The siege turned into a welcome, and the eyes of thousands of Taya warriors were filled with astonishment and confusion.
Zhao Mengqi supported Mu Hua and walked in the front, like a pair of friends who had been together forever, chatting and laughing warmly.
Wu Qiong followed behind with his heavily armored bodyguards, their weapons folded up, but the clanging sound when walking still gave the natives a great sense of oppression.
After entering the village and approaching the wooden pagoda, Zhao Mengqi stopped and looked at it quietly for a while.
Mu Hua was a little hesitant, "Ignorance and bad habits make His Highness laugh."
Zhao Mengqi looked calm and relaxed, "It's not that big of a deal. Every ethnic group has gone through a similar stage, but some ethnic groups have moved faster and have more advanced civilizations and more humane customs. In my personal opinion, He said that we are willing to tolerate and respect the customs and beliefs of each ethnic group as much as possible, and we are even more willing to help the slower ethnic groups to keep up with the trend of the times. After all, this is a world where the weak eat the strong. If you are too outdated, you will eventually die."
Mu Hua could still hear the meaning behind the words. The Taya tribe would either accept 'help' or perish.
"Your Highness has a broad mind, which is a blessing to all people in the world. But if you suddenly abandon all the legacy of your ancestors, then how can it not be destroyed?"
This is a bargain.
Zhao Mengqi smiled and said sincerely, "The concerns of the great sacrifice are not unreasonable. Each ethnic group should have its own roots. We Han people also particularly respect our ancestors. However, progress is not abandonment, but metabolism. This is common and universal in the world. Irresistible objective laws, of course, the choice between them is still in your own hands, I am just providing help."
"As long as you are naturalized under the rule of the imperial court, you can still live on this land and worship your gods and ancestors, and the imperial court can provide you with more efficient production technology and more advanced equipment, making you more abundant in food and materials, and able to Reproducing a larger population will also provide you with medical care that guarantees your health, enable spiritual education, a peaceful and serene environment, and even exempt you from taxes for a long time."
In Zhao Mengqi's view, a nation that doesn't even have written language can actually be easily integrated and does not necessarily have to rely on killing to achieve its goals.
In this era, most people have no national consciousness and even have a natural yearning for a higher civilization, so as long as the methods are gentle, there is no need to worry about any resistance.
This is actually something that Han culture is very good at. The Chinese nation was originally formed through continuous integration.
The only disadvantage is that it takes a long time and costs a lot.
Therefore, for some ethnic groups that are too barbaric, it may not be worth using this method.
Mu Hua weighed the conditions given by Zhao Mengqi and asked slowly, "Then, what can our clan do for Your Highness and the court?"
There is no free lunch in the world.
Mu Hua may not know this sentence, but he understands this truth. King Yan promised to pay so many benefits and exempt the Taya tribe from taxes, so the Taya tribe had to give corresponding things in exchange.
"Simple." Zhao Mengqi smiled faintly and looked at the Taya warriors around him, "For military service, I need the Taya tribe to provide high-quality soldiers, but the high priest does not have to worry about his people becoming expendable. I will treat all the soldiers under my command equally. , provide excellent weapons and equipment, provide ample logistical support, receive military pay on a daily basis, reward for combat operations, commendations for meritorious service, treatment and subsidies for battle injuries, and pensions and memorials for those killed in battle. It will definitely be more valuable than hunting harvests. Much more.”
Maybe the Taya people are self-sufficient now and don't even have commerce or currency, but Zhao Mengqi will bring them all, and I believe no one can refuse a better life.
For Mu Hua, men of the Taya tribe originally advocated fighting and took it as an honor to hunt down the enemy's heads. Fighting in the army was just the right thing to do, and it could also reduce or even completely eliminate internal conquests.
Afterwards, Mu Hua and Zhao Mengqi communicated in detail for a while in front of a dense crowd of people, and then reached a preliminary consensus.
After entering the public house, guests and hosts were seated separately. Mu Hua was then responsible for persuading the clan members, while Zhao Mengqi just watched with a smile.
There were inevitably many dissent and disputes during the process, but every time they saw Wu Qiong, who looked like a giant spirit god standing behind Zhao Mengqi, and dozens of mighty soldiers, the opponents' momentum became lower and lower.
In the end, after analyzing the pros and cons of the high priest and Kukopo's heart, most of the tribal leaders chose to submit.
After all, King Yan gave them a lot of autonomy on the surface, and basically did not change their internal structure. Generally speaking, the advantages far outweighed the disadvantages.
Under the guidance of the chief priest, the heads of each department paid homage to Zhao Mengqi one by one and swore allegiance in front of the ancestral spirit.
Things progressed a hundred times more smoothly than expected. Zhao Mengqi, who was in a good mood, also wholesaled a large number of official titles. Mu Hua even received a third-grade title from a Xuanfeng doctor.
It's not just a name, it has everything you should have, such as a personal seal, official uniform accessories, salary and rewards, etc. After all, the Song Dynasty was not as stingy as a certain Qing Dynasty, and even the official uniforms had to be prepared by themselves.
You have to spend some money, but in general it's a benefit at no cost. The foreseeable income is definitely higher than this. As a person in power, there is no future for being stingy.
……………………
The tenth day of September, Lucheng.
Probably because there was a real shortage of arrows, the Song army's defense strength was seriously reduced, and the tribal army approached the moat easily.
Due to limited manpower, Lucheng's moat was dug somewhat perfunctorily. It was no more than eight feet deep, less than two feet wide, and only a little over three feet away from the city wall.
Most of the excavated soil was used for the dock, and the rest was rammed and piled on the inner river bank. A seven-foot-high sheep and horse wall was built, which was two feet higher than the ordinary sheep and horse wall. It was also a compensatory measure.
Seeing that the tribal army was close at hand, the Song army finally began to probe for the crossbow and fired hundreds of crossbow bolts at the same time.
At this angle, even if the tribal troops raised their wooden shields at an angle, it would be difficult for them to fully protect themselves. Dozens of tribal troops were immediately shot.
But the city was right in front of them, and the tribal army's ability to withstand casualties had become much stronger. Even if the screams of their companions kept ringing in their ears, their morale was still strong.
The interval between shots by the Song army was a bit long, and the tribal army also began to use earthen bows, javelins and other weapons to fight back and suppress the city.
The two sides fought back and forth, and more and more natives fell. Blood spattered from time to time on the top of the city, and cries of pain could be heard.
Taking advantage of this moment, a large number of natives carried straw bags filled with soil and threw them into the moat.
Attacks were launched one after another from three directions, and the defenders seemed to be in a hurry.
By the afternoon, the tribal army had suffered nearly 2,000 casualties, and finally filled in the moats on the north, southeast, and several river crossings.
In the next step, the tribal army can rush directly to the city wall, and Lucheng seems to be in danger.
Liu Xikun on the observation deck finally showed a long-lost smile when he saw this situation, "The overall situation has been decided! This city is within easy reach!"
While speaking, Liu Xikun released two rays of golden light from his mouth, which were bright and shining. It looked very strange, but at least it would not leak.
Cai Qicang joked, "It's all thanks to brother Liu Shi's ingenious plan to have no food. The Song army at the top of the city was starved to death. Otherwise, those natives would have almost died before they even touched the river." ”
"Haha, the Song army's arrows must have been exhausted. Even the precious armor-piercing clusters have been used, and many of them are shoddy. It seems that they were made on an emergency basis."
"Probably the Song Army can hardly even hold a sword. As long as they rush to the city tomorrow and burn the city wall, all this will be over."
Wu Xunji and others were also beaming with joy.
Liu Jianming had some caution on his face, "Although it seems to be going well at the moment, we still have to be careful. Maybe Song Jun has some reservations and will bring them out at the critical moment."
"Now that it's come to this point, what tricks can the Song army still hide?" Cai Qicang was completely disapproving.
Liu Xikun actually didn't think Song Jun could come up with any more tricks, but Liu Jianming was now his think tank, and he was satisfied with his many suggestions, so he must maintain it.
"Mr. Liu is right. You can never make a big mistake by being careful. As the saying goes, attacking the city is the bottom priority and attacking the heart is the top priority. I think we can persuade the Song army to surrender again now. This Lucheng will soon be ours. If it is damaged, we have to repair it. …”
Liu Jianming cast a grateful look at Liu Xikun and echoed, "The gentleman is smart. Even if Lin Yingjia and others don't agree, he can at least break the fighting spirit of some soldiers."
"Is there any talented person willing to take over this position?"
Liu Xikun said, looking at Wu Xunqi, Cai Qicang and other powerful disciples.
However, these people thought of Su Jiachang's past experience and avoided Liu Xikun's eyes one by one, pretending not to understand.
Seeing no one responded for a long time, Liu Xikun suddenly felt a little confused, and finally had to randomly assign one of his followers to go.
This attendant was somewhat courageous. He walked to the city with his head held high and shouted, but he was carried back without shouting a few words.
Those powerful disciples were all frightened when they looked at the follower who had a big hole punched through his chest by a crossbow.
"Stubborn!!" Liu Xikun was furious.
Cai Qicang was shocked and angry, "Could it be that people like Lin Yingjia are just stones in the pit? Why are they so smelly and hard?"
"Maybe I'm stupid because of reading. I want to imitate Zhang Xun in the Tang Dynasty..." Wu Xunqi was full of ridicule.
Liu Xikun said angrily, "It's so shameless. After the city falls tomorrow, I will twist off the heads of those people and make them into chamber pots! Send an order to everyone to have a good rest tonight. We will attack tomorrow and take over Lucheng in one go!"
At this moment, someone came from below to report that the Taya and Mori tribes were about to arrive.
Liu Xikun was overjoyed when he heard this and decided to go and greet him in person.
After waiting for half an hour, the Taya tribe from the north and the Mori tribe from the east arrived at the place where Liu Xikun was waiting almost at the same time.
After the two tribes met, they immediately became very angry. They bared their teeth and waved weapons to demonstrate, and they almost started fighting.
Only then did Liu Xikun realize that he had made a mistake, forgetting that the two clans had a feud and could not be kept together, so he hurriedly tried to remedy the situation by placing the two clans far apart.
More than three thousand people from the Taya tribe came, all of them strong warriors. The leader was Haru, who looked a little silent. After knowing what Liu Xikun meant, he just nodded and took the tribe to the designated place without saying anything.
Then Liu Xikun felt a little headache when he saw more than 6,000 people from the Mori tribe. It turned out that he had promised to give the same number of people as rewards according to the number of troops sent. Unexpectedly, the Mori tribe actually took advantage of the loophole, probably to recruit those who could be gathered in a short time. No matter men, women, old or young, anyone who can move is brought...
