Han Khan

Chapter 61, Capture

Zhang Sheng's heart sank when he heard the news.

Although he had already known that the siege would inevitably result in casualties, he had never imagined that so many soldiers would die heroically. This was something he could not accept.

Six hundred and nine soldiers were killed, and another one hundred and forty-three had to withdraw from the battle sequence due to serious injuries.

This means that nearly eight hundred households of troops have been exhausted in this brutal war!
Not to mention the huge gap in strength between ordinary centurions and the elite guards.

In other words, Jinhan suffered huge losses in this fierce battle against Yizhou.

Nearly 200 experienced and skilled elite warriors died in battle and left Jinhan forever.
Moreover, these warriors are the earliest and most authentic Jinhan people in the Jinhan tribe, and can be said to be like his own people.

Faced with such tragic losses and the pain of losing a loved one, how can one not feel heartbroken?

Zhang Sheng took a deep breath, stepped forward to take the list, and said in a low and solemn voice: "The warriors who fought bravely and sacrificed for the great cause of Haotian, their heroic spirits will be honored to ascend to heaven, where they will be blessed by Haotian God and enjoy eternal happiness.

And their families will also receive generous pensions from me.

For paladins who died in battle and have families and children, each family will be compensated with 50 horses, 100 cows, and 500 sheep. For disabled paladins, each family will be compensated with 30 horses and 500 sheep.

Their armor will be handed over to their families, and their descendants will be carefully cared for and taught in the future. The descendants of the future paladins will inherit the title of paladin and continue to serve as my guards and members of the Royal Guards.

For those who died in battle or were disabled and unable to continue fighting, their positions as heads of ten or hundred households will continue to be held by them, but they must do their best to teach their sons and daughters to become leaders capable of commanding the people of ten or hundred households. "

At the same time, the families of the centurion heads were rewarded with twenty horses and two hundred sheep each, and the ten-household heads were rewarded with ten horses and one hundred sheep. Armor was also given to their families.

Soldiers who died in battle were rewarded with five horses and fifty sheep. Slaves who died in battle were promoted to ordinary tribesmen, and their families were no longer slaves, but were given corresponding survival supplies and livestock.

The injured who survive will receive the best medical treatment and compensation.

He looked around at everyone, "Haotian and the Emperor's most loyal warriors, you were brave and fearless in this siege, and you are worthy of being the warriors of Jinhan. Emperor Zhang Sheng would like to pay his highest respects to you, and may your heroic spirits rest in peace!"

After saying this, Zhang Sheng knelt on one knee and bowed his head in silence. Seeing this, the others around him also knelt on the ground in silence.

The entire camp was silent, with only the whistling of the wind in the ears.

After getting up, Zhang Sheng instructed, "Keep their list safe and bring their ashes with you. When we reach Mobei, I will build a shrine for them and send people to offer sacrifices to them so that no one will forget them."

After that, Zhang Sheng waved his hand, signaling everyone to get back to work!
At the same time, the sound of horse hooves and shouts came from a distance, attracting people's attention.

It turned out that Zhang Xibao and the chief priest Zhang Anzuo were leading a guard regiment and five centurions, a total of more than a thousand troops, and were returning to the camp in a mighty manner.

They were neat and orderly, with flags flying. The soldiers were in high spirits and in high spirits. Zhang Xibao and Zhang Anzuo led the way into the camp.

In front of and behind them was a long line of prisoners.

When we got closer, we found that the prisoners had different hair colors, including black, blond, and red. Their faces were also different, including those with deep eye sockets, flat faces, and high cheekbones.

It is obvious at first glance that these people are mostly of mixed yellow and white blood types, and of course there are also many Han people among the prisoners of war.

They lowered their heads, looked tired, and some of them were injured, but overall they remained relatively quiet and did not dare to make any noise!

Zhang Xibao and Zhang Anzuo rode their war horses and rushed towards Zhang Sheng at full speed! They wanted to report to Zhang Sheng the results and gains of the fierce battle that had just ended.

"Your Highness, our army won a great victory in the battle of Yizhou!" Zhang Xibao said in a loud voice with excitement on his face.

“Our troops fought bravely and annihilated more than a thousand enemy cavalrymen in Yizhou, beheaded more than three thousand resisters, and captured six hundred heavy-armored infantrymen.

In addition, we also seized a large amount of spoils, including about 20,000 shi of grain and grass, more than 23,000 tents, more than 7,000 men, more than 16,000 elderly, weak, women and children, more than 30,000 cattle, more than 200,000 sheep and more than 20,000 horses! "

Zhang Xibao spoke in a calm tone and at a slow pace, but he could not hide his inner excitement, as if he wanted to convey all his joy to everyone present.

The surrounding guard commanders and centurions all had solemn expressions, with pride and excitement on their faces.

This victory was of great significance to Zhang Sheng's army. It not only enhanced its strength and morale, but also laid a solid foundation for future campaigns.

Everyone saw that Zhang Sheng had a relieved smile on his face. Perhaps the rich spoils of war slightly alleviated the grief caused by the deaths of so many soldiers in battle.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Sheng was amazed that more than 20,000 people were captured in this battle. He stared at Zhang Xibao and asked in a deep voice, "Are there any Han prisoners?"

Zhang Xibao immediately replied, "Yes, Your Highness. The captured Tang people include more than 400 strong men, and more than 1,000 old, weak, women and children. Most of them are farmers cultivating the land outside the city. There are also more than 200 households and more than 1,000 people in Yizhou City, and more than 500 households of Uighurs."

"Well, apart from the Tang people and the Uighurs, have the tribes dependent on the Uighurs been counted?" Zhang Sheng continued to ask.

Financial officer Zhang Anzuo replied:

"We have completed the inventory. There are more than 700 households of Sai people, more than 300 households of Tocharians, more than 200 households of Tatars, more than 800 households of Tiele people from the Chuyue, Ade and Chumi tribes, more than 300 households of Shatuo people, and more than 200 households of Tibetans. After these tribes and villages attached themselves to the Uighurs, they grazed and cultivated land in Anpolat, Yizhou."

In other words, through this war against Yizhou, the Jin Han people not only provided those poorly equipped centurions with weapons, armor and war horses.

He also asked the Jinhan tribe to replenish the huge amount of supplies consumed during the migration, and to reserve some supplies for the subsequent migration to Mobei.

They also captured 3600 households and more than livestock under the rule of the Uighurs. At this time, the Jinhan tribe suddenly had more than people.

Assuming that each household has six people, Jinhan already had a population of more than 7,000 households at that time.

Zhang Sheng nodded, expressing his satisfaction. He turned to the generals and said, "Thank you for your hard work in this campaign against Yizhou.

However, although we have won, we must not underestimate the enemy.

Because a messenger from Yizhou escaped and went to Beiting to ask for help, we must evacuate this place before the Uighurs arrive.

Therefore, the top priority is to sort and store the supplies, reorganize military affairs, treat the wounded, promote soldiers who have made outstanding contributions in combat, and distribute the spoils of war to the soldiers. "

At this time, the chief priest Zhang Zhongxian said at the right time:
"Your Highness, as the number of our tribe members increases day by day, do we need to reorganize them? Otherwise, we will not be able to manage the rest of the tribe members and so many captives."

Hearing this, the military officer Zhang Sheng nodded continuously.

Zhang Sheng's cousin, Li Shaozong, said at this time:
"Your Highness, the Jinhan Division was previously divided into thirty centurions and four guard regiments, but now that we have captured so many slaves, if we don't break them up and control them separately, it would be too dangerous if these captives escaped en masse or rebelled together."

Zhang Sheng nodded, acknowledging that what they said made sense.

"You are right. The number of people in the Jinhan tribe is increasing day by day. I have always thought about this issue, so I will tell you my plan. Please think about it and see what you think.

I plan to create a battalion consisting of three hundred households on the basis of the hundred households.

In other words, a battalion will be composed of 300 households, and like the 100 households, they are responsible for herding during normal times, and in times of war they serve as soldiers, obeying the management and command of the battalion commander. "

At this moment, night had fallen, and Zhang Sheng's tent was brightly lit. Many centurions, four guard commanders, and the chief priest Zhang Zhongxian were all sitting in the tent, listening carefully to Zhang Sheng's speech.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

At present, the number of Jinhan tribe members is increasing rapidly at a geometric multiple. It is far from enough to rely solely on the most basic organizational form of a hundred households. It is necessary to build a new organization at a higher level above the hundred households.

At first, everyone thought that His Highness would set up the position of Qianhu above Baihu, but what His Highness said was not what everyone expected.

However, this also proves that His Highness has clearly realized that a small-scale organization of a hundred households is very disadvantageous for large-scale group combat and the management of a large number of tribesmen.

"Your Highness is wise! The establishment of the battalion will elevate the status of the centurions, and they will be more motivated in their combat command.

Moreover, one battalion can serve as an offensive outpost in one direction in the future." said the centurion Liang Xingde, and the other centurions nodded.

Zhang Sheng raised the corner of his mouth slightly, smiled and said:

“As for the organization of the battalion, it will change during wartime and can be flexibly divided into three wings: left, center, and right.

Among them, the central army commanded by the battalion commander himself will play a core role, while the other two centurions will lead their respective centurions and serve as the left and right wings of the central army battalion commander respectively, to achieve close cooperation and coordinated operations.

More importantly, on this basis, I further established the "regiment" organization.

Each regiment was composed of three battalions with a total of 900 households.

During wartime, the regiment commander would summon the battalion commanders, and the battalion commanders would bring their own centurions to the regiment commander to form an army and go into battle.

Of course, on weekdays, the head of the group is responsible for managing the herding and production activities of the tribe members; once the war comes, they must obey my orders, quickly assemble into an army, and go out to fight... "

(End of this chapter)