At this moment, a general from the Shuofang Army stood up and roared, "Impossible! I was closest to Tong Piyan. He is absolutely not that kind of person!"
Zhang San gave the speaker a glance and continued, "Furthermore, Commanders Cha Yi, Mo Liangxia, and Gao Shangao have confessed that they have colluded with the Turks multiple times. This retreat of the Shuofang Army without a fight was greatly facilitated by these three individuals. The matter has been thoroughly investigated. Here is the evidence with their signatures and seals."
As he spoke, Zhang San took out three confessions from the Gluttonous Bag and handed them to Changsun Wugen, who was at his side.
"After being interrogated, the three of them knew the severity of their crimes and committed suicide to apologize. It was, in its own way, dignified. However, Mei Fei, the former Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Commander of the Shuofang Army on the Longyun Path, refused to admit to these charges. He is now imprisoned in the dungeons."
Although the people from the Lingwu Army couldn’t wait for Mei Fei to die,
Changsun Bubai’s rank was lower than Mei Fei’s, and considering the current battle on the Longyun Path, Mei Fei was the main commander.
At most, Changsun Bubai was the deputy commander.
It made no sense for a deputy commander to dispose of the main commander, which is why Changsun Bubai had previously discussed with Zhang San that they could find ways to deal with all of Mei Fei’s underlings, but Mei Fei’s fate could only be decided by Kaihuang.
They couldn’t pass judgment.
Thus, Mei Fei narrowly escaped death.
Changsun Bubai nodded and waved his hand, saying, "You’ve worked hard on this matter. Stand down for now. Later, I will reorganize the entire Sui Army’s establishment in the city."
Therefore, over the next three days, with the help of Changsun Wuji, Changsun Bubai disrupted the previous organization of the Shuofang Army and rebuilt it.
They also arranged new postings for the commanders.
Although they couldn’t make the original Shuofang Army as combat-ready as the Lingwu Army, Changsun Wuji began to gradually create a divide within the Shuofang Army by incorporating some of its elite soldiers into the Lingwu Army, offering them better treatment.
In not too long, the Shuofang Army would essentially be assimilated into the Lingwu Army.
But on the morning of the fourth day, just as dawn broke, the sound of a siege came once again from the north.
This time, Changsun Bubai personally led his men to the city walls to command the battle.
For they had just received news that the Turkic forces were acting oddly this time.
Once everyone had reached the top of the walls and looked north,
they saw tens of thousands of infantrymen suddenly appear in front of the Turkic army.
But upon closer inspection, they were not infantrymen at all!
They were civilians of the Great Sui, including middle-aged men, children, and the elderly.
As for young women, very few were seen.
Obviously, the whereabouts of those young and pitiable women were self-evident.
Tens of thousands of Great Sui civilians, used as the vanguard of the attacking force, were being forced to march towards Ren City at spearpoint by the Turks.
The Turks knew that the Sui Army would not be able to attack their own civilians.
If they were to shoot arrows, even just one, it would cause chaos inside Ren City.
And yet, the Sui Army couldn’t simply refrain from shooting, for if they truly did not, then with these thousands of civilians approaching, the Turks behind them would also draw near.
Even many of the Turkic Cavalry had women or children barely clinging to life tied to their horses, moving step by step towards Ren City.
With a heavy furrow in his brow, Changsun Bubai turned to Bai Dushu and asked, "Bai Dushu, do you have any wise strategies?"
Bai Dushu shook his head slightly and said, "Even as a member of the Demon Clan, I couldn’t imagine such a ruthless strategy. There must be a cruel and merciless figure among the Turkic forces."
Meanwhile, at the rear lines of the Turkic forces, Sharlobi burst into laughter, watching the Sui Army’s awkward predicament of being unable to launch arrows, and then poured a cup of wine for the State Preceptor.
"Please, State Preceptor."
"Please, Great Khan."
"Hahaha... With this battle, Ren City will surely fall!"