When the logistics received the news, they immediately went to find Duke Zhao. The two thousand people led by Niu Ci Shi were already self-sufficient, but Xue Gui still asked him for food and grass every day.
Zhao Guogong then went to Xue Gui to ask for official documents. After receiving the reply, he wrote to Xue Gui, "We can collect grain and grass from large households for use."
He also wrote to Niu Cishi, "You must not exploit the people. Your Majesty is a teacher of benevolence and righteousness, and you must leave goodwill for future generations."
Zhao Guogong informed the emperor of the matter and curled his lips and said: "Goguryeo is simply killing the goose to obtain the eggs. Food and grass have been confiscated three times around the inner city, leaving the people with no place to rely on, let alone places further away. Even without us, I'm afraid it won't be able to survive."
In less than a few years."
He added: "Xue Gui is young and inexperienced after all, and is not as experienced as Niu Ci Shi."
The emperor nodded and commented: "Niu Cishi can govern the place and lead troops in battle. Xue Gui is a fierce general."
The emperor was moved in his heart and asked: "What do you think, eldest brother, of Niu Cishi being the governor of the Andong Protectorate?"
Zhao Guogong thought for a while and then said: "It is feasible, but...will it rise too fast?"
The emperor smiled nonchalantly and said: "He is a great sword, so why use it to kill chickens? Besides, with his qualifications, it is not too early to be promoted to governor, but he comes from a poor family and no one recommends him."
If it hadn't been for this Eastern Expedition, he wouldn't have known that there were so many outstanding people hiding in the border areas.
Xue Gui counts as one, and Niu Cishi naturally counts as one.
If it hadn't been for the internal strife between Silla and Baekje, there might not have been a need for him to conquer Liaodong in person, and Niu Ci would have quietly conquered Liaodong.
Duke Zhao no longer had any objections, and the two of them made a tacit agreement not to discuss this topic again. It would not be good for such a major appointment or dismissal to be spread in advance.
Xue Gui got the guidance of Duke Zhao and finally knew how to collect grain and grass without causing too much resentment among the people. So he led his soldiers to two small cities, first collecting it with the officials in the city, and then collecting it with some big families, as well as the people in the city.
Grain shop, etc.
For a time, wealthy businessmen and some landlord families suffered heavy losses, and many people fled to the inner city crying.
The Niu Governor acted more gently. After taking over the city, he directly took over the city's warehouses. Well, they were basically empty warehouses. Then he went to the official's house to sit there. After collecting a few carts of grain, he went to another house to sit there.
sit.
Some families were so stingy that they clearly had a lot of grain at home but were unwilling to take out a single grain. Instead, they proposed to take Jin troops to the countryside to collect grain from their tenants' homes.
Niu Cishi sneered again and again. Goguryeo had plundered everything they could. If he went to collect from ordinary people, wouldn't he take the initiative to bear their grievances?
And what else can be found on them?
Encountering such a stubborn and unconscious person, Niu Governor did not use force and directly took the soldiers to his house for dinner.
He took two thousand people with him, five hundred people went to another place to collect villages and towns along the way, and another five hundred people went to another place. He took the remaining one thousand people to eat, and after two meals, the other party would be honest.
Already.
In the end, he was satisfied and left with four or five carts of grain.
His lieutenant general's stomach became round after eating, and he said with a smile: "Sir, they gave in too quickly. They just need to be stubborn for two days and they will be fine."
They can only eat seven times full when they eat by themselves, which is no better than being a guest. Since they are guests, even if the dishes are less, they have to take care of enough food, right?
These two meals were the best they had eaten since the expedition.
He no longer envied those in the camp for eating horse meat.
In the siege two days ago, three of their horses died, and seven of the enemy's horses died, and they were all skinned and eaten.
It's a pity that they went out for a raid the next day and didn't have time to eat a piece of meat.
Now they are not envious at all.
There are more than 50,000 people, and if they are divided into ten horses, everyone can only eat minced meat. I'm afraid they won't even see a piece of meat. How can they be as good as they are now?
Niu Cishi said: "This is a raid, do you know about the raid? We have to hurry up, it's already the second day, and it's cold now. Let's rest in the city tonight, and we will continue early tomorrow morning. We have to go to at least one city a day."
"
These cities have no resistance at all. Some small cities have walls that are less than two feet high. You can just build a ladder to go up. The siege speed is very fast, but the slow one is collecting food and grass.
Qibi Heli was seriously injured, and now Gao Zhi, Ashina, Xue Bei and others took turns calling for formations to besiege the city.
After the First World War, the people on the city tower became a little more arrogant. They no longer received scoldings blindly, but retorted from time to time. The armies of the two countries exchanged curses across a gate tower and a large open space.
When Gao Zhi came on the scene, he mostly tried to comfort him. Now the people on the tower became rude and scolded Gao Zhi over and over again from top to bottom, inside and out. They also announced the edict of the King of Goguryeo and removed Gao Zhi from the family tree.
Get rid of them and reduce them to sinners...
Takashi's face looked very ugly.
Although he had been scolded before when he appeared on stage, he had never been scolded so harshly, and there was no edict about it.
Zhao Guogong saw all this in his eyes and said to the emperor: "Now the siege will be more difficult to be effective. The opponent's mind has become firmer. This is a serious danger."
Bai Erlang stood behind and listened drowsily, a little distracted.
Bai Shan's injuries have improved a lot. In the past two days, whenever he has free time, he is called over for questioning, asking about the situation of the two armies that attacked and the situation of the siege.
The key is that he is responsible for the logistics of medical accounts. How does he know so much?
I could only watch Konglai wander around the emperor, listen to some news and then pass it on to him.
Alas, when did Bai Shan become so hard-working? Why do he still have to worry about these things when he is rarely injured and can rest?
Bai Erlang felt so sleepy that he could hardly keep his eyes open. He gradually became distracted, and his mind wandered to an unknown place. When he came back to his senses, he heard the emperor calling him.
He shook and tried to open his eyes to see the emperor.
emperor:"……"
Gu Zhong glanced at the emperor cautiously and reminded Bai Erlang in a low voice: "Prince-in-law, Your Majesty asked you how to make people's hearts collapse."
Bai Erlang swallowed his saliva, his mind was in a blur.
The emperor and Duke Zhao looked at him.
The emperor was a little disgusted. His son-in-law was too disappointing. Duke Zhao was also a little dissatisfied. How could a talent like Ming Da be matched with a consort like Bai Er?
The emperor turned around and saw that he was dissatisfied again. Although Bai Er was not smart enough or diligent enough, he was personable, kind-hearted, and had a love for Ming Da. The queen liked him very much. Why do you, an uncle, dislike him?
Bai Erlang thought hard and finally found something relevant from his previous learning and memory, "Attack it with fear, and then collect it with benevolence and righteousness?"
The emperor opened his eyes and asked him directly, "Who said this?"
Bai Erlang didn't hide anything and said directly: "Mr. Zhuang said it."
He said: "When we were studying, my husband gave us a topic, and he said at that time that to win over a country's people, we must not only win over its territory, but also win over their hearts, convince them, change their customs, and agree with the principles of the country. Only then can we win over the people."
It’s subjugation.”
The emperor nodded approvingly, "Since Zhuang Shizong became the prince's teacher, the prince has also grown a lot."