The Wang brothers tried to escape at night, but unfortunately, Liu Xiang was resting his horse ten miles away.
This is the third day after returning to the army. The cavalry arrived near Kaiyang last night. However, after a long journey, they were exhausted and were not suitable for fighting.
When Wang Rong tried to attack the city in the morning, Liu Xiang was observing them from a few miles away.
Fifty to sixty thousand people, wearing short brown clothes, wearing straw sandals, holding spears, wooden shields, swords, and flying shuttles, all equipped with the weapons of the militia, really looked like the lower class people resisting tyranny.
But they are fighting for aristocratic families. In order to become the slaves of those nobles, they launch attacks and sacrifice their lives to those who want them to live a good life by allocating fields to them, abolishing exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes.
Should you be angry?
He only felt sad.
I really... don't know what to say. Are you sorry for his misfortune? Liu Xiang put down the telescope, slumped his shoulders, and didn't want to say a word. He was so panicked.
I have done my utmost to be benevolent and righteous to them, so why do I like to be other people's slaves? There are 50,000 to 60,000 strong men. There are not so many strong men in the entire Langya County, right?
There must be many, many people who came from other places and traveled long distances to rebel, hoping to cut off his escape and kill him.
Okay, very good, damn good!
Liu Xiang was silent, not wanting to say a word.
Cui Yi was extremely angry and roared through gritted teeth: "You bastards, you bunch of ungrateful people, they all deserve to die!"
Yan Gang also had a gloomy face, with murderous intent in his eyes.
The two of them were from lower-class backgrounds, and they knew clearly that their master's efforts to divide the land and reduce taxes over the years were all benevolent policies that took care of the people.
It turned out that those low-class people who had been in debt for several lifetimes, had no food to eat, and lived like starving ghosts, can now live a good life with enough food, clothing, and housing.
This was all stolen by the lord from powerful families and distributed to them.
But those who attacked Kaiyang could tell by looking at their clothes that they were all ordinary people from Guizhou. They were fighting for their own side for the sake of wealthy families.
Can't you tell the difference between good and evil?
ungrateful!
Worse than pigs and dogs!
Liu Neng stood by and was a little confused. He didn't have a telescope and couldn't see the details of the enemy's army. He was very confused.
What's going on?
The expressions on the lord's and generals Cui and Yan's faces are wrong. Aren't they just here to observe the enemy's situation? Although they are far away and can't see very clearly, the city has not been breached.
He put up an awning with his hands and looked carefully, and found that the city was indeed not broken.
But he didn't dare to ask. The three of them were obviously not in the right mood, so it would be better not to hit the tip of the knife.
The rebellious young men were beaten at the foot of the city and withdrew their troops dejectedly. Liu Xiang waved his hand, mounted the red tug, and returned to the camp.
"Wear armor, send out troops, and force them to surrender. If they don't surrender, kill them all!" He was too lazy to think about the reason, feeling tired.
There are only 50,000 to 60,000 young men, and the Chinese army has more than 20,000 infantry and cavalry. There is no possibility of failure.
Seven thousand cavalry chased the enemy camp in a mighty manner. Not long after, Zhao Yun arrived with the Shesheng Camp and the Guard Camp. Xun Yu was also in the army. As soon as they met, he handed over his hand and confessed:
"I report to you, my lord, that my oversight caused the Wang family to collude with other families, gather their old tribes, hijack the people, and destabilize the prefectures and counties. This is all my fault."
"Wen Ruo doesn't have to blame himself. The thieves have been secretly colluding with each other and have been planning for an unknown period of time. I can't blame you." Liu Xiang had no intention of blaming Xun Yu. He had resigned as the governor of Qingzhou and it was not his place to take care of local affairs.
It is also the current Qingzhou governor Guo Dian's responsibility to hold him accountable.
Besides, this is not a case of harsh governance and officials forcing the people to rebel. It is a deliberate plan of the Langya Wang family, and they found ways to hide it for a while.
It is easier to be a thief than to prevent it. There is no need to be too harsh on local officials. The Tiqi people are short of manpower. Many people were sent to investigate the rebellion in Jizhou. This is one of the reasons why it was not discovered in advance.
"Which families participated in the rebellion? What were the losses in surrounding counties?"
"Reporting to my lord, more than three thousand internal agents were killed in Kaiyang City. After torture, it was found that the mastermind was Wang Rong, the head of the Wang family, who had colluded with seven families in Langya County.
Using the caravan's method of hiring guards and men, more than 50,000 people gathered directly near Kaiyang, most of them were former tribesmen, and some were hired common people, and they have never attacked other counties."
Xun Yu was worried, but he was not worried about being unable to exterminate the rebels. Now that the army was surrounded, they could be destroyed in a single battle. What he was worried about was his lord's attitude towards the scholars.
I finally eased my lord's prejudice against the scholars and lowered his resistance. As a result, the Langya Wang family rebelled, and the scale was quite large.
What a failure!
How stupid it is to fail to accomplish anything and fail more than anything else!
Liu Xiang nodded. It did not affect other counties. This is good news. He looked at the frightened faces in the rebel camp and said calmly:
"When the land was divided, the records of each family and the yellow records of the tenants were found and checked from house to house. All participants had their land taken back, demoted to low status, and sent to Liaodong for life-long hard labor.
If they want to be slaves, then let their relatives, clansmen, and descendants be slaves for generations to come."
The anger in his heart was not serious, he just felt disappointed. He had to choose his own path. If they were willing to be slaves, that was fine, as long as they were allowed to do so.
Xun Yu was a little panicked. These were 20,000 to 30,000 households and hundreds of thousands of people, who were demoted to slaves so peacefully. The anger in the lord's heart must not have been vented, so where would the anger be directed?
Don't cause a massacre, otherwise you will completely break with the gentry.
He really hoped to see his lord furious now, or at least vent the anger in his heart, so that it would not affect the rest of the scholars, and the counter-rebellion would only end with counter-rebellion, but don't turn it into a purge.
"My lord, the rebels are only a small number of people, and there are still many people who are loyal to the lord. It is better to kill the chief culprits and pardon the rest. Putting down the rebellion quickly is the top priority."
Xun Yu knew that there were still many people waiting and watching, and only by calming down the situation quickly could people's hearts be calmed.
"I was too kind to them. I was kind but not powerful. I was cowardly and made them disrespectful. This is wrong. If you make a mistake, you must correct it. What the sages have said long ago, but I failed to understand. Pay equal attention to kindness and power, and be lenient.
Only by being strict and harmonious can we achieve the right path."
Liu Xiang and Xun Yu thought from different angles. He was thinking about how to manage the people, but Xun Wenruo was worried that he would massacre the scholars. The two were not on the same page at all.
"It is the right principle to pay equal attention to kindness and power, and to balance mercy and severity. The Lord should take responsibility for the first culprit, forgive the others, and stabilize people's hearts."
Xun Yu found an entry point for the topic and continued to persuade. He was really worried about being implicated too much. Most of the nobles were related to each other. If the lord came to the Yi tribe, too many people would be killed.
Liu Xiang blinked and took his thoughts away from the common people at the bottom. He recalled Xun Yu's words and understood that he was worried that he could not hold back his anger and massacre the scholars.
The butt determines the head, and the class determines the thinking. In Xun Wenruo's heart, the scholars are the most important, and he does not pay attention to the common people.
His attraction to him was not to enable the people to live a good life, but to end the troubled times and create a peaceful and prosperous age.
Benevolent government is only a means, not an end.
"Wen Ruo doesn't need to worry. The eight rebellious families will confiscate their homes and behead others. They won't implicate others. I still understand the principle of controlling anger." Liu Xiang smiled.
It doesn't matter which aristocratic family rebelled or which common people participated in the rebellion.
"I finally see through you, Xun Wenruo." He muttered silently in his heart.
Only when your mood improves instantly and you can see through the true nature can you build trust and trust someone you can trust.