Chapter 13: The Benevolence of the Warrior

The result of the battle outside the city of Japa Ersi was the second to boost the morale of the army. The most important thing was that the Tang army might be able to obtain military intelligence from this area from the prisoners. At present, the Tang army's desire for intelligence is even stronger than the desire for military capital.

After Guo Luo interrogated the prisoners, he learned that the Uighurs was a general with a high status in Talas, named Ali. He then pulled out the lower-level soldiers from the prisoners. The middle-level commander came. The lower-level soldiers generally could not access the decisions of the upper-level and could not learn the information from the higher-level officials from them. The main function was to let them identify the generals and confirm the confessions of the generals from the details they revealed.

Guo Luo said: "The generals are very dishonest, and their words are contradictory, and there is no one to trust." He isolated the commanders of the Uighurs for interrogation. In this case, the truth is easy to reach a consensus, but the lies are bound to be destroyed. Therefore, he knows that the commanders of the Uighurs are lying.

Zhang Mai said: "Although our military law does not allow the abuse of prisoners, we can only use some extraordinary means."

Yang Yi shouted, "Alo is so gentle, I'll go!" He had just returned from the battlefield, his body covered in blood and had no time to wash it, and he looked like a god of killing in hell.

Guo Shiyong stopped him: "What can you do? The left and right are just whipping with whips. I just went to inspect the prisoner camp. Some of the Uighur generals were tough guys, especially Ali. He was seriously injured and didn't even hum. I don't think you could tell him to speak."

"What should I do?"

Zhang Mai said: "Take that Ali and I will come to interrogate him in person."

Guo Shiyong stopped him again and said, "Entertainment, there are differences in hearing the truth, you have specialized in your skills, you don't have a fierce look on your face, and you don't have enough murderous aura, and Yang Yiruo can't do it either. I'm afraid you may not be able to ask Ali to speak. It's better to leave this matter to An Jiu."

When Guo Luo and Yang Yi heard this, they exclaimed: "An Jiu? Is he in the army?" Guo Luo said: "He should belong to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. He can't fight, so how could he be in the army?"

Guo Shiyong said: "Majoru thought that this trip might be useful for him, so he asked me to take him with me."

Zhang Mai asked, "Who is An Jiu?"

He heard that the name looked like An Liu's brother. Sure enough, Guo Shiyong said: "It's Uncle An Liu's clan brother. He is a good at torture."

Zhang Mai was a little surprised when he heard this. There were not many primitive residents in Xinliu Ye City, and Zhang Mai, who had a skill, almost all knew it. However, since An Jiu was An Liu's clan brother, he clearly looked like a capable person from Guo Shiyong's tone. He didn't know it, so he asked, "Why don't I know him?"

"He is a person living in the darkness, and he has some quirks. He is not at a high position in Xin Ruiye City. Everyone hates him and doesn't usually talk about him, so the envoy naturally doesn't know. In fact, the envoy doesn't have to know him." Guo Shiyong said.

Zhang Mai was even more curious when he heard this: "Why don't everyone like him?"

Yang Yi frowned and said, "Who would like him? He was full of dead people. When I was a child, I had nightmares when I saw him."

Zhang Mai smiled and said, "There are people who are even afraid of you? Then I really want to see him." He ordered Ma Xiaochun to follow Guo Shiyong's people to invite him. After a while, Ma Xiaochun came back, and his face seemed to have eaten a bunch of flies on his face. He replied, "Enterprise, he...he refused to come."

"Why?" Zhang Mai asked.

"That man is a weird man, hiding in a dark corner, and his voice was strange. When he heard that the envoy summoned him, he refused to come out. I asked him why, but he couldn't tell why." Ma Xiaochun said, and couldn't help but interrupt: "Envoy, don't see him, that man is like a snake, hiding in a cave, afraid of seeing people, and..." Thinking about his being from Tibetan Monument Valley, An Jiu is from Xinshuoye City, and he seems to be someone from An Liu, who has a great identity in the army. Don't offend him, so I didn't say anything more.

Guo Shiyong also said: "Enterprise, An Jiu is not a big deal. He has a weird temper and is more scary. In our Xinshuo Ye City, he is a prison guard. You are the emperor's emperor envoy, so there is no need to see such people."

"Prisoner? There is still a prison in our new shattered Ye City?"

Guo Shiyong smiled and said, "No wonder the envoy didn't know that our Xinshuye City was fully built, so there were naturally prisons, but no one was involved in it. He just committed a crime, was punished by whipping or tying, and he usually didn't have to be locked up inside. The prison was mostly a false idea. An Jiu had no special skills, had a weird temper, could not be sociable, and even had committed a crime. Thinking that his father had worked hard, the PRESIDENT arranged a mission for him to do it, which was just a place to settle down."

Zhang Mai understood after hearing this. Generally speaking, no matter which tribe or country, there are always a certain proportion of "normal people", marginal people, or physically incomplete or psychologically problematic. An Jiu is probably this kind of person. An Shoujing interrupted and said, "Among Jiu hated everyone in our clan. When we migrated, some even said that they would keep him and not let him follow him. He had no objection - because he was a fool, living like a snake beast, keeping him in the mountains and forests and taking him with him, in fact, there was no difference for him. But the Protector refused. He asked us a question at that time, but everyone couldn't answer, so he took him with him."

An Jiu was also An Shoujing's clan uncle, but An Shoujing called him his name, and it seemed that this person was indeed a humble person in the Tang army.

Zhang Mai asked: "What did Prophet ask?"

An Shoujing said, "The Prophet asked: If we left and An Jiu was caught by the Uighurs, do you think he would give us some information? At that time, no one could answer, because everyone thought An Jiu would not say a word. The Prophet said, "Everyone actually knows the answer, just because he has this nature, we cannot leave him behind - the saint's teaching: 'Wander and widower should be raised by the widower and the orphans'. This is the way of my benevolent Chinese. We can still support him, so how can we leave him behind? Therefore, he brought him with him. I don't expect it to be useful now."

Zhang Mai was moved after hearing Guo Shidao's words and thought to himself: "My people in the Tang Dynasty are different from the barbarians after all! 'Wanders and widows, widows, orphans should be raised.' This is the grand-minded and kindness of our ancestors who asked us to care for the vulnerable groups. Although in war, the great protector can still defend this front! Our China can stand tall for thousands of years and not fall, which is not just the word "iron blood"!"

At this time, he said, "Since everyone thinks An Jiu is suitable for this matter, then leave it to him." Ma Xiaochun: "There are many prisoners to be interrogated this time. You can go to the logistics team to select twenty people and help An Jiu fight."

Ma Xiaochun responded, and before leaving, Guo Shiyong reminded: "You follow An Jiu's command, arrange your 'stance' properly and leave, and don't have to watch him. His tormenting scenes will hurt his compassion."

Zhang Mai became more and more curious as he heard it. Soon Ma Xiaochun came back to report: "That man is so weird. He was so happy when he heard the envoy saying he wanted to hand him over torture him. He was like he had earned 10,000 or 20,000 gold. However, he said that he could not do work before dark, and when he was working, he had to be in a place where others could not see or hear it. It would be better to have a deep earthen prison that could isolate the sound of the inside and outside."

Baersi did not have such a dungeon.

Guo Shiyong shouted: "Oh, I miscalculated it. If he was asked to interrogate in the city, we wouldn't have to sleep tonight."

An Shoujing said, "There is a small wooden house on the north side of the Mantou Mountain. It is a place where the herders in Chins are graze and rest. Why not let him go there for interrogation. I will send a team of soldiers to guard the surroundings."

Guo Shiyong said: "That place is good."

Ma Xiaochun took the order and Zhang Mai discussed with everyone about his future whereabouts. After talking, he felt that there was the latest information to be the assistant. As he talked, he naturally looked forward to how An Jiu was asking for the question. Zhang Mai was curious and wanted to check the situation. Guo Luo, Liu An and others came to stop him and said, "An Jiu should be torturing the Ali and those generals now. The scene of his torture was too... too ugly. A gentleman stayed away from the kitchen. You might as well not go."

Zhang Mai smiled and said, "What does it mean to be a gentleman stay away from the kitchen? Aluo, you use allusions randomly. I'm not going to go into the kitchen."

Yang Yi cried out and said, "What kind of kitchen? Where An Jiu tortures people is the slaughterhouse. Brother Mai, please don't go. When An Jiu tortures people, I'll keep you from having to eat for three days."

The more they stopped them, the more Zhang Mai wanted to go and see them. He rode his horse out of the city despite the obstacles. When he saw the wooden house, he faintly heard a scream. The scream was so strange, it seemed not a simple pain. Zhang Mai had experienced several battle formations, but he still had goose bumps when he heard this scream. He thought to himself: "Uncle Yong said that An Jiu was 'just scary'. He heard this scream, I'm afraid it was not ' scary'."

When they got closer, they saw a team of soldiers guarding them - but they were sent by An Shoujing. When the soldiers saw Zhang Mai bowing and saluting, Zhang Mai found that most of them had vomiting filth under their feet, and asked, "What's going on?"

The leading team looked at each other with the deputy team and felt embarrassed to speak.

Zhang Mai rode closer, and then a few more moans came. The moan was even more uncomfortable than the tragic cry just now. It was not possible in the world. Zhang Mai was already a little regretful when he arrived at the wooden house. When he was about to open the door, an inexplicable stench had already been heard from the unscrupulous door, as if bloody, feces, stomach acid and various secretions were put together. What kind of miserable situation was in the house? Zhang Mai felt nausea and dared not imagine it.

Guo Luo advised again: "Brother Mai, please don't go in. This unkind scene is useless to see."

Zhang Mai's hand stayed at the wooden door for a moment, and finally gave up the curiosity that was useless and said, "Let's go."

That night, I walked back to the city by the moon, and thought about a question in my mind: "What is kindness? What is unkind?"

The past few months of experience have allowed Zhang Mai to see all kinds of injustice, from the battlefield to outside the battlefield. Some of them are even led by Zhang Mai. However, Zhang Mai does these things in this environment.

If you act according to benevolence, righteousness and morality in military affairs, it is "the benevolence of Duke Xiang of Song". It will not only lead to failure, but will also be laughed at by the world. Even the true sages in ancient times will not agree with Duke Xiang of Song. However, the Grandson of the Military Saint emphasized that "wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage and strictness" is the five virtues of generals, and benevolence is one of them, believing that "benevolence" is a necessary condition for the general.

For generals, you must also understand "benevolence" - if this is said by Confucius, Zhang Mai would not miss him, but this is said by his grandson.

If you are a general but not be kind, even if you have plans from ghosts and gods, an invincible army will not go far.

"Even grandson believes that the one who can win the war is benevolence rather than violence. So, how can the real benevolence on the battlefield? How did the ancestors grasp the degree of benevolence on the battlefield?"

There are some truths, which are also written in the book, but you really need to understand but not rely on reading or listening to teaching, but you have to rely on iron cavalry and a sword to truly master it!

"Those nations that are superstitious about small benevolence and righteousness, such as Duke Xiang of Song, have long been swept into the dust of history, and there is no residue left, or like the ancient people of India, although they have survived but have been slaves for generations - these are all sheep!"

"And those nations that are superstitious about 'radical' are like the Xiongnu, the Jiedi, the Rouran, and the Xianbei. Even if they are able to run rampant by chance, they will eventually shine like fireworks and then go away and never return - these are all wolves!"

"Only China, which has the 'benevolence of the warrior', has gone through many disasters and finally resurrected in the trough! It has stood firm to this day!"

"So, my Chinese totem is not a wolf, nor a sheep, but a dragon!"

Guo Luo and Yang Yi noticed that Zhang Mai suddenly stopped and immediately held the horizontal knife around his waist. At this moment, both of them felt that Zhang Mai's demeanor had changed slightly. The three riders stood quietly under the bright moon in the shape of a pin character, but Guo Luo and Yang Yi didn't say anything, but just looked at Zhang Mai silently, one left and one right.
Chapter completed!