On the Wuhu River, pontoon bridges have been erected, and the army has been marching to the north bank one after another. For the first time, the Shenwu army made great efforts to wipe out the Sogdian rebels, including the deposed prince and his family.

Li Yu was eventually captured in a valley dozens of miles north of the Wuhu River. It is reported that he was accompanied only by a few eunuchs, and these people did not put up unnecessary resistance, but obediently chose to lay down their arms.

Qin Jin stood on the north bank of the river, which has a natural scenery very different from the Central Plains and Guanzhong, with no tall trees or shrubs, and boundless grasslands and Gobi with the ups and downs of the terrain.

The coolness of autumn became more and more obvious, and a gust of wind blew over, and Qin Jin couldn't help but sneeze.

The attendants around him asked him with concern if he was caught by the wind, and quickly took out a thick coat and draped it over his shoulders.

The route of this eastward return did not follow the Hepantuo Pass, which is close to Xiaobolu, into the four towns of Anxi.

Cross the Wuhu River and Yaozhishui to the north, and then arrive at Baishui City. Talas, then turn east through Broken Leaf City, cross the Glo Ridge, and finally arrive at Gumo Prefecture in the four towns of Anxi.

The impromptu change of the route of the march crossed the territory of the main Sogdian tribes to intimidate those who were still half-hearted, or to remove some altogether and replace them with more obedient leaders.

When the Shenwu army reached the north bank of the Wuhu River, many Sogdian troops began to see the wind and abandon their previous support for Li Yu, which was also one of the key factors for the rapid collapse of the Li Yu group and its desperation.

The Sogdians were generally known as the nine surnames of Zhaowu in this era, such as Shi and Cao. However, since the Tianbao period, in addition to the attacks of Gao Xianzhi and other generals, there is also the emerging black-clothed food encroaching step by step, and these Sogdian tribes, which once dominated between the Wuhu River and the medicine killing water, are no longer as powerful as they used to be.

The Turkic and Turkish who were driven here by the Uighurs also lived here, and the situation was more complicated than it was back then.

Because none of them were strong enough to annex or destroy the other, the tribal scuffle continued, and Li Yu's arrival gave many people an opportunity, but this opportunity was also short-lived.

The person who bet on the wrong treasure was stunned to find that the Shenwu Army was a powerful existence in this land.

The news of the black-clothed food fiasco seemed to have grown wings and quickly spread throughout the Lianghe grassland.

The leaders of the tribes rushed to the Wuhu River to meet this devil who terrified the black-clothed food!

At this time, the reputation of Qin and Jin had spread to tens of thousands of miles of land west of the Green Mountains, and for many tribes, even children's night cries could be stopped.

The leaders of the Stone Kingdom fought to the end, they did not choose to surrender, and more than a dozen heads were soaked in lime and transported to the Chinese army for a demonstration when the leaders of the various tribes arrived.

Although Qin and Jin did not approve of indiscriminate killing, in order to maintain regional stability, those who dared to launch a rebellion must be thundered, otherwise it would not be enough to deter people.

The human heart is unpredictable, there is no natural taming and allegiance, the only thing the steppe people believe in is force, and whoever is stronger will be subordinate to whom.

In just a few days, tens of thousands of people from dozens of tribes have gathered on the north bank of the Wuhu River.

Li Yu was besieged and intercepted to an unnamed valley with the cooperation of various tribes, and everyone rebelled and left, and was at the end of the road.

"Prime Minister, the abolished prince has been escorted!"

Qin Jin pondered for a moment, and decided not to see him, remembering that the two had fought side by side together a few years ago, and that square and young face still made people feel sorry when they thought about it.

For Li Yu, Qin Jin's mood is complicated.

He knew very well that he could have the status he has today, and Li Yu's expulsion from the center of power played a crucial role.

The struggle was cruel, there was no mercy to talk about, and it was extra merciful to be able to save one of his lives now.

According to the officials since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the victor usually liquidates all opponents and completely exterminates them from the spirit to the body.

However, the reason why Qin Jin was merciful and left room for many political opponents was that he actually did not want to completely intensify the contradictions and not completely force the sympathizers of those political opponents to his own opposite.

Just because a person in power can do whatever he wants, killing can be intimidating, but the effect of indiscriminate killing is likely to be counterproductive.

Qin Jin has been trying to gain and win over more people in the complex balance between them.

In autumn, the water level of the Wuhu River has dropped, and it has not rained for a month.

The soldiers of the Guards went down to the river to catch a lot of fish, and these rare delicacies could improve the boring food.

I eat mutton all day long, and there is a smell of mutton inside and out, so how can I easily give up this opportunity!

Standing behind Qin Jin was a young Great Cannibal, and many of the Great Eclipse generals who had taken refuge in the Shenwu Army recognized this person, he was the Great Eclipse Prince Mahdi who was defeated and captured in the Great Battle of Shirvan.

After a period of captivity, Mahdi had come to terms with the reality that he knew he was less likely to be rescued as the Shenwu army returned east.

Fortunately, the Orientals did not seem to treat their captives as cruelly as the Great Cannibals, and the commander of the Shenwu Army never humiliated him personally, but treated him like a guest, which made him somewhat reassured.

"Mahdi, those Sogdians, what would you do with them if it were you?"

Pointing to the banners stretching across the river, Qin Jin turned around and asked.

"The Sogdians are capricious, and if it were me, I would kill at least half of the people, whether they were innocent or not, and then move away some of the survivors, and then some of them from other conquered lands, so that there would be no major wars in this land for thirty years!"

"And what about thirty years from now?"

Mahdi was stunned, obviously not expecting Qin Jin to ask about what would happen thirty years later.

He wanted to say that thirty years from now it might be another caliph. There are very few great cannibals who have a caliph who reigns for thirty years without dying.

Seeing this, Qin Jin shook his head with a smile.

"Doing so will only exacerbate the conflict, and the slaughtered tribes will hate you even more, and the forcibly relocated tribes will not be grateful, and whoever wins the melee will point the finger at you. ”

Unconvinced, Mahdi asked:

"Is there a better way for the prime minister?"

Qin Jin sighed.

"No, different ethnic groups, different cultures, different religions, these are insurmountable problems, and the two rivers region is too far from the ruling core, which is destined to be more prone to rebellion. ”

Mahdi was very puzzled by Qin Jin's attitude, since there was no better way, why not kill these capricious barbarians?