Handu plans to build a straight road connecting Beiping and Daning first.
As long as this straight road is built, supplies from the Ming Dynasty can be continuously transported from Beiping to Daning, and supplies from Daning can also be easily transported to Beiping.
More than 100,000 people worked non-stop for several months to barely level the road from Peiping to Daning. To repair it, cement would need to be poured.
But now the weather has turned cold, the cold wind is blowing, and it can be felt cold in the morning.
Han Du had free time today and rode on horseback to check the road construction status along the way. Thinking that in such a big project since ancient times, it was most likely to deduct rations, so Han Du stopped during the meal and ran to the place where everyone was eating to check.
These are hundreds of thousands of prisoners. The workload they bear is already heavy enough. If they don't have enough to eat, they will easily die from exhaustion. If the dead people irritate them, these soldiers will make trouble, but it is not a trivial matter.
Fortunately, Han Du looked around and saw that no one was in conflict with the person who was scooping up the food. And some people don't have enough to eat, so they can continue to scoop out more food until they are full.
Han Du felt relieved for the time being, as he didn't have to do the chore of inserting chopsticks into the pot. Just from the faces of these people and their attitude towards the Ming army soldiers, it can be seen that their rations are still sufficient.
"Not bad......"
Seeing Han Du nodding in praise, the guard on the side took the opportunity to smile and echoed: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, their rations will all be distributed according to military ration standards, and they will never go hungry." The important thing is, Daning will only send food directly to the guards everywhere, and the guards cannot be stationed immediately. Therefore, even if they want to seize the food, they have no way to do so in the vast and sparsely populated land of Liaodong. Ways to cash out.
Rather than being discovered and losing his head, it would be better to simply distribute all the food.
Han Du also knew that most of them should be fine, but a few were brave and greedy and did not know whether to live or die. That's why Han Du's inspection came into being.
"Well, you did a good job." Han Du praised the guard, and then added: "Remember, no matter what their status was before, they are now citizens of the Ming Dynasty."
"Yes, yes, I will finally understand."
Han Du glanced at the guard, then turned to look at the prisoners who were eating. After thinking for a moment, he stepped forward.
The guard next to him was a little surprised when he saw it. Marquis Zhenhai just walked up to the prisoner. If he was attacked by someone, it would be unimaginable.
"Master Marquis, no. It's inconvenient here... why don't we go back?" The guard quickly stepped forward to protect Han Du, trying to pull him back.
Han Du waved his hand to stop the guard, stood there and looked at the prisoners, paused for a few breaths, and shouted loudly: "People of the Ming Dynasty."
The prisoners obviously had not had time to change their identities. After Han Du finished speaking, most of them were still in a daze and did not realize that Han Du was talking to them.
When the guard saw it, he quickly shouted: "This is the Marquis of Zhenhai of the Ming Dynasty. The Marquis said that from the moment you surrender to the Ming Dynasty, you will be a member of the Ming Dynasty."
The guard's explanation gave these people a little movement.
Han Du saw it and continued: "I promise you that building roads is hard, but I will not let you go hungry to build it. If anyone dares to deny you enough to eat, I will punish you severely. Moreover, I will not let you go hungry. After you finish building the road, I promise you that I will allocate land to you and give you farm tools so that you can survive by farming. I know that there are Mongolians and Han people among you, no matter who you are. , as long as they are willing to put down their armor and return to the fields, they will all be given land."
Distributing land, if this was told to the Ming Dynasty, especially the people around Yingtian Mansion, I am afraid that people would be excited. For the Han people, land is their lifeblood.
But here, after Han Du finished speaking, everyone's reaction was lack of interest. Even the Han among them reacted very perfunctorily.
When Han Du saw it, he couldn't help but frown, feeling that something was wrong.
At this moment, a Han man among the prisoners stood up.
Just as the guard signaled his warning, he knelt down again.
"The common people pay their respects to the Marquis."
"I don't want to be polite, what's your advice?" Han Du did not step forward rashly, but raised his right hand to signal him to get up.
Han Du saw that almost everyone was in a very low mood, and he couldn't help but murmur in his heart, did he have something to complain about? Could it be that there was really something happening that was treating them harshly, but I just didn't notice it?
"May I ask, Lord Marquis, do you want the children to keep building the road?" The old man asked worriedly.
Han Du clearly saw that when the old man asked this question, everyone's eyes gathered over. Obviously they were very concerned about this issue.
Without thinking too much, Han Du nodded and said truthfully: "Of course, now we are just leveling the road, and then we need to pour concrete before the repair is complete."
"Please spare my life, Lord Marquis. Don't build this road for now. Let's wait until next year to build it again." Hearing this, the old man knelt down again with a sad expression.
Han Du was a little strange and asked quickly: "Pouring concrete is a very fast thing. We can complete the road in a month or two at most. Why wait until next year to build it again?"
The old man quickly said: "Master Hou, I don't know. This Liaodong is different from the Central Plains. It is already September, and the days of freezing cold weather and heavy snowfall are coming soon. If we continue to build roads, I am afraid that the children will not be able to survive at all. In two months, they will all be frozen to death. Please spare my life, Lord Marquis."
"Please spare my life, Lord Marquis..." Everyone put down the thick bowls in their hands and knelt down to beg for mercy.
Han Du was stunned when he heard this. He had indeed felt that the weather was getting colder and colder these days, but he never expected that it would snow. However, the old man's words reminded me that winter in Liaodong does come earlier and is much colder than in the capital.
Han Du turned to look at the guard.
The guard general also looked confused and said hesitantly: "General, the general doesn't know this either."
Han Du thought the same thing. Judging from his accent, the guard was also from the capital. Naturally, he would not know about this matter in Liaodong.
Han Du stepped forward, helped the old man up, and asked, "Does the old man have a name?"
"Reply to Mr. Hou, little Wu Yong."
Han Du nodded and asked, "How did you spend the winter in previous years?"
"Back to the Marquis, at this time in previous years, the young people had already prepared fodder and driven all the cattle and sheep into the city. In the winter here, only living in the city can block the heavy snow and survive."
