Jinting Han people

Yu Lingcheng, the chieftain of the Five Tea Barbarians, dressed in a barbarian robe and with a long cloth wrapped around his head, sat on a bamboo folding chair, turning the yellow silk in his hands over and over.

This yellow silk edict was issued by Liu Xian, who, in the name of King Liu Xian of Han, sent a message to the fifty-eight tribes of Yi and Yue in Ningzhou, informing them of the death of Li Yi, the former governor of Ningzhou. Simultaneously, he used this as an opportunity, citing the decline of the Jin dynasty and the restoration of the Han dynasty, to plan the reconstruction of the Southern Yi Commandery. Therefore, he demanded that the leaders of the various Yi and Yue tribes in the south proceed to Jianningwei County as soon as possible to renew their oaths with Liu Xian and establish their vassalage.

After observing for a while, Yu Lingcheng said, "The King of Han demands our surrender. What are your plans?"

He spoke Mandarin, but his intonation and pronunciation were different from standard Mandarin, and he sounded somewhat unfamiliar with it.

Those conversing with him inside the hall included the thirteen tribal chiefs of Zhuti County, elders from various tribes, and a dozen or so scholars who had married into the tribe. In total, there were about thirty people, almost all the leaders of Zhuti County. It could be said that they represented the most powerful force in Ningzhou at that time.

This is not an empty boast. The best route from Sichuan to the south has always been via the Bodao, because the Bodao controls many waterways and can almost go directly to Jianning. Waterways have always been the lifeline of military campaigns, and many of these waterways pass through Zhuti County. Therefore, if one wants to conquer the south, Zhuti County is the best forward base for any regime coming from the north.

After hundreds of years of development, Zhuti County became the most Sinicized in Ningzhou. Among its many prominent families were the eight great clans of Zhu, Lu, Lei, Xing, Qiu, Di, Gao, and Li, all of whom were deeply versed in literature and had thousands of followers. Moreover, the Yi tribes within its borders had intermarried with these prominent clans for generations. The thirteen Yi tribes of Zhuti were not only all of the Huangye Yi people, but eight of them were Huangye for hundreds of generations.

Especially after the chaos in Sichuan and Chongqing, a large number of Han Chinese refugees migrated south to the Nanzhong region, with over 70,000 settling in Zhuti County. Homeless and forced to rely on local powerful clans and Yi chieftains, they became tenant farmers or servants. In short, the most benefited from Li Te's uprising were the local powerful clans of Zhuti County, which is why they dared to challenge the Ningzhou Prefectural Government and achieved considerable success.

However, since the rebellion began, the external situation has changed. Faced with the unification of Sichuan and Chongqing to the north, the future of Ningzhou is a question that must be considered.

An elderly man, clearly quite old but still in good health, stepped forward. He carried a bamboo staff, his hair was tied up and wrapped in cloth, he wore an indigo linen robe, straw sandals, and his ears were pierced and adorned with wooden ornaments in the shape of the sun and moon. Several silver rings adorned his fingers, revealing his noble status.

Ignoring Yu Lingcheng's impatient gaze, he first scanned the crowd, and then said leisurely, "My lords, in my humble opinion, there is nothing to doubt. We should emulate Meng Huo of yesteryear!"

Yu Lingcheng rolled his eyes, clearly displeased, and said, "Master Sha, what do you mean by this?"

Among the Yi people, those who are eloquent, persuasive, and highly respected are called elders. Before the Yi people came into contact with the Han people, the elders served as the tribe's priests and advisors, comparable to the chief. Although the status of the elders declined after contact with the Han people, they still held considerable prestige within the tribe. The "Sha Gong" he mentioned was Sha Wen, an elder of the tribe.

Sha Wen said, “My lord, the King of Han is brave and fierce. It is said that he has won every battle in the Central Plains and has few rivals. His reputation is like that of a god. Now that he has unified the Shu region, it is clear that his reputation is not undeserved. He is like a ferocious tiger in the forest and a mad dragon in the water. If we were to fight him, regardless of victory or defeat, our soldiers and troops would suffer considerable casualties. If we were to be defeated, it would be like a mountain collapsing, and the situation would be uncontrollable.”

"The King of Han is currently venturing deep into the south to quell the unrest, and it is difficult for him to remain in Ningzhou for long. After all, clouds rise high and water flows downhill. The Central Plains are not yet pacified, and as the King of Han, it is his duty to return sooner or later. In that case, why don't you, sir, show your loyalty by sending some tribute to the King of Han and send them on their way?"

Yu Lingcheng was so angry that sweat beaded on his forehead. He wrapped his hair tightly in a long cloth, and even his body felt hot. Ever since he raised his army, this elder had been urging him to surrender, regardless of victory or defeat, and this continued to this day, which really annoyed him. He then picked up the wine cup on the table and took a big gulp of cool honey water. The icy sweetness went down his throat, and he felt much better.

Yu Lingcheng put down his cup and asked the others, "What are your opinions?"

Although there was nothing special between Yu Lingcheng and the other Yi chieftains before the chaos in Ningzhou, after several years of fighting, he repeatedly rebelled, refused to surrender to support his in-laws, and resisted Li Yi's hardline style, which earned him considerable recognition from the Yi people of Zhuti, thus making him the de facto leader of the group.

Most of the Zhuti tribes were unwilling to surrender. After all, they hadn't had to pay tribute in recent years and had captured a large number of people, reaping considerable benefits. If they surrendered again, would they have to give back what they had gained? No one could say for sure. Therefore, Chunma, the leader of the Tanglang tribe, stood up, opposing Shawen and agreeing with Yu Lingcheng:

"What's so great about the King of Han? Didn't Lord Li win every battle before? In the end, he was still helpless against us. What Lord Sha said underestimates us and overestimates the King of Han. Of course, there's some truth to what Lord Sha said. The Central Plains are not yet settled, and the King of Han will return sooner or later. This trip is entirely advantageous for us. Why should we admit defeat so easily?"

“Over the years, it’s not just us who are dissatisfied with the court. Aren’t the brothers from Xinggu and Zangke also dissatisfied with the court? They have always been in contact with us. As long as we unite with them to resist the Han army, we can always muster 100,000 men.”

At this point, Chunma's momentum grew, and his voice became louder. He continued, "Moreover, I saw it with my own eyes. When the King of Han passed through our Tanglang, he had... less than ten thousand men under his command. He didn't dare to fight us at all! When I went back to have my meal, I told them to stay and fight again tomorrow, but the King of Han broke the agreement and left!"

This statement, of course, does not reflect reality. In fact, the messenger left immediately after delivering the message, without waiting for Liu Xian's reply or refusal. But in Chunma's mind, this was probably already a victory worthy of being celebrated, and therefore he was extremely proud.

Yu Lingcheng was also pleased to hear this. He glanced at Sha Wen again, rubbed his beard, and said, "Hey, the King of Han certainly has his merits and should not be underestimated! Although we have a large number of soldiers, we still need to be careful."

He said he would be careful, but his eyes clearly revealed his smugness.

The other tribes also felt that Chunma's words made a lot of sense. As the saying goes, greed can cloud judgment. No matter how powerful the enemy is, it is extremely difficult to get people to give up the benefits they have already gained.

Sha Wen advised again, saying, "My lord, no matter what, the King of Han has defeated Lord Luo and the King of Chengdu. He is not someone to be trifled with easily. The King of Han is only asking us to hold an alliance meeting; his attitude is still very conciliatory. Why must we escalate to the point of armed conflict?" "Even if you are not prepared to surrender, you should at least send an envoy to negotiate with the King of Han! Even a tiger doesn't attack its prey without reason, let alone a human. It's always better to avoid war than to wage a major battle!"

These words made a lot of sense, and Yu Lingcheng, after listening, somewhat agreed. He realized there was no need for him to cause trouble. After all, the Han army had recovered Yuexi Commandery with remarkable speed, proving they were not to be trifled with. Therefore, he nodded and said to Li Nai, who was listening in, "Brother Li, what do you think?"

Li Nai pondered for a moment and said, "My lord, in my personal opinion, we should be cautious about the conditions offered by the King of Han."

Li Nai is Li Rui's younger brother and currently the leader of the scholars in Zhuti. As a scholar, no matter what, he still hopes for a court to exist, rather than dealing with barbarians every day, so he naturally wants to negotiate with Liu Xian. However, being a scholar also makes him more aware of the logic of power, and he thinks on an even deeper level.

Now, the three men who instigated the Ningzhou rebellion—Li Rui, Li Meng, and Mao Shen—have all passed away. Li Meng and Mao Shen died in battle, which is common in warfare and nothing particularly noteworthy. However, the death of Li Rui is a different matter altogether.

That happened three years ago. At that time, the Yi army suffered repeated defeats, and Li Yi was also severely weakened. Neither Li Rui nor Li Yi had any intention of continuing the war, so they wanted to negotiate peace. Li Rui and Yu Lingcheng would submit to the Ningzhou Prefectural Governor's Office, and Li Yi would pardon Li Rui's crimes. However, when Li Rui returned to the Prefectural Governor's Office and reaffirmed the alliance with Li Yi, Zhou Yue and others suddenly seized Li Rui and, in a manner that was half persuading and half coercing, asked Li Yi to behead Li Rui. Li Yi had no choice but to agree.

This incident undoubtedly demonstrates that the powerful officials still residing in the Ningzhou Prefectural Government are unwilling to negotiate peace with the Yi army. Now that Liu Xian has taken over the Ningzhou Prefectural Government, although Li Yi is dead, those officials remain. Even if a peace is forcibly achieved with them, they will still be purged afterward. Therefore, to achieve a genuine peace agreement, it is essential to eliminate Zhou Yue and his associates.

Li Nai explained his analysis to everyone, and the Yi people were greatly impressed. Yu Lingcheng slapped his thigh and said, "Brother Li is right! We can submit, but at the very least, we must kill Zhou Yue and his gang of scoundrels! Avenge Brother Li Rui!"

So the group agreed to send an envoy to Liu Xian, demanding that he hand over the murderer who had forced Li Rui to commit suicide in Ningzhou, and then they would submit.

When the terms were relayed to Liu Xian, he naturally could not agree. So he rejected the terms, saying that it was not impossible to handle, but the condition was that the Yi people first came to Wei County to make an alliance before they could discuss the details.

With Li Rui's example serving as a warning, how could the Yi people possibly agree? So they simply decided to challenge each other to a duel. The two sides agreed to a battle, and whoever won would agree to the other's terms. The location of the duel was set in Tanzhi County, Zangke Prefecture, and the time was set for late March.

Tanzhi itself is an Yi language term. "Tan" is a general term meaning "pond or lake" in Yi language, while "zhi" is the specific name, which in Chinese means "pointing lake." There is indeed a long, finger-shaped lake in the area, and the surrounding area, centered on this lake, is dotted with wetlands, hills, valleys, and karst basins—not exactly ideal terrain for a major battle. However, the Yi people chose this location for their planned battle simply because it was situated in the central area where Zhuti, Zangke, Xinggu, and Jianning counties met, making it the most suitable place for the various Yi tribes to quickly assemble.

When Liu Xian led his army to Tanzhi County, it was in mid-March. After resting and acclimatizing to the local climate, the army's morale was still quite good. Generals and officers such as Guo Mo, Wen Shuo, Zhang Bao, Fei Hei, Huo Biao, and Li Feng were all seasoned and courageous warriors, eager for battle; under their leadership, the soldiers in each battalion were also eager to fight and full of fighting spirit.

Tanzhi County was naturally occupied by the local Yi people, so Liu Xian set up camp on a flat area twenty miles east of the county. Then, Liu Xian led dozens of horsemen to the city to observe the city's defenses and the gathering of various Yi and Yue tribes.

It was not yet time for a duel, but there were already many guards and many large camps outside the city. At first glance, the flags fluttered like clouds and the crowds were as dense as ants, creating quite a spectacle.

Before Liu Xian and his men could even reach within range of the arrows, a volley of arrows rained down from the city wall. Liu Xian turned back to Zhang Jun and the others and said with a smile, "The barbarians are really undisciplined. They fire arrows randomly even when they can't reach anyone. This shows how low their morale is."

Li Feng and the others agreed with Liu Xian's assessment. Fei Hei said, "It seems the enemy troops haven't all arrived yet, Your Highness. Should we launch an attack while they are still establishing themselves?"

Liu Xian shook his head and said, "There's no need. I'm only worried that the enemy will send fewer people. Why would I complain about having more? This battle must bring at least ten years of peace to the south before I think we've achieved our goal."

"Then shall we continue to wait?"

"Wait, first make yourself invincible, then make the enemy vulnerable."

In short, Liu Xian did not take the Yi and Yue armies seriously, but he maintained a relatively peaceful mindset and made all the necessary tactical preparations. He ordered his army to set up camp along the mountains and fortify the fortifications, while sending scouts to explore the surrounding terrain to understand the local routes and prevent possible ambushes and attacks.

After the camp was completed, the people rested for a day and then received some good news: Mao Jian, the Protector-General of Zangke in Yelang, led 6,000 troops to join them.

Liu Xian was very pleased. He said to Li Xiu, "I think there are still loyal ministers in Ningzhou. Back then, the Wudang Flying Army followed the army on the northern expedition and made great achievements." So he appointed Mao Jian as the prefect of Zhuti and let him lead the troops to protect the rear supply lines.

However, compared to the other side, the number of barbarian troops gathering was much greater. Almost every day, barbarians could be seen arriving from afar. They dressed differently and came from both the south and the north, but their numbers were immense. According to the scouts, there were even tigers, leopards, snakes, and elephants in the ranks, a truly eye-opening sight. In terms of numbers, it had indeed reached a scale of over 100,000, truly covering the entire mountainside, making it difficult to know the exact number. The scouts bribed the barbarians with tea bricks, only learning that thirty-seven tribes of Yi and Yue had gathered there.

At this time, aside from the troops stationed in Wei County and guarding the supply lines, Liu Xian only had a little over nine thousand men available to fight the Yi army. (End of Chapter)