Chapter 881 Spoils of War

These days, the Empress of the Qian Kingdom had been swept up amidst the Yan army. Unlike the captured princes and nobles, her treatment was noticeably better. Not only were there two Qian Kingdom titled ladies attending to her, but she also had her own separate tent every night. The others, once high-ranking dignitaries, were directly sent by the Yan people to squeeze together in the stables at night.

Blind Man had once joked that the Qian Kingdom was number one in cultural soft power among the various Xia nations, which was indeed a fact.

The most pinnacle achievement of the Qian Kingdom's literati was creating a "Four Marquises Opening the Border" out of the historical Three Marquises Opening the Border. Moreover, they could cite extensively from top to bottom, making it sound reasonable to ordinary people, even though it was nonsense.

They could alter the ironclad facts of history from the Three Kingdoms period; other matters were naturally easier.

For example,

The Qian people had always feared the Yan on the battlefield, but on paper, they could be eloquent and unrestrained.

In recent years, with the rise of Prince Pingxi, the Qian literati focused their main energy on him.

Prince Pingxi had always lamented why his reputation was constantly being persecuted.

There were certainly objective reasons for this, coupled with the loose tongues of some people in his family. However, it was undeniable that the Qian Kingdom's Jianghu (martial world) literati played a role in fueling the flames.

Many so-called "Jianghu literati" could be officials, teachers, or great Confucians during the day, but when they wrote their "small chronicles" at night, they could quickly switch to another persona.

Therefore, in the Qian Kingdom's Jianghu, teahouses, taverns, and even high-end brothels were filled with scripts about Prince Pingxi.

In their writings,

Prince Pingxi was portrayed as someone extremely thirsty for other men's wives, not only making his subordinates offer their wives for his enjoyment but also ruthlessly ravaging and humiliating the noble ladies of fallen kingdoms!

Truly, arousing the wrath of both gods and men!

In the most famous flower lane in Jiangnan, "Prince Pingxi" plays were staged every day for the enjoyment of esteemed guests.

Usually, a female entertainer would play one of the roles, while the guest would play Prince Pingxi.

Some of the most famous scripts included "The Story of Prince Pingxi and the Jin Kingdom's Dowager Empress," "The Secret of Prince Pingxi and the Cheng Kingdom's Dowager Empress," and "The Entanglement of Prince Pingxi and the Savage King's Dowager Empress"...

The Jiangnan young masters criticized Prince Pingxi's outrageous acts while tirelessly playing the role.

Essentially,

In their hearts,

They were envious.

Men, in essence, couldn't escape the constraints of those two walnuts in their core. Everyone criticized Prince Pingxi, yet everyone secretly wanted to be Prince Pingxi.

This also reflected the wealth and prosperity of Jiangnan in the Qian Kingdom. Without a sufficient foundation at the bottom, the upper class couldn't engage in such flamboyant, or rather, elegant activities.

This atmosphere and these rumors weren't avoided even within the imperial palace.

Precisely because of this,

When Empress Cui Ying of the Qian Kingdom was captured by the Yan people, she panicked upon learning that Prince Pingxi had joined this army.

And for days on end,

Knowing that Prince Pingxi himself was in the army,

And hearing that Prince Pingxi had seemed to check on the captured Qian Kingdom princes and nobles,

Prince Pingxi never came to see her.

Therefore,

The Empress's heart panicked even more.

"Your Majesty, it's time to wash up."

Two titled ladies walked in carrying utensils and began to serve the Empress with washing up and changing clothes.

The Empress asked nervously:

"Is the Yan barbarian king asking me to go over?"

The Empress couldn't bring herself to say the word "serve."

She had tried to commit suicide by slitting her throat when the Yan army broke through the palace, but unfortunately, she failed.

A person's belief in suicide often collapses with the failure of the first attempt. It's difficult to commit suicide a second time in a short period.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has sent an imperial envoy."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I saw the imperial envoy."

The two titled ladies almost cried.

They had been noble ladies living in luxury, with numerous servants, but now they had fallen into such a state. How could they not be afraid and panicked?

But being chosen to serve the Empress was already extremely fortunate.

The Yan people didn't treat their prisoners kindly. The Empress was an exception. The rest of the princes and nobles, male or female, were basically regarded as "livestock."

"The Emperor sent someone?" The Empress cried with joy.

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Emperor must have sent someone to take you back."

"Your Majesty, you must take us with you."

"Yes, Your Majesty, please have mercy."

"Don't worry, I've been cared for by the two of you along the way. I will definitely take you with me."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty is benevolent."

…

"Heh, the sincerity of your Emperor is quite substantial."

Zheng Fan put down the list of gifts, his calm gaze falling on the Qian Kingdom envoy standing below.

The envoy was wearing a python robe and was not old, but he had a heroic aura standing in his military tent.

The heir of Prince Rui, Zhao Mugou.

"Your Highness, it is against the rules to kill envoys during wartime between two countries."

"I didn't say I was going to kill you."

"No, what I mean is that even if Yan and Qian are at war, as the two major powers of the Xia nations, they should be a model for the Xia nations and leave a bit of dignity."

"What dignity is there for a defeated nation?"

"Your Highness, my Great Qian has not been defeated!"

Zheng Fan smiled

And said:

"Someone."

"Present!"

"Send the Qian envoy out of the tent."

Prince Pingxi flicked his hand, sending the list of gifts down below.

And said:

"Then let's continue fighting!"

Zhao Mugou was blocked by Chen Xianba and Zheng Man, who gestured for him to leave.

But he shouted:

"Your Highness, can the Yan Kingdom continue fighting? Can the Yan Kingdom afford to fight? If you continue to fight, isn't the Yan Kingdom afraid of internal chaos?"

"I am the Prince Pingxi of Great Yan, not the Emperor of Great Yan. The land of Great Yan is not mine either. Breaking the pots and pans has nothing to do with me.

In my life,

I hate being threatened the most.

Come on,

Come at me."

Zhao Mugou's expression froze. As Chen Xianba and Zheng Man lifted him to the point of almost exiting the tent, Zhao Mugou seemed to have had most of his strength extracted, and he shouted:

"Then what exactly does Your Highness want!"

"Good."

Chen Xianba and Zheng Man released him.

"Xianba."

"Yes!"

Chen Xianba took out a map and spread it out in front of Zhao Mugou.

On the map, two cities were circled.

"Have your Emperor issue an edict ordering the garrisons of these two cities to open their gates."

When Zhao Mugou saw these two cities, he immediately roared:

"Impossible! Don't even think about it!"

These two cities were not large cities, nor were they important military strongholds. Of course, for the current Yan army, there was really no need to engage in any siege operations. The soldiers were very tired, and the casualties from this invasion of Qian were already high.

On the periphery, several Qian armies were constantly escorting them.

How far the Yan army went, the Qian army would follow. They wouldn't attack proactively. When the Yan army stopped, the Qian army would set up camp.

Because the Qian army knew that they didn't have the strength to attack proactively, so it looked more like the Qian army was politely escorting the Yan army out of the country.

The Eldest Prince and Li Liangchen were mobilizing the troops of Nanwang City and repeatedly skirmishing with the Qian Kingdom's three border regions, preventing Zu Zhuming from the Qian Kingdom's three border regions from mobilizing troops south.

The elite Qian army in Liang was detouring south, planning to return home from the south. Luo Ling's force was still keeping them at bay. It could be said that those elites were too far away to quench the immediate thirst.

The main force of the Imperial Guards was taken back to the capital by the Emperor to stabilize the situation.

Under such circumstances, the Qian army could still organize a considerable number of troops, seemingly "numerous and powerful," but in reality, most of them were local garrison troops, and their combat effectiveness was not just worrying; everyone knew how pathetic they really were.

After several exchanges, when the troops around Zheng Fan gathered to a certain scale, unless he deliberately drilled into the Qian people's encirclement, he was basically safe.

Why could these two cities make Zhao Mugou so agitated? Because they were the transit points for the Qian Kingdom to transport military supplies to the three border regions in the north, that is, the logistical lifeline of the three border regions' rear.

Clearly, Prince Pingxi was planning to make a small fortune before leaving, which could be considered as filling in some of the Yan Kingdom's deficit.

At least,

It could alleviate a little bit of the pressure on Little Sixth, right?

The Qian Kingdom's gift list was actually a "ransom," but this ransom was divided into installments. Among them, there were many implicit aspects that existed in future trade with the Pingxi Prince's Mansion in Jindong.

But Zheng Fan was not a naive person who could be easily deceived. What he could hold in his hands was what he needed.

Gold and silver were actually not very important to him now. When Chen Yang's force returned, although they didn't drive carts full of looted goods in order to hurry, each soldier's pockets or the saddlebags of their warhorses were more or less bulging.

What Zheng Fan valued was grain.

In peaceful years, grain was actually very cheap, a world apart from rare treasures. But this thing had to be sown at the right time and then harvested after waiting for a period. It couldn't be conjured out of thin air.

Grain was what Great Yan needed most urgently at the moment, which could solve the immediate crisis.

Zheng Fan waved his hand,

Chen Xianba dragged Zhao Mugou out of the tent.

Zheng Man then asked stupidly:

"Your Highness, will the Qian people agree?"

Prince Pingxi glanced at Zheng Man,

And said:

"Negotiating a deal, you can't be in a hurry."

…

Zhao Mugou didn't come alone. He brought an envoy group. There were quite a few people. Every day, they would send people back to transmit messages and receive responses from the Emperor.

This blatant honesty and the undisguised traces of his own army were actually a kind of insult to the Qian Kingdom.

But the Qian people knew that the Yan army would eventually withdraw. There was really no need or ability to fight hard at the moment, so they could only grit their teeth and endure.

As for Zhao Mugou himself, he kept asking to see Prince Pingxi during the day. Sometimes, when the Prince didn't want to see him, he would stand outside the tent and curse Prince Pingxi for being immoral!

At night, he would go to the stables where the prisoners were held to comfort the captured princes and nobles, promising them that he would definitely take them home and that they would no longer suffer the humiliation of the Yan barbarians.

The busiest person in the entire army was this heir of Prince Rui.

Every day, Chen Xianba would tell Zheng Fan what Zhao Mugou had done.

After hearing this, Zheng Fan would just smile and not take it to heart.

They were both smart people. Although they hadn't revealed their bottom lines to each other, it didn't prevent them from cooperating in the early stages.

The difference was that,

Zhao Mugou was jumping around like this, and even though Prince Pingxi tolerated him, it was just letting him withdraw the benefits in advance. In the end, he had to reciprocate, otherwise, he couldn't leave this military camp alive with his envoy group.

Zheng Fan wasn't afraid that this heir wouldn't have needs. What he feared was that a truly iron-willed person would be sent.

After all,

Even if these princes and nobles were really brought back to the Yan Kingdom, they would just be sent to the capital for the people of the capital to watch a monkey show, and then let Little Sixth boast about his achievements to his ancestors when he went to the ancestral temple, pretending to be cool.

They couldn't be exchanged for food or drink. Along the way, they would still have to eat and drink, consuming resources. There was no practical significance.

Zheng Fan believed that if Little Sixth was here, he would have the same idea as him. After all, that guy valued practicality more than he did.

Just like that,

The Yan army continued to advance and camped every day.

Zhao Mugou, who seemed to have gradually figured out this "tacit understanding," began to recite poems, express his aspirations, and curse Prince Pingxi in front of the tent every day, while also expressing his worries and unwillingness about the difficulties of the country.

He also went to the Yan people to make trouble, demanding that the prisoners be given sufficient food and more spacious space. Those princes and nobles were now more excited to see Zhao Mugou than they were to see their own parents.

Because in this environment of being prisoners, after being stripped of their original glory, they had actually become no different from ordinary people. Even the hardships that ordinary commoners could endure could be called torture for them.

News from Zixia Palace in the south continued to arrive.

Finally,

On an appropriate day, when the Yan army's northward withdrawal reached a turning point;

Zhao Mugou came with his sincerity.

He entered the tent,

Saw Prince Pingxi,

Prince Pingxi smiled,

Zhao Mugou even smiled a little embarrassedly.

Then,

Zhao Mugou took out the imperial edict and all relevant documents, not just those two cities, but also some surrounding counties.

"Oh, is there a bonus?"

A'ming, who was standing next to Zheng Fan, asked curiously.

Zhao Mugou knelt down and said sincerely: "Your Highness, this is the sincerity of our Emperor."

Zheng Fan nodded,

And said:

"I know."

"This humble subject takes his leave."

Zhao Mugou went down.

"This deal is very cost-effective." A'ming said.

"I can only say that we're just getting a little bit of blood back. In the end, the Qian people are strong and have a deep foundation in Jiangnan. Twice, twice already. The Qian people can still be so rich and generous. It's like selling off their ancestors' land without feeling any pain.

Damn it,

When can I, Zheng Fan, fight a wealthy battle like this? I also want to bully people with national power."

"Master can now bully that one."

A'ming was naturally referring to the Empress. A'ming was really curious. In the past, whether it was the Queen Dowager or the Empress Dowager, Master would always meet them, not to really bully them, but to at least pay his respects.

This time, he really didn't see her even once.

Zheng Fan shook his head,

And said:

"I am a kind-hearted person."

…

Three days later, one city after another opened its gates under the Emperor's orders and abandoned its resistance, allowing the Yan army to enter.

Of course, there were also two county generals and officials who refused to obey the edict and insisted on not opening the gates.

One of them was taken down by the Yan army, and the other one was attacked once but failed, so they didn't attack it again.

The Yan army captured many local people in these counties and forcibly demanded that they act as laborers, responsible for transporting grain and military supplies.

At the same time,

The Fu Prince's family, escorted by the Qian army, had already entered the range covered by the Yan army's scouts;

And those princes and ministers who had been captured from the capital were released from their shackles one by one, crying with joy.

However,

That night,

A painful message was spread;

The Great Qian Empress,

To avoid being humiliated by the Yan barbarians and to preserve her national integrity,

Committed suicide

By hanging herself in her tent.