Plan to cut off the nine states

The effect of the banquet for the captured generals was not very good. Everyone was very polite. Cao Shenxi sat there without saying a word. Guan Changling and others also cherished their words. King Wu answered whatever he asked, and King Wu raised his glass. They He also raised his glass, but other than that he just sat in silence.

The atmosphere became increasingly awkward. In less than an hour, the banquet was over. When the generals said goodbye, they were very respectful and took turns to bow their hands to King Wu.

Cao Shenxi wanted to stay behind to clean up the mess. Xu Chu couldn't help but ask him: "Since the generals have surrendered, why are they so cold to me? What did I do wrong?"

Cao Shenxi couldn't bear it, sighed and shook his head, "The King of Wu didn't do anything wrong, but he didn't do anything right either. These people are all the old generals, and the King of Wu - no matter he admits it or not, and whatever his surname is, he is a general. Son. If this matter is not explained clearly, they don’t know how to face King Wu.”

"The same goes for General Cao?"

"Me? Fortunately, I have been in contact with King Wu for a long time, and I have gradually gotten used to it."

"Then I should keep waiting?" Xu Chu said with a smile.

"King Wu can wait, but I don't know how long it will take. In fact, there is a shortcut. King Wu can find someone whom the generals respect and accept him wholeheartedly, which may make the generals change their minds as soon as possible."

"General Cao, are you recommending yourself?"

"Hey, King Wu forgot too quickly. I have been at odds with the general for many years. How have I ever been respected by the generals? King Wu will have to find someone else."

"Do you care about seniority and generals?"

"King Wu, you can find it yourself. I can't help. I only care about wine and meat - one more thing, there is not much food left in Dongdu, and suddenly there are so many people, it is even more stretched." Cao Shenxi said goodbye with his hands.

Food and grass are like a pack of extremely patient wolves, chasing behind their prey, not far or near, but they just refuse to give up.

Xu Chu couldn't run too fast.

Back at the camp, Xu Chu went to see Guan Changling in person.

Guan Changling was in poor health. He had been running around all these days and his body was almost collapsed. He reluctantly attended the banquet and lay down when he returned to his room. When King Wu came, he was lying on his back with his eyes open in a daze. He could not sleep or move. , waiting quietly for the oil lamp to go out.

Guan Changling wanted to sit up, Xu Chu stepped forward to support him, "General Guan, there is no need to be polite, I will leave after a while."

Guan Changling sat on the bed, "Don't blame King Wu, everyone is a little nervous, after all... after all..."

"Because I am the son of a great general?"

"To be honest, things have changed too fast. More than half a year ago, you were the seventeenth son of the general. Now you are the King of Wu, and the general has... Those who have seen all this with their own eyes may find it difficult to accept it."

"If you have a better place to go, I am willing to let you go and will never stop you."

Guan Changling laughed and said, "Don't get me wrong, King Wu, we are willing to stay. After all, our home is in Dongdu, and King Wu is not a cruel person."

"Why didn't General Guan go back to his house?"

"No one is home."

"Um?"

"The eldest daughter-in-law and her grandson fled Dongdu. The second daughter-in-law and a few people who stayed behind...were killed by King Wu's men."

Guan Changling is a famous general under the general, and he is at the top of Wu Bing's revenge list. Naturally, his family will not be spared.

"Sorry, it's my fault for not taking good care of General Guan's family."

Guan Changling let out a long sigh, "It's no one's fault, war is just like that. I think back when Chengjun was killing people in Wu State, I killed a lot of people. It's fair to retaliate. "

"I don't seek revenge."

"Haha, after King Wu occupied the Eastern Capital, he no longer felt that the power of life and death was in his own hands?"

"Yes." Xu Chu replied. He did have such a feeling when he first entered Dongdu. As his power increased day by day, the feeling became weaker. Now he is troubled by many things, and he no longer has such worries.

"King Wu didn't want to try this power?"

Xu Chu refused to speak.

Guan Changling moved his body to make himself more comfortable, "Everyone wants to try it. I was doing the same thing back then, and the Wu people are doing the same thing now. With a knife in your hand, you can kill with impunity, and you will even get rewards. , everyone wants to try this kind of good thing.”

"Someone told me that he killed people just to prove that he could."

"The person who said this is a sensible person. I have fought many battles, seen many cruel things, and done them myself. It boils down to two words, it really means 'I can'. Sometimes I feel that the soldiers are like A group of kids who just learned how to control their hands and feet destroy everything they can, just because they can.”

"Can't military law stop this? Let the soldiers feel 'can't'."

"Of course, but then the general will lose his military morale - soldiers are like children, which is a good thing. Only in this way can they move forward bravely without fear of death or injury. The general needs his men to be used to killing and like to kill. When killing, the effect will be red-eyed. Best, but you have to let them continue to kill and calm down slowly afterwards, otherwise, they will be unhappy and may not do anything right away. If you accumulate it bit by bit, it will lead to a big disaster. "

"But there are no rebels?"

"Yes, there is plenty of food and salary, and there is never any debt. Those who have done meritorious service will be rewarded, and those who died in battle will be collected. This is a kind of rebel army. But such a rebel army cannot withstand wars. When it first formed an army to destroy the five countries, it often only lasted for more than ten days. The purpose of providing grain and fodder is no more than a month at most, in order to motivate the soldiers to attack the city and capture the territory as soon as possible - seizing grain and fodder from the enemy's hands is always the most economical method, and it has not changed since ancient times. "

"Are there any other rebels?"

"Yes, after the army conquered Shu, there was sufficient food and grass, and the court accumulated countless money. After that, every battle was victorious and every battle was rewarded. Soldiers were eager to participate in the war, and there was no need to snatch food from the people. It was like a righteous army."

"It sounds... like there is no difference."

"It is very different. The first kind of righteous army only exists when the world is stable. This Taiping Army, although righteous, has no courage. If they win, they will be rewarded, and if they lose, they will also be paid, so people have no fighting spirit. The second kind of righteous army has high morale and thinks that they will win every battle and get a lot of rewards, so they can Fighting without being driven, showing righteousness and courage. ”

Xu Chu understood, “After the Cheng army destroyed Shu, it was already a ‘righteous army’, so why did it kill again when it destroyed Wu later? ”

“Because that battle was unexpectedly brutal, many of the Cheng army died and wounded, and everyone hated the Wu people, so they had to take revenge after capturing the city. And that was the last battle, and everyone thought there would be no chance to indulge like this in the future. The general said that everyone had followed him for so long, and there must be a perfect ending. ”

Xu Chu was silent, the general’s ending was not perfect at all.

"That's right. Even a general cannot go against the will of the people in everything. Especially the general, he knows how to win over the soldiers. Although he has a bad temper, he is deeply loved by the soldiers and everyone is willing to work for him."

"What is his secret?"

"Hehe, King Wu has stumped me. I can only say... the general knows when to be strict and when to be indulgent. I can't do it. I only know how to lead soldiers to fight and don't care about other things. Now, I can no longer lead soldiers, let alone fight. I am very grateful that King Wu came to visit me in person. If I were ten years younger, I would definitely serve the people. Now I can only talk nonsense and I am powerless."

"I benefited a lot from General Guan's words. Please have a good rest, General Guan. I will send someone to send General Guan back to the mansion tomorrow."

"No need. The mansion is deserted. It is not as comfortable as living in the camp."

Xu Chu He stood up and asked, "Is there no real righteous army?"

"There are in history books." Guan Changling lay down slowly, and suddenly got tired of speaking carefully. "The King of Wu is the king, and he will ascend the throne and become the emperor in the future, but he wants his subordinates to be selfless "righteous army". How difficult is it? The way of the emperor has always been paved with blood and flesh. I have experienced it once and I don't want to experience it again. Why should the King of Wu care about the so-called "righteous army"? When the King of Wu expands his territory by thousands of miles and has millions of people, and can afford to support soldiers, the "righteous army" will be formed. It's useless to think about it now."

Xu Chu was silent for a while, "No matter what, I still have to apologize for what Wu Bing did."

"The second daughter-in-law is an honest person. Her husband asked her to wait at home, and she stayed there. The cycle of heaven, the cycle of heaven..." Guan Changling really hoped that he could close his eyes and never open them again.

Xu Chu returned to his room, and Tang Weitian immediately made the bed, yawning, thinking that the King of Wu could rest early tonight.

"Tang Weitian."

"Yeah." Seeing that the King of Wu was interested in chatting, Tang Weitian was very disappointed.

"When I let Ning Baoguan enter the city, did you think I was not ruthless enough?"

"Ah? I haven't thought about this." Tang Weitian sat on the couch and blocked a yawn with his hand. "For such matters, the Grand Commander can decide. Who cares what others think?"

"Think about it now, and then tell me your thoughts."

Tang Weitian looked embarrassed, but he had to obey the King of Wu's order. He raised his head and thought for a while, "Tell the truth?"

"Of course."

"Well... I don't think there is anything wrong with the Grand Commander allowing the King of Ning to enter the city, and I don't think the Grand Commander is not ruthless enough, but when the Grand Commander asked this question, I think you are indeed not ruthless enough."

"There is nothing wrong with opening the door to accept the King of Ning, but asking a question is not ruthless enough?" Xu Chu laughed and found this answer interesting.

"Yes, you are the Grand Commander, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers under your command. You can kill whoever you want to kill, and you can keep whoever you want to live. General Meng is dead, but Tian Jiang, who killed General Song, is still alive. No one said anything, and everyone knew that this was arranged by the Grand Commander. But when the Grand Commander asked this question, Tang Weitian frowned, "It seems that he is a little undecided."

"I only ask you, not outsiders."

Tang Weitian shook his head, "Grand Commander, don't ask me. I am stupid and can't think too much. And I would rather the Grand Commander decide life and death alone, and I will do it. If you hesitate, I will hesitate too. If I hesitate... ...I can't figure it out any more."

Xu Chu laughed, "Okay, I won't ask anymore. I was the one who let Ning Baoguan live, and I will be the one who killed Ning Baoguan."

"That's right, this is the Grand Commander. Those who should be killed will be killed, and those who should be alive will be alive. Whoever dares to oppose will be chopped off. Let's see who dares to talk nonsense? The Grand Commander just thinks too much. He can't think of anything, but delays eating and sleeping. The Grand Commander hasn't slept for two days. Rest early and get enough energy. You won't be bothered at all when you get up tomorrow morning."

Tang Weitian yawned and closed his eyes. Sleep is his second favorite thing. It's like a gift. He can sleep as soon as he wants. It's deep and sweet.

Xu Chu still couldn't sleep. Like Guan Changling, he lay on his back and opened his eyes. After a long time, he said, "Only killing can stop killing?"