The Zhenjiang army regained the city of Hangzhou with the momentum of the wind sweeping the fallen leaves, completely destroying the lair of the rebels in the south of the Yangtze River. Although the culprit Lao Jianhua escaped in advance and is currently missing, the puppet Jin King Li Jiong was killed by Li Jiangyao himself, and the general Ye Rongcheng was also blocked by the Sixth Army of the Angry Waves on the way to break through, and he himself was hit by several arrows and died on the spot.

More than 30,000 remnants of the army were defeated and surrendered to the Zhenjiang army one after another.

At this point, the Battle of Hangzhou ended victoriously.

Almost at the same time, good news also came from the direction of Haiyan. Duan Jun led the Ninth Army to pursue the remnants of Bao Yuchun all the way, winning four battles and four victories, and when the whole army arrived at Haiyan Wharf, the Kunpeng Tenth Army also happened to arrive here in time, and the main force of the fleet took advantage of the situation to blockade the port waters and block all the escape channels.

Bao Yuchun saw that there was no way out, so he had to command the remaining troops to defend on the spot. Unexpectedly, Duan Jun and Nie Xianzeng cooperated tacitly, and the two armies were not in a hurry to launch an offensive against the rebels, but surrounded them from a certain distance.

They completely cut off the grain route of Bao Yuchun, leaving tens of thousands of fleeing rebels trapped in Haiyan County, with no supplies to speak of. In just two days, the gang ate up the food and grass they had brought with them, and they were completely in a desperate situation.

In the next three days, these rebels were so hungry that they looted and robbed the local people of their rations all over the city and village, which not only made the people angry, but also gradually weakened military discipline and made it difficult to maintain. Bao Yuchun originally planned to lead his troops to break out of the encirclement, but in the end, due to the low morale of the army and the disparity in strength, he had no choice but to give up the idea of taking risks.

In the end, the small sea salt really couldn't withstand tens of thousands of mouths to eat and drink, and the rebels ran out of food and were on the verge of collapse. Bao Yuchun thought about it for a long time and finally decided to surrender to the Zhenjiang army.

He only put forward one condition to Duan Jun and Nie Xianzeng: most of the troops in Haiyan City were veterans of the Kuohai Sea Army who had followed him for many years, and he hoped that the subordinates of the Zhenjiang Army would show mercy and treat the prisoners well, and not drive out his brothers.

As for confessing guilt and surrendering to the law, all the crimes of rebellion are borne by him Bao Yuchun alone.

Duan Jun, the commander of the Ninth Army, gave this former famous general of the Holy Tang Dynasty the courtesy he deserved. For Bao Yuchun, who was captured, there was neither beating, scolding, humiliation, nor ropes, except that he could not wear armor and carry weapons, everything else was as usual.

Soon, he was escorted to Hangzhou City by the Wild Sand Cavalry and met Li Jiangyao.

Bao Yuchun used to be a dynasty general of the same generation as He Jingming and Xie Guang, when he led the elite naval army of the Holy Tang Dynasty across the sea and made great achievements for the country, but now he has become a prisoner because of rebellion, which can not help but sigh.

Li Jiangyao asked Bao Yuchun a question: Did you really choose to join forces with Lao Jianhua to commit treason in order to repay the life-saving grace of Li Chengxing, the king of Jin?

Bao Yuchun didn't expect that as soon as Li Jiang Yaofu met, the first question was so straightforward, and he couldn't help but hesitate. After hesitating for a moment, he replied honestly, it is indeed true to repay his kindness, but more, he still wants to take advantage of the chaos in the world to speculate and bet, betting that Lao Jianhua and Li Zhi can win, and he will take advantage of the situation to rise up and create meritorious deeds.

To put it bluntly, the word fame and fortune still haven't escaped.

At that time, the Turks occupied the imperial capital and the Guanzhong Plain, and the Tongguan fortress was also in their hands, and they could attack and retreat and defend the Central Plains, and they were almost invincible. At that time, both Li Bing and the imperial court seemed to be alone, and it was difficult to protect themselves. Bao Yuchun led his army back from the open sea, and after repeated weighing, he believed that it would be difficult for the northern battlefield to give full play to the advantages of his fleet and lightly armored sailors, and even if he took refuge in the crown prince Li Bing, it would be difficult to make a big difference. Therefore, he finally decided to join forces with Li Zhi and occupy the south of the Yangtze River, waiting for the opportunity to win the world.

Li Jiangyao immediately asked the second question: You only weigh the pros and cons, haven't you ever thought about what the primary duty of a Shengtang soldier is?

Bao Yuchun's face turned red suddenly.

Looking at the young commander of his nephew in front of him, he already had gray temples, and he felt a little embarrassed. After waiting for a while, Bao Yuchun shook his head heavily and didn't say anything.

Originally, what else could he say?

He Jingming, who was also the three famous generals of the previous generation, was plotted and died on the way to the western frontier to defend against foreign enemies, while Xie Guang and him embarked on the road of rebellion.

As long as you can still remember the country and the mission of the soldiers in your heart, you will never fight the enemy for your own selfish sake when the people are in danger and the saint Tang survives.

From this point of view, he is far inferior to He Jingming, and he is not worthy of being called a famous general with him.

Li Jiangyao saw that Bao Yuchun was silent, and then asked the third question: Why did you surrender so easily?

Bao Yuchun was very happy this time, smiled miserably, and said the reason behind it: In fact, he didn't want to fight for a long time. As a battle-experienced general, Bao Yuchun is an expert in military affairs, and his vision and judgment are extraordinary. For his main opponent, the Zhenjiang Army, he once made an evaluation: the world is invincible. And Li Jiangyao, the commander of this invincible and powerful army, is an unborn military genius.

If you want to defeat Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang army, even Xie Guang and the Xuanjia Army in their heyday may not be able to do it, let alone the Jiangnan rebels who are declining.

Originally, he also planned to escape from Shengtang by sea and hide on a small island in the open sea to the east to survive. But who expected that the Ninth Army chased too closely, almost grabbed his ass and killed all the way, and finally rushed to Haiyan, only to find that the warships of the Kunpeng Tenth Army had been covered in the sea, and the last hope was completely shattered.

In this case, instead of making a senseless struggle and dragging all the veterans of the navy under his command to death, it is better to take it, put it down, and admit it happily.

"I know that I am guilty of a lot and I can't escape death," Bao Yuchun finally said: "Bao Mou doesn't want anything else, he just asks Dadu to protect him and give my sailor brothers a way to live." All their previous deeds were done according to orders, and they did not help themselves. ”

"You want me to let them go?" Li Jiangyao said curiously.

Bao Yuchun shook his head: "I don't dare to hope for this." After all, we are rebels, and the Holy Tang Dynasty has never been lenient and lenient with traitors, we know it very well in our hearts. It's just that...... or imprisoned, or distributed, so that they may be spared. ”

Li Jiangyao was silent for a moment, and suddenly said, "I can let them go." ”

Hearing this, Bao Yuchun couldn't help but be stunned, and immediately looked at the other party in confusion.

"But I have two conditions," Li Jiangyao said lightly: "First, persuade your nephew Bao Xinyan to give up resistance and surrender to our army in Mingzhou; Second, hand over the charts of the islands in the broad sea, and indicate the deployment of the troops of the various bandits. ”

Bao Yuchun reacted and said strangely: "You ...... Want to exterminate the thieves? ”

Li Jiangyao shrugged his shoulders and smiled: "Anyway, after pacifying the south, the Zhenjiang Army fleet has nothing to do, so it is better to take over your Kuohai Army and sweep the Eight Desolations." To tell you the truth, when I saw those thieves, I hated them so much that I wished I had shoveled their graves and demolished their temples, so that they would never be able to turn over! ”

Bao Yuchun was puzzled, and he couldn't understand when and where the thieves offended the commander of the Zhenjiang Army, causing the other party to hate him so much. He was about to inquire and explore, but Li Jiangyao raised his hand to stop him: "Don't ask anything else, can you agree to these two conditions, you give me a happy word." ”

"Is Daduhu really willing to release my sons?" Bao Yuchun suppressed his curiosity and turned to ask the question he cared about the most.

Li Jiangyao nodded: "As you said, they are just ordinary soldiers, and they only obey the orders of their superiors in everything, so it is understandable." Unless those who take advantage of the war to commit adultery, plunder, and plague the people cannot be spared, I can make the rest of the decisions and forgive them. In the future, if the court asks questions, I will explain. ”

Bao Yuchun's eyes showed a look of gratitude, and he praised: "Most of them are worthy of being the first person in Shengtang today!" Responsible, good man! Bao is a certain suit. I immediately sent a letter to my nephew Bao Xinyan, asking him to stop making unnecessary resistance, and at the same time present the charts of the broad sea. Alas, our Bao family has no bad seeds, and if we are willing to gamble and lose, it is nothing more than death, and in the end, if we can save the lives of thousands of soldiers, it is worth it. ”

-

As soon as the battle in Hangzhou stopped, Li Jiangyao immediately sent envoys to contact Murong Xue and Ma Hongjie, these two army corps are still fighting with the remnants of the rebels, especially the Vermilion Bird Army, and after being taken away by Gong Chengze with half of the troops, it is particularly difficult to deal with the fierce general Xie Bao. As a last resort, Murong Xue allocated another banner of men and horses to the west to reinforce Ma Hongjie.

However, the main force of the rebels has basically been annihilated by the Zhenjiang army in the area of Taihu Lake and Hangzhou, and the intensity of the fighting in various parts of the south will be lower and lower, and it is not far from complete victory.

In this case, Li Jiangyao informed Murong Xue and Ma Hongjie that since the Persian Empire suddenly invaded the Turks on a large scale, there was a risk of threatening the western frontier, so he was ready to lead a large army to return to the ghost desert of the western frontier as soon as possible to stabilize the situation on the frontier. Here in Jiangnan, I can only ask them to clean up slowly.

Soon, Murong Xue and Ma Hongjie sent replies respectively. Both of them expressed their full support for the decision of the Great Protector, and if there is anything that needs the service of the Blue Dragon Army and the Vermilion Bird Army, please do not hesitate to give orders.

Murong Xue even said bluntly that if the Zhenjiang Army encountered some traitors maliciously blocking it on the way back to the west, the Blue Dragon Army was willing to be the pioneer and clear all obstacles for the brothers in Zhenjiang.

Nowhere is this more obvious. The so-called removal of all obstacles means that from the south of the Yangtze River to the northwest, whether it is the White Tiger or the forbidden army, people block and kill, and God blocks and kills God!

In terms of overall combat strength, the Blue Dragon Legion is still a little unpredictable in defeating the forbidden army, but there is no problem in cleaning up the same number of White Tiger Legions, which is very meaningful for preserving the valuable combat power of the Zhenjiang Army so that it can fully plunge into the chaos in the West in the future.

Li Jiangyao received a reply from the Qinglong and Suzaku families, and knew that the situation in Jiangnan was basically stable, so he did not delay any longer, and immediately issued a mobilization order for the whole army to rest and recuperate as soon as possible and be ready to move out at any time.

Brothers, it's time for us to go home.