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From the beginning to when only sporadic fires remained, the fire burned continuously for four days.
Of course, it is impossible for all the Chu troops to be buried in the sea of fire. Less than 20% of them were actually scorched, and the vast majority of them died in the thick smoke. About 30% of them survived, and most of them were wounded.
Of the 30% of the survivors, about half fled into the city of "Xinzheng", and the rest became prisoners of the original army, including Chu Junzhong.
The original thing is that Chu Junzhong has a special status and will receive the best care. There are many Chu people who are willing to die for him, so he must have the greatest chance of survival.
"I won't see Mr. Chu for a while." Zhiyao learned that Mr. Chu was blind. He didn't know whether it was permanent blindness or temporary blindness.
It is indeed easy to have problems with your eyes when you are in thick smoke. Most of the surviving soldiers of the Chu army had major or minor problems with their eyes.
These survivors also faced other sufferings. They breathed too much smoke and ashes, and may have problems with their respiratory tract and even their lungs. In addition to coughing, they may also vomit whatever they eat or drink.
The special Chu Junzhong and other Chu nobles were fed with millet porridge, but the rest of the Chu army did not receive such good treatment. How many people could survive in the end could only depend on their recovery speed due to their physical fitness.
In fact, Zhiyao still hopes that more prisoners can survive.
It is difficult to avoid casualties in the conflict between the two countries. If someone dies on the battlefield, there is no one to blame.
The original country does not have a serious food crisis, so there is no need to kill prisoners to prevent them from rioting due to lack of food.
Sima Ranju recorded Zhiyao's instructions one by one, and then said: "In this battle, more than 100,000 Chu troops were destroyed, and Chu Jun became a prisoner; if Zhaogu's troops were annihilated again, Chu would never be able to recover unless it took twenty years.
"
"How could I give Chu State twenty years?" Zhiyao thought to herself.
Within two years, Chu State lost about 170,000 to 80,000 people, and most of them were young men.
What is the total population of Chu State? It is estimated that even the kings and ministers of Chu State in the past dynasties themselves do not know it. The current generation of Chu kings is estimated to be about 3.8 million, right?
With the guess of the total population, it is definitely necessary to distinguish between age groups and genders. Even if the Chu State has a total population of 3.8 million, losing 180,000 adult men will be a major blow.
It does not mean that all the 180,000 Chu people died. More than 110,000 of them became prisoners of the original country and can no longer be regarded as the usable population of the Chu country.
Therefore, the so-called "annihilation" does not mean that all people are dead. Those who are captured or missing and no longer an effective combat force will be included in the scope of elimination.
Zhiyao asked: "If I persuade Lord Zheng to surrender at this time, can it be done?"
Sima Ranju asked in return: "How can your Majesty persuade you to surrender?"
If the rulers and ministers of the State of Zheng were asked to give up their resistance and the entire State of Zheng became part of the original state, I think the rulers and ministers of the State of Zheng would choose to resist to the end.
If the Zheng State is still allowed to exist, they can retain "Xin Zheng" while the original state only asks Zheng State to cede territory, and then Zheng State becomes the younger brother of the original state. The chance that Zheng State's monarchs and ministers will choose to surrender will be infinite.
In addition to "Xinzheng", the current Zheng State also has territories in the south and east. In fact, it is not the best time for Zhiyao to persuade him to surrender.
Sima Ranju secretly guessed: "Is it because the king is tired and plans to give up the war temporarily?"
All in all, the Yuan Kingdom has been fighting every year since its founding, and most of the time it was Zhiyao who led the army himself. It is normal to feel tired, especially since Zhiyao not only has to take care of himself, but also needs to consider the various conditions of the entire country.
So, is Zhiyao feeling tired? No.
However, it is not a good thing for the country that the king of a country has troops abroad for a long time.
In other aspects, the people's livelihood situation in the original country is good or bad, but generally speaking it can continue to survive.
From the perspective of the will of the military and civilians, Yuan Guo's entire country fell into a fanatical enthusiasm for war.
There is no complicated reason. There are currently not many ways to change one's own destiny. Enlisting in the army is the only way for most people to change their destiny. Being able to join the war will only make them feel happy and full of expectations. Those who have not been drafted for the time being are looking forward to themselves.
One day I can set foot on the battlefield.
From a certain point of view, Zhiyao was more worried than happy about the country's fanatical enthusiasm for war, and was deeply afraid that after a setback, things would turn upside down.
In fact, there is another reason. Fanatic bellicosity is okay, but belligerence without military skills is very inappropriate.
Zhiyao's twice-yearly training for the Zhi family has only started for six or seven years, and it is a slowly rolled out method. Some places may have been training for seven years, while other places have only started for one year.
Those places where training had just begun for one year were the fiefdoms that originally belonged to the Wei family.
The counties and counties directly under the Zhi family are like this, and the fiefdoms of the Han family, Hu family, Zhong family and other families simply do not have training.
Under such circumstances, people without military skills went to the battlefield. Looking at the performance of Chu State's repeated mobilization of 200,000 to 300,000 people on the battlefield, we can draw a conclusion that the army does not depend on the number of people.
Zhiyao still decided to try to persuade him to surrender.
The conditions offered by the Yuan Kingdom to Zheng Guo were based on the current status quo, which meant that the two countries ceased war and Zheng Guo accepted the land that the Yuan Army had occupied and returned it to the Yuan Kingdom.
At the same time, Zheng needs to pay financial compensation to the original country and then become a vassal country that accepts the dispatch of the original country.
There will inevitably be other more detailed terms, such as the original country can send ministers to the center or locality of Zheng to hold a certain position concurrently, how Zheng, which becomes a vassal state of the original country, can pay tribute every year, and so on.
After hearing this, Sima Ranju said: "If Zheng Guo is willing, it will be the same as the country's destruction."
That method was not the first of its kind by Zhiyao. Chu State had destroyed one country after another in that way.
Because there are precedents to learn from, when the rulers and ministers of Zheng learn about the conditions offered by the original state, they will definitely find that it is a trick that Chu is used to.
In view of the current situation in Zheng State, they will be very conflicted in their hearts. If they do not accept the conditions of the original country, they will most likely lose the country immediately. Accepting that one day they will lose the country in a more humiliating way, but accepting that at least there is still room for struggle.
.
Let’s see how Zheng Guo’s monarchs and ministers will choose.
At the same time, the original envoy to "Xinzheng" had another task, which was to spread the news that Chu Junzhong had been captured. This was intended to let the Chu army who had fled into "Xinzheng" know the current situation in Chu Junzhong
.
Why? As long as the Chu army in the "Xinzheng" city knows the current situation among the Chu kings, they will not fight tooth and nail to help Zheng Guo defend the city, and even the Zheng Guo monarchs and ministers will have to guard against the Chu army in the "Xinzheng" city.
Later, the envoy from "Xinzheng" came back and reported: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zheng refuses to surrender."
Sima Ranju asked on his behalf: "Can you tell the temple of Zheng that most of the land in Zheng is occupied by me?"
Youhu is an old retainer of the Zhi family. He could guess Zhiyao's current mood and said with a wry smile: "Because of this, Lord Zheng will not surrender."
The northern and western parts of the Zheng Kingdom were completely occupied, and more than half of the territory was lost. To surrender, one had to admit that sovereignty had changed hands, not to mention that the original country still had so many conditions.
What they can know is that the main force of the Chu army has been wiped out. With their own knowledge, they know that the Chu army will not go north again in the next few years.
The State of Chu was temporarily reduced to the position of being able to only play an auxiliary role, and the countries responsible for facing the original country became Zheng State and Song State.
The State of Zheng and the State of Song have often been at war in recent decades. In addition to the strength of the original state, Chu State has contributed a lot to the alliance.
Once the state of Chu becomes incapacitated, the bridge of friendship between Zheng and Song is almost destroyed, and the monarchs and ministers of Zheng will not have high expectations for Song to continue to fight against the original state.
As for the State of Yue? Before the fall of the State of Wu, the State of Yue was not a very conspicuous country.
The Yue Kingdom has just eaten up most of the Wu Kingdom's territory and cannot completely digest it in a short period of time. Even if the Yuan Kingdom is willing to support it, it is possible for the Wu Kingdom to stage a return of the king.
Therefore, the Yue State did not support the "Xinzheng" battlefield before. Although the Chu State, the Song State and the Zheng State had their opinions, they could understand it in some respects.
After thinking about it all, the kings and ministers of the Zheng State knew what dangers they faced. They did not want to suffer the humiliation of the vassal states that were destroyed by the Chu State. Even if the country was eventually destroyed, they wanted to end it in a way that showed unyielding and vigorous.
"The old surrendering country will not surrender..." Zhiyao was somewhat angry.
As long as "Xinzheng" stands there for a day, the original army will have tens of thousands of troops unable to move for a long time. Even if the original army can occupy the southern part of Zheng, maintaining the supply line and extra expenses will be a big trouble.
What is more realistic is that if the Yuan State does not completely annex the Zheng State, the Zheng people will not give up resistance, which will cause more problems for the Yuan Army to rule the north and west of the Zheng State, and risk expansion or harassment to the Chu State.
The coefficient increases exponentially.
"Wait, wait!" Although Zhi Yao was so angry that she wanted to attack Xinzheng immediately, she did not completely lose her mind.
After the fire, outside the city of "Xinzheng", the land turned into a pitch black sky, and the wind would carry ashes and scatter them everywhere.
The clearing of the ruins after the war by the former army continues.
The burnt corpses were loaded onto bullock carts and taken to a huge pit dug, where hundreds or even thousands of people worked together to bury them.
If the cover-up site was exposed in later generations, archaeologists would definitely think that a mass killing of prisoners had occurred. Further research can get the correct answer from the ashes on the corpses. There was no large-scale execution of prisoners of war. It was purely a post-war burial.
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If they are curious and look up historical materials, they will find out that a great battle took place in Xinzheng in 460 BC, and the Yuan Kingdom used fire attacks against the Chu army.
"How will General Jun deal with Jun Chu?" Han Geng asked during a meeting with Sima Ranju.
Sima Ranju was rather curious as to who was the most powerful person.
At present, the Zhi family and the Han family are wary of each other. Zhi Yao should give Han Geng no lack of respect, so as not to cause more conflicts on this matter, so that a small matter becomes a big deal and becomes out of control.
However, it is a fact that Zhiyao trusts Sima Ranju more. She will ask Sima Ranju about many things, but will not ask Han Geng and others.
Sima Ranju pretended to think for a while before replying: "Your Majesty may release him to Lord Chu."
Han Geng was inexplicably relieved after hearing this.
It's not because of anything else, it's mainly because even if the Yuan Kingdom has the ability to destroy the Chu Kingdom, it really shouldn't do so.
Killing Chu Junzhong? This is completely outside the scope of options for the original monarchs and ministers.
Even if one day the Yuan Kingdom annihilates the Chu Kingdom, it will treat the last Chu king by imprisoning him somewhere, so that it is possible to maintain his wealth and honor.
Eradicate all the people? It’s not that it can’t be done, but if it is done, it will set off a wave of riots in the Chu region. This is also the reason why the First Emperor did not kill all the six royal families. It is just that every era has its own characteristics.
So, what about detaining Chu Junzhong? Sima Ranju felt that Zhiyao would not detain Chu Junzhong.
Han Geng said: "It is difficult for the Chu State to have the strength to fight again, so it is a good strategy to make the Chu monarch fearful and then release him."
Let’s put it this way!
Under the leadership of Chu Junzhong, the Chu State failed to defeat the original army in two large-scale battles. On the contrary, it repeatedly lost its troops and humiliated its power. How would the Chu people view it?
According to the understanding of Chu Junzhong by the original monarchs and ministers, it is easier to observe Chu Junzhong’s aspirations in the future, seeing that Chu Junzhong is not a general figure like Yue Jun Gou Jian, and there is already Yue Jun Gou Jian in front of him.
The State of Chu is different from the State of Yue. The defeat of the State of Yue to the State of Wu inspired the Yue people to become more united. Civil strife broke out in the State of Chu not long ago.
Nice romance novel
The original army not only captured the kings of Chu, but also captured many nobles of the Chu state. There was really too much room for manipulation by the original kings and ministers.
Currently, Cheng Shuo, Fan Li, and Zhiying frequently entertain the nobles of Chu State. Needless to say what they will do, right?
Coercion and inducement are the lowest-level methods. Giving some promises to the Chu nobles, and even giving actual benefits to encourage the ambitions of the Chu nobles is the high-end method.
Yuan Guo's side will vary from person to person, and all the methods that can be played are shown.
Sima Ranju was surprised why Han Geng specifically asked.
Han Geng said: "Previously, the defeated Chu army entered the Zhou Dynasty. Geng heard that the 30,000 remnants of the Chu army in the Zhou Dynasty were committing atrocities."
That was when the defeated Chu army in the "Hulao" front line fled to the territory under the jurisdiction of the Zhou royal family.
The State of Chu had long ago asked the Emperor of Zhou for an increase in title, but upon being rejected, it simply ceased to be one of the vassal states of the Zhou royal family. King Chu Wu even made a move to "ask for the throne."
After that, Chu was one country and Ji Zhou was another country. No matter how strong the country that continued to recognize Ji Zhou's dominance was, it would only be at the level of a vassal state.
What is the situation of the Zhou royal family now? Apart from other things, it was difficult for the Emperor of Zhou to even recruit an army of 10,000 people.
The so-called difficulty is related to the financial resources of the Zhou royal family. Secondly, the "Chinese people" no longer take the Emperor of Zhou seriously at all. Anyway, they have no sentiment of working to the death.
Zhiyao suddenly mentioned it when facing Han Geng, and said with a surprised look: "The Emperor did not ask for help."
By the way, did Zhiyao know that the Chu army was wreaking havoc in the territory of the Zhou royal family? She must have known that.
A new question arises. Did the contemporary Emperor Zhou send someone to ask for help from the Yuan Kingdom? Maybe, maybe not. Zhiyao had not officially met the angel, so Quan should have thought that it was not the case.
Han Geng was silent for a moment and then said: "The emperor has come to my home."
Did Emperor Zhou send envoys to the Yuan Kingdom for help?
If so, why didn't the angel appear in front of Zhiyao?
Otherwise, what is the meaning of the angel not looking for Zhiyao, the king of the original country, but running to the Han family for help!
