To conquer an enemy without fighting, the prerequisite is that you are stronger than the enemy and you must be visibly stronger.
Therefore, Zhao Yanxun ordered Zhang Meng to lead a fierce attack with his guards, just to show off the muscles of the defenders on the city wall and let them see clearly the invincibility of Yong's army.
Although the "performance" process is the same, different audiences see different things.
What Zhao Yanyuan was concerned about was the identity of the "thief army", which actually attacked in the name of King Yong, who was his good ninth brother.
On the side, Zhao Yansong had the same idea as Zhao Yanyuan. The two of them looked at each other with a tacit understanding, with a hint of joy in their eyes.
In the minds of Wang Lifeng and others, they were more concerned about the purpose of King Yong's attack.
Adhering to the destiny, obeying the late emperor's will, and defeating the traitors... Who are the traitors? Aren't these people themselves traitors?
Of course, in the hearts of ordinary soldiers, they only saw the power of Yong's army, invincible and powerful.
So, when they saw the overwhelming Yong army coming from a distance, these soldiers completely lost the courage to fight.
They are just ordinary guardsmen. They don't have a high position for themselves, and it is normal for their morale to be low.
Under the city wall, Zhang Meng shouted loudly: "Listen clearly, His Highness King Yong has an order: Those who abandon darkness and turn to the light will live, and those who resist stubbornly will die!"
He was already loud, and now he was holding a loudspeaker, which directly conveyed the news to the ears of every soldier.
Facing an invincible enemy, the other party said that as long as they surrendered, they would avoid death. The temptation in this was not ordinary.
Feeling the changes in the attitudes of the soldiers around them, Wang Lifeng and the two Qianhu felt that something was wrong, but for a moment they didn't know what to do.
Of course, the reason why there was no action was ultimately due to their wavering minds, unwilling to surrender but not willing to fight to the death.
Before Wang Lifeng and others could figure it out, Zhao Yanyuan on the city wall shouted loudly: "The King Yong the general mentioned is Zhao Yanxun, the ninth son of the late emperor?"
Hearing this, Zhang Meng asked coldly: "Who are you? How dare you call the prince by his name!"
Zhao Yanyuan replied: "I am the tenth son of the late emperor, King of Light Zhao Yanyuan!"
In this case, the other party is the prince's brother, so calling him by his name is not a serious crime.
Zhang Meng immediately replied: "My prince is the ninth son of the late emperor!"
After the situation was confirmed, Zhao Yanyuan and Zhao Yansong felt happy, and Zhao Yanxun was equal to their savior in their eyes.
Zhao Yansong immediately asked: "General, how is my ninth brother?"
Although it was not the time to talk about these things now, Zhang Meng still replied: "Your Highness is always good!"
At this time, Zhao Yansong then asked: "You just said that as long as there is no resistance... Brother Ninth will forgive the defenders in the city?"
"Business!"
Nodding, Zhao Yansong turned around and said to Wang Lifeng, "Commander Wang, what do you think?"
Wang Lifeng and the two thousand households next to him were extremely conflicted at this moment. They surrendered because they were afraid of the imperial court settling accounts in the future.
But if you don't surrender, it is tantamount to seeking death!
"Sir, the enemy's army is too powerful to be defeated!"
"Yes, sir, brothers are not afraid of death, but they are not willing to die in vain!"
At this moment, the middle and lower-ranking officers on the city wall gathered around Wang Lifeng, and they were all complaining openly and secretly.
Wang Lifeng and others were afraid that the imperial court would settle old scores, but these officers and soldiers from humble backgrounds were not afraid. The interests of the superiors and subordinates were not the same.
At this point, Wang Lifeng himself knew that it was impossible to resist Yong's army head-on.
Even if he and a few Qianhu issued strict orders, the soldiers might not be able to do their job well, and it was not impossible to even shoot cold arrows behind their backs.
At this moment, Wang Lifeng hated Lu Liqing. If he had sent reinforcements in time, they would be in the same predicament as they were now.
"Okay... shut up!" Wang Lifeng yelled.
Everyone fell silent, all eyes focused on Wang Lifeng's face.
Wang Lifeng walked to the city wall and said, "Please tell the prince that we are willing to surrender!"
The defenders of Hanbei Prefecture surrendered. This was reasonable, but also surprising.
It was not that they surrendered accidentally, but that the surrender came too quickly.
Just listen to Zhang Meng shouting: "You are all smart people. The prince will treat you well. Open the city gate!"
Is the city gate now open?
Surrender is a verbal statement, but opening the city gates is a real surrender, which also requires some psychological construction.
"Sir, open it!"
"yes!"
This time, it was two thousand households present who came to persuade me, and the result was already obvious.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Lifeng said dejectedly: "Open the city gate!"
At the moment, he just hopes that the news of the surrender can be hidden so that his family can survive.
Of course, ordinary soldiers don't have these worries. They just know that they don't have to die in vain.
The city gate was opened, and Zhang Meng and his party entered the city smoothly, then took over the defense of the west gate and sent people to report the situation to Zhao Yanxun.
As time went by, the Yong army came closer and closer to the city. Finally, they came to the city one after another and walked into the city majestically.
The first to enter the city was the third guard led by Ding Hong, followed by the fourth and fifth guards.
"May I ask General, how many troops does Ninth Brother have now?"
On the city wall, Zhao Yanyuan asked what many people wanted to ask.
Now that Hanbei City has descended, Zhang Meng has relaxed a lot and naturally has time to answer questions.
"Your Majesty commands the northwest and has hundreds of thousands of elites under his command!" Zhang Meng's tone was filled with a sense of pride.
"A hundred thousand? So many soldiers?" Zhao Yanyuan was really frightened.
Not only Zhao Yanyuan, but also Wang Lifeng and others on the side were also frightened by this number.
Now the imperial court occupies half of the country, and although it has more troops under its control, it can only fight with 50,000 or 60,000 elite soldiers.
The rest of the capital's garrison offices have the same character as the northern Han Dynasty garrison.
When fighting a smooth battle, the logistics can be protected, but when it comes to tough battles, you can't count on it.
Zhao Yanyuan then asked: "What does Ninth Brother want to do when he comes here this time?"
This question also made everyone present curious.
Although Zhang Meng had just explained it, they still wanted to know the details. After all, what Zhang Meng said before was too outrageous.
Zhang Meng said with a serious face: "The current emperor Zhao Weilong is a traitor who killed the king and his father. His Highness King Yong, following the late emperor's decree, raised troops to attack the thieves and kill the traitors who stole the country!"
If so, it is outrageous for King Yong to control more than 100,000 elites, then what Zhang Meng said just now is even more outrageous in the hearts of everyone.
The current emperor Zhao Weilong is the grandson of the late emperor who was invited by hundreds of officials and personally conferred by the late emperor. This is something everyone in the world knows.
When the late emperor passed away, it was only natural for the emperor's grandson to succeed to the throne.
How could it be possible that, as Zhang Meng said, Zhao Weilong was a thief who stole the country and a villain who killed the king and his father?
Outrageous, too outrageous, so outrageous!
This is the almost unanimous opinion of people with normal thinking ability on the scene.
To put it bluntly, King Yong wanted to rebel and just made up the reasons for his rebellion.
There were twists and turns inside, and the three princes and Wang Lifeng present felt as if they were in the mirror.
Of course, I know in my heart that they will hold it in and "talking nonsense" will get people killed.
Standing by the city wall, looking at an approaching team in the distance, Zhang Meng said: "The prince is here!"
Everyone glanced not far away, and sure enough they saw an elite team riding towards the city gate.
The person leading the group was none other than Zhao Yanxun.
Zhang Meng turned around and said, "Everyone, come down with me to welcome the prince into the city!"
What he said was not an invitation, but a request.
Everyone present did not dare to neglect and could only follow Zhang Meng towards the city wall.