Chapter 916 Agreed

Chapter 916 Agreed

Chapter 916 Agreed
At the end of the night banquet, Shao Xun summoned his staff to discuss matters.

Wang also summoned his trusted aides, including Prime Minister Wang Feng, Yang Zhen and Duan Fan, and Yunzhong prefect Wang Chang, to discuss the matter in secret.

"Mr. Duan." Wang nodded to the senior Duan Fan, motioning him to go first.

Duan Fan coughed and said, "I checked earlier and found that the new and old surrendered tribes, including the three counties in Shannan, only have 100,000 tents and 500,000 people."

"When Yilu was at its peak, the ten Tuoba clans had more than 200,000 people, and the remaining clans that controlled tribes and cities numbered more than 60, with a population of 500,000. The various tribes in all directions had more than 300,000 people, totaling more than one million."

"It has only been ten years since then. After many battles, the ten Tuoba clans have only a little over 100,000 people. The sworn tribes still have forty clans with 300,000 people. Most of the tribes in the four directions have dispersed, and only a few tens of thousands of people still send envoys to pay tribute."

"After ten years of fighting, half of our troops are gone. Now we can only send out a little over 100,000 cavalrymen, while back then we had no less than 300,000 soldiers. The difference is too great."

"The dispersal of the tribes has been particularly severe in the past two years. Countless people have left without saying goodbye, and countless people have looked down on Duke Dai. If we don't reverse the downward trend, we may end up like the Xiongnu."

At this point, Duan Fan paused, giving the people present time to digest what he had said.

After a moment, he continued, "I sent my sons and nephews to Kelan to sell goods. What I saw along the way was shocking."

"At that time, Xiurong County was trying a case, and the people were allowed to watch. The county magistrate Qiao Yu asked a chieftain why he killed someone, and the chieftain replied, 'The one I killed was a slave in my family.' My nephew asked around and learned that the person he killed was not a slave, but the head of a tribe. The tribe was not large, with only five surnames. One surname was the chieftain's ancestor, and the other surname was the person who was killed."

"As for why he was killed, the specific reason is not clear. From the interrogation, it can be seen that the person who was killed was unwilling to obey the orders of the chief minister. He said that his pasture was allocated by the court, and he traveled back and forth between the pasture in the mountains and the farmland at the foot of the mountain every year. Even the planting techniques were taught by the court, which had nothing to do with the chief minister, and he did not need to pay tribute to the chief minister."

"The chieftain was extremely angry and accused him of violating the oath of his ancestors. The people who were killed did not give in, and finally a fight broke out, with many people killed and injured."

"Xiu Rong ordered Qiao Yu to be sentenced to death by beheading, but he was not questioned for being forced to follow the enemy. His sons and nephews were required to pay a certain amount of cattle and sheep as compensation."

When these words were spoken, everyone was moved.

The reason why a tribe is called a tribe is that it is composed of multiple clans.

Taking the Pu tribe of the Ten Tuoba Clans as an example, in addition to the Pugu clan (also known as the Pu clan), which inherited the position of the chief of the tribe, there are also clans such as Punai and Putun.

A clan can have hundreds of people or as many as one or two thousand. When the clan gathers around you, you are considered a leader. If the clan is dispersed, you will be downgraded to the clan leader.

Because the Wuhuan people have been assimilated into Han culture for a long time, they no longer have such a strict tribal organization. Their overall strength has been strengthened, but they still refer to themselves as a large tribe when dealing with external affairs. Clan leaders still exist, which is somewhat similar to the clans in Han areas.

The Xiurong County Magistrate's interference in the internal affairs of the tribe is an erosion of the power of the tribal leader. After all, the tribal leader was originally evolved from the tribal judge.

If the county magistrate can adjudicate internal disputes within the tribe, then what is the need for you, the leader of the tribe?
"The leader of a tribe was sentenced to death. Didn't his followers rebel?" Wang Feng couldn't help asking.

"Among the five clans, one is at loggerheads with the tribe, two are trying to make peace, and only two are in turmoil, but they only number a few hundred people. When my nephew left Xiurong, I had not heard of anyone rebelling."

"What about the other tribes? Don't they feel sad when the rabbit dies?"

"Maybe." Duan Fan groaned for a moment and said, "But the knife hasn't hit their necks yet, so there's always a chance of luck. In addition, the power of King Liang is growing day by day. If they don't have enough strength, they will die if they rebel, so they didn't dare to do it in the end."

After hearing this, everyone remained silent for a long time.

If this is the case in Kelan County, isn't it the same in Dai, Yunzhong, and Mayi counties? Although the chief officers are all our own people now, some of the assistant officers are not. Over time, there will be hidden dangers.

Wang Feng thought for a long time and sighed, "Now I can't go too far against King Liang's wishes, alas."

Duan Fan stroked his beard and said, "Dai County will have to be handed over sooner or later. By then, our prestige may be damaged, and we still need the support of King Liang. Fortunately, we are still useful to King Liang, and we must not agree to what the Xiongnu propose. The Xiongnu envoy captured by Sheng Le can be sent to King Liang to win his favor."

Wang Feng nodded slowly.

What use are Tuoba Xianbei to King Liang? Of course, it is to fight.

To be honest, the cavalry that King Liang relies on now are mostly Jie people, Duan tribe Xianbei or Xiongnu.

Among the three, only the Duan tribe of Xianbei could be looked up to by them.

Liu Han was beaten by them, which was just laughable. In the past ten years, Liu Han won only once in dozens of battles, big and small, and that was won by Tuoba Pugen's lone army deep in the territory and with insufficient food and grass.

The Jie cavalry had poor fighting power. Back then, Shi Le's 10,000 Jie cavalry were directly beaten to pieces by the Duan tribe Xianbei, and they finally won by using the trick of digging a hole.

However, it must be admitted that the combat effectiveness of the Jie cavalry led by Shangdang governor Liu Runzhong has made considerable progress in recent years. They may be able to compete with the Duanbu Xianbei, but they are still no match for the Tuoba Xianbei.

This is where they are valuable, and this is where King Liang wants to use them.

Of course, the fact that the King of Liang had the will but not the power to rule directly in the area north of Yanmen Pass and could only seek partners was also a reason, but the former was the main reason.

"Have you explained everything?" Wang asked when no one said anything.

Wang Feng, Wang Chang, Duan Fan and others looked at each other, and finally Wang Feng stepped forward and said, "Some things cannot be figured out by one person, but when several people discuss it, it often becomes clear."

Wang nodded and said, "Then it's settled. Send someone to inform Che Kun to do their best to defeat the 'invading' Xiongnu troops. All the soldiers and civilians in Dai County who are willing to leave should move away and hand them over as soon as possible while King Liang is still here. If there is any unrest, we can use King Liang's power to suppress it."

"What about Yihuai?" Wang Feng suddenly thought of something and said, "We sent people to hunt him down before, but most of them were just pretending. When Liu Lugu chased him, the enemy was already prepared and was defeated at Baidaokou. It will not be easy to capture him now." "He has someone to protect him." Wang sighed and said, "Let's put him down for now, otherwise he will be punished. We will find a way secretly later."

Duan Fan nodded and said, "Khatun is wise. Now we should calm down and slowly take care of the affairs of the country to accumulate vitality."

"What Yang Zhen said about Kelan is indeed a warning, but it is also a wonderful way to disperse the tribes." Wang said, "In the past, the tribes that migrated to the interior during the Later Han Dynasty and Cao Wei were often more than 100,000 or even hundreds of thousands of people, but they were not well controlled, which led to failure. Now we can learn the method of King Liang and teach the tribes the farming and grazing methods. If we work slowly, it may have a miraculous effect."

Did the Later Han and Cao Wei manage the tribes that migrated inland? Apart from sending officials such as lieutenants to monitor them, it can be said that they did not.

They have never taken these people seriously, and certainly won't make great efforts to assimilate them.

When there is a need, you are asked to work hard, and when there is no need, they ignore you. So more than two hundred years have passed, and things remain the same.

If one wants to assimilate, the first task is to dismantle the tribal organizations at the grassroots level.

Shao Xun had the need to disintegrate the tribe, and so did the Wang family. The Guangning Wuhuan, who had experienced this before, were very familiar with this.

How did their tribe disintegrate? It started with settlement.

Large tribes like the Xinping Pu clan have already tasted the sweetness of farming, so they will have the urge to settle down.

This is the opportunity.

But how could we know that this process was not just a way to help others? Wang Shi could certainly think of this, but she had no choice because the tribe was too independent and could betray her at any time.

"What if the King of Liang forcibly relocates the tribes to the Central Plains?" Wang Chang, the governor of Yunzhong, suddenly asked.

Wang Feng's face changed.

The Emperor of the Central Plains particularly likes to relocate the Hu tribes inland, so this possibility cannot be ruled out.

Duan Fan thought for a moment and said, "Over the years, the King of Liang has only relocated two tribes, the Jie people of Youzhou and Duan Mobo's tribe. I don't know where the Jie people are now, and it seems they are no longer in Bianliang. Duan Mobo's tribe seems to still be there, but I don't know how many people are left."

"He doesn't dare." Wang smiled and said, "When he shouted 'the barbarians and Chinese are all at peace', he was destined not to be able to command the tribes at will like the Later Han and Cao Wei did, and even not to pay for fighting. Su Shuyan, Duan Mobo, Duan Wenyang and others are all officials. When the soldiers under his command performed meritorious service, they were all rewarded, just like the people of Jin. He had the courage, but he paid a lot of benefits. The barbarian families like the Shangdang Liu family are not just evaluated, but they must also select officials and treat them equally. Otherwise, where do you think there are so many Jie cavalry today?"

Why was she so sure? Because she had asked, but the man backed off.

Five hundred thousand Xianbei people entered the Central Plains. Do you want to recruit them to fight?
If so, should they obey your orders, fight for you, and make military achievements, be rewarded and given official positions?

Moreover, it is too easy to make meritorious deeds. Liu Han's rag-and-bone cavalry could hardly defeat Tuoba Xianbei and would be defeated at the first charge. By then, a lot of people will have made meritorious deeds. What will you do?
This is a very realistic problem. He started with a high tone, but he didn't dare to put it into practice. He said "both the barbarians and the Chinese are safe", but in the end, he can only take care of some of the barbarians.

After saying this, Wang stood up and called the maid.

Suddenly, she thought of something else, so she said, "King Liang asked the tribes to capture prisoners and sell them alive, so don't stop them. The tribes in Shuofang are also a different kind of Xianbei. If you can pacify them, then pacify them. If you can't pacify them, then conquer them. Their people have fought with Shi Le for many years and are exhausted. It shouldn't be difficult to conquer them. As for the rest of the places, you can go wherever you want."

"Yes." Several people responded in unison.

After Wang Feng responded, he was a little stunned.

Before he knew it, he had gotten used to following his sister's instructions.

Seeing that his sister had nothing else to say, he left with a group of seven or eight people.

Wang asked her maid to boil water for her bath.

In her own hut, she quietly admired this beautiful and mature body.

There are strange peaks on the top, as tender as spring bamboo shoots, and the bottom is round like a ball, which rises and falls when bumped into.

After bathing, she gently wrapped herself in a knee-length robe and quietly entered a large tent accompanied by her maids and guards.

"You're not wearing anything inside!" A man's surprised voice came from inside the tent.

……

After a long time, Wang's begging voice was heard: "My king, please don't..."

The man seemed to refuse without mercy.

After a while, Wang took a bath again, but her face did not look very good.

She squatted on the ground, trying to dig something out, but finally gave up.

If you can avoid it this time, you can avoid it many times.

Only at this moment would she take off the mask on her face and reveal a little panic.

(End of this chapter)