In the late Ming Dynasty, rising from the grassland

Chapter 13 Too many captives
Along the way, under the threat of spears and crossbows, the prisoners behaved honestly. When they returned to the camp, it was already afternoon.

More than sixty prisoners were all imprisoned in the unfinished earthen wall, and only 12 people were left to guard them. Lin Rui, with the remaining six people, was busy counting the loot at the nearby station.

Looking at hundreds of carts of supplies and nearly a thousand horses, mules, and horses, everyone was smiling. It took two hours, and it wasn't until dark that they could roughly calculate the total.

"Brother Lin, this time we got more than [-] good horses, [-] mules and horses, more than [-] catties of coarse and fine grain, [-] catties of coarse salt, [-] pieces of tea bricks, [-] pieces of cotton cloth, [-] pieces of silk and satin, and scissors. , needles, some iron pots.

Then there are forty long swords, a hundred spears, fifty shields, the most numerous are more than two thousand pieces of leather, and finally there are hundreds of carriages. "

Zhang Xiuying read slowly while holding a brand new account book.

Apparently there were pens, ink, paper and inkstones among the seizures this time.

Everyone couldn't close their mouths after hearing this, but Lin Rui frowned slightly. The most valuable of these things must be the eight hundred war horses and two thousand pieces of leather.

But the most indispensable things on the grassland are war horses and leather. What is lacking is ironware, food, salt, tea, and cloth. Unfortunately, these things were captured in small quantities this time.

He also knew that this was because the caravan had already traded with several Tatar tribes, otherwise the things he needed would be what he needed, not leather horses.

"Now that the weather is getting warmer, let's use the cloth to make two new sets of clothes for each person first. The excess weapons will be temporarily sealed. All other iron tools will be cast into hoes and shovels."

"Okay." Zhang Xiuying quickly wrote down Lin Rui's words.

"Brother Lin, what should we do with those prisoners? After all, we only have a small number of people. We can't guard them every day. How about we tie them up first?"

Sister-in-law Niu said a little uneasily, and several others were also a little worried. Thinking about the addition of more than 60 big men, everyone felt that it was difficult to sleep at night.

"It won't work by tying them up. We can't keep tying them up, right? I have my own arrangements for this matter. First, bring the young man in fine clothes over and let me interrogate him."

Lin Rui waved his hand.

He will neither kill nor release those prisoners. With their help, at least the earth wall can be built in a short time.

After a while, Mrs. Niu left and returned, escorting the third young master to the tent and kicking him to the ground.

"Kneel down."

"Spare your life, hero, spare your life, heroine, spare your life. I am the third son of the Fan family in Zhangjiakou. I have something to say and things to discuss."

The third young master screamed in pain, immediately announced his family status, and began to beg for mercy. He only thought that Lin Rui and the others were horse bandits, and they were just asking for money.

"Oh, so your father's name is Fan Yongdou?" Lin Rui's eyes lit up and he asked tentatively.

"Yes, yes, the hero recognizes my father?" Fan Xian was also delighted.

Lin Rui snorted coldly: "Your Fan family has collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country, and has forgotten its origins. Who in the world doesn't recognize Fan Yongdou, that traitor and thief?"

When Fan Xian heard this, he was so frightened that he broke out in cold sweat.

Lin Rui didn't waste any time with him, and directly interrogated him about the caravan. Finally, he asked him to write a list of accusations against the Fan family for collaborating with the enemy and treason for many years. After the signatures were signed, Mrs. Niu took him into custody again. .

"Brother Lin, why don't you just kill him?"

Xiaocui said in confusion, Zhang Xiuying and several others looked at Lin Rui with the same confusion.

They all heard it just now. Over the years, the Fan family not only smuggled a large amount of weapons and food to Hou Jin's Tatars, but also secretly leaked the situation of the government and army to Hou Jin. It was simply crazy.

"Let him live a little longer, I will squeeze out the last of his value." Lin Rui waved his hand.

No one asked any more questions, and it soon became dark.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Gou Wa to report. During this period, two people tried to escape, but were caught by Liu Si and Wang Wu who were hiding in the dark.

"Sister Xiuying and Xiaocui stay, the rest of the people follow me, and by the way, take the Third Young Master Fan with you."

Lin Rui said a few words, then stood up and headed towards the earthen wall.

At this moment, more than sixty prisoners were squatting inside the wall, and two of them were being escorted by Liu Si, Wang and Wu and were kneeling in front of them.

The rest of the people stood on guard on the earth wall with crossbows in hand, and there were torches all around, making the entire earth wall as bright as day.Lin Rui stood on the earth wall, glanced at the prisoners below, and said coldly: "I said before that as long as you are obedient and don't run away, your lives will be safe. It's a pity that some people think that You are smart and turned a deaf ear to what I said, and now I will let you know the consequences of running away if you disobey."

After saying that, he waved his hand.

I saw five Niu Sisters, each pulling a horse to Liu Si, Wang and Wu. They tied the limbs and head of one of the captives with ropes and tied them to the five horses.

The trapped prisoner was so frightened that he urinated and cried desperately for mercy. The man running away with him fainted from fright.

The faces of the other prisoners also changed drastically, and they were horrified. Apparently, although they had never seen the body being quartered, they had all heard of this torture.

No one expected that this gang of horse bandits could be so cruel.

"Execution."

Lin Rui waved his hand down expressionlessly. He actually couldn't bear it and didn't want to do it. But in order to completely shock these prisoners, he had no choice.

Sister Niu and the other five had no choice but to twitch their horses fiercely. The horses pushed forward in pain, and some of the timid captives subconsciously turned their heads away, unable to bear to look directly at them.

Seeing the extremely bloody scene, Sister Niu and the others felt nauseated. Lin Rui's cheeks also twitched, but he still said coldly: "Wake the other person up and continue the execution!"

After the other person was woken up by the water, he just glanced at the miserable condition of his companion, rolled his eyes and fainted again.

This time, Sister Niu and the others didn't bother to splash anymore, so they directly put him on a rope and jerked the war horse. Sure enough, after the war horse exerted force, the captive who was tied up woke up from the pain, but it only took a moment for the pain to stop abruptly.

Seeing the blood on the ground, nearly sixty prisoners collapsed on the ground. Everyone's face was as pale as paper, and most of them were vomiting violently.

It wasn't until they calmed down that Lin Rui continued: "Did you see it? This is what happens when you run away. Now anyone who knows how to blacksmith or carpenter come forward!"

Nearly 20 people stood up with trembling legs. It was obvious that even those who knew a little bit about carpentry and blacksmithing stood up.

One is that they are afraid of being mistaken for being disobedient and hiding something, and the other is that everyone is not stupid, and those who are skilled in crafts will always have an easier time.

"Very good. You should know this Third Young Master Fan, right?"

"Now I will give you two options. One is to kill this Third Master Fan and join us, the other is for me to cut all twenty of you into five pieces. You can choose for yourself!"

After Lin Rui finished speaking, he had Fan Xian, who had his tongue cut out, escorted in front of the 20 people. The reason why he had to cut out his tongue was because he was afraid that he would raise his arms and shout loudly, calling on the prisoners to resist.

As servants of the Fan family, the prisoners naturally recognized their third son. The 20 people who stood up were stunned for a moment as they dared to attack Fan Xian.

And Fan Xian screamed excitedly, with blood bubbles coming out of his mouth.

"If you don't take action after I give it dozens of blows, you will be the ones who die!"

"One, two, three..." Lin Rui raised his hand and counted slowly, and the people on the wall also aimed their crossbows at the 20 people.

When the count reached seven, one of them collapsed and rushed forward with his fist raised. Someone took the lead, and the others also rushed forward. No matter what, save their lives first.

"Don't stop, I didn't say stop, no one is allowed to stop, just keep fighting!"

In the end, Fan Xian was almost beaten to death by 20 people. Lin Rui called it quits and brought the 20 people to the camp. Each of them was given four steamed buns and a bowl of mutton soup. After eating, Zhang Xiuying asked Zhang Xiuying to give their names. All birthplaces were recorded on paper.

The 20 people were afraid that the other [-] prisoners would report and expose them, so they did not dare to hide anything and could only tell the truth honestly.

"You killed the third son of the Fan family. The prisoners saw it clearly. Once someone escapes back, the news will definitely be known to the Fan family. I don't need to say more about what kind of revenge your family will suffer. !”

"On the contrary, as long as no one escapes back, if I don't tell them, the Fan family will never know about it. They will just think that you were all killed by horse bandits. In order to win people's hearts, they may treat your family members kindly."

"Of course, it is not without a future for you to follow me. When I have accumulated enough Tatar heads, I will return to the Ming Dynasty one day. Then I will become a general of the imperial court, and you can also be my personal soldiers or perform meritorious deeds." Subordinates, wouldn't it be better to take over the family and reunite them at that time than to be a coward for the Fan family and never get ahead in your life?"

After some threats and inducements, Lin Rui let them go back. As long as these 20 people were not stupid, they would definitely monitor other prisoners at all times after they returned.

If anyone dares to escape from now on, he will tell his name and place of origin and the fact that he killed the third son of the Fan family to Zhangjiakou.

This trick is not poisonous.

(End of this chapter)