Episode 173 The truth comes out of the barrel of a gun

"To your lord! Princess! ”

.

Xiang Xiaoqiang, Zheng Yuxuan, and all the officials and officers of the Northern Qing Dynasty all looked in that direction at once.

Among the dozen or so prisoners of war in front of the barracks, one of them straightened his neck, his face flushed, and he stared at Xiang Xiaoqiang intently. His chest heaved violently, his lips trembled, and his expression was rather strange, or rather, ...... Tragic.

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at him and said softly:

"How?"

"Lord Xiang, they are all in the mine labor camp!"

The lad shouted.

Xiang Xiaoqiang's heart sank - sure enough! Sure enough, just as I thought, the prisoners of war were all sent to labor camps as slaves!

At the same time, his heart was filled with a hot feeling - finally a brother shouted the truth.

The young prisoner of war himself burst into tears, and cried out with tears and indignation:

"Lord Xiang, when we are there, pigs and dogs are not as good as them...... They won't let us tell the truth, they say they have to tell us what they told us when they see you, or else ......."

Before he could finish speaking, two Qing soldiers immediately pounced, twisted his arms back, and forcibly pressed him to the ground.

Zheng Yuxuan pointed at the two Qing soldiers, turned his head and screamed to the Northern Qing officer:

"Let him go! Let him go!! Hear no!! ”

Several Northern Qing officers and officials all looked at all this indifferently, and several of them smiled.

Another soldier threw a rope over him, and the soldier holding the prisoner of war strangled him in the mouth. The young prisoner of war kept trying to spit out the rope and continued to shout intermittently:

"We were singled out...... Everyone else is gone...... Bah! A lot of people died...... Yes!! ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang rushed violently, knocking a Qing soldier into the sky and falling to the ground. Another Qing soldier was startled, a little stunned, and pulled the shelf to pounce on Xiang Xiaoqiang, but he was a little hesitant, because Xiang Xiaoqiang had a special identity after all, he heard it again just now, the emperor's younger brother was still in Nanming, if Xiang Xiaoqiang made a mistake......

But he had no scruples, Xiang Xiaoqiang had no scruples, he got up with a bone, and then pounced on him, slammed his elbow over, and the strength of his whole body was used, and the Qing soldier also fell to the ground.

The surrounding circle of people were stunned, and the two Beiqing reporters reacted, immediately set up cameras and video cameras, and turned the lens towards Xiaoqiang. A few Qing soldiers next to him also pulled a shelf to come up and arrest him.

Xiang Xiaoqiang reacted faster, picked up a Qing soldier's rifle, pulled the bolt with a "bang", and took aim at the two reporters.

The two Beiqing reporters screamed, and the machines on their shoulders fell to the ground, and the two of them raised their hands without hesitation.

Xiang Xiaoqiang gasped, and a hint of pleasure flashed in his heart: after all, he was an official reporter "in the system", and he didn't have any professionalism. Before they could ask them anything, they threw the machine away. It's a pity that this barbaric behavior of oneself is such a good propaganda material for the Northern Qing Dynasty! However, it is impossible to expect such "journalists in the system" to risk their lives in order to capture precious footage.

The prisoner of war on the ground tore off the rope from his mouth, trembled with excitement, got up, and shouted:

"Xiang-sama!"

"Go on!" Xiang Xiaoqiang held a rifle, looked around at the officers and Qing soldiers present, and said coldly, "Tell the truth!" ”

The surrounding officials and officers of the Northern Qing Dynasty were all dumbfounded at this moment, looking at the situation in front of them, unable to believe their eyes. Zheng Yuxuan's little face was pale, his hands were covering his mouth, his eyes were wide, and he stared at Xiang Xiaoqiang intently, exuding admiration without any scruples.

The two Qing soldiers who were put down by Xiang Xiaoqiang on the ground also covered their faces at this moment and slowly got up, seeing this posture, they didn't need to be ordered by the commander, they fell directly into their own team, far away from Xiang Xiaoqiang.

The other dozen or so Qing soldiers were also dumbfounded, looking at each other, some of them put their hands on the gun strap on their shoulders, hesitating, not knowing whether to take off their guns. They were afraid that if they held the gun in their hands, they would stimulate Xiaoqiang to shoot themselves.

Xiang Xiaoqiang is fearless, no matter how many soldiers and guns there are in front of him, he doesn't dare to move a single hair.

The young prisoner of war beside him went out and said loudly with a cry:

"This copper mine is a slave camp, one person has to carry enough 3,500 catties of ore a day, and if he can't carry enough, he will be smoked by guards, kicked with leather shoes, and burned with cigarette butts...... There are only two nests here at noon, and they are gruel in the morning and evening...... When we first arrived, it was winter, and the brothers only had the clothes they were wearing, and here in Mongolia, it was several times colder than Daming, and they could freeze off their fingers, and they didn't give us clothes...... Hundreds of brothers did not survive the winter...... All dead...... I don't know how many brothers are crippled by the cold......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang's chest trembled, still aiming at the short gun, and at the same time asked hoarsely:

"So, it's not 6,312 brothers anymore?"

"Six thousand?" The prisoner of war cried and said, "Certainly not six thousand...... At that time, the number of brothers who surrendered in our division was less than 8,000 when we first arrived...... I don't know...... Anyway, after more than half a year, the brothers who were tortured to death and tortured and crippled would have to pay more than a thousand ......."

"Eight thousand?!"

Zheng Yuxuan screamed, stared, and looked at Xiang Xiaoqiang.

Xiang Xiaoqiang's brain exploded and was blinded for a long time. He breathed desperately before he regained the brain's ability to think. So to speak, in the beginning it was not six thousand prisoners of war, but eight thousand! The statistics went wrong at the beginning!

At that time, after the battle in the southern suburbs, after clearing the battlefield at the ambush site of the Eight Banners and Six Divisions, the statistics obtained by the Ming army were probably more than 6,000 captured. A few months later, when I contacted the Northern Qing Dynasty, the figure given by the Northern Qing Dynasty was 6,312 prisoners of war, which happened to be about the same as the statistics of the Ming army, so I recognized it!

Now it seems that the number of prisoners of war given to Nanming by the Northern Qing Dynasty is the number of prisoners of war who died in the winter after removing them!

Xiang Xiaoqiang's chest rose and fell violently, and he was furious. He immediately shifted the muzzle of his gun to the most senior officer, the commander of the prisoner of war camp, and said grimly:

"Isn't that the case?"

The commander of the POW battalion faced the muzzle of the gun, and the sweat on his head came down at once. But he was still able to stutter and say:

"To the general...... You don't come nonsense, you have to calm down......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang grinned his teeth:

"I'm calm."

The commander of the prisoner of war camp steadied himself and said with a forced smile:

"General Xiang, that's not the case at all...... You're going to listen to me...... So many of us, the dignified lieutenant colonel of the Qing Army, will they still lie to you? …… I tell you to the general, that man is not happy with the commander of our prisoner of war camp because he ...... He instigated the prisoners of war to flee many times, and when I criticized him, he became angry with me and hated the officers and men of the entire prisoner of war camp......"

"You fart!" The prisoner pointed at him and scolded angrily, "I incited the brothers to flee? Many more times? This is the hinterland of the Northern Qing Dynasty, 108,000 miles away from the Ming Dynasty, even if you escape, where can you escape? We're not stupid! There are several big pits with dozens of people in the mine! Those are the brothers who died at your hands! ”

"Joke!" The commander of the prisoner of war battalion hugged his chest, shook his head and smiled, "What you say is not worth refuting at all, just listen to it!" Oh, there are several big pits of dozens of people, so aren't hundreds of people dead? There are only a few thousand people in total, and if a few hundred people die, wouldn't every squad and platoon of you have people you know dying? Then you haven't rebelled long ago! …… Everyone has eyes, and General Xiang and the county lord also have eyes, and they have seen how good we are to you! If no one else makes trouble, you make trouble, is it true that among these thousands of people, you are the only one who tells the truth? What everyone else is telling is a lie? ”

The prisoner of war exclaimed:

"You picked us out a few days in advance and asked us to cooperate with you in acting, just because we haven't lost weight to the skin, and we don't have scars on our faces and hands, so we look better! But among the thousands of brothers, there are still people like us, and you can pick out a few hundred! Otherwise, why did you hide those thousands of brothers and dare not let them see Lord Xiang and the county lord? ”

"Because our copper mine involves state secrets, we can't just watch it if we want to!"

Zheng Yuxuan immediately grabbed his words and asked:

"Listen, what the hell is it that got our brothers to work as hard labor in the mines! Didn't you say no? ”

The officer's face turned red and he was speechless for a while. Another Northern Qing official immediately said:

"County Lord, General Xiang, we didn't force them to work, they went to the mine to work voluntarily!"

"Ha, joke! Do you volunteer to do hard labor to show me? ”

The official went on to say calmly:

"Let me explain...... It's not hard labor, it's some very light labor, auxiliary labor...... They did it voluntarily...... Because we don't let them do it in vain, we pay each person a month...... Uh, ten oceans...... They all want to make some money......"

The prisoner of war couldn't stand it anymore, so he took off his shirt with a "bang", revealing his scarred back and chest to show everyone, and said:

"Look, are all these scars growing on their own? And the cigarette butt burn on my arm, which I also caused myself? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang glanced at the old wounds on his body, knew it in his heart, and coldly held the gun and aimed at them.

Several officials of the Northern Qing Dynasty looked at each other with gloomy faces, and then another official said:

"What about you taking off your clothes? If we don't abuse, we don't abuse! Our army of the Qing Dynasty has the reputation of being the 'army of a thousand divisions,' and it is universally recognized that the military discipline of our officers and men is very strict...... How can you hit someone casually? It is that the prisoners of war do not obey the discipline, quarrel with our officers and soldiers, push each other, and cause some physical contact...... But our officers and men absolutely did not use their hands to beat people...... It is true that every prisoner of war has some of these scars, but we have investigated them in detail, and they are all left by the prisoners of war fighting each other, and they have absolutely nothing to do with our officers and soldiers......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang interrupted him and asked with a sneer:

"Ten oceans per person per month? It's not low, it's more than our Daming assembly line workers. Six thousand people, ten oceans per person per month, hehe, okay, you let them take out 500,000 oceans and take a look! ”

The official was stunned for a moment, and he was suddenly speechless, not knowing how to respond. He wanted to say that "the wages have not been paid yet, but they are saved for the prisoners of war, and they will be paid in a lump sum when they are repatriated", but he was afraid of his own words, and he found a debt of 500,000 oceans......

He licked his lips and said:

"General Xiang, if you have something to say, put down the gun first......"

A large group of surrounding officials also chimed in:

"Yes, yes, General Xiang, put down the gun first, put down the gun first......"

Xiang Xiaoqiang looked at Zheng Yuxuan, and then at the brave brother beside him, analyzing in his mind what the consequences would be if he put down the gun.

Now it's getting late, and I can't hold this gun forever. Put down the gun, they can't do anything to themselves, and they can't do anything to Zheng Yuxuan. You still have to entertain yourself to dinner and a place to sleep. However, as soon as they put down their guns, the situation here is out of their control, and they will immediately drive these prisoners away from their own words.

Xiang Xiaoqiang did not put down the gun, but pulled the bolt again, and said loudly:

"Brothers, say anything else to me now! Be bold and say it! In two days, you will be able to go back to Daming with me! I'll be here for the next two days, and you have nothing to fear! ”

Shouted on both sides, and no one answered.

The commander of the prisoner of war camp sneered:

"It's useless to incite. I told you earlier, he was, and you saw that no one paid attention to him for a long time. ”

The prisoner of war next to him said:

"Lord Xiang, it's not to blame the brothers, they threatened us in advance, the repatriation of prisoners of war is divided into four batches, and we, the brothers who were singled out to act, can only return to Daming in the last batch! They said that if we don't cooperate well this time, we will all be 'sick and die' in Beiqing during this period, and none of us will want to go back! The brothers all wanted to go home, and they didn't want to die in the Northern Qing Dynasty...... Everyone thinks that after going back, any truth can be told, so why rush for a while? ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded, understood. No wonder the prisoners of war in this "model prisoner of war camp" are so cooperative, and no wonder there is only one person who jumps out and shouts the truth.

"Brother, what's your name?"

He asked.

The young prisoner of war replied:

"Back to the adult, the little one's name is Zhang Liansheng!"

Xiang Xiaoqiang nodded:

"Okay, Zhang Liansheng, I remember you. When the first batch of prisoners of war returned to Nanming two days later, I wanted you to go with us. ”

The commander of the prisoner of war camp immediately reprimanded:

"To your lord! Zhang Liansheng is still a prisoner of war on our side, and the first batch of repatriation has to be arranged by us! ”

Xiang Xiaoqiang said coldly:

"If I hadn't seen Zhang Liansheng in the first batch of repatriation teams, the county lord and I would have stayed with him until the last group of us left together. Of course, your emperor's younger brother will have to stay in Nanjing for a few more days. ”

Zheng Yuxuan immediately nodded vigorously:

"Not bad!"

Several Northern Qing officials had gloomy faces and stared at Zhang Liansheng with resentment. The official at the head said:

"This, we have to invite the emperor first."

Xiang Xiaoqiang ignored him, took another deep breath, and shouted loudly:

The brethren remembered that the maximum number of months from the first to the fourth was only one month. That is, you will leave here in a month at the latest. Moreover, every time the Northern Qing Dynasty released a batch of prisoners of war, we in the Ming Dynasty had to exchange a batch of gold and tungsten bars. These gold and tungsten bars were urgently needed by their Northern Qing Dynasty, and they were named by their emperor. The Qing army commanders here may not have known about this before, but now that I have said it, they should know it in their hearts. You're in pretty good health right now, I've seen it all. If they lose a meat or two after a month, then their emperor will lose a gold or two. …… In addition, Da Ming made many other concessions in order to keep our brothers safe...... If our brothers are not at peace, then there will be no peace in the rear of the Northern Qing Dynasty. ”

After finishing speaking, he glanced at the Northern Qing officials with different expressions, shocked or angry, spat on the ground, and then laughed twice, raised his hand and threw the rifle to the Qing soldier.