Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 390: The One Who Wins the Hearts of the People

Hanoi.

Liu Taozi rode on Heifeng and stared at the ravine in the distance.

It was pitch black around Hanoi.

The land is charred, and you can see the city in the distance from here at a glance.

The charred land was littered with corpses.

Many evil birds were circling back and forth in the air, falling down from time to time.

The generals stood behind Liu Taozi, and the group stood on the high slope, looking at the charred land around them.

Zu Ting whispered, "In order to prevent us from hiding in the dense forest and to build fortifications, the thieves cut down all the trees around and then set them on fire."

"He also summoned hundreds of thousands of civilians to build fortifications outside Hanoi."

"There are six trenches over there, each of which is bottomless and one zhang wide, with spikes underneath. Outside the trenches are chevaux de frise, and every fifty steps there is an arrow tower. Over there are high walls to defend against siege towers. On the west side, they diverted river water to dig canals and built a moat, which is difficult to pass without vehicles or boats."

"Outside the city wall, seven thorn walls were set up"

Zu Ting pointed to each place one by one and described the enemy's frenzied defensive tactics.

Gao Yanzong sneered and said, "I used to think Dugu Yongye was ambitious, but I didn't expect him to be so cowardly. He wanted to dig a hole to hide himself. Such a plan is ridiculous!"

Zu Ting stroked his beard and said, "General Gao is young, so you may not know that when the Pseudo-Zhou and Qi were at war, this kind of situation was very common. Many generals have used similar methods. Even Hulugu, when he was fighting the enemy in Anyang, had people build fortifications that were hundreds of miles long, forcing the Zhou people to retreat."

Gao Yanzong ignored him and looked directly at Liu Taozi, "Brother, let me be the vanguard!"

"I am willing to lead people to take over Hanoi!!"

"No need to rush."

Liu Taozi said softly, "These beasts have conscripted so many civilians. When we arrived, they hid in the city. So many civilians dare not go south or north, and hide outside the city. Winter is coming soon, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for them to survive."

"We will stay here first. Yanzong, you will be in charge of this matter. Take the knights to inform the various places and inform the civilians who have nowhere to go to go to Gaodu. Also, let the Gaodu commander be prepared. Even if we use military rations, we must not cause large-scale starvation or freezing. We must do our best to protect as many as we can."

Gao Yanzong was a little anxious, and he said hurriedly: "Brother, the task of pacifying the people can be handed over to any civil official, such as Zugong, but the war cannot be delayed because of them."

"Our army is gathered here, and we consume a lot of food every day. Every day we delay, the food loss will increase exponentially. Although the situation in our country has improved, we can't waste it like this!"

Liu Taozi looked at him and said, "These civilians are gathered at various places along the defense line, and they can only wait to die. Once we officially engage in battle, they will be within the range of the battle between the two sides and will surely die."

"We go to war to stabilize the world and fight for the people of the world. If we abandon these people just to defeat the enemy as soon as possible, that would be putting the cart before the horse!"

Gao Yanzong was suddenly speechless and lowered his head.

"only!!"

The opportunity to achieve great things that Gao Yanzong longed for did not come, so he had to complete the emperor's order first. Liu Han's army was stationed outside the Hanoi defense line, where they built tents and stationed, while Gao Yanzong and others galloped back and forth on horseback. Their purpose was not to attack the city, but to notify the people in the war area and let them leave as soon as possible.

Dugu Yongye, this inhuman man, gathered a large number of laborers from all over the place to build fortifications. Before Liu Taozi and others arrived, they were still busy here.

If there were any dead bodies, they would be left directly on the road, which is why we can see the debris everywhere.

After discovering that Liu Taozi's army was approaching, the cowardly generals under his command simply fled back to the city, artificially creating a large number of casualties in the war zone.

Gao Yanzong ran all the way.

He always finds the dead in all kinds of strange places.

Dugu Yongye not only captured the young and strong, but also the elderly, women, and children. In short, he spared no one who was still alive.

Most of them can only survive in villages in the war zone.

Most of these villages have been demolished and nothing is left of them, and thatched houses are considered high-end among them.

When Gao Yanzong found them, these people were huddled together, their faces full of fear. They had nothing left to eat. Although they had not yet reached the point of cannibalism, they were almost there. They ate whatever they came across, such as tree bark, soil, and corpses.
Faced with the sudden arrival of the army, they were naturally extremely frightened and did not dare to flee.

They could only kneel on the ground to show that they had no property that could be plundered.

Gao Yanzong could only state again and again that he was a general of the Han State and that if they did not rob, the army would soon attack. They could seek refuge in Gaodu, and that food had been prepared there and they would provide relief.

I don’t know how much of these people believed it. Anyway, Gao Yanzong had war horses and sharp swords, so the people had to believe it whether they wanted to or not.

They could only shout "Long live the enemy" and then quickly leave the place along the route designated by the other party.

But it is difficult to know what is really in your mind.

More and more dead people and civilians were pulled out by Liu Taozi, and people were sent to escort them all the way to the rear.

At this moment, in Hanoi, Dugu Yongye had been sending people to keep an eye on Liu Taozi's actions.

A group of people stood on the city wall. Dugu Yongye looked into the distance. Looking at the gullies that gave him a sense of security, he couldn't help but smile.

"Gao-kun!!!"

"It's just as you expected!!"

Dugu Yongye looked at Yang Su again, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Yang Su was really more and more trusting.

This guy is so strong!

So far, everything Yang Su said has become reality one by one.

Yang Su had previously told Dugu Yongye that after Liu Taozi led his troops here, he would certainly not rush to attack, but would first hypocritically stabilize the people's livelihood here.

Dugu Yongye exclaimed: "Mr. Gao is truly a god!"

"It's as accurate as a god!"

"How did Mr. Gao know that Liu Taozi would do this?"

Yang Su smiled confidently, "Liu Taozi has always been known for loving his people. We left so many dead outside the city, he will definitely not abandon them."

"Duan Shao's weakness is that he rarely changes. When faced with a truly desperate situation, he still sticks to his original approach and doesn't have any special moves. As a result, he died at the hands of Liu Taozi. Liu Taozi's weakness is that he is kind and weak."

"A kind-hearted person cannot lead an army. He lacks the courage to make sacrifices and the sense of the overall situation. After all, he was born a slave. When he does things, he can only see the slight benefits in front of him, but cannot see the overall situation of the war."

"The food he brought with him this time was not much to begin with, and he also had to take care of the dead. It would probably take a month for him to launch the attack, and by then it would be freezing cold, and he would have to ensure he had enough supplies for the winter."

Yang Su said conceitedly: "For at least a year, Liu Taozi will be held here by us, unable to move forward or backward. Liu Taozi thinks he can take over Heluo and despises the heroes of the world. Now is the day of his death."

Dugu Yongye couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Yes! You are right!"

"It seems that I don't need to worry too much. Everyone, follow me back to the mansion!"

"Have a banquet!!"

Not only Dugu Yongye, but the generals under his command were also very happy at this moment. They thought that if they could delay for one more day, the better. It would be best if they could continue to confront each other without fighting.

After more than a month of resettlement work, Liu Taozi finally launched an attack on the enemy.

Yao Xiong and Kou Liu were the generals on the left and right sides, and they led the soldiers from Shuozhou and Jizhou to advance.

The two sides began a full-scale battle.

It has to be said that the defense line set up by Dugu Yongye and others is still very threatening.

After the two armies began their advance, their progress was not very smooth.

The gullies all over the ground plus the arrow towers and fortresses formed one barrier after another. Yao Xiong fought faster, leading a small number of elite troops to launch assaults, eliminating the enemy's troops on various defense lines, and then letting the main army continue to advance. However, in this way, the distance between the front and rear armies was too great, and the assault team could easily be surrounded by the enemy. The core part of the soldiers under Dugu Yongye were all capable of fighting and should not be underestimated.

Koulu is advancing steadily here, so his progress is even slower.

The distance between the two sides was slowly shortening, and Dugu Yongye continued to suck blood from his rear and constantly replenish the front line, trying to delay Liu Taozi, confront him, stalemate, and consume each other.

Yang Su's perfect strategy is being implemented. Dugu Yongye is immersed in the joy of suppressing Liu Taozi. Under Yang Su's instigation, he continuously withdraws troops from the rear.

The troops at the checkpoints that were originally used to defend against the Zhou army were constantly decreasing, or being replaced by new soldiers. Yang Su also recommended many wise men to Dugu Yongye.

And these wise men did show good talents. Dugu Yongye thought that this was Yang Su accumulating manpower for him to become prime minister, so he waved his hand and placed these people in various places.

As for Liu Taozi, just as Yang Su expected, he did not ignore the lives of the soldiers and fought all the way.

Yang Su has always used soldiers as tools. He feels that if a general does not even have the courage to sacrifice his subordinates, he will never succeed.

Liu Taozi did not meet Yang Su's requirements.

Yang Su felt that if he were the commander-in-chief of the Han Kingdom, he would charge forward at all costs, even if many people died. As long as the enemy could be defeated early, everything would be worth it. But now he is taking it slow in order to reduce his own losses, which will bring him greater disaster and casualties.

How can you gain anything if you don’t let go?

While the two sides were fighting, the Turkic father-in-law also began to actively attack.

The Turkic father-in-law used to come once a year. With the Zhou people's request this time, he saw hope of victory and once again led his troops to attack the Han State from the north. Hulugu led his troops to fight him.

However, the war in Lingzhou has been delayed.

The main reason was that there were too many generals. Yuwen Xian's letter to Yuwen Yong was approved, asking Yuwen Xian to assist Yuchi Jiong in defeating Gao Changgong and giving Yuchi Jiong great power.

However, Yuwen Xian could not execute the generals just because they had other opinions.

If the person in charge was someone like Yuwen Yong or Yuwen Hu.

Any general who dares to question the commander-in-chief will be dragged out and punished on the spot.

But Yuwen Xian couldn't do it. Could he drag out the chief steward of Jingzhou and chop him off just because he raised a few questions? Could he drag out the Duke of Deng, who had a lot of experience and participated in the founding of the country, and chop him off?

Yuwen Xian couldn't do it, and Yuchi Jiong couldn't do it even more.

Everyone's rank is too high. If you want to demonstrate military law, you can kill a general of the middle or lower rank, but who dares to kill a duke to demonstrate military law? ?
A duke has his own faction behind him. Apart from someone like Yuwen Hu, who would dare to kill people at will?

How can I report to the emperor if I really kill him?

There were too many ideas and disagreements. Yuchi Jiong urged him several times, but Quan Jingxuan deliberately delayed. In the end, the army deployed by Yuchi Jiong on Gao Changgong's defense line had been walking for more than a month but had not reached the designated location.

This made Yuchi Jiong furious, and he wrote another letter to the emperor demanding the dismissal and punishment of Quan Jingxuan.

Because of his previous achievements, Quan Jingxuan did not take others seriously at all. He acted on his own and insisted on beating Gao Changgong according to his own ideas.

It was not easy for Wei Xiaokuan to show up.

What a mess.

However, Gao Changgong was unwilling to miss such a good opportunity. He quickly organized an elite cavalry and prepared to attack the slow-moving Quan Jingxuan.

War has broken out on three sides of the Han State.

High capital city.

Along the city wall, the government built many simple houses.

These houses have walls on one side and are connected to each other on the other sides. They are of simple construction and cannot really shelter from wind and rain.

In these huts and tent-like houses, there are countless war victims.

Gaodu is not a big city and it cannot accommodate so many dead people.

Moreover, the weather is getting colder and colder. Letting the deceased go to other places at this moment would be sending them to their death. The government can only follow the method used to settle civilians at the border and settle the deceased outside the city.

Fortunately, since most of them are with their families and fellow villagers, they are relatively stable and will not pose a high threat like the border garrisons in the past where they turned into thieves.

A minor official was pushing the cart, and armored soldiers followed on both sides.

The clerk's car was filled with several large barrels. When they saw the clerk, many people came out of the temporary residences, holding all kinds of strange tableware in their hands.

After experiencing so much relief, most of them have become accustomed to the rules.

They didn't fight or argue, but just stood calmly on both sides, waiting for the clerks to distribute food to them.

The clerk's wooden barrel was mostly filled with water, with some millet and vegetables floating in it. It looked like mixed leftovers, similar to the meals in Cheng'an Law School.

The clerk distributed it to everyone, neither more nor less.

Although these things look really hard to swallow, these dead people don't despise them.

It's not that the government intentionally gave them bad things, but the government was indeed not rich. The Han State had just started out and had wars to fight on three sides. It was very difficult to get these things together and prevent them from starving to death.

Everyone ate their food and hugged each other for warmth.

A young man put down the broken bowl in his hand and looked at everyone angrily.

"Everyone, I have something to say."

At this moment, the civilians around were suddenly shocked.

An elderly person stood up and said, "Please stop talking nonsense."

The young man had a resolute expression on his face. He said seriously, "All of us were originally farming in our hometown. We had not committed any crime, but we were caught by the old thief Dugu and sent here to dig ditches. Some died, and some were injured!"

"My brothers are still slaves in the city and cannot escape."

"It's winter now, and there's nothing we can do here. We can only eat the government's relief food for nothing while the army is fighting on the front line. With the trenches we dug, how long will it take to rescue our families?"

He looked left and right, then quickly jumped to a high place.

"Everyone!!"

"I am ready to go to the front line. Even if I can't follow your majesty to kill the enemy and gain merit, I can still do something to fill the gullies and dig up the fortresses!!"

"Your Majesty must be in need of auxiliary soldiers!"

"Who wants to go with me?!"

Hearing the young man's shout, several of his friends were the first to stand up.

"Dou Chong!! We are all willing to go with you!!"

The young man nodded, "Your Majesty has been very kind to us. This is to repay him and to save our loved ones!"

"If the old thief Dugu dies one day earlier, tens of thousands of people will be able to live!!"

"let's go!"

The young man left with everyone.

The dead gathered together and looked at the group of people who left. They were all surprised and asked about it. Then they were informed of the situation.

For a moment, the civilians outside the city became agitated.

Soon after, more and more people began to leave and head towards the battle zone between the two sides.

The officials in Gaodu were the first to discover the incident and reported it quickly. The county magistrate thought there was some kind of riot and quickly sent people to investigate.

However, the officials in charge of the investigation told him that the dead had gone to the front line to help the army fill ditches, build roads and bridges, and assist the army in advancing.

The local officials hurriedly reported these matters to Liu Taozi.

There was no need for officials to report, because the dead had already arrived. They approached the various armies and volunteered to become auxiliary soldiers. There shouldn't be too many of them, and they only needed one meal a day, just like when they were outside the city. As long as they had something to eat, they were happy. They didn't even need to borrow tools, because they knew how to make simple tools.

When the people in the city learned about the situation outside, they donated some supplies, and some young and strong people also took the initiative to set out with their own tools.

Suddenly, a huge crowd appeared at the front line.

Those who had dug these ditches began to fill them up frantically.

(End of this chapter)