The public security situation in Dongnu Province was not very optimistic at this time. It was originally a very simple and good place, but because of the famine caused by the natural disaster, the people there changed their temperament overnight. Many of the originally kind people had become fierce thieves. In order to survive, many people had to steal and change their temperament. Otherwise, they could only starve to death.
In fact, many people had indeed starved to death. There were also many people who fled to the Tang dynasty. Many people in Dongnu Province appeared in many counties in Central Sichuan. However, only a few people could escape. Most people could not escape because they could not bear to leave their houses. Some were old and weak and could not walk at all. Some were reluctant to leave their hometowns. Some could not afford to leave their hometowns. Of course, there were also some who were full of fear of other places. In short, there were all kinds of situations, which doomed most people to be unable to leave their hometowns.
Since ancient times, any disaster would lead to the migration of the people. However, only a part of them could successfully migrate. Most of them could not. There were always various factors that restricted the people from leaving their homes. If too many people migrated, it would be a great disaster for the areas that were not affected by the disaster. Because the impact of the disaster victims was huge, the areas that were not affected by the disaster would not have much surplus food. If a large number of disaster victims rushed in, the areas that were not affected by the disaster would also become disaster areas.
Take the locust plague for example. When the locusts ate up all the plants in an area, they immediately fell into famine, so they would fly to another area and continue to eat the crops. Then, they would increase the disaster area step by step, turning many places into disaster areas.
If the people in the disaster area ran around like locusts, they would also spread the disaster. When thousands of disaster victims poured into a normal county, the food in the county would soon be exhausted. In this way, the normal county would become a disaster area. Then, the original disaster victims would become new disaster victims. If they were just looking for food, it would be fine. In this case, if someone used the banner of overthrowing the imperial court, these disaster victims would become a rebel army that would sweep the world and make the ruler very afraid.
Therefore, no matter where the disaster happened, the ruler would choose to transfer food to the local disaster victims. They did not want the disaster victims to run to the surrounding areas to look for food. This would spread the disaster to the surrounding areas and cause serious consequences. Of course, if the disaster area was large enough, any measures taken would not have much effect. If half of the world was affected by the disaster, then there was no way to transfer food to the disaster victims. The entire dynasty would not be able to maintain. If food was forcibly transferred to the disaster victims, the imperial court's food would be used up. Once the imperial court ran out of food, the army would not listen to the orders and the country would also be destroyed.
The harm of disasters was too great. Therefore, since ancient times, the imperial court had been very afraid of disasters. Therefore, the emperor would often go to worship and pray for good weather in the empire. He did not want the empire to be affected by disasters and did not want the people to be homeless.
The elders of the various tribes in the western border area of Central Sichuan were also enthusiastic about worship. They worshipped the mountain god because they lived in the mountains and it was the mountains that raised them. They were grateful for the gifts of the mountains and naturally revered the mountains. They worshipped the mountains and worshipped them.
The people of various tribes here were all in awe of the mountain god. No one dared to offend the mountain god. Even if they were hunting in the mountains, they would pray devoutly when they were free, asking the mountain god to bless them so that they could obtain food from the mountains and not be eaten by the beasts in the mountains.
Although this was suspected of superstition, there were benefits to the local tribes worshipping the mountain god. When they asked for resources from the mountains, they would be very careful and would not wantonly destroy the environment of the mountains. They would get along well with the mountains. For these local tribes, hunting and planting crops in the mountains and cutting down the trees they needed were reasonable demands. However, they could not accept large-scale mining of wood and leveling of the mountains. At least, they could not accept it in a short period of time. They would feel that doing so would offend the mountain god. Once the mountain god sent down punishment, they would suffer.
Therefore, they absolutely could not accept what Duan Jianhan said, that the imperial court wanted to dig mountains and build roads on their land. This was especially true for one of the main mountains, which was the biggest sacred mountain in their hearts. They absolutely could not flatten it.
Of course, Duan Jianhan was talking nonsense. It was true that the Tang dynasty wanted to build roads here, but the Tang dynasty would never level a mountain that was thousands of meters high. Even if the Tang dynasty had advanced explosives, they would never choose the stupidest way to blow up a mountain, especially when the main mountain was so high. If they completely leveled it, they would need a huge amount of explosives. The cost would be too high, and the construction period would be extended indefinitely. It was absolutely not cost-effective and impossible to implement.
Although Duan Jianhan was talking nonsense, the patriarchs of the Jiang tribe were willing to believe it because they knew the local terrain too well. They felt that if the Tang dynasty wanted to build a good road, they would have to dig mountains, and they would have to do it on a large scale. Only when many mountains were completely leveled could they build a good road. Otherwise, the road could not be built at all. The local terrain was too bad. Apart from digging mountains on a large scale, these patriarchs really could not think of a better way for the Tang dynasty.
As for how the construction team of the Tang dynasty would level such a huge mountain, they felt that the Tang dynasty had explosives, but they had never seen explosives before. They just felt that they were very powerful and could blow up stones with a little bit. In this way, with the national strength of the Tang Empire, they could prepare more explosives and naturally blow up all the mountains in their living area. They firmly believed in this.
The Tang dynasty wanted to bomb mountains to build roads, destroy their homes, and offend the mountain god in their hearts. This was like a huge mountain pressing down on the hearts of many Jiang tribe patriarchs. They were very worried that this would really happen. Duan Jianhan's exaggerated story made them want to rebel against the imperial court. However, they felt a little discouraged because of the imperial court's strength. For this reason, they were very distressed.
"Brother Duan, all of this is just your personal guess. We don't know whether the imperial court is going to build roads or not. How do you know?"
The seventh patriarch felt that Duan Jianhan was not a good person, so he asked.
The other patriarchs also looked at Duan Jianhan with great doubts. They did not completely believe this outsider, so they were also skeptical about his words.
Duan Jianhan said, "I understand your doubts very well. I'm sure that the Tang dynasty is going to build roads here. There can't be any mistakes in this matter. One of the conditions for Dongnu Province to be completely incorporated into the Tang dynasty is to build a passage from Dongnu Province to Central Sichuan. This is no secret in Dongnu Province, and the imperial court has also agreed. But how to build a road from Dongnu Province to Central Sichuan? Could it be that they would bypass us? Can it? Do you think there is another way to enter Central Sichuan from Dongnu Province? If the road is not built from here, where will it be built from? "
This was the truth. This matter was indeed no secret in Dongnu Province. Almost all the people in Dongnu Province knew about this matter, especially the higher-ups. As a spy, Duan Jianhan naturally knew about it, so it was very easy for the Jiang tribe to verify it.
"Oh, it seems that this is true!"
The patriarchs all looked at each other.
The Seventh Patriarch frowned and said, "Even if they want to build a road from here, they don't have to flatten the entire mountain. They can just expand the foundation of the original road and flatten the road. There's nothing wrong with that! Who said that they must dig up the mountain? How much manpower and material resources would that require? Anyway, I can't believe it. "
"Haha! Just expand it a little. The seventh patriarch's thinking is too simple! Patriarchs should know what the road here is like. How can the wall-hanging mountain road on the cliff be expanded? If it is widened, the stones on the cliff will directly fall down! That kind of road can't be expanded at all. If they want to build a wide road, they must dig up the entire mountain. This is the only way. Everyone should know, and the seventh patriarch should also know, that if these wall-hanging mountain roads are not expanded, then the road will not be expanded. In this way, the imperial court will break its promise to Dongnu Province. How can Dongnu Province sincerely submit to the imperial court? "
Duan Jianhan said.
The seventh patriarch frowned and said, "Flatten a mountain? Anyway, I don't believe it. So what if the Tang dynasty has explosives? They can't be so capable! By the way, what do explosives look like? Has anyone seen them before? "
The second patriarch said, "I haven't seen them before, but I've heard that they are very powerful. Only a small bowl is needed to blow up a big stone. If more are prepared, it is not impossible to flatten the entire mountain."
Since the knowledgeable Second Patriarch had said so, the rest of the Patriarchs also believed in the power of the explosives. In short, in their hearts, the explosives were a very terrifying existence. It was a powerful divine object. As long as the explosives were used, it would not be a problem to blow up a mountain.
"If it is really so powerful, then it must be very expensive! How much explosives would it take to flatten a mountain? Is the imperial court really willing to spend so much money? "
The seventh patriarch said.
Duan Jianhan sighed and said, "Seventh patriarch, this is not a matter of whether it is expensive or not. If the imperial court has made up its mind, no matter how much it costs, it will do it. Flattening a few mountains is nothing to the imperial court."
Duan Jianhan was not talking nonsense. The imperial court of the Tang dynasty was indeed very determined. As long as they really wanted to flatten a mountain, they would do it regardless of the cost. However, as long as there was a cheaper way to do it, they would do it. Regardless of the cost, they had no choice but to do it when there was no better way.
"Anyway, the road hasn't been built yet, has it? The mountain hasn't been blown up! Isn't it a bit too early to think of a way to resist the imperial court? "
The seventh patriarch said.
His words angered Duan Jianhan. He said, "Seventh patriarch, you're wrong. As long as Dongnu Province is successfully submitted to the imperial court, the mountain here will be blown up and the road will be built. If we don't prepare in advance to prevent Dongnu Province from completely submitting to the imperial court, it will be too late for you to think of a way when the imperial court's troops are stationed here to build the road. If we prepare early now, there is still a glimmer of hope. If we don't prepare early, several mountains here will be flattened in a few years at most."
Duan Jianhan's tone was very stern, full of irrefutable meaning. There was even a hint of intimidation in his tone. He wanted to frighten these ignorant patriarchs to achieve his goal.
The first patriarch was also angry. He looked at Jiang Laoqi and said, "Laoqi, why are you so stubborn? Brother Duan is doing this for our good. Can't you calm down and listen to what good plan Brother Duan has? Whether the imperial court will blow up the mountain to build the road or not, we can't go wrong by taking precautions, right? "
The seventh patriarch was also stubborn. He retorted, "Patriarch, I'm worried that our Jiang tribe will be taken to the ravine by an outsider and sold off. How can we help others count the money?"
Duan Jianhan was about to die of anger. He looked at the first patriarch and said, "First patriarch, as the saying goes, those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. Since the seventh patriarch is so insistent, I have nothing to say. Whether the Jiang tribe will be punished by the Mountain God or not has nothing to do with me. I'd better leave early so that I won't be despised here."
After saying that, he made a gesture of leaving.
The first patriarch was angry and said, "Brother Duan, Laoqi has a bad temper. Please don't blame him. Laoqi, hurry up and apologize to Brother Duan."
Jiang Laoqi was also stubborn. He stood up and left without saying a word. He didn't say anything to anyone and directly left on his horse.
"This Laoqi is too outrageous. After so many years, he still has a bad temper."
The third patriarch was the first to speak.
"Oh! This Laoqi. "
The other patriarchs were also dissatisfied with Jiang Laoqi. No matter what, Jiang Laoqi shouldn't have left without saying a word. It was too rude and looked down on all of them. However, it wasn't the first time that Jiang Laoqi was so unreasonable. They were used to it. They knew that Jiang Laoqi didn't have any bad intentions, so they didn't chase after him. It was good to let him vent his anger. Maybe he would think it through after he calmed down.
"Patriarchs, since the seventh patriarch doesn't agree with me, why don't we exclude him? The Jiang tribe has lost a branch, but its strength hasn't decreased much. The six of us are fully capable of joining forces to stop the imperial court. "
Duan Jianhan said.
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