Astral Apostle Chapter 253: Breaking the thief

Xinghe fourteen years, autumn.

The 400,000 troops of the imperial court entered Huyang in several directions. Among them, the commander of the three armies was Ma Zhen, the defense envoy of Puzhou, who led the main force all the way. It is all under the control, and each holds an important position and cooperates with Ma Zhen.

As soon as they entered Huyang, the imperial court occupied the prefecture and the county, guarding the important roads and gates, forming a thorny trend, involving the front lines, forming a broad blockade, confronting the water villages and gates of Longwangzhai. Not rushed forward to attack immediately.

In order to avoid a complete blockade, it is not good for Longwang Village to stick to its own village. It is natural to divide troops to guard various places.

Only Zhou Jing, who had traveled to Chen Feng, led a team of troops and horses, dispatched by water, and took advantage of the fact that the opponent's foothold was not stable, and went straight to one of the fortresses of the main force, intending to call a wave to see the situation.

The waterway march was quite fast, and only a small group of enemy troops blocked the road. Zhou Jing easily rushed past and arrived at the destination smoothly. At a fortress near the lake, he met the main force of the imperial court.

On the waters around the fortress, there were continuous warships of the imperial navy, various warships, forming a formation, guarding the waterways around the fortress.

Although Longwangzhai also has elite sailors, in terms of craftsmanship, the warships of the imperial court are of higher quality and larger in number.

It can be seen that this time, the imperial court to suppress the bandits really made a lot of money, and the support is not comparable to that of Lu Longchuan.

Because of the large number of enemy ships around the fortress, Zhou Jing did not order his troops to attack, but confronted each other across the water, looking at the fortress's tower with all his eyesight.

A military flag embroidered with the word "horse" flutters on the tower of the fortress.

Soon, he saw a group of generals in helmets and armor appearing on the tower. The leader was Ma Zhen, who was also watching from a distance.

And "Lingfengzi" Bill, who is currently in the idle state, is next to Ma Zhen.

"This scene seems familiar..."

Zhou Jing muttered to himself.

Lu Longchuan attacked a few months ago. They also called across the lake. Although they were not at the same pass, the scene was quite similar. They were on the water and the other was in the tower.

The difference is that he changed his upper body object.

Zhou Jing calmed down, used his inner strength, and laughed loudly:

"Last time your imperial court came to conquer, and ended up with a big defeat and a loss and the entire army was wiped out. That Lu Longchuan was like a lost dog, chased by Lao Tzu all over the place. After such a short time, the imperial court sent you all over again. The fools come to die, do you think the grandfathers are not killing fast enough?!"

When the voice fell, many children in Longwang Village laughed, and their morale was high.

Ma Zhen had a serious face, and shouted righteously:

"Rebels and chaos in the party, don't be mad! Chen Feng, there is a state law, you are blatantly rebelling, and the crime cannot be forgiven. The current court has sent down the heavenly soldiers to smash the bandits, and the church will be wiped out."

Zhou Jing stared at him and asked knowingly, "You are the commander-in-chief sent by the imperial court this time? Sign up!"

"This commander is the commander-in-chief of the three armies appointed by the Sage, and the descendants of Duke Yiguo are shocked."

"It turned out to be the son of the prince's family after the founding general... Hey, just in time, take your head and sacrifice the flag for me to wait for the uprising."

Zhou Jing shouted loudly.

Ma Zhen was unmoved, and said solemnly: "It's useless to talk about thieves like you. If you have the ability, come here. If you can beat this commander, it's your ability."

After a few words of mouth cannon, Zhou Jing stopped talking and took a spear from the hand of the **** next to him.

Brush!

The spear swept across the sky and went straight to the tower, making a shrill scream.

Ma Zhen didn't change his face, he calmly moved a few steps to the side, the spear passed through where he was originally standing, and was deeply nailed into the entrance building, trembling.

"As expected of a master who can shake the world, his arm strength is really good."

Ma Zhen's eyelids did not blink, and he commented casually, without fear.

Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes and nodded secretly.

This man is more courageous than Lu Longchuan, and he is a formidable person.

After all, the imperial court is orthodox, with a rich heritage, and it has the best talents from all over the world.

Because there was Lingfengzi next to Ma Zhen, Zhou Jing did not continue to throw the spear, looked over, raised his eyebrows and said:

"Lingfengzi! Some time ago, you and I fought a dozen times, and it was very happy, but unfortunately you left without fighting. I heard from the people in Tianwangzhai that you were poisoned by someone in the imperial court. I had to retreat, why, you still serve the court now?"

Ling Fengzi smiled slightly, but did not make any excuses.

It was Ma Zhen who spoke on his behalf, and said loudly: "Chen Thief, the real person is dedicated to sharing the worries of the saints, and the loyalty is unparalleled. How can you make fun of it?"

Zhou Jing ignored him and continued to say loudly: "You and I haven't decided the winner yet. Would you like to get close today?"

Lingfengzi heard the words and 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. If he rushes into the formation, it will not be too late to deal with it. If he retreats, don't worry about it, so as not to shake the hearts of the army."

Lingfengzi paused, nodded, and stepped aside.

In his placement mode, Zhou Jing deliberately set up a plan to let Lingfengzi act in a low-key manner in public. If it's not an important matter, he doesn't need to disobey Ma Zhen's order, just silently collect the content of military discussions, Then pass it on in the dark.

When Zhou Jing saw this, he did not insist on calling Lingfengzi to come out for a fight.

He's just here for a test drive, and he doesn't plan to attack.

"Really brave and extraordinary, it is difficult to eliminate..."

Ma Zhen narrowed his eyes.

He watched Zhou Jing go away. He didn't send anyone to pursue him, he just ordered the guards to be on guard to prevent the opponent from killing a carbine.

Immediately, Ma Zhen and Lingfengzi returned to the central army tent and called their high-level generals to hold a military meeting.

Lingfengzi was also on the sidelines, this was already agreed, and Ma Zhen had no objection.

When everyone was ready, Ma Zhen said:

"The thieves and pirates are so powerful today that it is difficult to eliminate them. Do the generals have suggestions?"

When the voice fell, Yu Wenyan, who was also appointed to lead the troops, got up and clasped his fists:

"The strength of thieves and pirates lies in three things, one is that Chen Fengyong is unstoppable, maintains the morale of the army, and boosts morale; the other is that Huyang has a dense network of water, and the thieves and thieves control the geographical advantage; People support... I would have thought that if we want to break the thief, we need to start from one of them."

Ma Zhen nodded in agreement.

Before he set out on the expedition, he analyzed the advantages of the bandits. The most prominent ones were these three points. If it weren't for these three advantages, even if there were hundreds of thousands of troops in the Dragon King Village, in his eyes, they would be nothing more than a mob.

Yu Wenyan paused, then smiled:

"Chen Feng's bravery is hard to match and cannot be defeated for the time being, but he has only one person. We will open the front and attack from several directions. He can at most gain an advantage along the way, so don't worry about it for the time being. The opponent is entrenched in the lake. Yang Ri is long, familiar with the terrain, and it is not easy to solve it, so let's not forget it, so we must start from the third place.

The art of war is clear, attacking the heart is the highest, and even more so in managing bandit troubles. "

Ma Zhen raised his eyebrows: "Let's talk about it."

Yu Wenyan responded, restrained his smile, and said sternly:

"The first is the ten households sitting in a row. The local villagers in Huyang often follow the thief and help the thief. They need to supervise each other by the joint sitting method. Temporarily reduce the willingness of the people to help the thieves, and deter the unscrupulous people who try to help the thieves.

The second is to arrest people who have thieves in their homes, or arrest thieves and fellow villagers. These are all criminals, they can be called anti-thief party members. According to the law, they should all beheaded, but I will not kill them. The opportunity for them to commit crimes and make meritorious deeds, driving them to the front in battle, forcing the enemy's heart to panic, shaking morale, and restraining the bandits and bandits. If the thieves ignore the large-scale killing, they will become unstable internally, bury hidden dangers, and lose the hearts of the local people in Huyang.

The third is to reassure the people, adopt a gentle policy towards the obedient people, and temporarily release land to appease them, and even temporarily pardon some sinners and let them go to lobby relatives or fellow villagers who have been convicted, so as to shake the hearts of the people , so that more people know that there are benefits to be gained from being an obedient citizen, and that being a thief will do more harm than good.

The fourth is to divide public opinion. Huyang is a place, and villages and counties are dotted. Because of Chen Feng's atrocities, most of the tycoons have fled and are left unmanaged. When the court wins, they can keep their positions and continue to benefit, so that the villagers cannot unite as one. At the same time, it can also drive away villagers from all over the world to live in one place, while the rest of the country is hard-walled and clear.

The fifth is to alienate the enemy generals, promising to reward some of the leaders of the bandits with official positions, in order to lure them.

...Although Chen Feng and the higher-ranked leaders would not submit, but Chen Feng inherited the power of the Three Flood Dragons of Huyang. For example, among the leaders who once belonged to the Three Flood Dragons, there are naturally those who are not firm enough to persuade them to surrender. They are unable to oppose the rebellion and rebellion set by Chen Feng, so they will be given a way to recruit peace, especially those who are originally from the water. Kou gang, easier to recruit and surrender.

The multi-pronged approach of these five strategies can attract the hearts and minds of the enemy troops and gradually split... But it will take enough time to implement them. As long as one winter is passed, the initial results will be achieved next year, and the villagers who support Chen Feng At least ten out of five, the longer the better. "

After hearing this, the generals all looked surprised and whispered.

Ma Zhen pondered for a while, then nodded in appreciation: "These five strategies for breaking thieves can dig out the foundation of thieves and bandits. This commander is very happy to hear it, but he can act according to General Yuwen's strategy. No matter how strong Chen Feng is, we will destroy his wings. Divided party members, thieves and bandits will naturally be defeated."

The crowd responded.

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 a while of discussion, Ma Zhen let the generals go away, and Ling Fengzi had no choice but to retire.

But after a while, the curtain of the Chinese army tent was opened again, but it was Yu Wenyan and Huang Ping who turned back.

Ma Zhen greeted the two of them to sit down, and then asked his personal soldiers to guard the vicinity, not letting others approach.

The three of them are the core decision-making level, and the highest responsible person for this trip has already formed a small circle, avoiding other generals for negotiation, and do not want others to listen to the most important secrets.

Ma Zhen said solemnly: "Before the expedition, Pang Shumi hinted that we should try to fight as long as possible. The longer we delay, the better it will be. The thieves are not easy to deal with, but it is more convenient."

The other two nodded.

Because the privy envoy Pang Hong made a recommendation to the emperor, the three of them got this job, and naturally they wanted to sell Pang Hong's face, and they were both honorable and noble, and they also had the same interests.

Both of them knew what Ma Zhen meant by the "benefits"... The longer the delay, the more military spending the imperial court gave, and the more the share of the money that could be filled.

Of course, the bulk of it must be handed over to Pang Shumi.

Therefore, the three of them do not have the will to break the thief quickly. Even if they have a large number of troops, they do not want to rush to attack, but plan to drag them into a long battle. Yu Wenyan's proposal is not only a strategy to break the thief, but also a hidden self-interest.

"Let's not talk about this matter, it's better to deal with the bandits 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 strategy you just offered is one less plan in my opinion."

"Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."

Ma Zhen said slowly: "Chen thief claims to be a people's uprising, we will let some soldiers pretend to be thieves, loot the villages, abuse the villagers, and stigmatize Chen Feng, which will make him lose the people's hearts and the morale more quickly. The foundation of things."

"The marshal's words make sense." Yu Wenyan smiled and complimented, not seeming surprised.

Huang Ping said solemnly: "Let my department handle this matter."

Ma Zhen nodded in agreement.

Among the three of them, Huang Ping ruled the army the most closely, and basically would not leak the news.

At this time, Ma Zhen paused, and suddenly a cold light appeared in his eyes, and said:

"However, the war is changing rapidly, and our army has no chance of winning. If it cannot be done, we will send people to the upper reaches to dig the river, causing floods, flooding the lake and Yang, and attacking and killing thieves."

Yu Wenyan and Huang Ping were slightly surprised.

"This plan may be too ruthless. There are already many floods in Huyang, and if the floods are caused, the people will be killed and injured countless times. I fear that Huyang will be empty in the future..."

Yu Wenyan frowned and said.

Ma Zhen's face was expressionless: "Ci does not control the army, if our army is defeated, the imperial court will be severely damaged, and it will be difficult to contain the bandits. That being the case, what's wrong with Huyang and Jiangshan's peace? Moreover, in Huyang, there has always been a frequent occurrence of bandits, and there are many followers of bandits, and it is not a pity to die.”

"Well... what the marshal said is really ~IndoMTL.com~ but this is a desperate 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, but did not expressly object.

He also means the same. If he loses, he will have to die when he returns to the imperial court, and use the lives of a group of grass-roots people to maintain victory and future. Naturally, it would be better.

So what if the people are not living, I'm going to lose, why bother with you?

Yu Wenyan said worriedly: "If this trick is taught to a real person, it would be bad. A real person does not want to kill too many lives, saying that there is harmony in the world. If we do this, will it damage his conduct?"

"Then don't let him know, and when the boat is done, he will be unwilling and useless."

Ma Zhen waved his hand, not paying much attention.

Although he respects Lingfengzi and knows that he will also rely on real people in this battle, he will not change his decision as a commander because of this.

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