Zu Dashou looked at the man who looked up at him and said, "What do you want to say? We are all brothers here. If you have any opinions, feel free to speak up. Besides, this matter is of great importance, so it is normal to have different opinions."
"Sir, to be honest, Lord Hong has always been against those who are different from us. Think about what kind of person he was in the past, and now he has climbed over us. What's more infuriating is that he has blindly placed his own confidants in our place, breaking up the Guanning Iron Cavalry that you, sir, built. If you ask me, since they are so unkind, you should also think more about the future of us brothers. Since Lord Tang has come here in person, I believe he has expressed sufficient sincerity. I have to say something unpleasant. With the power in Lord Tang's hands, how is he any different from a king? He has come here in person with such a noble status, which shows that he thinks highly of you. Moreover, Lord Tang is a Han Chinese like us, so there is nothing wrong with surrendering to him."
That person was also a member of Zu Dashou's family, and had always been favored by Zu Dashou. This time the matter was of great importance, and for the benefit of the family, he thought it was time to join Tang Qie. Another reason was that he had always liked to read the "Calling Newspaper" published by Tang Qie, and was deeply influenced by its propaganda.
Today, The Shout has a huge influence on the world. Not only young scholars like it, but also some people with limited literacy like to read it. Even some older scholars regard The Shout as a must-read. As for those wealthy businessmen, they even regard The Shout as a holy book, because The Shout not only advocates industrial development, but also advocates the importance of commerce. As a result, those businessmen unknowingly regard some of the theories in The Shout as guidance for their own thinking.
Zu Dashou did not comment on that statement, and glanced at the others. Among these people, there were also those who were unwilling to join Tang Qie. Of course, it was not because of their loyalty to Da Qie, but because they were worried about whether their future interests could be guaranteed.
"Sir, in my opinion, although this Lord Tang is sincere, he has no official status after all. Wouldn't it be a bit inappropriate to wait for him to join us?" Seeing that Zu Dashou had not spoken for a long time, one person thought that Zu Dashou might not want to join us under the Lord Tang, so he tentatively expressed his opinion.
"Actually, sir, fame is not a big deal. The most important thing is strength. With the strength that Lord Tang possessed, he was able to defeat the Jiannu a few years ago. Now he is countless times stronger. Not to mention that the Jiannu, who are already three generations old, are no match for him. Even the great Qin is far from his opponent. Everyone, don't forget that in the past, our Shanhaiguan had an army of hundreds of thousands, but they were always defeated by the Jiannu. And at that time, the Jiannu were defeated by Lord Tang's men. Now, in my opinion, it is only a matter of time before Lord Tang conquers the world."
The other person was willing to surrender to Tang Qi, and naturally he was boasting about the strength of Tang Qi's men. Zu Dashou nodded and said, "We all participated in those battles back then. The Jiannu were indeed powerful. Even General Yuan couldn't defeat them in the Ningyuan victory. In fact, although we won, we were still defeated. When Lord Tang gave us a battle under Dalinghe City, everyone saw that the Jiannu were like harvesting crops. To be honest, their muskets were powerful. After so many years, I also heard that Lord Tang has powerful artillery under his command. I think his strength is even more powerful. In this case, we have no other way out except to surrender to him. My only worry is that after surrendering to him, we brothers will be separated and we won't be able to work together in the future."
This was exactly what Zu Dashou was most worried about. Since ancient times, there have been many cases of people crossing the river and destroying the bridge, and countless cases of people abandoning their loved ones after their lives have ended. Zu Dashou was afraid that if he defected to Tang Qi, Tang Qi would split up his men, and then he would have no ability to protect himself. Zu Dashou's nephew said, "Sir, why don't you negotiate some terms with that Lord Tang first? If that Lord Tang promises not to split us up, then there is nothing to worry about."
"This is the only way." Dashou sighed and made a decision in his heart.
The next day, Zu Dashou sent someone to negotiate with Tang Qi. When Tang Qi heard that their troops stationed in Dalinghe City could not be disbanded, his eyebrows raised slightly, and he agreed to the other party's request. Tang Qi did not want to have such independent troops under his command. However, if Zu Dashou wanted to surrender at this time, he could only agree first.
After Zu Dashou surrendered, there were ways to deal with this army. It wouldn't be long before Zu Dashou would be left with nothing. So, although Tang Qi was unhappy, he agreed without a second thought. Seeing that Tang Qi had agreed to all his conditions, Zu Dashou also led his men to surrender to Tang Qi.
Tang Qi saw Zu Dashou, bound and ensconced, and he smiled inwardly. He thought the ancients loved this kind of trick. He immediately approached him with a beaming smile and helped the kneeling Zu Dashou to his feet. "Hey, General Zu, why are you doing this? It's an honor for me that you could come and help me. Please, General Zu, get up quickly."
"Master Tang, I am guilty of my previous negligence. Please punish me." Zu Dashou said this, but he stood up following Tang Qi's hand. He was originally a rebellious person. Although he had to join Tang Qi due to the situation, he did not look down on Tang Qi in his heart. In Zu Dashou's opinion, Tang Qi was able to have such power because he had a weapon like a musket in his hand. Only then could he achieve what he has today. If Zu Dashou had such a musket in his hand, he would have done better than Tang Qi.
Today, Tang Qi was no longer the powerless Tang Qi of the past. Having held a high position for so long, he understood human nature much better than before. He could tell what Zu Dashou was thinking by looking at his expression and actions. As someone in a higher position, Tang Qi wouldn't dwell on Zu Dashou's magnanimity. With a smile, he said, "Having General Zu is like Liu Bei having Guan Yu. It's a great honor for me, Tang Qi. How can I be disrespectful? Today, I'm chatting with General Zu. I won't leave until I'm drunk."
The group entered Dalinghe City. Zu Dashou ordered a banquet to be prepared. Tang Qi and Zu Dashou sat together. The thousand soldiers Tang Qi brought with him quickly took control of the front yard. Although this made Zu Dashou unhappy, Tang Qi was still
As the saying goes, Tang Chen certainly knew the importance of winning people's hearts, but there were many ways to win people's hearts, and there was no need to use such a dangerous method. In the past, there was a man named Zong Ze who went alone to the rebels to persuade them to surrender, and he succeeded. Later, a general of the Northern Dynasty also followed Zong Ze's method and went alone to the surrendered rebels to comfort them, but he was chopped into pieces. In Tang Chen's opinion, anyone who uses such a dangerous method to win people's hearts unless it is a last resort is a fool.
The next day, Zu Dashou reorganized his men and set off with Tang Qi, and Dalingh City was handed over to one of Zu Dashou's men for guarding. This time, Zu Dashou dispatched about 10,000 Guanning Iron Cavalry, but Tang Qi did not need them to fight in the battlefield below. Instead, he gave the task of harassing the enemy to Zu Dashou. The three armies under Tang Qi were unstoppable all the way and soon met at the Shengjing City of Jiannu. At this time, Haoge had been the emperor of the Later Jin Dynasty for only three months.
Dorgun was stunned for a moment after receiving the news of the attack from Tang Lu's army. Dorgun was a man who was no less powerful than Huang Taiji. Although he had great ambitions, he was suppressed by Huang Taiji on the one hand, and restrained by Amin Gurtai, who was supported by Tang Lu on the other hand. He never made much progress. After Huang Taiji's death, Dorgun had thought about re-unifying the Jiannu. He did not expect that the Tang army, which had not made any major moves, would launch an attack on the entire Jiannu-controlled area at this time.
"Are you saying that the Tang army from Dalian New City has surrounded Haoge's Shengjing?" Dorgun sat down slowly, trying to appear calm. Although Dorgun had an extremely violent temper, he was extremely calm when faced with major events.
"Yes, master, that's what the intelligence I received said. The new army that Tang Jing, the head of the Tang family, brought with him this time is divided into three routes. They were unstoppable and surrounded Shengjing in just three days." The person in charge of intelligence for Dorgun was a gloomy-faced man, but he seemed cautious in front of Dorgun.
"They want to destroy our Jin Dynasty." Dorgun sighed. He seemed a little old at this moment despite being in his prime. Although Dorgun had never fought against Tang Xi's army, Xi knew in his heart how powerful the Tang army was. Although he was ambitious, he also knew his own limitations and knew that his nearly 30,000 cavalrymen were no match for the Tang army on the front battlefield.
Although the cavalry had high mobility, Tang Qi was fighting in a large group this time, sweeping the outskirts of Shengjing City and giving the Jiannu cavalry no chance to launch a sneak attack. Tang Qi himself also had 6,000 Jurchen auxiliary cavalry, 10,000 Mongolian mercenaries, and another 10,000 Guanning cavalry. The 30,000 Jiannu cavalry under Hauge had no advantage. Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Dorgun knew that even if he put aside past grudges and helped Hauge, it would not make much difference.
Although Dorgun's subordinate appreciated Dorgun's words, he didn't dare to express them. He lowered his head and waited for Dorgun's instructions. After a long while, Dorgun said, "Go down and report any new developments to me immediately."
After that man retreated, Dorgun frowned even more tightly. Dorgun knew clearly that the dream of unifying the Later Jin Dynasty was getting further away from him. Not only that, the entire Jiannu people were facing the possibility of genocide. Dorgun would not believe that the commander of the Tang army would be so kind as to leave them a way out.
Even if Tang Qi would be merciful and leave them a way out, Dorgun would not be willing to do so. For an ambitious person, nothing is more attractive than power. Without power, Dorgun believes that it would be worse than death.
What to do now is what Dorgun is in a difficult position to decide. If he goes to help Hauge, not to mention how much contribution he can make, he may also lose all his troops. If he takes his men and flees to the Mongolian desert, it is unknown whether he can develop in the future. However, one thing is certain, the Tang army is absolutely out of reach of that vast desert. There is the world of cavalry, which is more conducive to the survival of cavalry than this land of white mountains and black waters.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
