There are four chieftains in the mountains. The imperial court actually only occupies 30% of the entire Sichuan territory. The rest of the territory is in the hands of the chieftains. These four chieftains have a population of about 800,000 and 70,000 to 80,000 capable and skilled warriors under their command.
Although it doesn't sound like a lot, they have lived in the mountains for generations. The imperial army has encircled and suppressed them before, but because they were unfamiliar with the conditions in the mountains, they did not achieve any effective results except for wasting manpower and money.
After the imperial army was defeated, the people on the mountain became even more arrogant. They also figured out the imperial court's strengths and weaknesses. Although the imperial court used to have an army of hundreds of thousands, they were unable to deploy them in their place. There were not many ways to go up the mountain, and if they all wanted to go up, it was basically impossible.
Dynasties in history have tried to besiege the mountains, but all failed for various reasons. First of all, they have lived in the mountains for generations. Even if you besiege them, they will still live in the mountains. Although many necessities of life are difficult to obtain, they are not unavailable.
In addition, many Han people are not united and send all kinds of contraband into the mountains for high profits, which also allows them to persist. Moreover, the imperial army is stationed here, and the daily silver and money required are astronomical. Staying here for a long time will be a harm to the other side, and even more so to us.
"So, there's nothing we can do about them?"
Li Xiang had never thought that the situation here would be so complicated. He had thought about solving them all at the same time, but now it seems that it is not that easy.
"I am a humble official, please forgive me, Your Highness."
He really didn't know how to answer this question. If he knew, how could he possibly intermarry with these people? You know, people in this era still attach great importance to bloodline. In their eyes, these people in the mountains are all barbarians. Sending his daughter to such a place is not what a father should do, but in order to continue to serve as an official safely, he had no choice but to do so.
"Go find some information. Find all the transactions between the mountain and you over the years. Find out what's in short supply on the mountain and what's needed down there."
Li Xiang thought for a while and said that although they might have done similar things before and they might not have had any effect, there was no progress now, so Li Xiang had to do these things again. After all, Li Xiang came from the 21st century and might be able to see something useful from it.
"I'll do it right away."
What this guy fears most is that he is fine. If he is fine, it means that he is of no use to Li Xiang. Useless people may be killed at any time. As long as Li Xiang assigns him a task, it means that he is safe until the task is completed.
Moreover, he felt in his heart that completing a task would bring him closer to life, so no matter what Li Xiang instructed him, he had to do his best to complete it. This was the opportunity Li Xiang gave him. Those who had been beheaded might need this opportunity desperately, but unfortunately they were gone.
After a night of interrogation, they finally figured out what happened on the mountain. There were four chieftains in total on the mountain, and the population was a little more than what Lord Zhang said. The mountain had been prosperous in recent years, with a population of about one million. In addition, there were quite a few young and middle-aged people, a total of about 150,000 to 160,000.
Li Xiang has realized a truth from dealing with these barbarians: there are as many soldiers as there are young and middle-aged people among them. Some of them may have never fought a war, but when the most dangerous moment comes, these people can immediately become warriors. This is what people on the grassland do.
After gathering all the information, Li Xiang also gathered all the people below him. Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. If Li Xiang were left to think on his own, he might rack his brains but still not come up with any useful ideas in the end.
"You're all new to me, so you might not be familiar with my temper. I don't have many expectations for my subordinates. What I hate most is disloyalty, and secondly, incompetence. Don't be afraid of making mistakes. I won't punish you if you do. But if you do nothing, your future may be in jeopardy."
Li Xiang just gathered these people together, and seeing how frightened they all were, he remembered that he was not familiar with these people. They also came from all over the country, and Xiao Yu's family had the most people among them.
"I just took a look. Based on what they said, I also took people to check the mountain road outside the city. It's exactly as they said. Less than a hundred miles from Chengdu, the chieftains have already started setting up checkpoints. Although Zhang Jiuli has a good relationship with them, these people don't trust him."
Qin Huaiyu is not someone who can sit idle. When he got the news of the interrogation last night, he immediately took people out of the city to verify it. Of course, this guy was not stupid enough to go out wearing armor, but just disguised himself as a young man going out for fun. There are many such people around Chengdu.
"There's also food and salt in the mountains. They can still get their own food, but the mountains don't produce salt. The most common items they trade with people down there are salt and iron. However, according to some people, they just bartered with people from the mountains half a month before we arrived. The salt in the mountains is enough to last for a year."
Su Dingfang was not idle either. These people were Li Xiang's old subordinates, so they naturally knew what to do after getting the news. Some things did not require Li Xiang's instructions, as they all handled them properly.
"I also have a few noble sons from the mountains. They were all studying business in Mianzhou City. I detained them as well. They did confess some things, but they were very different from what the people in Chengdu said."
Xiao Shouguo was the first member of the Xiao family to speak. This guy felt that Li Xiang had given him such a great opportunity, and he had to take the lead in everything. He also really had found out some information.
Unfortunately, when he arrived in Chengdu with the news, he found that everyone had already received similar news, but he still had to say what he had to say.
The more Li Xiang listened, the more he frowned. He had thought that with more people around, they could pool their wisdom, but he didn't expect that all he heard were useless. It seemed that these chieftains were not that simple. No wonder they could stay in the mountains for so long.