At noon on August 26, after a few days, Zhao Hongrun once again called together the chiefs of the various tribes near Luo and Gong.
Different from the first military meeting held on the eve of the arrival of the Jiejiao army, today, the mood of the clan leaders of the Heanghuang tribe is very peaceful.
It's no wonder, after all, the Jiejiao Army's poor record of three defeats in three battles in the past three days has given the tribal chiefs a clear glimpse of the possibility of winning this war.
Although all the tribes and the merchant navy suffered heavy losses, their excitement did not diminish at all, because everyone could see that the Jiejiao tribe was defeated!
Because Zhao Hongrun's felt tent contained war clay sculptures, he placed the meeting place in another large felt tent.
It is said to be a military meeting, but actually it is not an exaggeration to call it an early celebration. Anyway, the Sheang people in charge of this matter treated today's military meeting as a celebration banquet and prepared a lot of meat, sheep cakes and goat milk wine.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun simply invited Wu Ji from the Shang Shui Army and several 3,000-man generals under his command. Anyway, until now, he didn't think there was a chance of losing this battle.
The twenty-three tribal chiefs, plus the two brothers Wu Wu and Oona who represent the Qingyang tribe, are the current allies of Wei in the Luoshui Alliance. Although none of these tribes are large tribes, it is undeniable that
These twenty-three tribes are united into one, and they will never be inferior to the four large tribes of Jie, Ling, Yi, and Jiejiao.
After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhao Hongrun ended his previous pleasantries with the clan leaders and gradually brought the topic to the current war situation.
"Thanks to the strong support of all the tribes, Jiejiao's defeat is now certain, and there is only a glimmer of vitality left. What I want to discuss with you this time is not how to defeat the Jiejiao people, but how to end the battle with minimal losses.
This battle.”
Hearing this, the clan chiefs present were slightly startled, because from the words spoken by His Highness King Su, it seemed that he had already made a plan.
"Has His Highness Prince Su already thought of a clever plan?"
Lu Balong, the leader of the Lun clan of the Yi people, complimented him at the right moment.
"It's not a clever plan." Zhao Hongrun waved his hand and said with a smile: "I think in my heart, the Jiejiao army in the western suburbs of Luocheng still has about 150,000 or 60,000 people, or even more, but according to me,
From what I heard when he attacked our Luocheng these past few days, the number of Jiejiao’s cavalry seems to be much smaller than before. I guess that it was probably the Dangshan Army and the Chenggao Army that lured away some of the Jiejiao’s cavalry..."
Because he was not sure, Zhao Hongrun chose the word "lead away", but in fact, the Dangshan Army and the Chenggao Army had respectively killed seven to eight thousand or even nearly ten thousand Jiejiao cavalry for him. It is no wonder that when Zhao Hongrun was watching on the city wall,
It was found that the number of Jiejiao cavalry outside the city was significantly reduced.
"...I estimate that among the 150,000 to 60,000 Jiejiao troops, there are about 30,000 to 40,000 Jiejiao cavalry, and the rest, as many as 112,000, are all slave soldiers. Therefore, I am thinking,
Is it possible to get those 112,000 slave soldiers to switch sides and help our army to push the Jiejiao people to a dead end?"
"..." The clan leaders present looked at each other in confusion.
For a long time, Halegoh, the leader of the Baiyang tribe of the Yi tribe, asked carefully: "May I ask His Highness, King Su, how to make those barbarian slaves switch sides?"
"It's very simple." Zhao Hongrun picked up the horn cup and said casually: "I am thinking about how to tell those slaves about my decision. Anyone who comes to Luocheng with the head of a Jiejiao cavalry will surrender.
Slave, I grant him permission to regain his freedom, and allow him and his family to return to the north after I capture the Jijiao tribal camp."
It has to be said that if this strategy works smoothly, it will definitely be a desperate plan for the Jiejiao people. Under the temptation of regaining their freedom, those Jiejiao slave soldiers who have gradually lost their belief in defeating the Wei army are extremely desperate.
For the sake of freedom for himself and his family, he might rebel and find ways to kill a Jiejiao cavalryman.
There are 30,000 to 40,000 Jiejiao cavalry and 112,000 slave soldiers. No one can guarantee that those usually proud Jiejiao cavalry will kill many people at the hands of the slave soldiers they have always looked down upon.
Of course, even if those slave soldiers are no match for the 30,000 to 40,000 Jiejiao cavalry, Zhao Hongrun doesn't care, because as long as there are no Jiejiao slave soldiers, those so-called Jiejiao cavalry can only move in front of the crossbows of the Shang Shui Army.
It's just a living target.
But what makes Zhao Hongrun a little puzzled is that this strategy is obviously very good in his opinion, but the heads of the tribes present here all have weird looks on their faces, and no one agrees with it.
What's going on?
Zhao Hongrun couldn't help but be a little surprised. After all, in his opinion, this was indeed a good idea, but why didn't anyone support it?
He looked around the tent and found that the tribal chiefs were all hesitant to speak. Even Wuwu, Halegoh, Lubalong, Meng Liang and others who had the best relationship with him seemed to have some concerns.
, I didn’t dare to express my thoughts.
Seeing this, Zhao Hongrun turned his attention to Lu Balong and asked: "Chief Lu Balong, what do you want to say?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Balong subconsciously glanced at the other tribal chiefs present, and when he saw that they were all looking at him with earnest eyes, he secretly smiled bitterly.
But Zhao Hongrun asked him personally, so he just had to bite the bullet and speak.
"Before discussing this matter, Lu Balong dared to ask His Highness King Su how he views...slavery?"
Slavery…
Zhao Hongrun thought about this word for a while, then looked around at the tribal chiefs present, and he had some understanding in his heart. He said with a smile: "I'm afraid what Chief Lu Balong wants to ask is not how I view slavery, but how I view slavery.
How do you view the existence of slaves?”
Seeing that Zhao Hongrun revealed this matter, the tribal chiefs present could not help but feel a little uneasy.
Slave the loser, that is, a war breaks out between two tribes or two forces. After one party defeats the other, all the men and women of the latter become slaves and work for the victor. This is Sanchuan, Bashu, Beidi, etc. far away from the Central Plains.
A common thing in the place.
This is the difference caused by cultural differences.
For example, in the Wei State, when the Wei army captured Liang State, Zheng State, and even the Song State in the past ten years, they did not demote these subjugated people into slaves, but devoted themselves to absorbing them into the big family of Wei people. However,
In essence, it is still the royal family, with the nobles ruling the common people. The people of Song State will still be exploited by the nobles of Wei State. The only difference is that these people were exploited by the nobles of Song State at the beginning, but now they are replaced by the nobles of Wei Guo.
Therefore, some Song people who did not have much sense of belonging to their country actually did not care about changing dynasties.
Among them, why did the Wei State absorb the Song people into the Wei people instead of trying to create some second-class citizen status for the Song people? The reason is nothing more than the unique thoughts of benevolence and righteousness unique to the Central Plains countries.
Among the countries of the Central Plains, benevolence and righteousness are a great weapon, and their power is immeasurable.
For example, if the people of a small country are wealthy and the royal family and nobles are prominent, but the Wei State sends troops to capture it, this is called an invasion. It will be jointly resisted by other big countries, and they may even take the opportunity to form a coalition to attack the Wei State.
of; but conversely
For example, if the monarch of this small country is fatuous and greedy, causing the people to live in dire straits, then the Wei State sends troops to capture it. This is called a rescue. Other countries, other than being secretly jealous that the Wei State has gained another piece of territory, have no choice but to stare.
But in fact, is there any fundamental difference between the two?
Actually no, this is all Wei's external expansion.
But it is undeniable that because of great righteousness and the highest moral point, it became justifiable for Wei to annex this small country.
This is a common phenomenon in the Central Plains countries: in fact, the vast majority of kings want to expand externally and aspire to dominate the world, but due to public opinion on benevolence, righteousness, and morality, they can only use righteousness as a fig leaf for external expansion.
However, people in places like Sanchuan and Bashu do not have the benevolent and Confucian ideas admired by the Central Plains countries. They do things more simply and straightforwardly: aggression is aggression. I have big fists. If I defeat you, you will be my slave.
Therefore, slavery is very common in Sanchuan, Bashu, Northland and other places. It is not like the Central Plains countries at all. In fact, they would like to capture millions of slaves to build national infrastructure. However, due to the evaluation of the world and the evaluation of public opinion, they hypocritically refuse to admit it.
The existence of slaves.
In fact, in the Central Plains countries, even in the Wei State, slaves like domestic slaves can be found everywhere.
Slavery...
Thinking of this matter, Zhao Hongrun hesitated a little.
To enslave people is a very barbaric act, and Zhao Hongrun also supports this concept.
But the problem is that slavery is a very important part of the Yi and Yi culture, including the Yi people who were once enslaved by the Yi and Jie tribes. They have gradually been assimilated by the Yi people, and they have transformed from slaves in the past to slaves.
host.
Slaves, this is a product that is bound to appear in the development process of the Sanchuan tribe.
As small tribes gradually evolve into large tribes, there are more and more miscellaneous things in the tribe. Do you still expect those tribesmen who feel more and more superior to work as before? What a wishful thinking!
This is just like how people in the Wei Dynasty would buy several properties and buy some domestic slaves to clean their yards and handle trivial matters after they became prosperous.
Don’t be surprised, in this day and age, this phenomenon is common sense!
And if you forcefully resist this phenomenon, it can only be said that you are an enemy in this era.
This is also the reason why the heads of the tribes present here all looked strange after Zhao Hongrun mentioned the release of slaves. After all, Wei is one of the Central Plains countries that refuses to admit the existence of slaves.
After pondering for a long time, Zhao Hongrun said as if talking to himself: "Slaves are also one of the wealth."
This sentence is equivalent to acknowledging the continued existence of slavery.
After hearing this, the tribal chiefs who were always paying attention to the expression of His Highness Prince Su breathed a sigh of relief.
It’s no wonder, after all, scholars in various Central Plains countries, including Wei, have always regarded slavery as an ugly act of barbaric and uncivilized barbarians.
The tension caused by a small episode disappeared in an instant, and everyone present happily discussed the final victory proposed by Zhao Hongrun.