After the rain stopped, the clearing work in the mountains was very fast. When Li Xiang offered a large reward before, many people were familiar with the terrain in the mountains, so when they were called here now, these people had no psychological burden and directly sold out their country and army.
In fact, when they came to exchange food, they didn't take these people seriously. In the eyes of these Vietnamese people, you started a war and made it difficult for us to survive. The fields are all barren. If we don't sell you out, how can we survive? We can't just watch our families starve to death.
Changsun Ze and Huo Qubing finally understood why they were given so much food before. In addition to buying the heads of the Vietnamese soldiers in the mountains, they were also buying the rebellious hearts of these people.
If we do nothing and suddenly ask them to lead the way for us, it will be difficult for these people, and they may not be able to do it. Of course, if they have already betrayed the country once, will they still care about this now? They only care about how much food you give them.
Seeing some common people standing on the roadside bargaining with the Tang army, Huo Qubing and Changsun Ze didn't know what to say. You people have no shame at all now. At least before, you were still resisting us. Now under the attack of food, you have trampled your hearts to the ground and have been trampled into pieces.
Of course, not all the people were like this. There were still a few people in every village who had some dignity, but these people were isolated by the entire village. Some people even went to report them to the Tang army. The reason these people did not cooperate with the Tang army was because someone in their family was in the mountains.
The Tang army would not show mercy to such people. They would send out troops at night to capture them, and then tie them up with ropes one by one, drag them directly to the seaside, and transport them to the north. As the families of the Vietnamese army, you will never cooperate with us in the Tang Dynasty, so we might as well let you go to the north to farm. Anyway, we have opened up enough land in the north, and you can't run back from there. Even if you run your legs off, you will not be able to get any news about Vietnam.
The reason for adopting this method is that Li Xiang explained during the meeting that the mountainous areas in northern Vietnam are too difficult to travel. A small population must be maintained in this area, and the local population cannot be allowed to overwhelm. If a rebellion occurs in the future, what we do today will be done again tomorrow. We cannot fall in the same place twice.
Therefore, the families of these soldiers are a good breakthrough point. Since they cannot be used by me, I will start with them. This group of people accounts for about 15% of the total population, and the total number is only more than 300,000. It is not difficult for our navy. We can pull them all to Liaodong and Goguryeo and let them live a good life there.
Of course, the so-called living a good life is different from that of ordinary people. You work about ten hours a day, and except for the farm tools in your hands, you have no assets at all. Of course, if you work well for a few years, you may be assigned a woman from among these slaves, so that you can leave offspring. Of course, your offspring will not have an easy life either. They are destined to work for the rest of their lives from the moment they are born.
"How's the cleanup going? You two seem quite relaxed."
Just as the two were looking at the Vietnamese people on the roadside, Li Xiang's voice came from behind. They had already moved their camp south. At a speed of forty miles a day, they had now arrived in the central and southern regions of Vietnam.
"Your Highness, we are not moving very fast, so we are moving carefully. Most of the land on the mountain has either been burned or our people have gone up to search it. We have already captured over 4,000 people, but these people are no longer useful. They are all skinny or have only a breath left."
Huo Qubing pointed to a big pit in the distance and said, "Those are the Vietnamese soldiers who came down from the mountain. We don't have the time to treat them. If we cure them all, we don't know how much it will cost."
According to the basic requirements of the Tang Dynasty army, if he can work after being cured, that would be another matter. But if he is cured and kept in good health every day, it will not bring any benefits to the entire Tang Dynasty court. Why should we waste money on him?
Li Xiang looked at the big pit over there, without any ripples in his heart. To Li Xiang, these Vietnamese were not good people. Since they were of no use to him, he might as well bury them. It was also a way for them to rest in peace. We cannot be too merciful to our enemies. If we put ourselves in their shoes, maybe they would stab you twice before burying you alive.
"The families of these people have been transported away, right? They won't leave any security risks in the area, right? A group of our residents will be moving here soon. If someone seeks revenge, it could delay our immigration plans."
Whenever the Tang army occupied a place, they would bring a group of civilians from the country. If the civilians could not settle down in the local area, then the area could not be considered truly occupied by us. Only when the civilians stayed here for ten or eight years would the land truly become the property of the Tang Dynasty.
If they had just arrived and the locals had waved weapons at them within a few days, then the subsequent people would never come no matter what. The economy of the Tang Dynasty is different now. At least everyone can make a living. As long as you are not a lazy person, you can fill your stomach. There is no need to go to the border to make a living. After all, the danger here is relatively large, so safety issues are of paramount importance.
"Your Highness, please rest assured. There are people following us in every village. They have sold out almost everyone in the village. The only thing we are worried about now is the hunters in the mountains. However, when we cleared the entire forest, we also captured these people. In my opinion, there is no need to screen them. We can just transport them directly to the north."
Chang Sunze thought for a moment and said, this is also a permanent solution. Among these people, there must be those who are loyal to the Vietnamese court, so we can just transport them all away...
