Chapter 61: Massive Refugees
Originally, Tian Ze had a very naive view on the Yellow Turbans. He believed that if Cao Cao could recruit them as soldiers and civilians, he could do the same.
However, after this period of contact, Tian Ze realized that this matter was far from as simple as he had imagined.
First, the Yellow Turban rebels were traitors. If too many were recruited, it would lead to questioning by the imperial court, so caution had to be exercised.
Secondly, some of the Yellow Turban bandits already have deep evil intentions, and after being recruited they can easily become the source of trouble.
Especially after witnessing the tragic situation in the village, Tian Ze's impression of the Yellow Turban Army dropped to the lowest point.
"Those who are being held hostage can still be spared. All the bandits whose hands are stained with the blood of civilians must be killed!"
Tian Ze has always attached the greatest importance to public support and military discipline.
Previously, when he drove the Hu Lu into Xiangping, although he had repeatedly issued strict orders not to harass the people or take the opportunity to rob, several soldiers still committed crimes.
At that time, Tian Ze detained these people without hesitation, and then read out their crimes and beheaded them in front of all the soldiers and many civilians.
In order to ensure that the troops obeyed orders, Tian Ze made great determination.
As for these Yellow Turban bandits, although many of them were young and strong, they had already touched Tian Ze's bottom line.
Xun You was aware of the situation, so he did not dissuade him, but instead felt relieved.
After using the "mini map" to confirm that there were no ambushes around, following Tian Ze's order, 1,500 cavalrymen swept towards the Yellow Turban bandits like a huge wave.
Wang Dang and the Yellow Turban bandits around him stared at the black cloud in the distance with wide eyes. They felt that the sound of iron hooves seemed to crush their hearts, and their minds went blank in an instant.
What does it mean to have fifteen hundred cavalrymen?
In Jizhou, you can do whatever you want.
Most of the Yellow Turban troops around Wang Dang were a mob forced and coerced by him. They did not have much faith in the Taiping Sect and their wills were extremely weak.
"The government troops are coming! Run!"
Following the roar of a Yellow Turban bandit, everyone seemed to wake up from a dream and fled in all directions.
Wang Dang, the leader, also fled at this time without any intention of resisting.
That's the cavalry!
Moreover, they were a huge black mass. The group of people he led might be fine in fighting favorable battles and bullying the weak, but if they faced such an organized cavalry, they would be courting death.
Pang De took the lead, waving the big knife in his hand wantonly, constantly reaping the lives of these bandits.
Seeing that this group of Yellow Turban bandits were so weak, Tian Ze snorted coldly, but felt a little relieved in his heart.
He was unwilling to engage in a direct confrontation with a large-scale Yellow Turban Army, lest his troops suffer casualties. Whenever he encountered a Yellow Turban army of more than 5,000, he would avoid fighting.
But this time he was really enraged by the evil deeds of the Yellow Turban bandits, so he rushed over to kill them regardless of everything.
Fortunately, this group of Yellow Turban bandits were obviously not the elite backbone of Zhang Jue. They were probably newly recruited and had no desire to fight, so they were easily scared away.
Under Dian Wei's protection, Tian Ze called up the "mini map" and carefully observed the situation around the battlefield to prevent the appearance of unexpected enemies.
At the same time, he ordered Pang De to disperse his troops and eliminate all the Yellow Turban bandits as quickly as possible.
The battle lasted only two hours before the battlefield returned to complete peace.
These Yellow Turban bandits deeply felt the helplessness of the villagers they had previously slaughtered.
Of the nearly ten thousand Yellow Turbans, more than two thousand were killed. Tian Ze then tied up the remaining prisoners and forced them to point fingers at each other's evil deeds, then he killed more than a thousand of them in public.
Finally, he took the remaining nearly 6,000 people and waited for the arrival of 500 cavalry from the rear before retreating towards the navy.
In this way, for three whole months, when the imperial court had not yet reacted and various places had fallen one after another, Tian Ze and his men hid their flags and whereabouts in the four states, continued to fight guerrilla warfare, and managed to attract more than million people. The huge number made Tian Ze dumbfounded.
Later he learned that nearly 40% of them came from Qingzhou. Because Qingzhou had a lot of sacrificial activities, local officials and tyrants took advantage of it to plunder the people's wealth, causing the people to live in poverty, so many people moved away.
Tian Ze roughly calculated that the number of hidden households under his command added up to nearly three million, in addition to the more than 700,000 people in Liaodong and its vassal states.
The population under his control is large enough to rival the entire Youzhou except his own forces.
A wave of fat!
Tian Ze cashed in all the spiritual energy he had accumulated without hesitation, turning it into fertile fields in the Liaodong Mountains, preparing to settle the people there.
During the battle with the Yellow Turban Army, because the enemies were numerous and scattered, the battle intensity was relatively low, and the training results of the Liaodong armies were extremely outstanding.
Through the rotation of the navy, the soldiers in Liaodong were given a real combat exercise. Each time, the veterans led the charge, which not only trained the soldiers but also reduced casualties.
Although the new recruits trained by Cheng Yu and others are of high quality, they still feel nervous when they first go to the battlefield, and their brains may even go blank and their limbs may become stiff.
However, their excellent qualities enable them to maintain a certain fighting capacity based on instinct alone. After one or two battles,
Can adapt quickly.
After such a long period of training, all the new recruits in Liaodong have matured. At a glance, they are obviously different from the past and their combat effectiveness has been greatly enhanced.
At the same time, Tian Ze reported some of the results of the battle to the court. Although they were all small battles, they added up to a considerable amount.
After the imperial court sent people to verify the results of the battle, the emperor praised He Jin and Tian Ze highly, but did not promote them in official positions.
Tian Ze had anticipated this. He was too young, and if the emperor rewarded him again, the officials in the court would certainly not agree.
However, he still felt disappointed. Judging from the small details, he knew that the position of Governor of Youzhou that he longed for would certainly not be achieved before the Dong Zhuo Rebellion.
There was little hope to begin with. After all, before Dong Zhuo came to the capital, those who could serve as provincial governors were either members of the Liu royal family or the emperor's absolute confidants.
He came from a third-rate family and was on good terms with foreign relatives and eunuchs. If he were to take office, I'm afraid all the officials in the court would collectively die in protest.
After adjusting his identity and mentality, Tian Ze simply withdrew most of the soldiers distributed in the other three states to ensure the stability of Liaodong.
After all, I have almost eaten all the fat, and the rest are basically hard bones that are difficult to chew.
Since there is no reward, there is no need to fight the Yellow Turbans to the death. The best strategy is to focus on assimilating these newly recruited refugees.
Moreover, the imperial court has now recovered. In the Battle of Changsha, Huangfu Song defeated tens of thousands of enemy troops and won a great victory in the Battle of Yuzhou. The other states and counties also reported victory one after another. The decisive battle between the Han Army and the Yellow Turban Army is not far away.
At this time, Zhang Jue was being chased by his teacher Lu Zhi. He was defeated repeatedly and retreated all the way towards Guangzong.
After careful consideration, Tian Ze led his troops westward and marched towards Guangzong with two thousand cavalry.
In the government army camp, one of the five infantry battalions of the Northern Army was stationed. Seeing two thousand cavalrymen galloping towards them, although they were wearing government army uniforms and armor, they still instinctively showed a defensive posture and quickly and secretly formed a battle formation.
Tian Ze couldn't help but admire them when he saw them. They were indeed the most elite troops of the Han Dynasty. A glimpse of the whole picture revealed the whole picture. Their vigilance and coordination alone far surpassed countless border troops.
"I am Tian Ze, the governor of Liaodong and the general of the Central Army. I am a student of Lu Zhonglang. I am here to support you under the order of the general. Please inform Lu Zhonglang."
The garrison officer looked at the uniforms of the cavalrymen behind Tian Ze, as well as the large flag with the Chinese character "田" fluttering in the wind, and said with a slight bow, "Please wait a moment, General. I will pass the message immediately."
Tian Ze nodded and waited where he was, while quietly observing the infantry battalion in front of him.
The five schools of the Northern Army have been passed down for hundreds of years and have been engaged in long-term external conquests. Their combat effectiveness is self-evident. Part of the reason why Tian Ze came this time was that he wanted to see how big the gap was between the troops he trained and this elite force.
(End of this chapter)
