More than a hundred prisoners were gathered at the foot of Shuangding Mountain, a geomantic treasure, and Zou Run chose to bury Zhang Da here.
"Seal the coffin! Cover it with earth! Erect a monument!"
"The ceremony is completed! Everyone bows three times, one bow, two bows, three bows..."
"The leader of the village came forward to offer incense and pay homage. Leader Yang came forward to offer incense and pay homage. Leader Deng came forward to offer incense and pay homage."
"The ceremony is over!"
The conditions were limited, including a thin wooden coffin, a pile of small earth bags, and even the tombstone was only temporarily made of wooden boards. However, despite this, this scene still shocked everyone in Dengyun Mountain and the prisoners.
The Han people have regarded death as life since ancient times. Proper arrangements for a person's funeral will bring great sorrow and honor to the deceased and comfort to the living. For a young gangster from Zhang Da District who had just climbed up the mountain, everyone felt relieved and moved that the village leader and two leaders could preside over the funeral and pay homage in person.
Not to mention that the leader of the village personally stated that he would receive a pension of one hundred guan (Note 1), and if his family was willing to go up the mountain, they could also move to the mountain to be supported. Compared with the above-mentioned honors on face, this kind of real money on the face is undoubtedly more thoughtful and can make people feel grateful and die without regrets.
In fact, the pension system also existed in the Song Dynasty. During the Qingli period of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Song court issued an edict: "For those killed in battle, the commanding officer will be 70,000; the deputy commander will be 60,000; the military envoy, the chief envoy, the deputy military and horse envoy, and the deputy chief will be 50,000." In the first year of Yuanfeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, , the Song court made another adjustment, clarifying that the pension amount would be given according to the outcome of the war, that is, "if the battle is won, thirty generals will be awarded" and "if the battle is defeated, each will be halved". Of course these are for mid-level and lower-level officers.
As for ordinary soldiers, the historical records are as follows: In October of the first year of Jianlong in the Northern Song Dynasty (960), Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict: "If someone dies from a stone, he will be given three pieces of silk and will return to his home for three years." It means " The soldiers who died in battle were each rewarded with three bolts of silk and their families were exempted from three years of corvee service." Although the later emperors of the Song Dynasty made some gains on this basis, taking into account the factors of rising prices and the embezzlement of officers at all levels, they could not It's hard to know that the actual death pension that ordinary soldiers receive is extremely meager.
It is not difficult to explain why the Song Dynasty army had only empty numbers but no actual combat effectiveness. With this level of pension and the huge gap between generals and soldiers, which soldier was willing to sincerely sacrifice his life? Therefore, comparing the two, Zou Run was victorious. Even the captives, after knowing this, were eager to join Zou Run.
But half of this sincere wish may be in vain on today's occasion. Because after handling the funeral of his family, Zou Run was going to go on a killing spree.
"Zizhi Tongjian" says: "Yi Di are afraid of power but not moral." This sentence also applies to the pirates under Mashun. They fought against the government and the army many times, winning more than they lost. Besides selling private salt, they often engaged in pirate activities of burning, killing and looting. They generally did not believe in justice and were only afraid of power. Zou Run knew that he could not be conquered by pure kindness and must be accompanied by iron and blood methods.
Right in front of Zhang Da's tomb, Zou Run coldly pulled out a list from his sleeve. Yang Lin caught it, slowly spread it out in the sea breeze, and read word by word:
"Lai San, in the second year of Zhenghe, accompanied Mashun to plunder coastal fishing villages, killed three ordinary people, and robbed one woman..."
"Liu Xiao stole his sister-in-law and killed his brother in the first year of Zhenghe. He hid in the green forest and later went to Mashun. One day while selling salt, he forced his way into a house, raped two women, and set fire to it afterwards..."
"Cao Dayan...killed old women and children without any reason...The above-mentioned people have committed extremely heinous crimes and will not be pardoned. Under the orders of General Zou Run, the leader of Dengyun Mountain Village and the King of Xiao Qin, they will be beheaded for public display!"
After receiving the order, the Dengyun Mountain guards unsheathed their swords, and the bright sword light shone on the faces of the prisoners. Those whose names were read struggled fiercely, and all of them cursed. Almost no one begged for mercy, and they were all using their utmost strength. Vicious words greeted Zou Run.
Zou Run had a steely face, unmoved, and waved his hand downwards.
"Beat!"
More than 20 people were divided into two groups for execution. Zou Run specially ordered his minions who had no blood on their hands to be executed. The prisoners were forced to kneel on the ground, the long knife was raised above their heads, and then swung down fiercely.
The sword shone brightly, and blood spattered everywhere. Many of them even splashed onto the prisoners watching the execution, making them feel as if they were struck by lightning. They were all frightened and jumped back, causing a commotion in the prisoner team.
Deng Fei, who was responsible for leading the crowd to maintain order, immediately ordered his men to beat them with swords and scabbards shamelessly. Only then was he shocked.
"Huang Si, Zhao Chengji, Maling..."
Yang Lin read out the names of more than fifty people. When he read one, Deng Fei led his men to catch one.
The fifty or so people all had pale faces, and some of them with poor mental endurance fainted and fell into the crowd, causing another commotion. Deng Fei refused to accept the punishment. Regardless of whether the person was fainted or not, he forcibly pulled out all those whose names were called, and tied them to the erected wooden stakes in groups of ten.
"The above fifty people have all committed crimes, but since their evildoing is not serious, there is still room for forgiveness. According to the order of General Zou Run, the leader of Dengyun Mountain Village, King Xiao Qin, each of them will be whipped thirty times and punished with one year of hard labor. After the service is completed, it will be dealt with based on its service and transformation status."
"Execution!"
With the above twenty heads falling on the ground as a lesson, this result almost moved the fifty or so people to tears. No one opened their mouths to curse. They all shed tears to thank Zou Run for his kindness and vowed to change their minds and start a new life. Be a human being.
When the whip hit their bodies, they all gritted their teeth and endured it, grunting a few times at most. Yang Lin and Deng Fei saw this scene in their eyes, looked at each other for a moment, and their admiration for Zou Run's skills and abilities reached a new level. If he hadn't just killed someone to establish his authority, how could he have made this group of lawless talents bow their heads and obey orders willingly.
The remaining thirty or so people were all marginalized by Mashun. They had not committed any crimes and had no chance to commit any crimes. Zou Run ordered them to be dispersed on the spot and organized into various teams in Dengyun Mountain. There are leaders and elders who preach policies to them and teach them rules.
At this point, Zou Run officially brought Tuoji Island and all the people on the island under his command, and the post-war profits were also counted.
This battle yielded a total of more than 40,000 gold, silver and copper coins of all kinds, more than 10,000 shi of various grains, more than 5,000 shi of coarse salt in bags, more than ten horses, and other items such as cloth and livestock, not to mention, it can be said that With great harvests, Zou Run and Zou Yuan’s previously troubled copycat economic crisis has been solved.
"Brother Yang Lin, please go back and tell Chief Zou the good news, and escort back half of the money and grain and more than 5,000 stones of coarse salt."
"After my brother returns, he and his uncle will continue to train their troops and guard the village. If there is no emergency, they can send people to the island every five days to communicate news. Brother Deng Fei and I are running the business on the island. By the way, I told you about the hotel before. There are a few things that I need to supervise after I get back, and report to me immediately if there is any news."
Yang Lin was overjoyed that his village was now stronger. Faced with Zou Run's kind words, he opened his heart and expressed his true feelings.
"As for the village owner, the current prosperity of the village is the result of the village owner's plans and hard work. We are all rough people, running errands and following orders can't be called hard work, but the island is rarely freezing after winter. Village owner Be sure to take care of yourself, there are hundreds of copycat accounts pointing at you!"
Yang Lin was sincere and wanted to stay on the island instead of Zou Run. After all, the conditions on the island were difficult and not comparable to those on land. However, considering that Zou Run had a magic trick that he wanted to use on the island to strengthen his village, he could only press this button. He didn't express his plans, so he could only tell Zou Run to take care of his health.
"Brother just wants to go. I'll just take care of the village master on the island. From today on, I'll be a mother-in-law. What's the point? I can take care of the village master's health!"
When Deng Fei heard that he could stay with Zou Run to work, he was so happy that he was busy taking care of everything. He compared himself to a mother-in-law and said that he would take care of Zou Run's food and daily life, which made Zou Run and Yang Lin laugh loudly. Laughing and laughing.
