Chapter 334: Bandits are Bandits
At the foot of Fenggao City, Xu Shu looked at the army that had marched over 400 miles in a few days but did not show any signs of panic, his eyes full of amazement.
"Xuan Gao, you are really an expert in commanding the army!"
This terrifying marching speed and discipline was beyond Xu Shu's imagination.
And the most rare thing is that this army can climb mountains, build bridges over rivers, and move through mountains and forests without any hindrance.
From Sheqiu, cross the Wen River to Wen County, and from Wen County, cross Liangfu Mountain to Fenggao.
All in all, the marching speed along the way was even faster than that of cavalry.
After all, cavalry have to consider more when crossing a river, and it is impossible for them to cross mountains and pass through forests, so they need to take a detour.
Moreover, because they were all taking small paths, they were extremely secretive and most likely not noticed by the defenders in Fenggao City.
Zang Ba was not pleased when he heard this. Instead, he looked at the army which was obviously tired and had its morale a little dispersed, and shook his head slightly.
There is still a gap!
It is still far from the "iron-footed" army that Your Majesty once described.
However, after several days of forced march, the soldiers' condition had declined so obviously that if a real fight broke out, their combat effectiveness would be weakened by at least 30%.
However, this is only what Zang Ba thought. In Xu Shu's eyes, this is already extremely excellent.
In terms of marching speed alone, even the Military Soul Legion would find it hard to match it, and it is even better than Xiahou Yuan, who has a talent that specializes in increasing marching speed.
Looking at the unguarded Fenggao County in the distance, Xu Shu smiled.
How long does it take to capture a city when the enemy is caught off guard?
Zang Ba tested this issue through practical actions.
It took only one night for Fenggao County to change hands easily, and Zang Ba's troops suffered very little damage.
As the county seat of Taishan County, Fenggao County is located where important transportation routes converge, and there are large amounts of money, grain and supplies in the city.
After capturing Fenggao, Zang Ba did not hesitate to let his soldiers eat and drink to their heart's content and rest for a day, and then distributed all the remaining money and food to the surrounding people.
Anyway, these things were not theirs in the first place, and they couldn't take them away, so they didn't feel bad about dividing them up. They used this to win over the people, which was a huge blow to Cao Cao.
Moreover, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and other princes were simply unable to resist this method, nor could they replicate it.
Because they are poor.
If you have money and food, you can do whatever you want!
Zang Bajun, who were well-treated and had strict discipline, would not hoard money and food, because they were not so short of money and food, and he and his family lived a good life.
Moreover, they had all received military education, had their own beliefs and persistence, and they also knew that taking these money and food would make it more likely for them to die.
Moreover, once they were discovered by the military inspection team in charge of military law, the consequences would be so high that they dared not take the risk.
Every time there is a big war, as long as they survive, Tian Ze will reward the soldiers generously after the war. There is no need for them to sacrifice themselves for such a small amount of money and food.
Only with these kinds of means can Zang Bajun have such good military discipline.
If it were Cao Cao's army, they would definitely loot without hesitation, and even Cao Cao would not be able to stop them.
Haven’t you seen how the Qingzhou soldiers in history committed many massacres? After being defeated, they looted everywhere, even robbing their friendly troops. This also made Yu Jin catch the eye of Cao Cao.
But even if Cao Cao knew about this situation, he never really stopped it and could only reward Yu Jin.
Because he knew that he could not afford to support, control, or leave these Qingzhou soldiers. If he stopped them, they would definitely mutini. He could only acquiesce in this matter after weighing the pros and cons.
Resources were scarce, so many things had to be done, such as massacring the city. If Cao Cao's army did not plunder, they would have no food.
But human nature is insatiable. Once they start plundering, they can't stop. The people will inevitably resist, and conflicts and killings will follow, eventually turning into a massacre.
Compared with leaving behind half of the people who hate him, it would be less damaging to massacre the entire city.
Even now, under Tian Ze's inducement and coercion, all the princes have issued clear orders not to harm the lives of civilians, but there are still some soldiers who can't stop themselves and kill people.
After all, if you rob someone of their money and food, which is their main source of survival, it would be strange if they didn't fight you to the death. It is difficult to stop the fight, and it is inevitable that some lives will be lost.
As for injuries, disabilities, etc., that is even more normal.
This is a vicious cycle. Once you start snatching, it's hard to stop.
Similarly, for Zang Ba, it was a virtuous cycle.
They had not touched it so many times in the past, which was also a sunk cost. Moreover, they were welcomed by the people with food and drink every day, and they gradually formed their own sense of honor, and they could not bring themselves to do such things.
Xu Shu watched Zang Ba skillfully fight Cao's army and distribute money and food, propaganda beforehand, maintaining order, clarifying standards, distributing supplies, and mobilizing afterwards...
The process is quite complete and well-organized. Although I have watched it many times, I still find it pleasing to the eye and amazing.
He is worthy of being one of the two great "bandit generals" of the Great Qi. His operation is really skillful.
"Xuan Gao, you are really suitable to be a 'righteous bandit'. Your experience of robbing the rich and giving to the poor can be published in a book."
Hearing Xu Shu's words, Zang Ba raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a little complacency: "Of course! Don't look at Gan Xingba, who always shows off his power every day. He only does rough work."
"Those pirates only know how to rob wealthy merchants. They don't know what it means to enforce justice and rob the rich to help the poor. When it comes to robbery, we bandits are the best."
Zang Ba's eyes were full of the bandits' contempt for the water bandits.
"To be honest, I have already written most of the book. It will be ready for publication after this battle. Please help me polish it then."
"His Majesty said that it will be listed as one of the compulsory books in the military academy."
Xu Shu was slightly stunned when he heard this.
He just said it casually, but he didn't expect that Zang Ba was really planning to publish a book.
And Your Majesty, your heart is truly... as broad as the sea.
Xu Shu suddenly seemed to think of something: "That General Xingba..."
Zang Ba said unhappily, "His book is almost finished, and his progress is much faster than mine. I have much more experience than him, but I suffered from not having enough education when I was young."
He and Gan Ning were both extremely daring men. Although they admired each other deep down in their hearts, they had always been competing secretly. They were notoriously bad on terms with Tian Ze and had fought countless times.
as predicted.
"Then you two must keep the book you publish a secret. If someone with ulterior motives learns about it, it will be troublesome."
Zang Ba nodded with a little pride after hearing this, but he said: "It's not that serious actually. His Majesty once said that bandits are bandits after all, and not engaging in production is not the way of the king."
"Robbing the rich to help the poor may seem like a good deed, but in reality it causes too much hidden harm and adverse effects to the people under its rule, and it is difficult to truly win the support of the people."
"Moreover, the reason why we were able to succeed so smoothly is because Cao Cao's rule was not prosperous and stable. If it were under our rule, it would certainly be difficult to achieve such results."
(End of this chapter)
