Three Kingdoms: The Kingdom Cannot Be Partial

Chapter 17: When a country is about to fall, prisoners are released for use
It seemed that he saw the doubts of the people in the training ground.

On the earthen platform of the training ground, the emperor, dressed in armor, raised his sword and said:

"Everyone, send someone to the commander's tent later to get the bamboo slips and writing brushes.

"After returning to your respective camps, gather all literate people. If you don't have enough, ask me for it.

"Be sure to write down the names, ages, commanding officers, registered residences, and family names of all the soldiers in the Xieshui camp without missing a single one!
"If you have anything you want to say to your family, write it down as well.

"Deal with all of this before sunset tomorrow. Categorize and annotate these bamboo slips according to their respective Dubo, Junhou, Sima, and Xiaowei, and send them all to the Jinwu Banner!"

Everyone in the training ground fell silent, and their originally casual and lazy standing postures began to stand straight and upright.

This so-called Son of Heaven never showed any favor or established any authority in the army.

From time to time, there were even rumors about him coming from Chengdu, saying that he was indulging in pleasure, women, and even men.

Therefore, apart from those who had just met with the emperor in the general's tent, the vast majority of other officers in the training ground, especially minor officials such as the dubo and military officers, were not convinced of the emperor and were quite dismissive of him.

Soldiers believe in only one thing.

--fist.

Of course, there are also benefits.

At first, most people treated this parade ground meeting convened by the so-called emperor with drum beating with a joking, indifferent, or even contemptuous attitude.

I thought to myself, no matter what you say, even if you say a lot, if you really can't win, you will have to retreat and escape.

However, as the emperor spoke astonishing words of relief, and as his methodical words and solemn and resolute expression followed.

They truly felt that the emperor seemed serious.

He seemed to really want to use the astonishing compensation to exchange for the soldiers' death.

Otherwise, the military already has a register, so why bother recording it again?
Suddenly, the emperor in armor on the ten-foot-high earthen platform took his hand away from his sword, and then took out a square object tied with a golden ribbon and wrapped in a brocade bag from his waist.

Untie.

take out.

Raise it to the sky.

The generals took a closer look.

If it's not the legendary Imperial Seal, what else could it be?!

"I now swear by the Imperial Seal to Heaven!

"If I fail to fulfill my promise today, my country will be destroyed, my family will be ruined, and my descendants will be wiped out!

"Emperor, queen, earth, ancestors are wise, we all learn from this fact!"

what?
All the generals on the training ground were frightened.

Have you ever heard of the emperor swearing an oath by pointing to heaven?
This emperor really wants to win, really wants the soldiers in this camp to die for him?!
He has to win?
He had to swear an oath?

Can he really give him the comfort he promised?

Fu Qian was the first to speak out: "Your Majesty, I am willing to die for you!"

Feng Hu followed closely behind: "Your Majesty, I, Feng Hu, am willing to die for you!"

Liu Yin raised his arms and said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to die for you!"

Soon, all those who had previously met with the emperor stood up and shouted in response to their death.

People always have a herd mentality. When more and more people stood up to express their opinions, when they considered that the price paid by the emperor was indeed enough to make people die, and when they were shocked by the emperor holding the jade seal and swearing to the sky, those who originally despised the emperor and had doubts and contempt for him also stood up.

"I am willing to die for your majesty!"

"I am willing to die for your majesty!"

Regardless of whether the Prime Minister really has a plan to defeat the bandits, and regardless of what the situation on the battlefield will be at that time.

At this time, just like everyone else, you won't lose any weight even if you die, so what's the harm in shouting a few times?

Don't let yourself be bullied.

Liu Chan put down the jade seal and looked at these people who were either sincerely or falsely shouting that they were willing to die for him. He felt exhausted and helpless.

In his previous life, he would never have been able to make such a bullshit oath in front of so many people, especially so many soldiers.

But there is no way.

Traveled through time and wanted to win.

This is the national condition of the Han Dynasty.

There is a reason why these old and weak soldiers, who were stationed here to serve as decoys, were not taken away by the Prime Minister to become the main force, but were instead placed here as decoys.

Zhaolie's defeat at Yiling caused many people to lose confidence and feel that the Han Dynasty was indeed doomed.

In addition, Adou succeeded to the throne, and the ruler was young and the country was in doubt.

A country without hope, an emperor without any prestige, facing the huge Wei State, which wanted to win and wanted his soldiers to die for him, Liu Chan really didn't know how to gain people's trust except promising huge benefits and making solemn oaths.

As for whether he could fulfill his promise, after the promise was fulfilled, would the soldiers on the prime minister's side be dissatisfied, and whether there would be enough land to be divided?
He couldn't think too much about whether exempting three generations of his direct line from corvée and taxation would affect national strength and breed more discontent. He also wondered whether giving priority to eunuchs as imperial guards would lead to the soldiers being unusable.

He only has these 18,000 old and weak people at his disposal, so he will squeeze out as much strength as possible from them!
If we can’t win this battle, then our country will be destroyed!

Why think so much?
When a country is about to perish, even prisoners must be released to defend the country!!!

motherfucker.

Liu Chan complained in his heart.

Ah Dou, can't you be more careful and go to the barracks once in a while to hang out with the soldiers?!

Relying on the Prime Minister for everything will only harm you!

Liu Chan slowly walked down the earthen platform, trying hard to maintain the dignity and majesty of the emperor, and walked towards the Jinwu banner, step by step.

The armor clanged.

The generals quickly followed.

...

...

early morning.

Qishan.

The Han army commander's tent.

Wei Yan, who had not taken off his armor all day and night, quickly lifted the tent and walked in, only to find that the prime minister had fallen asleep on the desk.

He opened his mouth to wake up the prime minister, but finally held back and carefully walked to a seat nearby and sat down.

However, the sound of armor colliding still woke the prime minister.

The Prime Minister slowly straightened up and rubbed his temples: "What's the matter, Master Wen?"

Wei Yan hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked up to the Prime Minister and pleaded in a deep voice:

"Prime Minister, can you give me another half day?

"If Qishan is still not conquered by sunset today, we will retreat tonight!"

Wei Yan was worried all night, fearing that he would still not succeed by noon, and that once the Prime Minister withdrew his camp, he would really have to leave.

The Prime Minister shook his head:

"No, the order cannot be changed overnight. If it's noon, it's noon.

"Scouts from the north report that scouts sent from Shanggui to Qishan are constantly on the road. If we continue to delay, the Wei army will catch up with us and it will be difficult for us to retreat safely."

"Prime Minister!" Wei Yan's face showed an almost pleading expression. Such a tone was rare in this general who was so arrogant and proud of his achievements that all the ministers avoided him.

The Prime Minister sighed deeply and still shook his head.

"Hey!" Wei Yan stamped his feet anxiously, then gritted his teeth and said, "If that's the case, I'll lead my men to attack at daybreak! I'll see whether he surrenders or dies!"

After saying this, Wei Yan, who had come in a hurry, left the general's tent with an angry look on his face and left in a hurry.

The Prime Minister rubbed his forehead again, then picked up the pen, dipped it in some ink, and continued to annotate the document.

After reviewing for a while, he put down his pen with a helpless look on his face, as if he had thought of something. He took out the silk book written by Adou from his arms, unfolded it, and read it again and again under the dim oil lamp.

The ink stains on it reminded him of the tears he shed when he wrote the "Teacher's Memorial" that year.

Like this silk book, the writing on the "Chu Shi Biao" was also blurred in many places.

What was your mood when you wrote that letter?
What kind of mood did Adou have when he wrote this silk book? He wondered.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from a distant place, which brought him back to his senses.

He stood up in surprise and left the table, rushed to the tent door and lifted the curtain.

In the firelight, Wei Yan, who had just left in anger, was walking towards him with a bloody head in his hand, followed by a large group of soldiers and officials from the prime minister's office who were so excited that they were jumping for joy.

"Prime Minister!" Wei Yan held Gao Gang's head in his hand, his excitement evident in his words.

The guards of Qishan Fort had just killed the defending general Gao Gang and came out of the fort to surrender.

His harsh words yesterday, "If you don't surrender in one day, you will kill five hundred people; if you don't surrender in two days, you will kill one thousand people," finally worked!
Damn it, since the Northern Expedition was blocked, I finally have a good time!

"Good! Good! Good!" The prime minister looked at the bloody head for a long time. After he came to his senses, he clapped his hands and praised loudly. The old face that had been sorrowful for a long time finally showed some human color.

"Wenwei (Fei Yi), immediately send someone to Nanwei to find Ziyuan (Wu Yi) and order him to quickly surrender the guards in the fort and disperse them among their various units!
"Wenchang, quickly gather six thousand men and horses, and go to Weidu (Chief Clerk Hu Ji) to allocate food and fodder. Order Bogong (Zhang Yi) to enter the fort with you!
"Sun De (Li Fu), quickly order the soldiers to light a fire and cook. After they have eaten their fill, quickly retreat south!"

"only!"

"only!"

Everyone was very happy!

(End of this chapter)