Astral Apostle
chapter-536

He was only here to test the waters and did not intend to attack forcefully.

"His strength is indeed extraordinary. It's difficult to get rid of him…"

Ma Zhen narrowed his eyes.

He watched Zhou Jing leave and did not send anyone to chase after him. He only instructed the guards to be on guard to prevent the other party from attacking.

Then, Ma Zhen and Ling Fengzi returned to the main tent and called the higher-ups under them for a military meeting.

Ling Fengzi was as usual listening from the side. This had long been agreed upon, and Ma Zhen had no objections.

When everyone was present, Ma Zhen spoke out,

"Currently, the bandits are powerful and difficult to eliminate. Generals, do you have any suggestions?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yuwen Yan, who had also been appointed to lead the troops, stood up and cupped his fists,

"The strength of the bandits lies in three aspects. Firstly, Chen Feng's strength is unstoppable, maintaining the morale of the army and raising their morale. Secondly, the Huyang Water Net is dense, and the bandits have the geographical advantage. Thirdly, the bandits have bewitched the hearts of the people all year round and are deeply supported by the Huyang villagers… I think that if we want to break through the bandits, we have to start from one of these points."

Ma Zhen nodded in agreement.

Before setting off, he had analyzed the advantages of the bandits. These three points were the most outstanding. If not for these three advantages, even if the Dragon King Stronghold had hundreds of thousands of troops, they would only be a motley crew in his eyes.

Yuwen Yan paused for a moment before smiling and speaking,

"Chen Feng's strength is difficult to match and can't be broken through for the time being, but he's alone. We'll split the battle line and attack from several directions. At most, he'll obtain an advantage in the direction he chooses, so we don't have to worry about him for the time being. As for the second point, the bandits have been entrenched in Huyang for a long time and are familiar with the terrain. It's not easy to break through, so let's not talk about it first. We have to start from the third point.

There's a saying in the art of war that attacking the hearts and emotions of the men is the best tactic. It's even more so when it comes to dealing with bandits. I'm willing to offer the Marshal five ways to break through the bandits."

Ma Zhen raised his eyebrows, "Please speak frankly."

Yuwen Yan nodded and retracted his smile. He began to seriously explain,

"Firstly, every 10 consecutive households will be grouped as a cluster. Many of the local villagers in Huyang are guilty of treason and helping the thieves. They need to supervise each other in the consecutive residences. If a household is found to be a traitor, the other nine households will also be held responsible. This will temporarily reduce the willingness of the people to help the thieves and intimidate the unruly people who want to help the thieves."

"The second is to capture the commoners who had their family members who had turned to become a bandit or had been captured and converted. These were all sinners and could be said to be traitors. According to the law, they should all be beheaded, but we will not kill them. We'll give them a chance to redeem themselves and make a contribution.

During the battle, we put them in front to lead the charge, forcing the enemy to panic and their morale to waver, causing the bandits to be restrained. If the bandits ignored everything and killed, it would cause internal instability and bury hidden dangers. They will also lose the hearts of the people in Huyang."

"Thirdly, we can adopt a soft approach to the people who listen to us. We can temporarily give out privileges such as land to appease them, or even temporarily pardon a portion of the sinners and let them lobby the relatives or fellow villagers who had already escaped from the thieves to shake their hearts further. This is to let more people know that there were benefits to following us. The disadvantages of supporting the outlaws will thus outweigh the benefits."

"The fourth will be to divide the public opinion. In Huyang, the villages and county cities are scattered everywhere. Because of Chen Feng's atrocity, many of the nobles have fled and no one is managing them. We can temporarily promote some of the local families to be stand-in officials and give them benefits.

They can help our army govern the local area and supervise who is a traitor among the various families. If the Imperial Court wins, they will be able to preserve their positions and continue to benefit, preventing the villagers from uniting. At the same time, we can drive the villagers from various places to live in one place while we clean up other areas."

"The fifth is to drive a wedge between the enemy's generals and promise to reward some of the leaders of the bandits with benefits.

… Although Chen Feng and the leaders who are ranked higher would not submit, Chen Feng had inherited the power of the Three Flood Dragons of Huyang. His subordinates are mixed with good and bad people, and they might not be united.

For example, among the leaders who once belonged to the Three Flood Dragons, there were naturally those who were not firm enough. We can persuade them to surrender and sow discord amongst their stronghold. They were powerless to oppose the rebellion set by Chen Feng, so if we give them a way to be recruited, especially those original Huyang bandits, it might be easier than expected.

With these five strategies combined, it can cause the hearts of the enemy to fluctuate and gradually split… However, it will take some time to implement it. As long as we drag it through the winter, we will be able to see initial results next year. At least 50% of the villagers who now support Chen Feng will come to our side. The longer the effect, the better."

When the generals heard this, they revealed surprised expressions and whispered to each other.

Ma Zhen pondered for a while and nodded in admiration, "These five strategies can indeed dig up the foundation of the lousy outlaws. I'm very happy to hear that, let's follow General Yuwen's plan. No matter how strong Chen Feng is, we'll destroy his wings and split his subordinates. The bandits will naturally be exposed."

Everyone agreed.

Meanwhile, Ling Fengzi's eyes flickered.

Most of these five plans were more practical. If the Imperial Court's army really did this, it would indeed cause a lot of trouble. Ma Zhen and the other two were far harder to deal with than Lu Longchuan.

Everyone discussed for a while more before Ma Zhen dismissed the generals. Ling Fengzi could only take his leave.

However, after a while, the tent flap of the main tent was lifted again. It was Yuwen Yan and Huang Ping.

Ma Zhen called for the two of them to sit down. Then, he got his personal guards to guard the vicinity and not let anyone approach.

The three of them were at the core decision-making level. The commanders of this trip had long formed a small circle to avoid the other generals for discussion. They did not want others to listen in on the most important matters.

Ma Zhen said in a deep voice, "Before we set off, Privy Pang had hinted that we should try our best to fight for as long as possible. The longer we delay, the more beneficial it will be. The bandits are not easy to deal with, so it's easier for us to do our things."

The other two nodded.

Because Privy Ambassador Pang Hong had recommended them through the Emperor, the three of them had thus obtained this job. Naturally, they had to give Pang Hong some respect. Moreover, as nobles, they were bound by the same benefits.

Both of them knew what Ma Zhen meant by "benefits"… The longer they delayed, the more military funds the Imperial Court would give them.

Of course, most of it had to be handed over to Privy Pang. This was a rare opportunity for him to earn money.

Therefore, the three of them did not have the intention to quickly break through the bandits. Even though they had many troops under them, they did not want to attack in a hurry. Instead, they planned to drag it out into a long battle. Yuwen Yan's suggestion was both a way to break through the bandits and a way to hide their own interests.

"Let's not talk about this matter. It's better to deal with the bandits first. Otherwise, if we lose, all of this will be empty talk." Yuwen Yan smiled and pulled back to the main topic.

Ma Zhen narrowed his eyes and said, "In my opinion, the plan you offered just now is still lacking."

"Oh? Please elaborate."

Ma Zhen slowly said, "The villain surnamed Chen claimed that he wanted to rebel for the people, so we should also get some soldiers to pretend to be bandits and plunder the village. They can torture the villagers and tarnish Chen Feng's reputation. This can make him lose the hearts of the people faster and lose the foundation to cause trouble."

"Marshal makes sense." Yuwen Yan smiled and flattered him, not seeming surprised.

Huang Ping said in a deep voice, "Leave this matter to my team."

Ma Zhen nodded in agreement.

Among the three of them, Huang Ping's army was the strictest. They would not leak anything.

At this moment, Ma Zhen paused for a moment before his eyes suddenly turned cold.

"However, the battlefield is always changing rapidly. The moment our army has no chance of winning and we can't do anything, we'll send people to the upper reaches to dig the river and cause floods. The water will flood the lake and kill the thieves."

Yuwen Yan and Huang Ping were slightly shocked.

"This plan might be too ruthless. Huyang has many floods to begin with, and if we trigger a series of floods, countless people will die. I'm afraid Huyang will be empty in the future…"

Yuwen Yan frowned.

Ma Zhen said expressionlessly, "If our army is defeated, the Imperial Court will suffer a huge loss and it will be difficult to restrain the bandits. In that case, why can't we use Huyang to exchange for peace? Moreover, there have always been frequent cases of people converting to banditry in Huyang. The deaths of those who follow are not worth pitying."

"Well… Marshal is right, but this is a desperate plan. We can't use it unless it's critical. Moreover, we can't reveal it, or else there will be more trouble."

Huang Ping spoke slowly without any clear objections.

He had the same intention. If he lost, he would definitely suffer when he returned to the Imperial Court. It would naturally be best to use the lives of a group of commoners to protect his victory and future.

So what if the people are struggling to survive? I'm about to lose, so why should I care about you?

Yuwen Yan said worriedly, "If the Perfected One finds out about this plan, it won't be good. He doesn't want to kill too much and says that this action will disrupt the harmony of the heavens. Will we ruin his cultivation by doing this?"

"Then let's not let him know. When the deed is done, it's useless even if he's unwilling."

Ma Zhen waved his hand, not caring.

Although he respected Ling Fengzi and knew that he had to rely on him in this battle, he would not change his decision as the commander just because of this.