eurekapd Chapter 617 2 Difficult Choices
Chapter 617 2 Difficult Choices
"You'd better tell me directly what Shen Changgong's attitude was when he went to the Yan army this time."
Huang Tao sighed. Do these stinky soldiers all speak so bluntly?
He is a prince, but he is not reserved at all and just speaks his mind directly.
Huang Tao glanced at the servants serving beside him.
Cao Xiang frowned when he saw this, but still waved his hand and asked all the servants to go down.
He was confident that even if Huang Tao had evil intentions, he, as a military general, could single-handedly suppress a civil official.
"Your Majesty, I went to see Queen Lanling and discussed the peace talks with her.
Lanling Wang rejected our request and would never accept Wei as a vassal state, nor would he allow us to become a state within a state. He was determined to destroy Wei's national destiny."
Cao Xiang's face suddenly turned cold and he said,
"If that's the case, then let's fight. I'm a Wei man, and I'm not a weakling.
"For these matters, you really have to come to my palace in person and talk about this in the middle of the night?"
Huang Tao shook his head.
"But peace is not hopeless. Shen Changgong has given us two options for us to choose from."
"What plan?"
"The first option is that the Emperor personally orders surrender, and Prince Lanling promises not to kill the Emperor and the royal family. He will also grant the Emperor the title of Duke, allowing the Emperor to enjoy his old age in Shengjing without worries about food and clothing."
"Isn't this just house arrest? You're destroying my country and want to humiliate our emperor by putting him under house arrest?"
Cao Xiang snorted coldly and said,
"What about the second one?"
"The second option is for you, Prince Jin, to personally lead the army to defect and capture His Majesty alive. Once you succeed, Prince Lanling will leave you with a hundred thousand troops and make you the commander-in-chief of the Yan army, leading the army to fight for the Yan Kingdom!"
Hearing this, Cao Xiang was furious. He smashed the cup in his hand into pieces and said angrily,
"The scoundrel Shen Changgong is trying to trick me into becoming a traitor. Does he think I'm someone like Yuan Chu and Chen Qing?
This bastard has insulted me too much! I will fight him to the bitter end!
At this point, Cao Xiang suddenly looked at Huang Tao, narrowed his eyes and said,
"You changed into casual clothes and came in through the back door to see me, just to persuade me to surrender on behalf of Shen Changgong?"
"No, no, no, how dare I."
Huang Yao quickly stood up and said,
"Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn't dare persuade His Majesty to surrender. I haven't surrendered to the State of Yan either. I came here only to convey Lanling King's intentions to the King of Jin."
"Then why did you come in plain clothes? What's so shameful about that?"
"Because of this matter, I did not tell Your Majesty."
"Ok?"
In an instant, murderous intent emerged in Cao Xiang's eyes.
Huang Tao sighed and said,
"Your Majesty, how can you not understand my sincere intentions? I only told Your Majesty the first option and didn't mention the second.
That’s because I can’t say it.
Once this sentence is spoken out, how will the emperor view the prince?
Will he doubt the prince's loyalty?
I have absolutely no intention of slandering Your Majesty, but serving the emperor is like serving a tiger, so I have to be careful.
Moreover, this second plan has nothing to do with Your Majesty, but only with you, Your Highness. If I tell the emperor about it, wouldn't that just cause him more trouble?
By then, the emperor and his ministers will be suspicious of each other and will be at odds with each other. Wouldn’t the Great Wei be even more doomed?
So I came to see the prince late at night and told him about this matter.
As for how to choose, that is the prince's business and has nothing to do with me.
From beginning to end, did this humble official say a single word to persuade His Majesty to change sides?
Hearing this, Cao Xiang's anger subsided a little, and he said,
"You shouldn't have told this to me. Whether the Emperor surrenders or not is up to him.
As long as the Emperor doesn't surrender, I will never surrender!"
"Yes, yes, yes. Your Highness's loyalty is well known to me. I came to see you for the first plan."
Cao Xiang looked at him and snorted coldly,
"You want the emperor to surrender and be placed under house arrest by the State of Yan?"
Huang Tao sighed and said,
"Your Highness, you said in broad daylight in the court that Luoyang City could not be defended, right?"
"That's what I said, but whether I can defend it or not, I will do my best to defend it."
"Yes, but what if we can't hold it? When the Yan army invades Luoyang, won't the emperor be killed by them?
We, the ministers, can die in any way we want. Our country is destroyed and our families are ruined, so we deserve to die!
But what about the emperor? The emperor is a wise ruler.
If we, the ministers, cannot defeat the enemy, what is the emperor's fault?
Prince Jin, you are loyal to the emperor. Are you willing to see the emperor's head and body separated and end up with a tragic death?
The Yan people killed Emperor Kun, and they executed him by slow slicing. After killing him, they threw him directly into a mass grave to feed the dogs!
Our emperor must live a respectable life."
Cao Xiang's face turned pale, and he clenched his fists tightly, trying hard to resist the urge to punch Huang Tao to death.
Because he knew that from Huang Tao's point of view, what he said was right and he was loyal.
In order to avoid suspicion among the emperor and his ministers, he deliberately did not tell the emperor the second plan, but chose to tell himself.
He never advised me to switch sides, but only asked me to persuade the emperor to surrender, just to save the emperor's dignity and life.
Whether they are the pro-war faction or the pro-surrender faction, in the final analysis, it is all for the good of the emperor.
So he didn't get angry.
Huang Tao also knew his temper well.
If Huang Tao insisted on persuading Cao Xiang to change sides, even if he only said a word and showed any tendency to do so, Cao Xiang would kill him with one punch.
But Huang Tao was always talking about righteousness and always said that he was doing it for the emperor, without mentioning himself at all. What could Cao Xiang do?
He can't kill a loyal minister.
Cao Xiang loosened his fist, rubbed his temple, and said,
"This king...still wants to advocate war. With our country destroyed and our families ruined, it's only natural for us soldiers to serve our country loyally and die on the battlefield..."
Huang Tao nodded and said,
"What about the emperor? Will he be immortalized by being executed by slow slicing and having his body dumped in the wilderness?"
Cao Xiang clenched his fists again and squeezed out two words from between his teeth.
"Yan thief..."
If it weren't for the invasion of Yan State, which led to the destruction of their country and the ruin of their families, he and the emperor would be safe now.
Everything originated from the invasion of the Yan bandits.
But they just couldn't defeat the Yan thieves.
"Master Huang, please go back first. Let me think about it carefully."
Huang Tao stood up, bowed, and said,
"Please reconsider your decision, Your Highness. The Emperor will convene a court meeting tomorrow morning to discuss this matter.
The prince's attitude is crucial."
"Get out!"
Cao Xiang shouted angrily.
Huang Tao sighed, clasped his hands and left.
After he left, Cao Xiang also fell into a dilemma.
He was loyal to Cao De.
Even if he had to fight to the hilt and die on the battlefield, he would still protect Cao De and repay the emperor's kindness.
His own life or death was unimportant.
But now, he has to decide whether the emperor lives or dies.