noffsinger Chapter 357 Death by Burning the City? The Celestial Dragons Have Their Own Glory!
Chapter 357 Death by Burning the City? The Celestial Dragons Have Their Own Glory!
The high-ranking officials in Bingzhou also encountered similar situations to Yuan Xi.
The difference is that Wang Ling directly refused Gao Gan's request to send troops to Ye City!
Gao Gan and Wang Ling had a fight, and in the end, Gao Gan only led his own 20,000 troops in a hasty action.
As for Wang Ling, he decided to sit quietly in Jinyang, the capital of Bingzhou, and wait for the battle report.
Once Cao Cao captures Ye City, Wang Ling will fight tooth and nail to become the first Bingzhou noble family to surrender with their own funds in Yuan's camp!
With the entire Bingzhou region as his target, it would be impossible for Wang Ling not to be given an important position.
Moreover, Wang Ling is Wang Yun's nephew.
From both a moral and logical standpoint, Wang Ling believed that Cao Cao would never refuse his surrender!
……
Ye City
In the council chamber
Shen Pei convened an emergency meeting with all the heads of aristocratic families in and around Ye City, including those from several surrounding counties.
Everyone's expression was not good.
Even worse, some people put on airs regarding the selection and matching of officials.
Now that you're begging us for a job, you should at least show us the proper attitude, right?
Shen Pei simply laughed it off.
But once everyone had entered the council chamber, Shen Pei's expression suddenly changed drastically!
With a wave of his hand, hundreds of axemen appeared around him.
Surround these clan leaders!
"Everyone, I'm sorry."
“In this critical moment, I have no choice but to use this method to ensure that none of you have any intention of defecting to Cao Cao.”
"I'll assign you to a position!!!"
The clan leaders were furious.
In fact, many of them were high-ranking civil officials in Yuan's camp, and were Shen Pei's close associates with impeccable revolutionary credentials.
Unexpectedly, Shen Pei resorted to this tactic: taking hostages!
This trick may be dirty, but it really works a lot of times.
Large, established families usually prepare their next successor in advance.
For example, after his uncle Wang Yun died, Wang Ling was not implicated at all and directly became the new patriarch of the Wang family of Jinyang with the support of the clan elders.
but……
For the clan chief himself, survival is naturally the priority if it means he can live.
Not everything in the world can be categorized into factions; people have their own thoughts.
But if you only talk about individual heroism and don't talk about the family and factional interests behind it, that's just being a scoundrel, a fairy tale that deceives children!
and so.
Shen Pei's tactic of taking hostages can have a certain effect on "stabilizing morale".
But this has its limits.
Once Yuan Shang and his forces are truly doomed.
Even if these clan leaders are his hostages, the powerful families of Jizhou behind them will still adopt the attitude of "sacrificing the pawns to save the king"!
……
"call……"
"We've managed to stabilize things for now."
Shen Pei was panting heavily.
His actions just now can be described as those of a "traitor to a noble family".
But he didn't want to lose!
As fellow members of a prominent family in Ji Province, Shen Pei was well aware that his teammates were gradually turning into actors!
"Uncle Shen, you're really ruthless."
Ju Hu approached Shen Pei with a smile.
At this moment, he truly admired Shen Pei from the bottom of his heart.
Although he was forced into it, Shen Pei did something that Ju Hu would never have dared to even think about!
"Haha, Juhu, do you hate me?"
"Hate you? Why would I hate you?"
"To be honest, I'm a little jealous of you."
"After all, when my father was still alive, you were just a pawn working for him."
"To put it nicely, he's a capable assistant."
"To put it bluntly, it's called 'black gloves.' (Gloves existed as early as the Shang Dynasty.)"
“But now, I really feel that I am far inferior to you, Uncle Shen.”
"Are you really sure you want to offer your life and this city as a sacrifice?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Pei's eyes widened, and he pointed at Ju Hu, saying:
How did you find out about this?
Juhu laughed loudly:
"The Ju family naturally possesses the arrogance of the Ju family!"
“My father would not be content to be subordinate to Yuan Benchu.”
"I, Juhu, will naturally not surrender to Cao Mengde!"
"And you, Uncle Shen, if you were to truly surrender to Cao Mengde, he would most likely choose to accept you."
"After all, you've been the magistrate of Ye City for so many years, no one understands Ye City better than you!"
“Even my father is far inferior to you in this respect.”
"Unfortunately, you seem to have made the most unwise, yet most tragic, decision."
Juhu looked at the kerosene and trees near the granary not far away.
He had already seen through Shen Pei's thoughts.
Shen Pei said with a complicated expression:
“Ju Hu, the Ju family’s strength is evident.”
"Even if you surrender to Cao Mengde and endure for several more years, you might still be able to restore the glory of the Ju family..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ju Hu interrupted:
"Uncle Shen, let's not mention this matter again."
"How many years did the Ju family endure before the Han Dynasty was about to run out of power?"
"After waiting for so long, I finally met someone like my father."
"I don't want to wait any longer."
"As for those stubborn old folks at home, let them be."
"I'm tired of it, I'm weary of it."
"The villain who is about to set fire to the city cannot be the only one to bear the blame, Uncle Shen."
"Let me accompany you!"
Having said that, Juhu turned and left.
Shen Pei sighed deeply.
People from aristocratic families are supported by them, but they are also bound by them, their lives consumed by them!
……
"found it!"
"Damn Shen Pei! As Mr. He predicted, this guy really does want to burn the city down!"
In the dead of night
In the alleys near the Yecheng granary.
Several intelligence agents secretly infiltrated this place.
Based on Shen Pei's historical practice of burning cities, Su Yu predicted that Shen Pei might take similar actions again!
Therefore, he used the tunnel that Guo Jia had previously dug in Ye City to send intelligence guards to infiltrate Ye City and secretly investigate the matter.
Tomb raiding and digging tunnels were the bread and butter of Guo Jia and Cao Cao's gold-digging team!
When Guo Jia was actually undercover next to Guo Tu, what did he not do?
After pacifying the four prefectures, the title of Marquis of Tomb Raiders will definitely be indispensable!
As for why Cao Cao's army wasn't allowed to enter the city directly through the tunnels...
This is because the tunnels are too narrow and easily exposed.
If Shen Pei and Yuan Shang weren't fools, they would immediately block the tunnels upon hearing the army's movements, making it impossible for Cao's army to escape.
Therefore, tunnel warfare was destined to be limited to small-scale invasions.
A massive invasion? That's science fiction.
"Hmph, let's put some serious work on these oil and trees, and see how you manage to burn down the city!"
Several intelligence guards buried themselves in their work.
As expected, their all-out effort to prevent Ye City from being burned down is a momentous event that will go down in history!
Burning cities was a relatively common occurrence in chaotic times.
But Ye City was the center of the four provinces of Hebei, and its prosperity even surpassed that of Luoyang and Chang'an, the two capitals of the Han Dynasty!
If such a large city were to be burned down, the resulting losses would be immeasurable.
and so.
Shen Pei's personal tragic idealism was destined to remain just a fantasy!
……