Above the vast wilderness, iron hooves whipped the wind and thunder.
Although Yunnan has many hills and mountains, it is not without plain grasslands. There are dozens of famous grassland tourist areas in later generations.
Wanwen, where Zhuge Liang and Wutu Gu confront each other, is a combination of plains and mountains and hills. To the north is a mountainous area, and the height of the slopes is only forty to fifty meters, with an average height of twenty to thirty meters.
There is a long and narrow grassland to the east and west, with rows of tents and wooden houses located on the plain. In contrast, to the west, three well-defended camps stand on the ground.
The Nanzhong barbarians fought without rules, and their skills in setting up camps were even worse. Their camps were built in a haphazard manner. If Zhuge Liang was not afraid of losing his life and was more ruthless, he could burn down dozens of miles around.
But God has the virtue of promoting life, and setting fire to the mountains would really harm Yang's life span. Therefore, Zhuge Liang had been unable to make up his mind before, and it was only now that he put it off.
But even so, although Wu Tuo Gu's vine-armored soldiers were powerful, they could not break through the fortress carefully laid out by Zhuge Liang. Not even Sima Yi could break it, let alone the illiterate barbarians from the south like Meng Huo Wu Tu Gu.
So neither side can do anything to the other now.
At three o'clock in the morning, the barbarians randomly stuffed some dry food into their mouths, and then, led by Wu Tugu and Meng Huo, they ran out in large numbers, covering the mountains and plains, running around without any formation.
Meng Huo provoked a fight outside the camp. He thought Zhuge Liang was planning another trick and deliberately stayed behind closed doors, waiting for them to relax before coming out.
So Meng Huo made up his mind.
First, if Zhuge Liang continues to do this, he will tell Wu Tu Gu to be careful and never let up.
Second, even if Zhuge Liang defeated him like this, he would never surrender.
The third and most important point is that he is not afraid of Zhuge Liang's tricks again. The last time he lost was because Long You's soldiers were not strong in combat. Now that the vine-armored soldiers are invulnerable, what else are they afraid of him doing?
Therefore, Meng Huo was not afraid and came to provoke him.
But to his surprise, Zhuge Liang did not act like a coward this time, but opened the camp gate wide, and the Han army slowly came out of the camp, formed a formation, and faced them.
Meng Huo was overjoyed when he saw this and said to Wutu Gu: "The Han army is seeking death. We will definitely win a big victory this time. As long as we defeat the Han army, we will be the king of Nanzhong and the king of Gouding. Let's rule Nanzhong together.
middle."
"good."
Wu Tu Gu was drawn into a round cake, and he immediately gave an order: "My sons, kill them!"
"Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep."
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
"kill!"
As the sharp bone whistles and melodious bone flutes sounded, the rattan armored soldiers all over the mountains and plains received the order, roared angrily, and charged towards the Han army.
The Han army remained unmoved and treated them sternly.
Soon the two sides met quickly. This time Zhuge Liang put some soldiers wearing full body armor and holding steel shields at the front.
The two sides rushed together like a flood. Although the vine armor soldiers had good defense, they were too light.
The moment they collided, they could not shake the heavy formation of the Han army at all. Many people were simply knocked off their feet and then trampled to death in the insurrectionary army.
The spearmen at the rear of the Han army kept stabbing forward, and they were invulnerable. The problem was that they did not have dungarees and visors to protect their necks and faces like the Han army, so many people were still stabbed in the face.
die.
The vine armor soldiers obviously suffered a big loss in the first wave of encounters.
However, their advantage is that they are lightweight and have high defense. They cannot be defeated by frontal attacks, and they can order attacks from the flanks without breaking the bones.
At that moment, the rattan soldiers began to conduct scattered attacks on both wings in a chaotic manner.
At this moment, Zhuge Liang, who was watching the battle from a high oar in the camp in the distance, said softly: "Cavalry attack!"
"Cavalry attacks!"
The messenger waved the flag, and on a hillside not far away, a melodious horn sounded.
"woo woo woo woo!"
The sound of this horn is completely different from the horns of the barbarians in Nanzhong.
It has a desolate aura, just like the vast prairie in Liangzhou, where thousands of horses galloping causing the earth to tremble.
"Boom!"
At this moment, the earth really started to tremble.
On the hilly slopes to the north, countless figures appeared among the green grass.
They slowly came to the top of the hillside. As the leader roared loudly, thousands of heavily armored cavalry burst out with terrifying murderous intent, swooping down from the hillside and rushing toward the flanks of the vine-armored soldiers.
Meng Huo and Wu Tu Gu looked at it with disbelief and wanted to retreat, but it was obviously too late. The cavalry were as powerful as lightning and swooped into their formation.
"Bang bang bang bang"!
I heard countless loud collision sounds.
After all, the seemingly hard rattan armor is just rattan armor, not steel. When encountering the armored cavalry, if they were hit hard, the rattan armor would break, and many people would vomit blood and fly backwards.
During the Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods, the widespread use of heavy armored cavalry and heavy armored infantry led to the rapid development of blunt weapons.
Such as hammer, bone, mace, whip, mace, etc.
This is because a sharp weapon cannot cut through armor, but if a blunt object is thrown at it, although it still cannot break the armor, the force will pass through the armor and directly shatter the person's internal organs or head.
The defensive power of the rattan armor can withstand sharp weapons, but it does not mean that the rattan armor is really as hard and tough as steel. Not only will the person be severely injured, but the rattan armor will even be broken.
The heavy cavalry were so powerful that they cut through the formation of the vine-armored soldiers like chisels. The weapons in their hands were not ring-shou knives, but small pumpkin hammers. The hammer head was the size of a fist, but when they swung, they struck out one vine after another.
Armored soldier.
On the contrary, the cast iron and wrought iron blades of the rattan armor soldiers could not break through their defense at all. Even the horses were covered with armor. No matter whether they were cutting people or horses, all they could hear was a clanging sound.
Ma Dai was wearing armor and swinging a small hammer left and right in his hand. There was a vine-armored soldier next to him who wanted to chop off the horse's leg. He was leaning over and stabbing the horse's leg. Ma Dai aimed a righteous hammer at the vine-armored soldier's head.
, the rattan armor cap on his head immediately dented, and his head was almost broken into eight pieces, with blood mixed with brain matter splashing out.
"Alas."
Plasma and brain matter splashed on Ma Dai's body, dyeing his armor red and white, making him disgusted.
Li Yue, the cavalryman next to him, shouted: "General Ma, I'm a little disgusting."
He was also white and red.
Ma Dai rolled his eyes and said, "There's nothing we can do. The knife can't cut in. The governor told us to bring a hammer just in case. Isn't that what a hammer is like?"
"Forget it, keep hammering."
Li Yue was like a gopher, twisting his body left and right, finding the enemy's target and hammering it down, and soon they were lying on the ground beside them.
Not just them, but all heavy armored cavalry are like this.
They dug through the formation of the vine armor soldiers along the way, and then started killing indiscriminately like chopping melons and vegetables.
When the rattan armored soldiers met the heavy armored cavalry, it was like Li Gui met Li Kui. There is a world of difference between true invulnerability and false invulnerability.
Soon the Tengjia soldiers were killed and defeated. Ma Dai shouted and chose to pursue them. There were corpses along the way, and countless people were killed and injured.
In the chaos of the army, Meng Huo fled in panic, but Zhuge Liang had already arranged an ambush for him on his way to escape, and he and Wu Tugu were captured by Wang Ping again.
"Get in!"
Wang Ping tied him up and pushed him with all his strength. His attitude became worse every time.
Meng Huo was pushed to his knees.
Zhuge Liang did not look at him, but looked at Wutu Gu first and said, "King Gouding, are you willing to surrender?"
Wu Tugu thought of the inhumane scene of his soldiers' brains bursting out, and said angrily: "You are so vicious, I will not surrender even to death!"
"You say we are evil?"
Ma Liang pointed at him and said angrily: "I tell you, this is a fair and honorable defeat of you on the battlefield. If the Prime Minister hadn't felt that killing you all was a violation of justice, he would have burned you all with fire. Don't think that Teng Jia
Invincible, you should know better than us about the issue of flammability when exposed to fire!"
"What?"
Wu Tu Gu was shocked and said: "How do you know Teng Jia's weakness?"
Ma Liang shouted: "The army has prepared fish paste and grease. As long as you dare to come, I will light a fire for you. The Prime Minister is kind-hearted and is unwilling to let you exterminate your clan. Do you still want to continue to resist?"
Wu Tu Gu was dejected for a moment, knelt down on the ground and kowtowed: "Prime Minister Tian's grace, Wu Tu Gu will never forget it. I am willing to surrender. The people of Yongxing Nan will never rebel again."
"That's it, let's sign the covenant."
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly.
Although the consequences of the heavy armored cavalry charging into the Tengjia army were also cruel.
But this was a victory achieved by a frontal attack on the battlefield. At least it was not as unnatural as burning the enemy with a fire. It was a victory after all.
Wutu Gu surrendered and signed a covenant never to rebel again.
Moreover, Zhuge Liang also officially granted Wu Tugu the title of King of Juding in the name of the imperial court, commanding all the barbarian tribes in Xinggu County. He did not need to pay food taxes every year, but he had to dig ore in Xinggu County and pay tribute to the court in gold, silver, and spices.
Timber etc.
Because he was not the king of the Han Dynasty, but the nominal king of the tribe, Zhuge Liang did not violate the rules.
Even more than Wutu Gu, Zhuge Liang had also officially awarded Ana, Ji Huo, Long Youna, Duosi and others as local barbarian kings in the name of the imperial court.
In particular, Ji Huo was given the title of general and was included in the general system of the Han Dynasty. He could co-govern the city with the local Han officials in the county. This was to demonstrate his lofty status as a result of his active submission.
Although they are only the leaders of the largest Yi tribe in each county, they do not represent all the Yi tribes in the seven counties of Nanzhong.
But they are powerful and that is enough.
Zhuge Liang signed an alliance with them, rewarded them as local barbarian kings, and allowed them to serve the Han court. After that, they became vassals of the court.
In this way, they will obey the imperial court's orders and command other Yi tribes in each county in the name of the Han Dynasty.
If those barbarians are unwilling to submit, they will fight against the local barbarian king. In this way, rebellion will naturally become an internal conflict among the barbarians.
The imperial court united them and transformed their external conflicts into internal conflicts. From then on, they no longer had to worry about barbarian rebellion.
This is the secret that Zhuge Liang summed up after studying Shen Chen’s scriptures for so many years.
After signing the alliance with Wu Tu Gu, Zhuge Liang looked at Meng Huo and said in a deep voice: "Meng Huo, this is the seventh time I have captured you, and I have defeated you openly on the battlefield. Are you convinced?"
Meng Huo's lips moved slightly but he said nothing.
Wang Ping scolded: "Meng Huo, you said that I used tricks to get you before, and you also said that the prime minister did not defeat you openly. But this time the prime minister not only defeated you on the battlefield, but also captured you alive again. You still have What to say?"
Ma Liang was not so upright, but said with a smile: "General Wang, don't say that. I believe that since Meng Huo is the leader of the Jianning Yi people and has such great prestige among the Yi tribes in Nanzhong, he must not be in vain. You unfaithful person, Leader Meng, don’t forget your oath.”
"Prime Minister, I think this Meng Huo is a man who breaks his promises and gets rich. What's the use of keeping him as an unfaithful, unjust, untrustworthy and unkind man? How about we capture him seven times but repeatedly ignore his faith and spread the news throughout Nanzhong? Let all the barbarians in the south know that he is a dishonest and unjust person!"
Zhang Yi shouted.
Meng Huo was not anxious when he said this, but Meng Qian became anxious and shouted: "Who in Nanzhong doesn't know that my brother is famous for his loyalty, how can you slander him?"
"slander?"
Wang Ping sneered and said: "Then let me ask you, he made excuses many times before and it was reasonable. Did he defeat you openly this time?"
Meng You was speechless, so he lowered his head and said, "Yes."
"If that's the case, why don't you surrender?"
"My brother"
Meng You looked at Meng Huo and said sadly: "One cannot break one's word. Please surrender."
Meng Huo had many friends in Nanzhong and made friends widely. This was because he was eager for justice and loved justice, and his trustworthiness was praised among the barbarian tribes in Nanzhong.
In the famous "Water Margin" of later generations, Song Jiang was known as Xiao Menghuo.
If Meng Huo does not surrender this time, not only will everyone lose hope, but he will also be ruined.
Therefore, Meng Huo's situation was already extremely worrying.
"Prime Minister!"
Meng Huo let out a long sigh, slowly knelt down to Zhuge Liang and said: "Meng Huo didn't know the Prime Minister Tian En several times before, and thought he could defeat the Han army. But now that he sees the power of the Han army, he realizes how foolish he is. Can the Prime Minister not use it?" Burning the vine-armored soldiers is the greatest kindness to the Nanzhong barbarians. If Meng Huo does not surrender, how can he survive?"
"Are you willing to surrender?"
Zhuge Liang asked.
Meng Huo said in a deep voice: "Southerners, never rebel again!"
"good."
Zhuge Liang nodded his chin slightly, breathed a long sigh of relief, and said softly: "In that case, Meng Huo will follow me back to Jingzhou. Your tribe will be handed over to Meng You. What do you think?"
"Follow the Prime Minister's order!"
Meng Huo was much more honest this time.
His surrender immediately made all Zhuge Liang's generals breathe a sigh of relief.
Now, almost all the seven counties in Nanzhong have been pacified, and many tribes of the Yi kings have also surrendered to the imperial court.
Since then, the entire Ningzhou has been included in the Han Dynasty.
Since Nanzhong Mountain is high in water, deep in water, and full of miasma, it is not suitable for living. Therefore, Zhuge Liang positioned this place as a source of minerals, spices, wood and other materials.
In terms of governance, Han Dynasty officials only governed the county and surrounding areas, while the tribes in the mountains were governed by the barbarians.
The products here are rich and the land is fertile. The local barbarians help to cultivate it and send it to various counties. Part of it is treated as tax. If the tax exceeds the tax, the court will exchange it with Shu brocade and grain to show the fairness of the court. Exploiting local indigenous people.
In addition, it will also be beneficial to the prosperity of the Tea Horse Road trade in Yongchang County, so that the number of Han people in Ningzhou will gradually increase, and only then can Ningzhou be returned to the Han Dynasty forever!
The transitional chapters and the Prime Minister's First Battle are finished, and the Northern Expedition is next, and the book is coming to an end. I plan to write about the Song Dynasty in the next book, and I hope everyone can continue to support it.