Vol 2 Chapter 2766: Great civil strife, quelling the rebellion at the speed of light

Vol 2 Chapter 2766: Great civil strife, quelling the rebellion at the speed of light

Chapter 2762: Great civil strife, counterinsurgency at the speed of light

“The soldiers and civilians in Daxing City all heard that Da Qin’s unification of the world was expected by everyone and was the general trend.

But the Sui King Yang Guang was still obsessed with power. In order to resist the heavenly soldiers, he did not hesitate to issue an order to relieve the Qiang and return the seven counties of Haizhou to the Qiang people in exchange for their support.

However, the law of nature is clear, and evil will never prevail against good. Three days ago, our Qin heavenly troops defeated the 270,000 Sui, Tuqiang and Tuqiang coalition forces at the foot of the Buffalo Mountain, and will return to the army in the near future.

Now Daxing is an isolated city, and it will only be a matter of time before the city is destroyed. If you don’t want to be infamous for thousands of years with Yang Guang, you should abandon the darkness and turn to the light as soon as possible. I, the Qin Dynasty, are magnanimous and will not hold you jointly and severally responsible..."

Nearly a thousand Qin troops held trumpets and shouted in unison in the direction of Daxing City, repeating the same words to persuade them to surrender.

Since Li Jing led his army to Haizhou, Hu Luguang sent people to shout like this every day, firstly to publicize Yang Guang's evil deeds, and secondly to undermine the resistance of the Daxing defenders.

 The effect of shouting like this was very good at first. After learning that Yang Guang had launched the order to relieve the Qiang, the Daxing defenders experienced varying degrees of turmoil.

However, Yang Guang personally stood up to "refute the rumors" at this time. Not only did he refuse to admit that the Jie Qiang Order was true, he even said that this was a slander against him by the Qin army, and his purpose was to undermine the morale of the defenders.

Daxing City was completely surrounded by the Qin army. When the authenticity could not be verified, the soldiers and civilians took into account Yang Guang's past actions and various policies that benefited the people in terms of governing morale, so the vast majority of people still chose to trust him and not believe him. The always wise King of Sui would commit such a notorious act, but instead accused the Qin army of being despicable and resorting to unscrupulous means to achieve their goals.

Although Yang Guang relied on his personal prestige to temporarily stabilize the army and people of Daxing, Hu Luguang's public opinion war has just begun.

The soldiers and civilians in Daxing City did not believe what the soldiers of the Qin Army shouted, but do you still believe what the people of the Sui Kingdom shouted?

Hu Luguang ordered people to find more than 2,000 local people around Daxing and Jincheng. After telling them what Yang Guang had done, he asked them to shout after the soldiers finished shouting, and promised to shout for one day. Reward a hundred copper coins.

Liangzhou people are still very simple. After Yang Guang lifted the ban on the Qiang people, they were all filled with indignation. Some even offered to help without any reward, but they were rejected by Hu Luguang. After all, Daqin did not lack the money.

Next, the Qin army's daily pattern of persuading surrender became that the Qin soldiers shouted first. After shouting for about an hour, they were basically tired of shouting, and then the common people around Daxing took over the shouts from the soldiers.

Ordinary people do not have a unified way of persuading surrender. They just shout whatever comes to mind, such as:

"My eldest nephew, we Liangzhou people have been fighting with the Qiang people for more than two hundred years. Countless people have died for more than ten generations. We finally subdued the Qiang people, but the turtle grandson actually wants to return Haizhou to the Qiang people. "

“Nephew, your father, your father, and your brother all died at the hands of the Qiang people, but Yang Guang wants to release the Qiang people. This is a betrayal of all of us Xiliang people.”

"Brother, Haizhou's 270,000-strong army has been defeated. You can't defend it. My sister-in-law just gave birth to a nephew. You can't be stupid."

“Yang Guang, we Xiliang people are upright and upright, how could a traitor like you come out? If Mr. Yang Jian finds out, he will definitely die in peace…”

Although the common people's words for persuading surrender are not uniform, they can shout anything, and they have no technical content, but they are more genuine and full of emotions, which can move people's hearts even more.

The military morale of the Daxing garrison fluctuated again, forcing Yang Guang to once again stand up to refute the rumors, and denounced the people outside the city as having been bribed by the Qin army. He then directly implemented public opinion control, which once again stabilized the morale of the soldiers and civilians in Daxing City. morale.

 “Folks, dinner is ready.”

Following the shouts of a Qin soldier, the people of Liangzhou who were trying to persuade them to surrender also stopped and returned to the Qin camp in an orderly manner to eat.

To be honest, some of them actually wish that the garrison would not surrender, because this way they can keep making money.

 These days they just roar a few times, but not only do they get money, but they can also enjoy the same food and treatment as the Qin army. This is much more comfortable than farming.

“General Hu Lu, we have been shouting for so many days, how come there is no sign of chaos in Daxing City?” Yan Xing asked with a puzzled look on his face.

He is a native of Liangzhou. He knows very well what lifting the ban on the Qiang people means to the people of Liangzhou, so he feels that Daxing City will become chaotic on its own.

But after so many days of scolding, there was no response at all in Daxing City, which made Yan Xing both disappointed and helpless. .

Not only Yan Xing, but also Hu Luguang looked helpless. His confident public opinion tactics were suppressed by Yang Guang with his own prestige.

Isn’t it said that those who defend the people are better than those who defend Sichuan? In the past, Governor Li Jing succeeded in using public opinion warfare, but why did he fail here?

Huluguang was also very depressed about this, but he had to admire Yang Guang's alertness.

As soon as there was a move on his side, Yang Guang could react immediately, which also gave Hu Luguang the feeling of meeting his opponent.

"Don't worry, Yang Guang won't be able to hold on for long. Our army has already defeated the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces at Yiniu Mountain. The day the army returns, the city of Daxing will be destroyed."

Hu Luguang said with confidence on his face that even if the war has reached this point, even the immortal Da Luo cannot save Yang Guang.

 Upstairs in Daxing City.

Seeing the people who persuaded them to surrender retreat and be replaced by soldiers of the Qin army, Yang Guang's face was full of solemnity.

He knows that Daxing is now stable on the surface, but this is only temporary. Once the Qin army in Haizhou reunites and gets a solid understanding of the Qiang order and the news of the tragic defeat at Yiniu Mountain, there will not even be a need for the Qin army to come over, and everything within Daxing will be certain. Civil unrest will break out.

“When we return to the palace, we immediately summon Yang Su, Cheng Gongying, Ximen Bao, Zu Jue, Zhao Xuan, Li Delin, Ban Gu and others to discuss the situation.” Yang Guang said calmly.

 “Lord, Lord Ban Gu is no longer here.”

 After hearing what the attendant said, Yang Guang couldn't help but feel a little enlightened.

Yes, the loyal Ban Gu is no longer here, so why do I miss him a little bit?

There was silence for a while, Yang Guang sighed deeply, and then led his people back to the palace, convening all the counselors to discuss what to do next.

Looking at Yang Guang's leaving figure, Zhi Jian, Guo Shen, Jin She, Dou Tai and other generals looked at each other with strange looks in their eyes.

Guo Shen and Zhijian are respectively the sixth and seventh among the Seven Sages of Meishan;

 The six brothers of Meishan, together with Yang Jian, are collectively known as the Seven Sages of Meishan. The order among them is: Yang Jian, Kang Anyu, Zhang Boshi, Li Huanzhang, Yao Gonglin, Guo Shen, and Zhijian.

At first, the six Meishan brothers and Yang Jian took refuge with Yang Jian. Later, because of the Yang family, Yang Jian decided to abandon the Sui Dynasty and join the Tang Dynasty, but was opposed by a group of sworn brothers.

 In the end, Yang Jian took Kang Anyu and Zhang Boshi to join Li Shimin, while the four generals Li Huanzhang, Yao Gonglin, Guo Shen and Zhijian continued to assist Yang Guang.

Among the Seven Sages of Meishan, Yang Jian and Kang Anyu are currently serving Da Qin, Li Huanzhang and Yao Gonglin were captured in Bison Mountain, and only Guo Shen and Zhi Jian are left to continue to serve Yang Guang.

As for Zhang Boshi, the third eldest brother, he died in the hands of Xingtian together with Yang Jian's eldest brother Yang Jiao in the Yizhou War. He is also the only Meishan brother who has died in the battle. Yang Guang’s actions and extreme control of public opinion during this period have aroused dissatisfaction between Guo Shen and Zhi Jian.

When Yang Jian left, the reason why the four brothers stayed was mainly because they killed many people of Li Tang, and secondly because of Yang Guang himself.

But what Yang Guang is doing now is even worse than Li Shimin.

Although Yang Guang refused to admit the issue of the Qiang Order, he deceived ordinary people, but he could not deceive the high-level officials in the Sui Kingdom. Otherwise, how could Ban Gu commit suicide?

As for Yang Guang's claim that Ban Gu was a spy sent by the Qin Dynasty and committed suicide in fear of crime after being discovered as a collaborator with the Qin Dynasty, few people in the Sui Kingdom believed it.

Who doesn’t know that Ban Gu has always been loyal, courageous and selfless. Li Jing once tried to win over Ban Gu from a high position, but was flatly rejected by him.

Ban Gu was just a civil servant and did not have much real power in his hands. Whether he was a spy or not, he had little influence on the Sui Kingdom.

Ban Gu would commit suicide because he wanted to use his death to tell other people in the Sui Kingdom that their lord Yang Guang was making mistakes, and as a minister he must prevent the monarch from making principled mistakes.

Yang Guang didn't listen, and even slandered Ban Gu as a Qin spy. This undoubtedly chilled many loyal ministers, but what was even more chilling was the public opinion control that followed.

Anyone who dares to complain for Ban Gu or discuss the issue of the Qiang Order will be regarded as a spy of the Qin army.

At that time, nearly a thousand people in Daxing City were convicted of speaking out and were executed by Yang Guang.

Yang Guang relied on iron blood and killing to forcibly suppress all voices. In this way, he ensured the stability of Daxing, but he also buried deeper hidden dangers.

For example, Guo Shen and Zhi Jian, thousands of people died because of their remarks, and people in Daxing were trembling with fear. This made them feel that Yang Guang was worse than Li Shimin at the time.

In addition, they also learned from the Qin army's persuasion to surrender that Li Huanzhang and Yao Gonglin, the sworn brothers, were defeated and captured in the Battle of Bison Mountain and had surrendered to the Qin army. This also made them feel rebellious.

Although Guo Shen and Zhi Jian were already rebellious, before they had time to take action, they were approached by Jin She and Dou Le, who were also rebellious.

Jin She and Sima Xin had a good personal relationship. Sima Xin was directly executed by Yang Guang for his surrender to the Qin Dynasty. As a result, he was investigated and dismissed from all positions, which aroused Jin She's dissatisfaction.

Jin She and Dou Le approached Guo Shen Zhijian. They saw that they were also rebellious. After the four of them joined forces, they decided to launch a rebellion and opened the city gate to lure the Qin army into the city.

Jin She does not have military power, but Dou Le, Guo Shen and Zhi Jian do. The three of them have a total of 5,000 troops. If the plan is done properly, it may not be impossible to succeed.

Guo Shen felt that there were many people who were dissatisfied with Yang Guang. In order to increase the success rate of the uprising, he could recruit other people to join the group, especially the three generals Wu Yunzhao, Shi Wansui and He Ruobi. However, Dou Le and Zhi Jian were given the opportunity to do so. Denied.

Zhi Jian believed that Wu Yunzhao, Shi Wansui and He Ruobi were diehard loyalists of Yang Guang. Even if they had shown signs of dissatisfaction with Yang Guang before, they would not necessarily join in the rebellion.

Dou Le felt that the more people they attracted, the greater the risk they would be exposed, so there was no need. Their purpose was just to open the city gate and let the Qin army enter the city. Their current manpower was enough.

Guo Shen, Zhi Jian, and Jin She also felt that it was reasonable, so the four generals hit it off and decided to launch a rebellion two days later.

 Two days later, the four generals made all preparations and launched a rebellion that night as promised.

The plan also went very smoothly. Zhi Jian and Jin She opened the south gate, while Guo Shen and Dou Le also led their troops and sneaked near the Sui Palace, intending to break through the palace and capture Yang Guang alive.

At the same time, the Qin army outside the city also discovered that there was civil strife in Daxing and that the south gate was wide open. Naturally, they would not miss such a good opportunity, so they decisively sent troops to seize the south gate.

Things had been going so smoothly up to this point that it was abnormal. However, things took a turn for the worse after that.

Although the Qin army entered the south gate, they were soon ambushed by the Sui army. Guo Shen and Dou Tai who attacked the palace were also ambushed.

"How can this be?"

Guo Shen's face was full of anger. No matter how stupid he was, he knew that there must be a traitor inside and leaked the secret.

 Guo Shen suspected it was Dou Le at first, but the shock and surprise on Dou Le's face was no less than his, and it didn't look like he knew it beforehand.

 “It seems that the traitor is Jin She.”

 Guo Shen thought to himself, and then said to Dou Le: "Brother Dou, the Qin army has entered the city. As long as we persist, there is still a glimmer of hope."

"Um."

Dou Le nodded heavily and fired his bow without turning back. The matter had come to this, and he had to fight to the end.

Guo Shen and Dou Le are both weak. If they join forces and command the army to form a round formation to resist, they will not be quickly defeated by an ambush.

 But just when the two were united, Dou Le's son Dou Tai silently moved behind Guo Shen, launched a sneak attack while Guo Shen was unprepared, and stabbed him directly in the heart.

"you…"

 Guo Shen turned his head with great difficulty, and when he saw that the attacker was Dou Taihou, he died with a look of reluctance.

 “Tail, what are you doing?”

Dou Le was completely shocked when he saw this. He couldn't believe that his own son would betray him, and that he was no longer a human being either inside or outside. Even if he took action now, he would not be the same if he didn't take action.

After Dou Tai killed Guo Shen, he drew his sword and said coldly: "Guo Shen betrayed the Sui Dynasty and has been executed. You have been deceived by Guo Shen. As long as you put down your weapons, my lord will definitely forget the blame."

 The soldiers looked at me and at you. Considering that the plan had been exposed and there were ambushes all around, they finally took the initiative to side with Dou Tai.

Looking at his son's serious eyes, Dou Le smiled miserably, and then in front of his son, he drew his sword and killed himself.

Dou Tai looked at his father's body, his eyes filled with sadness, but he hid it very well. Then he said to Yang Su who was coming on horseback: "Grand Governor, my subordinates have done what you told me, please obey it." Promise to pardon my Dou family."

Yang Su nodded and said with an indifferent expression: "Don't worry, the rebellion is all the fault of Dou Le alone and has nothing to do with the Dou family."

Hearing what Yang Su said, Dou Tai finally breathed a sigh of relief. He betrayed his biological father just to save the entire family. Now that Yang Su promised to let his family go, it was worth it even if he died immediately.