They persuaded more than 4,000 Ming troops to surrender without a fight. The result was brilliant. Of course, there must be some spies among these surrendered troops, but Wan Lei was not worried at all, because the surrendered troops would soon be screened and qualified.
Those who were not qualified were sent back to their hometowns on the spot. In short, this army was completely disintegrated.
When it comes to screening, the political commissars at all levels in the army are very skilled at the job. They quickly selected about a thousand people from more than four thousand people. These people were all from Hejian Prefecture, from various villages, and from different villages.
They are the direct or collateral descendants of each clan leader, and they are all loyal and honest people who are trustworthy.
After the people were selected, Wan Lei summoned them and assigned them a task.
What mission? Let them pretend to be defeated troops and flee back to Baoding Fucheng to infiltrate and sabotage the city. Wan Lei also promised that there will be a big reward after the task is completed. Of course, the so-called big reward is to give land, and the Peking Army killed a lot of powerful people.
The bully naturally has a lot of land in his hands. It is not a problem to give each of these thousands of soldiers twenty or thirty acres.
With land to divide, these soldiers are more motivated, and their respective clan leaders are constantly encouraging them to do their best for the Peiping Army and strive for the peaceful liberation of Baoding Fucheng to avoid causing more casualties. The clan leaders even
They even wrote many letters persuading them to surrender and asked these people to take them back to the city to publicize them widely. Some mature clan leaders also warned their respective clansmen: Do not betray. Anyone who informs the officers and soldiers will be severely punished by clan law once found out.
The one who cleans out the ethnic group.
After listening to the warnings of the clan leaders, some of the soldiers who were tempted by their evil intentions also felt nervous. They suddenly remembered that their families and tribesmen were still in the hands of the Peking Army. If they were half-hearted and ruined their plans, I'm afraid.
Not only your own family, but the entire clan may suffer as well.
While a group of clan chiefs were explaining this matter, dozens of elite guards were walking among the thousands of people. Some cut their clothes with scissors, some smeared their faces with mud, and some even
Smear the blood on their faces. In a short time, these thousands of people became defeated, and they looked as miserable as they could be.
After finishing their make-up, before Wan Lei could say anything, a group of cavalry came forward and "drove" the "defeated army" toward Baoding Fucheng. This thousand-man team walked according to the instructions of the Peking Army.
"Rehearsing". During the ten miles on the road, their acting skills have gradually improved, so they should have no problem cheating their way into the city.
At this time, winter was already setting in the west, and the night fog began to cover the earth. Sheng Yong stood on the tower in the east of the city, looking anxiously to the east. It had been three hours since the five thousand-man team left the city, and not only had no good news arrived,
Not even anyone came back to report the news, and he was really worried that the entire army had been wiped out.
Sheng Yong was mentally prepared for the possible losses caused by this battle. After all, the four thousand infantrymen he sent were originally sent to die. But what worried him was why the thousand cavalry led by General Shi Pian had not yet arrived.
Coming back? Could it be that the cavalry were also wiped out?
What worries Sheng Yong even more is that Baoding Fucheng is almost isolated from the rest of the world. There has been no news for more than ten days. As for whether reinforcements have been dispatched, there is no clue.
Under such circumstances, whether Baoding Prefecture can hold on until the siege is relieved?
I was unsure. If the reinforcements did not come out, or if the reinforcements came out and were broken by the Peking Army, it would be difficult to break the siege. Although there were more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians in the city, there was obviously not enough food to eat. If the siege lasted for several months,
, that is, if the ammunition and food are exhausted, the city of Baoding will be destroyed without attack.
Although the war situation is not optimistic, the idea of surrender has never appeared in Sheng Yong's mind. As an army commander, surrender is undoubtedly the most shameful word, let alone surrendering to the small Peking Army, even if it means fighting
He will not surrender even to the last person.
"General, the enemy has been detected outside the city." A sentry woke up Sheng Yong, who was deep in thought.
"It's finally here!" Sheng Yong let out a long breath. The Peking Army had been stationary and mysterious for more than ten days, which made him feel even more stressed. Now that the Peiping Army came to attack, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
, "Send the order, sound the gong, and the whole army will board the city and prepare to fight to the death."
"General, it seems that one of our own is being chased and beaten by the enemy." Another sentry ran over to report.
"Our own people? How many pursuers are there?" Sheng Yong asked.
"It's too dark to see clearly. There are only about one or two thousand people."
"Send the order and ask General Gao to lead five thousand cavalry out of the city to meet him." After Sheng Yong gave the order, he remembered something and quickly changed his words: "Come back, the cavalry will not leave the city until we see the number of enemies coming."
As soon as Sheng Yong gave the order, there was a burst of shouting from outside the city. In the mist, a group of infantry could be seen running desperately towards the city gate, followed by a group of cavalry a few hundred meters away in pursuit.
Reluctant to give up, I am about to catch up.
"Open the door, we are our own." The infantry team quickly rushed to the city gate. Seeing that the city gate was closed, they shouted wildly to the top of the city.
"Who is coming?" The defenders in the city were afraid of being deceived and did not dare to open the door.
"We are troops leaving the city during the day. We were ambushed by Peking thieves on the way. We finally escaped and reported the news. Why don't you open the door quickly?" The soldiers under the city became even more anxious, and the pursuers were already approaching, and they began to set up their bows and arrows.
Prepare to shoot.
"Where is your general? Why don't you come out and speak?" The defenders on the city still didn't open the door.
"The general has been killed in the battle a long time ago. We have discovered important military information about the Peiping thieves. Open the door quickly and let us in." The people from the city shouted even more urgently.
"Important military information?" As soon as Sheng Yong heard this word, his face changed and he ordered: "The long archers cover, open the door and let them in."
"General, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. What if these people are spies?" an aide exclaimed in surprise. His worries were justified. Now that the enemy troops have reached the city, opening the door at this time is no different from stealing.
"Mr. Li is saying that these people must be spies. The cavalry team has been wiped out. How can they, the infantry, run back?" another aide said.
"Opening the city gate, I have my own opinion." Sheng Yong said decisively, and he did not forget to add: "Let General Liu lead his people to guard the city gate, and surround these people first, and wait until their identities are verified."
Now that the commander-in-chief has spoken and precautionary measures have been taken, the generals stopped talking and went to carry out their orders. Soon, rows of foot-pressing arrows were fired from the top of the city towards the outside of the city, blocking the coming of the Peking Army.
The road was opened, and the city gate was opened wide at the same time, welcoming the thousands of miserable soldiers outside the city into the city.
The pursuers circled the outside of the city several times. Seeing that there was no opportunity to take advantage of them, they slowly retreated. Seeing that the Peiping army was retreating without chaos, Sheng Yong did not dare to send anyone out to pursue them. However, the thousand or so soldiers passed by quickly.
After investigation, it was confirmed that it was his own army, and he was finally returned to the camp. Only the few small households at the head were called in front of Sheng Yong.
"You said you have heard important military information, tell me." Sheng Yong didn't talk nonsense to them. What he wanted to know most was the information about the Peking Army. Don't worry, even a little bit of superficial information is very precious to him.
"Back to your lord, according to the information that the young men overheard, the reason why the Peiping thieves have not attacked the city is because the gunpowder is insufficient and the cannons cannot be used." The leader Wang Baihu said, this was said by a loyal guard.
Yes, he is just a repeater now.
"The gunpowder is not enough?" When Sheng Yong heard the news, a rare smile appeared on his face. He had seen the power of the Peking Army's artillery. If the Peking Army used artillery to attack the city, he really had no confidence that he could defend it. Now
How could he not be happy when he heard that the Peiping army was short of gunpowder and the artillery had become a display?
"Is this true?" Sheng Yong was overjoyed, but he still looked directly at the little hundred households to confirm whether the information was true.
"This is what the leader of the Peiping thieves said. Not long after the army left the city, they were ambushed by the Peiping thieves. The young men risked their lives and finally captured the leader of the thieves as a hostage and found a way to kill them. But what happened to the Peiping thieves?
It was so cruel that they even killed their own people. The young one only asked for this information and wanted to ask more questions. The hostages were shot dead by the Peking thieves.
, I’m afraid I won’t come back alive.”
"Oh, so you all have made great contributions. If this information is true, I will reward you heavily. Now go down and rest." After listening to what the soldier said, Sheng Yong couldn't find any flaws and stopped.
Suspicious, he waved his hand and let these small households go down.
As soon as these small households left, a staff member next to Sheng Yong still had a stern face and said: "General, I'm afraid there is something fishy here. Why can't the cavalry escape, but these infantry can escape?"
"Didn't those people say that if they captured the hostages, they would be able to kill them back," Sheng Yong said.
"I always feel that something is not right." The staff member was still worried and added: "I feel that the general should send some people to keep an eye on these people secretly to thwart spies."
"Okay, you can take care of this." Sheng Yong was a little impatient. He was quite happy when he heard the good news that the Peking Army was short of gunpowder. He was thinking about how to use this information, but this aide was still suspicious.
This made all the joy in his heart disappear.
Having made his boss feel unhappy, the staff also wisely retreated to do things. At this moment, the returning thousand-man team had returned to the military camp. Instead of eating and resting, they scattered to various barracks.
Find people from the same hometown or county.
"Huzi, why are you so anxious to find your brothers?" Outside the barracks, at the base of the city wall, five soldiers were sneakily hiding in the corner. The leader was a member of the Thousand-Man Team.
"Shh, everyone squat down and lean your heads over." The man named Huzi asked the four big-headed soldiers to come close to his mouth, and then whispered: "Brothers, have we been deceived by the officials?"
"Go, what did I think it was? It's so mysterious." A mature soldier said nonchalantly.
"We are soldiers. When did the officers tell us the truth?" Another soldier said.
"I'm talking about important things, don't interrupt." Huzi glared at the two careless guys, and then whispered: "I tell you, the news about the Peking Army massacre of the people is false.
It was used to deceive us."
"Ah, it's fake? How do you know it's fake? Could it be..." the four soldiers asked anxiously.
"I met our clan leader. He was in the Peking Army. There were many elders with him. They all said that the Peking Army was a rebel army. Not only did they not kill innocent people indiscriminately, they also killed the rich, helped the poor, and eradicated violence. Now Hejian Prefecture and Baoding
The people of the government all have land to farm, food to eat, clothes to wear, and live a good life."
"This, this, this is impossible. Now everyone in the city says that the Peiping thieves are evil thieves who commit all kinds of crimes including burning, killing, and looting. How could they not kill people? Have you been deceived? Has the patriarch been coerced by those evil thieves?
?" the mature soldier asked again and again. Although he hoped that the massacre was fake, he did not dare to believe that the news was true.
"It's absolutely true. If you don't believe me, look at it. This is a surrender letter written by the patriarch. It is covered with the handprints of all uncles." Huzi took off his coat and turned his underwear over. Sure enough, there were hundreds of words written on it, and there were also
There are hundreds of handprints, and there are signatures under the handprints. Even if these soldiers are not very literate, they can still recognize their father's name. Now I really have to believe it.
"This, this seems to be true, but what if this is a trick of the Peking Army to deceive people..." The veteran soldier still couldn't believe it. After all, such signatures and paintings were not accurate, and they could be obtained even after killing someone.
Press your thumb upwards.
"Fifth brother, if you don't believe this letter of persuasion to surrender, you should believe the clan leader. If the Peiping army really kills people and steals goods, he will definitely not act as an accomplice." Huzi said.
"That's true. The clan leader has always been fair, but this matter..." The veteran soldier frowned and said, "Since the Peking Army doesn't kill people indiscriminately, why do those officials say that the Peking Army will massacre?"
"Fifth brother, can't you see this? Those officials lied to us like this because they want us to defend the city with our lives for them." Huzi said.
"This, this is not right. There were 5,000 of you who left the city. Why did you only come back with 1,000? Weren't those 4,000 killed by the Peking Army?" Another soldier asked in return.
"Brother Qi, it's okay if you don't ask. I got angry when I mentioned this. We had five thousand people leaving the city, but as soon as the officials saw the Peking Army, they took the cavalry and ran away, leaving only
We have four thousand infantry. These bastards who can kill a thousand people clearly want us to die.
Fortunately, the Peiping Army upheld morality and asked the clan leader to come out and persuade us to surrender. Most of the brothers were disarmed and returned home to reunite with their families. I can't stand those officials who always treat people like fools, and they don't want to see the brothers.
I muddleheadedly risked my life for an official, so I came back to report the news."
"Ah, so you have thousands of people who are all here to deliver messages? This, this is helping the enemy to rebel. If they are caught, they will be beheaded." All the soldiers were shocked.
"Damn it, the officials lied to us to die, and they don't even think of us as human beings. Why should I wait?" Huzi patted the plot of land and said again: "The Peiping Army said that as long as we
If you can open the gate of Baoding Prefecture, they will reward you based on your merits. Each person will be given at least ten acres of land, as well as various benefits."
"There are quite a few rewards, but..." The veteran soldier hesitated to speak. He was tempted, but he also knew that rebellion was not just a play, and he had to be careful. What he was most worried about was whether the Peking Army could
solve this problem.
"Everyone, please rest assured that the Peking Army is brave and good at fighting. If they didn't want to cause more killings, they would have captured Baoding Fucheng long ago. Besides, our parents and brothers are all under the control of the Peking Army. In addition to defecting to the Peking Army, we
Is there any other way to go?"
"Having said that, this is just a rebellion."
"I know this is a rebellion, but if you don't rebel now, you will die. If you rebel, you may still be able to find a way to survive. Why not give it a try? Maybe you can get rich in the future."
"What Huzi is saying is that our parents and brothers were in the hands of others and had no way out, so they turned over to the Peking Army."
"Yes, damn it, I've had enough of living like a cow and a horse for the imperial court. I heard people say that there is no need to pay food or go to war in Shuntian Mansion. It's a carefree life. I'm just like that.
Even if I die, I will fight for such a good life for my wife, children, and children."
"Yes, isn't it that the purpose of life is to get ahead? Since the court doesn't treat us as human beings, we will rebel against our motherfuckers."
"Rebel!"
The four soldiers became angry and expressed their intention to cooperate with the Peking Army. However, the experienced soldier was still not in a hurry to express his position. Instead, he asked: "Besides asking us to open the city gate, what else does the Peking Army want us to do?"
"The Peiping Army does not want us to help open the city gate. As long as we spread the truth quietly, let everyone know that the Peiping Army is a rebel army, and everyone's relatives are alive and well. Let everyone stop being bewitched by the government, let alone resist stubbornly.
Of course, if you can help open the city gate, that would also be a good thing."
"This matter is not difficult. Let's go find some familiar brothers and ensure that this matter is spread." All the soldiers assured them by patting their chests repeatedly.
"Don't worry now, we'll talk about it later." Huzi grabbed all the fellow villagers and said: "I want to tell the ugly story first. If anyone wants to report to the government, he should first think about his wife, children, and children, and deal with the traitors.
, the Peiping Army will not be lenient."
"Oh, that's right, we don't dare to tell the truth, let alone tell the truth." The soldiers said hurriedly. In fact, they really had the idea of going to tell the truth and get the reward, but when Huzi reminded them, they remembered that their family members were still in the Peking Army.
In the hands of a traitor at this time, I'm afraid the whole family will be in trouble.
"Well, it's good to understand. Whether we can meet each other richly or richly in the future depends on this. Brothers, please go back to camp first, and wait until dark to tell the people around you the news. Just say it in a vague way.
, you don’t have to let them believe it.”
"Understood." The soldiers responded with a smile. They originally thought they were going to do something dangerous, but they didn't expect that they were just spreading "rumors." They had long been familiar with this kind of work. Anyway, there were many people in the military camp, and they were all confused.
Such gossip has been flying all over the world for a long time. When everyone "heard" it together, no one could find out who spread the rumor.