Nu Yalang of Tang Dynasty

On the third day after the Battle of Sahe Neishan, Zhou Jun, escorted by Sun Aying and other Tang soldiers, was counting the Turkic prisoners in Kanlu.

In addition to a dozen makeshift wooden stakes, there were only hay and rags that could barely block the wind and snow in the huge fence.

Nearly a hundred Turkic men, shackled on their feet, connected two by two, gathered together shivering, hoping to use each other's body temperature to keep each other warm.

There are no less than three hundred such fences in the back camp.

Sun Aying held the windshield in one hand and the hand-held inkstone in the other. Seeing that the weather was cold and the ink was slightly frozen, he asked his companions to help and light up some candles in the hollow of the inkstone.

Zhou Jun watched and took notes based on the physical signs and appearance of the prisoners, but he was thinking about the scene when Shuofang's army invaded the Turkic camp a few days ago.

Tens of thousands of Turkic civilians huddled on a hill like zombies. Slaughtered and washed human limbs were hung on the branches. Shocking minced meat was boiled in the cauldron, and mutilated human bones could be seen everywhere.

Even Zhou Jun, who had seen many bloody scenes in his previous life, couldn't help but feel nauseated and vomited when he saw the scene that was like Shura Hell.

The eleven Turkic tribes driven by Apodagan totaled more than 60,000 civilians.

More than half of those who froze to death, starved to death, or were eaten, and the remaining survivors were less than 30,000. Zhou Jun still finds it hard to believe when he thinks about it now.

A gust of cold wind blew in through the gap in the fence, and Zhou Jun, who was wrapped tightly, shivered.

After recording the prisoners in the fence, he put the Kan book away and nodded to Sun Aying, indicating that he could go out.

Sun Aying called to the Tang soldiers around him and said hello to the auxiliary soldiers responsible for guarding.

Everyone exited the fence.

Zhou Jun lowered his head and glanced at the thick book in his hand, and clicked the number of surviving prisoners. He thought to himself, Wang Zhongsi is indeed a veteran of Shuofang, he is ruthless and ruthless.

Thousands of prisoners were organized into the Yamen Army, and not only were they placed in the first line, but there was no supervising battle, and it was clear that they were to be executed.

The captured Turkic soldiers, regardless of their injuries or illnesses, and their rations were halved, were all thrown into the fence that was comparable to an ice cellar. So many died every night that there would not be many left alive if they returned to Shuofang.

However, Wang Zhongsi did these two things carefully and left some details behind, just to block the censor's mouth and leave no clues.

While thinking about it, Zhou Jun moved his steps and walked towards the female prisoners' pen.

There was a sound of horse hooves outside the rear camp. At the entrance of the camp, several riders got off their horses. They first asked the camp soldiers, and then walked straight towards Zhou Jun and his party.

Zhou Jun took a closer look and immediately recognized the person—Li Guangbi, the Youjunzi general.

Li Guangbi's face was full of spring breeze. When he saw Zhou Jun from a distance, he cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Zhou Lingshi."

Zhou Jun stopped, saluted Li Guangbi and said, "How can General Li have time to come here these days when the Guards Company has been marching for military meetings?"

Li Guangbi: "My unit has decided on a strategy, but the subsequent military discussions have nothing to do with me."

Zhou Jun was stunned.

Li Guangbi looked at Zhou Jun, bowed his hands and saluted, and said solemnly: "Guangbi thanked Zhou Lingshi."

Zhou Jun was stunned: "Why do you thank me?"

Li Guangbi: "Zhou Lingshi once told the governor that Apodagan used the rout as bait and disappeared in the northeast. I had doubts in my heart before, but I just didn't believe it."

"The Protector ordered someone to set up an ambush again, but Guang Bi Lue was unwilling to follow his lead and felt resentful in his heart."

"Unexpectedly, on that day, it was just as Ling Shi expected. The battle was only halfway through, and Apodagan secretly walked on the trail and fled to the northeast."

"A certain person was lucky enough to capture an enemy chieftain and achieve great success, but he knew that it was all the master's miraculous calculation."

Zhou Jun waved his hand and said: "Being able to capture the enemy chief was based on his ability. It should be General Li's first achievement. This is just a guess, and it cannot be regarded as much credit."

Li Guangbi was moved and just raised his hands and said: "Zhou Ling Shi Gaoyi."

Zhou Jun humbled himself and continued his work of capturing Kan Lu. Li Guangbi volunteered to accompany him.

Entering the pen of the female prisoners, Zhou Jun saw dozens of Turkic women of various ages huddled next to the charcoal fire.

When they saw men entering the pen, some of the Turkic women were afraid and backed away, some were sobbing softly, and some had dull eyes and remained motionless.

Zhou Jun looked at the situation of the female prisoners' enclosure and couldn't help but nodded.

The conditions here are far better than those in the male prisoners' pen.

The hay and rags used to block the wind and snow were replaced by tents, and a charcoal fire was raised in the middle for heating.

But this is natural. In the eyes of Shuofang Army, these Turkic female prisoners are more valuable than male prisoners.

Zhou Jun walked around the fence, checking the records while making additions, deletions and revisions.

Li Guangbi waited for him to finish recording, and said with a smile: "Zhou Lingshi knows that during the military meeting this morning, Fan Jianjun had a quarrel with Wang Duhu."

Zhou Jun raised his head, looked at Li Guangbi and asked, "Why?"

Li Guangbi chuckled and just looked at the female prisoner in the fence.

Zhou Jun reacted instantly. The quarrel between Fan Jinian and Wang Zhongsi was probably about the distribution of spoils.

After the Northern Expedition to the Turks, apart from copying, prisoners were required to be registered and reported, but how much and how to report was another science.

The Turkic leaders and nobles all had to be taken to Chang'an to worship at the Ancestral Temple and perform prisoner sacrifice ceremonies, so naturally they could not move.

Under normal circumstances, male prisoners of war would be favored by the emperor and used as sin slaves to undertake tasks such as building cities, farming fields, digging canals, and doing coolies in the bitter cold frontier.

As for female prisoners, handling them is more complicated.

First of all, female slaves with excellent appearance and musical talent will be sent to the workshop to be trained as court actresses.

Secondly, female slaves who are younger, educated, and good-looking will be sent to the Yeting Bureau. After a period of training, they will be sent to imperial palaces, concubine mansions and other royal residences to undertake many chores.

Thirdly, female slaves who are older or whose appearance and body shape are not up to standard will be sent to Sinong Temple and other places to undertake labor such as palace field work and silk reeling.

As for the private market of slaves in Shuofang Army, the noble leaders were not allowed to keep it, male prisoners of war were difficult to sell, and female slaves whose quality was too low had no trading value.

Therefore, the main conflict between Wang Zhongsi and Fan Jinian regarding the distribution of female slaves focused on the treatment of the first and second categories of female slaves.

Zhou Jun thought of this and asked Li Guangbi: "If I remember correctly, the Du branch of the Tang Dynasty allocates taxes uniformly. Among them, those left in the state and those allocated abroad should be used as food and salary for the army. Why does Shuofang's army still sell slaves privately?"

Li Guangbi first smiled bitterly when he heard this, and then said: "Zhou Lingshi didn't know something, and Shuofang's army sold slaves privately, so he had no choice but to do so."

Zhou Jun: "Is it a last resort?"

Li Guangbi first took Zhou Jun out of the fence, then waved his hand to signal his subordinates and Sun Aying to stand farther away, and then said to Zhou Jun: "Everyone in the world thinks that military envoys are greedy and pursue windfalls, so they run slaves. In fact, this is not the case.

.In fact, the army is experiencing a shortage of food and pay year by year, which has endangered the morale of the army."

Zhou Jun was surprised: "What?"

Li Guangbi sighed and slowly explained: "Military envoys mostly receive food and salary through three channels: taxation, farming and mutual trade."

"Let's talk about tax allocation first. Since the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, taxes and levies have been increased, and tyrants and tyrants have merged. Princes, officials and wealthy families have set up farmland and annexed it without fear of the regulations. As a result, the people have no place to live and are abandoned to avoid taxes.

Selling property."

"The government troops no longer had any land left, so the military envoys had to recruit able men to serve as soldiers, which cost a lot of money. However, in the 20th year of Kaiyuan, Prime Minister Li also wrote the "Department of the Branch Chief", and the tax revenue for the previous year was determined by the allocation for the next year.

Draw."

"The cost of recruiting troops increases year by year, but the tax allocation is based on the previous year, and the branch commanders are released according to the last year. Therefore, the food and pay of Shuofang's army are stretched thin, and they have been suffering for a long time."

After a pause, Li Guangbi said again: "Let's talk about farming."

"At the beginning of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Shuofang's army camped in the fields, and was given fifteen villages, each with a hundred and thirty people, each of whom cultivated one hundred acres, covering more than six hundred miles, twenty fences, and more than three thousand eight hundred hectares of cultivated land. The annual harvest was

Two hundred thousand shi of millet, and more than 20 million shi of provincial expenses."

"After entering Tianbao, the war was successful. The ministers granted fields, and the state capitals were all under control. Most of the fields in the army were lost, and the armies in Shuofang often struggled to transport them. In the battle of driving, the enemy must be solid. Leave it idle and only eat food.

For cutting.”

Zhou Jun sighed. When the military system and military garrisoning were popular in the Tang Dynasty, Shuofang's army was relatively wealthy.

However, the annexation of land, the expenditure on recruiting troops, the reorganization of military expenditures, the division of military fields, and the crushing of several mountains at the same time overwhelmed Shuofang's army.

Zhou Jun asked Li Guangbi: "What about the last step, mutual trading? The Tang Dynasty and the Mobei tribes traded silk horses, so Shuofang's army should benefit?"

Li Guangbi sighed: "In order to win over the tribes in Mobei, the Tang Dynasty fixed the price of horses and silk to benefit Beidi, and Shuofang's army made very little profit from it."

When Zhou Jun heard this, he just sighed.

From this point of view, it is really a helpless move for Shuofang's army to engage in the private trade of slaves to supplement military pay.