Episode 168: Prisoners of War Camp? Labor Camp?

This request made by Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yucon really surprised Emperor Guangwu.

Emperor Guangwu pondered for a moment under the gaze of the two, wanted to say something, but then stopped his mouth, looking very hesitant. Xiang Xiaoqiang could guess that he must not want him to go to the prisoner-of-war camp, but he had no reason to refuse.

Anyway, the first batch of prisoners of war will follow him south to Ming in a few days, but why doesn’t Guangwu want to go to the prisoner-of-war camp a few days earlier? Zheng Yuchang may not be easy to understand, but in Xiang Xiaoqiang’s opinion, it is very simple. It is obvious that the prisoner-of-war camp in the Qing Dynasty is probably not easy to meet people, and it needs to "do a good reception work" in advance.

Sure enough, Guangwu pondered for a moment, looked up and smiled:

"You two want to visit the brothers of the army first, that's fine. I'll ask someone to arrange it tomorrow, and you can go the day after tomorrow."

Xiang Xiaoqiang said immediately:

"Oh? Do you need to arrange it? What to arrange?"

Guangwu smiled and said:

"Arranging your itinerary and transportation. Both of you are important figures in the Ming Dynasty and my own guests. You must not be hasty when traveling. If something happens to safety, haha, my son is still in Nanjing."

When Xiang Xiaoqiang heard him say this, it was useless to know that he had refuted it. This is his territory. He is the emperor and said that he can only go after tomorrow, so he can only go after tomorrow. Moreover, the reason why Guangwu said is not easy to refute. His younger brother is still in the Ming Dynasty, so of course there is no problem with his own safety.

"Okay," he smiled, "then let His Majesty the Emperor worry."

...

On the afternoon of August 11, he asked Xiaoqiang how the Beiqing officials who received them were doing what his Majesty the Emperor had arranged and whether he could go to the prisoner-of-war camp tomorrow. The reception officials looked confused and didn't know about this. At this time, Emperor Guangwu didn't know where it was.

Xiang Xiaoqiang had to be patient and wait until tomorrow.

On the third day, on the morning of August 12, the official hurried over and told Xiang Xiaoqiang that it was originally planned to arrange for them to go to the Ming army prisoner-of-war camp in Chifeng this morning, but there was still some troubles in security. There was a sandstorm on Chifeng, so the migration of villagers in several villages along the railway paused and could not continue to move until the wind stopped.

Xiang Xiaoqiang was very confused. He didn't understand his security work and what was related to the migration of villagers. Also, this August is a season of abundant rain, so how could there be sandstorms?

"Haha, Lord Xiang, that's it," the official said proudly, "Our Emperor's grace is here. This time, we will use the "Tianzi Jia" security measures for you and Princess Leping, which is the security measures that Your Majesty can only use. Therefore, all villagers along the railway must avoid 20 kilometers away from the railway, and no one can stay... Lord Xiang, this is Your Majesty's rare grace instructions..."

Xiang Xiaoqiang narrowed his eyes and felt a little unbelievable. He confirmed with doubt:

"You mean...every time you emperor travel by train, the villages along the route must be cleared? The villagers must move 20 kilometers away, and then... the train passes and then moves back?"

The official smiled:

"Why, your queen is not taking security measures when traveling by train?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang was a little confused, said "Oh" twice, and then hesitated:

"Of course, we also take security measures...but there are no such measures as you..."

The official saw Xiang Xiaoqiang's "lower self-esteem" look, and he was very satisfied with his self-esteem and asked with a sarcastic smile:

"What if you ordinary people along the way lie on the tracks or stop the train and complain to the emperor?"

“…”

Xiang Xiaoqiang felt that his intelligence was a little insufficient, so he shook his head and simply evaded:

"This...haha, it's really magical, but... the people over us usually don't lie on the tracks... Oh, we usually don't complain..."

"Oh, hehe," the official didn't know if he really believed Xiang Xiaoqiang's words or for the sake of politeness, he didn't plan to chase and fight again, so he just smiled, "So that's it...... Uh, do you have any more orders from General Xiang?"

Xiang Xiaoqiang patted the back of the head, trying to restore normal thinking, and then smiled:

"By the way, will you also have sandstorms in Zhili and Inner Mongolia?"

The official was stunned, hesitated a little, and hesitated for a few seconds, leaving a sentence:

"Actually, this will also cause sandstorms in August... Let's have a good rest for General Xiang, say goodbye..."

Then his face turned red and turned white.

...

It is obvious that there will be no sandstorms in August. And it is now in the 1930s, and the desertification of grasslands in Inner Mongolia and Outer Mongolia is not so serious, right?

Xiang Xiaoqiang sensitively guessed that the so-called sandstorm was nothing. The distance between Chengde and Chifeng and the Mongolian grassland was similar. If the sandstorm slashed to Chifeng and was so powerful that it was impossible for the evacuation of villagers, even if Chengde was surrounded by heavy mountains, you would definitely feel the sandstorm. But now, the air should not be too fresh and the weather should not be too good.

It is obvious that this was the excuse that Emperor Guangwu had instructed him to delay their visit to the prisoner-of-war camp. However, the people below were too confused. In addition to finding such a stupid excuse as a sandstorm, they also cleared the villages along the way every time they went on a patrol, in order to prevent the villagers from lying on the track to sue the emperor. Xiang Xiaoqiang believed that if Guangwu arrested this matter himself, he would never have done so stupidly.

It seems that I won’t think about going in two or three days. In the end, I have to do the same as Guangwu said. When everything is ready in the prisoner-of-war camp, I will go over and take a brief look, and then follow the ship back to Nanming directly.

But to his surprise, the next day, when breakfast was on August 13, the official in charge of reception came and told Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yuchang that the sandstorm stopped at night and the railway was ready, so that he could go to the prisoner-of-war camp this morning.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yuchang both felt a very happy feeling at the same time, and they were finally able to leave the place. Although the scenery here is beautiful, the temperature is cool, and the food and accommodation are comfortable, both of them want to "escape" this place. Moreover, they will soon see thousands of Ming soldiers in the prisoner-of-war camp. Over the past few days, they can finally see people with the same normal thinking as themselves. It is like going to meet relatives.

Xiang Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yuxiang did not see Emperor Guangwu either, but this was even better. They took their own things and went directly to the train in the summer resort.

This is another stunning Xiaoqiang and Zheng Yuchang. This railway from the northern border of the Beijing channel actually built a branch line in Chengde, which is exclusively used by the emperor and directly leads to the interior of the Summer Resort. The Emperor of the Northern and Qing dynasties could get on the train from Beijing and get off the bus directly in the Summer Resort a few hours later. He didn't even need to turn over the car, which was 100% comfortable.

The distance from the Chifeng Railway to the Summer Resort is less than 200 kilometers. Three or four hours later, the train drove into Chifeng Station.

The prisoner-of-war camp was dozens of kilometers away from Chifeng. They got on the bus here. At around 11 o'clock noon, there were more houses on both sides of the dirt road, and they often saw broken and broken wire fences.

After a while, a gust of dust flew away in the distance. Soon, I saw a team of mules pulling flatbeds across the dirt road, slowly coming over. Those who drove the car saw the car team here, hurriedly drove the mules to hide on the side of the road, leaving free for the cars.

The car quickly rushed past these mule carts. Xiang Xiaoqiang saw that the mule carts were piled with large stones, and the stones were shining with some metallic luster.

ore?

"What kind of ore is this?"

He asked a Beiqing escort officer in front of him.

The officer hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should tell him. Then, probably thinking that it was nothing important, he said:

"This is copper ore. It is the copper ore in front."

Xiang Xiaoqiang suddenly remembered, by the way, there is a copper mine here in Chifeng.

He twisted his neck and stared at the mule cart pulling ore in the dust behind him.

Suddenly, a gloomy thought flashed through his mind.

Xiang Xiaoqiang took a deep breath and asked:

“How far is the labor camp?”

The front left officer raised his hand and pointed:

"It's just here, there will be ten minutes..."

As he said that, his hands stopped in the air and his words stopped abruptly.

Then, the officer in the front seat turned his head, sweating on his face, and smiled:

"General Xiang wants to ask how far the prisoner camp is, right? Haha... it's here..."

Xiang Xiaoqiang's heart was snatched. He stared at the officer's eyes and said gloomyly:

"No, I'm asking about the labor camp. I believe you've heard it clearly."

The officer's face gradually turned pale, and the sweat dripped down. He said with a forced smile:

"General Xiang is really good at joking. There are no labor camps here, only prisoners of war camps... It has nothing to do with copper mines... The mining people are all nearby people..."

"Oh?" Xiang Xiaoqiang's eyes almost burst into flames and he asked gloomyly, "Really?"
Chapter completed!