He Zan folded his arms and squatted under the awning of the prisoner camp.
He shivered all night, his mind filled with questions he couldn't figure out.
Since the Ningxia soldiers were captured, the traitors took away all their clothes. The 720 prisoners were huddled naked under the awning, people next to each other, basically shivering for warmth.
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.
Some prisoners were planning to escape. Each frame of the awning was made of eight spears. Except for the lack of spearheads, it could form a certain combat effectiveness.
Although they may not be able to defeat the bandit soldiers, if they hold on for a while, it won't be a problem for the brigade to 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-range orders, 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.
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 battle, the food will be like this; if you lose the battle, the food will still be the same.
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 their meals.
It was getting dark, and the bandits entered the prisoner camp carrying more than a dozen large pots. This time they did not let the officers distribute food.
The person who distributes the food is the 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 Mansion. You Ningxia soldiers came to Yan'an Mansion to beat us and asked us what we want 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 right thing to do. Do you think it's a right thing to do? Those Ningxia soldiers and Yulin soldiers who died should deserve to die?"
While supervising the soldiers serving soup to the prisoners, Zheng Hu took two steps closer to He Zan, looked at him carefully and said, "Who do I think you are? I remembered, you are Mr. He Zan's son."
As he said that, he turned around and said something to the soup thief: "Every bowl is the same, no less."
"Master 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 to suffer the cold 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 the fact that Jiang Tang was deliberately made less so that the captured officers could share it.
The broth was deliberately made extra so that they could portion it themselves.
Even the soldiers who served the soup deliberately served less and were then scolded by them. This was all part of the script that had been discussed in the early stage.
Just press Act.
"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 have 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 knew that there were deserters and border troops in Liu Chengzong's army. This was no secret.
But there is also a big difference between a deserter and a deserter, and between a frontier army and a frontier army.
The military households in Yulin Guard who were busy farming all day long were frontier troops. The people who carried burdens every day at Pasha Camp on Gansu East Road were also frontier troops. The servants who had been to Liaodong and returned to Yulin were also frontier troops.
The difference is huge.
"My general treats me very well. He tried every means, but my brothers and I still couldn't have enough to eat. We have made meritorious service to the court, and we cannot get reward for our meritorious service."
"My general is a good man, so in the end he was defeated by the Lion Battalion on an empty stomach. I wanted to fight for it. 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 each village had one living. 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 seat. 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 and beating him all the way, but you haven't noticed that his people are no different from ordinary people?"
Zheng Hu's words are strong words. 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 playing.
Two to three hundred people can defeat Li Laojiao's thousands. If he catches up, it will be a big victory.
At this moment, the commander 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 can'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?" Do you want my brother to fight?"
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 almost furious, and all the Ningxia soldiers around him had stars in their eyes.
"well."
Zheng Hu sighed and said to the auxiliary soldiers standing beside him: "Go and ask the general, or leave them alone."
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 soldiers in the Lion Camp 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 the human heart is available.
The grassroots officers of the Lion Battalion suffered heavy losses in this battle. Many soldiers contracted the cold, and some, like Huang Shengxiao, still had fever.
The combat effectiveness of soldiers was seriously affected.
But this does not mean that He Huchen cannot be defeated. He Huchen's troops have many problems such as wind, cold and fever, and their troop losses are even greater.
It's just that Liu Chengzong didn't want to fight.
The significance of this battle is very great, which means that it is easy to attack and defend.
The soldiers who survived this battle all had a strong will to fight, and they defeated the army head-on in a head-to-head 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 official army.
Those who survived were treasures. Liu Chengzong did 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 Lion 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 all he wants is to wear no 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 to 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 emotional, and some are tempting for profit.
People have different feelings about different methods of persuading people to surrender. Even at this time, 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 Camp 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 your 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 some to those who want to leave. I'll let you go home."
"It's just that the battle isn't over yet."
Then 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?"
"able!"
Several high-pitched voices in the prisoner camp stunned Liu Chengzong.
This was different from his plan. He didn't expect anyone to respond to this sentence.
"Come up if you can!"
The two management teams directly pulled forty or fifty people to the front, and the leader clasped his fists and said: "General Liu, I am Dai Daozi, Ningxia Hengcheng Castle Management Team, 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 a 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 girl from Dai Daozi's family died at the hands of Lieutenant Fengguo of Qingfan three years ago. She always wanted 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 withdraw, 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 give 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 there is no need to rush to discuss it. Just finish eating the broth and cakes before leaving. Food is hard to come by during the drought. I squeezed this out of the rations of the 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: "Come this way when you are full. 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 and raised his left hand to point at the camp: "Have you considered He Huchen's food and grass? When they evacuated from here, the food trucks didn't 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? They can cut down trees to make 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."
