Chapter 115 Please Surrender
"What?"
"ah!"
"How can you surrender!"
There was an explosion in the lobby of Prince Tang's Mansion. Even Guan Shengyun, who had always been calm, opened his eyes in surprise and couldn't believe his ears at all. Then he suddenly asked tentatively: "The military advisor is talking about a false surrender, right?"
Luo Yonghao shook his head and did not answer directly. Instead, he waited for a moment and pressed his hands down to signal everyone to be quiet. The generals all stared at Luo Yonghao with their mouths open, waiting to hear what the military advisor would say.
"We are either pretending to surrender or asking to surrender. Please rest a moment, everyone, and let Luo finish what he has to say." As soon as the words came out, Luo Yonghao saw the generals whispering to each other again, and Luo Yonghao said quickly.
"However, it is not really a surrender. We have swept through half of the Ming Dynasty, and now, even the vassal kings have been killed. There is no way back. If it is really a surrender, even if the court can do nothing for us for the time being, it will accept it on the surface. , he will kill us all soon as a warning to others." Luo Yonghao's words made everyone feel relieved a little.
"Then... it's neither a fake surrender nor a real surrender. What on earth are you talking about, Master Military Advisor?" You Futian asked in confusion.
"Listen to the tune but not the announcement." Luo Shifan, who was a subtle person, was the first to react.
"Almost, but not entirely right." Luo Yonghao replied with a smile, "We neither listen to the tune nor the announcement."
"What do you mean by 'listening to the tune but not the announcement'?" Gu Baihua asked Luo Shifan in a low voice.
Gong Derun quickly replied: "We are just following the instructions of the Dog Court, but even the emperor won't summon us, and no one will go to court to see us. If we want to mobilize, the whole army must go together and maintain independence. Don't say anything first and listen to the military advisor. Sir, please continue."
Luo Yonghao nodded to Gong Derun and continued: "The so-called surrender, we are just talking about it verbally, and give it to the imperial court."
"Why, wouldn't it be better to fight all the way through?" Gao Tengdou continued, "No matter how powerful Xiangyang Prefecture is, it is not as dangerous as Hangu Pass, right? Our morale is strong now, I don't believe we can't defeat it!"
"General Gao, if we really fight head-on, Xiangyang was really difficult to fight in the past. With the military strength at the peak of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, from the third year of Xianchun in the Southern Song Dynasty to the ninth year of Xianchun, it took a full six years. It took half of the Yuan Dynasty to defeat it." Luo Yonghao said, "But at this moment, according to Luo's guess, it shouldn't be very difficult for our army to conquer Xiangyang. It can take up to ten days and a half month, and it can even be done easily without any bloodshed. …But, that’s not the point.”
"The key point is what should we do next after taking Xiangyang. Our army is in unstoppable strength. We have deployed troops from thousands of miles away and are invincible. The imperial court will not sit idly by and ignore it. No matter how much the adults who are lying on their backs can argue, sooner or later they will have to mobilize troops from all directions. Encirclement and suppression from all sides. Although our army is good at fighting, it is absolutely incapable of fighting day after day. The imperial court can mobilize the whole country to fight against us, but the replenishment of our soldiers and even the food and supplies are big problems and will eventually be exhausted. So Luo is thinking these days, we can first stabilize the court in the name of asking for surrender. After a year and a half, we can gain a firm foothold. At that time, the host and guest will change positions, and if they want to eat us again, they will not be so It’s easier.”
Guan Shengyun asked with concern: "Military Advisor, you just said, 'You will neither listen to the instructions nor the announcements.' Couldn't the imperial court see that our army is pretending to surrender?"
Luo Yonghao smiled and said: "Of course you can see it. However, it doesn't matter, no one will ask for trouble to break this layer of window paper. Even if there is, someone will definitely clean it up for us!"
"Who? Could it be..." Guan Shengyun asked in confusion, and then thought that Luo Yonghao had a backer in the past, but they had fallen. He wondered whether the military advisor had received some news, and whether there was a resurgence of the old man?
"Luo doesn't know either." Luo Yonghao seemed to see Guan Shengyun's doubts and immediately replied, "Luo doesn't know who will speak up for us, but he knows that someone will do it, and there will definitely be more than one!"
"Why?"
"The imperial court has made it clear that local officials have the responsibility to defend the land, and those who lose it will die. With the current military power of our army, it is impossible for Xiangyang Prefecture to resist... By the way, Xiaoguo, you immediately arrange for people to pile all the corpses to the Jishui River and wait for me Order, push them all into the river." Halfway through his words, Luo Yonghao suddenly remembered and hurriedly told Guo Qinglin.
Guo Qinglin replied, "Yes." He quickly ran out of the lobby, and then ran back again - he didn't want to miss what the military advisor said next.
"Let's recall, when we were first in Yulin Prefecture, what did Xiao Changhua do? Later in Yan'an Prefecture, we got direct help from the Third Division of Shaanxi Province! Why did they do this? Because they were afraid of losing their land, and then they were The court is accountable! Why can they do this? Because there are people in their court! To be honest, if they had not already given up everything in Shenmu, and if they had fought to the death to find a way out for the puppy, Luo would not be sitting with the generals today. Together." Speaking of this, Luo Yonghao smiled bitterly, "As the saying goes, being an official for thousands of miles is just for money. Who is willing to risk his life for nothing? If we defeat Xiangyang, who dares to say that we will not go to Jingzhou Prefecture next step? Wuchang Prefecture, Yuezhou Prefecture, Changde Prefecture? No matter where they are, as long as they are defeated by us, the local officials will be killed: either by us or by the court! The officialdom of the Ming Dynasty has long been intertwined, even as poor as Shaanxi Province Everyone must have connections in the capital. Huguang is a land of plenty. Any local official who can preside over a party here will have a strong backer in the court! Seeing that our lives are at stake, we just need to give these people an excuse. They, And those people behind them will definitely speak for us desperately - because this is an opportunity for themselves to survive and make money! Those people can't defeat us, but they are very capable of fighting against their own people. !Knowing that it is nonsense, but whoever dares to tell the truth will be killed by everyone, Luo firmly believes in this."
"Good!" Guan Shengyun slapped the armrest of Tang Wang's gold-covered chair and praised sincerely, "The military advisor is wise!"
Luo Yonghao smiled at Guan Shengyun: "The commander-in-chief has made a mistake. Luo feels that now that Nanyang has been destroyed, Xinye is already in my possession." After speaking, he turned to Gong Derun and Gu Baihua, "The power of our army must have spread throughout the area by now. , the two battalions of A Hua and General Gong plus some auxiliary troops should be able to capture it. You can set off early tomorrow morning. When Xinye is captured, we will be almost rested. Xiao Guo will push all the corpses into the river. It won't take long for them to flow to Xiangyang. When the people see it, they will definitely run for their lives... At that time, it will be easy to talk to the desperate officials in Xiangyang Prefecture about "appeasement". Besides, we don't care about a few officials. However, Huguang is an important source of grain and silver. Local officials already have a very mature and complete system for collecting money and grain. Let them do it for us. The effect will be much better than if we do it ourselves. .”
"Hahaha, black and white! I like this." It was Gao Tengdou who spoke.
Guan Shengyun knew the truth and asked: "Then... who will talk about it?"
Luo Yonghao looked at Aizi: "Let Fan'er go, he should be able to do this kind of thing."
Knowing that only Luo Shifan is the best candidate, Guan Shengyun is still a little worried: "What if those dog officials are not good for my nephew..."
Luo Shifan cupped his hands with a smile and said: "Commander, I can't. We are the 'big merits' in 'promoting' us. Whether we make meritorious service or lose our lives, I believe it will not be difficult for them to choose. Moreover, my nephew also has a trump card..."
When Luo Shifan finished speaking, Luo Yonghao was also a little surprised: "Fan'er, you can actually come up with such an idea. However, it does work."
Luo Shifan bowed his head and responded: "My son has recently been reading "The Record of Biography" by Leshan layman (Wang Yangming). There is a sentence in it that has benefited my son a lot, 'A righteous man does evil and the law is also righteous'. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Yes. At that time, it seems that what the saint said may not be entirely correct..."
Luo Yonghao deliberately scolded him with a straight face: "Nonsense! How could what the saint said be wrong?"
Of course Luo Shifan knew that his father was pretending to be an attitude, so he replied with a smile: "'You are too thirsty to drink from the spring, and you are thirsty and don't drink. This is a bad name.' But if you really thirst to death, how can there be any saints today?"
Luo Yonghao couldn't hold it back, burst out laughing, and cursed with a smile: "You are the only one with a poor mouth!"
Guan Shengyun stared at Luo Shifan for a while, then looked at Luo Yonghao, and said with emotion again: "The military teacher is a good student!"
Luo Shifan sat neatly in the second hall of the Xiangyang government office, talking to Mo Qiushui and others: "You adults all know clearly that the reason why our army is like this is because we can't survive. Ants are greedy for life, let alone one. Where are the living people? However, it is not a long-term solution to continue like this, so the commander-in-chief of our army sent students to ask for your surrender."
Several officials who had just felt lifeless when they heard that the thieves actually wanted to surrender immediately regained their former sense of dignity as Han officials. Mo Qiushui slapped the air with alarm: "Hey! You have already committed a heinous crime. Do you know that you can't escape the punishment of heaven now? Since you have come to ask for surrender, how dare you speak to me like this!" He was about to shout, "Come on." "People, take this officer with me." He pushed Luo Shifan to his knees on the ground and showed off his power. He saw that except for the squad leader Wu Youde, all the other government servants had already fled, so he had to bluff and let out a heavy "hum" and swallowed the words behind. inside.
Luo Shifan smiled slightly and returned in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Sir, please calm down. The students are just here to talk. Surrendering or not is still a matter of debate. If there is no agreement, then we will not surrender. Let alone kneeling or not, we will kill you." It’s up to the adults to deal with it. If we reach an agreement, the adults may change their minds and maybe be more lenient with the students.”
Luo Shifan's gentle words "We won't surrender until we reach an agreement" were like thunder, instantly shattering the fantasies that the officials had just had, and bringing everyone back to reality.
Because his official position was too small, Dou Zhili, the magistrate of Xiangyang, had been accompanying Mo Qiushui since he was summoned by Mo Qiushui. He never took his turn to say a word from the beginning to the end. At this time, he saw all the officials were speechless and cautiously said: "Ahem, cough, Lord Mo, gentlemen, I think, um, should I first listen to Ambassador Luo Jun tell me how to surrender?"
All the officials were experts at playing word games. When they heard the title of "Military Envoy" from Dou Magistrate County, they all breathed a sigh of relief immediately - a young thief, sitting in the magistrate's Yamen in a dignified place with all the court officials. Talking nonsense, let alone losing face, will not be tolerated by the court if it is spread out. However, the "envoy" is different. The right saying is "the two countries are at war and the envoy will not be killed"!
Mo Qiushui knew Dou Zhili very well and knew that this subordinate was very smart. Two years ago, there was a simple but difficult case, and Dou Zhili handled it very beautifully. There is a pair of brothers surnamed Zhang in Nanyang Mansion. The elder brother Zhang goes out to do business, and his business is very successful. He often sends large sums of money back to his hometown. His younger brother Xiao Zhang bought a lot of good land, and also befriended Qian Yuchuan, and gained himself the reputation of being a scholar. Da Zhang was going to go home to retire, but Xiao Zhang turned against him and kicked his brother out of the house. When Da Zhang was doing business, he met Mo Qiushui's long-term follower, so he came to find him. Mo Qiushui would never have any trouble with the prefect of a neighboring province because of his servants, but Dou Zhili knew about it. So Dou Zhixian quietly laid a trap for Xiao Zhang: one day he "captured" a thief, and the thief "confessed" that Xiao Zhang was responsible for selling all the stolen goods! Justifiably, they were locked up in Xiangyang. Of course, Xiao Zhang refused to acknowledge him. The magistrate Dou was furious: "If you weren't selling the stolen goods, where did you get the huge property?" A picture of the confused Xiao Zhang was shot with a board until he was bloody and bloody. When he found out, it turned out to be a After being "spoofed" by the thief, he immediately took out a large number of large letters and lists for sending money and goods, as well as proof of purchase of a house and land to prove his innocence. Dou Zhili sent Xiao Zhang's confession and letter vouchers back to Nanyang Mansion for "verification". The evidence was ironclad. Qian Yuchuan over there would naturally not have to go against the officials of the neighboring province for a small rich man, so Da Zhang naturally recovered the money. justice……
Mo Qiushui nodded approvingly to Dou Zhili, changed his face again, and said to Luo Shifan with feigned concern: "Well, then I'll ask Envoy Luo Jun to talk about it. Although the court is lenient, surrendering later is worse than surrendering early. If It’s too late, if during this period the capital issued a strict decree and mobilized all powerful forces to attack on all sides, even if I wanted to protect you, I might not be able to help.”
Luo Shifan also smiled back: "Student, I would like to thank you for your kindness on behalf of my commander-in-chief. My commander-in-chief has said that he has long wished to submit to the imperial court. As long as the adults agree to the following points, our army can submit immediately."
"Give Gucheng to our army as a garrison. Our army guarantees the safety of life and property of the officials in Gucheng, and is also responsible for maintaining public security in Xiangyang."
"Our army does not accept any form of orders, dispatches, or any adaptations."
"Except for the farmland in Gucheng, Huguang is responsible for providing our army with food, wages and supplies in accordance with the standards of the Beijing camp. They must be delivered in full and on time without any loss or delay. Otherwise, our army will remain in the entire territory of Huguang The power of self-imposed collection. This is what our army needs for soldiers; as for auxiliary troops, it is calculated as fifty acres of land per person and one cow. Of course, where to draw the land can be discussed, but it is not enough, so it is converted into money and rice. it is also fine."
"Our army will establish a guard post at a suitable location, and Xiangyang Prefecture will assist in providing personnel and materials. After the guard post is established, our army's military information transmission must not be blocked in any way."
"Our army will set up a contact point in Xiangyang Prefecture to maintain close communication with all of you at all times to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."
"In Huguang Province, especially Xiangyang Prefecture, our army must be notified three days in advance of any deployment of troops, and our army has the power to send personnel to supervise. Well, it is also to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings..."
"This, is this also called 'please surrender'?" Zhang Kexin was the first to shout.
"This is called a separatist regime!" Gan Zhihai responded, "No, it's not a separatist regime! The separatist regime is to support itself and you. You are asking the whole of Huguang to support you!"
With another slap in the face, he felt that he had been humiliated like never before in his life. Mo Qiushui, who was furious, shouted: "That's nonsense! Are you just here to play tricks on me? Do you really think that the title of envoy can protect you?" You can't save your life! Aren't you afraid that I will cut you into pieces?"
"Of course the students know that the title of envoy is not expected, but there is someone who can really keep the students." As he spoke, Luo Shifan turned to Gan Zhihai and smiled, "Looking at the official uniform, this gentleman must be the chief historian of the Prince of Xiangyang's palace, right? "
All the officials were stunned. They did not understand the meaning of Luo Shifan's words for a moment. They only listened to him continue to explain: "My commander-in-chief said that if the students do not return to camp in the evening, our army will announce it to the world when it marches south tomorrow. : It is because you are greedy for merit, so you flatly rejected our army's "sincere surrender", but put King Xiang, King Chu and other clans in danger! There are princes and princes in every government in Huguang! Wherever our army goes It is inevitable that everyone will be destroyed. For such a serious crime, no matter how great your contributions are, I am afraid it will affect your family. No one would be willing to trade the life of the student with the thousands of lives of Taizu and several families. Bar?"
When all the officials heard this, they all took a breath - no one could afford this big hat! Gan Zhihai was the first to say anxiously: "Envoy Luo Jun, please don't misunderstand! We are indeed sincere! However, your army's conditions are too harsh. Many demands are not something Xiangyang Prefecture can agree to. There is really nothing we can do to help... …”
Luo Shifan nodded: "This student knows. My commander-in-chief said that if it is time to talk to the Huguang Third Division, he will talk to them later, and he will also rely on King Xiang Qiansui and your lords to mediate. But there are some things, lords. It can be decided with a single word, such as temporarily settling in Gucheng and setting up a contact point in Xiangyang. Our army spans thousands of miles and is invincible. If your government can surrender without spending a single soldier from the imperial court... Such great achievements are all due to you sirs. For a moment, I hope you will think twice. In addition, you also need to show your sincerity to our army. This is a list." As he spoke, he reached out and took out a few pages from his arms, "Silver wages, food and grass, The supplies are all up there, please prepare them, sir."
Wu Youde, who was completely stunned, looked at Mo Qiushui, hurriedly took a few steps to pick it up and presented it to him. Before the latter could start reading carefully, Luo Shifan stood up and said: "My lords, this important matter must be carefully discussed. It's getting late. If you don't force me to stay, the student should leave first to avoid the misunderstanding of my boss. Tomorrow In the morning, students will come again to get your replies from all the adults."
Although they were half-dead angry with this kid, none of the officials dared to come forward and detain him by force. They could only say a few polite words and waved their hands to let him go. Unexpectedly, when he reached the door, Luo Shifan turned around and said as if he suddenly remembered something: "By the way, students almost forgot, my commander-in-chief said that in order to ensure the sincerity of all of you, our army has already deployed several troops to the east, west and south. Some ranger sentries have been posted in the direction. If King Xiang Chitose is going out to meet friends for hunting or something in the past few days, it is best to wait until we have negotiated a reduction for our army before setting off. Otherwise, our army will think that you have no intention of accepting the surrender. Therefore, the attack will be launched immediately, and all consequences caused by this, including shocking the thousand-year-old king, will be held responsible by all the adults."
Hearing this, Gan Zhihai didn't care about putting on any airs and stood up hurriedly: "Envoy Luo Jun, please go slowly. I'll send you off to Commander Luo."
Walking outside the government office, Luo Shifan smiled again at Gan Zhihai, who had been chattering about "expressing sincerity": "Thank you Lord Gan for your kindness. But the student is telling the truth. Prince Xiang must take care of himself when he is a thousand years old. The Prince of Tang in Nanyang Mansion... is him. I accidentally lost my footing from Wangfu Mountain and fell to my death!"
