On the coast.
Huang Fei led the naval officers and soldiers to land quickly and set up a bridgehead on the shore to provide protection for subsequent troops when they landed.
The warships were on alert on the nearby sea, ready to support friendly forces with artillery at any time.
After landing, the Ming army began to form a battle line.
Zeng Ying lined up on the left wing.
Yang Zhan lined up on the right wing.
Huang Fei, commander-in-chief of the Guanliao Dengjin navy, was in charge of the central army.
Dengzhou Governor Yuan Shu stayed on the ship to clear out possible enemies on the sea and provide food and supplies for the army's subsequent attacks.
After the three armies formed a battle formation, Huang Fei gave the order to advance.
The chariot camp was in the front, the infantry camp was in the middle, and the artillery camp was at the end.
The army marched towards the city of Lushun in a mighty manner.
To avoid an ambush, he withdrew all his few cavalry.
These cavalrymen and their war horses were transported from Dengzhou by sea, which was time-consuming and labor-intensive.
Not long.
A cavalryman came up to Huang Fei and reported loudly: "General, thick black smoke is rising from Lushun City."
"Black smoke?" Huang Fei was a little surprised. "Is there a fire?"
"I don't know."
"Probe again and report back, and instruct all units to be cautious and not to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly!" Huang Fei nervously gave the order again.
This was the first time he led the navy in a land battle.
It's impossible not to be nervous.
The scout returned soon after he left: "The walls of Lushun are empty, and there is no trace of the defenders. The unripe crops in the fields outside the city have also been completely destroyed and will never mature again."
The Jiannu are going to run away!
Huang Fei had this idea for the first time.
However, to be cautious, he did not advance rashly, but continued to maintain his previous formation and march.
The army soon arrived at the city of Lushun.
After some investigation, the scouts found that the north gate was wide open.
Huang Fei first sent a small force into the city to search for traces of the enemy, and after confirming that there were no Jiannu in the city, he sent troops in.
He recaptured the city of Port Arthur without bloodshed.
I thought this was a great achievement, but after learning about the situation in the city, I became speechless.
"You mean... all the young and strong men in the city were abducted by the Jiannu?"
"Yes," Deputy General Zeng Ying replied, "There are still three to four thousand people in the city, all of them are old, weak, sick and disabled. Although they can barely do simple labor, the crops in the fields have been destroyed, so they can't plant any crops even if they want to."
"Moreover, all their stored grain was transported out of the city by the Jiannu. The grain that was not transported out of the city was gathered together and burned. The thick smoke that was seen outside the city before was emitted from the burning grain."
Huang Fei felt more and more uncomfortable the more he listened. He thought for a while and asked, "That is to say... before next autumn, not only will they not be able to pay taxes, but they will also eat up a lot of food?"
"Based on the current situation, that's right," Zeng Ying replied.
"Shang Kexi is simply a beast!" Huang Fei cursed.
"They are worse than beasts!" Deputy General Yang Zhan cursed beside him.
After the other generals had finished speaking, Yuan Shu, the governor of Dengzhou who had just entered the city, said slowly, "Everyone, this matter is more troublesome than you thought."
Yang Zhan blinked his eyes: "Actually, it doesn't have to be that troublesome."
"What does Deputy General Yang mean?" Yuan Shu asked knowingly.
Yang Zhan is a straightforward person. If it were someone else, they would keep silent at this time.
After all, what follows will seem very cruel.
But he can't.
Not saying it out loud would be more painful than killing him.
Yang Zhan looked at the street outside the door and said in a very slow tone: "These old, weak, sick and disabled people are of almost no value to us. If you think they are a waste of food, you can choose to ignore them."
"They have neither money to buy food nor store food to survive. If we ignore them... these people will all die, and they will starve to death!" Yuan Shu said with a frown.
"I know they will starve to death, but...what can we do? We can't give the military rations to these civilians, right?" Yang Zhan asked back with his eyes wide open. "The military rations are limited, and if we give them to them, the soldiers will starve. If the military situation is delayed, who will be responsible?"
Everyone was silent.
Just as Zeng Ying was about to speak to break the deadlock, she suddenly remembered another important event.
He pointed in the direction Shang Kexi fled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, Shang Kexi will treat the people in each city in the same way every time he leaves. Next... the same thing will happen in all the cities in southern Liaoning!"
After hearing this, everyone became even more silent and even began to control their breathing, trying not to make any sound.
After an unknown amount of time, Yuan Shu slowly said, "Everyone, make the decision."
"What was decided?" Huang Fei asked, raising his eyelids.
"It's up to us to decide the life and death of the people of southern Liaoning!" Yuan Shu stood up from his chair as he spoke. "Whether to show mercy or ignore, it's up to us to decide."
"There is another premise. If we show mercy to them, we will delay military operations. As for the consequences, we cannot control them!"
Everyone remained silent.
How to choose this?
Not to mention the large number of people in southern Liaoning, there are still tens of thousands of people there.
Excluding the young and middle-aged, at least half of them are old, weak, sick and disabled.
It is too cruel to decide their life and death with just one sentence.
No one wants to face this matter.
Huang Fei blinked and thought for a while, then stood up and said, "I am the commander-in-chief of the navy, and I am only responsible for fighting! Governing the people is the job of you civil officials, so this matter... you can handle it as you see fit."
"This..." Yuan Shu wanted to refute, but found that what Huang Fei said made sense.
He didn't expect that a rough guy like Huang Fei could say such reasonable and well-founded words.
He never expected that a civil official like him would be rendered speechless by a military general's reasoning.
Zeng Ying said quickly, "Yes, we are only responsible for fighting. We will take the responsibility for victory or defeat. As for matters concerning the governance of the people, please let Lord Yuan decide for himself."
Yang Zhan followed up and said, “Lord Yuan must deal with it as soon as possible. We will soon be heading north to recover the lost territory. There are many similar places and situations.”
The two of them sang the same tune, the former put the big black pot on Yuan Shu's back, and the latter tied Yuan Shu and the black pot together tightly with a rope.
Yuan Shu was completely unable to break free.
Most of the people present were military generals.
They expressed their opinions one after another, completely blocking Yuan Shu's retreat route.
After everyone quieted down, Yuan Shu asked Huang Fei, "How much food and grass did General Huang bring with him?"
"At least fifteen days' worth of food. After the army sets out, Governor Yuan needs to supply me with a steady supply of food and fodder to ensure that there is no shortage of food."
Yuan Shu counted on his fingers and said, "Okay, I will give you fifteen days of food and grass first. In three days, the food transport team will deliver the first batch of food to you along the food road."
"Then I'll have to trouble Lord Yuan." Huang Fei waved his hand and led the generals away.
Yuan Shu frowned and returned to the shore to prepare for the follow-up matters, and wrote a letter to inform the court of his decision.
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