Now that Li Rusong was obedient, Li Chengliang was very satisfied.
"Alright, it's good that you remember. Come, help me up. I have to see Hsiao Jixin with my own eyes. I've heard of his name for a long time, but I've never seen him. This is too much of a pity."
Li Chengliang stubbornly wanted to get up and see what Xiao Ruxun looked like. This made Li Rusong not know whether to laugh or cry. Thus, he could only call over a few people to help him dress Li Chengliang. Then, he personally supported Li Chengliang and slowly left the safety of Xiao Jin City.
At this time, Xiao Ruxun was at the frontlines. He was placing the 20 Hongyi cannons he had brought one by one on the city walls and doing the corresponding dampening work.
In this regard, his cannoneers were very experienced. They directed the cannoneers sent by Zhu Yijun to carry out the slightly unfamiliar but still correct operation steps.
The soldiers who were guarding the city looked curiously and somewhat fearfully at the legendary Wanli's number one general. The reason for their curiosity was because a person's reputation was like the shadow of a tree. Naturally, they were curious.
As for their fear, it was because when Xiao Ruxun came, he brought with him more than 300 heads — the heads of the deserters he had killed along the way.
"If anyone dares to violate military law and escape, I don't care whose family you are or whose family you are related to, I will kill without mercy! Other people don't dare, but I, Xiao Ruxun, dare! "
He had the confidence to say such words and act accordingly. No one would doubt that he would not govern and control the army in his hands according to what he said.
The preliminary statistics made Xiao Ruxun very angry. Of the legendary 60,000 soldiers in the capital, there were less than 30,000. Before he reached Beijing, many had already fled on the road. Basically, the timid ones with family connections had already fled.
Not all of the remaining soldiers were courageous. There were also some stupid and arrogant ones. Li Chengliang didn't care about those who escaped on the way. Instead, after arriving at Zijing Pass, he arranged for his personal guards and Chai Guozhu's personal guards to guard all the exits and patrol all the walls. If they saw any retreating soldiers who tried to run away, they would all be killed, leaving no one alive.
I don't care about the road, but once the battle starts, you will be deserters and will be beheaded according to the law. I have nothing to say!
Old Li was ruthless enough. After all, he was an old general with decades of experience in the military. His methods were skillful and merciless.
But even so, when the battle situation was tense, old Li had no time to pay too much attention. This gave many deserters an opportunity. Xiao Ruxun had encountered more than 300 along the way. He didn't know how many he hadn't encountered on other routes. It could be seen that old Li wasn't omnipotent.
But now, things were different. Xiao Ruxun had specially instructed Li Rusong to get a group of more than 300 cavalry and gave them the authority to hunt and kill deserters. If anyone was suspected of being a deserter and didn't have a token or warrant to leave the battlefield, the cavalry could kill first and report later. No one would be held accountable.
Such ruthless methods and the more than 300 heads hanging in the cold wind greatly intimidated the soldiers in the capital. Regardless of whether they wanted to escape or not, they all began to consider whether their survival rate was higher if they continued to fight to the death or if they had a higher survival rate.
When a general used troops, he had to use harsh punishments. Otherwise, if military discipline was weak, even the strongest army would only be a beast army. Once the general died, they would scatter like birds and beasts and disappear into the long river of history.
When a general used troops, he also had to use methods of kindness and righteousness. Otherwise, if the soldiers feared the general but did not respect and trust him, the general would be in danger. For example, Zhang Fei.
Leading troops was the same as being an emperor. One had to use both kindness and might. One had to use a big stick in one hand and gold and silver in the other to achieve the best results. Simple harsh punishments and simple kindness would not be able to produce the best army.
Thus, after using such ruthless methods, Xiao Ruxun also needed to win over the hearts of the people in order to make these old foxes in the capital willing to contribute. They were willing to be willing to believe that the survival rate of fighting was higher than the survival rate of running away. Otherwise, they would still run away. Don't believe?
Think about it. Zhang Fei was such a valiant and fierce person. To what extent did he force the soldiers under him to make them take the risk to kill him and escape?
When people were forced into a corner, they would do anything.
The first step for Xiao Ruxun to win over the hearts of the people was to distribute winter clothes. He knew that the clothes these soldiers were wearing were of relatively poor quality. Some deserters he met before had also cried that they could not stand the cold and ran away because they did not want to freeze to death. Seeing these soldiers shivering and their pale faces, he knew that they had been in the cold for a long time.
In such a cold situation, it was normal to not be able to stimulate the will to fight. Even if the blood rushed to the head, there must be a sufficient body temperature as a prerequisite. Otherwise, when the blood warmed the body, there would not be enough temperature to fight.
The large number of winter clothes that were transferred from the capital's warehouse came in handy at this moment. Anyway, with the emperor's warrant, those people did not dare to stop Xiao Ruxun. Xiao Ruxun did not stand on ceremony and took a lot more.
The soldiers heaved a sigh of relief when they received enough clothing to keep them warm. They felt that this famous general wasn't simply forcing them to die, but was showing them the least bit of concern. Thus, their attitude towards Xiao Ruxun began to change.
The second step was to order the headquarters to chop firewood, light a fire, and boil ginger water to keep the soldiers warm.
Under the rustling cold wind, a bowl of steaming ginger water could win the hearts of the people more than anything else. Many of the capital's soldiers were physically and mentally devastated after a long period of forced fighting. A bowl of ginger water would not have much effect, but it could make them feel a trace of warmth.
In a world of ice and snow, a trace of warmth was so precious!
Many people began to shed tears as they drank.
Their attitude towards Xiao Ruxun began to rapidly change in the direction of good.
The third step was to send military doctors to treat some of the injured soldiers again and bandage their wounds. Those with serious injuries were directly sent back to Xiaojin City to recuperate. Those with more serious injuries were ordered to be sent back to the capital. There was no need to die here.
Xiao Ruxun had always paid attention to medical issues in battle. This was also the case when he was in Ningxia. Thus, Xiao Ruxun was known for his low mortality rate in battle. As long as the soldiers who fought with him did not die, they would basically be treated. If the battle was long, they would stay in the army to recuperate and wait for their injuries to return. If the battle was short, they would be directly sent back to the headquarters to recuperate. There was no need to die here.
Xiao Ruxun's reputation for caring for the lives of his soldiers and not making unnecessary sacrifices shone brilliantly on the battlefield in Korea. It became one of the main reasons why many foreign troops ignored the disputes between factions and were willing to listen to his orders and fight for him.
Soldiers were also people, not weapons. They had their own thoughts and would fear, hate, and shrink. They also cherished their lives. It was true that the merciful did not command soldiers. The general who forced them to die was strong, but soldiers were also people.
In a situation where there was no need to die and there were sufficient conditions, soldiers should not be sent to die. The fighting power of a recovered veteran was far higher than that of a hastily recruited new soldier.
Xiao Ruxun deeply understood this principle and also knew how pitiful it was for those who died unjustly on the ancient battlefield. A handful of herbs and a piece of white cloth could save a life. How could they just watch as they passed away?
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
