Chapter 405 Fear

"What's wrong with him? Has he always been like this?"

On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, only one day away from the Lantern Festival, in Taiyuan city, Emperor Zhao, who had re-entered the inner city after Wu Jie left, pointed at the person sitting quietly in the hall and asked curiously.

This person was none other than Wanyan Salihe, the commander of the Jin army who was captured the night before yesterday when Xihe City was broken.

"yes."

Dong Xian, the commander of the imperial army standing at the side, stepped forward with a slightly awkward expression and explained. "Let the emperor know that this guy has been like this since the city was captured... He won't surrender, won't die, won't flee, and won't resist. He was given food and water on the way, and he responded normally when we talked to him. But when it comes to political and military intelligence, he won't say a word, let alone surrender..."

"oh!"

Emperor Zhao was well-informed after all, and he immediately realized in his heart...Isn't this non-violent non-cooperation?

Besides, it was impossible for the people around to see through Emperor Zhao's thoughts, but with this "Oh", they immediately realized that the emperor had already made his own judgment on the matter. Since the emperor had made his judgment, they, as his subjects, naturally had to try hard to pretend to understand what Emperor Zhao meant.

"Your Majesty, do you mean to say that this person wants to emulate Su Wu?" Fan Zongyin, the chief Yutang scholar and the most noble minister accompanying the army, said as he stepped out of the line.

"How can he be the same as Su Wu?" Zhao Jiu was almost speechless. "Su Wu was detained on a diplomatic mission. He was an envoy. This guy is a military commander. His mission is to fight and defend the city... The battle was lost and the city was captured. How can he keep his integrity?"

Fan Zongyin was slightly embarrassed.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty." Niu Gao flashed out from the side and bowed earnestly. "Since this man didn't die at the beginning, he must have wanted to survive. He is pretending now, but he still has some residual power of the Jin Kingdom in his heart... After a while, he will surrender naturally."

Niu Gao appears rough on the outside but is actually a delicate person on the inside, but when he continued to speak, Salihe, who was sitting on the ground feeling humiliated, just pretended not to hear, which made Zhao Jiu even more thoughtful.

"Your Majesty." Dong Xian was also a little impatient. "From my point of view, it doesn't matter whether he surrenders or not. If you don't like him, just kill him. No one in your majesty wants to follow a captive..."

"That's fine." Zhao Jiu waved his hand. "The contributions of the two of you are so clear, they won't go unnoticed..."

"That's not what I meant..."

"Let's not talk about this for now." Zhao Jiu finally turned his gaze to the people in the hall. "In any case, this time the Northern Expedition finally has the first Jin Kingdom Wanhu who has abandoned the dark and joined the light... This is a great thing."

There was a moment of absolute silence in the hall. Even Dong Xian and Niu Gao were stunned. Even Salihe, who had been keeping his head down, finally raised his head in confusion, as if he didn't understand what was going on.

"Deliver the decree." Zhao Jiu continued to order. "Although Salihe was guilty of invading the south and participating in the Jingkang Rebellion, considering that he was the first to surrender, a member of the Jin royal family and a general of ten thousand households, I should treat him with courtesy according to the agreement...Give him the surname... Jin, give him the name Buhui, give him the title of Guizheng Gong, grant him a residence in Tokyo, and allow him to attend the court."

"I congratulate Your Majesty." Just as Salihe was getting more and more flustered and many generals in the hall were still confused, it was the Third Scholar Fan Zongyin who first woke up and took the initiative to congratulate. "And think that such a good thing should be published in the court newspaper and announced to the world. At the same time, we should also use this as a reference to send letters to all places in Hebei to urge the counties and divisions of the Jin Kingdom to surrender."

"Well said." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly, but turned to look at Dong Xian. "When we captured Xihe, were there any documents of Guizheng Gong seized in the city?"

Dong Xian was still confused, and probably hadn't figured out who Gui Zheng Gong was. But Niu Gao quickly reported, "Let the emperor know that there are not only texts, but Gui Zheng Gong also wrote a military diary in Khitan language, recording his experiences since he joined the army... It should be useful."

"That's easier. There are Khitan squadrons in my loyal team. I'll ask them to help Guizheng Gong write a few Khitan letters of persuasion and send them out. Especially don't forget the direction of Jingxing. I heard that Yelu Ma Wu is about to retreat. I don't expect Yelu Ma Wu to surrender, but it may have a miraculous effect on the many Khitan-born Meng'an and Mouke under Ma Wu's command." Zhao Jiu continued to give instructions as usual. "The letter must be written carefully, and the handwriting and tone must match Guizheng Gong's military record habits..."

When everyone heard this, almost everyone came to their senses and agreed.

Finally, Salihe couldn't help but speak: "Why are you confusing right and wrong? I clearly didn't surrender!"

"Whether Guizheng Gong surrenders or not is not up to him, but I." Zhao Jiu said disapprovingly. "I'll tell you clearly, I only need to give an order, not only will it be reported in the court, but also in the official history in the future, it will be recorded that Guizheng Gong Jin Buhui surrendered to me today. Even if many Southeast Gongges consulted me today, I only need to ask them a word, and when they go back and write their own notes like you write military notes, I'm afraid they will be happy to write that you surrendered to me today... By then, not only now, but also in the official history and unofficial history in the future, they will all tell the world that Guizheng Gong Jin Buhui surrendered to me today."

There was a burst of laughter in the hall, and many people echoed in the laughter, but Salihe was already stunned.

The laughter died down, Zhao Jiu paused, and then continued to shout at the already stunned Sali: "Guizhenggong... In fact, the fundamentals of worldly affairs are victory and defeat. Since you have lost and cannot die, why do you have the final say in your reputation? I still remember that during the Jingkang Incident, after our Taishang Yuansheng Emperor entered the Jin camp for the second time, he wanted to return to the city, but Nianhan laughed at him, saying that since he had lost, how could he expect to be treated with courtesy? The Taishang Yuansheng Emperor could only sit there in silence, and was later completely captured. He was not even allowed to cry during the escort... This moment is just like that moment... Weren't you there that day?"

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