"Do you know how much half a sheep is?" Pei Guoliang's face was filled with shock, his eyes protruding from his sockets.
"It's tens of thousands of them! If you ask them to kill them, isn't it the same as taking their lives?"
Zhao Chongxuan said coldly and expressionlessly: "If we don't kill these tens of thousands, all their cattle and sheep will be lost. Didn't you often do this kind of thing before?"
Zhao Chongxun said it was indeed true. Whenever there were too many livestock in Shule Town and the pasture could no longer bear them, the governor's office would urge the herdsmen to kill some of the extra sheep or cubs in winter, so as to ensure that the herdsmen's flocks could survive the cold winter and wait until the next spring.
"How many are those? They can fully digest it. Even if they can't digest it, they can still bear it!" Pei Guoliang's eyelids jumped and he pointed to the door: "But it's different now. These animals we want to kill have to be dug up.
It takes a very deep trench to fill in!”
Zhao Chongxuan faced Pei Guoliang, folded his hands and bowed, saying: "This requires you, Governor, to tell you the truth. These herdsmen also know that they cannot survive. Tell them that only by killing half of the sheep can the other half survive.
This matter requires us to mobilize soldiers and horses in the city to deal with it forcefully. If someone resists, it will be easier to suppress."
He solemnly reiterated: "This is the only effective method at present. These herdsmen who have suffered heavy losses are uncontrollable dangers. Instead of waiting for their emotions to slowly accumulate and other troubles occur, it is better to confront them and solve them directly."
If they can't bear it, we will lead some people to do it ourselves, and we will give up part of it and keep part. This is a choice that everyone must make."
Zhao Chongxun used cold logic to talk about the problem, but humans are not animals that only have logic, and not everyone can make the determination to cut off their wrists and stop losses.
In the early morning, the cold fog lingered over the houses. The gate of the military camp opened with a bang, and several columns of Tang troops filed out and headed towards the south of the city along the streets.
The common people had not yet noticed anything unusual. The Tang army would wear armor for training every day and go for morning jogs. However, today was not a training camp. When their armors made a clanging sound and approached the sheepfold in the open space in the southeast of the city, they quickly dispersed into several queues. The team leader and team deputy
They pointed the direction respectively and ordered them to pounce on them and strike decisively.
"You guys go over there!"
"You go over there!"
Tang Jun quickly rushed to the sheepfold, either jumping over the wall or directly cutting off the wooden bolts on the door, and drove the sheep out. The sheep were so frightened that they huddled together and bleated, waiting for their master to come to greet them.
save.
The soldiers looked worried at the flock of sheep, and the team leader stood beside them and urged: "Hurry up and work, we are waiting for you to eat!"
He was the first to take out his knife and stab it into the neck of the sheep. Broken blood vessels spread all over the place. The other soldiers followed suit and stabbed the sheep's neck. Instead, the sheep seemed dead and silent, huddled together in a pile waiting to be slaughtered.
The soldiers kept cutting the sheep's throats with short knives. How could the herdsmen bear such a result? They ran over to stop them, crying and shouting. However, there were already soldiers around the slaughtering point holding spears, blocking them from entering.
"You...why do you kill my sheep? Let me in!"
"Don't kill my sheep, Master Jun, please!"
"These are the belongings I have saved for three years!"
The governor-general Pei Guoliang and the deputy commander of the Shule Army Zhao Chongxun appeared at the slaughtering scene. They rode side by side and pulled the reins of their horses. Their expressions were colder than anyone else's, like judges in the dark.
"Yesterday the Japanese government has posted notices inside and outside the city. In order to stop losses in time, the herdsmen whose pastures were burned must slaughter half of their flocks. The remaining half will be jointly raised by the Dudu Mansion and the Tang Army to help you survive this cold winter.
!”
The herdsmen hurriedly turned around, broke through several Tang soldiers holding spears, and knelt down in front of the governor and the general: "Captain! I beg you to be extra merciful! I have worked hard for three years to accumulate such a herd of sheep. How can I still hope for it?"
Rely on them to find a wife for your son!”
"Captain, have mercy!"
Pei Guoliang turned pale with anxiety, raised his riding crop and pointed it at them and angrily shouted: "You unscrupulous people, how can you be so ignorant? The Governor's Office has promised to provide you with the remaining half of the fodder, and you still dare to quibble and threaten!"
Zhao Chongxuan did not lower his head to look at these herdsmen, but looked indifferently at the mountains of sheep carcasses in the distance, and loudly ordered: "Speed up the slaughter!"
What he is concerned about is not the life and death of the herdsmen, but what to do with so many sheep carcasses. Even though it is winter, even if he peels off all the mutton and distributes it to the residents in the city, he may not be able to eat it all in a while. Tens of thousands of sheep pile up
Together, they will also rot and deteriorate.
The herdsmen who have not been affected by the slaughter have tried to hide their sheep. They drove the sheep into flat-roofed houses and covered them with sheep felt and straw mats. However, this could only save a small part, leaving the rest
The flock of sheep will soon be found and slaughtered by the Tang army.
…
Li Siye rubbed his hands that were stiff from the cold, shook his horse's reins and slowly entered the city, isolating the light mist outside the city. This winter is a little unusual. In a place with a dry and cold climate like Shule, it is true that morning fog can appear in winter.
rare.
The fog outside the city made my nose feel wet and itchy, but the fog inside the city had a strong smell of blood.
Li Siye said to himself, as if he was asking Yan Xiaosi behind him: "Is this another happy event for someone in the city? The smell of sheep is so strong."
Yan Xiaosi also straightened up his nose and took a sniff: "It's true, the bloody smell of this raw mutton is really strong."
While they were talking, the cries of people and the urgent calls of sheep were heard not far away. Immediately after this sound came out of the alley, a group of sheep jumped and ran towards the city gate. They were hotly pursued behind them.
Five or six Tang soldiers, holding short sharp knives in their hands, chased after the sheep and stabbed it into the throat of the sheep. They only stabbed the sheep once and then threw it down. Then they rushed forward and stabbed another one... They were already so skilled in killing.
A Sogdian woman was crying and chasing behind her, reaching out to drag the murderers, but she could not delay their movements at all. Instead, they killed them faster because they had finished their work earlier and had to go back to drink.
There was a big sheep running the fastest, but a man in scaly armor was as nimble as a leopard. He swooped over from one side and pushed the fat sheep to the ground. He stabbed in with a knife and splashed blood on half of his face.
.
The soldier raised his sleeves and wiped his face, but his movements suddenly froze. He raised his neck and saw Li Siye sitting peacefully on his horse.
"Envoy? General."
Several of the slaughtering soldiers stopped what they were doing, hurriedly knelt down on the ground and crossed their hands.
Li Siye wasn't necessarily that angry. He just raised his chin slightly, smoothed his beard, and asked slowly, "What's going on?"
After a while, several soldiers led the way, and Li Siye followed behind on horseback, his body steady and his eyes looking away. Even if he encountered a large-scale slaughter, he just waved his hand and said: "Stop first, wait for me to follow."
Military order."
Li Siye's voice was not loud, but everyone heard it clearly, and they all stood aside with hands tied in fear. The herdsmen wept bitterly and blocked in front of his horse. They knelt on the ground and kowtowed like garlic:
"Envoy Li Zhen! You have to make the decision for us! All our sheep are going to be killed! Please envoy Li Zhen give justice to us poor people!"
He could probably guess what was going on, but he still immediately clasped his fists to appease everyone and said: "I have just returned from an inspection tour of Khotan Town. I haven't learned the specific situation yet. I will discuss it with Governor Pei..."
His voice was drowned out by another wave of cries and begging. When the crowd's voice became quieter, he said again: "I will make a decision after discussing with Governor Pei. Everyone, please retreat first."
After the herdsmen were dispersed by the Tang army, Li Siye rode to the opposite side of Pei Guoliang, raised his hands and said: "Captain Pei, after leaving Shule Town for a month, many troublesome things happened."
Pei Guoliang was already very worried and said: "I really have a headache. Fortunately, General Li, you are back. Please think of a solution."
Zhao Chongxun looked at Li Siye and had the idea of guessing the other party - he had been thinking about killing the sheep for a long time, but there was no better solution. He didn't know how Li Siye would handle the matter. If he was helpless, then wouldn't he?
Does this mean that Li Siye's personal ability is not as good as his own? Even if the method Li Siye came up with was also slaughter, then their abilities are the same, which means that he is also qualified to be the garrison envoy of the Shule Army.
As long as he has this qualification, he can find another direction of struggle. Having suffered a tragic failure in marriage, he needs to find another way to regain his confidence.