Chapter 576: Distinguished Guests from Pingzhou
After capturing Gaoyou, they captured a total of two thousand imperial soldiers.
The next day, Qin Zhao, Guo Chong and others planned to meet the prisoners they had captured last night.
Fu Lianheng was wearing handcuffs and leg irons. He noticed that the captured young centurions, thousand-man commanders, etc. were all handcuffed and leg irons. In addition, there were also famous strongmen who were also handcuffed and leg irons. The ordinary soldiers were tied up with ropes.
He wondered why the generals of Pingzhou knew their team quite well.
When Qin Zhao and Guo Chong came in, Fu Lianheng and all the captives looked at them.
Almost all the captives were worried and wondered how the Pingzhou generals would deal with them.
Qin Zhao threw his robe aside, sat on the armchair his subordinates had brought, and said straight to the point, "I'm sure you captives are eager to know what you'll face next."
At this moment, he accepted the tea offered by his personal guards and took a sip before turning his gaze back to the captives. "You are soldiers of the Dali court. We in Pingzhou, in the words of your emperor, are rebels. Last night on the battlefield, we faced each other as mortal enemies."
His words made the prisoners even more uneasy.
"You probably don't know how we in Pingzhou treat Xianbei captives, right? Li Rong, talk to them." After Qin Zhao said this, he lowered his head to drink tea.
Li Rong, a personal soldier beside him, immediately stepped forward and shouted, "If we in Pingzhou capture ordinary herdsmen from the Xianbei Hulu, they will be treated as prisoners."
"But regarding the Xianbei soldiers we captured, no, there won't be such captives. We in Pingzhou don't keep such captives!"
These words were filled with murderous intent, sending a chill down the spines of the captives present. If they didn't keep any captives, wouldn't that mean they were all being killed?
This is how Pingzhou treats the Xianbei soldiers, so how do they treat them?
Qin Zhao then took over the conversation. "Although we are enemies, we are all Han Chinese. We treat you differently from Xianbei captives. As long as you behave yourself, we won't kill you."
The captives heaved a sigh of relief upon hearing this. "Huh, so their lives are saved." Isn't that just keeping quiet? They just did what they were told. They didn't want to risk anything if it meant saving their lives.
"But we can't possibly let you go. If we let you go, and you run away, the imperial court will come back to attack us. Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"
Fu Lianheng thought to himself that there was nothing wrong with what he said.
"We can't kill you, nor can we let you go. But if we keep you locked up for nothing, you'll need to eat and drink, right? It's a heavy burden on us to take care of everything. And I'm sure you wouldn't like it if you were tied up like this, unable to move, right?"
The prisoners didn't say anything. In fact, they were happy to eat and drink for free, but they didn't dare to say it.
"So, you can work for us for a while, right?" Qin Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Work for two months, and when the time is up, we'll let you go. Now I'll give you a day to think about it, this time tomorrow -"
Before Qin Zhao finished speaking, someone in the group of prisoners shouted, "I'm willing to work!"
"I do, too!"
"I also……"
The captives were all very enthusiastic. It was a joke. Who wouldn't jump at the chance to save their lives? It was just work, wasn't it? Just treat it like corvée labor!
A smile flashed in Qin Zhao's eyes. After everyone gradually quieted down, he finally said, "In Pingzhou, we are used to using courtesy before force. I will trust you for this time. Don't try to play tricks. Otherwise, if we find out that you are not honest, you don't want to know the consequences."
Finally, Qin Zhao ordered his men to bring out the prisoners who were willing to work. As for those who were unwilling to work, they were given a steamed bun and a bowl of water every day, as long as they were not starving to death.
They don't keep idle people in Pingzhou!
They don't kill their compatriots in Pingzhou, but those who starve to death because of laziness are another matter.
After returning from the prisoner-of-war camp, they were just about to eat when their subordinates reported that Bai Xingzhi had arrived.
Qin Zhao and Guo Chong exchanged a glance and said, "Please come in! Forget it, we'll go and greet them."
Bai Xingzhi was a little flattered to see that Qin Zhao and Guo Chong came out to greet him in person this time.
The senior officials in Pingzhou are really polite.
Qin Zhao and Guo Chong: When you drink water, remember the person who dug the well.
As soon as the two sides met, after a brief greeting, Qin Zhao and others led him inside.
"Mr. Bai, have you eaten yet? If not, why not have something with us?"
"I've eaten."
"You can eat a little more even if you've already eaten, just to fill your stomach." Qin Zhao ignored his politeness and asked someone to bring another set of bowls and chopsticks.
Bai Xingzhi had no choice but to take a seat. He glanced at the dishes and said with a smile, "Your food is quite good."
"We captured Gaoyou yesterday and replenished a batch of food supplies." Qin Zhao said reservedly.
In fact, all the soldiers had extra meals today.
Bai Xingzhi was quite surprised to hear this, and at the same time he had a new understanding of Pingzhou's strength. Pingzhou should have captured Gaoyou very quickly, and it was unexpected, otherwise they would not have been able to seize even the enemy's food and grass.
After dinner, Bai Xingzhi told everyone why he came.
Qin Zhao was stunned. What? They were going to get another city for free? And this city was Jiankang?!
Guo Chong was also surprised.
Qin Zhao came back to his senses and grabbed Bai Xingzhi. "Thank you so much, Prince Jin! You always think of Pingzhou when good things happen to you! Mr. Bai, please tell Prince Jin that he will be our honored guest in Pingzhou from now on! We will always welcome him in Pingzhou!"
Oh my god, what a wonderful day today is! The King of Jin is such a good man!
"General Qin Zhao, please let go of my sleeve first. We can talk slowly."
Guo Chong, who was standing by, understood the principle of striking the snake while it was still under attack. He immediately asked, "Mr. Bai, Mr. Bai, should we go and take over now or in the afternoon?"
"That's not a big deal. General Qin Zhao, Military Advisor Guo, our prince decided to give Jiankang to you under great pressure."
Qin Zhao understood what he meant, "Yes, yes, we fully understand your Highness's difficulties. Although Jiankang is flat on three sides and faces a river on one side, making it easy to attack but difficult to defend, we like it very much!"
Bai Xingzhi: ...Now that you say that, how can I ask for a price?
Otherwise, why not just hold his nose and let Pingzhou give him whatever he wants?
Guo Chong gave Qin Zhao a wink, saying that this was not a one-time deal and they had to show some sincerity.
Although Jiankang is easy to attack but difficult to defend, they captured a city without spending a single soldier, which saved them a lot of effort!
Furthermore, they still hoped that the next time the King of Jin encountered a city that he could not defend, or even a city that he did not want, he would still think of Pingzhou.
Qin Zhao nodded implicitly.
Guo Chong then said, "Mr. Bai, we truly understand what you mean. The King of Jin treats us in Pingzhou with great kindness, and we are not ungrateful. But I personally believe that what the King of Jin lacks is not gold, silver, or jewelry. I can probably guess what you are planning. But ask yourself, will the King of Jin accept your plan?"
Guo Chong's gaze seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.
Bai Xingzhi heard this, thought for a moment, and sighed slightly. Considering the prince's pride as a member of the royal family, he was afraid that he would not be able to accept the path he had chosen for him.
"So, our Pingzhou's return gift is to help King Jin solve his urgent problem!"
Bai Xingzhi raised his eyebrows. Why is he so arrogant?
"Well, let's go to Jiankang later. You can take a look at our work. If you are satisfied, we can help you fix it too."
"Okay, here's the warrant. Take it and you can enter the city smoothly."
Qin Zhao took the token and asked someone to call Yue Shu, gave him the token, and asked him to select 12,000 soldiers and go to take over Jiankang.
Yue Shu took the order and left.
When Qin Zhao gave the order, he did not avoid Bai Xingzhi.
"You only sent 12,000 soldiers to garrison Jiankang? Isn't that a bit too few?"
Qin Zhao patted his chest and assured, "Don't worry, Mr. Bai. Since the prince has given Jiankang to us Pingzhou, we will definitely guard the north for you! You can just deploy heavy troops in the southwest and teach the imperial army a lesson."
An hour later, Qin Zhao sent the dazed Bai Xingzhi away, "Mr. Bai, please come often."
Bai Xingzhi is a lucky charm. Every time he comes, he brings them gifts. I really hope I can see him from time to time.
Guo Chong laughed and said, "You're just thinking about the benefits of this person, not really wanting to meet him, right?"
Qin Zhao: Even though we see through it but don’t say it out loud, we are still comrades.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
