The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 539: Investigation Report on the Northern Frontier Propaganda and Appeasement Campaign
"Wang Mazi, Zhao Er?"

"Who beat you like this?"

Wu Xiao suddenly discovered that the two half-dead prisoners lying on the ground were actually the prisoners he had escorted here yesterday. Because both of them were caught smuggling cotton, Wu Xiao had a deep impression of them.

Zhao Er had already died in the northwest, only the pockmarks on Wang Mazi's face were still shaking slightly, and he was struggling to stand up. Wu Xiao knew that this was his last burst of energy.

"Perhaps Guerrilla Qian and his men were too harsh in their interrogation of the imperial prisoner."

Jiang Liuer's eyes flickered, and he didn't dare to look directly into Wu Xiao's murderous eyes. Jiang Liuer did not interfere in the interrogation of the prisoners, and let Qian Youji and Shi Zhixian do it all.

"It wasn't just a serious injury; it broke his nose and left his head sunken."

Wu Xiao showed a hint of displeasure on his face. When he was in Shenyang, he knew what Ningguta was. He knew that there were many cruel officials here and that torturing prisoners was commonplace. He just didn't expect that he would encounter such a thing on his first day.

Yang Tong winked at Wu Xiao, signaling him not to continue.

"Hahaha, Commander Wu is so busy that he just arrived in Ningguta and he came to the government office to inspect official business. My emperor should be relieved to have such a capable minister."

Wu Xiao turned around and looked towards the door. He didn't know when the chubby Qian Sanruo was already standing in the front yard of the yamen, with a look of surprise on his face.

"I've heard of your great name, Commander, for a long time. Yesterday, due to the urgency of the situation, I decided to host a dinner at Zuixianlou today and invite Commander Wu."

Wu Xiao interrupted with a wave of his hand, his face serious, "Deputy General Jiang, the Emperor sent these prisoners here to help defend the city and do hard labor. If you beat them to death, who will work? Who will defend the city?"

There was another prisoner on the ground whose nose was sunken from being beaten, and he was still bleeding. Qian Sanruo ignored the two people on the ground, and when he walked through the lobby, he quickly avoided the bloodstains on the ground with his shoes.

"I wonder if Commander Wu would be so kind as to honor me?"

Wu Xiao shook his head. He had no interest in the Drunken Immortal Tower, and certainly not in getting entangled with the birdman before him. Although he had been a soldier for a long time, he was still a chivalrous man at heart, and he would stand up for justice.

"The Emperor will arrive in Ningguta soon. I will explore the route first. Please explain these circumstances to His Majesty!"

There’s actually nothing to explain.

Jiang Liuer always remembered Alessa's dying expression. The Haixi hunter said that he wanted to be closer to Changshengtian after his death, so Jiang Liuer buried him on Sakhalin Island.

Some of Jiang Liuer's relatives died in Shenyang, and some died in Sakhalin Island.

Finally, he was alone again.

The deaths of the indigenous people on Sakhalin Island were all caused by the Cossacks, and this blood debt must be repaid with blood in the future.

Jiang Liuer focused all his energy on the city defense fortifications. As for the imperial criminals and death row prisoners escorted here from the interior, he really didn't have the energy to take care of them, so he directly handed them over to Qian Sanruo and Shi Yousan.

Qian Sanruo and Shi Yousan were completely different from Jiang Liuer. They didn't care about blood feuds or territorial expansion. In this remote place, making money was the bottom line.

They brought out the killing stick system that the retired emperor had established before. Every criminal exiled to Ningguta would be beaten with twenty military sticks upon entering the yamen. The wooden sticks at the border were thicker than the mouth of a bowl. After twenty hits with even a little force, the person would be in great danger.

Of course, if you are willing to voluntarily pay fifty taels of silver as "stolen money", the beating with the stick will not be used for the time being.

~~~~~~
In order to prove to Wu Xiao that his time in Ningguta was not wasted, on the third day, he personally led his soldiers out of the city to hunt the Cossacks.

On the fifth day, the first batch of Cossack prisoners was sent back.

Wu Xiao looked out at the primeval forest in the north from the battlements of the city wall. The Russians were escorted into the city wall by the cavalry under Jiang Liuer.

These colonists who came from Central Asia, Siberia, and Moscow from thousands of miles away have lost their former arrogance. Now they are covered in dust and exhausted. They huddle among a large group of soldiers and civilians of the Great Qi who are surrounding them and watching them.

People of all ethnic groups in Ningguta City gathered together, and some Jurchen children sang songs that Wu Xiao could not understand, which were basically cursing the Cossacks.

The war horses and stray dogs neighed and barked, and the captives trembled with fear, bending over like lobsters covered in mud and dust.

At the gate of the palace soldier camp, the cavalrymen dismounted one after another, and more than 30 Cossacks were finally able to rest. The soldiers stepped forward to remove the shackles on their hands. Each prisoner was surrounded by three soldiers in full armor and holding sharp blades.

"вода,яхочупить!"

There were more and more onlookers around. The people in Ningguta were tough. Many of them were Oroqen people who moved in from outside, as well as Solon people. They had a blood feud with the Cossacks, and their villages had been burned to the ground by the other side.

"Hahaha, what is the Rakshasa ghost talking about?"

A hunter who knew the Cossack language came up to the group and tried to translate for them.

"He said he wanted to drink water. Give him some water."

"Water! Here's water!" A Sauron hunter walked forward, pulled up his pants, and began to urinate on the captives tied to the ground.

There was a burst of laughter all around. Jiang Liuer's soldiers stayed in the distance, looking at the scene in front of them. Not only did they not step forward to stop it, but each of them showed a smug look.

More civilians began to gather around the dozens of prisoners, pointing and talking. Some picked up rocks and threw them at them, while others spat. The scene became increasingly chaotic, obscuring Wu Xiao's view. He could faintly hear the prisoners' shrill screams, and blood splattered among the crowd.

Wu Xiao was shocked by the scene before him and hurriedly ran down the city wall. He struggled to push away the crowd outside. With the help of two guards, the three of them came to the location of the prisoners.

The more than thirty Rakshasas who had just been brought back were all lying in a pool of blood, with not a single intact part of their bodies. The people surrounding them were blood-thirsty, and many of them were wielding sickles and hoes. If Wu Xiao and the others had not been wearing the Da Qi military uniforms, they would most likely have been beaten to death.

"Go find Jiang Liu'er. I have something to ask him."

~~~~~
Half an hour later, Wu Xiao brought his guards to Deputy General Jiang's camp. Jiang Liuer was taking off his armor, which still had Cossack arrows hanging on it.

"Not only did you beat the prisoners to death, but you also killed all the captives. Aren't you going to leave any alive for interrogation?"

Compared to the dead, living Rakshasa ghosts are obviously more valuable. As for the judge who interrogates the prisoners, there is no need to worry at all. The leader of the pacification army, Yang Tong, is the best candidate. Despite this, Jiang Liuer still chooses to beat people to death directly, and even allows the people to beat them to death.

"How is it? Is Ningguta still part of the Great Qi? Are you still under the control of the Emperor?"

Wu Xiao was open-minded by nature and had been a knight-errant since ancient times, but he was still deeply shocked when he witnessed all kinds of strange phenomena in Ningguta.

Executing prisoners without trial is against the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty. Wu Xiao did not say this out loud.

Jiang Liuer said calmly, "I, the Great Qi Law General, know this, but everyone has a grudge against the Rakshasa Ghost, and the public is furious, so we can't control it."

"Your people are furious. If they can't get anything out of it, they'll just beat him to death!"

Wu Xiao stood up and said angrily, "His Majesty's order to Ningguta is for you to defeat the Rakshasa ghost as soon as possible, not to do these dirty things here. Ningguta needs a formal battle, a decisive battle!"

Wu Xiao was still furious, and what shocked him was that the generals in the northern border of the empire had begun to disobey the orders of the retired emperor.

What a terrible sign this is.

"I only care about fighting and nothing else. The Emperor said that these barbarians must be annihilated. I am only following his orders."

Wu Xiao became even more angry when he saw Jiang Liuer's stubborn attitude and refusal to admit his mistake.

I would never believe that this 17 or 18-year-old boy would collude with his colleagues in corruption.

"Another batch of Cossack prisoners will be delivered tomorrow. If Commander Wu wishes to rescue them, spare their lives."

~~~~
"Let the prisoners stay in the city wall," Wu Xiao told their guards.

"If it rains tonight, I will ask Vice Admiral Jiang to arrange another place."

Two days later, more than fifty Cossacks arrived in Ningguta, including men, women and children.

These prisoners were locked up in the back hall of the county government office to prevent them from being beaten to death by the people.

The Russians squatted in the front garden and defecated openly, and swarms of flies buzzed there all day long.

A little Cossack girl, who seemed to have no idea what fear was, often ran to the kitchen of the provincial government office and begged the cook for sugar and tea.

Some soldiers would give the little girl some food, and every morning the little girl would get a bun or a cake.

The Cossack children lived a carefree life in Ningguta City. Several women caught lice together, combed each other's hair, and helped to tie up their long yellow hair into strange buns. It was said that this was the hairstyle standard for women set by the retired emperor of the Great Qi Dynasty.

The disease quickly spread among the captives, and some of them had bouts of dry coughing.

The little Cossack boy cried and coughed, coughed and cried again.

Qian Sanruo and his friends were forced to flee to a room in a corner farthest from the yard and hide there.

Qian Sanruo and Shi Zhifu jointly sent a report back to Shenyang, impeaching Wu Xiao for his misconduct in Ningguta, interfering in military and political affairs, and frequently rescuing Cossack captives, disregarding the lives of the people, and being generous to others.

"How can this warrior, who can only wield a sword and a gun, take on such a big responsibility and come to the northern border to supervise the war?"

Lao Qian forgot that he was also a military general, but it didn’t matter, because his good friend Shi Zhifu was born into a family of scholars and was a serious civil servant.

It was a fine tradition for civil officials to scold military supervisors, which had already existed in the early Ming Dynasty.

These days, Wu Xiao was busy searching for evidence of corruption among officials in the prefectural city, but he didn't expect that he had been impeached by the other party and was riddled with holes.

~~~~~~
One day, Wu Xiao noticed that the little Cossack baby had stopped crying.

He looked out the window and couldn't see the little one anywhere, so he sent a guard to find out what was going on, and that's when he discovered the little body hidden inside its mother's clothes.

The Ningguta soldiers had to take the child's body away from her mother, and she did not resist.

(End of this chapter)