Water Margin people

"The mistake you made is very serious. Do you think you can just cover it up with just one sentence?"

Sun Lei looked at Hebule and said, hesitation on the battlefield is tantamount to betrayal, not to mention that he has issued an order to urge him. It doesn't matter whether he can win or not. The wait-and-see and perfunctory attitude is the most unforgivable. He can hesitate today and betray tomorrow.

"We know that we are guilty of crimes that cannot be forgiven. We only hope that Your Majesty will give us a way out. Our two tribes are willing to submit to Qi forever and fight for Qi!"

Ji Wusi also pleaded that the matter of their perfunctory fighting was a very serious matter, and if Sun Lei wanted to investigate, he could convict them of disobeying orders on the battlefield and attempting to rebel, which was a capital crime.

"Your Majesty, please forgive my two clans. We will never dare to have any other thoughts again!"

An Bahai also spoke up and said that now was the moment to decide the life and death of their two tribes.

Face and dignity are worthless on the grassland. The grassland is the world of the strong. Countless overlords who roam the grassland are of humble origins. Some were even put in chains and traded as slaves, like animals.

  But as long as you become strong, who will care about your past?

"But why should I trust you?"

Sun Lei touched his get off work and looked at the three people and asked, "The foreign army has existed since ancient times. Some of them fought bravely and were loyal; while others took advantage of the situation and rebelled in the face of danger."

During the founding period of the Tang Dynasty, the country loved to employ foreign generals, who also had outstanding military exploits. However, the Tang Dynasty was also destroyed by foreign generals in the late period.

"I am willing to swear to heaven!"

My baby spoke immediately.

"Don't say these useless things. On the grassland, oaths are no different from farts! Do you think I will believe you if you swear?"

Sun Lei glanced at An Bahai and said, "Oaths are binding when they are useful, but they are worse than farts when they are useless."

"We are willing to lead our people to swear a blood oath!"

Hebule said that ordinary oaths could not convince Sun Lei, so he could only lead the entire clan to swear a blood oath. With the constraints of the entire clan, even if he wanted to break the oath, he had to consider the opinions of his clan members.

"not enough!"

Sun Lei shook his head. He did not believe in oaths, even if the whole clan swore together. As long as the benefits were great enough, it was not impossible for them to break the oath together.

"From now on, although you are still the Khan, your tribe will be under the management of Qi. I will send officials to your two tribes to handle all affairs!"

Sun Lei looked at Hebule and the other two and spoke.

Hebule, Jiwusi and Anbahai all changed their faces. This was the order Sun Lei had given to them for their grassland to surrender, but they were unwilling to do so. If they really agreed, the entire grassland would be equivalent to a stretch of Qi State and would completely become Qi State's territory, and they, the Khans, would be in name only.

"I don't have time to bargain with you. If you disagree, follow the rules of the battlefield and kill them with thirteen blows to serve as a warning to others!"

Sun Lei said in a cold tone.

"Thirteen blows!"

When the people in the cage heard this, their faces changed drastically, even Yelu Dashi, who had been watching the fun, changed his face.

The khans were surprised at Sun Lei's cruelty. Thirteen strokes, how severe a punishment was this? The most severe punishment they knew for rebellion, fear of war, mutiny, and desertion was eleven strokes.

This was the earliest punishment popular in the ancient Roman Empire. It was a collective punishment for rebels, mutinies, or large-scale desertions in the army. Legions that lost their flags and emblems might also be executed by 10 draws. The punished troops were divided into groups of , and then drawn by lot. All members had to participate, and each person had one lot. Life and death depended entirely on luck.

The unfortunate person who was drawn by the lottery would be executed immediately without any defense, regardless of his character, whether he had made mistakes, how high his military rank was, or how many honors he had won before.

The execution method was also simple and crude, using local materials and beating to death with stones or sticks.

This cruel punishment can quickly eliminate panic and cowardice in the troops, strengthen their determination to fight, and make the army advance bravely and fight to the death.

This punishment was too bloody and cruel. The eleven-lash death penalty known to several Khans was only carried out a few times in a thousand years.

"In every battle, soldiers dare to advance but not retreat. If they retreat even an inch, they will be punished severely. This is how we can win. The law says: No one will be demoted for punishment."

Sun Lei looked at the three people and read out the military law directly. This was not an idea he had on spur of the moment. He was still merciful. The Mongolian and Wanggu tribes had been idle for several months. According to military law, it would not be excessive even if the entire tribe was massacred.

Yelu Dashi looked at Sun Lei and remembered the "Wei Gong Bing Fa" he had read before, which was written by Li Jing, a famous general in the founding of the Tang Dynasty. There is such a sentence in it: In ancient times, a good general must be able to kill three out of ten soldiers, and the next best is to kill one out of ten. The third is to make the enemy country feel powerful; the first is to make the command carry out throughout the army. It is known that those who fear me do not fear the enemy, and those who fear the enemy do not fear me.

"Sun Lei is so cruel! The Mongolian and Wanggu tribes fought for him, but he wanted to kill them like this!"

Yelu Dashi was terrified. Li Jing disciplined the army strictly and drove the Turks out of the east in one battle. Now Sun Lei wanted to do the same.

Hebula, Jiwusi and Anbahai were all greatly shocked. If the Thirteen Blows were really used to kill them, the entire Mongolian and Wanggu tribes would be finished. There were already heavy casualties in this battle, and if this kind of massacre were to happen again, the tribe would be completely finished.

"We promise!"

Without much hesitation, Hebule and Jiwusi agreed to Sun Lei's request. Sun Lei had just said that he would not give them too much time to think.

"Smart! A wise man knows the times! Let them out!"

Sun Lei was very satisfied. He waved his hand and asked the soldiers to open the prison door. The grassland was completely pacified. It only took a few years of governance, and the people of the grassland would no longer be separated from the Central Plains.

The reason why the people of the northern grasslands became the mortal enemies of the Central Plains is largely due to the greed of the grassland nobles. These people want to obtain the rich Central Plains, while the people of the grasslands only want some necessary supplies so that they can live well on the grasslands. War is not what ordinary people want.

Hebula and his men were overjoyed and hurried out of the cage. They were fed up with being treated like monkeys these past few days. Although they were mentally prepared, it was still hard for them to accept such humiliation as the Khan of a tribe.

"Your Majesty, we are willing to do the same!"

Seeing that the Mongolian and Wanggu tribes were fine, Yinan Khan also hurriedly begged.

"You also want to submit to me?"

Sun Lei laughed.

"Your Majesty, our Wanggu tribe has no hatred with Qi State. We only joined Western Liao because of our ancestors' relationship. We were forced to do so!"

Yinan Khan hurriedly explained, and his words were justified because their Naiman tribe did not have any direct conflict with the Qi State. Even the fighting was caused by the Mongolian and Wanggu tribes.

"What you said does make sense! There really is no hatred or resentment! You are far away from the Central Plains, with the grassland and Xixia in between!"

Sun Lei tilted his head and thought for a moment. He really seemed to have no grudges against the Naiman tribe. (End of this chapter)