After meeting Zhao Hongrun, Qu Cheng first saluted him with clasped fists, and then immediately told Zhao Hongrun about the progress of his persuasion work: "Except for a few individuals, the other more than fifty generals are willing to surrender... Among them, three thousand generals Three, two thousand people will be nearly ten, and a thousand people will be more than twenty."
"Okay!" Zhao Hongrun was very happy after hearing this, but he was also a little puzzled. You must know that when he persuaded Qu Cheng and others, it was not so smooth.
At that time, out of more than twenty generals, only Qu Cheng and four others were willing to surrender.
"Just because His Highness defeated Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo."
Qu Cheng pointedly pointed out the root cause.
"I see."
Zhao Hongrun suddenly understood and nodded.
Obviously, when he said that the surrender of Qu Cheng and others was not going smoothly, that was because most of the Chu generals did not think that the Wei army could defeat the army of Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo. But now, all the nearly 100,000 troops of Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo have been defeated. The army was destroyed, and those Chu generals lost their confidence and hope.
Come to think of it, even Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu relented and asked to stop fighting and make peace, let alone the ordinary generals.
"Let's put this matter aside for now. I will tell you another thing first..."
With that said, Zhao Hongrun told Qu Cheng about Pingyu Lord Xiong Hu's plea and suggestion just now. He wanted to hear the views of Qu Cheng, a nobleman of Chu State, on this.
"Although I don't doubt the authenticity of Xiong Hu's words, I just can't figure it out... After all, we, the Wei Dynasty, achieved a great victory on the Yingshui battlefield, but Song County... to be honest, we were defeated. It’s a complete mess.”
Qu Cheng smiled slightly when he heard this, and explained in a low voice: "General, I understand what your highness wants to ask... Your highness is not clear about the affairs of Chu State, that's why you are so confused. The one who attacked Song County was Lord Guling. Xiong Wu, to put it bluntly, the more glorious the results Xiong Wu achieved in the Song Dynasty, the more uncomfortable Xiong Tuo and Xiong Hu felt... Therefore, Xiong Hu's suggestion of reconciliation was probably to send His Highness to the Song Dynasty. .”
"Killing with a borrowed knife?" Zhao Hongrun obviously heard some clues.
"It's not that exaggerated." Qu Cheng smiled and said: "Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo and Guling Lord Xiong Wu are brothers. They are both candidates to become the king of Chu in the future. Originally, Xiong Tuo had a higher reputation in Chu than Xiong Wu. , but now after such a big defeat, I believe that Xiong Tuo will not be in a good situation in the future. Therefore, Xiong Hu most likely hopes that His Highness will go to support the Wei army in Song Dynasty. It is best for Xiong Wu to be defeated and return home in embarrassment..."
"Oh." Zhao Hongrun nodded in relief and then asked: "How does Xiong Wu compare with Xiong Tuo?"
When Qu Cheng heard this question, he thought carefully and then whispered: "In fact, Xiong Wu is not as talented as Xiong Tuo. Therefore, for long-term considerations, if Your Highness can make Xiong Wu sit on the throne of Chu King, I believe that It is easier to deal with the Chu State than Xiong Tuo who became the King of Chu."
…
Zhao Hongrun glanced at Qu Cheng in surprise. After all, if these words were true, it meant that Qu Cheng was gradually beginning to express his feelings to him.
"Among the sons of King Chu, is Xiong Tuo the most difficult to deal with?"
"That's not true." Qu Cheng shook his head and said truthfully: "The person with the highest reputation in Chu State was Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng, that is, a certain old lord Xiangcheng Jun Xiong Ren once supported..."
"Xiong Sheng?" Zhao Hongrun touched his smooth chin and thought: "It's that Chen Bing here..."
"Exactly...it is that Chen Bing who is on the border between Chu and Qi, guarding against Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang of Qi and Lu."
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun said with a half-smile but not a smile: "Chen soldiers are stationed at the border to guard against Qi and Lu. This is not a good job... Being demoted?"
Think about it. Xiong Sheng, Lord of Liyang, sent troops to the Chu State to follow Qi and Lu to guard the border between Qi and Lu. During the period when Chu State was using troops against Wei State, the Lu State sent troops to attack Chu State. This was nothing to gain. The benefits of hard work are nothing compared to the fact that Xiong Tuo, the Lord of Yangcheng, and Xiong Wu, the Lord of Guling, can plunder the wealth of Wei at will.
"I'm not sure about the specifics. I only vaguely heard that because of a certain incident, Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng was deposed by the King of Chu. Since then, Liyang Jun Xiong Sheng has been unpopular..."
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun nodded, having a general understanding of the three sons of King Chu, Xiong Tuo, Xiong Wu, and Xiong Sheng.
Qu Cheng is right. If Xiong Wu's talent is not as good as Xiong Tuo, then for long-term considerations, Zhao Hongrun will continue to suppress Xiong Tuo, the Lord of Yangcheng, and let Xiong Wu conquer the Song Dynasty. After all, the temporary sacrifice will be rewarded. But the gain is immeasurable.
To sum up, the more mediocre the future King of Chu is, the better it will be for Wei.
"Okay, let's put aside Xiong Hu's suggestion for now, and let's talk about the issue of surrendering the army..."
Qu Cheng's heart tightened when he heard this, and he cautiously asked: "Is it about the placement of fifty thousand Chu soldiers?"
"It's the surrender of troops from the Wei Dynasty." Zhao Hongrun corrected him kindly.
"That's right, that's right." Qu Cheng checked himself over and over again for his gaffe, and then asked: "I wonder which general Your Highness plans to let command the surrendering troops?"
Just as he asked, Zhao Hongrun raised his finger and pointed at him.
"Me?" Qu Cheng was surprised and uneasy at the same time, and his expression was also a little panicked. He kept saying, "Your Highness, please take back your life."
Zhao Hongrun was happy and asked with a smile: "What are you afraid of?"
When Qu Cheng saw that Zhao Hongrun was behind only Zongwei Shen Yu and Zhang Ao, and there were no generals from the Dredging Water Camp, he did not hide it and said in a low voice: "Your Highness is pushing the last general into a pit of fire."
"It's not that exaggerated." Zhao Hongrun waved his hand and said with a smile: "Put away the old tricks of your Chu country. I have always been very particular about trusting people and not trusting them. Although to be honest, I am not completely loyal to you. I trust you, but I still see your attitude of showing your sincere intentions... I don't plan to split these 50,000 surrendered troops into the Junshui Camp, and I will leave them to you who are from Chu State. The general will take charge."
Hearing this, Qu Cheng's face was moved. After all, Zhao Hongrun's words undoubtedly meant that he, Qu Cheng, Gu Liangwei, Wuma Jiao, and Wu Ji, were in charge of more than 50,000 Chu surrendered troops. Not even included in the generals of the Wei army.
What kind of trust and respect this is!
No, even a rational person like Qu Cheng deeply felt the importance from the King Su in front of him.
"We must first be a villain and then a gentleman...Although I let you serve as the coach, it is inevitable that I will assign several clan guards to serve as your bodyguards..."
"This should be, this should be." Qu Cheng nodded repeatedly.
He naturally understood that Zhao Hongrun sent several clan guards to serve as his bodyguards. In addition to protecting him, they also obviously had the intention of monitoring him, but it didn't matter. After all, Qu Cheng had now made up his mind to surrender to Wei. He hugged Su Wang Zhao Hongrun tightly. He doesn't care about this big tree, not to mention a few Zongwei, even if the whole army is full of Zongwei.
"That's good." Zhao Hongrun smiled. He turned to Shen Yu and said: "Shen Yu, my name is Wei Jiao, Mu Qing, and Gao Kuo. Four of them are temporarily serving as General Qu Cheng's bodyguards. They must ensure that Qu Cheng General Cheng’s safety.”
"Yes." Shen Yu clasped his fists, nodded and said, "I will inform Wei Jiao and the others later."
"Hmm." Zhao Hongrun nodded. Then he turned to look at Qu Cheng. Seeing that he was still standing there, his eyes couldn't help but look a little strange, as if to say: It's over, why are you still standing here?
Qu Cheng seemed to understand the strange look in Zhao Hongrun's eyes. He was stunned and said with some hesitation: "Your Highness, the general has not yet told His Highness the arrangements of those generals..."
"You can discuss this with Gu Liangwei, Wu Majiao, and Wu Ji... Anyway, I will hand over the fifty thousand people to you. In addition to ordering people to record the achievements of this army, We will wait until the war to discuss your merits and reward you. I will not interfere with you."
Hearing these words, Qu Cheng was even more moved.
As a surrendered general, to be able to gain such trust and respect from King Su of Wei, as the saying goes, what more could I ask for?!
Thinking of this, Qu Cheng clasped his fists heavily and said solemnly: "General, I will definitely live up to His Highness Prince Su's respect!"
"Okay!...You go ahead and complete the reorganization as soon as possible. I hope that the army can set off tomorrow!"
"As you command!"
Qu Cheng clasped his fists and left.
Seeing Qu Cheng's back gradually disappearing from his eyes, Zongwei Zhang Ao frowned and said: "Your Highness's arrangement is probably too dangerous... I still recommend that the 50,000 Chu soldiers be dispersed and organized into the dredging camp. "
Regarding this proposal, Zhao Hongrun shook his head.
In fact, he has also thought about this problem: let all the Wei soldiers in Junshui Camp be promoted to one level, even ordinary soldiers, be promoted to corps commanders, with four Chu soldiers under their command. But if you think about it carefully, this arrangement is simply unreasonable. This greatly reduced the combat effectiveness of the Junshui Battalion.
You must know that in an army, the trust between soldiers plays a decisive role on the battlefield. Wei soldiers who trust each other can safely hand their backs to their comrades, and let one Wei soldier lead four Chu soldiers. Soldier?
When they got to the battlefield, did the Wei soldier in the Junshui camp concentrate on fighting the enemy, or was he always on guard against the four Chu soldiers under his command to prevent them from rebelling?
Therefore, this kind of reorganization is not only not conducive to the improvement of the combat effectiveness of the entire army, but also reduces the combat capabilities of the Junshui Battalion. Zhao Hongrun will not do this.
"Even so, His Highness should send some trusted generals to important positions." Seeing Zhao Hongrun shaking his head and rejecting Zhang Ao's proposal, Zongwei Shen Yu asked in a low voice.
"Inappropriate." Zhao Hongrun shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Ordinary Chu soldiers have no obligation to die for Xiong Tuo, Lord of Yangcheng, and are trustworthy. You sent some soldiers from Wei Dynasty to go there, but instead let They feel that we don't trust them... Why don't we let them form an army alone? Well, let's leave something for Qu Cheng to do... As long as I supervise Qu Cheng, as long as he treats me, the great Wei Dynasty If he is loyal, then he will naturally handle the affairs under his command, and he will naturally supervise the loyalty issues of the troops under his command. In short, he will make arrangements and there is no need for me to intervene."
Zongwei Shen Yu and Zhang Ao looked at each other, secretly surprised by the magnanimity of His Highness Prince Su.
"Send the order and ask the soldiers to cut down more forest trees and chop them into firewood. Let's spend the night in Mu Mountain tonight and wait until noon tomorrow for the army to attack Chu!"
"Your Highness doesn't plan to recover Linying, Zhaoling and other places first?" Zongwei Shen Yu asked in surprise.
Zhao Hongrun smiled lightly and said: "Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo was defeated. When the news reaches Linying and Zhaoling, how can those Chu soldiers who defend the city dare to stay in our Wei Dynasty? I will inform Anling, Changshe and others County, ask the county magistrates to send the guards in the county to recover. To deal with the Chu soldiers who have no intention to fight, the guards are enough... In comparison, I am more urgent to counterattack the Chu State. It is best to be able to Capture Xiong Tuo's fief before he escapes back to his territory!...Go and deliver the order!"
"yes!"
Shen Yu cupped his fists and accepted the order. (To be continued.)