Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 161 Conquering the enemy without fighting

Since the Zhaoyong Army captured Kunlun Pass, the city of Nanning has been in turmoil and panic. Soldiers and civilians cannot sleep at night, and are restless during the day, feeling anxious all day long.

However, the actions of the Zhaoyong Army were always unexpected. They did not attack Nanning directly, but instead made a feint and turned to Huanghuayi to intercept Xu Biao's army.

Even though the army was defeated and Xu Biao was dead, the Zhaoyong army did not take advantage of the victory to attack the city, but instead stationed troops at Huanghuayi, busy resting the troops and dealing with prisoners of war.

The situation gradually became clear, and everyone knew that Nanning had no defenses and no soldiers were available. As long as Cen Danchu wanted to seize Nanning, the Zhaoyong Army would break into the city at any time.

Fortunately, the Zhaoyong Army had strict discipline and neither killed prisoners nor looted civilians. Cen Danchu even held a memorial ceremony for Xu Biao at Huanghuayi and had his body sewn up. When the news spread, the army and civilians were deeply moved.

In this day and age, warriors are killing each other and the flags on the city walls are changing. Everyone is used to it. The Zhaoyong Army annihilated Xu Biao in just ten days, which shows how strong its fighting power is. Cen Danchu has always been kind and righteous. Isn't it better for him to rule Nanning than Xu Biao and Chen Bangfu?
With this psychological preparation, the army and civilians in Nanning gradually settled down, officials and wealthy people stopped fleeing, and shops and taverns gradually opened. After several days of panic, the city of Nanning was ready to welcome a new master.

On December 6, He Yun was ordered by Danchu to go to Nanning to persuade the garrison to surrender. He did not show off his military power, but only brought four soldiers and a carriage with a coffin containing Xu Biao's body.

The person who held the power in Nanning at the moment was a man named Feng Bingdan. Feng Bingdan was from Lingui (a suburb of Guilin Prefecture), and was a juren in Guangxi in the third year of Chongzhen. He was now the deputy military supervisor of Guangxi and was Xu Biao's strategist and confidant.

Xu Biao was born a bandit, but he respected scholars and had great respect for Feng Bingdan. Feng Bingdan also repeatedly advised Xu Biao to pacify the people and stop killing, and was highly regarded by Xu Biao, so he was ordered to stay in Nanning.

The news that Xu Biao was defeated and killed was confirmed. Feng Bingdan was worried that he would be affected, and he was in a state of panic all day long. When he heard that He Yun came to lobby, he felt like he had grabbed a life-saving straw and immediately went to the top of the city to respond.

"My Lord Feng, I am here to pay my respects." He Yun bowed and saluted at the foot of the city, with a joking tone in his voice.

His official position in the court was the military supervisor of Zhaoyong Army, while Feng Bingdan's official position was the assistant military supervisor of Guangxi, which could be regarded as a relationship between superiors and subordinates. Before that, He Yunjiu worked in Qu Shisi's staff and spent a lot of time in Guilin, where he met Dai Bingdan several times.

"Mr. He, I dare not, I dare not, I wonder what the purpose of today is?" Feng Bingdan asked knowingly.

"My Lord, do you intend to let me stand at the foot of the city and shout across the river?"

How could He Yun, who only brought four soldiers, have the courage to enter the city?

Feng Bingdan was not afraid of those who wore shoes, so he said, "Mr. He, please bear with me and let me in through the city walls, okay?"

"It's fine with me, but this coffin contains the body of Governor Xu, and Marshal Cen ordered me to go into the city to return the body."

Feng Bingdan felt guilty, knowing that the Zhaoyong Army was full of tricks, and was afraid that they would take the opportunity to attack the city. But Xu Biao was his benefactor, and he could not refuse Xu Biao's corpse anyway.

Anyway, He Yun only had four soldiers, so it was hard to accomplish the task. Feng Bingdan gave instructions to his subordinates, made preparations, and ordered the city gates to be opened.

Fortunately, there was nothing unusual. As soon as the city gate opened, dozens of soldiers surrounded it, seemingly wanting to find out the news, but they did not dare to act rashly.

When He Yun saw this, he knew that the defenders' morale was in chaos and Feng Bingdan could no longer control the soldiers, so he became more confident.

The Intelligence Bureau also deployed scouts in the city, ready to start an uprising at any time. Given the current situation, it would only take a few minutes for the Zhaoyong Army to break into the city. However, Danchu insisted on defeating the enemy without fighting, and forced the Nanning defenders to surrender. During his lifetime, Xu Biao occupied two prefectures, Nanning and Taiping, and four other prefectures and counties, Xinning Prefecture, Yongchun County, Hengzhou, and Longan County, with Nanning as his base. As long as Nanning surrendered, the rest of the prefectures and counties would surrender.

In addition, Nanning and Taiping Prefectures also had a large number of vassal states controlled by local chieftains, with varying degrees of closeness to Nanning. Taiping Prefecture alone had nearly twenty vassal states.

Between Nanning and Taiping are Siming Prefecture, Jiangzhou Prefecture, and Siling Prefecture, and most winds come from Nanning.

The former governor, Zhao Yi, inherited the position of Jinyiwei commander, and when he was in charge of Nanning, he became friendly with the above-mentioned chieftains. The above-mentioned vassal states mostly obeyed Zhao Yi's call, and when Emperor Yongli visited Nanning, the chieftains provided money and food, and sent troops to guard the palace, which was quite active.

There is a big difference between conquering the enemy without fighting and winning the battle, and the impact on the chieftains is also different. The Zhaoyong Army had gone through a long expedition and had few troops and horses. If they could occupy various places peacefully, it would not be convenient to use force to conquer.

"Xu Zhentai was defeated by our army and fled to the eastern foot of Kunlun Mountain. He only had 14 riders left and was captured by the natives. The natives coveted his armor and weapons, poisoned him and killed him, and presented his head." He Yunyao clasped his fists in the direction of Huanghuayi and said, "Our commander-in-chief took pity on his loyalty and asked the natives for his body, sewed up the corpse, and held a memorial ceremony for him."

Feng Bingdan knew of Cao Cao's trick of crying and offering sacrifice to Yuan Shao. The soldiers around him came over and asked, "Mr. He, are you serious? Is Marshal Cen really so magnanimous?"

Feng Bingdan had served as a military supervisor for many years and was disgusted with these capricious warriors. When Xu Biao was alive, he granted Feng Bingdan the right to stay in Nanning, and he was still able to control them. After Xu Biao's death, the warriors became even more unruly, gathering together to plot all day, as if they were ready to surrender the city. If Feng Bingdan had not had 300 people loyal to Xu Biao, they would have probably taken action long ago. Now, with Xu Biao's coffin in front of them, the loyalty of these 300 people is of great concern.

"Marshal Cen is known for his kindness and compassion. Your army captured no less than five or six thousand people at Kunlun Pass and Huanghuayi. The Marshal strictly prohibited the killing of prisoners, gave medicine to the sick, and fed the hungry. I'm sure you have heard about this..."

Feng Bingdan interrupted He Yun and said to the soldiers, "Marshal Xu has been very kind to us. Although our army has been defeated, we must not lose our duty."

Someone muttered, "With such a small number of troops, are we going to defend Nanning to the death?"

Feng Bingdan did not say anything. He Yun sneered and said, "Marshal Cen is kind and righteous. He ordered me to return the body. Please examine it."

The soldiers opened the coffin lid and revealed Xu Biao's body. Although it was winter, there was a slight stench of corpse.

"Ah?" Although they were prepared, after seeing Xu Biao's body, everyone still couldn't help but cover their noses with their sleeves and let out bursts of fear.

Feng Bingdan thought of Xu Biao's kindness to him, and he was overwhelmed with grief. He burst into tears and threw himself in front of the coffin, crying, "Marshal!"

He Yun looked stern and said, "Sir, you are an official appointed by the court, not Xu Zhentai's private official. Xu Zhentai was defeated and killed, you should turn over a new leaf and continue to work for the court. Why are you crying like a woman?"

"Gentlemen," he turned to the soldiers around him and said, "You are all soldiers of the court, not Xu Zhentai's private soldiers. Xu Zhentai is dead, and you should also repent and serve the court.

"Marshal Cen is the deputy governor, holding the seal of the general who conquers the barbarians. He is the son-in-law of Qu Ge Lao and the favorite general of Xinxing Hou. He is wise and brave, and has a promising future. The Zhaoyong Army is strong and powerful, and is invincible in battle and attack. It is easy to capture Nanning.

"Nanning was once the imperial palace, and the palace is still there, but Governor Xu and Duke Qing have been fighting for years, and the people have suffered for a long time. Marshal Cen couldn't bear to send more troops, so he sent me to lobby. If you don't take this opportunity to surrender the city and make merit, do you still want to resist stubbornly?"

"Of course, of course." Before Feng Bingdan could respond, some warriors rushed to express their opinions.

(End of this chapter)