Chương 193: The Prisoner Problem, Jia Xu's Insidious Scheme

Liu Ce laughed and said, "This is just the beginning. The three leaders of the Wuhuan are all dead, but their strongholds are still there. Liucheng in Liaoxi, the tribes in Liaodong, the camp in Youbeiping—they still have their people, their wealth, their cattle, sheep and horses there."

He looked around at everyone and said, "Therefore, tomorrow we will split into three groups and strike straight at the Wuhuan's stronghold!"

"Quliju and his men brought over ten thousand elite cavalry, which was almost half the strength of the three tribes. Now all these elites have been wiped out here, and there aren't many capable fighters left in the tribes."

Liu Ce counted on his fingers, "According to the intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I estimate that the Wuhuan in Liaoxi have at most five thousand cavalry, the Wuhuan in Liaodong have at most two thousand, and the Wuhuan in Youbeiping have at most one thousand cavalry. Add to that some old, weak, sick and disabled, and they are not worth worrying about."

The generals were thrilled to hear this.

This is taking advantage of your weakness! Your stronghold is empty, it's the perfect time to wipe you out in one fell swoop!

"My lord, let me go to Liaoxi!" Lü Bu was the first to volunteer.

"I guarantee I'll take Liucheng within three days!"

"I'm going to Liaodong!" Zhao Yun retorted, not to be outdone.

"Leave Youbeiping to me!" Cheng Yaojin shouted.

......

Liu Ce waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet: "Don't rush, listen to my instructions."

He stood up and walked to the map: "With Xue Rengui as the commander-in-chief, and Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, and Lü Bu as his deputies, lead the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry and the Flying Cavalry to pacify Liucheng, the stronghold of the Wuhuan in Liaoxi!"

Xue Rengui's eyes lit up, and he clasped his hands in a fist and said, "This humble general obeys!"

Qin Qiong, Yuchi Gong, and Lü Bu all replied in unison, "Yes, sir!"

Liu Ce continued, "With Xu Da as the commander-in-chief, and Zhao Yun and Xu Chu as his deputies, lead the Iron Pagoda Cavalry and the Elite Cavalry to pacify the Wuhuan stronghold in Liaodong!"

Xu Da nodded steadily and said, "Rest assured, my lord."

Zhao Yun and Xu Chu also clasped their hands in greeting and said, "Yes, sir!"

"As for the rest," Liu Ce looked at Dian Wei, Cheng Yaojin, and Huang Zhong, "they will follow me to pacify the Wuhuan in Youbeiping."

Dian Wei grinned and said, "Brother, I love following you!"

Cheng Yaojin chuckled and said, "Wherever my lord goes, that's where I, Cheng, will go!"

Huang Zhong stroked his beard and said, "This old general can still shoot a few more arrows for our lord."

The generals were all eager to get started, as excited as if it were New Year's Day.

But at this moment, Zhao Yun suddenly spoke up: "My lord, this humble general has something to ask you."

"Zilong, please speak."

Zhao Yun hesitated for a moment, then asked, "After we stormed the Wuhuan stronghold, what will happen to those barbarian prisoners...?"

The tent fell silent immediately after these words were spoken.

Right, what about the prisoners?

The three Wuhuan tribes combined must number at least a hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, right? Kill them all? That would make us butchers. Don't kill them? Keeping them would be a waste of food and could easily lead to unrest.

Liu Ce was also stumped by the question.

He sat back in the main seat, stroking his chin in deep thought.

To be honest, he was conflicted: either kill them all to eliminate future troubles, but that would be against the natural order; or use them as "oxen and horses" to mine, build roads, and do hard labor, but that would be troublesome to manage and could easily cause chaos.

Liu Ce simply threw the question to everyone.

He looked at the crowd and said, "These Wuhuan prisoners are a pity to kill, but keeping them alive will only cause trouble. Gentlemen... do you have any good ideas?"

Xue Rengui was the first to speak, saying, "My lord, in my opinion, it would be better to demote them to tenant farmers and let them farm to pay off their debts. Our Youzhou is vast and sparsely populated, and we are in dire need of labor."

Xu Da nodded and said, "It's feasible. But the Wuhuan people are unruly by nature and used to nomadic life. I'm afraid they won't obediently farm. If they cause trouble, it will be another problem."

Cheng Yaojin shouted, "If you ask me, we should send them all to build the Great Wall! Build it until they die!"

Dian Wei said nonchalantly, "If you ask me, let's send them all to mine! Aren't we a bit short of iron and coal? Let them go down into the mines and work until they die!"

Lu Bu sneered, "Why not just incorporate them into the army and let them serve as cannon fodder? Let them all die."

Huang Zhong shook his head and said, "That's not advisable. Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts. What if they defect to our side before the battle begins?"

Xu Chu said nonchalantly, "If you ask me, if they disobey, just chop them up! Make an example of them, and see who dares to cause trouble again!"

Zhao Yun shook his head and said, "Killing is not the solution. If we kill one group, another group will cause trouble. Moreover, killing prisoners is inauspicious and will damage our lord's reputation if word gets out."

The generals discussed the matter animatedly, some advocating for strict control, others for persuasion, and still others for dispersed resettlement...

At this moment, Jia Xu, who had been sipping his tea with his eyes half-closed, slowly put down his teacup.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat.

The tent fell silent immediately—this man rarely spoke, but when he did, it was always a treacherous scheme.

Liu Ce laughed and said, "Wenhe, what brilliant idea do you have?"

Jia Xu stroked his beard and said slowly, "Killing them would be too lenient; demoting them to tenant farmers would make it too easy for them to rise again... In my opinion..."

He paused, then uttered a few words in a low voice: "Destroy the spirit, not the body."

These words were spoken lightly, but for some reason, everyone in the tent felt a chill run down their spines.

Liu Ce sat up straight, asking curiously, "Slay the heart? What kind of heart-slaying method is that?"

Jia Xu laughed, a laugh as sly as an old fox.

He counted on his fingers, saying them one by one:

"The first step is to divide and conquer. Completely separate the prisoners from Liaoxi, Liaodong, and Youbeiping, forbidding them from communicating with each other. Select the chiefs, elders, and respected figures from each tribe, and lock them up separately, preventing them from seeing anyone..."

He paused, then added, "Without a leader, the flock is just a pile of loose sand, unable to make any waves."

"The second step is to pay off the debt with labor," Jia Xu continued.

"Aren't the Wuhuan people skilled at riding horses and herding livestock? Perfect! We still have a lot of irrigation canals to build in Youzhou, a lot of wasteland to reclaim, border post stations to guard, and cities to fortify... Send them to do it all!"

A glint of light flashed in his eyes: "But there are rules: those who do well will get an extra bowl of rice every day and can accumulate merit to exchange for the opportunity to reunite with their families; those who do poorly will not only go hungry, but will also have to dig stones and build city walls... This work is more tiring than fighting a war, so they will not have the energy to think about anything else."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "That's a ruthless move! It'll exhaust them!"

Liu Ce laughed and said, "That's interesting! Anything else?"

"The third step is to cut off their supply lines," Jia Xu said, his voice even lower.

"Send all the captured boys under the age of eight to the village schools. Teach them to speak Chinese, write Chinese characters, read the Three Character Classic and the Thousand Character Classic... and learn the etiquette and rules of the Han people. Provide them with food, lodging, and clothing, and take good care of them."

He continued, "After they've studied for three to five years, their minds will be filled with 'At birth, human nature is inherently good,' 'Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, Teacher,' and 'Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trustworthiness.' Will they still recognize their Wuhuan identity?"