In the fourteenth year of Tianbao, early February.
The Tang Dynasty delegation led by Zhou Jun set out from Damascus and headed east. After a brief stay in Ajura City for a few days, it went to Mulu City (Male City), a border city in Khorasan.
At the end of February, the Tang Dynasty delegation arrived in Mulu City.
A prisoner exchange ceremony between Datang and Dashi is about to begin.
From the founding of the Tang Dynasty to the Tianbao period, for more than a hundred years, the Tang army fought against foreigners, and there were rarely any large-scale prisoner exchanges.
The reason:
First, because the Tang army was strong and well-equipped, even if it was defeated, it could often withdraw most of it with its advantages in equipment and battle formations.
Second, because the Tang army advocated loyalty and martyrdom, and regarded surrendering to the enemy as breaking one's character, defeated soldiers would often rather be broken into pieces than surrender.
The third reason is that if the Tang Dynasty's border generals won a battle, they always liked to use the act of sacrificing prisoners to claim credit from the court. These foreign captives who were used to claim credit were nominally the trophies of the border generals and were rarely taken away.
In exchange for Tang soldiers and soldiers.
Therefore, the prisoner exchange ceremony for thousands of people initiated by Zhou Jun was an unprecedented move since the establishment of the Anxi Protectorate. Even throughout the history of the Tang Dynasty, it was extremely rare.
On the day of the prisoner exchange, the sky was misty and bright.
On the western border of Mulu City, a huge team came in force.
Countless Dashi prisoners, whose hands were tied with ropes and their feet were trapped in iron hoops, were escorted by the Anxi cavalry to the plains at the border.
The general leading the Anxi army was Shule garrison envoy Li Siye.
Li Siye first ordered his soldiers to take care of the Dashi prisoners, then dismounted and walked towards the temporary meeting tent set up on the border plain.
Li Siye opened the curtain of the big tent and saw Zhou Jun sitting in the seat. He walked up quickly and sang to the latter: "Guardian, all the captives of Dashi have arrived."
Zhou Jun looked at Li Siye, nodded and said with a smile: "Li Siye has worked hard all the way, please sit down first."
Li Siye: "Here!"
The person in charge of the prisoner exchange ceremony was Sayer, the Supreme Justice of the Court of Justice.
When the latter saw that Li Siye was as strong as an iron tower, he stood up with his head almost touching the curtain. He was startled at first, and then asked Zhou Jun: "Who is this?"
Zhou Jun: "Siye was the garrison envoy of Shule, and he made great contributions in the two battles of Talos. Especially in the second battle, the defeat of Julan City, Talos City, and Baishui City, and
The battle of killing medicine and water, etc., are all achievements he achieved by leading his troops."
Sayer was amazed for a while and looked at Li Siye a few more times.
Seeing the officials sitting down one after another, Zhou Jun first asked Sayer: "Will Governor Abu, the governor of Khorasan Province, be here today?"
Sayer: "Governor Abu followed the Caliph's order and went to the north to fight against the rebels. I am afraid that he will not return to Khorasan for a long time."
Zhou Jun nodded lightly and said: "In that case, why not officially start today's prisoner exchange ceremony?"
Sayer nodded.
Zhou Jun spoke first and asked Li Siye to fetch the list of prisoners of Dashi and put it on the desk; Sayer also asked the officials of the Court of Justice to bring the compiled list of prisoners of the Tang army.
The scribes of the Tang Dynasty and the secretaries of the Great Food, more than a hundred people in total, took the rosters one by one, and began to check the records in the partial accounts.
Every time a group of people is recorded, the civil servants from both countries will present it to Zhou Jun and Sayer for viewing.
After confirmation, the list of this group of people will be taken outside the meeting room, and a roll call will begin. The prisoners whose names are called will have their numbers recorded and then be sent back to their home camps.
The whole process takes a long time and is a bit boring.
Zhou Jun took this opportunity to talk with Li Siye.
Zhou Jun: "How was the situation in Anxi while I was gone? Did anything big happen?"
Li Siye carefully looked around and said in a low voice: "Protector, there is an important matter. There are many people here and I originally wanted to report it to you on the way back. However, I really can't hide my words...
…”
Zhou Jun: "What's the matter?"
Li Siye: "In the early autumn of last year, I appointed the deputy envoy as the chief general and Duan Guoyi as the deputy general. He planned to use troops against Dabolu. Do you know about this?"
Zhou Jun nodded. Before Feng Changqing sent out troops, he specially sent a letter using Hai Dongqing, telling him about sending troops to Dabolu.
Li Siye said with a smile: "Just a few days ago, someone got the news that Deputy Envoy Feng led the Anxi Army on a long-distance attack, defeated the enemy one after another, and finally captured the Dabolu royal family and hundreds of Tubo nobles, and achieved a great victory!
"
Zhou Jun smiled slightly. Feng Changqing defeated Da Bolu, which was what he expected.
Li Siye was a little surprised to see Zhou Jun's expression remained as usual.
Zhou Jun: "Chang Qing is diligent and thrifty by nature and endures hard work. Others despise him because of his appearance, but they don't know that he is a talented person. He only makes a name for himself without making a name for himself."
Li Siye was impressed.
Zhou Jun: "Besides the battle with Dabolu, is there anything else to do in Anxi?"
Li Siye scratched his head and said, "Speaking of which, since last year, refugees have traveled thousands of miles away from Guanzhong, Hedong, Henan and even Shannan to form groups and move to Anxi."
Zhou Jun: "Oh? Please tell me carefully."
Li Siye: "The first group of people who came was probably in September last year. There were only a few hundred people, including men, women, old and young. It was said that Guanzhong was hit by a major disaster, famine was everywhere, and they were starving for thousands of miles. These people couldn't survive.
, and then moved to Anxi.”
"At first I was puzzled. Guanzhong is thousands of miles away from Anxi. Not only is there a desert in between, but the prefectures and counties along the way are all poor. Why do these people come to Anxi instead of going to the capital or to Jiangnan to seek life?"
Zhou Jun: "What do the refugees say?"
Li Siye: "Those refugees claimed to be Yinglong believers and said that they moved to Anxi because they were inspired by Yinglong. Along the way, they passed through Liangzhou, Ganzhou, Shazhou, Daqi and other places, and there was a shortage of food and medicine.
The Dragon Cultists helped us, and we were able to support Anxi."
Zhou Jun: "Can the Governor's Office arrange for these refugees to live there?"
Li Siye nodded and said: "After settling in, the first batch of refugees from the Yinglong Regiment went to Yanqi Town to make a pilgrimage to Yinglong Cave, and then lived in the town. After that, refugees came from the east one after another, sometimes counting.
Hundreds, sometimes thousands, there are not many residences in Yanqi Town. Even if they urgently build additional houses, they cannot accommodate them. It is impossible to do so, so they can only report to the Anxi Protectorate. The deputy envoy Feng then ordered that the subsequent refugees who entered Anxi be arranged to Anxi.
Go to the four towns."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Zhou Jun looked at Li Siye: "There are also refugees living in Shule Town?"
Li Siye: "Yes, just after the first month of the first month, a group of refugees from the Yinglong Regiment from Pizhou, about 100 households and more than 600 people, were resettled in Shule Town. I met the leader and asked them carefully
, the answer is that there will be more refugees who believe in Yinglong and migrate to Anxi in the name of pilgrimage."
Zhou Jun: "The prisoner exchange ceremony is over. You should go back and explain how to take good care of these refugees. In addition, summon craftsmen and officials, build houses, and make sure to properly accommodate the refugees who come next."
Li Siye raised his hands and said, "Here."
While we were talking, a scribe came to report that the list of prisoners exchanged had basically been completed.
This time, a total of 8,966 Tang army prisoners were able to return to their homeland through the prisoner exchange ceremony.
Zhou Jun was silent for a moment when he heard this number.
Seeing Zhou Jun's silence, Li Siye thought that the latter was feeling emotional, so he raised his hands and said: "The governor ordered us to take good care of the captured soldiers. Siye was still wondering at first, why he didn't offer these prisoners to the imperial court for a fight.
You deserve a lot of credit... Now it seems that the Protector-General cares about his son-in-law, but he truly treats the soldiers as family members. Perhaps the Protector-General doesn't know that in the Anxi Army, whenever your name is mentioned, the sons-in-law will respectfully call you "Father" in private.
handsome"……"
Zhou Jun smiled and stepped out of the tent.
On the vast plains, as far as the eye can see, there are black heads everywhere. Those are prisoners of the Tang army who have just regained their freedom.
These people are now freed from slavery and can return to their homeland and reunite with their families. Their faces are full of joy.
Many people were so moved that they even fell to their knees, touched their foreheads to the ground, and burst into tears.
A prisoner of the Tang army saw Zhou Jun and shouted loudly: "It's Zhou Duhu!"
This sound, like a wave, spread from near to far, attracting thousands of soldiers to cheer and gather over.
I don’t know who it was, but the leader shouted: “I am willing to die for the Protector!”
Soon, one of the prisoners of the Tang army took the lead, bowed in the direction of Zhou Jun, and then shouted: "I am willing to die for the Protector!"
Immediately afterwards, more and more people knelt down, and the shouts became more uniform, and finally gathered into a chorus that resounded throughout the sky.
"I am willing to die serving the Protector!"
When Sayer and a group of cannibals heard this thunderous cry, their faces turned pale and they were frightened.
Li Siye and the soldiers from Anxi looked at the scene in front of them, their expressions were excited, and they prostrated themselves.
Zhou Jun, who was defended by countless soldiers, was shaking slightly and his eyes were slightly red.
Zhou Jun gently raised a hand, and after everyone calmed down a little, he used all his strength to shout two words: "Go home!"
In the second month of the fourteenth year of Tianbao, Zhou Jun did not slander his superiors because of the lives of tens of thousands of people. He planned for the country and was far-sighted. He sent envoys to feast and promised to return prisoners. He was outstanding for a while and passed down to future generations.
Throughout the ages, we have fought hundreds of battles to slay the enemy, and we have mobilized people to guard the borders, but we have advanced without seeking fame, and we have been cautious and cautious.
Alas, there is only one person!
This chapter has been completed!