Xu Bei's mood was indeed terrible.
A few months ago, he had forced Xu Fei into a hopeless situation and forced him to commit suicide. Now that it was his turn, Xu Bei could finally feel the despair. He was like an old beast that had been injured, lost its claws, and had its teeth pulled out. He was afraid of his future and even more afraid of death.
Xu Bei had been the favored son of heaven since he was born. He was the eldest grandson of the Xu family and was envied by everyone.
Although there were times when things didn't go his way, he was still the rightful leader of the Xu family after enduring the death of the biased old man.
He was supposed to be the epitome of a winner in life, but now he was reduced to the state of a stray dog.
Xu Bei didn't believe in fate, but now he had no choice but to believe it.
He had forced his cousin Xu Fei to his death, so he was forced into the barbican by others and followed in Xu Fei's footsteps?
Xu Bei seemed to be possessed. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was fate.
However, he didn't become depressed because of this. Instead, he became more irritable and easily angered. Many of the servants who served him were beaten up.
Looking at Xu Bei's current state, Han Yu couldn't equate this "madman" who couldn't withstand setbacks with the gentle, modest, and ambitious youth he once was. It was as if that youth was just a figment of Han Yu's imagination. This made Han Yu extremely disappointed.
Han Yu and Cheng Xun couldn't persuade Xu Bei. As his brother-in-law, Xie Ze also tried to persuade him, but to no avail.
Right now, Xu Bei was already stuck in a dead end. Apart from himself, no one else could help him.
Han Yu sighed softly. His gentle eyebrows were tinged with worry, but he quickly adjusted and maintained his usual expression.
"Commandant Xie, have the troops in the city been accounted for?"
Xu Bei had given up, but Han Yu couldn't slack off. He had to be responsible for the soldiers in the city.
Xie Ze replied, "They have been accounted for. However, everyone's morale is low and they are afraid of battle. Even though we killed a few deserters as a warning to others, it didn't have much effect. The enemy generals are still challenging us all day long, clamoring to instigate the soldiers to rebel. Now, there are more and more deserters. "
Xie Ze wouldn't have had such a headache if they had attacked the city.
However, the enemy deliberately made fun of them. They didn't attack the city and instead held a strange-looking horn and shouted at the city gate.
He didn't know what these people ate to grow up, but their voices were so loud that it was impossible for Xie Ze not to hear them from the top of the wall.
In fact, although the voices of the soldiers responsible for shouting provocations were loud, they were not loud to this extent.
Jiang Pengji had created a megaphone a long time ago. The thin copper sheet was in the shape of a cone, with a circular opening at the top. Although the design was simple and crude, its ability to transmit sound was not weak. If it was used to shout in front of a battle, the effect would be even better. Wasn't it coming in handy now?
The first is to attack conspiracies, the second is to attack friends, the third is to attack soldiers, and the third is to attack a city.
Attacking the heart is the top priority, attacking the city is the bottom priority. Fighting the heart is the top priority, fighting the army is the bottom priority.
It wasn't that Jiang Pengji hadn't thought of attacking the city, but a centipede would not fall down even if it died. Xu Bei's remaining troops weren't dough balls, and they weren't something that others could knead as they pleased. If they were to forcefully attack the city, Jiang Pengji and Yang Tao would have to dig out a piece of flesh and bleed a little in order to take down the barbican city. After thinking about it, Yang Si, the naughty guy, came up with this trick.
Three shifts a day, 24 hours a day, taking turns to shout provocations. They would beat the drums and sound the megaphone in front of the battle, instigating the enemy's morale.
Xu Bei had suffered successive defeats, and the morale of the army was on the verge of collapse. The soldiers didn't have their own opinions, so a few words of instigation could sway them. The effect was immediate. The number of deserters increased. Even if Xie Ze slaughtered them in front of everyone and slightly stabilized the army's morale, the soldiers were still panicking.
Xie Ze was so busy that he didn't have time to tidy up his appearance. Stubble had already appeared on his short head, and he looked much more haggard and downtrodden than usual.
Han Yu felt a headache coming on. "Killing only deserters can be effective for a while, but in the long run, it will only produce the opposite effect."
There was a limit to everything. Killing one or two deserters could serve as a deterrent to others, but if a hundred deserters were killed, not only would the soldiers not be obedient, but they would also feel that their leader was cruel by nature, which would further strengthen their desire to escape.
Xie Ze also understood this principle.
But if deserters were allowed to spread, sooner or later there would be no soldiers left to defend the barbican city.
"If my lord can …"
Xie Ze opened his mouth, but swallowed the rest of his words after a while.
If Xu Bei, as the lord, could take the initiative to stand up and boost the morale, not only would it stabilize the army's morale, but it would also motivate the soldiers to fight to the death.
Unfortunately …
Han Yu's eyes flickered, but he didn't say a word.
"What's the situation on Huang Song's side?"
Huang Song was their ally. Even though the relationship between the two parties wasn't that close, without Huang Song's help, Xu Bei would have already been defeated.
As soon as Han Yu asked, Xie Ze looked as if he had been humiliated. He clenched his fists in grief and indignation.
"Him? Although Huang Song left some people behind, what can they do? "
Self-preservation was everyone's instinct, but as the one who had been abandoned, it was impossible for Xie Ze not to be angry and resentful.
Han Yu's furrowed brows became more and more tangled.
"… Finally, is there any news from Zhe County?"
The morale of the army had hit rock bottom. One of the main reasons was the fall of Zhe County and the loss of the lives of their relatives.
Han Yu was also worried about his family and his children, but he couldn't show it directly.
If he didn't trust Xie Ze, he wouldn't have dared to ask.
Xie Ze sighed and shook his head with a bitter smile. "There's no news yet. I don't know if they are dead or alive."
Han Yu said, "I have met Liu Xi several times. Although I can't guarantee it, according to her temperament, she wouldn't lay her hands on the women, the elderly, and the young."
A real powerhouse would never become a powerhouse by bullying the weak.
Xie Ze frowned and said, "I hope so …"
His family was also in Zhe County, so it was impossible not to worry.
Han Yu looked at the top of the city wall with some nostalgia in his eyes.
"Don't worry, she won't do that," Han Yu said with certainty.
Recently, the war had reached a stalemate. There was a limit to what Han Yu could do. He had more time to reminisce about the past. In his memory, Liu Xi was a high-spirited and rebellious teenager. If she really had the ambition to rule the world, she wouldn't have dug her own grave at such a time.
Xie Ze was surprised. "Why?"
Han Yu said, "Slaughtering the women and children of the enemy. If she dares to bear such a bad name, she will completely lose the qualification to rule the nine states. Let's not talk about the distant past. Do you know how many aristocratic families there are in this small Hill City? How wide was their network of connections? Even if Liu Xi mobilized many poor families, the people under her command are still related to other forces, just like Gong Luo and Cheng Yuan under her command. By doing so, she not only cut off her own path of retreat and destroyed the foundation that she had built for years, but at the same time, she also buried a fatal hidden danger for herself. "
Conquering the world was never a game for one person, and it wasn't a game to kill all at once.
Jiang Pengji wanted to absorb Xu Bei's power and territory to strengthen herself, so she couldn't offend everyone.
Xie Ze took a deep breath.
He looked around and suddenly asked a very rebellious question.
"Military counselor, if Hill City falls and the lord is unlucky … then you …"
Die, surrender, or live in seclusion?
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