Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 244 Fate
Outside the city of Gu'an, father Shi Yanchao's camp is particularly conspicuous.

Shi Congyun came with more than a hundred soldiers, the road was muddy and dirt, and the soldiers behind him held his famous flag, the handsome flag.

On the outskirts of the camp a few miles away, he saw many soldiers of the Zhou army digging pits to bury the corpses. A large number of pale enemy heads and corpses were piled up into a hill, and the blood and rot could be smelled from far away. .

After the frontal defeat, it became a one-sided pursuit. Without reasonable organization and dispatch, stragglers could not confront established troops. The tens of miles from Yijinguan to Gu'an became the desperate road for the Liao army.

Faced with such a scene, Shi Congyun had long since become numb. He has come all the way and fought for years, so he is no stranger to it.

The horseshoes stepped on the muddy road, the weeds on the roadside turned into dark green mud, and the waist-high bushes were covered with mud spots, struggling to survive.

As he arrived, a large number of soldiers gathered around to watch and greet him. Shi Congyun was happy, and responded with a big smile, loudly saying: "Everyone has worked hard. When I go back this time, I will definitely give you credit."

The onlookers all laughed and shouted "Long Live the Commander". The soldiers separated the crowd, and Shi Congyun entered the camp surrounded by the crowd. His father and many generals under him had already been waiting there.

As soon as they saw him arrive, they all saluted: "Welcome, Commander!"

"No, no, no, everyone has worked hard." Shi Congyun waved his hands casually, then stepped forward excitedly and said, "Father, who have you caught, take me to see."

As the old man led him inside, he said, "The biggest one is the king of the South Courtyard, and there is Xiao Siwen who is left behind in Nanjing, who is the official in charge of Youzhou in the Liao Kingdom."

Shi Congyun was very excited after hearing this, "The King of the South Courtyard!"

After a while, following the old man and many generals, they came to a large open space surrounded by fences and guarded by many soldiers. There were some leather and felt inside, and the smell was stinky.

Because the conditions for the temporary construction were not good, and they were afraid that they would run away and dare not release them, more than 200 people were excreted and urinated inside.

Seeing him coming, many eyes came together.

Everyone could see that his status was unusual. Some people tried to beg him for mercy, saying words he could not understand, and some people were speaking in unfamiliar Chinese, but Shi Congyun understood what was going on.

Most of these people were embarrassed, but they were also very calm. They sat there without begging for mercy, and their eyes were like a pool of stagnant water.

The accompanying general was furious, "How dare they refuse to worship the commander-in-chief!" As he said that, he rolled up his sleeves and wanted to do something, but Shi Congyun stretched out his hand to stop him.

"It doesn't matter, I don't need them to worship." Shi Congyun said.

These words immediately made the old man and the generals beside him hesitate for a moment, with a look of worry on their faces, Shi Congyun was thoughtful and flexible, seeing their expressions, he immediately knew what they were worried about, and then smiled.

"Do you know why a certain person likes to release prisoners of war in places like Shu, Jiangnan, and Jingchu?"

The generals shook their heads.

Shi Congyun stopped and explained to them seriously: "Two reasons, first, Shu, Jiangnan, and Jingchu are relatively weak, and they are not enough to threaten our Great Zhou. The mighty virtue of the army, the soldiers who subdue others without fighting.

Second, these places have experienced more than 300 years in the Han Dynasty and 20 years in the Tang Dynasty. They have a high degree of identification with China. When the army arrives in the future, it will be logical for them to return to China. Therefore, it is not appropriate to kill more in these places. After [-] years, they will be a family. civil. "

"The commander-in-chief is far-sighted."

"The commander-in-chief always thinks so far in thinking about things, a certain one can't think of it, he just wants to kill the enemy." The crowd gathered around him and said.

But Shi Congyun looked at the prisoners of the Liao Army not far away, "But the Liao Kingdom is different. First, the Liao Kingdom is stronger than us now, and they have no worries about the future, unlike us, who send troops to the north once , not only must heavily guard the Taihang Mountain area, but also appease the Jiangnan and Shu regions, and constrain them everywhere.

For them, the first thing to do is to weaken their strength, and the first thing to do to weaken their national strength is to kill people. "

Shi Congyun bit the last two words very hard.

As he said that, he put away his smiling face, and his expression became serious: "At the beginning, Qin State unified Liuhe, killing more than 110 million soldiers, and more than [-] were killed by Bai Qi, but the last one left was the notoriety of killing gods and butchers. All the honors and meritorious deeds are left to King Qin.

Later generations will remember the achievements of King Qin, and also call Bai Qi the butcher and god of killing.

If Bai Qi does not kill, the Six Kingdoms will not be weakened. In the end, it is impossible for Qin to rule the world. The stories in history books always talk about the tactics of princes and generals. They think that the world is too talkative, but in the end it is the most useful key to kill people.

All great achievements must be shed in rivers of blood."

When it comes to this, Shi Congyun is also infinitely emotional: "But in many cases, the price is necessary.

At its root, because human nature is more evil than good.

A certain scholar once heard from the Hanlin Academy say that the lord of benevolence and righteousness gave up his life to sacrifice his life for all the people in the three armies, so it is not an exaggeration to surrender in front of a strong enemy.This seems to make sense at first, but the premise is that the opponent is a saint, if they surrender, they will not kill, rob, or plunder, is it possible? "

Everyone shook their heads, and some even gritted their teeth and cursed, "They're farting! More than ten years ago, when the Later Jin surrendered, Yelude's soldiers from the Liao Kingdom entered Daliang without any resistance. Countless people in Henan, Hebei, and even Daliang of the capital were plundered. What's the matter? It makes sense, you can only see blood!"

Shi Congyun nodded. This is the difference between warriors and literati. Most literati are not incompetent, but ignorant.Living in the world in books lacks the understanding of human nature.

For most people, if they can snatch without cost, they will never borrow, and if they can occupy it easily, they don’t want to waste time and effort in producing it.

It’s just that some people who only read sage books hold benevolence, righteousness and morality themselves, and engage in moral kidnapping. horse.

Countless bloody lessons in history all illustrate a truth that human nature cannot stand the test.

Shi Congyun saw that the generals were filled with righteous indignation and his goal had been achieved, so he said directly, "It's good that you understand, this is the meaning of the price, and this is why we kill people.

But all killings are hated by the world, despised and cast aside by literati, and have been mentioned in history books. This will also be the fate of us generals.

In fact, I knew these things in my heart from the beginning, so you don't have to think too much, worry too much.

I am not a great benevolent person, and I do not kill, so I might as well find a small temple to become a monk and become a monk, so what kind of war should I fight? "

Everyone laughed loudly, and the old man also laughed, and the worries on his face were swept away.

Shi Congyun said, looking at the captives of the many generals and officials of the Liao Kingdom: "Look at these people, most of them are as calm as wolves on the grassland even when they are in this field.

They are very similar to us. We fought for the Great Zhou Dynasty, and we have today's territory. They are also the experienced generals of the Liao Kingdom who have accumulated rich experience in the Southern and Northern Wars over the years. Without them, the Liao Kingdom's army would have no backbone. .

I'm not going to let them go back."

Having said that, everyone looked over.

"Marshal, have you killed them all?" Someone asked directly.

"Ask if anyone is willing to surrender. If Yun is willing, you can keep it, and don't keep the rest alive." Shi Congyun ordered. Back then, Wei Qing was able to stay in the Mobei grassland without getting lost, and every time he went straight to the place where the Huns gathered. The reason is that he bought and recruited the Huns as guides.

Shi Congyun also wanted a Khitan guide, which might be useful in the future.

Of course, everything is a double-edged sword. For example, Zhao Xin, the former general of the Huns, rebelled back to the Huns after being besieged by the Huns army, and made repeated jumps, but Shi Congyun felt that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages.

"I'll do it myself." Dad said first.

Shi Congyun nodded. A tall and burly killer like Dad can scare people even more: "Father, don't force them to surrender, and don't tell them that they will die if they don't surrender. Just ask if there are any who surrender voluntarily. Don't keep the rest. alive."

"Well, I wanted to kill them a long time ago! I will do it myself." The old man was full of murderous looks. He had a blood feud with the Khitan people, and Shi Congyun didn't stop him.

After asking the soldiers to graze with his horse and eat something casually, Shi Congyun went to the main tent of the Chinese army and saw two heavyweights.

One is Yelu Talie, the great king of the South Court of Liao Kingdom, and the other is Xiao Siwen, who stayed behind in Nanjing.

After he entered the big tent, the two of them were already sitting on the side seats. After seeing him, the two reacted very differently. Both of them fixed their eyes on him and carefully scrutinized his appearance. , Yelu Talie sat on the seat in an even manner, motionless.

Yelv Talie, this person Shi Congyun didn't know before, has become familiar with him these days. He was the one who led the troops from Daizhou and Xinkou to rescue Jinyang. If it wasn't for him, the Zhou army would have been wiped out a few years ago The Northern Han Dynasty.

Moreover, some Han officials of the Liao Kingdom who surrendered told him that Yelu Talie is one of the important heroes who are so powerful in the Daliao Kingdom. increase rapidly.

As a result, the Liao Kingdom quickly turned to farming, and at the same time it became more and more prosperous. The king of the courtyard is called "the king of rich people", and the people near Youzhou also have a good impression of him.

Moreover, every time Yelv Talie used soldiers, he clearly rewarded and punished him and kept his promise, which won the loyalty of his soldiers.

Shi Congyun also suddenly thought of one thing, if he hadn't traveled by himself, then his father would have died under his hands in the first battle of Xinkou, and Fu Yanqing, Li Yun, etc. would also have been defeated by him.

Such a character, if you don't know it or don't know it, once you understand it, it turns out that this is not the first time you have dealt with it.

The old man has already told himself that these two can speak Chinese. After all, one of them is the king of Nanyuan, and the other is left behind in Nanjing. The land under their rule is centered on Youzhou, and most of the people under their rule are Han people.

"You are Shi Congyun, Zhou Jun's envoy." Shi Congyun just sat down on the chief seat, but Yelu Talie, who was dressed in plain clothes, spoke first.

"Exactly, you are not afraid of me." Shi Congyun asked curiously.

"They're afraid of you because they're afraid of death. Since I was captured by you, I haven't thought of going back alive, so naturally I'm not afraid." Yelu Talie said firmly.

Shi Congyun chuckled: "That's really a pity, I didn't want to kill you at first."

Yelu Talie was stunned for a moment, and then snorted coldly: "You are wishful thinking if you want to ask questions, I won't say anything, I just want to die."

Shi Congyun looked at the staunch Yelu Talie. As the king of the South Courtyard, he must know a lot about the internal situation of the Liao Kingdom. This is the reason why he didn't rush to kill the two of them. However, judging from the situation, it seems that he will not die. Open your mouth.

However, he is not going to kill this kind of person himself. If he wants to kill him, he has to take him back to Daliang and kill him in front of the officials and the people. Only in this way can he strengthen the country and boost morale.

So he said with a smile: "There is no rush to ask for death, I will make good arrangements for you, come here, take him down and take care of him."

The guards outside the big tent came in and led Yelu Talie out in plain clothes. His old eyes were a little flustered, but he remained calm without saying a word, and went out with the two guards.

All of a sudden, only Xiao Siwen, whose eyes were full of panic, was left in the big tent.

Compared with Yelu Talie's calmness, Xiao Siwen was obviously much more nervous and frightened.

It was even more so when I saw him. After all, the three words Shi Congyun are enough to scare people nowadays.

"Xiao Siwen, I'm asking you how many defenders are still in Youzhou City, and whether there will be any reinforcements in the future." Shi Congyun asked, his tone a little more gentle than before, so as not to scare Xiao Siwen, he had already clearly seen that Xiao Siwen and Yelv Tali is not a type of person.

But Shi Congyun didn't know that he had just killed tens of thousands of Liao troops in the past two days, and a butcher Shashen suddenly spoke so kindly, which was even more frightening.

Xiao Siwen continued: "Reporting to the commander, Youzhou originally had about 6 defenders. I took [-] to the south, and there are roughly [-] people. The troops of various tribes will gather in Nanjing one after another within this month. By then, there should be [-] to [-] troops." people."

Shi Congyun nodded, not doubting that he was lying. This is the trouble of a big country, which constantly replenishes its vitality. The loss of tens of thousands of troops is almost equivalent to the destruction of a small country, but it is only a partial loss of strength for a big country.

Therefore, the wars between those big countries in history are often protracted, ranging from a short period of ten years to a long period of several decades or even hundreds of years. Because it is impossible to eat them all at once, they can only be consumed slowly.

But Shi Congyun is not that interested in Xiao Siwen, what he is interested in is
"You have a daughter, whose name is Yan Yan and Xiao Chuo."

Hearing his question, Xiao Siwen froze for a moment, then didn't know what to think, and then nodded hesitantly after a while: "Where did the commander hear about the little girl?"

"It really is you," Shi Congyun said, feeling a lot of emotion in his heart, he didn't expect to meet him so soon.

The Liao Kingdom was established in the hands of Yelu Abaoji, and then passed through Taizong, Sejong, and the current emperor Yelujing, but it was Yeluxian and Empress Dowager Xiao who brought the Liao Kingdom to its peak, that is, the daughter of Xiao Siwen in front of me. after.

Speaking of Empress Dowager Xiao and Empress Lu, there are many similarities. Both poisoned their rivals in love, and both used political means to eliminate dissidents internally. The methods were sophisticated and cruel, but they made great contributions to the development of the country externally.

Shi Congyun couldn't help but be amazed, Xiao Siwen didn't have much ability, so having a daughter would be a big deal.

"Tomorrow a certain will go north to Youzhou, you can be my guide."

"This..." Xiao Siwen hesitated, and finally said hesitantly: "Commander, it is better to kill me. If His Majesty sees that I am in the same rank as the commander, the family will not be safe."

After hearing this, Shi Congyun nodded: "It's okay, just tie you up when the time comes."

That night, among the more than 200 generals and officials of the Liao Kingdom, 21 were willing to surrender to Dazhou, and the rest were all beheaded by the father.

The next day, Shi Congyun and his father's army continued to go northward from Gu'an to the city of Youzhou. The messenger who returned told him that Wang Quanbin's army had arrived at the city of Liezhai in Youzhou.

At the same time, Guo Tingwei and others also counted the various battlefields of the war and reported to him. In this battle, about [-] Liao troops were captured and killed on the tens of miles of battlefield from Yijin Pass to Gu'an.

Among them, about 2000 Liao troops were killed.

However, those who were killed on the frontal battlefield were actually a small number, only about [-]. Most of them were surrounded and killed by the follow-up Zhou army after the defeat.

Of course, the data is not accurate, because there are still many people who don't know where they died, and they are just statistics.

The casualties of the Zhou army were actually not small, especially when the first four teams faced the Liao army directly. If they hadn't resisted at the beginning, it would have been another look.

The Zhou army suffered more than 900 casualties, and more than 5 people died in battle. The more than [-] Zhou army who went north two months ago had only about [-] combatable soldiers, and almost all of them gathered under the city of Youzhou.

There were more than 5000 captives from the Sixth Army of the Southern Academy in Youzhou, almost all of whom were Han Chinese. Shi Congyun ordered not to kill them.This move was ordered by Shi Congyun, and he had no good intentions.

The purpose is to inform the people of the Liao Kingdom that the Da Zhou policy of different treatment.

Create confrontation in Youzhou and other places, intensify the internal contradictions of the Liao Kingdom, and divide its interior. The Liao Kingdom itself has a large number of Han people. This move will definitely deepen their internal contradictions, and it may have a miraculous effect over time.

When Shi Congyun arrived more than ten miles south of Youzhou City, Shao Ji led his army to greet him excitedly. At the same time, he told him that the people in Youzhou City were already panicked. Many people ran to the mountains to seek refuge. And down, fled the city and surrendered to them.

The battle situation is very favorable for Zhou Jun!Moreover, the news of the disastrous defeat of the Liao army must have spread quickly and spread all over the world as time went by.

(End of this chapter)