"I was originally a monk of Dinglin Temple, but Dinglin Temple had long been burned down when the royal capital fell, so I followed Master Daochen. However, Master Daochen was defeated by the Tang army a few days ago and retreated to Rencun City. Ghost Room Fuxinna I took the opportunity to make a surprise attack, killed Master Daochen, and annexed his tribe. I escaped from Rencun City and took refuge under General Black Teeth. General Black Teeth was defeated by you and could not protect myself. If someone captures me, I am afraid they will be sent away immediately. Go to Ghost Room Fuxin’s place to receive your reward!”
Wang Wenzuo was dumbfounded by the huge amount of information contained in Huicong's words. He knew that there were factional disputes among the Baekje rebels, but it was a bit unexpected when the soldiers met and their heads fell to the ground. After all, the Baekje people had just lost a battle. Generally speaking, after losing a war, they would temporarily put aside their conflicts and jointly deal with foreign enemies. Unexpectedly, the ghost Fukunobu took the opportunity to join forces and uprooted his political opponents. He was really a ruthless character.
"As far as I know, Master Daochen is the right general, and his official position is the same as that of Guoshi Fuxin and other barbarians. Guoshi Fuxin openly attacked and killed his colleagues and annexed his tribe. Could it be that Fuyu Fengzhang just sat back and ignored it?"
"His Royal Highness Feng is just a puppet of Onimuro Fuxin. Life and death are in the hands of others. What else can he do besides sit back and watch?" Huicong said with a bitter smile: "In fact, although the original relationship between Master Daochen and Onimuro Fuxin could not be said to be harmonious, it was by no means harmonious. As for getting the land today. After His Highness Feng returned from Japan, he found that Onimuro Fukunobu was too powerful and difficult to control. He deliberately made Daochen the right general to divide Onimuro Fukunobu's power. Onimuro Fukunobu held a grudge in his heart. Send troops to attack Dao Chen!"
After listening to what Huicong said, Wang Wenzuo had a better understanding of the situation at the top of the Baekje Restoration Army. He thought for a moment: "Since you have said so much, I will also answer your question. I We won’t kill prisoners, but we haven’t decided yet how to deal with them!”
"Since you are not going to kill, you should either keep it or let it go. If you stay, you won't have that much food. If you let it go, you will worry about taking up arms to resist again. Is this poor monk right?"
"good!"
"Then let him go!" Huicong said, "As long as I chop off his right thumb, there's no need to worry!"
"Cut off the right thumbs of a thousand people?" Wang Wenzuo almost thought he heard wrongly.
"At least my head is saved!" Huicong said: "Cut off the thumb of your right hand so that you can no longer pick up weapons, but you can still plow the fields to prevent them. Their families will definitely thank you for your mercy!"
"Cut off the thumb and call it mercy? This is really a new thing!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "This is the first time I heard of it!"
"Really? But the poor monk once heard from a businessman that in order to avoid military service and hard labor, farmers in your country once cut off the thumbs of their hands and feet, calling them 'blessed hands' and 'blessed feet'. Although they lost their thumbs, they could still Being with your family is a kind of compassion compared to being alone on the battlefield."
Wang Wenzuo looked at this young monk with clear eyes and delicate features. He didn't know what to say for a while. After a while, he shook his head: "I often take people's lives, but this is a battlefield. I am going to cut off the arms and legs of a defenseless person." , is beyond my power. Zen Master, what should I call you?"
"You can call me Huicong!"
"Zen Master Huicong, I have a way, maybe better! I can't just release them because they may pick up weapons again, and my soldiers can't bleed and sweat in vain, but I don't want to kill those who have given up their weapons. People with weapons, so these one thousand people must pay the ransom for themselves!”
"Ransom?" Huicong frowned: "But they don't have any money on them. Even if they did, they would have become your trophies. Do you want their families to send ransom? Isn't this unrealistic?"
"That's not necessary!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "They can serve for three years. During these three years, they will have food and clothing, but no salary. After three years, they will be free. In addition, in order to prevent them from If you escape and become a thief again after being free, you must leave a mark on your cheek. If you escape or become a thief again, you will be executed immediately as soon as you are caught, without mercy! What do you think of this method? "
"Okay!" Huicong nodded: "It's better to have a brand on your face than to have your thumb chopped off, and even better than having your head chopped off, as long as you can have so much food to feed them!"
"Hahaha!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "You don't need to worry about it. Also, Zen Master Huicong, since you have nowhere to go, why not just stay here with me? I really need the help of someone like you." I will manage these one thousand prisoners of war. Of course, you don’t need to brand them.”
"You don't need to give preferential treatment to the poor monk!" Huicong shook his head: "I will stay and I will obey orders, but like them, I am a prisoner defeated by you. This is an unchangeable fact. Even if I don't mark it, It can’t change the facts!”
When Huicong left the tent, Wang Wenzuo took a long breath and sat down again. He still needs to chew on the large amount of information he got from the other party. Of course, these are just rumors before they are confirmed, but Wang Wenzuo has a hunch in his heart: What this Huicong monk said is true, because he made up such a temporary It is too difficult to tell a big lie without contradicting itself or conflicting with external information.
"If it is true as he said, Fuyu Fengzhang is just a puppet of Onimuro Fuxin, then the Japanese who have been watching should soon join the game, otherwise the early investment will be used to make wedding clothes for others!"
————————————————————————————
Waguo, Chikushi (the area around Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu Island, Japan, was an important port from Japan to the Korean Peninsula in ancient times) Asakura, Tachibana Hironei Palace.
"The sun is out!" Emperor Saiming said in a tired voice. The prince made a gesture, and the servants moved her brocade couch to the window, and then silently stepped away. The sunlight poured in from the window and fell on Emperor Qiming. No one spoke for a long time. (At this time in history, Japan did not have an emperor, but later generations called him the emperor. For the sake of convenience, he is still referred to as the emperor in this book)
The courtyard outside the window is full of orange trees, which is why the palace got its name. There are water channels running through the trees, and the edges of the water channels are carefully polished stone steps. At the end of summer, the courtyard will be filled with the sweet aroma of oranges. Men and women will walk through the orange groves and sit on the stone steps to talk and laugh. Everything is so beautiful, unlike now, when the vegetation is withering and the canals are drying up. Lifeless, just like this old woman in gorgeous clothes on this brocade couch.
Time passed like this, and the only sound was the whooshing sound of the north wind blowing through the treetops. Occasionally there was a slight crackling sound, which was the dead branches being broken by the wind. Then, Prince Zhong, the eldest brother, heard the sound of clogs stepping on the stone steps in the distance, like the beat of a drum.
