He Zan squatted under the awning of the prisoner camp with his arms folded.
He shivered all night, his mind filled with questions he couldn't figure out.
Since the Ningxia soldiers were captured, the thieves took away all their clothes. The 720 prisoners were huddled naked under the awning, people next to each other, basically shivering to stay warm.
He Zan didn't know what others were thinking, but he had been observing the thieves.
The thieves were very orderly. Most of them slept in the Ningxia soldiers' tents. A few people watched them, and some seemed to specialize in cooking ginger soup and drying clothes.
There are prisoners who are planning to escape. Each awning frame is made of eight spears. Except for the lack of spearheads, it can form a certain combat effectiveness.
Although it may not be possible to defeat the bandit soldiers, it is not a problem to hold on for a while and let the brigade escape westward.
But many people don't want to run because they have no clothes and will freeze to death if they go out.
In the afternoon, the thieves delivered the dried mid-order items, and dozens of them arrived after a while.
Someone asked the soldiers what they planned to do to them. The soldiers said: "General, I know you are cold. Just hold on for a while and the ginger soup will be ready."
People don't want to run away.
In the afternoon, some bandit soldiers called a dozen people out of the prisoner camp and came back carrying a large pot of ginger soup. They asked them who were the officers and asked the officers to distribute the ginger soup to the soldiers.
The ginger soup was not enough, and the soldiers in the Ningxia camp were very dissatisfied with the officers.
In the evening, when the rain subsided a little, the bandits came again, and they were asked to hold on for a while, saying that there was horse meat soup stewed in the camp.
There was also noodles they brought from Ningxia, and dozens of people were called out from the prison camps to make noodles and cook pancakes for dinner.
He Zan asked again, what exactly did the thief plan to do to them?
At this time, the soldiers in the Ningxia camp no longer cared much about this matter. They found that winning or losing the battle did not make much difference to them.
If you win, the food will be like this; if you lose, the food will still be like this.
It's just that many people feel sad for those brothers who fought bloody battles on the battlefield. If they had surrendered earlier, they would now be able to wear dry clothes and wait for food.
It was getting dark, and the bandits carried more than a dozen large pots into the prisoner camp. This time they did not let the officers distribute food.
The person who distributes the food is an officer in the bandit army. The officer on He Zan's side is named Zheng Hu.
"You still ask us what we want to do, what do you want to do?"
The thief officer named Zheng Hu was very angry. He pointed at He Zan's nose and asked, "This is Yan'an Prefecture. You Ningxia soldiers came to Yan'an Prefecture to beat us and asked us what we wanted to do?"
He Zan was startled, and then said: "You are thieves, and we are the army. Isn't it natural for the army to attack thieves?"
"It's a matter of course. Do you think it's a matter of course that those Ningxia soldiers and Yulin soldiers who died should deserve to die?"
While Zheng Hu was supervising the soldiers serving soup to the prisoners, he took two steps closer to He Zan and looked at him carefully before saying, "Who do I think you are? I remember, you are Mr. He Zan's son."
As he spoke, he turned around and said something to the soup thief: "Every bowl is the same, no less."
"Young Marshal He, are you still wondering? We know you are General He's son, why haven't we invited you into the tent and left you here to freeze with the Ningxia soldiers?"
In fact, Zheng Hu laughed hard in his heart. Everything they did after the battle today had a script.
These were all decisions made after discussions between the commanders of the posts, including deliberately making less ginger soup and letting the captured officers divide it.
The broth was deliberately made a little extra, and they divided it among themselves.
Even the soldiers who served the soup deliberately served less and were then scolded by them. This was all part of the script discussed earlier.
Just press play.
"Do you know who you are fighting? Do you know what kind of war you are fighting?"
Zheng Hu stood among the prisoners, raised his hand and pointed at his chest with his thumb: "I, Ding Xuanfeng, the former Yan'an general Li's subordinate, served as a car camp management team in Jizhen, fought against the Donglu in Liaodong, and fought in Yulin.
I fought against the Northern Barbarians, and my name is Zheng Hu."
The Ningxia soldiers in the prison camp were in an uproar.
Some of them know that there are deserters and border troops in Liu Chengzong's army. This is not a secret.
But there is a big difference between a deserter and a deserter, and between a frontier army and a frontier army.
The military households in Yulinwei who are busy farming all day long are also frontier troops. The people who carry burdens every day at Pasha Camp on Gansu East Road are also frontier troops. The servant Xuanfeng who has been to Liaodong and returned to Yulin is also a frontier army.
The difference is huge.
"My general treated me very well. He tried every means, but my brothers and I still couldn't have enough to eat. We had made meritorious service to the court, and our meritorious service could not be exchanged for reward."
"My general is a good man, so in the end he was defeated by the Lion Battalion on an empty stomach. I wanted to give it a try. Isn't it just a matter of life?"
"The lion camp served me porridge, and I surrendered. I have never been hungry again... Do you know why you are fighting?"
Zheng Hu looked around at the Ningxia soldiers. No one could answer his question. He continued: "When we entered Shanxi, we originally wanted to rob Wangzhuang. You also have a palace in Ningxia. You know that Wangzhuang is rich."
This time, some Ningxia soldiers nodded in agreement, but were immediately stopped by Marshal He with his eyes.
Zheng Hu smiled and said nothing, but continued: "Across the Yellow River from Yanchuan is Yonghe County. That place is so poor that there is no Wangzhuang. We can't go further east. There are thieves everywhere. Let's help the people suppress them.
Thief."
"The army came from the north and wanted to attack us. We first burned a few villages on the road, and only one of them was alive. General Liu led us to suppress the troops and calm the people."
"I want to ask you, you came from Ningxia and traveled thousands of miles to fight this battle." Zheng Hu asked the surrounding border troops: "Why are you here?"
He Zan said: "What about Li Laojiao? He robbed Heshui County and besieged the county town. Shouldn't he be wiped out? But you joined forces with him, how can you be considered a good person?"
"He is a hungry man. You have been chasing him all the way, but you haven't noticed that his people are no different from ordinary people?"
Zheng Hu's words are a strong statement. Li Lao Jackal's thieves are far from being ordinary people. Many of them were even bandits and robbers before the severe drought came.
But in terms of combat effectiveness, He Huchen's Ningxia soldiers treated them as if they were just playing.
Two to three hundred people can defeat Li Laojiao's thousands of people. If he catches up, it will be a big victory.
At this moment, the commander in charge of the other pot ran over and said to Zheng Hu: "Commander Zheng, my Ningxia soldiers must join the Lion Camp. What should we do?"
"This won't work!"
Zheng Hu frowned and said: "General Liu said that they, General He, have not yet been defeated. What's more, the prisoners also said that they have a camp at the mountain pass in the west. If they surrender the Lion Camp now, won't the next battle force them to follow the previous battle?
Brother, should I beat him?"
Zheng Hu looked at the Ningxia soldiers on his side and asked, "Do you have any plans to stay?"
With He Zan here, people on his side didn't dare to say anything, but the hope in many people's eyes couldn't be deceived.
He Zan was so angry that all the Ningxia soldiers around him had stars in their eyes.
"Alas."
Zheng Hu sighed and said to the auxiliary soldiers standing beside him: "Go and ask the general if you want to keep them."
The auxiliary soldiers trotted out of the prison camp.
In the military tent that originally belonged to He Huchen, Liu Chengzong blew the oil on the horse meat soup and took a slow sip.
Warmth enters the throat and spreads to the limbs and bones, and even the five senses and nine orifices become clearer.
The Lion Battalion soldiers are getting better and better at making horse meat soup.
The auxiliary soldiers ran into the tent to explain the cleaning, which made Liu Chengzong throw his head back and laugh.
This is a signal, a signal that proves that people’s hearts are available.
The grassroots officers of the Lion Battalion suffered heavy losses in this battle. Many soldiers contracted the cold, and some, such as Huang Shengxiao, were still suffering from fever.
The combat effectiveness of soldiers has been seriously affected.
But this does not mean that He Huchen cannot be defeated. He Huchen has many troops due to problems such as wind, cold and fever, and the loss of troops is even greater.
It’s just that Liu Chengzong doesn’t want to fight.
This battle is of great significance, meaning that it is easy to attack and defend.
The soldiers who survived this war all had a strong will to fight, and they defeated the officers and soldiers head-on in a head-on battle... This was the first time.
As long as the Lion Battalion's structure remains, they will not be afraid of any conquest by the army.
Those who survive are precious. Liu Chengzong does not want to see any casualties caused by storming the camp.
Moreover, these Ningxia soldiers and prisoners had extraordinary significance to Liu Chengzong.
They are different from Yulin soldiers.
At noon, Liu Chengzong visited several Ningxia soldiers and prisoners and asked about the situation in Ningxia.
The soldiers there were basically all homeless, and being homeless meant having no worries or worries.
As long as the ideological resistance is eliminated, these people can all join the Lions Camp.
Focus on the heart.
But the efficiency of the commanders was indeed much higher than he imagined.
Liu Chengzong picked up the bowl, drank a few sips quickly, picked up slices of horse meat and ate it until his mouth burned. After eating, he quickly put on his raincoat and bamboo hat and ran to the prisoner camp.
His armor has been dried, but what he wants is not to wear armor.
Several servants ran into the camp first, and then Liu Chengzong entered the prisoner camp.
As soon as he entered, a crowd of surrendered soldiers prostrated themselves beside the nearby soup pot: "General, accept us!"
Liu Chengzong hurriedly helped each one, but his right arm couldn't use the strength. As soon as he pulled up one, the other fell down again. After a lot of help and dissuasion, he walked into the camp.
Looking at more than 700 prisoners, he stood at the front of the team, raised his left arm and waved at everyone.
The situation of the soldiers around each soup pot is different. After all, the commanders in charge of them are different. Some are rational, some are moved by emotion, and some are lured for profit.
People have different feelings about different methods of persuading them to surrender. Even now, only half of the people in the camp are willing to surrender.
If not for the severe drought in Yinchuan this year, there might not even be this number.
"Thank you for your kindness, my Excellency Liu Chengzong, most of the brothers in the Lion Battalion are frontier troops, and each has its own master in fighting. Therefore, for the defeated frontier army brothers, I have always been willing to stay and leave."
He waved his hands in front of him and said: "You are ordered to fight against me, and you are each his own master. I don't blame you. If the battle is over now, then as usual, I will keep whatever you want to keep; and I will give you some if you want to leave."
I’ll let you go home.”
"It's just that the battle isn't over yet."
As he spoke, he changed the topic: "If you vote for me now, you will fight Marshal He at Xishan Pass in three days. Can you fight them?"
"Yes!"
Several high-pitched voices in the prison camp stunned Liu Chengzong.
This was different from his plan. He didn't expect anyone to respond to this sentence.
"Shout anyone who can, come up!"
The two management teams directly pulled forty or fifty people to the front. The leader clasped his fists and said: "General Liu, I am Dai Daozi. I am the management team of Hengcheng Castle in Ningxia. I can fight them!"
Good guy, when Liu Chengzong saw this man, who was in his thirties, with a look of hatred and tears on his face, he asked, "Do you have any grudge?"
"I have no grudge against them, but I do have grudge against Qing Fan, and I no longer want to do anything to the imperial court!"
The commander-in-chief Chen Qindai ran over and said in Liu Chengzong's ear: "General, this daughter of Dai Daozi's family died at the hands of Lieutenant Fengguo of Qingfan three years ago. She has been trying to take revenge in Yinchuan, but she was not allowed to enter Yinchuan City.
."
Liu Chengzong nodded, walked down to Dai Daozi and said: "Okay, your brothers will be in the Lion Camp from now on. I don't know if I can avenge you, but if you have the opportunity to go to Ningxia, I will definitely let you kill your enemies."
."
With just one sentence, Dai Daozi's eyes turned red again, he gritted his teeth and turned his head to one side and said: "I can't take revenge, I'll die of illness."
Liu Chengzong didn't say any more, and asked people to take Dai Daozi and his men out of the prison camp. Then he continued to say to the remaining people: "I will let you go back to Marshal He's fortress. If anyone is willing to stay, wait for Marshal He."
When we evacuate, you keep them and I will take them all."
"If everyone wants to stay, we will send Marshal He away from the fort at Xishankou. I will never harm those who want to leave. You can go back and tell everyone in the village about this."
"You also know that my brothers in the Lion Battalion are not easy to mess with. If we fight again, I don't know how many people will die. If the Lion Battalion can win once, it can win the second time."
"The village has surrendered. If you are willing to stay and work with me, you will be fed every meal, and if you have meat occasionally, I, Liu Shishi, will give you money to spend. If you are willing to leave, if you surrender, I will pay you five yuan for travel expenses and let you go home."
After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, the soldiers in the prisoner camp whispered among themselves, and people seemed to be discussing what to do about this matter.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Chengzong said: "You still have more time, so don't rush to discuss it. Just finish the broth and cakes before leaving. Food is hard to come by during the drought. I squeezed this out of the rations of my brothers in the Lion Camp.
Don’t waste food.”
After saying that, Liu Chengzong turned around and led his servants out of the camp.
Then the defenders on the west side of the prisoner camp relaxed a little, and shouted from the other side: "When you are full, go from this way, your commander is at the West Pass!"
The Sky Monkey followed Liu Chengzong out and said beside him: "Actually, we can control them by keeping them. It's not bad to break them up and attack the stronghold. What if they go back and follow He Huchen to resist the siege?"
"Resist the siege?"
Liu Chengzong smiled nonchalantly, raised his left hand and pointed at the camp: "Have you considered He Huchen's food and grass? When they evacuated from here, the food truck did not take them away. Even if they carried some food, it would still be stained with water."
"More than 600 people ran back to He Huchen's camp at Huanglong Mountain Pass. How big is their camp? These people have no weapons or armor. How can they resist and use wood as soldiers?"
After winning, his plan was to devour all of He Huchen's Ningxia troops.
Liu Chengzong took a deep breath, squinted his eyes and looked at the distant mountains, and then smiled: "They can't run away! You should worry more about how we can feed so many people."