Seeing that no one spoke, Yang Yuan had no choice but to say, "Since you don't want to speak, let me speak first."
After a pause, he continued, "When you three were in Liaodong, you were all from families with some money. If it weren't for the money, you wouldn't have ended up in Datong. What I said is wrong."
Wang Hai and others lowered their heads.
Compared with other people who fled from Liaodong in the village, although the three of them were not very wealthy in their home in Liaodong, they could still fill their stomachs. There were still several acres of thin farmland at home, so it was not a problem to feed the whole family.
If the Jurchens had not attacked and destroyed their home, they would not have fled all the way to Datong.
At this time, Su Cheng said, "To be honest with Director Yang, our life in Shanzhai was better than that in Liaodong. Needless to say, the escape was a journey. People died every day. Being alive is considered a good fortune, but since we have When I came to Daliang Mountain and became a bandit, I could eat meat every day. In the past, at home, I could only eat some meat during the New Year and festivals, and I couldn’t eat more. One or two bites per person in the family could only be eaten.”
Wang Hai echoed, "I'm not afraid of Director Yang's jokes. I feel like I've gained weight since I came to our village."
Yao Xin, the one between the two, said, "I'm just a little tired from being in the mountains. I have to train for two hours every day. I just finished the meal and I got hungry again soon after."
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Hai continued, "The border army only trains once every five days, but we are obviously bandits, but we train even more frequently than the border army."
Yang Yuan smiled and said, "So you don't want to train in the mountains every day. You want to be like bandits elsewhere, going down the mountains every now and then to plunder."
Yao Xin and Wang Hai pursed their lips and did not dare to answer these words.
How could they say that they used to be decent people, but now they have gone to the mountains and become bandits, and they are suddenly asked to do banditry, and they feel somewhat conflicted.
Yang Yuan smiled and said, "Say whatever you think, it doesn't matter."
Wang Hai said, "We listen to Master Cao. If Master Cao asks us to go down the mountain to solve the problem, then we will obey the orders of Master Cao."
"It's a good thing to obey orders. I think you all should know the military regulations." Yang Yuan said with a smile, then looked at Su Cheng and asked, "I see you haven't spoken. What do you think?"
Su Cheng glanced at Wang Hai and Yao Xin, showing hesitation.
Seeing this, Yang Yuan said, "It doesn't matter. If you have anything to say, just say it. We are just chatting. We will not punish you for speaking out your thoughts."
Su Cheng took a breath and said, "Actually, I don't think there's anything wrong with training every day."
After hearing this, Wang Hai and Yao Xin looked at Su Cheng in surprise. They didn't expect that there would be people willing to receive training every day.
Yang Yuan held a big tea vat in his hand and looked at Su Cheng with interest.
I heard Su Cheng continue to say, "If the Ming Dynasty's army was so diligent and insisted on training for several hours every day, they would not be unable to defeat the Jurchens. Instead, they would be defeated again and again, running around like chasing rabbits, and in the end they would be miserable. The people of Liaodong have lost their homes and cannot return."
"This" Yao Xin hesitated before saying, "This is different. We are not the Ming army. We are just bandits occupying the mountains. We don't need to train every day and we are wasting food."
Su Cheng said, "It's true that we are bandits, but who said bandits can't be trained? If we are strong enough, even if the army comes to suppress us, we have a better chance of surviving than other bandit gangs."
"this"
Yao Xin looked hesitant and didn't know how to refute for a while.
Yang Yuan, who was opposite them, said, "You have to remember that to the outside world, you are bandits, but don't really think of yourself as bandits. If you really think of you as bandits, how can you be kept in the mountains for special training and still be treated as bandits?" I’ll pay you monthly, but I’m afraid none of the bandits in the Ming Dynasty will receive the same treatment as you.”
"We, we are not bandits," Yao Xin asked hesitantly.
Su Cheng also looked surprised.
Before, he thought that they were raised by the Tiger Character Banner to do some shady things, but now after listening to Director Yang's words, it seemed that the people of the Tiger Character Banner did not regard their village as bandits.
"Of course you are not bandits." Yang Yuan shook his head slightly and said, "The names of bandits are given to outsiders. In fact, you are soldiers of the Tiger Flag in Daliang Mountain. You must know that your monthly salary , although there are fewer soldiers than the three thousand-man corps, but they are paid the same as the newly established baggage corps. With such a high salary, how can we really let you become bandits."
After hearing what Yang Yuan said personally, the three of them in Su Cheng realized that although they were in the bandit village, they were not bandits, but soldiers of the Tiger Flag. This also made them understand why they were obviously bandits but looked like the soldiers on the side. They are paid and trained like the army.
Even during the days in the mountains, except for the harder training, they were treated better than the border troops in other aspects. At least the border troops did not have to eat meat every day. Even the servants around the border generals were treated as well as they are now. look.
Seeing that several people were silent, Yang Yuan asked with a smile, "Do you still think your training is hard now?"
Su Cheng said in a deep voice, "No matter how hard the training is, it is nothing compared to the people of Liaodong who died tragically under the butcher's knife and the people who were captured by the Jurchens. At least we are still alive, well fed and clothed." , and there is money to take.”
"Yes, we are not miserable." Yao Xin nodded vigorously.
Yang Yuan smiled.
He was very satisfied with the answers of several people. If these people still complained, then he would consider whether to keep these people on the mountain.
Wang Hai said, "To be honest with Director Yang, since we went up the mountain, we have always thought that we are bandits. We just want to live in the mountain. When we die in a fire or at the hands of the government, we think that this will be the case for the rest of our lives." ”
Yang Yuan smiled and said, "Now that I know that I am not a bandit, I feel much better."
Wang Hai nodded.
Of course, good people would not want to be bandits. If they had not come to Datong from Liaodong, they would have had no way to survive and would not have gone up the mountain.
"You have never thought about going back to Liaodong?" Yang Yuan suddenly asked.
The eyes of the three people in front of them all lit up, but soon they all looked disappointed.
I heard Wang Hai say with a sad face, "How can I not want to go back? After all, that is the place where I was born and raised. But what can I do after I go back? There is nothing at home, and it will be difficult to survive when I go back. Even if I can barely survive, it will be impossible." You have to worry about being captured by the Jurchens and becoming their slaves."
"I don't want to go back." Yao Xin said, "My land is gone, my house is gone, and my people are gone. What can I do if I go back? It's better to stay here and serve as a soldier for the Tiger Flag."
"What about you?" Yang Yuan looked at Su Cheng.
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment and sighed, "Although my home is gone, it would be nice to go back and have a look."
"If you were given a chance to return to Liaodong, would you be willing?" Yang Yuan looked at the three people in front of him.
Yao Xin hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I still won't go back."
"Where are you two?" Yang Yuan asked.
Wang Hai hesitated for a moment and asked, "Can I really go back?"
Su Cheng on the side also looked at Yang Yuan expectantly.
Yang Yuan smiled and said, "As long as you are willing, you can go back. Of course, I don't care about you when I let you go back. You are still people of the Tiger Flag."
"Then I'll go back." Wang Hai said.
"I'll go back too." Su Cheng also said.
