Empire

Li Tiechui and other prisoners were originally going to be executed in the autumn. Most of them were disheartened and had no hope for the future.

Now that the Qinghe Army had broken through the city of Guiyi Prefecture, they had rekindled their hope for life.

They were waiting to die in the dark and damp prison, living in a dishevelled state, and the small amount of food they ate was just enough to keep them alive.

Except for some fierce leaders who relied on their fists to snatch food from others and were still strong and powerful, most of the prisoners were pale and thin.

At this moment, they walked out of the prison. Chen Ziang first shocked them severely, and then cooked so many fat sheep for them to eat, which made them fear Chen Ziang and also full of gratitude to him. Although they would be incorporated into the 9th Battalion in the future and fight for Chen Ziang, it was much better than dying in a dark prison.

These prisoners were too hungry, and they wolfed down the cooked fat sheep one by one, without caring about their image at all.

Because these prisoners had been short of food for a long time, Chen Ziang was worried that they would burst their stomachs if they ate too much at one time, so the food they provided was not much.

Soon, the meat in many large pots was swept away, and those prisoners who had not yet eaten their fill stared at the people next to them with cold eyes and began to snatch.

These were originally ruthless and brave people. When they were in prison, the ruthless people were able to snatch the most food and live a more comfortable life. The jailers didn't care.

But now Chen Ziang saw that someone still maintained the bad habit of snatching food, which made him frown.

Chen Ziang pointed at Li Changqing of the personal guard team, and Li Changqing and more than a dozen brothers rushed straight up.

A ruthless prisoner had just snatched a piece of meat from someone else and was chewing it, but was suddenly pushed to the ground.

Li Changqing and others beat him up. At first he resisted fiercely, but later he was beaten and kicked without the strength to fight back.

When the prisoners around saw this scene, some stared at Chen Ziang, the violent officer, in fear, while others stood aside indifferently, gloating over the misfortune.

"Hang him at the entrance of the camp and expose him to the sun for a day!"

Chen Ziang ordered coldly when he saw the prisoner with a bruised face.

Soon, the prisoner's hands were tied with ropes and hung on the flagpole at the entrance of the camp as a punishment.

"I tell you, I don't care what you did before, but after joining my 9th Battalion, you are all brothers. If anyone dares to bully my own people, don't blame me for turning my face against you!"

Chen Ziang pointed at the prisoner who was hung up, and once again warned these cruel prisoners, asking them to abide by the rules.

Seeing that Chen Ziang was even more fierce and violent than them, these desperate criminals who killed people without blinking an eye did not dare to do it again.

Seeing the fearful eyes of these people, Chen Ziang knew that they at least expressed their submission on the surface, but this was far from enough.

After letting these prisoners have a good meal, Chen Ziang immediately started to further subdue them.

If relying on violence and strict military discipline to restrain them is a tough measure, then convening a grievance meeting is a psychological offensive.

More than 300 prisoners sat in a big circle according to Chen Ziang's request, and around them were the soldiers of the 9th Battalion who were armed to the teeth.

"From now on, you will be assigned to the 9th Battalion's death squad. Charge into battle and be the first in every battle!"

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the first thing Chen Ziang did was to tell them that they would be the 9th Battalion's death squad.

After hearing this, all the prisoners were in an uproar, because they knew what the death squad meant.

Many people even had an idea in their minds, that is, although they dared not openly resist the powerful Chen Ziang, they must find a chance to escape when the time comes, otherwise they would die without knowing how.

"Shut up, everyone!"

Seeing these noisy and fierce prisoners, Chen Ziang shouted coldly, and they quieted down again.

"You are all death row prisoners and are supposed to be executed in the autumn. I will give you a chance to live, but my rescue is not unconditional, so you have to be the death squad and charge into battle for me!"

"Of course, in the future, anyone who kills enemies and makes meritorious contributions on the battlefield can be exempted from the status of the death squad! Not only that, it is not impossible to be awarded a title of nobility and become a general after overthrowing the Far East Dynasty, but you have to live until then."

Although being awarded a title of nobility and becoming a general is full of temptation, these prisoners turned pale when they thought of the status of the death squad. It felt like they had just escaped from the tiger's mouth and entered the wolf's den.

But soon Chen Ziang changed the subject, which rekindled the hope of these prisoners.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a chance to speak up and redress your grievances. Whoever satisfies me can be exempted from the death squad now?" Chen Ziang looked around and asked.

"" Sir, can you let us go if we can prove that we are wronged?" a prisoner asked.

Chen Ziang shook his head and said,"No, we can only be exempted from the death squad. If we want to leave our 9th Battalion, we must make military achievements."

After hearing what Chen Ziang said, the prisoners whispered to each other, knowing that they had no choice now, because their lives were in Chen Ziang's hands.

"Who will come first to redress the grievances?"

Chen Ziang asked again.

""Sir, I'll go first!"

After everyone looked at each other, Li Tiechui, who was beaten up by Chen Ziang in the cell, finally stood up.

Chen Ziang looked up and down at the burly and strong Li Tiechui, and asked:"Tell me, how did you get sentenced to death?"

"I killed three tax officials in Wen County. Li Tiechui replied indignantly.

"They have no grudge against you, so why do you want to kill them?"

Li Tiechui said with red eyes:"We have a grudge!"

"Our blacksmith shop has already paid this year's taxes, and they want to add taxes for next year and the year after. My father argued with them, and they beat him to death in the street......."

Li Tiechui became more and more excited as he spoke, and in the end, a grown man actually burst into tears.

The soldiers from the 9th Battalion who were around him originally thought that Li Tiechui and his men were heinous criminals, but after hearing about his experience, they all looked at him with sympathy.

"Yang Zhong!"

After hearing about Li Tiechui's experience, Chen Ziang did not immediately pardon his identity as a member of the death squad, but turned his attention to the thousand-man general Yang Zhong next to him.

Yang Zhong quickly searched through a box of files and found Li Tiechui's sentencing file and handed it to Chen Ziang.

Seeing the file full of loopholes, Chen Ziang tore it into pieces in front of him.

"From now on, I will pardon your status as a member of the death squad and restore your freedom. You can go home now." Chen Ziang said

"Thank you, sir.——"

Li Tiechui was so grateful when he saw Chen Ziang tear up the files and not only exempted him from the death squad, but also let him go home.

"My lord, my family has been destroyed by those dog officials. I have no home now. I was about to die, but you released me from prison and gave me food. My life will belong to you from now on!" However,

Li Tiechui did not leave, because he killed the tax official, not only was he imprisoned, but his mother fell ill and died soon. Now he was the only one alive in their family.

"Okay, from now on you are the general of a hundred men."Li Tiechui is strong and powerful. As long as he is well trained, he will be a brave general who can charge into battle, so Chen Ziang gladly accepted him.

With Li Tiechui's good start, those heavy prisoners who were resentful in their hearts stood up and complained loudly.

Originally, they hated the officials of the dynasty, but they did not have much hatred with Chen Ziang and his men. Now that they poured out their bitterness, they felt much more relaxed.

In these chaotic years, Chen Ziang and his men are now strong and powerful. They stay not only to have a bite of food to eat, but also to take revenge.

Some ambitious people even think that if they follow Chen Ziang and his men to fight against the Far East Dynasty, if they really make military achievements, it is not impossible to be crowned as a marquis and a general.

Under multiple factors, these heavy prisoners who were originally beaten by Chen Ziang and surrendered began to willingly join Chen Ziang and his 9th Battalion.

Seeing these ruthless heavy prisoners express their willingness to be loyal, Chen Ziang showed a triumphant smile on his face.