Li Zhensheng left Wuyang and returned to Yancheng. Zhou Zhen sent Wanda to help Yuan Cheng count various supplies of the bandits.

After most of the busy day, I finally found that I had gained a lot. In addition to the seven thousand bandit prisoners, there were more than 5,000 taels of silver, thirty horses, nearly a thousand swords and guns, hundreds of armors, and countless other weapons such as hoes. The only regret is that the food has basically been eaten by the bandits, leaving only hundreds of stones.

The losses of the officers and soldiers are basically negligible. Li Zhensheng's side suffered heavy losses because he launched the attack first, but he only suffered less than 300 casualties. Wuyang City's losses were even lighter, with only more than 200 injuries. Among them, the Township Braves occupied about 50 people.

Victory is certainly a great victory, but how to deal with these captured bandits has become a difficult problem. Most of them only follow the bandits, and they will not die, and they have made a promise not to kill them last night. But these seven thousand people are only seven thousand mouths, and just one breakfast meal today consumed nearly one-sixth of the stored food in Wuyang City.

Although Zhou Zhen once again organized wealthy families in the city to donate grain. At this moment, there was no risk of breaking the city. Their enthusiasm was not as good as before. They only collected hundreds of stones of grain in most of the day. Moreover, when they knew that the grain was to support the bandits of the past, they even spoke directly and boycotted.

There is too little food, and there are too many prisoners of bandits. If it is not handled properly, it is likely to cause another rebellion, and everyone has to be careful.

At this moment, Yuan Cheng, Zhou Zhen, Lin Bao, Zhou Xian and Wanda gathered in a tent and were discussing how to deal with these bandit prisoners.

Wanda stood up, first briefly explained the food reserves and daily consumption to everyone, and then reported the pensions for the dead soldiers. Finally, he walked up and handed a stack of books to Yuan Chengdao: "Inspector Yuan, this is a detailed record of various consumptions. Please review it."

Yuan Cheng did not take it and waved his hand directly, "I can't read a few words, so it's useless to read it. Let's leave it to your eldest son! I only have one question. Can the food in Wuyang City really last for only five days at most?

Wanda nodded with a gloomy face and said, "This is still equipped according to the minimum daily consumption of each prisoner. If they are all based on the food standards of the soldiers in the city, they will not be able to support it for even three days."

Yuan Cheng frowned, pondered for a moment, turned to Zhou Zhen and asked, "Young Master, we have obtained some silver from the bandits. Can we use this silver to buy a batch of grain from your Zhou family? As for the price, you can set it as you like."

Zhou Zhen smiled faintly and said, "Did Inspection Yuan treat my Zhou family as a black-hearted businessman who makes money from the national crisis? The price is set at will. Such a promise is not something that should be said easily!"

Yuan Cheng waved his hand quickly and said, "Young Master, don't misunderstand, Yuan has no intention. Before, you took out grain from the Zhou family to support the county soldiers and gathered gentry to donate money and grain. How could such innocent hearts be compared to those unscrupulous merchants? The reason why I say this is that I believe in the character of the eldest prince, and I also want to take this opportunity to repay the eldest prince. "

Zhou Zhen nodded and said, "I, Zhou, have received the kindness of inspector Yuan. But to be honest, it is not that I don't want to sell the grain to inspector Yuan. But because of the previous consumption, the Zhou family's grain was not much left. If inspector Yuan had passed by, I would be willing to organize some Zhou family's guards to take the silver to the next counties to buy grain. They can return within one or two days, which will definitely not delay the major affairs of inspector Yuan, and the price is definitely not higher than usual."

Yuan Cheng said with emotion: "Those are the eldest son, please give me some thanks to inspector Yuan for his kindness on behalf of those people."

Zhou Xian pondered for a moment, and finally couldn't help asking: "Inspector Yuan, even if my elder brother bought the food, are you planning to keep these prisoners? That's because seven thousand mouths are open, no matter how rich a family is, they will be poor."

Yuan Cheng smiled bitterly and said, "Second Young Master, how can I not know? I am just a patrol inspector, and these things really do not belong to me. I have sent someone to inform Nanyang Prefecture of the Great Destruction of the Bandits. Before their handling orders are issued, I can only try my best to support them."

Zhou Xian smiled and said, "Inspector Yuan, given the current situation in Wuyang City, when we send people to Nanyang, we may end our end. Once these bandits rebel again, your previous contribution may be completely gone."

Yuan Cheng lowered his head and pondered for a while, and said to Zhou Xian: "What are the good suggestions do the second young master have?"

"In my opinion, inspector Yuan, we should do at least a few things immediately. First, transport the heads of Yang Sizhu's brothers and all the dead bandits to Nanyang. On the one hand, this can show our military merits; on the other hand, it can also use this to show our predicament to the officials in Nanyang and let them pay money and food. It not only rewards the meritorious soldiers but also appeases the prisoners."

Yuan Cheng's face changed slightly when he heard that Zhou Xian was going to transport all his head to Nanyang. But after pondering for a moment, he felt that this would be very beneficial to him. Finally, he nodded and said, "Second Young Master, please continue."

Zhou Xian said: "Most of these bandit prisoners are ordinary people near Wuyang. Inspection Commissioner Yuan can distribute silver to allow the elderly and weak to disperse themselves and return to their hometown to survive. In this way, at least half of the consumption can be reduced. As for those young and strong, the attack and defense of more than 20 days in the past, both county soldiers and village soldiers lost a lot. We can choose some strong young people who have never done any evil and supplement them. In this way, they have a salary that can support their families. In addition, we have given them the grace of survival, and they will definitely support you with all their hearts. Besides, did Inspection Commissioner Yuan forget? Soon after, we will send troops to Yancheng, and it doesn't matter if the number of people is too high for the time being."

Yuan Cheng asked, "Where are the remaining prisoners?"

Zhou Xian thought for a while and said, "The remaining ones can also be divided into two categories. One is evildoers who do many evil deeds and are not tolerated. For such people, Inspection Officer Yuan can be executed on the spot, or escort them to Nanyang Prefecture and deal with them with the court. The remaining ones can be dealt with relatively casually. They can let them disperse themselves, or they can find some places to settle them. For example, they can be servants for some wealthy families, or they can exchange their own labor for food. In short, it is enough to let them survive."

After Zhou Xian finished speaking, he turned to Lin Bao next to him and looked at him. The latter was closing his eyes and resting, as if he had not heard what he had just said. Some disappointment flashed through his heart, thinking that it seemed that the master planned to say nothing again this time.
Chapter completed!