"How did you do this?" Liu Chan looked at Ma Di and Guan Xing who had won the battle, but his eyes were full of confusion.
The two of them only brought 5,000 troops with them before leaving, but now the number has increased to more than 8,000...
This was the result of encountering Zhu Bao's resistance when attacking Zhiqielan of Xianggao County and losing more than 500 troops before taking it.
However, they didn't look good at this time.
Ma Su, who usually pays great attention to his image, now had blood and sludge spots all over his clothes and armor, as well as all kinds of mysterious stains that could no longer be seen.
Guan Xing, who originally had an elegant temperament, took off his helmet and shook his head, and two bugs popped out of his hair. It seemed that his head was about to form an independent ecological environment...
Even in this appearance, they almost have the best image among the people. Almost half of the "soldiers" are in rags, and some even only use animal skins to surround their buttocks.
These people all have sallow faces and thin muscles, and they look like they have been suffering from malnutrition all year round.
Liu Chan was very familiar with this scene. How could this be a victory and a triumph? Isn't this just a refugee fleeing from famine?
Ma Di reluctantly handed over his hand and said in a weak voice: "Prince, can you allow our army to have a full meal... before we talk to the prince in detail?"
Liu Chan: "...Here comes someone! Prepare food quickly!"
…
Ma Di, Guan Xing, and Ma Zhong, who had emerged in the Battle of Zangda, were dazzled by the strange eyes of Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang, and other generals for nearly half an hour, and then they all stood upright and rounded after Liu Chan's persuasion. My stomach stopped.
Liu Chan felt that if he didn't speak again, they might eat until they vomited...
He looked at the three people who looked happy and seemed to have nothing more to ask for, and asked again: "How did you do this?"
However, Comrade Ma Su's answer seemed to be a bit off-topic: "Prince, Zanggan is really poor..."
When he said this, he seemed to have mixed feelings, with tears in his eyes, and he recalled the magical and unbearable battle experience that he and others had along the way.
At first, their war went very smoothly. After capturing Fan County, the army followed the tone set by the prince, opened warehouses to collect grain, helped the poor, confiscated large and unscrupulous households and poor people, and soon laid a foundation for the Han army there. Got a good reputation.
However, Ma Su and Guan Xing at the time never imagined that it was this good reputation that would later make them look like refugees...
After Fanxian was stabilized, Ma Su and others marched southeastward, heading straight towards Zhiqielan of Xianxian County.
Here, they encountered their first and final battle.
Qilan is the only place in the entire Zangqi County that has a large plain landform. Naturally, it is also the main grain-producing area of Zangqi County.
When Zhu Bao learned that the Han army had arrived and Fan County was lost, he gathered almost all the troops he could mobilize - in fact, only more than 2,000 people - in Qielan to hold on.
Except for Qielan, there was no strategic location worth attacking nearby, and Ma Su and Guan Xing, who were unable to use tactics to mobilize the enemy, fell into a confrontation with the defenders.
The route into Zanggao was too dangerous and the thunder cannon could not be transported at all. They could only cut down trees on the spot and make simple ladders and rush vehicles.
After trying to persuade them to surrender to no avail, Ma Di and Guan Xing were helpless and launched a strong attack.
Fortunately, Qielan City's defenses were not strong, and the defenders were poorly equipped and lacked training. Zhu Bao did not know how to pretend to attack or attack.
On the first day of the siege, we almost took one gate.
Just three days later, the well-equipped Han army attacked so hard that the defenders were so demoralized that they almost had no intention of fighting anymore.
Feeling that the situation was not good, Zhu Bao had no choice but to use his biggest "trump card" - asking the wizard to do something.
People in Nanzhong generally believe in ghosts and gods, and the impoverished Zanggao County is the most convinced. Perhaps because he has lived here for a long time, Zhu Bao, who is the prefect of a county, also believes in wizards and ghosts.
The wizard in the city immediately asked Zhu Bao to kill nine defenders in the middle of the night to sacrifice to the ghosts and gods, and then practiced the ritual for half a night.
At daybreak, a messenger told Zhu Bao that the soldiers defending the city were now invulnerable and could rush out of the city to annihilate the Han army in one fell swoop.
Zhu Bao really believed it.
The magical thing is that not only Zhu Bao believed it, but also the defending soldiers believed it.
The city gate was wide open, and many soldiers still wearing panties and wearing straw sticks in their heads came out with low-quality machetes and bamboo spears, shouting and menacingly.
Then, there is no more...
Although they believed it, they didn't seem to believe it with the bows, crossbows, swords and spears in the hands of the Han army.
After the first batch of fallen defenders fell, other defenders who found that the witchcraft was not working immediately knelt down. They knelt down very decisively after losing their last spiritual sustenance.
When the army entered the city, Zhu Bao was already dead... stabbed to death by the wizard he trusted.
The wizard cut off Zhu Bao's head and presented it to Ma Su. He also said that if he had not deceived Zhu Bao, the Han army might have to pay more casualties to capture Qielan, and asked for his life.
Ma Su and Guan Xing were speechless after hearing this. Everyone believed the wizard's trick, but he, the one who presided over the practice, did not believe it.
Liu Chan was speechless after hearing this. This thing sounded familiar to him. It seemed that a "capable man" would do something similar hundreds of years later.
The successful capture of Qielan and Zhu Bao's death almost meant that Zangzhou County had been captured. Ma Su and Ma Su happily continued to copy the "Fuxian model". At this time, they did not realize the seriousness of the problem.
Confiscated the Zhu family, opened warehouses to help the poor, and won the hearts of the people.
It's just that there are a lot more poor households in this county... If according to the standards of the Han army, almost every household of ordinary people is a poor household.
However, Comrade Ma Su still adhered to the principles he had set before and resolutely completed the tasks assigned by the prince and the military advisor.
After the battle of Qielan, the reputation of the Han army among the ordinary people of Zangzhou almost reached its peak. Countless people came here to help the Han army completely pacify Zangzhou.
Ma Su was overjoyed. He did not refuse anyone who came, and incorporated them all into the army.
Seeing the army growing bigger and bigger, Comrade Ma Di immediately felt a sense of accomplishment.
When Qielan stabilized, they once again led the army to pacify everywhere in Zanggao.
However, after that, Ma Su and Guan Xing's nightmare journey began.
Qilan is the richest place in Xianxian County, but it is not as rich as a small county in Shu. You can imagine what will happen next...
Moreover, the little demons in the temple are strong, and there are many bastards in the shallow pool.
The poorer the place, the more chaotic it will be in order to compete for limited resources.
The forces that Zang Gaoguang can name include the five families of Long, Fu, Yin, Dong, and Wang, and there are even more small forces that dominate the mountains and become kings.
In order to maintain their relatively superior life, these forces, almost without exception, squeezed the people, and both Han and foreigners suffered.
Ma Su led the army and began to defeat all dissenters.
The Han army was overwhelming and crushed these forces, which further expanded Ma Di's strength and continued to attract young men who came here to join the army.
Just as he was beating, Guan Xing, who was more thoughtful, discovered a hidden danger - there was not enough food and grass.
The grain road was difficult and dangerous, and there was no waterway, so the efficiency of transporting grain from Bajun to Zangdao was extremely low.
Previously, they had been relying on the grain reserves in Fanxian and Qielan. However, they also had to shoulder the task of poverty alleviation. The grain reserves in the two places were quickly stretched.
And Ma Su, who enjoyed fighting against local tyrants and landlords, soon discovered an astonishing fact. The landlords in Zanggao County did not have much surplus food...
So much so that he later hoped to meet a tough opponent, so that he could justifiably confiscate his house. Every small force that surrendered to the wind could make Comrade Ma Su miserable all day long.
It's just that the Han army's invincible posture naturally has fewer and fewer strong bones.
The young men who came to join the army basically joined because of the Han army's poverty alleviation policy and because they could have enough to eat.
If we stop the poverty alleviation policy at this time, or forcibly plunder the large households that have surrendered, all previous efforts will be in vain, and conflicts will inevitably intensify again.
The king and the prince want a stable Nanzhong, not just a wave of burning, killing and looting.
On the issue of whether to suffer for the people or to suffer for yourself, Ma Di and Guan Xing discussed for a long time and finally chose the latter.
So that later they had to start using their own military rations to help the poor... After the hard work of clearing the Zangqi County, their originally well-armed Han army became completely refugees fleeing from famine.
All the way to the west, no wild animals could be expected to survive wherever they passed, and even the bones of a toad could be chewed...
After listening to what Ma Su and the other three said, Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang were silent for a long time. After looking at each other, they both understood each other's meaning.
Nanzhong must undergo major reform and development!
After a long discussion, Liu Chan summoned all the places and prepared to invite all the prominent Han surnames and barbarian leaders to Dianchi Lake to hold the first Nanzhong Congress.
In early July, when representatives from various places arrived in front of Dian Lake one after another, a reply from Lao Liu who had received the battle report also arrived.
The content of the letter is very short, and the general meaning is actually just one sentence.
After discussions between Prince Liu Chan and military advisor Zhuge Liang, all matters in Nanzhong were settled, as if they were here in person.
(End of chapter)
