The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The ancients said that "killing and surrendering is unlucky", that is, massacring prisoners is unlucky. However, there are still a few cases where the commander-in-chief will choose to massacre the surrendered soldiers. The most famous massacre of surrendered soldiers in history is undoubtedly Bai Qi. During the war, he massacred 400,000 surrendered soldiers, which was called "human massacre".

The surrendered pawns are all people who have no ability to resist. After all, it is easy to kill them. They usually use traps to kill them.

Many people may think that the so-called "pit killing" means digging a pit and burying the person alive. In fact, this is not the case.

In ancient records, it was actually written as "killing in a trap" rather than "killing in a pit".

For example, there is a record in Sima Qian's "Historical Records: The Benji of Xiang Yu" that "it has been plucked out, and all of them are buried".

The pronunciation of "阬" is the same as "pit", but it only means "the opening set in the city wall, that is, the city gate".

In fact, the so-called trap killing is not to be understood literally. The true meaning refers to the behavior of ancient armies killing enemy soldiers and piling up the corpses after fighting.

There was a practice in ancient Chinese army battles. The victorious side would pile the bodies of the defeated side's dead on both sides of the road, cover them with soil and compact them, forming large pyramid-shaped mounds, which were named "Jingguan" or "Wujun". To show off martial arts.

Back then, Bai Qi killed 400,000 Zhao soldiers in a trap, which was actually to build a temple in Beijing.

As for the spread of ominous sayings about killing prisoners, there are nothing more than two effects: first, your opponent thinks you have "bad rules" and will use the same brutal method to retaliate against you; second, your opponent thinks there is no benefit in surrendering and will fight you to the death in the future.

Of course, moral and religious concepts are also important, mainly because this behavior is seen as immoral and cruel.

The prisoners have surrendered, and killing them again is considered to have bad consequences. Although killing prisoners is sometimes a psychological warfare tactic to shock the opponent by showing the enemy's cruelty, it may also trigger a strong backlash and revenge from the opponent. .

For this reason, when ancient generals decided to kill or not to kill, they needed to comprehensively consider the gains and losses before making a decision.

When Bai Qi killed 400,000 Zhao soldiers in a trap, all he wanted to do was to completely shake the foundation of the Zhao state.

In fact, it was also because of the Changping War that Zhao never recovered and became one of the seven heroes of the Warring States Period to be kicked out.

Of course, Bai Qi was eventually forced to commit suicide because of the aftermath of the Battle of Changping.

Yes, the famous general Bai Qi won an unprecedented victory in Changping, but his ending was also closely linked to this battle.

After the Battle of Changping, Bai Qi wanted to destroy the State of Zhao in one go. Therefore, the State of Zhao was weak after the Battle of Changping and had not yet organized an army to defend Handan.

The other five countries have not come back to their senses, and are even more afraid of the Qin army. At this time, they will definitely win if they attack Zhao.

However, Fan Ju believed that Zhao should not be destroyed at this time to prevent the five kingdoms from attacking, so King Qin asked Bai Qi to return to his army.

After Bai Qi moved his troops back to the country, the King of Qin changed his mind again and thought that Zhao should be destroyed, so he asked Bai Qi to lead the army to the expedition.

Bai Qi believed that the opportunity to fight had been lost and that any attempt to attack Zhao would be defeated, so he did not agree to fight.

The King of Qin sent other generals to lead the army to attack Zhao, but they were defeated. He also led the five countries to join forces to attack Qin, and approached Hangu Pass.

The King of Qin asked Bai Qi to lead the troops to resist the enemy outside the pass. Bai Qi said that I was not needed to guard Hangu Pass, a general would be enough.

Sure enough, General Mengyu defended Hangu Pass, but the King of Qin thought that Bai Qi was disobedient and difficult to control, so he ordered Bai Qi to die.

In fact, it was rumored that Bai Qi committed suicide, but he actually committed suicide with the King of Qin Sword.

For this reason, anyone who kills prisoners will be persuaded by the example of Bai Qi.

However, at this time, Li Chengliang was eager to pacify Burma, so he naturally needed a stable rear area. He also hoped that the prisoners of war would be obedient and help the Ming army carry their baggage, so he chose to use thunder to scare them.

As for the rest, I can no longer care about it.

After the warrant was written, someone was immediately sent to Luo Rufang, asking him to execute it as soon as possible.

He wrote two such orders, one of which was handed directly to the prisoner camp general. He was also worried that Luo Rufang was unwilling to carry out this order and argue with him.

As for concealing it, Li Chengliang didn't even think about it.

Such a big thing cannot be hidden from anyone, so it is better to do it openly than to be secretive.

Anyway, as long as the affairs in Myanmar are handled well, Li Chengliang believes that Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde in the capital will help him wipe his ass.

In fact, he was still fantasizing about another person, that is, the British princely family.

In 1410 AD, the eighth year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty general Zhang Fu conquered Jiaozhi, fought with Ji Kuo in the Yujiang River, and defeated Chen Jikuo.

Ji Kuo was frightened and fled. The Ming soldiers pursued him to Guling County, Huichao, and Lingchang Haikou. They beheaded more than 3,000 people and captured his general Li Nong. After the war, they killed more than 2,000 prisoners of war and "built the Jingguan" .

Of course, Zhang Fu dared to be safe, but Li Chengliang did not dare to do the same after killing these prisoners.

After Li Chengliang issued the order, the news quickly spread among the army, which naturally caused the generals to be surprised and confused.

Although people kept going to the Chinese army's tent to persuade him, Li Chengliang refused to listen at all and continued to do what he wanted.

Even Mu Changzuo, who was supervising the army outside, rushed back. After arguing with Li Chengliang, he could not persuade Li Chengliang to change his original intention.

Luo Rufang, who was still stranded in Lujiang City, was shocked when she saw Li Chengliang's order.

He hurriedly wrote to Li Chengliang to plead for mercy. He could agree to the others, but he must not kill prisoners.

However, within a day of sending his letter, he received news that more than a thousand Burmese prisoners of war had been killed in the prisoner camp in accordance with Li Chengliang's order.

At this time, the Ming army had surrounded Yingjiang Ferry, and Hanba and Mengboluo were a step slower.

At this time, there were only 30,000 to 40,000 Burmese troops crossing the river, and tens of thousands of people on the riverside did not have time to cross the river.

Under the cover of Portuguese cannons and bird guns, the Ming army continued to harvest the lives of Burmese soldiers.

Under such pressure, the remaining 40,000 people finally surrendered to the Ming army under the leadership of Hanba.

So far, the main force of the 170,000 troops led by Mang Yinglong had been wiped out under Li Chengliang's step-by-step pressure, and the remaining 50,000 people fled to Nanyaguan in a panic.

"What, the Burmese king's retreat direction is Mengyang and Gongzhang?"

After Mang Yinglong left Nanyaguan with his son and the remaining troops, the Ming army immediately followed.

The scouts soon discovered the retreat direction of the Burmese army and reported it to Li Chengliang.

To be honest, Mang Yinglong's retreat route was somewhat beyond Li Chengliang's expectations.

In his opinion, going through Hanlongguan would undoubtedly be the fastest way to return to Myanmar.

With the eldest son Li Rusong in charge, as long as the Ming army only followed the Burmese army's defeated soldiers, it was completely possible to annihilate the main force of the Burmese army outside Hanlong Pass and capture and kill the Burmese king Mang Yinglong.

However, Mang Yinglong did not play by the rules and chose to take a detour to escape.

As for the current situation on the south road, Li Chengliang only knew that the Ming army had arrived at the city of Hanlong Pass, but the Burmese army resisted stubbornly and failed to break the city.

As for Li Rusong's troops outside the pass, there is no news yet.

With Hanlong Pass blocking the way, the communication between the north and south of the Ming army was not smooth and it was difficult to contact.

There were still tens of thousands of Burmese troops at Hanlong Pass.

After dismissing the scouts, Li Chengliang immediately sent someone to call his fifth son Li Rumei.

Li Rumei is only thirteen years old now, and is still a teenager according to the current view.

However, people from general families do not agree with this.

In fact, Li Chengliang has accumulated merits for his sons.

Before, Li Chengliang sent all three of his sons out, leaving the fourth son Li Ruzhang to serve by his side, and the fifth son Li Rumei to walk in the central army tent.

"Father."

Li Rumei entered the army tent and immediately saluted and shouted.

"Okay, I called you here today to tell you something."

Li Chengliang said.

When Li Rumei heard that his father had something to tell her, he immediately bowed and said, "Please tell me, father."

"You will lead a team of soldiers to Hanlong Pass immediately and find a way to contact your eldest brother outside the pass.

I have a handwritten order here, you take it to Zhang Guangyin, and Hanlong Pass will be left to your eldest brother to solve."

Li Chengliang immediately expressed his considerations.

Now that the main force of the Burmese army has been broken, the remaining Burmese army must be in a panic, and it is an opportunity for Li Rusong to practice.

Zhang Guangyin is the commander of the Ming army in Shidian. He was originally a garrison commander. Now he has more than 30,000 soldiers under his command. Together with the troops in Li Rusong's hands, it is not much less than the Burmese army in Hanlong Pass.

The letter to Zhang Guangyin was naturally asking him to obey Li Rusong's orders and promised to ask for credit for him after success.

The court would certainly not be stingy with rewards for this war against Burma. The merit would all depend on Li Chengliang's request for credit.

For Li Chengliang, the most important thing was to capture and kill Mang Yinglong, and then the credit for destroying the country.

"Yes, father."

Hearing the task assigned to him by Li Chengliang, Li Rumei naturally agreed.

Now that the Burmese army was defeated, he was not afraid of any villains who dared to covet him along the way.

Besides, he had a team of personal soldiers to protect him.

Even when he arrived at Hanlong Pass, it was a bit of a headache to contact his brother outside the pass.

Li Rumei had been with Li Chengliang for a long time, so she naturally knew the situation at Hanlong Pass.

Before, Zhang Guangyin tried to contact Li Rusong on the other side after reporting that the army had arrived at Hanlong Pass, but the surrounding mountains prevented him from communicating.

"Go down, prepare early, and set off immediately."

Li Chengliang handed the two letters he had written to Li Rumei, and asked him to go down and prepare for the trip.

After Li Rumei left, Li Chengliang immediately ordered to set off for Nanyaguan early tomorrow morning.

He is now in a day's time away from Nanyaguan.

It can only be said that the placement of more than 40,000 surrendered soldiers has delayed his time.

The vanguard of the Ming army has already chased Yingjiang, and he has to stay on the other side of the river to deal with the follow-up.

Now that the Burmese army's escape route is unobstructed and there is no Ming army blocking the way ahead, Li Chengliang has to travel day and night to supervise the Ming army to pursue.

However, he didn't know that after seeing the letter and knowing the current situation, Li Rusong actually abandoned the tens of thousands of Burmese troops in Hanlongguan, and let Li Ruzhen and Li Rumei stay at the pass, just besieging but not fighting, but instead led the army to join forces with the second brother Li Rubai, and went south from Mengmi to Ava City.

Before the arrival of Mang Yinglong's remnant troops, they broke into the city and completely wiped out the Burmese king's army, killing and wounding the Burmese king Mang Yinglong and capturing Mang Yingli alive.

"General, this is the battle report of the past few days. Let's see if it should be sent to the capital?"

After arranging everything, Li Chengliang was ready to rest. A clerk came in to ask for instructions.

When generals led troops outside, they needed to report the front-line battle reports to the court and send them to the Ministry of War every few days.

However, how to write the battle reports sent and what can be written in the battle reports depended on the decisions of the generals.

"Let me see."

Li Chengliang took the battle report and read it carefully. It was roughly written according to his requirements, and the killing of prisoners was not concealed.

However, in the battle report, he gave his explanation for this, which was to deter tens of thousands of Burmese prisoners of war.

Now the Ming army has captured as many as 60,000 to 70,000 Burmese soldiers. If they are not careful, it may be a disaster, so they naturally cannot be taken lightly.

Through this killing of prisoners, the remaining Burmese army knew how powerful it was, and Li Chengliang thought it should be done.

As for whether Luo Rufang had filed a petition to impeach him, Li Chengliang didn't bother to care.

At this time, the capital of the Ming Dynasty was calm on the surface. The number of people going to Zhang Siwei's mansion to congratulate him had increased a lot in the past few days, and there were often many guests waiting outside the door very late at night.

After all, this is a cabinet expansion that occurs only once every few years, and many people want to board Zhang Siwei's boat.

If Zhang Ge, who is new to the cabinet, can be admitted, then he will be in the same boat as the Chief Assistant.

Who in Beijing today doesn't know that the two Mr. Zhang have a very good relationship.

As for Brother Liu Tai, who had been discussing in private, it would be better to let him vent his anger to the Chief Assistant.

"Mr. Wei Ge, Yu Yingchang went to the first assistant's room."

Others did not pay attention to Zhang Juzheng, but as his neighbor, Wei Guangde never relaxed his attention to Zhang Juzheng.

"Do you know why he came to the cabinet?"

Wei Guangde was a little puzzled and asked.

"I don't know."

Lu Bu replied carefully.

"Ask someone."

Wei Guangde just gave a simple instruction and continued to read the memorial in his hand.

Yu Yingchang is the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Normally, he shouldn't come to the cabinet if nothing happens.

But now that he's here, it's natural to talk about official business in the yamen, but Wei Guangde doesn't know where he comes from.

Soon, Lu Bu trotted all the way back to the check-in room, walked directly to Wei Guangde, and whispered in his ear.

"hehe."

After listening to Lu Bu's report, Wei Guangde was very happy.

He knew that this was a bit rude.

"Okay, let's forget about this matter."

Wei Guangde shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Go down."

Yu Yingchang is from Shanxi and obviously belongs to Zhang Siwei's group. When he came to the cabinet today, he actually handed over the memorial that was handled by the cabinet before, which was Zhang Xueyan's impeachment of Liu Tai for corruption.

After research, the Metropolitan Procuratorate decided to go to Liaodong due to Ying Chang to verify the matter.

After Lu Bu left, Wei Guangde's relaxed smile just now quickly disappeared.

In fact, on the surface, this is just a small thing, but it makes Wei Guangde unable to laugh.

Yes, Chen Zan is now the imperial censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Wei Guangde originally thought that he would be a fair person, but he did not expect to make such a decision at this time.

Wei Guangde felt a little guilty. He was worried that the Metropolitan Procuratorate would also choose to side with him after seeing Zhang Juzheng taking control of the cabinet.

You know, for the sake of balance, Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng did not take the initiative to send personnel to the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and they were all trying to avoid suspicion.

Although Wei Guangde has already prepared people and plans to find a suitable time to push him out and enter the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

But if people from the Metropolitan Procuratorate take the initiative to choose a certain side, that would be really bad.

In fact, letting Yu Yingchang patrol Liaodong, in Wei Guangde's view, has basically convicted Liu Tai. This is not the character of the people in the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

In any case, Liu Tai was reprimanded by Zhang Juzheng. In fact, the cause was the pretentiousness of the censors, that is, the dispute between the governor and the governor.