The dust was flying, spades and pickaxes were being waved, and the road leading to Tengchong was crowded with people, creating a lively labor scene. The road-breaking army not only included people from various villages and villages, but also a very special team. These people were dressed in tatters.
They all had shaved heads, working in pairs, with their left and right feet handcuffed together by wooden shackles, and they were digging hard at the ground. Not far from these people, there were Ming soldiers or local soldiers with unkind expressions staring at them.
.
Yes, these people are the surrendered officers and soldiers of the Green Battalion of Gansu and Shaanxi. They are doing hard labor to atone for the sins they committed. This is Zhu Yongxing's temporary prisoner policy.
Now that the words "Don't kill those who surrender" have been shouted out, although Zhu Yongxing doesn't want to forgive these guys who owe blood debts to innocent people, he also realizes that he cannot be impulsive. He has long-term plans, so he must have a long-term vision.
You can't just seek temporary pleasure and make future enemies want to fight to the death.
In troubled times, soldiers were like bandits, the discipline of the Qing army was corrupt, and the people were ruthless. The Ming army also had such scum. Even after Li Dingguo killed He Jiuyi with a stick, when the officers and soldiers of He camp made a noise to escape, he was worried that the escaped officers and soldiers might serve as guides for the Qing army and sneak into the army.
They came to attack, so they burned all the houses in Menggen city, took the young and strong Menggen Yi people captive, and killed the weak ones.
Undoubtedly, Zhu Yongxing faced an difficult choice on how to treat the prisoners, and was also in an intractable contradiction. But he knew that it was wrong to kill all the prisoners.
Before dealing with it, he had to use these prisoners as coolies.
These coolies were also screened and reported to each other. Although some prisoners also had blood debts, they reported meritoriously and received different treatment. However, not even one out of ten who were relatively innocent, only more than 40 Shaanxi Green Camp officers and soldiers received
Zhu Yongxing's solemn promise: If he is willing to join the Ming army, he will be welcomed, but if he is not willing, he will be sent home when travel expenses are paid after the war.
With a sound of "Pa!", Sun Sishun, a prisoner from Ganshan Green Camp who was a little distracted, received a bamboo strip on his back, and a soldier yelled and cursed in weird Chinese.
Alas, Sun Sishun sighed, picked up his pickaxe and worked hard. Human beings are really strange animals. They work hard with their eyes wide open on the battlefield. Once they breathe a sigh of relief and choose to abandon their weapons and surrender, and become a prisoner, it will be very difficult.
The spirit of resistance reappears.
Who allowed himself to kill people and set fires? This is God's punishment. Sun Sishun felt sorry for himself, but this mentality has a lot to do with Zhu Yongxing. It is of course indispensable to denounce these prisoners and make them repent. Under Zhu Yongxing's order
Next, some victims who had been tortured by the Qing army were recruited. Some escaped from Yongchang, and some escaped from other places farther away. They were either directly invited to the prison camp, or their tragic events were recorded and handed over to others.
Instead, make regular accusations and denouncements against these prisoners.
First criticize severely, and then let the captives criticize themselves until they cry bitterly and truly realize the sins they have committed. This is of course not Zhu Yongxing's initiative, but a practice he copied from later generations. And facts have proven that this kind of brainwashing
The type of indoctrination and education was successful. Sun Sishun is such an example. He has been able to more consciously regard this kind of abuse and hard labor as the retribution he deserves.
The sound of horse hoofbeats was rapid, and a dozen knights galloped along the remaining intact third of the avenue. Then they reined in their horses and shouted, and several Ming army riders stopped beside these prisoners.
"Stop what you are doing first." A Ming army cavalry paused for a long time. Seeing that everyone had stopped working, he turned his eyes over and shouted loudly: Your Highness has an order. There are prisoners who are good at singing and Bangzi tunes.
Those who are willing to contribute to the defense of our Ming army will be forgiven. Those who are willing to step forward will immediately become soldiers of our Ming army."
Faced with this sudden good thing, the prisoners of war did not immediately wake up and become good at singing Bangzi tune? What are the conditions for this and why is it so?
Sun Sishun was also surprised. He couldn't help but take a closer look at these Ming army cavalry, but he met a familiar face. It turned out that one of the riders was a brother from the Green Camp of Gansu and Shaanxi. His nickname was Wang Wei'er, and he usually made fun of him.
He was timid and kind, but he didn't expect that good deeds would be rewarded, and he had become a member of the Ming Army.
When their eyes met, the Ming soldier who had been a prisoner and became a full-time soldier smiled in surprise, hesitated for a moment, and said respectfully to the officer: "Sir, I know a few people who are good at singing Bangzi tune, but I don't know-"
"Since you know each other, go and ask." The leader of the Ming army was just a commander. Hearing the recruit's respectful call, his expression brightened slightly and he said: "If you want someone with a loud voice, Your Highness only has fifty people, so you are lucky to have chosen one.
"
"Sir, I have a loud voice."
"Sir, I have a big voice and can sing well in Bangzi tune."
"Sir, I have been singing Bangzi tune since I was a child. Others can sing better than the actors."
……………
Only then did all the prisoners of war wake up and heard that the number of places was limited. Who didn't want to get out of the hard labor right away? Many of them had the courage to brag about themselves, hoping to become one of the lucky ones.
Bangzi Opera is a common name, and the correct name should be Qin Opera. It was formed in the Qin Dynasty, refined in the Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, completed in the Yuan Dynasty, matured in the Ming Dynasty, and broadcast in the Qing Dynasty. After several evolutions, it has become a grand phenomenon. It can be said to be a very old opera type, and can be called Chinese opera.
The originator of it. Because it uses jujube wooden bangzi as the percussion instrument, it is also called "Bangzi tune" or "Huanhuangzi" (because the bangzhi makes a "wandering" sound when hitting the knots).
Because Qin Opera has a long history and is popular in Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other places in the northwest, there are many people in Gansu and Shaanxi Green Camp. As for whether the singing is good or bad, it is difficult to distinguish. Anyway, Zhu Yongxing chose
Jiang Bing, who learned Qin Opera, did not just want to listen to a few pieces of music on a whim, but had another purpose.
"You, you, and you..." Wang Wei'er pointed and called a few familiar brothers, which was a back door, allowing these guys to escape from the sea of misery in advance.
Xiaoqi of the Ming army jumped off his horse and explained the reason to the soldiers guarding him. Even if the soldiers dared to disobey, they would always laugh and please him. The personnel were quickly selected, and the soldiers stepped forward to open the shackles, and fifty lucky people gathered together.
Escorted by these dozen Ming army cavalry, they went all the way away.
"God bless, Bodhisattva bless, I don't have to do hard labor at last." Sun Sishun's ankle was bruised and bloody by the wooden shackles, but he still took big steps and kept up with the team, praying constantly in his heart, and happened to meet Wang
When Wei'er met his eyes, he quickly nodded vigorously and gratefully.
"Wang Dou, it's boring to walk like this, why don't you sing a few lines written by His Highness and teach them by the way." The commander of the Ming army saw that the speed of the mixed infantry and cavalry was not fast, so he couldn't help but frowned and said to Wang Dou
Er said: "If I can sing these two lines when I meet His Highness, His Highness will be very happy."