Chapter 1341: A common man takes away his ambition

Chapter 1341: A common man takes away his ambition

Outside the Linchuan Palace in Changcheng County, the main force of the Tang army led by Ruo Ruofeng has also arrived. They just happened to be stationed in the camp built by the Wuzhong Township disciples before, which saved them from having to build a new camp.

"Report to Dai Gong, after the Linchuan King of Chen State led his troops to flee, there were still nearly 7,000 disciples left here, most of whom have been driven into the palace. Now the disciples are still trying to resist stubbornly in this palace and have no intention of surrendering."

Ruo Ruofeng came to the outside of the palace surrounded by his personal soldiers, and his vanguard commander came to report the enemy situation.

Although he is not too old, Ruo Ruofeng has been out of the town for several years. He has been raised and educated by the current supreme since he was a child. In addition to the tall and mighty figure inherited from his father, he is also more profound and meticulous.

When he heard the general report that the disciples here still wanted to resist stubbornly and refused to surrender, Ruo Ruofeng frowned, but did not say much. He just walked around the palace under the protection of his personal soldiers.

This mansion is located on a high hill in the plain, with a river running from northwest to southeast. The terrain can only be said to be open and livable, but it is not very dangerous.

Despite this, the soldiers in the mansion are still actively arranging defenses according to local conditions. They piled various wooden and stone objects in the mansion outside the mansion gate to set up obstacles, set up simple arrow towers and sentries on the top of the wall, and some thorns to prevent climbing. The defenses were built with all kinds of methods, but in the eyes of the soldiers who are really experienced in offensive and defensive operations, they only feel shabby and ridiculous.

These defenses look dazzling, but when they are actually fighting, they can play a very small role. This also reflects that the situation of the Wuzhong soldiers gathered inside is already extremely poor. They tried every means to save themselves, which can be said to be cutting wood into spears and wearing felt as armor.

At the same time, this also shows that these people's fighting spirit is indeed tenacious. Even though the situation is so poor, they still refuse to give up resistance and choose to surrender. They are determined to fight to the death. Even when Ruo Feng patrolled to a distance close to the palace wall, there were soldiers holding crossbows on the wall shooting outward.

"These Wu children are really fierce and stubborn, and refuse to obey the king's rule!"

Although those stray arrows could hardly hurt him, Ruo Feng's face sank after seeing this scene, and he said angrily.

Before, he guarded Shouyang in Huainan, and moved to Guangling after exchanging with the Southern Chen court. Not long after, he accepted the active surrender of Xu Du in Jingkou and came to Jiangnan.

So in Ruo Feng's mind, he only felt that there were many people in the Southern Chen Dynasty who could judge the situation, such as Chen Qian, the King of Linchuan, who was already a rare fierce and stubborn person. Before the attack, the Tang army opened a cloth market to trade with the people of Wuzhong, which can be said to benefit the people.

But now the Wuzhong villagers in the palace are still so stubborn that it is hard to understand. Even Chen Qian and his ilk abandoned their land and fled under the threat of the Tang army. Why do these villagers still have such a strong fighting spirit? They must know that they will die if they continue to resist. Are they really not afraid of death?

After patrolling for a week and returning to the camp, Ruo Ruofeng immediately began to prepare for the attack, ready to capture this stronghold in one go, and then complete the conquest of the entire Wuxing.

"I am willing to lead my troops to attack here, and I will break this village before sunset!"

The troops led by Ruo Ruofeng to the south this time are mostly young and strong in the country. They are strong and eager for merit. In addition, everyone can see that the villagers here are just resisting stubbornly, and they don’t even have basic armor and weapons and formation organization. Even if they are determined to fight, the difficulty of the battle will not be too high. Thousands of kills and prisoners are easy to get, so naturally everyone is vying for the first place.

Because the disciples were too enthusiastic about asking for battle, Ruo Feng hadn't decided who to send to fight. While he was still thinking, Gao Jiong, who also followed the army, stood up and said, "Reporting to Dai Gong, I think this manor cannot be attacked for the time being."

Amid the clamor for battle, such a dissenting voice suddenly appeared, which was a bit harsh. For a moment, everyone's attention was attracted by Gao Jiong, and even Ruo Feng looked at him and said, "Why do you say that?"

"The situation here is already extremely difficult, but the disciples are still busy preparing for battle, which shows that they are determined. If we strengthen the attack, there will be heavy casualties..."

Before Gao Jiong finished speaking, a young general next to him couldn't help laughing, pointing at Gao Jiong and said bluntly, "Gao Jiong is really cowardly. He saw the rioters in front of him but didn't dare to fight. These disciples are not good at fighting. If the defense is not repaired, it will be easy to break. Even if we kill them all, it is not difficult! "

Faced with this ridicule, Gao Jiong just frowned slightly, and then said seriously: "The heavy casualties I mentioned are the guards here. Some people say that these followers are stubborn and unyielding, and death is not a pity, but it is human nature to love life and hate death. These followers are originally stubborn in Wuxiang and have not seen the grace of heaven. They were first deceived by the powerful people in the south and gathered to resist the king's army, claiming to be righteous. In an instant, they were abandoned like worn-out shoes, and the morality they relied on was gone. It is a man who loses his will, which is worse than death, so he is stubborn and lingers. "

This statement explains why those people in the palace still choose to resist at this point. In the final analysis, it is nothing more than the collapse of their beliefs, coupled with the sudden arrival of a strong enemy. It is difficult to digest this huge change in mood, and they just numbly follow the original idea to act.

"Whether they are afraid of death or not is none of my business. Since they still choose to resist the royal army, they are seeking death. We should kill them to serve as a warning to others!"

Another general next to them said that they were not interested in the mentality of those stubborn resisters, but they were only interested in the military exploits of capturing this place. Therefore, as soon as these words came out, many generals present nodded in agreement, and felt that Gao Jiong was a bit disturbing.

However, when Shuofeng heard this, he showed a somewhat thoughtful expression, and raised his finger to Gao Jiong, indicating that he should continue speaking.

"Chen Qian fled in fear of the battle, and led away her close relatives and relatives. She only abandoned these disciples in the territory. It can be seen that these disciples are completely worthless in her heart. Now even if I kill them all, it will not damage their power, and they will be a powerful force in my army. It cannot be called a great achievement. Instead, it spreads the reputation of Master Wang to the countryside. It is not a good plan to destroy this place in front of you and build thousands of barriers in Wuzhong! "

Seeing that this aroused the general's thinking, Gao Jiong continued: "Killing these disciples will not benefit me or harm the enemy. However, if we can use them for our own purposes and make them grateful and righteous, it will be a great good. A few days ago, the Supreme Lord passed on Tell the troops that they must defeat the three Wu forces before spring. The first reason is that the rising floods in spring will inevitably delay the advance and retreat of the divisions and brigade. The second thing is also to comply with the weather and not to indulge in fighting at the expense of farming.

To pacify Jiangdong, we need to kill the enemy with bravery and treat the people with benevolence and righteousness. Now that our army has marched here, if we use the people as enemies, the enemies will be everywhere, and the chickens and dogs will be restless. The thief has made a fool of himself now, abandoning the people and running away without any sympathy for others. Who will he seek trouble with again? This is damaging to one's own foundation, neglecting one's career, and extinguishing others. Who can survive? "

After hearing what Gao Jiong said, Shuofeng also agreed, so he stopped preparing for the attack for the time being and arranged for personnel to persuade him to surrender. As Gao Jiong said, these people are indeed stubborn and will not regret their death, but even if they are all killed, it will not have much positive significance in the comparison between the enemy and our forces. On the contrary, it will shock the Xiangqu forces in other areas at the Tang army. Violence and stubbornness increased greatly.

In the morning, Yang Su, who followed Yu Wenxin to pursue the south, was ordered to escort Shen Ke and his party captured in Wukang County to Changcheng County. When he saw that the army was surrounding the Linchuan Prince's Mansion, he refused to attack and even shouted When persuading him to surrender, Yang Su curiously asked: "I think the enemy situation here is complicated and it is not difficult to defeat it. Why doesn't Dai Gong send troops to attack directly and fight quickly?"

Some generals were depressed that their general had adopted Gao Jiong's suggestion and would not allow them to attack, so they complained about what Gao Jiong had said before.

After listening to this, Yang Su frowned and thought about it. After a while, he smiled and said: "Although Gao Qiao's words are true, there are also some things that he did not mention. I will take it for granted!"

After handing over the prisoners, Yang Su took the opportunity to report the matter and said to the commander-in-chief Shuofeng: "Since ancient times, it is necessary to be kind and mighty when approaching borders and far away. These Wu children have been living outside for a long time. The obsession with the enemy is deeply rooted in the heart, so if you have a little strength, you will be fierce and unyielding. Now you are abandoning the crowd and are in a very difficult situation. You may be able to use this to appease, but the thief nature is hidden inside, who can easily detect it?

In particular, this kind of stubborn person, even if he speaks the truth but hears evil things, he will only indulge his thieves by being arrogant and emboldening his thieves. At the end of the day, General Yu Wen envoy ordered the thief officer Shen Ke to be brought here, restrained him, and told him to surrender. About three drums were used as a signal, and all those who surrendered were released together. Those who were still unable to come out after the drums were set should be killed. Within the country, spread the word to the countryside, and inform all the villages. The two weapons of kindness and power are left to the people to choose! "

Several Feng were unhappy because of the poor results in persuading them to surrender. These Wuzhong villagers were ill-informed and stubborn. They felt that they would inevitably suffer harm if they surrendered, as if they could get a good result by staying in the palace.

However, he had just accepted Gao Jun's suggestion in the morning, and it was difficult to change the order immediately. He originally planned to postpone it until the next day at most. If the effect of persuading surrender was not good, he would launch an attack directly. At this time, Yang Sujin's plan was exactly what he wanted.

At this time, the soldiers came to report that Gao Jiong was outside asking for an audience, and several phoenixes summoned him into the tent.

As soon as Gao Jong entered the tent, he quickly crossed his hands and said, "General, I heard that the southern division brigade captured the Wuxing County official who had fled earlier, so I came to speak on behalf of the Duke..."

He quickly recounted his thoughts, which was also a supplement to his morning plans. The content was not much different from what Yang Su had just said.

After hearing this, Shuofeng smiled and pointed at Yang Su, who was standing on the side of the tent, and said to Gao Qiao: "You came a little late to make your remarks. There are wise men here who have made up for the mistakes."