Rebirth at the turn of the Zhou and Sui dynasties

Chapter 345 Treat each other with sincerity
Since the fall of the supporting cavalry outside the city, the morale of the Liaodong defenders has fallen to the bottom, and the battle with the soldiers in the city has put many people under tremendous mental pressure.

Guannu Jiacheng, who was the first to shoot his closest relative to death, was the first, but by no means the only one.

When the Liaodong defenders were suffering, in the dark, Cui Che, the commander of the coalition army, led the guards to the surrender camp.

The remaining more than 5000 surrendered soldiers were driven to the open space in the camp.

Almost all the surrendered soldiers in front of them were wounded, Cui Che said loudly:

"In the past few days, I have seen all of you risking your life and fighting bravely.

"You have shed blood and sweat for me, and you have shown me your hearts with practical actions.

"From tonight, you are no longer captives, you are no longer surrendered soldiers, and you will also become members of the coalition forces.

"After the city is broken, I will protect your family and property from harm.

"I will treat everyone equally, and distribute the spoils for you fairly according to your combat achievements.

"From this moment on, as long as my military discipline allows, you are all free!"

When the translator translated Cui Che’s promise into Goguryeo, the more than 5000 surrendered soldiers were all dumbfounded, unable to believe that it was all true.

After a moment of astonishment, there were thunderous cheers.

The ecstasy of the rest of their lives made them hug each other in twos and threes, celebrating with forgetfulness.

Cui Che winked at Liu Tongren, Liu Tongren understood, and quickly walked out of the surrendered barracks, and not long after, he brought carts of wine and meat into the camp.

In the past few days, the surrendered soldiers not only had to risk their lives to fight at the forefront, but they also often did not have enough food.

At this time, there was no such thing as the "Geneva Convention". Unless it was a deliberate invitation to buy people's hearts, such things as preferential treatment of prisoners of war could not appear in ancient wars.

Those who can stutter will not starve to death, and they should be content with this life.

Today, Cui Che not only pardoned their captive status, but even sent them wine and meat to share with them. This sudden double happiness made the hearts of the more than 5000 surrendered soldiers overflow with endless gratitude to Cui Che.

Of course, it could also be the Stockholm effect, the surrendered soldiers lived in fear of death, and now Cui Che showed them his generosity in a timely manner, which also made these Goguryeo surrendered soldiers feel good about him and became dependent.

They knelt on the ground, kowtowed to Cui Che incessantly to thank him, swore and swore that they would embarrass Cui Che.

There is no need for a translator to translate for them. Cui Che, looking at the pious expressions of these people, already knows that this Goguryeo soldier has now completely returned to his heart.

Since Cui Che stated in public that he would treat them equally, he naturally wouldn't let them carry a wooden stick as a weapon.

In order to show his trust in them, Cui Che distributed weapons to the surrendered soldiers. That night, he even brought only a dozen or so personal guards to sleep in the surrendered soldiers' camp.

In the middle of the night, there was some commotion outside the sleeping tent, and Cui Che was also awakened.

He immediately wanted to escape through the tunnel. Before entering the camp of the surrendered soldiers, Cui Che had already sent someone to secretly dig a tunnel leading to the camp of the Sui army.

But after a few screams, the drop barracks returned to calm, which made Cui Che heave a sigh of relief.

The next day, in the early morning, when Cui Che walked out of the sleeping tent, there were six corpses on display outside the tent.

Cui Che looked at Liu Tongren who was waiting in front of the tent with his personal guards, and asked:
"I heard the commotion in the camp last night, are these six people making trouble?"

Liu Tongren admired Cui Che very much. In the past, others said that Cui Che was a great person, but he was too spare for his life.

After what happened last night, Liu Tongren felt that this statement was completely farting.

Those who cherish their lives dare not stay overnight in the surrender barracks.

Chaos broke out in the camp, and even stayed in the sleeping tent, standing still, this is clearly a brave man.

"Marshal, the six of them took the opportunity to make trouble and wanted to encourage the soldiers to attack the marshal, but the rest of the soldiers were unmoved. They attacked in groups, killed these six people, and sent them over that night."

After Cui Che heard this, a smile flashed in his eyes. He knew that from now on, he could completely trust this Goguryeo troops.

In fact, it is not difficult for these soldiers to make such a choice. After all, Cui Che has promised to protect their families after breaking the city, and they themselves cherish the hard-won new life.

The surrendered soldiers were gathered again, Cui Che said loudly:

"I heard everything that happened last night, and the reason why I didn't show up was because I believed in you.

"I trust you all without reservation, and I am willing to entrust my life to you, so, you can also trust me, Cui Che, Cui will never treat my own people badly!"

After the translator relayed it on their behalf, all the Goguryeo soldiers shed tears. They were moved by Cui Che's trust.

If you treat me with sincerity, I will not let you down; if I treat you with sincerity, I believe that you will not let me down.

The tunnel was immediately buried.

On that day, Cui Che did not drive the surrendered troops to attack the city again.

In the past, they were captives and cannon fodder, and they died when they died.

But now these people are loyal people who are sincerely convinced and willing to die for Cui Che, Cui Che naturally will not let them be wasted in the city of Liaodong.

The servants of the other three divisions once again took over the banner of the main attack. Before that, the servants had been sent to do the work. The servants had a short rest for three days, and another big victory boosted their morale. Naturally, the offensive was like a tide. Simultaneously launched a strong attack from the west, south and north.

The Liaodong defenders were exhausted, and the city was crumbling and in danger.

The most difficult thing for them to accept was that Cui Che was in the middle of the soldiers, patrolling the three walls back and forth.

Seeing those old robes pick up their swords and arrows again, mount their horses, and guard Cui Che, this is undoubtedly a devastating blow to the morale of the defenders.

Gao Jianwu said in disbelief:

"Cui Che really has the ability to manipulate people's hearts, otherwise those soldiers were persecuted by him before, but now they behave like loyal servants."

Gao Puluo planned to kill the family members of these soldiers to vent their anger, Gao Jianwu shook his head and said:
"It's useless, if you do this, it will only arouse their hatred.

"Besides, we were the ones who refused them to enter the city for the safety of the city and pushed them to Cui Che."

As he spoke, Gao Jianwu looked at Guannu Jiacheng.

Guannu Jiacheng is now showing his old age, and his blue hair has also turned white. He looked at the soldiers outside the city, dazed.

Days of strong attacks had caused the servant army to suffer huge casualties, but Gao Jianwu and Gao Puluo also realized that the city could no longer be defended.

Even if Gao Yuan learned that Liaodong City was in danger, and then dispatched reinforcements from Pyongyang, it would be difficult to rescue the near fire.

Now there are no reinforcements outside, and the soldiers and civilians in the city, if it weren't for the intimidation of the coalition forces massacring the city, I'm afraid they would have given up long ago.

But this kind of persistence will not last long. Gao Jianwu is unwilling to stay in Liaodong City and is in danger.

(End of this chapter)