My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Chapter 353 Yang Shen's Surrender

It turned out that he not only saw the hundreds of thousands of troops that the scout had mentioned, but he also saw their marching formations, which were very orderly even when they were running.

Coupled with their uniform military uniforms and extremely well-equipped equipment, it can be seen at a glance that these people are elite regular troops.

Seeing this scene, Yang Shen was immediately in despair, because with his vision, he could clearly see the gap between the two sides. His 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, who were tired, sleepy and demoralized, could never be the opponent of these hundreds of thousands of elite troops.

While he was still considering what to do next, the enemy in the telescope slowly stopped advancing.

He thought the enemy was planning to negotiate, so he wanted to immediately organize the army and make defensive preparations so that he could gain more bargaining chips in the subsequent negotiations.

So he immediately sent his confidants to organize troops and set up a defense line.

However, Jiang Li had put so much thought into it, how could he not fire a single shot and prepare for the battle after the negotiation?

It turned out that Jiang Li was not going to negotiate, but was waiting for the follow-up artillery units to arrive.

In just over twenty minutes, the subsequent artillery units arrived at the designated location by truck.

Next, the artillerymen quickly unloaded the cannon from the vehicle, and then quickly completed the installation and debugging, waiting for Jiang Li to give the order to fire.

However, at this moment, Jiang Li saw through the telescope that a large number of soldiers with their weapons raised above their heads were walking out of the mountains. This was obviously a sign of surrender.

Seeing this scene, Jiang Li was speechless. He had been planning for two or three days and thought about all the emergencies that might be encountered in this war.

But they never expected that the guerrillas had already occupied the entire Xiushan County.

The 30,000-strong army that came to reinforce Xiushan County were captured alive by more than 3,000 guerrillas after a wave of bombing.

Afterwards, they occupied the entire Chongqing without firing a single shot.

Now, without firing a single shot, he has forced tens of thousands of enemy troops to surrender. This guy, a commander, actually came to help the guerrillas.

But he had no choice. After all, the enemy had already surrendered, and he could not order the artillery to fire. After all, even a rabbit bites when it is cornered.

If these tens of thousands of armed soldiers were forced into a corner, he might actually cause considerable casualties to his own side in his final counterattack.

Moreover, if this matter were to get out, it would be bad for my reputation, and the enemy would no longer surrender voluntarily.

So not only could he not order an attack, he also had to handle the situation properly and earn a reputation for treating the prisoners well.

In desperation, he could only send out a small force and order the surrendering soldiers to throw their weapons aside, raise their hands, line up next to the surrendering soldiers, and be tied up obediently.

Yang Shen in the mountains saw that the surrendered soldiers were not killed, so he gritted his teeth and ordered the entire army to surrender.

He had just seen that the caliber of those artillery cannons was terrifyingly large. If they were really allowed to fire at full speed, the temporary fortifications they had just built would not be able to provide any protection at all.

So they had absolutely no chance of winning, and even escaping was impossible because they had already been chasing in the mountains for two or three days. Not only were the soldiers exhausted, there was absolutely no chance of escape, so he simply surrendered decisively.

It wasn't that he was really willing to hand his life over to the enemy, but he had just learned from the captured guerrillas that they were Jiang Li's People's Security Army, so he dared to surrender.

What's more, Yang Shen has a trump card. He is confident that as long as he meets Jiang Li, he can make him spare his life.

Although Yang Shen was not a talented person, he did have some abilities. He had been constantly using troops in the past two years and had expanded his original army of 30,000 to 40,000 and the territory of several counties three times.

Unfortunately, it was precisely because of the rapid expansion that the guerrillas in the rear were not cleared out in time, allowing them to grow bigger.

In addition, because the army expanded too quickly, its quality declined sharply and the exploitation of the people became more serious, which led to this easy defeat.

However, he thought to himself that although he was not a good person, he was not completely conscienceless. This time he surrendered voluntarily with an army of 70,000 to 80,000. In order to stabilize the people's hearts, Jiang Li should not kill him.

Things turned out just as he expected. After Jiang Li learned that Yang Shen had surrendered voluntarily, he was suddenly caught in a dilemma.

This man surrendered voluntarily. Whether for the sake of reputation, to reduce the fighting spirit of other enemies, or to reassure the 70,000 to 80,000 surrendered soldiers, he should not have killed Yang Shen.

But how can we appease the people if we don't kill him? After all, the people of Chongqing have suffered countless casualties in the past two years because of the war started by this guy. If we let him go easily, it may be detrimental to future rule.

After much thought, Jiang Li couldn't find any good solution, so he decided to meet Yang Shen first to see what kind of person he was before deciding what to do with him.

When Yang Shen was brought in front of Jiang Li, they both looked at each other. After a long while, Jiang Li said with a faint smile on his face, "I'm thinking about how to deal with you. Should I kill you or not?"

"Do you have any better suggestions?"

Looking at Jiang Li's expression and listening to his words, Yang Shen immediately understood that he was asking what value he had.

In order to save his life, he immediately explained, "Commander, if you kill me, there will be three harms. On the contrary, if you keep me, there will be three benefits!"

Seeing his serious face, Jiang Li did not interrupt him, but signaled him to continue with his eyes.

Seeing Jiang Li like this, Yang Shen immediately explained his point of view in detail.

"First, if the commander kills me, I will be known as a prisoner killer. If we encounter war again, I'm afraid none of those warlords will be willing to surrender, because surrendering means death!"

"Secondly, if the commander kills me, it means he is intolerant. Those who want to join him in the future will think twice. After all, those who have accomplished great things since ancient times are all open-minded!"

"Third, if the commander kills me, the 70,000 or 80,000 surrendered soldiers under my command will be in a panic. If someone with ulterior motives instigates them, it will cause a big chaos!"

"On the contrary, if the commander does not kill me, it will not only reduce the enemy's resistance in the future, but also encourage people of insight to surrender to you. You can also use my remaining prestige to easily take over the entire Chongqing in the shortest possible time!"

After saying that, Yang Shen said no more and stared at Jiang Li with his eyes fixed.

Seeing that he spoke clearly and logically, Jiang Li knew that he must have some ability, at least in terms of eloquence.

However, in order to further determine the treatment for him, Jiang Li asked, "Do you understand my policy? Do you know what I am going to do next?

When Yang Shen heard this, he knew that he would not have to die, and his next answer was directly related to his future destiny.