Chapter 684: Kuai Tong, a talented person under Wei Bao’s command!

Chapter 684: Kuai Tong, a talented person under Wei Bao’s command!

"Your Majesty, I suggest that we withdraw our troops." Another general expressed a different opinion. "Our army suffered heavy losses in this battle. Although we have defended Dongjiao County, the current situation is turbulent. Gaoyao needs to deal with multiple battles at the same time, and its manpower is bound to be tight. We might as well avoid the enemy's edge for the time being, wait and see, and wait for the right time to send troops. This is the best strategy."

For a moment, there were many different opinions in the meeting room, and various opinions were intertwined, making people dizzy. Wei Bao sat on the throne, frowning, and was extremely anxious. He knew that every suggestion had its rationality, but it was difficult to decide which one to adopt.

At this moment, a voice that was completely different from everyone else's opinion suddenly came from the hall: "Your Majesty, I suggest that we negotiate peace!"

This voice was like a thunderclap in the ground, exploding in the originally noisy hall, causing the entire hall to fall into a brief silence. Everyone looked in astonishment in the direction where the voice came from. No one expected that at this critical moment, someone would actually propose such a suggestion for peace.

You know, before this, whether it was the party advocating the removal of Zhao Shuo, the party insisting on continuing to defend, or the party advocating attack, although their opinions were different, they at least had one thing in common, that is, to insist on fighting to the end and never surrender easily.

However, peace talks meant surrender in disguise, which was just to succumb to the enemy while retaining a certain level of strength. This proposal would undoubtedly put the party at a disadvantage, and it would also depend on what conditions the other party would propose.

At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on the speaker, who was none other than Kuai Tong. After hearing what Kuai Tong said, Wei Bao's face turned ugly. He frowned slightly and asked bluntly, "Kuai Tong, do you know what you are talking about?"

Kuai Tong, a little-known name, looms in the long river of history. His reputation is not loud, but his strategy and talent should not be underestimated.

In the original historical records, Kuai Tong was known mainly because he advised Han Xin to establish himself as king. However, this is only part of his many achievements. In fact, even in the late Qin and early Han dynasties when many heroes emerged, Kuai Tong's ability alone would definitely rank among the top ten in terms of strategic ability.

At the beginning of the Chu-Han War, Kuai Tong showed extraordinary wisdom. Without using any soldiers, he helped the Chu general Wu Chen capture more than 30 cities in the Yan and Zhao regions, allowing Wu Chen to be crowned the King of Zhao. After that, Kuai Tong followed Han Xin and gave him advice. In the battle between Han Xin and the Qi army, Kuai Tong's strategy played a key role, and finally defeated the Qi army, and Han Xin was named the King of Qi.

Kuai Tong's wisdom did not stop there. He knew Han Xin's strength and ambition, so he persuaded Han Xin to establish himself as king. Unfortunately, Han Xin did not accept his advice. Seeing this, Kuai Tong pretended to be crazy to avoid trouble.

Later, Han Xin and Chen Xi rebelled and were eventually killed. Because Kuai Tong had advised Han Xin, Liu Bang recalled him from Qi and wanted to cook him to death. Facing the life-and-death situation, Kuai Tong was not afraid. He argued: "Each of us serves his own master. At that time, I only knew to be loyal to Han Xin and did not know you, Emperor Gaozu. Besides, when so many heroes were fighting for the throne in the Central Plains, could we kill all the dissidents?" After hearing this, Liu Bang felt that what Kuai Tong said made sense, so he pardoned him.

Kuai Tong, one of the few strategists in history who had a happy ending, had a life full of drama and legend. He was eventually appointed as the Prime Minister of Qi by Cao Shen, who summoned the old Confucian scholars of Qi and treated Kuai Tong as a distinguished guest, which was undoubtedly a high recognition of his talent and wisdom.

When he was under Han Xin's command, Kuai Tong was Han Xin's chief counselor, and many of his strategies played a vital role in Han Xin's success. However, due to the emergence of Gao Yao, the situation in the whole world changed dramatically. King Huai of Chu died early, and Xiang Yu was expelled from Kuaiji by Gao Yao, and warlords in various places began to fight endlessly.

In this chaotic world, Kuai Tong accidentally joined Wei Bao's army. Although he was not a local, he was able to participate in Wei Bao's meetings with his intelligence. However, his shocking speech caused dissatisfaction among many people, even Wei Bao himself was quite dissatisfied with him.

Facing the doubts and dissatisfaction of the crowd, Kuai Tong seemed unusually calm and showed no sign of being anxious. He seemed to be confident in his own views.

"Your Majesty, please think carefully. If you don't want to continue to lose a large number of troops, then wouldn't it be a wise move to negotiate peace with Gao Yao?" Kuai Tong repeated slowly, his voice revealing a kind of persistence and confidence.

After hearing what Kuai Tong said, Wei Bao's face darkened and he snorted coldly: "Humph, this is simply nonsense! You're going to give up Jiaodong County after the peace talks? If you have such a plan, why not just withdraw your troops? Why bother to negotiate peace? I think some people may have already had second thoughts and want to betray the king!"

Before Wei Bao finished speaking, someone immediately stood up to refute Kuai Tong's point of view. This person spoke fiercely and accused Kuai Tong bluntly: "You are obviously speaking for Gao Yao. Are you so impatient to surrender?"

Facing such accusations, Kuai Tong seemed unusually calm. He smiled and responded calmly: "Every word I said is true. It is true that withdrawing troops does mean giving up Dongjiao County, but if we take the initiative to negotiate peace and use Dongjiao County as a condition for peace, we can not only avoid more casualties, but also form an alliance with Gaoyao and sign a treaty. In this way, we can not only keep Dongjiao County, but also gain a powerful ally. Why not do it?"

The same words, said in reverse, everyone in the hall was slightly stunned. For a moment, they were a little confused by Kuai Tong's words. The key point was that after thinking carefully, they found that Kuai Tong's words did make some sense.

"Conclude an alliance? Wouldn't that mean that I would betray my allies and be laughed at by the world?" Wei Bao said suspiciously, his brows furrowed tightly, as if he was full of doubts and concerns about this proposal. After all, if he really formed an alliance with Gao Yao, it would mean that he would betray Xiang Yu, Wang Ben and Wu Rui, which would undoubtedly be an extremely difficult decision.

"Your Majesty, the original strategy has now completely failed." Kuai Tong said without disguising, his tone serious and earnest, "The Chu army is waiting to see what happens, Wang Ben is guarding Hanzhong and not taking any action. And Wu Rui has directly abandoned our army and focused all his attention on Jiujiang, turning a blind eye to our predicament. I'm afraid that the current alliance of princes has long existed in name only!"