A look of astonishment flashed across Wang Zhenzhi's face: "Liu Jingzhou, what do you mean? I am a civil servant and I am not good at leading troops in combat. In terms of military affairs, General Tan and Army Chief Dao should lead the troops. good."
Liu Daogui said calmly: "You are the Sima of Jingzhou. It is said that you have the responsibility of leading troops in combat. Since Wang Sima just said what your responsibilities are, then leading the troops to chase the enemy is what you should do. It is justifiable for you to lead the troops."
Wang Zhenzhi gritted his teeth: "Then how many soldiers and horses will Liu Jingzhou prepare for me to pursue the enemy?"
Liu Daogui said sternly: "I can't spare many troops here now. I only have Tan Daoji and Dao Yanzhi's troops, which total about five thousand."
Wang Zhenzhi's expression changed: "Only five thousand troops? Going to chase an army of tens of thousands of monster thieves? Are you asking me to die?"
Liu Daogui shook his head: "Everything must be done carefully. This pursuit is not really about defeating the entire enemy army with 5,000 men, but following behind, on the one hand, destroying the puppet officials and small groups of troops left behind by the thieves, and not letting them go." The area captured by the enemy army can stably provide soldiers and food for the enemy army, and on the other hand, it can cut off the enemy's subsequent food routes. If a large number of enemy troops return to fight, it will depend on the situation. If there are not many enemies, they can be defeated. One part will dampen his spirit. If the enemy is strong, temporarily avoid his sharp edge."
Wang Zhenzhi frowned: "But even so, why do I, a civil servant, need to lead the army instead of a general to fight?"
Liu Daogui glanced at Tan Daoji and Dao Yanzhi who were standing aside, and said: "Daoji and Yanzhi are still relatively young, and there has never been a special appointment of an army before. And Wang Sima, you once led all the elders of the township alone, and several counties and counties. The Chu army is fighting and has high popularity in the local area. If you lead the army to fight, the elders of Jingzhou will feel at ease."
"This battle is not only about the military, but also about the people's hearts. The demon thieves have been causing great harm to Jingzhou for a while. After breaking the city, they burned, killed, and looted, and plundered women everywhere for their sexual humiliation. Since our army attacked Huanchu, the soldiers have We are very majestic, but in terms of military discipline, we have not done very well before. In this pursuit, I am afraid that many soldiers will vent their anger on the people of Jingzhou and take revenge on the people of Jingzhou because of the tragic deaths of their relatives and friends in Jiangzhou. In this way, Come on, the blood feud is getting deeper and deeper, and it will be difficult to govern Jingzhou in the future."
Having said this, he looked at Tan Daoji and said: "Everyone expressed their true thoughts about the situation just now. Most of the generals, even the sergeant who sent Brother Wuji's head back, didn't want to let go, let alone The main force of the demon thief's army went eastward, leaving behind mostly local surrendered troops and newly attached people. If these people were to be killed, it would create greater resentment in the local area. Killing one person may offend hundreds of people, so when will the end of such resentment come to an end?!"
Tan Daoji lowered his head in shame and said, "I was so indignant just now that I didn't consider the level of people's hearts. I ask Brother Daogui to forgive me."
Liu Daogui sighed: "Last time when Brother Xile and Brother Wuji attacked Huan Chu, they killed a lot of people, because the Chu army humiliated our Beifu soldiers in every possible way, and even killed many of our old superiors, old officers, and Xiang. Uncle Zhong, Uncle Su, and other veteran generals who were like fathers and brothers to us all died under the butcher's knife of the Chu army."
"So after the Battle of Jianyi reached Jingzhou, the Western Expeditionary Army also massacred and looted many people. Even the monks in the temple were not spared. Although I, as the deputy general, tried to dissuade them many times, Brother Xile and the others did not take it seriously. , after all, in that battle, many of our soldiers only thought about making achievements for themselves, only about gratification and grudges, but did not consider the future governance of Jingzhou."
"I have taken over as the governor of Jingzhou in the past two years, and I feel particularly deeply about this. Although the people of Jingzhou have been given generous treatment by the court, which is tax-free for several years, it has also announced an amnesty for former Chu army officers and their families, and even granted them certain official positions. , but still unable to regain the hearts of Jingzhou, our rule here only relies on 20,000 soldiers and horses to suppress them forcefully."
"The powerful families from all over the country and the soldiers from the local prefectures and counties regard us as invaders and enemies. Whenever they have the opportunity, they want to take the opportunity to retaliate. This time Xiangzhou fell so quickly, and the defenders from our prefectures and counties all over the country looked out for the opportunity. And surrendered, and even took the initiative to defect to join the demon thieves, and many local powerful people provided military supplies to the thieves along the way, just like the Han people in Nanyan welcomed Master Wang. Is this normal? Is this what it should be? In this Jingzhou, in the end Whose Jingzhou belongs to us here? Are we the imperial army or the bandit army?"
When Liu Daogui said this, his voice was so fierce that it made everyone's eardrums tremble, but these words pierced everyone's hearts one by one, making them start to seriously reflect on these issues.
Liu Daogui let out a long sigh and softened his tone: "It was like this when Marshal Liu Laozhi put down the demon-thief rebellion in Sanwu. He was victorious in every battle on the battlefield, but the demon-thiefs fought more and more. Why?"
"Because in the name of suppressing bandits, he raided and slaughtered the people of Sanwu in various ways, and treated the people of Sanwu who were supposed to be protected as family members of the enemy, so he forced most of the people who originally wanted to join the bandit army to join the bandit army. Today Most of the demon thieves were forced to rebel in this way."
"When I followed my elder brother to counter the rebellion, what impressed me most was not how to win on the battlefield, but how to forgive and forgive those who had been threatened by the rebels after the war, so that they could transform from lost sheep who were attached to the demon thieves. Return to the good people under the rule of the Jin Dynasty. It is said that it is easy to defeat the thieves in the mountains, but it is difficult to defeat the thieves in the heart."
Having said this, Liu Daogui looked at Wang Zhenzhi and said seriously: "Wang Sima, the reason why I make you the main general is not because you are good at fighting, but because you are an upright official and can unite and appease the people. Along the way, Pursuing the pursuit and whether the thieves can be defeated is not the main thing. The main thing is to recover the land that the thieves plundered, expel the puppet officials, appease the people, and tell the people of Jingxiang that the court is still there and the army is still there, and the monster thieves will only bring trouble to the world. They have no future. I need this battle to make up for what I have been doing but failed to do in the past two years, which is to completely win back the hearts of the people of Jingzhou and make them willing to truly become the people of the Jin Dynasty. Let the manpower and materials in Jingzhou be truly used by the Jin Dynasty, instead of being treated like an enemy country!"
Wang Zhenzhi nodded excitedly: "After hearing what you said, I suddenly understood what to do."
Yanzhi suddenly said: "Brother Daogui, what you said makes sense, but for these things, it seems that it is enough to send a few hundred sergeants and Wang Sima to take them everywhere to comfort them. Then the elite soldiers we are bringing are... What are you going to do? Is it just to act as a house guard? Isn’t this a bit overkill?!”
