Northern Dynasties

Chapter 1343: People’s Hearts Are Like Gold
The battle, or rather the killing, in the palace did not last too long and soon came to an end.

After the battlefield was cleaned up, Ruo Ruo Feng did not continue to watch, but returned to the camp where the surrendered people were placed. When the surrendered people saw him return again, they bowed their heads and kept silent. Shen Ke, the governor of Zhenzhou who was pushed into their team by the Tang army soldiers, was beaten to death when they vented their fear.

Ruo Ruofeng raised his hand to signal the soldiers to pick up Shen Ke's body, and then looked at the surrendered people who were full of fear and silence and said: "God will reward the good and punish the evil, and people choose their own fortune and misfortune. This is indeed the truth, but the morality of Jiangdong has been declining for a long time. The former Liang Lord Xiao took the disaster into his heart and the disaster spread to Jiangdong. The people suffered misfortune for no reason, so where is the justice of heaven?
Now, there are also treacherous people in Jiangdong who are bewitching the good and slandering our Tang Dynasty's royal army, confusing right and wrong, and reversing good and evil. They gather people here to serve as their minions. The royal army entered the country to enforce justice and severely punish the evil and treacherous. You were bewitched and willing to be their minions. Your behavior is really hateful! However, the evildoers are guilty and have abandoned their minions. You don't know what to do and your situation is quite pitiful.

Being deceived is not a capital crime, and returning to the right path is commendable, but if one persists in his mistakes, then death is not a pity! The people in the government have shown more sympathy and have repeatedly advised him because he is not the main culprit, but he still persists in his evil deeds and does not repent. Are the people in Wuzhong so stubborn and unruly? Tell me, should the evil people in the government be put to death?"

When everyone heard this shout, they couldn't help but tremble in their hearts. They just lowered their heads even more, but did not dare to respond.

Seeing this, Ruo Ruofeng's face darkened again, and he stamped his feet and shouted angrily: "Does Wuzhong's folks really not distinguish right from wrong, good from evil? Do you really prefer to die with evil and wickedness rather than live with justice and righteousness?"

"We want to live, we want to live. Thank you, General, for your kindness! We live for the good and will never go along with evil again!"

Upon hearing this, everyone started shouting in response, each of them saying at the top of their lungs that they would change their ways and no longer associate with those vicious and evil people.

After hearing these people's responses, Ruo Feng nodded with satisfaction, then raised his hand and pointed at Shen Ke's body, and turned to the surrendered people and said: "This kind of meat eaters are greedy and incompetent, with no morals. They are cruel and treacherous to the outside world, make enemies with powerful enemies, do not maintain peace with the borders, and are not happy with the neighbors! At home, they occupy the fields and mulberry trees, claim to be rich in the village, rob people of their food and clothing, and make the people slaves!
The cowardly rat is the root of trouble for the country. He usually talks about loyalty and righteousness, and tries to win the support of the people. He is afraid when in danger and flees when in trouble. Once he is controlled by others, he will kowtow and beg for mercy. He can avoid punishment by relying on his wealth and reputation. Therefore, the hometown suffers and the people's livelihood withers, but this local thief is the only one who benefits. It is really hateful!
If this person had not been captured by our army, you would have been lured by him and all of you would have died in battle, but he would have been able to hide away and wait for our army to withdraw, then he would have returned home, taken your wife and children as slaves, and invaded your farm to make a manor! Even though you are going to hell, you still have the intention to serve us. It is pathetic to live and ridiculous to die. How can this be justified in the world? These culprits and local bandits should be severely punished and killed!"

If everyone was previously oppressed by the strength of the Tang army and frightened by the brutality of the massacre of the royal palace, then Ruo Feng's words now touched their hearts.

When the Tang army first tried to persuade them to surrender, they had not yet realized what kind of situation they were in. Therefore, although they felt resentment towards the powerful people in Wu who abandoned them, they did not hate them deeply.

But after seeing the brutal slaughter of the soldiers in the palace, they realized that they were already at the gates of hell, and a single thought could lead to eternal damnation. What brought them to this state were those bastards who had gathered them here but then turned around and abandoned them.

On the contrary, the Tang army, which should have been their enemy, was still willing to put their butcher knives on hold to persuade them to escape from death when they were already in a desperate situation. Only those who were really stubborn and refused to change were inevitably killed in the end.

Therefore, when the Tang army massacred the villagers in the city, the surviving surrenderers outside vented their hatred on Shen Ke.

Now Ruo Ruofeng's words revealed to them a cruel fact, that is, the disaster in the countryside was caused by these powerful people, and they fled before the disaster came. After the people in the countryside suffered, they reappeared in the guise of saviors, and under the name of rebuilding the countryside, they reclaimed wasteland and enslaved the people!
"Kill all the culprits! Kill all the local bandits!"

After being inspired by Ruo Ruofeng, all the surrendered people were filled with righteous indignation and extreme resentment. They no longer had any resistance or hostility towards the Tang army in their hearts. All they had was a deep resentment towards those local bandits and tyrants, so they all raised their arms and roared.

Taking advantage of the indignation of the surrendered people, Ruo Ruofeng continued, "The king's army came to the village this time not to harm the people of Wuzhong. You were deceived by the traitors before, so you were hostile to the king's army. Now that you have repented, you don't need to be punished. But before, you gathered so many culprits and local bandits, who were rebellious and slandered the king's army. Not only did you not repent, but you fled in all directions and still wanted to be the enemy. Your crime is really unforgivable!

If you fellow villagers wish to return home, you can go your separate ways after you have had your fill. If you wish to surrender and serve the royal army, you will be given armor and staffs to guide the royal army. After you defeat the bandits, you will be rewarded. It is up to you whether you wish to go or stay! "

After hearing these words, the people present became confused again. With the previous experience of the dead souls in the palace, they also deeply realized that any decision at the moment was crucial to them, so they naturally did not dare to make a rash choice.

"Please, General, if I choose to return home, will we be hunted down by the royal army?"

There was silence for a long while before someone raised his hand and asked timidly.

After hearing this question, Ruo Feng smiled and said, "It has been made clear before that the king's army did not come to harm the villagers. After you leave here, as long as you don't surrender to the local bandits and continue to be enemies with the king's army, you can live in peace in the village without being harassed by the king's army." "Then, then I am willing to return home, I beg the general to let me go!"

After hearing this answer, more than a dozen people immediately raised their hands to express their opinion.

Ruo Ruofeng didn't say much about this. He just waved his hand to signal the soldiers inside and outside the camp to open a passage and let these people leave.

When those who surrendered saw this, they hurriedly walked out of the camp. One after another, about a hundred people chose to leave, while most of the other surrendered people stood where they were and chose to wait and watch.

At this time, another surrendered person strode out, bowed deeply to the ground and shouted loudly: "I am willing to be the guide of the king's army! I was deceived by the evil bandits before, and I only thought that the king's army was cruel and inhumane. Now that I have been tolerated and saved by the king's army, I know that the king's army of the Great Tang is a benevolent and righteous army! The evil bandits deceived the common people and brought disaster to the village. The people of Wuzhong are definitely not fools who confuse good and evil and cannot distinguish right from wrong. I swear that I will never coexist with these bandits in my village. I am willing to kill the bandits together with the king's army!"

"Haha, good boy! The people's hearts are as precious as gold. Although the thieves have abandoned them, I still cherish them! Give them armor, cane and robes!"

Ruo Ruo Feng had spent all this time and effort on this purpose, and when he heard that the countryman was the first to express his opinion, he immediately laughed and signaled to give him armor and weapons.

"We are willing to help Master Wang to kill the bandits!"

After the first example, other villagers who had already had this intention raised their hands to express their willingness. Thousands of people on the scene chose to fight side by side with the King's Division. Under the leadership of these people, other people who were still waiting gradually expressed their willingness to join the King's Division. Some villagers had already walked out of the camp, and after seeing such an enthusiastic situation in the rear, they also turned back and chose to join the King's Division.

After a final check, it was found that the majority of the surrendered people were willing to stay, and only a hundred or so people chose to leave.

It is not surprising that these people make such a choice. When a person's faith is shattered, there is often a great possibility that they will choose to go to the opposite side of their original position and beliefs.

Moreover, the war was not over yet, and only by holding a knife and gathering with the majority of people could they increase their chances of safety. If they chose to leave their hometown, they would be able to avoid being controlled by the Tang army for a while, but even if the Tang army did not harass or harm them, they could not guarantee that they would be robbed and harmed by other thieves and tyrants who took advantage of the chaos.

The surrender of these more than 3,000 villagers certainly could not add much strength to the Tang army, but they were previously the diehards in Wuzhong who were hostile to the royal army. Now that they have been turned from enemies to friends and united by the Tang army, it naturally has a deeper meaning.

Moreover, these villagers were well versed in the local conditions, including the situation of the troops of the former Linchuan King Chen Qian. Now that they had chosen to submit to the King's army, they would naturally report the personnel situation they knew.

Soon, Ruo Ruofeng obtained a list of Chen Qian's troops, which clearly listed the names of the local tyrants who had followed Chen Qian and gathered here before and had now fled. There was even a very accurate record of the addresses of these tyrants and the strength of their respective troops.

Therefore, the power of the masses has always been enormous, and any behavior that underestimates the masses will ultimately backfire!
With such a list, it would be much easier to eliminate the potential resistance forces in Wuzhong. Those people thought they could hide their tracks by hiding in the countryside and wait to counterattack and cause chaos in the future. However, they did not know that now they were as clearly visible as lice on a mirror, giving the Tang army the opportunity to eliminate them one by one!
Just as Ruo Yufeng and his party gained a foothold in Wuxing, the western army led by Shi Ning also entered the Wuzhong area from Xuancheng.

After learning that Ruo Ruofeng had achieved considerable united front results in Wuxing, Shi Ning ordered him to stay in Wuxing and continue to sort out the local situation, while he led the division to continue advancing southward to the Qiantang River line to continue the attack on Kuaiji.

Ruo Ruofeng had no objection to this arrangement. He was currently the governor of Yangzhou. If the court did not appoint him another official in the future, he would have to move to Jiangdong after the Three Wus were pacified. Now he would stay in Wuxing to sort out the local situation, which would also help him establish his own prestige and lay a good foundation for controlling the entire Wuzhong area in the future.

Of course, those young generals under his command who were eager for military merit, such as Ruo Feng, did not stay behind, but strongly recommended to Shi Ning to give these guys a chance to continue fighting on the front line and make merit.

(End of this chapter)