Chapter 5 5. Soldiers’ tricks: Xue Ju has never been a gentleman

Among the anti-Sui army, Xue Ju and Xue Rengao were the most powerful in Longxi.They set up troops in Jincheng, Lanzhou, and occupied large tracts of land such as Longxi and Linxia. They claimed to have a crowd of 300,000, and contained a large number of Sui troops.Even after Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty, he was still a force that cannot be ignored. Xue Ju was born in a wealthy family, he was a successful young man, and he was the captain of Jincheng in the Sui Dynasty.Because Yangdi's extravagance and desire caused great chaos in the world, Hao Ai, who was in charge of Jincheng at that time, ordered Xue Ju to be a general and recruited Minyong to quell the civil disturbance.Unexpectedly, after the recruitment was completed, Xue Ju suddenly raised the banner of anti-Sui, took Hao Ai into custody instead, proclaimed himself the overlord of the Western Qin Dynasty, and even established a reign title, intending to share a piece of the pie when the Sui Dynasty regime was in turmoil.Later, he incorporated Zong Luohu, Huangfu Wan, Zhong Lisu and other Luyi troops, and the team gradually grew to 130,000.So Xue Ju, who was full of ambition, moved to Qinzhou and made it his capital.In this way, he and Fufeng Tang Bi, who is located in the east of Qinzhou, became the closest neighbors and the most dangerous enemies.

Tang Bi was originally a villager from a humble family background, but because he was born in troubled times, with his brute force, he gathered some children from all walks of life to fight with him, and he had more than 100,000 people under him, occupying several surrounding cities.Seeing that every battle was successful, Tang Bi's courage against the Sui Dynasty grew stronger. Li Hongzhi, a native of Lilongxi, became the puppet emperor and proclaimed himself King of Tang, holding the power in Fufeng area.When Xue Ju's son Xue Rengao raised his troops to attack, Tang Bi showed the courage of an overlord and led his army to fight against him in Qianyuan, and stopped Xue Rengao's army from advancing eastward.

Xue Ju frowned when he heard the news in Qinzhou.Since moving the capital to Qinzhou, he has always regarded Fufeng as the fat in his mouth, and he is determined to win it.Tang Bi was just the overlord of one party, but he stopped his own army. In the long run, the loss of military strength will inevitably give the surrounding rebels an opportunity. When Tang Bi raises his troops to counterattack, the newly established regime will be destroyed. It was at stake, and his emperor's seat hadn't been warmed up yet, so he might have to be decapitated. Thinking of this, he ordered someone to quickly recall Xue Rengao to discuss countermeasures with him.

Xue Rengao returned to Qinzhou to meet Xue Ju, feeling ashamed, but Xue Ju said: "Tang Bi is brave, this time can't be your fault." Xue Rengao thanked him again and again: "I only want to share my father's worries, but I don't want to be blocked by this little boy surnamed Tang, who can't even take down Fufeng, which is closest to us." Xue Ju said: "Then Tang Bi has been entrenched in Fufeng for many years, so naturally he has some roots. Since we can't defeat him, why not use him for me, what do you think?" Xue Rengao said suspiciously: "Father, what do you mean is to recruit Tang Bi and Li Hongzhi?"

Xue Ju said: "Li Hongzhi is just a puppet. He has no military power or foundation. In Fufeng, he was only manipulated by Tang Bi. The key is Tang Bi. This time, the longer we confront him, the more useless it will be for us." Zhonglang General Zhang Jin also said: "Your Majesty's words are very true. In today's chaotic world, everyone is staring at each other. I just established the Great Qin. If we are confronted with Tang Bi, and suddenly there are other rebels who are against us, it will be a big disaster. Oh no." Xue Ju nodded and said: "Actually, in terms of strength, we are better than Tang Bi, but he sticks to Fufeng, while we are fighting from afar. Given time, it is not impossible to win, but once the situation is unstable, it is inevitable Some people intervene; secondly, a long battle is not good for us, even if we win, we will probably lose a lot of soldiers."

Xue Rengao understood Xue Ju's meaning and said, "Then what if Tang Bi doesn't want to accept the surrender?" Zhang Jin, the general of Zhonglang, said: "Master, you are too worried. I think that Tang Bi, who is entrenched in Fufeng, has already felt the might of our Great Qin army, and he only has tens of thousands of people. According to reports, when our army was in the formation, Tang Bi It is also very frightening. If we greet him well, he will be happy." Xue Ju said: "General Zhang's words are reasonable. In this case, I will order you as an envoy to go to Fufeng to persuade Tang Bi to surrender."

Zhang Jin knelt down and said, "I am determined to fulfill my mission." As expected, everything was as expected by Xue Ju. Tang Bi's confidence in himself was not enough. Firstly, he claimed to be 100,000, but in fact it was not that much.He felt that with his own strength and ability, he was not strong enough to fight against Xue Ju.After stopping Xue Rengao by virtue of his geographical advantage, he also had a headache about what to do next.And the arrival of the envoy made his eyes brighten. The envoy Zhang Jin came to Fufeng and conveyed Xue Ju's intention to appease Tang Bi.He said: "My lord has always admired General Tang, thinking that no other hero in the world is good enough to be compared with the general. However, it is really helpless to fight against the general this time!"

Although Tang Bi kept his face calm, he still said politely: "General Zhang has won the award!" Zhang Jin went on to say: "Now the world is in chaos, and there are many heroes competing, but there are only a few who are truly courageous. Since my lord started the army, he has been invincible and has wiped out many bandits. And the general is in Fufeng. I really wronged you." Talent. With your strategy and wisdom, you should assist a more promising master. The so-called "a good bird chooses a tree to live in". Therefore, the master intends to recruit generals to his command. cause."

Tang Bi frowned, and said, "I have a lord now, if I turn my back on me like this, won't I be laughed at by the world?" Zhang Jin felt that Tang Bi was actually willing to accept the surrender, but he just couldn't let go of his face for a while, so he smiled and said: "What the general wants is to achieve great achievements, follow the current master, I'm afraid it is relatively slim! Only by following my lord can the general's wish come true! At that time, the world will return to its heart, and who will think that your current decision is wrong, general?"

Hearing these words, Tang Bi nodded solemnly, bowed his head and thought for a while, and said, "What General Zhang said is very true. If so, I will follow your advice and join King Qin. To show my sincerity, please wait a moment, General. " After speaking, Tang Bi strode out, and after a while, Zhang Jin was shocked to see him walking in with a bloody head.Tang Bi ordered someone to put the head into a wooden box, and said to Zhang Jin, "This is Li Hongzhi's head. I will dedicate it to King Qin as a token of my sincerity!" Zhang Jin tremblingly took the wooden box that was still dripping blood, and said, "The general is sincere, and the subordinates must tell the lord."

Seeing the head of Li Hongzhi brought by Zhang Jin from Fufeng, Xue Ju laughed.Zhang Jin said: "Tang Bi seems to have surrendered sincerely, otherwise he wouldn't have killed Li Hongzhi." But Xue Ju said: "Li Hongzhi is a puppet in the first place, and it's not a word from Tang Bi that he wants to be killed or cut to pieces. It's just that this person is so impulsive and reckless, he is really not a general!" Xue Rengao looked at the head and said to Xue Ju: "No matter what kind of person he is, as long as he surrenders, we can recruit one hundred thousand troops under his command. It doesn't matter whether we need him or not." Xue Ju said: "My son really got my true meaning!" Then he asked Zhang Jin, "Did he say when he surrendered?" Zhang Jin said: "Tang Bi said that after three days, the city gate will be opened to welcome King Qin into the city." Xue Ju said: "Okay! Then prepare your troops and horses, and prepare to kill the enemy." Zhang Jin thought he had heard it wrong, and said, "My lord, what Tang Bi said was to open the door to welcome you, not to meet with soldiers?" Xue Ju glanced at him and said, "If he opens the door to welcome me, do I have to treat him with courtesy?" Xue Rengao went on to say: "Tang Bi is a disaster after all if he stays. Our goal is only the territory of Fufeng and the 100,000 troops, not him. So, as long as he opens the city gate, we will kill the general and go in. Accept, take what should be taken. As for what should not be taken, there is only one word: kill!" The father and son looked at each other, and only then did Zhang Jin understand what kind of calculation the two were planning.In this chaotic world, the winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. There has never been a gentleman's faith at all.As long as they can defeat each other, Xue Ju and his son will do everything they can. Three days later, Tang Bi put away his swords and guns, opened the city gate, and Xue Rengao led the army all the way into the inner city without hindrance.He was about to go up to see him, when suddenly he saw Xue Rengao's subordinates draw out their bright knives, and knocked down several guards in two or three strokes.Tang Bi was taken aback, seeing Xue Rengao coming straight towards him with a knife, he hurriedly grabbed the spear beside him to fight in embarrassment. After several rounds, Tang Bi, who was not prepared at all, had already been stabbed several times, and he shouted angrily to Xue Rengao: "Traitor, why did you hurt me!?" Xue Rengao laughed, and said in response: "It's only your child's credulity, not my Yu Yu's deceit!" As he spoke, he chopped down several times. Only then did Tang Bi realize that he had been fooled by Xue Ju. He retreated while fighting, and escaped from the city gate with hundreds of cronies.Seeing that Xue Ju's banner was erected on the top of the city, I was so angry that I was about to grit my teeth.But at this time, the general situation was gone, so he had no choice but to go to the nearest Fufeng County prefect Wang Zhaofeng. In the ever-changing battlefield, there are only swords, guns, swords and halberds, and it is difficult to see benevolence and morality. Those who uphold loyalty and benevolence are often willing to believe that others are as gentlemanly as themselves, but they forget the old saying "the soldiers are cunning" People who use "tricks" to clear the way take advantage of such credulity, let alone meet Xue Ju who only wants to achieve the goal and doesn't care about the means used?It can be seen from this that if you want to win, you must first forget the rules of the peaceful world, but obey the requirements of the game on the battlefield, and apply the principles and experience of that time to this time, and you can only get a defeat.