Chapter 255 Three-Day Ultimatum
"Plus, he has some of the Marshal's troops and sufficient food and fodder, so everything will go smoothly. When the officials of the imperial court arrive, he can directly take over the various places."
"Speaking of the salt merchants in Yangzhou, this time I really look at them with new eyes. I heard that the materials that Lord Lin brought were all donated by them on their own initiative. It seems that I misunderstood these people before."
Jia Cong smiled upon hearing this. This was indeed quite proactive. I'm afraid the one who took the initiative must have burst into tears...
The siege lasted until the end of September, when Jia Cong finally decided to give the city of Jinling an ultimatum. If they still resisted, he would have no choice but to attack the city by force.
On this day, Jia Cong personally came to the foot of Jinling City and shouted to the sky, "I am Jia Cong, the Marquis of Guanjun. I am in charge of the Shandong camp to suppress the rebellion under the order of the court. Now, all the White Lotus sect members in various places have been defeated by me, and the people are stable. Only your isolated city of Jinling is left."
"This Marquis has compassion for the world and does not want to commit more murders! I heard that the White Lotus Sect's Grand Elder Wen Xing is in charge here. I wonder if Elder Wen Xing has the courage to meet with this Marquis?"
After waiting for about two quarters of an hour, a commotion was heard from the top of the city wall. Then, a bald, beardless old man appeared in Jia Cong's sight.
"I am Wen Xing, the Grand Elder of the White Lotus Sect!"
"Jia Cong, you slaughtered hundreds of thousands of my White Lotus sect members. The Mother of No Life will punish you! "
A sharp voice came, but Jia Cong sneered, "You, the White Lotus Sect, have taken away millions of people, countless people have died tragically, and people from all over the country have been displaced. Is this your belief? If so, then I will overturn this so-called god and Buddha."
"I did not come here today to argue with you!"
"I will give you three days. If you can surrender the city, I will forgive you for your past mistakes and will not kill those who resist stubbornly! If you still insist on defending the city, don't blame me for being cruel and ruthless!"
"During this period, I have built hundreds of catapults and dozens of ladders. Tens of thousands of soldiers from the Shandong camp will soon arrive. Although the walls of Jinling City are high and deep, they may not be able to stop me."
As Jia Cong finished his words, densely packed catapults, ladders, battering rams, etc. were pushed out behind him.
This cloud ladder is definitely not a simple ladder seen in later movies. On the contrary , this cloud ladder is extremely huge! Below is a huge carriage that is nearly ten feet long and three feet wide. The carriage is blocked by panels on all sides and also sealed on the top, which can easily transport soldiers to the bottom of the city wall.
Secondly, the ladder built by Jia Cong has three layers, each layer has stairs leading up, and the side facing the city is also covered with boards for defense. The topmost board has densely packed holes, which can be used by archers to suppress the soldiers on the opponent's wall. There is another ladder on the top layer, which has a tread on top. The special hook on it can be directly hung on the parapet of the city wall, so the opponent can't push down the ladder even if they want to.
Unless it is chopped open directly with a knife or an axe, the archers in the top sealed box will naturally try their best to take care of this position.
Archers on each level suppressed the fire, while the soldiers in the carriages went up the ladders to the top and climbed up the walls to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the defenders.
It can be said that this ladder has greatly reduced the advantage of the defenders.
Dozens of ladders mean that Jia Cong can attack the city at dozens of points! This is definitely a big test for Jinling City.
As expected, Wen Xing's face changed immediately when he saw this. Jinling City was able to hold out until now because of the city wall. In fact, the White Lotus followers under his command were not necessarily much stronger than the others. They just had his prestige to support them, and the other side had not attacked the city with all their strength. If the two sides really fought to the death, I'm afraid those White Lotus followers would not be able to hold out for long.
After all, these believers are just ordinary people. How can they compare with elite soldiers who have experienced hundreds of battles?
"Whether you are the people in the city or the White Lotus Sect members, what is the point of your stubborn resistance here?"
"Jinling has been surrounded by my army. Even if you can't break into the city, you can hold out for a month, or even three months, but can you hold out for three years? Moreover, once the city runs out of food and grass, how can you be sure that the White Lotus Sect members you trust now will not give birth to your flesh?"
"You can think about it. This kind of thing may have happened before."
"So, if we continue to follow the White Lotus Sect, we will end up dead."
"If you can leave the city, the court has already sent food and grass to comfort the people! Those who can return to their hometowns can return to their hometowns, and those whose families have been destroyed will naturally have a place to settle down. Jiangnan is the court's money bag. Even if it is in a bad situation, can the court ignore the lives of tens of thousands of people?"
"And you, the followers of the White Lotus Sect, are now accomplices of the evil, but what future do you have? In the end, your protectors and elders can use you to threaten the court to surrender, and then you might even be able to get a job as an official. But what about you? You have caused the court to spend countless money and materials, and mobilized a large number of troops..."
"If the imperial court holds a grudge against you, even if you are temporarily let off, won't you be used as cannon fodder to die in the future?"
"So, I advise you to think carefully. Surrender and you can live. Resist stubbornly and you will die!"
At this time, Shang Xin also hung up the heads of several elders and guardians who had been beheaded, holding a carrot in one hand and a stick in the other! He was not afraid that these people would not be tempted.
"Of course, you can also hope that the Vacuum Homeland of the Unborn Mother really exists. If so, you might as well just end your life directly to save yourself from suffering."
"I have said this much. You can think about it on your own in the remaining three days!"
"Someone, shoot an arrow!" Wen Xing was furious.
Looking at the scattered arrows floating down from the city wall, Jia Cong swung the spear in his hand to sweep them all away, and then rode back to the camp.
"Marshal, do you think they will voluntarily surrender the city?" Shang Xin asked Jia Cong.
Jia Cong smiled and said, "It's just doing our best and leaving the rest to fate! If we can voluntarily surrender the city and avoid a war, that would be the best. But if they still hold on, the worst that can happen is that we can force the city to attack as planned. We have the advantage now, and no matter what, the outcome is already determined."
Jia Cong's words seemed to have some kind of magic. Neither Shang Yin nor the officers and soldiers in the Shandong camp had any doubts about it!
Since the Marshal said the outcome is predetermined, we will definitely win a great victory.
Although it was only a short period of more than two months, the soldiers' admiration and trust for Jia Cong exceeded Shang Xin's. After all, it was Jia Cong who led them to fight in many battles and achieved great success. If they didn't believe in such a person, who else could they believe? Now the only regret they had was why Jia Cong was not the commander-in-chief of the Shandong camp?
If you can follow such a coach, wouldn't it be easy to ennoble your wife and children?
