Any change must involve blood. If there is no blood, then the change will not be thorough enough. The land around the Xueyantuo royal court has always been the core of the Khan. Except for himself, no one else can establish his own power here, so it is indeed not an easy task to make this land surrender.
From seven o'clock in the evening until ten o'clock the next morning, the screams never stopped. Of course, they did not appear around Li Xiang's tent. Bayannur was very clear about this. When interrogating people, they were dragged far away. Many of them were unwilling to surrender, so according to Li Xiang's order, Bayan Zhuoer had no choice but to chop them to pieces.
Facing the verbal abuse from the Xueyantuo tribal chief, Bayannur felt very sad at first. After all, he was helping foreigners suppress his own people. But when he thought about what the Xueyantuo Khan had done, he realized that we had come to this point because of their coercion. If they had not taken away all our food and livestock, how could we possibly surrender to the Tang Dynasty?
Thinking about what we saw and heard along the way, we don’t know what Li Xiang will be like in the future, but at least he can distribute disaster relief supplies to the people and allow them to continue to survive. This is much better than the Khan of Xueyantuo.
Bayan Zhuoer kept telling himself that he needed to survive, he needed to live well, and his family also needed to live well. If he wanted to achieve this goal, he had to complete Li Xiang's orders. If he failed to complete Li Xiang's orders, then he would be the one lying on the ground. In order to prevent himself from lying on the ground, more people had to lie on the ground.
After a night of bloody suppression, the new tribal leaders of the twenty-six major tribes surrounding the Xueyantuo royal court all expressed their smiles towards the Tang Dynasty. Of course, more than seven hundred people died in one night, and this fact would not appear in any history book. Li Xiang never told these things to others. All the things recorded in history books were the best things.
For example, when the Tang Dynasty's royal army arrived, the local people warmly welcomed them. They all joined the Tang Dynasty voluntarily. We also spent a huge price to help them join us, and transported large quantities of grain, tea, and salt. These things are relatively popular goods even in the Tang Dynasty.
Many local people were not convinced, but under the persuasion of the tribal elders, they all knelt in front of the Tang army. If they showed the slightest intention of resistance, the Tang army would kill them without hesitation. Severe punishments were needed in troubled times.
Of course, there are certain benefits after kneeling down. At least in the future, you don’t have to worry about food problems. The court has also set up three trading markets on the grassland. You can take the things at home to the trading market to exchange for what you need.
This is what the people on the grassland have always eagerly looked forward to. Apart from cattle and horses, everything else on the grassland needs to be exchanged with the Central Plains dynasty, but this market is often closed because the relationship between the two countries is not good. Now there is no need to worry about this, because we are also people of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Xiang has already promised them in public that from the moment you join the Tang Dynasty, as long as you abide by the law and pay taxes according to regulations, your interests will also be protected by the Tang Dynasty army. If anything happens, the Tang Dynasty army will still take care of you.
When they didn't get any food, 100% of the Xueyantuo people were cursing Li Xiang. When they got the minimum living food, the proportion dropped to 70%, and the 30% who had enough to eat stopped cursing.
By the time they exchange for the daily necessities they need in the trading market, it is estimated that this ratio will drop to 50%. After three to five years, when they have tasted the benefits, this ratio will drop below 40%. As for the remaining 30%, Li Xiang is powerless. It is already quite difficult to reach this ratio. After all, many people are old and have a fixed image in their minds. It is relatively easy to change young people, but it is too difficult to change these elderly people.
During the few days of being stationed here, assassinations occurred almost every day. Of course, because the guards around Li Xiang were quite capable, these people didn't even enter the inner circle. The reason why they were still happy to do this was that they wanted to let Li Xiang know that the resistance on the grassland had never stopped.
On the one hand, Li Xiang stepped up efforts to suppress these resistance forces, and on the other hand, he also sent food to some poor people, and even sent them lambs and calves, so that they would have hope for the coming year. When these people had hope, they would not draw their swords at every turn.
As for the selection of the Protector General of Beiting, Li Xiang handed it over to the court. He was only responsible for expanding the territory. As for the placement of local officials, that had to be done by the court. This was almost a tacit understanding between the two parties. If Li Xiang appointed himself, the court would indeed lose face.
Chang'an City
"You want to be the Protector General of Beiting Protectorate?"
The son in front of him was once Li Shimin's proudest son, but now Li Shimin didn't want to see him. After hearing him express his wishes, Li Shimin couldn't believe it even more.
"In reply to Father, yes."
Prince Wu Li Ke had recovered well, looking unharmed. However, his request had stunned many. Even if he had suffered a setback, he was still the emperor's son. Even if he had to return to his own fiefdom, he would never go to the northern grasslands. Your fiefdom was where the Han people lived. Even there, he would still be a high-ranking prince. But if he went to the northern grasslands, his fate...
Besides the local people's suicides, people may also have been unable to adapt to the local environment. The natural environment in that era was extremely harsh, and acclimatization could easily kill you. Moreover, many people were very superstitious. King Wu Li Ke may have had some connection with the northern grasslands, otherwise why would he return from there half-dead? If that place was your blessed land, how could you have been injured there?
Li Shimin looked at his son with some horror. Because of Li Xiang's arrival, several sons started competing, but letting King Wu go to the north to be the protector general was something Li Shimin had not expected.