Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

a few days later.

Wu Huaiyu and his delegation, representing the Independent State of Yongchang, arrived in the capital for peace talks.

Upon arriving in the capital, Wu Huaiyu was immediately taken to the Imperial Chief's Mansion, while the others were temporarily settled in hotel accommodations.

It turned out that Shen Moshen had already given the order—once Wu Huaiyu arrived, take him there immediately.

Shen Moshen was still very curious about Wu Huaiyu, who was relied upon by Zhuo Yongwang as his top strategist.

According to the report from the Secret Intelligence Bureau, 90% of the strategies implemented by the Yongchang Independent State were devised by Wu Huaiyu.

In the five provinces of Jizhou, it is no exaggeration to say that Wu Huaiyu is second only to Zhuo Yongwang.

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"Wu Huaiyu, Chief of Staff of the Five-Province Allied Army, greets the Commander-in-Chief!"

"You're Wu Huaiyu?" Shen Moshen looked Wu Huaiyu up and down, dressed in casual clothes, and smiled. "What did you just say?"

"Chief of Staff of the Five-Province Allied Forces?"

Shen Moshen was quite surprised by Wu Huaiyu's self-introduction: "If I remember correctly, your position with Zhuo Yongwang was Minister of Security and Chief of Staff of the Independent Army, right?"

"Isn't the Five Provinces Alliance a thing of the past?"

"How dare I, Wu, use the disobedient position bestowed upon me by such a traitor as Zhuo Yongwang before the Chief of Staff!"

"What?" Shen Moshen looked at Ge Daqiang beside him in great surprise, then at the serious-looking Wu Huaiyu: "..................."

"Now I think I believe in your sincerity in coming to the capital for negotiations on behalf of Zhuo Yongwang..."

Shen Moshen then asked, "Has Zhuo Yongwang come to his senses?"

"Is he willing to confess his crimes to the court and then lead the five provinces of Jizhou back to the rule of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

"If that's the case, then our 'peace talks' this time really have something to discuss!"

"Reporting to the Chief of Staff!" Wu Huaiyu shook his head slightly and said solemnly, "Zhuo Yongwang, that traitor, has long been determined to go all the way down the path of rebellion."

"Moreover, Zhuo Yongwang's personal resentment towards the Chief has reached an irreconcilable level."

"Therefore, Zhuo Yongwang would do anything that could disgust the Chief of Staff, even if it meant risking his life!"

"From the moment Zhuo Yongwang raised the banner of rebellion, this traitor never thought of turning back!"

Wu Huaiyu kept calling people traitors and rebels; anyone who didn't know better would think he wasn't even from Jizhou...

"No... weren't you here representing Zhuo Yongwang to negotiate in the capital? Your wording doesn't quite sound right to me."

Shen Moshen was taken aback by Wu Huaiyu's attitude.

Before he could even retort, Wu Huaiyu had already started cursing his master...

"Commander-in-Chief! To be honest, I have come to the capital for only three matters!"

Wu Huaiyu, with an air of righteous indignation, declared: "First, I apologize!"

"Second, expose the wicked schemes and crimes of Zhuo Yongwang."

"Third, make amends for your mistakes and atone for your crimes by performing meritorious service!"

"The Chief of Staff is truly a genius..." Ge Daqiang whispered to Shen Mo, "Wu Huaiyu's trip was indeed as the Chief of Staff predicted—it's not for peace talks, but for another purpose!"

Shen Moshen smiled calmly: "What I'm most interested in right now is—what exactly do you mean by 'making amends for one's mistakes' and 'redeeming oneself through meritorious service'? How do you mean by 'making amends for one's mistakes'?"

"Reporting to the Chief of Staff! I, Wu, have brought with me the defense plan for the entire Jizhou region and the defense map of Jicheng!"

"I, Wu, will report every single detail of Zhuo Yongwang's plans, schemes, and plots, including the situation in the five provinces of Jizhou, to the Chief of Staff!"

"Hey! This is great! This is an unexpected bonus for the imperial court!" Shen Moshen glanced at Ge Daqiang beside him and laughed, "It seems we really met the right person today..."

"This is Chief of Staff Wu, right?"

"I dare not accept such an honor! Commander, you may simply address me by my name. I dare not claim this official position bestowed upon me by a traitor..."

"To be fair, this attitude is really quite proper."

Shen Moshen smiled and said, "Wu Huaiyu, the imperial court is certainly very pleased and gratified that you have made such a correct choice."

"However, as far as I know, Zhuo Yongwang has already taken your families hostage in Jicheng in order to tie you core members to him."

"Now that you've set things right, aren't your family members who stayed in Jicheng in great danger?"

"Commander, I am well aware of the great principles of the nation. Since ancient times, there has only been a home without a country!"

"Even a petty person like me can understand this principle..."

"Then tell me," Shen Moshen said bluntly. "What exactly is Zhuo Yongwang up to by suddenly putting on this show?"

"Chief, to be honest, it was my idea for Zhuo Yongwang to voluntarily cede four provinces."

Wu Huaiyu did not hide this fact: "It was I who suggested that Zhuo Yongwang withdraw all his troops to Jizhou and then negotiate peace with the court."

"The reason I made this suggestion to Zhuo Yongwang was so that the Daqian Zhenguo Army could peacefully recover the four provinces without losing a single soldier."

Wu Huaiyu then explained, "If Zhuo Yongwang does not withdraw all his troops into Jizhou, the garrison troops in each province will definitely put up a desperate resistance to varying degrees in the face of the Daqian Zhenguo Army's attack."

"Because Zhuo Yongwang has sent a large number of supervisory teams to each province, and the troops defending each province are mostly soldiers from that province whose families are in the local area, making them more susceptible to being coerced by Zhuo Yongwang."

"At that time, even if they know that no matter how desperately they resist, they cannot stop the advance of the Daqian Zhenguo Army, under the threat of their families, some of them will definitely fight to the death."

"Now that Zhuo Yongwang has concentrated all the garrison troops from various provinces in Jizhou Province, the situation is completely different."

At this point, Wu Huaiyu continued with a hint of pride, "After the four provinces were taken over by the Daqian Zhenguo Army, the troops that withdrew from the four provinces into Jizhou were freed from the worry of their families being threatened by Zhuo Yongwang."

"In that case, when the Daqian Zhenguo army surrounds Jizhou, what reason will these people have to follow Zhuo Yongwang down a dead end?"

"Under these circumstances, as long as the Daqian Zhenguo Army simply spouts some rhetoric and shouts some slogans, they can stir up an unstoppable wave of uprisings within the Jizhou garrison!"

"Zhuo Yongwang has acted perversely and divided the Great Qian Dynasty. Such a villain deserves to be punished by everyone!"

"The five provinces of Jizhou have always been an inseparable part of the Great Qian Dynasty, and the vast majority of people still have a sense of belonging to the Great Qian Dynasty."

"Before, we had no choice—now we do, and I believe the vast majority of people in the five provinces are loyal to the Great Qian!"

"There are people who are willing to follow Zhuo Yongwang down this dark path! But they are only a very small group of people."

"The world's trends are overwhelming, and these petty villains will surely become dust in history!"

"Chief, I, Wu, had no choice before! But now that I have the opportunity to choose—I, Wu Huaiyu, absolutely refuse to be a traitor who splits the Great Qian Dynasty and brings shame upon future generations..."

"So, you've essentially set a trap for Zhuo Yongwang?" Shen Moshen exclaimed, suddenly realizing what Wu Huaiyu meant by this explanation. "It was all to create a better environment and conditions for the Daqian Zhenguo Army to recapture the territory?"

"Yes! This is the most feasible solution I can think of..."

Wu Huaiyu nodded and said with a serious expression, "I only hope to contribute my meager strength to the great cause of the recovery of Daqian in order to put my mind at ease, and also to atone for the mistakes I made before!"

"Although those things weren't done from the heart, and were all forced upon me by Zhuo Yongwang, what's done is done!"

"People must take responsibility for the mistakes they have made."

"I dare not shirk my responsibility for this! I only hope that everything I do now can atone for the mistakes I made in the past..."

At this point, Wu Huaiyu continued, "Chief, Zhuo Yongwang is now placing all his hopes on the Western Luo Kingdoms."

"His idea was to do everything possible to delay the war in Jizhou until the day when the Western Luo Kingdoms intervened in the affairs of Daqian."

"Moreover, Zhuo Yongwang had already prepared an escape route for himself."

“His two sons were in the country of Yi and in the country of Saluo.”

"If the situation in Jizhou becomes unfavorable, Zhuo Yongwang can either flee to the foreign lands or to Saluo......................"

"Zhuo Yongwang secretly transferred a lot of property in Yiguo and Shaluo."

"In other words, even after he escaped, he could still live the life of a wealthy man outside of the Great Qian Dynasty."

Wu Huaiyu voluntarily and without reservation revealed all the inside information he knew to Shen Moshen, his attitude absolutely impeccable..................

"Chief, as the security minister appointed by Zhuo Yongwang, I have also arranged some inside agents and people in Jicheng."

"If the imperial court wants to carry out some infiltration operations in Jicheng, my people can provide some convenience and cover."

"If we plan properly, we might be able to secretly capture that scoundrel Zhuo Yongwang alive in Jicheng!"

"Zhuo Yongwang's driver is also a breakthrough point."

"In addition, although Yang Guodong, the garrison commander of Jicheng, is Zhuo Yongwang's son-in-law, he also has a lot of opinions about Zhuo Yongwang in private."

"The imperial court could secretly send someone to make contact with this Yang Guodong; it might just have a surprising effect..."

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Given Wu Huaiyu's sincerity and the fact that he single-handedly created such a favorable situation for the Daqian Zhenguo Army to recover the five provinces of Jizhou, this is a testament to his efforts.

Shen Moshen immediately gave Wu Huaiyu a new identity—a persuasion commissioner.

Wu Huaiyu was tasked with winning over the entire peace negotiation delegation sent by Zhuo Yongwang, and then, in a calculated move, he was tasked with creating the illusion that the peace negotiations were proceeding smoothly for Zhuo Yongwang.

Of course, once this task was completed, Wu Huaiyu's mission was considered finished.

After the matters in the five provinces of Jizhou were settled, Shen Moshen did not intend to give Wu Huaiyu an important position.

In the end, giving him a reward will make up for his good deeds and bad ones.

After returning to the hotel.

Wu Huaiyu immediately summoned all the other members of the peace negotiation delegation who had come with him.

"Gentlemen, I know that Zhuo Yongwang has placed spies among you."

"He was specifically responsible for reporting the progress of the peace talks to Zhuo Yongwang separately."

"As you should know, before we came here, Zhuo Yongwang and I became sworn brothers, and he entrusted me with full responsibility for this peace negotiation."

Wu Huaiyu's gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the room: "Logically speaking, Zhuo Yongwang should trust me a lot."

"But actually?"

“But he still made arrangements for a backup plan—the facts show that Zhuo Yongwang did not trust me either.”

"Trust is just something he says."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't have kept it a secret from me and planted spies in the delegation."

"In the end, they're just keeping an eye on me!"

At this point, Wu Huaiyu turned around meaningfully, stood with his hands behind his back, and said with a tone full of emotion: "I don't know how many spies Zhuo Yongwang has planted in the delegation, let alone who took on this task."

"But I know—this eyeliner must exist."

“You might as well think about it—if even I, Wu Huaiyu, and Zhuo Yongwang don’t trust each other, who else can he trust?”

Is it worth risking our lives for someone like Zhuo Yongwang?

"At this point, saying anything is pointless."

Wu Huaiyu turned around: "I won't go into those empty words!"

"Zhuo Yongwang had already planned his escape route. If he couldn't hold Jizhou, he could run away at any time."

"But what about us? He won't care whether we live or die!"

"So now that we've finally escaped Jizhou and fled this hellhole, if we don't think about ourselves, then we'd be truly out of our minds!"

"To be honest with you all—Chief Shen has promised that as long as we are willing to submit to the court, rectify the chaos, and atone for our crimes through meritorious service, the court will never make things difficult for us."

"Chief of Staff Wu, since you've taken the lead in making things clear, then we'll speak frankly as well."

"Even a fool can see that Zhuo Yongwang won't be around for much longer. If given a choice, who would want to go down with that Shen guy?"

"But Chief of Staff Wu should know—including Chief of Staff Wu, our families are all in Zhuo Yongwang's hands."

"We've escaped the fire, but our whole family is still in Jicheng!"

"Yes! Nobody wants to go down the same dark path as Zhuo Yongwang, but our families are all in his hands, what can we do?"

"We can't just stand by and watch our family members be wiped out by that Shen guy, can we?"

“My thirteen concubines are all in Jicheng! After all these years, they finally gave birth to a son. I can die if I want, but I can't let my whole family be buried with me…”

"Alright! Who are you telling this to?"

Wu Huaiyu's face showed a hint of disdain: "What are you all pretending for!"

"Why did every one of you come to the capital with me?"

"I picked them all!"

Wu Huaiyu said coldly, "Why did I choose people like you to come to the capital with me?"

Do you think I'm just bored?

"Alright! I've known every single one of you for a long time."

"Otherwise, you wouldn't be on the list of peace negotiation delegations!"

"Old Han, it's true that you have thirteen concubines in Jicheng!"

"It's true you just had a son, but he's not your heir, so why are you so excited!"

"There are plenty of big hospitals in the capital. Go and make an appointment to get checked out yourself. Don't you know whether you're fertile or not?"

"You've had thirteen concubines, and none of them have given birth all these years, but now they've suddenly given birth. Haven't you thought about this matter properly?"

"Don't you think your adopted son is just like you, the way you treat your parents?"

"Old Li, do I need to explain your situation?"

"Your famous saying is—women are like clothes. Can you even count the number of your illegitimate children?"

"Old Zhou, needless to say, you've had enough of that tigress in your family, haven't you?"

"I'll just say it."

"I chose you to come to the capital for one very good reason."

To put it bluntly—we're all the same kind of people!

“My wife and two children are also in Jilin, but I’m more pragmatic.”

"You can remarry, and you can have more children!"

"As long as we're alive, these things don't matter!"

Wu Huaiyu glanced at the group of people who had been exposed and continued, "In addition, let me reassure you all."

"The capital city authorities may take action within Jicheng in the next few days."

"Zhuo Yongwang might be escorted to the capital soon."

"So, our family in Jicheng isn't really in any major trouble..."