The Prodigal Son

In the afternoon, the battle results and casualties were tallied and sent to Xue Chengdao.

In this battle, the Yan army at Panshi Fort was almost completely wiped out, with only a few Yan soldiers escaping in the chaos. They captured more than 18,000 prisoners.

Wang Sengyuan and Zongzhao were killed in battle, and Wu Huaishan was wounded and captured.

On the Ningjun side, more than 1,700 soldiers were killed in battle, and another 2,000 or so were wounded and had to withdraw from the battle.

Most of the casualties came from the troops led by Yuan Ji and Liang Hongqiao.

After reporting the battle results and losses to Xue Chengdao, Geng Fu asked with a headache, "General Xue, what should we do with these 18,000 surrendered soldiers?"

It would be a pity to kill so many surrendered soldiers.

However, it is unlikely that these surrendered soldiers can be put to use in a short period of time, and the risk is too great.

It's quite a waste of food supplies to keep so many surrendered soldiers around.

Xue Chengdao raised his eyes and smiled: "Tell me your thoughts first!"

After a brief moment of thought, Geng Fu replied, "Any generals of more than one hundred who do not surrender shall be executed! The rest shall be imprisoned in Dingzhou Prefecture, and all prisoners from the surrounding counties shall be sent there as well! Five thousand men shall be left to guard them!"

Xue Chengdao slowly stood up. "I'm wondering if we could escort a portion of the Yan army to Wuguan!"

Ok?

Geng Fu was slightly taken aback, then realized: "Commander Xue wants them to fight against Bei Qi?"

"right!"

Xue Chengdao nodded and said, "It's indeed unlikely that we'll get them to take up arms and attack the Yan army right now! But getting them to fight the Northern Qi is a different story!"

Moreover, Wuguan had sufficient troops and was not worried about these surrendered soldiers causing trouble.

Geng Fu pondered, "That's feasible, but it would be a bit troublesome to escort them."

Xue Chengdao instructed, "Then go and make the arrangements! Don't move any Yan army generals with more than a hundred men; let me go and talk to Wu Huaishan first!"

He had already learned a general understanding of the situation at Wuhuai Mountain from some of the surrendered generals.

He felt that there was still a possibility of persuading Wu Huaishan to surrender.

If Wu Huaishan is willing to surrender, many things will be much simpler.

After giving instructions to Geng Fu, Xue Chengdao immediately walked outside.

Soon, Xue Chengdao arrived at the place where Wu Huaishan was being held.

Along with Wu Huaishan, there were also about a dozen Yan army generals, but those people were not of high enough rank to enjoy the single cell treatment that Wu Huaishan received.

Wu Huaishan was shot in the side by an arrow and his arm was also cut.

Fortunately, the armor protected him, and only half of the arrowhead pierced his flesh.

Wu Huaishan, who had been sitting there with a deathly pale face, suddenly had a fierce glint in his eyes when he saw Xue Chengdao approaching, while cursing Wang Sengyuan in his heart.

How clever of you!

It was all Wang Sengyuan's own cleverness that led to the loss of their more than 30,000 troops!

I was stupid too. How could I listen to the advice of Wang Sengyuan, that perpetually defeated general?

Wu Huaishan did not recognize Xue Chengdao, but upon seeing Xue Chengdao's armor rank, he knew that this man must be a general of the Ning Army.

Xue Chengdao calmly met Wu Huaishan's gaze. "General Wu, do you recognize me?"

Wu Huaishan narrowed his eyes slightly. "Xue Chengdao?"

"It is indeed I, the commander!"

Xue Chengdao nodded slightly, feigning ignorance as he asked, "I heard that you originally disagreed with breaking through the encirclement. Why did you suddenly choose to do so?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Huaishan's face turned pale and then flushed.

He was already cursing Wang Sengyuan in his heart, and when he heard Xue Chengdao's words, he wished he could chop up that self-righteous bastard Wang Sengyuan with his own hands!

Although their morale was low and remaining in a humiliating position was not a solution, they were desperate and the enemy was exhausted!

We should just stall Ning's army for now.

They might be able to hold out until the Ning army gets impatient and launches an attack!

Alternatively, we could wait until Ning's army reveals a fatal weakness before breaking out!

After cursing Wang Sengyuan, Wu Huaishan gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not in the mood to listen to your sarcastic remarks! Kill me or do whatever you want! Since I've fallen into your hands, I never expected to live!"

"No, no!"

Xue Chengdao shook his head and smiled, "I'm not making sarcastic remarks, I'm just curious! To be honest, the Yan army is pressing heavily on Xing. If you hold out for another ten days or half a month, I think I'll start to get restless."

Hearing Xue Chengdao's words, Wu Huaishan couldn't help but curse Wang Sengyuan in his heart again.

really!

My judgment was correct; Ning Jun would be the first to become restless!

Wu Huaishan, breathing heavily, growled bitterly, "You should thank Wang Sengyuan!"

"A perpetually defeated general?"

Xue Chengdao chuckled. "Was the idea of ​​breaking through the encirclement proposed by Wang Sengyuan?"

"good!"

Wu Huaishan was filled with grief and indignation. "Wang Sengyuan thought himself clever, believing that your forces would be relatively weak in the Zhujun direction, so he wanted to take advantage of the heavy rain to break through..."

"Then I really have to thank Wang Sengyuan."

Xue Chengdao laughed heartily, "It's fortunate that Wang Sengyuan also retreated to Panshi Fortress, otherwise it would have been quite difficult for me to capture Panshi Fortress, which is guarded by General Wu!"

"At this point, anything we say is pointless!" Wu Huaishan sneered. "If you're going to fight, then do it quickly; if not, then get lost!"

"If I wanted to kill you, would I have let you live until now?" Xue Chengdao glanced at him with a smile. "I won't beat around the bush anymore. I'm here to persuade you to surrender!"

"dream!"

Wu Huaishan refused without even thinking.

Do you want him to surrender?

He would rather die than surrender!

"Don't be so quick to reject me!"

Xue Chengdao maintained his smile, "Are you aware of the current situation in the Yan Kingdom?"

Wu Huaishan sneered, "What difference does it make whether I know or not? If Heaven intends to destroy Great Yan, I'll simply die for my country! Twenty years from now, I'll be a hero again!"

Xue Chengdao shook his head and smiled: "Let me tell you about the situation in the Yan Kingdom!"

As he spoke, Xue Chengdao patiently analyzed the situation of the Yan Kingdom with Wu Huaishan.

Those gentry, powerful families, and officials secretly took large amounts of fertile land to grow snow cotton without the knowledge of the imperial court.

Didn't those high-ranking officials in the Yan court know anything about this?

Of course not!

Behind those people are the high-ranking officials of the Yan State court!

Driven by profit, they did this even though they knew that food was the foundation of the nation!

And what about pepper? Didn't those officials in Yan see the harm caused by the skyrocketing price of pepper?

But they know this can't go on, so why don't they intervene?

Officials in the Yan state often claimed that the national treasury was empty and the finances were insufficient, but what was the reality?

Is it that the imperial court really has no money, or has all the imperial court's money been embezzled by those corrupt officials?

Hearing Xue Chengdao's barrage of questions, Wu Huai's anger flared, and he asked breathlessly, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Xue Chengdao said in a deep voice, "What I want to tell you is that the Yan Kingdom is already rotten to the core! Even if my Great Ning doesn't take action, the Yan Kingdom won't last more than a few years!"

"The enemies of the Yan people have never been our Great Ning, but those corrupt officials!"

"Now, the people have neither money nor food, and a great famine will soon follow!"

"At that time, those greedy and insatiable officials of Yan will only watch helplessly as the people starve to death!"

"Only by surrendering to Da Ning can the people of Yan avoid the tragic fate of widespread starvation!"

"You think you are loyal to the emperor and the country, but in reality you are enemies of the people, and your hands are stained with the blood of the people of Yan!"

"Didn't you ever think about how many of the starving corpses on the ground were the parents, wives, and children of the soldiers below?"

Hearing Xue Chengdao's resounding words, Wu Huaishan sat there dumbfounded.

Suddenly, he felt as if his faith had collapsed.

Seeing that his persuasion had worked, Xue Chengdao immediately pressed his advantage: "This commander believes that General Wu is a man of great principle!"

"I'm giving you time to think it over!"

"If you are determined to die for this corrupt court, I will grant your wish and give you a grand funeral befitting a general!"