flstandardbreds Chapter 314 Shifting Blame, Better to Die for Yourself than for Your Fellow Daoist
Chapter 314 Shifting Blame, Better to Die for Yourself than for Your Fellow Daoist
What? Han Dang and Xu Sheng are both dead in battle?
Xie Chong's words were like a bolt from the blue, leaving Yu Shaoquan and the others stunned and speechless.
After a full quarter of an hour of stunned silence, Yu Shao exclaimed, "Impossible! This is impossible! General Han was one of those who fought alongside Lord Wentai against Dong Zhuo. How could he have died at the hands of that brat Guan Xing?"
Yu Shao's teeth were chattering and his legs were trembling. He was unwilling and dared not believe it was true. He didn't care whether Han Dang was dead or alive, but the consequences of Han Dang's death in battle were unbearable for him.
This means that Sun Quan's hope of returning to Jiangdong is becoming increasingly slim. What will they do if Sun Quan doesn't come back? Who will save them?
They rebelled because they had the motive and the confidence to do so.
The motive was that Xie Chong not only robbed them of their grain and wealth, but also divided up their land and salt fields, depriving them of their most important source of income. Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents; this is a deadly enmity.
They wanted revenge and to reclaim their wealth; they had no other choice but to rebel.
Their confidence stemmed from Lu Xun's eastern expedition against Wu. Lu Xun's expedition gave them hope that Sun Quan could regain control of Jiangdong, which is why they wanted to stage an internal uprising in cooperation with Lu Xun. They wanted to settle personal scores while also gaining military merit, so that they could demand more benefits from Sun Quan when he returned.
After all, adding flowers to brocade can never compare to providing charcoal in the snow.
But now you're telling me that Wu's army lost two generals, Han Dang and Xu Sheng, and had tens of thousands of soldiers captured before even entering Kuaiji territory?
Are you fucking kidding me?
How many soldiers did the Wu army have in total for the eastern expedition? They lost 20% of their troops before even entering Kuaiji. How are they supposed to fight the next battle?
If Xie Chong's words are true, then Lu Xun's chances of returning to Jiangdong are almost zero, and he might even perish in the corridor like Han Dang and Xu Sheng.
What can they do if Lu Xun can't break through? They've committed a capital offense of treason and rebellion. Even if their entire family is executed, Xie Chong will still be in the right.
Thinking of this, Yu Shao trembled even more violently and roared hysterically, "Impossible! I don't believe it! How could General Han have died in battle?"
Xie Chong took out the battle report from his pocket and had his personal guard hand it to Yu Shao along with a torch, saying with a smile, "This was written by General Shen Yi himself. Whether you believe it or not is up to you."
Yu Shao snatched the battle report and rushed to examine it by the torch. Quan Shang and the others quickly gathered around as well. They were all terrified by the contents of the report, their faces turning pale. Although the words on the report were only the size of a chopstick tip, they struck them like Thor's hammer, making them understand what it meant to feel fear from the bottom of their hearts.
Moreover, the battle report was written in great detail, detailing how the Han army won, when, where, and how Han Dang was lured into an ambush and annihilated. Every step was written clearly, leaving them no choice but to believe it.
This isn't a battle report; it's clearly the Han army's operational plan against Han Dang and Xu Sheng. Even if Xie Chong were to improvise, he probably couldn't have come up with something this detailed.
So Yu Shao believed it. After reading it twice, he could no longer hold on. His legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground. He looked up at Xie Chong and said with a fawning smile in a pleading tone, "Prefect Xie, I was just trying to play a joke on you tonight. Can you pretend nothing happened?"
Damn Xie Chong, why didn't you show us this important battle report beforehand? What do you mean by this? Are you deliberately targeting us?
Yu Shao knew, of course, that Xie Chong was doing it on purpose, but what could he do besides beg for mercy now that things had come to this?
Xie Chong retorted sarcastically, "What do you think? If I slashed you and then told you we'd pretend nothing happened, would you be willing?"
"This governor will not accept any of your conditions. Give me a straight answer: surrender or continue to fight to the death."
Before he could finish speaking, Quan Shang hastily threw down his weapon, knelt down, and laughed, "I surrender, thank you, Prefect. My uncle Quan Cong has already surrendered to the Han. We are on the same side now. Please be merciful and magnanimous..."
Your kneeling was so smooth!
His comrades cast scornful glances at him, but instead of rebuking him, they chose to follow him, throwing down their weapons and kneeling on the ground.
What's the point of struggling now? Surrendering might save you a few more days, but if you keep resisting, you'll probably die on the spot.
It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death; who would want to die if they could live?
With the leaders surrendering, the ordinary soldiers naturally had no reason to resist and quickly threw down their weapons and knelt down.
The rest was simple. Xie Chong ordered all the aristocratic soldiers to be taken away, to be interrogated, and then sent to the mines to work in the ore.
As for the aristocratic clans members on the list, Xie Chong said to them leisurely, "I have prepared temporary accommodations for you, with each person living in a single room. In addition, He Qi will not be back for some time. If you confess honestly during this period, I will consider reporting to General Guan and leniently reduce your punishment."
Quan Shang asked weakly, "Explain what?"
Xie Chong laughed and said, "Of course it's your crime. If you don't want to confess your own crimes, you can confess others'. Besides, I know that you aristocratic families are like cunning rabbits with multiple burrows. You must still have hidden wealth in your hands. If you obediently hand it over, you can be exempted from punishment. Like I said, if you don't want to confess your own crimes, you can confess others'."
These guys are too high-ranking for Xie Chong to handle; he needs to report to the Guan family or Wang Fu for a decision.
Although Xie Chong dared not kill these guys, he would not let them off easily either. Prefect Xie had two ways to deal with them: first, he would lock them up in separate places and let them implicate each other, thereby finding out their hidden wealth and turning them into enemies, so that they could no longer unite.
The gentry were best at forming alliances and sticking together for mutual support; if they couldn't form an alliance, they wouldn't pose a threat.
Secondly, we must cut off the henchmen of the aristocratic families, such as the hundreds of personal guards who followed Yu Shaoquan in the rebellion tonight. No matter how wise the leader is, the decisions he makes still need to be carried out by his subordinates. Without these henchmen, they are like disabled people without hands and feet. What use is their intelligence?
As it turned out, Xie Chong's method was very effective. Almost as soon as he finished speaking, Yu Shaoquan and the others looked at each other with a hint of hostility.
Magistrate Xie just said that I don't need to confess about my own things, I only need to confess about others. I know a few clues about where your family's secret treasury is hidden.
People are selfish. They only work together when they are striving for the same goal. After success, they will turn against each other because of the unfair distribution of spoils. The same goes for failure. They will quickly shift the blame and shirk responsibility, trying their best not to be labeled as the main culprit.
I am an accomplice and must be an accomplice; let whoever wants to be the principal offender be it.
Xie Chong took in their expressions by the firelight and waved his hand, saying, "Take them back to the Prefect's residence. I will personally guard these people until General Guan returns in triumph."
He had already installed fences in all the empty rooms in the backyard of the prefect's mansion, turning them into temporary prisons, just waiting for this group of people to move in.
The main reason was that he had no family members; he was the only master of the huge prefectural mansion, and there were plenty of empty rooms.
After taking away the main culprits, including Yu Shaoquan, Xie Chong turned around and shouted with a gloomy face, "Bring those traitors out here."
No matter when, the most hateful people are always the traitors within your own ranks, not the enemies. You also have a few hateful traitors around you.
Soon, more than a dozen Han soldiers were escorted out of the courtyard. The two leading men were the garrison commanders who had been bribed by Yu Shao, while the rest were ignorant people who had been misled by the garrison commanders.
As soon as they were brought before Xie Chong, they knelt down and begged, "Prefect, spare our lives! We know we were wrong. Please give us another chance."
Xie Chong did not answer, but instead swung his sword and killed the two garrison commanders. Then he pointed at the remaining soldiers and ordered, "Throw them all into the mines to work, and never pardon them for life."
Traitors are the most hateful people since ancient times. He may spare Yu Shaoquan and others, but he will never forgive the traitors within his own ranks.
After finishing his chores, Xie Chong turned to look in the direction of Qiantang and muttered to himself, "He Qi, He Qi, you should be caught by now, right?"