Chapter 610 Public Trial of Zhong Li

Chapter 610 Public Trial of Zhong Li

In the early morning of the next day, Li Tai woke up from his camp and looked at the enemy again. There was no trace of the enemy in his field of vision. The sentries arranged to be on guard outside the camp also came to report that the enemy had led his troops eastward last night.

Li Tai was quite surprised when he learned this. Before going to bed last night, he had rehearsed several times what military formation changes he would make during the next day's battle, but he did not expect that the enemy would not be seen the next day.

While he sent his scouts to explore the enemy's situation further away, he also ordered the soldiers to break camp and move forward after breakfast.

The scouts found traces of the enemy more than 30 miles away to the east. Their army continued to march eastward, and the size of the march did not decrease significantly. This basically ruled out the possibility of dividing the troops into an ambush. It seemed that they were really withdrawing their troops and leaving Mianbei. area.

The enemy took the initiative to withdraw, which was naturally good news for Li Tai. As for Murong Shaozong's reason for withdrawing his troops, it was probably not because Li Tai had people shout out that he would become a water ghost, but because he discovered that the situation in Mianbei was different from his previous judgment.

Li Tai noticed that the baggage carried by Murong Shaozong's army was not much, which further supported his previous guess that his army entered Mianbei to plunder supplies rather than occupy territory for a long time.

A good general should be good at utilizing and creating opportunities that are beneficial to himself, but some situations cannot be changed by manpower. When faced with unfavorable situations, giving up stop loss in a timely manner is also a basic quality of an excellent general.

Li Tai was not arrogant in thinking that he could defeat Murong Shaozong in a field battle without any suspense, but he also proved with his performance in yesterday's battle that he was not a soft persimmon. Even if Murong Shaozong could win the final victory, he would still have to do it. Pay a heavy price.

This situation obviously did not meet Murong Shaozong's previous planning expectations. It would be a wise choice to temporarily evacuate Mianbei and wait for a better time.

Of course, these are just Li Tai's own speculations. He is not sure whether this is the real situation. In any case, he must maintain his previous plan and lead his troops to station in Fangcheng.

Two days later, Li Tai finally led his troops to Fangcheng, and immediately organized soldiers and civilians to repair and strengthen the city's defenses.

At the same time, he did not give up investigating the whereabouts of Murong Shaozong's men. However, as the distance between them became longer, the efficiency of the scout investigation also decreased. He could only confirm that Murong Shaozong's main force seemed to be heading south. If they moved, they should have given up this military operation against Mianbei.

It seemed that the crisis in Mianbei was over, but Li Tai couldn't feel relaxed. He knew that once he was targeted by such an experienced and patient hero in troubled times, danger would always be with him. A short period of peace did not mean eternal safety. As long as he was slightly lax, or Murong Shaozong was elsewhere. As the power increases, the next round of crisis will come at any time.

With such a bloodthirsty beast roaming around, if you want to ensure safety, you can only cheer up and reserve enough resilience. And this means that if Murong Shaozong cannot be solved once and for all, Li Tai will not dare to devote himself to other planning, and he will definitely be constrained in doing things.

This is naturally unacceptable to Li Tai. Even in ordinary times, he has to say that there is no room for others to snore on the side of the bed. What's more, Li Tai knows that the next few years will be the biggest change in the situation in Nanliang, especially Jianghan. At this time, he was about to devote himself wholeheartedly to it and do his best to get the maximum benefit from it. How could he allow himself to be in such an uncertain environment and just sit back and watch the great opportunity pass!

Perhaps in Murong Shaozong's view, the troops entering Mianbei this time was just an ordinary test. Since Mianbei is not a good target for plunder for the time being, they should go elsewhere.

However, his behavior hurt Li Tai's core plans and interests, and he directly regarded him as a life-and-death enemy and refused to simply change the story.

Li Tai garrisoned Fangcheng for another ten days. Murong Shaozong did not lead his troops to kill another carbine. The main force seemed to have wandered into Yuzhou. From the rear of Mianbei, good news came frequently. Yang Zhong led his troops to capture Liu Zhongli, and then moved to fight in Suilu. Wherever his troops pointed, they were invincible.

After learning that Liu Zhongli had been defeated and captured, he originally arranged for the generals on all sides and the local tycoons to surrender to Yang Zhongxian City. The entire Handong region encountered little fierce resistance, and gradually Be pocketed.

After confirming that the crisis was temporarily resolved, Li Tai left two thousand troops in Fangcheng and stationed his general Shi Jing in Fangcheng. He led other soldiers back to Rangcheng, preparing to fully take over the newly occupied areas in eastern Han Dynasty.

When Li Tai returned to Rangcheng, Yang Zhongyin's troops returned from Sui County and sent Liu Zhongli and other important captives and surrenders back to Jingzhou.

"Congratulations to Yang Kaifu, you will be famous all over the world after this battle!"

Li Tai went to meet Yang Zhong outside the city in person. After meeting each other, he stepped forward and said with a smile.

The results of Yang Zhong's attack were brilliant, and the territory captured was almost second only to the time when Wang Sizheng's troops entered Henan. Li Tai's capture of Hanzhong was considered a recovery, but taking Handong this time was an out-and-out expansion of new territory!

Yang Zhong naturally knew the weight of this series of achievements. When he heard what Li Tai said, he, who was usually taciturn, now clasped his fists at Li Tai and said: "The victory in this battle depends entirely on the manager's careful planning and instructions. The ability of a general to be loyal can be replaced, but the general’s grand plans and decisions are truly irreplaceable.

After exchanging compliments with each other, they waited until the troops were stationed in the military camp outside the city before they entered the camp together to review the personnel gains.

The biggest gain this time was naturally the vast territory of Eastern Han Dynasty. Among them, the important cities of Jingling, Anlu and Suijun were all taken over by Cui Qian's detachment who stayed in Jingzhou. However, in order to avoid the conflict between the soldiers and the people in the newly occupied areas, , the officials and powerful men who had surrendered before still stayed in various cities to coordinate defense.

When Li Tai took charge of Jingzhou before, he brought many of his disciples with him. However, since he was mainly focused on managing the internal affairs of Jingzhou, many of his disciples were idle in Rangcheng. But now, as the territory under control has increased sharply, these generals have also been mobilized one after another, each stationed in a city.

The reception, management, and final integration of a new territory is a long and systematic process, but there is no need to rush it. After looking through the maps and books presented by each of the captured states and counties, Li Taicai began to summon the prisoners and surrenderers.

The first person to meet here is naturally Liu Zhongli, a famous general in Nanliang. However, Liu Zhongli was injured and was taken by Yang Zhong to fight in the mainland without proper treatment and recuperation. Now he cannot even act independently. , had to be carried into the tent on a stretcher.

Li Tai stood up from the tent and looked at Liu Zhongli, who was carried into the tent by the armored soldiers, with curiosity in his eyes.

Liu Zhongli was a little depressed, his face was pale, and he looked very sick. After learning that he was going to meet the Jingzhou general, he reluctantly cheered up. When he saw Li Tai after entering the tent, his eyes were a little stiff, and he stared at him for a long time. Soldier Jia put him on the mat and accidentally touched the arrow wound on his back. Then he gasped in pain and looked away.

"I have admired the name of Marquis Liu for a long time, and I am finally lucky enough to see him today. The furnishings in the tent are simple and not a luxurious banquet. Please forgive me, Marquis Liu."

Li Tai saw that Liu Zhongli had difficulty in moving and behaving, so he took the lead in nodding to him and saying with a smile.

Seeing that Li Tai's attitude was quite friendly, Liu Zhongli endured the pain and bowed before him and said: "A defeated general deserves to be called by his old name. Li Dadu is a famous official in the Western Kingdom, and he is also famous for some time. Looking at the appearance and style of the governor, he is really as majestic as a god." Although I am inevitably ashamed to be defeated by such a heroic figure, I also know that defeat is inevitable and there is nothing I can do about it.”

Li Tai was quite happy to receive such praise and praise from the enemy's famous general, but when he thought that this guy was not just defeated at his own hands, but that Hou Jing might have said the same thing when he surrendered in Jiankang last time, the happiness in his heart was suddenly halved.

However, he still patiently asked about the condition of Liu Zhongli's injury, and ordered the doctor to diagnose and treat him. After confirming that Liu Zhongli's injury was not life-threatening, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It should be noted that Liu Zhongli is not a simple prisoner. He has been based in Yong and Si Mansion for many years and has great influence between Jiang and Han. It is also very important to make good use of him to win over and appease the people in the new territory.

Seeing that Li Tai was outstanding in style, not an ordinary rude martial artist, and had a kind attitude towards himself, Liu Zhongli, who became a prisoner, calmed down a little, and then said with emotion: "Li Da Du Ren With both bravery and courage, it is also a good fortune for the people of Lu to have such a good leader. The new kindness is so great that the people are inevitably shocked and doubtful. Although a defeated general has brought humiliation to himself, he is still willing to serve as the commander-in-chief. Let the public show their strength and dedication!”

When Li Tai heard Liu Zhongli's words, the smile on his face became more kind: "Then I want to hear what good plan Liu Hou will give me?"

"I don't dare to claim to be good. As long as it can help harmonize the relationship between the north and the south, then my wish is enough."

Liu Zhongli first humbled himself, and then sighed again: "I haven't seen much of the personnel under the governor, but when I followed the army in, I saw that the governor was greedy and took bribes, which disturbed the sentiments of the soldiers..."

While he was speaking, he glanced at Yang Zhong, who was sitting at the other table. After hearing this, Yang Zhong's face suddenly darkened, and he glared at Liu Zhongli with fierce eyes.

Li Tai was overjoyed when he saw this. He didn't expect that Liu Zhongli could not hold back so quickly and directly complained to him about Yang Zhong, which showed the deep resentment towards Yang Zhong in his heart.

But this matter is not really a problem. The Western Wei Dynasty was poor, so whoever said that their military discipline was strict is nonsense. The Bafu itself did not have a sound salary and reward system, and the soldiers relied entirely on plundering materials during the war to support their families.

Because Li Tai's troops were provided with salaries and rewards, there were regulations prohibiting private looting of loot during the war. However, Yang Zhong's troops did not have any troops, so it was still the old habit of the town soldiers.

Of course Li Tai would not hold Yang Zhong accountable for this, and would even push back when Daxingtai asked, which would make Liu Zhongli a prisoner even less satisfied.

He saw that Liu Zhongli was a little lost and confused about his position because of his amiable attitude, so the smile on his face softened a bit, and he looked at Liu Zhongli and said with a smile: "My country uses soldiers to control the people. There is a method, or it is different from the Liang method, which is not known to Liuhou. Now that he has entered the country, I still hope that Liuhou can get used to this method as soon as possible, which will be beneficial to others and himself. "

Seeing Li Tai's attitude change, Liu Zhongli quickly nodded in agreement and did not dare to speak casually again.

"As for what Marquis Liu said about his willingness to help people in the north and south to harmonize, such intentions can indeed be said to be kind and worthy of Lu Shimin's support and obedience to you in the past. As for how to help, I don't know Marquis Liu's heart. There is no plan, but the Jingzhou General Administration has already made a plan."

Li Tai looked at Liu Zhongli again and said, he has always been a strong person, and now even if he can use Liu Zhongli, he still has his own methods, so naturally he will not be manipulated by such a prisoner.

After Liu Zhongli heard this, he quickly expressed his position: "The newly surrendered people have nothing to boast about. I am really grateful to be treated favorably by Governor Li, but I can't deny that I can help things!"

"In that case, I would like to thank Liuhou for his righteousness. This method does not require exerting Liuhou's physical strength, but it will cause some emotional embarrassment. Let Liuhou know in advance that it is just a matter of necessity, and I am not intentionally making things difficult or humiliating. I also hope Liu Hou can look away and not take other people’s words seriously.”

Hearing what Li Tai said, Liu Zhongli only said that he was being polite. Now that he had lost his place and became a prisoner, his life's circumstances had reached rock bottom. What kind of embarrassment could he not accept? It seems that Li Tai has no intention of putting himself to death. If it can help him integrate into his new life in the Western Wei Dynasty, anything is worth trying.

But Liu Zhongli still underestimated the danger of the human heart. He never dreamed that he would face the darkest moment of his life in the next period of time. The amiable and handsome Governor Li in front of him will personally push him into an abyss where life is worse than death!

Now that the parties concerned had agreed, Li Tai ordered the state government to start actively preparing for the first united front activity after the capture of Handong. The name of the activity was called the public trial of Liu Zhongli!

The content of the activity is also very simple, that is, to find people who know Liu Zhongli's misdeeds among the captives and surrendered people in the east of the Han Dynasty, and let them tell the story of Liu Zhongli's establishment as King Kangqin in detail, so that the people can know that Jiangnan is now How did this catastrophe come about, and how did these diligent kings led by Liu Zhongli ignore the safety of their father and tolerate the traitor!

In this world, the most powerful thing is the truth. In order for the people in Eastern Han Dynasty to accept the fact of being ruled by the Western Wei Dynasty as soon as possible, the influence of the old authority in their minds must be completely and resolutely eliminated.

Li Tai doesn't even need to discredit him. As long as the facts are presented, the public can understand how these high-ranking Nanliang dignitaries have lost their power, humiliated the country, and lost all ethics and morality!