun nodded in satisfaction, and then immediately said: "Always pay attention to Wang Shu's movements, and report to me immediately if there are any changes!"
"Yes!" The Anbu man agreed and disappeared on the spot.
Tianchan City is the fourth large city after Hongri Pass in Dayun Empire. It has a permanent population of over 36 million and a garrison of over 150,000. It is equipped with 20 Dayi cannons, 30 mortars, Dayi rifles and countless explosive packs.
With such an armament, even if the army of the Chixiao Dynasty came to attack, it would take some time and result in some casualties before they could take it down.
It’s a pity that it would be great if we could delay it for a few days. It is simply unrealistic to stop the army of the Chixiao Dynasty outside the city.
Because the military forces of the three cities ahead were stronger than that of Tianchan City, but they were all lost without exception.
It is for this reason that, even though the army of the Chixiao Dynasty has not yet arrived, the people in Tianchan City are panicking, packing their luggage and fleeing Tianchan City in a hurry.
This phenomenon has actually started to appear in Tianchan City since the first city was breached, but now it has entered the last batch. If someone wanted to leave, they would have already left Tianchan City long ago. As for those who don't want to leave, they will not leave even if the army of the Chixiao Dynasty comes in to massacre the city. They have already prepared themselves to be killed.
However, none of the defenders of Tianchan City left. They all stayed in the city, ready to fight a decisive battle with the army of the Chixiao Dynasty.
All of them were elite members of the Fire Cloud Army who had followed Xiang Yun, Jiang Fei, Jiang Yue and others to fight all the way. They were transferred from the capital of the Dayun Empire and stationed here, so they were not afraid of fighting, nor of death.
In their words, if you are afraid of death, you are not a soldier of the Dayun Empire, let alone worthy of being called the Fire Cloud Army.
Yi Shen Qingqiu of Tianchan City Mansion is only 25 years old this year. He has been studying all his life. At the age of 24, he passed the imperial examination and became a juren. Although he is young, he has great talent and has many insights into the management of people's livelihood. He is highly valued by Wang Shu in the court.
So when the Dayun Empire was in urgent need of talents, Wang Shu entrusted him with an important task and transferred him to manage the entire Tianchan City. Although it was far from the capital, it was the best place to hone and train people.
If he really has the ability to manage the entire Tianchan City, even if he does not want to make Tianchan City better but just maintains the original status quo, he will be transferred back to the capital by Wang Shu, allowed to come into Xiang Yun's sight, and begin to be trained as a capable minister of the country.
It’s a pity that the world is unpredictable. Not long after he took office, the enemy was at the gates of Tianchan City and was about to be destroyed.
The young Shen Qingqiu was a thorough scholar and had no idea of the honor of a soldier, so when he learned that the army of the Chixiao Dynasty was about to attack Tianchan City, he completely panicked, and his first thought was to evacuate with the common people and flee towards the capital.
After all, he had only been in office for a short time and had no feelings for Tianchan City, so he would not feel too guilty about leaving.
But when he hurried to the military camp and wanted to announce the decision to leave with the army, he saw that the soldiers of the Huoyun Army were all seizing the time to train, not slacking off at all, full of murderous intent, and every soldier's eyes were filled with a strong desire to fight, without the slightest fear.
This attitude seemed to silently indicate that they would not abandon the city even if they died.
Seeing this scene, Shen Qingqiu was moved and felt extremely ashamed. The next moment, his thoughts completely changed.
Although he did not have the glory of a soldier in his heart, he had the backbone of a scholar. As a governor, how could he leave and live a life of shame when his soldiers were fighting to the death and die?
So Shen Qingqiu gathered all the soldiers together. He stood in front of everyone in his official uniform, took a deep breath and said, "My fellow soldiers, when the enemy's army is at the gates of the city, I will go with you, put on my armor and go into battle, fight bloody battles, and trample the camps. If the city survives, the people will survive. If the city falls, the people will die. If you see me fall off my horse, don't panic, don't be afraid, hold the swords and guns in your hands tightly, and fight to the last man for the glory of the Dayun Empire!"
"Kill, kill, kill!" All the soldiers of the Fire Cloud Army roared together, their shouts shaking the sky. They seemed to want to use their roars to tear out all the fear in their hearts and the grievances brought about by the court's ruthless abandonment of them.
Shen Qingqiu's own blood was also ignited. He was not good at leading troops in battle, but he could still speak some heroic words he had read in books.
At this moment, one of Shen Qingqiu's subordinates hurried over and whispered something in his ear. Shen Qingqiu's expression gradually changed into shock and joy, and then he shouted to the soldiers in front: "Soldiers, the court has not given up on us. Just now, the right prime minister Wang Shu has arrived in Tianchan City. With the help of the prime minister, Tianchan City will never be broken!"
In a reception room, Wang Shu and ten envoys from the Ministry of Rites were sitting there waiting.
They came here exhausted and at full speed, just to be able to go to the Chixiao Dynasty as soon as possible and save the people from the dire straits.
On the way, Wang Shu racked his brains day and night for strategies to repel the enemy and negotiate peace, but the more he thought about it, the slimmer his hope became, and the success rate of such an approach was almost zero.
Why would a big country that is confident of victory refuse to invade a country with the same territory as its own?
Ask for peace, on what basis?
As a result, Wang Shu felt hopeless. The closer he got to the border, the more nervous he became. He thought that going there would be like committing suicide and there was no chance of survival.
At this time, Shen Qingqiu came over in a hurry with a group of officials. Before entering the house, as soon as he saw Wang Shu's figure, Shen Qingqiu quickly stretched out his hands and shouted: "Prime Minister~! Prime Minister, you can come in person. Qingqiu's heart has finally been relieved. Tianchan City is safe."
Shen Qingqiu walked in with a smile on his face, but when he saw the unhappy expression on Wang Shu's face, his smile suddenly froze and he stood there at a loss.
Ten minutes later
Shen Qingqiu took two steps back in shock, staggered, and nearly fell. His face turned pale, and then he pointed to the sky and cursed: "Stupid emperor! Stupid emperor~! Stupid emperor ruins the country!"
Wang Shu's face changed when he heard this, and he immediately kicked Shen Qingqiu and scolded him in a deep voice: "How dare you! His Majesty is not someone you can insult!"
Shen Qingqiu was filled with despair, and naturally he no longer had any fear in his heart. He looked up at the sky with lifeless eyes and said calmly: "Prime Minister, you can go and see how many innocent people were slaughtered and how many loyal soldiers died in vain because of a ridiculous imperial decree to withdraw troops. They didn't even know what this battle was for until they died!"
"If this is not a tyrant, what else can he be?"
"Enough!" Wang Shu shouted angrily, stood up suddenly, and said in a cold voice: "If you dare to speak disrespectfully to His Majesty again, this Prime Minister will kill you before leaving for the Empire!"
Shen Qingqiu slumped on the ground, his eyes lifeless, and he was no longer able to speak.
Wang Shu then looked around, glanced at the officials of Tianchan City, and then looked at the ten officials of the Ministry of Rites that he brought with him, and said in a deep voice: "It is meaningless to go to the Chixiao Dynasty for negotiations no matter how many people we have, so I will let this Prime Minister go alone. Whether it succeeds or not depends on God's will!"
"Prime Minister!" The officials around shouted in surprise when they heard the words, but before they could say anything else, they were stopped by Wang Shu.
"This Prime Minister has made up his mind, no need to say more!"
After saying this, he took the large white flag with the word "cloud" on it, which represented his status as an envoy, held it high, and slowly left, preparing to set off for the Chixiao Dynasty.
At this moment, Shen Qingqiu suddenly got up in a hurry and shouted: "Prime Minister, the journey is long, forget about the others, let Qingqiu accompany you and take care of you along the way."
Wang Shu frowned upon hearing this and said sternly: "This Prime Minister has already said that it is not necessary!"
Shen Qingqiu immediately said: "Although I have only been an official of the Dayun Empire for a short time, this does not mean that I can't grow the bones of an official of the Dayun Empire!
The Prime Minister can sacrifice his life for justice, and Qingqiu can do the same!"
"If the Prime Minister is unwilling, His Majesty's order is to withdraw the troops and seek peace. Now that the army of the Chixiao Dynasty is about to arrive at the gate of Tianchan City, Qingqiu, as the governor of Tianchan City, must enter the Chixiao Dynasty alone for the sake of the people and soldiers of Tianchan City and negotiate with the Chixiao Dynasty on behalf of Tianchan City!"
Wang Shu didn't expect Shen Qingqiu to make such a decision. He felt very complicated. He looked at him and said in a deep voice, "You are still so young and have a promising future. Why are you like this?"
Shen Qingqiu laughed when he heard this and said, "The 150,000 Fire Cloud Army in Tianchan City have already taught Qingqiu a deep lesson. I was already extremely ashamed. Now the Prime Minister has taught Qingqiu another lesson. Now I am even more ashamed."
"Am I, Shen Qingqiu, different from others?
No!
The Prime Minister is also young, isn't he?"
Wang Shu was stunned when he heard this, and immediately burst into laughter, and Shen Qingqiu also laughed out loud.
"Good, this is a real man from the Dayun Empire!" Wang Shu shouted cheerfully, then spread his hands and took out a steel sword from the Sumeru Ring given to him by Xiang Yun and threw it towards Shen Qingqiu.
Shen Qingqiu took it and looked at it, only to see the words "Yaoyang" engraved on it. He then drew the sword and was immediately shocked by its sharpness. He then looked at Wang Shu with a very puzzled look.
"A gentleman cannot live without a sword. This is the Yaoyang Sword bestowed upon me by His Majesty. It can cut iron like mud and cut hair like a blade. I give it to you today. Take it and follow me into the Chixiao Dynasty!"
Shen Qingqiu was overjoyed when he heard this, and quickly put away his sword, cupped his hands and said, "Yes!"
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