In the second month of February in Zangdao, Pingyi County.
On the gentle slopes of the low hills outside the city, there was a buzz of people.
The soldiers and the common people, who had taken off their armor and were young and strong, worked hard with their hoes to level the low hills, dig ditches, and consolidate the fields.
Some of the old men and women were bowing in the mountains and forests, sweeping away grass smoke with short blades; some were bowing their heads in the fields, carefully inserting rice seeds into the soil.
The happiest people are undoubtedly the children.
They gather in small groups, laughing and joking, and work together to carry a large pile of cut grass. After bringing it from the mountains to the fertilization place, they will be rewarded with a handful of steamed wheat grains by the soldiers guarding here.
The wheat kernels are somewhat hard, smell slightly fragrant, and are quite chewy.
You have one piece, I have one piece, and he has one piece. They take turns sharing the food with each other, throwing it into their mouths and chewing it slowly. They can't help but frown.
Although they had gone back and forth a few times before they were separated, the children's contented laughter never stopped.
Not only was there no wheat in the south, they tasted novelty, but also because there had never been any nobles such as officials or wealthy households who would give favors to them, the native barbarians.
Only that man, Zheng Langjun, walked around the low hill every day.
I heard from my father that he once defeated Zhu Bao who suffered a thousand blows, and also established a system whereby he could receive food rations for his hard work. He was the savior of the family, and he must salute and thank him when he met him.
And my mother said that the baby pigs that were imprisoned in the wood at home were sent by someone from him.
When they grow up, they can kill them to eat meat, or they can exchange money to pull a few feet of cloth and come back to make new clothes for themselves.
Therefore, when you see Mr. Zheng, you must remember to say hello with a smile.
Ignorant children do not clearly distinguish the difference between thanking and greetings.
But they all know that they have eaten and drank recently, and the strong soldiers have not robbed things or burned down houses. This kind of life makes them feel very happy, and they no longer miss their former home in the mountains.
Already.
Zheng Pu, who frequently walked on low hills and gentle slopes, also felt that living like this was quite peaceful.
In recent days, he has been inspecting the minor officials to urge the soldiers and Li Shu people to open terraces, and he has done his best to make these Li Shu people feel the benevolence and righteousness of the imperial court in their bones.
This is not the rhetoric of "the one who wins the hearts of the people wins the world".
The purpose was to use word of mouth to disintegrate the support of Zhu Bao by the barbarians in various counties in Xianggao County.
The reason is that recently, both the Wang family and the Yelang Zhu family in Fan County sent people to deliver letters to pay homage to Ma Zhong.
Ma Zhong also sent someone to send the letter to him for review.
The things written by the two books are very similar.
First, he expressed his utmost praise for the imperial court's efforts in feeding the hungry people.
In order to show his loyalty to the imperial court, he was extremely generous.
After reading those words, Zheng Pu couldn't help but wonder: It has been two years since the traitor Zhu Bao raised the flag of rebellion, but they have never heard of the evil?!
I'll keep reading and I'll finally have something to say.
It's about the recent actions of the traitor Zhu Bao.
After he heard that the imperial court had appointed a new governor and that he was leading an army, he moved himself and his close family members to Gouding County in the south. He himself sent 3,000 soldiers to Guangtan County and Qie
He stationed himself at the dangerous passes in Lan County. Moreover, the general donated all the treasures in the treasury and his family's property to the elders of the barbarian tribes in each county, vowing to share wealth and honor with them.
Finally, the Wang family and the Yelang Zhu family in Fan County expressed their indignation, claiming that if Ma Zhong marched to Qielan, they would definitely follow the private army, vowing to do their best to suppress the rebellion for the imperial court, and so on.
After Zheng Pu read it, he immediately ignored the last part.
Because Jufu, who has been garrisoning the siege recently, has frequently sent scouts back to spread the news.
It also tells the reason why the Wang family and the Yelangzhu family in Fan County wanted to serve the imperial court: the traitor Zhu Bao used military force to coerce big and prominent families to go to Gouding County.
Naturally, the Wang family and the Yelang Zhu family in Fan County were unwilling to go, so they were extorted a lot of money and food...
However, Jufu did not discover that Zhu Bao had connected with the barbarian tribes in various counties.
Well, what Zhu Bao did was very wise.
This is the most common coping strategy among the Nanzhong tribes and the most troublesome strategy for the court: delay!
The purpose of guarding dangerous passes with elite troops is to give them a chance to retreat and regroup when they are unable to withstand the imperial attack.
It is not like being trapped in Qielan County, the county seat, and being besieged by the imperial court. If defeated, it will be difficult to fly, and there is only one way to die.
And he took the soldiers and family members away, one was to intimidate them from betraying, and the other was to make it more difficult for the imperial court to attack with the criss-crossing terrain of mountains and mountains.
For example, when it was difficult to transport food and fodder supplies, and the soldiers were dissatisfied with the harsh soil and water conditions in the south, and their numbers were reduced, etc., the imperial court weighed the pros and cons and would not continue to send troops south to pursue him in the short term, allowing him to make corrections and recuperate.
Moreover, there is still a level of consideration involved in doing so.
Gouding County is a county in the southwest corner of Cangqi County. The terrain is very complex, there are many people who don't know Wanghua, and the people are poor and evil.
Going southeast, he could go down to Jiaozhou, and going west, he could reach Yizhou County. If the court pursued him, he could go to Jiaozhou to occupy the mountains and become the king, or he could go to Yizhou to defect to Yong Kai.
There is no shortage of ways to survive.
As for the large-scale collusion with the barbarian tribes, it was naturally to allow them to secretly cause trouble for the imperial army's crusade.
Such as digging roads and breaking bridges, poisoning water sources, artificially creating foundations to promote epidemics, etc.
What's more, they even relied on their familiarity with the terrain to secretly harass people in the rear, stir up public outcry, and attack grain transport teams.
It doesn't take much manpower to make the imperial army so overwhelmed that it can't even bother to pursue it south.
This is also the reason why Ma Zhong passed the book to Zheng Pu.
Recently, the Prime Minister of Chengdu, Zhuge Liang, has frequently mobilized soldiers and horses from various counties to gather together, and will soon go south to fight against the traitor. Since Ma Zhong has been appointed as the governor of Zangda, it is his duty to punish the traitor Zhu Bao, so he naturally needs to make some plans first.
Moreover, Zheng Pu has the responsibility to participate in military affairs and should make plans on his own.
However, Zheng Pu was at a loss at this time.
It's not that there are no suggestions.
If you want to defeat the traitor Zhu Bao's method, it will be as easy as flipping the palm of your hand.
All it takes is a step-by-step approach. The imperial army's anti-rebellion forces regain a county, then stop resting and reorganize, pacify the people in this county and urge the people's livelihood to recover, and then send troops to the next county.
As he advances step by step, Zhu Bao will naturally fall into a dilemma with nowhere to hide.
However, this strategy requires a lot of time, and even if it takes only three to five years, it may not be able to completely pacify the large Xanggao County.
Moreover, with such an obvious countermeasure, how could Ma Zhong not think about evil?
Since he sent people to ask for advice, he naturally did not want to use this old strategy to build a country.
Even the Prime Minister would not think of using this method.
As far as the Han Dynasty is concerned, the Northern Expedition against the Wei Dynasty and the restoration of the Central Plains is an urgent national policy! It will not waste a lot of time and war potential in the southern and central counties, which are known as barren lands.
Alas, sorrow!
Zheng Pu's face was as bright as the spring breeze, and he walked slowly as he patrolled among the field soldiers and the heads of Guizhou. He smiled and nodded every time, and responded to those who saluted or smiled kindly.
However, every time I stop to take a break, I can't help but look to the south with worried eyes.
How to deal with Zhu Bao's strategy, Ma Zhong did not limit his planning time. He only informed that Prime Minister Zhuge Liang had sent a secret message, claiming that a force of more than 3,000 people would return to Zangda County in the near future.
Loyal dispatch.
In other words, the prime minister wanted Ma Zhong to take back Qielan County as soon as possible to promote the authority of the imperial court.
As far as Zheng Pu is concerned, time waits for no one.
Late spring is approaching in March, and the countdown to the day when the Prime Minister's troops will march south has already begun.
At that time, the imperial court's crusade army vowed to march forward, and soldiers and horses came to Zangkou again to aid Ma Zhong. Zhu Bao learned the news and feared that he would give up guarding the dangerous pass between Guangtan County and Qielan County and directly escape to hide in the deep mountains and old forests.
In the middle, temporarily avoid the sharp edge and wait for the court to retreat.
After all, considering the supply of food and fodder alone, it was impossible for the imperial court to allow so many soldiers and horses to be stationed in Xangqi County for too long.
And relying solely on Ma Zhong's direct headquarters, the garrison in the city was already stretched thin. How could Zhu Bao be restrained from sending troops to disrupt the evil?
From now on, how can there be Ningrixie in Xianggao County?
Moreover, if the crusade against the rebels is in vain, in terms of the overall situation, the imperial army will be unable to deter the barbarians, which will make countless natives and barbarians have second thoughts, and the despised king will turn into dust.
In terms of individuals, Ma Zhong, Gou Fu, Liu Yin and him will all be transferred to other positions due to the disadvantage of suppressing the rebellion.
Although he will not move to the left, he will at least hide it for a few years before he can be granted military power again.
Publicly and privately, this outcome was not what Zheng Pu wanted.
If not, is it dangerous to follow the example of "If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't get the tiger's cubs"?
Stopping under the shade of the tree, Zheng Pu lowered his eyebrows and half-closed his eyes. The thought of taking risks with his own life suddenly flashed through his mind.
Yes, he thought hard for several days, but he only felt that the only way to resolve the situation was to go deep into the army alone and kill Zhu Bao in one fell swoop.
Zhu Bao, if he plans a retreat before fighting and insists on fighting to the death, it will definitely be insufficient!
At that time, as soon as Ma Zhong's follow-up troops arrived and attacked, he would resist for a while, so he would inevitably think of preserving his strength and lead his troops to retreat to the south of Zanggao.
And this is the opportunity Zheng Pu was thinking about!
Send a group of elite soldiers in advance, go deep behind the enemy's rear, set up an ambush halfway, and kill Zhu Bao on his way back!
If the attack is successful and Zhu Bao is sent to the southern counties, everything will be settled!
Let me ask, after the chief culprit has been killed, the rebels are gone, and the court declares that it will not investigate the past, who would still want to do something in vain?
Even if there are a few stubborn people who want to resist, how many people will fight to the death and be buried with them?
However, this strategy can determine the outcome in one fell swoop, but it is also extremely dangerous.
In other words, the chance of success is less than 30%!
Because of the mountain ranges crisscrossing the county, the natives and barbarians lived in disorder. No one could predict where people would live and linger. If a lone army was secretly sent deep into the area, it was very likely that they would be discovered and then known to Zhu Bao.
In particular, Zhu Bao had already dissipated all his treasury and family property, colluded with the barbarians, and vowed to share wealth and honor with him.
The second is that we are outnumbered in terms of military strength.
The army was sent secretly to hide its traces, so that no large army could come.
And when Zhu Bao retreated, it was impossible for him to return badly damaged. Although it was an ambush, it was not easy to break in and kill the general of the army.
It is more likely that the success will fall short.
Third, Zheng Pu cannot bear the consequences.
In other words, Ma Zhong cannot take responsibility.
The lone army went deep behind the enemy's rear, and if it didn't make any difference, the whole army would be wiped out.
As the weakest rebel force in the three counties, the imperial court sent out a large number of troops to attack Xangqi County, but it was defeated. How could its impact be a matter for one county?
The Nanzhong Rebellion has been going on for two years, and there are many people in Yizhou County and Yueqi County who are both snakes and rats.
If they saw that the imperial court was not successful in conquering Zanggao County, which was known for its difficulties, how could they not become arrogant and join forces with Yongkai and Gaoding, the king of Yuexi Yi?
Wouldn't this mess up the Prime Minister's crusade?
