National color raw owl

After Xiao Huanzhang took his seat, he raised his hand to signal everyone to sit down too, then he looked at Luo Dingxi and asked, "Luo Tongzhi, how is the situation at Xiguan?"

Luo Dingxi got up and cupped his hands and said: "Du Xiao, the Xiguan Army hasn't come here these days, but just the day before yesterday, a lot of supplies were brought in from Shuoquan, I don't know what it is...!"

"It should be food and grass." Xiao Huanzhang sighed, "Chu Huan is young and energetic. We lost for a while, and their morale is high. They must be ready to attack my Beishan."

"Xiao Du, do you think the Xiguan Army will come over?"

"They haven't moved in the past few days. Naturally, they are recharging their energy and preparing supplies." Xiao Huanzhang suddenly coughed violently, took out a black handkerchief from his sleeve, covered his mouth, everyone looked at each other, and heard that Xiao Huanzhang was coughing badly, the most important thing What's more, Xiao Huanzhang didn't look as shrewd as before. He looked groggy. Many people were secretly worried, thinking that the Xiguan Army would come over at any time. As the governor of Beishan, Xiao Huanzhang didn't seem to be There is no fighting spirit, which is really not a good thing.

"If we really come to fight, we may not lose to them." Luo Dingxi said in a deep voice: "Xiao Du, we have enough food and grass, and we have regrouped, and our strength is not inferior to them, not to mention that although our cavalry has suffered a slight loss, But still kept it...!"

Xiao Huanzhang waved his hand and said, "What you said is good, but... we can't fight anymore. Everyone has seen that most of our soldiers are newly recruited. Previously, the governor thought they were worthy of a battle. But now it seems that the Xiguan Army is still experienced after all. We soldiers have just suffered a big defeat, and our morale is already at its lowest point. If we want to recover our fighting spirit, it will not take three or two months to recover...!" Shaking his head helplessly, he said: "The soldiers under Chu Huan are like wolves. We soldiers are like a flock of sheep. No matter how many sheep there are, can we outfight wolves?"

Everyone was even more dejected when they heard the words. In fact, after this battle, everyone knew in their hearts that the Beishan Army could not keep up with the Xiguan Army in terms of individual combat quality and experience or team cooperation. It was just that Xiao Huanzhang said it so clearly in public, but it also showed that not only The morale of Beishan's soldiers was low, and even the governor of Beishan was more afraid of the Xiguan Army after this battle.

Luo Dingxi sighed, and said: "Xiao Du, it's not a question of whether we want to fight now. You just said that they may have transported food and grass from the rear. Obviously they are planning to invade my Beishan. We don't want to fight, but they But I want to fight...!"

"Peace talks!" Xiao Huanzhang pondered for a while, and finally spit out two words.

Everyone present was startled.

"Xiao Du, you...you mean to talk to Chu Huan?" Luo Dingxi was stunned for a moment, and finally asked.

Xiao Huanzhang coughed again, "For the present plan, we can only negotiate peace. The governor is not only worried that the Xiguan army will invade Beishan, but what the governor is most worried about is that once the Xiguan army invades, Zhu Lingyue will also take the opportunity to attack from the west. , At that time, Beishan will definitely be lost...!" He was short of breath, and then he continued, "Continuing to fight will certainly be bad for Beishan, but it will not be good for Xiguan either."

"But...Xiao Du, Chu Huan is now in a winning position. Do you...do you think he will negotiate peace with us?" Luo Dingxi doubted: "We took the lead in launching the attack, and now that the army is defeated, will Chu Huan let it go?"

"There are no eternal friends, and there are no eternal enemies." Xiao Huanzhang said slowly: "Today we are enemies with Xiguan, but tomorrow we can also be friends with Chu Huan... Chu Huan is not a stupid person, he should understand that even if We lost this time in the battle of Jiazhou, but he really wants to win Qingzhou and even Beishan, with his current strength, he can't do it at all...!"

Luo Dingxi nodded slightly, and said, "Duke Xiao, if Chu Huan is really willing to negotiate a peace with us and buy time for us to recuperate, that would be a good idea."

"Do you know that Zhu Lingyue's younger brother has married the younger sister of Marquis Gan of the Northwest Army?" Xiao Huanzhang sighed, "I only got the news recently. The news was sealed tightly, but it has become a fact!"

Nine out of ten of the officials present had never heard of this matter, and all of them were horrified when they heard Xiao Huanzhang's words.

"Xiao Du, Zhu Lingyue is married to Marquis Gan?" Someone exclaimed: "This... this is amazing. They are all armed with heavy troops. They thought that there was Marquis Gan's Northwest Army before. No matter what Zhu Lingyue did, he would be scrupulous. A little bit, but now that the two families are married, once the two families join forces, the entire Northwest...!" He didn't continue, but everyone present understood what it meant.

The expressions of many people have become serious. In the past few months, Beishan's attention has been on Xiguan, and he has even ignored Tianshan. But today everyone suddenly regained their senses. Zhu Lingyue, Beishan used to avoid conflicts with Xiguan, so as not to reap the benefits of Tianshan, but in the end, under Xiao Huanzhang's planning, the situation that the two sides wanted to avoid happened. In fact, the Xiguan side may not have gained any benefits. On the contrary, Tianshan has secretly colluded with the Northwest Army. As a result, both Beishan and Xiguan have fallen into crisis.

At this time, some people even secretly scolded Xiao Huanzhang in their hearts. Originally, the alliance between Beishan and Xiguan could roughly maintain the three-legged situation in the northwest, but this old guy calculated carefully, and finally included himself, resulting in today's extremely dangerous situation in Beishan. Beishan Today, it is all thanks to this seemingly shrewd but ineffective governor.

Xiao Huanzhang sighed: "So Chu Huan will not have a good time now. We want to talk about peace, and Chu Huan may not have such thoughts."

"Xiao Du, it's not that we can try the strategy of peace talks." Luo Dingxi said: "If we continue to fight with Chu Huan, we can only take advantage of Zhu Lingyue. Chu Huan naturally understands this truth, but... who should we send there?" Xiguan negotiations?"

Xiao Huanzhang turned his gaze to Xiao Heng.

At this time, everyone's eyes moved to Xiao Heng along with Xiao Huanzhang. Xiao Heng worked in the Ministry of Officials in Beishan and was also an official of Beishan, but he had no real power.

From the beginning to the end of this Jiazhou battle, Xiao Heng was extremely anxious and restless every day, always feeling that his situation was getting more and more dangerous, but in the eyes of outsiders, he seemed to have a bright future.

In the eyes of Beishan officials, both of Xiao Huanzhang's sons have died. Of course, Xiao Huanzhang will not hand over the control of Beishan to others, but will only choose talented people from his clan to succeed him.

Although the Xiao family is a big family, there are not many people who can truly stand alone, but Xiao Heng is one of the best, and compared to other members of the same family, Xiao Heng and Xiao Huanzhang are more closely related by blood, so many people feel He thought that if nothing unexpected happened, Xiao Huanzhang would probably cultivate Xiao Heng in the future as his successor.

"Xiao Heng, what's your opinion on negotiating peace with Xiguan?" Xiao Huanzhang asked softly.

Xiao Heng stood up and said respectfully: "Du Xiao is strategizing, and everything will naturally follow the instructions of Du Fu. However, since Zhu Lingyue is married to Marquis Gan, it is indeed not good for both sides if we continue to fight at Beishan and Xiguan at this time. It's the best option right now."

"How many times have you had contact with Chu Huan, and based on your understanding of Chu Huan, do you think there is a possibility of peace?" Xiao Huanzhang asked.

Xiao Heng hesitated for a moment, and then said cautiously: "Although Chu Huan is young, he has a deep mind, and it is difficult to guess what he is thinking. This person does not show his emotions. Although it is beneficial for both parties to negotiate a strike, but It's really hard to fathom what Chu Huan is thinking, if he really wants to know what he's thinking, he can only send someone to the peace talks to find out what Chu Huan means."

Xiao Huanzhang nodded and said: "The Governor also thinks the same way. No matter what, he must send someone to Shuoquan to find out what Chu Huan is thinking. If Chu Huan is uncertain, naturally he must try his best to persuade him. Soldiers stop fighting." After a pause, he said: "Xiao Heng, you are most familiar with Shuoquan, and you have had a lot of contact with Xiguan before, so I can only let you go again this time."

Xiao Heng smiled wryly in his heart. He knew very well that when the policy of peace talks was put on the table, the responsibility for peace talks would naturally fall on his shoulders.

In fact, he is also uncertain about Chu Huan's mind now. Xiguan and Beishan are already fighting each other and are enemies. It is very dangerous to go to Shuoquan at this time.

It's just that since Xiao Huanzhang called the roll call in public, he naturally couldn't refuse, so he could only bite the bullet and say: "I will obey Xiao Du's order!"

Seeing Xiao Heng agreeing, Xiao Huanzhang breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked Luo Dingxi, "Has Jingsheng's coffin been built yet?"

"Return to Xiao Du, it has been built, the body of the eldest son can be enshrined, and transported back to Yuchang at any time." Luo Dingxi said solemnly.

"Xiao Heng has made some preparations. Let's go to Shuoquan in these two days." Xiao Huanzhang said weakly: "The governor will personally escort Jingsheng back to Yuchang for burial in two days." Negotiate a peace agreement, but we must not neglect them in the slightest, we must be careful of their invasion, and we must continue to organize defenses around Danyang before the peace agreement is reached."

Luo Dingxi cupped his hands and said, "I understand the humble job."

At this moment, a soldier came to report: "Report to the Governor, Madam has already entered the city when she came to Danyang."

The corners of Xiao Huanzhang and Xiao Heng's eyes twitched almost at the same time. Xiao Huanzhang forced himself to stand up and looked at Xiao Heng, "Xiao Heng, the governor is not feeling well. Go and greet your wife."

Xiao Heng immediately agreed, although his expression was calm, but his heart was a little excited. He hadn't seen Mrs. Xiao for a long time, let alone the joy of fish and water. Mrs. Xiao actually came to the front line.

Mrs. Xiao came in a carriage with not many entourages, totaling no more than [-] people. When Xiao Heng ran into him on the way, Mrs. Xiao lifted the curtain of the car and waved. Xiao Heng approached and saw Xiao Heng. Madam's beautiful and mature face, her heart was beating, but there were people nearby, so naturally she didn't dare to deviate, she cupped her hands and said, "Director Xiao sent a lowly official to welcome Madam, the front line is in chaos, why did Madam come here?"

Mrs. Xiao sighed quietly: "I heard that the master is seriously ill here in Danyang, so I naturally want to come and take care of him. Heng'er, how is your uncle doing now? What's the matter?"

"Husband... Aunt, don't worry...!" Xiao Heng still likes to call Madam Xiao "Aunt". "Uncle can stay here, and just now he called all the officials and held a meeting... People come and go in and out of the county government, and it is inconvenient for the women's family to be there. Uncle told his nephew to take his aunt to another house, which is a local squire. The house has been cleaned up, my aunt will live there temporarily, and my uncle will go there later."

Mrs. Xiao smiled softly, with all kinds of flair, and said softly: "Then Heng'er will lead the way, aunt will follow Heng'er...!"