Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1341: A Man's Will
Outside the Linchuan Palace in Changcheng County, the main force of the Tang army's east route led by Ruo Ruofeng had also arrived. They happened to move into the camp that had been built by the Wuzhong villagers before, thus saving themselves the trouble of rebuilding the camp from scratch.

"Reporting to Lord Dai, after the King of Linchuan of the State of Chen fled with his people, there were still nearly 7,000 followers left here, most of whom have been driven into the palace. Now the followers are still trying to resist in this palace and have no intention of surrendering."

Ruo Ruofeng, surrounded by his personal soldiers, arrived outside the palace, and his vanguard commander went forward 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 master since he was a child. In addition to inheriting his father's tall and mighty stature, he is also more profound and meticulous.

When he heard the report from his generals that the followers here were still resisting and refusing to surrender, Ruo Ruo Feng frowned, but did not say much. He just walked around the mansion under the protection of his personal soldiers and observed it.

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

Despite this, the soldiers in the mansion were still actively arranging defenses according to local conditions. They piled up various wooden and stone objects in the mansion in a disorderly manner outside the gate to set up obstacles, set up simple arrow towers and sentry posts on the top of the walls, and also used some thorns to prevent climbing. They used every possible means to build the defenses, but in the eyes of the soldiers who were truly experienced in offensive and defensive battles, they only looked shabby and ridiculous.

These defenses looked dazzling, but when it came to actual combat, they played very little role. This also reflected that the Wuzhong soldiers gathered inside were in an extremely poor situation, and they tried every possible way to save themselves, which could be described as cutting wood into spears and wearing felt as armor.

At the same time, this also shows that these people are indeed tenacious. Even though the situation is so poor, they still refuse to give up resistance and choose to surrender. I think they have made up their minds to fight to the death. Even when Ruo Feng patrolled to a distance close to the palace wall, there were soldiers on the wall holding crossbows and shooting outwards.

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

Even though those stray arrows could hardly hurt him, Ruoro Feng's face darkened when he saw this scene, and he spoke angrily.

Previously, he was stationed in Shouyang, Huainan. After making an exchange with the Southern Chen court, he moved to Guangling. Soon after, he accepted Xu Du's voluntary surrender in Jingkou and came to the south of the Yangtze River.

Therefore, in the eyes of Ruo Feng, there are many people in the Southern Chen Dynasty who can judge the situation. For example, Chen Qian, the King of Linchuan, is a rare and stubborn person. Before launching the attack, the Tang army opened a cloth market to trade with the people of Wuzhong, which can be said to benefit the whole village.

But now the Wuzhong villagers in the palace are still so stubborn that it is hard to understand. I don't understand why 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 if they continue to resist, they will only die. Are they really not afraid of death?

After patrolling for a week and returning to the camp, some Fengs 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. We must capture this village before sunset!"

Most of the troops led by Ruo Ruofeng to the south this time are young and strong in the country. They are competitive and eager for merit. In addition, everyone can see that the local villagers are just resisting stubbornly and do not 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 casualties and prisoners can be easily obtained, so naturally everyone is vying for the first place.

Because his followers were so eager to fight, Ruo Feng hadn't decided who to send. While he was still thinking, Gao Jiong, who had also come with the army, stood up and said, "Sir Dai, I think this manor cannot be attacked for the time being."

Amid the clamor for battle, the sudden appearance of such a dissenting voice was a bit jarring. For a moment, everyone's attention was drawn to Gao Jiong. Even Ruo Feng looked at him and asked, "Why do you say that?"

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

Before Gao Jiong finished speaking, a young general next to him couldn't help laughing, pointing at Gao Jiong and saying bluntly: "Gao Jiong is really cowardly. He saw the rioters in front of him but didn't dare to fight. These soldiers are not in good order and have no defenses. It is easy to defeat them. It is not difficult to kill them all!"

Facing the laughter, Gao Jiong only frowned slightly, then immediately said seriously: "What I meant by the heavy casualties were the guards here. Some people say that these followers are stubborn and their death is not a pity, but it is human nature to love life and hate death. These followers were originally stubborn in Wuxiang and have never seen the grace of heaven. They were first deceived by the dignitaries of the southern country and gathered together to resist the royal army, claiming to be righteous. But now they are abandoned like worn-out shoes, and the morality they relied on is gone. It is just a loss of will, which is worse than death. Therefore, they are stubborn and linger." These words explained why those people in the palace still chose to resist at this point. In the final analysis, it was nothing more than the collapse of their beliefs, coupled with the sudden arrival of a powerful enemy. They could no longer digest this huge change, and just numbly followed their original plan 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 nearby spoke up and said that they were not interested in the mentality of those stubborn resisters, but only in the military exploits of conquering this place. Therefore, when this was said, many generals present nodded in agreement, and felt that Gao Jiong was a bit of a nuisance.

However, when Ruo Feng heard this, she showed a thoughtful expression, and raised her finger and pointed at Gao Ying, indicating that he should continue speaking.

"Chen Qian was afraid of fighting and fled, taking his trusted relatives with him, leaving only these followers behind. This shows that these followers are of no value to him. Even if I kill them all, it will not harm their power, nor will it be considered a great achievement for my mighty army. Instead, it will spread the reputation of my army's brutality. We have already conquered this place, but we have set up thousands of barriers in Wuzhong. This is not a good plan!"

Gao Jiong saw that the commander had thought about it, so he continued, "Killing these people will not benefit us or harm the enemy, but if we can use them for our own benefit and make them grateful and loyal, it will be a great benefit. The emperor recently informed the troops that they must conquer the Three Wus before spring. One reason is that the spring floods will inevitably delay the advance and retreat of the troops, and the other is to follow the weather and not indulge in war and damage farming.

To pacify Jiangdong, we must kill the enemy with valor and care for the people with kindness and righteousness. Now that our royal army has arrived here, if we treat the people as enemies, the enemies will be everywhere in the wild, and there will be no peace for the chickens and dogs. The enemy is now making a foolish plan, abandoning the people and running away, without caring about the people. Who can they rely on for business? This is damaging their own foundation, neglecting their own work, and cutting themselves off from the people. Who can survive?"

After hearing Gao Jiong's words, Ruo Feng also agreed with them, so he stopped preparing for the attack and arranged for people to persuade them to surrender. As Gao Jiong said, these people were indeed stubborn and unyielding, and their death was not a pity, but even if they were all killed, it would not have much positive significance for the comparison of enemy and our forces. Instead, it would shock the local forces in other regions with the brutality of the Tang army and increase their resistance.

In the morning, Yang Su, who followed Yuwen Xin to the south to pursue the enemy, was ordered to escort Shen Ke and his entourage, who were captured in Wukang County, to Changcheng County. When he saw that the army surrounded the Linchuan Palace but did not attack it, and even called for surrender, Yang Su asked curiously: "I think the enemy here is in a chaotic situation and it is not difficult to defeat them. Why don't you send troops to attack directly and fight quickly?"

Some generals were upset that their commander had adopted Gao Jiong's advice and did not allow them to launch an attack, so they recounted Gao Jiong's previous remarks with some complaints.

After listening to this, Yang Su frowned and thought about it. After a while, he said with a smile: "Although Gao Jiong's words make sense, there are some points that he has not discussed. I will explain them to the Duke of Dai!"

After handing over the captives, Yang Su took the opportunity to report the matter to the commander, Ruo Ruofeng, and said, "Since ancient times, to intimidate the border and pacify the distant places, one must use both kindness and force. These Wu people have been living outside the barbarians for a long time, and their obsession with the enemy is deeply rooted. Therefore, they are ferocious and unyielding when they have a little strength. Now they are abandoned and in a very difficult situation. Perhaps we can use this to pacify them, but the evil nature is hidden in them, who can easily detect it?

Especially for such stubborn people, even if you speak the truth, they will hear evil voices. If you indulge them blindly, it will only make them arrogant and embolden their evil nature. Therefore, in addition to kindness and appeasement, it is still necessary to use power and tactics. I am ordered by Yuwen Shijun to bring the rebel official Shen Ke here, and to force him to surrender. It is agreed that three drums will be the signal, and those who surrender will be released. Those who still refuse to come out after the drums are sounded should be killed inside and their heads should be sent to the countryside to announce it to all the villages. Kindness and power are the two tools, and people can choose by themselves! "

Ruo Ruofeng was also unhappy because his attempts to persuade people to surrender had little effect. These Wu villagers were ill-informed and stubborn, and they felt that they would inevitably be harmed if they surrendered, as if staying in the palace would bring them a good result.

However, he had just accepted Gao Jiong's suggestion in the morning, and it would not be good to change his order overnight. He originally planned to delay it until the next day at most. If persuasion for surrender was not effective, he would directly launch an attack. At this time, Yang Su's plan was exactly what he wanted.

At this time, the personal soldiers came to report that Gao Jiong was outside seeking to see him, so Ruo Ruofeng summoned him into the tent.

Gao Jiong quickly stepped into the tent and quickly crossed his arms and said, "I heard that the southern army captured the Wuxing County official who had escaped before, so I came to give you a word of advice..."

He quickly talked about his own thoughts, which supplemented his suggestions in the morning. The content was not much different from what Yang Su had just said.

After listening to this, Ruo Feng smiled and pointed at Yang Su who was standing beside him in the tent, and then said to Gao Jiong: "You came a little late to give your advice. There is already a wise man here who has made up for the previous plan."