Alien Arms Empire.

Chapter 1036 Chapter 1037
When the sky began to snow, a Fengjiang army arrived at the foot of Dongqing City. This army did not rush to attack, but sent an envoy to send an edict to the commander of the defenders in the city.

That's right, it was an imperial edict. Emperor Zhao Yu of the Great Hua Empire canonized Liu Jie, the commander of the garrison in the city, as a general, hoping that he could open the city to welcome Fengjiang's troops.

The general gave it quite casually. Liu Jie, the Dongqing defender who already knew that Zhao Chen had surrendered, thought that Zhao Chen would become Zhao Yu's general.

So he asked the Tang Empire diplomat who came to deliver the edict, how credible is this matter.

A diplomat from the Tang Empire came to deliver the news because of his diplomatic immunity, he smiled when he heard Liu Jie's question, and replied directly: "Zhao Chen has already been sent to our country, so you don't have to worry about it, General. "

Hearing this answer, Liu Jie was slightly taken aback, and then realized that this might be a great opportunity for him: as long as he gets out of the way and lets the Fengjiang army pass by, he will definitely have a good position in Zhao Yuchaotang in the future.

And the Zhao Chen he was worried about would probably never come back to compete with him in this life: he was probably captured by the Tang Empire to vent his hatred, who made him so ignorant of current affairs and resist so tenaciously?Of course, or in other words, who gave him the surname Zhao?
"Since you promised, my lord, then I believe this edict. I also think that the previous emperor's attitude towards His Majesty was inappropriate, but there is no way for him to speak lightly... Now that His Majesty wishes to return to the imperial capital, I should obey the order and let it go." ..." Liu Jie skillfully changed his name all at once.

Thinking about it, the imperial capital is fighting, whether it is Zhao Ji or Zhao Jie, whoever wins will have to change his name, how can it be possible without training in advance?

As for more Zhao Yu, it is even simpler. Accepting two is also accepting, and accepting three is also accepting. In fact, there is no essential difference between this thing and opening a harem.

When you feel that one wife is not enough and you need to add another concubine, you have already broken through the psychological shackles, and you will not feel guilty about marrying the third or fourth.

"Don't worry, general, you won't make a wrong choice." The diplomat from Datang promised with a smile, and then pushed a check to the other party: "Dahua has been in constant war recently, and prices have skyrocketed. I brought some big money to the general. Tang native products, I hope the general will not refuse, he will accept it."

After taking a look at the amount above, Liu Jie felt that he had spent his entire life on a dog. He had been living on empty pay, drinking blood from soldiers, deceiving others and working hard until now, he is almost sixty, and he has not been greedy. so much money...

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva and stuffing the souvenirs into his pocket, Liu Jie could be regarded as a member of Zhao Yu's Tang family.

The rewards were immediate. Liu Jie not only opened the city gates to let Fengjiang's troops pass by his defense zone, but even contributed all the ammunition and fuel in his defense zone.

Don't underestimate Dongqing's materials: Heishui City in the north of Dongqing is Dahua's only oil field, and the crude oil produced by Heishui basically needs to be transported to Dongqing for processing.

Therefore, Dongqing has the most advanced and largest oil refinery and various chemical equipment in the Dahua Empire, and the industrial scale is huge and important.

Now that Dongqing has surrendered, there will be no decent resistance in Heishui City: they don't even have a pitiful garrison there. It has always been the safest hinterland of the Dahua Empire, and there is no need to station too many troops.

This also led to the fact that after Dongqing changed its banner, Heishui had no choice but to follow Dongqing and fall to Zhao Yu.There is only one railway connecting Heishui to Dongqing. If they don't surrender, the supplies will be cut off in an instant, and there is no way at all.

Dongqing City changed its flag without firing a single shot, and became the justifiable Fengjiang Army: they also got their own rewards, and immediately got a reward from Zhao Yu.

Because he has been with the Tang Empire for a long time, Zhao Yu also has some shining points.He pays great attention to promises, saying that the rewards to the troops are definitely not perfunctory, because he urgently needs the troops and officials to work for him, and since people work hard, they must pay a sufficient price.

This is also the reason why he owed so much money, feeding the appetite of the soldiers, but in the end there was no corresponding profit channel.

You know, the Fengjiang army has not had any income since the beginning of the civil war.It is purely relying on the blood transfusion of the Tang Empire, and the only reason why it can persist until now is that the Tang Empire has a lot of money.

Not only was it transfusing Fengjiang's blood, the Tang Empire also paid Fengjiang countless fees for hiring soldiers from various countries.

Liu Jie's surrender was so fast that neither Zhao Jie nor Zhao Ji had any mental preparations.When they heard that Fengjiang's army had built a camp dozens of kilometers away, they were completely frightened.

Although Fengjiang's troops hadn't launched an attack yet, the two people fighting each other in the city immediately felt the pressure.Because they really can't beat Zhao Ji's Fengjiang army in terms of overall strength.

Not to mention Zhao Chen's 80 army, even those troops from Fengjiang, at least 30...Which of them can gather so many troops near the imperial capital?

Zhao Jie seemed to be backing off a little bit: he had a bad reputation, and he just saw an opportunity when he ventured to the imperial capital.The problem now is that the opportunity he saw has been completely lost.

If he continues to stay here, I'm afraid he will be surrounded by the Fengjiang army and killed.This was definitely not the result he wanted, so he began to consider the possibility of leading his troops back to Shanchong.

In fact, it was too late to leave. Although Zhao Jie's troops in the imperial capital were small, they were very elite. As long as Zhao Jie said to leave, they could immediately retreat with light clothes.

He who controls the South Road of the Imperial Capital can retreat to Pingfeng calmly.What he is thinking now is what will happen after returning to Pingfeng.

Although he could still control Pingfeng, Jutian, Shanchong and other cities and regions at that time, in theory he had already become a local separatist prince at that time, and he did not have the strength to fight against the imperial court at all.

That kind of situation is basically tantamount to slow suicide. After Zhao Yu finishes cleaning up Zhao Ji, he will go south to put down such a dangerous separatist force like him.

With the help of the Tang Empire, he has no ability to resist at all.But at that time, there is a mountain behind him, and there is no way to retreat.

To the south, he could get through the road to enter Shu City, but although it is called Enter Shu, it has now become a passage to "Enter Qin".Qin State attacked Shu State before, which has cut off the connection between Dahua and Shu State.

In this way, he, Zhao Jie, is basically like a turtle in a urn, and he can only be slaughtered.

So Zhao Jie began to think about whether there was any way to save his life: he thought of three options.

The first is to surrender to Zhao Ji now, and unite Zhao Ji to fight against Zhao Yu.In need of each other, as long as Zhao Ji is not stupid, it is impossible to be unfavorable to him in a short time.

Two people report to the group to keep warm. Although the situation is a bit difficult, a delicate balance can be maintained, and everyone has a good way out.

The second way is for him to surrender to Fengjiang immediately. Although his ambition is exposed, Zhao Yu will definitely guard against him, but as long as he gives up his military power and honestly becomes an idle prince, there is probably a way to survive.

However, the feeling of putting one's own life in the hands of others is really not good, and Zhao Jie is not too inclined towards this choice.

The last option is to surrender to Qin State: Qin State will definitely be very happy to offer troops and territory at that time. This choice is the safest and most secure. Qin State has no reason to embarrass Zhao Jie who has surrendered.

Although this option is safe, it is the same as the second option. You can only give up your military power and become a rich man honestly.This is where Zhao Jie struggles: he is not willing to give up the power in his hands.

Why did Zhao Jie not have the option of surrendering to the Tang Empire?Because he still doesn't know that Zhao Yu has sold Guiguang to the Tang Empire.

The secret agreement signed by Zhao Yu can only be announced to the public after he becomes the emperor of the Dahua Empire, otherwise many people who support him will be dissatisfied with him.

In any era, everyone is disgusted with things that betray the country and seek glory. This is a normal thinking reaction.

Zhao Jie didn't know that his control area bordered the Great Tang Empire, so naturally he couldn't have the intention of surrendering to the Great Tang Empire.

While Zhao Jie was thinking about his own way out, Zhao Ji was anxious like ants on a hot pot in the palace: Zhao Jie sometimes ran, but he was not even qualified to run.

If he left the imperial capital, how many people would still support him, the so-called "Orthodox Emperor of Great China"?He lost the imperial capital before ascending the throne and proclaiming himself emperor. Wouldn't he be a joke as the emperor?
Li Mingshun also does not recommend withdrawing from the imperial capital, because once the imperial capital is lost, they will be extremely passive no matter whether they retreat westward or southwest.His starting point was purely military considerations, and he did not look at the problem from Zhao Ji's perspective.

The imperial capital in Dahua Empire is not just a political center, it is also an absolute transportation hub facing west.

It connects to the four important northwest cities in the south, and is the absolute rear that suppresses and supervises the Qin State; it also controls the three southwest cities of the Dahua Empire in the southwest, and is the main traffic route to communicate with the Shu State.

But if the imperial capital is lost, then in terms of transportation, it will be tantamount to dividing the northwest and southwest, so that the remaining territories of the Dahua Empire will no longer be connected.

In other words, no matter which direction Zhao Ji retreats, he will lose half of the remaining territory in an instant. This situation is absolutely unacceptable, because it is almost equivalent to the subjugation of the country.

Therefore, in Li Mingshun's view, even if Zhao Ji wants to negotiate peace with Fengjiang Army, he must defend the imperial capital. This is the only chance, because once the imperial capital is lost, Fengjiang Army will disdain to negotiate peace with Zhao Ji.

(End of this chapter)