"Reporting to the general, it is indeed the case."
Huang Gai said cautiously.
"These Jiangdong nobles really gave them face!"
Gan Ning was furious when he heard this.
"General, if you ask me, let's just send people to the door and arrest them all!"
Huang Gai panicked when he heard this.
"General, you must not do this! We must use gentle methods so that these people will not betray!"
"What General Gongfu said is absolutely true. The methods used by General Gongfu were too harsh back then, which eventually led to many nobles rebelling."
Han Dang also gave good advice.
Yang Ling remained silent, tapped her fingers on the table, and suddenly laughed,
"Two generals, don't be nervous. I, Mr. Yang, am not killing innocent people indiscriminately."
"Since they refuse to come to see me, I might as well go directly to see them!"
"I plan to visit Mr. Zibu, and I'd like to ask the two generals to make preparations first!"
Huang Gai and Han Dang accepted the order and left the hall immediately.
After the two left, Gan Ning said angrily,
"These Jiangdong nobles are so arrogant, they are no different from the nobles in the Central Plains."
"Why doesn't the general follow what he did in Puyang and pick out a few of them to scare the monkeys? Don't worry if they don't obey!"
When Yang Ling heard this, he couldn't help but laugh.
"Xingba's words are wrong."
"The arena is not about fighting and killing, it is about human relationships."
"Right now, we have only taken over Jianye initially. People in the city are in turmoil, and there are blue-eyed people outside who are watching eagerly."
"If we go on a killing spree at this juncture, wouldn't it give him a chance?"
Gan Ning curled his lips and said disapprovingly,
"Yeah, I don't want to think about the logic behind this. Just do whatever the general says!"
"You also go and clean up, and come with me to visit Zhang Zhao in the afternoon."
Yang Ling smiled.
"Here!"
Gan Ning took the order and left.
After lunch, Yang Ling took Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Gan Ning to the outside of Zhang Zhao's residence.
"Second brother, go knock on the door."
Yang Ling ordered.
"Yes, General!"
Dian Wei walked forward swaggeringly and slammed the door!
"Open the door, open the door quickly!"
"Who is here?"
There was a reply from the door, and then the door of Zhang Mansion opened a small crack, and a servant poked his head out.
When he saw the majestic Cao Wei soldiers behind Yang Ling, he was startled and stammered,
"Master Jun, you...you...what are you doing?"
"Hurry up and report to your master that the imperial general is here to visit!"
Dian Wei urged impatiently.
When the servant heard this, a smile appeared on his face.
"My master has been feeling cold these days and is resting in his room. I'm afraid..."
But before he finished speaking, Dian Wei's eyes widened angrily and he snorted coldly,
"Lao Zhi Shu Daoshan, if you don't report it, believe it or not, I will skin you!"
Dian Wei, who had been on the battlefield for a long time, suddenly became angry. How could the servants resist the murderous aura emanating from his body?
His breathing was stagnant, as if he was about to be suffocated, and he reluctantly said,
"Little man... this... go and report it to my master!"
"That's pretty much it! You go and report it, and we'll go in and rest first!"
Dian Wei said, pushed the door open, turned around and smiled,
"Brother, let's go in!"
Yang Ling nodded and led Huang Gai and others directly into Zhang Zhao's mansion.
Although the servants on the side wanted to stop him, they did not dare to step forward looking at the murderous soldiers of Cao Cao.
Yang Ling and his group sat down in the lobby. A moment later, they saw Zhang Zhao hurried over with his sons.
"I've seen the general!"
As soon as he saw Yang Ling sitting in the hall, Zhang Zhao guessed his identity and hurriedly saluted respectfully.
"You don't have to be polite, Mr. Zhang!"
Yang Ling stood up with a smile, helped Zhang Zhao to his seat and sat down.
"If you take the liberty to come here today, Mr. Zhang won't feel disturbed, right?"
"General, you are so kind. Your visit to my humble residence is a blessing to this humble residence!"
Zhang Zhao said a few polite words and then said cautiously,
"I just don't know if the general is here this time, but what's the important matter?"
"Mr. Zhang must have already known the purpose of my trip, so why ask even though he already knew it?"
Yang Ling said with a smile.
Zhang Zhao felt a little headache after hearing this.
As an important Jiangdong minister guarding Jianye, he naturally knew Yang Ling's intentions.
It's just that a group of nobles refused to obey Yang Ling's orders and wanted to take action from him!
Seeing Zhang Zhao's silence, Yang Ling smiled and said softly,
"Now the situation is obvious. We, the Wei Dynasty, will unify the world and it will be just around the corner."
"If the Jiangdong nobles blindly resist, it will only increase unnecessary bloodshed and sacrifices."
"Mr. Zhang has always been kind-hearted. Why not persuade others to surrender sincerely?"
The Jiangdong nobles were arrogant, and most of them only wanted to protect their own interests.
They were not very interested in the Northern Expedition or in resisting Cao Wei's invasion.
Otherwise, when Cao Cao attacked Jiangdong in history, not so many people would have responded to Zhang Zhao's suggestion to surrender.
After Sun Ce captured Jiangdong, many nobles adopted a non-cooperative attitude.
As a result, the young and energetic Sun Ce went on a killing spree, and even now, many Jiangdong nobles still harbor resentment towards Sun Quan.
But they did not immediately seek refuge with Yang Ling because they were worried.
After all, the final outcome of the war has not yet been decided. If Sun Quan counterattacks and comes back, they will inevitably be purged!
The best way to dispel their doubts is to let Zhang Zhao come forward.
Zhang Zhao had outstanding talents. After taking refuge with Sun Ce, he was quickly reused. Sun Ce even regarded him as a being like Guan Zhong.
After Sun Quan succeeded to the throne, Zhang Zhao appeased the officials and people internally, pacified the remnants of the Yellow Turbans externally, and defeated the Yuzhang bandit commander Zhou Feng.
His prestige in Jiangdong is even higher than that of Sun Quan and Zhou Yu.
Later, Sun Quan complained, "All the ministers of the Eastern Wu Dynasty worshiped me when they came to court, and they worshiped Duke Zhang when they went to court. This has been the case for decades without exception."
This shows that Zhang Zhao is very popular in Jiangdong!
Because of this, Yang Ling planned to start with Zhang Zhao and persuade the Jiangdong nobles!
After careful consideration, Zhang Zhao finally agreed.
"I understand what the general means, and I am willing to help the general!"
"Mr. Zhang is a smart man, I like you very much!"
Yang Ling laughed and nodded,
"The future stability of Jiangdong is inseparable from Mr. Zhang's presence."
After the two exchanged a few words, Yang Ling led the people away.
Watching their figures disappear, Zhang Zhao sat there blankly, his eyes a little dull.
"Father, do we really want to betray Wu Hou and help Yang Ling?"
His son Zhang Cheng couldn't help but ask,
"If this happens, our Zhang family will be accused of being disloyal and unjust!"
Zhang Zhao glanced at him and sighed,
"If we don't agree to the general, what can our Zhang family do?"
