Chapter 30 He Yilong's death method is so similar to Liu Xiyao
"Chen Shuren wants me to personally bear the thorns and flesh to apologize before allowing our army to surrender? Trash! You just negotiated such a condition? Someone, let me push it out and chop it down!"
Chen Qiyu and Xiong Wencan had much higher official positions than Shen Gou Guan back then. They were either governors or governors. When we surrender, we can keep our old troops and allocate territory to defend ourselves! Shen Gou Guan left neither land nor troops. Who does he think he is? !”
When He Yilong heard the surrender conditions that Shen Shuren sent back, he was furious. He was about to draw his sword and kill the messenger who brought back such humiliating words.
Fortunately, the generals and counselors around him were still calm, and they tried to persuade him to stop him and let him recognize the reality as much as possible.
Scorpion Tail Needle, who had helped him plan to kill He Jin and annex He Jin's tribe, took the risk and advised:
"The king is so angry! We currently have less than 20,000 soldiers to fight! Didn't Shen Shuren also say that we can negotiate terms? Maybe he just thinks that we are not sincere and are asking for an exorbitant price.
Alas, comparing our feelings, this matter was all caused by Zhang Xianzhong! If Zhang Xianzhong hadn't ruined the reputation of all of us every time and forced us to surrender to death to offend the court, how could we be like this now?"
The reckless general Broom Star, who had previously covered He Jin with a pillow, was seriously injured at this moment. He had an arm broken by a musket during the breakout battle eight days ago, and he was still wrapped in a thick bandage. Occasionally, blood would come out. He would also say something to persuade:
"Yes, Your Majesty, we can't break out of the encirclement. The brothers in the old camp suffered heavy casualties. The remaining strong soldiers have no fighting spirit, and the food and grass are difficult to sustain. It's better to bargain."
Faced with the humiliation of everyone, He Yilong completely lost his temper and could only sigh. After a final calculation, he was allowed to send his effective counselor Scorpion Tail Needle to negotiate with Chen Shuren:
"Since you insist on making a counter-offer, I'll leave this matter to you! Shen Shuren didn't kill our envoy, and you won't be killed if you go, so don't worry!"
Unexpectedly, Scorpion Tail Needle would get into trouble. He was so frightened that he could only grit his teeth and accept it.
…
The siege lasted for another two days, and a new wave of envoys from He Yilong came again. This time it was said that they were of high rank and were more trusted advisers around He Yilong.
Chen Shuren was generous and received him in person again.
As soon as they met, Shen Shuren was shocked involuntarily, and subconsciously wanted to cover his mouth and nose with a folding fan, but luckily he resisted.
With just one glance, he already knew why this guy became a thief——
As a scholar, he is really ugly. He is probably the same as Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance. He is dark, short, buck-toothed, has a pockmarked face, and his lips and nostrils are everted.
After all, the imperial examination era was not as good as the college entrance examination in later generations. There was no interview in the college entrance examination in later generations, and you could pass with good scores in the written test.
At best, the imperial examination can only be compared to the civil service examination. As long as there is an interview component, this kind of appearance will definitely undermine the dignity of the officialdom, and there will be no chance of it in your life.
The moment he saw the other person's face, Chen Shuren even reflected on the imperial examination system. Is there one or two factors that led to the end of the Ming Dynasty because the officialdom system did not give ugly people a chance to advance?
Perhaps, in the future, we should let a hundred flowers blossom and set up more public positions in science and engineering, and recruit people individually, and conduct research behind closed doors. Such positions do not require dealing with people, and you can be quietly ugly in the corner without disturbing others.
"Tell me what He Yilong is willing to agree to, and how he wants you to counter-offer. My time is precious, and I don't have time to argue with you." Shen Shuren suppressed his inner emotions and put on a calm expression. expression.
Scorpion Tail Needle originally had a dislike for courtiers. Whenever he saw a civil servant, he would be reminded of the tragic experience of being looked at with disgusting eyes by the examiners during the imperial examinations in his early years.
But when he saw that Shen Shuren didn't dislike him at first glance, he couldn't help but feel a sense of appreciation - no wonder this Master Shen could do great things at such a young age. It was not easy for him to not judge people by their appearance.
He also took a deep breath and replied: "Sir, my king... I mean General He is willing to give up all the cities and accept the imperial court's reorganization and defense. But I hope the imperial court can let General Liu let us out of the valley first -
Of course, we know that the Li thief and Zhang Ni ruined the reputation of all kinds of thieves back then, and you are right not to believe it. General He actually couldn't help himself. He rebelled the year before last, and was really coerced by Zhang Ni! He was afraid that others would rebel, but he If he does not follow the rebellion, sooner or later he will be suspected and punished by the court.
Therefore, before leaving the valley, General He was willing to write a letter asking all the defenders in Xinyang and other counties to surrender, or at least to withdraw from the city, allowing General Liu to divide his troops to take over the counties previously occupied by our army. Our army was in Tongbai There is no county foothold left in the mountainous area and no place to hold on to, which is enough to show the sincerity of our army.
I also ask the military commander to agree to this condition and not force us to put down our weapons immediately - our army is also afraid that the officers and soldiers will renege on their word and suddenly massacre the brothers. Please observe carefully! As for the army's property and all the seizures, we can hand over all to Liu The general soldiers are used as money to buy the way!"
Give up land in exchange for not being disarmed?
Chen Shuren organized his thoughts and soon realized the other party's subtext:
"Oh, do you think this official is the same as the other dog officials who 'drive thieves out of the country'? How many local officials there were in the Ming Dynasty. They only wanted to have good political performance and allow the thieves to stay away from the country and hand over dangerous land. Escape! Someone, push this guy out and behead him!"
Scorpion Tail Needle quickly kowtowed: "Sir, please forgive me! I'm just helping you with a message. If you don't agree, I won't agree. If you can give me more accurate words, I will definitely bring you."
Chen Shuren waved his hand and made the left and right retreat slightly, leaving only a few brave guards who were close to him. He also looked at Mr. Qian, whom he had just recruited in recent days to provide a first-line resistance.
Then Shen Shucai calmly said: "A gentleman's words are hard to follow. The conditions I offered are exactly what I said at the beginning. I won't give in an inch -
The reason why I allow you to surrender is simply because I feel that the world is in chaos, ordinary soldiers are innocent, and how many of you are strong men who were forcibly taken away. Nowadays, slave establishment is rampant. If we, the Han warriors, can unanimously fight against the outside world, the invaders will be driven back from the slaves... ...I am giving you a chance because of this!
However, since you said that you are He Yilong's most effective adviser, I can offer you and others a new condition - I never change the conditions, but only give different conditions to different people.
If any of you can take He Yilong's head to demote him, and then kill all of He Yilong's clan members and his loyal sons, then I will be able to stand up, and there will be no need to kill more prisoners. At that time, although you will still You have to put down your weapons, but God has good intentions, and I will not kill people without any reason."
After Chen Shuren finished speaking, he didn't give the other party a chance to react. With a look, Mr. Qian next to him pulled out a knife and put it on Scorpion Tail Needle's neck.
Chen Shuren took a leisurely sip of tea without raising his eyelids: "Liu Sandao, tell him what you originally did."
It turned out that Chen Shuren had left all the ammunition to his direct troops for supervising the battle because the army's ammunition supply was not enough in the past few days, and then Liu Xiyao's old troops who surrendered last year were taken by Liu Sandao, plus part of He Jin's old troops, for two days One round, take turns carrying the line, and engage in a small-scale war of attrition.
This is also to train the troops, and at the same time, it is also to let them accept the certificate of surrender, get more blood from the Fifth Battalion of Gezuo on their hands, and let them kill each other.
If anyone dares to retreat, the shotguns of the direct troops supervising the battle behind will be aimed at close range, and the door will be cleared immediately.
Shotguns are best for close combat. Just like in World War II, those who supervised battles had to use flexible weapons with fast fire rates but short ranges, so that they would have the greatest deterrent effect on newly surrendered soldiers.
Use limited ammunition to do as much as possible.
Liu Sandao didn't think there was anything wrong with living like this. On the contrary, he was very proud of being able to accumulate his own credibility through smooth sailing. So at this moment, he did not hesitate to set an example:
"My name is Liu Sandao, and I am now a general manager under Zhang Du's account. Last year, I was the adopted son of Liu Xiyao, a dog thief, and fell into the thief's den by mistake. But after I killed Liu Xiyao and surrendered, Master Bingbei trusted me more. If you can make more achievements in this battle, please show me as a defender! Brother, I hope you can fulfill our merits and let's make achievements together."
Liu Sandao had already received orders before and learned that if his "leading by example" could set an example this time and let He Yilong's men follow suit and kill the boss to surrender, then Shen Shuren would give him a promotion.
Therefore, Liu Sandao worked very hard in speaking out from his own experience.
What Shen Shuren wants is this effect. He wants all the bandit kings to worry that one day they will be chopped into pieces by their adopted sons if they fall into a headwind situation.
And Shen Shuren promised every time: Even if he is the adopted son of the thief king, as long as he kills his father and surrenders, he will be exempted from guilt and become an official. What he wants is to finally kill Li Zicheng. Zhang Xianzhong likes to accept adopted sons to consolidate his team, so that there are many people among the bandits. Some cracks occur.
The traditional Confucian bureaucracy's bullshit moral obsession is thrown away like tissue paper by Shen Shuren.
Scorpion Tail Needle's heart was shaken, and she realized once again that this Shen Bingbei was really no ordinary person. How could any scholar in the world who had been taught by a saint would directly attack this?
However, the more this happened, the more Scorpion Tail Needle felt the pleasure of implementing the literati revenge system.
"Subordinate... I understand. However, I would like to ask Lord Bingbei to secretly compile a few letters of pardon and use your seal, so that I can persuade some of the generals under He Thief to respond. I am only a scholar, and I don't have the skills to tie a chicken. You can't do this on your own without any strength."
Of course we can agree to this request. It is just a few letters to sow discord. Even if the secret is leaked and seized, Shen Shuren will not lose anything. It can still drive a wedge between the internal unity of He Yilong's department.
Just like Han Sui when Cao Cao wiped the letter, whether the letter fell into the hands of Han Sui or Ma Chao, Han Sui and Ma Chao could harm each other.
Chen Shuren sent the envoy back with a stroke of his pen on the same day.
After a few more days of siege, as the bandits' army supplies became less and less, some people finally made up their minds.
On the second day of June, after the bandit army had been besieged for sixteen days, a fire suddenly broke out at Pingjing Pass where He Yilong was stationed. There was chaos and the sounds of killing each other could be heard endlessly.
At dawn, someone brought He Yilong's head to Chen Shuren. They also put down all the military weapons, put them in carts, or carried them on poles, and sent them to the army camp in batches to show that they had surrendered their weapons. .
The officers and soldiers confirmed that they had handed over at least more than 10,000 weapons, and they were very sincere. They didn't have time to count them carefully, so they allowed all the bandits to line up and surrender empty-handed.
There were at least 20,000 bandits who surrendered, and at least several thousand others, either out of fear or out of die-hard loyalty to He Yilong, chose to escape over the mountains and through small roads.
But they can't bring much supplies on such a dangerous route. If they are unlucky, they will probably starve to death in the mountains in a few days. If they are lucky, they can wait until the army is fully integrated and relaxed and withdrawn, and then they can leave the forest again. Get out of there and try to escape.
Of course, even among the soldiers who surrender, some will find ways to escape, and it is impossible for all of them to accept reform.
In any case, after receiving at least 20,000 people in one fell swoop, Chen Shuren's strength also increased greatly.