Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jiming leaped forward, but Zhu Cha's suicide attempt was so sudden and quick that when Yuchi Jiming arrived, the entire blade of the steel knife had already sunk into Zhu Cha's chest. The sword pierced out from the back and completely pierced his heart. He was already dead and there was no way to save him.
Seeing such a tough man, Qiu Yizhi sighed and said, "Alas! The King of Lingnan has many brave generals under his command. If everyone is like General Zhu, I don't know when the rebellion can be quelled!"
After saying that, Qiu Yizhi didn't want to stay on the city wall any longer, and ordered Zhang Qi: "Collect the body for General Zhu, and don't make things difficult for his brothers. Gather them together first, line them up in the square in front of the government office, and I will personally decide their fate."
After saying that, Qiu Yizi turned around and went back to the city, asking Zhao Chengxiao and others to invite the gentry and elders in Yuezhou City to talk and drink tea in the Yuezhou government office.
When the gentry in the city heard that the government troops were coming to invite them, they were still a little nervous. When they saw the open space in front of the government office was covered with bloody soldiers, they were even more frightened. Their hands and feet were out of control, and they stood in front of Qiu Yizi like puppets, not knowing how to speak.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Qiu Yizhi stood on the steps of the government office and said loudly to the defeated Lingnan Road army: "I have promised General Zhu that I will let you go. We each serve our own masters. It is no big deal if you kill me and I kill you today. But killing the civilians is an unforgivable crime. Are there any of you who burned, killed, and looted when the city was broken? Stand up now and take twenty military sticks from me. I won't kill you, but I just want you to remember it!"
Who knew that after Qiu Yizhi finished speaking, no one came out to confess. Seeing this, Qiu Yizhi could not help but feel a little angry, and then he said loudly: "If you come out and surrender now, I can give you a lighter sentence. If you are found out by me, I will deal with you according to the laws of the Han Dynasty. I am afraid that I will kill you all at once, and you will have no place to regret it!"
Even with such a clear threat, not a single soldier in the Lingnan army came forward to surrender.
Qiu Yizi raised his head and glanced around, and saw that they all held their heads high and chests puffed out, without any sign of dejection or fear, as if they were looking down on him, a seventh-rank county magistrate.
He was so angry that he called over an old man standing beside him and said, "Old man, don't be afraid. If there are any criminals in the Lingnan Army, please point them out and I will take care of them for you. Even if the Lingnan Army strikes back in the future, the blame will be on me."
Seeing that the old man was hesitant and unwilling to speak, Qiu Yizhi said loudly: "If you are afraid of retaliation from the Lingnan Army, it's okay. You can go to the back hall of Yuezhou Prefecture and talk to me privately. I will keep it a secret for you."
The old man trembled as he saluted Qiu Yizhi and said, "It's not that we don't give you face. It's just that since the Lingnan Army entered the city, they have not violated anyone. Their military discipline is better than that of the imperial army stationed here. Not to mention burning, killing and looting, they have not even harassed the people inside and outside the prefecture..."
As soon as he finished speaking, several gentlemen around him echoed:
"Mr. Li is right."
"What Mr. Li said is indeed the truth."
"Please forgive me, it is indeed the truth."
Qiu Yizi originally planned to punish a few evil Lingnan soldiers so that the people of Yuezhou Prefecture and even Jiangnan Road who fell into the hands of Lingnan King Zheng Gui would know the benevolence of the court. However, now he could not find a single soldier who could vent his anger and offer sacrifices to the flag, which inevitably made him a little discouraged.
He suddenly remembered that before the "anti-rebellion campaign", he had secretly sneaked into the capital Luoyang and talked with the innkeeper. He remembered that the innkeeper said that as long as the common people like them had a stable meal, it didn't matter who became the emperor, not to mention the Zheng family. Even if the emperor was from another family, as long as he didn't make trouble for the people, he would be a good emperor!
Thinking of the fact that Lingnan King Zheng Gui enforced such strict military discipline, which was obviously because he had great ambitions and wanted to be the emperor, Qiu Yizhi felt a little scared and relieved. After thinking for a while, he finally sighed and said, "Well, I underestimated the Lingnan Army. Since you are all strict in discipline and have not harmed the people, please do as you please. However, I still want to advise you that there is no good end to going against the court. I have spared you this time, but there may not be a next time."
After saying that, Qiu Yizi raised his hand and waved, signaling the captured and disarmed Lingnan troops to leave the city.
After hearing this, the deputy general of the Lingnan Army bowed deeply to Qiu Yizhi and said, "Your Excellency is kind and righteous. I will report to the King of Lingnan and the Third Prince when I return. When the prince completes his mission, he will certainly not embarrass you..."
Qiu Yizi disagreed, but didn't want to argue with him, so he waved his hand and said, "Okay, you can go now!" Then he turned around and walked towards the Yuezhou government office.
After hearing Qiu Yizi's words, the Lingnan soldiers felt as if they had been pardoned. They quickly turned around and supported each other to leave the enemy's territory. Some of them even saluted Qiu Yizi.
Qiu Yizi entered the Yuezhou government office, but did not go to the lobby. Instead, he found a chair in the signing room near the door and sat down, supporting his knees with his hands and closing his eyes in deep thought.
Lin Shuhan followed closely at this time and said with a smile: "What's wrong? Sir, you look a little depressed. Do you regret letting these soldiers go?"
Qiu Yizi looked up at Lin Shuhan, stood up and brought a chair over for him, asked him to sit down, and then said: "Mr. Lin is really my confidant, I do regret it. Mr. Lin is a smart man, look at how the Prince of Lingnan restrains his subordinates, and does not harm them. It is obvious that he does not want to just secede, but wants to face the south and the north, ascend the throne and become emperor. Isn't it terrible that such an army continues to serve the Prince of Lingnan?"
Because of the cold weather, Lin Shuhan did not fan the Xiangfei bamboo fan in his hand, but folded it in his hand and fiddled with it slowly, saying: "When a country is founded, everyone has the same goal and is fighting the enemy with all their strength, so of course they can enforce discipline. After the great cause is successful, it is time to divide the benefits. Everyone has selfish desires, fearing that they will get less and others will get more, so naturally there will be no atmosphere of founding a country. This has been the case in all dynasties, so you don't have to mind it, my lord."
As Qiu Yi listened to Lin Shuhan's detailed account, he thought: The old Youyan Dao army was so powerful and invincible back then, but in just a few years, its combat effectiveness has declined drastically, so that when Cui Nan led an army of 100,000 to Hangzhou, only less than 50,000 were able to fight immediately. This was completely unimaginable for the old Youyan Dao army that was able to compete with the northern Turkic cavalry.
But Qiu Yizhi could think this in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud. He just sighed and said, "When encountering such a strong enemy, the longer the delay, the more difficult it will be to deal with. It's a pity that I regretted it after I said it. Otherwise, even if I was taken to the capital, or sent to Guangyang to guard the border, it would be fine."
Lin Shuhan smiled and said, "Prince Lingnan is so kind to you. As the emperor's representative, you naturally can't be stingy. But now that you have taken over Yuezhou City, what are your plans for the future?"
Qiu Yizhi pondered and said, "I never thought that we could capture Yuezhou City in just half a day. As for future plans, I will naturally discuss it with Mr. Lin. I wonder what you think?"
Lin Shuhan actually had a plan in mind, and said calmly: "What brilliant idea do I have? I just said a few words without thinking. I will leave it to you, sir, to decide. In my opinion, since the Lingnan Army cannot defend Yuezhou City, you may not be able to defend it either. Even if you can barely defend it, it will tie up your troops here, which is really not worth the loss!"
Qiu Yizi thought for a moment and said, "Sir, you are right. I don't want to stay in this city for long, but I don't know where to go. I can't just go back to Shanyin County, right?"
Lin Shuhan heard this and said with a smile, "Of course, there is always a place for you to stay in this vast world. Even this small corner of Jiangnan Road has 3,000 miles of rivers and mountains, which is larger than several countries such as Korea, Annan, and Japan. I think it is enough for you to move around."
Qiu Yizhi asked doubtfully: "What does Mr. Lin mean?"
Lin Shuhan smiled again: "Continue to attack the next city, continue to feed on the enemy, and turn the King of Lingnan's deployment in Jiangnan upside down!"
When Qiu Yizhi heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he followed Lin Shuhan's meaning and said, "The King of Lingnan has only a few hundred thousand troops in Jiangnan at most. Jiangnan is a wealthy and populous region, and there are at least 20 to 30 cities like Yuezhou, if not 50. The Lingnan Army has to divide its troops to guard them, and also maintain the siege of Jinling City. The garrison assigned to each city is at most 2,000 to 3,000 people. We are besieging with four or five times the number of troops, and our chances of winning are very high."
Lin Shuhan added, "It doesn't matter if we can't capture it. Lord Qiu said it well. There are at least 20 or 30 cities like Yuezhou in Jiangnan Road. If we can't capture this one right away, we can attract friendly troops from other places to come to help. Naturally, other places will be empty. We can just fight in another place. What's the big deal?"
Qiu Yizhi clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Sir, you are truly talented. If the King of Lingnan wants to fight against the imperial court, it is obviously not enough to rely on the human, financial and material resources of Lingnan alone. He must rely on the newly conquered Jiangnan, Bashu, Yunnan and Guizhou. Now he wants stability, and I want chaos. Since the imperial court has lost the support of Jiangnan Dao, the King of Lingnan will not get it!"
Lin Shuhan also smiled and said, "What's more, the King of Lingnan has the intention of ascending the throne and winning people's hearts, so he can't plunder the people. After your Excellency's commotion, I'm afraid the military pay will soon be unsustainable, and there will be no way to expand the military. He now has to maintain three fronts in Jiangnan, Shanxi and Shaanxi, and Huguang. By then, he will be stretched to the limit and reveal his flaws."
"Good!" Qiu Yizi praised, "I thought you were the best writer in the world, but I didn't expect you to have such great accomplishments in military strategy. I think it's a waste of talent for you to be just a counselor. If you want a military position, I can naturally recommend you to the emperor. Military positions are not like civil officials, which require imperial examinations. As long as the emperor asks, it's quite easy to be appointed as a general or something..."
Lin Shuhan's face darkened, and he said, "My Lord, you are underestimating me, right? I just don't want to write the eight-part essay. If I really want to write it, can I lose to the talented scholars in the world?"
Qiu Yizi then realized that he had said the wrong thing. He scratched his head and said, "These words were indeed biased. I would like to apologize to you first." After saying this, he bowed.
Seeing that Lin Shuhan was smiling again, he called Zhao Chengxiao and said, "Brother Zhao, come in and discuss this..."
After the plan was finalized, Qiu Yizi sent Lin Shuhan and Zhao Chengxiao to count the grain and money stored in the Yuezhou City treasury. Except for military supplies, the rest were distributed to the people. Then he led the army out of the city and set up camp at the foot of Yuezhou City, waiting for the enemy to attack.