I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 188 Unifying the Mountain Yue
Generals Taishi Ci and Huang Zhong led their armored soldiers forward and immediately bound all the local warlords together.

A moment later, Liu Miao got off the boat and sat on the prepared folding chair.

Peng Hu and the other powerful generals knelt on the ground, their eyes growing increasingly fierce: "Kill me or torture me, do as you please!"

Liu Miao: "When did I say I was going to kill you?"

"Otherwise, why would you bind us here?"

“So that’s why.”

Liu Miao told Taishi Ci, "Untie them."

The group of powerful generals were surprised that Liu Miao would actually remove their restraints, and they all exchanged glances.

Some people even looked at Liu Miao, their eyes fixed on the blade at his waist.

Looking back, however, he saw Zhou Tai and Chen Wu standing behind Liu Miao like guards. In front of Liu Miao was Huang Zhong, who had already placed his hand on his powerful bow, so he dared not act rashly.

Peng Hu then muttered, "Does General Liu expect us to stand and talk to you?"

With a single glance from Liu Miao, the soldiers brought over many more folding chairs for these powerful leaders to sit on.

The dozen or so powerful generals sat there staring at each other, unsure of what to say next.

Instead, Liu Miao asked, "How about it? Should I set up two more tables for a banquet to show you my sincerity?"

Peng Hu waved his hand and said, "We don't eat the last meal before someone's execution!"

Then, Peng Hu slammed his left hand heavily on his chest, and extended his right thumb, making a gesture towards Liu Miao.

"Since General Liu has managed to capture us today, we admit defeat! However, every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. We hope that General Liu will not blame the rest of our men!"

Peng Hu was strong and muscular, and at this moment he really looked like a tiger lying in place, protecting the others behind him.

Liu Miao pointed at Peng Hu: "Not bad! You've got guts!"

"But who said I would lay a hand on you, or on the people under your command?"

Peng Hu immediately shifted his gaze to behind Liu Miao—

"Naturally, it's that ugly fellow behind Liu Biaoqi!"

Everyone's attention immediately turned to Pang Tong.

Pang Tong's eye twitched: "Peng Hu didn't name names, so why is everyone looking at me?"

"..."

Seeing that everyone was still staring intently at him, Pang Tong had no choice but to spread his hands and say, "What can I do? Get this straight! I'm an envoy, okay? I'm not saying that General Liu will deal with these mountain tribes, but am I supposed to tell them that when General Liu arrives, he'll give them food, land, and wives? Who would dare to rebel then?"

Pang Tong's words seemed to make a lot of sense, but that did not prevent Zhou Tai from delivering a powerful and precise elbow strike to Pang Tong's lower abdomen, causing Pang Tong to bend over in pain.

Only now did Peng Hu and other powerful generals realize: "You ugly bastard from Jingzhou, you tricked us?"

"My name is Phoenix Chick, not some ugly thing..."

Even though Pang Tong was in so much pain that his face was pale, he still tried his best to defend himself.

Seeing that the two groups were about to start arguing again, Liu Miao coughed lightly.

Why did you so readily believe him?

He said that with Magistrate Hua gone, there would be no one to protect us.

"Hua Xin is protecting you?"

Liu Miao suddenly became curious: "How did he protect you?"

After a moment of silence, Peng Hu finally told Liu Miao what Hua Xin had done.

“Sometimes when the harvest is bad, Prefect Hua will sell the government grain to us. Sometimes he can’t afford to pay, but he won’t charge us interest; he just wants us to pay it back in the future.”

The other powerful leaders also greatly admired Hua Xin's actions: "That's right! Prefect Hua is a good man! I doubt there will ever be another prefect like him!"

"..."

Hearing the praise from so many powerful leaders for Hua Xin, Liu Miao finally understood: "Do you think I won't follow Hua Ziyu's strategy and annihilate you?"

Peng Hu immediately said, "That ugly woman told me that!"

"..."

Liu Miao glanced back at Pang Tong, who gave Liu Miao an awkward yet polite smile.

He turned back to her: "What if I didn't kill you?"

Peng Hu shook his head: "Impossible! Didn't you kill Zu Lang?"

At his peak, Zu Lang commanded tens of thousands of troops, far surpassing the might of generals like Peng Hu. Even Zu Lang fell to Liu Miao; how could Peng Hu and his ilk not be terrified?
Liu Miao chuckled and said, "You've only heard that I killed Zu Lang, but why haven't you heard that I've now married Yan Baihu's daughter and appointed Yan Baihu as a Lieutenant General?"

Peng Hu retorted confidently, "We don't have any good-looking daughters to marry you! Who knows if we'll be the next Zu Lang or the next Yan Baihu!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Miao suddenly burst into laughter: "Well said! Well said!"

Immediately afterwards, Liu Miao had his soldiers bring over a low table.

"This isn't your last meal before you're executed, so you can eat without worry!"

Using local ingredients, fresh fish caught in Pengze were stewed or grilled and quickly served on the table.

Seeing this, the assembled heroes were also puzzled as to what Liu Miao was trying to do.

But since I can't figure it out, I might as well not bother.

As Peng Hu scooped a fresh fish directly from the still-simmering earthenware pot and began to devour it, the other leaders followed suit and started to eat the fish in front of them.

"It's a pity there's no wine!" Peng Hu picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp, wiping the water from the corner of his mouth. "General Liu, you've eaten and drunk your tea! Is there anything else?"

"Give the brothers a straight answer, whether you live or die! So we don't have to live in fear!"

Liu Miao put down his wooden chopsticks: "Of course I want you to live."

"However, I need to change my way of living."

Peng Hu immediately scoffed, "We just couldn't survive, that's why we became the Yue people you call the Mountain Yue!"

"That's why I said I need to change my way of life."

Peng Hu didn't believe it.

"General Liu, you weren't in Jiangdong before, so you don't know how the officials here operate!"

"Land rent and taxes are getting higher every year. If we borrow some grain for spring planting, we'll find that even after harvesting all the grain in autumn, we still can't pay it back! What are we supposed to do if we don't run away?"

"Later, some people went to the desolate mountains and wilderness to reclaim land. After finally leveling the land and planting crops, the government officials came and said, 'All land under heaven belongs to the emperor!' They still want to levy taxes. Can you believe they're not human?"

"We had no choice! We could only run into the mountains! And now, this has changed our ancestral origins; they've called us the Mountain Yue, the descendants of the former Baiyue! To hell with the immortals..."

Peng Hu's insults also drew echoes from the other Yue chieftains.

Who doesn't want to be a good person?
But the damn government is forcing people not to be human!
People don't want to get promoted or make a fortune, nor do they want to bring glory to their ancestors. They just want to save some money to build a house, get married, have children, and not suffer in their old age. Can't such wishes be fulfilled?
They cultivate public land, which is then exploited by the government.

They cultivate private land, exploited by powerful clans.

You go to clear land in the deep mountains and forests, but people come after you just by smelling your scent. What else can you do if not become a bandit?
After Peng Hu finished venting his anger, Liu Miao asked, "What if I give you the land?"

"They're all the same! Sooner or later they'll be crushed by land rent and taxes!"

The credibility of the Han government had long since collapsed in this remote Yuzhang County.

"Then I will give you more land."

"What a load of bull! Where would you get so much land?"

"What do you think I did by having Zigang kill so many powerful clans?"

Peng Hu was finally stunned.

After a moment, he gave a bitter smile: "Since ancient times, I have never heard of the government favoring those powerful clans, killing them and then giving me their land!"

Liu Miao also asked, "Since ancient times, has there ever been anyone like me who would be willing to sit with you and discuss countermeasures?"

Peng Hu's Adam's apple bobbed, and finally, a sliver of trust in Liu Miao appeared in him.

"You really would do that?"

“I have already done that.”

Liu Miao shook his head: "You only care that I killed Zu Lang, but you don't care about the soldiers and civilians who followed Zu Lang, do you?"

“Those people have now been settled in various parts of Jiangdong. Half of the land they own was reclaimed, and the other half was obtained from those powerful clans.”

"You're asking me if there will be tax increases in the future? I can't be bothered with that nonsense. Do you think you'd believe me if I said there would never be any tax increases?"

Peng Hu shook his head sluggishly.

"That's right, isn't it? So I won't talk to you about the future, I'll only talk about the present."

Liu Miao leaned forward slightly.

But this one action made these mountain tribes, who were used to bloodshed, feel as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

"Now, I'm asking you, if you were to distribute land to the people under your command so they would stop engaging in those plundering activities, would you do it or not?"

At this moment, Wang Hai, the powerful general behind Peng Hu, suddenly asked, "What if we don't do it?"

Liu Miao sighed and waved to Zhou Tai.

Zhou Tai immediately stepped forward and strode up to Wang Hai—

Drawing the sword, beheading, and sheathing the sword—all done in one swift motion!
Wang Hai's head fell into the still boiling earthenware pot, causing the other generals to vomit immediately.

Peng Hu also learned of Liu Miao's determination.

Peng Hu asked with doubt, "What if there isn't enough land?"

"We have land in Jingzhou to the west, and we also have land in Jiaozhou to the south!"

Liu Miao gave a straightforward answer, while simultaneously provoking him, "What? Don't you miss your homes?"

"Without money and provisions, nowhere is home! With money and provisions, where can't you find home?"

Peng Hu's heart finally sided with Liu Miao: "What about us? What will General Liu do with us?"

"I will establish a military government in Yuzhang, and most of your local warlords will soon be able to obtain the positions of Sima and Duwei."

Peng Hu finally began to be tempted.

"If General Liu keeps his word, when we attack Jingzhou in the future, I, Peng Hu, will definitely be the first to charge!"

With these words spoken, the mountain tribes of Yuzhang could be taken down without bloodshed!

Standing beside Liu Miao, Chen Wu was delighted that he hadn't misjudged Liu Miao when a familiar voice suddenly rang out: "Our lord is truly magnificent! What he did was brilliant! There's no hero like him anywhere in the world!"

But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Pang Tong who was saying this.
Chen Wu frowned deeply: "When did our lord become your master?"

Without batting an eye, Pang Tong immediately bowed to Liu Miao with the respect due to a subject: "Of course, now!"

"My lord! Please give me your orders! I will serve you faithfully!"

(End of this chapter)