Fang Jiefang put down the marching notes in his hand, and his mind was full of magnificent pictures of the war that destroyed merchants in the Sui Dynasty. Thousands of troops and horses crossed the great river to clean up the southwest. The centuries-old Shang Dynasty trembled under the iron hooves of the great Sui army, the mountains and rivers were torn apart, and the royal family was wiped out.
Ning Yan's notes are very detailed, where he went on a certain day, what he did, when the war started, and when it ended.
Especially the battle of attacking Yongzhou, which was recorded in detail. General Luo Yao's left avant-garde took the lead in breaking through the city gate of Yongzhou, and the army poured into the city like a tide. At this time, the Shang people had completely collapsed, and the soldiers guarding the city had no fighting spirit at all. Although there are passionate generals who organize the remnant soldiers to resist, how can they resist the crushing of the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty? The Sui soldier who had killed people turned into an extremely sharp horizontal knife, unstoppable.
It was also recorded in the notes that Luo Yao killed an eighth-rank talisman master with a punch outside the gate of the Yongzhou Imperial Palace, but for some reason it was only mentioned briefly and there was no detailed description.
Fang Jie closed his notebook and couldn't help but let out a long breath of relief.
"What do you seem to be worried about?"
Ning Yan sat on the side, looked into Fang Xie's eyes and asked.
Fang Jie hummed and said: "Don't dare to hide it, sir. The students know that the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty have not lost a single defeat for more than a hundred years, and the Central Plains are invincible. But... what the students are worried about is that the army has been fighting for twenty years in this Western Expedition." The soldiers in the army are all rookies, and the veterans who destroyed the Shang Dynasty should have already disarmed and returned to the fields. This kind of army is not lacking in vigor, but lacks experience... I don’t think Tai Sui will lose this war, I think I'm just worried that the early days of the war will not go as smoothly as people expected."
"Once you encounter setbacks... will you lose your resolve?"
Fang asked.
"When the Sui Dynasty destroyed the Shang Kingdom, the soldiers hadn't fought a war for ten years."
Ning Yan said indifferently: "You are from the frontier army, so you naturally know the characteristics of the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty. Once they go to the battlefield, they are no longer a group of people, but a pack of wolves."
"I'll show you something."
Ning Yan took out a thin piece of paper from his cuff, and Fang Jie took it with both hands and read it carefully. There are not many words on it, but it is definitely enough. These are the twelve military regulations promulgated by the Emperor of the Great Sui's Western Expedition. Although they have not been announced yet, it is not difficult for the professors of the Academy of Martial Arts to obtain them.
"Fleeers, kill!"
"Those who fail to rescue, kill!"
"Those who don't obey orders, kill!"
"Those who underestimate the enemy, kill!"
There are a total of twelve twelve killings, and any violation of any of them is a capital offense. It has to be said that this military order is extremely solemn and strict. But Fang Jie couldn't help frowning slightly after he finished reading, and then read it again from beginning to end.
"Do you think something is wrong?"
Ning Yan asked.
"The Twelve Army Regulations... seem to restrict the soldiers in terms of tactics and warfare, and there are no restrictions on certain things that must happen in the war. For example... the soldiers robbed the property of the Mongolian people, occupied the Mongolian women, Burning people's houses, none of these things are mentioned."
Fang Jie was surprised: "There are no restrictions on these things, will it cause any inappropriate things?"
Ning Yan smiled and said, "You think His Majesty's negligence?"
Fang Jie was silent for a while and shook his head: "No... how could Your Majesty not have thought of this level. Sir, I think I understand His Majesty's intentions. Although the Sui Dynasty and Meng Yuan had been at peace for a hundred years, His Majesty even fought with Meng Yuan. Meng Ge signed a trade treaty, but there is no doubt that there is absolutely no friendship between the two countries. Once the war starts, both sides will bite each other like red-eyed wolves, and will never give each other room to breathe .”
"Because of this kind of hatred, those Mongolian and Yuan people with strong folk customs are no longer ordinary people. They are still soldiers when they hold machetes. Even women will bite the soldiers of the Sui Dynasty with their teeth if they have the opportunity. Kuan Ren is Victory cannot be exchanged, so His Majesty never thought of being merciful to the Mongolian Yuan people. In the same way, if the cavalry of the Mongolian Yuan Empire rushed into the territory of the Sui Dynasty, the common people would probably react in the same way. So... Rather than being lenient, it is better to simply let go and kill, and make those Mongolian people feel afraid, and only fear can make a sturdy nation finally succumb."
Ning Yan said: "Forgiveness is a matter of the future, but it is definitely not a matter of war."
He paused and continued: "As you said just now, both the Sui Dynasty and the Meng Yuan Dynasty have their own pride, and this pride does not allow the other side to blaspheme, so the war will be tragic from the beginning. The soldiers rushed into the grassland When they were on the scene, they couldn't control themselves. They would kill like crazy and loot like crazy. This kind of thing can't be stopped at all. The military law pales in front of the madness of the soldiers. So... His Majesty simply let the soldiers kill. "
Ning Yan smiled and said, "Many years ago, I had a similar discussion with the General Luo Yao when we were chatting about nothing. At that time, the General asked me, if the imperial court launched a war against the Mongolian Yuan, and the army went straight to the grassland and won the final victory, what would I do?" To firmly and properly control the tens of thousands of miles of land? How to make hundreds of millions of Mongolian people surrender?"
"How do you answer, sir?"
Fang asked.
Ning Yan said indifferently: "I answered the general at the time... If the people of Mengyuan surrendered, there is no need to talk about how to stabilize the country. The most simple and effective way to make the people of Mengyuan submit is to surrender Kill all those who submit. Five or six out of ten, their hearts will be afraid."
"Kill half..."
Fang Jie repeated it in a murmur, feeling a little chilled in his heart.
Ning Yan smiled and said: "Now the people in Jiangnan regard themselves as Sui people and are proud of them... You must know that the great general surnamed Li a hundred years ago, although not half as many people were slaughtered in Jiangnan, but 30% of them were still there." First kill and then caress, kill until people are scared, and then implement benevolent government, the living will get benefits, and they will be happy and satisfied for the rest of their lives. It only takes a hundred years for them to remember the good and not the bad. People in Yongzhou now wear Sui clothes and spend five baht. Children under the age of 14 enter the school of the Sui Dynasty, and elderly people over the age of 60 receive money issued by the court. It has only been 20 years... They have adapted to the current life. You see, it's not that long, is it?"
…
…
It is true, after all, that a prison can change a person.
Although the prison Fang Jie sat in was somewhat special, this kind of life still had a great impact on his ideological changes. And it was precisely because of this environment that Ning Yan could understand more clearly what Ning Yan said about killing half. If it was in the past, Fang Jie would definitely not take it seriously.
He would even argue with reason, telling Ning Yan that only when he treats the people with kindness, the people will treat you with kindness. But the current Fang Jie would never say such a thing. His Majesty the Emperor, who is in charge of the country's artifact, has far more things to consider than the common people. And these things are difficult to define with simple good and evil. You can have your own likes and dislikes, but you cannot forcefully label a tyrant on the emperor's decisions.
Ning Yan and Fang Jie didn't discuss military law too much. After all, if people found out about discussing this in private, they might be labeled disrespectful.
In a world where imperial power is supreme, it is immeasurable how many people were crushed to death by this hat.
Books were messed up on the ground, and the maps on the walls were drawn beyond recognition. There is one less stone lock on the ground, which is embedded in the wall. On the stone bed were Ning Yan's marching notes, and the flying fish robe at the door seemed to be shouting something. It was only when Fang Jie recovered from his contemplation that he heard the flying fish robe calling for him to take the food.
Meals for two, with meat and wine.
"It's a nice place."
Ning Yan didn't bother Fang Xie who was in deep thought before, he knew that he needed to give Fang Xie time to digest the last point. Although this young man is deeply imprisoned, since he is sitting here giving lectures, no one can firmly believe that this young man will never see the light of day again. Speaking of which, His Majesty's treatment of Fang Jie was very contradictory. He was imprisoned, but the professors of the Academy of Martial Arts went a few blocks to give him lectures alone.
He is not allowed to be free, but he appears to be very free in captivity.
"Be quiet, no one will disturb you, and you can realize many things."
Ning Yan poured himself a glass of wine, and without using chopsticks, he squeezed a piece of cooked beef into his mouth and chewed slowly: "This is a clean day with wine, meat, and books. If there is a chance, I would like to enjoy it too. .”
Fang Jie smiled helplessly and said, "It seems that it's not just you who said this is a kind of enjoyment, maybe it's because the student's realm is not enough, so now I think it's suffering, and I don't find any comfort."
"It has nothing to do with the realm."
Ning Yan let out a sigh of relief after taking a sip of wine: "Martial arts have realms, but literati have no realms. Saying a few words that seem to make sense, and writing a few prosperous and beautiful articles is the realm? The realm that you say, The state written, even the state seen by others is not considered a state. It is pretending, and the more high-status people are, the more they will pretend. Everyone in the world has thoughts, and everyone has a time when they realize the truth by chance. This is the state ? Isn’t everyone’s realm the same?”
"Some people look for a place with beautiful scenery to live in, and write words about picking chrysanthemums in the South Mountain and planting peaches in the North Mountain, which is the state? The old farmer Tian Zhong, who is a hunter in the mountains, has a higher state than him."
"It's mentality."
Ning Yan said lightly.
"Mentality."
Fang Jie was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
"The walls of this prison are firm and unbreakable. Even if the instruments of torture on the walls are replaced with maps, and there are more books and professors around you, this prison is still a prison and has not changed. The prison cannot be changed, so you can only change it yourself. When you turn your head and feet in half to be a grandson, and when you hold your head high and hold your chest high, you are a hero if you can do it all."
"Da Sui doesn't need heroes."
Fang Jie said seriously.
"What Da Sui doesn't need is someone who can be a hero, but it's not that he doesn't need such a heart."
Ning Yan said: "Who holds a lot of power, who doesn't have the ambition to dominate?"
"Sir, if someone listens to what you say, it will be a crime of disrespect."
"What kind of disrespect is this? Besides, I'm already wearing a crime, so I'm afraid there will be more? Your Majesty also knows my nature. Those who bluntly say these things may not be thieves, and those who are full of flattery may not be loyal ministers. If you can If you walk out of here, you must join the army. I am just telling you something that a general must understand."
"As long as you can win in the end, why do you care about the means? Although the current life seems a bit miserable and makes you unwilling, but if you can't even bear this, how can you pretend to be a war in your heart? A victory or defeat ? If you can't pretend to win or lose even one game, what qualifications do you have to talk about future success or failure? A coward is an idiot, and death is not a pity."
"Your heart is a school, and this place is not a prison. Your heart is a prison, and everywhere is a prison. You are not reconciled. Even if you walk in broad daylight, your heart is always full of darkness and coldness. With a calm and broad heart, how can you run thousands of horses? You are learning now, not willing to learn comfortably, but forcing yourself to learn. Although both are learning, the things you get are very different."
Fang Jie murmured a few words: "Mentality... the students understand."