Su He supervised the camp in Dadu and called a meeting with all senior officers.
Li Dazhuang came to the camp, his eyes lit up, he came to Wang Shiyuan and asked:
"Chief of Staff, in this battle, are we preparing to launch a general attack?"
Wang Shiyuan did not answer Li Dazhuang's question.
"The military meeting will start soon. You will know later. What's the rush now?"
Li Dazhuang sat on the chair, feeling a little restless.
The King of Qin was preparing to launch a general offensive, and was preparing to summon all senior officers to distribute the objectives of each army.
Li Dazhuang was not afraid of launching a general offensive. He was most afraid that the tasks assigned to him were too simple.
For example, alerting Ming army reinforcements in other places, this kind of task basically has nothing to do with military merit.
Soon all senior military officers arrived.
Su He looked at them and said: "We have called everyone here today because the war situation has undergone major changes.
Ding Degui, please introduce to everyone the current situation in Mengjin County."
When Ding Degui heard King Qin's order, he immediately stood up and told everyone about the situation in Mengjin County.
"Mengjin County was bombed by our army's hot-air balloons. Eleven granaries were destroyed, and most of the stored grain was destroyed.
The Ming army began to reduce the supply of food.
The soldiers didn't have enough to eat, so they began to search all over the city for something to eat.
The chickens, ducks, pigs, cows and other livestock raised by the common people were all captured and eaten by the Ming army.
I was on a hot air balloon and saw a Ming army with a sallow complexion and thin muscles.
They actually caught the rats running around in the city and started eating their meat.
This situation can be proved.
The Ming army, especially the lower-level soldiers of the Ming army, had begun to run out of food, and having a full meal was no longer a luxury.
But this is just evidence, until I saw yesterday that the Ming army began to kill war horses in large numbers.
They even killed the horses. This evidence is enough to prove that the Ming army is now out of food."
When many officers heard Ding Degui's introduction, they were not surprised at all.
A large amount of food in Mengjin County was burned by them, and the Ming army killed war horses to satisfy their hunger. It was only a matter of time.
Su He saw the officers lost in thought and expressed his thoughts.
"The Ming army began to kill their horses, which can prove that they have run out of food, but it also contains more information.
I predict that there are two major possibilities for the Ming army to kill the war horses.
The first possibility is that the Ming army has starved to death on a large scale.
Instead of killing horses to satisfy hunger, soldiers will directly mutiny when they are extremely hungry.
The second possibility is that the Ming army killed war horses to satisfy their hunger and allow the soldiers to regain their strength, so that they could prepare to break out of the city.
No matter which direction you break through, you must hold on.
As long as we can block the Ming army's offensive for a short period of time, reinforcements will be able to respond quickly."
After Su He finished speaking, the senior officers of each army repeatedly assured that the Ming army would never break through their defense zone if they really broke out of the city.
Su He looked at the performance of these officers. He just gave them a warning to prepare them.
He summoned all senior military officers today. In addition to sharing the news about the food shortage tomorrow, he also had one more thing to explain.
"I have learned about the Battle of Daling River by the Ming Army.
The Ming army was also besieged by Jiannu. In the later period, Dalinghe City ran out of food very early, and at first they killed war horses to satisfy their hunger.
Later, after the war horses had finished eating, the Ming army went crazy and started cannibalism.
The Ming Army in Mengjin County is the most elite unit of the Ming Army.
I am also prepared to recruit and surrender most of the Ming army, and some will be added to the various armies.
Some join the garrison to maintain local stability.
Some Ming soldiers whose bad habits were hard to change exiled them to border areas and let them serve as militiamen in border areas.
But the premise for me to recruit and surrender the Ming army is that they still have humanity and reason.
Once due to extreme hunger, one reaches the point of cannibalism.
The Ming soldiers who survived were basically Ming soldiers who had lost their humanity.
These people are no longer human beings, they are no different from animals.
What can you do? It can break down the fighting spirit of the Ming army in the city and capture Mengjin County faster."
Many officers, after hearing Su He's thoughts, were thinking of their own methods.
Qin Xiangkun, chief of staff of the Third Army, was the first to speak: "Principal, we should send envoys to Mengjin County to persuade them to surrender."
When Su He heard Qin Xiangkun's plan, he frowned and said: "Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting are both tough people.
They will not surrender, and these scholar-bureaucrats cannot empathize with the underlying Ming army, and they are extremely hostile to us.
I heard a poem written by a scholar-official.
If you don't die of hunger and death peacefully, just imitate the mantis with its arms stretched out.
This poem was quite popular among scholars in the Ming Dynasty.
When the two armies are fighting, the envoys will not be killed. Lu and Sun may not abide by this rule.
In their minds, we are rebels who should be executed.
It is very dangerous for anyone you send into the city."
When Qin Xiangkun heard what Su He said, he immediately explained: "Principal, Sun Tzu said in the Art of War that attacking the city is the lowest priority, and attacking the heart is the highest priority.
My purpose is not to persuade Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting to surrender.
Whether these two people surrender or not has little impact on the entire strategy.
I sent people into the city to persuade them to surrender. The main purpose was to attack people's hearts.
The purpose of entering the city with great fanfare was to let the Ming army, which had run out of food, know that they had another option.
The Ming army knew that they still had a way to retreat, and they would never resist desperately.
Some people may even want to surrender the city.
No matter how powerful Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were, they would not be able to control the Ming army when it was in dire straits.
Even though Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were extremely prestigious, the Ming army did not surrender the city.
When our army attacks, these Ming troops who want to surrender will also be unable to do anything.
We only need to convey the message of accepting the Ming army's surrender. It doesn't matter who we send to convey it.
The Ming army had a choice, so they would not choose to eat people.
After all, cannibalism requires great courage, and making up your mind to do it is more difficult than making up your mind to surrender.
When the crisis comes, most of the Ming troops in the city will choose to surrender."
When Wu Jie heard this, he recommended: "Our Fourth Army captured many Ming troops some time ago.
Zhao Wenru, a civil servant who led the Ming army, had extremely poor military skills and even softer bones.
He has surrendered to us and handed over the information he knows about the Ming army.
The people of Henan called Zhao Wenru Zhao Bapi.
His public anger is quite strong, and I don't think the king will accept his surrender.
It's better to use the waste and use him to persuade the Ming army in the city to surrender."
When Su He heard Qin Zhengkun's plan, he thought that the current situation was suitable for a psychological attack, and he also felt that the candidate proposed by Wu Jie was not bad.
He immediately agreed to this strategy and asked Qin Xiangkun to teach Zhao Wenru how to persuade him to surrender.
Zhao Wenru really made great achievements, so Su He pardoned his death penalty and let him go to the barbarian land to teach the barbarians how to read.
After seeing Qin Xiangkun leave, Wang Shiyuan said: "Chief of Staff Qin's scheming gave me a lot of inspiration.
We can completely use various scheming tactics to disintegrate the Ming army's will to resist in the city."
Wang Shiyuan proposed several psychological attack strategies, and the officers began to brainstorm and discuss simple and suitable psychological attack strategies.
…………………………
The Qin army shouted at the west gate of Mengjin County.
"Listen up, Ming troops in the city. King Qin has sent an envoy to discuss important matters with you."
Zhao Wenru was pushed by the soldiers of the Qin army and came to the west wall of Mengjin County tremblingly.
He was really afraid of the Ming army in the city, so they shot him to death without asking any questions.
The Ming army on top of the city wall of Mengjin County saw that there was only a weak civil servant coming, so they did not fire.
Zhao Wenru's body was trembling. He stood at the foot of the city and cupped his hands towards the Ming army above the city wall, and immediately said:
"I'm Zhao Wenru, I'm the patrol commissioner of Henan. I want to see Mr. Lu immediately."
The Ming army guarding the city heard this envoy sent by the Qin army, and the Ming Dynasty patrolled Henan.
He immediately sent someone to notify Lu Xiangsheng.
Not long ago.
Lu Xiangsheng's personal soldiers came over immediately and asked people to pick up Zhao Wenru on the city wall.
Zhao Wenru breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a hanging basket lowered on the city wall.
He rode in a hanging basket and climbed onto the city wall of Mengjin County, followed Lu Xiangsheng's soldiers, and went to meet Lu Xiangsheng.
Zhao Wenru met acquaintances on the road and greeted them. He was not at all like an envoy who was captured by the Qin army and came to recruit surrender.
Zhao Wenru met Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting.
When Lu Xiangsheng saw Zhao Wenru, he asked in surprise: "Zhao Xunjian, how did you become the envoy of the Qin army?"
Zhao Wenru said with a wry smile: "Master Lu came with news that Mengjin County has been breached and the rebel Li Zicheng has been captured.
I am taking people to come to Mengjin County to escort the rebel Li Zicheng to Beijing.
Just halfway through, I heard that something happened in Mengjin County. Thieves in yellow suddenly rushed out from Shaanxi and attacked our Henan area.
I saw that the yellow-robed thieves were not yet secure, so I thought I had an opportunity and led my troops to attack the yellow-robed thieves.
He tried his best to kill the thieves, but in the end he was outnumbered and captured by the thieves in yellow.
The thieves in yellow are as timid as rats, and their people dare not enter the city, so they sent me into the city to recruit you."
Lu Xiangsheng knew Zhao Wenru well. He only knew some political tactics but no military skills at all.
When he heard that Zhao Wenru was coming to surrender them.
Lu Xiangsheng's face turned red with anger and he slapped the table hard with his hand.
"I, Lu Xiangsheng, am loyal to Emperor Chongzhen and to the Ming Dynasty.
How could they surrender to the rebels? They are just wishful thinking."
Sun Chuanting also expressed his position, saying: "We will never surrender to the officers and soldiers of Mengjin County.
Even if there is only one soldier left, we must resolutely stand up to the rebels."
Zhao Wenru looked at Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting with murderous intent in his eyes.
He turned pale with fright, and said in a trembling tone: "Master Lu, Master Sun, I am just the messenger.
The thief in yellow put a knife on my neck, but I dare not not come."
Lu Xiangsheng's eyes widened and were covered with bloodshot eyes.
He looked at Zhao Wenru and said in a gloomy tone: "You surrendered to the thieves in yellow, and then you entered the city to persuade them to surrender.
You betrayed the Ming Dynasty and came to the city to disturb the morale of the army."
Lu Xiangsheng looked at the pro-combatants beside him and said: "Come here, behead him for me to show everyone, so that everyone will know what will happen to the thief in yellow who surrenders."
When Zhao Wenru heard that Lu Xiangsheng was going to kill him, his legs went weak and he knelt on the ground, begging for mercy repeatedly.
"I don't want to surrender either, this is not my intention.
If the two armies are fighting and do not kill the envoy, I am here on behalf of the King of Qin. If you execute me, you will cut off your own retreat."
Sun Chuanting said firmly: "Burning the cauldron and sinking the boat can also inspire the soldiers' will to resist."
…………………………
"Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting, these two people swear to the death to coexist with Mengjin County."
Su He used a telescope to look at Zhao Wenru's head hanging on the top of the city.
The Ming army cut off the envoy's head, expressing a very clear attitude.
Su He ordered: "Use all our psychological strategies, maybe one of them will work."
Wang Shiyuan immediately arranged the corresponding personnel to implement the strategies discussed.
…………………………
In Mengjin County, Zu Kuan had unbearable stomach pain. This was because he had eaten too much horse meat.
He took a big sip of tea and prepared to go out for a walk and eat.
When he walked out of the house, a cool breeze blew against his face, and a few snowflakes fell from the sky.
Zu Kuan put on his dog-skin coat and dog-skin hat and walked out of the house.
He heard two soldiers patrolling outside, whispering.
"Have you heard that Mr. Zhang's subordinate, King Scar, starved to death?
Those were General Zhang's personal soldiers. Before he died, he didn't even have a full meal.
I went to the city walls several times to defend the city. I only had a little food and I felt hungry after being active for a while.
Just because he was slightly injured, horsemeat was no longer given to him and he starved to death.
We must not get hurt. Once we get hurt, we will starve to death.
Under the current circumstances, wounded soldiers are abandoned by their superiors."
Zu Kuan felt very uncomfortable as he listened to the soldiers' words.
Many of the soldiers who had been with him for many years had to be abandoned after being injured.
Now in Mengjin County, only able-bodied people can barely eat, and there is no room for wounded soldiers to survive.
Zu Kuan was thinking when he heard a scream from the soldiers patrolling ahead.
"The hot air balloon of the thief in yellow is here again, quickly find a place to hide."
Zu Kuan glanced into the sky and was immediately frightened out of his wits.
He found a nearby people's home and hid directly in it.
He looked at the hot air balloon in the distance, feeling very puzzled.
It was very windy today and it was still snowing lightly. It was flying in the sky and it was difficult to see the scene in the city.
If the thief in yellow chooses this kind of weather to attack, he will not achieve much success.
Zu Kuan soon discovered that what the thief in yellow dropped was not a bomb, but a lot of colorful pieces of paper.
Zu Kuan waited until the pieces of paper floated down, and he also picked up a few pieces of paper.
Except for a few words on the pieces of paper, most of them are comic strips.
In the painting, the Ming army went out of the city to surrender to the yellow-robed thieves. They received great preferential treatment and were given plenty of food.
The thief in yellow is extremely hateful. Through his comic strips, he tells everyone that different actions can lead to different rewards.
If you leave the city and surrender, you can only have enough to eat.
If you surrender the city, you will receive great rewards, including a large amount of gold and silver and promotions.
Among the generals of the Ming army who were captured in the city, there were two people who were painted particularly finely. Zu Kuan could tell at a glance that they were Lord Sun and Lord Lu.
Capture or kill anyone, gold, silver, treasures, beautiful women, all the rights.
There is also a comic strip depicting a Ming army general who resisted to the end and was shot dead immediately after the Qin army entered the city.
When Zu Kuan saw these things, he felt an urge to surrender.
The food in the city now is simply not food for people to eat.
The key is that with just such a small amount of food, most people still won’t be full.
Zu Kuan observed that some extremely hungry soldiers were already scraping sawdust with knives to eat.
The situation in the city continued to deteriorate, and he didn't know what these people could do?
This is the thief's plan, but Zu Kuan predicts that many people will not be able to bear it and surrender to the thief in yellow.
Previously, Mr. Lu and Mr. Sun had instilled in all the soldiers that the thieves in yellow were extremely cruel and would not end well if they surrendered.
The most important thing is that many people don’t know how to surrender.
Now the thieves in yellow are teaching the officers and soldiers to surrender step by step, and the comic strips are very detailed.
Zu Kuan will not surrender, but he is full of despair about the future.
