"I'm afraid you won't be able to help but take action. Not only will this not help, it will also harm me and the De family." Xiaoxue said.
"Are you afraid that I will fall into a trap? Don't worry, I won't take action rashly. I just want to see how these soldiers are doing now."
"They are all damned people!" a young tribesman behind Deshan muttered.
"Tokuhara, don't say that. People are all good and bad. In fact, aren't they just like the young people in our tribe who enlisted in the army? As long as there is a fight, they are all people who have left their hometown and are uncertain about their life or death!" Tokuyama sighed,
It's just that Tokuhara didn't look very convinced.
"Uncle Deshan, everyone says that Wu Shi is the king of all cities. Why are you so respectful to the old monk when you meet him?" He Qizhou asked, changing the subject.
"Oh, I think it's just a show. This huge temple only has five entrances from the main entrance to the Jialan Hall at the back. It can be considered the real Tianlong Temple. The last two entrances and the houses next to it are all occupied by the lay people. We
You can't get in. They are all martial arts masters recruited by the imperial court. I heard that Wushi has absorbed many people as his personal soldiers. The old abbot and the others are monks, and Wushi is just a high-ranking official in monk's clothes. I heard
This increase in donations is an order from Wu Shi, they never care about the suffering of our herdsmen!"
After leaving the temple, the road into the square had been sealed. Together with the three descendants of the De family, the six of them walked around the outer roads of the square. They saw that the square was already filled with fully armed soldiers, and there were groups of cavalry patrolling from time to time.
Afterwards, the people in the city stood happily outside the soldiers, raising their necks to look towards the center of the square.
When He Qizhou passed directly north of the square, he saw dozens of people already sitting on the high platform erected in the square. The two-foot-high and five-foot-wide high platform was surrounded by a circle of black-clad armored men. He Qizhou knew that it was the iron stone of Wushi.
guard.
Although it was afternoon, it was already mid-December, in the middle of winter, and the biting wind seemed to tear the skin. Except for six or seven monks in red, everyone on the stage was wrapped in thick fur cloaks.
Although they were not far away, He Qizhou could not recognize even one of the people sitting on the stage facing south by looking at their backs.
Following Qi Zhou's wishes, the six of them walked around to the east side of the square. Although they were far away, He Qizhou could still see Wu Shi sitting in the middle from the side. Next to him was the old abbot, and there was an empty seat on the other side.
, the two people next to him are Xiao Duo, who led the troops to the De family a few days ago, and the other is a woman, covered with a black veil. Although her figure cannot be seen clearly, He Qizhou is sure that the person is the second princess.
After standing in the cold wind for about a stick of incense, there were more and more people watching. Except for an opening in the middle of the avenue in the south, the square was surrounded by three floors and three floors in other places. Fortunately, He Qizhou
He is quite tall and can basically see clearly what is happening in the square.
I saw a man in yellow robes, surrounded by many soldiers, ascending to the high platform. All the people sitting on the platform stood up to greet him. Then the man in yellow robes sat on the empty seat next to Wu Shi, and
Wu Shi stood up and walked towards the south edge of the high platform. He looked around and said loudly: "The Holy Envoy has arrived, and the prisoner presentation ceremony has begun." The words, instigated by Wu Shi's powerful internal force, were directly transmitted to the ears of everyone around him. He Qizhou secretly shouted
Fortunately, Wu Shi has recovered at least 70% of his power. Fortunately, he didn't take any risks just now!
As soon as Wu Shi finished speaking, the sound of horse hooves sounded. Thousands of light and heavy cavalry were slowly galloping in from the south road, followed by Qi soldiers in rows of ten. The Qi soldiers had their hands tied to their chests and their leather armor was removed.
Inside were slightly thin Ganzhou Army uniforms, shivering in the cold wind, struggling to move forward, and at each end of each row there was a soldier in black with a whip and a knife, and the team was slightly unorganized.
If you look like this, you will step forward and whip the laggards.
From time to time, some Qi soldiers fell to the ground and were dragged out of the formation because they could not keep up with the team. They were thrown onto the carts and oxen. In a blink of an eye, more than ten oxen carts were already full of people who were either frozen or injured.
Qi Bing.
The prisoners who entered the square were taken to designated positions and lined up neatly. During the march, the Zhou army and the people of Tongwan City around the square kept cheering and celebrating. Few people paid attention to the Qi army who had just died on the oxcart.
He Qizhou counted silently. There were 460 lines of prisoners in total, which means more than 4,600 people were captured. I wonder what the fate of these people will be.
After everyone entered, several bullock carts filled with Qi soldiers silently exited the square. The gap in the southern avenue was quickly blocked by a large group of soldiers. Wushi spoke again: "Common people, last month Nan Qi dared to invade our country.
, Burning, killing, looting and doing all kinds of evil, Your Majesty, the Emperor, is wise and wise, and knows things like a god. He sent a large army to protect his people. Our officers and men worked together as one and fought bravely to kill the enemy. Now, half of the Southern Qi bandits who invaded our dynasty have been wiped out! Half of them have been killed.
Prisoner! Let’s see if the Qi State dares to send another soldier over..."
Cheers from all around the square rang loudly again, with cries of "Kill over!" and "Destroy Nan Qi!" rising one after another.
Wu Shi waited for the crowd's shouts to stop, and then said: "To thank your Majesty for your kindness, I am willing to offer these five thousand troops. However, your Majesty's kindness is so great that he refused to accept it. He also sent a special envoy to praise me in Xiazhou."
Military and civilians, long live your Majesty, long live, long live your Majesty."
The shouts of "Long Live the Mountains" were heard all around again. He Qizhou looked at the stunned Qi soldiers in the square and was horrified. Facing the Zhou army with such high morale, what chance would Qi's attack after the spring have of winning?
The man in yellow clothes on the stage stood up and walked to the edge of the black stone. He said loudly: "The imperial edict has arrived -" The voice was high-pitched and harsh, and it turned out to be a eunuch. Just listening to this man's voice, his internal strength was not weak.
The eunuch issued sixty-seven imperial edicts in one breath, transferring all the prisoners of war to Wushi. Xiao Duo and others also said empty words such as tax exemptions and tax reductions after Qi was defeated, hoping that the people would endure the temporary pain.
, to create eternal peace for our descendants.
The soldiers and the people began to shout for long live the mountain again, and some people even ignored the cold ground and knelt down on the ground, praying for the emperor's kindness.
He Qizhou asked Xu Muxue in a low voice, what would be the final fate of those prisoners of war? Xiaoxue, who had her head wrapped tightly, replied in a low voice: "Some of the obedient and capable ones will be incorporated into the Zhou army; some will be sold to the mines.
, work as coolies in the ranch; those who are more lucky will be sold to wealthy families as slaves; most of the beautiful women will be sold into the hook; some rich officials' children will be privately redeemed with large sums of money if they are lucky; and some will be killed.
…”
As soon as Xu Muxue finished speaking, Wu Shi spoke again on the stage: "Commanders of the Qi army, you have also seen that the Southern Qi is weak, and we, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, are strong. Being a slave is a terrible thing. If you really want to surrender to me, the Zhou Dynasty,
, just stand on the west side of the square. If you don’t want to surrender to the army, just stand still. If you still think you are a Qi people, you can stand on the east side of the square!"
Every word Wushi said was like a heavy hammer striking the heartstrings of every Qi Bing in the square, and the people watching around him quietly watched how the prisoners chose.
"If you join the army, you can become a Zhou citizen. You are not a slave. If you choose to go to the west, you will have winter clothes, meat, and enough food!" Wushi's cold voice sounded again.
The silent prisoner team began to loosen up. The first, second, and third people kept walking towards the west with their heads lowered. Soon more than half of the number was exceeded, but there were still people going in the opposite direction. Although the number was
There were not many, but everyone held their heads high, and there was not even a stick of incense. When the dust settled, there were more than 2,000 people walking to the west and standing on the same spot. The ones on the east side were the least, only about 300.
He Qizhou felt that each of these three hundred people stood as straight as green pines, and their momentum far surpassed the people on the other two sides. Even the Zhou army guarding the east side stood up silently, looking awe-inspiring.
Some of the people watching were shouting and cursing at first, but then they all fell silent, because they also knew that these were the people who chose to be heroes! Zhou people have always respected heroes.
The closest soldiers were only about ten feet away from where He Qizhou was, and the hoarfrost on their beards could even be seen clearly. Wu Shi's harsh laughter came from his ears: "Okay! Okay! I'll use your sacrificial flag.
Come here, pull them all down and chop them down!"
"It's okay to die!" "Have fun!" "Let's see if I can blink my eyes!"...Many of the more than three hundred people screamed. He Qizhou heard it clearly and turned around quietly, unable to bear to go back.
Looking at the faces of these compatriots, tears welled up in their eyes.
"Let's go back!" Xu Muxue took He Qizhou's arm and said softly.
"Let's go back." Deshan patted Qi Zhou on the shoulder and waved his hand to let everyone squeeze out of the thick crowd behind them.
On the high platform, when the old abbot heard what Wushi said, he stood up suddenly and walked towards Wushi and said: "This is the holy land of Buddhism, how dare you..."
Wu Shi said in a deep voice: "Master, after leaving Tianlong Temple, I am the general of the Zhou Kingdom. Master, please don't interfere in military matters. Don't worry, no execution will be carried out here!"
Xiao Duo also stepped forward to persuade: "Master, our army is about to set off. These people are always a hidden danger. There is nothing more suitable to sacrifice to the flag than their heads!"
"Huh!" The abbot was about to leave with his sleeves rolled up, and several other monks on the stage also stood up.
"If you all leave, maybe I will commandeer the Main Hall." Wu Shi said solemnly.
The monks who were about to leave sat down again, and only one person helped the old abbot walk off the stage, because they knew that Wushi would do what he said.
…
At the Suzhou camp, Zhang Zhiren, the emperor's special envoy and the Minister of War, has just read out the imperial edict: Wei Boyan, the commander-in-chief of Ganzhou, had an unfavorable departure, which has shaken the morale of the army. He has been dismissed from his posts and will be escorted to Beijing with immediate effect. Zhang Zhiren will temporarily act as the commander-in-chief;
The vanguard general and deputy commander Gan Xing escaped from the battle, was dismissed from his post, cut in half, and wanted nationwide; the real supervisor of the army, Lingfeng, was not strict, but because he escaped after a hard fight, he brought back the battle report in time, and immediately returned to Beijing to await his fate...