Yulin, Xiazhou, Huangyangping.
In just half a year, this once prosperous border town completely changed its appearance. This past season was a critical period for production and food and clothing. Businessmen from Hu and Han Dynasties gathered one after another, and trade in the border market was extremely prosperous.
Even at this time last year, although the atmosphere in Huang Yangping was somewhat depressed due to the influence of Li Jiqian's rebellion, it still managed to maintain normal order and living conditions.
But now, there is only endless desolation and desolation. Looking around, it is devastated. There are traces of war everywhere, including ruined earth walls, collapsed houses, burned dormitories, and corpses everywhere.
After the Battle of Fengzhou, Yulin officers and soldiers, under the coordination of the camp, began to suppress the various rebel groups, especially the two major rebel groups, Li and Yuan.
Huangyangping, as the base camp of Li Jiqian's rebellion, even if it only existed for more than two months, was still a key target for elimination, especially since it was so close to Xiazhou City. The result was destined, and the process was cruel. This border town where Hu and Han people gathered was completely destroyed by the war. The leading Han general Wang Meng, together with more than 3,000 mixed Hu cavalry, destroyed the entire town and the surrounding party people. After slaughtering them all and conquering the traitor concentration camp, they also took more than ten thousand heads back to Xiazhou to ask for credit.
Wang Meng was originally just an ordinary cavalry battalion commander under Yulin Dusi. When Wang Qian first mobilized his troops to suppress Li Jiqian, he also led his troops to Huangyangping as an outpost.
But the fate of people is really unpredictable. A year ago, he was just a cavalry camp general, but a year later, he became the commander of Xiazhou's cavalry army. He was ranked high in Xiazhou's military system. Of course, Wang Meng fought for all this with his life, and it was he who dyed his future red with the blood of the rebels and party members.
The most critical battle was undoubtedly the Battle of Fengzhou. Wang Meng fought with the army and led his cavalry to launch no less than seven fierce attacks on Li Jiqian's troops until they were defeated. He himself suffered more than ten wounds and wounds. This is where he became famous.
Friendship arose on the battlefield. Wang Meng was recommended by Pan Luozhi and fell into the eyes of King Zhao Liu Fang, who was a warrior. Even though Wang Meng and Wang Qian had a relatively close relationship, they were not implicated. Instead, after the Battle of Fengzhou, he was promoted to commander of the Xiazhou Horse Army, becoming a typical example of development during the Yulin Rebellion.
Similarly, Zhang Yan, the former mayor of Huangyangping who was still friends with Wang Meng a year ago, because of his participation in the rebellion, even if he was coerced by Li Jiqian and the wild party Xiang, the end can only be described as miserable. The whole family He was killed and his head was exchanged for money, and the person who ordered the killing was precisely Wang Meng, a "good brother".
This relatively primitive method of recording merit by using heads for merit has been gradually eliminated in the Han army. Not to mention the officers, they have higher requirements for the evaluation of military merit and have long since moved away from the simple achievement of beheading. But even ordinary soldiers have a more complete method of recording merit that combines military supervision and supporting evidence.
In the past, in addition to shocking the target, the Han army rarely carried out beheading actions. The most recent time was when Tian Qinzuo massacred the Jurchen natives of the East China Sea in Andong and built a capital with their corpses to scare the barbarians. …
Many years later, a similar scene appeared again in Yulin, and it was more direct, more cruel, and more natural. Whether it is the Han army or the servants of the Zahu army, for them, those heads are merit and wealth. There have been clear orders for the camp, and the text clearly stipulates that a rebel's head is worth money.
This price is not high for the government, but it is indeed very attractive to the lower-level sergeants, especially the servants.
With the opening of internal copper smelting and the import of external copper, more and more copper coins of the Han Dynasty were minted. Compared with the past, Han coins have depreciated a lot, but they are still money that many low-level people may not be able to earn even if they work hard for a month without eating or drinking. owned.
For the officers and soldiers fighting the rebellion in Yulin, this was a business without capital. How difficult could it be to kill a few people and chop off a few heads? At most it's just a waste of energy.
The imperial court was recruiting officers and soldiers who were paid in peacetime and received allowances for combat operations. In addition to the beheading effort, participating in an operation meant a large amount of income, so the enthusiasm was naturally high.
It has to be said that the Han official army has become more and more professional, and of course, it has become more and more mercenary. Even though Emperor Liu has been emphasizing loyalty to the emperor and patriotism in the past few decades, brainwashing with Xuan Weilang has a certain effect. , but after all, it is not as intuitive as the temptation of monetary benefits.
Furthermore, why should one be loyal to the emperor? It is to gain promotion in position, social status, and wealth. Why should they be patriotic, because the empire can protect their vested interests. Putting all this aside, it is impossible to talk about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. Of course, ideals are still very important, but they pale in comparison to interests.
Compared with the well-paid Han army, those soldiers were more motivated. In the northwest region, poverty is still common, especially those miscellaneous people who are used to being poor and can work hard for a little money.
At the same time, they also have another level of concern, which is the pressure of survival. The rebellion of the party members has a considerable impact on them. Under the huge pressure of the court, if they do not want to be labeled as traitors and eliminated, then they can only You can now protect yourself through the corpses of traitors.
Especially when the camp offers naked profit temptations, the choice becomes easier. Therefore, the series of killings that have occurred in Yulin since the beginning of spring are inhumane to the party members and to the counter-rebellion officers and soldiers under the command of the Yulin camp. , every time you swing the knife, you will earn a constant amount of money.
The targets of the killing were undoubtedly those Hu and Han rebels who had rebelled and were enemies of the imperial court. These people should have been killed, but Yulin was in chaos, so it was difficult to identify them.
There was no clear instruction for the camp, but the subordinates acted very freely. At first, they kept an eye on the rebels, but later, smart people kept an eye on all the party members.
In the end, it evolved into killing all men, women, old and young. This head was still a miscellaneous white horse from Lingzhou. After failing to find the "main force of the rebels", Baimahu actively used their less bright minds to target those party members who were "suspected of being thieves". In particular, they massacred a tribe, including the old, weak, women and children. After his head was exchanged for an equal amount of reward, Pandora's box was completely opened and out of control. …
In the big fights all over Yulin, some are doing it for merit, while others are doing it for rewards. Of course, there are more people who are trying to survive, and the vast majority of these people need to fight with their lives.
Forced by the chaotic situation in Yulin and the butcher knives wielded by the officers and soldiers, the party members within the territory did not sit back and wait to be killed. Some of them resisted, and the result of resistance was death. At most, they counterattacked before death, causing some casualties to the officers and soldiers.
There are also those who choose to flee. Migration is the instinct of these party members who maintain nomadic habits. However, although Yulin is large, there are only so many places for survival, and the entire Yulin has long been sealed off by the government troops. Those who want to escape, either Those who were intercepted and killed on the way, or blocked by the official and military blockades, eventually became "rewards".
For most Yulin Dangxiang, the past few months have been a time when there was no way to heaven, no door to earth, and no way to escape. Of course, it is not that there are no survivors at all. There are always lucky ones in the world.
Some broke through numerous obstacles and escaped into the northern Shaanxi Plateau and hid in the mountains, while others rushed into the desert. If they could find an oasis, there was still hope of survival.
But these are only a minority after all.
In addition to killings, the deaths in Yulin also included deaths from starvation and disease. In fact, in the past cold winter, tens of thousands of local Huhan people had died in the ice and snow.
After the beginning of spring, all production activities were abolished, and there was no space. Hunger and death were still the themes, and the government and the army also upheld the attitude of not sparing every cent and millet against the rebels.
Even so, the officers and soldiers who counter-rebellion did not let go of the dead Yulin people. As long as they could still see, their heads were cut off and used as rewards in exchange for money. Perhaps for those who died, it was more fortunate that they no longer felt anything at this time, and the suffering suffered was much lighter than that suffered while alive.
The suggestion of exchanging heads for money was put forward by Shangguan Zheng, the magistrate of Xiazhou. This man was not a good person. He was a carnivorous class who drank human blood, but he did not deny his talents. At that time, he accompanied Wang Quanbin on the southern expedition to Dali. Thanks to his outstanding performance during the Yulin Rebellion, discussions on Shangguan Zheng's promotion have already begun in the Ministry of Personnel.
Shangguanzheng's proposal was recognized by the court, of course, mainly by Emperor Liu. The imperial court agreed, and even if there were some objections within Yulin Xingying, they could only implement it with all their strength. At this time, no one dared to risk their lives and regarded the imperial edict as child's play.
For this reason, Emperor Liu also asked the Financial Secretary to allocate one million guan for the special purpose. In Emperor Liu's words, using a mere 1 million guan to buy the "rebels" in the entire Yulin and buy a hundred years of peace in Yulin and even the northwest, how could it be possible? It's worth it.
Of course, not all of the heads that were exchanged for rewards were party members, but also Han Chinese. When this de facto "purge movement" reached its climax, it was pathological and did not distinguish between friend and foe.
At first, the government had to conduct inspections, but later, the various government offices simply opened "head pits" and sent people to wait with reward money. Someone would throw the heads of the "rebels" into the pit and distribute them according to the number. tips.
Generally speaking, the Han people were luckier during the Yulin turmoil. Of course, this was only compared to the Dangxiang people, especially those who fled early or flocked to towns early to seek asylum from the government. , although they also suffered a lot of damage, most of them could barely survive.
However, not all Han people are so smart and have luck of one kind or another. At the same time, there are scum among the Han people, and there are also stupid people who are bewitched by Yuan Ke and other thieves. And although these people are dressed in Han skin, their end is equally miserable. Most people have also become the scum of the era, and their heads are beheaded in exchange for rewards.
