Chapter 277 The war begins
Just in case, Li Yue also asked Xu Cheng to lead a battalion of two thousand knights south to avoid a collective riot.
However, Liang Xiao handled it very well. After a Hongmen Banquet, Du Neng was quickly uprooted, and more than 4,000 subordinates under his command were also controlled.
Du Neng and his cronies were escorted to the Chinese army camp.
Li Yue originally had Ran Min's power of holiday, and he could kill anyone who violated military law during war.
You don’t know if you don’t check. Once you check, you will find that everything you see is just the tip of the iceberg.
The appearance of a praying mantis means that there is a nest of praying mantises somewhere invisible.
Killing good people and claiming merit is nothing new. Various rebels have done it to some extent in the army. Some people even cut off the head of Pao Ze who died in battle and pretended to be the head of an enemy soldier, just in exchange for a few buckets of food.
It's just that Du Neng did it with great fanfare, and once went deep into Beihai, Qijun, Mount Tai and other places.
While taking the opportunity to kidnap young men and plunder grain and grass, they beheaded those who refused to surrender as enemy troops and exchanged their heads for the grain of the Black Cloud Army.
When Du Neng sent out the army, his troops numbered less than 3,000, but now they have more than 4,700 people. A large number of plundered women, grain, money and silk were also found in the camp.
Make a lot of money.
The evidence is conclusive and irrefutable.
"If we don't kill these traitors, it won't make the people angry, and if we don't kill them, we won't be able to uphold military law." Jia Jian sighed.
Chen Duan was furious, "The face of the beggar army was thrown away by this kind of people. It deserves to be cut into pieces by a thousand swords."
Ding Rao and Sun Yuan looked ugly.
Zhu Tu was originally invited to this trial, but he felt guilty and did not dare to come.
Ding Rao and Sun Yuan, who were close to him, came instead.
If you dare to come, it means you have a clear conscience; if you dare not come, there is a problem.
"What else do you have to say?" Li Yue's face turned pale.
It was enough for the barbarians to harm the Chinese people, but I didn't expect that my own people were even more ruthless.
As far as the scouts and school officials could find out, more than 3,600 people died at the hands of Du Neng, and there were countless others who could not find out.
"My subordinate was blinded for a moment. His crime is unforgivable. However, I hope the governor will give me a chance to let my subordinate go into battle and fight to the death with the barbarians, so that he can make meritorious service for his crime!" Du Neng was also a man who had experienced great storms. He knew that begging for mercy was useless, so he changed his mind.
a method.
But Li Yue couldn't believe this kind of person anymore.
When it comes to the battlefield, who knows whether he will switch sides.
"If you have performed meritorious service, you will be exempted from the crime. The people who come will drag you down and cut them all in half. It will be announced that all the troops will join the army." Li Yue had already been as determined as a stone.
This is the first time such torture has been used since I came down from the mountain.
But it is a last resort. In fact, many people these days are not afraid of death at all, especially those who lick blood at the tip of a knife. They cannot be restrained without torture.
"You...if you dare to kill someone today, someone will turn against you tomorrow!" Du Neng got angry and tried to pounce on him. His eyes nearly popped out of his sockets, and only three personal guards held him down.
Li Yue sneered: "Oh? Tell me who is going to rebel? I wish they would jump out now!"
Du Neng refused to give up his last chance, "If I tell you, will it save my life?"
"Pull it down." Li Yue waved his hand, too lazy to talk to him any more.
Since you dare to take action, you are not afraid of rebellion by others.
Not long after, bursts of screams came from outside the camp, and Du Neng and fifty-six of his followers were all cut in half.
Compared with the evil deeds they committed, they definitely deserved this kind of torture.
Ding Rao, Sun Yuan and others were as silent as cicadas.
Subsequently, Du Neng's head was sent to various branches of the rebel army, without causing much shock. Du Neng died under military law in a dignified manner, and no one found fault.
Only five or six troops left without saying goodbye with their tribesmen.
Li Yue did not force him to stay. This war itself was a selection process. Those who left were not fellow travelers. Those who stayed could be fought for in the future.
As long as the Cui family, the Zheng family, and Jia Jian, the great gentry and tycoons, did not leave, the situation would still be under control.
After killing Du Neng, the rebel army became more disciplined, but also more cautious. They no longer took the initiative to attack Yao Xiang and Shi Kun, and began to muddle along.
The battlefield fell into a stalemate.
Yao Xiang and Shi Kun have 300,000 troops. With such a scale, it is impossible to decide the outcome in a short time.
The Battle of Guanggu was not isolated. It was closely related to the Battle of Wei Chang and the situation in the south.
One hair move affects the whole body.
A secret report soon came from Zhongshan. After three battles and three victories, Ran Min won two more and killed the rebel general Duan Gong, overwhelming Murong Ke's tens of thousands of troops.
However, although the Wei army won, the situation was not optimistic.
Thirty percent of the 10,000 elite troops who went on the expedition were lost. The soldiers fought one after another. Under the harassment of Murong Ke's light cavalry, they could not rest and recuperate. It was difficult to supply the rear. There was a shortage of food in the army. The horses were not fed carefully and became weaker and weaker. Their horsepower gradually ran out. Those who were killed every day
There are three to four hundred war horses.
Coupled with the losses on the battlefield, the original seven thousand elite cavalry can now only maintain two thousand cavalry, which is still declining.
Dong Run and Zhang Wen tried several times to persuade Ran Min to give up and go back to Xiangguo or Yecheng, but Ran Min was immersed in the pleasure of five battles and five victories, and Murong Ke vowed not to give up until he killed him.
With the lessons learned from Wei Huan and Wang Tai, Dong Run and Zhang Wen did not dare to persuade him again. If he tried to persuade him again, someone would die, and if not, the whole clan would be killed.
"Captain, Zhu Tu sent envoys to Yao Xiang and Xia Pi last night!" The school official came to report early in the morning.
"Okay." Li Yue was not too surprised.
Du Neng was killed, and the person who had the greatest impact was Zhu Tu. The two had a good relationship before. One was in Leling and the other was in Pingyuan. They were friends with each other, advancing and retreating together.
It was only a matter of time before Zhu Tu betrayed him, so the scouts and school officials had been watching his every move.
This man's reputation in the lower reaches of the Yellow River has never been very good.
During Du Neng's trial, Li Yue summoned him, but he declined because he was injured.
"The governor wants to seize the two Huai rivers, and the key lies in Zhu Tu!" Chang Wei got up earlier, getting up at dawn every day to wash up and handle various official duties.
"Jiangdong has always been timid, I'm just afraid that Xun Xian may not dare to go north." Li Yue said with a smile.
"Normally, he would be unwilling. However, Yin Hao's Northern Expedition failed. Wang Xie, Xun Yin and other Jiangdong nobles urgently need to save their face, otherwise Huan Wen will not be able to pass the test. My subordinates feel that our army may not be able to defeat Yao Xiang and Shi Kun's 300,000 people.
Rather than annexing them all, it is better to drive them south. Yao Xiang is ambitious, and the Jiangdong scholars have always been afraid of the northern generals. Since Yin Hao and Xie Shang have squeezed out Zhang Yu, they will definitely not be able to accommodate Yao Xiang!"
Sun Tzu's Art of War says: Move when it suits your interests, stop when it doesn't.
The 300,000 people of Yao Xiang and Shi Kun are unable to hold on and are constantly exhausted. The outcome is unpredictable. If you lose too much strength in order to defeat Yao Xiang and Shi Kun, the gain will not be worth the loss.
The State of Yan is eyeing the enemy in the north, but the Black Cloud Army only has so many elites.
Ran Min is a good example. He fought for the sake of war and won great victories again and again, but Ran Wei became weaker and weaker as he fought.
Li Yue sorted out his thoughts, "Sir, this is a generous move, but it also depends on the movements of Yao Xiang and Shi Kun."
It can only be said that Zhu Tu brought an opportunity to break the situation, but how the situation develops depends on how Yao Xiang, Xun Xian and others make decisions.
Chapter completed!