Chapter 194 Going to ask for help (asking for monthly tickets)
"Also, I will be responsible for the disposal of the 200,000 surrendered soldiers."
"what you up to?"
Zhao Yuanxi: "Since those surrendered soldiers are a burden, we must first arrange their whereabouts. Just like I told you before, divide and conquer!"
According to convention, some surrendered soldiers would be incorporated into the Qin army, while more would be sentenced to forced labor and sent to various passes and large-scale projects as laborers. In extreme cases, the Qin army would choose to execute all the surrendered soldiers.
The reason why Bai Qi chose to kill 400,000 Zhao soldiers was because there were too many of them and they could neither be recruited nor released. The best way was to kill them all to prevent future troubles.
They are now facing a similar situation.
Not only that, there are more than 300,000 Zhao people who are ready to make moves, which is also very troublesome.
Zhao Yuanxi knew it was difficult, but she had to do it.
Ying Zheng looked into her eyes, clenching his fingers into fists. "Five days, five days at most. If the situation cannot be stabilized, I cannot allow my Qin army to be plunged into a bitter battle with the Zhao army."
Zhao Yuanxi gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, it's a deal."
Five days was neither long nor short, but it was enough for her to get the job done.
Zhao Yuanxi was about to leave when he heard Ying Zheng's voice behind him again.
"Empress Dowager!"
She turned around and said, "Huh?"
"Be careful in everything."
Zhao Yuanxi chuckled, "Don't worry! You know how strong I am, and don't I have the guards you sent with me?"
Ying Zheng looked at the mess in front of him and laughed in silence.
However, it is easy to dodge a spear but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark.
He didn't care about the life or death of the surrendered soldiers, and those Zhao people were also unimportant to him, but when it came to the safety of the Queen Mother, Ying Zheng had to be cautious.
Ying Zheng: "Let Meng Tian come to see me."
After leaving the Zhao Palace, Zhao Yuanxi went to see Li Mu first.
Li Mu was not in the mansion, but went out with his soldiers to rescue people.
Although the Wu'an Jun Mansion also suffered an earthquake, it is still relatively well preserved. Apart from some fallen tiles, the main house and several nearby houses show no signs of tilting or collapse.
"Your Majesty, please wait here. I will go find General Li right away."
Zhao Yuanxi nodded and asked the person beside him, "Who are these children?"
"Their parents were crushed to death. If they were left outside, they would have no chance of survival. The general had no choice but to bring them back and let them live here first."
There were twenty or thirty children scattered around the yard. They had injuries on their hands, feet, faces and bodies, but they didn't cry or make a fuss, and their eyes were empty.
Zhao Yuanxi noticed a child about their age, carrying a medicine box that was not much smaller than his. His little face was gray, but his eyes were bright. He was treating their wounds one by one.
Only when the wound where the blood had coagulated was torn open did the children dare to cry out loudly, sobbing softly at first and then wailing loudly.
"who is he?"
"I heard that this is the general's adopted child. He learned some medical skills from the Zhao army doctors. Now that the doctors have been sent out to save people, he is the only one who can help these children. The general seems to call him Ah Zhu."
Not long after, Li Mu hurried in.
"Her Majesty the Queen Mother."
At this moment, Li Mu was in a disheveled state, sweating profusely, with black and white streaks on his face. He no longer looked like the great general he used to be. His sleeves and shoes were covered in mud, and his hands were covered with various wounds.
Zhao Yuanxi didn't have time to exchange pleasantries with him and said bluntly, "General Li, I need your help now."
Zhao Yuanxi did not tell Li Mu that Ying Zheng planned to kill the surrendered soldiers, but only explained the current chaos inside and outside Handan City.
However, even if she didn't say it, Li Mu had already noticed that the Qin army was restless in the past two days, and he had a bad suspicion. The appearance of Queen Mother Zhao confirmed his judgment.
"What does the Queen Mother want me to do?"
"I want you to take a group of surrendered soldiers and rebuild Handan."
Providing work instead of relief is something that has been favored by all dynasties. Zhao Yuanxi now wants to put the surrendered Zhao troops into the reconstruction of Handan City, but someone must be able to stabilize these Zhao troops and make them work willingly.
Li Mu is the best candidate.
His reputation in Zhao State was high enough, and most of the surrendered soldiers were his subordinates. The city of Handan was not severely destroyed by the Qin army, and the soldiers and civilians were not massacred. Li Mu played a significant role in this.
The people of Zhao would not trust the Qin army, but they would believe that Li Mu would not harm them.
"Okay." Li Mu agreed without hesitation.
Zhao Yuanxi quickly took Li Mu to the prisoner-of-war camp.
The walls of the prisoner-of-war camp had collapsed in many places due to the earthquake two days ago. For this reason, Wang Jian sent a large number of Qin troops to repair the walls and guard the surrendered soldiers.
The moment he stepped into the camp, Zhao Yuanxi felt the atmosphere around him was extremely depressing.
There were too many Qin troops patrolling around, and the frequency was too high. In just half an incense stick of time, Zhao Yuanxi had already seen three waves of Qin troops patrolling past her.
When Qiang Wei heard that the Queen Mother had arrived, he hurried out to greet her, "This humble general pays his respects to the Queen Mother."
"No need to be so polite." Zhao Yuanxi waved his hand. "General Qiang, I think you already know the purpose of my coming here. I now ask you to hand over all the surrendered soldiers to me for disposal."
"May I ask, Your Majesty, how do you plan to deal with them?" Qiang Wei did not give in, but instead pressed on.
If these 200,000 surrendered soldiers are not handled properly, chaos will occur. As the manager of the prisoner-of-war camp, Qiang Wei must ensure that everything goes smoothly.
Zhao Yuanxi asked in return, "General Qiang, please answer a few questions for me first. Of these 200,000 surrendered soldiers, how many were born in Handan?"
"Thirty thousand."
"How many are there around Handan City?"
"About fifty thousand."
"The rest are from other places in Zhao State?"
"yes."
Zhao Yuanxi: "I want you to register the 50,000 people living around Handan and release them. All those born in Handan will be incorporated into the Qin army. Each squad leader will lead a Zhao person. Of the remaining 120,000, half will be given to Li Mu, and the other half will be retained for logistics."
The earthquake affected not only Handan, but also the neighboring towns and villages. The people of Zhao should go back to save their families instead of staying here. If these 50,000 young and middle-aged laborers can return to their hometown, they can at least provide some help to the elderly, weak and sick who remain in the village.
The 300,000 Qin troops were more than enough to recruit 30,000 Zhao surrendered soldiers, so there would not be any trouble.
As for the remaining 120,000, 60,000 given to Li Mu is enough to help rebuild Handan City. If more are given, some people may become restless.
Qiang Wei had no objection to incorporating part of the Zhao army into the Qin army, but he disagreed with releasing the 50,000 men. "Queen Dowager, what if we can't find these 50,000 men after we release them?"
Zhao Yuanxi was puzzled: "Why do you want to bring them back? Let them eat and sleep here? And send someone to watch them?"
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