"Commander, Commander, I originally put my heart towards the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the ditch!"
In Chongqing Prefecture's Xuanfu Simatu Cave, a poor person named Shi Lin lamented.
Shi Lin, like Liu Zhifu, is an old man who has followed Wang Xiang for many years. Unfortunately, she is not trusted by Wang Xiang like Liu Zhifu.
The main reason is that Shi Lin is so smart and has an exquisite heart. As soon as Wang Xiang speaks, he knows what the commander is thinking. Not only does he have a good relationship with Wang Xiang, but also the people around Wang Xiang and other generals.
There is no one who doesn’t say good things about him.
At the beginning, Wang Xiang liked Shi Lin very much. Gradually, one knows the power of a horse from a distance, and one knows a person's heart over time. After many years of getting along, Wang Xiang found that Liu Zhifu was better. From the beginning to the end, he only found a simple and honest Liu Zhifu.
But I discovered countless Shi Lins, the simple Shi Lin, the cunning Shi Lin, the public Shi Lin, the selfish Shi Lin? I don’t know which one is true and which one is false.
Because of this, Wang Xiang became suspicious of Shi Lin as soon as Zhu Hengjia used counter-intuitive tactics. This kid is too cunning, he wouldn't have secretly taken refuge with Prince Jing, right?
I suspect that this plant grows very fast. It was just a seed at first, but it soon grew into a towering tree.
The more Wang Xiang thought about it, the more he felt that Shi Lin was unreliable, so he simply gave him 20,000 miscellaneous soldiers to guard Youyang.
Youyang is located in the southeasternmost part of Chongqing Prefecture and is connected to Bozhou through Pengshui County. As long as Pengshui is occupied, Youyang will become an enclave that cannot be defended militarily.
Wang Xiang concentrated all his elite troops in Banzhou, but sent Shi Lin alone to Youyang. The meaning is self-evident.
Of course, Shi Lin was an old man who followed him after all, and Wang Xiang couldn't be too obvious, so he still gave him 20,000 miscellaneous soldiers.
The so-called miscellaneous soldiers, first of all, must be old, weak, sick and disabled; secondly, they must not have received much military training. Twenty thousand miscellaneous soldiers sounds like a lot of people. Can they beat two thousand regular soldiers? I really have to fight.
Question mark.
Seeing the crooked melons and cracked dates assigned to her by Marshal Wang, Shi Lin felt chilled from head to toe. He was a smart man, and he didn't dare to raise any objections, so he took office obediently.
Wang Xiang was worried and sent his confidants to "protect" Shi Lin's family.
The whole family's lives were in Marshal Wang's hands. Shi Lin knew she couldn't defeat him, so she had no choice but to fight the Ming army.
In the first battle at Qianjiang, 5,000 miscellaneous soldiers fought against Ma Wannian's 4,000 white-armed soldiers, and were defeated and abandoned the Qianjiang River. In the second battle at Pengshui, Shi Lin gathered 17,000 soldiers and horses to fight against Ma Wannian's 4,000 soldiers.
People collapsed again and lost Pengshui.
As soon as Peng Shui was lost, contact between Youyang and Bozhou was cut off, and they no longer received any support.
Before Shi Lin could take a breath, the Ming army from the south arrived again.
Shi Lin gritted his teeth and gathered more than 10,000 miscellaneous soldiers. He fought with the Ming Dynasty deputy general Yang Guangqian, Rongmei chieftain Tian Peilin, and Youyang chieftain Ran Tianyu in the battle at Yimeidongsi, and was defeated again. Yimeidongsi, Shiyedongsi, and Maziping
Divisions fell one after another.
Shi Lin knew in her heart that her army was not very effective and did not dare to confront the Ming army head-on. Instead, she fought guerrilla warfare. She voluntarily abandoned Youyang City and wandered around the hills of Youyang.
The problem is that there is a prerequisite for guerrilla warfare: the terrain is familiar. Youyang is a settlement of the Bijika people. The former chieftain Ran Tianlin was unjustly killed by Wang Xiang, and the people of Youyang pity him. I heard that Zhu Hengjia asked Ran Tianlin's younger brother Ran Tianyu to succeed Youyang.
The position of chieftain Yang was reported to Ran Tianyu one after another.
Wherever Shi Lin camped, the people of Youyang would direct the Ming army to attack, and there would be no guerrilla attack at all.
Not long after, Shi Lin's 5,000 remaining soldiers were surrounded by 20,000 Ming legions in a place called Ma Tudong.
"Brother, there are Ming troops at the foot of the mountain. We can't escape. Why don't we surrender?"
Shi Lin's younger brother Shi Meng wants to surrender.
Shi Lin sighed: "If we surrender, where will our family members be?"
Shi Meng said: "Brother, the current situation is that if you don't surrender, you will die. Even if you die fighting hard, the commander-in-chief spared your family. When the imperial court captured Zunyi, as a relative of the guilty general, do you think your family will be well?
The end?"
"This??"
Shi Lin let out a long sigh: "Commander, Commander, I originally set my heart towards the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the ditch!"
??
When I heard that Shi Lin had surrendered to the Ming army, Wang Xiang was furious, so I told him that this kid had to eat everything inside and outside, and it turned out to be true.
He ordered Shi Lin's family members to be tied up and prepared to be taken to Caishikou at noon to be beheaded, so as to serve as a police force.
Shi's wife and Wang Xiang's wife Xiong were good sisters, so they urgently sent their servants to ask for help from Xiong.
Xiong was shocked and came to see Wang Xiang.
"Husband, why do you want to destroy the whole family of General Shi?"
"Hmph! That kid is eating everything inside and outside. I'm going to kill his whole family and kill the chickens to scare the monkeys!"
"But husband, I heard that General Shi surrendered after being defeated in a fierce battle. He led 20,000 old and weak soldiers with poor equipment to fight against the elite Ming army. He suffered repeated defeats and finally surrendered after exhaustion. You will destroy him for this reason.
Is it unfair that the whole family is full?"
"This??"
"General Shi has been with you for many years, and most of the generals in the army are his friends. If you deal with it so harshly, will the old brothers blame you for being too ruthless and abandon you? If so, we don't have to fight this battle.
Lost!"
"This??"
The more Wang Xiang thought about it, the more he felt that Xiong’s words made sense.
"Madam, in your opinion, what should we do?"
Xiong smiled warmly, and her smile had a magical power that could make the "little bully" Wang Xiang's raging anger disappear in an instant.
"Since ancient times, tolerance can be worth a million soldiers. I feel that it is better to let him go than to kill him."
The next day, Wang Xiang summoned the generals to discuss how to deal with Shi Lin's family.
There are different opinions. Some people have a good relationship with Shi Lin and plead for him; some are jealous of Shi Lin and add insult to injury; some are afraid of saying the wrong thing and simply say nothing.
"Alas", Wang Xiang sighed.
"Shi Lin has been with me for many years, and has no merit but hard work. Although he feels sorry for me, I can't bear to harm his family. Come on, send his family back to him."
Everyone was shocked: "Commander, this Shi Lin has surrendered to the imperial court. Even if you don't kill his family, you should still take him hostage. Why did you let him go instead?"
Wang Xiang sighed again: "Alas! When people go to higher places, water flows to lower places. King Jing is powerful. If the old brothers here want to surrender to the court, I will give you a chance. Anyone who wants to surrender with his family today
All of them will be allowed to go. But after today, if anyone dares to cheat me and sell me to Zunyi, I will be killed without mercy!"
All the generals looked at each other, but no one wanted to surrender.
As soon as this incident came out, Wang Xiang's old men all praised the commander-in-chief for his benevolence and righteousness, and Zhu Hengjia's counterintuitive plan was eliminated.
When Zhu Hengjia heard about this, he couldn't help but sigh: "A virtuous wife will bring less trouble to her husband, and a son who is filial to his father will have peace of mind. This Wang Xiang has such a virtuous wife, and it is not easy for him to obey his righteousness!"
In war, if there is a competition between martial arts and masters fighting each other, Xiong used the "soft palm" move on Zhu Hengjia to overcome the hardness with softness; Zhu Hengjia naturally responded with the "red fist" move, which was hard yet soft.
Since the military morale at the top of the Wang Army cannot be broken down, the military morale at the bottom must be broken down.
First, he rectified his origins, officially declared Wang Xiang a traitor, and advised his subordinates not to be rebellious, lest they harm their families.
Then he issued a summons, "I heard that Wang Xiang is extorting money and expropriating money in Zunyi, and the people are suffering! I am exempting the people of Zunyi from money and food for one year." This move is very cruel! Wang Xiang used Zunyi to support an army of 200,000 people. Although he also implemented military garrison
It was still not enough to maintain the system and raise troops in the fields, so they had to rely on the people. The people of Zunyi worked hard and their income was only enough to make ends meet. When they heard that the supervising country had exempted them from money and food for a year, the people wished that the Ming army would come over soon.
He also issued a summons, "If any common people can persuade Wang Xiang's subordinates to surrender to the thieves, they will be rewarded with ten acres of land." Nowadays, Sichuan has experienced wars for a long time, and a lot of land is barren. The so-called ten acres of land rewarded did not actually cost Zhu Hengjia a single penny.
.Why not do it if you don’t spend a penny and mess up the enemy’s morale?
Wang Xiang couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard that Zhu Hengjia exempted Zunyi from money and food for a year. Prince Jing was rich and powerful, so he could exempt Zunyi from money and food, but he, Marshal Wang, could not. If he exempted the people from money and food, what would his army eat?
Under the political offensive of the Ming army, Wang Xiang's subordinates began to defect.
In this regard, Marshal Wang showed no mercy, put aside his "Bodhisattva-heartedness" against Shi Lin's family, and chopped off the heads of more than 300 deserters in one go, finally stopping the wave of deserters.
War is a continuation of politics. After the political means are used, what is left is real swords and guns. Prince Jing and Marshal Wang both rolled up their sleeves, exposed their muscles, and were ready to knock each other down with one punch.