Chapter 12: Demagogy
After a fierce struggle in his heart, Wei Zheng's face was slowly covered by a decisive expression.
Facing Zhao Yun and Wang Feng, he firmly vetoed: "No, although we are bandits, we are not beasts. Tartars can be killed, officers and soldiers can be killed, and other bandits can be killed, but only ordinary people cannot be killed. Otherwise, we will lose our humanity step by step..."
"Therefore, the more than 200 people in the backyard, except for those who voluntarily joined our cottage, all the rest were released, and each person was given a tael of silver for the passage fee, so that they could leave on their own..."
"Even if they do run to the Tartars to go to Gaomi, we will admit it."
"When the time comes, if one of the Tartars comes, we will kill one, and if there is a pair, we will kill a pair. If we die at the hands of the Tartars, we can at least call ourselves heroes. However, once we have the blood of ordinary people on our hands, we will be uneasy in our hearts for the rest of our lives, even if we are ghosts, we will feel uncomfortable in our hearts. ”
Wang Feng and Wei Zheng lowered their heads at the same time, especially Wang Feng, and said to Wei Zheng with a worried face: "Big boss, I know it's wrong....I'm a human, not a beast....From now on, I will never aim the butcher's knife at ordinary people...."
Zhao Yun said to Wei Zheng in his heart: "Big boss, when I go back, I will definitely tell your brothers as they are, and list these words as a rule of our cottage." ”
"I think back then, we were also ordinary people, and if it weren't for military disasters and natural disasters, we would never be bandits. Therefore, no matter how cruel we are, we can't extend the butcher's knife to ordinary people who are as poor as us. ”
Wei Zheng nodded, agreeing with what Zhao Yun said.
Then, he continued to the two of them: "Although the battle is over, we still have a lot to do. ”
"There are two problems before us now, the first is to clean up the battlefield and send the captured food and supplies back to the cottage..."
"Brother Zhao, this question will be left to you, after all, you did not participate in the battle just now. In addition, when transporting food and supplies, we can use all the horses and horses we have captured..."
Zhao Yun commanded loudly: "Please rest assured, the brothers have no chance to kill the Tartars, and it is still no problem to run away." ”
Looking at Zhao Yun who was quickly running towards the front yard, Wei Zheng quickly shifted his gaze to Wang Feng.
When Wang Feng's expression fell into Wei Zheng's eyes, Wei Zheng said directly.
"Brother Wang, don't worry, you also have a very heavy task, and the important point is directly related to whether our cottage can really develop and grow."
"Develop and grow...."Wang Feng said to himself thoughtfully.
Then, he pointed to the backyard guarded by several spearmen and asked, "Big boss, you mean to recruit people for our cottage...."
Seeing Wei Zheng nodding in affirmation, a trace of solemnity quickly appeared on Wang Feng's face, and he said with an embarrassed expression.
"The big boss won't tell you anything, I'm worried that if we don't have to be strong, more than two hundred people would rather leave here with a tael of silver than join us and become bandit......s."
Wei Zheng shook his head and said with a mysterious expression: "Brother Wang, I don't agree with your statement...."
"I can say with certainty that as long as the method is used correctly, at least half of the more than 200 people in front of us will take the initiative to join us."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible... It's not appropriate for a good people, why should they be bandits, and they still have a tael of silver to pay for the journey..."Wang Feng retorted with a look of disbelief.
In Wang Feng's eyes, everyone is reluctant to let ordinary people become soldiers, let alone bandits who may lose their heads at any time.
Unexpectedly, the mysterious smile on Wei Zheng's face not only did not disappear because of this, but became stronger and stronger.
He said to Wang Feng with a strange face: "Since Brother Wang doesn't believe it, I can give you an example first....In this way, you will immediately pull out fifty bandits from the compound, and I will be here to teach you a lesson and teach you how to mobilize the people to join us." ”
"Besides, let the corpse of the Tartar swing tooth be dragged in, I'll be useful..."
Driven by more than a dozen gunmen, fifty people who had been in a half-satiety state for a long time and were obviously nourished and extremely weak slowly gathered in front of him.
Just as fifty pairs of eyes slowly converged on Wei Zheng's body, the blood-stained Tooth Swinger was dragged by the two spearmen.
Not to Wei Zheng's surprise, as soon as the Tartar Swing Tooth Lama appeared, the fifty people became inexplicably excited.
What's more, he knelt directly on the ground and began to kowtow, and let out one exclamation after another.
"Ah....it's the Tartars....it's the Tartar chief..."
"The leader of the Tartars has been killed....God has eyes, God has eyes..."
"It must have been these people around who killed the Tartars....I really don't know who they are, they are even more powerful than the army, so many Tartars can kill..."
After these calls clearly reached Wei Zheng's ears, a smile full of weirdness quickly flashed from the corner of Wei Zheng's mouth.
He took a deep breath and shouted loudly to the fifty people in front of him.
"Everyone is quiet....tell you the truth, we killed these Tartars. Not only that, but you were also rescued by us..."
"There are two ways for everyone to go now, first, take the initiative to join us....second, come to me to receive a settling-in allowance of one or two silver, and leave here forever..."
"In addition, I am not afraid to sue you, we are bandits, not the official army....The entire official army in Zunhua ran away long before the Tartars came, and you should not expect the official army to come back to you."
From the eyes of everyone looking at him, Wei Zheng could clearly feel it. When he revealed his identity as a bandit, the expressions of awe that everyone had looked at him were immediately replaced by complex expressions of fear and disdain.
It is conceivable that if there is no after-resort, these people will definitely choose to leave without hesitation.
However, Wei Zheng is not afraid, because Wei Zheng still has a back-up move.
After glancing at the people in front of him who fell silent for an instant, Wei Zheng continued in an orderly manner.
"I know that everyone looks down on us bandits, but I have a few questions for you before you make a choice. Although you don't need to answer, you must think about it in your heart..."
"First, the people who are being held here are all young and middle-aged, and if nothing else, your family must have died at the hands of the Tartars. As a survivor of the family, don't you want to take revenge, don't you want to kill the Tartars..."
"Second, now that the territory of Zunhua is full of tartars, you can come to me and get a tael of silver and leave. However, do you think that with your ability, you can escape the pursuit of the Tartar cavalry and leave the territory of Zunhua completely......
"Third, although we are bandits, we are a bandit with a sense of justice and a very strong fighting force. He has always been a righteous bandit who only kills corrupt officials, landlords and bullies, and never touches the people. Now the Tartars have come, and the corrupt officials have run away, and we will kill the Tartars until they leave here..."
"I tell you the truth, in tonight's battle, we killed a total of fifteen Tartars, but not a single one of our cottages died. Only by following us can we save our lives. Only by following us will everyone have a chance to kill the Tartars and avenge the dead relatives...."
"As for those so-called officers and soldiers, you don't have to think about it. Because they are a bunch of cowards, and every time the Tartars come over, they will collapse without a fight, and throw us people to the Tartars..."
"Finally, I would like to give you a piece of advice, our cottage is not something that everyone can participate in if they want to. Anyone who participates in our cottage must abide by the rules of our cottage, otherwise military law will be involved. Because, the reason why our cottage can easily kill fifteen Tartars is because our cottage has more stringent military discipline and military law than the official army. ”
"Okay, I'll give you a stick of incense time to think about it. After a stick of incense, everyone has to make a decision...."
The people, who had just been quiet, quickly became lively, and everyone was thinking, discussing, arguing about their next way out...
Although Wei Zheng did not join, a pair of keen eyes and a pair of sensitive ears still allowed him to clearly see and hear most people's reactions.
Under their own coercion and inducement, at least two-thirds of the fifty people have been shaken from the bottom of their hearts....