At this time, Ma Cheng and others who were ambushing in the back mountain saw a fire breaking out in the city. They knew that the time had come and were about to act according to their plan.
I saw many barbarian people below who didn't know what was happening ahead, and they all blocked the city gate and watched.
Ma Cheng obeyed His Majesty's order "Don't kill civilians in vain" and did not dare to go down there to kill and drive away civilians.
I couldn't make up my mind for a moment and just hesitated in place.
Seeing that Ma Cheng was in trouble, Liu Lin thought for a while and said to Ma Cheng:
"General Ma, Your Majesty has indeed ordered us not to kill in vain, but Your Majesty has also ordered us to raid the back gate of the enemy's stronghold when the fire breaks out in the city.
The final general believes that the general should adapt to the situation when facing the battle and must not get into trouble.
For our current plan, we should focus on raids first.
If we act according to the plan and take control of the gate of the enemy's walled city before committing massacres, it will be at best a dereliction of duty on our part.
Now that the city gate is still in the hands of the barbarians, it would be a big mistake if we hesitate to move forward and miss the opportunity to fight! "
Hearing this, Ma Cheng couldn't help but suddenly realized, and then patted Liu Lin's shoulder with appreciation and said:
"What you said is true. Without further delay, you lead the crossbowmen here to shoot at the base of the formation while I lead the rest of the soldiers to climb down and raid the city gate.
After I take control of the city gate, you will lead your troops to climb down and occupy the high ground of the city gate, while I will lead my troops into the city! "
Liu Lin nodded repeatedly when he heard this, and then the two of them acted according to their plans.
Let’s talk about Zhang Yi, Pang Hong and others on the front.
Starting late at night, the two men lurked at the foot of the mountain at the intersection of the two rivers.
It was not until this time that the barbarian soldiers arrived.
The two waited patiently, letting go of the vanguard of the barbarians, and only waited for the middle barbarian army to cross the river.
When Zhang Yi saw that the barbarian army was halfway across the river, he led his main force to kill the soldiers crossing the river.
Pang Hong ordered the crossbowmen to fire volleys at the barbarian vanguard from high places, suppressing them in place, and then ordered the remaining soldiers to move forward to encircle and suppress them.
The two cooperated tacitly, and after a fierce attack, the barbarians saw that they could not resist the enemy, so they gave up crossing the river and fled to the rear city fortress.
Pang Hong stayed where he was, surrendering and clearing out the scattered barbarians. Zhang Yi led his army to cover up and kill all the troops until they met with His Majesty.
Li Shimin, Ma Cheng, Zhang Yi and other three groups of troops finally met at the south gate of the barbarian city and captured King Ma Yan, the leader of Ranshan Yi.
This battle left the barbarians with blood flowing into rivers and corpses strewn across the fields.
Although the officers and soldiers also suffered losses, they were much less than the losses suffered by the barbarians.
After all, it was a surprise battle. When the enemy saw that they had been tricked, they immediately rebelled without fierce resistance. They were almost chased and slaughtered by the officers and soldiers in a crushing manner.
Li Shimin couldn't hide the joy on his face when he saw that all three groups of officers and soldiers had won, and now they were in complete control of the situation.
After the soldiers put out the fire in the city, Li Shimin entered the city and stood on the high platform of the school ground, hoping to summon King Ma Ya.
At this time, except for Ma Cheng and Liu Lin, who led the troops to collect scattered barbarian soldiers and appease the barbarian people along the way, the other generals were all accompanying His Majesty.
When the barbarian leader arrived, Li Shimin stood upright on the school grounds with his head held high and said majestically:
"On the left and right, bring all the barbarian leaders here forward!"
After hearing this, Chen Zhong bowed and said:
"Here!"
Then he stepped down from the high platform and ordered his soldiers to hold the captured barbarian kings and generals at the head of the high platform.
When Li Shimin saw all the barbarian leaders arriving, he said sternly:
"Where is King Ma Ya? Come forward and answer me!"
At this time, among the barbarian leaders, a strong man wearing an animal skin jacket and a Shu brocade cloak stepped forward, put his hands on his chest, bowed and said in Chinese:
"The co-lord of Ran and Qiang, the little king, and the king of Ran Malongyan, hereby write, long live your majesty!"
Li Shimin snorted coldly and said disdainfully:
"Hmph! This little barbarian has a lot of titles. Let me ask you, if you call yourself 'little king' and respect me as 'your majesty', why do you not accept being a king and raise an army to rebel?"
King Ma Yan lowered his head and hesitated for a moment before bowing and replied:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Xiao Wang and many tribes in Wenshan County have all surrendered to the Han Dynasty.
It's just because in recent years, the imperial court has been conducting conquests year after year, and we have often been ordered to cooperate with the government and military operations.
We are a small group of people, and we are in such dangerous mountains and rivers. We cannot withstand successive years of conquests.
All the tribes are complaining. Not long ago, we heard that the prime minister was newly mourned and the court was in turmoil.
They are all afraid that Cao Wei will take the opportunity to go south from Yongzhou to suppress the Qing Dynasty and surrender us.
Only then did we have no choice but to raise troops to demonstrate to the court, hoping to ask the court to allow us to move south to the center of Shu to avoid the attack of Cao Wei's troops. "
Li Shimin snorted coldly when he heard this and said:
"What is a 'request'? Is this how you make a request by preparing to fight against the King's Master?
If you are afraid that Cao Wei will attack, aren't you afraid of facing our mighty Han army? "
King Ma Yan knew that he was in the wrong and did not dare to answer immediately. He just kept his eyes rolling in his eyes, trying to find reasons to defend himself.
When Li Shimin saw King Ma Yao's hesitation, he knew that this man was stubborn and cunning. He did not dare to admit his mistake to him directly and was still thinking about his sophistry.
Before King Ma Yao could think of a reply, Li Shimin looked at the barbarian leaders behind him and said in a deep voice:
“I often think about how we can make the Han people in Sichuan and you and other foreign peoples get along harmoniously.
Now it seems that I have thought too much, and you have never truly surrendered.
Today, the King's Master has arrived, and you have become a prisoner under the command, yet you are still making excuses and refusing to admit your mistakes.
If that's the case, then I don't mind slaughtering you all. The dead are the ones that make me most at ease! "
Everyone was shocked when they heard this. They thought they could get away with it and save their lives by lying in front of His Majesty, saying some good words and paying some rare treasures.
Unexpectedly, His Majesty would be so decisive and directly declare his intention to exterminate the entire clan.
When the leaders were frightened and hesitant, suddenly a young barbarian general took a step forward, bowed and said:
"Little Wang captured the horse king Wei Lang in the northern border of Yueyong County. The daughter of King Ma Yao is the wife of Xiao Wang.
Since King Ma Yao raised his army to rebel, he has invited me many times to join him in raising troops. I refused several times and had no choice but to join King Ma Yao's rebel army.
Now that the heavenly soldiers have arrived, we know that it is difficult for us to resist, and at the same time we are guilty of rebellion. The little king is willing to surrender with his whole family.
If Your Majesty is worried about King Ma Yao and other tribes, the young king is willing to recommend himself as the co-lord of the Ran Qiang and other Qiang Di tribes, and to protect the northwest frontier for the imperial court.
From then on, I sincerely surrendered to the imperial court, was controlled by the imperial court, and would never rebel again! I hope your Majesty will learn from this! "
As soon as these words came out, all the barbarian leaders, including King Ma Yao, were shocked.
All of them are from Wenshan County and the surrounding Xirong tribes. Wei Lang is the leader of a southern barbarian tribe in Yueyong County. Even with the relationship of King Ma Yao's son-in-law, it is not enough to become the co-leader of many Xirong tribes.
After King Ma Yan was shocked, he couldn't help but retorted:
"Your Majesty! We are all Qiang and Di people, how can we respect people from other tribes as our common masters? I hope your Majesty will not listen to the slander and leave our fate to the hands of foreigners!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but feel funny when he heard this.
Then he said coldly:
"How can you respect someone from another race as your co-lord?" Then according to your words, you are not willing to respect us, the Han court, as the lord?"
King Ma Yan was speechless for a moment when he heard the words, feeling annoyed that he had said the wrong thing in a hurry.
Now that my rebellion has not been cleared up, and now I have added another sin of "disobeying the Han Dynasty court", what should I do?
When the other tribal leaders saw King Ma Yao's defeat, they couldn't help but panic, and quickly gave up the idea of agreeing with King Ma Yao.
Wei Lang saw that His Majesty was vaguely interested in supporting him, so he struck while the iron was hot:
"Your Majesty, although Xiaowang's tribe is in Yueyong County, he knows that he is not as powerful as Dinglu, Qiondu and other barbarian kings.
If your power is small, you will have less worries. If your majesty allows the little king to be the co-owner of the Wenshan tribe, the little king will definitely move his family north and settle in the dangerous mountains and rivers of Wenshan County to contribute to the court! "
Li Shimin's original intention was to convince the barbarians here, and then set up a governor's office in Wenshan County.
Changed Prime Minister Zhuge's strategy of Han officials only taking care of the Han people and allowing the barbarians to be completely autonomous, to a strategy of Han officials taking charge of the Han and Yi people, making the barbarians under the supervision of the court, and being semi-autonomous.
Now, although Wei Lang recommended himself, Wei Lang's prestige may not be able to convince the public in a short time, which invisibly makes it more difficult for the court to supervise.
It's a pity that King Ma Yao is too repetitive and cunning, otherwise King Ma Yao would be his first choice.
Just when Li Shimin couldn't make up his mind, Zhang Yan suddenly said:
"Brother Adou, since all the barbarians here are dissatisfied with Wei Lang, why not make Wei Lang's wife the co-owner of the barbarians here?"
Li Shimin couldn't help but his eyes lit up when he heard this, and he thought to himself: "Yes, King Ma Ya's daughter is the co-owner, so these tribal leaders have nothing to say, right?"
Thinking of this, Li Shimin said seriously:
"Where is the daughter of King Ma Ya? Come forward and answer!"
As soon as this order came out, there was a commotion among the barbarians.
Not long after, a beautiful woman about twenty years old, wearing a fox fur, walked over.
When she reached the high platform, the woman crossed her hands on her chest, bowed and said:
"The daughter of King Ma Ya has met His Majesty!"
Li Shimin raised his hand to indicate that he was lying flat and asked:
"I want to make you the co-lord of all the tribes in Wenshan County and serve the imperial court from now on. I wonder if you are willing?"
When King Ma Yao's daughter was in the crowd, she had already heard the conversation between His Majesty and her father, and she had already made a plan in her heart.
Now that she is Wei Lang's wife, she is considered a member of Wei Lang's family. Moreover, the Qiang Di tribe has respected men as the head of the family since the time when they had no love for swords, so she has no inheritance rights.
If he agrees to become the leader of the Qiang and Di communities in Wenshan County, his husband Wei Lang will also become the second most powerful person under him.
In name, she is the co-owner, but since she is Wei Lang's wife, the power of co-ownership actually lies with her husband.
In this way, the two of them can control the Ma Yi and Wenshan Qiang Di tribes.
As long as she uses her identity as "King Ma Yao's daughter" to restrain Wei Lang, Wei Lang will not dare to leave her.
From now on, I will be able to enjoy this "heavenly wealth" in peace, and I will definitely not let such a good thing go!
After hearing His Majesty's inquiry about her feelings, King Ma Yao's daughter hurriedly stepped forward, lined up with her husband, then bowed and said:
"I would like to thank Your Majesty for your kindness. I am willing to be the co-lord of the Qiang and Di tribes in Wenshan, manage the Qiang and Di tribes for the imperial court, and guard the northwest frontier!"
