The advice of Kegen was that all adult Pecheneg captives should be killed, citing a barbarian proverb according to which it is better to kill a serpent in winter while it cannot move its tail. Those he held personally were either sold into slavery or slaughtered. This proposal was rejected as barbaric, unholy, and unworthy of Roman clemency. The emperor and generals decided that the captives would be useful to the Romans if, after putting aside their weapons, they were settled in the Bulgarian land, which was largely depopulated after long periods of war. Basileios the doux (?) of Bulgaria took the lead in this, settling them particularly in the the plains of Serdica, Nis and Eutzapolis