Video Editor

Chapter 857 Peace Talks
Although Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai are considered royal relatives of Suning Daning Kingdom, they still cannot escape the fate of having codes branded on their buttocks and injected with liquid chips. In fact, Suning did this not out of any bad taste, but mainly because each of his AI robots has a factory code. Naturally, he wants these natives to be loyal to him like his AI robots, and with the liquid chip, it is also convenient for unified management of them. Only in this way can his business continue to exist more and more stably.

"Father, let's go home and recuperate first. Is that damn bastard Gu Tingye a psychopath?" Sheng Changbai, covering his butt, couldn't help but complain to Su Ning.

"Huh? Bai'er, be careful with your words! We, father and son, are now both vassals of the Daning Kingdom." Hearing the angry and embarrassed Sheng Changbai's nonsense, the cautious Sheng Hong was really scared.

"Hey! I heard that Gu Tingye has changed his name to Suning. It seems that it was really the Gu family who forced Gu Tingye to rebel." At this time, Sheng Changbai also realized his momentary gaffe, and then sighed in a low voice with some helplessness.

"Let's discuss this matter when we get home. Let's go to the workshop to pick up your mother, Lin Xiaoniang, and your mother first." Sheng Hong was not in the mood to worry about Suning's affairs. Instead, he was thinking about Lin Qinshuang.

"Ah? Okay!" Actually, it was quite embarrassing for the two of them to walk with a limp, but seeing Sheng Hong being so impatient, Sheng Changbai swallowed back the words he wanted to refuse.

The heavy physical labor over the past three or four months has made Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai mature a lot, but Sheng Hong's doting on his concubine Lin Qinshuang has not changed at all. The first thing he thought of was to bring his concubine Lin Qinshuang back from the workshop. However, Sheng Changbai, who was standing by, naturally saw through Sheng Hong's little thoughts a long time ago, but thinking that everyone in the Sheng family had benefited from the big guys during this period, the mature Sheng Changbai naturally did not expose Sheng Hong.

When the father and son arrived at the Yangzhou workshop, they saw Wang Ruofu and Lin Qishuang working tirelessly to make shoes. Seeing their concentration, they must have suffered a lot. Sheng Hong looked at them with a face full of heartache and cried out in a tearful voice, "Ruofu? Qishuang?"

"Ah?" Wang Ruofu and Lin Qinshuang turned around in bewilderment. When they saw the figure they had been longing for, they burst into tears of joy at the same time. "Sir?"

Wang Ruofu was one step faster than Lin Qinshuang and rushed to Sheng Hong and burst into tears. Sheng Hong was naturally coaxing the crying Wang Ruofu while his eyes were fixed on Lin Qinshuang who was sobbing with her head down not far away. At this time, Sheng Hong naturally saw the wound on Lin Qinshuang's hand when she wiped her tears, and the pain in his heart made him feel like he was about to suffocate.

"Sir, look! My hands are covered with wounds. This damn Ning Yuanjun is so good at torturing people." At this moment, Wang Ruofu had two big snots hanging on her face. She stretched out her hands full of wounds and complained about Ning Yuanjun's mischief in front of Sheng Hong.

"Be careful with your words!" At this time, Sheng Hong naturally hurriedly stopped Wang Ruofu from talking nonsense.

"Ah?" At this time, the stupid lady Wang Ruofu finally came to her senses and realized that they were still in the hands of the Ningyuan Army.

"Let's go! Let's go home! Let's go home together."

At this time, there were not many officials and their families left in the workshop. With the Ningyuan Army's two great victories over the Song Army, these loyal and righteous men of the Song Dynasty naturally chose to surrender. You know, they were much luckier than the royal descendants and nobles who suffered the Jingkang Shame in later generations. They were only fined their property and forced to do hard labor for three or four months. After surrendering, they would still be reused by the Ningyuan Army.

When Sheng Hong and Sheng Changbai twisted their aching buttocks and brought the crying Lin Qinshuang, Wang Ruofu and others back to the Sheng Mansion, there was naturally another round of earth-shaking crying. All the Sheng family members hugged each other and cried for a long time before they slowly calmed down from their sadness.

"Mother, I am an unfilial son! I should have joined the Ningyuan Army long ago." Sheng Hong immediately knelt on the ground and apologized to Old Lady Sheng. Looking back now, his persistence seemed so ridiculous.

"Hong'er, this is not your and Bai'er's fault. You are right in your consideration. No one can feel at ease until the Ningyuan Army has gained a firm foothold." Old Lady Sheng was very pleased with Sheng Hong's caution. She didn't think there was anything good in joining the rebels.

"Mother, Hua'er..."

"Hong'er, come and see Changsong quickly! This child has never seen you as his father since he was born." At this time, Old Lady Sheng hurriedly stopped Sheng Hong from saying the next words, and then deliberately changed the subject and spoke to Sheng Hong.

"Yes! Mother."

Old Mrs. Sheng, who was experienced and wise, naturally knew that there were many eyes when there were many people around. It was impossible to talk about such a secret matter casually. Instead, she quickly changed the subject and asked Sheng Hong to go and see Xiao Changsong. Only then did Sheng Hong and the other members of the Sheng family come to their senses. Sheng Hualan was the biggest trump card in their family at the moment, so naturally she needed to continue to hide it as much as possible.

In Jiangning Prefecture, formerly the Jiangning Prefecture government office, now the temporary Ning Wang Mansion, Suning convened the Ningyuan Army's military and political meeting for the first time. Naturally, the civil and military officials who came to attend the meeting had already taken shape. The civil officials included the former Yangzhou prefect Wang Zhixin and Jiangning Prefecture prefect Zhang Fangping, the military officials included Murong Yanzhao and Liao Wenjun, and of course, Suning's AI robots Chen Mingda, Han Chong, Su Yi and Song Chun.

"Everyone, please sit down! I asked the craftsmen to work overnight to make a long table. We will sit here for every meeting from now on." Suning took out an incredibly beautiful solid wood long table from his own space world, then smiled and explained to the civil and military officials in front of him.

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your consideration." Seeing how courteous Suning treated them, everyone looked at Suning with tears of gratitude.

"Everyone, please don't be polite! We are all a family from now on." Suning said this meaningfully at this time, and at the same time reminded everyone that they need to be united.

"Yes! Your Majesty."

"Everyone, the most urgent task for our Ningyuan Army right now is to continue attacking other cities south of the Yangtze River, and to negotiate with the Song Dynasty as soon as possible to determine the division of the Yangtze River."

"Your Highness, although our Ningyuan Army controls the two states of Yangzhou and Jiangning Prefecture, it straddles the north and south of the Yangtze River, so I think it is best to postpone attacking other places." At this time, Zhang Fangping hurriedly persuaded Suning, feeling that now was not the time to expand the territory, and he also believed that there was no need to occupy other places.

"I second the proposal."

"The reason you're worried is mainly because you don't know the strength of the Ningyuan Army. According to the plan, they need to control the entire Jiangnan East Road and Liangzhe Road within six months."

"Ah? Your Highness, isn't this too radical?" Everyone looked at each other in shock, feeling that Suning was being too radical at this moment.

"Haha, have you all forgotten our Ningyuan Army's powerful siege weapons and artillery? There is no strong city in the Song Dynasty that can stop our Ningyuan Army."

"Uh?"

"Since capturing Jiangning Prefecture, our Ningyuan Army has expanded its force by 120,000. We are fully capable of quickly conquering Jiangnan East Road and Liangzhe Road. Furthermore, once we control Jiangnan East Road and Liangzhe Road, it will take more than two years to control the entire southern bank of the Yangtze River and destroy the Dali Kingdom."

"Yes! Your Highness, we will definitely complete the task on time." Seeing that Suning had made up his mind, everyone naturally accepted the order and acted accordingly.

"Liao Wenjun is now appointed Commander of the Tiger Guard, commanding ten thousand-household units with a total of 12,000 soldiers. Han Chong is now appointed Commander of the Dragon Guard, commanding twelve thousand-household units with a total of 15,000 soldiers. Together, they will attack the entire Jiangnan East Route." "Yes, Your Highness."

"We now appoint Murong Yanzhao as the Commander of the Wolf Howl Guard, commanding twelve thousand-household units with a total of 15,000 soldiers. We also appoint Song Chun as the Commander of the Phoenix Dance Guard, commanding twelve thousand-household units with a total of 15,000 soldiers. Together, we will attack the Liangzhe Road."

"Yes! Your Majesty."

"I will also assign a guard post of 100 soldiers to each of the four generals, each armed with a rapid-fire musket and ten flying siege cannons."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your consideration! We will not fear death." Upon hearing that each garrison would be equipped with rapid-fire muskets and flying siege cannons, everyone naturally became ecstatic.

"Alright! Then I will wait for the victory reports from the generals in Jiangning Prefecture."

"Yes! Your Majesty."

"The next thing is to force Bian Jing to negotiate. Which gentleman is willing to go to Bian Jing?" Then Su Ning talked about the second topic, and then looked at several civil officials in confusion and asked.

"Your Highness, I, Wang Zhixin, am willing to go." Wang Zhixin, the former governor of Yangzhou, quickly stood up and accepted the offer.

"Alright! As long as Bianjing is willing to divide the river with us and recognize the legitimate rights and interests of our Great Ning Kingdom, then our Ningyuan Army will lower the tax rate on merchant ships bound for Song Jing, be willing to join forces with the Song Army to attack the Great Liao and Western Xia, and be willing to sell firearms to the Song Army."

"Ah? Your Highness! You must be cautious about selling firearms!" When everyone heard that Suning was willing to sell rapid-fire muskets to the Song Dynasty, they immediately panicked.

"Haha, don't worry! The firearms sold to them are naturally outdated. It is impossible for them to be as advanced as the firearms we use. Besides, without our Ningyuan Army, they can't manufacture firearms at all." Suning was planning to sell the Mauser 1888 that appeared on the eve of World War I to the Song Dynasty. This would also make the Song Dynasty's military strength advance by leaps and bounds.

Zhang Fangping and Wang Zhixin looked at each other in bewilderment. Wang Zhixin then looked at Su Ning with a wry smile and asked, "Your Highness, how much is the firearm sold to the Song Dynasty?"

"One hundred taels of silver for each gun, and ten rounds of bullets for one tael of silver. Also, don't offer to sell firearms. Let them ask us first."

"Yes! Your Majesty, I will definitely live up to your grace."

In Bianjing, at this time, the news about the fall of the entire Jiangning Prefecture and the surrender of Murong Yanzhao reached Bianjing. The entire Song Dynasty court was immediately filled with a gloomy scene. The old emperor Zhao Zhen sat blankly on his dragon throne. At this time, he could no longer feel the pressure of the dragon throne, because he was so disheartened that he had no consciousness at all. All he thought about was that he was about to become a king who lost his country like Li Yu, the last emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

"My dear ministers, I heard that the Ningyuan Army has a siege weapon called a flying cannon and an iron ship. I wonder how long our Bianjing can hold out?" The old emperor was so angry that he forced himself to hold on, then he looked at the ministers in the hall with gritted teeth and questioned them.

"Your Majesty, I propose to withdraw troops from the northern border as soon as possible to support Bian Jing." The Duke of Qi felt that the Ningyuan Army was developing too rapidly and realized that as long as the Ningyuan Army was willing, they could quickly reach the city of Bian Jing.

"Oh? It seems that Duke Qi wants to go to the northern border to see the scenery of the Liao Dynasty?" At this time, the emperor looked at Duke Qi with a mocking face, and still felt that the Liao Dynasty and Western Xia were the bigger enemies.

"Ah? I was not thoughtful enough! I deserve to die." Realizing that he had said the wrong thing, the Duke of Qi quickly bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

"Alright! I'm not interested in anyone's life. I just want to know how to quell the rebellion in Jiangning Prefecture. I really don't want to be a king who destroys his country."

"His Majesty."

"Since I ascended the throne, I have never enjoyed a single day of extravagant living. I have been able to rest and recuperate with the people, and to govern the country together with the literati. But who can tell me why a rebel like Gu Tingye appeared?"

"Your Majesty, we deserve death!"

"Lord Han, Lord Shen, and Lord Fu, the three of you will stay in the palace and accompany me from today until you come up with a solution!"

"Ah? Yes, Your Majesty."

When the ministers of the Song Dynasty left the imperial palace meeting hall after court, they all felt dizzy as they walked, because the two great victories of the Ningyuan Army were too easy and thorough, which had completely torn off the last fig leaf of the prosperity of the Song Dynasty. They realized that the Song Dynasty was about to enter a truly turbulent period.

In fact, all the ministers knew that the best way at present was to quickly recruit the Ningyuan Army, then confer a high official position on Suning, and then transfer the Ningyuan Army to the border to fight with the Song Dynasty and Western Xia. At that time, the Song Dynasty court would naturally benefit from it.

However, no one in the court dared to bring it up, because the Ningyuan Marquis Gu family was too deeply involved with the nobles of the Song Dynasty. If they stood out at this moment, they would be suspected of having dealings with the Gu family, so these loyal ministers and righteous men could only cower and pretend to be ignorant.

"Father, I heard that Gu Tingye has occupied Jiangning Prefecture again?" Duke Qi had just answered the Duke Qi's Mansion with a frown, and Qi Heng ran over to his father with excitement and asked.

"Shh! My little ancestor! Aren't you satisfied after spending a whole day in the sky prison?" Hearing that his son was so frank, the Duke of Qi hurriedly stopped Qi Heng in a low voice with a trembling heart.

"What are you afraid of! The world will be wide open to those who are selfless. This is what my father always taught me." At this time, Qi Heng was still the argumentative person in the original drama, and he simply scoffed at the secular world and injustice.

"Alright! Things are different now. From now on, we in the Qi family are not allowed to discuss people with the surname Gu."

"This"

(End of this chapter)