Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 64 Baru Camp, the First Group of Han Subordinates

Zhao Shuo said, "It's not a good plan, but I just have a rough idea: we can use these prisoners to form a Baru Battalion."

Baru means slave.

According to historical records, the Mongols formed the Baru Camp with captives and death row prisoners. They were the vanguard in field battles and cannon fodder during sieges. The Baru Camp was assigned to all kinds of difficult tasks, and its death rate was quite high.

However, it does not mean that there is no way out at all.

As long as you survive three bloody battles, you can leave Baru Camp and become an ordinary sergeant.

After Zhao Shuo briefly explained the Baru Camp, Temujin's eyes lit up. He said, "If you survive three bloody battles, you can become an ordinary soldier? Great! When these captives are stained with the blood of the Xixia people, I'm afraid even if we whip them, they won't even think about returning to Xixia."

Borshu praised, "The most important thing is that we grassland men are not good at attacking cities. Instead of wasting the lives of grassland warriors in vain, why not use these useless captives instead?"

"Well, Anda, that's a good idea. If you can survive three bloody battles, you'll be considered a rare warrior and can be our friend."

"Haha! The Prince Consort is really good at this. He easily solved our prisoner problem. In my opinion, all prisoners of war can be handled in the same way from now on."

"I agree!"

"I agree!"

……

The vast majority of Mongolian nobles agreed with Zhao Shuo’s proposal of “Baruking”.

However, after thinking carefully for a while, Hu Nan suddenly spoke up, "Even if we use prisoners to form the Baru Camp, more than 30,000 people is still too many. First, we only have 30,000 people, so we still need to guard against and control the Baru Camp. Second, supplying 30,000 people requires a large amount of food and fodder, which we don't have the capacity for. Third, the specific effectiveness of the Baru Camp is still uncertain."

Temujin asked, "Then, Hunan, how many people do you think should be left behind?"

He suddenly thought for a moment and said, "At most ten thousand people."

Temujin said, "Alright, let's keep 10,000 men and kill the rest."

Hu Nan asked again, "May I ask, Great Khan, who is in charge of the Baru Camp?"

"There's no need to gather them all together; it would be difficult to manage them." Temujin said, "We have a total of 27 thousand households on this expedition (not counting Genghis Khan's Keshig troops). Each thousand household can select 400 men, which is almost 10,000 men.

These men served under various thousand-households. When it was the turn of a thousand-household to meet the enemy or attack a city, they would send the Baru Battalion ahead. If a captive could fight three battles without dying, he would be added to his own thousand-household.

After a pause, he looked at Zhao Shuo and said, "A Shuo, you have made the greatest contribution this time. You can be given priority in selecting the two thousand men that belong to you."

Zhao Shuo asked, "Can I choose whoever I want? As long as there aren't more than 2,000 people?"

Temujin said, "Of course, you can choose whichever you want. As for the number of people, if these captives are considered spoils of war, you deserve more than two thousand. You don't have to stick to the number of two thousand. It's just that the extra people are up to you to support."

"Thank you, Father Khan!"

The next day, Zhao Shuo and Geerile brought hundreds of their personal soldiers to the prisoner camp.

First, select the two thousand tallest and strongest people.

Then, let the remaining people sign up and state their specialties.

For example, if you claim to be proficient in martial arts, you can compete with the selected warriors on the spot.

For example, if someone claims to be a former military officer and is good at commanding and fighting, his identity will be verified on the spot, and Geerile will ask him a few questions to see if it is true. For example, if someone claims to be an excellent archer, he can immediately shoot a few arrows to see if it is true.

Although Zhao Shuo hadn't specified the benefits of joining his army, at least their lives were temporarily guaranteed, and the captives were quite enthusiastic in signing up.

In the end, Zhao Shuo selected 3,167 people from the prisoner camp, including Zhang Yong who was seriously injured yesterday.

He was surprised to find that although Xixia was a state founded by the Tanguts, the proportion of Han Chinese in the army was quite high. Among the more than 3,000 soldiers, there were actually more than 1,300 Han Chinese.

After traveling for nearly twenty years, he finally had his first group of Han subordinates.

These more than 3,000 people were brought back to the camp and first given a good meal.

Of course, mutton is out of the question, but there is captured Xixia military rations.

The fragrant rice porridge and plenty of baked buns calmed the prisoners' mood.

Then, Zhao Shuo gathered them together and gave them a lecture.

"From now on, you are no longer prisoners of war, but soldiers of my Baru Battalion."

Zhao Shuo slowly looked at the captives and said, "What does the Baru Camp do? It's a life-or-death struggle! In battle, you're the first to charge in, consuming the enemy's arrows and engaging them in close combat. In sieges, you're also the first to charge in, scaling the walls and consuming the enemy's rolling logs and rocks."

"This... isn't this courting death?" a Tangut man asked bravely.

"So what if I want to die?"

Before Zhao Shuo could say anything, a tall, red-faced man shouted, "You Dangxiang people, you're just treating us Han people like slaves. You put us on the outside during the battle formation and in the front during the charge. When you attack the city, you make us climb the walls. When you divide the spoils, we get very little. What's the difference between you and the Baru camp?"

"My ancestors were Han Chinese you captured and forced to be thieves. My generation is still thieves. Damn it, it's time for you Dangxiang people to have a taste of what it's like to be thieves!"

"I heard that the Prince Consort has Han Chinese ancestry! We'd rather work for the Xixia people than for the Prince Consort. We'd rather work for the Prince Consort!"

"That's great! Under the Prince Consort's command, the Tanguts and the Xixia are treated equally and leave everything to fate! Now you Tanguts can't be so arrogant anymore, right? Haha!"

……

With this red-faced man leading the charge, the Han warriors began to clamor.

Although the number of Dangxiang captives was slightly larger, they were timid and dared not speak in front of the Han people who had the support of their new masters.

Soon, countless Tanguts quickly changed their stance and declared their willingness to join Baru's camp and die for their son-in-law.

When their voices died down, Zhao Shuo nodded with satisfaction and said, "The Baru Camp isn't all here to die. We, the Mongol Empire, still have a way out for you. As long as you survive three bloody battles, you can officially become a citizen of the Mongol Empire and be treated the same as other soldiers."

The rules of the Baru Camp under my command could be made clearer. Each person can escape slavery by chopping off three enemy heads."

Three heads, not much to listen to.

However, that had to be achieved in the most brutal battles, and one had to survive the battle, which was already quite difficult.

But then again, this treatment is not much harsher than being a thief in the Xixia Army. Besides, it is a way out after all, right? There is no way out for a thief in the Xixia Army.

Some of the Han captives actually showed their joy on their faces.

(End of this chapter)