War is cruel after all!
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses from both sides have now poured into Tongcheng and started a fierce battle.
All of this is not only a matter of the army on both sides, but also closely related to the hundreds of thousands of people in Tongcheng.
In the chaos, the people suffered from disasters in ponds, which is normal and no longer normal.
Some chaotic soldiers took advantage of this time to break into the people's homes, burn, kill, loot, or even rape the people, which is very common.
It is normal for some soldiers to directly chop up a few people and pretend to be the heads of enemy soldiers to take advantage of military merits.
Which war? Can the people escape safely?
Otherwise, how could you say that your destiny is as low as paper in troubled times?
If such a big battle is really over, hundreds of thousands of people in the city will disappear tens of thousands or even a few hundred thousand people after the war. This is an extremely common thing.
Think about the late Eastern Han Dynasty, from the beginning of more than 50 million people, after the Three Kingdoms returned to Jin, there were only less than 8 million left.
Of course, it is impossible for these people who have disappeared to be soldiers. Apart from natural disasters, they are the people who have been affected by the fish in various wars.
After all, now, the chaos in the city has become like this. As long as all such things are destroyed afterwards, they will not be found out.
If it were just tens of thousands of soldiers in the city, it would not necessarily make Gao Changgong hesitate. But if these hundreds of thousands of people were added, then this would be heavy!
It was precisely because of the consideration of these people that the original idea of ​​fighting to the end was shaken unknowingly. When he thought of the innocent people in the city, the scale in his heart gradually began to turn to the other side.
Gao Changgong held the teacup tightly in his hand, the blue veins on his arms swelled up, and more and more sweat on his forehead, and he was in a struggle. This decision was not so easy for him. Since ancient times, loyalty and righteousness have been in a dilemma. When this decision is made, no one can be so straightforward.
Seeing this, Wang Yu was not in a hurry and sat there quietly, waiting for Gao Changgong's own decision.
After a while, Gao Changgong came back to his mind during the battle between heaven and man.
The original firmness slowly disappeared, and his face couldn't help but feel a little depressed. The moment he came to his senses, he sighed even more.
"His Majesty the Emperor of Han, if our army is willing to give up resistance, your Majesty can promise to be properly placed on the people in the city without any harm!"
Gao Changgong opened his mouth several times in a row, but then closed it again. He had already made a decision just now, but when he was about to open his mouth, he still hesitated. After several consecutive times, he really made a sound.
"If the general surrenders, Tongcheng will be the land of our great Han Dynasty, and the people of Tongcheng will be our great Han Dynasty. Naturally, I will not treat my great Han people!"
Wang Yu nodded and gave an affirmative answer.
"Okay, I am willing to lead the army to give up resistance, but I still have a few conditions. I hope Your Majesty will agree!" Gao Changgong stood up solemnly and politely said.
Not far away, Yuan Lang, Song Jiang and others who had been watching the situation here were also distracted after seeing this scene.
"Please speak for yourself, General!"
Wang Yu was not surprised by what conditions Gao Changgong had.
After all, the other party still has so much power in his hands and does not mention any conditions, it is a bit outrageous.
The soldiers in your hand are the other party’s bargaining chips and the confidence that the other party dares to raise conditions.
Wang Yu is not afraid of the other party giving conditions. Only when the other party proposes conditions at this time can it be possible to discuss this matter. If the other party makes up his mind and wants to resist to the end, he will not discuss any conditions at all.
"First of all, I hope Your Majesty will give you mercy and you will properly place it. If anyone wants to return home, please let Your Majesty return home without forcibly engrafting him into the Han army." Gao Changgong spoke and put forward his first condition.
He did not mention the affairs of the people again, which was the prerequisite for the agreement between the two sides.
And after the people, what he cares most about is these soldiers.
After all, there are so many soldiers in the city today, most of them are local soldiers from Henan. If the Han Dynasty really ignores the wishes of these soldiers and forcibly incorporates them into the army, this means that these people will be very likely to fight with their fellow villagers and even their blood relatives in the future.
Huangfu Guyuan's subordinates are mostly soldiers from Henan!
Gao Changgong was unwilling to let their fellow villagers kill each other.
Furthermore, the surrendered army was reorganized and enlisted in the army, which was basically cannon fodder troops. When such troops really fought, the casualty rate was absolutely high. If this was the case, it would just take them from one hell to another.
In this way, Gao Changgong's condition was obtained.
"But! However, letting him return home must be carried out after the war!" Wang Yu frowned when he heard this condition, but he nodded.
During the war, it is normal to use some of the surrendered troops to replenish their troops. But since Gao Changgong proposed it, Wang Yu did not argue too much about such a thing.
If Zhao Song and Xi Cang fought, Xue Rengui and the army would have freed up their hands to join the war at that time. This surrendered army was not so necessary for Wang Yu.
However, although he agreed to this condition, even if he let some soldiers who returned home from time to time go back to his hometown to farm, it would be impossible to be too hasty.
If this is released now, I am afraid that as soon as these soldiers returned to their hometown, they would be summoned again by Huangfu Guyuan and appeared again on the battlefield to resist the Han Dynasty.
Therefore, this condition is agreed to, but it is also a matter of post-war.
"In addition, if all the generals do not want to surrender to the Han Dynasty, I hope your Majesty will send him away! Do not kill him again!"
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Gao Changgong said his second condition, but he has no confidence in this condition, and Wang Yu can agree.
However, even though he was not sure, he still spoke.
Among the generals, there is definitely someone who would rather die than surrender. If Gao Changgong ordered the soldiers to give up resistance, it would be equivalent to putting these people under the sword of the Han army and letting them be fish and meat.
Therefore, he still needs to consider these people!
"Can!"
"As long as the general is willing to surrender to our great Han, and in the future, these people can let them go!" Wang Yu spoke after a long time.
Gao Huan, Hulu Qiangju was dead. At this time, the news that Bu Fei had been surrounded and killed had not yet come. However, now that the other party has broken through, Wang Yu still knows it.
In other words, now, only Gao Changgong is the only one who is willing to pay attention to in the city. Apart from Gao Changgong, the rest are at most some top-notch commanders.
If these people can be used in exchange for Gao Changgong to truly contribute to the great man, then it would be fine if he let go.
Wang Yu at least doesn't think he loses when he uses a group of miscellaneous generals to replace a good general with sincere help.
Hearing Wang Yu's conditions, Gao Changgong could only smile helplessly and agree.
Originally, although he was willing to give up resistance due to his consideration for the people in the city.
However, his refusal to resist does not mean that he will surrender to the Han Dynasty. According to his initial idea, he committed suicide afterwards to show his ambition. In this way, not only will the people be preserved, but he will also be worthy of Huangfu Guyuan and his uncle Gao Huan.
However, at this time, Wang Yu compromised with Yu, and Gao Changgong could only be forced to compromise with one step.
After all, Gao Changgong is a person with certain moral standards. If it were someone else, it might not necessarily be considered as the lives of the people or other soldiers.
“Three…”
"General Gao, it's better to be as good as possible!" This time, before Gao Changgong finished speaking, Wang Yu had already interrupted him directly.
He gave Gao Changgong the right to make conditions, but this does not mean that he can make conditions unscrupulously.
Anyway, he was already sure to win this battle. If it weren't for reducing casualties, there wouldn't be this conversation.
"Forget it! In the future, please treat the people in the city with kindness!" Gao Changgong also understood that he could not be more arrogant, so he stood up again and bowed solemnly.
However, this time, what he performed was not the etiquette of the envoy, but the etiquette of the king and the minister, and this also represented his attitude.
Although the last condition has not been put forward, at least the most important points have been stated and have been agreed upon. The last point, although regretful, is not a must.
"Okay! Let the rest be left to General Gao!" Wang Yu nodded and said.
Nowadays, the generals in the city have not given unified leadership. How to convince other generals depends on Gao Changgong's ability.
If the other party does not have this ability, the conditions he had agreed to him before would naturally be unsatisfied.
The basis for which conditions can be established is that Gao Changgong can lead the soldiers and horses in the city to give up resistance. If the prerequisites cannot be established, the subsequent conditions will naturally not be established.
After Gao Changgong returned, he also caused a stir by talking to the generals about his conversation with Wang Yu.
Zhao Shiming and Ding Anshi are both figures who have followed Huangfu Guyuan for many years, and their loyalty is relatively high.
Therefore, these two people are firm resisters.
Before Gao Changgong could finish his words, the two of them were in a tense manner, and they were also traitors to Gao Changgong.
The strategist Feng Ji is considered a surrender faction.
Previously, considering his reputation, he had not easily expressed his wishes. At the same time, it was also because Gao Changgong's decisive killing Yuan Cheng before that scared him. He was afraid that he would show his meaning, so Gao Changgong would kill him without hesitation.
However, Gao Changgong now gave him a natural name for righteousness!
With the slogans that he considered for hundreds of thousands of people in the city, he could openly express his support for Gao Changgong.
At the same time, Feng Ji was also quite disdainful of Gao Changgong. Half a day ago, he looked like he was dying and even killed Yuan Cheng. But after only half a day, he completely changed his attitude.
The relationship between Yuan Lang and Gao Changgong is still good, although the matter between Yuan Cheng has caused some cracks between him and Gao Changgong.
However, in this matter, he was still standing behind Gao Changgong.
Yuan Lang, he was born in aristocratic family. However, their family was relatively indecent, so he had a few hard years in his early years. This also allowed him to empathize with the people. At the same time, this is why he was not so close to other people in the family.
Although Song Jiang also supported Gao Changgong's decision, he was unwilling to surrender to the great man.
After all, Gao Changgong had just said that those who were unwilling to defect to the great man could leave.
Song Jiang is a very typical Confucian scholar in the Song Dynasty. He advocates loyalty and righteousness, and loyalty must be before righteousness. In front of loyalty, even righteousness must be leaned back.
His loyalty is even more loyal to a kind of orthodox royal bloodline. It is hard to imagine that Song Jiang, who started his career as a bandit, was no different from the nobles like the eight generals of the Imperial Army.
Back then, whether it was the Eight Generals of the Imperial Army or Song Jiang, they all obeyed Huangfu Mingzhao's orders and surrendered to Huangfu Guyuan to recreate Da Cang.
However, in the hearts of these people, what they still recognize is Huangfu Mingzhao's lineage, not Huangfu Guyuan. In the hearts of these people, only Huangfu Mingzhao's lineage is the true orthodox clan.
This is why, when Xia Ze and the eight generals of the Imperial Army were so easily persuaded to rebel against Huangfu Guyuan. After learning about the existence of the Xicang court, Yan Ba ​​went to Hedong without hesitation and directly left Huangfu Guyuan behind.
Song Jiang had long been inclined to Xicang, but they did not have the same chance as Xia Ze's. Now, we can take this opportunity to officially leave Zhongcang and go to Xicang to join the royal orthodox family.
But at least, in this regard, Song Jiang showed support for Gao Changgong.
Even if the will of Zhao Shiming and Ding Anshi are firm, their arms cannot twist their thighs.
Even at Song Jiang's instructions, he was directly knocked out by Li Ying's sneak attack.
In this way, under the leadership of Gao Changgong, the soldiers and horses of Tongcheng officially put down their weapons and surrendered.
Since then, Lanling King Gao Changgong has officially transformed from Cang minister to Han minister.
It is precisely because under the leadership of Gao Changgong that the soldiers and horses of Tongcheng voluntarily gave up their resistance. Therefore, in this battle, there were only 20,000 soldiers and horses of Tongcheng, but the actual casualties were actually only 20,000. The remaining 120,000 were all included in the Han Dynasty's surrendered camp.
The Battle of Tongcheng represents one-third of Zhongcang's troops, and it was completely lost.
Chapter completed!