My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 78 What's the Use of Prisoners?
The next moment, the general seemed to be under a spell, standing still without moving, his mouth tightly closed, his eyes wide open, his whole body tense, and his breathing stopped.

Li Zhong deliberately turned a blind eye to the general's behavior of drinking secretly and did not try to stop him. Now he turned around and laughed strangely, "Hehe, hehe, hehe." It was obvious that he had seen countless reckless people like this and it had become a great amusement for him.

After a long while, the general suddenly opened his mouth, exhaled a strong breath of alcohol, and exclaimed in surprise: "What a strong, strong wine! But, but it's damn strong!"

As he spoke, his eyes lit up as he stared at the flowing liquid, and he stretched out his vessel to catch it again. The other noble generals were also eager to try it, and stepped forward to taste it too.

"Stop!" Li Zhong's wrinkled old face became stern. "This 'poison-clearing medicine' is the essence of fine wine. Drinking that sip is equivalent to drinking half a can of wine. Master Xiang Chang has ordered that it is only used to clean the wounds of the wounded. No one is allowed to drink it without authorization. Go, go, go. Except for the wounded, no one else is allowed to stay in the wounded camp."

Even though the noble generals were unwilling to accept the defeat, they thought of how ruthlessly Xiang Chang had beaten Ding Gu without showing any mercy, and they were unwilling to act rashly. They could only secretly curse Li Zhong as an old bastard and leave in anger.

Li Zhong used a soft animal hair brush dipped in "detoxifying medicine" to clean the whip marks on Ding Gu's face. Then he forced Ding Gu to kneel on the ground, took out a thin needle with a thin silk thread on the end, turned his head, and with a look of concentration on his old face, he sewed the whip marks on his cheek as if he was mending clothes.

Ding Gu was so shocked that his face turned pale. He pushed the old man away, jumped up, and looked at him angrily: "What do you want to do?"

Li Zhong was pushed to the ground with his buttocks almost broken. He glanced at Ding Gu with dissatisfaction and slowly got up: "What else can I do? I'll sew up your wound! The whip mark on your face is so thick. If you don't sew it, the scar on the back will be at least as thick as a finger."

"You are crazy to use needle and thread to sew the wound on my face?" Ding Gu was almost going crazy. This was an unheard-of incident. If Li Zhongshi was not the current doctor of the Great Chu military camp, if it was someone else, he would have drawn his sword and killed him on the spot.

"Not to mention the wounds on the face, how many wounds on the stomach, thighs, backs, waist and ribs have I stitched in the past few days? Some wounded soldiers had thigh wounds as long as a foot, with half a palm of flesh hanging down, but I sewed them up fine? Some wounded soldiers had their stomachs ripped open, their intestines flowed out, and the blood was gushing. I washed them, stuffed them back in, and then sewed their stomachs up. Aren't they still alive and well now? Don't you think you are surprised by what you have never seen before!"

Li Zhong acted as if he had mastered the true meaning of medicine and regarded himself completely as the legendary Bian Que, speaking in an unquestionable professional tone.

However, after hearing what he said was so bloody and perverted, even though Ding Gu had been on the battlefield for a long time and was used to seeing corpses and body parts flying everywhere, he couldn't help but feel his throat moving and almost vomited on the spot.

Li Zhong shook his head, his old face full of contempt: "Do you want to sew it or not? If not, then go ahead. The wound has been cleaned. At most, it will be a little ugly after healing, but it won't kill anyone. I still have several human legs waiting to be sawed off."

"Who told you to saw off people's legs and arms? Who told you to sew up people's bodies casually? This is a human being, not a thing!" Ding Gu grabbed Li Zhong's collar and scolded him harshly.

People in this era are still uncivilized. Although they do not take human life seriously when fighting each other, they regard the body as mysterious and sacred. They have never thought of using knives, saws, or needles to heal it.

As in the past, after a war, no matter how many wounded soldiers there were or how serious their injuries were, they were all treated conservatively and left to fate. As a result, the mortality rate in the wounded camp was shockingly high. Therefore, when Ding Gu heard about Li Zhong's drastic treatment, even though he was a brave general who had fought many battles, his hair stood on end.

"I won't discuss this with an outsider like you. This is a camp for wounded soldiers. No noise is allowed. If you have any dissatisfaction, you can go and talk to General Xiang Changhou. The camp for wounded soldiers is now under his command." Li Zhong's backing was so strong that he coaxed Ding Fu, the General of the Household who he used to treat with respect, out without saying a word.

Early in the morning, in the tent of the rear army commander.

Xiang Chang woke up from his sleep, jumped up, washed up briefly, put on a light leather armor with the help of the soldiers, and came to the extremely spacious training ground behind the tent.

His big, strong, and very human-like black horse was already saddled and waiting for him. When it saw him, it trotted over and rubbed its big head against his chest affectionately.

Xiang Chang patted its big head to calm it down for a while, then jumped up and galloped back and forth on the exercise field, drawing his bow and arrows, and shooting arrows at the target opposite. He shot a hundred arrows in one breath, sweating slightly all over his body, and then he stopped.

The sergeant brought ten targets to him and saw that the hit rate was eight or nine out of ten. He nodded with satisfaction.

Knowing that he would never be able to match his father's personal bravery in his lifetime, and that at best he would be on the same level as generals like Zhongli Mei and Xiang Sheng, Xiang Chang chose to focus on the bow and arrow, his ultimate killer skill for saving his life and hurting the enemy, and during this period he practiced shooting a hundred arrows every day.

He already had extraordinary archery skills, and with the hard training in the past few days, he has become more proficient. With time, he will surely improve further. His goal is to reach the level of Yang Youji, the historical archer who "shot the target through the willow tree from a hundred paces away."

Next, he dropped his bow and arrows, put on a thick cowhide face shield in front of his helmet, leaving only two eye holes exposed, and then he wielded a spear without the tip removed, waving it towards the ten cavalrymen on the opposite side who were similarly dressed and well prepared. The ten cavalrymen did not hesitate, and went straight to him, surrounded him, poking, smashing, picking, sweeping, knocking, and shoving with their spears, leaving no room for any effort, as if they would not stop until they knocked him off his horse.

No wonder these cavalrymen went all out. Those who didn't use real strength were driven away by Xiang Chang, who also offered a huge reward of two taels of gold to anyone who could knock him off his horse.

After a fierce battle, the ten cavalrymen were finally beaten by him and fled in a panic. Xiang Chang stopped, chuckled, threw down his spear, replaced it with his halberd, and rode away from the drill ground.

Xiang Chang's body was worthy of being the son of the Overlord of Western Chu. As he was in his youth, he was full of energy and had long-lasting endurance every day. No matter how tired he was during the day, when he woke up the next day, all the fatigue would be gone and he would become energetic again.

Even so, Xiang Chang, who always had a deep sense of crisis, still did not dare to relax and enjoy himself at all. Not only did he practice archery and fight with soldiers every day to keep himself in the best condition, he also wore leather armor all the time to be able to deal with any emergencies at any time.

When he arrived in front of Zhou Yin's military tent, he jumped off his horse and threw it to the accompanying guards. In the tent, Zhou Yin, whose back had been whipped and had healed, sat behind his desk, concentrating on handling military affairs.

He knelt down behind the desk next to Zhou Yin, on which there was a large pile of bamboo slips and silk books, all of which were matters that Zhou Yin had already dealt with and needed the final decision of him, the commander-in-chief. Xiang Chang collected his thoughts and looked calm. He reviewed them one by one in detail. They were just the provisions of food, armor, uniforms, and equipment for the soldiers in the rear army, the replenishment of soldiers injured in battle, the promotion of meritorious officers and generals, and the punishment of soldiers and officers who violated military law in the barracks. He immediately picked up his pen and made his own decisions on them one by one. If there was anything he was unsure about, he would turn sideways and discuss it with Zhou Yin.

Through handling these military affairs, Xiang Chang felt that he had a more and more thorough understanding of the entire rear army, and he was in control of it more and more easily, as if it had become an extension of his limbs, and he had a sense of being able to control it at will.

Looking at one of the bamboo slips, Xiang Chang smiled in surprise and said, "Ying Bu finally brought the surrendered Han army prisoners from the rear army? What a delay."

Zhou Yin shook his head, looking helpless: "They were delivered yesterday. According to your instructions, they were not fed and have been hungry." After a pause, Zhou Yin could not help but continue, "In addition to these, the nearly 10,000 Han soldiers captured by the king in the battle of Gaixia City, and the tens of thousands of Han soldiers captured by you in the raid on Kong Xi's army that night, were also not given food and were under strict guard. You took all of these more than 30,000 Han prisoners. What are you planning to do?"

"What? Of course, we should recruit them to surrender and use them for our own benefit. After the battle between the 50,000 remaining Chu troops and the Han army, the 20,000 cavalry led by my father lost more than 4,000 men. Our rear army and Ying Bu's army also suffered varying degrees of casualties. In this situation, if we don't quickly replenish our troops, how can we resist the next battle with the Han army?"

"Recruit captives?" After hearing Xiang Chang's words, Zhou Yin waved his hands repeatedly as if he had been bitten. "My dear General Hou, you must not entertain such thoughts. There have been countless examples in the past where prisoners were recruited to surrender and incorporated into the army. Once a real battle came, these guys often turned against their own side and caused a great defeat for the army. Even if they were incorporated into the baggage camp, they would still be a hidden danger of instability. They could cause a big mess at any time."

Having said that, Zhou Yin looked up and glanced at Xiang Chang.

Xiang Chang naturally understood what he meant. He was referring to the incident when he raided the rear of the Han army, in which he incited the relatives and generals who had followed Xiang Ju to join the Han army but were forced into the baggage camp, and turned against them in the middle of the battle, dealing a fatal blow to Liu Bang. He wanted him to learn from this incident and be careful not to be copied by the Han army again.

"Then how were the prisoners dealt with in the past?" Xiang Chang did not comment. He put down the bamboo slips, rubbed his eyebrows with his hand, and asked leisurely.

"Kill them!" Zhou Yin's words were crisp and clear, with a chill that penetrated his bones. "After practical testing, this is the most worry-free and labor-saving method without any side effects."

"Too cruel! Little do people know that God is merciful and commits such murderous acts, which will damage one's virtue!" Xiang Chang sighed lightly and shook his head repeatedly.

Zhou Yin was very anxious, his eyes bulging, and he was about to persuade him again, but Xiang Chang realized that it was time for breakfast, so he stopped discussing this topic, stood up and walked out of the tent: "Arrange the prisoners according to my instructions, and we will talk about everything after I come back."

Zhou Yin was now accustomed to being Xiang Chang's deputy general. Not only did he not care about Xiang Chang's unquestionable tone, but he looked up and glanced at his departing figure with pleasure.

Zhou Yin did not expect that Xiang Chang would be able to calm down and take care of all the trivial matters in the military camp himself, unlike other noble generals who left them all to their deputy generals and captains.

Especially during this period, he was able to handle military affairs very quickly, showing a strong learning ability, quick response, and clear thinking. He also made a series of adjustments and changes to many unreasonable aspects of military affairs, which greatly improved the efficiency of military supply operations, which made Zhou Yin secretly marvel at it.

"God has eyes!" Zhou Yin, in a good mood, looked up at the tent, uttered these words softly, lowered his head with a smile, and continued to deal with the military affairs at hand.

(End of this chapter)