Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 201
When the Qi Ji brothers were scheming against Xiang Kang behind the scenes, the main force of the Young Marshal's army was also led by Xiang Kang himself. He voluntarily gave up Yexian County and went south to the city of Yangcheng. However, on the issue of whether to attack Yangcheng, the Young Marshal There were two completely different voices within the army.

Including Uncle Zhou, who reassured Xiang Kang the most in the military, all the important generals of the Young Marshal Army advocated attacking Yangcheng. The reason is very simple. Yangcheng has not been affected by the flames of war. The harvest is not small, and in this era, Nanyang has a vast land and few people, and it is difficult to raise food and supplies. Of course, the precious food in Yangcheng City cannot be easily given up. Li Shiqi, who is more familiar with the military among the young commander's civilian officials, also agrees with this move.

Logically speaking, since the important generals of the Young Marshal Army unanimously agreed to attack Yangcheng, even if Chen Ping objected, it would certainly not have any effect. In the city, none of the young generals and Xiang Kang dared to ignore his opinion!Because this person was none other than Xiang Kang's oldest accomplice, Zhou Zeng, who was also the old boss of the young generals, so no one would easily refute his words.

"General You, I don't know much about military affairs. It stands to reason that I shouldn't interrupt everyone at this time, but I still want to say that we shouldn't attack Yangcheng by force. We should bypass Yangcheng and directly attack the city." Go south to Wancheng."

Zhou Zeng objected in this way, saying: "Although Nanyang County used to be the land of Chu, after being ruled by the Tyrant Qin for nearly a hundred years, the people of Nanyang have all regarded themselves as Qin people, and are full of hostility towards Chu people, so we are attacking Chu people. In Yang County and Ye County, both encountered stubborn resistance from the army and civilians in the city. Although we finally won the city, our casualties were not small. If we continue to attack Yang City, this will definitely be the result. Even if you break the city, you have to pay a certain price.”

"Since this is the case, we should not waste our troops and time to attack Yangcheng. We should go directly to Wancheng, because Wancheng is the county government of Nanyang. Taking Wancheng is equivalent to controlling the command center of the whole county of Nanyang. Donate benevolent government in Wancheng, buy people's hearts, and then use the officials in Wancheng who surrendered to contact Nanyang counties, let all Nanyang know our strict military discipline, and never commit any crimes against Li Shu civilians. This will definitely reduce the hostility of Nanyang soldiers and civilians towards us. Not only will it help us seize the remaining Nanyang cities, but it may even be possible to directly recruit and surrender, so that some Nanyang cities will voluntarily surrender."

Speaking of this, Zhou Zeng added another sentence, saying: "But if we forcibly seize Nanyang cities one by one by force, the situation will definitely be completely different. If we attack the cities one by one, there will be heavy casualties. Of course, too many people were killed in the battle. After the military and civilian life in Nanyang, their parents, wives and children will definitely hate us, which is extremely unfavorable for us to buy people's hearts, and may also affect our strategic plan to enter Guanzhong from Wuguan. to more tenacious resistance."

Zhou Zeng, who is good at civil affairs, seldom expressed his opinions on military matters, and what he said was quite reasonable. Naturally, Xiang Kang had to carefully consider his opinions. After thinking about it for a long time, Xiang Kang said to the young generals: "Everyone! General, you have also heard what Uncle Ya said. I think what he said is quite right. To shoot a man, you must first shoot the horse. To capture a thief, you must first capture the king. However, the effect is not very good. The Nanyang soldiers and civilians who consider themselves Qin people are still very resistant to us. As for the reason, I think it should be related to the fact that our benevolent government has not been known to enough Nanyang people. If we first take Go down to Wancheng, take advantage of Wancheng as the center of Nanyang county government, and promote our benevolent government to all parts of Nanyang, I think the situation will definitely change, what do you think?"

At this point in Xiang Kang's words, all the generals of the young generals nodded their heads one after another. Ding Ji, who had previously shouted to be the vanguard of the siege, also said: "General You, since you and Uncle Ya think that you should bypass Yangcheng first. To fight Wancheng, let's go and fight Wancheng first. Anyway, the Tyrant Qin army in Nanyang has already retreated to Wancheng. First take Wancheng and annihilate the main force of the Tyrant Qin army. Then we can fight other cities much easier. At least Don't worry about the threat of the Tyrant Qin army behind you."

Xiang Kang nodded in satisfaction, and immediately ordered the young generals who had not set up a battalion to continue to advance, bypassing Yangcheng and going south directly, and at the same time reiterated military discipline, strictly prohibiting the young generals from plundering civilian property and infringing on the people.Not to mention the result, seeing the young commander passing by without even touching the ordinary houses outside the city, the soldiers and civilians of Yangcheng were not only relieved, but also marveled at the strict military discipline of the young commander. The Young Marshal is no longer just filled with fear and hatred.

On the way to the south, Qi Feng, the envoy sent by Qi Ji, also got in touch with the Young Marshal Army. Seeing that he was also an anti-Qin righteous army, Xiang Kang also put down his identity and met Qi Feng, Qi Ji's brother of the same clan, in person. When Qi Feng, on behalf of Qi Ji, had the cheek to propose that he would join hands with the Young Marshals to attack Nanyang City, Xiang Kang flatly rejected Qi Ji's request, and said directly: "This general led the army to Nanyang to rescue those who were poisoned by the Tyrant Qin. Thousands of Li Shu in Nanyang are not for looting houses and looting the city. If your army is willing to join our Chu army and accept our recruitment, we will welcome you with high hands. This general can also guarantee that you will never treat Qi Duwei badly, but joining forces to attack the city will avoid it. , this general is not the kind of rogue who shares the loot with others."

"General You is really benevolent and righteous, but brother, he wants to join forces with General You to attack the city, not because he wants to poison the folks in Nanyang, but because he really wants to help you, General You, destroy Tyranny Qin and revive Chu."

Qi Feng is quite good at talking, first he followed Xiang Kang's meaning, and then he said plausibly: "General You, you have a strong army, maybe you don't need the help of your brother's army to attack the city, but since ancient times, those who have achieved the Tao will help. Our Qi family is from Nanyang. Big family, the tree has deep roots in Nanyang, deep connections, and is familiar with Nanyang's customs, customs, geography and roads. If General You can agree to join forces with us, our army will definitely be able to help you a lot. General You, you have come from afar. Don’t you want a local volunteer army from Nanyang to act as your guide and help you persuade the soldiers and civilians from all over Nanyang to surrender voluntarily?”

If he could get the support of a big local family like Qi Ji, it would be much easier for the Young Marshal to try to buy Nanyang people's hearts, but Xiang Kang has already suffered enough from joining forces with others, and he is even more unwilling to see the reappearance of orders in his army. Xiang Kang flatly rejected Qi Feng's persuasion, emphasizing once again that he only wanted to incorporate Qi Ji's troops, and he was unwilling to join forces with Qi Ji's army. Qi Feng's repeated persuasion was useless, so he had no choice but to return in despair Li County returned to Qi Ji.

A few days later, the young marshals carrying a large amount of food, grass and military supplies arrived at the foot of Nanyang City smoothly. What made Xiang Kang frown was that, after learning the lessons of the previous field battles, Lu Yu, the governor of Nanyang County, voluntarily abandoned the Baihe Ferry and withdrew all the troops to the city. Stationed, did not set up any camps outside the city, and used all their strength to guard the city.At the same time, the Young Marshal Jun Xiaozuo also sent a report, saying that the number of Qin troops in Wancheng was at least [-], and their strength was quite strong, which was definitely more than enough to defend the city.

No matter how hard you frown, it's useless. Although the siege of the city was extremely difficult, Xiang Kang let the young commander cross the Baihe River on the same day, and arranged the camp on the bank of the Baihe River eight miles outside the north gate of Wancheng. He and Chen Pingping were important civil and military officials, and under the protection of a team of cavalry, they came to Nanyang City in person to inspect the Nanyang city defenses on the spot and think about how to break the city.

The results of the field survey made Xiang Kang even more frowned. As the county government of Nanyang, the city walls of Wancheng are taller and thicker than ordinary county towns. Of course, the moat also introduces the flowing water of the Baihe River, which is extremely difficult to pass through. In addition, the Qin army is still in the moat A sheep and horse wall was repaired between the city wall, which can cover the nurses and shoot arrows directly out of the city, so that the soldiers of the young marshal have to pay a heavy price even if they want to fill up the moat and open the way for troops to enter.So Xiang Kang also quickly came to a conclusion and said: "It must be difficult to attack Nancheng Wancheng by force. We can only find ways to outsmart it. At the very least, we must first lure the Tyrant Qin army out of the city and injure them outside the city." , and then we have the hope of a successful attack."

Uncle Zhou and Chen Ping nodded together, and racked their brains together with Xiang Kang to figure out how to use despicable means to opportunistically win Wancheng. As a result, at this time, the Korean Situ Zhang Liang who lived in the Marshal's camp as a guest also He brought two entourages to Nanyang City to investigate the enemy's situation. After seeing Xiang Kang outside the city, Zhang Liang took the initiative to come over to salute and say hello. , and my third uncle is a life-and-death friend, so there is no need to make so many hypocrisy."

"As expected, General You hasn't changed at all, and he still doesn't like red tape." Zhang Liang smiled gently, and asked, "General You has come to the city in person, what loopholes can you find in the city defense?"

"It would be great if it was so easy to find the loopholes in the city's defense." Xiang Kang smiled and asked, "Uncle, what advice do you have regarding our army's attack on Wancheng?"

"The right general uses his troops like a god, and his resourcefulness is outstanding. How dare the foreign ministers fight against you?" Zhang Liang said modestly, and then said: "However, regarding this battle, the foreign ministers have a little immature and foolish opinion. I don't know if the right general is willing to listen to it."

"Uncle, please give me advice, my nephew is all ears." Xiang Kang, who knew how powerful Zhang Liang was, said hastily.

"In the battle of Wancheng, the foreign ministers believe that attacking the city should be the bottom line, and attacking the heart should be the top priority." Zhang Liang, who finally got a chance to perform in front of Xiang Kang, was not polite, and said: "All the Tyrant Qin troops withdrew to the city to defend the city, the right general If you blindly attack by force, it must be very difficult to break through the city. Even if you manage to succeed, the casualties of your army, General You, will not be too small. But since the Tyrant Qin army did not dare to set up camp outside the city, this also shows that Tyrant Qin The army is already afraid of the tigers and wolves under your command, General You, and has lost all courage. They no longer dare to hope to defeat your army, General You. They only dare to dream of closing the city to protect themselves. You can get twice the result with half the effort."

"Attacking the heart is of course a good strategy, but how should we do it?" Xiang Kang asked.

"General You, why don't you try to send envoys to surrender?" Zhang Liang suggested: "The one who can decide to let the Tyrant Qin army abandon the vital points outside the city and retreat into the city to defend the city must be the governor of Nanyang County, Lu Yu. The reason why he made this decision The decision also shows that he is completely afraid of your army, General You. If this is the case, why don’t you try to recruit Lu Yu directly, General You, and persuade him to take the initiative to open the city and surrender. Isn't it possible to take down Wancheng without bloodshed?"

"Surrender Lu Yu directly? Is that so easy?" Xiang Kang said with a wry smile: "If I remember correctly, it seems that since I and King Zhang Chu raised troops successively, there has not been a tyrant Qin County guard who has taken the initiative to surrender. Remember in Yangyang No, Zhai, Gao Jing, the prefect of Yingchuan County, has reached the end of the road, and he has not wavered in the slightest, not to mention that Lu Yu still has enough troops to defend the city."

"Since you, General You, and King Zhang Chu raised troops successively, there has indeed been no tyrant Qin county guard who voluntarily surrendered, but Lu Wei may not have failed to break the convention and become the first tyrant Qin county guard to voluntarily surrender."

Zhang Liang replied confidently, and then said: "In the Battle of Jixian County, the Baoqin army under Lu Ji not only suffered a disastrous defeat, but also almost lost all the Guanzhong reinforcements sent to him by the Baoqin court, plus your army, General You. Directly entering the hinterland of Nanyang, threatening the safety of Wuguan, if these circumstances are known to the Tyrant Qin court, the Tyrant Qin court will definitely not let it go, even if Lu Wei is not sent to prison for questioning, it will definitely be reprimanded below, and Lu Lu will be ordered to perform crimes and meritorious deeds. Give General Right a chance for your army to threaten the hinterland of Guanzhong."

"But the current situation is that, let alone obstructing General You from entering the Guanzhong, it is difficult to protect yourself. There is absolutely no possibility of making meritorious service and atonement. Sooner or later, he will be held accountable by the Qin Dynasty. If the emissary sent by you, General You, explained this truth to Lu Jue, and promised high officials, rich salary, and even feudal titles, Lu Jue might not be able to make a wise choice."

Xiang Kang thought about it and found that Zhang Liang's proposal could indeed be given a try. Even if it didn't succeed, the great thing would be to lose an envoy. Moreover, it is rare to kill an envoy in this era. After failing to recruit and surrender, he might not even have an envoy What a loss, so Xiang Kang quickly made up his mind and said, "Let's give it a try. I will arrange an envoy to go to the city to persuade Lu Yu to open the city and surrender."

With an attitude of giving it a try, after returning to the Young Marshal's camp that was still under construction, Xiang Kang actually set about arranging for envoys to enter the city to surrender. As a result, Li Shiqi, who was the best at recruiting surrender in the history of the late Qin Dynasty, of course stood up immediately. He came out and volunteered to go to the city to recruit Lu Yu for Xiang Kang.It's a pity that Xiang Kang was reluctant to take the risk of a talent like Li Shiqi, and he flatly shook his head and refused, saying: "Mr. Li is very courageous, but it is too dangerous to go to the city to surrender, and Lu Wei still has the strength to fight. If you make a murderous move, I will lose an arm in pain."

"I'm not afraid." Li Shiqi still insisted, and said, "I'm willing to take the risk and use my three-inch tongue to persuade you, General You, to persuade Lu Kai to surrender."

Xiang Kang, who doesn't like to take risks, still refuses. During the dispute, Xiang Kang suddenly remembered Shusun Tong who made great achievements in Yangzhai last time, and hurriedly ignored Li Shiqi's insistence, and sent someone to call Shusun Tong to him , ordered him to act as his envoy, carrying a letter into the city to persuade Lu Yu to lead his army to surrender.

Completely different from the cowardly old man Li, Uncle Sun Tong, who is known to love his own life, after listening to Xiang Kang's arrangement, of course, sweated on his forehead, trembling for a long time and dared not say a word, but Xiang Kang couldn't help but make people The letter of surrender and the gift to Lu Yu were stuffed through Shusuntong, forcing him to go into the city to contact Lu Yu immediately, and said with a smile on his face: "Mr. Shusun, can our army take down Wancheng without bloodshed?" , It all depends on your superb eloquence. If you really can’t persuade Lu Yu to surrender, it doesn’t matter. If you can help me trick the Qin army out of the city to fight like last time, I will still give you a great credit.”

"General You, is that so easy? It was just a coincidence last time, how can I have such good luck every time, Xiaguan?"

Shusun Tong almost didn't cry, but he was soft-spoken, took Xiang Kang's salary, money and food, and didn't have the guts to abandon his job and run for his life, so Mr. Shusun had no choice but to come here in a carriage under the 'escort' of the young generals. He went to Wancheng to call the door, and tied his head to his belt for the second time to serve as the emissary to recruit Xiang Kang.

In fact, Mr. Shusun needn't be so worried, because not only is Lu Wei, the governor of Nanyang County, not as stubborn as Gao Jing, the governor of Yingchuan County, but he also hates Mr. Shusun who betrayed Daqin. On the first day, I received an urgent letter from Zhao Gao from Xianyang, urging him to annihilate the Young Marshal Army in Nanyang no matter what. Settle the score and behead Lu Wei! ——Everyone knows that Lu Yu has absolutely no hope of completing this absurd task.

It is precisely because of such objective conditions that Mr. Shu Sun was not taken down immediately after entering the city trembling all over, and he was also kindly invited into the Nanyang County Guard's Mansion by the soldiers of the Qin Army. I met Lu Wei as a guest, as well as Lu Wei's absolute confidant Chen Hui.Then, Mr. Uncle Sun gradually built up his courage. First, he slapped Lu Yu's flattery wildly, and then followed Xiang Kang's instructions, and after using very beautiful words to Xiao Lu, Lu Yu not only did not fly into a rage, but on the contrary There was also a little hesitation.

Since ancient times, people who are good at flattering people are basically good at observing words and demeanor. Mr. Shusun is the top expert among them. When he found that Lu Wei was a little shaken, Mr. Shusun was unavoidably surprised, and said to himself: "Is there really a door? If Kaesong surrenders, this old man will not only be able to make great contributions, but he will definitely be famous all over the world!"

Hope was ignited in his heart, and Mr. Shusun hurriedly said again: "Mr. Lu Junzun, please forgive me for speaking bluntly. Right now, you really have no other choice but to open the city and surrender. Our Chu army is so sharp, how sharp are you? I have seen it with my own eyes. No matter how strong Wancheng is, there is absolutely no hope that it can stop the army of our right general from attacking the city. Take ten thousand steps back and say, even if you, Lu Junzun, are lucky enough to hold Wancheng, the Tyrant Qin court and The tyrant Hu Hai will never let you go lightly."

Speaking of this, Mr. Shusun paused, and then said: "The envoy is definitely not alarmist. The envoy once served as a doctor of imperial edict in the tyrannical Qin court. The envoy has seen with his own eyes how cruel Hu Hai is. His sixteen Brother, 12 people were beheaded by him on the streets of Xianyang, three of them were forced to commit suicide by him, and the remaining prince Yinggao was forced by him to ask to be buried as the late emperor, so he barely died a decent death, and his The ten sisters, Princess Daqin, who was no threat to his throne, were also executed by his disheveled car in Du County. He was so vicious and ruthless to his brothers and sisters, how could he forgive you for your fiasco in Ji County and let our Chu army The fault of entering the hinterland of Nanyang?"

"Also, Li You and Li Junzun are also an example." Mr. Shusun said again: "He defended the isolated city in Xingyang, and he alone resisted Zhang Chu's tens of thousands of troops. The slightest reward, on the contrary, sent Wang Ming and Chen Zongzheng to Sanchuan County to investigate his faults, Li Junzun’s father, Prime Minister Li Si, and his brothers and sisters were also ordered by Hu Hai to be cut in half in Xianyang, Yin Jian is not far away, Lu Junzun, don’t you want to repeat the same mistakes?”

Mr. Uncle Sun, who is serious, is indeed very capable. These words and sentences have hit the heart of Lu Yu. Thinking of Hu Hai's cruelty, and Li You, who has made great contributions to the Great Qin Dynasty, the whole family is tragic. In the end, Lu Wei, who was already a little shaken, inevitably hesitated even more, and couldn't help but start thinking about the choice of surrendering to Xiang Kang.Mr. Shusun saw what was going on in Lu Yu's mind, and he was overjoyed. He hurriedly said, "Your Majesty Lu, don't hesitate anymore. No matter whether Wancheng can be defended or not, you are already dead, only..."

"Lu Junzun, the last general, Ma Dayan, please see me!"

The sudden shouting sound interrupted Mr. Shusun's eloquent tongue, and then, before Lu Kui agreed to meet him, the tall Ma Dalin strode up to the lobby of Nanyang County Sheriff's Mansion, and said When he went to the hall, he pointed to Mr. Uncle Sun and asked: "Mr. Lu Jun, the general heard that Xiang Kang's bandit army sent an envoy. Is it this old man?"

"Baicai, here comes a stubborn idiot, there is little hope of surrendering, and the old man may be in danger." Mr. Shusun groaned in his heart, and the sweat that had disappeared was immediately covered again. Uncle Sun's forehead.

(End of this chapter)