"What Lu Ao did in this matter may not be wrong."
Liu Yu was willing to take a different attitude towards the rebellion of the Blackwater people.
"As for these Blackwater people who are dissatisfied with the king's rule, the sooner they rebel, the sooner it will be easier for us to eradicate them."
"What's more, the Heishui people attracted the Fuyu, Sushen and other tribes further north. This will save the trouble of going north to explore the mountains and forests in the future."
When Gongsun Sheng heard this, he immediately felt that it made sense.
"Your Majesty is indeed thoughtful. If I think about it carefully, it's really not a bad thing."
"However, it is easy to put down the Blackwater Rebellion, but it is more important and more difficult to protect the white mountains and black waters in the future."
Liu Yu's plans for the future basically follow China's consistent expansion methods.
Everywhere we go, we must use farming as the basis for expansion.
But today's Northeastern region not only has endless mountains and old forests, but also countless swamps and wetlands, which are very different from the fertile and rich black soil of later generations.
Without enough labor to open up wasteland, it will be difficult to establish a foothold.
Even if immigrants open up wasteland, the climate of this era is quite unfriendly. It is very likely that a cold wave and natural disaster will wipe out the farmers' hard work throughout the year.
"That is the hometown of Donghu. It is naturally bitter and cold, and the land cannot produce crops. If you want to defend it, I'm afraid you can only build a city to reserve people and then slowly cultivate it like on the grassland."
Gongsun Sheng thought hard and then said.
When Liu Yu heard this, he shook his head slightly.
The mountains and forests in the Northeast are different from the grasslands, so naturally we cannot use the same model.
Building a city on the grassland means controlling the water source, which is equivalent to controlling the lifeblood of the grassland nomads.
Nomadic herding on the grassland is not just walking aimlessly, but following routes with water sources as nodes. Without water sources, thousands of cattle, sheep and horses would not be able to survive.
In the deep mountains and old forests of Liaodong, there is no shortage of water sources.
"Of course this matter is difficult to deal with, otherwise how could the four counties back then slowly decline."
Liu Yu was naturally in a dilemma.
He decided to deal with the current Blackwater Rebellion first, and then choose the right people to run it with the right methods.
In this place, Liu Yu had already made up his mind to establish rule directly under the imperial court. Any feudal garrison or garrison rule would only dig holes for the future.
Who knows whether in that case, many tough white-eyed wolves will be raised early, just like a certain dragon and tiger general who will be so cute in later generations.
Soon, Liu Yu's order to conquer the Blackwater rebels was sent to Liaodong.
In this edict, Liu Yu did not reprimand Lu Ao for his series of greedy and short-sighted behaviors. He only asked him to continue to be in charge of Liaodong, and then sent troops to exterminate the rebels together with Yu Wenxun Niyan, the governor of Liaozhou.
The so-called rebels are not only the Heishui people who occupy Marudo City, but also the North Buyeo, Sushen and others in the north.
After receiving the emperor's order, Lu Ao breathed a sigh of relief.
He was very lucky that he was not punished for forcing the Blackwater people to rebel.
However, he also understood that this was more because Heishui had rebelled now. Instead of punishing him and making the Blackwater people laugh, it was better to suppress the matter and wait until the Blackwater people were pacified.
"Alas! I just regret that I was a little panicked at the beginning and underestimated the strength of the Heishui people. I couldn't use the troops from Youzhou and Liaodong. I could only wait for the Liao people from the Yuwen Department to come."
Lu Ao couldn't help but regret. When he reported the situation of the rebels, he deliberately reduced the bad situation and reduced Heishui's strength by several percent.
Now that he wanted to pay his dues and perform meritorious service, he could only join forces with Yu Wenxun Niyan, the governor of Liaozhou.
The troops and horses that Yuwen Xunniyan, the governor of Liaozhou, could use did not include the army soldiers, but only the old troops and horses of Yuwen Liao people.
Lu Ao had been in Liaodong for many years and naturally knew the combat capabilities of Yuwen Liao's militia and horses very well.
Compared to Heishui, Yuwen Liaomin's soldiers and horses did not have any outstanding advantages. Both of them had been beaten head-on by Murong Liaomin back then, and they could be said to be brothers in need.
Now that the two sides were fighting for their lives on the battlefield, Lu Ao had no intention of winning easily.
He quickly made up his mind. Anyway, the order was for him to join forces with Yuwen Xunniyan to suppress the rebellion. Then he would sit in Pingzhou City and ensure the supply of food and grass. As for the fighting on the battlefield ahead, it would be left to Yuwen Xunniyan is ready.
Lu Ao felt a little exhausted physically and mentally, and he didn't ask for any meritorious service. As long as the rebellion was put down, this mistake would be corrected, and he would return to Luoyang and be a doctor of economics in peace.
These powerful barbarians are all difficult to deal with.
At this time, Lu Ao had no intention of regaining his former glory, and was already planning to be a salty fish who did not seek merit but sought no faults.
However, this situation soon reversed.
A few days later, more than 10,000 Liao righteous soldiers and horses led by Yu Wenxun Niyan, the governor of Liaozhou, rushed to Pingzhou City.
Lu Ao personally led Chang Shi and others out of the city to greet him.
It happened to be noon at this time, and under the bright sunlight, pieces of metallic light poured out from a distance.
"armor?"
"Does the Yuwen Department actually have so many armored soldiers?"
Lu Ao looked from a distance and saw a group of cavalry in shining armor walking in neatly in front of him.
There were endless banners in front of and behind them. Whether it was the marching queue or the neat drums, they were not at all the Yuwen Liao people that Lu Ao was familiar with before.
"drive!"
Seeing this, Lu Ao was puzzled, so he led the crowd on horseback to greet him and planned to take a look.
"Mr. Lu, I haven't seen you for many years. How are you?"
As soon as the two sides approached, a military general wearing a splendid military uniform came forward and saluted.
Lu Ao took a closer look, and it took him a long time to recognize that the person in front of him was Yu Wenxun Niyan.
"General Yuwen, you are still looking heroic."
While Lu Ao was chatting, he couldn't help but look at Yu Wenxun Niyan and the soldiers and horses behind him.
I saw that Yu Wenxun Niyan was dressed exactly like a Han general. Except that the clothes were a little too gorgeous and exaggerated, he could not tell the slightest bit about the Liao people.
The Liao cavalry behind him basically followed this style, and there was not much trace of the nomadic soldiers and horses of the past.
"Mr. Lu, I have brought more than 13,000 elite cavalry this time. I guarantee that I can go straight to Wandu and capture and kill all the Blackwater rebels!"
Yuwen Xunni Yan said loudly, without any scruples about the alliance between Yuwen Liaomin and Heishui back then.
When Lu Ao heard this, he immediately had other thoughts in his heart.
The Yuwen Liao militiamen in front of them are strong and strong, and their leader Yu Wenxun Niyan is so confident that he will definitely be able to take care of the Heishui people.
Yu Wenxun Niyan was so high-spirited at this time that he wished he could trample the Blackwater rebels into the ditch.
"Gong Lu, please stay in Liaodong for some time. I heard that the Blackwater rebels have established a false king. Not only do they want to destroy Wandu, but they also want to capture the leader of the thief alive!"
Yu Wenxun Ni Yan's words revealed his unwillingness to let Lu Ao go on the expedition together.
If it had been a moment ago, Lu Ao would have definitely agreed.
However, now that Lu Ao's heart became restless again after seeing the strong soldiers and horses of Yuwen Liaomin.
If he could accomplish the feat of breaking through the city and capturing the thieves, it would be enough to outweigh the mistakes he had made before.
It is not impossible to create a feudal lord and open a mansion.
"General Yuwen is unparalleled in his loyalty and bravery. He will definitely win this time. However, I heard that the Blackwater thieves have recruited Sushen and Fuyu Fanduo from the North. These thieves are best at walking through mountains and forests, and they will make surprise attacks at every turn. Without my soldiers and horses, I'm afraid the general will be in a lot of trouble to protect him."
After some trial and error, the two finally reached an agreement.
Everyone joined forces and marched together. After the thief was defeated, Yu Wenxun and Ni Yan got the credit for destroying the city, and Lu Ao got the credit for capturing the thief's leader.
Yuwen Xun and Ni Yan were originally unwilling to share half of the credit they received, but Lu Ao repeatedly hinted that several of his nephews and nephews were unmarried and could be married to the Yuwen family forever.
Yuwenxun Niyan immediately agreed to Lu Ao's request.
Born as a barbarian, Yu Wenxun Niyan, who had long admired the teachings of the Central Plains, often felt inferior, especially when facing celebrities in the court.
If he could get married to the Qinghe Lu family, then for Yu Wenxun Niyan, he would be able to completely straighten his back in Luoyang.
The sister in the family is a concubine, which means she has some respect among the meritorious military generals. And then she is married to the Lu family of Qinghe, which means she has some respect among the scholars.
With the sincere cooperation of the two, the crusade against the Blackwater rebels went extremely smoothly.
Since leaving the Liaodong frontier fortress, the Blackwater rebels along the way have not successfully resisted once.
The well-equipped Yuwen Liao militia and horses once gave the Heishui people the illusion that the main force of the Han army was in person.
As the leader of the rebels, Heishui Siyou suddenly felt that the end was coming.
The main force of the Han army arrived too quickly, and it was almost impossible for both sides to be in peace before the snowfall as expected.
Facing the menacing 'Han Army', King Siyou hurriedly made some hasty defenses. After failing to achieve good results, King Siyou immediately led his army and ran away.
All the soldiers and horses of Blackwater had no intention of fighting anymore and retreated hastily.
The Han cavalry in front of them is unstoppable, so let's leave them to the severe cold.
When the wind and snow blocked the mountain roads, the Han troops who had no way to replenish their supplies had to withdraw obediently if they wanted to avoid dying of cold and starvation.
Yu Wenxun, Ni Yan and Lu Ao, none of them expected that the Blackwater people could escape so completely.
Just one or two small probing encounters actually frightened the Blackwater rebels into retreating.
"These rats, if I had known this, I should have asked the boys to restrain their strength, but I actually scared them away."
Yu Wenxun Niyan said with great regret.
The two days of confrontation had completely confirmed Yu Wenxun Ni Yan's impression of the weak Blackwater soldiers.
He is not afraid of confrontation with Heishui now, not at all.
What Yu Wenxun Niyan was most afraid of was that the Blackwater people avoided fighting and stayed in the mountains and forests, and then let a few snowstorms force him to jump.
"General, don't be anxious. The thieves will definitely return to Wandu to set up defenses. It won't be too late to settle the accounts together after the city is broken!"
Lu Ao's mentality was still very relaxed at this time.
He felt that no matter how stupid the Blackwater rebels were, they would not be able to abandon the city and hide in the surrounding mountains and forests.
Thousands of people are cut off from food and drink, and that is the real end of the road.
However, the truth soon hit Lu Ao in the face.
A few days later, Marudo City.
Lu Ao looked at Wandu City with the door open in front of him, and he was almost furious.
"These rats actually abandoned the city and ran away!"
"How could they abandon the city and run away?"
"How could they abandon the city and escape?!"
The credit for breaking the city was given to Yu Wenxun Ni Yan, but his own credit for capturing the thieves had already disappeared.
Lu Ao was so angry that he grabbed several thieves captured from the surrounding area and interrogated them.
"After the king came back from the front, he took away all the soldiers, horses, grain, grass and livestock, leaving only the old and the weak."
When Lu Ao heard this, he understood that these Blackwater rebels were planning to fortify the walls and clear the country.
The most important livestock, women and children are protected inside.
"Where did Siyou go? Is it the White Mountain in the east or the black water in the north?" Lu Ao asked.
"Blackwater! Many of the troops led by the king are from Northern Fuyu and Sushen."
"Let them lead the way, and you can enter the messy forest roads and escape the pursuit of the Han army."
When Lu Ao heard the news, he immediately felt powerless.
According to rumors, there is black water further north, where barbarians such as Beifuyu and Sushen live.
If the rebels had these people leading the way and fled north, then Lu Ao would not be able to catch up with them even if he tried his best.
Moreover, after defeating Wandu City, the mission of Yuwen Liao's militia and horses was completed, and it was impossible for them to follow their own arrangements and pursue them.
As for the Liaodong soldiers and horses in Lu Ao's hands, he, as the governor, could not mobilize them without military orders.
What's more, the farther north you go in the deep mountains and old forests, the more dangerous they become. No one is willing to pursue some fleeing Blackwater rebels.
In desperation, Lu Ao could only send people to hunt down some straggler rebel soldiers, whether they were Heishui people or Sushen people, and prepared to send them all to Luoyang as prisoners.
If you can't catch the rebel leader, you can only use some small fish and shrimps.
In Lu Ao's memorial, he repeatedly emphasized that it was not that he and his soldiers were unwilling to pursue the leader of the bandits. It was actually that the situation reported by the prisoners was too bad. The further north one went, the greater the threat. Even the Blackwater rebels were I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on for long if I run away.
According to what the prisoners said, although Sushenbuk Fuyu in the north obeyed Black Water's encouragement, there were all kinds of strange and fierce savages further north, such as "Royal Deer" and "Royal Dog".
The remnants of Blackwater will definitely not be able to live a peaceful life, and they may all die on their own before long.
Lu Aoben expected to explain a lot of difficulties to explain himself.
But soon, Liu Yu's edict came back.
The requirements were far beyond Lu Ao's expectations.
