Inside the camp of Cao Zhang's army outside Chang'an City.

After a break, everything in the camp has returned to normal.

Cao Zhang sat in the big tent of the Chinese army, looking at the sand table of Chang'an City that had been rearranged in front of him, and was thinking hard about how to break the enemy.

Now that the deadline for signing the military order with Cao Cao is getting closer and closer, if Cao Zhang can't think of a way to break the city within ten days, an extension is inevitable.

A big victory, which consumed most of the troops of Li Dao's army, was certainly a good thing, but it was definitely not gratifying.

Now Li Dao has become a frightened bird, and he is bound to defend Chang'an, and he will not easily go out of the city to fight.

Although this battle will greatly damage the morale of Li Dao's army, and also make the comparison of forces between the two sides a lot closer, basically to the point of parity, but the defensive strength of Chang'an City itself is still there, if it is attacked, it will still have to pay a painful price, and there may not be results.

Cao Zhang was thinking hard, but Xu Huang hurriedly broke into the big tent of the Chinese army from outside, came to Cao Zhang's face, and said eagerly: "Son, please go and have a look!" ”

Cao Zhang raised his head and looked at Xu Huang: "What's wrong, Gongming?" ”

Xu Huang reported: "General Duan has gathered all the captives and is ready to kill them all!" ”

"What? Kill prisoners of war? Cao Zhang's brows furrowed.

In this battle, about 3 or 4,000 people of the Xiliang army chose to surrender in order to save their lives, and temporarily saved their lives.

But now Duan Xuan wants to kill them all, what does this mean?

Cao Zhang did not hesitate, and quickly rushed out of the Chinese army's tent with Xu Huang.

Outside the camp, in the open space in the direction of Chang'an City, thousands of prisoners of war were tied up with ropes and gathered together, and around them, soldiers led by Duan Xuan were guarding with sharp blades.

Duan Xuan stood in front of these prisoners of war, revealing a fierce gaze.

The prisoners of war already knew Duan Xuan's intentions, and they all showed panicked expressions, and some of them couldn't hold it back, and directly begged loudly for mercy, begging to avoid death.

Duan Xuan was not moved at all, waved his hand, and gave an order to his subordinates: "Prepare for execution!" ”

The soldiers of Duan Xuan's army raised their sharp blades and aimed them at the prisoners of war in front of them, their weapons flashing in the sun, ready to drink blood immediately.

"Keep people under the knife!" With a shout, Cao Zhang, accompanied by Xu Huang, hurried over.

Duan Xuan was slightly stunned when he saw that it was Cao Zhang, but he still waved his hand to signal his subordinates to wait for a while, and then quickly stepped forward and respectfully saluted Cao Zhang: "Son, what do you mean by stopping me?" ”

"General Duan, these soldiers of the Xiliang Army have already chosen to surrender, why do you want to kill them?" Cao Zhang asked Duan Xuan.

"These people have followed Li Dao for many years, and they have been harming the Sanfu region for many years, and they are all wicked people who are not sorry to die! Our army will continue to fight against Li Dao, keep them in the army, and waste grain and grass, not to mention, if they are provoked by Li Dao, it is very likely that a mutiny will occur. ”

"Killing them all and building a Jingguan can not only boost the morale of our soldiers, but also deter the thief army in Chang'an City, which will be of great help to our army in the next battle!" Duan Xuan explained to Cao Chang why he wanted to kill the captives.

"The general's idea is good, but the general knows that killing and surrendering is a very ominous thing, but it will be punished by heaven! Bai Qi in the Qin period and Xiang Yu in the late Qin Dynasty both killed hundreds of thousands of people, but the result was not a good death. Even Li Guang, the flying general of the former Han Dynasty, was depressed because of the booby-trapping of the Xiongnu captives, and finally ended up killing himself! It can be seen that there is no good result in this killing, so it's better not to kill! Cao Zhang gave an example of facts, trying to persuade Duan Xuan to give up the killing.

Duan Xuan listened to Cao Zhang's words, but couldn't help laughing: "Childe, you and I are both generals who lead troops to fight and lick blood from the knife edge, how can you believe this kind of rumor?" ”

Speaking of this, he leaned to Cao Zhang's side and reminded in a low voice: "Sikong slaughtered cities in Xuzhou one after another back then, I'm afraid it is far more ferocious than killing and surrendering, do you say that Sikong will also be punished by heaven?" ”

Cao Zhang's face changed slightly when he saw Duan Xuan move out of Cao Cao's evil deeds in Xuzhou to try to convince himself, and then continued: "My father attacked Xuzhou back then, but he avenged my ancestors, with bitter hatred. But he has long regretted the innocent slaughter of the people, and he has often reflected on it over the years, and told us to think twice before doing things, and not to be blindly impulsive! ”

"The general only thinks about killing these prisoners of war to establish his authority, but he forgets a key, that is, killing these prisoners of war under Chang'an City, how will the Xiliang Army in the city feel when they see it?!" Cao Zhang tried to remind Duan Xuan.

"What do you think?" Duan Xuan obviously didn't understand what Cao Zhang was referring to, and asked rhetorically.

"They will know that if they are defeated and captured, they will surely die. In this case, they will fight to the death, fight with us to the end, and fight for a glimmer of life! The general's killing, I'm afraid, is not a prestige, but rather fuels the enemy's determination to fight a bloody battle with us! Cao Zhang said his thoughts to Duan Xuan.

After listening to Cao Zhang's words, Duan Xuan was slightly stunned, he pondered carefully, and had to admit that Cao Zhang's had some truth.

"What is the son going to do with them?" Duan Xuan asked Cao Zhang.

"The opposite, of course! Don't kill! And not only do not kill, but also treat them preferentially! Cao Zhang said how he handled it.

"Childe, since ancient times, Ci has not been in charge of soldiers and righteousness, and I know that Childe is kind-hearted, but with these wicked people, there is really no need to be like this!" Duan Xuan didn't understand Cao Zhang's intentions at all, and persuaded Cao Zhang in turn.

"I heard that Li Dao has always practiced tyranny, he himself is poor and extravagant, but he is extremely harsh on his subordinates, which caused the Xiliang army to rely on plundering the people to satisfy their selfish desires."

"The purpose of my expedition to Chang'an is to eradicate Li Dao, pacify Guanzhong, restore stability in the Guanzhong region, and make it no longer a scourge to the imperial court, so what we want to implement in the future must be benevolent government."

"We are now lenient with these captives, as soon as the other princes in Guanzhong can see that as long as Li Dao's old troops surrender sincerely, they can be blamed for the past and be treated leniently, and their original suspicions will be eliminated, and they will also believe in the court's recruitment and surrender willingly."

"Second, after this vicious battle, the Xiliang army in the city has already lost its morale, if you see your past comrades getting preferential treatment on our side, will you be more envious and have a lower fighting spirit? So when we launch a general attack, will they still defend to the death? Wouldn't it be easier for us to win? Cao Zhang calmly explained the reason to Duan Xuan, explaining his purpose of treating the captives favorably without killing them.

Cao Zhang knew very well that his arrangement was not a virgin's heart, nor was it merciful to these captives. It is a strategy of attacking the heart first, and it is a way to win the hearts and minds of the people for the final victory.

In just three years, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) was able to develop from tens of thousands of troops at the time of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression to one million heroes crossing the river.

During the Three Kingdoms period at the end of the Han Dynasty, the people suffered from the baptism of war all the year round, and natural and man-made disasters continued, so it was even more necessary to win the hearts of the people in order to truly gain support.

Liu Bei was able to go from a peddler weaving mat to a peddler to eventually become Emperor Zhaolie, in addition to his so-called empty title of imperial uncle of the Han family, a large reason was that he relied on his benevolence and benevolence in Xuzhou and Xinye, and won the hearts of the people.

Cao Zhang's desire to achieve great things, on the one hand, he must learn from Cao Cao's power and deceit, but Liu Bei's way of restraining people's hearts must also be absorbed. Only by gathering the strengths of each family can he realize his wish to unify the world within 20 years.

After listening to Cao Zhang's explanation, Duan Xuan also felt a layer of respect in his heart.

At first, he led his troops to help in the war, because the imperial court announced his duties as a former minister of the Han family.

After coming into contact with Cao Zhang, although he was only a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, he behaved in a cunning and treacherous manner, and was good at using soldiers.

The son is already so powerful, wouldn't Cao Cao be even more terrifying?

Duan Xuan was secretly glad in his heart that he did not choose to be an enemy of Cao Cao, but surrendered to the court and avoided being an enemy of this father and son.

"Childe's high theory, the last general listened to it like an enlightenment, and suddenly opened up. The last general is stupid, Xie Gongzi clicked, so he didn't make a big mistake, and asked Gongzi to forgive his sins! Duan Xuan sincerely admitted his mistake to Cao Zhang.

"The general has said it, you are also a good intention, how can I blame?!" Cao Zhang hurriedly comforted Duan Xuan.

After Cao Zhang calmed Duan Xuan, he strode up to the prisoners of war and said loudly: "You don't have to panic, we won't kill you!" ”

When the captives heard Cao Zhang's statement that they would not kill them, they all knelt down in fear and expressed their gratitude, "Thank you Gongzi for not killing them!" The voices came and went.

"I now give you two choices, I am willing to stay in the army, I can integrate you into my army, eat and live with our soldiers, enjoy the same treatment, if you have military merits in the future, you can also be promoted in the same way, there is no discrimination!"

"The second option is that if there are people who don't want to continue to serve in the army, I can let you go home! It's just that all those who have left, I will be registered, if anyone dares to leave from me, and then return to Li Wei's command, or continue to harm the people and be caught by me, I will not be spared! ”

"The road is pointed out to you, whether to go or stay, you decide for yourself!" Cao Chang loudly told the POWs about his arrangements.

These Xiliang soldiers were able to escape from death, they were already grateful, and they were even more overjoyed to hear Cao Zhang say that they could be given the same treatment as normal soldiers, where are there still people who want to leave, and shouted in unison that they are willing to stay and swear allegiance!

Cao Zhang looked at the thousands of Xiliang army prisoners who knelt down in front of him, and showed a faint smile.

Today's decision not only allowed him to gain thousands of soldiers and make up for the previous battle losses, but also spread his name of generosity, which will play a positive role in breaking the military spirit of the Xiliang army in Chang'an City and winning the trust of the princes of Guanzhong......