When Li Xiang woke up the next morning, he received the news from the garrison troops that more than 40 people were captured and nearly 30 were killed. In theory, this could be considered a victory, but despite careful planning, not all the people on the mountain were captured, so it could not be considered a big victory.
"Your Highness, this is quite good. We have killed or injured nearly one-third of them in one fell swoop. This will prevent them from causing any harm to us in the short term. How about we implement the blockade policy from now on?"
Ding Tu also knew that this was not a big victory, but at least it was effective. The main reason was that we captured too few family members, so many people on the mountain were not scared and they did not participate in the rescue.
"We need to continue interrogating the captured survivors. We need to use them to open a gap and send new family members over. We can't enforce the blockade. If we only occupied Fukuoka, then we would have no problem enforcing the blockade. But we want to occupy the entire Fuso. If we want to enforce the blockade, have you ever calculated how many people we would need?"
After Li Xiang finished speaking, the generals in the room began to think. Just for Fukuoka, we may need about 3,000 people, but if we want to occupy the entire Kyushu Island, then we may need 20,000 people, but if we want to occupy the entire Fuso, then at least 150,000 people will be needed. This number is not something we can afford.
Although we can also let the local Japanese people carry out the blockade, so that the labor cost can be slightly lower, but these people are all from the same village, and we see each other every day. Even though they have sworn allegiance to us, in the eyes of some people, that oath is bullshit, so they will definitely not abide by it. If they open a back door in private, won’t the loss be greater?
"Your Highness is right. I was too simplistic. The interrogation began last night, but these people are all hardliners. They are different from the ones from the past few days. Those people would basically tell you everything they have in their hearts as long as they use some tricks, but these people are simply unwilling to confess. Even if they were beaten to death, they would not betray their brothers. According to them, as long as those brothers are still in the mountains, our lives will not be so peaceful."
Ding Tu said somewhat helplessly that when facing these hardliners, no matter how powerful their interrogation methods were, some people had their arms and legs broken, but they did not confess who they were supposed to confess. The interrogation would become more and more difficult, and these people would become more and more tough. However, they were right about one thing, that is, if there continued to be rebels on the mountain, then our lives would be extremely difficult.
"Let's overcome the difficulties for now. We will launch a new operation this afternoon. You will just have to wait and see. Perhaps we will get a different result."
When Li Xiang said this, everyone else's eyes lit up. They were all familiar with Li Xiang. Normally, Li Xiang would not say such things, but if he said such words, it would mean that he had a new strategy.
These people were like cats scratching their heads, and the day passed really slowly. When the sun was about to set in the afternoon, several transport ships arrived in the harbor. However, unlike before, all they brought were Goguryeo soldiers. They instantly understood what the new trick Li Xiang was talking about.
This is actually not a new trick. It has been used several times in other occupied areas. It is just the first time in Fuso. We are reluctant to go up the mountain to wipe them out because we are afraid of casualties. But these people from Goguryeo are different. We don’t care how many of you die.
All the people in Goguryeo became slaves, but there were still many who were reformed better, so we gave these people a chance to join the Goguryeo army. Of course, these armies all belonged to the Tang Dynasty. If you can make meritorious deeds overseas, then you and your family can be freed from slavery.
Of course, even if you are freed from your status as slaves, you still cannot live in the Central Plains of the Tang Dynasty. You can only live in Goguryeo, and your lives are still under surveillance. At that time, men in the army have to continue to perform. There is a complete system in the Goguryeo army. As long as you perform well enough, the life of your family will be better.
This time, a total of more than 500 Goguryeo soldiers were transported, and they were also equipped with good weapons. These weapons were the same as the original weapons of the Tang Dynasty. Although they were not as good as the current Tang Dynasty soldiers, they were still enough to deal with the rebels in the mountains.
Jiro Fujii looked at the Goguryeo soldiers in front of him, and suddenly he had a bad feeling in his mind. Although Watanabe had said several times that their future lives would get better and better, when he saw the Goguryeo soldiers, Jiro Fujii suddenly felt that there was competition. We are not from the Tang Dynasty, we are all dogs hired by the Tang Dynasty, but which dog is better at biting people will definitely determine who will have a better life in the future. If His Highness only uses the Goguryeo people to go up the mountain to suppress the bandits, wouldn't all the credit be given to them?
Jiro Fujii quickly found Watanabe, and the two went to meet Ding Tu together. They also prepared a suicide squad of 400 people. Jiro Fujii planned to personally lead them up the mountain to join these people from Goguryeo to suppress the bandits.
Ding Tu thought this was a good idea, so he went to report to Li Xiang. Li Xiang originally wanted to take the initiative to give orders, but he didn't expect that Fujii Jiro had already thought of it. Such people should be trained vigorously. Such people can get ahead of us and bring considerable benefits to the Tang Dynasty. If we don't train such people well, then aren't we mentally ill?
"Give Fujii Jiro some rewards, and also give Watanabe a warning. Only by forming a competitive relationship with them, and letting them fight each other, can we better control them."
After hearing what Li Xiang said, Ding Tu knew what to do. The Goguryeo soldiers had two days of rest, and Watanabe also had to organize their 400 people. Now the two countries' armies together formed a thousand people. Their task was to go into the mountains to encircle and suppress, to see who had the greater contribution.
