Qu Zhisheng could not help but feel dejected. The reason why he took the initiative to surrender was that he wanted to live. However, Mo Jiazi's words made him unable to refute.
Once he lost the reason to surrender, he could only be at the disposal of the Tang Army. In fact, whether he surrendered or not, Mo Jiazi's method of breaking the city with gunpowder would not have any effect on the Tang Army.
"However, regardless of whether King Gaochang surrenders first or later, I believe that Grand General cannot kill him." Modun's tone suddenly changed.
"Ah!" Qu Zhisheng could not help but be stunned when he heard this. He did not expect that the culprit who caused the fall of Gao Chang would save his life in the end.
"Mo Jiu, what do you mean? Qu Zhisheng ordered Gao Chang to resist until the last moment, causing thousands of casualties in our army. He also repeatedly refused to surrender. Which one of these is not a path to death? " Xin Yaoer retorted loudly. If Qu Zhisheng did not die, he would definitely be taken to Chang 'an City. If Qu Zhisheng hated them and complained to Li Shimin about them, then they would be in trouble.
Hou Junji also said with a cold face, "I also want to hear Mo Jiu's reason."
Merton said, "Gao Chang has 22 cities. Now our army has only captured Tian Tian City and Gao Chang City. There are 20 cities left. If we kill King Gao Chang, then the remaining 20 cities will definitely fight against the Tang Dynasty. It will only cause unnecessary casualties for both armies."
"With Merton's Firearms Supervisor, the remaining 20 cities are not worth mentioning." Hou Junji laughed.
Meton shook his head and said, "The Firearms Supervisor brought a total of 200 carriages of gunpowder. After the battle between Tian Tian City and Gao Chang Kingdom, there are only 50 carriages of gunpowder left. It is not enough to break through the remaining 20 cities unless we mobilize gunpowder from Chang 'an City on a large scale again. But in this way, not only will the journey be long, it will also take time and effort. Moreover, there will be Western Turks eyeing us covetously. However, with King Gao Chang, it is different. With King Gao Chang, the remaining 20 cities will definitely surrender. Our army can conquer Gao Chang effortlessly and save our forces to deal with the Western Turks."
Qu Zhisheng was overjoyed when he heard this and quickly said, "Yes, yes, I can write a letter of surrender. The other cities will definitely take the initiative to surrender and welcome the Heavenly Khan's army."
"Mo Jiu is right. As long as King Gao Chang Qu Zhisheng is here, the remaining cities will be as easy as pie. I am willing to lead the army and take down these cities." Xue Wanjun cupped his hands and said.
"I am also willing." Niu Jinda also cupped his hands and said.
The other generals agreed. Meton was right. Qu Zhisheng was indeed very useful. With this stepping stone, the merit of breaking through the cities would be easily obtained. There was no need to go through so much trouble to attack.
Moreover, as long as these cities surrendered, the wealth in the cities would be free for them to take. Hou Junji was the main general and monopolized Gao Chang City, this fat piece of meat. Although the other cities in Gao Chang City were rich, there were still twenty cities, which was more than enough for them to divide.
Hou Junji saw that Mo Jiazi had obtained the support of the other generals and could not help but become gloomy. He wanted to use his position as the main general to forcefully kill Qu Zhisheng, but Meton's next sentence made him stop.
"No matter how weak Qu Zhisheng is, he is still the King of Gao Chang, and we are just generals. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for a general to kill a king. Only Your Majesty has the authority to decide Qu Zhisheng's life and death." Meton said solemnly.
"Yes, I want the Heavenly Khan to judge me!" Qu Zhisheng shouted as if he was grasping at a life-saving straw.
Hou Junji's face turned ugly. If it was on the battlefield, the Tang Army could kill the other party's king on the spot. However, in the history of the Tang Dynasty, when they captured the Eastern Turks, Xieli Khan did not kill him. When they captured Tuyuhun, Fu Yun was killed by his subordinates. When Fu Shun surrendered, he was even supported by the imperial court to become the king.
However, now that Qu Zhisheng had surrendered, if he still forcefully killed him, he would have to consider Li Shimin's attitude, not to mention that Qu Zhisheng still had many uses.
"Moreover, if we kill the King of Gao Chang, I'm afraid that in the future, when the Tang Dynasty conquers other countries, there will be no surrendering." Meton persuaded again.
Surrendering meant death, but not surrendering also meant death. In the future, wherever the Tang Army went to war, all the countries would fight to the death. That would be extremely disadvantageous for the Tang Army!
All the generals nodded. If Hou Junji killed Qu Zhisheng in front of everyone, it could be said that he had gone too far. The Tang Dynasty's reputation in the Western Regions would be completely ruined.
Hou Junji saw that the situation was hopeless, and his expression changed. He laughed and said, "Mo Jiu is indeed a man of noble character and unquestionable integrity. Even if he would rather lose the merit of breaking the city, he still adheres to the Mo Family's principle of keeping promises. This general admires you!"
Meton said seriously, "I have no selfish motives. I'm thinking of the Tang Dynasty wholeheartedly."
"Alright, we'll do as Mo Jiu said. I'll spare your life." Hou Junji turned to look at Qu Zhisheng and said.
"Thank you, Mo Jiu. Thank you, Minister, for sparing my life!" Qu Zhisheng repeatedly thanked him after escaping death.
Merton said, "I hope that King Gao Chang can redeem himself. If you can successfully persuade the remaining 20 cities to surrender, I believe that the Heavenly Khan will definitely see King Gao Chang's contribution."
Qu Zhisheng's eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly said, "I'll write it. Write the letter of surrender now?"
Qu Zhisheng never thought that he and Mo Jiazi had a feud that destroyed his country, and now Mo Jiazi had saved his life.
Hou Junji waved his hand, and two soldiers immediately took Qu Zhisheng away and went to write the letter of surrender.
Seeing Qu Zhisheng leave, Meton turned to Hou Junji and cupped his hands, "Great General, your plan is indeed brilliant. With just a few words, you were able to scare Qu Zhisheng. With Qu Zhisheng's cooperation, our army will be able to conquer Gao Chang in the future."
Hou Junji was stunned. He never thought that Mo Jiazi would be so shrewd as to give him a way out. He immediately took advantage of the situation and said, "It's just a small trick. I was forced to do this because I couldn't bear to let my Tang Dynasty's soldiers bleed for no reason. That's why I didn't discuss it with you and just put on this show."
The generals understood and cupped their hands, "General, this is also for the sake of the army. We admire you!"
Soon, Qu Zhisheng finished writing the letter of surrender. When the generals received the letter, they couldn't help but be overjoyed. With Qu Zhisheng's letter of surrender, everything would be simple. Even if there were some stubborn people, they only needed to send people to check the collapsed walls of Gao Chang.
The group of generals happily chose the cities that they wanted to conquer and left impatiently. In their eyes, these were all military exploits that could be easily obtained!
Meton, on the other hand, didn't care about the military exploits. First of all, there were less than a thousand people in the Firearms Division, and more than half of the gunpowder had been used. In addition, with the contribution of destroying the walls, there was no need to join in the fun anymore.
After the generals left, Xin Yaoer anxiously said, "General, leaving Qu Zhisheng alive is a big problem! If this person knows that we robbed Gao Chang's wealth, he will definitely take revenge on us. "
I can imagine that if Qu Zhisheng didn't die, he would either become a puppet like Tuyuhun's Fu Shun, or be left in Chang 'an like Xieli Khan. He would be made an official in name only to appease the people of Gao Chang. Once Qu Zhisheng knows what they have done, he will definitely report it to Li Shimin to avenge the destruction of his country. "
Hou Junji sneered and said, "You worry too much. As far as I know, Qu Zhisheng had just ascended the throne when he was faced with the pressure of our army. He didn't have the time to pay attention to Gao Chang's treasury. Moreover, the officials of Gao Chang's Civil Affairs Department who tried to resist us have already been executed. The account books have also been burned. How much wealth does Gao Chang have now is not up to us to decide."
Xin Yaoer's eyes lit up and said, "General, you are wise! As far as I know, Ju Wentai is old and muddle-headed. He spends a lot of money every year to buy the luxurious ornaments of the Mohist Family. He even used a large amount of money to bribe Satoshi Tani. He has already emptied the treasury. "
Hou Junji saw that Xin Yaoer was so understanding and couldn't help but nod his head in satisfaction. This way, even if Qu Zhisheng suspected them and reported them, they wouldn't be afraid. They could even assume that he wanted to take revenge for a personal grudge.
"Reporting, Great General, General Qixin Heli has reported that Ashina Khoru has already fled with his troops. Before he left, he robbed Khagan Butoh of everything." A messenger hurriedly reported.
When Hou Junji and Xin Yaoer saw this, they couldn't help but sigh. If they hadn't spent a day in Gao Chang City, Ashina Khoru wouldn't have been able to escape after receiving the news.
However, before Ashina Khoru left, he had done them a huge favor. Khagan Butoh had been robbed by the Western Turks, which could cover up their actions in Gao Chang City.
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