Tibet.

Chapter 1438: Appeasement and Reduction of the Feudal Servants

In the villa of Danfeng Restaurant, Wei Jiansu specially invited Bai Xiaode to have lunch.

Wei Jiansu saw that Bai Xiaode looked a little listless, so he smiled and said, "Every family has its own problems, but people should be happy and think positively. Only when you are in a good mood can you live longer!"

Bai Xiaode smiled bitterly and said, "Excuse me, may I ask, what is troubling the Prime Minister?"

"Of course there are. A few days ago, the emperor was furious because the officials were secretly disobeying his orders. He demanded that all officials abolish slavery by the end of the year. If they are found to still keep slaves next year, not only will they be dismissed and never employed again, but the entire family's imperial examination will also be implicated. So these two days I summoned the Wei family and demanded that they must release all the slaves. Next month I will check each family one by one, but even so, the family members still don't listen and don't take it seriously. Do you think I am annoying?"

"Your Majesty seems to have been emphasizing the abolition of slavery."

Wei Jiansu nodded, "You are a general in the army. For example, after you became the commander-in-chief, you issued the first military order that soldiers were not allowed to leave the camp at night. But after the order was issued, no one took it seriously, and people continued to leave the camp at night. As the commander-in-chief, how would you feel?"

"If that's the case, I must kill one person to warn the rest. I must kill people to establish my authority. If one person disobeys, I will kill ten people. If ten people disobey, I will kill a hundred people. Otherwise, if the generals don't obey my orders, how can I govern the army?"

"That's the truth. You should understand the emperor's feelings. If the emperor's orders are not followed, how can you govern the country?"

Bai Xiaode nodded quickly, "I think I have a few Kunlun slaves and servants in my Chang'an residence. I will turn them all into civilians when I return."

Wei Jiansu poured him another glass of wine and asked, "How have you thought about the matter of the Minister of War these past two days?"

Bai Xiaode pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest with you, Prime Minister, I don't care about my own honor or disgrace at all. I am just worried about the tragic bloodshed in Anxi. I really hope that it can be resolved peacefully."

Wei Jiansu asked, "Anxi also has slaves, right?"

"Yes! A lot. Every king has a large number of slaves. If we implement abolition in Anxi, I'm afraid it will also arouse strong resistance. If the court is determined to implement the county system and abolish slavery, I suggest not to be too hasty and don't think it can be completed in one or two years."

Wei Jiansu smiled slightly and said, "Do you know what the emperor is thinking? The emperor asked me to treat you to a drink, in fact, he wanted to feel your true attitude. Are you reluctant to give up your position in Anxi? Or do you want to see the large-scale bloodshed in Anxi?"

Bai Xiaode suddenly became a little excited, "Of course I don't want to see large-scale killing and bloodshed in Anxi. If there is no killing and bloodshed, I am willing to be a civilian!"

"Then you should accept the court's arrangement and serve as the Minister of War. Then I will tell you how the emperor will implement the county system, so that you can rest assured!"

Bai Xiaode nodded and agreed, "I will resign from my posts as the military commander of the four Anxi towns and the governor of Anxi tomorrow."

"That's right. You must take the initiative to express your attitude and obey all the arrangements of the emperor. Don't use the Anxi County System to bargain with the emperor. This will make the emperor very unhappy. The emperor knows what to do, but he is definitely not under pressure from you. Do you understand?"

"I know my fault for my humble position!"

"Alright! I'll assume that you're going to the Privy Council to submit your resignation tomorrow morning!"

"I will definitely go!"

Wei Jiansu then slowly said, "The implementation of the county system in Anxi is called the reduction of vassal states in our Han history. There is a clever plan in the reduction of vassal states, called the Enfeoffment Order. The emperor will soon issue an order to allow the Anxi states to divide their land and property among all their sons. The court will continue to confer them the title of county king, grant them titles, and grant them gold seals. Even if they are unwilling to separate, the court will force them to do so, otherwise they will be replaced with a new king."

Bai Xiaode said after a while: "If this happens, hundreds of small countries will suddenly appear in Anxi. This is probably what they have been looking forward to for a long time. The key is that the court must recognize it!"

"Of course the court will recognize it. In another ten years, the court will implement the county system in Anxi and redeem slaves from these small kings. Do you think there will still be resistance, General?"

Bai Xiaode shook his head slowly, "By then, all the countries in Anxi will become a mess, and there will be no more resistance."

Wei Jiansu said calmly, "This is the most brilliant part of the Enfeoffment Order. One king wants power, but ten kings want wealth. The emperor believes that killing and bloodshed in Anxi is not a good strategy and will plant hidden dangers for future generations. So he decided to use conciliatory means to solve the county system problem in Anxi. The Enfeoffment Order is the best conciliatory means."

Bai Xiaode suddenly understood that the emperor's decision to let him return to Chang'an to take up his post had nothing to do with the implementation of the county system in Anxi. What the emperor wanted to reduce the power of the vassal states now was not the Anxi countries, but himself.

Bai Xiaode sighed, "I will resign tomorrow morning!"

In the afternoon, Wei Jiansu reported to Li Ye about his meeting with Bai Xiaode.

At the beginning, the Helong army had few soldiers and generals, and had no energy to manage Anxi. Li Ye appointed Bai Xiaode as the governor of Anxi, considering that Bai Xiaode was a member of the Kucha royal family and had more prestige among the Anxi states. At the same time, he gave Bai Xiaode military and political power. Now that the court has ended the Hezhong Campaign, the time to reform Anxi is ripe.

At present, Anxi is going to carry out two major reforms. The first is that the Governor's Office will be changed from a strategic type to a military type, and the second is to implement the county system.

The implementation of the county system can be delayed for a few years, but changing the garrison to a military type is an urgent matter.

"Your Majesty, Bai Xiaode has agreed to resign from the post of Anxi Governor tomorrow morning."

"What about the post of the military commander of the four Anxi towns?" Li Ye asked.

"Quit it, too!"

Li Ye nodded and said, "Once Bai Xiaode resigns, Xi Wanli will be appointed as the military commander of the four Anxi towns, and the Anxi Governor's Office will be changed to the Anxi Pacification Office. Li Chenghua will be the Pacification Commissioner, who will be responsible for the implementation of the Enfeoffment Order."

"Your Majesty has considered it carefully, but if Your Majesty lets Bai Xiaode know about the Enfeoffment Order, will he..."

"Are you afraid that he will inform the other countries in Anxi?"

Li Ye smiled faintly and said, "I told him that I trust him. If he wants to inform other countries, then there is no need for any conciliatory solution. Wouldn't it be faster to just kill people and let the blood flow like a river? If he has a little bit of brains, he should know that the Enfeoffment Order is the best solution for Anxi. Everyone will be satisfied. It just takes a little longer, three or five years. I can wait!"

Bai Xiaode started writing his resignation letter as soon as he returned home. Of course, he had sufficient reasons, mainly because he was old and in poor health and could no longer trek through the snowy mountains and plateaus.

After quickly finishing the resignation letter, Bai Xiaode put down his pen, walked to the front of the hall with his hands behind his back, and looked at the sunset sky. He would stay in Chang'an from now on.

The youngest son, Bai Lingcheng, said with some worry, "If father resigns, I'm afraid he won't be able to stop the court from forcibly implementing the county system. Will those princes accept the fate of the King of Gaochang?"

Bai Xiaode shook his head. "My resignation has nothing to do with the county system. I resigned only to change the Anxi Military Governor's Office from a strategic type to a military type, to separate the military and the government. I was also worried about the county system before."

At this point, Bai Xiaode turned back to his son and said, "If the county system is enforced by force, don't expect the fate of the King of Gaochang anymore. The King of Gaochang made a choice based on the current situation and actively cooperated with Beiting to implement the county system, which led to a good ending. If the Tang army uses force to promote it, it will be a massacre, and all the royal family members will not be able to survive. The court will never leave any trouble for them to rebel again, but the emperor promised to use gentle means to implement the county system."

"What kind of conciliatory tactics does the emperor intend to use?"

"Prime Minister Wei told me that the emperor is going to implement the Enfeoffment Order, which will allow each kingdom to be divided into several small kingdoms. The court will recognize them and make them kings. Didn't your uncle's brothers fight to the death for the throne of Kucha? Now they don't have to. The Kucha Kingdom will be divided into four small kingdoms, and each son will be a king. The court will recognize them, so your uncle won't have to worry about his four sons killing each other."

Bai Lingcheng was surprised and said, "In this case, wouldn't there be hundreds of small countries in Anxi?"

"It will definitely happen. Even if they don't want to divide, the imperial court will help them divide, just like dividing a family. When they become a pile of loose sand, we can implement the Gaochang Kingdom plan, and everyone will support it. After a few generations, more than a hundred small kings will become more than a hundred landlords. This is the emperor's way of appeasing people."

"We can write a letter to our second uncle and ask him to resist the Enfeoffment Order!"

"asshole!"

Bai Xiaode glared at his son fiercely, "Your second uncle treated you well, why are you so vicious and let their whole family die?"

Bai Lingcheng was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands, "I didn't mean that!"

Bai Xiaode said viciously: "If he didn't have such intention, why should he resist the Enfeoffment Order? Wouldn't that mean their whole family will die? There are many people who are willing to be the King of Kucha."

Bai Lingcheng lowered his head and said, "I know I was wrong!"

"You idiot! Do you think the emperor is as stupid as you? The emperor dared to tell me openly that he would wait for me to report to Qiuci, and then kill your second uncle's family for treason. We would also be implicated, and I would have to commit suicide by taking poison. Is this what you want? If you don't understand, shut up!"

Bai Lingcheng's face turned red after being scolded, and he dared not say another word.

(End of this chapter)