12dz Chapter 1229: If the sky is crazy, it will rain; if people are crazy, there will be disaster
Chapter 1229: If the sky is crazy, it will rain; if people are crazy, there will be disaster
Two days later, in the Han Imperial Palace, Weiyang Palace.
In the courtyard outside the palace, the green leaves of the trees turned yellow, and the autumn wind blew, sending leaves falling in waves.
Several maids were holding brooms and sweeping up the fallen leaves, fearing that they would be scolded by the eunuch chief if they were slow.
Suddenly, a pair of hurried footsteps came with a gust of wind, and the piled up fallen leaves were scattered in all directions.
The maids who were sweeping the fallen leaves all looked sideways and saw Prime Minister Chen Pin, wearing a black official uniform, walking quickly towards them with a serious expression on his face.
Everyone bowed and stepped aside.
Chen Pin came outside the palace and said in a loud voice: "Your Majesty, there is a war report from the front line between Chu and Qin."
"Come in and talk!" The voice of Emperor Liu Che of Han came from the hall.
Pushing open the door of the hall, a strong fragrance rushed towards him. Chen Pin came into the hall and bowed:
"See Your Majesty!"
Liu Che put down the memorial in his hand, looked up at Chen Pin, and said with a smile: "Tell me, what was the result of this battle?"
Chen Pin sighed, a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, and said in a deep voice: "In this battle, the Qin army fell into a trap, lost two generals, lost tens of thousands of people, and was forced to retreat."
"Now Chu Ning has taken the initiative to issue a declaration of war, and is determined to fight the Qin army to the death tomorrow."
"In addition, this defeat was reported by Chu Ning, who also urged Your Majesty to send troops as soon as possible to contain Sima Yi of Wei."
As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Che's face suddenly turned gloomy.
He slammed the table with his right hand, stood up straight, and said in a cold voice: "Just because Chu Ning won the first battle, can he let me send troops immediately?"
"Humph, don't forget, he has not yet fulfilled his promise to me. How can I easily send troops?"
Because Chu Ning broke his promise last time, Liu Che was determined not to release the eagle until he saw the rabbit.
Even if the Chu army wins, what does it matter? Without him to hold Sima Yi back, wouldn’t Chu Ning be worried about Sima Yi attacking Maple Leaf City?
But Chen Pin said cautiously: "Your Majesty, if we send troops to Wei now, we may be able to take down Wei first while Qin is attacking Chu and Zhou."
"Otherwise, whether Qin wins or the Chu-Zhou coalition wins, their next target may be our Han Dynasty."
"Only by capturing Sima Yi as soon as possible and taking control of the cities of Wei can we expand our strength and cope with the upcoming great changes in the world."
Liu Che, who was originally a little indignant, fell silent after hearing this.
How could he not hear the urgency in Chen Pin's words?
But now Chu Ning can still get the benefits. If he sends troops at this time, Chu Ning is likely to find an excuse to shirk responsibility, or delay giving him the Hundred Refinement Steel Crossbow.
But if we do not send troops now, as Chen Pin said, once the Qin State and the Chu-Zhou coalition forces decide the outcome, the Han Dynasty will be in an awkward position.
For a moment, Liu Che was silent.
He didn't want to be led by Chu Ning, but he was also worried that the Han Dynasty would not be able to benefit from the outcome after the Qin State and the Chu-Zhou coalition forces decided the outcome.
After pondering for a while, Chen Pin became anxious.
"Your Majesty, this matter concerns the future of the Han Dynasty. You must not act on impulse."
Chen Pin's gray beard kept trembling, and his face flushed with excitement. He couldn't help but take two steps forward and said anxiously:
"Your Majesty, please do not let this momentary dispute cause our dynasty to lose the initiative, otherwise our dynasty will be in a very passive position in the future."
"Chu Ning was shot by Qin's general Li Xing and is poisoned. He will definitely fight to the death with Qin and will have no time to care about other things. Why don't we take this opportunity to capture Sima Yi?"
"Sima Yi has been recruiting soldiers and horses for the past few months. If he is given enough time, he will become a serious threat to our dynasty."
Liu Che remained silent.
Although Chen Pin's words made sense, he still had a knot in his heart.
Once he sends troops, it means he is fulfilling his agreement with Chu Ning.
However, Chu Ning had not yet given him what he promised.
What does this equal?
This means that he is controlled by Chu Ning.
He does whatever Chu Ning says?
Is the emperor of the Han Dynasty Liu Che or Chu Ning?
But he also understood that what Chen Pin said was true.
On the one hand, it is his own face.
On the one hand, there is the bright future of the Han Dynasty.
He found it difficult to make a decision for a moment.
At this moment, the eunuch's voice came from outside the palace: "Your Majesty, Lord Deng, the Minister of Rites of the State of Chu, wants to see you."
“It’s coming so fast!”
Liu Che narrowed his eyes, a cold light flashed across them: "I got the news just before he came, it seems Chu Ning must have given him the news."
"Hmph, let's see how he persuades us."
Sitting back in his seat, Liu Che said coldly to the outside of the hall: "Announce!"
The palace door opened, and Deng Hongwen, wearing the red official uniform of the Chu State, swept in from outside the palace with the autumn wind.
He clasped his hands together and saluted, saying solemnly: "An external official pays respect to His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty!"
Liu Che glanced at Deng Hongwen coldly, raised his eyebrows and said, "I wonder what Lord Deng wants to see me about?"
Deng Hongwen glanced at Chen Pin without leaving a trace. Knowing that the other party had received the message from Crown Prince Chu Ning, he was too lazy to beat around the bush.
"I came here this time to announce the good news to His Majesty the Emperor of the Han Dynasty."
Deng Hongwen stood up straight and said proudly, "Your Highness the Crown Prince of our dynasty personally led the troops to defeat the Qin army in Hecheng, beheaded two enemy generals Meng Ao and Wang Wei, and slaughtered tens of thousands of Qin soldiers."
"We have won the first battle. Our army is full of vigor and will surely be able to sweep away the Qin army in one fell swoop."
He did not ask Liu Che to send troops.
He was well aware of the grudge between Liu Che and Chu Ning, and also understood how much the middle-aged emperor in front of him cared about his reputation.
If Liu Che was asked directly to send troops, he would definitely refuse.
Even if they did not refuse, they would raise the price and demand that Chu deliver the crossbows as soon as possible.
However, the prince had said before that the hundred-forged steel crossbow was the foundation of the Chu State and could not really be given to the Han Dynasty as a trade.
Therefore, he could only persuade Liu Che to send troops from other directions.
Only by considering the overall situation and letting Liu Che feel the changes in the situation can Liu Che take the initiative to send troops.
However, Liu Che smiled contemptuously upon hearing this: "It's just a victory, why make such a big fuss?"
"As the saying goes, when the sky is crazy, it will rain, and when people are crazy, they will suffer disasters. If all the Chu troops are like you, the outcome will be unpredictable."
Faced with Deng Hongwen's persuasion, Liu Che remained calm and pretended not to want to send troops.
But who is Liu Che? He was the top scorer in the first imperial examination of the State of Chu and was deeply trusted by Chu Ning. How could it be possible that Liu Che was just pretending?
Hearing this, he couldn't help but chuckle, and bowed, saying: "If the Emperor of the Han Dynasty thinks so, then I will pretend that I have never been here today. Farewell!"
He turned and walked out of the hall without any pretense, looking like he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.
Such a resolute attitude made Liu Che slightly stunned.
After being stunned, Deng Hongwen went straight to the entrance of the hall.
Seeing Deng Hongwen was about to leave, Chen Pin suddenly said in a loud voice: "Master Deng, why are you in such a hurry to leave? I still have something to say to His Majesty the Emperor."
The footsteps of leaving paused, and a hint of amusement appeared on Deng Hongwen's face.
He was just now.
Now it seems that he won the bet.