Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 258 How to Use Prisoners of War

"More than 1,200." The prisoners of war that Shibi brought back from Wanggang were all young and strong men. The elderly, the weak, women and children were all taken to Danshui by Miguel.

"Very good." Lin Hai nodded, "I'll wait for these prisoners to come back so that we can start attacking the city."

These prisoners of war were not all pirates left behind by Zheng Zhilong, some were Fujian immigrants who cultivated in the area of ​​Wanggang. Emotionally speaking, Lin Hai had no ill will towards these people. Even the pirates under Zheng Zhilong were no different from the troops under Yang Lu and Yang Ce. The only difference was the leader.

But war is war, there is no logic to it. Lin Hai has been in this world for three years. He has changed from a son-in-law of a boatman to a political and military leader with more than 100,000 people under his rule and more than 10,000 troops under his command. The annoying fly in his heart when he robbed the envoys has long disappeared.

If the city had not been attacked next, the fate of these prisoners would have been the same as that of the prisoners in the Liaohai Battle, and their fate in the next three years would have been to become official slaves of the Jinhe Kingdom.

There are two types of slaves in Jinhe State, one with a fixed term and the other without. The former are essentially civilians, with good citizen registration in the Household Registration Bureau, but they sign a fixed-term contract with the government or private individuals, and if they are not renewed after the term expires, their contract will be automatically terminated.

The latter were real slaves, their household registration in the Household Registration Bureau was a slave status, and their children were also slaves. Unless there was a special opportunity, this status could not be removed forever.

There is a law in Jinhe State that Han people are not allowed to be enslaved. If someone commits a crime and is demoted to an official slave, there is a time limit. Of course, the indenture is signed for nothing, and the government will not pay, but there is a certain number of years.

If someone committed a serious crime, they would rather be sentenced to death than be enslaved. Lin Hai believed that this could enhance the pride of his nation, which was more valuable than anything else as the world was about to enter a period of great strife.

Political system and technology level are secondary, these things are relatively easy to learn from, the Meiji Restoration is a living example. On the other hand, there is a negative example, which is the original sin of a small nation facing a big country.

In view of this, the Huiyou Company reduced the prisoners of war of their own ethnic group to official slaves by signing a contract for a certain number of years. However, due to the need for siege, these people were given an opportunity to gain freedom in advance.

"Have we explained our policy to the prisoners?"

"I've already told you this in Wugang, but I don't know if these bastards believe it or not."

"Whether he believes it or not, we will act according to the policy..." Lin Hai said, "But now I plan to give them a chance. Next we will dig trenches and attack the city. Those who work actively will not have to sign a contract when they return to Jinhe Country, and they can also get land according to the treatment of immigrants."

"This is even harder to believe. I think these idiots will think we are liars and won't dig trenches..."

"That's easy. Anyone who refuses to go will be shot. This is a war. Since there are prisoners of war available, I can't let our soldiers dig trenches under enemy fire."

As Lin Hai was talking, he suddenly remembered something and continued, "Oh, and ask those prisoners if there are any who are willing to go to Xiamen City. If there are, I will let them go back."

On that day, Lin Hai arranged for people to explain the entire set of policies to the prisoners of war. As a result, nearly 500 people expressed their willingness to go to Xiamen city.

This number was beyond Lin Hai's imagination. After all, many of these people's wives and children were taken to Tamsui. It seemed that what Shibi said was not wrong at all. Many prisoners of war did not believe what he said and would rather be trapped in Xiamen.

Lin Hai kept his word and released the 500 people immediately. Of course, they could only go to Xiamen City. If they went in other directions, they would be shot. The 500 captives came to the Qiming Gate in the east of Xiamen City in shackles and begged the defenders on the city to lower the drawbridge and open the city gate to let them pass.

"Don't open the gate. These are the bandits sent by Lin to seize the city." Zheng Zhipeng was on duty on the city wall that day, and he immediately ordered that the gates must not be opened. Lin Hai's military camp was only two miles away, and there were sentinels on guard outside. If they rushed over, it would only take a blink of an eye.

"Boss, think twice. These are our brothers. If we don't open the door, we might incur public anger! How about we use a cage to hoist them up?"

"That won't work either. These people were released by that bandit Lin. They might have surrendered. After they come in, they might work together with bandit Lin."

Zheng Zhipeng never had his own opinion. After hearing the two followers arguing that they were both right, he could not make up his mind for a moment. Finally, he had to give an order: "Stop arguing. Go report to the boss and ask for his decision."

When the messenger went to the deputy general's mansion, the scene under Qiming's sect quickly spread among the pirates. In less than half an hour, everyone knew that Wanggang had fallen and their families were now in a state of uncertainty about their lives.

Zheng Zhilong was furious after hearing the report. He smashed the porcelain cup in his hand to pieces with a bang: "Lin Hai is so sinister that he actually used this trick to disrupt the morale of the army."

Wang Mengxiong said solemnly, "Boss, now that things have come to this, we can only let those brothers enter the city, otherwise it will only be more detrimental to the morale of the army."

"What if these people work together with the bandit Lin? The families of our brothers are in the hands of that Lin. They might be instigated by them to surrender the city."

"Of course we can't give them this opportunity. After we let them into the city, we can use this as an excuse to temporarily keep them under guard and deal with them after we defeat Lin the bandit."

"Alas, this is the only way now." Zheng Zhilong agreed after hesitating for a while and ordered the prisoners of war to be hoisted into the city in cages.

That afternoon, the morale of the Zheng army dropped to freezing point, and the atmosphere in the city began to become subtle.

Wang Mengxiong found Zheng Zhilong and said, "Master, the bandits in Lin are unwilling to attack the city, and they seem to want to keep the city for a long time. Now all the brothers know that Wanggang has fallen into the hands of the bandits. If we continue to waste time, it will be even more detrimental to the morale of our army."

Zheng Zhilong also felt that the situation was not good: "You mean, go out of the city and fight a decisive battle?"

"That's right, but before that, we still need to boost our morale..."

Wang Mengxiong's eyes flashed with coldness, and then he spat out two words: "Massacre the city."

"Massacre the city?" Zheng Zhilong looked at Wang Mengxiong with confusion. He didn't expect that this former Penghu guerrilla was even more cruel than him, the pirate leader.

"That's right. Nothing can boost morale better than slaughtering the city." Wang Mengxiong continued, "Please give the order immediately, big boss. From the time the order is given, the city will be slaughtered for two days. Within two days, you can take any gold, silk, or children you want. After we put down our swords, we will leave the city and fight a decisive battle!"

(End of this chapter)