My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 725: The threat in the south will be resolved in one battle
One day in late October, Zhuge Liang personally led three generals, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin and Zhang Ren, and an army of 15,000 people, crossing the Lu River from Huiwu County and heading south.

Before the army set out, the court first used courtesy before using force, and sent envoys to Jianning County and Yongchang County to announce the court's intention to station troops to eliminate bandits along the way and protect the Shu-Shendu trade route.

So, just a few days later, Yong Kai, who was in Dianchi County, Jianning County, learned this "bad news" that made him uneasy.

"What? Zhuge Liang wants to station troops in Dongdong, Yunnan, and Yuyu counties? Or did he notify me and the Li and Lu families in Yongchang at the same time?
What a trick of killing with a borrowed knife! He wanted to use the fact that Li Hui and Lu Kai would definitely obey the imperial court to highlight my rebellious heart!

If he keeps pressing me like this, even if I pretend to give in, I'm afraid I won't be able to hide for long. I'll eventually be cut to death by his blunt knife. It's better to fight to the death!"

Yong Kai discussed with his son Yong Xi and his main generals, and he decided to fight to the end.

However, considering that Zhuge Liang came in person, with Zhuge Liang's reputation, even if he only brought 15,000 soldiers, Yong Kai seemed unsure of dealing with him.

This was a very realistic problem. After deciding to use force, Yong Kai had to find a way to solve this problem immediately, so he asked everyone for advice.

Finally, his son Yongxi came up with a plan: "Father! Why don't we contact the local barbarian kings and tell them that after Zhuge Liang comes, he will impose heavy taxes and levies, and seize the special products of South China. We will trick as many people as we can into working for us!"

Yong Kai immediately carried out the order, and as a result, within a short period of time, he successfully bewitched the local barbarian kings Meng Huo and Mulu in Jianning County, as well as Duosi, the barbarian king in Yongchang County.

However, Meng Huo is only thirty years old now, nearly fifteen years younger than when he was conquered by Zhuge Liang in history. The situation of other barbarian kings and generals is similar.

After Yong Kai tricked some barbarian kings into joining forces with him, he finally felt a little relieved.

While Yong Kai was doing all this, Zhuge Liang, along with Zhou Tai, Zhang Ren and others, were also advancing steadily, crossing the Lu River from Huiwu County and heading south, and had already arrived at Ludong County.

Yong Kai was still holding back and gathering strength, and did not formally resist with force for the time being, so he allowed Zhuge Liang to occupy Dong County first. He planned to let the Han army in, deep into Jianning County, where logistics were difficult, and then fortify the city and clear the countryside, and then close the gates and fight the enemy.

After occupying Dong County, Zhuge Liang also needed to let the troops rest for a few days. At the same time, he also issued a new ultimatum to Yong Kai. The content was not surprising. It really asked Yong Kai to "cooperate with the court if he is willing to understand the current situation, and welcome the court's heavenly troops in the counties along the way to Pu Shui, so as to facilitate the court's use of the road to attack Shi Xie."

After reading this letter, Yong Kai was completely furious. He could see Zhuge Liang's intention of attacking Guo through the false territory. If this step was carried out, the tip of Zhuge Liang's knife would almost touch his lungs.

Yong Kai immediately decided: "Zhuge Liang wants to go west to join forces with Li Hui and Lu Kai in Yongchang, and I don't have to defend Yunnan County and Yuyu County along the way.

But if he goes east to threaten Qinzang, Dianchi Lake and other places, he will completely control the heartland of our Yong family! This is intolerable! Gather the army immediately and defend Qinzang County to the death. As long as Zhuge Liang's army comes, we will fight to the death!

In addition, we will ask Meng Huo and other troops to guard the dangerous passes and valleys along the way to prevent Zhuge Liang from taking a detour to surround Qin and Zang, and ensure that the Qin and Zang defenders can retreat to the southeast if they can no longer hold on. In this way, we will resist step by step and consume layer by layer. Since northerners are not used to the scorching heat in the south, as long as we survive the winter and make it to late spring, Zhuge Liang will surely be defeated without a fight! "

All the sons, nephews and generals received the order and said they would obey. At this time, another general, E Huan, offered him advice:
"My Lord, since Zhuge Liang is using the 'fake passage to attack a country' strategy, nominally borrowing the route of Jianning County to prepare for the attack on Shi Xie, why don't we send someone to contact Shi Xie and join forces to resist Zhuge Liang?"

Upon hearing this, Yong Kai immediately nodded and said, "That makes sense. I will write a letter and send someone to Jiaozhi as soon as possible to contact Shi Xie.

Well, the road to Pu Shui is long and dangerous. Even if Shi Xie takes into account the fact that we are in danger of losing each other and that we are guarding the gate for him, and is willing to send a large number of troops to help me, the preparations for the march will take at least more than a month.

I guess even if Shi Xie's troops come, they won't be able to catch up with the Qin-Zang battle. But when we defend Lianran and Dianchi later, Shi Xie's troops will definitely catch up! It's better to give it a try than to do nothing. "

After Yong Kai made the decision, he immediately took action. He wrote a letter that day and asked someone to send it to Shi Xie in Longbian County, Jiaozhi County, asking for help.

Since he had already planned to completely break off relations with Zhuge Liang, Yong Kai no longer hid anything. After writing the letter to Shi Xie, he wrote another one and gave it to the garrison commander he had sent to Qinzang County.

When the enemy encounters Zhuge Liang's attack, they will hand over the letter, thus humiliating Zhuge Liang and boosting morale at the same time.

It's not to mention that Yong Kai was also famous in history for his rebelliousness. Other barbarian kings and local emperors in the south basically didn't leave any rebellious words, but Yong Kai's words were recorded in history with written evidence. Li Yan wrote him a six-page letter, saying all the good things to ask him not to be impulsive, but he only replied with one page, and his words were arrogant.

In this life, the content of the letter he wrote to criticize Zhuge Liang was similar, except that it was slightly adjusted based on the actual situation of the world today.

"I have always heard that there is no two suns in the sky, and no two kings on earth. But now the north and the south are divided, and there are two people who serve the Han Dynasty. People from afar are confused and don't know where to go."

It is nothing more than emphasizing that there are two opposing forces claiming to support the Han emperor and save the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei claims to support the Han Dynasty, but Cao Cao has the emperor at hand. Why are you righteous? Yuanren just wants to live his own life behind closed doors and not get involved in your shitty affairs.

……

After Zhuge Liang led his army to occupy Dong County without bloodshed, generals such as Zhang Ren, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin were all delighted.

On the night of entering the city, Zhuge Liang ordered his men to prepare rewards for the troops, taking out some of the wine and meat that accompanied the troops to boost morale and lay a solid foundation for the subsequent tough battles.

In addition, Zhuge Liang also asked people to take out Shu brocade and other high-priced goods that were very valuable in Nanzhong, and asked the local Yi commander in Dong County to purchase animal meat, fish and shrimp.
Some samples of drift nets carried by the army were also taken out for local tribes willing to cooperate with the court to imitate and catch fish.

The Yi generals who had gained the advantage immediately showed a more enthusiastic attitude to support Zhuge Lingjun, and donated all the fresh and dried fish they could find to the imperial army to supplement military supplies.

Some of the barbarian generals even took out large quantities of dried and stored wild mushrooms to supplement military supplies.

But Zhuge Liang was very cautious about this matter and politely declined their kindness, saying that these things were inconvenient to store and transport and would not be used as military rations for the time being, but would be accepted after the war.

Zhuge Liang was not very familiar with the geographical specialties of the hinterland of Nanzhong, but before he returned to Sichuan this time, when he was chatting with his eldest brother, Zhuge Jin reminded him that if the army were to attack Nanzhong in the future, as long as the military food reserves allowed, they should try to reduce their dependence on the unfamiliar Nanzhong mushrooms.

Even in later times, there were many people in Yunnan who had hallucinations after eating mushrooms. With the level of biology/botany in the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was all based on experience and exploration. It was better to avoid that stuff to avoid unnecessary non-combat casualties.

Unless the military rations are really not enough.

After rewarding the troops, Zhang Ren and other generals took the opportunity to ask for battle: "Sir! Give the order. I am willing to lead the army to continue to march quickly and attack Qin Zang directly to catch Yong Kai off guard!"

Facing the generals who were eager to fight, Zhuge Liang remained calm and waved his feather fan to cool everyone down: "Why are you in such a hurry? The apparent purpose of our army coming here is to open up the Shu-Shendu Road trade route and connect to Yongchang County.

Of course, we must continue according to the original plan, occupy Yunnan County first, then enter the Yuyu County of Yongchang County to station troops, form an alliance with the county magistrate Lu Kai and the local noble family Li, and then wait until the rear is stable and we have time to return to Qinzang. "

Zhang Ren and others were not informed of the overall strategic plan like Fa Zheng, so they were somewhat worried and still tried to persuade him:

"Although this is a safe approach and can also win military reinforcements from the local powerful Yi commanders in the Yongchang direction, it will inevitably miss the opportunity to fight, and will give Yong Kai more time to gather his troops to defend the city."

Zhuge Liang shook his head calmly: "Yong Kai has just learned that the imperial army will come, just give him time. You only need to worry about the battle on the front line. It is not your business to worry about when and where to fight, and whether the enemy will have reinforcements. I just want Yong Kai to think that he has hope and gather heavy troops, so that the main force of the imperial court can be wiped out in one fell swoop."

Zhang Ren and others then said nothing more and continued to implement Zhuge Liang's plan.

The army went to Yunnan County and other places to enclose land. When they were in Yunnan County, because the area still belonged to Jianning County, the local county magistrate and the Yi general were all Yong Kai's people, and indeed a small-scale battle took place - they should have also heard the news and knew that Yong Kai had ordered a full-scale war with the Han army.

However, the resistance in Yunnan County was not worth mentioning. The battle ended in just a few days. Zhuge Liang's troops were well-equipped, and the thousands of local barbarians who were temporarily recruited were simply unable to resist and were defeated. This was also the first real battle that Zhuge Liang had fought since entering Jianning. The battle damage exchange ratio was definitely more than one to five, and it was even possible that it was close to one to ten. It really showed the prestige of the Han army and boosted the morale of the whole army.

After taking Yunnan County, the army rested for two or three days and continued its march westward, entering the border of Yongchang County, where it successfully met up with the local official Lu Kai.

Lü Kai and the Li family of Yongchang were both relatively powerful local forces and were also loyal to the imperial court. However, they were previously blocked by Yong Kai of Jianning and had no access to Liu Bei's direct territory.

After Zhuge Liang contacted them directly, the Lu family and the Li family sent people to welcome Zhuge Lingjun with great courtesy. Zhuge Liang also distributed the advanced production technology he brought, from samples to drawings, to these righteous men who supported the court.

They were able to develop the productivity of both the Han and the barbarians and better unite the local people. Some of the barbarian kings and generals of Yongchang County who were originally wooed by Yong Kai also chose to abandon the dark and join the light again because of Zhuge Liang's conciliation.

However, it took Zhuge Liang seven or eight days to do all this. In addition, he had to return to Dong along Yunnan County, which gave Yong Kai at least twenty days to gather his troops and wait for reinforcements.

Zhuge Liang crossed the Lu River at the end of October, arrived at Dong in mid-November, arrived at Yongchang at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month to meet with Lu Kai, returned to Dong in mid-twelfth lunar month, and then continued to move eastward.

On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhuge Liang's army approached Qinzang County, which Yong Kai was defending with all his might. It was here that a confrontation between the main forces of the two sides finally broke out.

The generals guarding the city under Yong Kai's command took out the defiant letter that Yong Kai had prepared in advance and gave it to the envoy sent by Zhuge Liang to persuade him to surrender, insulting Zhuge Liang in the letter.

After reading it, Zhuge Liang was not angry, but extremely calm, because he realized that Yong Kai's statement was very likely to prove that Yong Kai had already contacted Shi Xie, and Shi Xie was also very likely to send troops to reinforce and avoid the situation of losing both sides.

Otherwise, if Shi Xie had not planned to come, Yong Kai would not have been so arrogant.

However, no matter how angry you are, you still have to beat the enemies. Qinzang County is not Yong Kai's heartland, but it is also a gateway. If you beat him hard here, you can force Yong Kai to be at a loss as to how to advance or retreat, and speed up the gathering of troops in preparation for a decisive battle.

Zhuge Liang then ordered Zhang Ren and Zhou Tai, who had been eager to take action:
"You have been holding your breath and want to fight a tough battle. Now the opportunity has come. Let's take Qinzang County by force and teach Yong Kai a lesson. Just go for it and use any siege tactics you can."

Upon receiving the order, Zhang Ren and Zhou Tai immediately went down to prepare with great excitement. They each led an army and besieged the county town from the west and north sides.

As a small county in the south, the city wall of Qinzang County is naturally not high. It is just an earthen wall of more than ten feet. However, the county town relies on the mountain and is invulnerable to attack on two sides.

But it doesn’t matter. The Han army will just attack from the two remaining directions that are suitable for attack.

After simple preparations, Zhang Ren and Zhou Tai's troops launched an offensive carrying makeshift bamboo ladders and rattan shields, and also built trench bridges with simple rafts.

Regardless of whether there are pits and trenches near the base of the city wall, any attack route chosen by the troops carrying flying ladders will be paved with a trench bridge before setting up the flying ladders.

I don’t care whether there are traps underneath. Even if there aren’t any, I’ll just build a trench bridge first.

The defending general of Qin Zang County was Yong Kai's confidant. He had originally expected that the poisoned bitter bamboo pit would kill a group of Han soldiers.

Unexpectedly, the Han army was so cautious that they used rafts to pave several attack routes. The soldiers stepped on the rafts and immediately broke the poisoned bamboo pits that the Nanman soldiers had painstakingly built.

The Han army's first brave warriors, all wearing cloth armor, rushed up the flying ladder.

There were also strong archers in the back row hiding behind rattan shields, using hard bows made of several layers of hardwood with different curvatures to shoot arrows at the top of the city walls - Nanzhong was too humid, and the crossbow strings made of cow tendons were easily affected by moisture and became ineffective, so bows were more durable and reliable than crossbows in Nanzhong.

Zhuge Liang knew this and had been prepared for it. Before going into battle, he took out the bows in stock and equipped his troops with them.

At this moment, in this kind of combat scenario, using a strong bow to cover has another advantage:
The warriors sent by Zhuge Liang were all equipped with heavy armor, which could block arrows from all directions. However, the local barbarians in Nanzhong could not ignore the arrows unless they wore rattan armor.

Therefore, when attacking a city, the attackers would directly cover the top of the city walls with a rain of arrows indiscriminately, and leave a little margin, trying to extend the firepower to the rear in a "slow-moving barrage", which could just kill a large number of the barbarians on the top of the wall, while their own attacking soldiers could ignore this firepower.

The Qinzang County defenders were immediately defeated by this three-dimensional firepower. They were unable to win in close combat, and could not withstand the indiscriminate rain of arrows from a distance. In less than an incense stick of time, they were defeated and cried for their parents.

Zhang Ren's troops were the first to gain a foothold on the western wall of the city.

On the other side, Zhou Tai, upon hearing that Zhang Ren was making steady progress, became anxious. He put on fine heavy armor, held two swords, climbed the ladder to the top of the city wall, and personally led his soldiers to charge.

Although Zhou Tai arrived at the city wall later than Zhang Ren's troops, he was more efficient than Zhang Ren in charging and attacking to expand the results of the battle after he gained his foothold. In less than a quarter of an hour, he completely broke down the resistance on the city wall.

The original order that the Qin Zang County garrison commander received from Yong Kai was to hold on for a while, and if they could not hold on, they should slowly retreat along the valley to preserve their manpower.

However, Zhuge Liang had a good plan. Once he started, he used all his strength, sticking to the enemy and attacking fiercely. When the defenders collapsed, only a small part of them had time to retreat in an organized manner, and the rest were annihilated in the city by Zhang Ren and Zhou Tai.

At least several thousand combat soldiers under Yong Kai's command and more than ten thousand temporarily recruited young and strong barbarians were captured and accepted by Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang was not at all proud of this small achievement. After a brief rest, he commanded his troops to attack Lianran and Dianchi Lake, directly attacking the heart of Yong Kai.

People in Dianchi County and other places were in a panic. Some Yi generals, after hearing about the humiliating and rapid defeat in Qinzang County, advised Yong Kai to come up with other ideas.

However, Yong Kai had no way out, so he tried to appease the barbarian kings: "Don't be afraid! The reinforcements from Jiaozhi Shi Xie will arrive in a few days! Although Zhuge Liang won, he had to leave soldiers to guard each county he occupied, and his forces were getting thinner and thinner. If our army and Shi Xie join forces and fight to the death, we still have a great chance of winning!"

With Yong Kai's repeated encouragement, his originally shaky prestige and credibility were finally restored somewhat.

Moreover, what he said was not a lie, because after receiving his "lips and teeth are interdependent" warning letter asking for help, Shi Xie did take it very seriously and sent reinforcements at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month. The troops went north along the Pu River and have now entered the territory of Jianning County to reinforce Yong Kai.

However, Yong Kai did not know that in another direction to the north of Jianning County, which was the line from Zhaotong to Qujing in Yunnan in later generations, Gan Ning's 15,000 Han troops, led by Zhang Yi, Ma Zhong and other old soldier officers, had already attacked Jianning County from the Zhuti area of Jianwei County.

If Yong Kai was unable to send troops to stop him, then Gan Ning would undoubtedly cross the mountainous area near Qujing in later generations, follow the Wenshui River upstream of Dianchi Lake, and kill his way down the river, eventually meeting Zhuge Liang on the battlefield near the Dianchi Lake basin.

By then, although Yong Kai could get help from Shi Xie who came from afar, and Zhuge Liang could join forces with Gan Ning, he still could not gain any advantage.

-

PS: Sorry, I came up with an idea for a new book today, so I wrote the beginning to record the inspiration. As a result, it is even later here.

Once a new inspiration pops up in my mind, it is difficult to force myself to retract my thoughts.

This is how it is as a writer. Sometimes thoughts are out of control. When you force yourself to think about the same thing, inspiration becomes out of control.

I promise to finish writing the decisive battle in Nanzhong tomorrow, and explain some of Zhuge Liang's subsequent plans for governing Shu. Then switch to Zhuge Jin's perspective in Guandong, explain the plot of the farming period, and then the final northern expedition against Cao Cao.

(End of this chapter)