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

Hearing this, Shen Changgong put on a playful smile and said,

"Oh? It seems that Master Huang and those officials are already loyal to the king."

Huang Tao smiled bitterly and said,

"Your Majesty, a man who knows the current situation is a hero. I do not seek wealth and glory, nor do I seek high office and generous salary. I only seek to save the lives of me and my family.

The Great Yan King's army is extremely powerful, and unifying the world is the trend of the times.

If we continue to resist, it will only bring disaster to the people and will be meaningless.

If it can reduce the casualties among the people and soldiers in the world and allow those people to live longer, I am willing to do these things even at the risk of rebellion and even at the cost of my head.

The same is true for my subordinates."

Huang Tao was an old politician. He knew that if he said that he was loyal to Lanling King and then took the opportunity to ask for an official position and rewards, the other party would definitely look down on him and think that he was a traitor who was selling out his master for fame and fortune.

So he changed his approach, admitting that he was afraid of death, but did not want official positions or rewards. He always talked about the people of the world, turning his rebellion into a merciful and willing sacrifice. The feeling suddenly became different.

Sure enough, Shen Changgong smiled and said,

"Master Huang is a smart man. Don't worry, I will not treat anyone who has made contributions unfairly.

How confident are your subordinates in trying to deceive those generals?"

Huang Tao immediately said,

"Reporting to Your Highness, we do have some confidence. After all, the conditions you offer are good, and the Wei Dynasty is in a precarious situation right now. The Emperor and his ministers all want to surrender, so don't even count on the loyalty of the people below.

Of course, we can't act rashly now. After all, we don't know the conditions that Your Highness requires of the Emperor.

If the emperor is willing to surrender voluntarily, we won't have to deceive the generals anymore and can achieve a peaceful handover, thus avoiding casualties.

Therefore, I would like to ask the prince’s attitude first.

Let's go back and tell the emperor. Only when the emperor expresses his position on whether to surrender or to fight, can we take action.

However, your condition has already been spread as a rumor to confuse the troops."

Shen Changgong nodded calmly, narrowed his eyes and said,

"This Cao De is a bit greedy. I gave him a chance to live, but he still cares about the royal family and the nobles."

Huang Tao said,

"The main reason is that the nobles are afraid. They all know your hatred and cruelty towards the nobles. You have almost killed all the nobles of Yan, Kun, and Qi.

If you don't let them go, they'll probably strongly oppose surrendering. They're all going to die anyway, so why not drag the emperor down with him?"

After thinking for a while, Shen Changgong said,

"Well, I can promise them that I will treat the Emperor of Wei well and will not kill the royal family and nobles."

Upon hearing this, Yu Huatian immediately said,

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten the disaster caused by the Yellow Croaker Cult?"

When the Yellow Croaker Cult in Kundi rebelled, it was that evil cult that supported the illegitimate son of Emperor Kun as emperor and remotely respected Tang Xinyi as the empress dowager, which gave it legitimacy and legality.

Shen Changgong smiled and shook his head.

“It is precisely because of this that I want to give them a way out, so that they don’t run around in desperation and hide among the people to cause trouble.

Give them a way to live and they will not choose death.

Only by gathering them all together and controlling them in our hands can we ensure that they will not be used by the rebel forces to cause trouble.

Besides, I only promised not to kill them, but I didn’t say that I would treat them well.

Now that it's in our hands, isn't it our decision how to arrange it?"

After hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was going on and said that the prince was very wise.

Huang Tao on the side was a little embarrassed, thinking about how to tell his emperor when he returned.

Shen Changgong saw his dilemma and said,

“When you return, tell them that I am being tough and am only willing to make concessions. That is my guarantee that I will not kill them and will treat the Emperor of Wei with respect.

This king will no longer accept any negotiations. Our Yan army is crossing the river. After crossing the river, we will go south to surround Luoyang City.

If your emperor still doesn't come out to surrender by then, we will regard it as a refusal to surrender and will immediately launch an attack on Luoyang City.

Once our army breaks into the city, all the royal family members and nobles will be wiped out.

Of course, if Lord Huang and those others had made an effort and instigated some of the Wei army generals to rebel, even if they could not lead the army to attack the palace, they would still be considered meritorious if they simply helped our soldiers in the siege to open the gates and disrupt the city defenses.

It would be even better if you could achieve greater merit.”

"Okay, okay, I understand. I will do my utmost to persuade our emperor to surrender, so that we can avoid the suffering of war."

"Okay, it's time for dinner. Mr. Huang, please stay and have a meal before going back to get it. Otherwise, you will be hungry all the way."

"No need to thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. I'd better return and report to His Majesty as soon as possible."

"Okay, when you go back, someone will come to visit you. That person is one of ours. If you need to contact me about anything, you can find him. But don't come to our military camp again, lest your Emperor Wei become suspicious."

"As ordered."

After Huang Tao finished speaking, he left.

Shen Changgong patted his belly and said,

"I'm hungry. Let's have a meal together."

……

Huang Tao rode in a carriage and rushed back to Luoyang at full speed.

Then he rode non-stop and quickly arrived at the palace.

The Emperor of Wei summoned him immediately.

The Emperor of Wei has been in a bad mood these days. He is in no mood to sleep with other people's wives and looks gloomy all day long.

After Xuan met Huang Tao, the Emperor of Wei immediately asked,

"What did Shen Changgong say?"

Huang Tao's face showed joy, and he immediately said,

"This is great news, Your Majesty, this is great news."

His smile also infected the Emperor of Wei, and Cao De felt a little relieved. He said,

"Oh? What's the good news? Tell me quickly."

"Your Majesty, Shen Changgong said that he will not only treat you well, but also guarantee that he will not kill any royal nobles or their families."

"Huh? That's it?"

The smile on Cao De's face disappeared again, and he said slowly,

"How can this be considered a good thing? Is it just not killing people? Imprisoned and tortured day and night for life is not killing people. Slave labor until death is not killing people either.

But living like this is more painful than death, and the ministers will definitely not agree to it.

Why don't you ask for details? Does not killing mean imprisonment or freedom? Does it mean retaining the title or being stripped of it and becoming a commoner? Does it mean the property will be confiscated or can it be retained?

The difference is huge.”

Huang Tao said quickly,

"Your Majesty, I asked, and Shen Changgong said that he could only promise not to kill. I didn't dare to ask any more questions.

He also said that this is his bottom line: if we don't agree, the day the Yan army crosses the river will be the day they attack Luoyang."