Inside the Cao Zhangjun camp outside Chang'an City.
After rest and recuperation, everything in the camp has returned to normal.
Cao Zhang was sitting in the Chinese army's tent, looking at the sand table of Chang'an City that had been rearranged in front of him, thinking hard about how to defeat the enemy.
The deadline for signing the military order with Cao Cao is getting closer and closer. If Cao Zhang cannot think of a way to break the city within ten days, an extension will be inevitable.
A great victory that consumed most of Li Jue's army is certainly a good thing, but it is definitely not a joy.
Now Li Jue has become a frightened bird. He will definitely defend Chang'an and will not easily leave the city to fight again.
Although this battle will greatly damage the morale of Li Jue's army and bring the comparison of forces between the two sides much closer, basically reaching an equal level, the defense strength of Chang'an City itself is still there, and a heavy attack will still have to pay a heavy price, and There may not be results.
While Cao Zhang was thinking hard, Xu Huang hurriedly broke into the Chinese army's tent from outside, came to Cao Zhang, and said eagerly: "Master, please go and have a look!"
Cao Zhang raised his head and looked at Xu Huang: "What happened, Gongming?"
Xu Huanghui reported: "General Duan gathered all the prisoners and prepared to kill them all!"
"What? Kill prisoners of war?" Cao Zhang frowned.
In this battle, about three to four thousand Xiliang troops chose to surrender in order to save their lives, thus temporarily saving their lives.
But now Duan Xuan wants to kill them all. What does this mean?
Cao Zhang did not hesitate and quickly followed Xu Huang out of the Chinese army's tent.
Outside the camp, in the open space facing Chang'an City, thousands of prisoners of war were tied up with ropes and gathered together. Around them, soldiers led by Duan Xuan were guarding with sharp knives.
Duan Xuan stood in front of these prisoners of war, showing a fierce look.
The prisoners of war already knew Duan Xuan's intentions, and they all showed panic. Some of them couldn't hold themselves back and directly begged for mercy loudly and begged to be spared death.
Duan Yan was not moved at all. He waved his hand and gave an order to his subordinates: "Prepare for execution!"
Duan Yanjun's soldiers raised their sharp blades and pointed them at the prisoners in front of them. Their weapons shone coldly in the sun, and they were ready to drink blood immediately.
"Save one under the knife!" Accompanied by a loud shout, Cao Zhang came quickly, accompanied by Xu Huang.
Duan Yan was slightly startled when he saw Cao Zhang arriving, but he still waved his hand to signal his subordinates to wait, then he quickly stepped forward and saluted Cao Zhang respectfully: "Master, what do you mean by stopping me?"
"General Duan, these soldiers of the Xiliang Army have already chosen to surrender, why do you still want to kill them?" Cao Zhang asked Duan Xuan.
"These people have followed Li Jue for many years and caused harm in the Sanfu area for many years. They are all evil people who will not hesitate to die! Our army will continue to fight against Li Jue. Keep them in the army and waste food and grass. If they are attacked by Li Jue, If Jue instigates, a mutiny is very likely to occur."
"Killing them all and building a capital can not only boost the morale of our soldiers, but also deter the thieves in Chang'an City. It will be of great help to our army in the next battle!" Duan Yan explained to Cao Zhang He was wondering why he wanted to kill these prisoners.
"The general's idea is good, but does the general know that killing people to surrender is extremely ominous and will lead to divine punishment? Bai Qi during the Qin Dynasty and Xiang Yu during the late Qin Dynasty both killed hundreds of thousands of people, but the results were not good. Even the former Li Guang, the flying general of the Han Dynasty, was also depressed because of trapping and killing Xiongnu prisoners, and finally ended up committing suicide! It can be seen that this killing and surrendering has no good results, so it is better not to kill!" Cao Zhang gave examples of facts. , trying to persuade Duan Xuan to give up killing and surrendering.
Duan Yan couldn't help but laugh after hearing Cao Zhang's words: "Sir, you and I are generals who lead troops in battle and lick blood with their swords. How can we believe such rumors?"
Having said this, he leaned close to Cao Zhang and reminded in a low voice: "Sikong's massacre of cities in Xuzhou back then was probably far more brutal than the massacre. Do you think Sikong will also be punished by God?"
Cao Zhang's face changed slightly when he saw Duan Xuan trying to convince him by referring to Cao Cao's evil deeds in Xuzhou, and then continued: "My father attacked Xuzhou back then to avenge my ancestors with deep hatred. But he slaughtered innocent people. I have regretted it for a long time, and have often reflected on it over the years, and even reminded us to think twice before doing anything, and not to be blindly impulsive!"
"The general only thought of killing these prisoners of war to establish his authority, but he forgot one key point, which is to kill these prisoners of war under Chang'an City. What would the Xiliang army in the city think if they saw it?!" Cao Zhang tried to remind Duan Yan.
"What do you think?" Duan Yan asked rhetorically, obviously not understanding what Cao Zhang was referring to.
"They will know that they will die if they are defeated and captured. In this case, they will fight to the death and fight us bloody to the end, fighting for a chance of survival! I am afraid that the general's killing will not establish his power, but will encourage the enemy to fight with us bloody Determination!" Cao Zhang expressed his thoughts to Duan Yan.
Duan Yan was slightly startled after hearing what Cao Zhang said. After thinking about it carefully, he had to admit that Cao Zhang's words made some sense.
"How do you plan to deal with them?" Duan Yan asked Cao Zhang.
"Of course we have to do the opposite! Don't kill! And not only don't we kill them, we also treat them preferentially!" Cao Zhang said how he handled it.
"Sir, since ancient times, kindness has neither military nor wealth. I know that the master has a kind heart, but with these evil people, there is really no need to be like this!" Duan Yan didn't understand Cao Zhang's intentions at all, and in turn persuaded Cao Zhang.
"I heard that Li Jue has always practiced tyranny. He was extravagant and tyrannical, but he was extremely harsh on his subordinates. This resulted in the Xiliang army having to plunder the people to satisfy their selfish desires."
"The purpose of my expedition to Chang'an is to eradicate Li Jue, pacify Guanzhong, and restore stability to the Guanzhong area so that it will no longer become a scourge for the court. Therefore, what I will implement in the future must be benevolent government."
"Now that we are treating these prisoners leniently, we can let other princes in Guanzhong see that as long as Li Jue's old tribe sincerely surrenders, they can forget the blame and receive lenient treatment. Their original doubts will be eliminated, and they will also believe in the imperial court's recruitment. Surrender willingly.”
"Secondly, the Xiliang army in the city has already been demoralized after this fierce battle. If we see our former comrades getting preferential treatment from our side, will they become more envious and less willing to fight? Then we launch Will they still defend desperately during the general attack? Will it be easier for us to win?" Cao Zhang calmly lectured Duan Xuan, explaining his purpose of treating the prisoners preferentially instead of killing them.
Cao Zhang knew very well that his arrangement was not a holy mother's heart, nor was he kind to these prisoners. It is a strategy that focuses on the hearts and minds, a way to win over people's hearts for the final victory.
This method has a successful precedent in later generations. The People's Liberation Army was able to grow from tens of thousands of people during the victory of the Anti-Japanese War to a million-strong army crossing the river in just three years. It was only by focusing on the heart and mind and constantly recruiting and instigating rebel troops that the People's Liberation Army was able to won the final war of liberation.
During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, the people were baptized by wars all year round, and natural and man-made disasters continued, so it was even more necessary to win over people's hearts in order to truly gain support.
Liu Bei was able to become Emperor Zhaolie from a hawker who weaved mats and sold shoes. Apart from his empty title as the so-called imperial uncle of the Han Dynasty, the main reason was that he won the hearts and minds of the people through his benevolence and righteousness and his implementation of benevolent policies in Xuzhou and Xinye.
If Cao Zhang wants to achieve great things, he must learn from Cao Cao's tactics and deceit, but he must also learn from Liu Bei's way of winning people's hearts. Only by combining the strengths of various schools can he realize his wish to unify the world within twenty years.
After listening to Cao Zhang's explanation, Duan Xuan felt a layer of respect in his heart.
Initially, he led the troops to help in the war because the imperial court called him to fulfill his duties as an old official of the Han Dynasty.
After coming into contact with Cao Zhang, although he was only a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, he showed himself to be cunning and cunning, and was good at using troops. Today, listening to his remarks, he is a master in governing the country.
His son is already so powerful, wouldn't Cao Cao be even more terrifying?
Duan Xuan was secretly glad that he did not choose to be an enemy of Cao Cao, but surrendered to the court and avoided becoming enemies of the father and son.
"Young Master's eloquent talk, I was enlightened and suddenly enlightened. I was stupid, thank you for your advice, so I didn't make a big mistake. Please forgive me!" Duan Yan sincerely admitted his mistake to Cao Zhang.
"The general has said it, and you have good intentions, how can I blame you?!" Cao Zhang hurriedly comforted Duan Xuan.
After Cao Zhang comforted Duan Xuan, he strode up to the prisoners of war and said loudly: "You don't have to panic, we won't kill you!"
When the prisoners heard that Cao Zhang said he would not kill them, they all knelt down in fear and expressed their gratitude repeatedly. "Thank you, Master, for not killing them!" the voices kept coming and going.
"I will give you two choices now. If you are willing to stay in the army, I can incorporate you into my army, eat and live with our soldiers, and enjoy the same treatment. If you have military exploits in the future, you can be promoted in the same way. No discrimination!”
"The second option is that if you don't want to continue to join the army, I can let you go back home! But I will register all those who leave. If anyone dares to leave me and then return to Li Jue's command, or If I catch you if you continue to harm the people, I will kill you without mercy!"
"The road has been pointed out to you. Whether you go or stay, you decide for yourself!" Cao Zhang loudly told the prisoners of war his arrangement.
These Xiliang soldiers were already extremely grateful for being able to escape death, and they were even more happy when they heard Cao Zhang said that they could be treated the same as normal soldiers. There were still some who wanted to leave, and they shouted in unison that they were willing to stay and swear to death. Allegiance!
Cao Zhang looked at the thousands of Xiliang army prisoners kneeling in front of him and showed a faint smile.
Today's decision not only allowed him to gain thousands of soldiers and make up for the previous battle losses, but also spread his reputation for generosity, which would play a role in dismantling the military morale of the Xiliang army in Chang'an City and winning the trust of the princes in Guanzhong. to a positive effect...
