In the previous wars, although captured prisoners of war were exchanged for money, the money was relatively small. However, after Li Xiang's operation, the situation was completely different. In addition to local prisoners, all local civilians could be exchanged for money. In short, as long as our finances did not have a deficit, it would be fine. If there was a deficit, according to Li Xiang's idea, all of them could be sold by weight.
Some civil officials in the court stood up and said that this and that were not good, but Li Xiang was too lazy to listen to them. The military generals all understood what Li Xiang said. If we consider their lives, then we will have no chance of living. Anyway, when our finances have not been relieved, no one can interfere with the actions of the military.
Li Shimin also agreed with this, because for Li Shimin, if there was a hole in the finances, he would be the one who would be in trouble in the end. The entire Tang Empire had many places to spend money, not just the military. So in order to ensure the smooth operation of the finances, the court must cooperate with the various policies formulated by the Tiance General's Office. As for those civil servants who were screaming, when they saw that the emperor had no intention of intervening, they knew what they should do.
The local people still had illusions in their hearts. They believed that the Tang Dynasty ruled the world with benevolence and righteousness and would never bring them too much disaster. What's more, everything that should be taken away from this land had been taken away. Apart from people like us, the only things left were probably the livestock. But those livestock were not worth much at all. If they were to be transported back to the heartland of the Tang Dynasty, it would cost even more.
But they obviously underestimated the capabilities of the Tang army. It would indeed cost a lot of money to transport your livestock back to Chang'an, but if you transport them back to the countries in the Western Regions, it would not cost too much money. Moreover, the lifestyles of the countries in the Western Regions are similar to yours. We can easily sell these livestock at a price slightly lower than the local price. Anyway, all we want is financial income. As for whether we can make that much money, this is not within our consideration.
Moreover, when selling these livestock, it can also create some conflicts in various parts of the Western Regions. For example, the tribes that followed the Tang Dynasty to send troops can get a larger share. Anyway, the price is lower than usual. As long as you pay money to buy it, you can basically get this bargain.
As for those tribes that have not sent troops, I can only say that I am sorry for you. Only the victor can share this victory. You have not had any outstanding performance on the battlefield. After the war, you will not be able to obtain the rights and interests that the victors should have.
Doing so also makes the countries in the Western Regions understand that as long as you follow the Tang Empire in foreign wars, both your soldiers and civilians will benefit after the war. But if you passively resist every time, then these benefits will never have anything to do with you.
Some tribal leaders also said that as long as we live a good life and don't go out to fight, it doesn't matter if there is no such benefit. However, people are ambitious. If you don't plan for it, the tribes around you will slowly expand through these means.
Originally, you were all evenly matched in strength and neither of you could swallow the other. But if his strength grew and you remained the same, and the Tang army instigated you from behind, the surrounding tribal leaders would probably be unable to sit still, and he would likely launch rounds of invasion wars. At that time, facing a huge neighbor, would you be able to hold on?
Although it was within the ruling area of the Tang Dynasty, the borders between the countries in the Western Regions were so large that no matter how the management was strengthened, some tribal wars would still occur. Although the Tang Dynasty strictly prohibited such behavior, sometimes it could open backdoors for some people. For example, if you followed the Tang army to fight and the grassland next door was much more fertile than yours, and the neighboring tribe did not have in-depth cooperation with the Tang army, then no one would care if you did something.
Just when the people of various tribes were immersed in their wild thoughts, more than 20 tribes were instantly surrounded by the Tang army. They were within 20 miles of Samarkand City and were considered to be relatively wealthy tribes in the surrounding area.
When Governor Faisal left, they had already suffered a robbery. Later, those people inside the city of Samarkand also robbed them. The entire tribe could be said to be empty, but now they had to suffer another robbery.
"Great General Tang, please have mercy on us. There is no one left in the tribe except the elderly and children like us. We are giving these cattle and sheep to you, hoping that we can continue to survive."
Feng Chucai appeared in front of him riding on a tall horse. This man should be a prestigious elder in the tribe. There are about 4,000 people in this tribe, but there are only more than 900 young and middle-aged people among them. Now all these more than 900 people have died on the battlefield. Except for the more than 30 laborers standing next to them, I am afraid that all of them are over 50 years old and under 15 years old.
Their tribe contributed 1,000 sheep, 200 cattle and 100 war horses.
"This number will be doubled. In addition, these dozens of people will be conscripted with the army, and your tribe will need to provide 60 young girls. If you agree, then we will not go in."
There was no expression on Feng Chucai's face. If you are too soft on these people, they will raise their scimitars and attack the inland of the Tang Dynasty in the future, and our people may not be able to live a good life.
This is the relationship between countries. It's either you die or I die. Either you become a great power, or you are exploited by the great powers. This is what Li Xiang often said, so his subordinates also remember it very clearly. They don't want their people to be exploited by the great powers, so we can only exploit others.
After hearing Feng Chucai's words, the old man immediately knelt down with the others, crying and wiping their tears. They said that if they took out all these things, they might not be able to survive. After all, there were still 3,000 people in the tribe. If they took them all out, at least 1/3 of the people in their tribe would freeze to death in the winter...
