Tang Dynasty Mingyue Song Dynasty Pass

Chapter 879 Meeting at Pengcheng

Cao Bin and the others had mixed feelings when they saw Su Chen. They had never really thought highly of Su Chen before, and had always regarded him as a literary talent, but they had never thought that he could lead troops so well and defeat the Song army all the way.

Now, they have all become prisoners and may be in danger of being beheaded at any time. Looking at Su Chen again, they feel anger, rage, hatred, but also a hint of admiration.

Cao Bin raised his head slightly, his eyes sharp as torches, staring straight at Su Chen, his voice carrying a hint of helplessness, but his tone still firm: "We surrender, not seeking survival or wealth, but only hoping that the Wu army will treat those Song soldiers well and not persecute the prisoners." There was a hint of pleading in his eyes, hoping that Su Chen would agree to his request.

Su Chen smiled slightly, a trace of pity flashed in his eyes, and his tone was calm and firm: "Our Wu army treats prisoners well and will not kill innocent people." He nodded slightly, indicating that he understood Cao Bin's concerns.

Cao Bin straightened his chest, his eyes flashed with determination, and his voice was cold: "That's good, I hope you can do what you say and give me a quick death!" His words revealed a determination to die rather than surrender, as if he was ready to face the impending fate.

The other generals also held their heads high, with an expression of being willing to die rather than surrender. Although they were captured, they still maintained their military dignity, and their eyes revealed their unyielding spirit towards Su Chen and their resistance to fate.

At this time, a general of the Song army who surrendered saw Pan Mei. "Pan Mei, you are still in the army. You deceived us so much, you traitor!" Han Lingkun was a little angry and cursed. His face turned red and his eyes were full of anger.

Pan Mei walked out slowly, looked at Han Lingkun and the others, smiled faintly, with a hint of disdain in his eyes, and remained unmoved. "Two countries are at war, each for its own master, and war is not without deception, so how can there be a traitor?" His voice was calm and cold, as if he was stating a simple fact.

Han Lingkun said angrily: "You used to be a general of the Song Dynasty, but now you are helping the tyrant to commit atrocities!" There was a slight tremor in his voice and his eyes were full of anger.

Pan Mei shook his head slightly, a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, and there was a hint of helplessness in his tone: "In the past, we were all generals of the Later Zhou Dynasty, and later we all surrendered to the Song Dynasty. Aren't you traitors of the Later Zhou Dynasty?" There was a hint of ridicule in his voice, as if he was mocking the ignorance of the Song army generals.

The generals of the Song army were speechless after hearing this. There was a flash of embarrassment and helplessness in their eyes, as if Pan Mei's words had hit their soft spot.

This era was the turbulent period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Dynasties changed quickly and the emperor took turns. It will be my turn next year. Other generals were also accustomed to the constant change of dynasties, so no one would blame them too much for their loyalty to a particular court.

"Find a military doctor to bandage them, then separate them and take them back to Nanjing!"

"Here!"

A Du Yuhou stepped forward and took away Cao Bin, Han Lingkun, Liu Shouzhong, Shi Baoji and Murong Yanqing.

Su Chen sent people to arrest Cao Bin and others, but he did not rush to persuade them to surrender to Wu and serve him, because it was still unreliable to use such surrendered generals directly at a critical moment. He frowned slightly, and a trace of thought flashed in his eyes. Finally, he decided: "Send people to arrest Cao Bin, Han Lingkun and others and send them to Jinling City. After the overall situation is stable, we will select them for use."

Su Chen was no longer in the mood to talk to them. After all, he would be bored if he was advised to surrender immediately and they talked back at him. He shook his head slightly, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "Not killing them for the time being is already considered treating the prisoners well."

"Reorganize the army and march to Pengcheng tomorrow!" After Su Chen gave the order, he asked the troops to start collecting prisoners and then take them to Pengcheng together. His voice was firm and powerful, echoing in the barracks, so that every soldier could hear it clearly.

Su Chen planned to use some of these surrendered troops to attack the city. He smiled slightly, with a sly look in his eyes: "After all, attacking Yingtian Prefecture requires some troops. If we use the surrendered troops to attack the city, and let the Song people fight the Song people, we can consume the strength of the defenders in the early stage."

This tactic was common in ancient times. For example, Cao Cao liked to use surrendered soldiers to charge first, test the enemy, consume the enemy, and then send his main force. The Mongolian army and the Jin army fought in the same way, using surrendered soldiers to attack the city, and the main force watched from behind and killed the retreating ones. This time Su Chen also planned to make use of the surrendered Song army. Otherwise, with so many people, letting them all go would only make them continue to return to the Song army camp, and killing them all would not be merciful enough, so he borrowed their strength for his own use. He nodded slightly, and he already had a plan in his mind: "This will not only reduce our casualties, but also consume the enemy's strength, killing two birds with one stone."

The next day, just after daybreak, the Wu army marched forward in a mighty force; four teams were divided into four groups, with a total of three or four hundred thousand soldiers and horses, and gathered in Pengcheng.

The people of Song State along the way were immediately frightened when they saw the power of the Wu army. Fortunately, the Wu army did not harm the people at all, and even distributed leaflets and daily necessities appropriately, leaving a good impression on the people.

"The Wu army is pretty good, and they treat the common people very well. It wouldn't be a big deal if we became citizens of Wu." A farmer was standing on the side of the road, watching the armored troops of the Wu army marching forward in a sonorous and powerful manner. He was shocked and began to feel like supporting them.

"That's right. The emperor takes turns. Before it was the Later Zhou Dynasty, now it is the Song Dynasty, and in the future it will be the Wu Kingdom. Anyway, we are all ordinary people and cannot participate." Another farmer nodded in agreement, with a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

"We will support whoever is good to us ordinary people!" An old farmer patted the young man beside him, with a hint of firmness in his tone.

After several days of traveling, the Wu army met in Pengcheng. Su Chen, Pan Mei, Lin Renzhao, Pan Chongche, Shen Huzi, Taishi Zhao, Jin Hui, Jing Hong and others gathered together.

"Now that everyone is here, let's start preparing to attack Yingtian Prefecture, which is the eastern gate of Kaifeng Prefecture and the most important place. There are 150,000 Song troops gathered here. Song generals such as Dang Jin, Wang Zhengzhong, Gao Huaide, and Mi Xin, together with Li Chugeng, Zhang Yongde, Fu Yanqing and other troops, have gathered in Yingtian Prefecture. This will be an important battle between us and the Song Dynasty!" Su Chen's voice was steady and firm, and his eyes were like torches, scanning everyone.

“If Yingtian Prefecture is defeated quickly and the 150,000 Song troops are scattered, then Bianjing City will be right in front of us. If we take Bianjing City and capture Zhao Kuangyin, Zhao Guangyi and other royal family members, the Song Dynasty will be destroyed. We can slowly accept some remote counties of the Song Dynasty in the southwest, northeast, and northwest in the future.” There was a hint of determination in Su Chen's tone. He knew that this battle would determine the life and death of the Song Dynasty.

Su Chen still planned to concentrate his forces to attack Yingtian Prefecture and Kaifeng Prefecture, which would directly determine the life and death of the Song Dynasty.

Lin Renzhao smiled slightly, with a hint of confidence in his eyes: "Now that our forces have been gathered together, plus the reinforcements that will arrive later, there are 400,000 of them. If we send troops to Yingtian Prefecture, it shouldn't be a problem to break the city."

Pan Chongche nodded, with a hint of urgency in his eyes: "It is not a big problem to break the city now. The key lies in time. If we can capture Yingtian Prefecture in a month, it will be more beneficial for destroying Song!" There was a hint of urgency in his voice, and it was obvious that he had his own considerations for the grasp of time.

Pan Mei smiled slightly, with a hint of relief in his tone: "This time the Song army is no longer the most elite imperial guards. We have a greater chance of winning. A month will not be a problem." There was a hint of confidence in his eyes, as if he had already seen the outcome of victory.

Su Chen nodded slightly and turned his gaze to Jing Hong with a hint of expectation in his tone: "Send one thousand special forces members to Yingtian Prefecture one after another, and prepare to cooperate with the scouts inside." There was a hint of decisiveness in his voice, and it was obvious that he had a clear plan for the special forces' actions.

"Understood. This time, the special forces will strive to continue to play a role." Jing Hong replied with a fist clasped, his eyes showing a hint of determination, and he was obviously full of confidence in completing the mission.

Su Chen nodded and continued, "There is no strong pass blocking Yingtian Prefecture, so it is not difficult to attack. But the Song army has more soldiers, and if we keep attacking, we will suffer great losses. Therefore, we still have to cooperate, take the enemy by surprise, and use clever tactics." There was a hint of deep thought in his voice, and it was obvious that he had his own considerations for this battle.

All the generals also agreed with Su Chen's remarks. Along the way, they had indeed proved that Su Chen's judgment and ability to lead troops were truly outstanding, and that he was particularly wise and tactical, so they were full of confidence in him.