Chapter 25: Capturing Prisoners (Part 1)
As for the war on the front line, Yang Yingqi was not as worried as others - although in the Jurchen territory, his news was the most informed - sometimes even more informed than Aguda.
At this moment, his energy was all focused on civil affairs. Zhe Yan Chong sent him 600 people, and dozens of them escaped halfway, but there were still over 500 people when they arrived at Hanbu Village.
Most of the captives in this war were Khitans and Jurchens, who, except for a portion absorbed into Aguda's army, mostly became slaves to the Jurchen chieftains.
Yang Yingqi, however, did not treat the Han prisoners of war in the same way as the Jurchen people treated their captives, nor did he degrade them to slaves. On the day these prisoners arrived, he gathered all his tribesmen and stood with the prisoners, declaring that they were equal.
The prisoners, who were lined up in a loose formation, looked distrustfully at Yang Yingqi, who was only fourteen years old - although it was said that he was the highest-ranking official here now, and his manner of speaking and the confidence emanating from his eyes were clearly not those of an ordinary child. At the same time, the original residents of the Han Department looked at these shabbily dressed prisoners with some reluctance to associate with them.
Yang Yingqi noticed these details and called Zhang Lao Yu and Zhou Sheng to come up and ask: "Zhang Lao Yu, Zhou Sheng, I ask you, on Nanjing Road, what is your identity?"
Zhang and Zhou were taken aback, for at that time they were one a head-down household and the other a farm slave, with lowly status. Now they had both become leaders of the Han department, and generally did not like to mention past events, but Yang Yingqi brought it up in public.
Yang Yingqi saw that they didn't respond and loudly said: "Why don't you answer? Fine, I'll speak first. On the streets of Nanjing, I was just a slave!"
The prisoners were in an uproar, while Zhang and Zhou looked at each other in dismay, completely bewildered as to why Yang Yingqi wanted to reveal his past mistakes.
Yang Yingqi said: "Why don't you dare to speak? Are you ashamed of past events? I don't think so! I dare to speak the truth about my own past, and I don't consider that experience a shame. Why? Because at that time I was forced to be a slave, it wasn't my true intention! My body was a slave, but my heart still considered myself a man of integrity! The dignity of status is not true dignity! Self-respect in one's character is the true dignity! What people fear most is not being forced into slavery - because there will always be a day to turn things around. But if even one's heart is enslaved, then that person - and even their descendants will forever sink!"
Those captives who heard these "strange" words were either astonished, perplexed, or simply numb. But Zhang, Zhou and other Han people had seen and experienced a lot in the past year, and after hearing this, they all seemed to be deep in thought. Yang Yingqi did not intend for these captives to be moved by his words; he was saying this for the original residents of the Han area to hear.
Yang Yingqi asked Zhang Lao Yu: "Old Zhang, I'll ask you again, two years ago, you and these people... He pointed to the bottom: 'Is there a difference?'"
"No." Zhang Lao Yu thought for a moment and said: "Maybe it's even worse than them."
Yang Yingqi said: "Then what do you think will happen to them and us together after a year?"
Zhang Lao Yu thought for a moment and said: "I think it will be the same as us."
"Not bad." Yang Yingqi said, "They are now captives, but they won't be in the future. Once they get used to life here, they'll be just like us." Facing the group of captives, Yang Yingqi shouted loudly, "Everyone listen up! This is the Han Department! I am now the greatest leader here! I declare: from today on, you are no longer captives! I will give you a place to live, food to eat, clothes to wear, and find things for you to do. As long as you work hard enough, you'll become rich in the future. If you're smart enough, I'll even let you be leaders!"
At the bottom there was no sound, after a while, one person plucked up the courage to ask: "The adults said we are not captives, then can we go?"
Zhang Lao Yu and other leaders were very displeased upon hearing this, but Yang Ying Qi said: "Alright, but you must wait until after registering your names and receiving the relief funds before leaving."
Yang Yingqi seemed to be telling the truth, and the group of captives' courage grew a bit more. The man who had just spoken asked again: "What about living expenses?"
Yang Yingqi: "Within today, I will give each of you a small amount of money, enough for about ten days of living. Those who are willing to stay can use this small sum to get by, and we'll send more in ten days' time. Those who don't want to stay can use the money to go home! However, once you've made your decision, you cannot easily change it."
Yang Yingqi pointed to the village in the east and said, "Later, you will line up and go there. That village is for you to live in! You have registered your names and decided where to go, so you can receive things now." He also told the Han people, "Take good care of them, their situation is the same as ours when we first started! In the future, they may become our friends or even our relatives."
The captives were led by dozens of workers with mixed feelings. Many Han people were mobilized by Yang Yingqi and other leaders to show concern, pulling some household items, and the captives who had been worried all the way gradually felt at ease.
During this period of preparation, Yang Yingqi not only expanded his mother village but also built three more villages. Each village can accommodate about a thousand people. The houses are simple and spacious, with one room and one kang for each family. Every village has access to running water. Although the facilities in these sub-villages are far from being as complete as those in the mother village, they have taken into account various living needs and left space for future development - but this requires the villagers themselves to make an effort.
Dong Village was the first village to be built, and here Yang Yingqi had prepared clothes for everyone. Led by Gu Dajie, sixty people were divided into twenty groups to distribute them.
Each group of three, one person in charge of asking questions, one person in charge of registration, and one person in charge of distributing clothes. The questioning was very simple: what's your name, are you willing to stay, can you read and write, what work have you done before? The questioner also sized up the physique of the person being questioned and then told the registrar.
Thanks to the orderly registration and distribution of supplies, things went quickly, and out of 560 people, only about 20 decided to leave. Those who stayed were either because they had no other choice or because they were afraid that what the Han people said wouldn't count for anything. However, seeing the Han people let those people leave, the ones who stayed felt more at ease - after all, the Han people kept their first promise. They moved into the kang rooms, five people per room, with one original Han resident accompanying each room - a total of six people.
It was already October, and the weather was quite cold, but there were kang beds in the house that could be used, so there was no need to worry about freezing. Yang Yingqi said before leaving Dongcun: "From today on, you are not prisoners of war, but villagers of Dongcun."
Yang Yingqi organized people to sort out the registration situation overnight, and divided the villagers of Dongcun into five groups based on their physical condition, special skills, and experience: one hundred people were left by Yang Kaiyuan's twenty or so workers to train as new workers; 150 people were managed by Zhou Sheng for farming; Liu Liwu and Duanzao each got 50-60 people; 100 people would be sent to the coal mine and iron ore to work; the rest went to Meng Wuer's pasture to help.
