EBE Chapter 641 Indifferent
Chapter 641 Indifferent
But if you want to mobilize Jiang and Meng, you have to be patient.
Zhou Chang sorted out his thoughts in his mind before speaking again: "General Jiang, do you want to submit your memorial to His Majesty and ask His Majesty whether to withdraw the troops? If His Majesty agrees, then all this is none of your business. You just need to wait for the civil officials to come and negotiate peace."
When his real concern was revealed, Jiang Meng remained motionless and silent.
Zhou Chang stared at Jiang Meng to observe his expression, then shook his head in disappointment after a while: "When we were in Jindu, I thought Brother Jiang had high aspirations and was unwilling to be inferior to others. It turns out that he was just 'talking on paper'. Now that the opportunity is right in front of him, he is willing to let it go. It's really no wonder that God can't be blamed."
How could Jiang Meng not hear Zhou Chang's sarcasm, but he didn't care much: "Your Highness Prince Yi, don't you think I don't know this is an opportunity? But fighting is different from other things. People who have never fought don't know that it is not as simple as talking about it on paper."
Zhou Chang also knew that fighting was not easy, but this battle must be fought persistently, so he asked again: "Brother Jiang, have you never heard of the saying 'the army that mourns will win'?"
"Alas, how could I not know?" Jiang Meng sighed. Although he looked young and didn't seem to be a few years older than Zhou Chang, he was almost fifty after all, so he couldn't have thought too much. "Your Highness Prince Yi... You don't know that the military is unstable after the death of His Highness Prince Xian, and the support from the court is so limited. This Yuebei area is not the territory of my Jiang family. Lin Mu of Lindong City had some conflicts with my uncle and others. Therefore, even if I insist on fighting this war, firstly, His Highness Prince Xian died, and the court may not support it anymore. Secondly... After all, war is all about money, but if I don't have money, what can I do?"
Zhou Chang also knew that there were many difficulties, but the most difficult times often meant the greatest opportunities.
Therefore, he looked at Jiang Meng with his eyes wide open: "Brother Jiang, as long as you are willing to do what you said, we can solve all of them. Now that I am here, you just need to show your might as a general. As the saying goes, brothers are united in strength and can break metal. If we join forces, we will surely be able to solve the problem."
If you rely on a mountain, the mountain will collapse; if you are close to water, the water will collapse. So rely on no one but yourself.
Jiang Meng has a pampered face, and no matter how sad he is, he just gives people the feeling that he is whining without any reason.
At this moment, he was still sitting in the chair and shaking his head: "Your Highness Prince Yi... Even if you can solve the court and supply problems, the news has spread in the army that the thieves of the Mirage Kingdom actually used despicable means to poison arrows to kill Your Highness Prince Xian. Who would dare to meet the enemy easily? Aren't you afraid that the arrows fired by the other side are all poisoned?"
"Where did they get so much poison?" Zhou Chang said firmly, but he was also afraid of this. He couldn't bear to see Jiang Meng's decadent look, so he simply stood up and snatched the straw paper from Jiang Meng's hand and crumpled it into a ball. "Brother Jiang, brother Jiang, do you still look like a general now?"
"Not like..." Jiang Meng admitted his mistake without hesitation, "But there is a saying among the people, 'A good cook cannot cook without rice', which in my case means 'A general cannot fight a battle without soldiers'. Most of the soldiers in the army are the old subordinates of His Royal Highness Xian Wang. Whether they will listen to me or not is another matter."
"If you don't want to fight, you have already lost the integrity of a soldier. Why should you let others follow you to die?" Zhou Chang has been using the method of provoking the enemy.
Jiang Meng was not fooled: "Your Highness Prince Yi, you have never led troops to fight a war. You just want to relax now. These are not excuses. The army of Mirage is at the gate of the city. This morning, they were challenging us outside the city gate. However, the morale of the soldiers in the city is low. No one is willing to go out to fight. The morale of the army is like a flood. Once it breaks through the dam, no one can stop it."
"The dam hasn't burst yet, has it? Why did the court send me here to deliver military supplies? Isn't it to boost the morale of the three armies?" Zhou Chang was almost convinced by Jiang Meng's dejection.
Jiang Meng sighed again, as if he was no longer willing to listen to him: "Alas... Your Highness... The Mirage Bandits might attack tomorrow. You really came at the wrong time. Even if you came two days earlier, when Your Highness Xian Wang was still alive, it would be much better than now."
Zhou Chang was already unsure and had been counting on Jiang Meng. Now that Jiang Meng was so discouraged, who could he rely on?
Neither she nor Prince Yi knew how to lead troops to fight. Now the only way they could think of to deal with Jiang Meng was the old one: "So? As you wish? Use the death of Prince Xian as the best excuse to withdraw the troops? And let the court sign a second 'Anbei Treaty' to continue to torture the people? When faced with a cowardly general like you, the soldiers who died on the battlefield before have really become innocent souls."
Jiang Meng laughed bitterly, his face showing sadness: "Your Highness, Your Highness, no matter how unbearable I am, I have entered the north of Vietnam twice. Don't you know that the people are suffering and the souls of the dead soldiers are still here? But, but..."
"Don't say buts. I just want to ask you, is the reputation of your Jiang family, 'Two marquises and three generals in one family', undeserved? Do you still have the same ambition as before, to seize a real title of 'General' for yourself, without relying on your ancestors' influence or the emperor's favor?" Zhou Chang almost wanted to pat Jiang Meng on the head.
Jiang Meng still had a bitter face, and his voice was choked up: "Your Highness Prince Yi, don't you know that this is your last chance to make achievements? But, let me tell you the truth, this war has been fought to the point of running out of ammunition and food. Your Highness Prince Xian is only in his early thirties, and he is... so... I... what can I use to fight them?"
Zhou Chang also felt sad. No one had expected King Xian's death, not to mention that he was still so young. Even if he had died on the battlefield, it would have been heroic. But now he died in bed. Wasn't it all caused by the mirage thief?
Although Prince Yi and Prince Xian had no brotherly feelings, they were now united in hatred of the enemy. He could not help but clench his fist in anger and said, "That's right. We who are still alive should seek revenge, and we must not let the dead soldiers and innocent civilians die in vain."
Jiang Meng slumped in his chair, shaking his head. "How easy is that? How easy is that? Your Highness just went to see His Highness Prince Xian, so you should have seen the people guarding his yard. Can't you see that people's hearts are scattered and everyone has their own thoughts? It's easy to fight a war, but it's hard to gather people's hearts."
Zhou Chang did not expect that King Xian’s death would have such a great impact on Jiang Meng. This was something she had never anticipated.
But after talking for so long, I was so thirsty that Jiang Meng seemed indifferent. Since Jiang Meng was not needed, I had to force myself: "It seems that Brother Jiang has made up his mind to retreat. I can't force him. Whether you fight this battle or not, I will continue to fight. I will not retreat even a single step. After all, some people never have ambition, and it will be worn out in a moment."