0p0 Chapter 378 Means
Chapter 378 Means
Fang Quan's tongue was torn off by Duan Tianyang. His whole body was shaking violently, and he made painful gurgling sounds in his throat. Blood gushed out of his mouth and nose.
Duan Tianyang casually threw the severed tongue aside, calmly took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, and wiped the blood and saliva on his hands.
Then he turned to Qiu Tieyi and the others, raised his head, and said calmly: "Clean up the mess."
Duan Tianyang is not stupid. On the contrary, as a modern man, he is smarter than most people.
With the precedent of Fang Quan, how could he retain the military power of Dong Zhi and An Qinshan?
There are profound considerations behind his actions.
This was to show it to other rebels and also to Fang Quan, but he did not make it clear to everyone.
If you want to kill Fang Quan, sending troops directly is certainly an option, but it is not the best strategy.
The safest way is to lure him into Shengluo City. However, Fang Quan has already harbored rebellious thoughts, so how could he easily take the bait?
Therefore, Dong Zhi and An Qinshan became his chess pieces to confuse Fang Quan.
Instead of stripping the two of their military power, they were asked to farm. This arrangement could confuse Fang Quan to the greatest extent possible and make him mistakenly believe that his rebellious intentions had not been discovered.
With Chi Xun's clever lobbying, Fang Quan fell into the trap and led his troops to Shengluo City.
Duan Tianyang was well aware of the grudges between Fang Quan and Dong and An, and everything developed as he expected.
Fang Quan took the initiative to come to the door and expressed his intention to get rid of the two.
This move not only eliminated two hidden dangers for the Hongxing Army, but also provided Duan Tianyang with a legitimate reason - to execute Fang Quan in public to rectify the military discipline of the Hongxing Army.
It really kills two birds with one stone, it's perfect.
This is Duan Tianyang's wisdom and strategy. It can be said that he began to quietly implement the plan when Dong Zhi and An Qinshan sent envoys to Shengluo City to surrender to Hongxing Army.
When everyone thought he was stupid and incompetent, he made everyone understand what it meant - you thought I was on the first floor, but actually I was in the atmosphere!
Fang Quan once thought that Duan Tianyang was only brave on the battlefield and knew nothing about the sinister nature of people in officialdom, but this was a big mistake.
Although Duan Tianyang is well-versed in the art of war, his real strength is not in using troops to fight, but in understanding people's hearts.
He dropped out of school in his teens and entered society, and worked at the bottom for many years. He knows human nature too well...
After the news that Dong Zhi and An Qinshan were killed by Fang Quan spread, the generals of the Hongxing Army were shocked and rushed to the City Lord's Mansion.
When everyone stepped into the hall of the City Lord's Mansion, the hall was already filled with noise. Duan Tianyang sat in the middle with a solemn expression.
Below, Dong Zhi and An Qinshan's followers knelt in a mass, their eyes tearing up, their voices trembling, as they cried out in unison: "Sir, the traitor Fang Quan has plotted to murder our general, and they are fighting against each other. I hope you will help us!"
Duan Tianyang took a deep breath, glanced at everyone, and waved his hand calmly: "Everyone, please be patient. Fang Quan has been captured and is being interrogated in the back hall. When the truth comes out, I will definitely give everyone a satisfactory answer!"
Before he finished speaking, a general officer rushed into the hall, ignoring the hustle and bustle around him, and walked straight towards Duan Tianyang, holding a blood-written letter in his hand, and said loudly: "Sir, Fang Quan has confessed that the deaths of Generals Dong and An were indeed caused by him, and many generals and counselors were involved. This is his confession and the list of his accomplices, please take a look!"
After he finished speaking, the people kneeling in the hall stopped crying instantly, stretched their necks, and stared at Duan Tianyang and the blood letter in his hand.
Duan Tianyang glanced at it casually, then slammed the blood letter on the table in anger, stood up suddenly, and said in a thunderous voice: "Fuck you! How many times have I told you that no matter what grudges you had in the past, once you join the Hongxing Army, you are brothers and you must not kill each other. Do you think what I said is bullshit?"
Dong Zhi and An Qinshan's subordinates looked at each other in horror, and kowtowed one after another, crying and explaining: "Sir, the one who killed our comrades was Fang Quan, not us. I hope you can see clearly..."
Little did people know that this confession was entirely written by Zhang Liao.
As the one presenting the confession, he was laughing in his heart, but pretended to be terrified on the surface, and bowed to report: "Sir, please calm down. This matter has nothing to do with the two generals Dong and An. It is Fang Quan's fault!"
"Behead!" Duan Tianyang gritted his teeth, his eyes sharp, pointing directly at the list, and said word by word: "No one on the list will be spared, all of them will be beheaded to restore military discipline!"
"Yes, sir!" Zhang Liao responded, respectfully took the list, turned around and left.
Looking at Zhang Liao's departing back, Duan Tianyang slowly sat down and sighed: "With military power in hand, comes authority. Power breeds desire, and desire will lead people into the abyss and toward destruction..."
His words echoed in the air, and Guan Hu, Zhao Xuan and others were shocked after hearing them.
They had not yet fully understood the profound meaning of it, but Xiao Fang, Wen Daozun, Chi Xun and Li Jiu had already grasped the mystery, and the corners of their mouths rose unconsciously.
Duan Tianyang's remarks were not directed at Guan Hu, Xiao Fang and other direct generals, but were specifically addressed to the rebel generals.
Previously, Wen Daozun and his men had worried that Duan Tianyang was too kind and soft-hearted towards his subordinates, which might lead to mistakes or even a disaster.
But now, they truly realized that they had underestimated Duan Tianyang and his methods.
Among the rebels who surrendered this time, in addition to Dong Zhi and An Qinshan, there were four other rebel generals.
Although they do not have many subordinates, they still number about 100,000 when combined.
When they heard Duan Tianyang's words, beads of sweat dripped down their foreheads, and it was obvious that they were deeply touched.
In the city of Saint Luo, the Hongxing Army was divided into two teams.
One group was composed of members of the Hidden Martial Hall, led by Qiu Tieyi, Lu Jingyuan and Hua Duoer. Under the guidance of the Sky Eye Hall, they began to capture Fang Quan's subordinates throughout the city.
After learning that Fang Quan was captured by Duan Tianyang, they felt the situation was serious and fled.
The other team was led by Zhang Liao, Xiao Si and Wang Qiang. They headed straight for Fang Quan's camp in the south of the city.
Holding Duan Tianyang's handwritten letter, Zhang Liao passed the guards outside the military camp effortlessly and entered Fang Quan's camp directly.
At this time, there was no one in charge in the military camp, only a few corps commanders and deputy corps commanders were on guard.
Zhang Liao raised his hand lightly and called the patrolling soldiers. The soldiers looked at each other and stepped forward suspiciously.
They did not recognize Zhang Liao and the others. They only saw a captain frowning and asking, "Who are you?"
Zhang Liao majestically showed Duan Tianyang's handwritten letter, waved it gently in front of his captain, and said in a deep voice: "This is written by Lord Duan himself. Summon your corps commander and deputy corps commander here immediately."
Although the captain was not very literate, the three words "Duan Tianyang" and the eye-catching official seal were enough to make him feel awe.
He did not dare to be negligent in the slightest. After hurriedly saluting, he headed straight into the depths of the camp.