Volume 1: The Wind Rises in Tumubao Chapter 38: The Sword on the Grassland
This question stunned all the soldiers.
They had never thought about this question carefully before, but now they thought about it carefully. In the thousands of years of Chinese history, there have been countless wars, and the struggle with foreign barbarians is not new. Our ancestors defended their country and attacked foreign enemies, and I have never heard of any victory by massacring the city. Looking at the ancient sages, it is extremely difficult to find a famous general who killed women and children.
Zhu Qizhen sighed quietly, looking at the women and children on the ground with an extremely solemn look in his eyes, and said slowly: "Because we are human beings, not animals!"
We are human beings, not animals!
Li Zhen and others breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The emperor's words immediately resonated with them.
This was also Zhu Qizhen's original intention. What he needed were elite soldiers, not demons who only knew how to kill.
"People have their own humanity. We Han people are kind, and this is our nature, which is engraved in our bones and can never be changed. If we also learn from the Oirat people and kill simply for the sake of killing, we will be destroying our humanity. If that day really comes, it will not only be our sorrow, but also the sorrow of our entire nation. Let me ask you, do you also want to become beasts and animals?"
Li Zhen hurriedly shook her head and said, "No!"
"That's it!"
Zhu Qizhen continued, "Being afraid of others' hatred is a cowardly act. Instead of relying on slaughtering women and children to build up courage, it is better to make yourself strong so that those who hate you dare not hate you. What I want is their complete submission!"
Having said this, he paused, then waved his hand and said, "Destroy the tents, burn the food and grass, and let them fend for themselves!"
Li Zhen nodded, turned around and waved his hand, and the three thousand soldiers in the camp all made way for him.
At this time, these Wala women huddled together still didn't quite believe that the Ming army really let them go?
Fear, hesitation, anticipation...
I don't know how long it took, but a few brave women held their children in one hand and moved slowly, testing the reaction of the Ming army.
Seeing that no one paid any attention to them, they began to shout anxiously and ran with their children. All that could be heard were the screams of women and the crying of children, one after another, echoing throughout the grassland.
After doing all this, Zhu Qizhen finally breathed a sigh of relief. The biggest difference between him and the ancients was that he had the thinking of a modern person. He cherished life and did not want to see innocent lives being slaughtered.
Although he knew very well that being kind to the enemy would be cruel to himself, he had other plans!
That night, the Ming army slaughtered and roasted all the sheep in the tribe, and everyone had a hearty meal around the campfire.
Li Zhen held a roasted lamb leg and approached Zhu Qizhen: "Your Majesty, here!"
Zhu Qizhen took it and took two bites. He inadvertently glanced at Li Zhen's expression, and it seemed that he was still troubled by letting the Oirat people go.
"Xiangcheng Bo, how old are you this year?"
"Your Majesty, I have just turned thirty."
"Have you ever married ?"
"I have a wife."
"Do you have any children?"
"I have a daughter," Li Zhen suddenly showed a warm smile and said, "Every time I go home, the little girl will be waiting for me at the gate."
Zhu Qizhen nodded, chewing mutton and said: "If one day, the war spreads to the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and we all die on the battlefield, do you want your wife and daughter to be in trouble?"
"Of course not!" Li Zhen smiled bitterly and said, "I understand this, but these Wala people... Alas, the emperor gave me a chance, but I couldn't grasp it..."
Zhu Qizhen raised his head, looked into the distance with deep eyes, and said: "I have said before that what I want is the complete submission of all tribes on the grassland, not taking out my anger on a few women and children. You think that letting these people go is a woman's mercy, right?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... That's not what I meant..."
"You can speak freely if you want to. We are alone in the desert. Soldiers should unite as one and speak frankly. We should not hide anything."
Li Zhen nodded in hesitation and said, "If you don't remove the root of the problem, it will always be a hidden danger."
"Sometimes, it is more useful to keep them alive than to let them die!" Zhu Qizhen suddenly smiled meaningfully and said, "Think about it, these people have lost their homes and food, and they have no ability to be self-sufficient. Where are they most likely to go?"
Li Zhen pondered for a moment, then suddenly widened his eyes and murmured, "Go find other tribes to seek help?"
Zhu Qizhen just smiled faintly and continued to gnaw on the lamb leg in his hand.
Li Zhen said excitedly: "Your Majesty, this is a brilliant move!"
In the vast grassland, the Three Thousand Camp could only rely on luck to find these tribes. Now , someone is leading the way!
Thinking of Zhu Qizhen's righteous look when he was giving a speech, Li Zhen couldn't help but wonder in his heart. He never expected that our emperor, who looks so young, is actually an old villain!
Zhu Qizhen seemed to see through his inner thoughts and said, "Letting them go is to avoid unnecessary killings, and using them is to achieve strategic goals. These are two different things. Don't criticize me in your heart!"
Li Zhen felt cold sweat pouring down his back and said quickly, "I dare not!"
The Ming army rested for a night, took enough mutton as dry food, and then burned the remaining food and the tents. Then they continued to search along the trail of the Oirat people's escape last night. Soon, they found another tribe of several hundred people.
The people in the tribe were very surprised to see the women and children fleeing here.
It was even more unbelievable when I heard what they said.
Ming army?
How could the Ming army appear in the heart of the desert?
Just as they were hesitating as to whether they should take in these women and children, the thunderous sound of horse hooves could be heard.
Then, there were shouts, calls, and horse neighs...
The Ming army was already familiar with the route and continued to rely on rapid advances to catch the enemy off guard.
After clearing the battlefield, they followed the old rules and let go the remaining elderly, weak, women and children, rest on the spot, replenish supplies, then destroyed the excess cattle and sheep fodder and tents and continued to move deeper into the grassland.
This method of quick in and out, fighting to support fighting, made it impossible for the Oirat people to prevent it, because when you got the news, the Ming army had already arrived.
There are so many tribes on the vast grassland that no one knows who the Ming army's next target will be.
The three thousand cavalrymen were like a sharp sword, piercing deep into the heart of the Oirat people.
At Gubeikou, Boyan waited for several days and finally received news that a Ming cavalry force of about 3,000 people had rushed into the desert and had swept through several tribes in succession.
Only then did he understand why he had not seen any trace of the Ming army after chasing for such a long time. It turned out that the Ming army had not gone through Gubeikou at all, but turned around and marched into the heart of the grassland.
It has always been us, the Wala, who plundered the Han people, but now the situation has reversed and they have run to the grasslands to burn, kill and loot!
Is there still justice in the world?
Is there still law?
"The little southern emperor has gone too far. Pass the order and march the army to find these people from the grassland. I will break their bones with my own hands!"
With an order, more than 20,000 Wala cavalry quickly gathered and marched towards the north in a mighty force.
