Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 244 War of words
Panyu City is located on the mountainside and by the water. It has no high city walls, only a moat. The city gate is a bridge, which is heavily guarded. Compared with the cities in the Central Plains, Panyu cannot be considered a city. It is more like a military camp on the frontier. It has a large area and a few houses, all of which are made of wood, simple and undecorated.

There were a lot of people on the street. When they saw He Qian leading Wuzhan, Mengya and Zhulang, they all put down their work and watched, talking a lot. Most people were staring at Mengya. It was the first time that Mengya saw so many greedy eyes from men.

The palace does look a bit like a palace, at least it is built of earth and stone. There is a totem carved above the palace gate, which is a divine bird. The hall is very spacious and there are many people sitting inside. When they see Wuzhan and others entering the hall, they all look at them intently.

Lu Jia was over fifty years old. He wore a crown and a black embroidered gown. He was a skinny old man sitting in the hall.

Wuzhe walked steadily to the royal steps, bowed and said, "Foreign minister, I am Li Zhong, the special envoy of the State of Qin, and I am here to see the King of the South on the orders of the First Emperor!"

Lu Jia stood up and said in a stern voice, "The envoy has come from afar. I am very happy. I am very happy. But I don't know why the envoy didn't take off his mask and let me see him."

Wuzhan replied, "When I was young, I suffered an accident and my face was completely disfigured. It is hideous and horrible. Your Majesty has specially granted me this mask and ordered me to wear it at all times so as not to disturb others. It is impolite to cover my face when meeting the King of the South. I hope the King of the South will forgive me."

"I see. I don't mind." Lu Jia turned to Meng Ya, who was indifferent and didn't even greet him, and said, "Is the girl next to the special envoy Princess Yueshang Meng Ya?"

Mengya replied: "Mengya has met the King of the South!"

Although the ministers had received word that the Princess of Yuechang would accompany Fanwu, they did not know the purpose of her visit, much less why the two were together and had such a close relationship.

Lü Jia smiled and said, "Although Nanyue and Yuechang are separated by only a river, we have no contact. It is a great thing that the princess can come to Panyu today. It is a great thing. Special envoy, princess, please take a seat!"

Two seats were reserved on the east side of the royal steps. Wuzhan and Mengya took their seats under the guidance of He Qian, and Zhulang stood behind them.

Lu Jia sat back on the throne and said, "I have seen the document sent by the special envoy. If the strategy of 'ruling Yue with Yue' can be realized, it will be beneficial to Nanyue. However, Nanyue is weak and isolated and cannot be independent. Moreover, the Qin army is brutal and all the Yue are indignant. If Nanyue surrenders, it will be spurned and attacked by all the Yue. The special envoy has also seen it. How can Panyu, a mere moat, be a threat?"

Wuzhan said: "That depends on what King Nan wants. A moat and 50,000 elite soldiers are enough."

"Has the special envoy forgotten that 300,000 Qin troops were just buried in the swamp? Now the coalition forces have 300,000 troops with high morale. Sending 50,000 elite soldiers to fight is like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth. Is what the special envoy saying now a dream?" A burly general on the west side said contemptuously.

Wuzhan said: "If the general leads the troops, they will surely be defeated!"

The general slammed the table and stood up, drew his sword and shouted: "How dare you insult me? I will kill you right now and put an end to your Qin hopes!"

"General Shi, sit down!" Lu Jia ordered.

General Shi snorted coldly: "You know, I also have a role in destroying your Qin army. Let me let you live a little longer!" He put away his sword and sat down again.

Wuzhan said calmly, "General, do you have any other achievements besides these?"

As soon as these words were spoken, some people lowered their heads and laughed secretly.

General Shi said angrily: "You..."

Wuzhan said first: "If you can't answer, then there is no answer. Let me tell you why. First, discouragement before the battle is a taboo in military warfare. Even if the enemy has more people, it is impossible to win. Second, the general does not understand the art of war. The tactics of defense and attack are different. How can we measure victory or defeat by the number of people alone? Third, the general does not know how to count. If Nanyue surrendered to our Great Qin, how could the coalition army still have 300,000 troops?"

Meng Ya laughed and said, "If the general doesn't even know how to count, then what's the point of fighting? He won't even know when his soldiers are lost."

General Shi was so angry that his face turned blue and he said, "We'll see the outcome on the battlefield!"

Wuzhan said: "If the King of the South follows the command of the foreign ministers, he will only win and not lose."

Lu Jia laughed and said, "You are making fun of me, the special envoy. Our South Vietnam has not won any battles in recent years. The soldiers are afraid of fighting and only want to escape when facing the enemy. Even if the special envoy has a brilliant plan, there is no way to defeat them."

Wuzhan said: "The morale of the army can be boosted, and military law can deter deserters. Besides, foreign officials may not necessarily use them to fight."

"Your Majesty, don't listen to his nonsense. 'Make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones' is a common tactic used by the Qin State. The six states in Shandong were annexed in this way. If our Nanyue stands idly by, after we destroy Xizhen and Wenlang, the next one will be our Nanyue!" The middle-aged man who was sitting across the table from Wuzhan suddenly stood up and said. He was wearing a gray robe, his hair tied up and a crown on his head. He had small eyes and a long face, and two mustaches on his lips. You can tell at a glance that he is the leader of a prominent family.

Wuzhan said, "Your Excellency is right, but that was the strategy of the past. Now we are conquering Baiyue. There is no need for the Qin to do so. We can destroy them together." As soon as these words came out, the whole hall was in an uproar. The leader of the prominent family laughed and said, "Is the special envoy here to persuade or to threaten? Doesn't the special envoy want to leave alive?"

Wuzhan remained calm and said, "There is not much difference between persuasion and threat. If you are not strong enough, you can only persuade. If you are strong enough, you can threaten."

The leader said to Lu Jia: "There is no need to talk to him any more. Just take this arrogant guy out and kill him. Nanyue is determined to fight the Qin State to the end!" Many people echoed him.

Lü Jia said, "Fang Yu, please do not be rude. Listen to what the special envoy has to say."

Wuzhan said, "Thank you, King Nan! My Great Qin has unified the six kingdoms in Shandong. We now have strong soldiers and horses, and sufficient food and grass. Not to mention how many soldiers we have, there are millions of Lishan followers alone. It can be said that we are in our heyday. Occasionally we will be defeated, but it will not hurt us. The key to victory or defeat in a war lies in the competition of national strength and military power. Let me ask you, how do the Baiyue compare to the Chu State?"

Successive kings of the Chu State advocated "advance southward", which led to the southern migration of the Baiyue State and the continuous expansion of the Chu territory, which gave rise to the saying "the territory of Chu is a thousand miles". However, such a powerful Chu State was eventually destroyed by the Qin State. The strength of the Qin State was beyond doubt and the entire hall was silent.

Wuzhan continued, "The coalition forces adopted a strategy of roundabout ambush in an attempt to erode our Qin army. Although it has been effective, it is not a long-term solution. If they rush around, they will lose their land. They will sleep in the marshes and eat grass to fill their stomachs. How can they survive for long? Moreover, the coalition forces are like a python that has swallowed an elephant. It is difficult for them to hide. If they have to fight a decisive battle with our Qin army, by then, the coalition forces will have nothing to defend. How can they still win?"

Lü Jia's face became more worried. Fang Yu smiled and said, "Don't listen to his alarmist words. Three thousand Yue soldiers can conquer Wu. What's more, our military strength is equal. We have the advantage of time, place and people."

Wuzhan said: "The right time, the right place, and the right people are indeed the key to war, but the time and place of the decisive battle are not determined by one party. As for the right people, how can the coalition army of Baiyue be united? Have the soldiers and civilians of Nanyue forgotten the history of being bullied by Xizhen and Wenlang?"

King Hung was extremely cruel, licentious and shameless, and he broke his promises, causing great harm to South Vietnam.

Fang Yu said angrily, "That's better than being invaded by Qin! The King of Qin is cruel. After conquering the six states of Shandong, he imposed heavy taxes and oppressed the people. Everyone in the world is angry. Now the Emperor of Zhou is in power. As long as he commands the world and unites against the enemy, he can overthrow Qin."

"If Ji Jie could command the world, he would not be dependent on others and rely on Wen Lang. If the Zhou emperor was virtuous, there would be no separatist states and years of war. Moreover, why would King Xiong give up his position for him? He is just using the banner of the emperor to realize his own hegemony. If he conquered Baiyue, would he treat Nanyue well?"

Fang Yu pointed at Wuzhan and said, "Are you just making up your mind?"

"It seems that Your Excellency is unreasonable?"

Fang Yu said: "Your Majesty, do not listen to this man's sophistry!"

"This is not sophistry, but the truth. It is the general trend for our Great Qin to annex Southern Xinjiang. The foreign ministers went south this time just because they did not want to see the destruction of Nanyue and the shedding of too much blood. As long as Nanyue submits to our Great Qin, it can avoid this disaster. May I ask the King of the South, are you seeking fame or profit?"

Lü Jia lamented, "I am old now. Fame and wealth are not important to me. If I can save Panyu City and keep the people away from the suffering of war, I am willing to give my head to you even if you ask for it now. However, Qin has never kept its promises. If Nanyue surrenders to Qin, the coalition forces will surely attack Panyu, Nanyue. How can the envoy guarantee that the Qin army will not sit back and watch the fight between the tigers and reap the benefits?"

Wuzhan said: "The foreign minister will stay in Panyu and stand together with the King of the South to ensure that Panyu is not lost."

A young man in brocade clothes at the second seat on the east side said, "Don't we have no one left in Panyu? Why would we use an outsider like you who can only talk on paper to command? What's more, we will never surrender to Qin. We will kill as many Qin soldiers as they come. Father, don't hesitate any more. Kill him and hand him over to King Xiong. Show your intentions as soon as possible!"

This person is Lu Jia's eldest son Lu Meng. He is not handsome, but his hair is very neat and tidy, and he looks like an educated person. His eyes are always on Meng Ya, which is very unreasonable. He even stares at Meng Ya when he speaks.

But Mengya didn't care. Since she left Yuxiang Valley, most of the men she met were like this. She quickly got used to being looked at in this way, which added to her enchanting and arrogant aura.

Immediately afterwards, the whole hall began to shout, "Kill him, kill him, kill him, ..."

Lu Jia was silent for a long time, Wuzhan looked at him and also remained silent for a long time, Zhulang was holding the sword with a blank expression on his face, motionless. Meng Ya did not pay attention to the shouting, but felt it was a bit noisy.

When the shouts gradually faded, Lu Jia said, "I am a little tired. My head is confused and I can't figure out some things. He Qian, take the special envoy and Princess Mengya to rest first. I will make a decision after I have a rest!"

Lu Meng advised: "Father, if you hesitate any longer, Wen Lang will attack you!"

Lu Jia said: "Even if we form an alliance to fight against Qin, we cannot treat the special envoy badly. If the special envoy makes any mistake, I will hold him accountable. If you have the ability, use you on the battlefield. I think you are even more confused than me. How can you accomplish anything in the future?" After saying that, he was helped away by his attendants.

He Qian came to Wuzhan and said, "Sir, Princess, please follow me!"

(End of this chapter)