Needless to say, these bandit captives were very disappointed after hearing this.
But looking back and thinking about it, it is indeed true that there is no such thing as such a good thing: if you are captured, you can surrender to the officers and soldiers, and then have a meal and receive military pay. This is simply impossible!
Thinking of this, the mood of the bandit prisoners suddenly dropped.
Although they had thought at the beginning that they would be captured and they could only resign themselves to fate, but now that they saw the situation of Xiao Yuanying, they really felt a little sad in comparison.
Seeing them like this, the officers and soldiers of the imperial court who had been transformed from Xiao Yuanying were all very happy. Thank you to my elder brother, thank you to the military advisor, and thank you to the Duke for making me what I am today!
In contrast, they all cherish what they have now.
At this moment, there was movement not far away. A soldier turned his head to look, and was startled. He quickly reminded in a low voice: "The Duke is here!"
As they spoke, these soldiers of the imperial army immediately put out their best efforts, striving to let the Duke see their best side.
The depressed prisoners of the bandits heard them talking and said that the Duke of the country was coming. Suddenly, their moods changed immediately. They were all curious and looked over there.
They wanted to see for the first time what kind of person the legendary Duke of the country was, an upright and good official who devoted himself to serving the people.
I saw a group of people walking towards the camp not far away. One of them was very eye-catching, wearing a python suit and walking over surrounded by many generals wearing armor.
No one needs to introduce him, almost everyone knows that the man in the python suit must be the commander-in-chief of the imperial army, the current Commander of the Imperial Guards, Duke Xingguo!
At the first sight, the bandit prisoners were very surprised. This Duke is so young? He looks like he's only in his twenties!
I don’t know if it was a psychological effect, but the second they looked at Duke Xingguo, they felt that Duke Xingguo was indeed a good person!
Unconsciously, when they watched Duke Xingguo coming, they all stood up and stood with their hands down, instead of just sitting on the ground or even lying on the ground.
When Zhang Mingwei came over, he also saw the movement in the prisoner camp. I was a little curious, but didn't show it.
There were nearly 40,000 prisoners, all of whom seemed to have human heads, which was actually a bit too much.
As he got closer, he discovered that most of these bandit prisoners were skinny and strong, probably only one in ten people.
He glanced at them and saw the awe in their eyes. Zhang Mingwei had a few boxes piled among the prisoners as stepping stones, and he stood up.
Of course, there were officers and soldiers standing ready all around, and the prisoners kept a sufficient distance from him, so their safety was definitely guaranteed.
Perhaps everyone knew that the Duke had something to say, so everyone remained silent except for the sound of the Yellow River rolling and rushing to the sea.
Zhang Mingwei glanced at them, and for some reason, an argument he had seen before suddenly appeared in his mind. It must have been a scene like today: Why don't you stay at home and starve to death, and run out to rebel?
In this case, he didn’t know if it was true in history or if someone made it up about black people. But it’s hard to say, because sometimes reality is stranger than reality.
This idea flashed through Zhang Mingwei's mind. He glanced at the eyes of the bandits and prisoners, and immediately said loudly: "Is there anything the imperial court has done well? There are many corrupt officials. Natural disasters are added to man-made disasters, and the world is in chaos today." …”
As soon as this opening statement was uttered, it immediately exceeded everyone's expectations.
In their opinion, Duke Xingguo would probably say, "But you are thieves" and so on, so he should give them a slap in the face first. Then suppressing and punishing them is just a matter of letting nature take its course; even if you show kindness, it is also okay.
Therefore, the generals behind Zhang Mingwei were a little surprised when they heard it; but when the bandit prisoners heard it, they immediately attracted their attention.
Because they felt that the Duke was so right!
"...My wish is for the world to be peaceful, the country to be peaceful and the people to be safe, and the people of the Ming Dynasty to have enough to eat and a place to live! For this wish, I have been working hard..."
Hearing Zhang Mingwei's words, those captives who had heard the news imagined such a day in their minds, and many people's eyes were a little blurred: Who wouldn't want to live in such a day, but that is impossible!
"...You people have caused turmoil in the world, and I believe you know how many people have died because of it! However, I also know that many of you are involuntarily, rather than wanting to go. If you want to harm people, you want to cause chaos in the world..."
When they first heard Zhang Mingwei's words, the bandit prisoners immediately came out of their fantasy and broke out in a cold sweat. The Duke has said so much, will he still be held accountable in the end?
It seems that this is normal. If you are caught for rebelling, beheading is a minor matter, but even if the nine tribes are implicated, there are no longer anyone who can be implicated.
When they were thinking this, they heard Zhang Mingwei's turn. Suddenly, their hearts were lifted up, and they all pricked their ears, listening attentively to what the Duke was going to say next.
"... In our Ming Dynasty, many years of war have killed countless people. Those who were harmed by you, those who were harmed by the Liaodong rebels, and those who were harmed by the southwestern chieftains, plus natural disasters, and corrupt officials. What a disaster, is there half the population in the world today that it was during the Wanli era? Maybe they are all gone!"
When Zhang Mingwei said this, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
This has been the fifteenth year of Chongzhen. After so many years of chaos, it is estimated that even half of the population at the peak of the Ming Dynasty has disappeared. If we follow the original historical development, chaos will continue for decades. At that time, the population of China will drop sharply. It can be said that it is one of the most drastic declines in the entire history of China.
But in this era, the West is expanding its territory. It was in this era that Eastern and Western civilizations intersected and changed their positions!
In the interior of China, the number of deaths should be as few as possible! After all, the Ming Dynasty not only had to compete with its surroundings, but also with the entire world. If the population was too small, the progress in competing for world hegemony would be seriously delayed.
No matter what, I hope that in my lifetime, Dongfang can stand on top of the world again!
His thoughts wandered for a while, Zhang Mingwei quickly retracted these thoughts, slowly scanned the countless heads in front of him, and then said loudly: "I don't want more people to die in our Ming Dynasty, I want to end this damn troubled world as soon as possible. Therefore, for You, I don’t want to kill you, I want to give you a chance to atone for your sins, so that you can have a chance to prove yourself, and you also want to end this troubled world. Do you think this is possible? "
They were not used to the Duke's way of speaking. How could such a big official be so easy-going and approachable when talking to neighbors?
However, they were overjoyed at what the Duke said.
After the Duke finished speaking and took a few breaths, someone finally came to his senses, immediately knelt down and said loudly: "Let the Duke do whatever he wants!"
When the others heard this, they all followed suit, knelt down and said loudly: "Let the Duke do whatever he wants!"
Soon, even those who were far away and could not hear Duke Xingguo's words, all knelt down together and loudly said at the same time: "Let the Duke do whatever he wants!"
In the end, all the prisoners in the prison camp knelt down.
The shouts that echoed in the sky for a long time also made the imperial officers and soldiers in the distance a little curious, and they all turned their heads to look over.
They discovered that wherever the Duke was, everything was different!
Zhang Mingwei glanced down at them, unable to see their eyes because they all had their heads lowered.
He actually knew that even if he didn't say these words, these prisoners would ultimately be at his disposal, because they would have no choice.
However, he believed that with or without these words, the effect would definitely be different. Even if his eloquence is not good, it is better to say it than not to say it at all!
At this time, after scanning so many bandit prisoners for a while, Zhang Mingwei said loudly: "It is tentatively decided that your lieutenant general will select 10,000 people to add to the army. At that time, the generals will come to select people. However, One thing needs to be made clear in advance. You have committed a crime and are atonement for your sins. Therefore, you have to take care of the food first, without military pay. If you have made military exploits, you will be an official official of the imperial court and will be treated equally. "
Originally, he only planned to let Wu Sangui and other five people choose one thousand troops each, and expand the number to each lead three thousand troops. But after coming over to see the situation, he temporarily changed his mind and decided to add an additional five thousand to supplement the Jingying side.
After the reorganization of the Xiaoyuan Camp, the strength of the Jingying Camp is about 40,000, and an additional 5,000 can be completely digested.
When the bandit prisoners heard his words, they all immediately raised their heads and looked at him in surprise. But soon, many people became worried again. What if I am not selected?
Zhang Mingwei obviously guessed what they were thinking, and said loudly: "The remaining people, I will not let you go back. Because you will definitely not be able to live and work in peace and contentment after you go back, so I will organize you into a supply camp and go to the rear Replace some of the people who transport grain and let them busy themselves with farming. If you atone for your sins and do a good job, you will have the opportunity to become a real member of the imperial army. If you do not repent and still want to be a thief, military law will No mercy!"
At this point, he suddenly said decisively in a decisive tone: "When I come, the traitors will never have a good end. Whether you want to correct your evil ways and return to the right, honor your ancestors, or become an enemy of the Ming Dynasty and be strangled and suppressed in the end, you decide for yourself."
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