King Qi of the Ji state, Jiang Huan Chu, was once the Eastern Marquis. Without Deng Chan Yu's interference, he would have been chopped into minced meat by King Zhou in the city of Changgeng long ago. After his death, he was listed on the gods' list and granted a title of "Emperor's chariot star" by Jie Ziya. The name suggests that he might have been a role who drives the chariot for the Heavenly Emperor.
Currently, he has not been turned into minced meat. He is a bit younger than King Zi of the Western Marquis state, but he is also an eighty-year-old elderly man. Relying on political means, he has divided and dissolved the two hundred feudal states under his command, ultimately unifying the strength of Qi state. These methods have drained his energy, and the external situation is not good. At this time, the old man can be said to be a candle in the wind. He is about to give up.
The old man has many daughters; the Queen Jiang married King Zhou, another daughter married Su Quan Zhong, and some other daughters married powerful feudal lords under his command. However, he has few sons, and the only grown son is Jiang Wen Huan.
Upon hearing the envoy's request, Jiang Huan Chu also found it quite absurd. Although the advance guard of Han army was nearly reaching Qingzhou, it had not actually arrived yet, and it wasn't going to arrive so quickly. For over a hundred years, the Jiang family had been managing Qingzhou, and it was not like Xuchang where many feudal lords were stationed.
What's the use of the Han army occupying Qufu? It's a flyover land for Han state. The people in the city have benefited greatly from the Jiang family for over a hundred years. They are not likely to help outsiders.
Once they surround the city, the Han people will have nowhere to run.
Jiang Huan Chu coughed violently and felt his head throbbing as he thought about it.
Gathering the courtiers, some agreed, suggesting to first replace the prince and then surround Qufu, starving to death those Han dogs!
Some said it absolutely could not be agreed to. A nation's capital, how can it be traded so casually?
Eventually, those who agreed to the exchange prevailed. They were all loyal to the Jiang family, and Jiang Huan Chu's health was very poor. He might die at any time. It would be too comical for a ruler of a nation to die while his successor was still in enemy territory.
Don't care about the conditions, first get the person back.
The Shang Dynasty had a tradition of frequently moving capitals, so changing a capital was not considered a major event that would shake the foundation of the country.
The Han state cannot long station in Qufu, regardless of what their intentions may be, they will eventually withdraw. We can take this opportunity to exchange the prince Jiang Wen Huan for our own. It may not be a complete victory, but at least we won't lose so badly.
Jiang Huan Chu made the decision, exchange!
Exchange the city of Qufu for Jiang Wen Huan.
The specific details of the exchange will be handled by Li Jing, and Deng Chan Yu will arrive at Qufu with a team of elite cavalry as soon as possible.
She calculated it three times. The remains of Golden Phoenix's eldest sister would squeeze out from some strange space channel and finally land in Qufu.
Nowadays, there are many Xians named Western Teachings in Qi who are actually demons from the Blood Sea.
Deng Chan Yu is not afraid of single combat, but her female phoenix body has limited duration. She fears being surrounded and assaulted, especially the strange and malevolent spells from the blood sea devils.
She can only turn this battlefield into a place that is more advantageous to herself. Now that the Han country's fortune is prosperous, if those blood sea scum dared to use spells on her, they would not survive the retaliation from the Han country's fortune.
Her first action upon arriving in Qufu was to insert flags. The scarlet phoenix flag with a hundred birds flying towards it, the golden-edged red flag with the large characters "Han", and the red-bottomed, gold-lettered "Deng" flag with sun, moon, and stars.
Flags of various kinds were planted all over the city walls.
The people of Qufu saw this scene and felt quite fresh.
The nobles in the city have taken their belongings and evacuated. The remaining ones are common people who cannot leave, known as "guoren" in this era.
To them, it was hard to understand that the "Han dogs" did not first occupy the warehouses but instead raised flags on the city walls.
The hidden Qi spies in the city also did not know what they were trying to do.
On the other hand, the blood sea immortals began to sense something amiss through Deng Chan Yu's highly abnormal actions. They had determined that something was about to descend.
This cannot be hidden. However, outsiders will not know about the remains of Jinyun, and they will only think it is a cave world of ancient immortals.
Seeing is sharing. No matter what it is, claiming 「This thing has a tie with me」 is the style of the primitive hongxia immortals. If they want to be humbled, it must be through a fight.
Blood sea demons are hiding outside the city. The ceasefire treaty between Qi and Han cannot restrain them.
an ugly-looking blood sea devil constantly stared at the city, ready to take a share when the opportunity arises
Regardless of what the various factions think, Deng Chan Yu's top priority is to secure the remains of Golden Phoenix. Whether or not she can completely occupy this city is not her main concern at this moment.
Deng Chan Yu commanded by the side, "Zhang General, you will be in charge of the city's defense."
"Yes."
"General Ding Ce, lead a group to propagate the law of our Han state."
"Yes."
She brought only one thousand five hundred people, and the Li Jing side could still reinforce several thousand troops. It is very difficult to control a city with a population of over one million people with such a small number of people.
Deng Chan Yu had a clear goal: as long as the citizens within the city did not cause trouble for her, that would be sufficient. The key to the victory lay in the confrontation between immortals. Once those Asuras were dealt with, the rest could be left to the Six Ding and Six Jia.
In this era, promises are still highly valued.
The state of Qi handed over the city of Qufu. Although the city's wealth was plundered to the bone, and hardly any grain was left in the entire city, the Han state also kept its promise and released Jiang Wen Huan. Both parties also signed a document that stipulated a ceasefire for six months based on the actual area they controlled. This was signed in the names of their respective ancestors, and whoever broke it would not find peace even after death.
The Qi state watched the phoenix flag flying over the city of Qufu with a sense of frustration, contemplating how to regain the city after six months.
Deng Chan Yu sat in meditation to cultivate her qi. She could use the qi of the Han state within the city, but once she left the city, she would lose it. If she wanted to fight, she could only do so within the city limits.
The city defense was handed over to Zhang Guifang. The alliance between Zhou and Donglu had been very close due to the marriage between Zhou and Jiang. Zhang Guifang had come here many times before, and his talent for leading troops in battle far exceeded his talent for cultivation. Although he could not guarantee airtight city defense, if there was no shortage of grain and provisions, he could at least withstand the siege of Qi's main force for more than half a year.
Li Jing was continuously assembling troops and supplies from the Jianghuai and Jinling regions, preparing for a decisive battle with Qi in six months.
The weather in August should have been very hot, but after the Han state took over Qufu, the temperature in the entire Qingzhou region dropped by more than ten degrees. The people did not even have time to feel cool before the temperature suddenly rose again to nearly uncontrolled levels. This time, it rose to an unprecedented extent, causing large areas of land to dry up and rocks to be roasted so red that they glowed. There was a bit of a cool breeze outside the city, but inside the city, it felt like a superheated oven.
The blind, old man in fine robes, Indra, looked towards the city. Deng Chan Yu felt the connection and turned to look back.
Indra asked, "Companion, did you set up this arrangement in advance, waiting for this opportunity?"
Deng Chan Yu spoke harshly, "Hmph, this matter is irrelevant to you. If you failed to reach the supreme state of Dao, injured your foundation, it would be better for you to choose a pure land to recuperate rather than coming back here where the worldly affairs are entangled again."
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