Back to the end of the Ming Dynasty to engage in infrastructure construction

Chapter 241 Let's see who Chongzhen believes

"It seems that they still treat me preferentially."

Jiang Bingcai felt very unhappy because he was called by his name directly.

He is a dignified county magistrate. Although he is said to be a prisoner, he can be killed and not humiliated.

After all, Jiang Bingcai is a scholar and a gentry class. Even if he is dedicated to the people, he is also loyal to the imperial court. In his eyes, he is a "herdsman" on behalf of the imperial court.

In his bones, he feels that he is superior and has a sense of superiority.

But the next moment, Jiang Bingcai turned his head and saw that almost all the prisoners were squatting along the base of the city wall, lined up in a row, and each had two big steamed buns in their hands.

Jiang Bingcai's face darkened at first.

It turned out that he was treated the same as all the captives, and there was no preferential treatment.

Then, I was slightly shocked again.

"All the captives actually have such big, white, sweet-tasting steamed buns to eat? And, two per person! The conscript army is actually rich in Ruos?"

Jiang Bingcai is an upright official, he is sympathetic to the people.

Unlike those officials who "why not eat minced meat", he knows the suffering of the people.

In the current world, even ordinary small landlords usually barely have enough to eat, and only during the holidays, they would be willing to eat steamed buns made of pure white noodles.

The conscript army actually distributed white flour steamed buns directly to the prisoners, and there were two at a time.

Is this...

Jiang Bingcai suddenly thought of a possibility, and his face suddenly became gloomy.

"Woooo!"

Some of the captives who ate steamed buns began to sob.

Everyone whispered.

Those people who were very happy when they got the big steamed buns also started to get restless.

"Don't move! Squat down!"

"Don't whisper to each other! Otherwise we will start a robbery!"

"..."

The soldiers on guard shouted, pulled the bolt, and loaded the bullets.

"what happened?"

Niu Dali and Zhao Gang were also alarmed, and quickly walked over with the guards.

"They gave us rice with severed heads! Don't eat it!"

"Fight with them! They want to kill and surrender!"

"These sons of bitches want to kill us!"

"..."

A prisoner shouted, someone took the lead to agitate everyone and wanted to make trouble.

The more than 1000 captives included both soldiers defending the city and young men who came to assist in the defense.

When they were fighting just now, they didn't have the courage now.

"What's going on? What's going on? Who is spreading rumors? Our conscript army will not kill and surrender!"

Zhao Gang shouted.

However, no one listened to him.

call!
A steamed bun was thrown directly, almost hitting Zhao Gang in the face.

"Pfft! You dog official! You are clearly uneasy and kind! If it wasn't for cutting off the head, why would you give us white flour and steamed buns?"

"Everyone, don't be fooled, this is the meal of decapitation! Instead of waiting to be killed by them after the meal, it is better to fight now. As long as everyone stands shoulder to shoulder, grabs these two dog officials, and grabs the firecrackers, maybe we You can take back the city. At worst, you can escape!"

There were two ruffian guys who took the lead in shouting.

Both Niu Dali and Zhao Gang were speechless for a while.

"You guys who don't know what is good or bad! I gave you white flour steamed buns to eat, and you gave me something wrong? I gave you white flour steamed buns to eat because we only brought white flour and no miscellaneous noodles! No wonder the commander-in-chief said it. Mi En, Dou Michou! It seems that you really can't be spoiled!"

Niu Dali was furious.

"Don't listen to the dog officer, everyone rush out shoulder to shoulder!"

It was those two ruffian guys who took the lead in agitating again.

boom!boom!
Two gunshots sounded, and the two guys were shot in the face. They were headshot immediately, and their bodies fell limply to the ground.

It was Zhao Gang who fired the shot, with a revolver in each of his left and right hands, with a resolute expression on his face.

"All soldiers obey orders, and all captives who dare to make trouble will be killed!" Niu Dali gave an order.

"kill!"

"kill!"

Teams of conscript soldiers ran over quickly, all holding guns, and the bayonets were shining coldly.

A soldier roared, shouting and killing loudly.

The courage that the captives had just summoned up was immediately vented.

"kill!"

The soldiers of the expeditionary army stepped forward, saw the man who was shouting fiercely just now, and directly passed the bayonet forward, and he was stabbed to death.

"Everyone, lie on the ground, hold the back of the head with both hands, and spread your legs! Anyone who doesn't obey the order will be killed!"

Niu Dali was also angry.

He hates this kind of thing of promoting Mi En and fighting Mi Qiu the most.

"I'm so kind to you, you're going to make trouble, everyone is a bitch! Hand over all the steamed buns, anyone who dares to hide them, kill them!"

The cow yelled vigorously.

At this time, how dare these prisoners have other ideas?
They were lying on the ground one by one, not daring to move.

It is true that some people wanted to hide the steamed buns privately, but as long as they were discovered, they would be stabbed to death with a bayonet.

The rest of the people trembled and did not dare.

At this moment, they felt regretful!

They usually can't eat this sweet white flour steamed bun.I managed to get two of them today, and most people flew away before eating them... They wanted to cry.

At the same time, secretly hate those who take the lead in making trouble.

The conscript army treated them well, so whoever has to say, this is a decapitated meal!Everyone was too scared to eat.

"General Niu! General Zhao! Keep people under the knife! Keep people under the knife!"

Jiang Bingcai hurried over.

"Two generals, it's unknown whether they will be killed or surrendered! Besides, these are soldiers from the imperial court. Please let the two generals let them go for the sake of their past robes."

Jiang Bingcai bowed deeply to Niu Dali and the other two.

"You dog officer! You are seen everywhere! You are in danger, and you have come to intercede for these prisoners!" Niu Dali stared.

Zhao Gang coughed lightly, he was much easier to talk to.

"Master Jiang, don't worry, we don't mean to kill the prisoners. The commander of the Niu Army just said that the reason why we gave the prisoners white flour steamed buns is because the food we brought with us on this march is only white flour, not miscellaneous noodles. In addition It's beef jerky, canned lunches, etc...

If you don't give them white flour and steamed buns, is it possible to give them meat? "

Zhao Gang first explained something to Jiang Bingcai, and then shouted to the prisoners:

"I'm Zhao Gang, the ideological committee member of the First Legion of the Crusade Army. You don't understand the rules of our conscript army. Our conscript army does not kill and surrender. Of course, the premise is that you cooperate with our management and obey our orders.

Those who disobeyed orders, as you have seen, are already dead.As long as you obey, you can survive.I give you steamed buns because the worst thing here is white flour steamed buns.

However, because of your performance just now, all of your meals today have been canceled, leaving me hungry.Tomorrow, I will have someone collect some wheat bran in the city for you to eat.

From now on, your food will be wheat chaff, unless you can make meritorious deeds to redeem your sins! "

Zhao Gang's words made the prisoners almost cry.

Zhao Gang didn't intend to preach the policy to them right away. He starved them for a few days and made them do hard work every day. After they lost their temper completely, he then preached the philosophy of Xianxingshe to them, and they would easily accept it.

Next, these captives not only had no food to eat, but were also divided into small teams, and under the escort of the conscript army, they began to work.

Clean up the battlefield and carry away the dead.

The damaged city walls and gates have been repaired.

The handsome cannon brought by Zhao Gang was pulled to the top of the city.

Strange to say, they were not allowed to eat, and the supervisor beat them and made them work, but they became much more honest.

"What a bunch of bastards!"

Niu scratched the back of his head vigorously.

With his IQ, he really couldn't figure out the reason, so he could only swear.

Jiang Bingcai was also speechless for a while.

what is this?
Although it feels weird, it seems to be the case.

The conscripts were obviously kind enough to give them white noodles and big steamed buns, but in the end, let alone these prisoners, even Jiang Bingcai wondered if it was the meal of decapitation.

"Is it really a cheap bone? Old man, is it also a cheap bone?"

Jiang Bingcai blushed.

The meals eaten by the conquering army were indeed as Niu Dali and Zhao Gang said, white flour steamed buns were enough, and there were boxes of canned meat in the cauldron, as well as large pieces of meat.

Jiang Bingcai was drooling looking at it.

After eating, Zhao Gang was busy writing the battle process and reporting to the commander.

Niu Dali set up his men and horses, and continued to chase Liu Fei in the direction where Liu Fei was escaping.

This time he brought half a legion of men and horses, a total of five hundred riders.

With these [-] riders, even if he encounters an ambush by General Da Cao, he will dare to rush forward.

……

Strongly.

"Good! Niu Dali did a good job. With 100 people, he was able to cooperate with the inside and outside, and took the opportunity to take down Lingqiu City."

Looking at the report in his hand, Zhao Cheng couldn't help but nodded with a smile.

What made him even more happy was the subjective initiative of Niu Dali and Ji Qian.

They actually knew how to divide their troops to occupy the important pass of Daomaguan.

Daomaguan is all narrow mountain roads, not suitable for large troops to walk, but at critical moments, a lone army can be sent to Baoding quickly, and only the capital can be taken, without anyone noticing.

This Daomaguansuo is indeed very important.

Then, Zhao Cheng smiled wryly again.

His generals have already begun plotting against the capital.

No wonder at the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, there was a yellow robe added to the body.

Even if the Zhou family treated Zhao Kuangyin well and Zhao Kuangyin didn't want to rebel, his subordinates had to push him to rebel.

Because if Zhao Kuangyin is not the emperor, there will be no more positions to reward his subordinates.

To put it bluntly, even though Zhao Kuangyin didn't want to be emperor, his generals still wanted to be famous ministers!

If Zhao Kuangyin can't satisfy them, he will no longer be everyone's leader and boss, but a stumbling block on everyone's way forward.

A stone, if it insists on blocking a torrent, will be easily blown away.

Zhao Cheng frowned.

Thinking of these, I feel a little depressed.

Until now, he still hasn't decided whether he wants to be emperor or not!
In the 630s, the world was in the most critical period of change.

The West is moving towards capitalism, and the train of the times is moving vigorously.

In history, the Qing Dynasty entered the customs and closed the country, and the feudal dynasty gradually reached the peak of shackles.

History has proved that feudal imperial power will not end well in this era.

Unless Zhao Cheng can be ruthless and let the trajectory of history follow the direction of the previous Qing Dynasty.

Otherwise, he will proclaim himself emperor, domestic capitalism will develop rapidly, the gentry class will be overthrown, and the soldier bourgeoisie will replace it...

At that time, his descendants will be in danger.

As for taking the road of constitutional monarchy, Zhao Cheng feels that his descendants may not be able to grasp it.

The water of imperial power is very deep, and power is very sweet.

Once people get a taste of power, no one wants to give it up.

If even Zhao Cheng, who is 400 years ahead of the times, does not have this awareness, can he expect his descendants to have this awareness?
The fate of being greedy for royal power is to be crushed by the wheel of history, just like Charles I who was sent to the guillotine.

Zhao Cheng himself is still weighing the scales and wants to choose the most suitable path.

But the generals under him are already ambitious, and they are ready to push him to become emperor, and they are already preparing to win the capital for him.

Once the war machine is started, it cannot be stopped.

The current Tiantian military government, from Liaodong to Xuanfu Town, spans the entire grassland outside the Great Wall, with a vast landform, a large population, and a strong military force.

Even Zhao Cheng didn't dare to force this war machine to stop.

Inside, there are the gentry class, who constantly want to use various means to corrupt his generals, infiltrate into the strong ground, turn over and continue to be their superiors...

Zhao Cheng himself is the most important target of corruption by the gentry group.

"Zhao Cheng! Do you know that chasing and killing colleagues and innocently crossing the border to attack friendly troops are serious crimes! You dare to attack the city now, this is a sure-fire act of rebellion! This will implicate the nine clans!

Zhao Cheng, stop now, I can report to the imperial court, exonerate you from guilt, and allow you to make meritorious deeds! "

General Xiao Cao was pale, with a bandage wrapped around his chest.

He was wounded and sent to Strongland.

Fortunately, he was not seriously injured.Although the bullet hit him in the chest, he was wearing two layers of cotton armor with chain mail on the outside.

The bullet just hit the iron plate, it didn't go deep into the flesh, and it didn't hurt the vitals.

After a strong operation to remove it, there is no serious problem.

General Xiao Cao was also a fierce man. He had just finished the operation, and after waking up, he was wrapped in bandages and wanted to see Zhao Cheng.

"Pursuing and killing your colleagues, innocently crossing the border to attack friendly troops? Little General Cao, I'm afraid you misunderstood! The fact is that Fan Yong fights against the enemy and does business with the Tartars. Your little General Cao is stationed in Shanxi, and he is in cahoots with Fan Yongdou. After being exposed by me, When you became angry from embarrassment, you wanted to rebel immediately, but I made a decisive decision and sent troops to suppress it. You are the one who rebelled, General Xiao Cao." Zhao Cheng said.

"Hehe! Zhao Cheng, are you crazy? Our Cao family has been loyal for generations. Do you think you can frame me just because of your red lips and white teeth?"

General Xiao Cao sneered and squinted at Zhao Cheng.

"Ha ha!"

Zhao Cheng was happy.

"General Xiao Cao, in fact, I have always admired you. You can fight, you have a conscience, and you have faith. In such a bad situation in the Chongzhen Dynasty, there are not many good generals. You are one of them. However, you are really a bit pedantic.

I know, it is not easy for me to persuade you to surrender.That's not as good as this, let's make a bet.You and I will submit a memorial to the court at the same time, you join me, and I join you.We all say that the other party has rebelled, let's see who Chongzhen believes. "

(End of this chapter)