Su He said goodbye to Zhang Dezhi, and as soon as he walked out of Zhang's house, Su Ying came over with a piece of paper.
"Commander Su, we have occupied the guard station, and I have counted all the captured materials.
We didn't do an inventory. The number of supplies was given by the prisoners. I think the quantities were roughly the same.
There are more than two thousand kilograms of sulfur and more than thirteen thousand kilograms of saltpeter.
There are many kinds of weapons, including more than 10,000 spears, some of which are rusty.
Three thousand dan of grain and fifteen hundred pieces of cloth of all kinds.
Zhao Qianhu asked me to dig three feet into the ground at Zhao Qianhu's house, and I dug out a total of ten thousand taels of silver.
This was the number after Zhao Qianhu's family escaped and took away Xiruan, and were plundered by the defeated troops. "
Su He glanced at the paper in Su Ying's hand. Most of it was simple drawings, and a small part was text.
Su Ying is actually teaching himself writing. This is a talent that can be developed.
"Zhao Qianhu is too rich and has so many good things."
Su He lamented that all the gentry and generals of the Ming Dynasty were extremely wealthy, but the court always wanted to collect taxes from poor farmers.
It is really unreasonable for this kind of imperial court to survive.
"Su Ying, now you use food to hire young people.
We are going to transport these supplies back to Sujiacun. We will go back in two or three days. "
When Su Ying heard what Su He said, he asked in confusion: "Commander Su, aren't we dividing the fields here?"
“This is the north of the county, and it is separated from us by a county seat.
If Yimenbao sends troops to attack Sujia Village, the county will send troops to cut off our logistical supplies.
We won't be able to establish a foothold in the north of the county for a short time, and it's very close to Fengxiang Mansion.
Fengxiang Qianhu Residence is not like here, with more than 300 servants and soldiers.
When the time comes, we will be attacked from both sides and we will not be able to defend this place even if we occupy it. "
Su He briefly introduced the current situation to Su Ying.
Sujia Village is in a dangerous location, just beyond Dashan Pass is the Qinling Mountains.
The officers and soldiers have no ability to surround them, but not here. It is very easy for the officers and soldiers to make dumplings.
“Open warehouses to put food in, try your best to win the hearts and minds of the people and build a reputation.
Now the whole province is starving, and here is no exception.
We directly use grain to recruit a large number of young people.
As long as the young people are willing to come with us, I can provide food to support their families.
You are now spreading the word in the guardhouse. If you don't want to go with us, don't force yourself. "
Su He thought for a moment and ordered Su Ying to take action.
With so much food seized, we cannot leave it to grow moldy.
Even if you don't recruit young people to join the army, you can still make money just by farming.
If one of these people is talented, it will make a lot of money.
In troubled times, it is more important to put people first. The more people unite around him, the more powerful he will be to fight against the Ming Dynasty.
The soldiers began to carry out Su He's order, beating gongs and drums in the guard post to announce the opening of the warehouse to release grain.
While the people were receiving food supplies, the soldiers publicized the recruitment policy.
Early the next morning, Su He came to the training ground of the guard station, where Su Hu led the troops to guard the prisoners.
Most of the military households left behind at the guard station were captured, totaling more than 800 people.
Zhang Yuliang also rushed here with his men.
Su He stood in front of the prisoner team and shouted loudly: "I am Commander Su He, the leader of the rebels.
Everyone had a meal of white flour steamed buns last night. Some people may think that it was a meal for the dead.
Today I tell you, that is not deprivation.
Last night I introduced to you the benefits of our army. Those who are interested can join our army.
If you don't want to join, I will release you home soon. "
When the prisoners heard what Su He said, they all discussed in low voices.
Someone wanted to leave, but was immediately stopped by his companions.
"You're stupid! What if this is a trick, and I want you to be the chicken who kills chickens and honors monkeys!"
Su He continued: "We are all poor people. You can't do anything else if you follow me, but as long as I have something to eat, I will never let you go hungry."
"Zhou Kai, tell me what happened to you."
Zhou Kai stood up and said to the prisoner: "I am a tenant of the Wang family in Yimen Fort.
My father was beaten to death because he failed to repay the high-interest loan he owed to the Wang family.
My mother went to the county to file a complaint. She was beaten to death by the government officials and starved to death in front of the county government office without even being seen by the county magistrate.
I was only seven years old at the time and was captured by the Wang family as a slave and sold to the Su Ju people for mining.
I narrowly escaped death in the mine and became a small steward. "
Zhou Kai talked about his life experience, and the more he talked about it, the sadder he became, and he couldn't help crying.
"Li Qingmu, tell me what happened to you."
Li Qingmu stood up and said: "I am from a military household, from Qianhu in Fengxiang Mansion not far from here.
I was not selected as a servant because I was thin, so I was bullied.
In his free time, he farmed for the big boss Qianhu. If there was a war, he didn't even have a pair of armor and had to rush to the front as cannon fodder.
I could bear all this, but a member of a hundred households took a fancy to my wife and snatched her away.
My wife was so abused that she hanged herself when she got home.
My father went to Qianhu to complain, but they said my father was a deserter and was beheaded.
I was the only one in my family to escape. No matter how difficult things happened, I endured them just so that one day I could avenge the bloodshed. "
After Li Qingmu finished speaking, he burst into tears and collapsed to the ground crying.
Su He motioned to the soldiers to help him down.
"We are all brothers. If you have any hardships, you can tell us."
He learned from the advanced experience of a certain army in his previous life.
Provide grievance education to soldiers. In front of everyone, tell me about the hardships you usually encounter.
Without any guidance, the soldiers themselves understood that it was the court, the bureaucrats and the gentry that were oppressing them, causing them to have a difficult life.
Experiencing the grievance campaign allowed the prisoners to identify with Suhe, and also allowed the soldiers to figure out who were their friends and who were their enemies.
If soldiers at the grassroots level have ideas, the army will not become warlords.
Even in the future, some military officers could not stand the high salaries of high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty and wanted to rebel.
He couldn't take away his troops, and the army could even capture him directly.
Li Dazhuang couldn't help but stand up and said with a cry:
“There are all acquaintances in the health center, and everyone knows what happened to my family, but I couldn’t help but speak out.
I am just a servant, and my treatment looks good, but in fact it is not good at all.
The servants' salaries were very high, but they could not afford bows and arrows and armor, so they had to borrow loan sharks from Zhao Qianhu to buy them.
I used to have a very harmonious and beautiful family, but today we encountered a drought and everything changed.
There will be no grain harvest this year, so I can't afford to repay Zhao Qianhu's interest, so I have to borrow grain from him to survive.
Zhao Qianhu actually used my sister to pay off the debt directly.
By the time I raised the interest money, she had been sold to the south and might never be seen again. "
Li Dazhuang stood up and told his suffering, which immediately resonated with the prisoners.
Prisoners kept coming forward and talking about their own experiences. What happened to each of them was heart-wrenching to hear.
Everyone burst into tears when they heard this. Even if these things didn't happen to them, they happened around them.
Su He saw that the time had come, and he immediately stood up.
"Brothers, all your sufferings are due to the oppression of the Ming court and the bureaucrats and gentry.
Follow me to overthrow the Ming Dynasty and build a new world where everyone is well fed, clothed warmly, and there is land for the tiller. "
As the rebel ranks grew, Suhe's slogans became more sophisticated, which was conducive to spreading among literate people.
"Robbing for grain and fields."
This slogan is simple and straightforward and remains the most important slogan.
The core function of the slogan was to unite all forces to violently overthrow the Ming Dynasty and the gentry who relied on the imperial court.
After a grievance campaign, most of the prisoners were willing to join Suhe's rebel team.
A small number of them were hesitant due to various concerns, and they were released directly by Suhe.
Zhang Yuliang has been observing Su He. He was shocked by this method. This was to dig into the foundation of the gentry and fight them to the end.
Even if Su He wanted to compromise with the gentry in the future, his soldiers would not agree.
