"Dongqiang?"
Fan Chou frowned, somewhat puzzled. As far as he knew, these powerful figures were from the Eastern Qiang, had submitted to the Han Dynasty, and had always maintained contact with the Eastern Qiang tribes.
Those slaves running towards Dongqiang, aren't they just courting death?
"Immediately send someone to inform the governor that we need to seek help from the Marquis of Dingbian in this matter!"
After thinking for a moment, Fan Chou decided to ask Fu Xie and Duan Jiong for their opinions.
After all, the Eastern Qiang are still nominally subordinate to the Han Dynasty. If I rashly lead the troops of the prefectures and kingdoms there, it may cause some unnecessary trouble.
Fan Chou then ordered the secret passage to be filled in and sent people to carefully search along the city wall to see if there were any other secret passages, in order to prevent any potential problems.
Inside the prefect's mansion, it was already broad daylight. Fu Xie, who had been busy for half the night, did not rest, but instead continued to dispatch people to handle the aftermath.
The three powerful figures have been killed and their mansions destroyed, but their properties have not suffered much damage and are now ownerless, so they will naturally be taken over by the government.
Fu Xie looked at a clerk beside him and said in a deep voice, "Go and send people to conduct a thorough investigation of the properties, lands and other assets associated with these three powerful families. All that belongs to them must be re-registered and put into the treasury. We cannot allow anyone to take advantage of this situation and embezzle them!"
"promise!"
The clerk received the order and hurriedly left the prefect's residence with a group of yamen runners, while a servant also rushed in.
"Prefect, Commandant Fan has arrived!"
"Yes! Let him in!"
Soon, Fan Chou entered the hall and bowed to Fu Xie behind the table.
"Prefect Fu!"
Fu Xie, who was engrossed in handling government affairs, heard Fan Chou's voice, temporarily put down his work, looked up at Fan Chou, and asked:
"Commander Fan, what are the results of the investigation?"
"I arrived too late. They have already left the city through the secret passage and headed towards Dongqiang!"
Fan Chou sighed, then continued, "I believe that the Prefect and the Marquis of Dingbian still need to intervene to secure the necessary personnel!"
"Very well! I will personally discuss this matter with Marquis Dingbian!"
Fu Xie nodded; he understood Fan Chou's concerns.
"Commander Fan, this incident of slaves attacking powerful families has had a significant impact. When you return, you need to increase manpower and patrol day and night to prevent any further trouble!"
"Rest assured, Prefect, I will go back and make the arrangements immediately!"
Fan Chou nodded; he had been quite frightened by the incident. Then, Fan Chou looked up at Fu Xie, opened his mouth, and hesitated, unsure whether he should say something.
"Is there anything else, Commandant Fan?" Seeing that Fan Chou hadn't left yet and looked hesitant, Fu Xie couldn't help but ask.
"Prefect, you must know that the powerful families in the city treat their slaves far too harshly. They see slaves as less than ants, and countless slaves have been starved or beaten to death. What happened yesterday was actually expected, and it's inevitable that they will eventually be unable to bear it and rise up in rebellion!"
Upon hearing Fu Xie's question, Fan Chou poured out his thoughts, knowing that no matter how many people he arranged for patrols, there would inevitably be areas he couldn't cover.
If you're a thief for a thousand days, how can you guard against thieves for a thousand days? Only by finding a way to resolve the root of the problem can you solve it once and for all.
"Hehe~ Then I wonder if Commandant Fan has any thoughts?"
Fu Xie had already considered Fan Chou's problem, and he intended to take advantage of this incident to resolve it. However, he did not expect that Fan Chou, who always appeared to be a rough and unrefined man, would also think of these things, so he wanted to hear his opinion.
Fan Chou thought about it carefully and then said, "In my opinion, although slaves are their private property, they are still human beings, not mindless animals. If we just let them beat and kill us, it will inevitably affect innocent Han people if those slaves rebel."
“Hmm! That makes sense! Then, Commandant Fan, what do you think we should do?” Fu Xie nodded in agreement with Fan Chou’s opinion and continued to ask.
"Um... I think we can abolish all their slaves and have the government take them over. What do you think, Prefect?"
"Hehe~ This method is not bad, it can indeed solve the problem once and for all, but those powerful families all started their fortunes by exploiting slaves, and their wealth and status are all obtained by exploiting slaves. If we follow Commandant Fan's method, it will be cutting off their roots, and I'm afraid they will not agree!"
Fu Xie did not deny Fan Chou's opinion, but he did not express his support either. Unless all the Qiang people and powerful clans within the territory of the Han Dynasty could be wiped out, doing so would only be a temporary solution and might even bring about another upheaval.
Thinking of the strategy of dividing and nibbling that the emperor and he had discussed and formulated, it would be more harmful than beneficial to rashly eliminate these Qiang chieftains who had come to join them before it had achieved results. Everything could only be done after the Han Dynasty had completely annexed the Qiang territory and gained the recognition of the Qiang people.
"Then what does Prefect Fu mean?"
Fan Chou knew that his method was not the best, but in his opinion it was the most effective.
Fu Xie smiled and then said, "As long as we give them some constraints, make them have some reservations, and stop treating the slaves too harshly, that will be enough!"
"Restraint?"
Fan Chou was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Slaves are the private property of powerful families, and they are free to do whatever they want with them. The government shouldn't interfere directly, right? After all, those slaves are not Han Chinese."
"Hehe~ Commandant Fan, just wait and see, you'll understand in time!" Fu Xie smiled, without directly answering Fan Chou's question.
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