As soon as they heard that they were going to stay in Sanjiangkou City to dig ditches, many people were unhappy. Chen Jingyi was the first to complain, "Master Li, the brothers followed you out to fight the enemy, but all their skills were used to chop down the enemy."

It's hard for us to explain to our brothers how to build bridges, dig wells and trenches on top of trees!"

"Yes, these are all things civilians can do! We are the best Southern Navy!" Lin Changsheng's crossbow battalion is second only to the White Horse Camp in terms of cost and arrogance, second only to Chen Jingyi

Deng Liang also joined in the conversation, "Yes, it's quite frustrating for brothers to always do such menial and heavy work!"

Only Cai Guishan remained silent, neither objecting nor applauding, resting his chin in his hands in a daze.

Meng Wuwu and Zhu Asan also felt that digging ditches required too much manpower, so it was better to lead the army northward as soon as possible.

Li Xiaofei was unmoved and patted Cai Guishan on the shoulder, "Guishan must have a better opinion on trench digging, so don't hide it, tell it and let all brothers listen."

Everyone looked at Cai Guishan, hoping that he could make the final decision.

Cai Guishan clapped his hands and said slowly, "It doesn't matter whether we dig trenches or not."

Upon hearing this, everyone felt that the ditch digging matter was going to be ruined, so they all stood up, "It seems that Lao Cai also thinks the same as us."

Cai Guishan waved his hand, "No, no, no, I'm leading the Death Soldier Camp. The narrower the moat, the easier it is for us to swim across. It's best if the river is clean, with no thorns thrown in it, and no tiles or iron on the river bank."

Tribulus, that’s the best!”

Only then did everyone realize that Cai Guishan was telling the truth, and that Cai Guishan supported Li Xiaofei's decision to dig trenches.

Chen Jingyi was a little dissatisfied: "We are here to attack cities and seize territory. After all, the defense is in the minority. We can't waste our manpower just for this Sanjiangkou city!"

Just as Cai Guishan was about to retort, Li Xiaofei signaled him to stop: "General Chen, dig ditches and build fortifications. The brothers who stay behind will lose dozens or even hundreds of lives in the future. I dare to ask if the Nanhai navy guarding the city is your brother Paoze."

! If we sweat more and get tired today, the brothers stationed here will shed less blood tomorrow. If you are not willing, I will not force you!"

Chen Jingyi was stunned for a moment. Any rebuttal at this time would be nonsense, and what Li Xiaofei said was based on the overall interests of the South China Sea.

Lin Changsheng was the first to admit his mistake, "Master Li, I was wrong. I only thought about attacking and never thought about the hardships of the brothers who defended the city! Our Gongnu Battalion will work hard to dig trenches!"

Zhu Asan's face turned red. "It's a waste that I've been here guarding the city for several months, but I didn't think of these things. We should be the first to dig trenches and strengthen the city's defenses!"

Meng Crow was a little surprised: "Master Li, your knowledge has grown faster than my hair. Hey, I'm convinced! I, Lao Meng, will do my best to dig ditches. If anyone objects again, I think he is sent by the enemy."

Spy!"

"Okay, I, Chen Jingyi's White Horse Battalion, can kill the enemy when mounted. Even if I dismount to help my brothers strengthen the city defense, I won't lose to you!"

The matter of trench digging was decided, and within half a month the original moat was widened by one foot and connected to the river mouth.

At this time, Zhou Dapeng's messenger arrived and informed Li Xiaofei of the situation in Qiantang. The letter also asked Li Xiaofei to lead the four battalions of troops to continue heading west. Zhou Dapeng was waiting for him a hundred miles west of Qiantang.

After Zhou Dapeng withdrew his troops from Qiantang, Yuan Hong did not dare to relax and sent out scouts to investigate and found out

Now Zhou Dapeng actually led his troops to the west.

The prefect Qian Shiming was busy writing a petition to report his merits. Yuan Hong broke in from the outside and said, "Sir Qian, I advise you not to rush to report your merits. My own soldiers found out that Master Lu had been to the enemy camp with Lu Jinglian."

.If you take the credit for Mr. Lu and the imperial court’s wishes, I’m afraid that you and I will not be able to bear the blame from above.”

Qian Shiming's pen stopped in mid-air, "It's okay if I write a letter to ask for instructions from the imperial court and the Jiangnan Economic and Strategy Office!"

Yuan Hong raised his hands and bowed, "This is a matter for adults, I will not interrupt you!"

After speaking, Yuan Hong withdrew and sent his own soldiers to contact An Siqing and inform An Siqing of the situation in Qiantang.

Lu Jinglian returned to Jinling with Zhou Dapeng's letter. At this time, Jia Yuanen, who was urging for food and grass, also rushed back.

Lu Jinglian told Jia Yuanen, He Wuji and others all about the situation at Zhou Dapeng's military camp, hoping to have a joint letter from these people to negotiate peace with the South China Sea.

Some officials from Luoyang were scolded by He Wuji and Wang Tiezhu because of their previous encounters. At this moment, they remained silent, waiting for Jia Yuanen to speak to He Wuji.

Jia Yuanen read the letter several times, "Judging from what was said in the letter and the South Korean Navy's departure from Qiantang, Dapeng can still be trusted this week. We can go and talk to them!"

He Wuji had experienced the Hengxi Incident outside Jinling City, so he naturally considered negotiations to be extremely unreliable.

"He feels that this peace agreement is not credible. They clearly could have taken Qiantang, but they didn't do it just to gain our trust. Then they took advantage of our unpreparedness and detained my Wei officials during the peace talks to sneak attack on our Wei city!"

"It's not impossible. They have already taken Sanjiangkou in the east. Now they can take Qiantang in the west anytime they want, and they might go to Danyang! If it were me, I wouldn't come to negotiate peace!" Zhisu

Internal historian Yan Ruohua certainly wants to side with Jia Yuanen

"If you ask me, this peace talk is not reliable. I think it is better to strengthen the city defense for now and send orders to all places to guard and defend to the death, so as not to give the South Korean Navy an opportunity to take advantage of it!" Xu Erhu also immediately stood up to support He Wuji.

Jia Yuanen put down Zhou Dapeng's letter, "So do you have any way to defeat the Southern Navy, or how to make the Wei Dynasty break out of this unfavorable situation of being attacked from both sides?"

As Jia Yuanen spoke, he glanced at the generals including He Wuji to see their reactions.

He Wuji said nothing, because as the coach, he knew that the current troops in Jiangnan were unable to defeat the Southern Navy, and at most they could only save Jinling.

The rest of the generals were also silent at this moment. Whether they talked about recruiting troops or encirclement, it was all empty talk, so they chose not to say anything.

After being quiet for a while, Jia Yuanen began to speak again, "At present, our troops and food cannot guarantee that we can fight against two opponents at the same time. Moreover, the opponents in Jiangnan are more powerful, and our chances of winning are not good! Since the South China Sea is interested in peace talks,

We might as well buy time first and wait until the siege of the capital is resolved before we can free up our hands to solve the problem in Jiangnan."

Lu Jinglian couldn't help it anymore, "Thirty percent of the money and food in Jiangnan are in Qiantang City. If the South Navy was not sincere, I'm afraid they would have broken into the city to get the money and food! They intend to leave Qiantang to us, but it's not because they are kind-hearted.

, but they don’t want our Wei Dynasty to collapse so soon! They want us and Cui Ju to die in the capital and reap the benefits! This is their real purpose! But we can buy time to solve it first

Lia Jing

The siege of the city.”

After this analysis, He Wuji also patted his head, "I just said that the Southern Navy is not so benevolent and righteous, and they are indeed some cunning people! It's just that after Cui Ju died, we still have to face the more powerful Southern Navy. Then

So what if?"

"We are in a place of four wars, and the situation is not as good as the others. Jiangnan will be lost sooner or later, so I think the imperial court's intention is to seize Jingxiang and even Bashu in front of the Southern Navy, so that what we lose can be harvested in the east! In this way, we

Only then can we have the capital to compete for the world in the future!" Jia Yuanen brought out Ping Nance's idea again.

"Master Jia is indeed more knowledgeable than us. Then He also agreed to the peace talks. It's just that the South China Sea Navy asked us to send senior officials to go there. Master Jia, what do you think?" He Wuji agreed to the peace talks, but was afraid of going on his own. The Hengxi Incident

The incident has been deeply imprinted in the heart of the man who used the knife to kill.

Jia Yuanen knew what He Wuji meant, and raised his right hand, "Jia, go now! Marshal He can just sit in Jinling! Mr. Lu has been on many missions, so naturally it is indispensable. The remaining civil and military personnel also selected five people to go with me.

It’s also a good way to be a witness for Master Lu and me!”

"Does Mr. Jia want to decide to negotiate peace with the South China Sea without consulting the emperor and the court?" Tao Gu, the young minister of Dali Temple, looked at Jia Yuanen and He Wuji, his eyes widened.

"I will not accept your order! What's more, the emperor has asked Mr. Jia to take charge of the overall situation in Jiangnan and act on his own convenience! Is Tao Shaoqing insisting on making a point?" He Wuji immediately reprimanded Tao Gu.

"How can major diplomatic matters be done cheaply? There must be an imperial edict from the emperor! Otherwise, it is overstepping the mark!" Tao Gu refused to give up.

"I dare to ask Mr. Tao, how long does it take from Jinling to Luoyang, and on the way, we have to avoid the troops sent by Cui Ju to intercept and kill our messengers. When the emperor's edict arrives at Jinling, I am afraid that the Southern Navy has already arrived at the city! What happened today,

I, Jia Yuanen, make the decision. If the court blames me in the future, I will bear the responsibility alone and it has nothing to do with you!" Jia Yuanen's last sentence was so powerful that Tao Gu had no choice but to sit down.

Lu Jinglian also shouted: "I, Mr. Lu, tried my best to instigate the peace negotiation! Even if I am to be cut into pieces by then, I will accept the blame! If you don't dare to go, I will do it with Mr. Jia."

That’s the past!”

"Master Jia and Master Lu underestimate me! Although I, Yan Ruohua, am a scholar, I am not afraid of the swords and guns of the South China Sea!" Yan Ruohua and several other civil servants stood up and expressed their willingness to follow Jia Yuanen and Lu Jinglian to negotiate peace.

.

"You powerless civil servants are not afraid of death, and our military generals must not be cowardly! I, Xu Erhu!"

"Ding Chun is here!"

"Zhao Tiande!"

"Huang Kunshan!"

"Mu Tuizhi!"

"I am willing to follow Mr. Jia through life and death and wait for his orders!"

The five military generals also stood up, and He Wuji smiled with satisfaction, "Okay, you and the five of you are going on a mission. Remember not to undermine the majesty of our Wei army! We must protect Master Jia and the others!"

Jia Yuanen bowed to these ten people, "Jia has thanked you all here. For the sake of safety, I would like to ask Marshal He to choose a good place to negotiate peace with the South China Sea!"

He Wuji thought for a moment and two words came out of his mouth: "Jinhua!"
Chapter completed!