Guo Shao looked up at the rising sun outside the tent. His subtle movements had already exposed his inner thoughts. He spoke very seriously: If Gao Yanchou burns the military rations, I will definitely be very angry.
Yao Lian seemed to be wondering what this young man in front of him, who held military power, would do if he got angry.
Guo Shao had a complicated expression. Of course he could take revenge when he was angry, and make Gao Yanchou and the others pay a heavy price to vent his anger, but after the revenge, what was the point, what would he gain, so he would not do it.
He couldn't help but ask: The situation in Shu was already hopeless, why did Gao Yanchou still resist
Yao Lian said: General Gao knows that Kuizhou cannot be defended, so he just wants to let the world see the integrity and courage of the Shu people.
If you have such courage, why don't you go to the north to fight the Liao cavalry? What kind of integrity is worthy of praise for dragging your own people down? Guo Shao stared at his face.
Yao Lian was speechless and could not refute Guo Shao.
Guo Shao looked worried and said slowly: You don't want to live, but you want to die in vain. Since ancient times, those who died in internal strife are always the losers. If you look through the history books, can you get a good reputation? Even if you don't want to live, others don't want to die yet.
Perhaps because time was tight, Guo Shao had to spend a lot of time talking, and inexplicably a sense of anger arose in his heart. After he had great power, few people dared to go against Guo Shao, so he rarely got angry; but at this position, when he got angry, even if it was just a few words that didn't reveal the scenery, it was quite scary.
It was as if a murderous aura was rapidly spreading in the tent, but it was actually just an illusion. The atmosphere was affected by his cold expression and the wind coming in from outside the tent caused the curtains to swing.
Even Yao Lian, who was ready to risk his life, was shocked. If a person is not afraid of death, what else can he be afraid of? Yao Lian had to think more, and he didn't know Guo Shao.
Even Shi Yanchao, who originally found it boring, leaned forward and looked at Guo Shao with great attention, becoming very interested.
Suddenly, Shi Yanchao felt that Guo Shao was actually scarier than Yang Biao. Yang Biao, the general he had been with the most, looked fierce and always spoke in a way that sounded unpleasant, as if someone owed him money. But after a while, Shi Yanchao realized that although Yang Biao looked scary, he was actually quite straightforward. As long as this kind of person didn't fight on the spot and didn't have a deep hatred, he would basically be fine.
But Guo Shao was different. Shi Yanchao couldn't help but think of the fact that Yang Kuangyin's forces were wiped out not long ago after his failure.
Shi Yanchao said nothing, waiting for the result with great anticipation. He was not expecting Guo Shao to kill people, but wanted to see what he would do.
Although Shi Yanchao mocked Guo Shao's soft-heartedness from time to time, he did not dislike his soft-heartedness. What convinced Shi Yanchao was Guo Shao's generous compensation for the fallen soldiers, which was something that no army had done before. Many people Shi Yanchao knew before and regarded as brothers died, one by one in front of him, so he felt that other people's lives and his own life were no longer important. But if he could compensate his brothers who died in battle, he would still feel a little comforted.
At this moment, the envoy Yao Lian lowered his head and said: I think the reason why General Gao refuses to surrender may be because of Li Jingda's matter.
Li Jingda is the general of Jingnan. Guo Shao pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized, and felt the results of the negotiation from Yao Lian's words, and smiled. His smile was very sincere, and immediately dispelled the cold and murderous atmosphere. Our Great Zhou Dynasty and Shu Kingdom's practices are different. I will not be too partial to others and will not decide a person's future based on personal likes and dislikes. We look at merits, how much contribution has been made to the Great Zhou Army, and what he has done. Strive for fairness, so the soldiers will fight for their lives, and they will not be able to stand out without fighting.
So you can tell General Gao to rest assured. His surrender and donation of military rations are a great achievement. I will not kill people who have made contributions. General Gao and Mr. Yao can still serve as officials in the Zhou Dynasty in the future based on their achievements today.
Yao Lian said: "General Guo's speech today has enlightened me and made me understand the righteousness. When I return to the city, I will persuade General Gao."
Guo Shao nodded and said: Very good, come, bring the pen and ink, I want to write a letter to Gao Yanchou.
At this moment, Zuo You stood up and said: "I would like to go on the mission as an envoy and will definitely persuade Gao Yanchou and fulfill my mission."
Guo Shao immediately said: It is not appropriate for Zuo Shaoqing to go.
Zuo You said: "There is no suitable person in the army at this time, and this is exactly what I can do. When the Great Zhou conquered Shu, all the officials used their strengths, but Zuo did not make any contribution. Please give me this opportunity to make contributions."
Guo Shao hesitated for a long time. It was still unclear whether Gao Yanchou would surrender or not. What if he wanted to kill Zuo You as a sacrifice before the decisive battle? Wouldn't he feel sad because Zuo You had followed him for many years
Zuo You said: Only I can explain to Gao Yanchou the lord’s ambitions and deeds.
Guo Shao looked up at Zuo You, who smiled and said, "Important matters are important, and my lord is not the kind of person who would drag his feet."
Good. Guo Shao nodded, and couldn't help but remind him, "Mr. Zuo, take care of yourself."
After everything was ready, Guo Shao sent someone to escort Zuo You and Yao Lian back to the city. He then ordered Yang Biao to gather 2,000 infantrymen to form a battle array in front of the east gate, and Shi Yanchao to lead 1,000 cavalrymen to prepare on the flank two miles away.
There were soldiers and horses under the city, and the sun was climbing up to the middle of the sky without anyone noticing. Guo Shao looked at the city wall and waited. If Gao Yanchou really wanted to go out of the city for a decisive battle, the battle would be a foregone conclusion. Not to mention that the 20,000 Zhou troops were outside the city, the 3,000 men who were ready to fight alone could defeat Gao Yanchou's troops. It was completely conceivable that the battle would be one-sided. Once the frontal infantry engaged, Shi Yanchao's heavy cavalry would directly crush the Shu army from the flank, and the battle might not even take half an hour.
After waiting for a long time, the heavy city gate finally opened slowly. Then a group of horsemen slowly walked out, and one of them was tied with a rope in front of the battle.
Guo Shao understood the situation and rode to the front of the army, where he saw the tall man who was tied up being helped off his horse. The man knelt on one knee and said loudly: "I, the defeated general Gao Yanchou, have sealed the treasury and led my troops to surrender to the Grand Marshal Guo, the chief inspector of the imperial army of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and I only ask for death as an apology."
Guo Shao got off his horse and walked up, followed by Dong Er and others. Without saying a word, Guo Shao drew his short sword from his waist, and all the surrendered Shu soldiers were shocked. But he just went up, cut the rope on Gao Yanchou with his own hands, and then held his arms and lifted him up. Gao Yanchou looked at the young face in front of him: General Guo
General Gao should not bear the responsibility for the defeat of Shu; he has done justice to the world. Guo Shao remembered what he said to Liu Renzhan, looked at Gao Yanchou's face and said sincerely that a true warrior is not one who dares to die, but one who dares to live to prove his worth. Gao Zhuangshi lost a stage to show his talents in order to step onto a bigger stage.
Marshal Guo and Gao Yanchou were immediately moved.
Guo Shao smiled and patted Gao Yanchou on the shoulder, turned around and shouted, "The vanguard will enter the city, hand over the defense from the Shu army, and strictly enforce military discipline."
Once Kuizhou was lost, the situation in the eastern part of Shu collapsed, and Kaizhong, Fuyu and other states took the initiative to send people to surrender. There were not many soldiers in these places, and the defending generals saw that the Zhou army broke through Kuizhou, which they had worked hard to build, within less than half a month after entering the Three Gorges, and no one was willing to defend it.
The sky was gray in Chengdu, the capital of Shu. Meng Chang was so shocked when he heard the news that he almost fell off the dragon throne. He looked around the hall blankly and said: "Who said that Guo the blacksmith had no ambition? The Zhou Dynasty was strong on the outside but weak on the inside.
Wang Zhaoyuan replied angrily immediately.
Meng Chang asked again: Where is Wang Zhaoyuan
They were badly defeated in Kuizhou and could not hold out for even half a day before surrendering. The general who had just spoken bowed calmly.
Meng Chang burst into tears, beat his chest with his hands, and cried: Why did I treat Wang Zhaoyuan well, why did he abandon me? Isn't Wang Zhaoyuan the Sleeping Dragon
Li Hao said: Your Majesty, apart from showing his loyalty to Your Majesty and bragging about himself, what else has Wang Zhaoyuan done? In the battle of Qinfeng Chengjie in the past, four states were abandoned, and Wang Zhaoyuan was in Hanzhong, clamoring to recover Qinfeng and march into Guanzhong. Has he ever recovered an inch of land? If Gao Yanchou had not retreated to Qingniling that year, the Zhou army would have had no intention of making further advances. Wang Zhaoyuan would have lost Hanzhong that year, let alone marching into Guanzhong.
Meng Chang regretted it deeply and said: I shouldn't have listened to Wang Zhaoyuan's empty words. I was misled by him.
One of the generals of the Highness said: "Your Majesty, I have something to say. The soldiers who fought in the front were not given important positions or rewards. For example, Hou Mao, the defense envoy of Xingzhou, who defended Qingni Ridge, did not even receive reinforcements. The flattering jesters did not make any contributions, but enjoyed wealth and glory. This has been going on for a long time, so the soldiers did not obey their orders and had no fighting spirit in the battle.
I regret it, Meng Chang raised his head and sighed.
Madam Huarui, who was standing at the back of the palace, looked pale and whispered to herself: It's too late.
Resentment soon arose in the hall. Someone shouted: Wang Zhaoyuan lost an important place and then surrendered. His entire family should be killed and his property should be confiscated and distributed to the soldiers who killed the enemy. Everyone agreed and there was a lot of noise for a while.
But at this time, Li Hao's voice could not be heard.
Meng Chang seemed to come to his senses and asked Li Hao hurriedly: What should we do now
Yes, what should I do? Li Hao was stunned for a moment, and bowed quickly and said, Your Majesty is the king, and we are willing to listen to your will.
Someone immediately shouted: Jianmen Pass is still in our hands. The Zhou army on the east route is alone and deep in, and may not dare to attack Chengdu. We can still do something about it. For the time being, we should send someone to reward Han Baozheng for defending Jianmen Pass and protecting the northern route. Then we should gather troops in Chengdu. If the Zhou army comes to attack, how can 20,000 people take down a city defended by more than 100,000 troops? We only need to defend the capital, send people to various places to persuade the surrendered prefectures and counties to turn against us, cut off the Zhou army's retreat in the east, and make them never return.
People echoed: The northern route was not open, and only 20,000 Zhou troops entered Shu, so they dared not come to Chengdu for the time being.