"Huh? Do you know who is coming?" Liu Chan was more confused than alert.
He knew very well that in the area of Nanzhong, no resistance force could gather around 3,000 people.
The extremists who have been stubbornly resisting are now being escorted by their own army.
As for the forces further west, outside Nanzhong... the powerful Tubo on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau would not appear for more than four hundred years, and no one had the ability to attack here.
"Prince, the soldiers in this army are all dressed in different clothes. They seem to be a mixture of barbarian tribes. The army also drives a large number of cattle and horses, and many of them are loaded with leather bags and cloth bags."
Um?
Liu Chan sighed helplessly, and looked at Zhuge Liang next to him. The smile on his face also contained some compassion.
"Send an order to the entire army to halt their march and wait for them to come over."
"yes!"
After receiving the order, the army stopped marching. Without receiving specific orders from the prince and the military adviser, the generals and commanders at all levels spontaneously organized soldiers to form formations to meet the enemy in a formal manner.
Both the generals and the soldiers they brought out have made great progress after the war.
Soldiers who have followed Zhuge Liang are good at cooperating in battle formations, soldiers who have followed Liu Chan have a heightened sense of belonging and honor, and soldiers who have followed Ma Su... cherish food even more.
There were 25,000 people when they were brought out. The proportion of soldiers killed in the battle on Ma Su's side was higher, about 20% overall.
However, counting those who refused to leave after joining, and those who were originally reduced to ashes after being incorporated, the number has now increased to more than 27,000.
After the formation was completed, they calmly waited for the arrival of the "enemy troops".
No matter who they followed at the beginning, they had faced more enemies than themselves, and their confidence and morale had been built up, so there was no need to fear a mere three thousand cavalry.
Without waiting too long, I saw a large number of people moving forward from a distance.
As the opponent gets closer and closer, the soldiers hold their spears in their hands and arrows on the strings, waiting for the war drums to sound to give the opponent a try.
...and the drums?
The soldiers in the front row have begun to see clearly the appearance of the "enemy army". They are dressed in different clothes and appear to be a coalition of barbarians and civilians.
It's just that the other party seems to be calmer than himself. Some of the people in front seem to be enemy generals and they seem to be still talking and laughing.
A young soldier who still didn't understand what was going on was quite angry. Since going south, no one had dared to look down on them like the Han soldiers.
He silently clenched the spear in his hand, his eyes widened with anger, just waiting for these enemy cavalry who didn't know the heights of the sky to charge forward.
The enemy cavalry is activated! The enemy cavalry charges up!
The enemy...the enemy started waving?
The enemy troops slowed down, stopped, dismounted, knelt down...
The soldier watched dumbfoundedly as the barbarian soldiers dismounted and knelt down, shouting something in their mouths, but his commander did not give the order to attack.
Of course it was impossible for Liu Chan to order an attack. As soon as he heard the scout's report, he knew that this was not an enemy force at all.
Since the enemy troops are driving oxen and horses, is it possible that they also want to play the "Fire Oxen and Horse Formation"?
Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang got off the carriage together and walked over one after another.
"Get up, what are you doing?" Liu Chan looked at Huo Bu'uli in front of him and several familiar Qingqiang generals.
"Prince, not only did we lose the war, but you and Zhuge Military Advisor not only did not plunder, but also gave us favors. According to our rules, we should give back." Huo Buoli said sincerely.
At this time, the barbarians who had been left behind by the cavalry also drove a large number of cattle and horses over.
"These are my Qingqiang's war horses."
"These are the cattle from my various tribes in Yuexi."
"And we..."
The leaders of each tribe introduced the contributions of their tribes. Some small tribes that were really poor also brought some of the best things in the tribe such as tiger skins.
Even that tiger skin was the leader's own bed not long ago...
"You don't have to be like this..." Liu Chan was speechless for a moment, "You should take it back and get rich first."
Unexpectedly, the other party was not happy. Huo Bu'uli said angrily: "We are poor and have not studied like you Han people, but we also know that the blade is pointed at the enemy and repayment is dedicated to the benefactor!"
"Yes! This is also a revelation from God." Another leader said, referring to the pictures at the end of the scrolls where the barbarians gave back.
Seeing that Liu Chan seemed unwilling to accept it, the barbarians began to complain one after another.
"Prince, you'd better accept it. The Yi people are simple in their feelings and worship the strong. If you don't accept the gift now, I'm afraid they will feel that the alliance is not a true alliance." Zhuge Liang said softly.
"Okay, stop talking. Just accept it." Liu Chan waved his hand.
The leaders then turned their resentment into joy. Huo Bu'uli stroked his chest and smiled: "That's right, you and Zhuge Military Advisor are both the victors and our benefactors, so they deserve to be honored."
Then the Yi people drove the cattle and horses into the Han army, and respectfully handed the whips used to drive the cattle and horses to the Han soldiers.
Those who brought home-brewed fruit wine came forward to toast, and the soldiers who received the general's instructions drank it all in one gulp. The Yi people burst into cheers, and then they began to sing and dance to the Han army in accordance with their own etiquette.
The songs and dances are different, but the meanings expressed are similar.
At this time, the Han soldiers who were originally wary or slightly discriminatory were also infected. Some soldiers in the front row were pulled into the singing and dancing crowd by the enthusiastic girls, and they started dancing clumsily.
Both sides burst into laughter, and the atmosphere was harmonious and harmonious.
"Those who do things for others will be helped by others; those who do things for themselves will be left alone..." Liu Chan murmured.
Zhuge Liang smiled when he heard this: "With the help of the masses, even if we are weak, we will be strong; if we go with the crowd, even if we are strong, we will perish. Although the King of Huainan is not a loyal minister, and there are many fallacies in his writings, this alone is very good."
"I just hope that the world will be settled soon and the prosperous age will return. All the Han and barbarians in the territory can live in harmony with each other like this, so as to avoid further disasters." It is rare to travel through thousands of years to this place. Liu Chan really wants to do something for this troubled civilization. What.
Zhuge Liang bowed and said, "If the king knew how high the prince is, he would be greatly comforted."
Putting away his temporary sentimentality, Liu Chan smiled and said, "At least this time I won't say 'well done' with a straight face."
Zhuge Liang was stunned, and both of them laughed.
After the gifts and blessings were over, Huo Bu'uli and all the leaders bowed down again: "Congratulations to the prince and Zhuge's military advisor. The people of all ethnic groups in the south have received great favors and have formed a sworn alliance. If there is a call in the future, they will lead the able men of their tribes to join them." The Han army will live and die together!"
Liu Chan stepped forward to help him up and held his fist: "You have a good saying, 'The blade must be pointed at the enemy.' Han and Yi have the same origin, and they are brothers, not enemies. I, Liu Han, are the court Japan will definitely live up to the people of Nanzhong."
"Prince!" Huo Bu'uli's eyes were filled with tears, and he was suddenly moved to the point of bursting with emotion.
After saying goodbye to everyone, the army continued to move north.
What Liu Chan didn't expect was that this was just the first wave of people...
Driving a large number of cattle and horses, the Han army marched slowly. During this period, people and horses from other places came from other directions to "encircle and block" them.
All the counties and towns passing by had to come and go like this. By the end, Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang and their generals and soldiers were all numb... The Han army, which was in overwhelming strength when they arrived, never thought that when they withdrew from Nanzhong, they would be like this " Treading hard."
…
"Our army's existing crossbows still have many shortcomings. The speed between each firing is too slow. However, if the soldiers are ordered to fire in turns, the firing density is not enough." Zhuge Liang said, "If this can be solved, the battle formation will still be powerful. A huge improvement.”
The focus of crossbow production is on the metal crossbow machine. This delicate thing also limits the production speed. Before the process is improved, it will be difficult to significantly increase the number of assemblies in the army.
Liu Chan pretended to frown and thought hard, and then sighed after a moment: "It would be great if ten or more crossbow arrows could be loaded at one time so that they could fire continuously."
"Continuous fire?" Zhuge Liang was stunned for a moment, and then his eyes gradually brightened, "The prince's words are as bright as clearing the clouds and seeing the sun! What's wrong with continuous fire?"
Good guy, Uncle Zhuge, can you clear the clouds and see the sun?
Liu Chan was a little embarrassed. This was your invention.
The army set off from Dianchi Lake in early August and did not leave Nanzhong until mid-September.
For more than a month, Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang were not idle. Along the way, the two not only summarized the battle, but also discovered some areas where the Han army's armament could be improved.
Fortunately, after entering Jiangyang, you can use the Yangtze River waterway to go up the river and go straight to Chengdu.
(End of chapter)
