There is no need to worry about the desertion of soldiers on three or five occasions. A large-scale desertion means that the soldiers have no fighting spirit and will lose their will to fight.
It also means that even if the defenders find someone escaping, they are unwilling to warn them. Instead, they cover, acquiesce, and follow suit. Escape has become a general trend. How can we fight this battle?
"Eldest brother, the second brother is incompetent, I..." Lun Qinling felt bitter in his heart and could not express it.
Zan Xiruo patted Lun Qinling on the shoulder and said with a wry smile: "I can't blame you for this. The morale of the army is unstable and everyone is fleeing. It's a matter of national policy. It's not a fault of the war. The court has always ignored slaves. The nobles are above the slaves.
The slaves were taken away alive and killed, and now the slaves have been lured away. Who can stop it? It can't be stopped. It's just that the court usually doesn't show kindness to win over and doesn't pay attention to it."
"Well said, but it's a pity it's too late." Lu Dongzan stood up and agreed, his face as pale as paper.
"See you, father!" the brothers quickly saluted.
Lu Dongzan waved his hand and continued: "The defeat of Tubo was due to the fact that the vision was not as good as that of the King of Han, and the system was not advanced enough. When I went to the Tang Dynasty as an envoy, I saw that the King of Tang vigorously promoted farming, paid attention to the people, abolished the slave trade, and suppressed the nobility.
The aristocratic family was dismissive at the time, but now it seems that this king is short-sighted, and the king of Han did it more decisively, more ruthlessly, and more thoroughly, and Tubo was defeated unjustly."
"Father, please have a good rest!" Zan Xiruo quickly persuaded.
Lu Dongzan shook his head and warned with a solemn look: "Get out of the city quickly. As long as Tubo is not destroyed, everything will be easy to discuss. Let's go."
Zan Xiruo nodded solemnly and hurried away.
Lu Dongzan signaled all the irrelevant people to leave, and whispered to Lun Qinling: "Your eldest brother is going to peace talks, but based on my understanding of the King of Han, there is little hope for peace talks. You must make two preparations. You must choose the descendants of your family as soon as possible."
Some clever people hide it. Once the city is defeated, you can escort it away with the Dark Moon Scimitar. The country can be destroyed, and the father can die, but the family cannot die, and the incense inheritance must be preserved."
"Father, my son and I will stay here and live and die with our father." Lun Qinling's eyes turned red instantly.
"Nonsense, when it comes to military knowledge, no one in the clan can match it. The reason for defeat is not that you are incompetent, but that the King of Han is too strong. What you have learned must be passed on to cultivate more warriors in the clan for the future." Lu Dong praised.
He warned sternly.
"I..." Lun Qinling was ashamed and ashamed.
"Go west, to Tianzhu, and look for a place. Take a look at it. When you start again, bring more gold and silver jewelry. This matter is top secret. No third party can know about it. Go ahead and prepare. Everything is for the sake of family inheritance!"
"I……"
Lun Qinling didn't know what to say, and he felt miserable in his heart. He slowly retreated, tears streaming down his face, and he felt sad in his heart - can a defeated general really make a comeback?
…
At the east city gate, Zan Xiruo came in a hurry with a group of guards.
As soon as I arrived at the gate, I found that the city gate was open, and thousands of soldiers surrounded a large group of people. They walked towards the outside of the city. I was suddenly shocked. Are you planning to defect?
"The eldest prince, they are from the Guduo family, and Xiaolun is also here." The guard commander shouted in surprise.
Xiao Lun was an official position, equivalent to a junior prime minister. Before Lu Dongzan took office, he was a Da Lun, equivalent to a prime minister. After taking office, the post of Da Lun was vacant. Xiao Lun was the hand of Tubo civil servants. He also persuaded the army to join Qin Huaidao.
.
Zan Xiruo took a closer look and found the comment in the crowd, and said in surprise: "Wasn't he invited to the palace last night? Why is he here?"
Last night Lu Dongzan pretended to be ill, and many people were "invited" to visit him in the palace and were placed under house arrest.
The guard commander didn't know why, and was speechless. His eyes suddenly fell on a general, and he suddenly reacted and said quickly: "He is the head of ten thousand households of the Guards. He is not the king's son-in-law. How could he be?"
The Guards are responsible for guarding the palace, so the leader naturally needs to be someone they can trust.
Zan Xiruo followed the direction and saw that it was indeed his sister-in-law, the head of ten thousand households of the Guards. He usually showed loyalty, but now he betrayed him and said angrily: "He must be the one who led the Guards to attack the West Palace and released him from house arrest."
It’s disgusting that everyone fled out of the city together.”
Without people under house arrest, there will be fewer bargaining chips.
What's even more frightening is that if they continue to leave the city, their whereabouts will inevitably be exposed, and they will be killed or even arrested as a sign of surrender to the King of Han.
Should we continue to go out of the city to negotiate? Zan Xiruo was hesitant to decide.
A large group of people rushed out of the city, but the city gate was not closed. Seeing that there was no one to stop them, more soldiers took the opportunity to follow. If there was one, there would be two, three...
More and more people followed and fled the city. When Lun Qinling heard the news and came with soldiers to suppress it, tens of thousands of people had left. Lun Qinling ordered his followers to close the city gate and came to Zan Xiruo and whispered.
Asked: "Brother, shouldn't you go out of the city..."
Don't speak out the words of peace talks, otherwise there will be endless troubles.
Zan Xiruo smiled bitterly and spoke frankly about the scene he had just seen and the speculation in his mind. Lun Qinling's face also became ugly. He signaled the guards to leave and said in a low voice: "Brother, my father told me to hide the family's back in secret. Find out
If we have the opportunity to escape from the city, in my opinion, Xiao Lun and others must have gone to the King of Han, and there is no hope for peace talks. It is better to take the opportunity to open the city gate and let everyone leave. You and I can disguise ourselves and take the opportunity to blend in with the crowd and escape."
"This is a good idea. Let's go and find Father!" Zan Xiruo agreed.
Peace talks are hopeless, we can only save ourselves!
…
Hanzhou Army, Zhongjun Tent.
Qin Huaidao was a little surprised when he received the news that Xiao Lun came with thousands of Tubo Guards. When he captured Tubo last year, Xiao Lun was also considered too strong. He was a talented man, but he valued profits and was afraid of death. He was an egoist. This kind of person
It's easy to deal with. As long as the benefits are sufficient and the deterrence is sufficient, you won't dare to mess around.
The Guards are the elite of the Tibetan elite, and the Ten Thousand Captain is the son-in-law of Lu Dongzan. If he can betray Lu Dongzan in order to survive, he will be able to betray himself in the future. This kind of person can be used, but not reused.
As for the other nobles, they were just a group of villains who betrayed Lu Dongzan in order to protect themselves. To be precise, it was not a betrayal. Lu Dongzan's position was also unfair, and it was not long ago, and the monarch and his ministers had no loyalty at all.
These people can use their talents according to their talents, but the fields and pastures must be handed over for free. This is the bottom line. Otherwise, how can they buy slaves and stabilize the situation?
Qin Huaidao met everyone at the Zhongjun tent. When old acquaintances met, they had their own polite manners, reminiscing about old times, talking about interesting things from a year ago, and complimenting each other a few words, and the atmosphere became harmonious.
After some pleasantries, Qin Huaidao directly stated the bottom line.
Everyone is very sad. How can we enjoy a prosperous life without fields and pastures? How can we still be superior?
But opposition means beheading, confiscation of homes and extermination of clans. By then the fields and pastures will still be unprotected. No one is a fool. Everyone expressed their stance with a smile and expressed their obedience.
"Report——"
While they were chatting, Luo Wu walked in quickly, clasped his fists and said, "I would like to inform the King of Han, Qiangba, Gonpo, Lobsang, Phuntsok and Jiayang generals to see me and ask for instructions."
When everyone heard that the last few troops had come to surrender, why were they still struggling? They bowed their heads in resignation.
Qin Huaidao's eyes lit up and he shouted: "Please come in quickly."