#549 - Fish and net broken
Silence.
In an instant, the entire hall seemed to plunge into the void, with no sound except the faint sound of snow falling outside.
In the end, Li Wutong chose to give up.
She chose to abandon the million-plus people in Huailing City in exchange for the survival of Da Feng.
As mentioned before, it's hard to say whether her decision was right or wrong.
Preferring death, preferring national subjugation, rather than bearing the fabricated crime.
Clearly, Li Wutong did not want Da Feng to be destroyed at all costs.
Therefore, she could only accept such a condition.
"..."
"Thump."
Powerlessly collapsing back into the wooden chair, Min Zhongguang sighed painfully, ultimately saying nothing.
The other Da Feng envoys were the same.
The expressions of the people were different, but they all chose silence at this moment.
Without a doubt, regardless of their considerations, they all defaulted to Li Wutong's decision.
Even though everyone knew the consequences of this decision.
"Your Majesty."
On the other side, Sima Cong's expression was also somewhat complicated.
He turned his head to look at Ning Yongnian, and upon seeing the latter nod slightly, he once again summoned the eunuch to his side.
He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write.
Soon, the fifth, and final, clause of the 'Huailing Accord' was recorded in writing.
Sima Cong took a deep breath and handed the note to the little eunuch.
The latter received it in his hands, and then, under the gaze of everyone, walked step by step towards the hall door.
Ten breaths later, this note would be handed to the official waiting outside the hall.
Twenty breaths later, the drums would sound three times.
Thirty breaths later, the official would loudly recite the contents of the note to all the people waiting on the long street outside the government office.
And after that...
The 100,000-strong Da Ning army stationed in Huailing City would seal off all the city gates and then slaughter the million-plus unarmed civilians in the city.
The massacre might take a day, or perhaps two, but at most it would not exceed three days.
And after Huailing completely turned into a dead city, Ning Yongnian would take the 'Huailing Accord' signed by both parties, as well as the army still remaining in Da Feng, and return to Da Ning.
At that time, Li Wutong would have 'gotten her wish' and preserved Da Feng, and also saved Li Qi's life.
For this result, she had given up too much.
It could even be said that she had sacrificed everything that could be sacrificed.
Therefore, when she saw the little eunuch walking step by step towards the hall door, she felt a sense of despair and relief in her heart.
"Creak."
The hall door was pushed open a crack, and the cold wind mixed with snowflakes squeezed in from outside.
The moon is dim, no one watches, and the heavy snow fills Huailing.
The Da Ning soldiers on the city walls had already prepared for the massacre, waiting only for Wu Ding's order to seal the city gates and draw their swords.
However, at this final juncture, just as the little eunuch was about to walk out of the hall, someone who shouldn't have spoken at this time suddenly spoke.
"Stop."
"This sovereign, does not agree!"
"..."
The cold wind was biting, and the chill pierced the bones.
The center of everyone's attention was Li Qi, whose face was incomparably calm.
From opening the city gates to surrender, until today, this Da Feng emperor had been playing the fool for more than a month.
He was hung on the city wall, suffering humiliation.
He watched with his own eyes as batch after batch of Da Feng martial artists died tragically at his feet.
Even just now, Meng Shi, who had risked his life for him, had silently taken his own life behind him.
Li Qi had endured all of this.
From Ning Yongnian's eyes, he could see that the former already believed that he was truly a fool.
But even so, at this moment, Li Qi could no longer pretend.
"Your Majesty!"
The first exclamation came from Min Zhongguang.
The latter did not know that Li Qi had been pretending to be a fool all along, so he could not help but feel astonished now.
He staggered to Li Qi's front, knelt down to the ground with a 'thump', and looked up and shouted with tears streaming down his face:
"Your Majesty! You, you are alright!"
"Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty!!"
"..."
In the next moment, more Da Feng envoys also reacted, all trembling and prostrating on the ground, their expressions extremely excited.
Some of them may have guessed that Li Qi had been pretending all along, and some only thought that he had suddenly 'recovered'.
But no matter what, Li Qi had returned to normal, and they had a backbone.
Just like that, the hall instantly fell into chaos.
And in the eyes of the Da Feng officials, who were incomparably excited, and the Da Ning envoys, who were incomparably astonished, Li Qi only stared straight at Ning Yongnian and snorted coldly:
"Hmph, good calculation."
"..."
"You're not bad either."
Squinting his eyes, the surprise in Ning Yongnian's eyes slowly faded away: "I almost thought you were really a fool. What? Can't keep acting?"
"I just felt there was no need to keep acting."
Calmly shaking his head, Li Qi did not have the slightest bit of timidity that a 'surrendered ruler' should have.
"Ning Yongnian, I know exactly what you're thinking."
"Now the Wei family is becoming more and more powerful, and your army must withdraw to Da Ning."
"But you are not willing to leave just like that, so you want to use this method to sow discord in my Da Feng court."
"Hmph, you really have a good plan!"
"..."
With a few words, Li Qi completely exposed Ning Yongnian's plan.
Ning Yongnian did not deny it, but instead nodded with a smile.
"Yes, that's exactly what I was planning."
"But what can you do about it?"
"Now there are 100,000 soldiers of my Da Ning in Huailing City. Whether you agree or not, the people in the city will eventually die."
"And you will also lose your life in vain."
"Lose my life in vain?"
Li Qi's face did not show a trace of panic or hesitation, and he interrupted with a sneer:
"Ning Yongnian, there's no need to say these things between you and me."
"You should know what the meaning of my death is."
"..."
What is the meaning of my death...
When Li Qi said these words, everyone instantly understood the meaning behind them.
Yes, whether Li Qi agreed or not, Ning Yongnian had the ability to massacre the city.
But if Li Qi really died, then the nature of this massacre would change from 'Da Feng abandoned the people of Huailing' to 'Ning Yongnian massacred the people of Huailing'.
At that time, even if the Da Feng royal family no longer existed, the Da Feng people would definitely hate Ning Yongnian to the bone, and the latter would undoubtedly have to pay a greater price if he wanted to swallow Da Feng in the future.
Therefore, if Li Qi did not agree, Ning Yongnian would most likely not really massacre the city.
On the other hand, if the 'Huailing Accord' could not be reached, then Ning Yongnian would most likely kill Li Qi directly and take Li Wutong away, allowing Da Feng to temporarily 'perish' at least in name.
Thinking about it this way, the game between the two sides is actually very clear.
What Ning Yongnian hopes for is to leave behind a Da Feng that is full of holes and exists in name only.
And Li Qi's purpose is exactly the opposite—
Even if he dies and Da Feng is destroyed, he must protect the reputation of the Li family and protect the lives of the million-plus people in Huailing City!
