Water Margin begins as a captain in Yanggu County

Chapter 428 He said even the greatest emperor in the world is so stingy...

Has Wu Yong returned?

not yet!
Su Wu marched forward, for preparations were complete. The Ye Ju and Luo Xiong tribes had already contacted numerous tribes, and at least seven or eight tribes along the route had sent people to pay their respects to Su Wu…

They also sent people to clear the way for Su Wu, to act as his guides.

Most importantly, these tribes are different from the barbarian tribes of Yongzhou. These people have deep-seated hatred for Dali and are excellent vanguards. Su Wu doesn't need to say much; a little food and supplies are enough to make them fight to the death.

The rebellion of the Dali barbarians has a long history; it will not end here in history, even if it is not at this moment. It is an extremely long-standing issue...

Even if Su Wu doesn't come this time, it won't be long before these barbarian tribes unite again and fight once more. At that time, Gao Liangcheng will be the one to wipe them out...

Ultimately, these are the mountains and forests. No matter how hard the Dali Kingdom tries to suppress them, it's impossible to kill everyone in the mountains and forests. New generations will always grow back...

Even in the years to come, even during the Ming Dynasty, rebellions in this region were numerous, with at least four large-scale uprisings and countless smaller ones. During the Qing Dynasty, the number was countless, and even after the founding of the People's Republic of China, rebellions and banditry continued…

During the feudal dynasties, the main contradictions stemmed from two aspects: firstly, the oppression of the ruled by the rulers; and secondly, the conflict between outsiders and local people. These two aspects were related, but also distinct...

Although the Duan family is classified as Bai, they are actually Han Chinese. Their ancestors were from Wuwei in Hexi, and were generals of the Tang Dynasty. They fought against the Tang Dynasty around the time of the An Lushan Rebellion in the Tianbao era. Their rise to prominence was not very long, less than two hundred years at most...

The Duan family's system was based on the Central Plains people's ways, including their rule, so they couldn't avoid these kinds of things...

During his march, Su Wu was clearly pondering these matters. The Dali Kingdom, which would eventually be incorporated into the territory, was actually quite large, with numerous tribes, far more than just thirty-seven tribes...

In the long run, it's actually a burden...

If we don't use the Duan family's methods, then we'll have to use the taxes from the Central Plains dynasties to subsidize this place, which would take at least two or three generations...

This may explain why Zhao Kuangyin said "This is not my land" when he stood by the Jinsha River. The area was mostly mountains and barren land, with only a few small plots suitable for large-scale agriculture.

It's also troublesome to manage. Spreading the administrative and military costs locally would inevitably lead to problems. If the Central Plains were to subsidize it, it would be a losing proposition...

This is why Yongzhou has forty-four tributary states. The meaning of "tributary" is, simply put, "You just need to acknowledge me, don't cause me trouble, and I won't interfere with you much..."

But Su Wu didn't want that. To control someone is to have limited responsibility, while to manage them is to have unlimited responsibility, meaning he would have to care about whether they were living well, whether they were eating, drinking, and using the toilet properly...

China's rule has always been one of unlimited responsibility. For long-term stability and prosperity to be achieved, the local people must truly be loyal and devoted to the country...

Then we'll have to use taxes from elsewhere to subsidize the military and political costs here...

Su Wu faced immense pressure on his march, but in his mind, this place was his ancestral homeland, and he couldn't afford to lose it. There was no other way; he had to take it...

Not only do we need this place, but we also need it as a base for advancing down the mountain. Many places then have vast plains, places where rice can be grown for two or three harvests a year...

Yunnan is an important hub, connecting the Indochina Peninsula, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Indian subcontinent. These are all places worth visiting, and geographically they are quite close...

Anyway, we still have to do it...

As the army advanced, local barbarian tribesmen continued to descend from the mountains to join them, their numbers growing to six or seven thousand. Many more awaited Su Wu as he journeyed along the way…

Why did Su Wu act so readily? Because Su Wu trusted Wu Yong; he was certain that Wu Yong could handle such a matter well.

Even if Wu Yong fails to handle the situation well, Su Wu will still advance the army...

There was no intention to stop here. This reason won't work; there must be another. Su Wu's army, on paper, was weaker than the stronger. We can't wait for them to be ready before advancing...

Yunnan is truly a wonderful place. Most areas have mild winters and cool summers. The journey there actually involves going uphill, and Shanshan Prefecture is at a considerable altitude, nearly two thousand meters high.

It is evident that the Dali Kingdom is indeed difficult to conquer. If Su Wu had not had a large amount of metal currency to hire people, and if there had not been a recent rebellion within Dali involving thirty-seven tribes, with people from all the tribes coming to his aid...

Taking control of Dali's Shanshan Prefecture and Yangjumei City was no easy task; the difficulties involved are not hard to imagine...

It's all about timing and fate, as if destiny truly exists in the heavens...

Within four days, the army had already encamped at Shicheng, one of the eight prefectures and four counties of Dali. Shicheng County is the location of Qujing in Yunnan in later generations. After passing through here, one can go directly into Shanshan Prefecture...

At this moment, the number of Dali barbarian tribesmen gathered around Su Wu was already around 13,000...

This is probably the last of the thirty-seven conscripts. Although more are still arriving, there won't be many more...

The city of Shicheng did not appear particularly tall. Su Wu still personally circled the city to observe it, and also climbed to a high point to look around. The city was situated on flat ground. Looking in from the high point, the houses stretched out in a row, all bearing the marks of a great fire, in a state of utter ruin...

There weren't many residents in the city. Estimating, there used to be at least fifty or sixty thousand people living here, but now there are probably not even a few thousand left...

Of course, the garrison was still among them, numbering at least four thousand...

After observing the enemy situation, Su Wu descended from the high ground. Outside the city, there were endless camps, and many of the barbarian tribes did not even have tents, but simply rested on the ground...

They couldn't be poorer than this; how poor could they be? They couldn't even afford a tent...

However, many people from barbarian tribes would cut down huge leaves and branches to build a shelter...

At the central military council meeting, representatives from all the major barbarian tribes were present, but the minor barbarian tribes didn't need to come, as there wasn't enough room for them to sit...

Su Wu's generals and soldiers gathered together, sitting silently.

After Su Wu was seated, he spoke first: "This city is nothing special. There are quite a few soldiers guarding it. They're surrounding it from three sides. We'll climb the walls and fight them!"

All the generals and soldiers rose to their feet, ready to take the lead in the charge...

Su Wu waved his hand: "Let me order..."

However, many of the barbarian tribes were a bit slow due to the translation delay. At this point, some of them stood up, their faces excited, gesturing wildly and muttering a lot in their tongues...

The interpreter said, "Your Majesty, please forgive this man; he is ignorant of etiquette..."

“It’s alright, what did he say?” Su Wu asked.

"He said he was willing to climb the wall first, only wishing that His Majesty would provide them with weapons and armor so they could go first and avenge themselves..."

Su Wu frowned slightly. Weapons and armor... these things...

But then the person started babbling on and on in a bunch of gibberish...

The interpreter looked helpless, then looked at Su Wu. Seeing Su Wu raise his hand, he quickly said, "Your Majesty, he said...it wasn't that they couldn't defeat the Dali Kingdom's soldiers; they were defeated because they lacked armor and good weapons. This time, they are determined to avenge themselves...to avenge their people..."

Su Wu finally answered: "Tell him he can borrow it, but he has to return it; it's not a gift..."

As the translator said, the barbarian chieftain looked at Su Wu and muttered a few words...

Su Wu then asked, "What did he say?"

The interpreter replied awkwardly, "He said...he said..."

“Speak…” Su Wu raised his hand.

He said even the greatest emperor in the world is so stingy...

Su Wu smiled slightly, but inwardly he was tense, a sense of unease rising within him...

But then the barbarian chieftain started babbling incoherently again…

The interpreter then said, "Your Majesty, he said... after borrowing weapons and armor, they stormed the city, and after entering, can they keep the spoils of war?"

Upon hearing this, Su Wu felt much clearer-headed. He realized that even the most pitiful people have their hateful aspects, and that these barbarian tribes were not entirely victims of the conflict with the Dali Kingdom.

This stone city was once destroyed by them, and the Shan Chan Prefecture was a place of unimaginable carnage and plunder...

Whether it's considered barbaric or uncivilized, the level of morality in a primitive state is self-evident...

In the past, they were probably not all oppressed weaklings. Living in the mountains and forests, they could hide when they entered and become thieves when they left. They must have been the same as the northern barbarians that the Central Plains used to face.

If Su Wu, as the emperor, is not restrained this time, his legitimacy here will likely be lost, and the future of this place will be bleak... If Su Wu is also here for revenge, then so be it, just lead your men and charge in, and slaughter until there are mountains of corpses and seas of blood...

But Su Wu is now the emperor, the emperor of this land by the mandate of heaven!

How could he possibly tolerate this? The people of Dali are not some primitive tribe; they are people from a Confucian civilized world, and a large part of them are Han Chinese.

Moreover, this place has developed to this point, with eight prefectures and four counties. This was no easy feat. Our ancestors worked hard and arduously to create the Dali Kingdom as it is today. Could it really have been reduced to ashes?
Before this moment, Su Wu would never have thought of these profound details. Only now did he understand that one cannot think about things based on wishful thinking. Everything has its own reasons, and right and wrong are never so simple...

Su Wu raised his hand and said, "After entering the city, you must not kill or loot indiscriminately. You must not take the spoils of war for yourself; they must be handed over to the commander in the central command tent for distribution! There will be rewards for meritorious service, calculated based on merit and the number of heads taken..."

Just look at that barbarian chieftain, his face is dark...

Su Wu then surveyed the assembled barbarians and declared, "This military order is inviolable. You barbarians, take these words back and tell everyone that anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy!"

Many interpreters and barbarian leaders seemed dissatisfied, with many displaying dark expressions, their emotions written all over their faces...

Then the barbarian chieftain, looking displeased, mumbled something in his tongue...

The interpreter's expression changed repeatedly; he dared not translate a single word...

Su Wu waved his hand and said, "Speak!"

The interpreter lowered his head, avoiding eye contact, and spoke rapidly: "He said... Your Majesty, please forgive me, but what he said was... that you, as emperor, are not fair. In the end, you will all take all the benefits, and we will have come for nothing. I don't think you are a good emperor... If that's the case, then you can go and fight yourselves. We won't go. We can all go back to the mountains... What do you suggest we do?"

Su Wu was furious. How could the emperor be expected to be subservient to others?

All the generals and soldiers in the arena turned their heads and glared angrily.

But Su Wu did not retaliate, and instead asked, "Who would be willing to lend us weapons and armor to be the first to scale the walls?"

Looking again at the barbarians, they actually all turned their heads away...

Su Wu chuckled inwardly, a cold laugh. He understood. These people mistook him for a notorious bandit leader; they were there to follow him and try to rob someone else's bankruptcy...

"Dismissed, let's stop here for today..." Su Wu waved his hand and left.

The crowd dispersed...

This military campaign is not difficult, and in fact, it doesn't require much discussion. Su Wu only needs to make a plan and send it to the various armies, and the siege will proceed in an orderly manner.

These barbarian tribes, especially those within the territory of the Dali Kingdom, might not necessarily be an ally; they could even be a nuisance...

Therefore, Su Wu had to think of ways to prepare for this trouble in advance...

Su Wu had expected these people to weep and complain before him, recounting how oppressed they were by the Dali Kingdom and how miserable they had been in the past, begging Su Wu to uphold justice for them...

To my utter surprise, I didn't hear any of this...

On the contrary, the various barbarian tribes of Yongzhou, under the policy of indirect rule, were not actually bandits; they were much more amiable and at least had certain rules of conduct...

I can't help but wonder, should we use the Yongzhou barbarians to govern the Dali barbarians in the future?
Su Wu had indeed thought many things through too early. The barbarians of Dali were truly too primitive, their actions and thought processes completely different. Whether it was Dali, the Ming Dynasty, or the Qing Dynasty, their constant control and conquest were not without reason...

Sending the barbarians from Yongzhou to serve as soldiers and garrison Dali is a good idea...

Even Su Wu felt a little ashamed for a moment, realizing that the Yongzhou barbarians could no longer be called barbarians; they were not barbarians.

In the near future, Su Wu might personally oversee a task: the confirmation of ethnicity, which involves properly classifying the various barbarian tribes of Yongzhou and giving them proper ethnic names...

Let them also engage in self-identification, so that they can better integrate into the big family.

As for the various barbarian tribes of Dali...

Su Wu was already angry, and this time he wanted to see if they knew what was good for them. If they did, he would have to teach them a lesson, otherwise they would never learn to live a proper life in the future...

They seemed somewhat unaware of the Emperor's majesty!

This is something the emperor cannot tolerate!
Governing a country, especially such a large one, is incredibly complex...

But then a voice announced from the doorway: "Your Majesty, Scholar Wu has returned!"

“Let him come to see me…” Su Wu said from inside the tent.

Wu Yong returned weary from his journey and bowed deeply in greeting...

Su Wu offered him a seat, and the two of them went back and forth, explaining the details of their mission...

Having said almost everything, Wu Yong still tried to appear innocent: "Your Majesty doesn't know, if it weren't for my quick thinking and decisive action, I'm afraid I would already be dead in Yangjumei City..."

Su Wu smiled slightly: "This time it was really well done!"

Wu Yong chuckled, "It's all thanks to His Majesty's boundless blessings!"

Su Wu didn't continue the conversation, but instead asked, "What's the situation in Shanshan Prefecture?"

"Like this stone city, it is a ruin, with few inhabitants and extremely desolate. Only the Gao family has fourteen or fifteen thousand soldiers guarding it, and they are recruiting the scattered people..."

When Wu Yong passed by, how could he not carefully observe the enemy's situation?

Su Wu said, "At this moment, I do have a problem..."

Wu Yong immediately chimed in: "I just overheard that it was a pre-battle discussion that ended after only a few sentences. Many generals were clearly displeased, saying that the barbarians were arrogant and disrespectful to the emperor! They were all furious, but they couldn't do anything about it!"

That's true. Which of Su Wu's proud and fierce soldiers was easy to deal with?
The barbarian leader was so rude. All the generals and Su Wu had risked their lives together until now. How could they be happy about that?
The mighty Yan Kingdom, stretching from the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River to the vast grasslands, from the Hetao region to the Hexi Corridor, from the Yanyun region to the Jiangnan region, has never encountered anything like this before.
This is truly the first time...

It was only because Su Wu remained silent and composed that the meeting was adjourned with just a few words; otherwise, what would have been wrong with killing a few barbarians as a sacrifice to the flag?
Su Wu nodded: "Yes, that's the matter!"

Wu Yong simply said, "In the future, let the Gao family fight them again!"

"Hmm?" Su Wu looked thoughtful...

Wu Yong continued, "These barbarians are ignorant of the Emperor's might, yet they've come as if they were allies... His Majesty is wise and wouldn't want to make things difficult for them. Since His Majesty's problem lies here, it's easy to resolve. The Gao family and they inevitably harbor deep hatred for each other, and Gao Liangcheng also hates them to the bone. Let them fight..."

"How to say it?" Su Wu asked, meaning how to avoid moral problems.

Wu Yong was extremely confident and spoke succinctly: "There's no need for any scheming. These barbarians are uneducated and used to being bandits. They're rude today, and they'll likely be the same in the future. Ignorant and fearless, like ants unaware of the heavens, they'll surely be accused of great disrespect one day! Gao Liangcheng is already in His Majesty's trap. He acted out of anger and indignation on behalf of His Majesty, so what's wrong with him killing people? Let them fight it out..."

Su Wu nodded slightly...

Wu Yong continued, "In the future, the Gao family will naturally go to the capital to serve as officials, and the entire clan will leave. When a new person takes over, the hatred will naturally dissipate. In this way... Your Majesty will not be blamed... After such a battle, the barbarians will naturally be able to behave themselves. The Gao family's grudge will be resolved, and they should remember Your Majesty's kindness..."

That's why it's said that only Wu Yong could come up with these solutions; Su Wu really couldn't have thought of them.

Su Wu didn't say much, but asked, "I'm afraid Gao Liangcheng's matter will require some effort..."

“Your Majesty need not worry. Although there may be troubles, there will be no mistakes. Since Your Majesty values ​​him, he will surely become a minister of Great Yan!” Wu Yong said confidently.

"How do you know?" Su Wu asked.

"Just as the Song emperor dealt with Your Majesty in the past, the Dali king will deal with Gao Liangcheng in the same way today! Gao Liangcheng has nowhere to go but Your Majesty, which is his only way out..." Wu Yong's words went straight to the heart of the matter.

"Life is unpredictable..." Su Wu sighed softly...

Su Wu got up and walked out of the tent. He looked up at the stone city and asked Wu Yong, "Are the troops of the Gao family inside this city?"

Wu Yong replied, "A small majority are from the Gao family, and the rest are from the Yang family..."

"So... are we in a hurry to attack the city, or should we wait a bit?" Su Wu asked again.

“Your Majesty, we can wait. It won’t be too long, at most three days! If we don’t see him after three days, we can attack again…” Wu Yong replied.

(End of this chapter)