The reason why Couture refuses to surrender is actually easy to understand.
He is a barbarian.
If the Yi people rebelled, they would not end well in the Han Dynasty.
If it were just the Yi people who collaborated in the rebellion, then the Han people would probably pardon the crime in order to express their magnanimity, but they would definitely not let the Yi people go.
The same is true for death, so it would be better to fight again.
Therefore, Gaoding would rather die than surrender.
But at this moment Zhang Xi was a little hesitant.
It is actually not difficult to pacify Nanzhong, but governing Nanzhong is a more troublesome matter.
Historically, when Zhuge Liang pacified Nanzhong, he left no troops and managed Nanzhong in the same way that the barbarians governed the barbarians. This was a last resort.
Zhuge Liang himself said that he had just killed his father and brothers and then stayed to govern the place. It would be strange for him to accept it gratefully.
And based on the military conditions in Yizhou, the biggest enemy must be Cao Wei. Zhuge Liang does not have so many troops to stay to watch over Nanzhong.
So in the end, Zhuge Liang decided not to keep any soldiers, nor to move officials from Yizhou. Except for the county guards who were his own, the rest of the places were to allow the barbarians to govern themselves.
This is indeed the easiest way to govern Nanzhong, but Zhang Xi's purpose is different from Zhuge Liang's.
Zhang Xi plans to develop Nanzhong properly.
The biggest problem in the development of Nanzhong is actually miasma and epidemics. Although Zhang Xi cannot completely overcome these things, with the guidance of "Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases", Zhang Xi feels that Han soldiers will not be unable to survive in Nanzhong. Go down.
In addition, Nanzhong has enough copper mines, iron mines, gold mines, silver mines, and salt mines. These things are too tempting and cannot be given up easily.
Therefore, for Zhang Xi, what he lacks most in developing Nanzhong is actually manpower.
What the entire Liu Bei Group lacks most is manpower.
It is impossible for Zhang Xi to persuade the Liu Bei Group to move the population of Yizhou to enrich Nanzhong and increase the development of Nanzhong. Therefore, Zhang Xi does not want to let go of these local barbarians.
But towards the Yi people, Zhang Xi was a little unsure as to what attitude he should use to face them.
A gentle strategy is still a high-pressure strategy.
Huairong's strategy is slow to bear fruit. Although there will be no large-scale rebellion, small-scale troubles will definitely occur. It will take at least ten or twenty years before the real results can be seen.
Although the high-pressure strategy is effective quickly, it is unpopular with the people of Nanzhong. If there is a change in external factors, Nanzhong will rebel on a large scale, and it will be troublesome to suppress it.
This led to Zhang Xi's hesitation on whether to annihilate Couture.
Zhang Xi couldn't make up his mind, but Ma Di could see Zhang Xi's hesitation.
The new commander-in-chief has always been quite calm and stable. Although he is cautious in using troops, he has never made any big mistakes. The current progress is also very smooth.
We are about to put down a rebel army, why does this person seem uneasy now? !
Ma Su hesitated for a moment and thought it would be better to ask.
"Commander, Gaoding is right in front of us now, and it can be destroyed in the blink of an eye. I wonder if the Commander has any other doubts?!" Ma Su asked Zhang Xi cautiously.
After being "taught" by Zhang Xi a few times with his suggestions, Ma Di has now become much more cautious. He does not dare to make casual suggestions, but seriously asks Zhang Xi to see if there is anything he has not thought of.
Zhang Xi looked at Ma Su, who although his military skills were very low, had been the prefect of Yuexun County in history. He should have some thoughts on the situation in Nanzhong, right? !
Zhang Xi told Ma Di what he thought.
Ma Su thought for a while and then said to Zhang Xi, "The governor has thought deeply, and it is not as good as Su. However, with the current situation, Gaoding must not stay."
After saying that, Ma Su began to analyze with Zhang Xi and explained the reasons why he had to kill Couture.
Whatever the reason, haute couture has rebelled.
It is absolutely unjustifiable to rebel without killing, and it will also create an illusion for the Yi people, that is, the Han people do not dare to do anything to the Yi people.
Furthermore, in the process of Gaoding's rebellion, he not only killed officials and rebelled, but also spared the Han people in Yuexun County. This shows that Gaoding himself is full of hatred for the Han people, and such people want to win over his heart. , it is really difficult to make him obedient.
Therefore, haute couture must die, and there is no possibility of shrinking or surrendering.
As for Zhang Xi’s thoughts, Ma Di believes that the object of thought should not be high-end clothing.
If Yong Kai was alive, with his identity as a Han and his prestige among the barbarians, he might still be a target that could be exploited. But now that Yong Kai is dead, Meng Huo would not be able to consider the next best thing.
Meng Huo was a Yi in this era, but he was a Yi with a high degree of Chineseization. He was somewhat similar to Wang Ping. Although he was of Yi blood, his behavior was no different from that of the Han people.
The Meng family is also a popular surname in Nanzhong, and its influence is definitely greater than that of Gaoding, the Yue Yi king. Cooperating with such a person is the best choice for governing Nanzhong in the future.
If you talk to Gaoding, he will only have hatred for you, but if you talk to Meng Huo, he will talk to you about interests.
In a few words, Ma Di helped Zhang Xi analyze the pros and cons, allowing Zhang Xi to make an instant choice - to attack Gaoding.
After making the decision, Zhang Xi breathed a sigh of relief and said that Zhuge Liang had hired the wrong person.
This Ma Su, the most suitable person for him is indeed a local governance talent in complex situations. It is most suitable for him to be placed as the prefect of Nanzhong. Why would he be asked to lead the army on the battlefield if he has nothing to do?
In the first month of the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, Zhang Xi led his army to attack Gaoding. Gaoding was killed in the rebellion, and the rebellion in Yuexun County was put down.
Later, Zhang Xi received a report from Li Hui, stating that he had occupied Guchang and threatened Menghuo's flank and rear of Wei County. Ma Zhong also sent troops to threaten the east side of Wei County. Now he was waiting for Zhang Xi led his troops southward and completely defeated Meng Huo.
After Zhang Xi heard the news, he immediately organized his army and went south, and in the middle of the first month, they crossed the Jinsha River, also known as Lushui.
Zhuge Liang crossed to Lu in the fifth month, and Zhang Xi crossed in the first month. They did not encounter any miasma.
The theory of miasma in the Lushui River is really not made up in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". It is actually recorded in the "Shui Jing Zhu" that it is said that people cannot cross the Lushui River in March and April, and those who cross the river will die. This is really amazing.
Later generations speculated that the so-called miasma was probably not microorganisms in the water, nor was it some magical thing, but malaria caused by mosquitoes. March and April of the lunar calendar in Yunnan were indeed the most active periods for mosquitoes.
Anyway, whether it was miasma or malaria, Zhang Xi chose to cross the Lu River in the first month, which had no impact at all. There was no need to invent steamed buns to worship the river god. The journey south was very smooth. After a month of marching, in mid-February At that time, Wei County was surrounded.
The current situation is very unfavorable to Meng Huo of Wei County.
There are counter-rebellion armies of Liu Bei's group in the east, west and south, with a total of nearly 30,000 people. Meng Huo is trapped in Wei County with only five or six thousand troops.
There was no one around me heading north, but that was the road to Chengdu. Going there was not looking for death.
The military strength was at an absolute disadvantage. When the other wealthy families in Jianning County heard that Liu Bei's army was successfully suppressing the rebellion, their originally wait-and-see attitudes suddenly changed. They all cut ties with Meng Huo. Some even sent troops and funds to assist the army led by Zhang Xi. The main force of the West Route Army besieged Wei County.
On the other hand, some barbarians in Nanzhong heard that Meng Huo was besieged and raised troops to rescue them. However, these people were small in number and scattered. Without a unified command, they could not threaten the counter-rebellion army.
Under this situation, Zhang Xi thought about cooperating well with Meng Huo in the future, and thought that he could not just beat Meng Huo to death with a stick, so Zhang Xi deliberately sent people into the city to persuade Meng Huo to surrender.
But Ma Su showed up again at this time.
You can choose Meng Huo for cooperation, but you must convince Meng Huo, otherwise when we cooperate in the future, this kid will have inappropriate thoughts again. With the blessing of the copper mining industry, won't he be more difficult to control? !
So, we still have to fight. Not only do we have to fight, we also have to convince him.
Zhang Xi blinked his eyes several times in bewilderment. So the seven captures of Meng Huo still had to go through this process? !
Zhang Xi was also a little unsure about this matter, so he specially called Li Hui to ask for his advice.
Li Hui's suggestion was just one word - fight.
Why on earth should we cooperate with him, Meng Huo, when our Jianning Li family can’t? !
Well, Li Hui actually knew that it would be difficult to completely stabilize Nanzhong just by relying on the Jianning Li family.
Because Li is a Han, a serious Han.
Needless to say, Li's influence among the Han people in Nanzhong was indeed very high, but his status in the hearts of the Yi people was really not as good as that of Meng Huo.
After all, he was born as a Yi people. Although he was a Hanized Yi people, his bloodline was still there, and the cave masters from all over the place had more or less blood relations.
Furthermore, Li Hui also knew that neither Zhang Xi nor Liu Bei, who was based in Chengdu, wanted to see Nanzhong being the dominant one.
Therefore, in Nanzhong, several companies must check and balance each other and govern together. This is in the interests of the Liu Bei Group.
Therefore, it is impossible for Zhang Xi to completely destroy Meng Huo, and will only support the Meng family. But even so, a weak Meng family is not only in the interest of the Liu Bei group, but also in the interests of the Jianning Li family.
Therefore, Li Hui suggested that the beating should be continued until Meng was convinced.
Under such circumstances, the Wei County offensive began.
(End of chapter)
