Chapter 48: The Yellow Turban Captive
After the battle, the whole battlefield was filled with the smell of gunsmoke.
This pungent smell even concealed the smell of blood, which should have been strong, adding a bit of cruelty and a murderous atmosphere to the entire battlefield.
But now, this atmosphere has been completely ruined by the group of guys who are shouting "strong and strong".
Xu Kang recognized the guy who screamed the most fiercely at a glance, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching suddenly.
"Ma Dan, it's Niu Sheng again, Lao Tzu knows it's this guy!"
Although he found the initiator of the destruction of the atmosphere, he had nothing to do, because no matter how he looked at it, Niu Sheng was not at fault.
People just shout "strong", what's wrong with it?
If you want to blame, you can only blame the breadth and profundity of the Chinese language.
And it was precisely because of the living treasure of Niu Sheng that Xu Kang felt a trace of discomfort due to the previous battle, which was instantly washed away.
Looking at the wounded and corpses all over the ground, Xu Kang first frowned, and then a trace of emotion flashed on his face.
He found that after seeing death, people really become numb.
When he was in He Jin's mansion, he felt very angry when he saw He Jin killing innocent people;
When he saw Zhao Hong beheading Youzhi, who had been bullied to his doorstep, in front of him, the strong smell of blood made him nauseous;
When he led his soldiers and horses to fight with the Yellow Turban on the border of Changshe County, the cruel scene on the battlefield made his face pale and he almost wanted to vomit;
But when he used a stratagem to burn down the Yellow Turban camp in Pengtuo, he could already hold a spear in his hand and gallop in the camp full of barbecue smells, and the horse stepped on the camp!
As for now, the wounded and corpses all over the ground came into his eyes, and all kinds of screams and wails reached his ears, but they only made him feel a little uncomfortable.
Feeling the change in himself, Xu Kang didn't know if he had grown up or become cold-blooded.
But one thing he knows for sure is that he has gradually adapted to the world and has the potential to become a human being!
"Righteousness is not in charge of wealth, mercy is not in charge of soldiers, and a general will be successful, this is a troubled time, and it is also a reality!"
With that, he closed his eyes, wiped the corners of his eyes gently, and said the sentence that he once thought was very middle-of-the-road.
"It's not me that's wrong, it's the world!"
After saying this, when he opened his eyes again, there was no longer a trace of hesitation and hesitation in his eyes.
"Pass the order to go down, clean up the battlefield, let the surrendered yellow turbans dig a pit and bury the corpses of the thieves, and those who can't stand and walk will be disposed of as corpses!"
"Whoa!"
With Xu Kang's order, the soldiers under his command immediately raised their weapons to inspect the battlefield, and mended the yellow turbans lying on the ground and wailing, making them completely breathless.
At the same time, he also shouted loudly to those yellow turbans who surrendered, telling them to quickly dig a pit and bury the corpses.
In the face of the rough soldiers, the Yellow Turbans did not dare to resist, and they also dug the pit very hard, for fear that the soldiers would give them a knife and let others bury them.
Soon, the battlefield was cleaned up, and there were many more dirt bags on the originally flat ground, and under each soil bag, there were several or even dozens of yellow scarves sleeping in them.
Perhaps burying their relatives and friends with their own hands, or perhaps worrying about their future fate, many of the Yellow Turban captives couldn't help wiping their tears and began to cry quietly.
Seeing this scene, Xu Kang secretly sighed in his heart, and then ordered the Yellow Turban captives to gather and begin to lecture them.
"The duty of a farmer is to plough the land and cultivate the land, and the duty of a soldier is to protect the family and defend the country, and the moment you take up arms, it means that you will die on the battlefield one day, and this is the soldier...... No, it should be said that it is the fate of soldiers! ”
Hearing this, whether it was the Yellow Turban captives or the soldiers of the Han Army, they all stood silent, and they all set their eyes on Xu Kang.
Under the gaze of everyone, Xu Kang slowly raised his finger, and then pointed to the yellow turban captive with a sad face.
"You used to be peasants, but now you are yellow turban thieves, when you use your hoe as a weapon to rebel, you should think that there will be a day when people will always pay the price for doing something wrong, you should know this very well!"
Hearing his words, the surrounding Han soldiers raised their weapons one after another, and then surrounded the Yellow Turban captives.
Obviously, at this time, as long as Xu Kang gave an order, these Yellow Turban captives would soon become corpses everywhere.
The Yellow Turban captives also knew this, so they fell to their knees in an instant, and then cried and begged for mercy.
"The general spares his life!"
"Don't kill us, please, General!"
"General, please let us go, woo woo woo woo ......"
Listening to the crying all over the ground, Xu Kang's mind suddenly remembered the scenes he had seen in He Jin's Great General's Mansion at the beginning.
He frowned, and shouted at the Yellow Turban captives who were crying.
"Enough, stop me, and if you cry again, kill!"
As soon as his words fell, the Han soldiers who surrounded the Yellow Turban captives also shouted loudly.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Faced with such a scene, the Yellow Turban captives, who were originally crying loudly, suddenly seemed to be players who pressed the pause button, and they stopped moving in an instant.
Seeing that they had quieted down, Xu Kang nodded this time, and then opened his mouth to them again.
"You remember to me that people have to pay the price if they do something wrong, and it's okay for me to let you go, but you must prove it with practical actions to prove that you have the value of being let go by me!"
With that, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed in the direction of the west.
"Over there, there are still tens of thousands of Yellow Turban thieves, who are your former comrades-in-arms and robes, I will give you a day to persuade them to come and surrender to me, as long as you can persuade people to come, I will no longer pursue your rebellion!"
As soon as he said this, the expressions of many Yellow Turban captives changed slightly, but none of them took the initiative to speak.
Seeing this scene, Xu Kang understood what they were worried about after a little thought, so he immediately took out his official seal and held it high above his head.
At the same time, he opened his mouth loudly to everyone present.
"I am Xu Kang, the county commander of Yingchuan Changshe, and today I swear in the name of the ancestors of the Xu family that whoever persuades the Yellow Turban in the past to surrender will not be investigated for anything in the past, and whoever follows me to crusade against the Yellow Turban thieves, in addition to enjoying military rations, will be rewarded for meritorious deeds in every war, and one person will be rewarded with a hundred dollars for killing the enemy, and a thousand dollars for ten enemies, if this oath is violated, people and gods will abandon it!"
In this era, oaths are not something that can be made casually, especially in the name of ancestors, which is basically equivalent to a contract signed by later generations.
Failure to comply can have serious consequences.
So after Xu Kang finished swearing at this time, among the people present, whether it was the Yellow Turban prisoners or the Han soldiers, they all showed shock.
Immediately after, everyone's faces showed expressions of ecstasy, and those Han soldiers shouted at Xu Kang one after another.
"I am willing to follow the general to defeat the Yellow Turban Thief!"
"I am willing to follow the general to defeat the Yellow Turban Thief!"
"I am willing to follow the general to defeat the Yellow Turban Thief!"
For a while, the morale of the crowd was high, and basically everyone was shouting to fight against the Yellow Turban Thieves.
Even the group of Yellow Turban captives with sad faces before were inexplicably excited at this moment, and even their expressions were exactly the same as those of the Han soldiers around them.
Seeing this scene, Xu Kang suddenly had a bolder idea!