Chapter 231 The benevolent government of the river of blood
Duan Zhengchun is really a ruthless person.
At the foot of Cangshan Mountain, corpses lay everywhere. On this battlefield, more than a dozen hostile leader lords were thrown alive into the fire where the corpses were burned.
The lord's family, who had been enjoying themselves so well, looked so miserable that it was unbearable to look at them. Several generals in the Song army had angry faces.
Song Jiang was dumbfounded and even couldn't bear it.
However, the Young Master has orders, and apart from military power, he has no control over it. Now everything in Dali is subject to Duan Zhengchun's orders.
He turned around and found that Wang Chaoli had closed his eyes and was facing the sky, his brows furrowed like a deep groove.
After so many years of forbearance, with no hope of restoring the clan's foundation, and with an uncertain future, the last emperor of Dali became violent and unimaginable.
None of the Song and Jiang dynasties stopped him. They knew that the more ruthless Duan Zhengchun was, the more favorable it would be for the Song Dynasty to directly establish states and counties in the future to manage the newly acquired vast territory.
The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is full of chieftains, and the high mountains are not suitable for large-scale battles. Even the Japanese of later generations suffered a lot in Yunnan-Guizhou.
Duan Zhengchun walked over excitedly and said with a ferocious smile: "I also know a tribe that is under the Buddha Peak and one of the thirty-seven Wuman villages. It is loyal to Gao Taiming. Let's go to the Buddha Peak tonight to bloodbath it!"
Song Jiang nodded and said loudly: "Bury the pot and cook, and when you are full, we will fight tonight. God damn, hurry up and finish the killing, so that I don't have to sleep at night. It's better to go back to Bianliang."
Wang Chaoli, who looked up with a bitter look on his face, suddenly bent over and vomited violently because he didn't know if he heard the word "rice".
Duan Zhengchun watched with cold eyes, feeling a little happy in his heart. These people made it clear that they would use him to destroy the unruly lords and tribes in Dali.
He already knew the purpose of the Song Dynasty's troops. Since he couldn't change it, he might as well take the opportunity to use the Song Dynasty's army to vent the evil in his chest.
On Cangshan Mountain, in the Wuman soldiers' camp, Gao Taiming looked haggard.
Except for the two sons who escaped, all the rest of his family had been killed by Duan Zhengchun.
The prominent Bai clan in Dali, the Southwest Gao family, is now almost extinct. What's worse is that the days to come will be even more difficult.
The Song army poured into Dali from afar. The strength of the two countries was not of the same level. What was even worse was that the enemy's commander was now the emperor of Dali.
Not only is his strength overwhelming, but he is also justified. In a few days, the food on Cangshan Mountain will not be enough.
It suddenly rained in Shi Yunling yesterday. The Song army's increasingly fierce offensive these days has slowed down. Gao Taiming breathed a sigh of relief.
Before he could be happy for a long time, news came that several tribes loyal to him at the foot of the mountain had been wiped out.
The blood flowed to Erhai Lake, dyeing a large area of the lake red, and the smoke from burning corpses often dropped black particles.
The people in the army were in panic. They were the coalition forces of the thirty-seven tribes of Wuman, and no one trusted anyone.
Now everyone knows that the only chance of survival may be to surrender with Gao Mingtai as a bargaining chip.
Not only did he have to guard against the Song army at the foot of the mountain, he also had to be extra careful with his own people, which would make it difficult for him not to be exhausted both physically and mentally.
In the deep night, Gao Taiming suddenly called his retainer Wei Huating and handed her a black tips bag.
"Master, what is this?"
Gao Taiming sighed and said: "Now the situation is stronger than others. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the Song Dynasty's annexation of Dali is irreversible. In this case, why should we act like a chariot here? It is better to surrender early. If the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty were not stupid,
I know that our Gao family will definitely be able to control Dali better than the Duan family."
The joy on Wei Huating's face was fleeting and he hid it skillfully. If Gao Mingtai decided to surrender, their lives might have been saved.
After Song Jiang at the foot of the mountain received this secret letter of surrender, he stopped his attack on Cangshan and allowed Duan Zhengchun to massacre the surrounding chieftains.
In addition, he hastened to send the secret volume to Bianliang. He still couldn't make up his mind about such a major matter.
Duan Zhengchun or Gao Taiming, who will be the spokesperson for the Song Dynasty to regain Dali needs to be discussed by the emperor and his ministers.
Inside Genyue, Zhao Ji was in high spirits and pulled Liang Shicheng along without knowing what they were talking about.
After a while, Yang Lin came with the imperial edict and bowed to the emperor. Then he looked at Liang Shicheng and bowed with a smile.
"Yang Aiqing, you came just in time. News came from Dali that Gao Mingtai wants to surrender. Now the war in the southwest can be calmed down soon."
Yang Lin has already received the news. In fact, it may be earlier than Zhao Ji. He has already made a decision in his heart.
Yang Lin hugged his fists towards the emperor and said with a smile: "Gao Taiming wants to surrender, so he must not agree, otherwise there will be constant turmoil in the southwest in the future."
Zhao Ji and Liang Shicheng looked at him and asked, "Why do you see him?"
"It is true that the Gao family has better control over Dali than the Duan family, but if they do this, they can quickly recruit and surrender the various chieftains in Dali. What reason do we have to eliminate these local snakes in the southwest.
Your Majesty, all the ethnic groups in the southwest live in settlements and serve the chieftains. In the eyes of these native people, they only know that there are chieftains, lords, and chiefs, but they do not know that there is the imperial court, the Song Dynasty, and your majesty.
I would like to ask, what is the use of conquering such a territory? The southwest has rugged terrain and numerous mountains. If we don’t take advantage of this opportunity to solve the problem once and for all, we don’t know how much effort we will have to expend in the future.”
Zhao Ji was a little moved when he heard this, but according to Yang Lin's words, he didn't know how many more people would die, and Zhao Ji couldn't bear it.
A palace maid came in with a tea tray. Yang Lin stopped her and took the tea tray from her hand. He walked to the imperial desk and filled it up for Zhao Ji himself, and then said:
"Your Majesty, just imagine, if the war in the southwest continues and there are frequent rebellions, at least 100,000 soldiers and horses, 200,000 civilians will be mobilized each time, and countless money and food will be spent. The key is that there will not be only a few civilians and soldiers killed or injured.
If we can once and for all turn Dali into a state and county like Sichuan, Shu, and Jiangnan, and abolish the local officials, although a few more people will die in the moment, in the long run, it will be a truly benevolent government!"
Liang Shicheng laughed: "Is there still a benevolent government in the world that kills hundreds of thousands of people?"
"Yes, if not, the native people in these places will be the slaves of those families for generations in the future. The land in the southwest accounts for about 20% of the entire territory of the Song Dynasty. The people in these places will be slaves of the native officials from birth.
Allowing them to drive and enslave you has no human dignity at all. Your Majesty killing all the local officials is a benevolent policy towards Dali."
Zhao Ji pondered for a moment, nodded, and said, "I have left all matters regarding the southwest to Yang Aiqing's disposal. Aiqing will decide as appropriate."
Zhao Ji pushed four, five, six, and as Yang Lin expected, Liang Shicheng had no interest in the southwest. There would be no benefit if he won, and he would be implicated if he lost. His eyes were now fixed on the land of Youyan.
The sixteen states of Yanyun were the pain in the heart of the Song Dynasty.