A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 527
Inside the market gate in Qiaoxi Market, there was panic and screaming.

In the Ao Temple in the center of the gate, the priest An Gongxu ascended the tower behind the Ao Temple.

"Great Ahura Mazda, please lower the holy fire to save your people!"

The priest lit the beacon fire on the top of the tower with his own hands, and the two Sogdians rang the big bell on the top of the tower in a panic.

When the beacon smoke was lit, three wisps of black smoke billowed up, which were very eye-catching, and the loud bell sounded all around.

The beacon smoke on the high tower of the Ao Temple was lit and the bell rang. All Sogdians understood the significance of the settlement here. They called on all tribesmen in the settlement to take up arms to resist and defend the Ao Temple and the settlement.

Even the nearby settlements will know the danger here after seeing the beacon smoke, and come to rescue.

"Let the Holy Fire purify all evil!"

The priests of Zoroastrianism shouted to summon the Sogdians to fight.

The eight hundred Tuojie mercenary knights were defeated by the Qingyi army in just one encounter, but the Sogdians in the market were still unwilling to give up resistance. Instead, they lit the holy fire and lit the beacon smoke to fight to the end.

Su Lie led his troops to the market gate. Although there were thousands of Sogdian households and many workshops and shops, it was still just a larger market village with low rammed earth walls and a wooden circle outside. Many Sogdian men took up arms, and even their wives and children had joined them.

remarkably brave.

In front of the Qingyi military fence, they rearranged their formation and slowly urged the horses to approach.

The Sogdian tiger in the fence did not dare to go out to fight again, and could only guard inside the fence.

"Inspector, do you want to ask the governor first?"

Captain Gao Ning asked.

Su Lie glared at him, then raised his spear, "Attack!"

The cavalry of the Qingyi army began to trot, approaching the fence and running in circles, firing arrows while running. This method of encircling, roaming, cavalry and shooting seemed simple, but it still put great pressure on the Sogdians inside the fence.

People kept falling down screaming after being hit by arrows.

The Qingyi army rode lightly on fast horses and wore armor, but it was difficult for the Sogdians to shoot them. Even if they were unlucky and were shot, they had armor on their bodies, and the injuries were mostly minor.

Drums of war.

Wu Huaiyu has also led more than [-] follow-up troops to arrive. Seeing the scene on the battlefield, it is not surprising that the Sogdians resisted.

"Increase troops to attack."

Wu Huaiyu unceremoniously transferred the infantry to the field, and asked the Shenji Battalion to throw in firearms,
Shenjiying quickly followed up. Various rockets and poisonous smoke arrows were put on the stage first, followed by rockets such as galloping horses and swarms of bees. Later, they were still assembling cannon carriages and relatively light catapult vehicles. Shenjiying refitted them into throwing fireballs, Toxic smoke balls etc.

The infantry over there also lined up and pressed forward.

All bows and crossbows were fired, and arrows rained down.

All of a sudden, the Sogdians behind the fence fell down in pieces, and they couldn't even raise their heads.

Although the Sogdians resisted fiercely, they could not change the huge gap in strength. The [-] Tang troops faced the village of the Sogdian Hu with [-] households, especially when they began to underestimate the enemy. After the defeat, not many can return to the grid.

The battle only lasted for more than two hours, and Wu Huaiyu, who was in charge of the command, wanted to reduce the casualties and fought under pressure, otherwise he would have rushed in.

But after persisting for more than an hour, the Sogdians in Zhazhong could no longer stop the ferocity of the Tang army, and were defeated one after another.
Wu Huaiyu watched the Sogdian Hu's resistance and their failure from outside the gate.

Although they are still fighting in the streets, so what.

He Mingyuan was brought up.

"This is the result of rebelling against the Tang court,"

He Mingyuan's face was ashen, his legs were trembling, and finally he couldn't stand still, and he knelt down to Wu Huaiyu limply, "Please give me your hand, the governor, please spare us, we are willing to accept all the previous conditions of the governor."

"It's late." Wu Huaiyu said ruthlessly.

"The governor gave you a chance, but you are determined to go your own way. Since the swords and soldiers meet, there is no possibility of good."

"We surrendered and agreed to any conditions."

"No, you don't have any qualifications to negotiate terms with me."

Huaiyu called Li Keyong, "Tell Governor Su that those who put down their weapons and kneel and surrender will not die, and those who do not kneel with weapons will not be spared."

bloodbath.

Even if they admit it now, it's too late.

He Mingyuan was dragged down. More than an hour ago, Wu Huaiyu still respected him and even promised him the post of sabao in Beiyan Prefecture.

But now, he has been reduced to a bereaved dog and a prisoner.

"Why is the governor so lenient behind the mountain, but now he is so strict with these Sogdian Hus?" Lu Wulang was a little puzzled.

"Most of the villages behind the mountain are people from my Han family in the Central Plains, and the owners of the villages such as Gaowei are also mostly soldiers of the former imperial court. Fighting, but no casualties.

These Sogdian Hus are different. They are not my race, and they have been paying tribute to the Turkic people before. I kindly appease them, but they don’t know how to flatter them, and they even dare to fight each other. The remaining affection must be suppressed with iron and blood, so as to eliminate future troubles forever. "

Originally, if they could understand the current affairs and belong to them like the villages behind the mountain, Wu Huaiyu was willing to show mercy and give them a chance. Even if he is Sogdian Hu, as long as he is willing to cooperate, he is still willing to make money and develop together.

But since they chose the path of confrontation, Wu Huaiyu would never be polite to them again.

"Everyone is responsible for their own choices."

"Captain, they are already willing to surrender."

"Oh, is it? So what?"

An hour ago, that was called surrender, but now, that was called surrender. After they surrendered, they were only captives.

Lu Chengye felt that since they had surrendered, maybe they should be merciful, and according to the conditions Wu Huaiyu had mentioned before, they should be registered as Qimin households, and even Han people should be moved to live with them in villages.

"That time, this time, it's too late."

There are more than [-] Sogdian families. If Beiyan Prefecture is not counted as the newly incorporated more than [-] border residents in the Shanhou area, then these Sogdian households are almost the same household registration population as the previous court Beiyan Prefecture.

The fight has already started, so take the opportunity to solve the trouble once and for all.

No internal relocation or scattered resettlement is not enough.

The beacon smoke from the tower of the Ao Temple was extinguished, and the ever-burning holy fire was also extinguished.

The Sogdians in the gate finally lost half their will. In front of the Tang army facing the absolute force, their hard bones were hacked to death and shot to death.

What was waiting for them was the cowhide ropes that tied them up, threaded them into a string, brought them out of the fence, and pulled them to the open space by the Qingshui River.

Many people were terrified, crying and begging for mercy.

But Wu Huaiyu didn't intend to kill them, but he really didn't intend to forgive them lightly.

"Send someone to Youzhou to inform the merchants over there, saying that there are [-] to [-] Sogdian slaves to be sold here, and there will be an auction at that time, so let the merchants who are interested in buying come quickly."

"The governor wants to sell all the Sogdians in this fence as slaves?"

"It's not just this Zhazi, the Sogdian settlements managed by He Mingyuan in Northern Yan Prefecture, more than [-] families, will all be sold into slavery, and none will be kept."

He pointed in front of his eyes, "This will be the garrison of the Guangning army soon, and it will be expanded into the border city of Guangning. Wu Castle in the north and Dongshan Castle in the south will be built. The entire upper reaches of Yanshui River and its three tributaries, as well as Qingshui River , will be firmly in our hands.”

"Those lands will all become farmlands for military settlements, official lands, and the people who moved to the frontier!"

Lu Chengye was silent.

More than 3000 households, if they say they will be destroyed, they will be destroyed.
After a long time, he said, "This is a big matter, won't the governor ask the Holy Majesty and the court for instructions?"

"When I came, the sage had given me full authority."

Lu Chengye stopped talking.

ruthless.

In fact, under normal circumstances, even if the Sogdian Hu didn't know how to praise at the beginning, but at this point, they admit to surrender, then the court will take advantage of the situation to give a step, accept the surrender, and then appease them, just like the villages behind the mountains,
It is even possible that these Sogdian Hus will still be self-governing in the future, the Hu tribes will use Hulu, and the Sabaos will have judicial and administrative powers, etc., and they may not even pay taxes.

As long as the imperial court showed their loyalty to the Tang Dynasty, and even sent troops to accompany them during the war, it would be fine if they could guard the court and watch the gates.

But Wu Huaiyu didn't regard North Yanzhou as that kind of unimportant buffer zone,
This is not outside the Great Wall, it is such an important military and economic place, how could it be possible for the Sogdian Hus to govern themselves?
He also didn't care how many Sogdians there were in the Central Plains, how many Sogdians there were in the grassland Turks, or how many Sogdians there were in the imperial court.

It doesn't matter.

Li Jinyan laughed and said, "There are more than 3000 Sogdian households, and they can sell less than [-] Sogdian slaves, and they can also copy a lot of money and goods. Now let's go."

Sogdian Hu's conditions are still acceptable. Although he is at the border, he is quite fat. Just one He Mingyuan is worth a million dollars. If they are all copied, the Youzhou Governor's Mansion will be rich immediately.

Not to mention that there are still three thousand Sogdian Hus who have reclaimed these fields over the years, which have also become official land.

Li Er Er felt that Wu Huaiyu was determined to destroy these Sogdians simply because they were too rich, and even Lu Chengye felt this way.

In the history of the Tang Dynasty, when Tang Gaozong defeated the Turks, he moved the Sogdians who were attached to the Turks to Shuofang, established Liuhu Prefecture, and later established the Governor's Mansion of Lanchi Prefecture. Chi Hukang waited for the guests to lead all the descendants to rebel against each other, with a crowd of [-], forcing Xiazhou to
Although it was pacified a year later, the court still returned the rest of the party and all its tribes, and placed them in the prefecture, in the hope of pardoning them.

But they did not accept the kindness of the imperial court's forgiveness. Anlushan rebelled, and tens of thousands of Hu tribes in six states defected to Anlushan, who was also from Sogdian Hu, and rebelled together.

Even if the Anlushan rebellion failed, many Sogdians from the six prefectures still stayed in the three towns of Heshuo in the end, continuing to support the separatist regime and resist the imperial court.

In Wu Huaiyu's eyes, these Sogdian settlements were not people who could be accepted and trusted from the beginning to the end, because they always maintained the Hu people's organization and beliefs, and they were completely invading colonial strongholds.

To deal with them, destroy them as soon as they can, or you have to break up the settlement organization, otherwise it will always be a trouble in the heart.

In Sogtehu in Yanshui, one-third of them have been breached after the first battle in the west of Qiaoqiao, but the beacon smoke has been lit, and there are still more than [-] houses.

Wu Huaiyu ordered Su Lie and others to go to the Sogdian settlements to sweep them out, and they must be wiped out.

"Don't let a Sogdian Hu cross the Great Wall to join the Turkic people, and don't let them go to Daibei,"

"Captain, how to report this matter to the imperial court?" Lu Chengye asked.

"Just report it truthfully."

Wu Huaiyu is not worried that these decisions of his will be criticized and reprimanded by the court. As a governor, he still has the privilege of the emperor, and he still has the power to deal with it.

Besides, even if there are some flies buzzing in the court, that's normal.

Wu Huaiyu was also a prime minister, so he didn't know the thoughts of the ministers in the central government. The princes in the court, including the emperor, didn't hate local officials who like to make trouble. That's okay.

Like Wu Huaiyu, he can easily appease the villages behind the mountain by himself, and then destroy Yuyanshui Sogtehu with thunder, which not only collects the population, but also increases a lot of unexpected spoils of war. No matter what aspect, the princes have no reason Blame Wu Huaiyu.

As for those censors who are nitpicking, there is no need to pay attention to them.

As a local official like the governor, the most important thing is to solve the problem. As for the method to solve it, the court also looks at the curative effect rather than the method.

Wu Huaiyu was not afraid of others beating him up to report. After all, at his level, he could directly play with the emperor in secret, and no one could tell him from right to wrong.

"Old General Wei, you are in charge of supervising and recording the meritorious deeds of the soldiers, recording and verifying, making the honor book in time, and then reporting it to the imperial court, so that the meritorious deeds can be rewarded as soon as possible."

The old man Wei Xiaojie never objected to Wu Huaiyu throughout the whole process. He even admired the courage of Wu Huaiyu. When this old man was the governor in the Southwest, he also did not seldom suppress those rebellious barbarians. He is a ruthless character.

"Please rest assured, the governor, I will definitely record all the military exploits of my brothers."

The old man laughed. In fact, all soldiers are willing to fight. They don't care about provocations or not.Especially now that thousands of Sogdians are being fought like this, I am more happy.

There is no pressure to fight this kind of miscellaneous, it is simply military merit for nothing.

Even if the recorded merits may have to be discounted, miscellaneous beards can’t match any military merits, but these Sogdian miscellaneous beards are quite rich, their cattle, sheep, horses, and even their money, silk and food. According to the rules, they can get a lot of spoils part of it.

To be honest, not only the frontier army likes to fight, but all the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty also like to fight. Loot, share the loot.

Everyone put their heads on the belts of their trousers and worked hard, isn't it just to fight for fame and wealth.

The last time I didn't make a deal at the back of the mountain, but there was also a reward. I went to see Tuli outside the Great Wall, and I also got a reward. Everyone also made a small business by the way, and they could also make a fortune.

But now it's even more exciting to do Sogdhu, military merit, real military merit is beckoning.

A traditional old-school general like Wei Xiaojie naturally likes Wu Huaiyu's style very much.

"Lu Wulang, there are so many Sogdian Hus this time, don't you, Fanyang Lu family, buy some? Hurry up and prepare money and silk. Food is also available. There will be an auction, but the highest bidder will win, and you will have to buy gold and silver light goods , or cash, silk, food, cloth, etc.” Huaiyu reminded Lu Laowu, don’t be pretentious, if you kill the Sogdian Hu, you can also get a lot of benefits, so many coolies, There are so many fields, and even confiscated commercial goods, you, Mrs. Lu, don't rush to prepare, and get the moon first if you are close to the water.

Only then did Lu Wulang come to his senses.

That's right, why do these Sogdian Hus feel sorry for me all the time, although Fan Yang Lu has done business with Yu Yanshui and these Sogdian Hus before, and he is a good business partner.

But who cares, think about taking this opportunity to buy many Sogdian slaves to work as coolies, or take the opportunity to buy some more land here in Yanshui.

(End of this chapter)