Take Zhang Jiuli’s two daughters-in-law for example, they are all the chieftain’s daughters. In addition, he has two daughters who married the chieftain’s sons. So this guy can sit firmly in this position because he has a good relationship with the chieftain. Why can’t the first two sit firmly in this position?
It is because of his bad relationship with the chieftain that it is hard to say whether he was involved in this matter. When the previous officials were in office here, the chieftain's army often came down the mountain to rob, but since he took office, the chieftain's army rarely came out.
Of course, the fact that the chieftain's army rarely came out did not mean that the people's lives would be better. According to what Li Xiang had investigated, this guy would send a certain amount of things to the mountain every year, and his family had also married into the chieftain's family. It seemed that he wanted to turn this place into his own independent kingdom. It was a pity that Li Xiang passed by here and shattered his thoughts.
"Master Zhang is a wise man. The whole city is in turmoil, but Master Zhang's home is peaceful and tranquil. Master Zhang should understand what I mean. A conversation between two wise men shouldn't require much effort on my part, right?"
Li Xiang did not come in, but sat down at the door and brought a throne from the house. Zhang Jiuli and others knelt at the door. This is the difference in power. You can be okay in front of ordinary people, but if you meet a crown prince like Li Xiang, then you can only kneel down obediently.
"I understand that Your Highness wants to eliminate the chieftains in the mountains in one fell swoop and restore peace and prosperity here."
What didn't Zhang Jiuli understand? If it weren't for her close relationship with the chieftain, perhaps her entire family would have been arrested on the first day. Now Li Xiang hadn't promised to give them a chance to live, so this guy couldn't explain it too clearly. He had to wait for Li Xiang to express his opinion.
"You're right. I heard you have a good relationship with these chieftains. I don't care what kind of collusion you have with them. I only want to do one thing, and that is to wipe them out completely. I will set up officials and government offices inside and outside, and everything will be done according to the rules of the court. If you can help me achieve this goal, I will keep you and your family alive. But if you can't, you should know what I will do."
Regarding the territories of these chieftains, some people in the court have suggested that officials should be posted locally, but unfortunately they all live deep in the mountains and forests. If you want to issue orders on their land, you have to defeat them all, but we don’t have that ability now. After Li Xiang learned about this situation, he took the opportunity to give it a try to avoid leaving trouble for future generations.
After hearing Li Xiang's words, Zhang Jiuli remained silent. Li Xiang's price had already been set. Under the current circumstances, if he disagreed, his entire family would surely be executed. For all the crimes they had committed, even three executions wouldn't be excessive. But the question was how could he help Li Xiang achieve his goal? The chieftains in the mountains were very cunning.
"I may not be able to do it."
After careful consideration, Zhang Jiuli shook his head. It was not that he didn't want to live. His youngest grandson was not even a month old yet. Who wouldn't want to live? But the problem was that the price of deceiving Li Xiang was too high. He could make you want to live but not die. Li Xiang had done so many deadly things, and you wanted to fool him with applause. Zhang Jiuli thought he really didn't have that ability.
"Very good, very good. You are a capable man after all, and you know how to weigh the pros and cons. You didn't make a decision based on the life and death of your entire family. Well, I have my own ideas. As long as you cooperate, I can spare your entire family's lives. However, I can spare the death penalty, but I cannot escape the punishment of living. All your property will be confiscated, and everyone will be exiled to Goguryeo."
There was no emotion in Li Xiang's cold voice. Giving such people a chance to live was already against Li Xiang's principles. But in order to get rid of these chieftains and for the livelihood of the people in the southwest, Li Xiang was willing to compromise once.
"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Your Highness..."
Zhang Jiuli was truly in tears. On the first day Li Xiang arrested him, he knew his entire family might be doomed. Those people had done slightly better than he had, but their entire families had suffered. He had gone far worse than them, so how could he let his family survive? But today, these words came from Li Xiang himself, and Li Xiang's reputation was the best in the entire Tang Dynasty.
"Then do the first thing you need to do now. The chieftains all have their own messengers in Chengdu. I sealed all the exits on the first day I arrived. I guarantee that no one can get out, and no one can get the message out. Find these people for me."
Li Xiang’s first order came out. Although Zhang Jiuli didn’t know all the people, he knew some of them, especially the contacts of several big chieftains.
"I have few people under my command, so please, Your Highness..."
After Zhang Jiuli stood up, he thought that his people had been captured by Li Xiang. With the few people he had at home, he was afraid that he would not be able to capture the people for Li Xiang.
"Follow him on his errands, change into his men's clothes, and try not to kill anyone."
After Li Xiang finished speaking, hundreds of guards immediately took off their armor, put on the clothes of Lord Zhang's men, and followed him to arrest people throughout the city.
When Chengdu started arresting people on the first day, shops had already started to close, and people stayed at home obediently. The streets were in chaos, and no one dared to go out at this time. However, people soon discovered that it seemed that the officers and soldiers only arrested officials and did not harass ordinary people like them. This matter had nothing to do with them, so many people opened their shops to do business again.
The most important thing is that many people have also felt the changes. In the past, if you opened a business, there would be too many people on the street looking for protection fees from you. The government would collect one fee, and the thugs on the street would also collect one fee. But since these officers and soldiers wanted to arrest people, the people who collected the money were nowhere to be found.
Although the merchants didn't know what the people were arrested for, they did feel that their lives had improved. In the past, they had to pay twenty cents every day to get rid of these people, but now the twenty cents were all in their own pockets. Although the amount was not much, it accumulated over time, and it would be a lot of money in a year!
