"Military advisors are all brothers. If you have anything to say, please speak it up and don't get angry."
Wang Er, who was sitting at the head of the table, gave some advice.
The middle-aged man whom Wang Er called his military advisor glanced at everyone: "There are four reasons."
"First, rebellion. This is a major crime against the nine tribes at any time. Even if they are forced to have no choice, Song Jiang in the play Water Margin accepted the recruitment. How many good endings will there be for General 108?
Recruit first, and then there will be plenty of reasons and opportunities to kill us. "
"Second, regardless of our identity as rebels, some of us are deserters, rebels, post soldiers, and thieves. They are wanted by the imperial court. If we accept recruitment, isn't this a self-inflicted trap?
You all know what the crime of defection is. "
"Third, we killed the imperial officials and opened official offices privately. This is enough to kill us ten times in the Ming Law."
"Fourth, since it is for appeasement, why send a large army? Isn't it enough to send an imperial envoy with sincerity? The arrival of a large army has already explained the problem."
"To sum up the four points above, do you still think we can accept the recruitment?"
…
The faces of everyone in the big tent were gloomy. In fact, most of them could see clearly, but they still had illusions.
After a while, a person suddenly said: "I heard that the imperial court sent Yuan Keli here. This old man has a good reputation and loves the people like a son. The imperial court must be sincere in sending him. How about we send someone to contact him? Let’s talk about it?”
"hehe……"
The person who first retorted sneered: "Isn't it true that he loves the people like his own children? But he also has a nickname called Yuan Renren. Do you think he will kill us for the millions of people in Shaanxi?"
After a while, Wang Er, who was sitting in the front seat, said in a deep voice: "Military advisor, in your opinion, what should we do now?"
"Since there is no turning back, then go all the way to the end!"
When he said this, the military advisor's face was full of sternness.
"As the old saying goes: After a severe drought there will be a severe flood, and after a severe flood there will be a severe epidemic. This year's drought in Shaanxi is rare in the world.
It's cold now. When spring comes, those frozen corpses will begin to rot, and a plague will break out.
With severe floods and plague, how much food can the court provide to millions of people in Shaanxi even if it provides disaster relief?
Not to mention that the imperial court is rich, if it were rich, would it still owe us money? Are we going to defect?
When people are hungry, they can do anything, and civil unrest is bound to break out again.
In this case, we might as well start first. "
Wang Er, who was sitting at the head of the table, said impatiently: "Commander, please stop beating around the bush and be specific."
Seeing Wang Er's expression, the military advisor's eyes flashed with disdain.
"First, in a moment, we will explain the pros and cons to everyone clearly. If you want to leave or stay, you will be free. Those who stay will be elites. They will have no burden on their minds and it will be easier to command;
Second, I heard news in the morning that the imperial court had transferred some grain from Taiyuan. We will go to Baishui tonight or tomorrow morning and grab some of it. After grabbing it, we will immediately move our base and enter the mountains.
There are many mountains in the Baishui area, and we are all familiar with the terrain. As long as there is food, we have the final say in these mountains.
In the high mountains and deep ravines, where birds pass through sheep's intestines, a large number of officers and soldiers came, but they couldn't spread out. There were few who came, so we played with them in the mountains.
After surviving the spring and the civil unrest breaks out again, we can raise the banner and quickly rally the team. When the time comes, there will be as much gold, silver, jewelry, beautiful women and delicacies as we want. If we do well, we can also be crowned marquises.
Chen Sheng and Wu Guang can call out princes, generals and Xiang Ning, why can't we? "
Speaking of this, the military advisor's eyes were filled with enthusiasm.
The dozen or so people in the big tent were suddenly shocked, and their eyes were full of fire.
Becoming a general and a marquis is such a temptation.
"Chief, the military advisor is right, you decide, brothers will follow you!"
"Yes, you have to work until you die. Even if you die, it is worth enjoying it before you die."
"Chief, you're going to die on either side, so why not give it a try!"
…
Looking at the angry crowd, Wang Er's face was full of confusion.
He is a farmer who was forced to turn over because of famine. He just wants to have enough to eat. At this moment, the court is appeasing him. Who is willing to die if he can live well?
But what the military advisor said was very reasonable. No matter which one it was, it would be a major crime to kill the nine tribes.
Maybe the imperial court would not take action against them for the time being in order to stabilize the people after they had just accepted the recruitment, but what about six months and a year later? No one can say for sure.
Looking at the hesitant Wang Er, the military advisor chuckled: "Boss, Zhu Yuanzhang can raise troops from famine and finally conquer the world. They all carry a head on one shoulder. Who is less than the other?
When the team gathers together, wouldn't it be great to see you as our king? "
"Done!"
Listening to what the military advisor said, Wang Er slammed the table: "Military advisor, according to what you said, when will we take action?"
"I've already arranged the route well. We just need to wait until it gets dark so we can take action and catch them off guard."
"Okay, let's follow the military advisor's arrangements and get ready!"
Everyone stood up and dispersed.
If there are people from the military here, they will definitely find that among the dozen or so people in this large tent, they are basically from military backgrounds.
The people's revolution team was preparing, and the carriage of Yuan Keli they were talking about was parked on the official road.
Yuan Keli stood on the roadside, surrounded by dozens of burly men with long knives on their waists, looking around with wary eyes.
"Mr. Ge, looking at the spots and colors on the bodies of these people, they must have been dead for no more than three days."
Cui Ming stood up and whispered to the old man.
Yuan Keli frowned. He received the imperial edict fifteen or six days ago. In other words, the court began preparing for disaster relief more than twenty days ago.
Even if grain is immediately transferred from the granaries in Taiyuan, Datong, and Shimen (Shijiazhuang), the cold weather will inevitably hinder the speed. It is impossible to say whether the first batch of grain will arrive.
Even if the officials sent by the imperial court to Shaanxi are faster, they may have just arrived in Xi'an and all work has not yet started.
This can explain the fact that people will starve to death on the road.
"Bury it!"
Listening to Yuan Keli's instructions, Cui Ming waved his right hand, and several Jin Yiwei quickly stepped forward. Their movements were very quick, and they were buried in a matter of seconds.
In fact, I had done this kind of work too many times along the way, and every time Yuan Keli saw it, he would ask them to bury the body.
The further southwest they go, the more corpses there are. Sometimes they can bury twenty or thirty corpses a day.
Cui Ming, who was on the side, looked at the map and said softly: "Mr. Ge, more than two hundred miles to the southwest from here is Xi'an Prefecture. Baishui County, the center of the civil uprising, is more than three hundred miles away from Xi'an Prefecture. It is expected that in three days To enter the boundary of Xi'an Prefecture."
Yuan Keli had a sullen face. It was only more than 200 miles away from Xi'an Prefecture, and he could see people dying of starvation every once in a while, let alone the center of the disaster.
I received news from Shaanxi a few days ago that the number of people affected by the disaster is about 600,000. Now it seems that there may be even more. The drought in Shaanxi is more serious than imagined.
"Where's the front?"
"Tongguan!"
