My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 157 No matter how Ni Heng ridicules me, I will

By the time Zhuge Jin and his second brother had discussed the tactics and envoys to persuade Yuan Shu, it was already dark.

The two fishermen packed up their stuff and went back to the camp to have people clean up the fish and have it as a dinner in the evening.

Originally, Zhuge Jin wanted to report to Liu Bei early the next morning, but Liu Bei came to Zhuge Jin's tent in the afternoon and learned that the two brothers had gone out for a secret meeting. So he brought Guan, Zhang and Zhao to have dinner together on time in the evening.

"Damn it, someone has figured out my living habits and knows that my 'secret meetings outside' are definitely held while I'm fishing." Zhuge Jin wasn't reluctant to part with these fish, as he and Aliang couldn't finish them anyway.

He just felt a little unhappy that his habits had been figured out. It seemed that his lord knew him too well.

Zhuge brothers provided fish, Zhang Fei provided wine, and Liu, Guan, and Zhao just ate with their mouths open. After half a perch was eaten, Liu Bei asked about the plan, and Zhuge Jin told him everything.

Liu Bei thought this made sense and immediately ordered the deployment.

Guan Yu continued to be responsible for the assembly of the guardrails and Ge Gongche, striving to make more guardrails than in the Battle of Hefei, to suppress the city walls and scare the enemy.

Zhuge Liang was only responsible for a few heavy trench bridge vehicles.

Zhuge Jin and Sun Qian were responsible for writing the persuasive letters, and after they were finished, they asked Yuan Huan to take them to Shouchun City.

In addition, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were also asked to be prepared. If necessary, they could attack Yuan Shu's Baguashan stronghold again after the first persuasion failed, as a lesson to let Yuan Shu know the price of refusing persuasion.

Historically, Zhang Fei's mountain warfare ability was stronger than Guan Yu's, but now he is not as good as Guan Yu, simply because he has no opportunity to gain experience.

Guan Yu defeated the Danyang bandits in the six southern counties of Danyang, and also defeated two Shanyue tribes on Huangshan Mountain. At present, Guan Yu has more or less learned a little bit about infantry, cavalry, archery, and mountains and rivers, and has practical combat experience.

After receiving the order, Zhang Fei was also excited. He said that he must take this opportunity to practice quickly since the enemy was not strong and their fighting spirit was low.

……

In the following days, the Han army deployed its troops exactly as planned.

Three days passed in a flash, and there was still no sign of Zhuge Liang's heavy trench bridge vehicle being completed. However, on the eighth day of August, Sun Shao returned from Xudu.

Liu Bei had no choice but to have his troops prepare siege equipment step by step while he personally met with Sun Shao.

Sun Shao also brought the angel Ni Heng. This choice was really beyond Zhuge Jin's expectations and was a bit embarrassing.

After all, Ni Heng was defeated in a verbal battle by Zhuge Jin two years ago and lost face for his boss in Xudu. The two of them must not get along well and have some personal grudges in their hearts.

However, this time the other party was an imperial envoy, so Zhuge Jin had no choice but to put on a smile and explain to him the friction between Huang Zu and the Han army in Lujiang.

He also stated very generously that he was not preventing other princes from suppressing the rebellion, nor was he fighting for the territories gained from the suppression of the rebellion. The fact was that among the surrendered generals taken in by Huang Zu, there were several who had previously resisted the imperial court's anti-rebellion army very stubbornly, and only surrendered when they were defeated in the end. It was not sincere.

However, in order to quickly annex their tribes, Huang Zu promised to keep these rebel generals and not disband their organization, which actually made him look like a traitor.

Ni Heng also came with anger, and when he questioned Zhuge Jin, his words were full of sarcasm and ridicule. Zhuge Jin pretended not to understand and kept smiling.

Ni Heng wanted to expand the scope of his criticism, but Zhuge Jin's requirements were indeed low. No matter how Ni Heng tried to probe him, Zhuge Jin did not mention the fact that "we want the territory occupied by Huang Zu". He did not reveal any flaws and it seemed that he completely cared about the overall interests of the court and the overall situation of the country.

Seeing such a noble and upright attitude, Ni Heng completely lost his temper. He just repeatedly warned Zhuge Jin: "If you don't make territorial demands this time, then after the matter is settled, you can never bring up the past again."

But Zhuge Jin was not fooled by Ni Heng. He insisted that Liu Yangzhou was killed for the sake of the court and the national interest, not for the sake of occupying more land for himself!
At this point, all of Ni Heng's attempts to induce a confession were useless. Ni Heng had thought of countless words to humiliate and ridicule the other party, but they all disappeared into thin air in the feeling of powerlessness, like punching cotton.

What made Ni Heng most depressed was that Zhuge Jin only attended the mediation meeting for the first one or two days. After the problem was thoroughly explained, Zhuge Jin actually began to pretend to be sick and stopped seeing him.

He just let those generals who had nothing to do, or other people with good tempers, accompany him to eat and drink, and appear humble on the surface.

Liu Bei had a very good temper and he personally accompanied Ni Heng for a few days to eat and drink, and Zhao Yun also came to accompany him for a few days.

No matter how Ni Heng provoked him, Liu Bei was always cheerful and never angry.

Zhao Yun was not angry on the first day. On the second day, he listened to Zhuge Jin's advice and stuffed a small ball of leather in his ears. Anyway, he could not hear what Ni Heng was saying. He just had to watch Ni Heng's lip shape and expression and agree with him when he said "ah, yes, yes, yes" when he spoke.

Then pay attention to your facial expressions and keep smiling throughout the process.

This kind of response really made Ni Heng lose all temper, and he didn't feel any sense of accomplishment from scolding others.

After a few days, Ni Heng, who had sprayed all over Xudu but still felt unsatisfied, actually felt very empty, as if his punches were hitting cotton. Finally, he decided not to go through with it anymore.

He took his leave of Liu Bei politely, saying that he would go to Huang Zu to persuade him to hand over the surrendered generals for Liu Bei to deal with.

Liu Bei didn't even have leather in his ears and was still in a very good mood. He smiled and sent Ni Heng to the pier by the Fei River.

Then he sent warships to escort him along the Fei River, Chaohu Lake, Rushu River, and the Yangtze River all the way to Jiangxia County.

You have to know that when Ni Heng was the envoy, he was not alone. He also had to bring his entourage, as well as other minor officials in charge of court etiquette. All of these people were impressed by Liu Bei's courtesy and humbleness, and sighed in their hearts:
No one in Xudu could tolerate Doctor Ni's abominable temper. Only Kong Rong and Yang Xiu were on good terms with him and would not be scolded.

Liu Yangzhou is so open-minded. He doesn't get angry at all despite the open and implicit sarcasm, and he doesn't show any sign of tolerance. His magnanimity and broad-mindedness are truly admirable.

……

Ni Heng arrived at the Shouchun siege camp on the eighth day of the eighth month. Liu Bei entertained him for seven or eight days with great courtesy. It was after the fifteenth day of the eighth month that he was sent on his way again. It was estimated that he would arrive in Xiakou in early September.

During the days that Ni Heng stayed in Liu Bei's camp, Liu Bei also appropriately showed the court envoys his preparations for the attack on Shouchun, allowing the envoys to see the traditional well-siege vehicles and trench bridge vehicles without sensitive components installed.

He also gave some ceremonial property to other deputy envoys, minor officials and others in the delegation, letting them know that the Yangzhou army was fighting hard to besiege Yuan Shu and was not slacking off at all, and that Liu Yangzhou was also loyal to the country, selflessly fighting and without any selfish motives.

The deputy envoy and the minor officials saw all these signs and were deeply moved: the princes these days never cared about suppressing rebellion for the court.

In particular, there were several petty officials in the delegation who had been on a diplomatic mission to Lü Bu last year and had seen their superiors bargaining with Lü Bu and discussing the conditions for jointly sending troops to fight Yuan. Lü Bu's stingy and petty behavior, which was only concerned with his own petty gains, really disgusted many of the accompanying officials.

Compared with Liu Bei today, Liu Bei is simply a moral role model for the world.

After the delegation left, they continued to praise Liu Bei.

However, just two days after the delegation left, Liu Bei had assembled enough wells and Gegong cars, and Zhuge Liang's new trench bridge car had also been successfully tested.

Liu Bei also specially had people dig a pit and release water to do a test. After the trench bridge was built, it was really possible to ensure that the Ge Gong bus could be pushed directly over it without collapsing. However, the Ge Gong bus could not be fully loaded in advance, and it had to be lightly loaded to be safer.

After knowing what was going on, Liu Bei had the confidence to persuade the enemy. The next day, he ordered all the troops to prepare for battle and formally sent Yuan Huan to Shouchun City to announce his intentions.

When the defenders of Shouchun saw the messenger coming, they did not shoot arrows, but they did not dare to open the city gate to release him. In the end, they simply dropped a basket from the top of the city and hanged Yuan Huan, who was carrying the letter, on it.

The final wording and content of the letter in Yuan Huan's hand were slightly different from what the Zhuge brothers had discussed that day. This was also what Sun Qian and Zhuge Jin suddenly thought of out of professionalism when they were discussing how to write the letter. Because many of the persuasion reasons discussed by the Zhuge brothers that day were actually a bit unpresentable. In other words, you can say this, you can make this argument, but you shouldn't leave any written evidence.

Otherwise, if this letter was kept by Yuan Shu in the future and not destroyed when Yuan Shu was defeated, and was searched by Cao Cao, it would more or less have some adverse impact on Liu Bei's reputation.

After all, it would not be glorious to make public the fact that one negotiates terms with the rebels in private, diverts the blame to the rebels and hopes that they will fight against the royal army, the direct line of the imperial court.

Therefore, Sun Qian was finally convinced that the only things that could be written in the letter were Guang Weizheng's threats and some obscure things that people couldn't find any evidence of. As for the real analysis of pure interests, some of them could only be hoped that Yuan Huan would memorize them and then orally tell them to Yuan Shu, so there would be no evidence.

In order to make Yuan Huan feel better, Zhuge Jin also did some extra ideological work in advance, implying that his lord had done his best to suppress the rebellion, and the purpose of persuading Yuan Shu was just to make him give up the strong city, so that he could be eliminated more easily in the end.

At the same time, Yuan Shu himself might be able to live a little longer because of this, but it is definitely beneficial to the world as a whole, as it can reduce a lot of killings. There is no other intention.

Yuan Huan felt that this statement made sense and he accepted it wholeheartedly. He was willing to risk his life to enter the city and persuade them.

……

That morning, Yuan Huan was searched repeatedly by Zhongjun soldiers in Shouchun City and was brought before Yuan Shu.

When Yuan Shu saw Yuan Huan as the envoy, his first reaction was also anger:
"Yuan Yaoqing, you are a traitor to your master! You still have the nerve to come to see me! You gave the throat of Yicheng to Zhao Yun for nothing and led the way in surrendering to the enemy. Do you think I dare not kill you?"

Yuan Huan said expressionlessly: "Lord Yuan, when I surrendered to you, you were still a minister of the Han Dynasty. You and I were both ministers of the Han Dynasty. Later, you usurped the throne and rebelled. If we agree, we will join. If we disagree, we will leave. How can you say that you betrayed your master?

I came here this time to save the lives of the Yuan family. Lord Xuande is a man of compassion and does not want tens of thousands of lives to die with you. He is willing to give us a way out. This will not only save tens of thousands of lives for both armies, but also allow Lord Yuan's family to live for another year or two. This is a win-win plan. Why don't you listen carefully?"

Yuan Shu was furious. He jumped up from the throne, drew his sword, rushed over, and put it on Yuan Huan's neck: "You are such a cunning and flattering bastard. You have insulted me too much. Do you really think I dare not kill you?!"

Yuan Huan sighed and said sincerely: "I have fallen here before. The general killed me only to preserve my integrity as a Han official and to wash away my past humiliation. After killing me, the general's family will be wiped out. It will be impossible to get a complete corpse or die of illness. They will be tortured a hundred times more.

There were more than 27,000 people in Hefei, and in the end more than 10,000 surrendered, thousands were captured, and the entire army was wiped out. Liu Xun was also shot to death by arrows, and Ji Ling was killed in Yicheng with one blow. After that, all the counties surrendered. If it weren't for Lord Xuande's powerful power, why would the general retreat to this city?

Shouchun is strong, even if it is stronger than Hefei, it will only add to the protracted fighting and will not change the outcome. Moreover, your army may not be able to harvest a single grain of autumn grain this year. If you besiege the city now, you will eventually starve to death.

If it really comes to that, Lord Xuande will not give you a chance to escape and survive - the fox dies on the hill, don't you want to go back to Runan to have a look?"

Seeing that the other party showed no fear at all, Yuan Shu lost his confidence.

He also wanted to leave some room for retreat, at least not be in a hurry to block the road completely now.

Seeing his hesitation, Yuan Huan continued, "You should know who among the princes of the world is the most unfaithful to the general and who is fair. Cao Cao is behind the scenes, using the emperor as a pretext to make the princes the enemy of the general. Lu Bu is fickle, once made an alliance with the general, and then suddenly broke the alliance.

Only Lord Xuande, although he had also been ordered to suppress the rebellion, it was the general who first entered Xuzhou. In the final analysis, it was just because the general was biased and felt that Cao Cao and the Yuan family were both wealthy and powerful, so even if they occupied the prefectures, they could be tolerated. But Lord Xuande started out as a mat weaver and shoe seller, and he had to occupy Xuzhou for Tao Qian, and the general could not swallow this.

However, regardless of what happened in the past, after the general became emperor, Lord Xuande also repeatedly tolerated and defended. Cao Cao and Lu Bu both attacked your prefectures and counties, and Lord Xuande was just the last one to take action. Among the three princes, who has the deepest grudge against the general? Who has the least grudge against the general?
Now the general wants to abandon the Ru'nan clan. For a moment of rage, he fought with the most hostile princes until his death and the extinction of his clan. He also gave up the only chance of escaping to Yinghuo Mountain to fight for his life. Even after his death, he will be ridiculed by the world. "

Yuan Shu's face became more and more ugly. He waved his hand in frustration and ordered his men to take Yuan Huan away and keep him in the post house first.

Then, Yuan Shu took a long time to calm down, and then he discussed with his civil servants Yan Xiang, Yang Hong and others.
Obviously, Yuan Huan's remarks on "the depth of hatred between the various princes and Yuan Shu" also touched him.

It's a pity that Yuan Shu couldn't let go of his obsession with family background for the time being, so this discussion was unlikely to produce any results for the time being.

In terms of grudges, the grudges between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, and the grudges between Lu Bu and Yuan Shu, are indeed much deeper.

Yuan Shu suddenly realized that he didn't hate Cao Cao for getting the prefectures and counties, but hated Liu Bei for getting the prefectures and counties because Liu Bei was born in such a humble family. How could a lowly person who wove mats and sold shoes have a future? How could he tolerate such a grain of sand in his eyes?
Finally, after some internal discussions, Yan Xiang said that it was unknown whether Zhang Xun had held on in Runan recently, and there was no news from inside or outside. It would be better to send a fast horse scout to Runan to contact and understand the situation, and then make a decision.

If the situation in Runan gets worse, giving up Shouchun will only lead to faster death.

Moreover, we can also judge whether Liu Bei's army is sincere and whether they will really encircle Shouchun on all sides, or whether they will go around the hub node in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River to wedge in some nails and block the throat by "whether Liu Bei's army will intercept and kill the scouts and messengers sent to Runan".

Yuan Shu thought it made sense, so he did as it was written.

That night, although Yuan Huan was detained in the post house, he still tried his best to carry out his activities.

He told the postmaster that he was friends with Yan Xiang and Yang Hong, and asked the postmaster to invite them to the posthouse to meet him. He would definitely speak well of the postmaster, and maybe he could save his life if the city was broken in the future. If not, he could also make himself familiar to big shots like Yan Xiang and Yang Hong.

The postmaster thought it made sense and helped Yuan Huan convey the message.

Yuan Huan successfully sought to meet Yan Xiang and Yang Hong. He of course talked to Yan Xiang about some moral principles, telling him that this would be beneficial to both the Yuan family and him, and hoped that Yan Xiang would be more rational.

As for Yang Hong, he was promised amnesty and benefits, and told that as long as he persuaded Yuan Shu to give up the breakout from Shouchun, he would not be held personally accountable in the future, and he could also keep the property he had greedily acquired over the years.

As for giving more money directly to Yang Hong, this was impossible. Firstly, it seemed too fake. Secondly, Yuan Huan was brought into the city in a hanging basket and was searched by the soldiers guarding the city before he could "see the emperor". It was impossible for him to bring any valuables with him.

Yang Hong did take action, after all, he also had to consider his own way out.

Although he could not give an immediate reply, he still persuaded Yuan Shu. Just two days later, the messenger and scout going to Runan had escaped, so Yuan Huan was released.

……

Liu Bei was not surprised that Yuan Huan's initial persuasion did not succeed directly. Anyway, he was already prepared for the attack, so the Han army immediately launched a fierce attack on Shouchun according to the idea of "feinting attack to consume the enemy and deter the enemy".

Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were fully prepared and launched a swift attack. They reached Bagong Mountain in one day and annihilated Yuan's army at the top of the mountain.

The morale of the Yuan army there was too low. When they found that the enemy was several times their number and was attacking fiercely, and there were brave generals like Zhang Fei who were in the lead to boost the morale of the Han army, they went forward without hesitation. The Yuan army did not put up much resistance at all. After one or two of the walls of the camp were breached, the whole army surrendered.

The Han army suffered only a few hundred casualties, most of whom were lightly wounded. Only a few hundred Yuan soldiers were killed, and more than 4,000 surrendered soldiers were captured in the end.

It can only be said that by this point in the war, Yuan’s army in the field had no desire to fight after repeated defeats and almost lost all their territory.

On the front of Shouchun City, Guan Yu also followed the battle plan step by step, using a large number of catapults and wells to attack across the moat.
At the same time, a new type of trench bridge vehicle was used to support Ge Gongche and push him across the moat, forcing Yuan's army to be ready with dense formations of spears.

The Han army's ramparts and catapults killed a large number of spearmen on the city walls, and with the help of a small number of hand-to-hand combat by the first climbers, the Yuan army suffered terribly.

Especially the Ge Gongche and Haoqiaoche that they had never seen before. The possibility of directly destroying the moat and city walls made Yuan's army, who had never seen their power, extremely frightened and their morale was extremely low.

The relevant news quickly spread in Shouchun City, and even Yuan Shu himself had to hear about it. The next day, he personally went up to the city wall and watched the battle under strict protection.

After seeing the siege weapons used by Guan Yu, Yuan Shu was also extremely frightened and became more and more shaken. In addition, the Han army also raised the flag on the top of Bagong Mountain on the opposite bank, and set fire at night to inform Yuan Shu that the Bagong Mountain stronghold had been lost. The Shouchun defenders were even more panicked.

Even Yuan Shu himself saw the fire.

Liu Bei did enough deterrence to let Yuan Shu know that he just didn't want too many people to die in the attack, not that he couldn't conquer the city. That's when he sent Yuan Huan again, trying to make Yuan Shu change his mind completely.

(End of this chapter)