Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

"Sir! Hill 341 has fallen!"

"All my men are wiped out!" The regimental commander stationed at Hill 341 stumbled into the command post.

"You fired them all? How did you even get back?"

"You're pretty fast! You survived all that heavy artillery fire outside."

"What were my orders to your regiment?"

"Hold the position to the death! As long as we're here, the position is here..." The disheveled regimental commander immediately sensed the danger in Zhu Gaoqi's words and hurriedly changed his tune, saying, "Commander Zhu, give me another battalion and I'll lead my men to take back Hill 341!"

"You couldn't even hold a single regiment, what good is a battalion commander like that!"

"You shouldn't have run back from the front."

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoqi glanced at the colonel in front of him, then drew his sidearm and fired a shot.

"Drag out!"

"Anyone who disobeys orders and abandons their post—this is the consequence!"

"Tell them, if they're going to die, they'd better die on the battlefield."

"Either way, death is inevitable. Those who die on the battlefield are heroes, and their families will be treated well; those who escape are sinners who deserted the battlefield, and their families will be disgraced!"

"This is not a difficult calculation."

"Whether they want to be heroes or cowards, let them decide for themselves."

"Yes, sir!" The officers in command exchanged bewildered glances as they watched the unfortunate man being dragged away.

A regimental commander was executed without warning; this "madman" Zhu's reputation is truly well-deserved.

"Send up all the reserves! Get them there! Engage in hand-to-hand combat!"

Faced with the positions being captured by the Zhenguo Army, Zhu Gaoqi became completely desperate: "Isn't the Zhenguo Army's artillery fire fierce and powerful?"

"Then let them engage in melee combat! If they keep firing, we'll blow up their own people too!"

"Gentlemen, load your weapons and get them ready."

"Once all the troops outside have been defeated, we'll lead the guard battalion and fight the Zhenguo Army!"

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"Brothers Zhuo Jun! We are all people of Qian Kingdom, stop resisting!"

"Continuing to resist will only lead to death. Is it really worth risking our lives for the Zhuo family?"

"We know that the brothers' concerns are simply about their families back home!"

"Think about it—is this something a human being would do?"

"Our brothers are risking their lives on the front lines, yet your families are being threatened by this Zhuo guy. Are you all really willing to risk your lives for such a scoundrel?"

"Brothers, rest assured, the Daqian Zhenguo Army will soon recover the five provinces of Jizhou, and we will definitely ensure the safety of your families."

"Stop resisting! If you continue fighting, you'll truly never see your families again..."

During the lull in the fighting, the Daqian Zhenguo Army's surrender appeals were repeatedly broadcast over the battlefield radio.

The fighting along the entire Liaofu defense line was extremely fierce.

This was nothing short of a one-sided massacre.

Even the attacking Zhenguo Army troops couldn't stand it anymore.

Therefore, the headquarters of the punitive expedition specifically ordered a one-hour ceasefire before launching another round of persuasion to persuade the rebels to surrender.

"Battalion Commander, why don't we just surrender?"

"If this keeps up, all the brothers will really die..."

"Yes, Battalion Commander! This battle is truly unwinnable!"

"If the enemy's artillery fire hits us, an entire company will be wiped out in minutes. If we stay here, it's practically suicide!"

"The law does not punish the masses. Let's all surrender together. I refuse to believe that the man surnamed Zhuo can kill all our families!"

"Besides, the Liaofu defense line has 20 troops. How could they possibly know which ones surrendered and which ones fought to the bitter end..."

"Yes, Battalion Commander! We've lost contact with all the positions and the command post. Even if we surrender, they won't know what happened!"

"What they said makes sense. No matter what, we're all from Qian State. We don't need to risk our lives for the Zhuo family..."

"Is that what everyone thinks?" The major battalion commander on the position looked at his brothers, who were all blackened by gunpowder smoke, and immediately made a decision.

"Battalion Commander! You should just lead us and surrender!"

"The brothers simply can't fight any longer..."

"Yes, Battalion Commander, let's surrender!"

"Then I'll surrender! I've long since stopped working for that bastard surnamed Zhuo!"

"Our reinforced battalion has been down to only about a hundred men in less than half an hour. We're not going to be cannon fodder!"

The battalion commander waved his hand: "Assemble the troops, raise the white flag! We're not working for that Zhuo guy anymore!!!"

The same scene was playing out on various positions along the Liaofu defense line...

The Daqian Zhenguo Army's attempt to persuade the surrender of the enemy had an excellent effect.

With the emergence of the first independent army unit to lay down its arms and surrender, an unstoppable wave of surrenders quickly emerged across the various positions along the Liaofu defense line.

The moment they laid down their weapons, many soldiers of the independence army wept...

Because they knew that compared to their comrades who had been killed on the front lines, they were undoubtedly lucky.

His life was saved!

Moreover, in order to lull Zhu Gaoqi's command into a false sense of security, the Daqian Zhenguo Army deliberately continued to bombard the enemy's command post.

In addition, the defenders at each position tacitly either cut off communication with the command post or sent false information.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoqi was completely unaware of the wave of surrenders unfolding along the Liaofu defense line.

Until two hours later.

The troops of the Daqian Zhenguo Army sneaked up, and Zhu Gaoqi realized that something was very wrong!

"what's the situation?"

How did Zhenguo Army's troops sneak up here?

Zhu Gaoqi stared in utter shock at what he was seeing, his heart filled with resentment: "It's over! It's all over, everything is over!!!"

"Sir, things have come to this..."

"I think we should just vote!"

"The command post only has three or four hundred guards left. We can't hold out!"

"What? Surrender! Bullshit!"

"The word 'surrender' doesn't exist in my madman Zhu's dictionary!"

"Pass on my order: grab your weapons and fight Zhenguo Army to the death!"

"Commander, we can't fight anymore. The brothers outside have already laid down their weapons and surrendered."

As they spoke, the officers exchanged glances, everything understood without a word.

Before Zhu Gaoqi could draw his gun and react further, he was already pinned to the table by several officers around him.

"Sir Zhu, I'm sorry."

"You want to give Commander Feng an explanation, but you can't force your brothers to die with you, can you?"

"Try to think positively. The tide has turned. Everyone knows that the five provinces of Jizhou can't hold out against the current state of the Daqian Zhenguo Army!"

"Zhuo Yongwang is definitely finished!"

"We really don't need to go down this path to the bitter end..."

"You............you............." Zhu Gaoqi, who was pressed down on the table, wanted to refute but found that he really couldn't find the right words to refute.

Because, from any perspective—what they said is utterly reasonable...