Zhuti County, Zhuti County.
After Liu Chan personally led the army to arrive, he not only saw Deng Fang, the commander-in-chief of the surrender, but also Zhengang and Wang Meng who had fled here.
"Your Majesty Deng Fang."
"The guilty minister is in high spirits. See the crown prince."
Liu Chan returned the greeting and said: "You two have worked hard, and now I come from Chengdu alone. I will lead a large army to help you put down the rebellion."
The two looked at each other with shame on their faces.
Zhengang said: "I have not fulfilled my duty to protect the land and have been entrusted by the king. I should live and die with Dianchi County! Now that I have fled here, I really have no face to see the prince. I still ask the prince to punish me on my behalf."
After saying that, he bowed and handed over his hands.
Liu Chan glanced at Wang Meng behind him, and Wang Meng nodded imperceptibly.
Liu Chan then stepped forward to help him up and said with a smile: "Although I have never been here, I have heard my father's words to make you loyal. Now that the thieves are powerful, it is expedient for you to avoid this place temporarily. It is convenient for me to think about it." Even if my father is here, I won’t blame you.”
Only then did Zhengang stand up, his face showing gratitude.
Deng Fang also said at this time: "I sent two thousand soldiers from the county to help Zhengshijun quell the rebellion, but I didn't want to... return defeated before the city was conquered. I am really ashamed."
"It is important to quell the chaos now, but it is not the time to punish loyal ministers. I also ask Governor Deng to tell Gu Zhi about the military situation ahead."
"Okay, Prince, please sit down and I will give you a detailed report."
Deng Fang then told Liu Chan about the defeat.
Zhuti County is like a nail inserted into the three rebellious counties: Yueyong to the west, Yizhou County to the south, and Zanggao to the east.
As long as Deng Fang leads his troops and sits here, the rebels in South China will not be able to send troops north.
If Zhu Ti is bypassed, Deng can attack his rear at any time and cut off his food route.
However, Deng Fang had to be very cautious if he wanted to send troops. He sent troops from one county south to attack Yizhou County. If Gao Ding and Zhu Bao noticed it, he would be attacked from three sides.
Therefore, although he also has 5,000 county soldiers, he must leave enough troops for defense.
Naturally, Deng Fang did not expect to be able to quell the rebellion once and for all when he sent two thousand county troops to attack south.
It's just that as the governor of Nanzhong, he was originally an official position established to pacify Nanzhong. Although the king is not demanding, how can a minister remain indifferent in the face of the rebellion in Nanzhong?
He believed that with these two thousand troops, it would not be a problem to at least capture Cunjian County.
Once Cunjun is captured, the northern gate of Yizhou County will be wide open, and there will be more gentle terrain to the south, which will be more conducive to the army's formation. The king's reinforcements will then be able to rely on this outpost to drive southward.
Unfortunately, Liu Chan already knew what happened next.
"Commander Deng, do you know why the southerners are willing to join the Yong family and Meng Huo and risk their lives to fight against our army?"
It is not difficult for Liu Chan to win the title.
Among the counties in Nanzhong, only the county seat can be called a county seat, and the rest of the small counties are at most the level of large-scale cottages.
But laying a solid foundation is only the beginning. If we don’t understand this issue clearly, we will not be able to achieve our strategic goals.
"Huh!" Deng Fang said angrily, "After our army was defeated, the soldiers who returned from fleeing said that the southern tribes originally did not want to respond to the rebellion. But Meng Huo said that our army came here to plunder the tribes.
"Each tribe must be ordered to produce three hundred black dogs, all with black hair on their chests, three measures of agate, and three thousand three-foot-long logs. If any tribe cannot hand over even one dog, it must be Slaughtered by our army.
"At that time, all the men will be killed, and the women will be slaves, and they will never be able to stand up again..."
Liu Chan sneered after hearing this, Meng Huo actually started playing cognitive warfare with him?
If his prediction was correct, it was probably Wu Laoer's people who had given them a trick.
If I were to kill them all the way with my knife like Zhang Yi said, I'd probably fall into Jiangdong's conspiracy.
No matter whether he wins or loses, the southerners will never be able to return home. In the future, if necessary, Jiaozhou can incite rebellion here and set Lao Liu's backyard on fire.
When the time is right, Wu Laoer will come to Nanzhong as the savior. With just a little favor, it goes without saying which way Nanzhong will turn.
Let them die, bleed, and fight Lao Liu to the last Nanzhong man, and they will always be grateful to this person who fanned the evil wind behind their backs and lit the will-o'-the-wisp and sent them weapons.
In the end, he even fell directly into Jiangdong's arms.
You cripple has such beautiful thoughts, right?
"Captain Deng, I have a plan in my heart, and I hope the governor will cooperate."
"The prince has orders, and I must obey them!"
Zhengang also said: "The guilty minister still has more than a hundred personal guards under his command, and they are all at the command of the prince."
Liu Chan nodded: "You two are now ordered to continue to guard Zhuti County. This is our army's return route and the guarantee of food and grass for the southern expedition. We must not lose anything. At the same time, we will closely inquire about the battle situation in Yueyong and Zanggao counties."
"yes!"
"Zhang Bogong."
"I'm here." Zhang Yi stood up and clasped his fists.
"Gu Zi led the army in front to clear the way, and ordered Ru Tong's four thousand soldiers and horses to follow behind to protect the civilians and escort the grain and grass. At the same time, beware of the southerners gathering together to attack."
"yes!"
Liu Chan also warned: "Remember, if the southerners have not taken action, you cannot kill their tribesmen or destroy their fields first!"
Zhang Yi was stunned, but immediately said: "I obey."
Li Hui listened for a while and said, "No, that's not right. Why doesn't he have any business here?"
He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Prince, what about the father and son...?"
Liu Chan smiled at Li Hui: "Whether this southern expedition can get off to a perfect start depends on what Li is doing. You and your son need to be like this..."
After hearing this, Li Hui stood stunned on the spot: "...Ah? That's it?"
"That's it." Liu Chan said solemnly, "This is the most important thing. I hope Li will do his best and don't take it lightly."
Li Hui and his son looked at each other, clasped their fists and said, "I obey."
…
The weather in Nanzhong in May has become humid and hot.
"Go!" A soldier said angrily, driving away the huge flying insects, "What the hell is this place? It's so hot, and there are so many insects and snakes."
A man next to him kept fanning himself with the lapel of his clothes, wiped his sweat and said in a low voice: "Okay, stop complaining. Look at this person."
These two men followed the Red Star Army. Li Er, Ding Feng and others led the Red Star Army as the vanguard at the front, followed by Liu Chantong's Chinese Army behind, and at the rear were the grain and grass baggage and Zhang Yi's rear army.
The Red Star Army in front was also walking in the sweltering mountain forest, but they were like puppets made of gold and iron, still marching silently and vigilantly as before.
They seemed to be unaffected by the environment, but the two people who were close could see clearly that the soldiers of the Red Star Army were not dummy monsters, and they were also sweating down their necks...
"...Let's go." The flying insects were still buzzing around the soldier, and he still waved his hands to drive them away from time to time, but he was no longer as irritable as before.
After the team left the mountain forest, the terrain outside the mountain gradually slowed down. From a distance, several small villages could be seen scattered under the mountain, and a larger settlement could be vaguely seen further away.
Li Er, who was leading the troops, combined the map and the reports of the scouts ahead of him to determine that Cunxian County was in the distance.
"The entire army is in armor, inform the central and rear troops."
"yes!"
Then Liu Chan's army put on armor and braved the sweltering heat, fully armed and continued to advance.
However, the Red Star Army leading the way began to speed up at this moment, breaking away from the central army and taking a detour...
They specifically chose the direction where the village was, and started walking in circles after leaving the mountain.
The villagers who saw the army rushing towards them from a distance, like a herd of frightened animals, immediately dropped their farm tools and hid in their houses. After a while, no one was seen outside.
"Prince Liu Chan, don't kill good people! Don't capture slaves, don't make money! Take Meng Huo and capture Yong Kai!"
"Suppress Nanzhong, keep the people safe! Punish traitors and eradicate evil, and support farmers and mulberry trees!"
A uniform shout came from the mouths of the Red Star Army soldiers, and the sound resounded throughout the village.
The people still had their doors closed, and they didn't care. After shouting three or five times in the village, they immediately rushed to the next village.
When the voices of the Red Star Army became farther and farther away, some bold people began to open their doors and windows a crack in confusion, looking out.
Wherever the Red Star Army passed, no farmland or house was damaged, and not even a single cow was killed.
The people living here are also Han people, but over time, many habits and customs have gradually become somewhat different from those in the north. However, it is naturally very simple to understand Chinese.
Thinking of the two simple and easy-to-understand slogans just now, and then looking at the scene of Qiu Wuming in front of them, they began to be confused.
How is this...different from what Meng Huo said?
He probably wanted to deceive them, yes, the Northerners were cunning, so that must be the case.
I thought so, but subconsciously, my will to resist had loosened slightly.
At the same time, the name Liu Chan also quietly left the first impression in the hearts of southerners.
As for the prince Liu Chan himself, he had led the Chinese army straight to Cunjian and quickly surrounded the county town like a large village.
He doesn't have much patience when dealing with the Yong family who have evil intentions. Since he dares to betray, he must be willing to pay the price...
(End of chapter)
