Chapter 133 The Army's Strategy

During the following period, the Dragon King Stronghold and the imperial army engaged in offense and defense. On Chen Feng's front line, the imperial army was primarily defensive and did not take the initiative to attack. However, the other fronts attempted several probing attacks, which were repelled by the stronghold's defenders. The two sides remained in a strategic stalemate.

The imperial army, entrenched in the prefectures and counties, began to target the villagers of Lake Yang, implementing Yuwen Yan's strategy for suppressing bandits.

In recent years, the Dragon King Stronghold had sought justice for the people and promoted martial arts, earning widespread popular support, resulting in numerous villagers secretly aiding the stronghold. The local governments were unable to control this. Now, with the arrival of the imperial army, the imperial laws suddenly gained the power to be enforced.

After all, with hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in Lake Yang, even if they couldn't immediately eliminate the bandits, they certainly could control the common people.

The "Ten-Household Responsibility System" was quickly implemented. If one household out of ten was found to be aiding the bandits, the other nine households would be held equally responsible. However, if these nine households reported the offending household to the authorities, they would be rewarded with silver, land, and other benefits, in addition to being exempt from punishment.

Of course, given Chen Feng's prestige and the government's low credibility, most people would choose to remain silent and protect each other, even if they knew which household was aiding the bandits.

Therefore, Ma Zhen didn't expect the common people to actively implement the system. Instead, he used force to enforce it, employing a combination of punitive measures and appeasement.

Even without immediate reports from the populace, it was easy to determine which areas of Lake Yang were most heavily involved in aiding the bandits. The imperial soldiers directly suppressed these areas, applying the "Ten-Household Responsibility System" and arresting people village by village. At the same time, anyone who voluntarily confessed or implicated others to avoid punishment would be temporarily pardoned and given benefits as appropriate, proving that reporting was indeed rewarded.

The common people, hearing that the imperial army was implementing this system, were filled with fear and anxiety. Some, afraid of disaster, packed up their families and fled to the Dragon King Stronghold overnight. Others, fearing being implicated, also fled.

This was exactly what Ma Zhen had hoped for. The more refugees fled to the Dragon King Stronghold, the more it would strain their food supply. The emptying of the villages would reduce the bandits' intelligence network and allow for a scorched-earth policy.

At the same time, Huang Ping, following orders, sent his soldiers to disguise themselves as bandits and plunder the villages.

The imperial court secretly spread rumors, one after another, claiming that the Dragon King Stronghold was running out of food due to the large number of people seeking refuge. Therefore, they had to send people down the mountain to seize food, disregarding the lives of the robbed civilians, and that Chen Feng was nothing but a hypocrite.

Alternatively, they claimed that the stronghold's food supplies were insufficient, and Chen Feng had stopped accepting refugees. Those who had fled were forced to form new gangs and loot everywhere, making the countryside unsafe.

The people were thrown into a panic.

Of course, while some were willing to risk everything to join the stronghold, others were unwilling to follow rebels.

While many people were secretly pleased when the wealthy landowners suffered, they didn't have the courage to aid the bandits. They preferred to sit on the sidelines and watch others seek justice for them, unwilling to get involved and quietly hoping that Chen Feng's actions wouldn't implicate them.

Unless they were completely unable to survive, many people were unwilling to lose their current lives. Because they were powerless against the situation, they had no choice but to diligently monitor their neighbors to prevent being implicated. If they knew someone was aiding the bandits, they would proactively report them to the authorities to prove their innocence.

Those who had already received benefits were even more afraid of being implicated by others and losing what they had gained, or they wanted to gain more benefits through reporting, so they monitored their neighbors even more diligently.

In the process of implementing this system, the imperial court also drove villagers from different areas to live together in designated locations and selected some villagers to act as managers and supervisors, similar to village headmen.

With the support and supervision of the imperial soldiers, these selected "temporary village headmen" had to be vigilant in their duties, fearing being replaced or held accountable.

Some of the more clever "temporary village headmen" used their small amount of power to form cliques among the civilians in order to secure their positions. At the same time, they strengthened their control over the other villagers, closely monitoring them to prevent anyone from aiding the bandits and implicating them.

As a result, the populace was naturally divided, with everyone wary of each other and mutually supervising.

Although the Dragon King Stronghold had spread martial arts, most people didn't have outstanding talent or foundation. They also had limited time for practicing martial arts due to daily labor. Although their skills surpassed ordinary people, they struggled against the superior numbers and well-trained imperial soldiers.

Moreover, the imperial army was vast, and most people knew that they couldn't win against it. They didn't dare to directly resist... If anyone publicly resisted, the imperial soldiers would immediately execute their entire family as a warning to others.

However, the imperial soldiers didn't immediately execute those who had been captured for aiding the bandits. They claimed that while these people were accomplices in rebellion, they had been bewitched by the bandits and could be given a chance to redeem themselves. These convicted criminals were ordered to turn against the bandits and charge at the front during battles, with those who retreated being executed.

The imperial soldiers declared to the villagers that accomplices to banditry should be executed according to the law, but given the bandits' skill in manipulating hearts, the government was making a special exception. However, while the death penalty could be avoided, punishment was inevitable. This was the penalty for those who aided the bandits: they would all be sent to the battlefield to charge for the imperial soldiers, and if they survived, their past actions would be forgiven.

In several battles, the imperial soldiers drove the convicted criminals ahead, with the troops hidden behind them, using the criminals as a shield to advance step by step.

These criminals were mostly unarmed, and with the supervising soldiers behind them, they could only charge forward.

This situation made the Dragon King Stronghold hesitant. Letting the imperial soldiers use the civilians to disrupt their formation was unacceptable, but firing arrows to slaughter the villagers was also difficult, as there might be relatives of the stronghold's members among them. It was difficult to fight or not fight.

Fortunately, most of the battles were naval battles, and the imperial soldiers' tactics of using civilians were limited by the terrain, unable to achieve the best effect.

This cruel tactic was easy to criticize, but the imperial court felt justified when the target was rebellious commoners.

With Ma Zhen and Yuwen Yan implementing one strategy after another, the imperial soldiers gradually regained control over the populace of Lake Yang. Although they didn't win popular support, dividing the people, intimidation, and high-pressure management were effective... As long as there was enough force, this was even more efficient in the short term.

...

Inside the central military tent of the Dragon King Stronghold.

All the leaders gathered to discuss, filled with indignation.

"Damn it, the imperial army's schemes are so insidious, actually driving civilians to their deaths!"

"Not only that, they're also pretending to be bandits, looting the people and blaming us. It's hateful!"

"How dare the imperial court act like this and still claim to be legitimate? Who are the real bandits, us or them?"

Zhou Jing sat in the main seat, listening to the leaders' passionate discussions without much change in expression.

He already knew about the imperial army's five strategies for suppressing bandits from Ling Fengzi during their battle.

He had to admit that the imperial court's methods were effective. Disregarding the injustice to more villagers, they had indeed removed many of the Dragon King Stronghold's intelligence networks and secret agents among the people.

In his opinion, the imperial soldiers acted so ruthlessly because they believed that Lake Yang was full of rebellious people who had no loyalty to the court, requiring drastic measures to govern. Secondly, this was a battle for the imperial court's national fortune, and victory was the top priority. It wasn't the time to worry about governance afterward, so they didn't treat the common people as human beings.

Zhou Jing wasn't surprised. After all, it was the feudal era, and armies generally had little regard for morality.

At this moment, Guo Hai frowned and said, "The imperial soldiers are coercing the villagers like this. Should we go to rescue them?"

Zhou Jing looked at him and shook his head:

"The imperial court has long lost the hearts of the people in Lake Yang. Therefore, Ma Zhen has gone all out, treating all the local people as accomplices to rebellion, acting without restraint. If we were truly wicked bandits who disregarded the people, he might not use this strategy. But we have popular support, so the imperial soldiers are using the people's hearts as our weakness, coercing us. This is a Yang plot to ruin our righteousness.

However, the imperial court is using the power of the entire nation to conquer us, and a prolonged war is disadvantageous to us. If our army diverts its energy to rescue the people, it will fall right into the imperial soldiers' trap. There are many villagers in Lake Yang, making it difficult to rescue them all. This will consume our forces and food, and it will also expose weaknesses, allowing the imperial soldiers to predict our actions and ambush us."

Fang Zhen quickly asked, "Brother, how should we respond then?"

"To break out of this predicament, we must quickly defeat the imperial soldiers. Otherwise, it will only drag down our army."

Zhou Jing replied in a deep voice.

On the battlefield, there are rarely "I want it all" solutions that are beneficial to both sides. Thinking about breaking the imperial soldiers' strategies and winning back the people's hearts would only allow the enemy to lead you by the nose.

In his opinion, only a quick defeat of the imperial soldiers could stop the losses.

Although popular support was useful, the people were often unreliable. Although they supported the Dragon King Stronghold, they each had their own thoughts and interests, and they weren't a united front. It was impossible to expect everyone to abandon everything to help him, so there was nothing to criticize about self-preservation. Being divided was the norm – this was the most common method used by rulers.

Zhou Jing didn't expect to win against the enemy with popular support. He still needed real weapons.

Duan Yunfeng's eyes flashed, and he said in a deep voice:

"The imperial soldiers are driving civilians to attack, with the villagers calling out from the front lines, weakening the morale of our soldiers. As the saying goes, a kind heart doesn't make a good commander. If the imperial soldiers come again, we must no longer show mercy to the villagers. We must fire arrows and drive them away... Ultimately, it is the imperial court that is forcing them to their deaths. Let the soldiers kill more imperial soldiers for revenge."

Du Ying nodded in agreement, adding, "That's right. Moreover, using civilians in battle also has drawbacks. If our army takes the initiative to attack, this group of villagers caught in the middle will blindly scatter, fleeing in panic, which will also impact the enemy's formation. It might not be all bad... To succeed, you must be ruthless!"

Zhou Jing was silent.

This method of using civilians in battle inherently created a difficult situation. Once the opponent used it, there were almost no other ways to deal with it. If you couldn't harden your heart, the results would only be worse.

The Dragon King Stronghold's uprising claimed to be killing the powerful for the sake of the people. The opposing imperial court would naturally not allow them to maintain their "righteousness"... Being smeared, being divided and alienated, being forced to make choices against their will – all such situations were inevitable. The enemy would never allow you to succeed in everything, and if they could create ten points of trouble for you, they would never create one point less. In this life-and-death war, even if it meant mutual destruction, the opponent would not hesitate.

Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes, suddenly stood up, and said in a stern tone:

"Since the imperial soldiers are acting like this, our army must avenge and vent the anger of the people who support us. At the same time, we must deter the imperial army... Assemble a force and follow me by water out of the stronghold."

"What is the chief's plan?"

"Raid the camp, build a Jingguan."