Phi-Fic Chapter 99: Get up from where you fell!
Chapter 99: Get up from where you fell!
"The food and fodder the army needs should be purchased from the wealthy merchants in the city first. Let's get through the current crisis first!"
Even if he was a world-famous general, without food and logistics, he would not be able to change the entire situation. It can only be said that Gu Jingzhi's strategy of cutting off the source of the problem was too cruel.
He lost this time entirely due to his own carelessness.
After all, he simply couldn't imagine that a delegation guard would dare to do such a big thing under his nose, and the order was given by a civilian.
Seeing that his general had made up his mind, Huyan Liancheng bowed helplessly.
After Nangong Shouyi's guidance, he realized that even if they killed Gu Jingzhi to vent their anger, it would not solve the problem at all.
On the contrary, if Daxia was angered, once Li Sheng sent out all his troops, the 150,000-strong Yunzhou army would definitely be left here without food and supplies.
Without these 150,000 troops, all the prefectures south of the Beili Yunjin defense line would be shaken. Even if Li Sheng grasped the opportunity well, it would not be impossible to completely wipe out the 300,000 troops on the southern line of Beili.
By then, a full-scale war will break out in the entire Beili, and there may be a danger of the country being destroyed.
……
Nangong Shouyi had no choice but to compromise, but Gu Jingzhi was not as safe as he had imagined sitting in the delegation camp.
Although he acted as if Beili would never dare to attack the other members of the delegation, what if?
After all, the food and supplies were destroyed, and Nangong Shouyi's army was in danger. There was no guarantee that his subordinates would not lose their minds and directly attack the delegation. And...
It is also necessary to consider whether Nangong Shouyi's army will order the looting of the people in Yunzhou City if they run out of food and supplies.
Although this possibility is also small, but still, what if?
Nangong Shouyi is a general after all, he is not good at playing politics. If he only considers the issue from a military perspective, then the probability of this possibility happening is very high.
He can only hope now... hope that Nangong Shouyi can be more rational, otherwise if problems arise here, he will have a hard time explaining to the court.
While Gu Jingzhi was thinking about these things, An Ning suddenly came to the door.
"Sir, someone from Nangong Shouyi has come and asked you to come into the city to discuss the handover of the provincial government!"
An Ning said this with excitement, completely free of the panic she had at the beginning.
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingzhi suddenly stood up and asked in surprise, "Are you really here?"
"Yes, the person is right outside the door!"
"it is good!"
Gu Jingzhi was delighted when he heard this. He walked out quickly, but after taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.
"Sir? You..."
An Ning's smile faded and she looked at Gu Jingzhi in confusion.
Gu Jingzhi quickly shook his head and said, "No, we can't go see them now. We have to wait until Li Sheng and the others arrive!"
"..."
An Ning hesitated and said, "Sir, Nangong Shouyi must have sent people here because he was short of food and grass, so he came to us to ask for peace. There is no danger in entering the city now, so why are you..."
"I'm not worried about the danger, but we've made such a big scene, if we just let it go, then General Li's troops would have been in vain!"
Gu Jingzhi took two slow steps inside the tent, then looked up at An Ning: "Go tell Nangong Shouyi's people that I'm ill and can't get up. We can discuss everything after I feel better!"
"..."
An Ning said helplessly: "Sir, now is not the time to fight. We still have to complete the task assigned by the court first."
"I'm not fighting with them! Wouldn't it be better to wait for my Great Xia border troops to arrive and then directly hand over the goods on the spot?"
Gu Jingzhi said: "Don't worry about it, just answer them directly!"
An Ning hesitated for a moment, but finally left helplessly.
To be honest, he always felt that Gu Jingzhi was up to something this time, and it was definitely not as simple as what he said, but just wanted to wait for Li Sheng to arrive before talking about it.
Now Nangong Shouyi has run out of food, while Li Sheng's army is well-supplied... I'm afraid Gu Jingzhi has other ideas in mind.
However, as the deputy envoy of the delegation, he could only decide limited things. Moreover, Wei Xuan had also instructed that everything should be decided by Gu Jingzhi.
After rejecting Beili's invitation, Gu Jingzhi didn't step out for two days. Although people came to Beili every day, without exception, they didn't even see Gu Jingzhi.
Nangong Shouyi also knew that just as he had dealt with Gu Jingzhi before, Gu Jingzhi was dealing with him the same way now.
But now he no longer has the advantage. Every day when he hears Huyan Liancheng report on the food and grass problems in the army, he feels a little overwhelmed.
The two of them bumped into each other again, and Huyan Liancheng became anxious. "General, after two days of fundraising, we've bought all the food we can in the city. If the Great Xia delegation keeps dragging their feet, our 150,000 men will be worn down!"
He couldn't help but be anxious. There must be a lot of food in the city, but the people didn't have enough for their daily food, and those grain merchants were also trying to raise the price, so there wasn't much food available to buy!
Nangong Shouyi was silent for a moment after hearing this, then asked, "How many days can the army's food and fodder last?"
"Enough food for five days!"
Huyan Liancheng said, "I've already sent people to other provinces to transfer grain and fodder as quickly as possible, but we can't delay any longer here!"
Nangong Shouyi's eyes flashed coldly: "Gu Jingzhi still refuses to discuss the delivery matters with us?"
Huyan Liancheng shook his head: "He's probably waiting for Li Sheng."
"How many days will it take for Li Sheng to arrive in Yunzhou?"
"Tomorrow we can reach it!"
"Humph!"
Nangong Shouyi snorted coldly: "Tell Gu Jingzhi that if he doesn't come tomorrow, I will let my troops plunder Yunzhou City. My army will not starve to death here."
"Yes!"
There was a cold glint in Huyan Liancheng's eyes. This Gu Jingzhi was really hateful. Not only did he burn their army's food supplies, but he also deliberately delayed them. If the army was without food supplies, it would fall apart in an instant.
The more times like this, the more careful you should be.
After Nangong Shouyi issued the ultimatum, Huyan Liancheng went down to make arrangements with a sour look on his face.
……
Soon, Gu Jingzhi also received a response from Beili. At this moment, he was discussing with several key members of the delegation in the tent.
"Sir, Beili has issued an ultimatum. If you don't discuss the handover with them tomorrow, Nangong Shouyi will issue an order to plunder the civilians in the city!"
"tomorrow……"
Gu Jingzhi tapped his fingers unconsciously on the table, thought for a moment, and said, "Is everything ready on General Li's side?"
"Ok!"
Lin Feng nodded and said, "By tomorrow at the latest, our Great Xia border troops will be able to block several important exits from Yunzhou. The general said that he will not delay you, cousin!"
"it is good!"
Gu Jingzhi nodded and said, "Master An, please tell Beili that I will go to Yunzhou City as promised tomorrow, but there is no need to go into the city. Let them talk outside the city!"
An Ning was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly.
Nangong Shouyi had rejected Gu Jingzhi directly at the city gate, but now he was asking people to compromise at the city gate...
Does this mean getting up where you fell?