I am a commoner, but I will lead the empress to unify the world

Upon hearing this, the ministers in the court were all shocked and looked as if they had lost their parents.

Even Cao Xiang, known as the God of War of the Wei Dynasty, said that he could not defend Luoyang City. Then who else in the world can defend it?

How can this be good?

Cao De took a deep breath, and after a moment of silence, he said,

"So, what about moving the capital? How about moving it south?"

Cao Xiang mustered up the courage to say,

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid we can't move."

"Why?"

"On my way back from retreat, I sent out scouts to the west to investigate. They reported that another 50,000 Southern Guard troops had crossed the river and were heading towards the main camp on the riverbank.

Including the previous 50,000 Zhennan Army, now the entire Zhennan Army Corps of 100,000 people have all arrived.

The Zhennan Army is composed of pure cavalry, moving as fast as thunder. There are enemy spies inside and outside Luoyang City. As long as we move, they will know immediately.

If we move the capital, we will probably repeat the mistakes of Qi."

Everyone in Wei knew that the Qi court moved its capital south when the Yan army was still more than a hundred miles away from them. Then they walked a hundred miles south and were caught up by the Zhennan Army, which had been advancing for 200 miles. The emperor and his ministers got the news in advance and ran away. The remaining army and gold, silver and other items were all left to the Zhennan Army.

The Emperor of Qi and his ministers, having no troops, were all killed by Tong Xuan, who then declared himself emperor.

Moreover, Tong Xuan put the blame on their Wei State, so they knew it best.

And now, those brave and battle-hardened Zhennan Army are only fifty miles away from Luoyang City.

It can be said that as long as they dared to leave Luoyang City, the Yan people would catch up with them soon.

Even if they abandoned everything and ran for their lives, the Qian and Chu countries would not look down on them because they had no soldiers. They would probably kill them directly, repel the Yan people, and occupy the territory of Wei.

As I said, without soldiers, you are helpless wherever you go. The Emperor of Qi has already proved it with blood.

The country was lost, the throne was stolen, his wife was taken away, and even his life was lost.

Cao De was silent for a long time, trembling with anger. Suddenly, he slammed the imperial desk and roared,

"I can't fight, and I can't escape. Do you want me to surrender? To kneel down and kowtow to the Yan people?"

The ministers were so frightened that they immediately knelt down and kowtowed.

Only Cao Xiang didn't kowtow. He raised his head and said,

"Your Majesty, perhaps... even surrender is impossible."

"Why? Didn't the Yan army not kill prisoners?!"

Cao De roared angrily.

Cao Xiang shook his head.

"Your Majesty, the Yan army did not kill prisoners and civilians, but they did kill nobles and powerful families.

Looking at Kun and Qi, except for a very small number of nobles who had made contributions to Yan, all other noble families were chopped down and killed by the Yan army.

Shen Changgong was born into a commoner family and hated the nobles very much. He could even kill all the nobles of Yan State, let alone the nobles of the enemy country?

Moreover, when Emperor Kun was captured, weren’t his entire royal family also beheaded?

It can be seen that the Yan army's policy of not killing prisoners only applies to soldiers, and does not include the royal family and nobles."

Hearing this, Cao De instantly became limp all over.

He sat on the dragon chair, muttering to himself.

You can't win by fighting, you can't defend yourself, you can't escape, and no one wants you to surrender.

What else can I do? Just sit back and wait for death?

At this time, the Prime Minister stood up and said,

"Your Majesty, how about we send someone to meet Shen Changgong, negotiate peace with him, and test his attitude. Right now, the most important thing is to save the lives of Your Majesty and the ministers.

Even if it means that we, the Great Wei, turn against the Yan State and help it fight in the south, as long as we can preserve our country and our lives, it is better than anything else.

Of course, if the Yan people say there is no room for negotiation, then there is no other choice but to fight to the death.

What I mean is, we can discuss it first."

Cao De sighed and said,

"If we can't win on the battlefield, can we win at the negotiation table?"

The Prime Minister said,

"Your Majesty, we have no other options. We must try every glimmer of hope."

Cao De nodded and said,

"In that case, Prime Minister, you should go in person and see who else to bring with you."

At this moment, a minister said leisurely,

"Your Majesty, have you not seen what happened to Yuan Chu of Kun State?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Cao De broke out in a cold sweat.

When the Yan army besieged Shengjing and the queen was captured by the Yan army, Emperor Kun sent Yuan Chu and the ninth prince, King Kang, to the Yan camp together.

As a result, King Kang was detained, the Prime Minister was bribed and rebelled, and then took advantage of the chaos to escape from Shengjing. He also instigated 300,000 central troops to rebel, resulting in the massacre of all the powerful people in Shengjing, and Emperor Kun was also captured alive.

Now the Prime Minister of Wei is also going to visit the Yan army camp?

Is history always surprisingly similar?

When Cao De thought about this, he immediately narrowed his eyes and said slowly,

"The Prime Minister is the head of all officials and a pillar of the country. How could he easily venture into a dangerous place like the Yan army camp?

Diplomacy is a diplomatic matter. Where is Huang Tao, the guest?

"The minister is here."

When Dian Ke heard his name being called, he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave and his whole body was cracking, but he still stood up.

"You must immediately select an envoy, personally lead the team, bring gifts, and go to the Yan army camp to meet Shen Changgong. You must state your position and also inquire about his attitude.

Set out today and return quickly. I need to discuss this with my ministers."

"Ah... your humble servant obeys your command."

Dian Ke sighed, and after the court was dismissed, he went to find the Minister of Grain, took some gold and silver from the national treasury, found a few subordinates, and rode in a carriage together to head north.

Cao De summoned Cao Xiang to the imperial study.

"Cao Xiang, tell me the truth, is there really no hope for the Great Wei?"

Cao Xiang sighed and said in a heavy tone,

"Your Majesty, the bravery of the Yan army is truly rare. During the battle, I sent Gao Shun to personally lead the Xianzhen Camp.

A group of soldiers risked their lives to burn down a section of the village wall, opening a gap. The Xianzhen Camp rushed in and was unstoppable. However, Lanling King Shen Changgong personally led his men to resist, beheaded Gao Shun, killed all the members of the Xianzhen Camp, and pushed our army out.

As for other places, they were impossible to attack. The Yan people's Zhennan Army rushed out again, but did not charge the battle line, but only intercepted and killed the retreating soldiers.

The commander of the Yan people was very intelligent, and the coordination between the various branches of the army was also very good.

But it is not entirely true to say that there is no hope at all.

Your Majesty can take advantage of the night, quietly take the gold and silver, and a small number of guards, leave the palace through the back door, leave Luoyang, and head south. We have tens of thousands of local troops there.

Forget about confronting the Yan army. After heading south, you should go directly to Chu and become a king in exile. If Wei can recover it in the future, perhaps we can still rebuild our country with some of our homeland."