My father Yongle, building a five-good family

Chapter 150: Gains from Transforming Prisoners of War
Some of the prisoners of war captured in the battle of Juyongguan had already surrendered. Now, after being fed mutton offal soup and bandaged by doctors in the clinic, they were even more certain of their decision to surrender.

They, the common people, might not understand that much, and they didn't know whether Zhu Gaoyu, as the Prince of Dinghai, condescended to treat them like this, and whether there was an instruction from the Prince of Yan behind this, or whether he had other plans.

But none of this matters.

As long as Zhu Gaoyu can provide tangible benefits, such as ensuring they have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear, ensuring strict military discipline, not being greedy for merit and making reckless advances, and rewarding those who have made merits, then they will be willing to follow Prince of Yan, or even follow Zhu Gaoyu!

If Zhu Gaoyu knew what they were thinking, he would definitely sigh.

Ordinary people are simple and unpretentious.

This principle may seem simple, but if we use the words of scholars, isn't it - a gentleman judges by deeds, not by the heart?
However, those determined soldiers sent by the imperial court looked at Zhu Gaoyu with a rather vigilant look.

The look in their eyes showed that they wanted to see how many sugar-coated bullets Zhu Gaoyu had left. Just use them!
However, Zhu Gaoyu's actions once again surprised them.

I just heard him say:

"You are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty, and you are also soldiers who once guarded the border. The Ming Dynasty was founded by my royal grandfather. As the Prince of Dinghai appointed by my royal grandfather, I, Zhu Gaoyu, will naturally not call for fighting and killing you."

"The two armies fought each other before because the current emperor was bewitched by treacherous ministers. As a result, you all have different camps and have to fight against your former colleagues. Even I feel very uncomfortable."

Upon hearing this, the originally steadfast supporters of Emperor Jianwen could not help but waver.

Only a small part of the people who remained sneered coldly in their hearts when they saw Zhu Gaoyu's "sincere and heartfelt" look.

The Prince of Yan was cunning, and his son, though still very young, was also a slippery and eloquent fellow.

How credible can the words of such a person be?

I'm afraid it can be said to be a mixture of true and false, and that's all good!

But then, Zhu Gaoyu changed the subject:
"Although I am young, I know that everyone has their own aspirations. Father, if you are willing to surrender to the Yan army, you will treat them equally and reward and punish them clearly. This time, in addition to clearing the court and calming the country, for me, Zhu Gaoyu, isn't it also an opportunity to gain a better future?"

"As a man of integrity, you are all men of steel. Are you willing to be inferior to others for so long, depressed and idle, and live a sloppy life?"

The soldiers who had already surrendered could not help but be swayed by Zhu Gaoyu's deception.

Although the dream of being crowned king, appointed prime minister, and serving the emperor is difficult to achieve...it does not stop them from fantasizing about it.

However, just after Zhu Gaoyu finished speaking, a soldier in the crowd, who was as strong as a bear, suddenly spoke up:

"Your Highness, please don't bully us because we are rough people. Following you is a job that will cost us our lives. I just want to go home and be filial to my mother. Will the King of Yan chop off our heads?"

After saying this, he looked straight at Zhu Gaoyu, and the provocation in his eyes did not diminish at all because Zhu Gaoyu was a child.

Oops.

The tough guy finally jumped out.

When Zhu Gaoyu was reforming prisoners of war, he was not afraid of those tough guys, but he was afraid of those who kept silent and had a lot of ideas in their minds.

The most important thing is that what he said right now can just serve to support Zhu Gaoyu.

I only heard Zhu Gaoyu speak:

"I have specifically negotiated a lot of benefits from my father, and this situation is also taken into consideration. If you miss your family and want to return home, you can naturally leave. You can even take some military rations before leaving to fill your stomach on the way back home."

"Of course, you'd better be careful when you leave."

In fact, the truth is... this so-called treatment was not something Zhu Gaoyu fought for at all, but was the treatment that Prince Yan took the initiative to offer in order to appease the surrendered troops.

But this did not stop Zhu Gaoyu from taking credit for himself.

Zhu Gaoyu's last words won the hearts of the people.

Looking at the soldiers who were whispering to each other with different expressions, although Zhu Gaoyu didn't want to admit it, he had to say that in terms of winning people's hearts, his father was obviously more skilled and hit the pain points more directly than the small favors Zhu Gaoyu had figured out on his own.

It was precisely this blow from the Prince of Yan that enabled Zhu Gaoyu to strike the right balance in reforming the prisoners of war.

After all... sometimes, if you are the one who is most eager to do something, it is not a business deal.

……

But when the clerks were registering the soldiers who were to be transferred to the Yan army, Zhu Gaoyu frowned and looked at the strong man in front of him, a little hesitant:
"Hu San? Didn't you say you just wanted to go home and didn't want to join the Yan army?"

Hu San was the burly soldier who kept saying "I" all the time, looked down on the Yan army and only wanted to go home to take care of his mother.

But now, he was standing in front of the clerk who was registering the Yan army, looking as if he was going to surrender to the King of Yan and try his best to gain the honor of following the king.

When asked this by Zhu Gaoyu, Hu San did not feel embarrassed as one might imagine. He just touched the back of his head and smiled.

Don't be fooled by his big and strong appearance and beard.

But when he suddenly smiled, there was still a sense of freshness in his expression.

When Hu San spoke again, he no longer used "I" all the time. Instead, he sounded gentle and scholarly.

"The past was the past, and the present is the present. As the sage said: ..."

Zhu Gaoyu waved his hand impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense to me. I finally stopped studying, and I hate it most when someone whispers these things in my ear..."

Travel stories of strange angels belong to travel stories of strange angels, and Confucianism belongs to Confucianism.

Although Zhu Gaoyu liked to read all kinds of books, this did not prevent him from liking Confucianism, and he even less liked studying like he had to report for duty every day.

When Zhu Gaoyu said this, he received unanimous agreement from Peng Er and the Sultan.

If they both did not hold high official positions and worked behind Zhu Gaoyu, and if there were not so many soldiers who had just joined the Yan army in front of them, they would probably be at a loss.

Hu Sanyi choked.

He was thinking, although Zhu Gaoyu looked gentle and refined, he never expected that he actually had such an unruly soul in his heart, and his words were... so straightforward!
But soon, Hu San smiled again:

"Your Highness, you just said that our Yan Army also has a reward and punishment system, right..."

Zhu Gaoyu's thick eyebrows frowned again.

He turned around and finally took a serious look at Hu San.

This guy looks like a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, but when he speaks, he doesn't seem like a good person...

When Hu San was looked at like this by Zhu Gaoyu, he inexplicably felt his hair stand on end.

He immediately smiled awkwardly, thinking that Zhu Gaoyu did not believe him, and said quickly:

"My Lord, I am not trying to amuse you or deceive you on purpose. I really know the news."

A cold wind blew.

Zhu Gaoyu sneezed, sniffed his nose, and then said:
"What news?"

Hu San originally wanted to keep this news to himself and, through Zhu Gaoyu's channel, meet with Prince Yan in person and reveal the news in person.

But now that he had met Zhu Gaoyu in person, Hu Sancai realized that he had thought too simply.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Prince of Dinghai has thick eyebrows and big eyes and appears honest and simple, but when you listen to him speak, you can obviously tell... this kid is really cunning.

It is obviously not easy to use him as a springboard to meet Prince of Yan Zhu Di without revealing anything.

Hu San thought to himself, and then he leaned forward with an extremely humble look, and whispered quietly in Zhu Gaoyu's ear:

"Your Highness, what I want to talk about is the upcoming Huailai battle. I have my own information channels in the city. I heard that Song Zhong in Huailai City has gathered the deserters in Beiping..."

"Most importantly, Song Zhong deceived those fools and told them that their families in Peking were killed by His Royal Highness Prince Yan..."

This news may seem insignificant, but it is actually a key point in turning the tide of the war.

The reason why the Huailai soldiers were able to unite as one, gather in Huailai and resist the Yan army together was because of this spirit.

Where does this energy come from...

Zhu Gaoyu was able to make a rough guess from the information given by Hu San.

It was simply that they had learned that their family members had died and had no last concerns, so they wanted to fight a decisive battle with the Yan army as a revenge for the King of Yan's massacre of their entire family.

But... isn't this pure nonsense?
People in Peking were very busy. Some were preparing military rations, while others were mending jackets.

When Peng Er heard this, he sneered and said:
"Your Highness the Prince of Yan is not so idle. It is even more impossible for him to think of slaughtering the families of these soldiers. The people in Huailai did not see them! Now Beiping is extremely busy. Just to build the city wall, he wishes that the whole family could work together."

"Isn't what Song Zhong said pure nonsense?!"

When Zhu Gaoyu heard Peng Er's name, he couldn't help but look at him again.

Didn’t you think before that he was the governor and would be more cautious in his words and deeds?

How come when Zhu Gaoyu heard Song Zhong slandering Prince of Yan's entire family, Peng Er got angry even though Zhu Gaoyu himself hadn't said anything yet?

Could it be that... does this mean that Peng Er has unknowingly turned into the shape of Prince Yan's family?

Zhu Gaoyu was delighted.

Alas...his charm has nowhere to go!

It’s worthy of you, Zhu Gaoyu!

Peng Er said this straightforwardly, but when Hu San on the other side heard it, he just widened his eyes in surprise.

He hesitated:
"Beiping... why are they building a city wall out of nowhere?"

He remembered that when he went to Peking before, Hu San was still amazed at the towering city walls. How come now it has come to the point where every family in Peking has to be mobilized to build the city walls?

Hu San's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Could it be that the imperial court has an insider in Peking who has already laid siege to the city?
But when he looked at Zhu Gaoyu's relaxed expression, he felt a little confused.

Looking at Prince Dinghai’s expression…that doesn’t seem to be the case!
(End of this chapter)