Chapter 417: A moment of humiliation, what is there that cannot be endured?

Li Yifu's knees were still pressed against the cold ground, the dull pain coming from his leg bones being washed away by a huge shock, leaving only a vague remnant.

"Unconditional surrender?"

"Strip to the waist and bind hands?"

"Lead a sheep and hold jade in the mouth?"

His lips trembled, his withered face was bloodless, and the originally clear eyeballs were now turbid as if covered with a layer of dust.

He chewed repeatedly on the conditions Chen Yan had just thrown out; every word was like a red-hot branding iron, burning until his heart tightened.

Only then did he slowly recover from the sharp pain and shock, his whole body as if drained of all strength, the cold sweat on his back soaking his inner shirt until it was icy cold, yet he didn't feel the cold at all.

His gaze struggled to cross the Zhou army generals on the left and right, landing on the figure in the main seat wearing black military uniform with a playful expression, and the accumulated blood rushed to the top of his head.

"Grand General Chen, isn't this a bit too bullying?!"

Li Yifu's hoarse voice cracked, struggling to support his body, but his knees were too soft to obey, and he could only awkwardly half-kneel and half-prostrate.

Each and every one of these was undoubtedly naked humiliation!

"Too much?"

"Hahahaha!"

Chen Yan raised his brows, the corner of his mouth first curling into an extremely faint arc, then he laughed out loud, the laughter gradually magnifying, carrying undisguised playfulness in the mockery.

His laughter subsided slightly, his fingertips tapping rhythmically on the desk in front of him, his gaze like a blade quenched in ice, stabbing straight at Li Yifu on the ground, "Who told you and your master that you have no room for choice?"

Between the lines was unspeakable contempt.

Success or failure is the eternal truth of this world...

The loser has no qualifications to bargain!

Yuwen Ze stepped forward half a step, the black military boots grinding heavily on the ground, splashing up fine dust, the coldness in his voice almost freezing the air: "On the day your Tuyuhun set foot on our Great Zhou's land, you should have thought of this day!"

When he was ordered to go to the Tuyuhun's previous station to count the property they looted, Yuwen Ze witnessed with his own eyes the tragic state of the land of the Great Zhou commoners who had been ravaged.

Commoners were killed, villages were burned, property was looted...

And they still have the nerve to talk about being too bullying?

Ridiculous to the extreme!

Chen Yan slowly raised his right hand, his slender fingers distinct, holding up three in the tent, his fingertips facing the candlelight, word by word: "Now there are only three paths before you..."

He bent the first finger: "Either continue to break out, fight to the death, and perish together!"

The second finger bent along with it: "Either hold the city to the death and starve to death in Fouhan City!"

When the last finger fell, his eyes suddenly turned fierce: "Or accept my conditions..."

Li Yifu's hair in front of his forehead stuck to his sweaty forehead, his jawline taut, his whole face full of bitterness, looking at Chen Yan, asking: "Grand General Chen, is there no room for negotiation at all?"

Saying there were three options, in reality, none could be chosen...

It was nothing more than choosing between dying directly and dying chronically!

Break out?

They had been trapped in Fouhan City for so long, having neither morale nor energy, and the Zhou army was waiting in full battle array with superior numbers; what could they use to fight?

Holding the city to the death was also unrealistic.

Once the soldiers were starving, mutiny was inevitable, and the Crown Prince would likely be tied up and offered to surrender in exchange for a way to live.

As for the last one, it was delivering himself into the hands of the Zhou army, to be manipulated by others...

"None!" Chen Yan didn't pause at all, spitting out two words unhurriedly.

As soon as those two cold words fell, the silence in the tent pressed on Li Yifu's heart like a heavy stone.

He froze in place for a moment, suddenly as if drained of the last bit of cowardice, his withered chest suddenly straightened, and his originally shrinking spine became straight.

His hair swayed slightly with the movement, the pleading in his eyes replaced by a ruthless, desperate determination, his hoarse voice suddenly rising, carrying the decisiveness of burning the boats: "Grand General Chen, can you really represent the Zhou Kingdom and go to full-scale war with our Tuyuhun!"

Then, he crawled forward half a step on his knees, the sharp pain from his knees becoming the ignition point, his voice filled with questioning: "If my Crown Prince really has any trouble here, can you bear this responsibility!"

At that moment, Li Yifu chose to break the pot...

He didn't believe that such a young brat could make decisions for the Zhou Kingdom, or for Yuwen Hu!

He was betting that this Zhou army main general wouldn't dare to let the Crown Prince die here and provoke a full-scale war between the two countries...

After all, once the Zhou Kingdom fell into the quagmire of full-scale war, the Qi Kingdom in the east would be restless.

Hearing this, Chen Yan first laughed lowly.

That laughter carried playfulness and mockery, exceptionally clear in the tent.

The smile spread from the corners of his eyes and brows, but didn't reach his eyes, instead making those eyes appear increasingly unfathomable.

Then, he unhurriedly picked up the blue porcelain tea bowl on the desk.

His fingertips rubbed the cold edge of the bowl, bringing it to his lips to sip, the bitterness of the tea seeming to make his smile deepen.

When he put down the tea bowl, the porcelain cup touched the wooden desk, making a light sound, just right to interrupt Li Yifu's remaining momentum.

"You don't need to bluff..."

Chen Yan looked at Li Yifu on the ground, his tone flat but every word piercing the heart, "Six or seven out of ten of the Tuyuhun's most elite troops are already trapped in the city; who knows who is afraid to fight?"

Are you really acting in a TV drama?

Six thousand-plus cavalrymen were trapped in Fouhan; could the Tuyuhun easily pull out hundreds of thousands of iron cavalry from their country?

What does the Tuyuhun have to go to full-scale war?

"You... this..."

Li Yifu, who had been spoken to the point, was stunned and speechless, his eyes dim, as if his last hope had also been shattered.

Chen Yan's gaze moved away from Li Yifu's pale face, turning to You Xian, who was standing on one side of the tent, his fingertips tapping lightly on the tea bowl, ordering: "You Xian, take him to tour our granary, then release him to send a letter to Xiahou Shun!"

"Obey the order!"

You Xian replied in a deep voice, then walked up to Li Yifu in big strides.

He looked down at Old Li, who was still paralyzed on the ground, his face expressionless, only extending his right hand to make a "please" gesture, his voice steady and waveless: "Envoy Li, please this way!"

The sun was poisonous, baking the land outside the Fouhan City gate, causing white heat waves to rise.

The granary stood in the center of an open space, the yellow earth-rammed walls reaching several zhang high, the armored soldiers guarding the entrance hanging sharp blades at their waists, their expressions solemn.

Li Yifu was carried by two embroidered-attire envoys wearing tight-fitting clothes, one on each side holding his arms.

The sharp pain in his knees became increasingly piercing with every step of dragging, cold sweat dripping down his temples, soaking the clothes on his shoulders.

"Why does Chen Yan want me to see their granary?"

Li Yifu staggered, his gaze crossing the shoulders of the envoys and You Xian's back, staring fixedly at the tightly closed granary gate, his heart filled with surging confusion.

He couldn't understand Chen Yan's intention...

"Here."

You Xian stepped forward and pushed open the heavy wooden granary door, a muffled "creak" cutting through the afternoon dryness.

He stood sideways by the door, raised his chin at Old Li, his tone flat: "Envoy Li, take a good look..."

The two embroidered-attire envoys carried Li Yifu into the granary, and a coolness mixed with wheat fragrance and dry dust rushed toward his face, instantly dispelling the heat on his body.

Li Yifu subconsciously narrowed his eyes. After his vision adapted to the dimness in the granary, the scene before him made him gasp, a short exclamation squeezing out of his throat: "So... so much?!"

"Your Zhou army has actually stockpiled so much grain and fodder?!"

Only to see that from the ground to the roof, the granary was full of neatly stacked grain and fodder piles.

The scent of wheat straw and millet was suffocatingly rich, and one "grain mountain" after another spread out, almost reaching the end of sight.

His hands trembled slightly, his turbid eyeballs widened, filled with astonishment and incredulity.

Such a volume of grain and fodder was enough to support a large army for several months.

The key was that this was only one of the Zhou army's granaries...

"My Lord controls the military and political affairs of He, Wei, and Shan three states..."

You Xian leaned over, casually grabbing a handful of millet from a nearby grain pile, the golden grains rolling rustlingly in his palm.

He rubbed the grain lightly, his fingertips grinding over the plump grains, suddenly laughing lowly, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalant showing off: "Therefore, the grain from the three states has been transported here continuously!"

After saying this, he raised his hand and scattered the grain in his palm back onto the grain pile, making a "rustling" sound, then as if suddenly remembering something, turned to look at Li Yifu, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking arc: "Oh right, your allies, the Tongtian Society, also provided quite a bit..."

Between the lines, it was full of deep meaning.

One had to know that that was the grain and fodder the Tongtian Society had prepared to defend the city for half a year...

"The Tongtian Society is truly something that fails more than it succeeds!"

Li Yifu heard this, his fingernails almost embedding into his palms, cursing in his heart.

He suddenly came to his senses, his gaze falling again on the continuous grain mountains before him.

His Adam's apple couldn't control itself and bobbed heavily, his parched lips pursed into a straight line, subconsciously swallowing his saliva.

If only so much grain and fodder were theirs...

They hadn't had a full meal for a long time!

In Fouhan City.

Inside the Prefect's Mansion.

The heat was blocked outside by the heavy wooden windows, but it couldn't block the irritability permeating the air.

Xiahou Shun leaned on the sitting couch covered with animal skins, his eyes closed, his brows slightly furrowed, his fingertips unconsciously tapping on the armrest, clearly having no sleepiness at all.

"Crown Prince, Li Yifu is back!" Suhe Gui lifted the curtain and entered, his voice carrying hard-to-conceal urgency.

Xiahou Shun suddenly opened his eyes, the sleepiness instantly fading from his pupils, sitting up straight, his tone filled with urging: "Quickly call him in!"

Before the words had faded, two Tuyuhun soldiers helped Li Yifu in.

Li Yifu's figure staggered, the pain in his knees making him wince with every move.

His white hair stuck messily to his face, his whole person revealing a sense of sorry state and depression.

Seeing the Crown Prince on the sitting couch, he struggled to bow and salute, but only stood firm after being helped by the soldiers, his voice hoarse: "See the Crown Prince!"

Xiahou Shun had no intention of paying attention to the salute, ignoring Li Yifu's injuries, leaning forward, his eyes filled with anxiety, his tone urgent and almost carrying a trembling sound: "How is the situation?"

"Did Chen Yan agree to peace talks?"

Before the words had faded, the generals Suhe Gui, Niluozhou, and others standing on both sides also immediately held their breath.

All gazes "swished" and focused on Li Yifu.

Mixed with expectation and unease, even the air seemed to solidify a bit.

Li Yifu was helped by the soldiers, his center of gravity not yet stable, his mouth first drooping, squeezing out a bitter smile, replying irrelevantly: "The Zhou army's grain is piled like a mountain, and holding on for a few more months is not a problem..."

"Who asked you about this?"

Xiahou Shun's brows knitted violently, his mouth curling in impatience, his tone filled with irritability: "What peace talk conditions did Chen Yan propose?"

What did the Zhou army's grain and fodder have to do with them?

"Wait!"

As soon as the words came out, this Tuyuhun Crown Prince suddenly realized something, widened his eyes, and said in astonishment: "His grain and fodder are still sufficient, doesn't that mean...?!"

At that moment, Xiahou Shun understood Li Yifu's subtext...

The Zhou army with sufficient grain and fodder didn't need peace talks at all; the initiative was in Chen Yan's hands.

And looking at his side, they were already at the end of their rope...

Li Yifu sighed heavily, his breath laden with a bellyful of humiliation and despair, his very voice sounding drained: "Chen Yan says he only accepts unconditional surrender!"

"What?!" Xiahou Shun slapped the armrest of the sitting couch, his face instantly turning red.

Li Yifu didn't dare to raise his head, his voice pressing lower: "Also requires us to strip to the waist, bind our hands, lead a sheep, and hold jade in our mouths!"

Then, he added another sentence, his tone filled with absurd bitterness: "He considered that we don't have sheepskins in the city, so he gave us quite a few sheepskins..."

That sheepskin was given to Li Yifu by You Xian before leaving the Zhou army camp...

After all, Fouhan City was almost out of grain, so where would they find any sheepskins?

So it could only be provided as a friendly gesture.

"Bastard!"

"That little brat Chen Yan is simply bullying too much!"

"Not only demanding unconditional surrender, but also humiliating us like this!"

Suhe Gui was so angry he stamped his foot hard on the ground, the blue bricks beneath his feet seeming to tremble.

He cursed with a red face and thick neck, his fists clenched until they creaked,

"Crown Prince, let's fight the Zhou army!"

Beside him, Nilu Zhou's face was equally ashen, his eyes burning with rage. He took a step forward, cupped his fists heavily toward Xiahou Shun, and spoke in a voice raspy with fury: "My Tuyuhun soldiers would rather die in battle than suffer such a humiliating disgrace!"

This was stepping on the Tuyuhun's face and rubbing it back and forth...

Wanting to make them the laughingstock of the world!

A thousand times, ten thousand times more hateful than Chen Hu, the Old Pillar of State, who severely damaged their national power and military strength that year!

This pair of grandfather and grandson could be called their Tuyuhun's nemesis!

"Fight?"

Xiahou Shun shook his head, full of bitterness and self-mockery, slowly raising his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the faces full of anger, finally landing on Niluozhou, who was requesting to fight, his tone tired and helpless: "What do we have to fight the Zhou army with?"

When they were just trapped in Fouhan City, the breakout was easily beaten back by the Zhou army...

Now they are exhausted and morale is low; going to fight hard again, nine times out of ten, the whole army will be wiped out, and everyone will be buried here!

Niluozhou's anger seemed to be extinguished by a basin of cold water, instantly going silent, his hands clenching his fists slowly loosening, his face filled with confusion and unwillingness, muttering: "Then what do we do?"

"We can't really unconditionally surrender, can we?"

It was obvious that anger was anger, but he also knew the situation he was in...

There wasn't even one percent chance of winning.

Xiahou Shun suddenly stood up, the animal skin sitting couch swaying slightly, standing with his hands behind his back, his gaze crossing everyone to look at the sky outside the window, his eyes incomparably deep, saying in a deep voice: "Endure a moment of humiliation, to plan for the future!"

"Crown Prince, think twice!" Niluozhou immediately stepped forward, his voice filled with urgency.

"What we should do right now is escape!"

"Only by preserving our effective strength can we make a comeback!"

Xiahou Shun smiled enigmatically, his fingertips behind his back rubbing lightly, and opened his mouth.

After a pause, he added meaningfully: "A moment of humiliation, what is there that cannot be endured?"

"Crown Prince, do you mean to say, to play along with Chen Yan and the Zhou army?"

Niluozhou seemed to hear the subtext, thought for a moment, and asked tentatively: "Fake surrender?"

"Yes!"

Xiahou Shun clenched his fists, nodded heavily, and playfully said: "As long as we escape, return to the country, and rest for a while, it's not like we can't fight back..."

Undoubtedly, this Tuyuhun Crown Prince was preparing to adopt the strategy of fake surrender...

He couldn't make the same mistake a second time!

As long as they were out of this prison of Fouhan, if they couldn't win, they could run; they could completely kite the Zhou army to death!

"The strategy is a good strategy!"

Hearing this, he was stunned, then a flash of realization appeared in his eyes, nodding slowly, but as if thinking of something else, his brows knitted again, looking at Xiahou Shun with a face full of worry, his voice lowering: "But Crown Prince, what about your reputation?"

"History is always written by the victors!"

Xiahou Shun heard this, his face showing no sign of caring, instead snorting lightly, his wide sleeves flicking backward casually, bringing up a breeze.

He stood with his head held high, looking into the distance, as if he had already pierced through this predicament, his eyes becoming increasingly sharp: "As long as we win in the end, there will be great scholars to argue the scriptures for me; these are just enduring humiliation for a greater cause, and will be praised by the world..." ===== CHAPTER 418 =====