"Is this method really effective?" Little Jeanne was still skeptical.
"It's useful to the Poles anyway." Guo Kang said: "With some very...simple tricks, we can cause damage to them."
"What technique?" little Jeanne asked curiously.
"Let them go." Guo Kang said: "When Basil III had just died, there was news that the Western Barbarians and Beidi were going to take advantage of the situation to merge and attack. So Marshal Zhang thought of a way. He gathered the Polish soldiers who had been captured before. , conduct roll call and recount.”
"During the battles during Basil's era, we captured many Polish prisoners. A few wealthy people were successively ransomed by their families, while many ordinary soldiers with no money and power have been imprisoned here to do hard labor."
"So, he asked a few soldiers who were always tight-lipped to reveal the news intentionally or unintentionally that they were going to release people from the Lublin area. Many prisoners learned about this situation."
"The Poles do not have a strict household registration system, and their management of ordinary soldiers in the army is also very loose. These people are basically recruited by local lords and mercenary groups themselves, and the generals themselves may not be able to confirm where their subordinates come from. Therefore, place of origin Where it is, it can be said that it all depends on what they say. After being caught by us, this kind of information is completely impossible to verify. "
"So, during the statistics, a large number of Polish prisoners claimed to be from near Lublin. Some people even made up towns that did not exist at all. Several people colluded and claimed to be fellow villagers from that place, ready to prove each other. But we didn’t verify it here, we just made some hasty statistics and went through the motions.”
"Before the release, Marshal Zhang personally came forward to distribute travel expenses and fresh bread and entertain everyone. He said that there should be a war soon, but he believed that the civilians of Lublin would also follow the footsteps of the nobles and become Rome. friends, instead of helping the evil Poles."
"This method looks so familiar." Zhu Wenkui said in surprise: "But isn't it too simple and obvious? People can tell at a glance that this is intentional, right?"
"It is indeed very simple." Guo Kang said with a wry smile: "But there is no way. If I don't make it so simple and obvious, people won't be fooled if they don't understand..."
"But having said that, we don't have to pretend to be particularly real." He added: "It doesn't matter if some people think it is fake, as long as it raises this topic, it is enough."
"Sure enough, after these people returned, the news that people in the Lublin area were friendly with us spread everywhere. The local nobles lobbied hard and finally made everyone believe that they were innocent."
"Isn't this solved?" Zhu Wenkui asked.
"If they are strong enough and smart enough, it should be solved." Guo Kang shook his head.
"In the subsequent war, they were obviously eager to express themselves. We deliberately set a trap here. When they went south to find us for a decisive battle, did the marshal deliberately arrange for everyone to abandon their baggage and treasure and retreat to lure the enemy?"
"As expected, the nobles of Lublin rushed up, snatched the spoils of war, and searched for prisoners. Some people rushed towards the marshal's banner. The entire Polish army was led by them, and they began to pursue in a chaotic manner."
"The ambush we prepared took this opportunity to rush out, and the Polish army was defeated." Guo Kang shrugged: "Look, it's a very simple strategy. Anyone who has read the Three Kingdoms storybook will probably know this routine."
"I now understand why it is said that the key to a strategy is not how complicated it is, but whether it uses the right people." Zhu Wenkui said with emotion: "If it were an ordinary army, its mentality would not be affected so easily; if not European aristocrats are not so easy to get mad and rush. This strategy seems simple, but it is not bad if it can be used in the right place."
"That's okay." Guo Kang thought for a while: "But here, there is actually a follow-up."
"If they win, then this strategy will probably have no effect. On the contrary, it will make these people more united, because through actual actions, they have proved that not only are they not collaborating with the enemy, but they have also made great contributions. But if they lose this time, it will be completely useless. The law explains it.”
"They argued that it was just because some people were too reckless, but others may not believe it. Although the trick of throwing away loot to lure the enemy has been tried and tested by Europeans, and nobles in other places are also easily fooled, but who let them take the lead this time? Therefore, other people just happened to pass the responsibility for their own poor investigation and misdirected command onto them."
"If there is a strong commander who can make a fair judgment, the situation may be saved, but unfortunately, this is something the Poles do not have - after Casimir III, there has been a lack of strong military leaders. And in 1399 After that, even Queen Jadwiga, who had religious status and authority and could temporarily stop everyone from quarreling, was gone.”
"Under such circumstances, if the nobles themselves quarrel in the parliament, you can imagine what the consequences will be."
"After that, nobles from other places often worked together to squeeze out the nobles in Lublin and take advantage of them. The people of Lublin were very angry, and they were not willing to respond to the call after that."
"This is really... dramatic." Little Jeanne sighed: "But Wladyslaw Jagiełło is also a scheming person, why didn't he take care of it?"
"Because we often write to him." Guo Kang said.
"Ah?" Little Jeanne didn't understand what this meant.
"Lublin is at the junction of Poland and Lithuania. Although it is now nominally united, it was once a place where the two countries fought for each other." Guo Kang told her: "In other places, Jagiełło can still manage. But to interfere in this place, It is indeed easy to create suspicion.”
"Moreover, we also captured some Orthodox Lithuanians during the battle. We later sent these people back and wrote a letter to Jagiełło, praising his Lithuanian Orthodox warriors for their bravery and tolerance. They are all people with martial virtues. In this case, we will not embarrass them and will not accept the ransom."
"Is there such a big gap between them and the Poles?" Zhu Wenkui asked curiously.
"Of course it's not that big." Guo Kang himself felt a little embarrassed: "At most, some of them believe in Orthodoxy, and they are a little less crazy when facing us... It doesn't make any difference if they really burn, kill and loot. Anyway, it's just to create Topic, forced to brag."
"I understand, the key is not the real situation, but to express the difference." Little Jeanne thought for a while and said.
"Yes. Jagiełło vigorously promoted the Roman Catholic Church in Lithuania, which originally aroused the dissatisfaction of some local nobles. But if he did not promote it, the Poles would think that he was ungrateful and a false convert." Guo Kang said: "So, we Every now and then, I would send back some Lithuanian Orthodox Christians, and then write frequently to Jagiełło.”
"Does he still dare to accept it..." Little Jeanne said speechlessly.
"He has been unwilling to accept them, and later even banned Italian businessmen from carrying letters for us." Guo Kang couldn't help laughing: "But you have to know that the effect of a ban is often more than just prohibiting something - it can also cause People’s curiosity.”
"This ban is like a constant reminder to everyone: 'Everyone, look over here! Aren't you interested in the things that the king prohibits?'"
"Do the nobles believe it?" Zhu Wenkui asked.
"People who don't believe it use this to laugh at him, or pretend to believe it and attack him." Guo Kang said: "As for whether you believe it or not, it doesn't really matter. It just works."
"So, it's the same as the previous question: He can only withstand these pressures, or act more crazy about religion. And if he is more crazy, Lithuanians will be more dissatisfied with him. He is indeed a smart and skillful person, but Heroes also have to take advantage of the situation. In this environment, one person's efforts have a very limited effect."
"You guys are really good at using these moves." Zhu Wenkui sighed, turned to little Jeanne and said, "Look, you should learn it hard."
"Don't, don't, don't." Guo Kang said hurriedly: "We here are just kid-level tricks, which can only be used to coax the European natives. In the future, you will have to deal with the Ming Dynasty and the like. Why can't you learn from us? …”
"The gap between the two sides is really too big." He shook his head: "I'm not exaggerating on purpose. You know what happened to Subotai back then, right?"
"What's wrong?" Little Jeanne originally wanted to refute her brother, but seeing Guo Kang being so humble, she didn't know what to say.
"Subutai was sent to the Western Expedition and made great achievements. After returning, Ogedai ordered him to lead his army to attack the Kingdom of Jin. As a result, Subotai was defeated miserably in Huaihui Valley in the first battle. The Mongolian army suffered heavy losses and the number of dead was high. There is no chance of winning in the valley."
"Wo Kuotai was so angry that he denounced the ministers, saying that if Mu Huali was still there, why would he be in this state? Subotai was almost deposed. Later, he dragged Lei to persuade him and transferred him to his subordinates."
"Analyzing this matter, it is not that Subotai was incompetent. In the subsequent battles, he gradually returned to normal levels. Some people analyzed the battle process and believed that his mistake was probably that he had not participated in the Central Plains War for a long time and could not react at the moment. coming."
"So, just take a look at our experience here." Guo Kang shook his head: "To put it bluntly, this is bullying bastards. If you follow suit, wouldn't you lose your life..."
"Besides, you also know that people of my father's generation are not very knowledgeable." He whispered to Zhu Wenkui: "To be honest, Uncle Zhang is already the most read person among the generals, but you see, in fact, It’s just like a storyteller.”
"So, let's learn something serious."
"Okay..." Zhu Wenkui had no choice but to nod.
"I think this strategy is complicated enough." Little Jeanne was very interested: "But there is one thing, isn't it that the nobles have been executed? Are there any that can be redeemed?"
"We have different definitions of nobility." Guo Kang said: "There are so many nobility in Poland. If you just grab a few people, they will all be nobles. According to their standards, we don't have to distinguish them. So, what we recognize is basically They are all old enemies who have been captured, and they must be influential in Poland."
"Then you have too many enemies..." Zhu Wenkui said with emotion.
"Of course." Guo Kang shook his head: "Every time the Poles invade, all villages and fortresses that cannot be defended must be destroyed. It is too easy to find someone with a blood feud. The key is to find someone who will have greater influence after execution. This kind of talent must be chosen carefully—most people want to go to the cross, but they still can’t.”
"I have never thought about these details before." Little Jeanne also thought for a moment: "But looking at it this way, you are already relatively lenient. It seems that it is not easy to keep alive prisoners."
"We have no choice. We are poor and need to sell slaves to subsidize our expenses." Guo Kang said: "Of course, you also know that this kind of slaves can never be sold, and the backlog is very serious."
"Why is this?" Zhu Wenkui didn't seem to understand.
"The Poles themselves don't want to consider themselves Slavs. They always want to distinguish themselves from other Slavs and resolutely refuse to admit that everyone has the same ancestor. They seem to think that this is a discount."
"But the problem is that although they consider themselves nobler than the Slavs, the slave traders in Italy and Egypt have always insisted that they are Slavs and worthless." Guo Kang said a rather darkly humorous quote: "In short, he is Whether they are Slavs or not...I can't say for sure."
"In our area, Slavic slaves cannot be sold at a high price. Traffickers also dislike the fact that the profit margin is too low. When the market is not good, it cannot even cover the transportation and management expenses, resulting in frequent unsaleable situations."
"So, we can only look after them and do some hard work with no technical requirements. At least we can't keep them in vain. This also means that the total number of prisoners we have detained is not small."
"That's right." Zhu Wenkui nodded: "I don't know why they are so obsessed with this."
"Maybe it's to brag." Guo Kang said: "They like to brag about whatever they lack. They don't have enough culture to distinguish themselves from the poor relatives next to them, so they have to vigorously advocate these weird things and say that they are different from the poor relatives next to them. People are different.”
"Now, some Poles have put forward a new theory, saying that they are also descendants of foreign conquerors." Guo Kang said: "They think that they are Sarmatians who migrated over and conquered the indigenous Slavs."
"What is Sarmatia?" Zhu Wenkui asked.
"They are nomads from Central Asia. According to the Greeks, they were later expelled by the Serbs and came here." Guo Kang answered.
"Who is this Sese person?" Zhu Wenkui still didn't understand, hesitated for a moment, and asked.
"They are nomads from the Western Regions. According to people from the Han Dynasty, they were later expelled by the Dayue clan and came here." Guo Kang answered.
"Da Yueshi... Oh, this one was expelled by the Huns and went to the Western Regions." Zhu Wenkui knew this time.
"Yes, that's the group of people." Guo Kang nodded.
"Then forget about recognizing their ancestors. How can they recognize such a bastard who has been kicked out several times..." Zhu Wenkui curled his lips.
"I've told you, I'm just a bastard, but your sister still doesn't believe it." Guo Kang complained, "This is our tradition here."
"You see, Croatia and Serbia are said to be two tribes from the Alans, and Hungary is said to be named after the Huns... Many names come from this." He counted his fingers and listed them all.
"I'm not familiar with these terms. Are they all nonsense?" Zhu Wenkui asked curiously.
"Yes, they are all idiots." Guo Kang said firmly: "If you don't mind the price drop, just give them a try."
(End of chapter)
