There were only 20,000 people in Zhaotai in Pizhou, but the Song army and civilians captured 50,000 to 60,000. Coupled with the blockade of the Southern Song Dynasty, Shandong was short of food. The prisoners actually put a lot of pressure on the Qi army.
So how to turn these tens of thousands of prisoners into a support for the Qi army instead of a burden becomes a problem.
If Zhao Tai had an army of more than 100,000 in Pizhou, he could collect the prisoners and then drive them to attack Song Dynasty.
Because Zhao Tai had sufficient troops and was able to hold down the position, even if there were any problems with the captured troops, it would not affect the Qi army's operations.
Now that the Qi army has captured more prisoners than the Qi army, Zhao Tai naturally does not dare to recruit them and immediately go to the battlefield.
As soon as they were incorporated, they were asked to fight against the Song army. Zhao Tai was worried that they would rebel before the battle. However, if they were not incorporated, Zhao Tai would need to separate his troops to watch over the prisoners and distribute the scarce food to the prisoners.
Zhao Tai's predicament at this time is just like Xiang Yu's situation after he defeated the Qin army and surrendered 200,000 soldiers.
However, Zhao Tai did not choose to kill the prisoners like Xiang Yu, but chose to treat the prisoners preferentially.
Last night, Zhao Tai sent military doctors to treat the wounded soldiers of the Song Army, calming the hearts of the captives.
Early the next morning, as soon as the prisoners woke up, the shouts of the gang leader came from outside the camp.
When the prisoners of the Song Army heard the call to eat, they got up one after another and saw that the Qi soldiers had filled the camp with many large barrels, which thoughtfully prepared white rice, pickles, fish nuggets, and vegetable soup that the southern soldiers loved to eat.
Although this food is not very good, it is much better than the food of ordinary Song soldiers.
This surprised the soldiers of Song Dynasty. They thought that the Qi army was going to starve them, leaving them unable to resist and not wanting to eat rice and fish pieces.
After everyone had eaten, they squatted aside and ate and drank with their hands. They all ate with gusto, seeming to have completely forgotten their identity as captives.
At this time, many prisoners in the camp were immersed in eating. A soldier of the Song Army standing with a gun at the camp gate suddenly shouted: "The king is here!"
The prisoners who were immersed in their meals couldn't help but raise their heads when they heard the sound, and saw Zhao Tai entering the prisoner camp surrounded by his subordinates.
Seeing that he had attracted everyone's attention, Zhao Tai smiled and waved his hands, "Come here to see everyone, you don't have to worry about it, just keep eating and drinking!"
When the prisoners saw that Zhao Tai actually came to visit them, they could not help but follow Zhao Tai to see what he was going to do.
At this time, Zhao Tai walked to the wooden barrel, looked at the food inside, nodded with satisfaction, and then walked to several prisoners squatting to cook. He suddenly frowned and his face fell instantly.
Several Song soldiers thought they had done something wrong and hurriedly knelt down in fright and kowtowed. However, Zhao Tai picked up the wooden board they were serving food on, turned around and scolded Xu Erzhu, and said sadly: "Xu Tongzhi, look at what this is? Are you using Is this a meal for you?"
Xu Erzhu quickly bowed his head and apologized, "Your Majesty, there are so many prisoners, and I can't find so many tableware for a while, so~"
Zhao Tai did not listen to his explanation, "I have already said that this battle is not the fault of the soldiers. Now the brothers in the camp are also our brothers. Will you let your brothers eat like this?"
"I will change it now! I will change it now!" Xu Erzhu quickly saluted and admitted his mistake.
The surrounding Song Army prisoners heard Zhao Tai's words and immediately couldn't hold back.
The soldiers of the Song Dynasty had a low status and suffered discrimination, but Zhao Tai regarded them as brothers and cared about whether they lived with dignity. Many people's eyes instantly became wet.
Zhao Tai helped up the kneeling Song Jun again and patted their shoulders, "I have to aggrieve the brothers for a while. If you have any difficulties here, you can report it to the guarding officer. As long as it is a reasonable request, I will have someone come to deal with it!" "
Many Song army officers and soldiers were somewhat sympathetic to the Qi army and believed that the imperial court's attack on Shandong was unreasonable.
Now that Zhao Tai respects them so much, the prisoners are all conquered by Zhao Tai's personality charm.
"Your Majesty is so benevolent and righteous, treating the prisoners so well!" The Qi soldiers standing guard in the camp couldn't help but sigh.
The soldier on the side had red eyes, "The most correct decision in my life is to follow the king. The king can lead us to win the battle, and also loves the soldiers as his own son. Isn't this the wise master we soldiers dream of?"
After Zhao Tai spoke, Xu Erzhu immediately ordered the distribution of tableware to the prisoners of the Song Army.
Soon, Qi's soldiers rolled out a large number of large carts from the city and distributed the pottery bowls, porcelain bowls and tachyons on them.
The speed with which the Qi army moved and collected the tableware was astonishing. It is hard not to suspect that they had made arrangements in advance.
However, the prisoners of the Song Army did not think so much. They only felt that Zhao Tai kept his word and the Qi Army acted quickly and had amazing execution, unlike those in the Southern Song Dynasty who were waffling.
~~~~~~
North bank of Huaihe River, Siyang.
After the Song army crossed the Huaihe River, the front army advanced to Pizhou, and the main force continued northward to the vicinity of Siyang.
The Song army was all infantry, and the canal was destroyed by the Qi army. The Song army's water transportation advantage could not be used, and it was difficult to transport food and baggage, so the march was slow.
At this time, Siyang County has been surrounded by the Song army's camps, with a radius of dozens of miles. They are all Song troops marching here, as well as civilians transporting supplies.
In the county government office, the Song army's civil and military forces gathered together to discuss the matter of entering the army.
Shi Songzhi stood in front of the map and said in a deep voice: "Qi thieves are trying to compete with Song and Meng in a small corner of the country. Their ambitions are good, but they cannot avoid destruction in the end!"
"What the historical minister said is true! The Song Dynasty and Mongolia are advancing from the north to the south, and the Qi thieves are trapped in the middle. It can be said that they are trapped." Liang Dacheng, the minister of the Ministry of War, stroking his beard with a smile on his face, "I have put myself in his shoes. Think about it, if I were a Qi thief, would there be a way to survive in the current situation? If the Qi thief wants not to be destroyed by Song and Meng, he must first withdraw one of our dynasties from the war with Mongolia, so that he can have a chance. Then I The Song Dynasty and Mongolia were both big countries. How could he make our country withdraw from the war with Mongolia with a corner of Shandong? He mobilized his troops to the north. Mongolia has a vast territory. Losing some states and counties is nothing. Mongolia will definitely not surrender to the Qi thieves. If he mobilizes his troops to the south, our Song Dynasty will have the advantage of naval forces, and he will not even be able to cross the Huaihe River. In my opinion, the Qi thieves cannot solve the dilemma of being flanked by the north and the south this time, and it is indeed a doomed situation!"
Shi Songzhi turned around and said with a smile: "Shilang Liang's words are not unreasonable, but we still have to be cautious to prevent the Qi thieves from jumping over the wall in a hurry. Although in terms of the general situation, the Qi thieves will be destroyed, but you need to understand that in this battle It’s not just the destruction of Qi, it’s also a contest between our country and Mongolia.”
Everyone nodded after hearing this, and Liang Dacheng immediately said: "Xiang Shi is right to remind us. We, the Song Dynasty, want to win this battle, and we must win beautifully. We cannot let the Mongols underestimate us."
Shi Songzhi said: "The main force of the Qi thieves is in Hebei, fighting the Mongols. Now we are facing a partial division of the Qi army. All armies must not be careless to avoid repeating the same mistakes as the attack on Liao. If you were to defeat our 300,000-strong army, It would be really embarrassing if the Qi army is in the hands of a partial army."
Shi Songzhi's intention was very clear, which was to remind everyone not to underestimate the enemy, and never to attack the Liao Dynasty with the Song army and be killed by the remnants of the Liao army.
This would really hinder the international outlook and embarrass the Mongols. It is inevitable that the Mongols would not learn from the Jin Kingdom and immediately attack the Song Dynasty after destroying the Qi Dynasty.
At this time, everyone in the hall was talking a lot, and they all agreed with Shi Songzhi's words, but there was a rush of footsteps outside.
Suddenly, a person broke in, tripped over the threshold, and fell to the ground with a plop.
Seeing this, Shi Songzhi was about to scold him, but he found a few broken arrows stuck behind the person's back. He was suddenly shocked and said, "Hurry up and help him up."
The two generals stepped forward quickly and were helped up by others. Shi Songzhi couldn't help but asked, "What's going on?"
The visitor was panting like an ox and said: "Our army, here, was attacked by the cavalry army in Pizhou!"
As soon as the words came out, the whole room was shocked!
