Chapter 836 A Dream of Youth 368
The policy of surrendering to the emperor could not be implemented by his own army. Xie Ning also had Xu Hongying write letters to Li Yu and the transport commissioner Fang Yun'an. Li Yu was the commander-in-chief, and his main task was to deal with Yu Tong. The other fortified villages and settlements were attacked by the troops led by Xu Hongying and others in separate routes.
In fact, Xie Ning did not have high expectations for this plan, because when she was reviewing the documents, she found that the grudges between the Han and the Yi people in this area were too deep to be resolved in a few words.
To Xie Ning's surprise, the scholar Zhu Xueyi was highly regarded in the area and was actually able to persuade some tribes for her.
Thus, Xie Ning naturally kept his promise. However, to prevent them from having any more ideas while they were idle, Xie Ning sent everyone to farm. Although it was a bit late, it wasn't too late.
The fields must not be left to lie fallow.
The barbarians, trembling as they went to work in the fields with their hoes, suddenly found themselves bewildered. The best outcome they could imagine was that Xie Ning would kill all the able-bodied men and then enslave the remaining elderly and children.
Although they are living a hard life now, not only contributing food but also being urged to work in the fields every day, so tired that they can fall asleep on the ground, they are no longer so fearful.
Because their home is still there.
This army of the Great Zhou seems to be doing quite well.
Not every army can be as compassionate towards ordinary people as Xu Hongying and Xie Ning.
In the eyes of other generals, these were all a chaotic army, and being barbarians, they were even lower in status.
When Xu Hongying's letter reached Wang Yuan, one of Li Yuqi's subordinates, he was leading more than 3,000 troops around Luzhou to suppress the remaining rebel forces.
He was by nature brutal and domineering. Not to mention dealing with mutinous troops, he would easily offend even his own soldiers. Asking him to send someone to negotiate peace and offer amnesty? Impossible!
With the added power of gunpowder, he was having a great time fighting and had plundered a fortune. How could he possibly slow down to seek amnesty?
Moreover, if he were granted amnesty, he would no longer be able to plunder, so he scoffed and immediately tore up Xu Hongying's letter. A mere young girl, yet she dared to give orders.
Chen Xin, the infantry commander standing to the side, hesitated for a moment, but still advised, "General, Commander Li has also sent a letter, asking us to try our best to persuade him to surrender..."
Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked. "What's it to you? Do you think it's so easy to be granted amnesty? And if you are granted amnesty, what will you get?"
"You used to be able to drink meat broth, but after the surrender, I bet you won't even be able to drink dishwater, humph!"
Chen Xin's face flushed red, his eyes filled with humiliation. Wang Yuan spoke nicely, but every time he plundered money and beauties, they were delivered to his camp.
That wasn't all; he also embezzled his subordinates' pay and lent money to the soldiers! This was the thing he couldn't tolerate the most. He himself had risen from the bottom and knew best the hardships of the soldiers at the bottom.
But Wang Yuan, in his pursuit of wealth, has driven countless soldiers to their deaths!
"What, you're not convinced?" Wang Yuan narrowed his eyes.
Chen Xin took a deep breath and lowered his head. "This humble official dares not."
"Ha! Chen Xin has defied his superior; he shall be punished with thirty strokes of the military rod!"
Chen Xin's face turned pale. The strategist who was watching stepped forward to plead for mercy, saying that now was the time to use people, and that Chen Xin was brave in battle and commanded well, so they should not hurt him.
Then he started talking about the beauties they had captured that day, as well as the fine wine and food that were being offered, which reduced the thirty strokes of the cane to ten.
Chen Xin met the strategist's gaze, his heart tightened, and he was dragged away.
A junior officer who had come to supervise the execution waved his hand, dismissing the others, and said to Chen Xin, "Commander Chen, should we continue to endure this? I'm afraid we won't die on the battlefield, but at the hands of our superiors!"
This junior officer himself had never been flogged, but he had been whipped by Wang Yuan with a horsewhip, and in front of his soldiers. This was not just a matter of losing face; with such humiliation, where was his prestige? How could he expect his men to respect him?
Moreover, his younger brother was also beaten to death; Wang Yuan's brutality was notorious.
"What else can we do?" Chen Xin sat up from the bench, his eyes deep. "Wang Yuan is Commander Li's confidant; we can't get past him."
"Are we supposed to kill him and become bandits?"
Seeing that the young general remained silent, Chen Xin immediately sat up straight, "You..."
“Commander Chen, it’s better to become an outlaw than to suffer humiliation here. We don’t know when we’ll die. At least we’d have a chance to rise under other generals. Is Your Majesty willing to let us rise?”
Chen Xin's eyes went vacant for a moment. To go against the grain meant to abandon everything, including his family.
“Commander Chen, it’s not that you’ve become an outlaw, but rather that you’ve joined the rebel army. Only in this way can we have leverage to negotiate.” This way, some people can be saved, and the crime of killing a superior officer can be absolved. The young general pulled up a chair, sat down, looked at the bright moonlight outside, and waited for Chen Xin’s reply.
The reason for recruiting Chen Xin was that Chen Xin had the highest prestige in the army, and only if Chen Xin was willing to rebel against Wang Yuan would the other soldiers be willing to follow him.
"Then... let's go."
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