My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 354 Ling Tong's Persuasion to Surrender
Zhao Yun has also achieved a great victory, with various reports of good news coming in. Sun Jing, whose whereabouts were previously unknown, has also been captured by Zhao Yun's troops. Only Sun Ce and Chen Wu are still missing.

At this time, no one knew that Sun Ce would wake up soon after vomiting blood.

After vomiting blood, Sun Ce felt much more awake, and his strength returned.

Sun Ce then stood up, looked at the concerned gazes around him, felt a warmth in his heart, and laughed loudly: "I never thought that I, Sun Ce, would still have such brave warriors following me at this time. I can die without regret!"

Having said that, Sun Ce took the spear handed to him by his personal guard and swung it in the air: "Gentlemen, watch as I open a path to your survival!"

"We are willing to follow our lord through thick and thin!"

Seeing Sun Ce regain his spirits, Chen Wu and the others were overjoyed and charged after him.

Sun Ce took the lead, and Chen Wu and others followed, drawn by the scenery. How could ordinary soldiers possibly stop them?

Moreover, Zhao Yun only had 10,000 men under his command. To control a defensive line of more than ten miles, he could only try his best to control the roads, as the defenses in some wild areas were relatively weak.

With a fierce general like Sun Ce charging into the enemy lines, the chances of success would obviously be greatly increased if they were caught off guard.

Furthermore, Sun Ce, Chen Wu, and others were well aware of the current situation, and their actions were steady, accurate, and swift, emphasizing the speed of a surprise attack.

This prevented Zhao Yun's troops from providing reinforcements in time, ultimately allowing Sun Ce and Chen Wu to successfully break through the encirclement.

Even so, Sun Ce and his men suffered heavy losses. Their original two hundred men were reduced to just over one hundred, with more than a third of them killed or separated from the group.

Apart from Sun Ce's successful breakout, only a few or a dozen scattered escapees took advantage of the difficult terrain and lack of defense in some wild areas to sneak away, while the majority of the others were almost all captured.

Liu Feng was not in a hurry and waited for everyone to clean up the battlefield.

About half an hour later, Zhao Yun led Dong Xi, Gan Ning, Xu Huang, Yu Fan, He Qi and other generals to pay their respects.

At this time, of Sun Ce's nine thousand men, only three hundred or so escaped; the rest were captured and killed. Among them, more than 1,600 were beheaded, more than 7,000 were captured, and thousands of weapons and armor were seized.

Sun Ce's 30,000-strong army, which he had painstakingly assembled, had been wiped out. Only Zhu Zhi's 10,000-strong force remained with some fighting power, but they no longer posed a threat.

By this point, Sun Ce was no longer a threat; even if he escaped, he would have no chance of turning the tide.

Not to mention that the military strength of Kuaiji Commandery had long been drained, even if there was still military strength, Sun Ce, having lost his basic officer corps and core old troops, could not control these forces.

Zhao Yun, Gan Ning, Dong Xi, Xu Huang, and He Qi presented the captured prisoners in turn.

Zhao Yun captured Sun Jing alive, Gan Ning killed Sun Gao in battle, Dong Xi and Xu Huang joined forces to capture Han Dang, and He Qi captured Sun Jiao alive. Including the Rui brothers captured by Gao Shun and Song Qian killed by Jia Kui, at least half of Sun Ce's army's named captains and above were wiped out.

Liu Feng was very satisfied and nodded in praise repeatedly.

Even the steady and reliable Zhao Yun and Xu Huang couldn't help but feel secretly pleased to receive Liu Feng's praise. As for Gan Ning and Jia Kui, who were cheerful, forthright, and straightforward, they were overjoyed.

"The merits of all the generals will surely be richly rewarded."

Liu Feng was also quite pleased at this time. After this battle, Jiangdong could be pacified and Yangzhou could be pacified.

Therefore, he was generous in rewarding his generals.

At the same time, he was also calculating the money and provisions in his mind, wanting to reward the entire army handsomely.

Liu Feng was quite satisfied with the Southern Expeditionary Army's campaign. Since the second half of last year, the Southern Expeditionary Army, which had only rested for a few months, had fought a series of major battles, first attacking Yuan Shu and then crossing the Yangtze River.

Every major battle was more arduous and dangerous than any of the previous ones.

Liu Feng was initially worried that the Southern Expeditionary Army might cause some trouble. This was not just Liu Feng being overly anxious. Not to mention the late Eastern Han Dynasty, even the armies of the later Tang and Song Dynasties had all sorts of troubles.

Cao Cao's desperate actions, such as borrowing the head of a grain official and using the image of plums to quench his thirst, were the result of being driven to desperation by his army.

Therefore, Liu Feng was very worried that the Southern Expeditionary Army might have some issues, such as complaining that the work was too hard or that the rewards were not enough.

To Liu Feng's surprise, the Southern Expeditionary Army had no complaints and their morale remained stable, which both surprised and delighted Liu Feng.

The main reason for this outcome was that Liu Feng treated his soldiers well, provided them with sufficient supplies, and ensured fair, open, and just rewards and punishments, supplemented by honorary rewards and incentives.

This transformed the Southern Expeditionary Army into, to some extent, an army with a sense of honor, and naturally, it could not be as slippery and chaotic as the warlord armies of the same period that were merely there for the sake of making a living.

As the battlefield gradually calmed down, most of Sun Ce's troops, except for Zhu Zhi's, had already surrendered.

The war is drawing to a close.

Liu Feng glanced at Zhu Zhi's formation, then shouted to his personal guards behind him, "Where is A-Tong?"

A young man rode out of the ranks, then dismounted and bowed to Liu Feng: "Reporting to my lord, I am here."

This boy was only nine years old, but he was clever and agile.

This boy was Ling Tong, the son of the powerful Ling family in Yuhang, who had just turned nine years old this year.

His father was Ling Cao, Zhu Zhi's right-hand man and the current military commander of Sun Ce.

Xu Zhao, a local strongman in Yuhang, had already secretly reported to Liu Feng about the Ling family's support for Zhu Zhi, which received high praise from Liu Feng.

Later, Liu Feng learned that Ling Cao had led more than 500 clan soldiers to Kuaiji with Zhu Zhi. Now, only a few hundred elderly, weak, women and children, as well as Ling Cao's mother and wife, remained in the Ling family.

Liu Feng was naturally quite magnanimous. He did not punish the Ling family. On the contrary, he sent Xu Zhao to comfort and appease them.

Xu Zhao was grateful. He knew perfectly well that Liu Feng was setting him up. He immediately went to the Ling residence to comfort the elderly, women and children.

No one knows what Xu Zhao and Ling Tong talked about, but Ling Tong actually took the initiative to ask to see Liu Feng.

Out of curiosity, Liu Feng agreed to the other party's request and met Ling Tong.

Upon meeting, Ling Tong immediately knelt before Liu Feng, expressing his gratitude for Liu Feng's kindness to the Ling family.

Ling Tong's gratitude was understandable, since his father, Ling Cao, had led the Ling family's soldiers to run away with Zhu Zhi, which was a clear act of going against Liu Feng.

At that time, Sun Ce's army was gathered south of the Qiantang River, and Ling Cao was under Zhu Zhi's command. What else could they be but enemies?

However, Liu Feng did not pursue Ling Cao's responsibility, which naturally shows that he had done a great favor for the Ling family.

Therefore, in addition to expressing the Ling clan's gratitude to Liu Feng, Ling Tong also offered to persuade Ling Cao to surrender on Liu Feng's behalf.

This is quite reasonable, as Ling Cao was not yet a staunch supporter of the Sun family at this time; he sided with the Sun family for Zhu Zhi's sake.

Now that the Southern Expeditionary Army is powerful and has occupied Ling Cao's hometown of Yuhang, it represents the court and the emperor, and has the legal right and legitimacy to govern Yangzhou in accordance with the laws of heaven.

Ling Tong felt confident he could persuade his father to return to Jiangbei. However, Liu Feng rejected Ling Tong's suggestion, knowing that Ling Cao would never agree given his temperament.

Some people are destined to value honor more than life, or even more than anything else.

Ling Cao is this kind of person, and Ling Tong is also this kind of person. It's just that he is still young and doesn't understand his father yet. Perhaps it's because of family ties that he chose to deceive himself.

Although Liu Feng rejected Ling Tong's suggestion, he took him with him.

Liu Feng previously felt that Ling Tong's suggestion was inappropriate, but that didn't mean there was no chance.

For example, right now, Sun Ce's army has been completely wiped out, and Zhu Zhi is trapped in a corner with his remaining troops. If Ling Cao had not died in battle, it would undoubtedly be a very suitable channel for persuading him to surrender.

Therefore, after Ling Tong stepped forward, Liu Feng smiled and encouraged him, "A-Tong, I want you to go to the enemy lines to persuade them to surrender. Do you dare to accept?"

Ling Tong, however, was not surprised but delighted, and immediately said excitedly, "I have received great kindness from the general and have been thinking of repaying it day and night. Now that the general has given the order, I am overjoyed and how could I dare not!"

"it is good!"

Liu Feng exclaimed in admiration, “Although A Tong is young, he has extraordinary ambition. In that case, go to the enemy lines on my behalf to persuade them to surrender. Order Zhu Junli to stop resisting the royal army and surrender with weapons at once.”

"I respectfully obey!"

After bowing to Liu Feng, Ling Tong stood up, mounted his horse, and galloped off towards Zhu Zhi's remaining troops.

Before long, Ling Tong had arrived at Zhu Zhi's front line.

Soon, Zhu Zhi and the others received the news.

At this time, Zhu Zhi's situation was also very difficult. Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Yan and others wanted to persuade Zhu Zhi to persevere a little longer.

They weren't fools; they knew that Sun Jun had been completely defeated and had no hope left.

The reason why Cheng Pu and others made such a request to Zhu Zhi was that they wanted to buy time for Sun Ce to break through the encirclement.

Zhu Zhi's current position is undoubtedly the lowest point at sea level, and he is completely surrounded. Therefore, Cheng Pu and the others have no idea that Sun Ce has successfully broken through, and they are thinking of buying Sun Ce some time.

Once Zhu Zhi surrenders, and Sun Ce has not yet broken through the encirclement, it is foreseeable that he will become the target of everyone's criticism.

As for persuading Zhu Zhi to break through the encirclement or fight to the death, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and the others are not crazy. Making such a request would only force Zhu Zhi to take drastic measures against them.

Zhu Zhi was actually quite independent. He was only grateful to Sun Jian and admired Sun Ce and Sun Quan from beginning to end, but he was not a die-hard fan of the Sun family. Otherwise, he would not have immediately bid farewell and returned home after his suggestion to Sun Ce to cross the river and develop was rejected two years ago.

In stark contrast to Cheng Pu and his group were Ling Cao, Zhu Cai, Zhu Ran, and others.

Zhu Cai was Zhu Zhi's eldest son, Zhu Ran was Zhu Zhi's nephew and adopted son, and Ling Cao was Zhu Zhi's trusted and beloved general.

The opinions of these three men can be said to represent the attitude of the four thousand hometown youths under Zhu Zhi's command.

Although Ling Cao, Zhu Cai, Zhu Ran, and others were captivated by Sun Ce's charm, their acquaintance was still superficial, and they had always been subordinates of Zhu Zhi, not Sun Ce.

With Sun Jun suffering a crushing defeat and on the verge of annihilation, Ling Cao, Zhu Cai, and others, even if they themselves were not afraid of death, still had to make some plans for the clan soldiers under their command.

The sooner they surrender, the better they can save these people's lives.

If they angered Liu Feng, even though he had no precedent for massacring prisoners, if he refused to surrender, then these fellow villagers would still be unable to return to the north bank of the Qiantang River.

Although the two sides disagreed, given Zhu Zhi's prestige, status, and the military strength he currently possessed, he should be able to make a decision in a single word.

However, Zhu Zhi hesitated for once. Strictly speaking, the request made by Cheng Pu and others was not unreasonable, but Ling Cao and the others' concerns were indeed very reasonable.

This is why Zhu Zhicai is caught in a dilemma and has been unable to make a decision for a long time.

At this moment, Ling Tong happened to arrive as Liu Feng's envoy, and Zhu Zhi immediately had him invited over.

Upon hearing Ling Tong's arrival, Zhu Zhi, Zhu Cai, Zhu Ran, and Ling Cao were stunned, as they all knew Ling Tong. Zhu Ran, in particular, was seven years older than Ling Tong, and the two were quite close, often traveling together.

As for Ling Cao, he stared at his eldest son in disbelief, unable to process what was happening for a moment.

Ling Cao blurted out in shock, "Tong'er, what are you doing here?!"

"Was Father injured?"

Ling Tong first respectfully bowed to Ling Cao and greeted him. After seeing Ling Tong shake his head, he immediately said solemnly, "I have come here on the orders of General Zheng Nan to persuade General Zhu to surrender."

Everyone's expression changed, but Zhu Zhi remained calm, clearly having reacted first.

Among the crowd, a young soldier quietly approached a military officer and whispered, "Brother-in-law."

The man he called brother-in-law was quite burly, but had a rather simple and honest face. He was Deng Dang, the military commander under Yuan Xiong, who was under Sun Ce.

Seeing his brother-in-law overstepping his bounds, he was both shocked and angry, and whispered, "Ziming, what are you doing? Get out of here at once."

Lu Meng winked at his brother-in-law and whispered, "Brother-in-law, the adults are arguing and at a stalemate because they can't get any outside information. Isn't the Ling family boy's entry into the battle a perfect source of information? If you report this to General Zhu, wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

Deng was stunned, somewhat confused about his brother-in-law's meaning.

Lu Meng became somewhat anxious. After all, this was not a difficult thing to think of, and there were many smart people on the field. If someone else came up with the idea first, then they would have no credit to speak of.

So, Lü Meng simply snatched Deng Dang out from behind.

Lu Meng's movement immediately alerted the guards around him. Before he could take two steps, a blade was already at his throat.

Deng was terrified. His mother-in-law only had this one son. If he died here, how could he face his mother-in-law and wife?

"Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding!"

Deng Dang shouted loudly, but dared not make the slightest unnecessary movement. At the same time, he remembered what Lü Meng had just said and hurriedly shouted to Yuan Xiong, "Captain, Ziming has a plan to present."

Yuan Xiong's face was originally rather unpleasant. Deng Dang was his confidant, and Lü Meng was also a promising young man he had high hopes for. He never expected that Lü Meng would be so reckless at this moment.

It's important to understand that the atmosphere on the field was quite tense at that moment, and no one could guarantee that an unexpected event wouldn't lead to a firefight between the two sides.

Even if Lü Meng had any ideas, he should have asked Deng Dang to consult him; how could he just run out like that?

Even if what he said makes sense, it still seems like he's trying to take credit for it.

After all, the disastrous consequences he might cause far outweigh the merit of his current advice.

(End of this chapter)