A day ago, Su Yuntian and Huang Xin arrived at the Yanmen Pass camp. Just now, the Beiqi Kingdom sent a letter demanding that the Dongyue Kingdom give them five cities plus 100,000 dan of grain, or else they would kill Mu Yan and fight the Dongyue Kingdom to the death.
Inside the camp, Huang Xin, from the military commander's faction, and Lin Song, from the Mu family army's faction, were arguing about whether to negotiate peace or to fight directly with Beiqi.
Meanwhile, Su Yuntian, the peace envoy, sat leisurely in his military chair, sipping his tea without uttering a word.
Huang Xin glanced at Mu Weihou and said, "Mu Yan is just a fourth-rank official in my Dongyue Kingdom. He's not even worth five cities or 100,000 dan of grain. This Beiqi dog is too out of touch with reality."
Lin Song, Mu Weihou's adjutant, angrily said, "Supervisor Huang, you are mistaken. The prisoners of Beiqi are not just Mu Yan, a fourth-rank Xuanwei General, but also thousands of soldiers."
Huang Xin, however, said with a mocking expression, "They're just a bunch of good-for-nothings. If they were so good, how could they have been captured?"
"You!" Lin Song wanted to argue with Huang Xin, but was stopped by Mu Weihou.
Marquis Muwei said with a half-smile, "Mu Yan is my soldier and my son. You might as well be frank and say that I am also a good-for-nothing."
Huang Xin snorted coldly and bowed, saying, "How dare I?"
"But in my opinion, General Mu is the Grand General of our Dongyue Kingdom, and has fought on the battlefield for many years. He should prioritize the overall situation and not let personal feelings interfere just because the person who was captured is your son."
"Put yourself in his shoes. If Mu Yan weren't your son, and he were just an ordinary fourth-rank Xuanwei, how insignificant he would be in the face of the two armies, the safety of Dongyue, and the greater good of the nation."
"General, we cannot allow Dongyue Kingdom to lose five cities and 100,000 dan of grain for the sake of your son. In my opinion, we should not let King Yun waste his efforts on peace talks with Beiqi. We should take advantage of the situation and crush Beiqi Kingdom in one fell swoop."
Deputy General Lin Song said, "Without even negotiating, you go straight to war. How is this any different from us offering up our swords to the Beiqi people to kill our captured Dongyue soldiers?"
Huang Xin snorted coldly: "When two countries are at war, there will always be some sacrifices. I believe the thousand captured soldiers will understand."
Upon hearing this, Lin Song slammed his hand heavily on the table.
"Huang Xin, you're just settling a personal score. Don't think I don't know. You've had a grudge against Mu Yan since you were young. It's because you got drunk and beat Mu Yan when you were young. Your father broke your hand because of it and made you go to the General's Mansion to apologize to Mu Yan. You've held a grudge all these years, haven't you?"
Huang Xin, as if his sore spot had been exposed, gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Nonsense! I am not the kind of person who holds grudges. In short, I do not agree to peace talks! General Mu should end this war as soon as possible!"
Marquis Muwei said, “Very well, since Supervisor Huang says so, and the one who was captured is my son, in order to prevent the supervisor from saying that I am abusing my power for personal gain, then I will immediately write a letter to the Emperor to resign and let you take over as commander-in-chief. You will be in full charge of all matters in the army, and when we arrive at the Beiqi battlefield, you must take the lead. I will definitely have no objections.”
"It was my fault for not commanding my troops well. I will return to the capital immediately to apologize and wait for General Huang's good news. I want to see how General Huang can defeat Beiqi in the shortest time without losing a single city or a single grain of rice. What do you say?"
Huang Xin scoffed, "General Mu, why speak such childish words? I am the military supervisor personally appointed by His Majesty. I am merely fulfilling my duty as a supervisor and offering suggestions that are most beneficial to our Dongyue Kingdom. I still wish to ask the General to heed my words. Do not act unilaterally, otherwise, I fear it may truly be as others have said..."
Marquis Muwei narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "What is it?"
Huang Xin feigned surprise and said, "General Mu, haven't you heard? People in the court and even the people within the pass are saying that the Mu family army has been able to defeat the Northern Qi Kingdom time and time again, and that Mu Yan, who has been captured by the Northern Qi Kingdom, is still out of danger. This is because General Mu has secretly made some kind of deal with the Northern Qi Kingdom..."
"Bullshit! Are you implying that our soldiers at Yanmen Pass are colluding with Beiqi?" Lin Song couldn't hold back any longer and cursed.
Huang Xin, however, said innocently, "This is not what I, the Commander, said, nor do I believe it. But the truth is not what others say. Only General Mu knows the real facts."
Upon hearing Huang Xin's words, Lin Song clenched his fist, intending to risk everything and go forward to beat Huang Xin, but at that moment Su Yuntian suddenly spoke up.
"Alright! Stop arguing. Since I am the peace envoy, I must go and talk to the Kitasaki Kingdom first."
Huang Xin was taken aback by Su Yuntian's words. Mu Jin's divorce of Su Yuntian had caused a great uproar in the court. If there was anyone in the world who hated the Mu family more than himself, it would probably be Su Yuntian. He did not believe that Su Yuntian would let the Mu family off easy this time, given that the Mu family army had encountered such a problem.
Huang Xin said, "Your Highness, you should think twice. These Beiqi people are cunning and unreliable. Why not fight first and then talk?"
Su Yuntian raised his hand to stop them, saying, "You've been arguing all day, giving me a headache. Except for General Mu, everyone else, please leave. We can discuss the details tomorrow."
Huang Xinyu tried to persuade Su Yuntian again, but Su Yuntian stopped him with a look.
Recently, the calls for Su Yuntian to be made crown prince have been growing louder in the court. Huang Xin had already sided with Su Yuntian. When Huang Xin saw that Su Yuntian seemed displeased, he fell silent and left the council tent with the others.
After everyone had left, Su Yuntian stood up, walked up to Mu Weihou, and respectfully bowed.
"Father-in-law, it's been a long time since I've seen you. I miss you dearly."
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