In midsummer, everything is prosperous.

In the sweltering south of China where there is a lot of rain, the mountains and trees are lush and green, and the wind is proudly flaunting the capital of life.

Ten miles away from Juding City, in the east, west and north directions, according to the military strategy of besieging the city with three towers and one besieged, Ma Zhong, Chen Shi and Jufu soldiers and horses fell into the camp respectively.

The total strength of the Han army was less than 4,000, which was roughly the same as the strength of the rebels in the city.

Therefore, Ma Zhong and others must have dug ditches to besiege them.

Instead, they relied on the army's carriages and crossbow formations to prevent the rebels from leaving the city to attack.

The plan was also to allow the rebels to weigh the pros and cons, voluntarily give up the city's geographical advantages, and escape from the south of the city along the Wenxiang River (Xiyang River).

However, the rebels in the city seem to have not yet made a decision, and there has been no movement.

Because he led his troops to flee in a hurry, the Han army would definitely pursue him.

At that time, the soldiers may be able to fight and then retreat.

However, it was impossible to take care of all the food and supplies.

This is the premise of Zheng Pu's plan for Ma Zhong, "Two peaches kill three men".

In a county known for its poverty, grain and fodder are more precious than human life.

For the rebels, if they cannot take away the food and fodder, they will have no chance of escaping and will have nothing to rely on in the future; but for the imperial court, if they can capture the rebels' food, they will be able to appease the people and secure the county.

With the arrival of Ma Zhong personally leading the troops, Zheng Pu, who handed over the military power and returned to his duties of "participating in the war against the rebels", focused his attention on food and fodder.

Moreover, the plan planned is extremely cruel.

In his mind, the grain stored by Zhu Bao in the past could be consumed or burned in Gouding City.

But even half a grain of rice cannot be taken out by the rebels.

Because within these ten days, he has made people discover the flat areas outside Gouding County and the acres cultivated by the tribesmen!

Rice in Nanzhong can be harvested twice a year.

It is already June, and in early autumn and July, it will be the time for the first rice harvest.

He will rely on the strength of the imperial army to form an army and seize all the rice!

In this way, the tribesmen would not be able to get the first crop of rice, and they would not dare to sow the second crop of rice under the threat of the imperial army. They would be trapped in the dilemma of having no food to eat this winter.

An army without food is like a trapped beast, there is nothing to fear!

The imperial court can use coercion to provide food to survive, whether it is forced to collect household registration, move to Shuzhong and Hanzhong, or forcibly recruit the strong as soldiers and the weak as civilians, etc., they can all take whatever they want from these barbarians who do not submit to the king's rule!

Furthermore, it is the coercion against the rebels.

Neither Zhu Bao's son Zhu Xie nor the four major rebel surnames were based in Gouding County.

Their power, each holding thousands of men, has reached its end.

As long as the Xue tribes are in chaos, even if they resist stubbornly, with the strength of the Han army here, it will not be difficult to attack and destroy them.

As for whether they would ask for surrender, Zheng Pu also had suggestions.

He asked Ma Zhong to use "state-owned national laws" as an excuse to speak tough and give them only two choices.

One, resist to the end.

When the army conquered Gouding County, they were all charged with rebellion and executed by their clans!

The other is to offer something of surrender to the court to show that you have no intention of resisting again.

Well, only one of Zhu Xie and the four major surnames can survive.

Either Zhu Xie killed the four major surnames to beg for their lives, or the four major surnames carried Zhu Xie's head to save the family.

Besides, there is no other choice.

Stopping on a low hill, looking at Ma Zhong of Gouding City, after listening to Zheng Pu's advice, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine in the scorching heat of midsummer.

He tilted his head slightly and looked at Zheng Pu's appearance carefully.

He was quite curious.

Why is this gentle young man with a face like a crown jade, a seven-foot tall body, and someone who can be praised as "you are a beautiful woman" as soon as he meets him, so cruel and evil in his inner plans?!

Of course!

If you just feel cruel, you don't need to use it.

On the contrary, he planned this in his heart and applauded it.

Those who are in their position seek their duties.

Having been appointed as the prefect, what he was thinking about now was not how to eliminate all the turtles in the jar in Shogo Town.

Instead, he was thinking about how to make the county peaceful and there would be no more wars.

After all, the situation in South China is now clear.

The rebels in Yuexi County were all defeated and disabled by Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. The remaining soldiers either surrendered and begged for a living, or fled in panic to join Meng Huo.

However, Meng Huo cannot protect himself now.

Li Hui, the commander-in-chief of the surrender, took Dianchi County as his station and pacified the most fertile Wenshui (Nanpanjiang River) basins (Qujing Bazi and Luliang Bazi) in Yizhou County, as well as Dianchi Daze and Fuxian Lake surrounding counties, and completely pacified them.

Meng Huo's way back was cut off.

Meng Huo's choice now has only two ways out.

Or, defeat the main force of the crusade led by Prime Minister Xiangqin, then return with the power of victory, and compete with Li Hui for the Wenshui Basin and Dianchi Lake, which are rich in grain, to firmly maintain the foundation of the rebel army for a long time.

Or, lead your troops to escape to the southwest, to Qinzang, Shuangbai and other counties, and join the local barbarians such as Yipu and Jiulu, relying on Jishui, Pushui and Ailao Mountains and other dangerous places. From then on, all future generations will become leftists.

衽.

However, Meng Huo could only choose the first one.

Because he was born with a southern surname.

Those who fully support him as the leader are only the southerners with big surnames. The rest, such as the Shengxiu who are coerced by profit and inducement and the Yuexi barbarians who have been defeated and attached to each other, are just for the sake of mutual benefit, and they will not share life and death with him.

As for the southerners with a common surname, their family roots were in the counties where Li Hui was based.

They initially supported Yong Kai as the leader of the rebellion, but they just wanted to separate Nanzhong!

The current situation is so poor that if Meng Huo had no intention of recapturing the foundation of their multiplication and survival for generations, but instead allowed them to go south and let their descendants braid their hair, move with their animals, and live a barbarian life, they would definitely have different thoughts.

He would abandon Meng Huo and surrender to the imperial court in order to preserve his family.

Since ancient times, those who rely on benefits will fall apart; those who use power to join forces will fall apart if the power disappears!

The southerners who rebelled are not the five hundred righteous men who roamed the island with their fields in the past!

Meng Huo knew this very well.

He also frequently inspired his soldiers and vowed to fight to the death with Prime Minister Zhuge Liang several times, but he lost every battle, and he himself was even captured alive in the battle.

Fortunately, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang did not cut off his sacrificial flag and promote the power of the imperial court.

Seeing that the general situation in the Nanzhong counties had been decided, they used the "attacking the heart first" strategy proposed by Ma Su at the beginning, and sent Meng Fang back to let him reorganize his army to fight.

I want to use the power of the imperial army to defeat these southerners, who have great prestige in the southern land, until they are convinced!

Let him be unable to rebel again in the future.

I don’t dare to rebel again!

Ma Zhong, who besieged Gouding County, had the same thought.

He personally led his army to the south on the way, and he kept thinking about how to make the big families in Zangqi County return to their hearts and prevent them from rebelling in the future.

As the Han Dynasty often used the policy of restraining the barbarians to control the barren land, he never thought about exterminating Zhu Xie or the four rebel surnames.

Zhu Bao, the chief culprit, has been executed, and the military power of the imperial court has been demonstrated. Next is the time to show mercy.

In his mind, as long as these rebels abandon the enemy and surrender, the war against the rebels will be declared over.

Who would have expected that Zheng Pu, at such a young age, would be able to come up with a strategy that would bring long-term peace and stability to County Magistrate Zangda?

It can indeed lead to long-term peace and stability.

According to the imperial court's practice of suppressing rebellions, these rebels will be pardoned as long as they pay a price that does not harm their foundation. It will not be difficult for the family to become strong and strong again in the future.

If there is a crisis, it is difficult to predict whether they will be traitorous or loyal to the court.

The same is true for those tribes of people.

If the situation is weak for a while, why not surrender if the foundation is intact, and then rebel again in the future?

However, if we follow Zheng Pu's plan, it will be equivalent to cutting off the foundation of these rebels!

Needless to say, Zhu Xie and the four major surnames in the county, no matter which side survives, will be greatly damaged in power, and the reputation of the lintel will be greatly reduced by killing friendly troops. Even if it prospers again in the future, it will not be supported by others.

In particular, the imperial court can take advantage of the opportunity to take advantage of the assets and acres of land that were destroyed!

Whether it is used for military garrisoning or to grant residence registration to native barbarians, the imperial court likes to see it.

As for the Xiu people tribe, they used food coercion and moved half of the tribe away, and their situation was weak. If the Pu people were given a little support and the two tribes were allowed to check and balance each other, how could they dare to think of rebellion again?
To be continued...