Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 130
After giving Chao Zhi and Ding Ji some time to restore the prisoner-of-war camp, Xiang Kang rested for a while in the large tent of the Chinese army that had just been established, and then led the young marshals, Wenwu and Liu Laosan to help him. Cao Shen left the camp of the Chinese army and rushed to the scene surrounded by a group of sergeants to understand the situation and appease the captured Qin soldiers.

Chao Zhi is indeed a good player in training and formation of troops. Xiang Kang and his party rushed to the temporary prisoner-of-war camp next to the camp of the Young Marshal Army. Crossbow arrows, swords and spears were aimed at the prisoners of the Qin army behind the fence, forcing the prisoners of the Qin army who had been disarmed to squat down obediently, not daring to make any more moves.However, dozens of dead bodies still appeared on the scene. In addition, the young generals under Ding Ji dragged some Qin army prisoners to the open space outside the camp, beat them with wooden sticks and spear handles, and beat those Qin army prisoners to the ground. Bleeding and screaming continued.

"Stop!" Xiang Kang stopped, frowning and asked, "What did these captives do wrong? Why did you abuse them like this?"

"Reporting to the young commander, these thieves are the culprits." Ding Ji stepped forward to salute, and replied truthfully: "They not only took the lead in making trouble, but also spread rumors in the prisoner-of-war camp, saying that we are going to starve all the prisoners of the Tyrant Qin army, Then execute them all and incite the captives we caught to make trouble, so the last general picked them up and dealt with them."

"Are you sure it's the rumors they spread?" Xiang Kang asked.

"Report to the young marshal and confirm that they did it." Ding Ji replied: "There are more obedient captives to testify, and they are definitely not wronged."

Glancing at the dozen or so prisoners of the Qin Army who were already bruised and bruised, and seeing that they were panting heavily or groaning, but did not call for injustice, Xiang Kang also understood that Ding Ji had not wronged them.After a little more calculation, Xiang Kang ordered: "Take them to the gate of the prisoner-of-war camp, so that the prisoners inside can see them clearly."

He also said that Xiang Kang wanted to execute these mischievous prisoners of the Qin army in public to make an example to them. Ding Ji did not hesitate, and immediately asked people to drag the dozen or so prisoners to the gate of the prisoner-of-war camp, so that the Qin army prisoners in the camp could clearly understand Seeing them, they couldn't wait to make people prepare knives and axes.Xiang Kang stopped drinking again, and then asked the dozen or so Qin prisoners: "Tell me, why do you spread rumors and incite the prisoners to make trouble?"

More than a dozen prisoners peeked at each other, but they didn't dare answer Xiang Kang's question. Xiang Kang said, "What? Dare to do it or not? You don't need to answer, but you should also be very clear that when you become a prisoner, you will encourage other prisoners To make a riot, the lightest thing is beheading. If it is serious, the car will be broken or buried alive. This young marshal is giving you a chance to survive. I answered honestly. If I think there is something merciful for you, maybe I will show mercy outside the law. Forgive me You don't die. But if you don't even want to seize this opportunity, then the Young Marshal has the heart to spare you, and he has no reason to spare you."

Seeing that Xiang Kang's attitude was still kind, the Qin prisoners hesitated again, and they all said in authentic Guanzhong accents: "General, we were also forced. This time we fought with you, almost all of our hands were stained." Blood, I am afraid that you will get revenge, so I want to encourage others to escape together."

"I have never given out food. I thought you were going to starve us and kill the prisoners, so you said something you shouldn't say. But general, the conscience of heaven and earth, we are definitely not the only ones who say such things in the prisoner camp, There are many others who say the same.”

"It's really because I'm afraid that you will kill the prisoners, and you haven't given them any food, so you talk nonsense when you're afraid."

Listening to the captives' explanations, Xiang Kang remained silent, and it was only after the captives had finished their reasons that Xiang Kang opened his mouth and said, "No, these excuses of yours seem far-fetched, don't they? What is in your heart?"

All the captives cried out for their grievances, but they all denied it, but Xiang Kang smiled slightly and said, "There is no need to quibble, your accent has already betrayed you, you are all Guanzhong people who were born and raised in Qin, and you are also hated by the six countries outside the Guanzhong." The Guanzhong Qin people, the reason why you incited the captives to make trouble is not because we have not given you food, nor is it because you are afraid that we will kill the prisoners, but because you are afraid that we will not tolerate you Guanzhong Qin people and will execute you all. Encouraging other captives to make trouble together, trying to take advantage of the chaos to escape and survive, right?"

When Xiang Kang talked about the central thoughts of more than a dozen prisoners, their faces suddenly changed a little, but there were still some people who quietly redressed their grievances, arguing that they had no such intentions, and Xiang Kang shook his head and said: "There is no need to quibble, In fact, if I were you, I would also be afraid. Tyranny Qin had hatred for the destruction of the six countries outside the pass, and during the attack on the six countries in the east, he killed countless people and soldiers of the six countries. A few years ago, there were still many people alive at the time. If I were from Qin and became a prisoner of the army of the Six Nations, I would also be afraid that the army of the Six Nations would follow the example of the Qin army and tear apart all the captured Qin people in Guanzhong. Buried alive, all executed. What you are really afraid of is actually this, right?"

People in this era are more honest. After Xiang Kang pointed out what was in his heart, more than a dozen prisoners of war no longer had the courage to continue to argue, and they all bowed their heads in acquiescence. One of the prisoners of the Qin army with a wound on his leg was still so Said: "General, now that you have seen it, the criminal dare not lie anymore. It is true. We are all from Guanzhong Qin. We were afraid that you would kill all the people of Guanzhong Qin, so we encouraged other captives to make trouble. I want to take advantage of the chaos and escape for my life. But General, we really have to be afraid."

Raising his voice a little, the prisoner pointed to his wound and said, "General, the wound on the prisoner's body was not just just now. After being caught by you today, those of us Qin people with a central accent will not be injured. One was not severely beaten, and I have a fellow from the same township, who had already put down his weapon and knelt and surrendered. Just because he said that he was from Guanzhong, he was immediately stabbed to death by your soldiers. Your soldiers also said that the one who killed was We Guanzhong Qin dogs. Tell me, general, can we not be afraid?"

Hearing this, Xiang Kang couldn't help thinking of what Liu Laosan took the lead in entering Guanzhong in history. In addition to strictly restraining the soldiers of the army and prohibiting indiscriminate killing of innocent people, he also specially made three chapters with the representatives of the people in Guanzhong to stabilize the hearts of the people in Guanzhong. In addition to killing 20 soldiers of the Qin army, Xiang Yu's first thing after entering the pass was to kill the Qin prince baby who had voluntarily surrendered, and looted all the rare treasures that Qin had accumulated for hundreds of years. Qin's palace was burnt clean, and the two were compared. Therefore, when Chu and Han fought, the people in Guanzhong, who were actually the least affected by the war, firmly chose to support Liu Laosan.

With the negative example of the big brother, Xiang Kang will certainly not repeat the same mistakes again. After a little calculation, Xiang Kang turned to the young generals behind him and said loudly: "Generals, issue my order. Be sure to let us Every soldier in the army knows that from now on, no matter what the circumstances are, the Guanzhong Qin people captured by our army will not be beaten or abused, let alone killed at will. Military judges can only be executed after they are convicted. As long as the captured Guanzhong Qin people are willing to join us, they will be taken in and treated equally. If they are unwilling to join us and want to return to their hometown in Guanzhong, they will be given dry food and released unconditionally like other prisoners. "

The generals of the young commander agreed one after another, but some people questioned: "Young commander, if we release the Qin people in Guanzhong, what if they go back and join the Tyrant Qin army?"

"Don't think of the Qin people in Guanzhong as the kind of ruthless beasts. They will know how to be grateful, not just know how to repay kindness." Xiang Kang said again: "And they are also victims. Since Shang Yang's reform, in more than 100 years They were also tortured by the harsh criminal laws of Tyranny. Just like us, they had to serve corvee service at every turn, and their hands and feet would be cut off at every turn. few."

"Qin destroyed the six kingdoms and poisoned the world. Those who are really guilty are those oppressive Qin royal family, princes, officials, and dignitaries, not those innocent Qin people who were forced to fight by them. Therefore, for the Qin people in Guanzhong, we must not only To treat them fairly, we must strive to unite them, so that they, like us, take up arms against the tyrant Qin, overthrow the tyrant Hu Hai, and return our Chinese people to live and work in peace and prosperity, do you understand?"

After all, he is not a bloodthirsty murderer. He felt that Xiang Kang's words were reasonable, and several young generals who opposed him before nodded. Not only do we need the joint efforts of Li and Shu, the people of the six countries outside the Guanzhong, but also the Qin people in Guanzhong to work together with us. Otherwise, we will force the innocent Qin people in Guanzhong to the side of the tyrannical Qin court, and our road will only be more difficult. , Tyranny will only be more difficult to overthrow."

When the young generals sang promises in unison, Xiang Kang turned to the dozen or so captives before and said, "Did you hear what I said?"

"Understood." More than a dozen prisoners agreed together, and the previous prisoner who frankly admitted that he was afraid that the young commander's army would kill all the Qin people in Guanzhong asked cautiously: "Young commander, in this way, we also hope to join you, or receive dry food Have you returned to your hometown in Guanzhong?"

"Of course there is hope." Xiang Kang smiled slightly and said, "But don't worry, although you are innocent, you spread rumors among the captives, instigated the captives to riot, and forced the soldiers of our young commander to kill the captives. The young marshal hasn't settled the accounts with you yet."

The dozen or so captives were disappointed again, and the interrogating prisoner also lowered his head and said, "What the young commander said is that we are guilty, please decide how to deal with us, the young commander, we plead guilty and we will never complain."

"It's good to know that you're guilty." Xiang Kang smiled and said, "Because you don't know how this young marshal treats the captives of the Qin people in Guanzhong, I will reduce your crime by one class and heal your injuries first. After a few days, each of you will receive [-] army sticks, and then you will be able to choose whether to join us, or receive dry food and return to your hometown in Guanzhong. And..."

Speaking of this, Xiang Kang pointed to the dead bodies in the prisoner-of-war camp, and said: "These prisoners died because of you. After a while, the young marshal will let them be buried together, and then you have to go to their graves to apologize. , confess your fault to them."

Just as Xiang Kang finished speaking, the dozen or so captives knelt down on the ground, kowtowed like chickens pecking at rice to thank Xiang Kang, and the interrogating prisoner was so excited that he cried out, choked up and said, "Young Marshal, thank you! The criminal Yang Xi has no teeth and never forgets, if there is a chance in the future, the criminal will definitely act like an ox and a horse, tie a grass ring, and repay your great kindness, young commander."

At the same time, other prisoners of war in the prisoner-of-war camp were already cheering, scrambling to kowtow to Xiang Kang, because most of these prisoners of war were Lishan prisoners who joined the Qin Army for pardon. Treat the Qin people in Guanzhong who are the most hated by the six countries outside the Guanzhong, and of course there is no need to worry about the bad luck of being massacred or murdered.

Still at the same time, after witnessing Xiang Kang's method of comforting the Qin army's captives, the soldier surnamed Han behind Feng Zhong also said in his heart: "It's still a bit smart, this matter has spread, and we will fight with the Tyrant Qin army in the future." In the battle, there is no need to worry that the Guanzhong Qin people in the Tyrant Qin army will fight to the end. If the opportunity arises, it will be much easier to recruit or persuade the Tyrant Qin army to surrender."

Only old man Fan was quite critical of Xiang Kang's decision. After the incident, taking advantage of the opportunity that there were not many outsiders present, old man Fan warned Xiang Kang, saying: "Young commander, you are kind to the Guanzhong Qin people to buy people's hearts. One hand is indeed good. But this trick can only be used when there are few Guanzhong Qin people among the captives. If we capture too many Guanzhong Qin people in the future, we must not be so soft-hearted. Otherwise, we will not let the tiger go back to the mountain , but it will leave hidden dangers, which will be detrimental to us.”

Knowing that Old Man Fan said such things due to the limitations of this era, Xiang Kang did not argue with him. At the same time, just as Old Man Fan disliked Xiang Kang's temper and style more and more, Xiang Kang also felt more and more that he It is difficult to get along with Old Man Fan, although it is not like Xiang Yu, who has the idea of ​​driving Old Man Fan away from him, but if Old Man Fan chooses to leave Xiang Kang one day, Xiang Kang finds that he may not have much regret— — After all, it is true that different ways do not conspire with each other.

However, Xiang Kang did not completely give up on Old Man Fan because he did not pee in the same pot. On the second day after the end of the Battle of Dang County, Xiang Kang adopted Old Man Fan's suggestion and sent Feng Zhong to lead his troops to attack Li County. Cut off the direct connection between the Qin Army in Mangxian County and Suiyang, the prefecture of Dangjun County, and took advantage of the victory to advance to Suiyang City. The last piece of lost ground also completely wiped out the remaining forces of the Qin Army in the area controlled by the Young Marshal Army.

On the same day, Cao Can, who was sent by Liu Laosan to help Xiang Kang, also bid farewell. Although Xiang Kang advised Cao Shen's exhausted army to rest in Dang County for a few more days before leaving, Cao Shen, who was too far away from the rear, politely declined. I didn't force it, I just gave Cao Shen a lot of weapons and military supplies as a thank you, and made friends with Cao Wushang, the third general of Liu Lao who came with the army, and then personally sent away Liu who had really helped me a lot this time. The youngest reinforcements let Cao Shen return directly to Fengyi via Xiayi, which was still under the control of the Young Marshal Army.

After the main force of Zhang Han had no time to look south for the time being, after successfully annihilating the troops of Zhang Ping, the partial division of the Qin Army, the battle situation in Dang County suddenly became very favorable to the young commander. Various good news came one after another. Xiang You's troops, who had marched westward from Xiangxian County, had just pushed into Mang County, and the remnants of the Qin Army Yao Ang, who had fled from Fulidong to Mang County, immediately abandoned the city and fled. Killing the remnants of Yao Ang who managed to escape here, forced Yao Ang to flee alone like Zhang Ping.At the same time, the garrison of Yufeng County, which was slipped by Zhang Chu's army, also sent envoys to contact Xiang Kang, voluntarily requesting to be merged into the Young Marshal's Army, and directly brought the army and territory into Xiang Kang's account.

There was also something that surprised Xiang Kang. After the Lishan prisoners who surrendered were recruited, just when Xiang Kang was thinking about whether to take this opportunity to go west, Yingbu, who was well-known in the history of the end of Qin Dynasty, and Zhang Chuxiao Lu Chen, a well-known loyal official of the imperial court, even sent troops northward into Dang County in Chen County. While collecting the remnants of Zhang Chu's army to strengthen their strength, he took the initiative to send envoys to contact Xiang Kang, expressing his hope that he would join forces with the young commanders to attack Suiyang and deal with it together. The main force of Zhang Han's army.

But it is also a pity that in the joint letter between Yingbo and Luchen, Yingbo and Luchen did not reveal any intention of joining the Young Marshal Army, but only proposed that Xiang Kang's uncle Xiang Liang be elected as the leader of the anti-Qin alliance , signed an alliance with the old Xiang family's army, and cooperated with the Xiang family's army as an ally.

Of course, Xiang Kang was a little dissatisfied with this, and complained: "An alliance against Qin? Yingbu and Lu Chen never thought about it. If they could deal with Tyranny just by signing an alliance, then during the Warring States period, the six countries outside the pass would have already I don’t know how many times the Tyrant Qin has been wiped out. Without a unified leader, what’s the use of signing more covenants? Isn’t it just infighting and disunity?”

"The young commander wants to lead all the anti-Qin righteous forces in Chu, and let them fight together under your command?" Old man Fan next to him sneered, and said, "Don't blame the old man for speaking badly, you are not worthy, even your uncle Xiang Liang and Xiang Zhu are not worthy to be the co-lords of Chu. Because although your Xiang family came from a famous family and have been dignitaries in the old Chu for generations, after all, you are not the royal family of the old Chu. As the king of Chu, the people of old Chu will not be sincerely convinced by your Xiang family."

Xiang Kang was silent, knowing what old man Fan wanted to say, but he was too lazy to talk to him. It turned out to be a coincidence. At this time, Xiang Yang suddenly rushed in with an urgent military message with chicken feathers on it. He shouted happily: "Brother, good news! Great news! Second Uncle has finally led his army across the river, and we are about to join forces with Second Uncle's army!"

"Second uncle is here?!"

Xiang Kang was also overjoyed—although Zhang Ping's partial division was successfully killed, Zhang Han's main force was still a huge threat from the Young Marshal's Army. Of course, Xiang Kang very much hoped that his second uncle, the hero, would come to help sooner.But after the joy, Xiang Kang was stunned again, thinking: "It's a good thing, but luck comes with misfortune. After joining forces with my second uncle, I have to obey the orders of my second uncle. There are a lot of troublesome things." , and it will definitely come.”

(End of this chapter)