The scene was filled with the sound of armor scraping, and large numbers of Qin troops began to run into the city. At Xiao Yuan's signal, they took over Xiangyang.
As for the prisoners, they were all gathered in the previous Chu army camp, their weapons were collected, and they were temporarily detained.
Riding a horse through the streets, all you can see is the scene of famine.
I don't know how many people were lying in every corner, with sallow faces and thin skin and ragged clothes.
Arriving at Xiangyang Mansion, the Qin army had already fortified the place. There were many soldiers standing at the door. Lin Chu walked over quickly, clasped his fists and bent down and said, "Your Majesty, Hanzhou has committed suicide."
"Yes." Without any surprise, Xiao Yuan dismounted and led the generals into the mansion.
Next, there is no doubt that we will deal with post-war matters in Xiangyang.
Regarding the more than 100,000 prisoners of the Chu army, Su Yi was the first to say: "I think that for the more than 100,000 Chu soldiers, we can dig holes outside the city or behead them on the riverside, killing them all at once."
"What did you say!?" Before Xiao Yuan could answer, Wang Su's eyes widened and he said in disbelief: "That's more than 100,000 young men! Living human lives!"
"But they are also enemies!" Su Yi said coldly: "Our army's food and grass are hard-won. If we keep them, we will not only spend money and food, but also have to send people to guard them. If we let them leave, there will be great dangers after they return. It might be the Central Army of Chu State again! Only by beheading them all can we avoid future troubles forever!"
"But they have surrendered!"
"If you want to destroy Chu, you must annihilate all their military power! It is too kind of a woman to worry about the life and death of the enemy soldiers, Mr. Wang."
"you!"
The two of them held their own opinions, and at the end of the sentence, Wang Su was choked, turned to Xiao Yuan, and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I will never agree with General Su Yi's suggestion of killing prisoners!"
"We, the Central Plains, never kill prisoners. If we do this, we will be criticized by others, and no one will dare to surrender again in the future!"
"Whether they are Chu soldiers or Qin army officers, they are all children of ordinary people. At this moment, their wives, leading their children, must be standing in front of the dilapidated wooden door, looking at the entrance of the village, looking forward to their husbands After returning, I am looking through the autumn water, Your Majesty..."
These words touched Xiao Yuan's heart.
Yes, this can be said to be a national civil war, but this civil war must be quelled by someone. Otherwise, it will only become more chaotic and the people will become more miserable.
He took a deep breath and said: "It is not advisable to kill prisoners. Let's immigrate to guard the border. Let all the Chu troops return to their fields and disperse them to the people. As for the generals of the Chu army, all are escorted back to the capital and will be dealt with later."
Sending these Chu soldiers to Beiling or Liangdi, and after regaining the south of the Yangtze River, they will be stable and will definitely take their wives and children there, making the population of each place prosperous. This is undoubtedly the best solution.
When Wang Su heard this, he immediately became happy and saluted quickly: "Your Majesty is wise——"
Then, Jia You stood up, raised his hands and said: "I deeply agree with the king's immigration policy, but the hungry people in Xiangyang City should be solved as soon as possible."
"Wei Chen suggested that some of the military rations should be allocated to the people, and then transportation should be opened throughout Xiangyang to try to restore the city's material trade as soon as possible."
Although Xiangyang was besieged, the wealth was still there, and the people's homes more or less had some money. It was just that they could not buy food if they had money before.
As soon as transportation opened up, grain merchants came in, business exchanges began, and farming returned. It is conceivable that the city was prosperous in the past.
However, Su Yi sneered and said: "This is war! How can we use the food and grass from the army to help the people!?"
As he spoke, he also said seriously to Xiao Yuan: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Master Jia's words are extremely ridiculous."
"The general's words are wrong." Jia You said: "Today's Xiangyang is already the Xiangyang of the Qin State, and the people are the foundation of the country."
After saying that, he also faced Xiao Yuan: "Your Majesty, you are the Lord of Qin. The king's heart should be in the world."
What the counselors say is about politics.
It is possible to suppress everything with absolute force, but if you resort to it blindly, the result will be destruction.
After thinking about it, Xiao Yuan said decisively: "Mr. Zhun Jia said that you will be personally responsible for this matter and put up a notice to calm the people as soon as possible."
"Wei Chen takes orders." Jia You saluted quickly.
"Your Majesty, this." Su Yi was a little anxious.
Xiao Yuan raised his hand: "This matter does not need to be discussed further."
"Yes." Su Yi lowered his body.
A monarch must have a long-term vision.
After solving these two problems, Xiao Yuan immediately ordered Qin General Ning Zhan to lead an army of 80,000 to support the Xuandi battlefield.
Regarding the moat, he also adopted Jia You's suggestion to re-drain the moat and strengthen it, thus eliminating the possibility that the upper stream could be easily blocked in the future. He also repaired all the bridges that had been destroyed before in Hanzhou.
The post-war affairs were still being dealt with here, and a few days later, the news also reached Chu State.
In the court meeting hall, after hearing the report, King Chu stood up and said with wide eyes, "What!? Xiangyang has been lost?"
"This, yes, Xiangyang has been out of food for several months. We can't hold on any longer. General Hanzhou committed suicide, and our soldiers... all surrendered..."
After being confirmed again, King Chu's face suddenly turned pale, and he fell back on the throne in despair, "It's over, it's over..."
The defenders of Xiangyang, which can be said to be the entire strength of the Chu State, were besieged for seven months and all were captured. Now except for the palace forbidden troops, there are no available troops anywhere in the country.
In panic, he could only place his last hope on Wu State, and said in a trembling voice: "Wu Jun! Wu Jun must guard the Yangtze River, otherwise, the entire Jiangnan will be in danger-"
Yes, as long as the Wu army withstands the battle of crossing the river, then with the fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River, Chu will be able to regain its strength in three to five years!
Countries in the world have been at war for more than a hundred years. Most of the time, it is because of this situation that they have not conquered it to the end. The defeated country can recruit strong men and train the army based on its divided territory. After a few years, it can participate in the war again. , and the people have been suffering for a long time due to such beatings.
At the same time, Lingguo.
When the two countries are at war, intelligence is of vital importance. Of course, King Ling must be informed of the main division and mobilization of the Qin army as soon as possible.
After learning that Xiangyang had been lost, the ministers of the Ling Kingdom held a heated discussion in the court. Finally, King Ling accepted the old prime minister's suggestion and believed that the King of Qin had sent more troops to Hengyang. If he continued to fight, he would surely fall into a bitter battle, and there would be another battle. It’s hard to take a step forward.
After thinking for a while, he immediately said: "Send an order to Huang Zu to stabilize the existing four counties, station troops outside Hengyang, and contain the Qin army in Xuandi. It is unnecessary and no more violent attacks will be made."
In this war, the Ling Kingdom reaped the greatest benefits and took the opportunity to plunder the four counties. Now, the Ling King can be said to be satisfied and will not fight hard again, but he will not retreat.
To put it bluntly, after acquiring the land, he still had to contain some Qin forces. What he wanted to see most was for Xiao Yuan to defeat Yangtze River next.
(End of chapter)
