The attack on the city went too smoothly. With just a few gentle shots, Apos's elite troops could not bear it anymore and retreated down the city wall to hide.
"Assistant Minister Li, are these the famous elite guards under Apo's command? They're just so-so. They're too weak. They just took a few shots and ran away. "
Duan Xiushi felt bored.
Since the Tang Army's equipment had been upgraded unprecedentedly, he found that fighting was getting more and more boring. To put it simply, there was no challenge.
He thought that he was so talented that he could become the pillar of the country against foreign enemies and be respected by future generations. However, with the current equipment of the Tang Army, even a very ordinary general could win every battle. Asking him to fight was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.
It was like a game. There was nothing to see in a one-sided game. Only when the two sides were evenly matched and fought with all their strength could it be exciting and greatly stimulate the fighting spirit of both sides.
"What? General Duan, do you think fighting like this is boring? Do you want to play something new? "
Ang Lee also felt that it was boring.
"Something new? What do you want to say, Assistant Minister Li? "
Duan Xiushi did not quite understand what Ang Lee meant.
"Zero casualties."
"No casualties? This is really difficult. Swords and sabers have no eyes in war. It's really not easy to ensure that there are no casualties among the soldiers under your command."
Recently, Duan Xiushi had won every battle, but there were casualties among his subordinates every time. At most, there were hundreds of casualties and nearly 100 people were killed. It was rare for there to be no casualties at all, unless the opponent was very weak and had no ability to resist.
"Don't you think that winning battles is boring? The pursuit of zero casualties is a challenging subject. You can work hard in this direction. You don't really need to have no casualties, but it's great to have one less casualty. "
Ang Lee said.
Since ancient times, generals had never pursued such a goal in war. After all, in the era of cold weapons, it was impossible to achieve zero casualties. Even if one was well-equipped and well-trained, it was impossible to avoid casualties. Many military victories were won at the cost of the lives of the soldiers under their command.
A general's success was built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. This was the logic behind it. When a general won a battle and obtained great merits, it would be at the cost of a large number of soldiers and horses under his command dying in battle. If a general could win a battle with fewer casualties, he could be called a famous general. It was impossible to say that there were no casualties.
To ensure zero casualties, even the most powerful armed forces of later generations could not do it. They could only reduce casualties as much as possible. At present, the Tang Army should also pursue zero casualties. After all, the strategy of the Tang Dynasty had changed from a regional power to a world domination. There were more and more interests to be maintained, which required a lot of armed forces and manpower. If they lost a lot of soldiers in every conflict, it would be difficult to replenish them. If they did not pay attention to reducing casualties, there might be a shortage of soldiers in the future.
Duan Xiushi frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "To tell you the truth, Assistant Minister Li, I really don't have the slightest confidence. However, I can guarantee that our casualties in this battle will not exceed 50."
Ang Lee looked at the city ahead and said, "In every battle in the future, the fewer casualties, the better. You have to work hard in two aspects. The first is to win every battle. The second is to reduce casualties as much as possible so that the soldiers can survive. Winning battles with the least casualties is the demeanor of a famous general. The Tang Empire is moving forward step by step, and its military strength will become more and more scarce. The loss of every soldier is a great loss."
"The pursuit of zero casualties will lead to fear, and I'm afraid it will delay the battle. This is too difficult."
Duan Xiushi frowned.
He had fought in wars for many years, but he had never encountered a battle without casualties. Every battle would lead to casualties. It was just that after the equipment was improved, the casualties became fewer and fewer. It was impossible to completely eliminate casualties. If they could completely eliminate casualties, it would inevitably greatly increase the morale of the army.
"Haha! Don't you think it's too easy to win and boring? Isn't it interesting to pursue fewer casualties? It's very challenging. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
Duan Xiushi thought carefully for a moment and suddenly understood. "Assistant Minister Li, what you said is very reasonable. I have been unable to find a further idea. Isn't it just to pursue the lowest casualties? The ancients said that attacking the city is inferior to attacking the mind. If we can force the enemy in the city to surrender, our army will naturally not suffer any casualties. In this way, we will achieve zero casualties."
"You are teachable. This is also a very good idea. However, there are still many ways. Let's summarize them slowly."
"I'll send someone to persuade them to surrender right away."
As Duan Xiushi spoke, he sent a subordinate to the city to persuade them to surrender.
Looking at the empty city wall, the young general of the Tang Army loudly persuaded them to surrender. Although he could not see any enemy in front of him, these enemies who could not withstand the artillery fire must still be in the city. They had been surrounded, and where could they run to?
Perhaps the young general of the Tang Army's foreign language was not standard, or maybe his voice was too low to be heard, or maybe the enemy in the city did not intend to surrender. In short, he spent a long time persuading them to no avail. The city was quiet and there was no response.
"Assistant Minister Li, there is no response from the enemy."
"Could they have run away through the tunnel?"
Ang Lee looked at the minister of the Stone Kingdom who followed him.
"No, no, this city is full of sand. There is no tunnel at all. They must still be in the city."
"These guys think that they will be fine as long as they don't make a sound. Prepare the artillery fire."
Duan Xiushi was angry, and the consequences were very serious.
Another round of fierce artillery fire caused more damage to the city wall, which was not very strong in the first place. Half of the city wall collapsed.
Under the fierce fire, the hundreds of enemy soldiers in the city were a little confused. They thought that the firepower of the Tang Army was too scary. They could shoot at them from such a long distance, and they lost a lot of men and horses. Naturally, the Tang Army had no casualties.
As a result, the hundreds of elite soldiers under Apo's command were suddenly stunned. They were frightened by the sudden artillery fire of the Tang Army. What else could they do other than surrender? They could only wait to be killed. Warriors were never afraid of death, but they were afraid of dying in vain. If their death was meaningless, they would rather live.
In the face of absolute power, these elite soldiers failed to live up to Apo's expectations. They surrendered to the Tang Army before they could fight for their lives and became captives of the Tang Army.
"Amazing! This is the Tang Dynasty's army that subdues the enemy without fighting. It's really amazing, amazing! Amazing! "
"The Tang Dynasty is the most powerful country in the world. How can our small Stone Kingdom compare to it?"
"With the Tang Dynasty's army stationed in our Stone Kingdom, we will never have to worry about being bullied by our neighbors in the future. We thank the Tang Dynasty."
Several ministers of the Stone Kingdom who accompanied them were so excited that their faces were blooming like chrysanthemums.
Ang Lee just smiled faintly. He disliked these ministers of the Stone Kingdom who did not have the slightest strength of character and reeked of money from the bottom of his heart. Just like the so-called imperial army in the future, they looked down on the flattering traitors from the bottom of their hearts. They were just using them.
"Duan Xiushi, what do you think?"
Ang Lee looked at Duan Xiushi and asked.
"Assistant Minister Li, I've benefited a lot. If it weren't for Assistant Minister Li's reminder, at least dozens of my subordinates would have been killed or wounded today. Their families must be heartbroken."
Watching the captives walk out of the city one after another, Duan Xiushi sighed with emotion.
"Through this battle, I know that Apo's elite soldiers are just so-so. There is a big gap between them and our Tang Army. Next, we only need to threaten them with artillery fire, and we can easily capture these soldiers."
At the thought of Apo's black face, Ang Lee could not help but feel very satisfied and happy.
"Assistant Minister Li, what should we do with these captives?"
Ang Lee thought for a moment and looked to the west. "Take them with us. When we persuade them to surrender, let them come out. The effect will be better than us."
"Assistant Minister Li is wise. However, we have a limited number of transport vehicles. I'm afraid we can't fit them all."
"That's true. There are so many captives that the vehicles can't hold them all. But if we run behind them, it will definitely waste a lot of time. Moreover, many of these captives are wounded. They can't walk fast."
After thinking for a moment, Ang Lee left most of the captives behind and locked them in a sealed courtyard in the city. He left 30 soldiers to guard them. Only 20 soldiers set out with the Tang Army, so it was easy to take them with them.
Under the deterrence of the God of War, the Dashi elite soldiers in several cities all surrendered. Of the more than 1,000 elite soldiers, except for a few who were killed, most of them were intact and became captives.
Of course, these elite soldiers originally planned to have a good fight with the Tang Army. Unexpectedly, the Tang Army hid behind them and bombarded them with powerful artillery fire from a distance. In this way, they could not achieve their goal of teaching the Tang Army a lesson. They also had to bear the bombardment of the artillery. Any soldier would not be able to bear it.
It was too aggrieving to be bombarded to death for no reason. In addition, they were invading this time and had no sense of justice to defend their homeland. Rather than being bombarded to death, they might as well surrender.
"Assistant Minister Li, the lost cities of the Stone Kingdom have all been recovered. Nearly 1,000 enemy soldiers have been captured, and our army has suffered no casualties."
"Haha! Good, very good. This is the pursuit of war. Just by setting up a few cannons, we have subdued the elites under Apo. In this way, the awesome Dashi Kingdom is nothing more than this. "
Ang Lee seemed to be a little arrogant. Thinking back to the Braid Dynasty of the future, it was miserable. The yellow-haired monkey of the West casually drove a few ships and set up a few cannons to force them to submit. Shame, it was really a shame.
Now, the Tang Dynasty had powerful cannons. They could imitate the yellow-haired monkey of the future and go out to teach the disobedient countries a lesson. They could conquer all the countries and build a new world order that was completely in line with the interests of the Tang Dynasty.
"Assistant Minister Li, Apo has hundreds of thousands of soldiers under his command. This time, he suffered a loss. I don't know how he will react. Will he fly into a rage out of humiliation and send his main force here? If so, our Stone Kingdom will suffer."
The accompanying minister of Stone Kingdom was a little nervous.
"What are you afraid of? With the troops of the Tang Dynasty here, if Apo dares to come, he will not be able to go back."
Duan Xiushi seemed very confident. With the cannons in hand, there was no need to be afraid of Apo's army, which was not well-equipped. In addition, there were many armored command vehicles, which were completely invincible.
After hearing Duan Xiushi's words, the Stone Kingdom minister was a little relieved.
The invincibility of the one thousand soldiers made Apo rather excited. He even imagined the scene of his soldiers beating the Tang army until they were looking for their teeth on the ground. That scene would definitely be beautiful.
But reality poured a bucket of cold water on Apo. The faster the victory came, the faster the defeat. In fact, the speed of the defeat was far faster than the speed of the victory. This made Apo feel ashamed and extremely angry.
Of course, the thing that made him feel the most humiliated was that these soldiers had all surrendered instead of dying on the battlefield. This was unacceptable to him. How could the elite warriors under his command, who had experienced hundreds of battles, surrender without a fight? Was the Tang Army really so terrible that his soldiers were so scared that they directly surrendered and did not even have the courage to fight?
Apo's mood was definitely not good when his soldiers surrendered without a fight. The ministers all understood this, so no one dared to speak first, lest they angered Apo and bring unpredictable disasters to themselves.
"Maybe you're right. The Tang Army is stronger than we thought. It's not worthwhile to fight against them. Fortunately, the Tang Dynasty is far away in the east. Otherwise, it would be a very terrible enemy."
"Your Majesty, have you thought it through? You want to cooperate with the Tang Dynasty to build the railway?"
The minister under his command asked excitedly.
Apo looked helpless and forced himself to cheer up. "I think the Tang Dynasty's proposal is very good. The conditions they offered are acceptable. If we can get more benefits, it will be better."
"Your Majesty, as long as you agree, we can slowly negotiate with the imperial court of the Tang Dynasty to get more benefits for us."
Apo breathed a sigh of relief, looked at the minister, and said, "If the Tang Army is sincere, you must release the captured soldiers. Also, you can't recognize the Wommaya Dynasty. You can only recognize us. This is necessary."
"Your Majesty, I'm willing to negotiate immediately and let the Tang Army enter. Then we can discuss the cooperation plan."
"Good, good, good. Go! I'll go now. You guys go with me. "
Apo completely gave up resistance and planned to reconcile with the Tang Dynasty. Only in this way could he get more benefits. He did not want to do something that he was not sure of and ruin the country he had fought for with great difficulty.
After a beautiful victory, the Tang Army did not leave the border of Stone Kingdom but stayed. The captives were also taken to the city closest to the border.
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