Seeing the surging emotions among the civil and military officials, Liu Hong had no choice but to issue an edict reprimanding Duan Jiong.

However, Liu Hong still rewarded Duan Jiong with 200,000 coins and 100 bolts of silk. It wasn't that Liu Hong was stingy, but rather to put Duan Jiong at ease.

A few days later, a troop of Imperial Guards arrived at the Xiliang army camp stationed in Pengyang with Liu Hong's imperial edict.

Duan Jiong only received a letter from Chen Fan after returning to Pengyang. The letter clearly explained the emperor's strategic plan for the Western Qiang. Duan Jiong was uneasy about his self-righteous actions.

He didn't know what punishment he would face for disrupting the emperor's plans.

Upon receiving the imperial edict, Duan Jiong finally felt relieved. He was especially moved when he saw the emperor's personal letter of reassurance.

After this battle, Duan Jiong's fame resounded throughout the entire Han Dynasty. In the eyes of the Qiang people, he was a nightmare. As long as Duan Jiong was around, they dared not cause any more trouble.

Within the Han Dynasty, opinions on Duan Jiong were mixed, with some scholars deeply influenced by Confucian doctrines of benevolence and righteousness even launching verbal and written attacks against him.

However, Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Du, Ma Teng, and other military figures strongly supported Duan Jiong's approach. Cao Cao, Jia Xu, and Cheng Yu also believed that Duan Jiong's actions were in the best interests of the Han Dynasty.

Suddenly, a situation arose in the imperial court where civil and military officials were at odds.

At the Xiliang camp, Duan Jiong also began to arrange the disbandment of the auxiliary troops recruited from Dongqiang.

In the past, whenever war broke out, the imperial court would order the conscription of soldiers from the tribes that had surrendered to the Han Dynasty to fight. After the war ended, the soldiers would be dismissed and discharged.

Inside the military tent, Duan Jiong summoned all the chieftains of the Eastern Qiang tribes.

"Now that our army has won a great victory, you can take the Emperor's rewards and return with your soldiers."

"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Faced with Duan Jiong, who was known as a butcher, the chieftains of the various Qiang tribes nodded in fear. However, when they thought of the generous rewards given by the Emperor of Han, they all smiled with joy.

"His Majesty once said that, in order to commend those who fought bravely in this battle, he specially granted them permission to join the Han nationality and to allow their families to live within the territory of the Han Dynasty!"

"this...."

Upon hearing this, the Qiang chieftains hesitated, for those men were warriors from their tribes, and they were reluctant to give them away to the Han.

"Hmm? So you all disagree...?"

Seeing everyone hesitate, Duan Jiong became somewhat displeased, and his tone turned icy.

“No…no…” one of the wealthy men hurriedly shook his head in denial, then revealed a fawning smile, “They would be convinced if they could join the Great Han. We’ll go back and make the arrangements right away.”

"Yes, yes, yes... I'll arrange it right away!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Hmph~ His Majesty is wise and will not let you lose your troops in vain. He will compensate you with a bolt of silk and ten thousand coins for every ten people."

As for your fallen soldiers, the imperial court will provide full compensation, which you will then distribute to their families.

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. Although the money wasn't much, these so-called warriors were nothing more than slaves in the eyes of these wealthy people, no different from animals. Now that they could exchange them for money, they were naturally eager to do so.

As for the compensation for those who died in battle, as long as they don't provide it, I imagine the servants below wouldn't dare say anything.

And just like that, the Qiang soldiers who had been fighting for their leader one moment were betrayed by their leader to the Han Dynasty the next.

As a result, of the 15,000 Dongqiang soldiers who were supposed to be dismissed, their leader ended up taking less than 7,000 with him.

The remaining eight thousand Qiang soldiers were initially furious, but when they heard that they could not only be registered as Han citizens, but also bring their families to the Han territory, away from the harsh and cold plateau, all the soldiers smiled broadly again.

"General, those guys are so greedy, I'm afraid the compensation money will have a hard time reaching the families of the fallen soldiers."

Looking at the departing Qiang chieftains, Dong Zhuo's eyes were filled with disdain.

"I am well aware of this. Not only will they receive compensation, but they will probably also swallow most of the Emperor's rewards for those soldiers."

Duan Jiong sneered, then looked at Dong Zhuo, "Zhongying, go and arrange for people to go to their tribes and tell them that the Emperor has already given the full amount of rewards and services to their powerful families. As for whether they will give back to their powerful families, let them think about it and ask them themselves..."

"Yes! General, your plan is indeed brilliant!!"

Dong Zhuo's eyes lit up, realizing what his general was about to do, and he then made the arrangements.

What he couldn't understand was when the general had become so cunning?

"As expected of His Majesty, with such cunning and methods, he is truly a born ruler!"

Thinking of that young figure who had never met him and was now guarding the palace, Duan Jiong's eyes were filled with awe.

In Deyang Palace, Liu Hong looked at the financial statements in his hand and felt a headache coming on. Although the Battle of Yishan had boosted the confidence of the Han army and people.

The battle of Fengyishan alone, along with various rewards and compensations, consumed 1 billion in national treasury funds and grain. If we include the previously allocated grain and the back pay, it consumed nearly 4 billion.

Even with the national reserves and the previous frenzied buying by Yang Qiu, it's barely enough to sustain the economy.

War is really all about money!

Liu Hong also understood that although confiscating property was a quick way to make money, it was not a long-term solution. Moreover, most of the property owned by that powerful and corrupt official consisted of land and grain, not much silver. Furthermore, if Yang Qiu continued to kill people like that, it would probably backfire.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!