Astral Apostle Chapter 253: The strategy of breaking the thief
Chapter 254 Strategies for breaking thieves
Xinghe fourteen years, autumn.
The 400,000 troops of the imperial court marched into Huyang in separate routes. Among them, the commander of the three armies was Ma Zhen, the defense envoy of Puzhou, who commanded the main force along the way. It is the control of the capital, each of whom holds an important position, and cooperates with Ma Zhen together.
As soon as they entered Huyang, all the soldiers and horses of the imperial court occupied the prefectures and counties, and guarded the main roads and passes. Did not rush forward and attack immediately.
In order to avoid a complete blockade, it is not easy for Longwang Village to stick to its own village, so it is natural to divide troops to guard in various places.
Only Zhou Jing, who shuttled to Chen Feng, led a troop and dispatched by water. When the opponent's foothold was not stable, he went straight to one of the main fortresses, intending to call a wave to see the situation.
The march on the waterway was quite fast, and only a small group of enemy troops blocked the road. Zhou Jing easily rushed through and arrived at the destination smoothly. He met the main force of the imperial court at a fort near the lake.
On the water around the fortress, there are continuous warships of the imperial navy, and there are many kinds of warships, forming formations to guard the waterways around the fortress.
Although Longwangzhai also has elite sailors, in terms of craftsmanship, the quality of the warships of the imperial court is higher, and the number is also larger.
It can be seen that the imperial court really paid a lot of money to suppress the bandits this time, and the support is not comparable to that of Lu Longchuan.
Because there were many enemy ships around the fortress, Zhou Jing did not order his troops to attack, but confronted across the water, looking at the towers of the fortress with enough eyesight.
On the tower of the fortress, the military flag embroidered with the word "horse" fluttered.
Soon, he saw a group of generals in armor appearing on the tower, and the leader was Ma Zhen, who was also watching from a distance.
Bill, the "Spiritual Wind Son" who is currently in the idle state, followed Ma Zhen.
"This scene seems familiar..."
Zhou Jing muttered to himself.
A few months ago when Lu Longchuan attacked, they also fought across the lake. Although they were not at the same pass, the scene was quite similar. They were on the water, and the opponent was on the tower.
The difference is that I have changed my upper body object.
Zhou Jing calmed down, summoned up his internal energy, and laughed loudly:
"The last time your imperial court came to conquest, you were defeated and the whole army was annihilated. Lu Longchuan was like a lost dog, and was chased all over the ground by the old men. After such a short time, the imperial court sent you again The idiot came to die, could it be that the grandpas didn’t kill fast enough?!”
After the voice fell, many sons and daughters in Longwang Village laughed, and their morale was high.
Ma Zhen looked serious, and said sternly:
"The rebels and the party, don't be rampant! Chen Feng, the state owns the state law, and you openly conspired to rebel. The crime cannot be pardoned. The current court has sent down heavenly soldiers to destroy the bandits, and you will be wiped out."
Zhou Jing stared at him, knowingly asked: "You are the commander sent by the imperial court this time? Tell me your name!"
"This commander is the commander-in-chief of the three armed forces handpicked by the Holy Majesty, Ma Zhen, the descendant of Duke Yi."
"It turns out that after the founding general, the son of the prince's family... Hey, just right, I will take your head and sacrifice the flag for us."
Zhou Jing shouted loudly.
Ma Zhen was unmoved, and said in a deep voice, "It's useless to talk to thieves like you. If you have the ability, you should come. If you can beat me, it's your ability."
After exchanging a few words, Zhou Jing stopped talking, took a spear from the soldier beside him, and repeated the same trick, throwing the spear from the bow of the boat.
Swipe!
The spear pierced through the air and swept across the sky, heading straight for the tower, making a shrill scream.
Ma Zhen didn't change his face, and calmly moved a few steps sideways, the spear passed through where he was originally standing, and was deeply nailed into the entrance building, trembling continuously.
"As expected of a master who shakes the world, his arm strength is really good."
Ma Zhen didn't bat an eyelid, and commented casually without fear.
Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes and nodded secretly.
This person's courage and courage are stronger than Lu Longchuan's, and he is a powerful person.
After all, the imperial court is orthodox, with a rich background, and it attracts talents from all over the world.
Because there was Lingfengzi next to Ma Zhen, Zhou Jing didn't continue to throw the spear. He moved his eyes and raised his eyebrows and said:
"Lingfengzi! Some time ago, you and I fought more than a dozen times, and it was very enjoyable. Unfortunately, you left without a fight. I heard from the people in Tianwangzhai that you were poisoned and murdered by people in the court. I had no choice but to retreat, why are you still working for the imperial court?"
Lingfengzi smiled slightly, but did not defend himself with words.
It was Ma Zhen who spoke on his behalf, and said in a loud voice: "Tie Chen, the real person is dedicated to sharing the worries of the Holy One, loyal and unparalleled, how can you make fun of it?"
Zhou Jing ignored him, and continued to speak loudly: "You and I haven't decided the winner yet, do you want to get closer today?"
Hearing this, Lingfengzi was about to fly down the city wall.
At this time, Ma Zhen held down Lingfengzi, and said solemnly:
"The real person doesn't need to pay attention to this beast. If he rushes to the battle, it's not too late to deal with it. If he retreats right away, don't worry about it, so as not to shock the morale of the army."
Lingfengzi paused, nodded, and stepped aside.
In his placement mode, Zhou Jing specially set up a plan to let Lingfengzi act in a low-key manner in public. If it is not an important matter, he does not need to disobey Ma Zhen’s order. Then pass it on secretly.
Seeing this, Zhou Jing didn't insist on calling Lingfengzi out for a fight, but after calling for a while, he retreated with his troops.
His trip was just to test things out, and he didn't intend to attack by force.
"It is indeed brave and extraordinary, it is difficult to get rid of..."
Ma Zhen narrowed his eyes.
He watched Zhou Jing go away, and did not send anyone to pursue him. He just ordered the defenders to be vigilant to prevent the opponent from killing him.
Immediately afterwards, Ma Zhen and Lingfengzi returned to the main tent of the Chinese army, called the high-ranking generals under their command, and held a military meeting.
Lingfengzi was also listening, this was agreed earlier, and Ma Zhen had no objection.
After waiting for everyone, Ma Zhen said:
"The thieves and bandits are so powerful that they are hard to destroy. Do you have any suggestions from the generals?"
After the voice fell, Yu Wenyan, who was also hand-picked to lead the army, stood up, clasped his fists and said:
“The strength of bandits lies in three aspects. One is that Chen Feng is unstoppable, maintaining the morale of the army and boosting morale. The people support... I thought that if you want to break the thief, you need to start with one of them."
Ma Zhen nodded in agreement.
Before he set off on the expedition, he had analyzed the advantages of the thieves, and these three points stood out the most. If it weren't for these three advantages, even if there were hundreds of thousands of troops in the Dragon King Village, they would be just mobs in his eyes.
Yu Wenyan paused, then laughed:
"Chen Feng's bravery is hard to match, and he can't be broken for the time being, but he has only one person. We will split the front and attack together. At most, he can gain an advantage together, so let's not worry about it for the time being. And the opponent is occupying the lake. After a long period of time, I am familiar with the terrain, and it is not easy to break it, so I don’t care about it first, so I have to start from the third place.
There is a saying in the art of war that attacking the mind is the most important thing, especially when dealing with bandits. "
Ma Zhen raised his eyebrows: "Let's just say it."
Yu Wenyan responded, restrained his smile, and said seriously:
“The first is the method of ten households to sit together. The local villagers in Huyang often follow and assist thieves. Temporarily reduce the desire of the people to help thieves, and deter those who try to collude with thieves.
The second is to arrest the people who are thieves in their families, or to arrest the thieves from the same village. The opportunity for them to commit crimes and make meritorious deeds drove them ahead in battle, forcing the enemy's soldiers to panic, shake their morale, and make the thieves tied their hands and feet. If the thieves do not care about the big killings, they will be unstable internally, plant hidden dangers, and lose the support of the local people in Huyang.
The third is to appease the people, adopt a gentle policy for the obedient people, temporarily release land to appease them, and even temporarily pardon some criminals, let them go to lobby their relatives or fellow villagers who have been thieves, so as to shake the hearts of the people , so that more people know that being a obedient citizen has benefits, and being a thief will do more harm than good.
Fourth is to divide public opinion. Huyang is a place full of villages and counties. Because of Chen Feng’s atrocities, most of the gentry fled and no one managed them. We can temporarily promote some local wealthy households and give benefits to help our army govern the local area and supervise If the court wins, they can keep their position and continue to benefit from the fact that everyone in each household is a thief, so that the villagers cannot be united as one. At the same time, it can also drive the villagers from all over the place to live together in one place, and the rest of the places will be solidified and cleared.
The fifth is to alienate the enemy generals and promise to reward some of the leaders of the thieves with official positions in order to lure them.
...Although Chen Feng and the higher-ranking leaders will not surrender, Chen Feng has inherited the power of the three dragons in Huyang. For example, among the leaders who once belonged to the Sanjiao, there are naturally those who are not firm enough to persuade them to surrender and alienate them. They are unable to oppose the rebellion set by Chen Feng, so they will be given a way to recruit peace, especially those who were originally in the water. The Kou gang is easier to recruit and surrender.
These five strategies are multi-pronged, which can cause the enemy's hearts to fluctuate and gradually split... But it takes enough time to implement it. As long as it is delayed for one winter, it will be effective next year, and the villagers who support Chen Feng At least five out of ten, the longer the effect, the better. "
After hearing this, all the generals showed surprise and whispered to each other.
Ma Zhen groaned for a while, and nodded in appreciation: "These five strategies for destroying thieves can dig out the roots of thieves. This commander is very happy to hear that, and he can act according to General Yuwen's strategy. No matter how strong Chen Feng is, we will destroy his wings. Divide the party members, and the bandits will naturally be defeated."
Everyone responded one after another.
Lingfengzi's eyes moved slightly.
Most of these five strategies are more practical. If the imperial army really does this, it will indeed cause a lot of trouble. The three Ma Zhen are far more difficult to deal with than Lu Longchuan.
After discussing for a while, Ma Zhen asked the generals to disperse, and Lingfengzi had no choice but to leave.
But after a while, the curtain of the Chinese military tent was lifted again, and it was Yu Wenyan and Huang Ping who turned back.
Ma Zhen asked the two to sit down, and then asked his own soldiers to guard the vicinity to prevent others from approaching.
The three of them are the core decision-makers. The highest responsible person for this trip has already formed a small circle, avoiding other generals to discuss, and not wanting others to listen to the most important secrets.
Ma Zhen said in a deep voice: "Before the expedition, Privy Pang hinted that we should fight as long as possible. The longer we delay, the better it will be. Bandits are not easy to deal with, but it is convenient."
The other two nodded.
Because the privy envoy Pang Hong made a recommendation to the emperor, the three of them got the job. Naturally, they wanted to sell Pang Hong's face, and they were both nobles, so they also had the same interests.
The "benefits" that Ma Zhen mentioned, both of them knew what they meant... The longer the delay, the more military expenses the imperial court will give, and the more private pockets will be filled.
Of course, the bulk of it must be handed over to Pang Shumi, this is a chance to make money that they managed to get.
So the three of them did not intend to quickly destroy the thief. Even if they had a large number of troops, they did not want to rush to attack, but planned to drag it into a protracted battle. Yu Wenyan's proposal is not only a strategy to destroy thieves, but also to hide his own interests.
"Let's not talk about it, it's better to deal with the thieves first, otherwise if you lose the battle, then these are all empty talk." Yu Wenyan smiled and pulled back to the topic.
Ma Zhen squinted his eyes, and said: "The plan you presented just now, in my opinion, is missing a plan."
"Oh? I would like to hear more about it."
Ma Zhen said slowly: "The thief Chen claimed to be an uprising for the people, so we let some soldiers pretend to be bandits, loot the village, abuse the villagers, and stigmatize Chen Feng, which will make him lose the popularity and support of the people faster. The foundation of everything.”
"The marshal is right." Yu Wenyan smiled and complimented, as if not surprised.
Huang Ping said in a deep voice: "Leave this matter to our department."
Ma Zhen nodded in agreement.
Among the three of them, Huang Ping's army was the strictest, and he basically never leaked information.
At this time, Ma Zhen paused for a moment, and suddenly his eyes showed a cold light, and said:
"However, the battle is changing rapidly, and our army has no chance of winning. If things cannot be done, we will send people to the upper reaches to dig river channels, causing floods, flooding Huyang, and attacking and killing thieves."
Yu Wenyan and Huang Ping were slightly startled.
"This plan may be too cruel. Huyang already has many floods. If floods occur again, the people will die and suffer countless injuries. I fear that Huyang will be empty in the future..."
Yu Wenyan frowned and said.
Ma Zhen has no expression on his face: "Compassion does not command soldiers~IndoMTL.com~ If our army is defeated, the imperial court will be greatly injured, and it will be difficult to contain the bandits. Why not? Besides, banditry has always occurred frequently in Huyang, and there are many followers of bandits, so death is not a pity."
"Well... what the marshal said is true, but this is an absolute plan. It cannot be used unless it is urgent, and it must not be disclosed, otherwise there will be more troubles."
Huang Ping spoke slowly, without expressly objecting.
He also meant the same thing. If he loses, he will definitely suffer when he returns to the court. It would be best to use the lives of a group of grassroots people to protect the victory and future.
So what if the people don't have a living, I'm about to lose, so who cares about you?
Yu Wenyan said worriedly: "It would be bad if I taught the real person to know this plan. The real person doesn't want to kill too many lives, saying that there is harmony between heaven and earth. If we do this, will it damage his morality?"
"Then just don't let him know. When it's done, it's useless if he doesn't want to."
Ma Zhen waved his hand, not paying much attention.
Although he respects Lingfengzi and knows that this battle must rely on a real person, he will not change his decision as the commander because of this.
(end of this chapter)