Fu Hongzhi's expression changed and he said anxiously: "Brother Daogui, this, this can't be done."
Liu Daogui said calmly: "Why can't you do it? Because you think I let those Jingzhou scholars who secretly collaborated with the enemy go, allowing them to take advantage of the opportunity to cause trouble?"
Fu Hongzhi gritted his teeth: "Yes, just like Wang Tianen, the magistrate of Zhengyang County who was killed by me this time. It turned out that he was a general in the Huan Chu Army. He was quite familiar with me. The last time the army conquered Jingzhou , this man was also defeated and captured. At that time, Brother Xile pardoned him and gave him a county magistrate job. However, this thief was not grateful. He kept raising dead soldiers and privately recruiting troops, just to cause chaos one day. Sure enough, this time When Huan Qian called back, he was the first one to raise troops to respond. Fortunately, God is wise. Brother Dao Gui, your magic soldiers descended from the sky and conquered Zhijiang. This thief was also killed by me on the way to escape. However, he is not the only one like him. , but there is a whole box. If these thieves are let go again, Jingzhou will never have peace in the future."
Liu Daogui smiled slightly: "Hongzhi, I admire your loyalty to the country, but please think about it carefully. A powerful person like Wang Tianen who has reached the level of county magistrate, or a family of scholars, has such full potential. In other words, I am afraid that most of the officials and powerful people in Jingzhou are here. If I want to answer every one of them, will I have to kill all the elites in Jingzhou? After killing all the civil servants and military generals here, I Where can I find people to help me manage these nine counties and eighty-seven counties in Jingzhou?"
Fu Hongzhi opened his mouth: "Well, even if we don't kill them, we can't let them take charge of the army now. We have to take precautions. Otherwise, I'm afraid that even if they don't surrender to Huan Qian, they will secretly communicate with other thieves. Even if they know that these letters and evidence are in your hands, Brother Daogui, they may actually start an uprising in order to protect themselves."
Liu Daogui sighed: "If I tell you that the soldiers I keep to defend Jiangling are the soldiers brought by Tong Huanqian's men in these boxes, do you still want me to open the boxes now to capture them?"
Fu Hongzhi took a breath of air: "Brother Daogui, you actually..."
Tan Daoji smiled slightly: "Hongzhi, I'm afraid you don't know. Before the expedition, Brother Daogui once opened the four doors wide in front of Jiangling's soldiers and civilians, saying that if he wanted to go out of the city to join the rebels and monster thieves, he would be allowed to do so. Leaving, not only that, but also opening the door of the arsenal, allowing anyone to take it as they please. Those who are willing to defend the city can join the defending army, and those who want to join the enemy's army can bring weapons and fight with us without any hindrance."
Fu Hongzhi was silent for a long time, and then sighed: "Such a sincere treatment of people will eventually win people's hearts. Although my ancestral home is Niyang in the north, I can be regarded as a Jingzhou native from my great-grandfather. I know the character, grievances and grievances of the people here." It is clear that revenge must be repaid, and kindness must be repaid. The Huan family was kind to many Jingzhou scholars in the past. In addition, in the past few years, the Beifu Army marched westward to eliminate Huan Chu. Many of the local gentry's children died in the war, so It is human nature to want to rebel when you have the opportunity, but Brother Daogui is so righteous, and the thieves raped and looted, which aroused righteous indignation, so everyone is willing to contribute to the Jin Dynasty and fight for you, Brother Daogui, even if it is Those who once secretly communicated with Huan Qian will not rebel and surrender to the enemy at this time."
Dao Yanzhi laughed: "You kid understands it pretty quickly. So tell me, do you want to read these letters one by one, or..."
Fu Hongzhi stepped forward with a smile, picked up the box, and strode out: "I will burn this box myself and will not leave a single word in this world."
Liu Daogui calmly watched Fu Hongzhi's figure disappear outside the tent, then looked at the two heads on the ground, and sighed softly: "I think if Huan Wen and Huan Chong were resurrected, they would see their nephews fighting to seize power. , even if he doesn’t hesitate to lead the barbarians to invade and form monsters and thieves to cause chaos in the country, he will also kill his relatives out of justice.”
Tan Zhi curled his lips in disdain: "That's natural. Although General Huan wants to usurp power, he is at least a hero of the Northern Expedition. If it were him, he would probably rather die in battle like Huan Zhen than do these things. Most of the suffering suffered by the people of Jingzhou this time was caused by Huan Qian. According to Taoist regulations, it is best to put his head outside the camp gate to frighten the enemy and comfort the dead."
Liu Daogui shook his head: "That's all. Death is like a lamp going out, and all the grudges and grudges will go with it. Sew up the heads and corpses of Huan Qian and Huan Shisui, transport them back to Jiangling, and bury them in the Huan family's ancestral grave. , there is no need to continue to bow your head or gather in Beijing to watch."
Tan Zhi frowned slightly: "Daogui, are you too kind? If you don't punish these evil thieves severely, I'm afraid more people will follow my example in the future."
Liu Daogui said loudly: "If we practice benevolence and righteousness, promote kingship, and allow the people of Jingzhou to live and work in peace and contentment, then how can anyone give up their good life and join the rebels? This time, the scholars in Jingzhou are willing to put aside their previous grudges. , and finally stood with us. Aren't they grateful for the amnesty after the last Western Expedition and the tax relief in recent years? Huan Qian was already defeated, and it would not be a brave move to use his body to vent his anger. As for intimidating the thieves, aren’t these thousands of traitors killed enough to intimidate them?”
Tan Daoji laughed: "Brother Daogui is right. In fact, the land of Jingchu cannot be conquered by massacre. The soldiers of Wu entered Ying and the Emperor of Qin destroyed Chu. They all relied on absolute violence and killing. The people here did not really intimidate the Chu people, so there is a legend that even though there were three Chu households, Chu would definitely die if Qin was destroyed. There is also a story about Shen Baoxu borrowing troops to restore Chu. Here, it is best to practice benevolence and righteousness and be with the Chu people. Only by working together can we achieve long-term peace and stability. As for actions such as accumulating corpses for public viewing, it is better to do less, as it will only be counterproductive."
Yanzhi nodded: "There is no need to humiliate the dead bodies, but it is still necessary to deal with the living prisoners. After this battle, we killed more than 4,000 thieves, and there are still more than 10,000 thieves who have not escaped. According to preliminary screening, many of the prisoners are old thieves who have followed Huan Shisui and Wang Tianen for a long time. They are old members of the Huan Chu Army who have been stubborn to the end. Now is an extraordinary period. If they are released, I am afraid they will continue to gather people to cause chaos. We will end up with So that we can deal with them all once and for all.”
Tan Zhi also followed up and said: "Yes, most of these people voluntarily joined the rebels and were not innocent people who were threatened. If they were released, they would probably be homeless and become a rebel force again. And according to the The result of the interrogation is that many of these people were enemies of us in the Chu army back then, and we have let them go once. This time they rebelled again, and I thought that trapping them and killing them would be the best result."
