Chapter 36: Cutting down trees

In fact, Song Yuzhu also wanted to meet him. After all, Yang Yuanzhen was able to stay until the end and did not run away with the four kings. He was considered a courageous man.

The two met in a building within a building. In order to prevent Yang Yuanzhen from escaping, the soldiers in charge of guarding him locked his hands and feet with heavy iron chains, which rattled with every step he took.

The seventh prince, Yang Yuanzhen, was the same age as Yang Yuanqing, only two months older. He was not very tall, nor was he as strong as Yang Yuanqing, but if you looked closely, you could see that the two brothers had some similarities in appearance.

When they first met, Yang Yuanzhen was stunned and asked, "You...you are the Master Zhu they are talking about?"

"It is me, Seventh Prince, please take a seat."

Yang Yuanzhen sat in the chair in a daze, still unable to believe that the thin, young man in front of him was the new owner of Xuzhou City.

"Are you guys lying to me?"

Song Yuzhu asked back, "What else do you have to tell us that is worth lying to us? Tell me what you want to say. I have a lot of things to do. I will only give you a quarter of an hour."

Yang Yuanzhen hesitated for a moment and said, "I was arrogant when I rashly led troops to attack Xuzhou, and I paid the price for it. As long as you let us go, I will no longer care about Xuzhou's affairs from now on."

Song Yuzhu propped up her chin with a smile on her face: "Go on."

Yang Yuanzhen cleared his throat and said, "I don't think you want to be enemies with the imperial court."

"When I return to Dongzhou, I will report to my second brother and grant you Xuzhou. Then you can become a prince in a legitimate way."

“Hahahahahaha…” Song Yuzhu was amused by his words.

"What are you laughing at?" Yang Yuanzhen was puzzled. After all, he had already shown his sincerity. Isn't that enough?

Song Yuzhu held her stomach and said, "You, where do you get the confidence that we dare not go against the court?"

"Rebellion means the execution of all nine generations of your clan?"

Song Yuzhu wiped the tears from her eyes: "We dared to kill Yang Yuanqing, so why are we afraid of killing all of his clans?"

Yang Yuanzhen suddenly came to his senses. What they wanted was not just Xuzhou, but the entire Dasheng...

"Since there's nothing wrong, let someone send him back." Song Yuzhu shouted, and the soldier responsible for guarding him outside the door hurried in and dragged Yang Yuanzhen out.

"You are committing treason! You should be punished by slow slicing!"

Song Yuzhu asked someone to take him away quickly. He didn't have time to chat with him as he had more important things to do.

The more than 10,000 prisoners were still detained in the military camp, and their daily food, drink, and defecation cost a lot of money. Song Yuzhu was not a living Bodhisattva, so he was not supporting these soldiers who were disloyal to him in vain.

In the afternoon, we arrived at the military camp in a carriage and saw the soldiers sorting their weapons and armor. A large part of these military supplies were seized from the opposite side.

Bai Yizhou saw him and ran over from a distance.

"Mr. Bamboo!"

Song Yuzhu asked, "How is it in the military camp?" Zhao Xiao promoted him to captain. Although the rank was not high, the important thing was experience. After all, he had just arrived in the army and didn't know how to lead troops in battle.

Bai Yizhou grinned and said, "It's great! I made a lot of friends!"

The two men walked towards the camp side by side.

Song Yuzhu asked as they walked: "Are there many wounded soldiers? How are they?"

"Not many. Most of the seriously injured were unable to leave the battlefield, and most of those who survived were treated."

"Where are the prisoners of war being held?"

"They are all in the stable at the back, under guard."

There were so many prisoners that they filled up 17 or 18 stables of over 100 square meters.

Song Yuzhu followed him to the detention center and smelled a pungent, foul odor before he got close.

The military camp has been too busy these days and no one is taking care of them. They eat, drink, defecate and urinate in this small stable, so the smell is naturally unpleasant.

Soon Zhao Xiao also hurried over: "I heard from the guard that you are here."

Song Yuzhu: "What are you going to do with these people?"

Zhao Xiao was also worried. In the past, King Qing never kept any prisoners, and basically killed them if they caught any. But now is different from the past. If they continue to do so, what difference will there be between them and King Qing?

"I don't know what to do. There are too many people. I'm afraid that if I let them go, it will cause chaos."

"We can't keep them locked up like this. We have to make use of them."

While the two were talking, the prisoners in the stable suddenly became a commotion.

"Help, help! Help!" A tall and strong man shouted loudly while holding another man.

The soldier in charge of guarding the place shouted angrily: "Why are you screaming? If you scream again, I'll kill you!"

The man begged, "Please save my brother, he is dying."

The guards would not sympathize with them. How many of their brothers had been killed by them! They whipped him and said, "Go back quickly. If you dare to run away again, you will be killed without mercy!"

The man was unmoved and continued to shout: "Come and save him! I will do anything to save him..."

Song Yuzhu and his group rushed over upon hearing the noise and asked what had happened.

The guard was shocked when he saw Zhao Xiao, and quickly knelt down and said, "This man said his brother is sick and asked someone to help treat him."

When the captives saw the clothes the three men were wearing, they knew they were officials and they kowtowed to them: "Sir, please be kind and save him!"

Song Yuzhu walked forward and felt the pulse of the person on the ground. He was still alive, but not in good condition.

"Take the person back." This place is dirty and messy and is not a place for medical treatment.

Seeing this, the man kneeling on the ground rushed over like crazy: "No, you can't take him away!"

Zhao Xiao raised his leg and kicked him out. The force of the kick was so strong that an ordinary person would not be able to get up for a long time. Unexpectedly, this man got up in an instant: "Please don't kill him!"

Song Yuzhu said: "You misunderstood, I am going to save him, if you are worried, you can go with me."

The man nodded, quickly picked up the person on the ground and followed them away.

The man found a clean barracks and carried the injured person inside, while he squatted aside and watched the few people vigilantly.

Song Yuzhu checked the patient's body and found that he had no injuries. He asked, "Did your brother have any reaction before?"

"He said his stomach hurt and the pain was unbearable."

"Do you know where exactly it hurts?"

The man thought for a moment and placed his hand on the right side of his abdomen: "It should be here."

Song Yuzhu nodded. If his guess was correct, this person had acute appendicitis. In modern times, a simple operation could cure it, but in ancient times it was a terminal illness that could kill people.

Fortunately, I brought a medicine box with me, so I was able to perform surgery on him.

"Tell someone to boil some hot water and help him clean up."

"Hey." Bai Yizhou went out with a few soldiers.

The man squatting next to him asked with tears in his eyes: "Can he be saved?"

"Maybe, maybe not." Song Yuzhu didn't know how serious the appendix was. If it was perforated, it would be impossible to save it with the current medical equipment.

The man wiped his tears and said, "As long as you can save him, I'm willing to do anything you ask me to do!"

Zhao Xiao asked, "What was your position in the Sheng army before?" This kid must have some kung fu skills. An ordinary person would definitely not be able to withstand that kick just now, but he looks like nothing happened now.

The man replied truthfully: "My name is Li Jichen, and I am the captain of a thousand households in the army."

Yang Yuanzhen's army was originally the Dongzhou garrison. Except for the main general Ge Hongtao, there were two deputy generals who had all died in battle. Now the thousand households is the highest official position.

Song Yuzhu asked: "If I save him, will you be loyal to me?"

Li Jichen raised his hand and swore: "As long as you save him, my life will be yours. If you break your oath, you will go to the eighteen levels of hell and never be reborn in this life!"

The ancients attached great importance to oaths. Seeing that he had made such a solemn oath, Song Yuzhu had already accepted him to some extent in her heart.

"Is this man your brother?"

Li Jichen shook his head: "It's my brother."

Song Yuzhu asked puzzledly: "What is Brother Qi?"

Zhao Xiao behind him coughed: "It's equivalent to the relationship between husband and wife."

At first, the practice of sworn brotherhood was only popular in poor mountain villages. Many bachelors who could not find wives were lonely and helpless, so they simply looked for someone to live with. This is the origin of the practice of sworn brotherhood.

Later, some people in the barracks secretly became sworn brothers, not only to relieve their desires, but more because they wanted to have someone to rely on on the battlefield.

The man lying on the bed was Li Jichen's sworn brother. The two had been together for five years and had never been apart. They were also trying their best to protect each other during this battle. Unexpectedly, after being captured, the sworn brother suddenly had a stomachache, which caused him to roll on the ground and faint.

Soon someone brought hot water over, and Li Jichen asked to help his sworn brother clean his body.

Song Yuzhu asked everyone else to retreat, leaving only Zhao Xiao by his side to protect him.

"He is very ill. I will make an incision in his stomach and remove his damaged intestines."

Li Jichen's eyes widened. He had never heard of such a method of curing an illness. He was so scared that he quickly shook his head: "Are you going to kill him?!"

"If his rotten intestines are not removed, your adopted brother will surely die."

The man looked into Song Yuzhu's eyes and saw that he didn't seem to be lying, so he finally nodded resignedly. He clenched his fists and swore in his heart that if his brother died, he would not live alone, and he would drag these two people to be buried with him at all costs!

Zhao Xiao seemed to see what he was thinking and stared at him closely, fearing that he would suddenly attack and hurt Song Yuzhu.

Appendicitis is a minor operation that couldn't be simpler. Song Yuzhu finished it in less than half an hour, and the wound was less than an inch long.

"Is this...is this all right?"

Song Yuzhu washed the blood off his hands and said, "He probably won't die."

Upon hearing this, Li Jichen immediately knelt down and kowtowed to him: "Thank you for saving my life, sir! I am willing to serve you at my utmost!"

Zhao Xiao asked: "What are you capable of?"

"I...I can lead troops to fight."

Song Yuzhu didn't trust him to lead the troops: "Well, since you are the captain of the Sheng army, you can command these soldiers. I plan to let them go to the nearby mountains to chop wood."

"Chop, chop wood?" Li Jichen and Zhao Xiao asked in surprise.

"Yes, firewood for heating." The weather is getting colder and colder, and the cold wave may not subside for a while. It's already more than ten degrees below zero before the twelfth lunar month. If the temperature drops further in a while, the people may not be able to bear it.

"Of course, we won't let you work for free. If you don't chop three loads of firewood a day, we will give you ten cents. For each additional load you chop, we will give you three cents more."

"Divide fifteen people into a group and adopt the system of collective responsibility. If one person escapes, the rest will all be beheaded." The method of collective responsibility was thought up by Xu Bing for him. Although he did not want to kill innocent people, he did not mind killing a chicken to scare the monkeys if someone wanted to escape.

"Also, when cutting down trees, you must leave one tree within ten feet. If you cut them randomly, you will be punished with thirty military strokes!" Cutting down trees is not a long-term solution. There is no other way to keep warm right now. We have to wait until the weather gets warmer next year and then we can study the mineral veins on the map carefully.

Li Jichen nodded in agreement. Although he didn't know why they were asked to go up the mountain to cut trees, this was much easier than fighting a war, and he could also make money. The soldiers would definitely agree!

After leaving the tent, Zhao Xiao asked, "Why did you ask them to chop so much firewood?"

Song Yuzhu put his hands in his pockets and said, "The temperature is dropping too fast. We need to prepare in advance."

He will go to Dongzhou again in a few days, one reason being to investigate the snow disaster in Dongzhou. He heard that tens of thousands of houses were collapsed by the heavy snow, and many refugees gathered outside the city of Dongzhou.

Secondly, he wanted to try whether the map in his mind was what he imagined.

After the victory of the war, the map in Song Yuzhu's mind did not expand, and the map of Dongzhou was still in a mosaic state. Perhaps it was necessary to control that city to activate the map.

(End of this chapter)