Sun Tu was stunned for a moment before he quickly stepped forward and helped Dong Kuang: "General Dong, why do you have to... You and I have become one, this is too much of a courtesy. Victory or defeat is a common thing for military strategists, let alone what we are doing today. It’s too late to be considered a defeat, so you don’t have to blame yourself too much.”
Dong Kuang smiled bitterly and took advantage of the situation, but said: "General Sun, please don't excuse me. Today, I, Dong, was too arrogant and almost ruined the event. If General Sun and his army hadn't been prepared, I'm afraid Zhuozhou City would have been destroyed." Losing, let alone being undefeated.”
After a pause, he glanced at the men in front of him who also had drooped heads, clasped his fists and said: "After this battle, we are convinced of General Sun and no longer dare to make arbitrary decisions. Next, we will defend Zhuozhou. We all obey your command, General. If you tell us how to defend ourselves, we will do so."
The subordinates hesitated for a moment, and then all followed suit: "We also mean the same thing, and we ask General Sun not to refuse!" After that, they all clasped their fists and bent down to show their sincerity.
Seeing this, Sun Tu's mind changed slightly, and he finally nodded and said: "Since you all trust me, Sun Tu, then I will do my part. Of course, Zhuozhou is still the territory of your Ever Victorious Army. It is up to you to decide what to do. At most, they just put forward some opinions and suggestions, and the real coach is still only General Dong!"
After hearing what he said, the expressions on the faces of these generals became more relaxed. Although some people quickly said that General Sun was being polite, they all seemed relieved. After all, they are not yet considered to be soldiers of the Song Dynasty. They still have their own selfish motives and cannot completely entrust their life and death to the hands of an outsider.
Such a result was an unexpected joy for Sun Tu. At least he now had the right to intervene in the city's military affairs and even give direct orders. This was much better than the embarrassing status of being neither guest nor host before. It can be said that tonight's scene is really a blessing in disguise.
Just when a few people were discussing and making a decision, a soldier nearby pushed more than a dozen Liao soldiers covered in blood to them. These people were the same guys who had been able to break into the city gate and survive the dense rain of arrows from the Qingzhou Army, including Feiyan Cavalry Commander Belu Lie.
Compared to the others, Belulie's injuries were obviously more serious because he had resisted more fiercely just now and actually killed several people in one go. Fortunately, Sun Tu and Wu Song were always on guard. As soon as they saw that he was still capable of fighting after falling from his horse, they killed him at the same time. As a result, not only was he seriously injured and vomiting blood, but one of his arms was cut off, and he was semi-conscious at the moment.
Even with such a miserable appearance, Sun Tu could tell at a glance that this person's identity was much higher than the others, so he immediately had him taken to a nearby courtyard for interrogation. A bucket of well water was poured over his head, which instantly restored Belulie's consciousness, but he was already bound by the rope and could not even struggle.
"Tell me, who are you?" Sun Tu's question fell into Belulie's ears, but he didn't react at all. It wasn't until Dong Kuang understood and stepped forward to translate in person that he snorted and said firmly: "Since I have fallen into your hands, I just want to die. If you want me to betray Daliao and the prince, that is dream!"
"Belu Lie..." This name made Dong Kuang have some reaction. After recalling it for a while, he said: "I have heard of you. Are you from Bohai?"
"So what?"
"Since we are a remnant of the Bohai Sea, why do we work wholeheartedly for the Khitans? Have you forgotten that our Bohai Kingdom perished at the hands of the Khitans and has been oppressed and enslaved by them for hundreds of years? I think that is why my father, Dong Xiu, raised his army. They started an uprising and wreaked havoc in the Liao Kingdom! But what about you, as a member of the Bohai tribe, you not only don’t want to avenge our people, but instead help the Khitan people, are you worthy of your ancestors?" Dong Kuang The more he talked, the more excited he became, and he even stepped forward, grabbed the other person's collar, and yelled loudly.
No one expected such a turn of events. Others hurriedly stepped forward to persuade the angry Dong Kuang to leave, otherwise they were really worried that he would kill Belülie in one fell swoop. The latter also looked a little dazed, and after a while he said hey: "So what if I am a survivor of Bohai? I grew up in the Liao Dynasty since I was a child, and I have always followed King Xi. I have to be promoted and taught by him to be where I am today. .As for the Bohai Country, what does it have to do with me?"
"You..." These words once again made Dong Kuang furious, and he almost drew his sword to attack these guys who had forgotten their ancestors. Thanks to Sun Tu's timely intervention, Bolü Lie's blood was not splashed on the spot: "Why would General Dong be angry with himself because of this person? I have actually seen a lot of this kind of thing. When it comes to forgetting one's ancestors by counting classics, who else can compare with him?" What about us Han people?”
"What do you mean by that?" Dong Kuang was distracted and asked casually.
"General Dong, can't you see it when you are in the Liao Kingdom? Most of the people in the south of Liao are Han people, but apart from your ever-victorious army, you have seen how many Han people rose up to resist, or fled south back to our Song Dynasty of?"
"This..." Dong Kuang sighed and shook his head, and some other generals had strange looks on their faces. Many of them are Han Chinese, and they also don’t have much sense of belonging to the Song Dynasty. In fact, this is the common situation of the Han people in Liao. For them, as long as they can survive, it makes no difference at all whether they are the Han emperor or the Khitan emperor.
"So, there are always some people who will wishfully judge a person's position based on blood and origin. That is completely wrong. Whether it is the Han people, the Bohai people, or even the Khitan people, for them, the most important thing is to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Human nature, as to where they come from, is not the guideline for their behavior at all. I am not afraid of your jokes. I have seen the Han people in Liao land harbor deep resentment and hostility towards our Song Dynasty soldiers. If they really react like you, I'm afraid I, Sun Tu, have been mad to death a few years ago." Sun Tu said, shaking his head with another wry smile.
What he said was true. I think that when he came with Tong Guanbei as an envoy, he had seen the deep hostility of many Han people in the Liao Kingdom towards him. He could not see the so-called "the survivors shed tears in the dust and looked south" in some poems of later generations. The moving scene of King Master Another Year". That is just a conjecture made by the poet from the orthodox perspective of the Central Plains, and it is not historical reality at all.
Perhaps only those foreigners who have been oppressed and exploited and can no longer survive will use this as an excuse to call on the tribesmen around them to rise up and resist. But in the final analysis, this is based on self-interest considerations rather than any national interests.
through
After such explanations, Dong Kuang finally calmed down and had no intention of attacking Belülie anymore. He just said in a business-like manner: "Then what should we do with this person?"
Sun Tu smiled and took another step forward: "So, you would rather die than surrender?"
After listening to the translation, Belülie raised his neck again and said: "That's right, don't waste your efforts. Trying to betray King Xi is just a dream. You'd better kill me quickly..."
"Want to die? It's not that cheap." Sun Tu smiled coldly: "I can see that your status is really not low, and you must know a lot of things. In this case, I have to completely squeeze out your value. Only when you are clean can you be allowed to die. For example, the current situation in the north of Liao Kingdom, and the deployment of garrison forces in Youzhou... "
After understanding the meaning of Sun Tu's words and seeing the expression on his face, Belulie suddenly felt a panic, which was a feeling he had never experienced in any previous battle. But he still said stubbornly: "Don't think about it, even if I'm tortured, I won't confess anything!"
"It's hard to say. I have many ways to deal with people like you." Sun Tu was cold again and put enough pressure on the other party. Then he turned to look at several of his subordinates and said, "Yin Ju, aren't you good at it?" Do you want to use torture? Take good care of him, don’t let him die, and pry open his mouth as soon as possible.”
"General, I obey!" A Qingzhou Army general responded immediately with his fists clasped.
As early as when Sun Tu cultivated the Qingzhou Army, he deliberately equipped it with various arms that should be used by future generations, such as Suifeng Cao under the scout battalion who specializes in intelligence, and the Shenji Division who specializes in making firearms. The interrogation department where Yin Ju worked was specially used to interrogate enemy prisoners. They were all ruthless and cunning, and were proficient in all kinds of torture techniques. Even if they got a hundred bucks to make steel in their hands, they would still have to speak obediently and turn it into a trap. Finger soft.
After feeling the evil aura emanating from these people, not only Bolülie but also the generals of the Ever Victorious Army felt their hearts tremble. Only then did they feel Sun Tu's other side besides his kindness and generosity, his ruthlessness towards his enemies.
Without further entanglement with Belülie, Sun Tu immediately left the courtyard with everyone, and then went back to rest. At this time, the sky was already dim and bright, and there was not much time left for them to rest. After all, after dawn, a new round of Liao army's offensive would begin again.
This is indeed the case. Although the Liao army's plan failed last night and suffered heavy losses, after dawn, they once again cheered up and boosted their morale, launching a new round of offensive against Zhuozhou City.
It's just that this time, the city's defenders were much more skilled in dealing with their attack than yesterday, and many of their siege weapons were burned in yesterday's strong attack. Therefore, after half a day's attack, there was almost no results, and The intensity of the battle was far from comparable to yesterday's battle. The combined casualties were less than a thousand. It was not even as intense as the battle against the city last night.
This made the ever-victorious army's somewhat low morale finally rise again. Some people even felt that the Liao army only had that little means, and Zhuozhou City was as stable as a mountain.
It was in this slightly relaxed mood that with the arrival of the afternoon, a brand new crisis befell the ever-victorious army.