I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 478: Be kind when you should be kind, be cruel when you should be cruel, Su Liang's art of checks and balances

Hehuang area, east of Ninghezhai.

At noon, the sun was scorching and there was not a breath of wind.

A gently sloping wilderness is filled with a special smell mixed with sand, soil, and grass.

The warriors of the Yalu and Baci tribes, about a kilometer apart, all looked forward.

Yalu and Baci each brought two warriors and came to Su Liang and others with nervousness.

The two men dismounted and bowed to Su Liang at the same time.

"Meet Su Zhongcheng!"

Su Liang was among the crowd and the only one sitting on a rock, so he was naturally easy to identify.

Su Liang stood up slowly and said with a smile: "Don't be nervous, both of you. Read a document first, and then we can talk."

Immediately.

Liu Sandao then handed a document to each of them.

The gist of the document was this: The Song Dynasty wanted to occupy the Hehuang area, and all foreign tribes had three choices: first, to become citizens of the Song Dynasty; second, to migrate all tribes; third, to wait to be beaten.

Of course, except for the third one, the first two have very generous exchange conditions.

By becoming a citizen of the Song Dynasty, one can enjoy various welfare benefits enjoyed by the people living in the border areas of the Song Dynasty, such as personal protection, pasture protection, and planting subsidies.

If you choose to migrate, Su Liang will also promise to give you a good amount of moving expenses, which will be evaluated based on comprehensive conditions such as the tribe’s population, annual income, and tribal housing conditions.

Anyone who is not a fool can understand that Su Liang's actions are a righteous act.

If the Western Army of the Song Dynasty attacks, no tribe will be able to withstand it.

moment.

Yalu and Baci both read the document and then looked at Su Liang.

Yalu bowed slightly to Su Liang and said, "Central Prime Minister Su, may I ask why we want to occupy the Hehuang area?"

Su Liang smiled faintly.

"This is not something you need to know. However, I can tell you that in three years at most, the Ninghe Village area will be as prosperous as the current Xihe Town."

Compared with the people of the Song Dynasty who were attached to their land and had a desire to return to their roots, these foreigners actually had no attachment to their hometown.

They are a nomadic people.

Any prairie valley can be home.

If Su Liang could give them sufficiently generous moving expenses, they would be willing to move.

of course.

Becoming a citizen of the Song Dynasty is actually a better choice. It depends on how they choose.

Ba Ci thought for a moment and then said, "Su Zhongcheng, if we move out of here, can we really get the moving fee promised in the document?"

Su Liang nodded.

"I will sign a contract with you on behalf of the court and will never break my promise. However, this is a one-time deal. When you leave here, your life and death will have nothing to do with the Song Dynasty. We will not intentionally harm you, but we also have no obligation to protect you."

Su Liang said it very bluntly.

If you are not a citizen of the Great Song Dynasty, then you are not one of us.

Among the Tibetan ethnic groups in the west, there are many poor people.

The Song Dynasty had not yet made its people prosperous, nor had it recovered the old territories of the Han and Tang dynasties, so it was naturally impossible for it to help the foreigners unconditionally.

At the moment, Su Liang was treating the persuasion of Hehuang to surrender as a business.

Twisted melons are not sweet.

He respected the ideas of every tribe that was not hostile to the Song Dynasty.

Seeing that both of them were hesitant, Su Liang said, "You can go back and discuss it with your soldiers, but it will take at most an hour, and then you must give me an answer."

In a small tribe like this, the people who have the most say are the tribal leaders and warriors.

They decide the strength, food and clothing of the tribe. As long as they agree, other people in the tribe have no right to object.

Even if there are elders of the tribe.

Nor would he refute the consensus reached by the leader and all the warriors.

They both nodded at the same time and ran towards where their warriors were.

Su Liang and others sat in the shade to rest. It was very hot and humid at the moment, which was not suitable for traveling.

……

About half an hour later, Yalu was the first to ride over on horseback.

"Central Prime Minister Su, the Yalu tribe is willing to return to Song!" Yalu thought for a moment and said, "However, my Yalu tribe and the Baci tribe have a blood feud. I'm afraid that since we are both here, it is impossible for us to reconcile."

Su Liang smiled faintly and said, "Trust me, I will be able to handle it properly!"

"Please!" Yalu bowed again.

Then, one-armed Old Joe gave Yalu some instructions, and the latter signed the agreement to return to Song.

Sign this agreement.

The Yalu tribe and the area where they lived belonged to the Song Dynasty.

soon.

Baci also rode over on horseback.

He glanced at Yalu not far away and said, "My Baci tribe has chosen to migrate."

Su Liang nodded slightly and did not persuade him.

"Okay, sign the contract, keep it strictly confidential, and truthfully state the situation of the tribe. Then you can go to Xihe Town to receive the moving compensation and leave quickly."

Ba Ci asked again: "Central Prime Minister Su, then...how do we determine the ownership of that piece of grassland?"

Su Liang thought for a moment and said, "I will convert the value of that grassland into other property and give half to your tribe."

"No...no...no, this year, my tribe will definitely be able to defeat the Yalu tribe!"

Hearing this, Yalu became angry.

"Defeat us? I'm not willing to give you half! If you dare, let's fight. Who's afraid of who?"

“Come on!” Baci clenched his fists and glared.

Just as Yalu was about to rush over, Su Liang stood in front of him and looked at Baci.

"Now, the Yalu tribe belongs to the Song Dynasty. You are negotiating with me. Let me say it again. If it is converted into property, I will give you half. If you are not satisfied, then let's find another solution." Su Liang said in a cold tone.

Suddenly, Baci became scared.

Yalu puffed out his chest and experienced the feeling of having someone to back him up for the first time.

"Listen to Su Zhongcheng." Ba Ci stopped talking and immediately went to find the one-armed Lao Qiao to sign the contract.

Su Liang looked at Yalu and said, "From now on, that piece of grassland belongs to the Yalu tribe. Wait for some time, and someone will hand it over to you later."

"Yes, Prime Minister Su." Yalu bowed heavily.

……

May 22, afternoon,
Su Liang and others headed west and came to an area called Lintan Fort.

More than ten miles ahead, there was a tribe called "Kul", with a thousand people and more than three hundred warriors.

After reading the introduction of the Kul tribe, Su Liang frowned slightly.

The leader of this tribe, Kul, plundered herders and had a very bad reputation. His tribesmen also liked to plunder and kill.

He hasn't done a single good thing, but has done a lot of bad things.

Su Liang said to the one-armed Old Qiao, "Master Qiao, we will set up camp here. You take your people to the Kuer tribe and order them to migrate. Such a tribe is not worthy of being a citizen of the Great Song."

"Okay." Mr. Qiao agreed, and then he led ten Dragon Feather Army soldiers to the Kul tribe.

Since going deep into the Hehuang area.

Whenever Su Liang's name was mentioned, all tribes became polite and no one dared to start a war or disrespect the Song army.

An hour later.

Mr. Qiao and others had not returned yet, and Su Liang suddenly felt that something was wrong.

At this moment, a soldier from the Dragon Feather Army who was on sentry duty in front of him came galloping over on horseback.

"Zhongcheng, it's bad. A large number of warriors from the Kuer tribe rushed out in front of us. It is estimated that there are nearly 500 people. They are holding weapons and heading towards us. Master Qiao and others are not seen in the team."

"Prepare for battle!" Su Liang shouted.

Liu Sandao waved his hand, and the soldiers behind him mounted their horses and began to check the long swords and crossbows in their hands.

Less than a quarter of an hour.

There were clouds of sand blowing up ahead.

A group of Kuer tribe warriors rushed over, waving weapons and shouting something.

There are nearly 500 people.

There are more than a hundred people more than what one-armed Old Joe had discovered.

The leader was an extremely burly young man holding a spear. He stopped when he was nearly fifty meters away from Su Liang and others.

This person is none other than Kul, the leader of this tribe.

"Who is Su Zhongcheng? Please come out and talk!"

Su Liang pulled the reins and walked forward a few meters. Liu Sandao and two bodyguards followed closely behind him.

Kul drove the horse forward more than ten meters, then looked at Su Liang.

"Central Prime Minister Su, why did the Song Dynasty suddenly want to drive us away?"

"My people should have explained it very clearly to you. I, the Minister of Justice, do not want to elaborate further." Su Liang said in a flat tone.

Kuhl sneered.

"It's not impossible to get us out of here, but the moving fee you promised is too little. You need to increase it by at least ten times!"

"Then I want the Emperor of the Song Dynasty to confer me the title of General, or at least a level not lower than that of a Tuanlianshi. I remember that Zuo Silu was once the General of Ningyuan and the Tuanlianshi of Aizhou. I want to be an official too!"

"When I become an official and receive a salary from the Song Dynasty, I will definitely obey the arrangements of the Song Dynasty. What do you think?" After saying that, Kul bowed to Su Liang in a very sloppy manner.

Su Liang smiled faintly.

"I don't know where you get the courage to make such an outrageous request. Do you think it's possible?" Su Liang asked back.

"Su Liang! Su beheaded! Do you think that others are afraid of you, and I am afraid of you too? This is Hehuang, Lintan Fort, my territory, not the Song Dynasty!"

"Whoever has the bigger fist is right! Do you think the two hundred or so people you brought with you are my match?"

"You probably didn't expect that I wiped out a small tribe five days ago and added more than a hundred new warriors!"

"I can completely wipe you all out and take you as a hostage. If I send you to Xixia or Liao, the gifts they will give me will definitely be far greater than what I ask of you now!"

"You don't need to use the Western Song soldiers to suppress me. I can run to the Uighurs, to the Black Khans, or even to the uninhabited places in the west. You can't catch me at all!"

"Today is truly a windfall. You come to my doorstep just to give me a great opportunity!" Kul laughed wantonly.

In his eyes, the more than 200 people in front of him were all prey.

Su Liang shook his head helplessly and said to Liu Sandao who was standing beside him: "No point in talking any more, just do it."

Liu Sandao understood instantly, turned his horse's head, pulled out a small flag from the saddle, waved his hand, and shouted loudly: "Charge!"

Swish!Swish!Swish!
The soldiers of the Longyu Army quickly lined up and rushed forward.

Kul was stunned. He didn't expect that the other party would start a fight after a disagreement. He shouted at the top of his lungs: "Brothers, capture Su Liang, take the wealth and kill him!"

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
The moment he finished speaking, bows and crossbows flew over.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
The bows and crossbows in the hands of the Longyu Army soldiers had very strong penetrating power. No matter whether it was a person or a horse, as long as they were hit by an arrow, even if the arrow did not penetrate, it would almost certainly penetrate the body.

Immediately, the soldiers of Longyu Army formed a battle array, holding long swords, and rushed forward quickly.

The two sides are not on the same level at all.

The soldiers of the Longyu Army have all practiced killing skills, and their charging and killing capabilities are the strongest in the Song Dynasty.

This didn't feel like a battle, but more like a massacre.

These warriors of the Kuer tribe had neither coordination nor martial arts skills, they relied entirely on brute force.

Rushing forward is seeking death.

Not far away, Su Liang was standing behind on horseback, watching the massacre without much expression.

War is inherently about bloodshed and death.

If he showed mercy at this time, these people would definitely become a hidden danger to the Song Dynasty and would harm more people.

Therefore, it must be destroyed.

Half an hour later.

As the sun sets, the battle is drawing to a close.

Except for Kul who was captured alive, all other soldiers were killed, and only more than ten soldiers of the Longyu Army were injured.

Kuer was shocked and murmured, "You...you...you are not human!"

Liu Sandao kicked him in the face.

"Where are our people? Are they safe?"

"Safe! Safe! They are in my tribe. As long as you are willing to let me go, we are willing to migrate. We don't want anything! We don't want anything!" Kul finally felt scared.

"late!"

Liu Sandao killed him with a slash of his sword, and then ordered a team of soldiers to rush to the Kuer tribe.

Half an hour later.

Mr. Qiao and ten others were rescued.

Seeing the corpses all over the front, Master Qiao couldn't help but said, "Zhongcheng, it's my fault, it's my fault. He was very nice at first. I told him that we had more than 200 people, and then he changed. If I had said we had a thousand people, maybe, maybe he would have agreed to move!"

One-armed Old Joe's face was full of guilt.

"Mr. Qiao, it's not your fault. This tribe is like a den of bandits. They are greedy and insatiable. They deserve to be killed!"

"You did the right thing. When the other party outnumbers you, you should not resist. Just wait for me to save you." Su Liang said, then looked at Liu Sandao on the side.

Liu Sandao was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly and said, "I understand, I will never act rashly!"

If he and his men were surrounded, let alone ten people, even if he was alone, he would probably fight for his life to break out.

But Su Liang didn't like this.

He cherished the life of everyone who followed him to Hehuang and wanted to bring them all back safely.

Followed by.

Su Liang and others continued on their journey.

The Kull tribesmen would soon discover these warriors.

At the same time, Liu Sandao had ordered people to tell them to leave the Hehuang area as soon as possible, otherwise they would suffer the same fate.

A quarter of an hour later.

A burst of crying was heard from this place full of blood.

The old men, women and children in the tribe all cried bitterly, then after hastily burying their loved ones, they returned to the tribe and prepared to migrate.

If the Hehuang area is compared to a prairie.

These people are like rabbits, cows, and sheep, who are only above plants and trees in the food chain. The value of their lives is destined to be food for more powerful wolves or lions.

They can only follow the barbaric rules of the animal world: survival of the fittest.

What Su Liang wants to do is to lead them into civilization and a stable order, so that everyone can live with dignity.

As for those who don't like civilization and order, Su Liang doesn't mind destroying them.

now.

Su Liang did not feel the slightest bit of guilt for the murder.

Ending war with war is the only way to achieve long-term peace and stability.

If he had a kind heart and looked down upon the world, those evil people who liked killing and war would become more rampant and would make more places disorderly.

Since Hehuang is going to become a part of the Song Dynasty, Su Liang has the responsibility to let the people here enjoy the life of the people of the Song Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)