Chapter 128: The Purge

"With Kantipur now under our control, the city defenses secured, and the mountain tribes on our side, the royal officials and the Tibetans have been swept away. The local people are trembling with fear; even if they harbor any devious intentions, they lack leadership. What I have tasked the mountain tribes with is to uproot these potential leaders entirely, so that we, the Tang, may navigate this situation with ease."

Liu Ji ignored his gaze and continued speaking to himself.

"Satiate the mountain tribes with blood and wealth, and satisfy the commoners with order and security. When the blood flows so freely that the rift between the two sides can never be mended, we shall become everyone’s only reliance, and you, Commander, will be the ultimate arbiter."

"Therefore, compared to the riots of the mountain tribes, we must appear as a mighty and civilized force—strictly disciplined and never infringing upon the people—so that in the eyes of these locals, we may become saviors, beings akin to gods."

"Once we reach that point, this land will become an unbreakable protectorate of the Great Tang. It is not impossible to even establish a new Protectorate General here, with this city at its center. You, Commander, would be its founder, recorded in history forever. Is such a vision feasible?"

Li Siye was completely bewildered by what he was hearing, his mind buzzing, leaving only a single thought in the end.

"Madness, it is absolute madness." In his eyes, compared to the renowned "Madman Cheng," this youth was the boldest of all; what he spoke of was beyond anything Li could even imagine.

"A youth who is not mad is not truly a youth," Liu Ji said with a self-deprecating smile, downing the liquid in his cup in one gulp.

Time did not allow him to follow the conventional path; he had to take risks again and again. This was an era where geniuses emerged in droves; a little madness was nothing at all.

"I am merely a garrison commander; I lack the authority to make such decisions," Li Siye replied after a long silence, shaking his head.

"Before we set out, did Commander Feng instruct you not to act in such a manner?"

"That, he did not."

"Then that settles it. Have you not heard that a general in the field is not bound by the orders of his sovereign? Furthermore, there is no one here to restrain us. Even if we report this to the imperial court, the Emperor would only be pleased. You should know better than I what the honorable Gao did in those years."

This was true. Currently, they were separated from the main army by Zhangzhung; even if they sent someone back to request instructions, a round trip would take nearly a month—how could they afford such a delay?

Liu Ji cited the example of Gao Xianzhi. How could he not know that when Gao conquered Little Bolu, he did not inform Fu Menglingcha but reported directly to the court? This had enraged the latter, who pointed at Gao’s nose and cursed him, leaving behind one of the rarest records in history.

Just as the other had said, as long as things went smoothly, even if Feng Changqing were dissatisfied, he would at most give him a scolding. The friendship between the two was not such that his life would be in danger. The reason he hesitated was that this man was clearly Feng Changqing’s prospective son-in-law, yet he was planning everything for his own benefit—could it be that he had set his sights on his own daughter, who had not yet reached womanhood?

For a moment, his gaze became murky and unreadable.

This look was too similar to Feng Changqing’s small eyes, yet it emerged from a pair of large, bell-like eyes, sending shivers down Liu Ji’s spine.

In the end, Li Siye did not give his consent. However, from that day on, the actions of the Tang army were strictly restricted. Aside from guarding the city walls, gates, and other essential locations, even daily patrols were handed over to the mountain tribes, truly ensuring they did not infringe upon the commoners.

This provided convenience for the mountain tribes' activities. Organized squads of tribesmen, led by the poor of the city, went door-to-door to identify the wealthy, seizing all their people and plundering all their belongings. Soon, this trend swept through the entire city, and even the locals began to participate.

Assaults, looting, and killings occurred daily, and the victims were, without exception, the wealthy. Beneath the stage in the central square, where Temo had been killed, a dense pile of heads was laid out—all men taller than a wooden stake.

Terror spread in an instant. Every resident lived in fear, terrified that one day someone would break into their home and kill them on the spot. Finally, one day, their doors were knocked upon. When they opened them, trembling, standing outside were not the murderous mountain tribesmen, but fellow locals, though each had a red ribbon tied around their sleeve.

"According to our investigation, your household is not wealthy, nor do you have any blood debts. For safety, everyone must tie a red ribbon when going out. With this mark, the outsiders will not touch you. If you place a red flag at your door, they will not break in. Remember this clearly; do not miss even the children."

The residents took the red ribbons and small red flags, tying them to their arms just as they had been told, and placed the flags on their door frames. Indeed, even when squads of mountain tribesmen passed by their doors, they did not pause for a second. When the residents boldly ventured out onto the streets, they found everyone else wearing the same markings. Anyone wearing a red ribbon could come and go freely, spared even the usual interrogations.

This change left the residents curious and astonished, until one day, while passing by the city gates, they saw the massive red flag hoisted atop the walls and suddenly understood.

It was not a small mark that protected them, but that nation known as the Great Tang.

This mentality subtly influenced them. Unconsciously, everyone began to feel a closeness to that nation in their hearts. After all, what happened in the city had little to do with this strictly disciplined army; they had almost never harassed the commoners.

Even the Tibetans of the past had never managed to achieve this.

A city-wide slaughter had turned into a carnival for the common people. The mountain tribes targeted only the former wealthy and the officials—people whom the lower classes had long despised. Since it did not involve them and even brought some benefits, more and more people joined in, and more and more targets were dragged out. In the square, a massive mound of heads was piled up, for which the Tang had a specific term:

*Jingguan*—a monument of heads.

Soon, this behavior spread outside the city. Led by the locals, the wealthy landowners were purged one by one, their families wiped out. The entire Kathmandu Valley was filled with smoke and fire, resembling hell.

A hell for the rich.

Liu Ji calculated the results every day, incidentally handling a few cases that went too far. The ugliness of human nature was fully exposed during this revelry. As the instigator, he could only try his best to maintain control and keep a basic level of stability so that it would not spiral entirely out of hand.

Overall, it was going well. With the Tang army watching from the sidelines, the mountain tribes did not go too far, and the occasional excess was handled promptly. As things progressed, the city slowly began to restore order, and he finally had more time to rest.

On this day, after finishing his duties and returning to his quarters, he suddenly discovered something different in his room.

To be precise, it was a group of women.