freenovelworld Chapter 1089 Familiar Officials' Subservience
Chapter 1089 Familiar Officials' Subservience
In the following days, Yang Tong repeated the same method.
Baixi tribe, Qingtengdong... one after another, the rebellious small tribes were quickly quelled, and the process was similar.
First, artillery breached the gate, and then musket fire from horsemen shattered their will to resist.
Ma Zhong then took control of the situation, and Yang Tong, along with the original leaders, entered the scene to purge the ringleaders and announce new policies.
They encountered almost no resistance; often, the moment the cannons fired, the fighting spirit within the village would be completely extinguished.
After each rebellion was quelled, Yang Tong strictly followed Li Che's instructions, quickly establishing a temporary salt supervision office. He appointed trusted local officials to register the salt wells and announce the benefits of road construction and increased salt production.
Those leaders who had been able to regain their positions thanks to the Qing army became increasingly respectful towards Yang Tong, even to the point of being humble in their attempts to please him.
They knew that their power now rested entirely with the imperial court and with the Lord Yang before them.
They themselves had become complete puppets controlled by the imperial court over the salt wells, with no independence whatsoever.
Only Black Rock Cave is different.
When Yang Tong and Ma Zhong led their troops to the vicinity of Heiyandong, the scouts reported that although the gate of the village was somewhat damaged, there were no signs of fierce fighting. The village was quiet and everything seemed normal, yet something seemed different.
Just as they were filled with doubt and wariness, the village gate opened, and Aguli strode out alone, unarmed and shirtless.
He had several fresh wounds, but his steps were steady and his face showed little panic.
He stopped a few dozen steps in front of the Qing army's formation, knelt on one knee, and loudly proclaimed, "Aguli of Heiyandong has quelled the rebellion within his tribe and has come to report to His Majesty the Emperor. Please, sir, enter the camp to inspect!"
Yang Tong and Ma Zhong exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.
Ma Zhong remained cautious, first ordering the musketeers to take over the city walls before leading his troops into the mountain stronghold.
Following Aguli into the mountain village, they indeed found that although there were signs of fighting inside, order had been largely restored.
At the salt well, the bodies of several rebel leaders hung from high poles, their bodies covered in horrific wounds.
Some of the cooks and clansmen looked at Aguli with fear on their faces and their eyes were full of obedience.
Yang Tong was very curious, after all, Aguli was the youngest and most reckless among the chieftains.
Even the cunning and shrewd chieftains suffered setbacks, so how come he managed to stabilize the situation?
After asking Aguli, I learned that after returning to the tribe, Aguli also immediately gathered a group of tribesmen.
He soon discovered that the tribesmen who remained in the mountain stronghold had become disloyal and had even elected a new leader.
They set up a "Hongmen Banquet" for Aguli, even though Aguli didn't know what a Hongmen Banquet was.
Aguli didn't say anything, but silently stepped forward and personally killed the new chieftain in front of everyone.
Before the man could react, he was punched more than twenty times by Aguli in three seconds, and his head was beaten into a pig's head.
Upon witnessing this scene, Aguli's brutality completely terrified all those who harbored disloyal intentions, and they obediently returned power to him.
Yang Tong was speechless after hearing his words...
This shows that while maintaining rule through personal force is not a long-term solution, it is not without its advantages.
Aguli was like that; he didn't understand power struggles or interests, and he regained control purely through the most primitive and effective methods of violence within the tribe.
The Feast at Hongmen might have worked on Liu Bang, but no one would have set up a Feast at Hongmen for Xiang Yu; that would have been tantamount to offering oneself up as a dish for the overlord.
“I know what His Majesty the Emperor wants,” Aguli said to Yang Tong. “Salt wells, order, and obedient dogs.”
“I, Aguli, can be His Majesty’s fiercest dog, but only I can be that dog.”
The implication was that he did not want to become a puppet completely dependent on the imperial court, like other chieftains.
But he will be loyal to Li Che and will never disobey any orders from the court.
Yang Tong quickly reported the situation to Li Che, who was in charge of the Ciyan Department, and soon received Li Che's reply:
“Approved. Aguli will remain the Salt Supervisor of Black Rock Cave, and the rest of the regulations will be the same as those of the other tribes.”
"Tell him that my dogs must not only be fierce, but also recognize their owners and know who to bite."
After receiving the reply, Aguli remained silent for a long time, and then, facing the direction of the Ciyan tribe, performed a Liao people's salute to show obedience.
Thus, the tribes of Langdong, Baixi, and Qingtengdong were pacified by the Qing army with overwhelming force.
These messages spread like wildfire, carried by salt merchants, itinerant travelers, and defeated soldiers traveling between various villages, quickly reaching every corner of the mountains and valleys of southern Sichuan.
This is also what Li Che wanted. There are too many mountains in southern Sichuan, and countless Liao people's mountain strongholds. He couldn't possibly visit them all one by one.
The other Shu Liao also knew that Emperor Qingren possessed weapons of heaven and earth, capable of transforming the strongest Shu Liao tribe in Shu within a few days.
He can also drive those chieftains to become the vanguard of their own tribes, and those who do not submit to him will only face death.
Resist? Even a fierce tribe like Black Rock Cave had no choice but to submit. What right did they have?
They could no longer hide; the mountains might be able to hide people, but they couldn't hide the salt wells.
After all, the emperor has set so many conditions; if you are unwilling to do them, there are plenty of other officials who are.
The emperor could recruit a group of officials at any time to take over their salt wells.
Without salt wells, how would the tribe survive, and how would they exchange for ironware, cloth, and food?
More importantly, the emperor did not simply engage in indiscriminate slaughter.
He promised to increase salt production and offered them the opportunity to become deputy salt inspectors.
Resistance is a dead end, while compliance seems to offer the possibility of survival, or even a better life than before.
After the initial fear subsided, many of the unaffected Shuliao tribes began to take action.
The smaller villages were the first to lose their composure.
Their leaders sent their trusted confidants, carrying gifts to signify their submission, to the outskirts of Ciyan County, trembling with fear, to request an audience with the emperor.
They pleaded with Emperor Li Che to take them in, expressing their willingness to obey all orders and asking only that His Majesty forgive their sins.
At first there were three or five, then a dozen or so.
Outside the city gate of Ciyan tribe, a group of Liao people from different tribes gradually gathered.
They looked at each other, whispered among themselves, and their eyes occasionally glanced fearfully at the Qing army soldiers standing silently on the gate wall, holding strange iron pipes.
. . . . . .
Inside the fortified city.
Upon receiving the news, Li Che was not overjoyed. He simply instructed Yang Tong: "Immediately register and compile a list, and preliminarily determine their labor quotas based on the size of the tribe, the number of salt wells, and the distance of the roads."
"Tell them that I accept their submission, and let them go back to their homes and focus on production while awaiting further instructions from the court."
"Here."
The interior was brightly lit by candlelight, casting Li Che's pensive profile onto the wall, which swayed slightly.
Yang Tong carefully considered his words before speaking: "Given the current situation, I presume that all the ministries have no objections. However, I observe that Your Majesty still seems to have some lingering doubts?"
He raised his eyes to look at Yang Tong and slowly nodded: "The matter of the familiar officials has been settled. The meat is rotten in the pot, and I can decide how to divide it. But what about the people outside the pot?"
He stood up, walked to the huge map of southwestern Sichuan hanging in the sky, and pointed to the jagged mountainous area.
"The imperial court took away all the salt wells, cutting off the source of wealth and lifeline for the Qiang and Man people. For these Qiang people, this was a matter of losing their food and family line, a feud that could never be ended."
The dense curves representing mountains on the map now seemed to transform into gaping, bloodthirsty mouths.
Li Che knew very well that dealing with the tribes scattered deep in the mountains and known for their fierce nature was not as simple as confronting the rebels on the plains.
They do not need a secure rear or rely on a well-organized military formation; high mountains, deep ravines, dense forests, and secluded valleys are all their battlefields.
Simply raiding and harassing, striking and then leaving, is enough to keep a large army constantly on the run.
If we don't deal with them, let alone build roads, we probably won't be able to transport even a single grain of salt.
Yang Tong's expression also turned serious: "Your Majesty's concerns are absolutely correct. The Qiang and Man peoples have always feared power but not appreciated virtue."
“In the past, when salt wells were managed by trusted officials, there was still some room for exchange. Now that the salt profits are all under the control of the imperial court, it is like cutting off their lifeline. Even if they temporarily avoid the brunt of the attack due to the approaching army, it will surely become a scab in the future, causing endless unrest.”
“It’s just a minor ailment like scabies, that’s one thing,” Li Che said, turning around. “What I’m worried about is someone taking the opportunity to incite trouble and bring these scattered people back together.”
"Now that the Shu region has just been pacified and its foundation is not yet stable, we cannot allow any more trouble in the rear. We must completely eliminate them before they can unite!"
He pondered for a moment, then said to Yang Tong, "Go and summon Aguli. He has the most dealings with the Qiang and Man people. Let's hear what he has to say."
"Yes, sir." Yang Tong accepted the order and left.
Before long, Aguli's tall figure appeared at the entrance of the palace.
Li Che took him in as a dog, so he couldn't remain silent.
These days, they have been patrolling alongside the Qing army and helping to intimidate other Shengliao tribes.
He first bowed to Li Che, and only after receiving a signal did he stride in.
"Your Majesty has summoned this humble general?"
Li Che asked directly, "I ask you, after all the salt wells are taken over, who among the Qiang and Man tribes in the mountains is most likely to start a rebellion?"
Aguli's gaze swept across the mountainous region on the map, and he pointed to several locations with his finger: "Your Majesty, if it were a year ago, it would definitely have been the Duzhang Man and Baicao Qiang."
"These two tribes are large and powerful, brave and skilled in battle, and have always been the leaders of the Qiang tribes."
"In last year's battle, the imperial court defeated their main force. Not only was the chieftain beheaded, but the tribe also suffered heavy losses among its young and strong men."
"Now they are severely weakened and are holed up in their old stronghold, unable to take care of themselves. It will be difficult for them to command the tribes again in the short term."
He then changed the subject: "However, it was precisely because these two tigers were injured that the forest became even more chaotic."
“Nowadays, the Qiang and Man tribes govern themselves and are not subordinate to each other. The larger ones, such as the Qingpian Qiang and Baima Qiang, still have more than a thousand men who can fight; the smaller ones are only one or two villages with a few hundred people.”
"They are scattered in various dangerous places, well-informed and secretive. Their overall strength is far less than before, but precisely because they are scattered, they are more difficult to wipe out."
“If you send a large army, they will break up into smaller groups and hide in the deep mountains; if you have few troops, they will seize the opportunity to plunder caravans, attack scattered military posts, and even harass border towns.”
"Like mosquitoes in the mountains, they can't be swatted away and they keep coming back, always choosing to bite where defenses are weak."
Li Che nodded slowly; the situation was more troublesome than he had anticipated.
The prerequisite for concentrating forces to fight a war of annihilation is that the enemy has a fixed core territory.
Faced with this honeycomb-like, dispersed resistance, large-scale troop movements are difficult to utilize, and a slight misstep could lead to a quagmire of attrition.