I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 852 Big Appetite
Changshan, Jizhou, the headquarters of the Han army.

"The general is wise."

After a brief moment of trance, Ju Shou thought of his mission, and immediately perked up, straightened his back, and looked directly into Su Yao's eyes:

"I came here not for personal honor or disgrace, but to plead for the people of Jizhou."

"Oh? You mean to plead for the people?"

Su Yao raised his eyebrows and snorted coldly:
"Ju Gongyu, your words are very pleasant to hear."

"When I tried to persuade Han Fu to surrender, you didn't consider the people and persuade him to surrender with courtesy. Instead, you helped Zhou to commit atrocities and mobilized the whole state to fight against my imperial army."

"Now that you are defeated and can't be saved, you come to me and pretend to be a good person?"

When Ju Su heard this, his face changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

Ju Su took a deep breath, bowed and said:

"General, I served Envoy Han before, fulfilling my duty as a subject. I hope you can forgive me if I have offended you."

"But the situation is different now. The general is so powerful that he is invincible wherever his troops go. The people of Jizhou are in a state of panic, and tens of thousands of residents in Gaoyi City are even more on the verge of death."

"At this moment, Han Shijun is stubborn and self-willed. Not only does he not think about the welfare of the people, but he abandons himself and puts the blame on us. He has trapped the county government and has ignored the lives of the people in the city."

"Although I am dull, I understand the general trend of the world. Now that the Han envoy has been defeated, in order to protect the innocent people from the calamity of war, I have come here on behalf of the officials and people of the city to beg for surrender from the general."

"I hope you will show mercy for the sake of the people of this world. If the general can spare the lives of the people in this city, I will die as an apology and leave it to the general to deal with."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ju Su knelt down on the ground with a thud and didn't utter another word.

Suddenly, there was dead silence in the tent, with only the sound of Su Yao's footsteps.

As Su Yao moved, he glanced at Ju Su who was kneeling on the ground. After a moment, Su Yao finally stopped and snorted coldly:

"To die as an apology? That sounds good, but do you think this general would value your life?"

Su Yao stood with his hands behind his back, slowly walked to the table in the middle of the tent, and his eyes fell on the surrender letter:

"You keep saying innocent people, but I, Su Yao, act uprightly. When will I implicate innocent people?"

"In my opinion, the list on your surrender list is probably the most important one, right?"

"Tian Feng, Shen Pei, and the others look familiar. Even the fugitive Cui Lie is among them. Aren't these people from the local aristocratic families? Are these the innocent people you mentioned?"

"If I remember correctly, when Han Fu rebelled against the imperial court, these local noble families made great efforts to encourage him."

"Han Fu is dead now, but they think they can let bygones be bygones by offering an empty city, and continue to bully and abuse their power in Jizhou?"

Su Yao raised his lips in a mocking arc:

"Ju Gongyu, you guys look down on me too much, don't you?"

When Ju Su heard this, he was struck by lightning and broke out in a sweat. His body was trembling, his forehead pressed against the ground, and sweat flowed down his temples, wetting the felt blanket in front of him.

There is no doubt that the general's words hit the nail on the head.

The Jizhou aristocratic families are different from those of Youzhou. Because of their large size and power, they are more opposed to Su Yao's policy reforms. They played many disgraceful roles in the Jizhou rebellion. Their current attempts to seek peace are inevitably speculative.

However, almost everyone is involved in this kind of thing, and if you don't speak out, you won't hold everyone responsible. There are so many aristocratic families, landlords, wealthy businessmen, and scholars and students. You, the general, can't kill them all, right?
What’s the difference between that and a massacre?
We are begging for mercy now to give each other some dignity. You are good, I am good, everyone is good, isn't that good?
This was what Cui Lie and others were thinking at the time.

They made every effort to admit their mistakes, ask for forgiveness from the general, and give him a way out. In this way, they can continue to be loyal soldiers of the Han Dynasty in the future.

Ju Shou naturally knew all these things, but this is the truth, but it can't be said that way. So, Ju Shou took a deep breath and explained with a stiff neck:

"Great General, please understand!"

"Although the Jizhou noble families had made foolish moves in the past, they now realize their mistakes and are willing to mend their ways and sincerely submit to the imperial court."

"The aristocratic families of Jizhou have been operating in the area for many years and know the local situation inside out. There are also many knowledgeable people among the clan members. If the general can use both kindness and force to bring them under his command and make use of them, it will be of great benefit to the long-term stability of Jizhou."

"Jizhou has gone through war and is in ruins. It needs all parties to work together to restore its vitality."

"The noble families each hold land, population, and wealth. This time, they have listed their names in the surrender letter to show their determination. They are willing to take practical actions to make up for their past mistakes and help the general quickly stabilize the situation and appease the people!"

Indeed, if the noble families were willing to help, local security would certainly be much better.

But do I need it?

Su Yao remained silent, walked to the door of the tent, lifted the curtain and looked around.

Outside, the Han army tents were endless, the blood-red battle flags fluttered in the wind, and the soldiers were ready to fight, with high morale.

"Ju Gongyu, did you see that?"

Su Yao chuckled, turned around, and looked at Ju Shou again:
"This general fought in all directions relying on the swords, horses and the blood of his soldiers. Why would he care about the so-called help from your noble families?"

As he spoke, Su Yao's voice became colder and his eyes became sharper:
"You instigated Han Fu to oppose me before, and now that you have been defeated, you want to easily write off your past sins with a letter of surrender. How can such a thing be so easy in the world?"

"If you really want to repent, you should show your true sincerity instead of trying to fool me with a surrender letter and some nonsense."

"Don't even mention opening the city to surrender. In my opinion, your broken Gaoyi City won't last even a day."

Ju Su fell to the ground, unable to get up, cold sweat soaking his back, and he secretly groaned in his heart.

The most feared thing finally happened. This great general was so smart that he didn't look like a brave warrior at all. The usual high-sounding rhetoric was completely useless to him.

Ju Su took a deep breath, was silent for a moment, raised his head, and spoke slowly:
"General, I understand what you mean. The Jizhou family has indeed committed serious sins in the past. If we want to seek forgiveness from the general, it is difficult to convince the people with just this letter of surrender."

Ju Su gritted his teeth and said:
"How about this? My Jizhou family is willing to donate half of its land as military funds to help the general in his future campaigns. And all the sons of the family who are sixteen years old or above can be incorporated into the army and serve the court at the general's command, so as to make up for the mistakes we made before."

"Half of the land and the children will join the army?"

Su Yao raised his eyebrows slightly, with a thoughtful look in his eyes:
"It's finally a little interesting, but it's not enough."

"I think you should understand that if my army enters the city and crushes you rebels into dust, then these lands and people will still be mine in the end."

Su Yao paced back to the table, tapping it lightly with his fingertips, making a dull sound:

"What you are proposing is nothing more than what I deserve. How can you call it sincerity?"

Oh my god.

Are you a general or a robber?
Isn't this too big of an appetite?

Hearing Su Yao's words, veins popped up on Ju Su's forehead, and his wrists and lips trembled uncontrollably.
How to do.

What to do?

Ju Su was in a hurry, in a hurry, in a hurry, in a hurry.

(End of this chapter)