Chapter 1170 1261 Going South
In the dense forest more than 20 miles north of Lujiang City, there were people standing in the dark.
In front of the crowd, more than a thousand people were tied to wooden stakes, with bandages wrapped around their mouths to silence them.
Although they tried very hard to break free, everything was in vain.
From the time they were brought here and then tied here, their ending was actually doomed.
Even if they realize it later, they know what will happen next.
Especially after seeing the people brought from a distance, the fear in their hearts filled their bodies.
The only thing uncertain now is how they will die.
“These people are the accomplices of those who bully you.
I don’t know if you know them. If you do, you will definitely know.
They are the cronies around the chieftain, the group of people who work as thugs for them to oppress you.
You could have run away, but those people abandoned you and asked you to stay here and exchange your lives for their escape."
Li Rubai spoke on the stage, and the Burmese army The interpreter explained his words to the other soldiers.
Soon, the scene began to become chaotic and noisy.
During this period, the Ming army instilled in these prisoners of war the idea that they were a group of people who had been abandoned by their leader, and they were asked to exchange their lives for it. Your own peace
Who wants to die?
No one would think so.
If you are still in the army, you will naturally only think of executing orders, even if you die on the battlefield.
However, after the war, they were imprisoned in a prisoner-of-war camp and could only live with one hungry meal every day. When they couldn't see tomorrow, they naturally had time to think about it.
Thinking of the people around them being captured by the Ming army, thinking of those who were far away and escaped with the leader.
Envy, jealousy, and dissatisfaction breed quietly.
Seeing not far away, the miserable appearance of those arrogant and arrogant guys who had followed the big shots and were tied there, I felt a lot more happy in my heart.
“Don’t think I’m sorry for not letting you have enough to eat. Why should we give you our food?
It’s okay to eat well, and it’s okay to eat well. There’s plenty of fish and meat every day. , it’s not a problem, then if you surrender to Ming Dynasty, you have to work hard for Ming Dynasty, and then Ming Dynasty will give you what you want.
Even, we can give you more.”
Li Rubai continued to shout from the high platform.
Now these prisoners of war only have two half-full meals of gruel in the morning and evening every day, and many of them are already thin and disfigured.
In fact, as long as you provide them with food and feed them, many people in this group will choose to be obedient and do whatever they say.
“Kill them and prove your bravery to the Ming Dynasty and the separation of Burma in the past, and you can get what you want.
And you will no longer be ordinary people, You will be incorporated into the Ming army and stay in Myanmar and become officials in charge of Myanmar
From now on, you will no longer be bullied common people, but the masters who manage them
Think about your family, they are still worried about your safety at home, but you can choose your future now, Should I return home in glory or should I stay here? ”
Those Burmese people who understand Chinese are the first people recruited by the Ming army. Only through them can they command the Burmese soldiers.
After all, the language barrier is also very troublesome.
These Burmese translators have actually been designated as the small flags of the Burmese army team. They all have their own chief flag officers, Mr. Baihu.
Of course, these are all filled by meritorious soldiers of the Ming army.
Once the airs are set up and their men are recruited, an army can be formed.
In order to prevent anyone in Cao's camp from caring about the Han, it became an inevitable choice to ask them to execute the personal soldiers of the chieftain leader, completely cutting off their retreat.
This is also the path that the Ming Army had to go through when it was first established in Myanmar. Up to now, the Ming Army does not dare to completely trust them.
“Kill them, and you will become my soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. You will have enough food and wine and meat right away.”
In the distance, several large carts were pulled in, piled with sacks and wine jars, as well as pigs and sheep.
Soon, the Burmese army translator who had been arranged long ago cursed their former chieftain leaders loudly, took the steel knife from the Ming army and walked to the front, facing a bound Burmese Jun waved the weapon in his hand.
One strike on the shoulder did not kill the opponent with one strike.
The Burmese soldier no longer had the usual harsh look in his eyes, only fear.
Although they could not understand what the Ming general said before, they could understand the words of these former Burmese soldiers who came to him.
They want to kill themselves.
In the past, they were the ones who bullied these soldiers, but I never thought that one day I would die by their swords.
Enduring the pain, the man was still struggling. Although it was in vain, he still wanted to shout out.
Unfortunately, no one gave him time. Another person grabbed the steel knife and slashed him again.
Although he felt very unwilling to be the first chicken, the severe pain made him moan and he no longer had the strength to struggle.
Then the third and fourth knife struck his body, and his flesh and blood soon became bloody.
The Burmese soldier who had previously slashed with a knife walked out of the crowd and ran towards the convoy not far away.
There, the Ming army cooks had already begun to put pots on the fire, kill pigs and sheep to prepare a feast.
This was the demonstration effect prepared by Li Rubai. When the Burmese army behind was still hesitating, they saw someone in front had already made the knife, and then they ran to the side waiting to eat meat and drink. Soon someone came Then it started to move.
In fact, the prisoners of war at this time were all blindly obedient.
When the first person comes out, a large group of people will follow behind him.
The soldiers brought by Li Rubai barely maintained order and asked everyone to submit a certificate of surrender.
Actually, by this time, it is meaningless whether or not the sword was swung. Everyone here will be considered to have done it.
Li Rubai had no intention of looking at the noisy execution ground not far away. Li Ruzhen came over and whispered in his second brother's ear: "Should we leave first?"
After that, he also Looking over there with lingering fear.
Li Rubai waved his hand to summon a soldier captain and ordered: "Leave a team of people for a while and bury all these. It looks disgusting."
"Yes, Second Master."
Then The captain of the guards hurriedly clasped his fists in agreement.
The two brothers got off the high platform and saw the Burmese soldiers running over there to eat. Li Ruzhen said again: "Second brother, there are only more than 30,000 people here, but dad wants us to bring back 40,000 people." . ”
“That can’t be helped, there are only so many here.”
Li Rubai spread his hands and said, "Dad ordered people to kill those thousands of people. What can we do?
Besides, more than 30,000 people are enough. Didn't the eldest brother say that he brought 20,000 soldiers, plus 20,000 troops sent south should be enough.
However, I guess dad will take all the people here away."
Li Rubai said. said.
"Actually, I also want to follow my eldest brother south to Toungyu City." Li Ruzhen answered.
“I don’t want to go there, I want to go to Bagan City.
Toungoo City has been occupied by that Yu Manzi, and he probably took away all the good things.
I heard that Bagan City used to be the royal city of Myanmar, and I guess there will be something there.
And I heard recently that the remaining dignitaries in Myanmar are running to Bagan City, and they will probably bring a lot of good things with them. ”
Li Rubai wants to reap benefits even more, and his father and eldest brother will consider things like military merit for him.
As long as you follow their orders, you will definitely get credit.
"Second brother, you heard from Ava City that you got two boxes of treasures. Is it true?"
Li Ruzhen thought of the news he heard, and asked in a low voice. road.
“Hey, you are just stupid, let me teach you two tricks.
Think about it, where are the good things in our house usually placed?
Either he is with daddy, or he is in the warehouse of the house.
When I conquer a city, the first step is to visit those big mansions and move their warehouses.
Do you still remember the heavily guarded tent next to Dad’s military tent?
Last time I wanted to go in and take a look, but that bitch Dai San wouldn’t let me in.
I guess that's where daddy got his treasure this time.
This time we fought out of Ava City, heading for the dignitaries and chieftains, but in the end they were all captured by dad.
Needless to say, all the good things must have fallen into dad’s hands. "
Li Rubai said slightly dissatisfied.
"Second brother, you are too much"
Li Ruzhen did not continue. No matter what he said, he felt that since the Li family was from a general family, they should give priority to fighting for the credit.
As for money, fighting should be put on the back burner at the moment.
However, no one told Li Rubai about this. Li Chengliang focused all his attention on the eldest son, Li Rusong, and neglected to teach his other sons.
This is actually in line with the tradition of the Han people. East Asia is dominated by Han culture. From ancient times to the present, the inheritance system of Han culture has been based on the eldest son inheritance system. This can be seen from the order of succession set by Zhu Yuanzhang. Gotta come out.
If there are direct descendants, there will be no direct descendants. This is also the most basic principle of the patriarchal system.
Throughout Chinese history, the primogeniture system is an inheritance principle implemented under the monogamy and polyconcubine system in ancient China, and is one of the core systems that maintains the patriarchal system.
The eldest son is the first wife and the first wife. The eldest son born to the first wife is the eldest son. The law stipulates that the eldest son has priority in inheritance.
This system started at the end of the Shang Dynasty and was set at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty. The specific stipulation is that "the establishment of direct descendants is based on elders, not virtuous, and the establishment of sons is based on nobles, not elders."
The eldest son inheritance system. Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Han dynasties have basically implemented the eldest son inheritance system stipulated in the Zhou Dynasty's patriarchal system, that is, the eldest son has the right to political inheritance.
The second son and the concubine obtained different secondary political status according to their different status levels.
In the era of ritual system, it was mainly applied to the succession of ancestors - at this time, the family and the country were integrated. The inheritance of ancestors could cover the succession of throne, title and official position.
In the feudal era, the law strictly differentiated between legitimate concubines and concubines, and the eldest son inheritance system was implemented in the inheritance of the throne, title inheritance, official position inheritance and ancestral inheritance. In the inheritance of property, all sons have the right to inherit, and the eldest son still has the right to inherit. Advantageous status - the throne, title, official position, and ancestral lineage are indivisible, and property can be divided is one of the reasons.
This system embodies the concept of hierarchy, which is different from the patriarchal system and the concubine system. However, under the conditions of polygamy and concubine system at that time, conflicts in inheritance were avoided to a certain extent.
This system has continued into modern times. Although the civil law of the 20th century stipulated that each child can inherit the inheritance of their parents equally, in East Asia, especially large clans and families, this system still continues.
It is important to note that although the equal distribution of property among children is said to be introduced from the West, it may actually still be an American system, because they have other ways to circumvent this restriction so that the family can maintain long-term and stable management. Family wealth is concentrated.
In Europe, such as the United Kingdom and other countries, there is also a primogeniture system similar to that of Han culture.
The British property inheritance system emphasizes the absolute right of inheritance of the eldest son, which is somewhat different from China's eldest son inheritance system.
The British primogeniture system means that the eldest son has absolute inheritance rights. Younger sons and daughters do not have the right to inherit property. They can only choose to join the army or go to a monastery.
Li Rubai may have seen through this, knowing that he and his brothers could only get a little bit of what the family would have in the future, so he chose to "lay down".
Of course, if history had originally developed, it would not be surprising that Li Rubai was the only Ming army unit to retreat unscathed from the Battle of Saarhu.
If nothing unexpected happens, with the halo of his father and eldest brother, he can continue to pass on the glory of the Li family.
It's a pity that the rise of the Jurchens in Liaodong cut off the Li family's last way of survival.
Awa City’s former garrison building has now become the headquarters of Li Chengliang’s governor.
"Father, you called me?"
Li Rusong walked quickly into the house from the outside. It was a suspended house made entirely of wood, with multiple wooden piles supporting the ground, similar to Diaojiaolou in Yunnan.
Although the exterior is very simple, the interior is decorated with splendor.
When Li Rusong walked into this place for the first time, he was amazed that an Ava City guard could live in such a house.
The same thing happened after Li Chengliang came here. It was really hard to believe that such a country could be so luxurious.
In Myanmar, gold is not only a symbol of wealth but also considered a sacred object.
The Burmese believe that gold represents the sun and is associated with qualities such as knowledge and enlightenment, so gold is used for decoration on many occasions.
However, after Li Chengliang carefully studied the gold decorations, his interest gradually faded away.
There is indeed a lot of gold in Myanmar, but the quality is not high, or it cannot be purified well.
The gold coins in Myanmar do not meet the requirements of the gold coin rules currently formulated by the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, and the gold content is generally very low.
Of course, if it weren't for this, they wouldn't have so much gold to decorate every corner of their lives.
“This is the letter sent by Yu Dayou of Dongyu City. Please read it.”
When Li Rusong entered the room, Li Chengliang handed over Yu Dayou's letter.
"He is not urging us to send troops south as soon as possible."
Li Rusong took the letter and opened it. As he had guessed, Yu Dayou asked the northern Ming army to go south to Taungyu as soon as possible. city.
Most of the troops he brought were naval troops, and the land division only had 10,000 people. It was really difficult to rule millions of Burmese people.
"Father, what do you mean?"
Li Rusong folded the letter paper and put it into the envelope before asking.
"Although the imperial court has decreed that Myanmar should be dominated by me, we must meet his requirements."
Li Chengliang looked at Li Rusong and said, "Send someone to send a message to the second and third elders as soon as possible. Bring people back.
You first lead an army of 20,000 people southward.”