The generals all cast disdainful glances at Xiao Chang.
With a knowing smile, Liang Xiao watched Xiao Chang, who couldn't maintain his bravado for more than three seconds.
At Xiao Chang's age, having enjoyed all the glories and riches, people either accept death with equanimity or become even more fearful of it than ordinary folk; there are few in-between.
This scoundrel deserves to be executed by a thousand cuts, but to prevent further casualties among the Great Gan soldiers and the people of Jiaozhou, he still has value.
For a hundred years, the nominal governor of Jiaozhou was Xiao Che and his ancestors, but the actual rulers were the Nan Wang family.
According to intelligence, almost all the land and property in Jiaozhou were annexed by the Nan Wang family and Xiao Che's household. The entire populace of Jiaozhou were tenant farmers and slaves to these two families, treated no differently than cattle.
Before the Great Gan Kingdom's crushing defeat at Helan Mountain, the two families in Jiaozhou, like the Helian family in Xichuan, dared not reveal their true colors, offered their tribute obediently, and lived in peace. The imperial court, unable to reach Jiaozhou, could do nothing, and the common people had no one to turn to for justice.
The Battle of Helan Mountain saw the Great Gan Kingdom suffer a devastating defeat. The central government's control over the enemy significantly weakened, and even the Jiangnan region was almost entirely dominated by the Gongyang clan. Naturally, the powerful families in these two regions revealed their true nature.
Liang Xiao retrieved the prepared imperial decree and presented it.
"Before the expedition, the court and the public debated how to deal with you. His Majesty ultimately decided to grant me full authority over this matter. Recovering Jiaozhou is only a matter of time. The lives of your several hundred family members are entirely in my hands. However, how I deal with you depends on your remnants who are still resisting in Jiaozhou."
"If you wish to escape the death penalty, there is still a chance. Accompany our army to Jiaozhou and persuade your people to surrender. If our army takes Jiaozhou without bloodshed, then you and your clan will be jointly supervised by the Ministry of Punishment and the Shadow Guards, and your assets will be confiscated. If your persuasion fails, you cannot blame me for being heartless."
Xiao Chang urgently asked, "Confiscate assets? Can't I keep a million taels of gold?"
The generals frowned, filled with indignation.
What he said implied that the Nan Wang family's assets in Jiaozhou were more than that!
Seeing Liang Xiao's stern gaze, Xiao Chang panicked and quickly corrected himself, "Ten thousand taels of gold! That should be acceptable, right?"
Seeing Liang Xiao still staring intently, Xiao Chang gritted his teeth and blurted out a number.
"Ten thousand taels of gold, just keeping this little bit, is that alright?"
Liang Xiao said sternly, "I can only leave your family ten thousand taels of silver. One must not be insatiably greedy."
Joyful laughter erupted from the generals in the military tent.
Xiao Chang was both angry and anxious, but his life was now in Liang Xiao's hands, and the fall of Jiaozhou was only a matter of time. He knew he had no room to negotiate.
All the Jiaozhou soldiers had surrendered to the Great Gan, including the scouts. This meant that news of the complete annihilation of the front-line army could not be relayed to Jiaozhou in time.
The Great Gan Kingdom possessed tens of thousands of cavalry. Even if they couldn't conquer Jiaozhou with a swift campaign, it would be easy to surround the sparsely populated counties of Jiaozhou. By the time Liang Xiao's army reached the city walls, their fate would be their own execution and the annihilation of their clans.
In comparison, enduring perpetual supervision and house arrest by the Great Gan court was still a way to preserve his entire family's lives.
To survive, Xiao Chang finally accepted Liang Xiao's terms.
Dugu Qun, Gongyang Qiu, and He Wanli were also brought in.
Upon learning that Xiao Chang was prepared to assist Liang Xiao in persuading Jiaozhou to surrender, they were shocked and immediately pledged their allegiance to Liang Xiao.
There were also captives from the Ouyang family, but they were not the patriarch. The current patriarch of the Ouyang family, Ouyang Ping, was still in Jiaozhou.
"Marquis Anguo, please also spare our families. We are willing to pay our wealth, and only keep ten thousand taels..."
Facing the impending doom of execution and the extermination of their clans, the elites of the former aristocratic families lowered their proud heads and begged for mercy.
Ultimately, these families accepted Liang Xiao's conditions, similar to Xiao Chang, and agreed to assist the Great Gan army in persuading the entire territory of Jiaozhou to surrender.
At this moment, all the wealth in the world was nothing more than fleeting smoke to them.
However, the prerequisite for survival was the successful persuasion of Jiaozhou to surrender; otherwise, they would still face extremely harsh punishments.
The matter of Xiao Chang and others begging for mercy had not yet spread.
Hannibal was brought before Liang Xiao, and he stared at the young man with terror.
He could never understand why the 200,000 Jiaozhou soldiers, who were still capable of fighting, had to engage in infighting, slaughter the Tianri tribe, and then surrender to Liang Xiao, allowing him to reap such a great advantage.
"You must be a demon sent by heaven to destroy my people!!"
His fear reaching its peak, it turned into extreme rage. Hannibal, bound tightly, could only bare his teeth at Liang Xiao like a wild beast from the desolate lands.
Liang Xiao merely glanced at Hannibal and immediately ordered, "A thousand cuts, to console the souls of the fallen Jiaozhou soldiers."
Under the gaze of all, Liang Xiao personally presided over the execution. Heraclius earnestly requested to be the executioner, dismembering Hannibal piece by piece.
The soldiers knew that Heraclius also bore a deep hatred for the Tianri tribe, so no one vied for this task.
With every slice of Heraclius's blade, cheers of satisfaction erupted from the Jiaozhou soldiers.
Heraclius's skill was not commendable. Hannibal died from excessive blood loss after a hundred cuts. Finally, Heraclius beheaded him and offered his heart, liver, and head as sacrifices to the fallen soldiers.
The Tianri tribe was annihilated here, completely withdrawing from Jiangnan.
However, the 200,000 Jiaozhou soldiers still needed to be resettled.
"Marshal..."
The people of Jiaozhou looked at Liang Xiao with hopeful eyes. They had countless words, but due to excessive emotion, they couldn't utter them.
The young commander before them, though less than nine feet tall, seemed like a towering pillar of the heavens in their hearts!
Today, they finally had the chance to behold him!
The Great Gan army's good treatment of the Jiaozhou prisoners was their courage to surrender.
Even if they couldn't continue to be soldiers of the Great Gan, at least they wouldn't be abused, nor would they have to worry about being conscripted by Xiao Chang, nor would they fear their wives and daughters being taken away!
In the future, these Great Gan soldiers would surely protect their families!
"You have all surrendered to the Great Gan, abandoning the darkness for the light. The previously promised rewards are now in effect, settled at a ratio of one to ten for gold and silver. Gold will be awarded tomorrow! The Jiaozhou soldiers who surrendered on the Luzhou battlefield will each receive five taels of silver and can return to Jiaozhou soon!"
As soon as the words fell, thunderous cheers erupted from the Jiaozhou soldiers' camp.
The other Great Gan soldiers had no objections. The army had a strict system of rewards and punishments for military exploits, usually settled after the war, and Jiaozhou still needed to be recovered.
The Jiaozhou soldiers cheered heartily, feeling immensely relieved.
Liang Xiao's ability to fulfill his promises and provide rewards was enough to prove his regard for them.
There was hope of returning home!
They even had the chance to become soldiers of the Great Gan!
Liang Xiao stood on a high platform, looking out, his heart filled with complex emotions.
More than half of these Jiaozhou soldiers were old and weak. Truly combat-capable soldiers were less than 100,000, and by current recruitment standards, less than 50,000.
After a moment of reflection, Liang Xiao declared loudly, "The wealth of Jiaozhou has all been owned by the Nan Wang and the noble families, and the people have suffered for a hundred years. Today, they shall return to the Great Gan and become subjects of the Gan people! However, merely giving the people of Jiaozhou an identity is not enough to convince everyone; practical benefits must be provided!"
After another round of excited cheers, Liang Xiao announced, "By imperial decree, Jiaozhou has 127 million mu of land, with a population exceeding eight million. All this land belongs to the local noble families, and the people are merely tenant farmers. After the soldiers recapture Jiaozhou, all the land will be nationalized and then distributed equally among all the people of Jiaozhou. No one is allowed to purchase it!"
As soon as his voice fell, the entire venue fell into a brief silence, followed by earth-shattering cheers.
The morale of the Jiaozhou soldiers soared to unprecedented heights!