Another captain stood up and said, "Captain Meng, this plan is not appropriate. The imperial court has tried to pacify the barbarians many times, and they have submitted to the imperial court, but they often rebel and have no credibility. In my opinion, we should send a large number of troops to the border and wipe them out completely."

Meng Chao sneered, "The barbarians are familiar with the mountains and forests and are good at guerrilla warfare. The border troops attacked five years ago, but the result was useless. When the barbarians saw the army coming, they hid in the mountains and forests. We couldn't find them. Once the army left, they came out to harass the border again. How can we completely wipe them out?"

Yuan Zheng also stood up at this time. "I think we should defeat them one by one. Those barbarians are not united. We can bribe a tribe and promise them high positions, generous salaries, gold and silver, so that they will turn against each other and kill each other. When they are almost exhausted, we can march forward with a large army."

“…”

Captains stood up one after another and expressed their opinions, which made the young masters of the aristocratic families stunned. To be honest, this question was indeed their weak point.

"Okay, stop arguing."

Xiao Cheng was getting a little impatient. What these captains said had nothing new to say. Lu Jingxuan had suggested these strategies to him before, but they didn't have much effect.

All the captains shut up immediately and sat down in dismay.

Xiao Zhiruo frowned slightly. She asked this question because she really wanted to help Xiao Cheng solve the threat from the southern barbarians. Although the barbarians did not reach Shudu during this invasion, the counties and cities along the way were plundered, and many refugees fled to Shudu.

When a porridge shed was set up outside the city, Xiao Zhiruo went to see it. The miserable plight of the refugees made her feel distressed, especially when she saw that many children had lost their relatives. This made her feel that the threat from the southern barbarians must be resolved.

Although she is a woman, she is also concerned about the country and the people, and does not want to see the people suffer, so she asked this question. However, it seems that the answers of these captains have not satisfied her father.

And none of the nobles said a word. She couldn't help but sigh slightly. It seemed that this problem was indeed difficult to solve. Yes, the imperial court had no good solution for so many years. It was really too much to ask these nobles and captains to solve it in such a short time.

Just as he was about to announce that the second question was over, his eyes glanced at Pei Yun. All the captains had expressed their opinions, except Pei Yun.

Thinking of Pei Yun's answer to the first question, Xiao Zhiruo asked, "Captain Pei, I wonder what you think about the second question?"