Jiuxi

Chapter 1034 [World]

"What you just said is both right and wrong."

Qing Yu Huaijin finally spoke, his tone was particularly cold: "I do have the intention to draw a bottom line in advance, but this does not mean that I am false. Now the decision of war or peace is in your hands. I do not deny this, but I cannot accept your overly harsh demands. If seeking peace means the destruction of the country and the extinction of the race, then why should I bear such a shame? It's the same death either way, I would rather die on the battlefield, so as not to disappoint the expectations of the Jinglian warriors."

After all, she didn't believe the way out that Lu Chen talked about, or in other words, under the current situation, Jingguo had no way out at all.

Unless Lu Chen is willing to make concessions, this is the reason why she came here in person today.

She was willing to take a risk for a glimmer of hope that might not exist.

“The courage to face death is commendable, but reality is often far more cruel than you imagine.”

Lu Chen filled the cup in front of him with wine and said slowly: "You have only two biggest assets now. The first is that all forces in Jing country respect you. To some extent, you can represent their will, so you have the confidence to negotiate with me. Second, as you said just now, it doesn't matter if you can't defend Shandong Road, Qingyuan Road, Hebei Road or even the capital. After all, there is still a vast land in the north. You can continue to flee northwards, continue to cause trouble to our army, and try to drag our army into the quagmire."

Qing Yu Huaijin said calmly, "Forcing the Jinglian people into a desperate situation is not the most reasonable choice for you."

Lu Chen looked up at her and said, "Tell me what conditions you can offer."

Qing Yu Huaijin thought for a moment, then said decisively: "The war ends here. We will not think of taking back the territory you have occupied. In addition, I am willing to pay tribute to Qi with a batch of gold, silver, cattle and horses every year. The specific amount can be negotiated."

I have to say this is a very bold decision.

Throughout the dynasties throughout history, the thing that the rulers of power are most likely to be criticized for is the loss of territory. On the contrary, expanding territory can easily cover up the shortcomings in other aspects.

Currently, the Qi army has occupied most of Shandong Road, Qingyuan Road and Hebei Road in Jing State. If the two sides reach a peace talk, Qing Yu Huaijin will inevitably have to bear unimaginable pressure, which may affect the foundation of her rule over Jing State.

However, Lu Chen still seemed dissatisfied. He stroked the wine cup and said, "You know, times have changed."

Qing Yu Huaijin's heart sank.

Lu Chen continued, "During the battle of Hejian, I noticed that your Jing army also took out some firearms, which proves that you attach great importance to this aspect. You must have invested a lot of energy and money in it in recent years. You should also know that the range and power of our army's firearms are far superior to the firearms you have prepared with great effort. I want to tell you a fact. The gap between Da Qi and Jing Kingdom in this regard will become larger and larger. I can't tell you the specific details for the time being. I can only say that firearms are only a small part of the blueprint I have outlined."

Qing Yu Huaijin whispered, "So what?"

Lu Chen said calmly: "Da Qi will be ahead of Jing in all aspects. If you still have the strength to fight now and can rely on human lives to stop our army's progress, then in a few years, you will not be able to do so. When the gap is large enough, human lives will really be useless. Besides, how many such fearless people can you have? One hundred thousand, two hundred thousand or one million?"

Qing Yu Huaijin tried her best to control her emotions. She didn't want to lose her composure in such an occasion. She had to fight for that slim hope no matter what.

But Lu Chen made it very clear that she did not have enough chips in her hand.

If the Jing army had been able to achieve some results in the past few months, even if it was just to block the Qi army south of Hebei Road, she would not have been so passive and embarrassed.

"In that case, there is nothing more to say."

Qing Yu Huaijin looked at Lu Chen steadily, and then said: "If you don't do it, I will go back."

"Then why did you come?"

Lu Chen frowned slightly and said in a deep voice: "You have never thought about it from the beginning to the end. Since I have decided to give you a way out, it will definitely not be a harsh condition that you cannot accept at all."

Qing Yu Huaijin was a little skeptical. She really couldn't believe that Lu Chen was willing to make concessions on his own initiative.

Lu Chen changed the subject and said, "Before he died, Emperor Jing said that when I destroyed Jing in the future, he hoped that I would leave you a way out because of your deep love for me. Although he and I are enemies, not friends, and I did not make a promise at that time, but considering that he is a great hero, I think this suggestion is worth considering."

Qing Yu Huaijin couldn't help but sneer, lowered his eyelids and said: "Lu Chen, now that you hold the power, why do you have to make such a hypocritical gesture, do you think I will believe it? I have already said that I don't care about my own life or death, and I don't need you to pretend to pity me and leave a way out. My fate has long been linked to the survival of Dajing. If Dajing is destroyed, how can I survive? If you want to persuade me to surrender and then allow me to linger, there is no need for this."

Lu Chen said slowly: "What if I am willing to give you and some of your people a chance to live?"

Qing Yu Huaijin was stunned, looked at him in disbelief, and asked word by word: "What do you mean?"

Lu Chen asked back: "Do you know the Seven Divisions of Shazhou?"

"of course I know."

Qing Yu Huaijin hesitated and said, "Do you want Dajing to follow the example of the seven tribes of Shazhou and become a vassal of Qi from now on? Regardless of whether we are willing to accept it, can you really maintain this kind of relationship? Aren't you afraid that once we recover, we will become a threat to Qi again? Or do you want to paralyze us with this method and then eliminate the power of our Jinglian people bit by bit?"

Her reaction was indeed very sharp and her consideration of the problem was very comprehensive, but this was not Lu Chen's original intention. "Let me tell you about the history of Shazhou first."

Lu Chen stood up and paced, saying, "Before the seventh year of Yuanjia, Shazhou had always been loyal to Daqi. The reason was that they had faced a catastrophe more than a hundred years ago, and it was the Emperor Taizu of Qi who sent troops to rescue them. You probably don't know where Shazhou's enemies came from at that time."

Qing Yu Huaijin said humbly: "You say."

Lu Chen walked to a shelf on the west side of the tent, raised his hand and lifted the curtain covering it, and what came into Qing Yu Huaijin's eyes was a simple topographic map of the world.

He pointed to the west of the Shazhou area and said calmly: "The enemy is coming from here."

Qing Yu Huaijin narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she had caught Lu Chen's true thoughts.

"This world is huge, much bigger than you can imagine. There are more than just the Great Qi, Jing, Dai, the seven tribes of Shazhou, and the Nanzhao Kingdom."

Lu Chen turned around and looked at her, saying seriously, "As far as I know, there are many countries to the west of Shazhou and Dai State, and it is not a barren land. There are also many overseas countries to the south of Nanzhao State and to the southeast of the vast sea. Perhaps in the not too distant future, we will see all kinds of people coming from the sea, they may be kind, or they may be armed with swords and guns."

Qing Yu Huaijin stood up and asked, "What exactly are you planning?"

"It's very simple. I will give you Jinglian people a way to survive, but whether this road can be traversed will ultimately depend on you."

Lu Chen raised his hand and pressed the location of Daiguo in the northwest corner of the map, and said with a smile: "You can lead your people here, and take the remaining forces of the Gaoyang tribe with you, and then go all the way west, and never come back."

This answer was completely beyond Qing Yu Huaijin's expectations. She racked her brains but could not imagine that Lu Chen would actually point out such a path.

She obviously couldn't make a decision in such a hurry, so she fell into long contemplation.

Lu Chen was not in a hurry. He walked back to the other end of the long table and sat down, quietly tasting the local Hebei wine.

After an unknown amount of time, Qing Yu Huai Jin asked softly, "Why did you do this?"

"There are many reasons, some of which are more important."

Lu Chen said slowly, "First, I hope to pacify the North at a relatively low cost, with as few casualties as possible. Of course, if you insist on being stubborn, I can only settle for the next best thing, and strive to completely eliminate the remaining forces of your Jinglian people in Hebei within five years, and then use another ten years to sweep the entire northern grassland."

"continue."

"Secondly, those mysterious enemies in the west have invaded the territory of Shazhou before, and there is no guarantee that they will not come back again. I have obtained a secret intelligence that a powerful leader has appeared in the far west. He is conquering and expanding his power. Maybe in ten years, a powerful dynasty will appear there."

Qing Yu Huaijin said in a deep voice: "You want to use our Jinglian people to make knives?"

"I'm not using you as a knife, but it's the only way I can give you and some of the Jinglian people a chance to survive."

Lu Chen said calmly: "The hatred between Qi and Jing is as deep as the sea. Once the war starts, it will not stop unless one side is completely defeated. Judging from the current situation, the demise of Jing is a foregone conclusion. You can choose to continue fighting to the death, or you can choose to go that way, and perhaps there is still a chance of survival."

After a moment, Qing Yu Huaijin sneered, "What a great plan. You used an illusory hope to undermine our determination to resist, and let me take my people to a strange and desolate land thousands of miles away, but you easily obtained the vast territory in the north and achieved the great cause of unifying the world in an instant."

Lu Chen smiled and said, "You can think so. After all, no matter from which angle you look at it, I don't need to care too much about the Jinglian people."

Qing Yu Huaijin really wanted to spit at him.

There was a long silence in the tent.

For Qing Yu Huaijin, the conditions offered by Lu Chen were only slightly better than she expected, but she also knew that the other party would definitely not do a business that would lose money.

"how?"

Lu Chen looked at the Queen of Jing Kingdom indifferently.

Qing Yu Huaijin took a deep breath, a trace of grief appeared in his eyes, and he said word by word: "I can accept your proposal, but I also have a few conditions. If you don't agree, then there is no need to discuss anything!"

The smile on Lu Chen's face became more sincere.

"tell me the story."

(End of this chapter)