My older brother is Gao Huan.

Chapter 172 My Husband, the Chilige
Du Luozhou gathered people who were once the people of the Six Towns. They did not need training and could be used as combatants on the battlefield.

There's no need to build any siege equipment to attack Shanggu County Castle.

Even before he released the news and recruited followers, Du Luozhou had already sent his trusted confidants into the city to hide.

By the time Du Luozhou's army arrived outside the city, those acting as inside agents within the city had already begun their operation.

Du Luozhou did not rush to order an attack on the city, but waited for someone inside the city to help open the city gates.

Du Luozhou knew that he had to win the first battle decisively and beautifully, and that he had to reward his soldiers well.

Thinking of this...

He looked at Gao Huan behind him, then immediately spurred his horse to Gao Huan's side and asked with a smile, "Gao Lang, in your opinion, how should we conquer this city?"

"Your Majesty is wise and mighty; you must already have a good plan to break through the city. All we need to do is fight bravely!"

Gao Huan's answer was flawless, but Du Luozhou was not about to let him get away with it so easily.

"My brothers will soon be fighting to the death, and I cannot bear to do so. After we break through the city, how shall I reward the army?"

Gao Huan was furious, and he instantly understood Du Luozhou's thoughts.

How can the army be rewarded after the city falls?

The best approach is, of course, to allow the soldiers to plunder freely.

How could Du Luozhou not understand?

The two spoke softly, but everyone around them could hear them clearly. Du Luozhou clearly wanted to use this method to make him take the blame, with Du Luozhou playing the "good guy" and himself playing the "bad guy."

"What? Is He Liuhun unwilling to offer me advice?"

Du Luozhou's voice suddenly turned cold, and his eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Just as Gao Huan was about to speak, Hou Jing behind him spoke up first, "Your Majesty, He Liuhun is not good at training troops, how would he know how to reward soldiers? In my opinion, after the city falls, soldiers should be allowed to plunder the city's wealth, whoever gets it keeps it. This is the only way to boost morale and make the soldiers fight to the death!"

Upon hearing this, Du Luozhou was indeed caught in a dilemma, looking hesitant. "We are a righteous army, how can we allow our troops to plunder the people? How are we any different from the Wei government army?"

Hou Jing, however, declared with righteous indignation, “Knowing that we are a righteous army, the people in the city do not think of repaying our kindness and refuse to surrender. Instead, they stubbornly resist. This proves that in their hearts, they would rather be the lackeys of the Great Wei than let the King’s righteous army pacify the world. Such people are not the people we want to save. Robbing them will not damage the King’s reputation!”

"And what are our brothers fighting so fiercely for? To seize grain! To seize money and goods! To seize women!"

Hou Jing's words drew echoes from the crowd behind him, who all shouted in agreement!

"Robbing grain, robbing money, robbing women!!"

Its roar was deafening; even the people in Shanggu County could faintly hear it.

Du Luozhou still looked troubled, while Hou Jing and the others had already bowed down, saying, "Your Majesty! The attack on the city is imminent, there is no time to hesitate!"

Du Luozhou closed his eyes and sighed softly, "This is forced by circumstances, not what I want. Then let it be as Wan Jing said... Order the three armies that after the city falls, they are allowed to plunder for three days, but the grain and weapons must be handed over."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Gao Huan gritted his teeth and bowed down, saying, "Your Majesty! There is one more thing to note."

"Oh? When? He Liuhun might as well just say so."

"It's already September, and winter is just around the corner. We're running low on food supplies... We need to keep the elderly, weak, women, and children in the city safe and well, in case of any unforeseen circumstances."

Du Luozhou was taken aback at first, then laughed and personally dismounted to help Gao Huan up. "Look, you all should learn from this. Gao Lang's words are truly far-sighted. Issue the order to prohibit the killing of the elderly, women and children. Put them under my close guard!"

"Here!"

The people in Shanggu County who had not yet fled lived in constant fear and anxiety.

However, Du Luozhou's army did not launch an attack on the city.

at night.

Nearly a hundred inside agents, all wearing their left-fastening robes, were divided into two groups. One group climbed onto the city wall under cover of night, while the other group went directly to seize the city gate.

at the same time!

Outside the city!

A thunderous roar filled the air as thousands of horses galloped.

With the help of both inside and outside forces, the east gate of Shanggu County quickly fell, and a large number of soldiers rushed in, their faces filled with excitement, fearing that if they were too slow, everything would be looted.

The city was immediately filled with the excited laughter of the soldiers and the cries of the people begging for mercy.

A wolf among sheep is nothing more than this.

Gao Huan was among them. He forced his way into a house and killed all the adult men inside with a single blow. He then entered the house and saw a woman holding a little boy, trembling and looking at him with a face full of terror. She was so frightened that she couldn't say a word.

“Ah Hui…”

Seeing the terror on the boy's innocent face, Gao Huan felt a pang of pity and turned away. He couldn't stop anything from happening, so he steeled himself and strode into the street.

Before long, soldiers who came to scavenge the remaining items rushed into the room, followed by cries and shouts.

………………

For three days, the city of Shanggu was looted. It could be said that the army turned it upside down. All the able-bodied men who refused to submit were killed, and those who were willing to surrender were all incorporated into the refugee army to serve as 'cannon fodder'.

The elderly, women, and children were placed in another location.

Gao Huan was placed in the mansion of a wealthy family in the city to recuperate. After receiving military orders, he walked out of the mansion and saw that the streets were full of elderly people, women and children who were barely alive and whose eyes were lifeless and whose clothes were barely covering them. The young women were also barely clothed and were often dragged into civilian houses by the soldiers who were in a fit of anger.

Gao Huan could only turn a blind eye and a deaf ear, and quickened his pace to enter the prefect's residence.

Du Luozhou was in high spirits after his first victory, and the smile on his face never stopped.

The capture of Shanggu County was quite fruitful, but with the example of the capture of Liu Hanbaling before him, he was not overjoyed and asked a question.

"I remember all of your contributions in taking this city, and I will reward you when the time is right!"

"However... I hope you will all teach me how to proceed next."

Someone immediately spoke up.

"Many people had already fled from Shanggu County, so it's likely that news of our uprising has spread, and other prefectures and even the governor of Yanzhou will be on guard."

"How about we send our elite cavalry to plunder the surrounding villages, seize all the grain, guard the key roads, and prevent the counties from replenishing their supplies? Then, when spring comes next year, we can take advantage of the low morale and weak fighting strength in the city to attack it. At that time, Your Majesty will be able to sweep through the city with ease."

Du Luozhou nodded expressionlessly, then looked at Gao Huan and asked, "Does Lord Gao have any insightful opinions?"

Gao Huan waved his hand modestly and said, "I wouldn't call it a brilliant insight, but what you just said is, in my opinion, quite inappropriate."

"Oh?"

Du Luozhou, intrigued, pressed on, "Then, in your opinion, how should we proceed?"

"Our uprising cannot be hidden any longer. Sooner or later, the counties and even the governors will find out. The more this is the case, the more we should seize the cities of the counties with lightning speed. We should also seize as much territory as possible before Luoyang learns of the news and sends a large army to suppress us. We should even take the initiative to spread the news to the three prefectures of Ji, Ding, and Ying, so that more people in the six towns will know about our uprising."

"By recruiting more people from the Six Garrisons to help, or by inviting others like Your Majesty who are already renowned in the Six Garrisons to join the uprising, with the three provinces of Ji, Ding, and Ying blocking the way, Your Majesty can take this opportunity to pacify the provinces of Yan, You, An, Ying, and Ping. At that time, Your Majesty can seize the northeastern land of Great Wei in one fell swoop, and can retreat to defend or advance to conquer the world."

Someone countered, "All the counties are prepared... If we launch a direct attack, wouldn't we suffer excessive losses and waste our strength for nothing?"

Gao Huan shook his head and said, "We should take advantage of the momentum of this city's fall and looting to spread the word that when we break through the city, we will only kill the ringleaders, especially the officials of the Great Wei. If the people help us break through the city, we will strictly enforce military discipline after entering the city and will not commit any offenses. If they stubbornly resist, Shanggu County will serve as a warning after the city falls!"

"We will use this to intimidate the people in the cities of various counties and make them work for us. In this way, we can reduce the losses of our army, capture cities one after another, and also show the might of the King!"

"Excellent! Gao Lang's insight is indeed brilliant! We shall follow Gao Lang's advice and issue the order... Tomorrow, the army will set off and follow me to capture the governor of Yanzhou!"

The massive army marched towards the capital of Yanzhou, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake, like locusts swarming across the land. The civilians were all incorporated into the "refugee army" to serve as cannon fodder during the siege, consuming the city's defenders' arrows and various defensive weapons.

The eighth day of October.

A scout returned to camp to report.

“Your Majesty! There is a valley ahead called Huangguadui. It seems that a band of bandits has taken over the mountain. Judging from their attire, they may be nomads from the grasslands or even people from the Six Towns.”

"Investigate further, report back!"

More detailed information soon followed.

"Report, Your Majesty, the bandits ahead are the Tiele people who once lived in Huai Shuo. Their chieftain is called Huli Jin, and his soldiers are extremely brave."

Hearing that familiar name.

Gao Huan subconsciously stood up.

“Your Majesty, I am an old acquaintance of this Huli Jin. I am willing to go and use my silver tongue to persuade him to join Your Majesty, so as to continue to strengthen our army and avoid unnecessary casualties.”

"Very well! Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Gao!"

There are indeed precedents to learn from.

Du Luozhou also knew that rebellion had to snowball quickly. He would avoid fighting if possible, and even if the growing power was just a hollow shell, he had to make himself strong first.

Gao Huan immediately rode alone at full speed to the cucumber pile to meet Hulü Jin.

"He Liuhun?"

"Ah Liudun!"

"It really is you!"

Huli Jin was greatly shocked. The two immediately smiled at each other, sat down, and drank and talked.

"Why are you here?"

Huli Jin couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Gao Huan then told him about her experience and her plans.

“We are all people of Huai Shuo. In the current situation, we should stick together for warmth and seek our own interests. A Liudun, why don’t you come with me to join Na Du Luozhou and observe under his command for a while? We will make further plans when the situation changes.”

"Du Luozhou is currently very powerful, and it would be unwise for you to confront him head-on."

"Preserving our strength is the best policy."

Huli Jin did not hesitate much and immediately decided to lead his troops to join Du Luozhou's army.

To demonstrate his loyalty, he ordered his son, Hulü Guang, to return to camp with Gao Huan and meet Du Luozhou.

This was his pledge of allegiance to Durocjuna!
(End of this chapter)