Chapter 1603 IF Scenario: What if Shen Tang woke up earlier (Seventeen)
"Pah! Who are you calling a bandit?"
Shen Tang was not happy to hear such words.
Luo San put down the pearls and jade he was holding and chimed in, "That's right, are those bandits as kind and reasonable as us?"
Compared to most warlords and powerful figures of the time, these people could indeed be considered benevolent and saintly. Luo San disliked Wei Lou for this very reason, and he couldn't understand why Wei Lou was so conflicted. Clearly, Wei Lou himself wasn't exactly a saint either.
Tsk, this guy is a classic example of being strict with others but lenient with himself.
Wei Lou's chest heaved violently with anger.
Seeing his face, which was almost ashen, Shen Tang awkwardly suppressed her urge to retort and stiffly changed the subject: "How many people have we captured this time? If we have enough, we can stay here, reorganize for half a day, and then call it a day and go home. If we don't have enough, then we'll wait a bit longer, attack a few more places, and gather more people to bring back together."
After all, going back and forth is quite a waste of time.
Although she arranged for people to guard the house, Shen Tang only had so much wealth. If someone were to break into her house, she would be heartbroken: "My Lord?"
She noticed that Wei Lou had been spacing out a lot lately.
"Why take the prisoners back? These prisoners have no property, no land, and we don't need them for hard labor right now." Taking them back won't bring them any value, and it will only add to the number of mouths to feed.
"Not taking it back? But we can't just leave it here either."
Whatever comes into her hands belongs to her, including people.
Releasing these prisoners is no different from ransacking her pockets.
Furthermore, after these prisoners scattered and fled, some might return to the enemy's camp and continue to be her enemies, while others might become outlaws, making a living by robbing and looting, which would be a threat to public security.
Shen Tang cannot let this go unchecked.
Wei Lou said, "Shen Jun usually seems to have a lot of ideas, so why can't he see things clearly now? We can use these prisoners to besiege the city and force the enemy to surrender, or we can use the prisoners as a bargaining chip to get the enemy to hand over the city."
Since we've already fought our way here and our morale is high, why not take the city in one fell swoop? However, we don't know the enemy's strength and defenses inside the city, so a rash attack might result in losses.
In this chaotic world, most cities were destroyed in repeated attacks and defenses. Even if they still had defensive value, the people within were left with almost nothing after repeated massacres and exploitation. Therefore, the value of a city was far less than that of its soldiers.
Wei Lou's idea was to use prisoners as an exchange, forcing the powerful forces in the city to leave with their families, leaving behind their territory and the city's natives.
Shen Tang said, "It can be done like this?"
Wei Lou was a seasoned veteran, well-versed in the rules of this era: "Of course, but—my suggestion is to lure them out of the city, and then take advantage of their momentary lapse in concentration to launch a surprise attack and annex them. There's no need to talk about morality with these people."
Shen Tang: "...Then why not just persuade them to surrender?"
Wei Lou's tone was subtle: "Shen Jun can give it a try."
Let's see if persuading them to surrender is a viable option.
As it turns out, it didn't work.
A strong offensive attack isn't necessarily unwinnable, but—
With his exceptional eyesight, Shen Tang effortlessly spotted the activity on the city wall: gaunt, dark-skinned men and women, dressed in rags, toiling numbly. Some carried stones and planks on their shoulders or heads, while others worked together to lift earthenware urns…
"It used to be better, but in the last ten years or so, with the conquest of cities and territories, if the defending side sees that the situation is not good, they will fortify their walls and clear the fields."
Shen Tang pointed to the desolate and bare land that stretched before her eyes.
He asked, "Isn't this considered scorched earth?"
Most of the wood and stones were salvaged from houses in the city.
You don't need to fly high in the air to know that the city is a ruin.
It was even worse than the bankrupt mess that Shen Tang had taken over from the county magistrate; there was absolutely no profit left in the entire city.
Wei Lou sneered, "The person isn't dead yet."
Shen Tang: "..."
“These people in the city are also resources in extreme circumstances.”
The defending side, having nothing to lose, wouldn't leave a single survivor for anyone who came after them, let alone any resources left in the city. Even if these commoners were considered human beings in Shen Tang's eyes, most warlords and powerful figures saw them merely as their own free-range supplies. They served as laborers while the city could still hold, and when it fell, they became supplies they couldn't take with them but couldn't let the enemy profit from them.
Wei Lou's simple words sent chills down one's spine.
Ji Mo Cong and the others' pupils trembled slightly.
Their understanding of the outside world largely comes from their tribesmen who go out to purchase daily necessities. Even if these tribesmen talk about barren lands, cannibalism, or turmoil in the country... even if they exhaust their imagination, compared to reality, they can only imagine a fraction of it.
"Can you negotiate with them and trick them into coming out?"
"nature."
Wei Lou glanced helplessly at Chen Tang and his group.
When it comes to using brains to negotiate and lobby, only he can do it.
He brushed the dust from his sleeve and ordered his men to shoot a request for negotiation towards the city wall. Only after receiving permission did he take Luo San over.
In fact, Shen Tang also wanted to go, but Wei Lou strongly refused.
Near the moat, where the water level was extremely low, a faint stench of decay wafted from the surface. Upon closer inspection, several swollen, bluish-white corpses could be seen, and the marks on the city walls were a mix of old and new. It seemed that the forces currently occupying the city had only recently taken control of this area.
Wei Lou felt even more confident about this.
Before long, the basket was placed on the city wall.
A person can curl up inside.
Wei Lou did not refuse, but sat upright in the basket, unmoved by the wind, letting the pulley slowly turn above to raise the basket to the city wall. A short while later, Luo San also climbed up using the same method. The two had barely settled when they were surrounded by a group of soldiers. Facing the blades that reeked of blood, Wei Lou calmly smiled and said, "Why bother? I'm here today to show you a way to survive."
Shen Tang watched Wei Lou and the other person disappear from the city wall.
"Sigh, why is time passing so slowly?"
He was resting his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
Ji Mo Cong: "Is Your Highness worried about his safety?"
Shen Tang: "Of course I'm worried. Although he's a bit of a chatterbox and has a stubborn personality, he's really good at his job."
Shen Tang could ignore other minor flaws when it came to capable people, and then changed the subject: "But with Robert around, he's almost certainly going to survive. I'm just curious how he plans to persuade the enemy to take the prisoners and leave, and give us the city."
In normal ancient times, unless the defending side was completely insane, they would most likely not agree to a siege. After all, the attacking side often has to pay several times the cost of the enemy to painstakingly capture a city, and leaving the city is like a turtle without its shell, its flesh exposed to the predators' claws. But this ancient time was different; the attacking side could overcome its numerical disadvantage simply by having extremely strong fighting power.
Shen Tang complained, "It's a pity he's stingy and won't let people watch."
Ji Mo Cong: "It's also for Your Highness's safety."
Although she didn't believe anyone in the city could pose a threat to His Highness, Wei Lou's sensible and perceptive nature meant that the scales in his heart had begun to tip without him even realizing it.
Shen Tang pointed to the dilapidated, crumbling section of the city wall and said, "After we take it down, we'll repair it first."
We can't afford to lose our storefront!
(σ)σ:*☆
There shouldn't be many chapters left. After finishing this "what if" scenario, I'll write an "what if" scenario without my cousin, which should be even shorter. After that, there will be a future timeline and one or two chapters of the Demon Master storyline.
(End of this chapter)
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