PFC Chapter 312: Surrender?
Chapter 312: Surrender?
"Are you admitting defeat? Are you begging for mercy from this king?"
"Haha, I didn't expect that you would give in one day?"
After a while, Ning Quan smiled contemptuously and muttered to himself.
He had never thought that Ning Yuanwu would bow down to him, but Li Junchen's letter had already made it very clear that this was the fact.
Ning Yuanwu was prepared to sacrifice the lives of Ning Xuan and others to protect the prince and the Daqian dynasty.
This was a great humiliation for Ning Yuanwu.
But there was no other way. For the sake of the entire Daqian Empire, he had no choice but to do so.
As for Ning Quan, he lamented the sacrifice made by Ning Yuanwu.
But I'm still a little dissatisfied.
He still wanted Ning Gao to die.
Although Ning Gao did not humiliate him like Ning Xuan and others, he never looked down on Ning Quan.
Sometimes he would even deliberately allow Ning Xuan and others to bully him.
Ning Quan had already remembered all of this and wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
"Husband, what did father write in the letter?"
Li Wanyue saw Ning Quan's uncertain expression and couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"See for yourself."
Hearing Li Wanyue's question, Ning Quan handed the letter in his hand to her.
Li Wanyue took the letter and read it carefully.
The more she looked down, the more solemn her expression became.
"Husband, what are you going to do?"
After a long time, she raised her head and said in a deep voice.
"Now I don't know what to do. I never thought he would come to beg me."
Shaking his head, Ning Quan smiled bitterly.
"Oh, then my husband, please think about it carefully."
"No matter what decision you make, I will support you!"
Li Wanyue gently took Ning Quan's arm and spoke softly.
"Yeah!~"
Hearing this, Ning Quan nodded and stopped thinking about it.
He planned to return to Xizhou and listen to the opinions of Zhuge Liang and others.
.......
Time flies, and several days pass in a flash.
Xizhou.
Inside the palace.
Ning Quan sat quietly in his chair, tapping the table with his fingers, and fell into silence.
On both sides are Zhuge Liang and others.
"Everyone, what do you think?"
Ning Quan suddenly looked up, looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice.
"Your Highness, I think this matter should be reconsidered."
Zhuge Liang bowed first and then spoke.
"I agree with the Prime Minister. We can't be hasty about this matter, because once we agree to it, we will have no room for maneuver."
Jia Xu immediately seconded the proposal.
The rest of the group, including Liu Bowen, did not speak.
"Whether we consider it or not, we have to make a decision in the end."
"There has to be a response to this matter anyway."
Ning Quan pondered for a moment after hearing this.
"Your Highness, we need to make a decision, but it's not a good one."
"First, we must confirm whether Your Highness is truly willing to give up the Great Qian Empire, and then we can proceed."
Seeing this, Jia Xu said directly.
"Yes, Wenhe is right, Your Highness, you need to think carefully before we can make a decision."
Liu Bowen also stood up and said solemnly.
"Whoo~"
Hearing this, Ning Quan let out a long sigh.
This question really stumped him, because he didn't know whether he should give up the Daqian Empire.
"Your Highness, since you can't make up your mind, let me have a say!"
Seeing Ning Quan's hesitation, Zhuge Liang stepped forward and spoke.
"Prime Minister, if you have any wise advice, please speak up quickly."
Hearing this, Ning Quan hurriedly said.
"Your Highness, if you truly do not wish to engage in a war with Daqian, which would lead to the devastation of human lives and the suffering of the people, then there is only one option: agree to Your Majesty's terms!"
"Your Majesty, please hand over the Sixth Prince and the others for your disposal. Your Majesty will spare the Crown Prince's life, and then we will sign a peace treaty with Daqian."
"But...the treaty must have another clause!"
"With what conditions?"
Ning Quan asked in confusion.
"The condition is that Daqian must cede all the land south of the Yangtze River to us!"
Zhuge Liang spoke word by word.
"hiss!"
Hearing this, Ning Quan took a breath.
This condition is too harsh. You have to know that the area south of the Yangtze River is one-fourth of the territory of the Daqian Dynasty.
How could Ning Yuanwu agree to such conditions?
"Prime Minister, why?"
After a long time, Ning Quan finally reacted and asked.
"Your Highness, for the population!"
“Because we are short of population now!”
Zhuge Liang explained slowly.
"Oh, I see!"
Ning Quan narrowed his eyes, as if thinking about something.
Zhuge Liang was right. Although he now owned a vast territory, his population was too small, less than one-tenth of Daqian's.
And he will develop Australia and America next, which requires a larger population.
"I'm afraid he won't agree to this condition!"
After thinking for a moment, Ning Quan spoke.
"Your Highness is right. His Majesty will certainly not agree to this, so we have to get it ourselves."
Zhuge Liang's eyes flashed, and he spoke with confidence.
"Get it yourself?"
"How do we get it? Do we have to go to war?"
Hearing this, Ning Quan was stunned.
"Yes, that is to start a war."
"We are using war to force His Majesty to agree. Otherwise, His Majesty will never agree."
"But if we create a fait accompli, that's a different matter."
At this point, Zhuge Liang showed a sneer.
"Oh, I understand."
"What a good plan, what a brilliant one! You are worthy of being the Prime Minister!"
Ning was convinced wholeheartedly.
"But if we take over the territory of Daqian south of the Yangtze River, then we should also consider Daqi in the south."
Ning Quan frowned immediately.
Daqian did not have much territory south of the Yangtze River, most of which was the territory of the Great Qi State.
If the attack was solely on Daqian territory, the entire marching route would be a long, narrow straight line extending from the far northwest to the eastern sea.
It is disadvantageous for both offense and defense unless Da Qi is also captured.
"Your Highness is right. Since we are going to take action, why don't we take this opportunity to destroy Qi as well!"
Zhuge Liang said with confidence.
Upon hearing this, Ning Quan fell into deep thought.
The State of Qi occupied half of the southern part of the country, and was also a Han Chinese country.
If he conquered Qi, his territory would expand to the entire south.
The key is to gain population. There are 50 million people in Qi State, which is no less than Daqian.
From now on he will no longer have to worry about population problems.
And after conquering Qi, the entire south will be connected.
It can also directly face the Indochina Peninsula, laying the foundation for further outward promotion in the future.
"Well, this is feasible. We will discuss it in detail later."
"But how will His Majesty respond?"
Ning Quan's mind raced, and he asked immediately.
"Your Highness, just state the conditions directly. Hand over the Sixth and Eighth Princes and their men, and cede the territory south of the Yangtze River."
"Then there's no need to worry about His Majesty's response. We'll just send our troops."