The next day, Zhuge Liang led his troops to Xiangwu City, raised Hao Zhaoshuai's flag and golden drums under the city, and persuaded You Chu to surrender.
When You Chu saw the various flags under the city and heard that Hao Zhao had been defeated and fled, his face turned pale immediately.
He said to Ma Yong, the commander-in-chief, and Gongsun Zheng, who joined the army, "Xiangwu is an isolated city and must not be defended. I am the governor of Longxi and have the responsibility to defend the land. If I can defend it, I will defend it to the death."
"However, the city cannot be defended now. If we forcefully resist the Shu captives, it will only cause the people in the city to suffer from war. I cannot bear to do that."
So he personally shouted to the people in the city, "Please let me appease the people in the city first, and then open the door and surrender later."
The soldiers under the city conveyed You Chu's words back to the Han army camp. Wei Yan was very angry when he heard what he said, so he persuaded Zhuge Liang, "Prime Minister, he also said he would surrender in a month. Who knows that everything happened before and after?" Four months.”
"Now the three counties in the east have been decided. Only Longxi still wants to resist the heavenly soldiers. What he said is just delaying time. I don't know what other tricks he has. The general will ask for orders and attack the city directly."
Zhuge Liang did not agree immediately. He looked at the city not far away and suddenly asked, "Feng Mingwen, what do you think?"
When Feng Yong heard this, he quickly said, "In my opinion, the Prime Minister might as well agree to it. It's just a matter of waiting two more days."
When Wei Yan heard what Feng Yong said, he immediately held the handle of the knife and glared at Feng Yong angrily, "How do you know that?"
Feng Yong squinted at the old man Wei and sneered, "General Wei wanted to lead an army out of Xiegu and let the prime minister leave Longyou on his own. He threatened that he would be able to take Tongguan in Chang'an all the way. Looking at it now, is it true?"
Old thief Wei, do you think that I am still the same as when I first arrived in Hanzhong and was kneaded by you?
You can't even capture Xiangwu City, but you still want to attack Chang'an and capture Tongguan? Wei is a big mouth!
The Cao Zhen in Xicheng is enough for you to drink a pot!
Wei Yan was furious, stepped forward, made a clang sound, half-drew his long sword, and tried to force him forward, shouting, "Shuzi, how dare you insult me? Are you looking for death?"
Feng Yong was slightly startled when he saw Wei Yan looking like he wanted to choose someone to devour, and couldn't help but take a step back.
When Guan Xing saw something was wrong, he quickly stood in front of Feng Yong and said to Wei Yan, "General Wei, if you have something to say, please tell me!"
Feng Yong felt relieved and looked around, thinking that my mother-in-law Guan Ji is not here, otherwise we will see how she will deal with you!
Zhuge Liang knew that there was a grudge between the two people, and he felt a little headache. He immediately scolded him, "What do you look like in the army and in front of the battle array? Could it be that you are cheating on military laws and not being strict?"
Wei Yan snorted, then returned the knife to its sheath and returned to its original position angrily.
Guan Xing also retreated.
"Feng Yong, tell me, what's the reason for agreeing to the other side? If you can't tell me one, two, three, let's see how I deal with you."
Zhuge Liang turned to Feng Yong again, with a bad expression on his face.
Feng Yong naturally knew why Wei Yan wanted to attack the city.
He quickly marched to Longxi with light troops, intending to capture Xiangwu without a fight, but he did not expect that he was unprepared and was forced to retreat by You Chu.
Then Hao Zhao arrived, forcing him to retreat to Bi Dao in Nan'an County.
A few days ago, Zhuge Liang led his troops to join them, and he took the initiative to request orders to attack the city, but was burned to a pulp by Hao Zhao.
After being continuously frustrated at the foot of Xiangwu City, I am afraid that he has long hated this Xiangwu City.
In addition, since the Northern Expedition, he was the only one who had not made any achievements along the way.
Seeing that Xiangwu was already the final battle of the Northern Expedition, he still had not made any achievements. With his arrogant temperament with eyes on his head, he probably felt that he had lost all face.
Therefore, he was naturally unwilling to let go of Xiangwu, the place where he finally gained credit.
But how could Feng Yong let him get his wish?
I could only hear him saying slowly, "Prime Minister, it seems that Xiangwu will be defeated now. It just depends on whether it is broken early or late. If we attack it by force, we will definitely capture it in three to five days."
"But if you attack the city, the people in the city will suffer disasters. When the fate of father and son is different, there will be resentment. Doesn't this only make it more difficult to govern Longxi in the future?"
"Furthermore, even if we use a catapult to break down the city wall, the soldiers will eventually be forced to invade the city and fight. Wouldn't there be casualties again?"
"So it seems to Yiyong that we should agree to him first and wait for two days. If he does not surrender after two days, it will be a breach of trust. We attack the city as a last resort."
"The troubles for the people in the city are all attributed to him, not to me. If he surrenders as scheduled, that would be better. The big man can not only save the lives of the soldiers, but also the people in the city."
"It takes two days to get such benefits, why not?"
After Feng Yong said this, before Zhuge Liang could speak, Wei Yan said again, "Now that there is a war, how can we avoid the casualties of our soldiers? If we are afraid of casualties, how can we lead the army? It is better to go back to the rear and raise pigs."
Feng Yong immediately glared at this old man!
"Furthermore, Xiangwu City first engaged in deceit and then resisted stubbornly. Now it sees that it is impossible to do anything and resorts to the same tactics again. It is really abominable. If we do not use military force, there is no doubt that someone will imitate it in the future."
Wei Yan spoke eloquently, "Therefore, it is better not to take advantage of this opportunity, not to be surrendered, and to break into the city to frighten those who come after."
"When the late emperor raised his army, it was common practice for all the princes in the world to massacre cities, especially the Cao thieves, who massacred countless cities. Only the late emperor acted with benevolence and virtue, and could continue the Han Dynasty by weaving mats and selling shoes."
"Why? It's just because the late emperor regarded the people of the world as the people of the Han Dynasty, so he couldn't bear to harm them. But Cao Cao, the traitor, regarded the people of the world as pigs and dogs, so he drove them to slaughter without mercy."
"If you can save the people, but you deliberately break into the city, how are you different from Cao Cao's thieves?"
Feng Yong refused to give in and retorted with sarcasm.
It is said that the population dropped significantly after the Three Kingdoms. In fact, to be precise, it should be the wars, hunger, cold, plague, etc. before the Three Kingdoms were established, which were the main factors for the population decline.
Cao Cao was undeniably powerful. He unified the north and ended the war in the north.
But at the same time, the stain on him that he loves to massacre cities can never be washed away.
I wonder if the population he massacred can be compared with the registered population when Ji Han founded the country?
After the establishment of the Three Kingdoms, the country was partially unified, the economy recovered, and the population did not decline again, and even increased slightly.
Now when Feng Yong heard that Wei Yan wanted to break into the city, he immediately became a little angry.
To break into the city, to put it lightly, is actually just to break into the city and vent your anger.
Because according to this ancient practice, if the defenders resist for more than a certain period of time, or the attackers suffer more than a certain level of casualties, then the attackers will most likely massacre the city after breaking through.
It's just a big slaughter, a small slaughter, a whole massacre, or a partial massacre.
Seeing that Wei Yan was about to attack Feng Yongjin again, Zhuge Liang shouted loudly, "Okay!"
Only then did the two people stop arguing.
"General Wei is worried that the other party has a plot and wants to enter the city as soon as possible. Feng Mingwen, you care about the people and do not want to attack. Both of them are reasonable. It's just that Feng Mingwen is a junior, can't he be more polite to General Wei?
"
Zhuge Liang scolded Feng Yong.
Feng Yong curled his lips and glanced at Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang stared back at him.
Feng Yong was speechless and murmured in his heart, his son is still my disciple. He and I are equals, so how can we become juniors?
Although Zhuge Liang was ostensibly reprimanding Feng Yong, in the eyes of Jiang Wei and other sharp-eyed people, it was clear at a glance who the prime minister was closer to after hearing these words.
I heard Zhuge Liang say again, "But what you said makes sense. The people of Xiangwu are also the people of the Han Dynasty. How can I not treat them well? If I can help them avoid the disaster of war, that would be the best."
"Therefore, I not only have to promise to wait for two more days, but also restore the flow of the Wei River to avoid the worry of water shortage in the city. At the same time, I can also show the virtue of the emperor of the Han Dynasty."
After the discussion was settled, Zhuge Liang sent people back to the city to convey his intentions in detail.
When You Chu heard this, he sighed, "In this way, the people in the city will all appreciate Ji Han's virtues, and Zhuge Liang will win the hearts of the people in Xiangwu without even using a single soldier!"