What did barbarian mean?

Naturally, it was a gimmick to hang your thinking!

Sun Shaozong said that he was a rising official who had repeatedly made great achievements, and in terms of official rank, he could barely make it to the town.

But after all, he was in his early twenties, which inevitably gave people the impression that he was not reliable in handling affairs. If he hadn’t made some amazing remarks, how could he have had the opportunity to take on this job of suppressing rebellion?

However, since it was used as a gimmick, this barbaric character was still somewhat related to his policy of suppressing rebellion.

Sun Shaozong bowed and said, "This word can be interpreted as the courage of the skin, or as using barbarians to control them."

In the beginning, it was just a matter of pretending to be mysterious and deceiving, but later on, he didn't dare to test Emperor Guangde's patience. He started with this barbaric word and continued, "I heard that the Wuxi barbarians have lived in the mountains and forests for a long time and often associate with animals. Their people are afraid of authority and do not harbor virtue."

"The barbarians of Wuxi have suddenly become chaotic, rushing down to the prefectures and counties with a drum. Their arrogance and coquettishness are strong, and they will inevitably underestimate the authority of the court. If they continue to be gentle at this time, the barbarians will be too demanding, and there is even a risk of surrender and rebellion."

"When the army goes to quell the rebellion, the thieves know they are difficult to resist and will inevitably hide in the deep mountains. At that time, the Imperial Army may be caught in a dilemma, wasting national funds and food, and even more afraid of being taken advantage of by foreign thieves."

"For today's plan, if we could send a talented person who is familiar with the situation of bandits to divide and govern the Wuxi barbarians, it would be the best choice."

"On the one hand, I’m not aware of the enemy's situation and geography, and on the other hand, I do not have the mind to maneuver freely. After much thought, only this individual's bravery can be considered useful."

"I heard that the barbarians of Wuxi are scattered throughout the mountains, and the roads are difficult to travel. If a large army is sent to sweep the mountains, it will inevitably be constrained everywhere. However, because of this, if I lead a few elite troops to launch a surprise attack, the thieves may find it difficult to restrain."

In fact, the method of launching a surprise attack on a small group of elite soldiers entering the mountains was not something that anyone had proposed.

According to intelligence, the Wuxi barbarian tribe was extremely fierce and skilled in mountain fighting. In addition, they rely on strongholds and small elite groups for sneak attacks, which might lead to the opposite effect.

Even if the thieves were not on guard at the beginning and could be caught off guard, it might be difficult to succeed once the rumors spread.

So this method was rejected by the cabinet before it was presented to Emperor Guangde.

However…

Looking at Sun Shaozong's majestic physique and then considering his several formidable victories against the enemy, Emperor Guangde felt that this method might work if he led an elite army.

A fierce General like Sun Shaozong, who never appeared in the world, might not be able to control the victory when facing thousands of troops, but could deal with small tribes with hundreds of people; it could be called a great weapon.

Just talking about his brute force that could almost rival that of a catapult, wasn’t the gate of a barbarian mountain village just like paper paste?

Sun Shaozong continued, "If the strategy of surprise attack is feasible, those weak small tribes will inevitably be in danger. To seek self-protection, they will either be forced to serve the government or abandon their homes and businesses to rely on powerful tribes."

"At that time, I will find a way to win over some barbarian spies, and then choose a large tribe that is convenient to deal with. The barbarians who will serve will be controlled, and they will cooperate internally and externally to defeat a few."

"There is no need to capture the barbarians' tribes. Just break in, burn, kill, and loot, and the barbarians will inevitably suspect each other; those small tribes have nowhere to rely on, so they can only choose to serve the court as the King's vanguard."

"At that time, a natural trend of *'using barbarians to control barbarians'* will emerge."

"When the barbarians of Wuxi are almost slaughtering each other, the court can take advantage of this opportunity to gather the remaining elderly, weak, women, and children, either attached to the people or scattered in the army as slaves, thus completely eradicating the disaster."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Guangde couldn't help but show a hint of joy on his face.

It might not be entirely clear how ingenious this plan was, but the good thing was that the core of the entire plan only relied on Sun Shaozong's courage and didn’t require much financial support from the court.

Especially, Sun Shaozong was not just a brave individual; his talent was also recognized in the court, so the risk of the entire plan was invisibly reduced.

Moreover, even if the action failed, it was not a significant loss for the court. Although Sun Shaozong was talented, he was still several blocks away from the ranking of important officials in the court.

In short, this could be said to be the most cost-effective choice for the Zhou Dynasty, which was caught up in external worries and internal difficulties!

If the Crown Prince had heard this, he might have had to make a decision immediately.

However, Emperor Guangde remained silent and silently calculated for a while before pointing out two doubts, "This strategy is indeed sellable, but if a few small tribes have just been conquered, the Wuxi Barbarians will rise in retaliation. How are you prepared to resist? And when using barbarians to control barbarians, how do you ensure that you will not be backlashed by the bandits?"

"Your Majesty."

Sun Shaozong replied without hesitation, "If the bandits are angry and besiege the county, local officials will lead their troops to resist. All I need to do is besiege and save Zhao, and force the bandits to return and save themselves."

After a pause, he said again, "The Wuxi Barbarians are from the mountains and forests, and I have never heard of any siege equipment they have. When they were attacked last time, it could be said that the incident occurred suddenly. Now they have already taken precautions. If any prefecture or county can still be beaten down by thieves, it must be due to the negligence of local officials!"

These ugly words must be mentioned earlier; otherwise, he would have been wrongly accused of attacking the bandit's lair and being wrongly rescued, which would lead to the occupation of the country.

After waiting for a while, seeing that Emperor Guangde didn’t refute these claims, Sun Shaozong then answered the second question, "As for the backlash of thieves, I often hear that barbarians value warriors the most and fear ghosts and gods. At that time, I will rely on courage and add some divine and ghost theories, which are likely to be enough to deter these barbarians."

"Moreover, since ancient times, wars have been fierce and dangerous. How could there be a foolproof solution? For the sake of the country and the people, what's the big deal of taking some risks?"

Speaking, Sun Shaozong bent and knelt, putting on a posture of being devastated.

"Okay!"

Seeing this, Emperor Guangde could not help getting up from the bed of Arhat, and loudly praised, "The Sun family is indeed full of loyal martyrs, and it is worthwhile for me to personally exonerate your father!"

In fact, according to Sun Shaozong's view, if a father wrongly killed someone, even if a son corrected the situation, it couldn’t be considered a great grace.

But in front of the Emperor, if he didn’t pretend to be grateful, wouldn't it be intentional death?

Besides, that so-called father, he hasn't even seen him once, so he didn’t have much emotion at all.

Therefore, Sun Shaozong had no room for psychological pressure, saying, "If my father had a spirit in heaven, he would have heard the words of yours today and would be able to smile in the underworld!"

This performance clearly satisfied Emperor Guangde, and he stepped forward with dignity, lifting Sun Shaozong and patting his shoulder, saying, "I am fully aware of your intentions, but this matter is of great significance and can't be decided overnight. I will go back and wait for a few days in peace, waiting for the court's decision."