Ming Empire

Chapter 71 Unsuccessful Brainwashing
These words immediately aroused the interest of the red lady, she put down the chopsticks she had just picked up, and asked curiously and nervously: "General Cao, how did you do this? How did you defeat Jiannu? Yes, how did you capture Shengjing? Can you tell me about these things with the slave family, the slave family is very curious?"

"I understand. The purpose of your adventurous trip to Datong is to inquire about Datong's military situation, to know how to use troops and how to defeat Jiannu, so as to help your husband Li Yan attack Datong," Cao Yue said, smiling secretly, "Red lady, do you think I guessed it right? You are a scout to inquire about Datong's military situation!"

Unexpectedly, Cao Yue was so smart, Hong Niangzi didn't know how to respond, and looked embarrassed.

"I don't mind discussing this issue with you, but the premise is that after Jiannu is completely wiped out, or after you and Li Yan return to the imperial court, then I can discuss everything with you without reservation and teach you a lot. Something I don’t know,” Cao Yue raised his glass with a smile, and then toasted the red lady, “Come on, beautiful red lady, oh, let’s call you Mrs. Li. Understand. Believe me, I understand better than you can see, but believe it or not."

The red lady raised her glass mechanically, followed Cao Yue and drank the wine in the glass.

"Eat something. I believe you haven't eaten for at least half a day. People are iron, and rice is steel. If you want to have the strength to travel long distances, you always need to eat. I won't poison you with medicine. There is no need for it!" Cao Yue As he said that, he picked up his chopsticks to pick up the vegetables and ate them, and said while eating: "I am hungry. If you don't want to eat, I can eat it all by myself."

Seeing Cao Yue gobbled it up, the red lady, who was already hungry, had the urge to drool, and when it was even worse, her bowel movements started at this time, and Cao Yue could even hear the gurgling in her stomach .But the woman's reserve made her embarrassed to eat these dishes in front of Cao Yue, the man who captured her, which made her feel ashamed.

"Mrs. Li, your stomach has already protested to you, the master." Cao Yue pointed to the dishes on the plate with a smile on his chopsticks, "If you don't eat any more, it will be cold. What I hate the most are pedantic and prudish people. I think you are a bold and magnanimous person, a real heroine, there is no need to struggle for a long time over a meal, right?"

"Okay, then you're welcome, I'll eat this meal for nothing," the red lady hesitated for a moment, and finally picked up the chopsticks and followed Cao Yue to eat. "I am really grateful to General Cao for treating me like this. Next time if you fall into the hands of my red lady, I will spare your life and treat you with the same courtesy!"

"You have no chance!"

"That's not necessarily true. There will always be times when a tiger falls into Pingyang. Even your father..." Hong Niangzi originally wanted to say that even a brave man like Cao Wenzhao would commit suicide in the end, but she felt like saying such things in front of Cao Yue It was inappropriate, so I swallowed the words that followed.

"We'll just wait and see, but I believe that we will continue to deal with each other in the future, and you will be defeated by me again. I hope that there will be a time when you are convinced," Cao Yue smiled, and raised his glass to the red lady again .

"Will I despise you!" The red lady raised her glass boldly, and drank with Cao Yue.

"Mrs. Li, do you think that Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's power is really because of their popularity?" Cao Yue put down his glass, looked directly at the red lady, and said seriously: "If you think so, Then you are wrong."

"Then what do you think?"

"They're just lucky!" Cao Yue showed a serious expression: "Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong are powerful, but because of the invasion of Jiannu, the government and army were unable to divide their troops into battle, otherwise they would have been wiped out long ago. The imperial court is most worried about not you rogues, but Jiannu. If Jiannu successfully enters the customs, they will not treat the people of the Han family well. There is no one in Liaodong. This is the tragic situation after Jiannu was destroyed. To prevent the people of the world from being killed by Jiannu, that’s why the most elite troops were sent to Liaodong to deal with Jiannu. When Jiannu did not commit crimes in the south, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong would suffer from the imperial court’s transfer of the elite to the south.”

"We are not bandits, we are rebels!" Hong Niangzi argued persistently, "Our rebels rebelled because they were dissatisfied with the tyranny of the imperial court. Our purpose of rebellion is to benefit the people of the world."

"I won't argue with you!" Cao Yue waved the chopsticks in his hand with a wry smile, and changed the topic, "Let me talk about my own thoughts. There are many reasons for the chaos of the Ming Dynasty. The most important thing is that nowadays The government is corrupt and the people live in poverty; the second is that the slaves have repeatedly invaded the bandits, and the imperial treasury is empty because of the war preparations. In order to raise the army's salary, the tax has to be increased, which has increased the burden on the people; During the battle, the elite of the Daming Frontier Army was exhausted, which gave your rebel army a chance to take advantage. Thinking back, when my father and cousin led the army to fight against the invaders, your rebel army was almost wiped out. It can be said that your rebel army can have today You are taking advantage of the disaster of the country to get rich, which is the most unbearable behavior!"

"Forgive me, it's hard for my family to accept what General Cao said!" Hearing this, Hong Niangzi couldn't help but refute, but before he could say more, Cao Yue interrupted her and continued to state his point of view.

"The slaves invaded and the country suffered. As a passionate man, the most important thing to do at this time is to enlist in the army, fight against foreign captives, defend the country, and prevent your homeland from being ruined. I believe you know that slavery is not good. , leaving almost all tragedies in the world. But you, at this time, rebelled." Then he said in a calm tone: "When Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong raised their troops, they shouted very beautiful slogans. The common people have food to eat, but their current goal is only to conquer the world for themselves, and they want to be the emperor. Is the life of the people in the places occupied by your rebel army better than in the past? Has the population increased? It's just as difficult, so you didn't rob the common people by force?"

Cao Yue's words touched Hong Niangzi quite a bit. He had heard Li Yan say similar words, but they were not as intense as Cao Yue's.Li Yan said that the generals in the rebel army fought for power and profit, and took away the fat of the people. This is their shameless behavior, but many high-level leaders of the rebel army are doing it.But she still argued tenaciously: "We only plunder the wealth of the rich and bully, and we will not compete with the common people for profit."

"You don't believe that, do you?" Cao Yue sneered, "Aren't those wealthy families all heinous people? Isn't their wealth created by themselves and accumulated through the hard work of several generations?" Did you come down? How can you rob other people's hard-earned wealth so confidently? Don't argue, just listen to me first!"

Hearing what Cao Yue said, Hong Niangzi had no choice but to shut up reluctantly.

"When you rebel, the imperial court will definitely expropriate them. The slaves are foreign captives. If they send troops to invade, the imperial court will definitely order the army to resist, and fighting is the most expensive. The treasury is empty. The imperial court can only tax the people more. The continuous war Let the people suffer more. It can be said that your rebellion is a very important reason for the suffering of the people. If you are righteous, when you often break the customs when building slaves, and our Ming army is defeated in a row, you should decisively use your swords to the outside world. , instead of fighting the official army."

"Same roommates, what's the rush? If you rise up against the imperial court, you will end up being slaves to reap the benefits of fishing! If you continue to rebel, the imperial court will continue to conquer until the world is peaceful." Cao Yue said, suddenly drinking After drinking a glass of wine, I put down the glass again, "That's all I have to say today. If you understand the righteousness, you can surrender to the general, and the general can recommend to the court, so that you can continue to lead the army and fight against Jiannu. But if you insist on going your own way, This general will destroy all of you and restore peace to the world. Your fighting power is far inferior to Jiannu, and Jiannu are all defeated by this general. If you want to attack Datong, weigh it yourself!"

"It's impossible for us to belong to the imperial court!" Hong Niangzi was a little angry, because she didn't have time to refute Cao Yue's words, and even didn't know how to refute some words.

In fact, she doesn't have much scheming. Young people in their twenties, how can they have so many scheming?

"Okay, eat more. I'll get someone to prepare a place for you to sleep in a while. Get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow, you will leave Datong with your subordinates and return to Henan."

(End of this chapter)