My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 236 Damages One's Moral Character
The scorching sun beat down on the earth.

The sounds of fighting and screams were incessant.

Numerous armored soldiers, like herding sheep, drove the scantily clad, unarmed laborers, each armed with only a wooden stick, relentlessly charging towards the fortified village!
This fortified village was built against the mountainside, requiring soldiers to charge upwards, and the mountain road was extremely narrow, allowing only less than a hundred people to charge at a time.

The fortified village was built entirely in imitation of a city. Its walls were very high, and the garrison soldiers inside stood on the walls. From their high vantage point, they could easily shoot down any charging soldiers, either hitting vital organs to kill them instantly, or shooting their arms and legs to render them unable to move and leave them lying on the ground waiting to die.

Outside the fortified village.

The bodies of the able-bodied men who died in the charge piled up like a small hill.

however……

Soon, more brave men, fearless of death, launched another charge, and with each volley of arrows, corpses were left scattered on the ground.

They seemed to be constantly repelling the bandits' attacks.

However, the commander guarding the fortified village was not happy at all.

They killed only able-bodied men. The bandits' elite soldiers didn't even charge forward. They were all behind as the supervisors. If any able-bodied man dared to turn back and not charge towards the fortified village, he would be killed by the supervisors behind him!

They couldn't open the city gates to retrieve the arrows from the corpses. If they continued to lose arrows like this, they would run out of arrows in the fortress, and they would be powerless to stop the bandits from approaching the city gates.

"Damn it! Where did that scoundrel Ge Rong get so many strong men? He treats human life like dirt, it's truly despicable!"

"There must have been many people from Hebei under his command, who just stood by and watched their fellow villagers die tragically before their eyes?"

This place is more than 100 li east of Yangping County, Xiangzhou.

This was a 'easy target' that Ge Rong had deliberately chosen on Yuwen Luosheng's advice.

Qinghe County is located directly to the north, only about two hundred li away from here.

The purpose was to make an example of them, to capture this fortified village and intimidate the Cui clan of Qinghe. If the Cui clan of Qinghe could be made to submit, then all the Han Chinese aristocratic families in Hebei would have to obediently send able-bodied men and money to support Ge Rong.

In fact, Ge Rong did not completely disregard the will of the people.

He deliberately chose Xiangzhou as the location, as he did not yet have actual control over the city and the court officials were still holed up inside resisting.

After using up all the able-bodied men captured from Sizhou, they began to capture men in Xiangzhou as well.

Ge Rong's own base camp.

The people of Ji, Ding, and Ying prefectures were fine, and they didn't have any objections to his behavior.

The people of Sizhou and Xiangzhou have died. What does that have to do with the people of Ji, Ding, and Yingzhou?

Yuwen Luosheng and the others watched from a distance.

"How many people died? Three thousand? Or more?"

Ge Rong asked.

There was a commotion at the foot of the mountain. It was clear that the conscripts who were about to die had lost their minds and wanted to escape when they saw the mountain of corpses not far away. However, they were caught by the supervisory team, who shouted at them and then beheaded them in front of all the conscripts!

"Keep charging! Whoever scales the city walls and opens the gates will be crowned king! If you dare to continue fleeing, that will be your fate!!"

The able-bodied men, however, had blank expressions and lifeless eyes, looking like walking corpses.

If you continue to fight, you can still ensure that you die with your body intact; if you try to escape, you will be torn apart from your body.

They watched as the supervisory team once again drove the able-bodied men to launch an attack.

Yuwen Luosheng replied, "Your Majesty, the garrison inside the fortified village is clearly unable to hold out any longer. They cannot withdraw their arrows, and the city's weapons and supplies will inevitably be depleted step by step."

"By taking this fortified village in this way, we can intimidate the people of other fortified villages in the surrounding area and force them to send able-bodied men and money and grain over."

"It was the plan offered by the Prince of Yuyang that worked. Although it was a bit ruthless, it was indeed ingenious!"

Ge Rong couldn't help but offer a few words of praise.

Yuwen Luosheng's plan was indeed effective.

Ge Rong is still conscripting men all over Sizhou and Xiangzhou.

This method can also indirectly intimidate the garrison in the city.

“In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are needed. These people are not under Your Majesty's rule, so why should we care about their lives?”

Yuwen Luosheng coldly said, "I request Your Majesty to order two more charges, after which men can be sent to the city gates to issue a warning." "Very well! As the Prince of Yuyang says!"

Killing people does indeed work.

Those who died were all conscripts from other places, so it wouldn't affect Ge Rong's morale.

On the contrary, the people inside the fortified village were filled with fear when they saw Ge Rong treating human life like dirt. If Ge Rong were to breach the fortified village, would the people inside still have a chance to survive?
Until sunset.

Unable to withstand the attrition any longer, the commander of the fortified village took the initiative to send his trusted confidants out of the city.

They were willing to submit to Ge Rong and provided him with some grain and able-bodied men, finally managing to overcome a tough obstacle!

"it is good!"

Ge Rong was overjoyed!

Yuwen Luosheng quickly suggested, "Your Majesty, have him send letters to the surrounding fortified villages and to the Cui family in Qinghe, so that they can persuade others!"

"At the same time... tomorrow we will head north and continue to intimidate the next fortified village in the same way!"

Yuwen Luosheng knew very well.

The Cui family of Qinghe was a truly noble family. The fortified village they built was exactly like a proper city. Moreover, they were so wealthy that the fortified village had everything they needed. It would be unrealistic to try to use the same method to weaken the Cui family of Qinghe.

Where did all those lives come from to be sacrificed?

With years of war, the population had already dwindled significantly. If there hadn't been absolutely no other way, he wouldn't have suggested to Ge Rong that such a method—where sons are born without an anus, leading to the extinction of their lineage and needlessly weakening their own forces—would have been a last resort.

After all, with a little training, these refugees could be incorporated into the army and expand their own power.

Why? Because Ge Rong didn't have enough grain to feed so many people.

This would force most of the small and medium-sized fortified villages in Hebei to submit and compel them to persuade the Cui family of Qinghe.

The Cui family of Qinghe had no choice but to bow their heads, or they would become the target of public criticism.

"I wonder if the Liang Dynasty in the south is willing to send troops. Xing Gao in Shandong should not refuse to form an alliance with His Majesty."

"Judging by the timeline, there should be news soon, right?"

"The Rouran king in the north has agreed to lead his troops south, through Shuozhou, to attack Mayi and put pressure on Erzhu Rong. Once the Southern Liang's northern expeditionary army arrives, Erzhu Rong will be besieged!"

Ge Rong seemed to have already seen the dawn of victory!

After he left.

Dugu Xin sighed, "Sanlang, your actions... are probably detrimental to your karma."

Yuwen Luosheng remained silent; he had no way out.

If he had joined Erzhu Rong's forces much earlier, like the Heba brothers, he would not have been willing to submit to Ge Rong.

but……

too late.

He could no longer offer Erzhu a helping hand in times of need; his presence there would only be icing on the cake, and he was destined never to be given an important position.

Then they can only be bound to Ge Rong's chariot.

I will help Ge Rong seize the throne so that I can become a loyal minister and enjoy the credit for supporting his ascension!

Say.

The more Ge Rong values ​​and relies on me, the easier it will be for me to replace Ge Rong in the future.

Yuwen Tai looked at Yuwen Luosheng and then at Dugu Xin, wanting to speak but unable to utter a word.

Just as they were setting off for the next fortified village.

Ge Rong's special envoy rode towards the military camp!

The special envoy finally brought Ge Rong some good news.

"Your Majesty! The Southern Liang has agreed to launch a northern expedition! Their army has already set off!"

(End of this chapter)