vstars Chapter 126: No Way Out
Chapter 126: No Way Out
"I dare not deceive Your Highness. The military pay in the city has long been unavailable."
Liu Shouren smiled bitterly: "Even this food was collected from other counties around, and I owe you a lot of favors for this."
The fighting on the front line had been going on for so long, and the court was slow to allocate food and military pay, so the officials had to raise them themselves.
I didn’t expect the situation to become so serious!
Chu Ning narrowed his eyes, revealing a solemn expression: "It seems that the situation is much more serious than I imagined."
After a pause and a glance at the departing General, Chu Ning raised the corners of his mouth slightly and chuckled, "So, I'm afraid there hasn't been any extra food in the city for a long time, right?"
Liu Shouren was stunned and didn't understand what Chu Ning meant by this.
But Liu Shouren soon reacted, shook his head helplessly and said, "How can we add food when we don't even have food?"
Chu Ning grinned: "It seems that it is right for me not to enter the city. Even if I go in, I am sure you will not have any delicious food to welcome me."
Liu Shouren smiled bitterly. There was no food at all, so how could there be any delicious fish and meat?
But he didn't dare say this. If he really said it, it would be disrespectful to the royal family.
After all, Chu Ning is a prince, and if he is not treated well, it would be a serious crime.
He was different from the General of Cavalry. The latter was a second-rank military general, while he was just a small county magistrate.
"Your Highness, please forgive me. I really cannot afford to offer you any delicious food." Liu Shouren could only bow his hands and apologize.
Chu Ning shook his head: "It has nothing to do with Lord Liu. Given the current situation, how could I punish someone without authorization?
How about this, I will also set up camp and have dinner, Sir Liu will accompany me?"
Liu Shouren nodded and agreed quickly: "Your Highness's order, I dare not disobey."
Chu Ning immediately ordered: "Come on, set up camp and get all the delicious food."
At the command, hundreds of people began to move outside the city.
Even though there was yellow sand everywhere, it could not stop the crowd. In just half an hour, the camp took shape.
On the city wall, Chang Hongbo watched this scene coldly, with a look of confusion on his face.
This general would not let Chu Ning enter the city. He really would not enter the city, and he even set up camp outside the city.
Judging from the situation, does Chu Ning really want to live outside the city?
Did Chu Ning think that by using this method, he could accuse himself of disrespecting the royal family and thereby seize military power?
Humph, how naive!
Being disrespectful to the royal family is a big deal, but it is also a small matter. In wartime, it is nothing.
Even if the emperor heard about it, he would probably not pursue the matter.
What's more, Chu Ning is just an illegitimate child. All the people here belong to me. What can you use to fight against me?
While thinking, a general frowned and asked, "General, what does the King of Penglai mean?"
"Yes, he actually didn't enter the city. Could it be that he wanted to punish us for this?"
"How about I go down and persuade His Highness to enter the city?"
"This matter cannot be made a big deal, otherwise it would be disrespectful of us. I am also willing to go out of the city to persuade them."
Some people are still extremely arrogant and look down on Chu Ning, the prince who is seeking death.
But there were also generals who were timid and did not want to cause trouble. They wanted to ease the relationship between the two sides and took the initiative to go out of the city to persuade them.
Chang Hongbo hesitated for a moment, and felt that it would be bad for his reputation if this matter were spread. He immediately nodded and said:
"General Chen and General Wu have a point. You two should go out of the city and persuade him. If His Highness is unwilling to come in, you should not force him."
"I obey your command!" Upon receiving the order, the two generals immediately bowed and left the city.
The two men rode out and arrived outside the tent in a short while.
But once they were outside the camp, they smelled a fragrance.
The two looked at each other, and a hint of ecstasy flashed in their eyes.
“This smells like roast chicken?”
"Yes, I haven't eaten meat for more than half a year."
The two of them swallowed their saliva, then bowed towards the tent and said loudly:
"Your Highness, General Chen An (Wu Lin) requests to see you!"
Chu Ning's calm voice came from the camp: "Two generals, come in and talk."
The soldier opened the curtain and the two generals stepped in at the same time.
What caught my eye was Chu Ning sitting at the main seat. On the table were a roast chicken and four dishes. The rich aroma was mouth-watering.
At the lower table, there was also a table in front of Liu Shouren, with the same five dishes placed on it.
But compared to Chu Ning's calmness, Liu Shouren was eating voraciously at this moment.
As a county magistrate, Liu Shouren was used to eating a lot of meat and fish, but he had not eaten meat for more than half a year, and he had long forgotten what meat tasted like.
Now that the roast chicken and meat were placed in front of him, Liu Shouren could no longer resist and immediately started eating without caring about his image.
Seeing this scene, Chen An and Wu Lin secretly swallowed their saliva.
They want to eat too!
Especially the shiny oil on the roast chicken, which made the two of them salivate and they couldn't wait to have a good taste of it.
Chu Ning took in the looks of the two men and a sly smile appeared on his face.
It seems that these people are very greedy!
It’s good to be hungry. The secret to winning over this group of people lies here!
"Your Highness, I am honored to see you!" The two generals bowed at the same time.
Chu Ning nodded, picked up a chicken leg and ate it, and asked, "I wonder why the two generals are here?"
Chen An suppressed his desire and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness has come from afar, how can you live in this yellow sand outside the city? Please follow us into the city and settle down."
Wu Lin also laughed and said, "Yes, Your Highness, the environment outside the city is not good, let's go into the city."
"Enter the city?"
Chu Ning chuckled, spat the bone he had just gnawed onto the table, and shook his head, saying, "If I follow you into the city, I'll be starving. I heard you haven't had any meat for half a year?"
Chen An felt distressed when he saw the chicken bones that were spit out and still had a lot of meat attached to them.
That’s meat!
"Your Highness, the situation in the city is indeed not very good, but it is still better than the yellow sand outside the city. You are a person of great wealth, how can you live outside the city?"
Wu Lin smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Highness, please break camp immediately and follow me into the city."
Judging from the posture of Prince Penglai, he probably still has a lot of meat. If he enters the city, he will definitely hold a grand banquet, and then I can have a good meal.
No matter what, Your Highness must be invited into the city today!
But Chu Ning chuckled when he heard this and said, "Forget it. Even the General of the Cavalry doesn't want me to enter the city. Even if I enter, the soldiers in the city won't welcome me. They may even think that I am here to seize the military power.
You two go back and tell the General of Cavalry that I have no intention of taking away his military power, and just let him stay in the city.
By the way, the 10,000 men I brought are escorting 6 million dan of grain and 3 million silver coins. These things will not enter the city at that time!"
The two generals' faces changed drastically when they heard this.
It seems that the Prince of Penglai has been really offended this time. There are so many food and military pay, but they are not transported into the city. This is clearly an attempt to teach them a lesson.
No, this matter must be reported to the General of Cavalry immediately.
"I will go and report to the General of Cavalry right away!" The two generals bowed, turned around and left.
But when they reached the door of the tent, Chu Ning stopped them and said, "Wait, take back the remaining dishes for me!"
The generals in the city must know what kind of life they are living, then they will be moved!