This request made to Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yucong really surprised Emperor Guangwu.
Under the gaze of the two men, Emperor Guangwu pondered for a moment, wanted to say something, but then stopped his mouth, appearing very hesitant. Xiang Xiaoqiang could probably guess that he must not have wanted the two of them to go to the prisoner of war camp, but he didn't
Refuse for reasons that are on the table.
Anyway, the first batch of prisoners of war will follow him south to the Ming Dynasty in a few days, but why doesn't Guangwu want him to go to the prisoner of war camp a few days earlier? This Zheng Yuqing may not be easy to understand, but in Xiang Xiaoqiang's view, it is very
Simple and obvious: the prisoner-of-war camps of the Qing Dynasty were probably not easy to see people, and they needed to "do a good job of reception" in advance.
Sure enough, Guangwu pondered for a moment, raised his head and smiled:
"You two want to go visit your brothers in the army first, that's fine. I'll have someone make arrangements tomorrow, and you can go the day after tomorrow."
Xiang Xiaoqiang said immediately:
"Oh? Do you still need to make arrangements? Arrange what?"
Guangwu smiled and said:
"Arrange the itinerary and transportation for the two of you. Both of you are important figures in the Ming Dynasty and my guests. You must not travel hastily. If something happens to safety, haha, brother-in-law is still in Nanjing."
When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard what he said, he knew that it was useless to refute. This was his territory, and he was the emperor. If he said he could go the day after tomorrow, he could only go the day after tomorrow. Besides, Guangwu's reasons were not easy to refute.
My brother is still with Daming, so of course there can't be any problem with my own safety.
"Okay," he said with a smile, "then please ask His Majesty the Emperor to take more trouble."
…
The next day, on the afternoon of August 11, Xiang Xiaoqiang asked the Northern Qing official who received them how the Emperor's arrangements were going and whether they could go to the prisoner of war camp tomorrow. The reception official looked confused and had no idea about this.
At this time, Emperor Guangwu didn't know where he was.
Xiang Xiaoqiang had no choice but to be patient and wait until tomorrow.
On the third day, the morning of August 12th, the official rushed over and told Xiang Xiaoqiang that the original plan was for them to go to the Chifeng Ming Army Prisoner of War Camp this morning, but there was still some trouble with security, and there was a sandstorm over there.
, so the relocation of villagers in several villages along the railway has stopped, and the relocation will not continue until the wind stops.
Xiang Xiaoqiang was very confused and didn't understand the connection between his security work and the migration of villagers. Also, August was the rainy season, so how could there be a sandstorm?
"Haha, sir, it's like this," the official said proudly, "our emperor has decreed that this time we will adopt the 'Tian Zi No.
Security measures have been adopted, so all the villagers along the railway must avoid 20 kilometers away from the railway, and no one can be left... Sir, this is a rare favor from His Majesty..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang squinted his eyes, not believing his ears. He confirmed rather suspiciously:
"You mean... every time your emperor travels by train, the villages along the route must be cleared? The villagers must be moved 20 kilometers away, and then... the train passes and then moved back?"
The official smiled and said:
"Why, your queen travels by train and doesn't take security measures?"
Xiang Xiaoqiang was a little confused, said "Oh" twice, and then hesitated:
"Of course, of course we also take security measures...but we don't have the same measures as you..."
Seeing Xiang Xiaoqiang's "low self-esteem", the official felt very satisfied with his self-esteem and asked with a sarcastic smile:
"Then what will you do if the people along the way lie down on the tracks or block the trains to complain?"
"..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that his intelligence was not enough, he shook his head and simply said:
"This... haha, it's indeed quite magical, but... the people over there generally don't sleep on the trains... Oh, we usually don't complain..."
"Oh, haha," the official didn't know whether he really believed Xiang Xiaoqiang's words or was just being polite and didn't intend to pursue him any more, so he just smiled, "So that's it... Uh, General Xiang
Do you have any other instructions?"
He patted Xiaoqiang on the back of his head, trying to return to normal thinking, and then smiled:
"By the way, will there be sandstorms in Zhili and Inner Mongolia in August?"
The official was stunned and hesitated for a few seconds before saying:
"Actually, there will be sandstorms in August... Take a good rest, General. I'll take my leave..."
Then he turned around and went out with his face turning red and white.
…
Obviously, there will be no sandstorms in August. And since it is the 1930s, the desertification of the grasslands in Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia is not that serious, right?
Xiang Xiaoqiang sensitively guessed that the so-called sandstorm was completely false. The distance from Chengde and Chifeng to the Mongolian grassland was about the same. If the sandstorm hit Chifeng and was so severe that it would be impossible to evacuate the villagers, then even if Chengde was surrounded by mountains,
You will definitely feel sandstorms to some extent. But now, the air should not be too fresh and the weather should not be too good.
Obviously, this was an excuse made by Emperor Guangwu in order to delay their going to the prisoner-of-war camp. However, the people below were too incompetent. In addition to making stupid excuses like sandstorms, they also used Emperor Guangwu to make excuses every time he went on patrol.
Villages along the route were all cleared to prevent scandals like villagers lying on the tracks to complain. Xiang Xiaoqiang believed that if Guangwu had caught this matter himself, he would never have done it so stupidly.
It seemed that there was no need to go there in two or three days. In the end, we had to do as Guangwu said. When everything was ready at the prisoner of war camp, the two of us went over for a brief look, and then directly followed the ship back to Nanming.
But what surprised him was that the next day, during breakfast on the morning of August 13, the Beiqing official in charge of the reception came and told Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yucong that the sandstorm stopped during the night and the railway line was ready. Today
You can go to the prisoner of war camp in the morning.
Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yucong both felt a very happy feeling at the same time, finally being able to leave this place. Although the scenery here is beautiful, the temperature is cool, and the food and accommodation are comfortable, they both want to "escape" from this place. What's more,
Soon I will be able to see the thousands of Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers in the prisoner of war camp. After a few days, I can finally see people with the same normal thinking as myself. It is just like going to see relatives.
Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yucong didn't see Emperor Guangwu either, but it was better this way. They took their things and got on the train at the summer resort directly.
Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yucong were surprised. This railway from Beijing to the northern border actually built a branch line in Chengde for the exclusive use of the emperor, directly leading to the interior of the Summer Resort. The emperors of the Northern Qing Dynasty could board the train from Beijing.
A few hours later, I got off the car directly at the summer resort. I didn’t even need to turn the car over. I was 100% comfortable.
The railway distance between the Summer Resort and Chifeng is less than 200 kilometers. Three or four hours later, the train pulled into Chifeng Station.
The prisoner-of-war camp is dozens of kilometers away from Chifeng. They got on the bus here. Around 11 o'clock at noon, there began to be more houses on both sides of the dirt road, and you could often see them in a mess and in tatters.
Barbed wire.
After a while, there was a burst of dust in the distance, and soon I saw a team of flatbed trucks pulled by mules on the other side of the dirt road, slowly coming over. When the drivers saw the team of cars here, they hurriedly drove their mules to hide on the roadside.
Leave space for cars.
The car quickly passed by these mule carts. Xiang Xiaoqiang saw that these mule carts were piled high with large rocks, and the stones also shone with some metallic luster.
ore?
"What kind of ore is this?"
He asked an officer accompanying the Peiqing in the front seat.
The officer hesitated for a moment, wondering whether he should tell him. Then he probably thought it was nothing important, so he said:
"This is copper ore. It's the copper mine in front of you."
Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly remembered, yes, there are copper mines here in Chifeng.
He twisted his neck and stared at the mule cart pulling the ore in the dust behind him.
Suddenly, a gloomy thought flashed through his mind.
Xiang Xiaoqiang took a deep breath and asked:
“How far are the labor camps?”
The officer on the left raised his hand and pointed:
"We're just ahead, in ten more minutes..."
As he spoke, his hands stopped in mid-air and his words stopped abruptly.
Then, the officer in the front seat turned his head, with sweat on his face, and said with a smile:
"General Xiang wants to ask how far away the prisoner camp is, right? Haha...it's just ahead..."
Xiang Xiaoqiang's heart was seized. He stared into the officer's eyes and said gloomily:
"No, I'm asking about the labor camps. I believe you heard me clearly."
The officer's face slowly turned pale, sweat dripped down, and he forced a smile and said:
"General Xiang is really good at joking. There are no labor camps here, only prisoner-of-war camps... It has nothing to do with the copper mine... The ones who mine are all nearby civilians..."
"Oh?" Xiang Xiaoqiang's eyes almost burst into flames as he asked grimly, "Really?"