Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

"Plop...plop..." Guo Shao's heart has not calmed down from the extreme excitement.

The fighting of Deng Fei's troops ahead is still going on, and the follow-up troops are advancing along the bloody road. Guo Shao felt that the horse's hooves of his mount were a bit slippery. This was not an exaggeration. The blood on the street was really flowing, like it was raining. The surface of the mosaic irregular stone slabs is smooth, and the wet blood is sticky and flowing on the stone slabs, and the horseshoes will slip if they are not careful.

The blood pooled in the cracks between the stone slabs, and the color darkened, revealing horrible lines... like cracks in the earth.

The corpses in many places have been piled up! The smell of blood on the street is disgusting, like a slaughterhouse.

It was not the first time Guo Shao had experienced a battle, nor was it the first time he had seen corpses, but the dense conflicts in the streets were affected by the terrain, and the corpses were very concentrated, which looked terrifying. He listened attentively, screams and begging for mercy from far and near floated in the air, human beings are enduring extreme situations.

"Chinese defenders hardly guard the depths and streets. The most important thing is to defend the walls, so there are very few street battles... This is also the reason why the Khitan soldiers were easily fooled after breaking through the gates in the defensive battle of Wuyun Town, Hedong last year..." Guo Shao muttered to himself.

He immediately sent an order to his soldiers: "Go to the north to find Li Chuyun, and attack the east gate!" "Order Yang Biao's department to go west from the city to take the west gate!"

Guo Shao issued a series of orders, focusing on capturing three walls (the north is the water gate), in order to break down the resistance of the Tang army as soon as possible. The messengers on the scene actually had a big loophole. They only held a small flag to command the flag without any evidence. Guo Shao had no chance to write it himself, and many generals couldn't tell who wrote it. However, in such a chaotic and urgent situation, Tang Jun seemed to have no chance to use tricks.

A large group of Zhou army marched along the horizontal street to the south gate. Guo Shaoce immediately went forward to see that there were still a group of Tang troops fighting desperately inside the city gate and on the city wall. They had been surrounded by Zhou army infantry. Trampled by iron hoofs, hacked with spears and bayonets, the scene was very tragic.

More than half of the Tang army's casualties in this area are still desperate. Guo Shao was very surprised. He remembered that some people said that the classical army would collapse if 10% of them died in battle, but the Tang army at the Zhengnan Gate had at least 50% casualties. There was no chance of winning. Tang Bing was slaughtered and had no power to parry.

Some of the people kept shouting: "Put down your weapons, or you will die!" "Kneel down and surrender!"

But Tang Jun screamed and roared in despair, and did not surrender or collapse. A general of the Tang army shouted: "Ning die in battle! Repay Duke Liu!"

The cries of despair resounded throughout Shouzhou, and Guo Shao couldn't help admiring this army. Who doesn't cherish life, who doesn't fear death? When a person or even a group of people can reach the point of "sacrificing one's life for righteousness" as Mencius said, then he must be sincere!

Guo Shao looked up, and suddenly saw a tall old man with gray beard and hair standing on the tower, lamenting against the wind. He is Liu Renzhan?

"Grand Liu!" Guo Shao shouted loudly, "The general situation is over, why bother to let the soldiers die in vain! Why don't you maintain a little grace and accept failure?"

The old man followed the voice and looked over, shouting: "Who is under the city?"

"Guo Shao, the recruitment envoy of Shouzhou of the Great Zhou Army, is the main general of this battle." Guo Shao said.

"Hahaha..." Liu Renzhan laughed wildly.

Guo Shao stopped talking and waited quietly, Liu Renzhan would give in, give him some time to regain his sanity.

Sure enough, after a while, Liu Renzhan shouted: "Brothers, put down your weapons! Please accept Liu's worship, Liu is sorry for you..." After saying that, he bowed to the city.

All the soldiers looked back, and a general dropped his weapon first, and knelt down under the city, and then there was a sound of "ding, jingling, jingling", and countless weapons were thrown down.

Guo Shao is also on the front side of his body on the horse, saluting Liu Renzhan who is bowing.

"Marshal Guo..." Liu Renzhan said, "I have a request. Don't massacre unarmed soldiers who have surrendered, and don't massacre innocent people in Shouzhou City. If you agree, I will kneel down and plead guilty! I will lead Liu's father and son to die to apologize!"

"Liu Gong, winning or losing on the battlefield is a common matter for military strategists. As a victor, I still respect you very much...I agree to your request!" said the Great Master Guo Shao.

But not slaughtering the city does not mean not collecting money and dividing up the spoils. Guo Shao heard that whenever a fortified city is breached, soldiers will be massacred to vent their hatred and murderous intent. Can the treasury of the Shouzhou government and the wealth of the rich family make up for the emotions of the soldiers? Since he agreed to Liu Renzhan, he didn't know if he could do it. Immediately, he shouted to the surrounding Zhou Jun emotionally: "Whether it is the people of 'China' or the soldiers and civilians of the Southern Tang Kingdom, they are all descendants of Yan and Huang. We are fighting here to rule the world, to end the war, and to stop the endless civil war from continuing. Killing is not for massacre, but for saving the people..."

"Marshal Guo!" Liu Renzhan said with a little excitement, "The scenery on the tower is very beautiful, why don't you go to the city to tell about it?"

"Okay!" Guo Shao replied loudly. The surrounding generals persuaded: "My lord...you can let him come down to accept the surrender."

Guo Shao shook his head: "Liu Renzhan doesn't bother to do such lowly things. Come with me."

Liu Renzhan said something to the people next to him, and they went down from the city wall. Liu Renzhan said loudly, "I'll send someone to tell all the sects to stop resisting. I hope Marshal Guo will keep his promise in public."

Guo Shao didn't answer, put the sword in the scabbard, sent it forward with a "shua", and walked towards the stone steps inside the city wall surrounded by all the generals' soldiers. Both sides were crowded with Southern Tang soldiers. They were still resisting the fight just now, but now they all looked at Guo Shao in awe.

Walking to the top of the city, I saw a group of Zhou army soldiers rushing towards the south gate outside the city. It was really magnificent! Hundreds of thousands of Zhou troops were running outside the city, as if the whole world was filled with people, and Shouzhou City was just a ship in the vast ocean. Shouting to shake the ground, resounding through the sky.

"I've seen you before, but I didn't expect you to be so young..." Liu Renzhan calmly faced the crowd outside the city, and turned to Guo Shao.

Guo Shao smiled and said: "I have also met Liu Gong, it seems to be twice, once at the west gate and once at the south gate, and you still want to shoot me with a bed crossbow."

"Haha..." Liu Renzhan laughed out loud, almost crying.

Guo Shaodao: "If you had killed me at that time, this Shouzhou would have been able to defend until the food and grass ran out. However, I don't think I have really defeated you..."

Liu Renzhan was slightly surprised: "Guo Dashuai is so young and can be so modest, there is no need for it." He looked at the gap in the city wall on the left, and seemed to understand what Guo Shao was referring to.

Liu Renzhan shook his head and sighed again, staring at the land of Huainan for a long time.

"This old man is not someone who can't afford to lose, I'm quite convinced. If I can take precautions against this gap in advance, you won't be able to get in even if it blows up..."

"No one could have expected that this thing came out for the first time." Guo Shao said honestly.

Liu Renzhan sighed: "No. After all, I underestimated the enemy and made a big mistake! You are digging tunnels outside the city and building earth and mountains blatantly. It is so obvious and useless. Why do you do it again... It is nothing more than a feint to distract people's eyes and ears. I was fooled, and I despised you because of it. I have lived most of my life, but I made mistakes here... To despise the opponent is to despise yourself."

He also said: "The Zhou army is strong, how can a person with no ability be the chief general of hundreds of thousands of horses, how can he be appointed by the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty as a recruiter? Alas! It is too late to regret!

If the old man can be a little less negligent, even if he doesn't know that you will blow up the city, he can guess your intention to feint and paralyze our army, and he will definitely be prepared. Then the city defense deployment will not be what it is now, and the victory or defeat is unknown! "

Guo Shao smiled and said, "Mr. Liu is still not convinced."

Liu Renzhan said: "After the fact, what's the use of it?"

Guo Shaodao: "In any case, I can't let you go. If you let go, the Southern Tang Kingdom will continue to live, and the Huainan Battle will be more difficult to fight. It's meaningless, Mr. Liu! The unification of the world is the general trend and the way of heaven. The kingdoms of the Great Zhou are the strongest, and they should take on the mission of this general trend. The sooner they are destroyed and unified the world, the more people will be saved from the disaster of war, and more women and children will not lose their husbands, sons, and fathers. Liu Gong understands righteousness. Don't you understand this truth?"

"Ah!" Liu Renzhan sighed deeply, and smiled wryly, "I understand, I didn't intend to die. But everyone is his own master... This old man is deeply favored by the emperor, and he has enjoyed glory and wealth for many years, so he should die as an apology."

After finishing speaking, he suddenly drew out his sword and said loudly: "If you lose to Marshal Guo, I will not lose!"

"Grand Liu!" Xiang Guo Shao couldn't save him, so he hurriedly shouted, "My lord is about to die, where are the soldiers?"

The soldiers next to Liu Renzhan had already stepped forward and hugged his arms, some of them protected his neck. Guo Shao charged forward with a stride and snatched Liu Renzhan's sword.

Liu Renzhan frowned and said, "Why don't you let me die? I won't surrender. If I die, I would like to thank the emperor, and thank the soldiers and people of Shouzhou. I deserve to die!"

"Living is more difficult than dying." Guo Shao looked at him, "A real warrior is to face a difficult situation, not to avoid death. I respect Mr. Liu as a hero, so why is it based on seeking death?"

"It's useless to talk too much," Liu Renzhan said.

Guo Shao stalked and said: "Not every Zhou army general treats the people of Huainan like me. Didn't Liu Gong say that he would plead for the soldiers and people of Huainan? Maybe you can do something for the people while you are alive. Now you simply let go, isn't it a duplicity?

"Don't provoke me!" Liu Renzhan said.

Guo Shaodao: "How about waiting for a while to calm down and think about it? If a person wants to die with all his heart, no one can stop him."

The city wall seemed to be a stage, a few people were there in front of the crowd, they seemed to be performing a drama.