The Nanmen clan is a prestigious clan in the Chu State. Although it does not have the status of a prince, it is undeniable that it is a great noble with a long tradition.
It is said that when the Chu Kingdom was first established, this clan lived near the south gate of the capital of the Chu Kingdom at that time, so it was named "Nanmen Clan".
In the same way, this is also the reason why these three strange surnames, Dongmenshi, Beimenshi, and Ximenshi, appeared.
Precisely because he was a great nobleman, Nanmen Chi, the guard of Xiangcheng, wanted to save the two brothers Nanmenjue and Nanmenhuai who were under the city, but he did not dare to do so.
After all, if he hooked up with Xiangcheng in order to rescue his two clan brothers, the King of Chu would definitely not be able to spare his Nanmen clan.
Therefore, he could only watch helplessly as his two clan brothers were killed.
But what surprised him was that after the generals of the Wei army subdued the remnants of the Chu army under the city, they did not kill them all, but actually came out on their horses.
"Nanmen Jue, Nanmen Huai, until now, haven't you two surrendered?"
"..."
Nanmen Jue and Nanmen Huai gritted their teeth and looked at the Wei general.
To be precise, that was a Wei general who was born in their Chu Kingdom. He was a general of 3,000 men under the command of the former King of Yangcheng, Xiong Tuo, Yan Mo!
"Yan Mo, you betrayed the country and surrendered to the enemy, you will not die well!" Nan Menjue cursed.
Hearing this, Yan Mo smiled, then shook his head and said profoundly: "I only betrayed the Xiong clan, I did not betray my compatriots!"
Nanmen Jue heard this and sneered: "You took refuge in Wei and killed many Chu people. How can you say that you have not betrayed your compatriots?"
After hearing this, a serious look suddenly appeared on Yan Mo's face, and he said in a deep voice: "On the battlefield, whether they are Wei people or Chu people, they are all fighting for their beliefs, and the warriors who sacrifice their lives for their beliefs are... It is worthy of respect that although Yan killed them, he respected their beliefs."
Hearing these upright words, Nanmenjue was speechless.
After all, this is an era where benevolence and righteousness are higher than life. Yan Mo said that the Chu soldiers who died in battle were "seeking benevolence and gaining benevolence" and that their deaths were due to "great righteousness". Nanmen Jue could not refute.
In fact, even the Chu troops below the city who had been gnashing their teeth at Yan Mo and other Yanling Army officers now gradually retreated from the hatred in their eyes, as if they had become "warriors who can understand each other."
This is an incredible era.
At this time, Yan Mo glanced around at the Chu army outside the city and shouted loudly: "Yes, I, Yan Mo, am also from Chu, but now I have defected to Wei. But this does not mean that I have abandoned my compatriots... …His Royal Highness King Su of the Wei State once said that the country, that is, the people, is the most important thing of the country.…Why is the Wei State’s court only taxing its people “ten twenties”, while our Chu State does not? As high as 60%? Why did the imperial court of Wei spend most of their tax revenue on military expenditures, water conservancy, and reclamation, while in our country of Chu, the Xiong family used these taxes to live wildly?... I am not the one who abandoned Chu. Yan Mo is the Xiong clan. They are moths that have eaten away at the huge Chu Kingdom and riddled it with holes..."
"Let's go... let's go!" Nan Menhuai shouted in horror.
But strangely, no one around them responded to them. Even Nan Menhuai felt vaguely guilty when he scolded Yan Mo.
At this time, Yan Mo looked around at the nearby Chu soldiers again and said in a deep voice: "Yan is just a small person and cannot save the entire Chu country. All I can do is save my compatriots..." At this point , he stretched out his hand towards Nanmen Jue and Nanmen Huai, and said seriously: "I, like my compatriots who defected to Wei State, have settled in Yingshui County of Wei State, where I and I Those compatriots have their own houses and fields, and only need to pay a negligible tax to the court of Wei every year. In that country, we Chu people have the same status as the Wei people, and are protected by Wei... This It's the country!... Everyone, is it not the Xiong clan that caused our great state to be in this situation? Do you still want to be loyal to that clan that sucks the blood of our compatriots?"
After that, Yan Mo listed the treatment received by the officers and soldiers of Yanling Army and Shangshui Army respectively in Chu State and Wei State, and also listed Wei State's various loose policies towards the people, so that even Nanmen Jue and Nanmen Huai
The most determined Chu soldiers around them also put down their weapons one after another.
Perhaps these Chu soldiers are beginning to consider a question: Are we bleeding for the Chu Kingdom, or are we bleeding for the Xiong clan? If it is the former, there is no turning back, but if it is the latter, then why should we bleed for a clan that squeezes the blood and sweat of our compatriots?
?
"Clang."
A Chu soldier dropped his weapon.
Immediately, the Chu soldiers nearby also discarded their weapons.
Along with Nanmen Jue and Nanmen Huai, their eyes also showed a bit of twinkling.
After all, Yan Mo had hinted to them in his words just now that as long as they defected to the Wei State, the Wei State could guarantee that they could still enjoy aristocratic status, just like those Chu nobles in Yanling City.
In this case, why must we die for the Xiong clan?
After all, when a person dies, everything is over.
But having said that, Nanmen Jue and Nanmen Huai were not begging for surrender, because there was also their clan brother Nanmen Chi on the tower of Xiangcheng.
So, they looked at Yan Mo without saying anything.
Fortunately, Yan Mo is also a thoughtful person. Seeing the attitudes of these two people, he guessed that they had some concerns, so he subconsciously looked at the south gate on the city wall and said with a smile: "The south gate on the city."
General, what Yan is saying is also for you...Why don't you open the city gate and submit to our army?"
On the tower, Nanmen Chi frowned and looked at Yan Mo, not speaking.
It is undeniable that Yan Mo's words are equivalent to leaving a way for him. If the war situation goes bad, he can still seek refuge with Wei.
This seems to be a good thing, but the question is, when a person has a way out, will he still fight hard?
It has to be said that Yan Mo calmly dispelled the death will of the nearby Chu soldiers and dispelled their desperate thoughts.
Of course, this alone could not persuade Nanmen Chi to defect to the Wei army.
However, Yan Mo was not anxious at all, because he had already heard from Qu Cheng who sent someone to tell him that his Yanling army was pursuing Nanmen Jue, and Nanmen Huai and his two men took advantage of the situation to attack Xiangcheng. It was just a feint attack. The real
The ultimate move was the three thousand-man troops of Xiang Li, Zhang Ming, and Ran Teng from the Shang Shui Army.
What Yan Mo had to do was to use the fact that Xiang Li, Zhang Ming, and Ran Teng of the Shang Navy launched a night attack on Xiangcheng to persuade the defender of Xiangcheng to switch sides. In this way, the credit would naturally go to the Yanling Army.
.
No, there was already a faint sound of fighting coming from the east gate of Xiangcheng.
But just when he was about to take action, Yan Mo at the bottom of the city smiled and said: "General Nanmen on the city, don't be surprised. Yan has long said that this Xiangcheng cannot stop His Highness Prince Su.
, while you are deploying heavy troops in the city to the north gate, our Shang Shui army has quietly
We broke through the east city gate and entered the city... Well, counting the time, it's time for Yan to launch an attack... So, it was you who took the initiative to open the city gate and surrendered to me to meet King Su.
Your Highness, are you still a defeated and captured prisoner of war, going to see His Highness Prince Su?"
After hearing this, Chi's expression on the south gate of the city tower changed continuously. He hurriedly came to the inside of the city wall and looked towards the east city gate.
Sure enough, I saw noisy people in the direction of the east city gate, and there were several faint fires.
On normal days, Nanmenchi would have immediately sent troops to support and defend the city to the death.
But after hearing what Yan Mo said, he couldn't help but hesitate.
"Can Xiangcheng... be defended?" Nanmen Chi asked his trusted lieutenant beside him in a low voice.
I saw a hint of embarrassment flash in the eyes of the deputy general, and he lowered his voice and said: "It seems that the 40,000 soldiers of General Jue and General Huai have been completely wiped out. Just based on the 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers in the city, if the Wei army has not yet entered the city, it would be
able to defend
It has been a while, but now the Wei army has entered the city...it is difficult to defend." After a pause, he said softly: "For the current plan, there are only two ways. Burn the food in the city, retreat towards the Huihe River, and then
Reorganize the formation there..."
It was clearly stated that there were two escape routes, but the lieutenant general only said one.
But Nanmen Chi had understood what the deputy general meant and couldn't help but think deeply.
In his opinion, the Wei army has entered the city, and the Xiangcheng may not be able to be saved. So, as Yan Mo said, should he go to see the King Su of Wei as a surrendering general, or as a general?
How about going to see King Su of Wei as a defeated and captured prisoner of war?
Of course it’s the former!
Thinking of this, Nanmen Chi turned around and walked towards the outside of the city wall, shouting to Yan Mo: "General Yan, can your words count?"
Hearing this, Yan Mo showed a slight smile on his face and said firmly: "Yan is not talented. He is currently serving as the deputy general of the 20,000 Yanling Army..."
"A Chu man can actually serve as the deputy general of an army of 20,000 people in Wei?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Nanmen Chi's eyes, and then he asked cautiously, "Who is the commander of your Yanling Army?"
"It's Qu Cheng, General Qu!"
"Qu? Qu's family?"
Nanmen Chi opened his eyes wide in shock. After all, Qu was the most distinguished surname in Chu country, second only to the Xiong family.
Thinking of this, Nanmen Chi waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "Open the city gate!"
After a while, the north gate of Xiangcheng slowly opened. Yan Mo smiled slightly, got off his horse, pulled Nanmen Jue and Nanmen Huai, and walked into the city gate together with their flattered eyes.
Immediately, the Yanling army entered the city without any bloodshed.
Not long after, when Nanmen Chi's order to "surrender the whole army" spread throughout the city, the three thousand generals Xiang Li, Ran Teng, and Zhang Ming of the Shang Shui Army were shocked to discover that the city had been occupied.
The Yanling army took control of the situation.
The nearly 20,000 Chu soldiers in the city actually surrendered to Yanling's army under Nanmen Chi's order.
"This...what's going on?"
The three generals of the merchant navy looked at each other in shock.
However, not long after, they met a thousand-man general of the Yanling Army. The latter told them calmly that Xiangcheng was already in the possession of their Yanling Army. The Shangshui Army could go wherever they wanted.
"Damn it!"
Thousands of people threw Zhang Ming's weapon to the ground angrily.
Beside him, the two thousand-man generals Xiang Li and Ran Teng didn't look very good either.
For no other reason than the Yanling Army cleverly took away the military exploits that should have belonged to their Shang Shui Army.
Moreover, it is the battle achievement of "Ke Yicheng"!