Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 535: Opening up Southern Border (big chapter)

In Zhuti County, Jianwei County, Meng Da led more than [-] troops and horses, falsely claiming to be [-], and stationed in the camp near Zhuti Mountain.

Now Jianwei County is basically the battlefield of civil strife in Yizhou. On one side are the Xichuan forces of the Shu lords, on the other side are the Nanzhong tribes in Yizhou County and Zanggan County in the south, and the Nanzhong tribes in Yongchang County...

The so-called "Southern Barbarian Invasion" is actually not an invasion, but a civil strife. Most of the sources of "Southern Barbarians" are within the map of the Han Dynasty, which is the south of Yizhou, but their influence is not the same. It did not spread, and when the war broke out and the dynasty declined, it became even more difficult to realize that this was the territory of the Han Dynasty.

More than 100 years ago, Yongchang County had not yet entered the territory of the Han Dynasty. It was the place where the ancient Ailao people lived. More than 130 years ago, the Ailao King attached himself to the Han Dynasty. Although there were rebellions later, the Han Dynasty successfully suppressed the rebellions.

The so-called Ailao Kingdom is also a real tribal alliance.

More than 100 years ago, King Ailao brought more than 50 people to the Han Dynasty, and these more than 50 subjects were entrusted to 77 kings in total. It was very similar to the early Shang and Zhou Dynasties when there were often hundreds of kings.

The so-called king of Yi actually ruled no more people than the people who had to be coordinated under the rule of the pavilion chief.

A few years later, the next generation of Ailao kings, probably feeling that they had not gained much benefit, began to rebel vigorously as soon as they took up their posts. At that time, the Eastern Han Dynasty was still relatively strong and the rebellion was easily quelled. Then the remaining Ailao people They moved westward and became the current Shan Kingdom. The Shan Kingdom was the predecessor of the Nanzhao Kingdom in the Tang Dynasty, and the Nanzhao Kingdom was the predecessor of the Dali Kingdom in the Song Dynasty...

There is a large and famous city in the north of Qianwei County, where Zhang Ren's main force is now - Jiangyang.

Jiangyang is close to Lu River, so it had another name, Luzhou in later generations.

It is not "Luzhou" in Hefei, but "Luzhou" in Luzhou Laojiao. Zhuti County, where Mengda is now located, is also named after Zhuti Mountain. Hundreds of miles southwest of Zhuti Mountain, there is A more extraordinary mountain - Niulan Mountain.

By following the distribution of wine flavors, we can know the general trend of Nishikawa's response to Nanman.

Nowadays, the Southern Barbarians in the real Han Dynasty are basically in Maotai...ah, no, it is the "expensive" part of Yunnan and Guizhou. Most of the "Yun" part was only incorporated more than 100 years ago, and there is still a part that has not yet been incorporated. It is now the Shan State.

But just like the original Ailao, it was just a tribal alliance.

Faced with this kind of southern barbarian invasion that was actually a "civil strife", Xichuan's bottom line was Lushui, and its target was Jianwei County. As for Yizhou County, Yongchang County and Zangda County... that's about it.

Therefore, Jiangyang was the base camp for suppressing the rebellion in Xichuan, and Mengda, for example, had already led troops alone to Niulan Mountain south of the Lushui River, which was considered to be deeply occupied by the enemy.

In history without the White Rabbit Effect, when Zhuge Liang pacified the Southern Barbarians, he also used Lushui as the dividing line...

And Zhuge Liang did it very thoroughly, or rather... let go very completely.

From crossing the Lu River to the south to quell the rebellion, half a year later, we have returned north from the Lu River. The whole process is very fast and neat - even if it is not done in a favorable way, after all, the disaster of the Southern Barbarians in history happened to Liu Bei When he just died.

If Zhuge Liang had not quickly suppressed the Southern Barbarians, I am afraid that the Shu Han would not be able to rest in peace in the future. Not only would other major tribes from all over the country see the "feat" of the Nanzhong tribe, but if it lasted for a long time, it would also mean that Prime Minister Zhuge could not convince the public!

However, Zhuge Liang's straightforwardness is not without hidden dangers...

Why is it that Baitu has the technology to crush and greatly boost productivity as a bargaining chip? It took seven or eight years to conquer Shanyue, and only then has today's "naturalization rate", while Zhuge Liang has nothing and brought tens of thousands of Han troops south. , conquered the Southern Barbarians in the next six months?

The secret lies in Zhuge Liang's "submission" but not "acceptance".

In fact, after Zhuge Liang led his troops back to the north, his achievements were not complete, but he completely transferred back all the Han troops south of Jiangyang.

On the one hand, they beat the rebel army into obedience, and on the other hand... gave the Nanzhong clan greater autonomy.

That is to say, tactical problems were solved at the tactical level, and strategic problems were "solved" by Zhuge Liang at the same time.

Not only were the rebels defeated, but after Liu Bei knelt down, he felt that the Xichuan forces had no future. They did not want to die and at the same time wanted to strive for greater interests, so the Nanzhong clan was making trouble everywhere. After they were able to govern themselves, As long as they hand over taxes and troops every year, they can be the "Tu Emperor" with peace of mind. Even if the Xichuan regime falls, they can join the next employer and naturally stop causing trouble.

In fact...it's a bit similar to the bottom line Shi Xie fought for at the beginning.

It is completely different from Bai Tu's method of migrating people down the mountain and building cities to become naturalized citizens.

Now that Jiaozhou is also undergoing large-scale development, Xichuan is still hesitating where to draw the bottom line when facing Nanman.

More importantly, this "Southern Barbarian Invasion" is completely different from the one in history!

Now on the tactical level, the "Southern Barbarians", who are the main force of the rebel army, were driven north by the Chu State. On the strategic level, the Nanzhong clan is now making noise, mainly because Chu goods, or middlemen, have squeezed Their Shu brocade and well salt business is mainly a business.

Yizhou is not short of food to begin with, and with the "leadership" of the Chu State, it does not follow the example of the Chu State and convert it into people's health, that is, into meat, or convert part of the fields to vegetables and fruits... It just blindly The increase in grain production has caused a large number of people in Yizhou to start to withdraw from agricultural production, mainly focusing on the Shu brocade and well salt industries.

Regardless of the tactical level or the strategic level, Nishikawa is not a problem that can be solved.

Therefore, it is much more difficult for Zhang Ren to quell the rebellion than it was for Zhuge Liang to quell the Southern Barbarians in history. He can only suppress the influence south of Jiangyang.

After all, the so-called Southern Barbarians of Yizhou were not actually opponents of the Han army in terms of strength. They just took advantage of the geographical convenience - the cost of marching and garrisoning in the "barren land" were astonishingly high, not to mention the miasma and plague.

The Wuxi Independent Division led by Chen Gong and Samoko also brought reorganized epidemic prevention military doctors before they dared to go deep...

However, if they really defended north of Lu River, the Han army would still have an absolute advantage on the plains with abundant supplies.

Zhang Ren, who is now sitting in Jiangyang, is naturally not satisfied with just "suppression". After all, he cannot analyze the essence. To him, this is just a larger-scale rebellion involving hundreds of ethnic groups.

That's why Zhang Ren dispatched some generals, including Meng Da, to the south of Jiangyang in batches... At least he didn't want to give up Zangda and the northern part of Yizhou County.

However, the dilemma that Zhang Ren faces now is that he wants to completely quell the chaos, but there is no follow-up support. Even if he wants to negotiate with the Nanzhong clan, no one in Xichuan is willing to stand up and take the blame - after all, like Zhuge Liang, he is completely free. Not everyone can make the decision.

What's more... there are still people who are worried about the market in Nanzhong and don't want to give up, and want to continue to use low-priced salt in exchange for gold and silver in Nanzhong, and these people still have a great influence on the policies of the Shuhou Mansion!
It is a pity that although Zhang Ren was very dissatisfied with some decisions of the Shuhou Mansion and some important ministers, he did not change his loyalty.

After all, Zhang Ren is still the senior brother of Zhang Xiu and Zhao Yun - all three of them studied under Tong Yuan, a master of gun arts.

Although Zhang Ren has never met his junior brother Zhao Yun, he knows Zhang Xiu.

However, this affection did not have the effect of instigating rebellion. There were members of the Enlightenment Department who were eager for success before, but Zhang Ren saw through it and beheaded it in public...

At this time, Zhang Ren was in the commander's tent again, playing with the sand table in front of him. Judging from his expression... he was not in a good mood.

Not long after, someone came to report that a scout had returned, and it was the scout Zhang Ren had sent out more than two months ago!
Zhang Ren heard the sound and immediately replied: "Quickly pass!"

I saw a veteran general staggering into the commander's tent. After seeing Zhang Ren, he excitedly said: "General! Fortunately, the last general lived up to his command and found the location of the Chu army! It's a pity... and the last general The two brothers who are going with me..."

Seeing this, Zhang Ren went up and patted the scout general on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of their families!"

In comparison, Zhang Ren's appearance is closer to that of Zhao Yun, and even... looking at his appearance, he is younger than the rugged Zhang Xiu.

"Thank you, General, I will go deeper..."

"Speak before you come to the sand table." Zhang Ren interrupted, and led the scout to the sand table where he was playing.

This sand table is very rough, because the scale is too large, covering the entire southern Yizhou in a broad sense, and it is impossible to carry out detailed tactical simulations.

The scout stepped forward and made some special changes first, moving some landmarks - after all, the sand table was actually passed down from Chu State. The principle is very simple, technology... There is no technology, it mainly depends on the mastery of information. degree!
In fact, the previous surveys of many terrains in Nanzhong by the Han Dynasty officials and Yizhou Prefecture were not accurate...

After first correcting one or two, the scout was far closer than Zhang Ren expected, pointing out the scope of Chu's influence!

Many tribes in the south of the Leujiang River, including the Dianchi Lake area, have begun to accept the arrangements of the Chu State.

Moreover, the leaking river is in the southern part of Xangqi County, and the Dianchi Lake is almost in the northern part of Yizhou County!

The Dianchi Lake area is less than two thousand miles away from Jiangyang, and less than a thousand miles away from Zhuti Mountain...

"Where's Xiangxi? How about Yongchang County?" Zhang Ren asked with a more solemn expression upon seeing this.

"Almost all the tribes in the eastern part of Yongchang County can see the Chu people, even more so than the two counties of Zangqi and Yizhou. The generals dare not go deep." The scout general explained with a guilty conscience.

In other words, the situation in the west is even more serious, and even... the Chu army, the main force attacking the southern barbarians, is heading west!
In fact, considering the topography of the two counties of Zangda and Yizhou, the distance of one or two thousand miles is already quite far.

This is not the concept of "driving for half a day or one day" in later generations, but the concept of "the march will take two or three months, and various accidents may occur halfway".

But you must know that what Zhang Ren is worried about now is not a direct attack by the Chu army. Those who are attacking Xichuan now are only some of the Southern Barbarians who were "driven out" by the Chu army.

The distance of only one or two thousand miles means that outside this distance, most of the southwest departments are probably intimidated, and some who are dissatisfied... have also been driven within the range of one or two thousand miles.

Zhang Ren was also very confused. How many people did the Chu army dispatch?He actually disturbed this southern border and caused the barbarians to go northward one after another?

With so many people in southern Xinjiang, how much supplies are needed?In that kind of place... how much is the transportation cost?
"No wonder there are so many barbarians this time... Thank you for your hard work. Have a good rest later." After Zhang Renqiang calmed down, he comforted the scout and asked him to rest.

It can be seen intuitively from the sand table that the original settlement area of ​​hundreds of tribes in Nanzhong has basically been swept away!

The southernmost area and Yongchang County in the west were the areas with the lowest degree of Chineseization and the lowest influence of the Han Dynasty. Even the scouts could no longer penetrate.

Those who resisted the rule of Chu State, after being defeated, went northward one after another and were compressed within two thousand miles of Xichuan. They colluded with the Nanzhong clan who were recently dissatisfied with the Shu lords...

Of course, if Chen Gong heard about Zhang Ren's speculation, he would definitely redress and correct it now.

It wasn't the Chu State that drove them away. The Chu State was just developing normally and respected the will of each tribe. It's just... if someone takes the initiative to attack the Chu army, it's always okay to fight back, right?

The tribes attached to the state of Chu ask for help from the Chu army, so they can't ignore it, right?

Chen Gong dares to say that what he does can withstand the scrutiny of the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Punishment, and there is no problem!
At the same time, even the successful experiences of Chen Gong and Samoko in southern Xinjiang are now used as advanced examples to promote to the mountainous areas of Danzhou and Yizhou, as well as Baiyue in southern Yangzhou.

In the past few years in southern Xinjiang, Chen Gong has figured out a process for implementing "Chu transformation" in an area with complex terrain and numerous tribes that is difficult to control by a unified force.

In addition to the independent divisions, Chen Gong also "requested" many land reclamation troops from Chu State. Compared with overseas land reclamation, the land reclamation troops actually felt more at ease when they came to southern Xinjiang.

Every time they arrive at a place, they first station a part of the army on the spot, and then the land reclamation army goes through the process of surveying and developing resources - relying on mountains and water to draw water, digging if there are mines, reclaiming slightly flatter land, and even fishing and hunting resources. You can use it first...

At the same time, the independent division continued to send scouts out to explore the land piece by piece. When encountering tribes, try not to cause conflicts, and just mark and reply in time.

Then, where there are tribes, professionals from the land reclamation army will contact them. Where there are no tribal activities, surveyors will be contacted directly...

In short, we must strive to find the "profitable" place in the unit of hundreds of miles, no matter how barren and harsh the land is, even if there is a poisonous spring with bad water, we must analyze the composition of the poisonous spring!

For Chu State, although the "Poison Spring" is poisonous, some of them are just not drinkable, but they are all treasures.

When it is really impossible, no matter how the resources are calculated, and the existing conditions cannot survive, the "no man's land" can be delineated. At the same time, it needs to be ensured that the "no man's land" must be surrounded by "development zones".

On the whole, they are constantly conducting outward reconnaissance and surveys...

The "development zone" is developed to its fullest, and in order to allow resources to enter and exit, it is natural to build as many roads as possible - it doesn't matter if it is a loss, as Chu State will subsidize it.

Chen Gong's idea is very clear. First, he uses Chu's productivity advantages so that the same land can "raise" more Chu troops than the Nanzhong tribe, and even turn a profit.

Even if it is the same fishing, hunting, and farming, Chu's tool and theoretical advantages are obvious, and it also has the advantage of group operations during the land reclamation stage.

And there are many resources, which are treasures for the Chu State, but are useless or even a burden to the tribes in Nanzhong.

As for the tribes encountered, after initial contact, they can be roughly divided into two categories - one is those who are willing to cooperate with the Chu State and develop southern Xinjiang together, the other are those who are unwilling to cooperate, but are willing to coexist and trade...

When faced with the former, the land reclamation army naturally cooperates sincerely. When faced with the latter, they are also very welcoming and will actively draw "boundaries" that will not bully others.

A tribe that is unwilling to coexist, violates borders, and attempts to use the interests of hundreds of tribes in South and Central China as a stepping stone for its own ambitions?

Naturally, Chen Gong would declare war on behalf of the people of southern Xinjiang. Either they would be wiped out in place, or they would be forced to move north, north, and then north again...

As for those who are not willing to be too involved with the Chu State, but are still willing, or can only accept coexistence, it will not take long to find that the surrounding areas and the originally familiar "neighbors" begin to gain far more in all aspects. For myself, more importantly, I put in the same manpower, but the harvest is far more than myself, and I am also open to trade...

These tribes often, over time, either transform into cooperation, or... move north, move north, move north again...

Chu State did pay high subsidies, and there were few development zones that were truly profitable. However, roads were built, prototype cities were built, and people... gathered.

Some uninhabited areas that are currently unavailable are guaranteed to be surrounded by development zones, which naturally means that there is no closed "peach blossom garden" and everything is gradually under control!
And from a long-term investment perspective, Nanzhong will be able to turn a profit as a whole once the narrow and rugged roads, which are limited by geographical conditions but can at least be used for wheelbarrows and carts, are built and become common.

It is much easier to develop Nanzhong now than in later generations, or even in the Tang and Song Dynasties - there are fewer people, and the need for living resources is also not high.

Allowing the land reclamation army, to a certain extent, to rely on fishing and hunting as the basis of survival, actually reduces military expenditures a lot. Whether it is a specially trained land reclamation army or a Wuxi independent division with Wuxi people as its source of troops, for these Dumen children clear……

Now the set of boxing combinations that Chen Gong has figured out is gradually being promoted in Baiyue, south of Yangzhou, and even overseas.

(End of this chapter)