Chapter 1252 Conquer without attacking
When Shi Bao's eldest son was fighting against the local tyrants and dividing the fields, Shangdang County was in charge of Huguan, and a red-armored cavalry was approaching the city.
At this time, the city gate was wide open at Huguan, and a group of officials gathered in front of the city gate, carrying pots and serving food.
Some people look up eagerly, some have flattering faces, some have twinkling eyes, and so on.
General Zhendong reined in his horse and looked at everything in front of him calmly.
The deep gaze has an unpredictable color.
On the way, Zhu Ju, who was desperately trying to keep up with General Guan, looked quite shocked:
“General Guan, what is this?”
“It’s time to eat a pot of slurry to welcome Master Wang! What else could it be?”
Zhao Guang, who was accompanying him on the other side, replied somewhat unsurprisingly on behalf of General Guan.
“Eat a pot of slurry to welcome the king’s master?!”
Although he already had the answer in his heart, after getting the answer, Zhu Ju still looked at General Guan with some disbelief on his face.
He was sent to learn how to fight on horseback. In the past few years, Zhu Ju was defeated between Han and Wu several times.
He also spread what he saw and heard in Han to Wu on many occasions.
Originally, he thought he knew everything about Han.
Especially this battle was an extremely rare opportunity to observe the Han army's battles at close range.
So from the beginning when the Southern Army entered Hedong, he urged the trainee camp to follow them.
When he learned that General Zhendong and Zhao Sanqian were preparing to support Taiyuan, Zhu Ju tried his best to follow him with his trainee battalion.
After all, these two men are the most powerful generals in the Han Dynasty who use cavalry.
Unexpectedly, we ran wildly from Hedong to Taiyuan, and from Taiyuan to Shangdang.
In addition to allowing Zhu Ju to experience the legendary long-distance running ability of the Han army's cavalry, there was nothing more.
Because along the way, when the Wei thieves heard that the Han army was coming, they all fled. Even Sima Yi was a traitor.
They simply did not dare to have large-scale contact with the Han cavalry.
Even the scattered Wei soldiers who were overtaken by the Han cavalry had no ability to resist at all. It can be said that they abandoned their weapons and surrendered in anticipation of the red flag.
This made Zhu Zhi, who wanted to see how the Han cavalry fought in front of the formation, greatly shocked and disappointed at the same time.
I originally thought that Huguan was the seat of Shangdang County, and the Wei army would definitely defend it, but I never thought that in front of me, I was actually "eating a pot of pulp to welcome the king's army"? !
Zhu Ju's eyes were dull and he muttered to himself:
“If so, if he is a Wei thief…”
Halfway through speaking, he suddenly woke up again, shook his head vigorously, and stopped talking.
Think about how Da Wu has repeatedly gone north to fight against the Wei thieves over the years, and he has always suffered defeat at the city gate.
Even if Your Majesty led a hundred thousand superior troops to besiege a small city with few soldiers, the Wei thieves would never surrender.
Zhu Ju couldn't help feeling envious and jealous, and a burst of sour water was about to surge out of his stomach.
If the great military power of Wu can make the Wei thieves do this, why worry about the instability of the world?
Just thinking about the Wu cavalry trainee camp, from top to bottom, except for myself who can grit my teeth and keep up, everyone else has fallen behind.
Zhu Ju couldn't help but sigh secretly:
“I wonder when the Wu cavalry will be able to compete with the Han cavalry? I’m afraid only then will the Wei thieves be frightened by the Wu army, right?”
“General? General?”
The selected village elders from Huguan stood tremblingly in front of General Guan's horse.
Although he didn't dare to look around him, the large red armor still made his eyes feel blood-red.
Make them feel oppressed.
What makes him even more uneasy is that the general in front of him has been condescending but silent, and he doesn't know what he means.
This made the village elders, who were already a little guilty, even more uneasy.
Even Huguan City was occupied by rebels, but the rebels were very powerful at that time.
And now that he and others took the initiative to open the city gate and welcome Master Wang, they also showed their attitude.
I also heard that the Han Dynasty emphasized laws and regulations, and military discipline was also solemn.
The general in front of me is not thinking about breaking the city to settle old accounts in this situation, right?
General Guan, with a thoughtful look in his eyes, seemed to have come back to his senses and smiled to himself:
“I’m sorry, I was distracted because I thought of other things, don’t blame me.”
With that said, he got off his horse and helped the old man up, "Where are the thieves in the city?"
As he asked, he looked towards Huguan City again.
But there are only white flags at the top of the city. Where are the traitor flags?
"General, the thieves heard about the arrival of the king's army and were afraid of the general's power. They fled south three days ago. They thought they wanted to return to Hanoi."
Seeing that the general in front of him was young, handsome, not evil-looking, and had a calm tone, the village elder was slightly relieved.
General Guan had already received the news from the scouts. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, a smile finally appeared on his face:
“So that’s the case, no wonder the city gate is wide open.”
The village elder quickly responded:
"That's right, that's right. Although we have no choice but to succumb to the thieves' power, we are really looking forward to the early arrival of Master Wang to relieve the suffering of the Shangdang officials and the people!"
When General Guan heard this, he couldn't help showing a look that was half a smile, and glanced at the village elder: "The pain of hanging upside down?"
“That’s right, that’s right!” the leading village elder responded repeatedly, “To express our feelings, the villain has prepared wine, meat and other food for the general. General, please come into the city.”
Unexpectedly, General Guan shook his head:
“I already know the thoughts of the people in the city! However, the imperial court has issued an order, and under the rule of the Han Dynasty, large armies are not allowed to enter the city without any reason. They can only be stationed outside the city to avoid disturbing the people in the city.”
General Guan pointed at Huguan with the riding whip in his hand, "Now that Huguan has opened the city gate and surrendered, it can be regarded as under the rule of the Han Dynasty."
“In view of the new restoration of Huguan City, I will send at most a team of troops into the city to help maintain order in the city.”
As he spoke, he turned around and ordered:
"Old General Ma, this is your job. Please bring some of your military staff and a team of troops into the city to temporarily take over everything in the city until the court appoints officials."
Ma Dai quickly responded: "Here!"
General Guan turned to look at the village elder again and smiled apologetically:
"Therefore, I can't eat this table in the city. If you are really interested in it, please help prepare some food and grass to supply the army."
"I led the army in such a hurry that the supply of food and grass in the rear area will inevitably be delayed. Now I have to be shameless and ask for help."
“Easy to say, easy to say!”
As soon as the leading villager heard General Guan's words, he couldn't hide the joy on his face and responded repeatedly: "Yes, yes!"
Others also echoed:
"Yes, yes! Master Wang drove away thieves for us and devoted himself to serving the people. If we don't reward him well, how can we feel so good?"
“It is our duty to provide whatever the general’s officers and soldiers need!”
General Guan smiled when he heard this praise.
He himself is extremely handsome, and his smile is comparable to that of a beautiful woman.
It seems that those village elders have a dull eye.
Look at Zhao Sanqian behind General Guan. Although there are a few shallow scars on his face, they not only do not diminish his appearance, but also add a bit of unique beauty.
Some people just remembered the rumors about a certain person named Feng:
He likes to steal other people's betrothed wives, loves handsome men, and eats both men and women.
This rumor seems to be somewhat credible, right?
The village elder who took the lead, without caring about anything else, urgently requested:
“If the general doesn’t want to enter the city, that’s fine. The young man can leave all the food and wine outside the city. I hope that the general will not refuse, otherwise, the young man and the others will feel very sorry.”
The General Guan in front of him is simply very easy to talk to. If he doesn't express anything, how can he be complacent?
This time, General Guan did not refuse:
“That’s it, I’m afraid it will bother you all too much.”
"Well, since it's hard to refuse such kindness, I'll accept it." General Guan muttered, "But it's a military rule that you are not allowed to drink alcohol without permission."
“I don’t have to drink this wine. As for other food, it doesn’t matter.”
I was still thinking about sending a few camp prostitutes to entertain the general, but when I heard that the general didn't even drink, I had to put aside this thought for the time being.
When the news that the army was not entering the city reached the city gate, all the officials and people cheered like thunder.
The Han Dynasty iron cavalry approached the city. Not to mention the wealthy families in the city, even the ordinary people felt a little panicked.
We welcome the thieves into the pass, the Shangdang surrenders and the chaos resumes, although it has little to do with ordinary people.
But in troubled times, who would really reason with untouchables like them?
Not to mention troubled times, even in times of peace, when a large army conquers and quells chaos, a circle is drawn with a certain city as the center, and then everyone in the circle, regardless of gender, human or animal, is considered a rebel.
The size of the circle depends on the mood of the person in charge of drawing the circle in the court.
How could General Guan in front of me be so kind-hearted and kind-hearted? It is simply rare in the world!
“The general is wise!”
“The general is wise!”
…
Looking at the village elders rushing to tell each other among the crowd, and listening to the officials and people in Huguan shouting "the general is wise", it really was like "eating a pot of pulp to welcome the king's division".
Zhu Ju's eyes flickered and he couldn't help but said to General Guan:
"The general is a famous general of the Han Dynasty. He should know the principle of benevolence and not command the army. Don't you know that the same principle applies to governing the people?"
General Guan was a little confused: "Oh, what do you mean by this?"
Zhu Ju replied:
“Shangdang counties and cities surrendered and then rebelled, and rebelled and surrendered again, but now they don’t have to pay any price, not even a little punishment.”
"In this case, how can the Shangdang officials and the people have any respect for the imperial court? The imperial court probably has no prestige towards the Shangdang."
"If the superior party is like this, how can others not think otherwise? Therefore, foreign generals will think that this sincerity is not appropriate."
The Shangdang took the initiative to rebel with the traitors, and the army came to quell the rebellion, but they did not even enter the city. This is not loving the people, but actually condoning the rebellion of the traitors!
General Guan heard this and asked with a smile:
“If this kind of thing happened in Wu State, how should we deal with it?”
Zhu Ju replied without hesitation:
“Even if you don’t let the soldiers wash the city and take the men and women in the city as servants, you should at least punish the culprits and let those who come after you take a lesson.”
The washing of the city that Zhu Ju mentioned was naturally not the kind of massacre that Cao Cao liked.
There are naturally some differences between the two.
Needless to say massacres of cities, most of them are the kind that leave no chickens or dogs behind.
Wash the city, that is to plunder some money to enrich your personal pockets, and plunder some people to enrich your personal tribe.
However, whether it is massacring or washing the city, it can be considered a normal operation in this troubled world.
After all, since the world has been in chaos for decades, how many princes have not massacred the city or the people?
So Zhu is said to be very confident.
Why is your Han country special?
How can we still let the officials and the people eat their pots and paddles?
It is clear that after Liu Bei captured Chengdu, he also took the gold and silver from the city and distributed it to the soldiers. Although he returned the grain and silk, didn't he just take the gold and silver?
Hearing Zhu Ju’s persuasion, General Guan looked at him seriously and then shook his head:
“Governing the people is not my specialty. As for punishing the evildoers and rebellious people, it is also outside the scope of my responsibilities.”
"The military order given to me by the imperial court is to recover Shangdang. Now that Shangdang has been recovered, the rest of the matter is beyond my control."
"Now, I am acting according to the imperial court's orders."
If all the Wei thieves ran away, and the culprit was not a fool, how could he still stay in the city, waiting to be liquidated?
Where to kill the evildoer?
When Zhu Ju heard what General Guan said, he could only suppress his thoughts and did not dare to persuade him any more, so he backed down.
After returning to the commander's tent, General Guan's face darkened and he immediately ordered:
“Go, send someone immediately to the eldest son to see how the situation is over there.”
“If General Shi Zhonglang has recovered his eldest son, let him come to Huguan as quickly as possible.”
“Here!”
Huguan is the county government of Shangdang, and the Wei thieves can abandon it at will.
General Guan did not believe that the Wei thieves would stay with the eldest son and wait for death.
So according to his estimation, Shi Bao might be able to win the eldest son one step ahead of him.
After thinking about this, General Guan's lips curled into a sneer:
“Kill the evildoer? What are you thinking about?”
Do you know what your Alang’s name is?
Do you understand what a cruel and ruthless Xiao Wenhe is?
Even if the Shu family didn't cause any big trouble, Alang would be ranked at the top of their black book.
The Shangdang caused such a big incident and still wants to punish only the culprit?
Go ahead and dream!
Having slept in the same bed with Feng for more than ten years, General Guan can be said to be the person who best understands Feng’s thoughts in the world.
Even Mrs. Feng is tight-lipped about some things.
But he was sincere to Mrs. Zuo.
After Changzi City and Huguan City were successively conquered without attack, the Han Dynasty finally completely recovered Shangdang County.
At the same time, Feng Duhu also led the Wuqian Army who had rested in Gaodu City and came to Tianjing Pass.
Tianjingguan was built in the third year of Yangshuo in the Western Han Dynasty (22 BC). It was an important strategic point between the north and the south in ancient times.
It is named because there are three unfathomable patio springs in front of the pass.
Chi Taihang is so dangerous that it is a natural hazard. It is surrounded by mountains, ravines, and ancient passes. The situation is extremely majestic.
Given the steepness around Tianjing Pass, more forts will be built to protect the main pass.
Even if there are one hundred thousand troops, it will be difficult to capture the defense of ten thousand people.
However, the danger of the pass lies in the people rather than the place.
Sima Shi lost two games in a row at Gaoping Pass. His left eyeball exploded from the socket and he was seriously ill.
As a result, the morale of the military was greatly shaken.
When he learned that Feng Duhu was personally leading an army of 50,000 men and that Luoyang was under great threat, Sima Division made a prompt decision and led most of the main force back to Luoyang to aid Luoyang.
The Wei army left to guard Tianjing Pass only had 3,000 people, and the guarding general was even more unknown.
Facing the notorious Feng Gui King, if his family members were not in Luoyang, the Wei army at Tianjing Pass would have to surrender immediately.
Putting down the telescope in his hand and looking at the extremely dangerous Tianjing Pass, Feng Duhu showed a look of joy on his face:
"I think the number of Wei thieves garrison in the pass is not large. Whether we can make a contribution without the front army depends on today."
After saying this, he turned his head and expressed his intention with his eyes.
Zhang Jia held his breath long ago, cupped his hands and said:
“The final general will definitely not disappoint the Central Protector’s expectations!”
"Well, let's go." Feng Duhu nodded, "Go down and tell the soldiers whether the Wuqian Army is truly one of the eight Guanzhong armies depends on their performance."
“Here!”
Feng Duhu put his hands behind his back and looked at the clouds and mist in the distance with a leisurely expression.
In this battle, he was just supervising the battle and had no intention of intervening.
Zhang is the commander-in-chief of the army, and all specific tactics are arranged by him.
Whether he can win in the end or not, the result is not important to Feng Duhu.
Anyway, after this battle, the Eighth Army of Guanzhong has seen blood.
(End of this chapter)