Li Zan got straight to the point. "The general is planning to cooperate with the Jinyang Army to deal with Qu Zhao. Now we need someone to go to Liangcheng to negotiate a truce with the Jiao Army."
Zhou Leng frowned even deeper. After a long while, he said, "You want me to go for the negotiation?"
Li Zan nodded. "Yes, but this matter may be dangerous. You can choose whether to go or not."
Zhou Leng gave a cold snort. "Which negotiation has no danger? Since there is a choice, then I won't go."
Li Zan was taken aback. He even thought about just walking away.
After a while, he said, "It's not that dangerous. You can choose who will accompany you to Liangcheng. Even Jin Feng, one of the five great generals, is an option."
Zhou Leng let out a scoff. "Jin Feng trusts you so much, yet you're so quick to sacrifice him. I wonder if that kid will be heart - broken?"
Li Zan waved his hand. "What sacrifice is this? He himself said he really wanted to serve the people."
Zhou Leng didn't comment. He was going to light a stove because the cold was almost overpowering his internal energy.
Seeing that Zhou Leng ignored him and started looking for firewood to light the stove, a vein on Li Zan's forehead twitched.
After a long time, he sighed. "Why bother? The general has his own considerations. Didn't all the people of Daqing survive?"
Zhou Leng stopped his action of lighting the fire. "Are you trying to argue with me?"
He looked up at Li Zan. "Yes, the general saved thousands of people in Daqing, but what about the thousands of people in Dingyang City? Aren't their lives lives?"
Li Zan shook his head. "Since they are all common people, what's the difference between saving the people of Daqing and saving the people of Dingyang?"
"Moreover, you weren't unaware of the situation in Dingyang at that time. Could we save it with our meager forces?"
Back then, there were 60,000 barbarian troops besieging Dingyang City. Most of the surrounding counties of Dingyang were already in the hands of the barbarians, and they could mobilize reinforcements at any time.
And at that time, the military strength of Daqing wasn't large. Not to mention breaking through the barbarian defenses to rescue Dingyang, it was even unknown whether the troops could safely reach Dingyang from Daqing.
Zhou Leng nodded. "Yes, everyone thought like this. So the emperor died, and those true pillars of the country also died."
The situation was in complete chaos at that time. But it was still the native land of the Yan State, and there were many forces like Daqing and scattered troops. If everyone had united and charged towards Dingyang, it wasn't impossible to save Dingyang.
It was a pity that everyone thought like Lu You, only caring about self - preservation and choosing to turn a blind eye to Dingyang's plea for help.
As a result, after the barbarians captured Dingyang, these forces were gradually defeated one by one.
Daqing had ports, a navy, and salt workshops. It was relatively wealthy. After a large - scale recruitment of soldiers, it managed to hold on, but it was still struggling.
The saddest thing was that the hope of the Yan State was gone.
Back then, Dingyang was a river of blood. Not only did the emperor and the empress die, but also those loyal and upright officials were all wiped out under the butcher's knives of the Jiao Army.
This directly led to the sudden collapse of the Yan State.
Those who survived and fled were all cowards, while the true backbone had been broken!
At that time, he knew that the Yan State was finished!
Zhou Leng lowered his head and gave a sarcastic smile. "The emperor was extravagant and indulged in wine and women all his life, but in the end, he didn't lose the dignity of an emperor and chose to live and die with Dingyang."
Could Emperor Yan have escaped back then?
No. If he had been determined to abandon the people and civil and military officials of Dingyang and let Zhou Sui take him to flee alone, there was a high chance of him escaping.
But he didn't escape. Maybe it was because of the dignity of an emperor, maybe it was because of the last bit of integrity, or maybe it was because the ancestors were watching over him. In any case, he didn't leave.
It had to be said that the Jiang family emperors were a legendary existence.
Since the founding of the country a hundred years ago, almost every emperor had been extravagant, indulged in pleasure, neglected state affairs, and had their own quirks. However, there were always many loyal and capable officials who were willing to assist them whole - heartedly and work tirelessly.
Such as Zhou Sui, Yun Ci, Zhu Xiong, Mu Qing, and the officials of Dingyang who died with the country.
Previously, Zhou Leng didn't quite understand it. It wasn't until Dingyang City was captured and Emperor Yan didn't flee but died under the butcher's knife of the Jiao Army that he understood. Maybe Emperor Yan was good - for - nothing, but he was willing to be buried with his dynasty and his people. Just for this point, he was worthy of respect.
Looking through the hundred - year history of the Yan State, through several emperors, they all attached great importance to personal enjoyment and didn't really care about state affairs, and maybe they didn't quite understand how to manage them.
But they had the ability to maintain a delicate balance in the court.
At the same time, they didn't favor treacherous officials, didn't believe in sycophants, didn't suppress capable officials, and didn't kill loyal and good - hearted people.
This was probably the reason why people like Zhou Sui remained loyal until their death and also the reason why the Yan State could stand for a hundred years.
Li Zan didn't say a word. He didn't know what to say either.
This was also the main reason why Zhou Leng, the strategist, left Lu You back then. It wasn't that Lu You did something wrong, but rather, they had different beliefs.
Zhou Leng believed that if one received the emperor's salary, one should be loyal to the emperor.
"Moreover, did he really save the people of Daqing?" Zhou Leng's voice was cold. "In fact, wasn't it the people of Daqing who protected him?"
Back then, the military strength of Daqing County was small. After Lu You decided to stay, he recruited a large number of soldiers to expand the army.
At first, for self - preservation, the common people were willing to offer their young men.
But as more and more people died, many families only had 'only sons' left. When they couldn't recruit enough soldiers, they started to conscript by force. Now, many families in the county only had widows and orphans left.
Who protected whom? Who could really tell?
Li Zan fell silent again. After a moment, he said, "Maybe you can go to Lin County. The Jinyang Army was established by Princess Jinyang."
Remembering something, he added, "Princess Jinyang is the daughter of Empress Jile and the only remaining direct descendant of the emperor. The great general serves under her."
Zhou Leng lowered his head and lit the stove, feeling a little warmth.
"I'm not interested in princesses or princes right now."
Li Zan said softly, "Maybe you'll be interested. I feel that Princess Jinyang is different from others."
Looking at the fire, he suddenly smiled. "According to Jin Feng, the Jinyang Army has something called honeycomb coal. It's just like firewood, but it burns for a long time."
"They also have a magical thing called glass. It's said to be completely transparent and can block the wind and rain. It's a pity I haven't had the chance to see it."
"Their food is also a bit different. They even gave us a lot of high - yield grain seeds. When the weather gets warmer, we'll plant them. Then there won't be any more starving people."
"The Jinyang Army also helps the common people repair houses and clean the streets... They wear something called military overcoats. I've touched them. They're warm and soft..."
Zhou Leng gradually got lost in the story. It was not until Li Zan stopped speaking that he murmured, "Is there really such a place in the world?"
Li Zan shook his head. "I don't know either. Jin Feng told me. You can ask him about it. He followed Princess Jinyang to capture Lin County and stayed there for a short time."
To be honest, Li Zan didn't quite believe some of the things Jin Feng said. After all, that kid was a bit naive and easily deceived.
But undeniably, he was curious about the world Jin Feng described. If he had the chance, he also wanted to go and see it.
"If you want to go to Lin County, I can arrange for someone to escort you there." Li Zan stood up and was about to leave.
Suddenly, Zhou Leng called out to him. "I'll take on the matter of going to Liangcheng."
Two days later, Yu Cheng left Liangcheng. Although he didn't get a definite answer, he told the Jiao Army that Daging was the one who killed Jiao Liang, so he considered his mission accomplished.
However, he miscalculated one thing. That was, a few days after he left, Zhou Leng arrived in Liangcheng.
