Previously, the Miao people of the Five Poison Sect had practiced building plank roads openly and secretly infiltrating Chencang.
On the surface, Lan Zhaoyun was asked to lead an army of hundreds of thousands to attack Shaoyang Mansion from the north and the south, with the goal of wiping out the mansion and opening up the north-south passage.
Secretly, Lan Cai'er was sent to lead 30,000 Miao soldiers to attack Baling County City day and night, and took advantage of the county government's unpreparedness to capture the city in one fell swoop.
Such a bloody example is right in front of us.
Lu Yuan, who had witnessed this scene with his own eyes, saw the Five Poison Sect who was unable to retreat and was as stubborn as Shaoyang Mansion before, so he naturally couldn't help but think of the other party's old wisdom.
Anyway, he now has many soldiers, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses.
And those Miao people had just injured the Saint and lost their top combat power, and now they were in panic of being intimidated by the innate master.
Just like Lu Yuan last year, he only dared to hide in the city and didn't dare to come out to fight with the opponent.
That being the case, what's there to say?
Just follow the Miao people's tricks and do it all over again.
Let Zhou Qing lead the majority of the militiamen all the way north to regain the prefectural and county cities that the Miao people had abandoned, and use bluff to confuse the opponent.
He selected tens of thousands of elite soldiers, and then took Yan Wangqiu and the masters of the Nanhai Sect to attack the empty Jiuyi Mansion and cut off the Miao people's retreat in the south.
No matter how good this place is in Wuling Mansion, it is still only the place of one mansion. Moreover, it is the ancestral land of the Miao people and the main altar of the Five Poison Sect. Even if it is defeated, it will be difficult to digest and the harvest will be limited.
The three prefectures in the south are different.
Although there are also many Miao people, they can't hold them back because the territory in the south is also huge.
The land of three mansions is better than the land of one mansion no matter what.
Moreover, by being able to capture the three southern prefectures, Lu Yuan would have a large rear area in an instant, and his territory could be expanded to include five prefectures, all connected together.
One is easy to eat and the fruit is extremely sweet. An extremely difficult nut to crack, and the harvest is limited.
It’s clear at a glance how to choose.
…
February 28, the sixth year of Hongdao.
After the army rested in Xinhua County for three days, Lu Yuan selected 30,000 soldiers, divided 20,000 among his disciple Li Liang, and assigned a first-rate master of the Nanhai Sect to accompany the army, and ordered him to lead the army and stationed in Wugang County.
Confronted with the 50,000 Miao people in Suining County who occupied the resources.
Then he led 10,000 elite soldiers, led Yan Wangqiu and a group of Nanhai sect masters, stayed day and night, and returned to Hengyang Mansion overnight.
February 30, the sixth year of Hongdao.
Zhou Qing, who had already taken over the army, took the two first-class master bodyguards of the Nanhai School allocated to him by Lu Yuan, led 30,000 new soldiers, 70,000 civilians, a total of 100,000 people, and marched north to Wuling Mansion with great momentum.
Two days later, the army arrived at Xupu and Yuanling successively and recovered these two counties that had been abandoned by the Miao people.
Then Zhou Qing led his army to garrison in Yuanling, and divided 10,000 soldiers and 20,000 civilians to capture Wulingfu City, Longyang, Cili and other counties in the east and north of Wulingfu.
Only after the news came back that all eight counties in Wuling, except Chenxi and Qianling counties, had been restored, Zhou Qing felt relieved.
Then he left 20,000 civilians to guard Xupu and Yuanling and guard the army's retreat. Then he led 20,000 soldiers and 30,000 civilians to the north of Chenxi and surrounded the city.
However, considering that there are 40,000 Miao defenders in the city, and that he is just attracting and restraining the Miao people, he is using it as a pretense to confuse the other party.
Therefore, Zhou Qing did not send troops to attack the city. He just asked people to surround the city and cut off all communication between the city and the outside.
This time the Miao people retreated too hastily, so although the people gathered back, there was no time to transfer other supplies.
In addition, Wuling Prefecture is engaged in battles every year, and hundreds of thousands of Miao people in the territory are frequently recruited into the army, leaving no time to take care of local production. They could only rely on the local conquered Yue people to provide them with food, grass and military supplies.
After several years of hard work, Wuling Mansion was already very poor.
There are 40,000 defenders and 30,000 civilians in Chenxi City, which adds up to a population of 70,000.
With so many mouths open, the amount of food and grass consumed every day is a terrifying figure.
Zhou Qing didn't believe it. How long could the small amount of food in the city feed these tens of thousands of people?
I'm afraid that in less than two months, people in the city will starve to death, right?
When he surrounded Luyang Fucheng, he relied on the strategy of cutting off food and using the rebel family members to shake the morale of the army. In a few months, he captured the city.
Now I come to Chenxi again, it's just an old plan.
"Within three months, if there is no foreign aid, this city will be conquered."
Outside Chenxi City, Zhou Qing stood on the high platform that had been built, looking at the city connected to several walled cities in the distance with a stern expression.
In his eyes, the fate of this city and the Miao people in the city was already doomed.
All it takes is taking some time and waiting for the fruit to ripen.
…
Just as Zhou Qing was leading the main force of troops, he marched north to Wuling Mansion with great fanfare.
The first day of March in the sixth year of Hongdao.
After three days of driving day and night, and more than 400 miles of marching, they crossed the Lu Yuan bordering Shanfu, and finally led the troops to Dali County, Jiuyi Prefecture.
On the deserted road, a group of dust-stained soldiers were walking hard towards the south of the road with heavy footsteps.
They had been walking for three days and three nights, during which time they had only taken two naps, each lasting less than two hours. It could be said that they were very exhausted.
If it hadn't been for everyone's daily training, and many of them knew martial arts, they really wouldn't have been able to survive such a high-intensity march.
In fact, out of the original team of ten thousand people, after traveling four hundred miles, nearly a thousand people were left behind.
But even so, the soldiers looked at the firm figure riding a horse in front of them, and their hearts were still full of fighting spirit.
As long as you follow the general, you will definitely win this time.
Aren't they just Miao people?
Even if I marched for three days in a hurry, I would still beat them without hesitation.
This is the spirit and pride of elite soldiers.
What shaped all of this was the strong confidence brought by Lu Yuan's leadership in beating the Miao people and rebels dozens of times in the past.
"Master, after notifying Magistrate Jiang, Hengyang Mansion is already urgently recruiting 20,000 civilians.
According to what Jiang Zhifu said, it only takes three days to dispatch 10,000 civilians in advance to reach Jiuyi Mansion.
After five days, the remaining 10,000 people can be gathered together.
At the same time, the food and grass needed by the army will also be transported together. "
Among the troops, a disciple flew in on horseback from a distance, and then reported to Lu Yuan the results of this communication with the Hengyang government.
After hearing this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction: "Okay. This time we made a surprise attack on Jiuyi Mansion and only brought 10,000 elite soldiers. With these few people spread across the ten counties of the government, on average, one city cannot even allocate a thousand men. .
The purpose of my use of troops this time is to cut off the retreat of the two Miao people entrenched in Ziyuan and Suining counties, as well as those who have now invaded Luyang Prefecture.
There are fifty thousand Miao people in each of these two places.
If we can cut off their escape route and defeat them, without these 100,000 Miao soldiers, Jiuyi, Lingling, and Yangshan Prefectures can be easily pacified.
In this way, the southern part of Dongting will be completely peaceful. "
Surprise attacks are all about efficiency and speed.
Lu Yuan could not waste his troops on defending or attacking the city.
But at the same time, he can't just ignore the retreat and rush directly into the heart of the enemy.
That would be too dangerous.
Therefore, it is necessary to recruit some civilian men from Hengyang Mansion and let them help defend the city, maintain the retreat, and transport food and grass at the same time.
Although this is for the Hengyang Mansion that has already removed 60,000 civilian husbands, recruiting another 20,000 men is equivalent to recruiting all the other men above fifteen.
Especially at this time of spring sowing, such a large-scale deployment of strong labor will definitely affect the summer harvest and make the people of Hengyang Prefecture have a very difficult time.
But don’t the people have to suffer at this time?
After a hard year, once the Miao people in the three southern prefectures are wiped out, there will be no more rebellion from these rebels, and the place will naturally be peaceful.
And when the place is peaceful, the lives of the people will naturally gradually get better.
By that time, there will be no wars, and the people of Hengyang Prefecture will not have to worry about where the rebels will come from every year.
There is no need to be like now, being expropriated by tax every year, running to other prefectures and counties, and working hard in battle with their heads in hand.
That's what the saying goes: first bitter, then sweet.
The army moved forward and soon reached within ten miles of Dali County.
"General, after our investigation, we found that there are very few Miao soldiers in the city, no more than a thousand. And they were guarding the emptiness, and we did not notice the arrival of our army."
At this time, the spies sent out earlier also came back to report.
"More than a thousand people?"
When Lu Yuan heard the number of defenders, he couldn't help but nodded slightly.
According to the intelligence he had previously obtained, after 50,000 Miao troops were stationed in Shaoyang Mansion and Luyang Mansion respectively, the remaining garrison troops in the three mansions occupied by Jiuyi and other Miao people were less than 10,000.
There are more than a thousand people here in Dali County. It is probably because this county guards the northern part of Jiuyi Prefecture and is adjacent to Hengyang Prefecture, which is the reason for the barrier of the prefecture.
For other counties in the prefecture, except for the prefectural city, it would be good to have one or two hundred people.
Lu Yuan had taken a fancy to this point at the beginning, so he formulated this surprise attack plan.
With the empty defenses of Jiuyi Sanfu, if he didn't get this piece of meat, he would not be able to afford the Miao people's gift.
"The Miao people's defense is so empty, this is a God-given opportunity. Send the order, the vanguard camp is ready, and I will attack this city with my general. We will spend the night in the city today."
Lu Yuan gave the order, then turned to Yan Wangqiu and said, "National Master, I'll trouble you to take action later."
The old master naturally agreed to everything: "General, don't worry, I will take action if necessary."
"Then I'll leave it to the Imperial Master." Lu Yuan nodded with a smile.
He has always been rigorous and conscientious in his work.
Although the scouts had said so, Dali County's defenses were empty and the defenders had not yet noticed their arrival.
But just in case, it would be more appropriate to bring an innate master as a backup.
In this way, even if the defenders find that a large army is approaching, with their innate power and a few moves, it is estimated that the defenders at the city gate will be killed.
In the past, Lan Cai'er could easily kill hundreds of Lu Yuan's tribesmen among thousands of troops. The ease with which he looked was like entering a deserted land.
Now it was Yan Wangqiu who could easily kill them all. There were more than a thousand Miao defenders in the city.
The innate masters at the top can deal with the ordinary soldiers at the bottom with such ease.
As long as it does not reach a certain scale, the innate master can kill ordinary soldiers at will.
Otherwise, how can we say that the Xiantian Grandmaster is the divine pillar of the country and can determine the rise and fall of a country?
That's why.
If you don’t have an innate master in charge, they will kill you by hundreds today, a thousand tomorrow, and kill all the millions of people in a year and a half.
But you can't do anything to the other person.
Then what strength does your country have?
Let's destroy it early.
…
The order was given, and soon more than a thousand men in the vanguard began to gather together wearing armor and holding spears.
Lu Yuan counted the number of people, and then led them towards Dali County, which was not far away and didn't know what was going to happen.
Facts have proved that what the scout said is true.
Perhaps he felt that there was no danger here. After all, in the eyes of outsiders, Lu Yuan's army was currently in Wuling Mansion in the north, which was hundreds of miles away and several prefectures and counties away.
Shaoyang Mansion in the north was guarded by 50,000 troops. There are also 50,000 troops attacking Luyang Mansion in the south and east, day and night.
Under this situation, who would have thought that Jiuyi Mansion, which was at the rear, would be targeted?
What, Hengyang Mansion?
How can those guys who have been slapped with tens of thousands of dollars have the guts to come and cause trouble for me?
In the past few years, they have become accustomed to going to Hengyang Mansion from time to time to fight the autumn wind and plunder some grain and property. They really look down on the weaklings in Hengyang Mansion.
Therefore, for various reasons, peace was promoted. When Lu Yuan's soldiers arrived at the city, the city gate was still wide open, and some Miao people and people in the city were entering and exiting there.
With the door open like this, letting you in, what else is there to say?
Lu Yuan took the lead personally and rushed in with the army.
Pedestrians coming in and out of the door were instantly killed and driven away, and the dozens of Miao people responsible for guarding the city were killed in an instant.
In just a few dozen breaths, the entire city gate was controlled.
Then the army entered the city, and those Miao soldiers who reacted and wanted to mobilize troops to recapture the city gate were directly killed on the street.
Among them, Yan Wangqiu may want to save some of the face he lost because of his failure to keep Lan Cai'er. At this time, he took the initiative and killed more than 300 Miao people alone. He killed the other party so scared that they collapsed and ran away.
Lu Yuan was also eager to kill.
Although he is not as efficient as Yan Wangqiu in killing people, once Chiyang's aura is activated, he can easily take away more than a dozen lives.
He killed everyone from scratch, and more than a hundred people died in his hands.
And the two generals are so brave.
The inspired vanguard soldiers under his command rushed to the front, chasing and killing each other for fear of falling behind.
joke.
In a battle situation like this where a team is led by a god, it would be foolish not to put in the best effort at this time and earn more credit.
You must know that Lu Yuan has always been rewarded for his merits and punished for his mistakes. The rewards offered to soldiers who have made meritorious deeds under their command are very tempting.
Not to mention those gold and silver rewards.
Other martial arts secrets, promotion and wealth, and being accepted as a disciple are also shortcuts to achieve a class jump in life and earn glory and wealth.
There have been too many examples before the soldiers.
As long as there are precedents, there will naturally be many people who want to follow suit and become the next person to become successful.
So with the efforts of these two gods and more than a thousand men, the Miao defenders in the city were killed in less than half an hour.
Yes, they were all killed, not a single one was left alive.
This time Lu Yuan fought a surprise battle, and those who took over the defense were also civilians.
Therefore, leaving those strong Miao people behind basically brings no benefit except leaving hidden dangers for the rear and burying the internal and external dangers that will break out at some point.
As for ruling them and collecting taxes?
Before the Five Poison Sect's banner fell, Lu Yuan didn't think he could win the allegiance of those Miao people.
Let alone allegiance, it is still a question mark whether they can produce locally with peace of mind.
If these Miao people were really honest, how could they have continuously provided batch after batch of troops to the Five Poison Sect for several years, nearly 300,000 in total.
You must know that the total number of Miao people in the entire Dongting County is only over one million.
There were 300,000 Miao soldiers, almost equal to men. As long as they came of age, they would rebel with the other side.
For such a rebellious clan, although there is no hope of surrender and naturalization, it is still too difficult and too time-consuming and energy-consuming to accomplish this.
During this period, we still don’t know how much risk we will have to bear and how much loss we will have to bear.
Rather than that.
Lu Yuan still chose what he had done before in Shaoyang Mansion.
Kill the adult Hmong men and eliminate them physically. Then the captured Miao women were distributed to meritorious soldiers and local militia groups.
After twenty or thirty years like this, even if there are still Miao people in Dongting County, they will no longer be able to become popular.
Exterminating their clan, taking in their wives and daughters, and destroying their culture is the most effective, simple and direct method of assimilation.
Lu Yuan didn't know what it was like in other places.
Anyway, he did this in Shaoyang Mansion. After five or six years, the place is still very stable and there has been no trouble.
This proves to be effective.
So at this time, in Jiuyi, Lingling, and Yangshan prefectures, we just need to continue to implement this policy.
As for doing this, will it cause heavy losses to the population of the Three Prefectures?
Lu Yuan felt that for the sake of the stability of his rule and the hundreds of thousands of good people in the three mansions, the sacrifice of these two hundred thousand people was still acceptable.
He firmly believes this.
…
After taking over Dali County, Lu Yuan led his troops to rest here for a day, and then left a hundred people to guard the city, waiting for the civilians from Hengyang Prefecture to move in later.
He led the main force of the brigade directly south to the camp road of Jiuyi Mansion.
During this period, when passing through Daoxian County, there were only a hundred or so defenders in the city, but they were defeated in a single battle.
Then without stopping, he continued to rush to the camp road.
Finally, in the evening of that day, they reached the foot of Yingdao City.
There are more than a thousand defenders in this city, but just like Dali County, they did not expect that the enemy troops would attack.
So when they saw the imperial officers and soldiers coming to kill them, everyone panicked.
Lu Yuan and Yan Wangqiu still took the lead, and they easily entered the city. It took half an hour to regain the city that had been trapped by thieves for two years.
After resting in Fucheng for a night, Lu Yuan divided the army into two and asked his disciple Gu Wei, who had previously commanded the first army, to lead four thousand soldiers and horses eastward to attack Yangshan Prefecture and cut off those who were attacking Luyang Prefecture. Miao thieves have a way out.
For safety's sake, the last remaining top-notch master from the Nanhai Sect who accompanied the army was assigned to Gu Wei.
With four thousand elite soldiers and one top-notch master, it was enough to attack Yangshan Mansion, which had only two thousand defenders at most.
Lu Yuan himself, with Yan Wangqiu and four thousand elite troops, attacked Lingling Mansion from the west.
