After Spring and Autumn

Chapter 124 Entering Huaiyi (Merge Chapter 120 and Five)
Hearing that Ji Ran has made complete preparations here, Meng Di also heaved a sigh of relief, and after thinking about it, he said.

"After thinking about it, I'm afraid it's not a good idea to let Liu Xiatuo go to Huaiyi. There are many tribes in Huaiyi, and their strength is not weak. Just fighting can't make them surrender, so I want to take a closer look. Let's see."

This was also decided by Mengdi after careful consideration. If Liu Xiatuo was allowed to go there directly, once there was a disagreement with the local tribe, it is very likely that they would be twisted together and opposed together, and things would be difficult in the future. up.

After thinking about it for a while, Ji Ran nodded.

"That's fine, since the situation in Lu Kingdom is getting worse and worse, Yang Hu is very likely to let the Lord go to Qufu, and I'm afraid the delay will not be too long."

Finally, he frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly raised his head and had an idea.

"Liu Xiatuo used to be a thief, my lord can let Liu Xiatuo pretend to be a thief and operate around Yishui, and even cross Yishui and enter the territory of Lu State. If this happens, it will definitely cause panic in Lu State."

"At that time, my lord can say that the bandits from Ju State invaded Lu State, and then lead troops to attack. In this way, we can both conceal people's eyes and ears, and cover up our whereabouts. You can kill two birds with one stone."

This idea is very suitable for Mengdi, he patted his thigh and said.

"Mr. Ji's idea is really good. I will do as you say. If this is the case, Han Zhan will stay in Feiyi after the matter is completed. Then I will ask Mr. Ji to take charge of the matter."

Afterwards, a large group of thieves with about 3000 people began to harass the border of Lu State continuously. Mengdi immediately took the opportunity to send a message to Qufu, saying that the thieves in Ju State could not survive because they were attacked by his soldiers, so they fled into the Lu State. Within the territory of Lu State.

After Yang Hu got the news, he didn't doubt it, because before that, Meng Di attacked Ju State because of the rampant bandits in Ju State and robbed his caravan, and even suspected that it was the people of Qi State.

Originally, he wanted to recruit Mengdi to come to Qufu, but looking at the scene in front of him, the frontiers of Lu State were uneasy, so he gave up this idea.

Meng Di prepared to set off from Zhongqiu with 2000 men in armor, [-] cavalry, and [-] infantry. They did not have any banners, and all of them were veterans who had been on the battlefield. relatively stable.

And this time it was an experimental dispatch, mainly to contact the local tribes first. If the situation can be opened up, then a relatively complete annexation plan can be formulated in the future.

But before he set off, Mengdi got a message that King Helu of Wu sent Prince Fuchai to attack Chu State again. This made him realize that there was not much time left for him, and the prelude to Wuyue's struggle for hegemony was about to begin.

Moreover, the State of Yue can't stop the State of Wu at all. Once the State of Wu is made strong, the land of barbarians and tigers will fall into the hands of the State of Wu, so the troops are ordered to advance at an accelerated pace.

The main force of this battle is 200 men in armor. The new iron armor and swords made by General Mo Xie and the others took so long to equip only [-] men. The water network along the Huaihe River is densely covered, although there are many plains.

However, there are also great restrictions on cavalry combat. However, after these few battles, Meng Di is quite familiar with chariot soldiers. Victory.

Not long after entering the land of Huaiyi, they were discovered by people, and then they heard the sound of shouting, ups and downs, and then these people quickly withdrew into the city. Their attire was very different from that of the Central Plains. They wore animal skins and bird hats on their heads. feather.

Moreover, many places suitable for farming are covered with grass. It is obvious that these tribes are still living a semi-migratory life. Mengdi did not pursue them, but moved forward slowly.

It didn't take long to see a group of people appearing in front of them, and then an old man with gray hair walked up to Mengdi's horse.

"I don't know if you are from the State of Lu or the State of Ju? How did you enter our territory? Did you get lost, or did you take refuge in this place?"

What the old man said was completely different from what Huhe said in those people just now. It was obvious that he was a man of culture, and Meng Di's heart was moved.

Obviously, he is very familiar with the situation in the vicinity, Meng Di smiled.

"You can think that we are here to take refuge. If you can accept us, a lot of goods from the Central Plains will be sent here in the future, and you will be taught how to farm, so that you will have enough food and clothing from now on."

Hearing this, the old man's face changed slightly, he could tell that what Mengdi said was acceptance, but in fact he was letting them apply to the school, but he didn't look flustered, and said in a deep voice.

"Now our clansmen live very comfortably in this place. When hungry, they can hunt wild animals, burn wasteland and farm, and when cold, they can make clothes from the fur of wild animals to keep out the cold. They don't need your help."

For this answer, Meng Di was not surprised, and turned to a soldier beside him to order.

"Bring a bronze sword and give it to this old gentleman."

Not long after, the soldier held a bronze sword in his hand, walked up to the old man, and put his hands on it.

At this moment, Meng Di pointed to the bronze sword in his hand and said with a smile.

"Maybe what the old man said is right, but I think if the enemy comes, you have to find a way to resist it? If you agree, I can provide you with this kind of weapon so that you can resist foreign enemies."

The old man looked carefully at the bronze sword in his hand. After looking at it for a while, his face changed slightly. Then he beckoned to a clansman, pulled out a bronze sword from his waist, and signaled him to swing it.

The clansman slashed at the bronze sword in his hand with force, and heard a clang, and the bronze sword in the clansman's hand was forcibly broken in two, which made the old man's face even more ugly. After a moment of contemplation, he said this.

"As for whether to accept you, we can't decide. We are all tribes under the leader Ran Yi. If we accept you, we will definitely incur revenge. If you want to rest here, we are willing to offer you the best food to entertain you. "

The other party took out such a sharp bronze sword, and its quality was far superior to his own. The old man knew in his heart that it was impossible to resist with the strength of his own tribe, so he could only decline in this way.

Meng Di smiled lightly, nodded, and said to the old man.

"If that's the case, then it's a lot of trouble."

A group of people headed towards the territory of the tribe. It was obvious that the faces of the people in the tribe were full of tension. You must know that Huaiyi existed in the Xia and Shang Dynasties. It was once very powerful, but with the rise of the Zhou Dynasty.

The continuous crusade caused the power of Huaiyi to drop again and again, and was finally forced to retreat in the Huaihe area. Even so, they retained considerable strength, but because of cultural differences and backward technology.

Huaiyi has always maintained a primitive state of life. With the start of the vassal struggle for hegemony, the leaders of Huaiyi began to sway left and right, striving for the greatest benefit for themselves, but the culture and technology have not changed much.

Seeing that Meng Di and his party did not show any malice, the old man felt relieved and introduced himself on the way.

"My name is Bo, and I am a priest among the tribe. Our leader has not returned from hunting. Please wait here for a while."

Meng Di had no choice but to look at this tribe. There were only about two or three thousand people, which was not very large. He couldn't help thinking that if they stayed here for a while, the tribe would be in a state of collapse.

And there is a very strange phenomenon, that is, there are not many old people and children in this tribe, basically they are young and middle-aged men and women, and the ratio of men to women is seriously out of balance, which made him a little puzzled, but he didn't ask.

But he came this time because he wanted to find a few suitable tribes to cooperate with, so he wouldn't naturally do this.

Taking a look around, the surrounding area was very empty, Meng Di ordered to camp in place, and then said to Bo.

"The old man sees that there are not many people here, and I am afraid that you will be overwhelmed by our food, so can you let us hunt here to get some food sources?"

After all, it's the other party's territory, so proper etiquette is still required. After Bo heard this, he nodded.

"Because your Excellency has just arrived here and doesn't understand the territories among the various tribes, I will send someone to take you hunting to avoid unnecessary danger."

Then he turned around and said to the strong men behind him.

"You bring distinguished guests and hunt within the territory, so be careful."

This matter naturally fell on the thousand cavalry, because there were too many people, they could only go in groups. There were about a hundred people in one group, but only 300 people were left to guard.

When the sun set, the leader of the local tribe finally rushed back. He was very burly, with his hair and beard connected together, plus the animal skins on his body and the bird feathers on his head.

Let Mengdi feel that this guy is no different from a savage, Bo introduced at this time.

"My dear guest, this is Meng, the leader of our tribe."

But Meng had a bad expression on his face, he had already got the news about Meng Di and his group from his clansmen, he saluted Meng Di with the etiquette of the Central Plains, and then spoke.

"Your Excellency came to my territory. As a friend, I welcome you very much. If you are an enemy, even if you attack, I have no chance of winning. However, our leader, Ran Yi, has dozens of tribes under him, and he will definitely avenge us. "

What he said was not polite at all, and full of hostility, which gave Meng Di a bad feeling.

When he was in Gumi City, Mengdi had dealt with these tribes, and he knew very well in his heart that the most respected by these tribes was the strong, so he thought about how to break this stalemate.

Suddenly heard the cry of an eagle, Mengdi looked up and saw a goshawk circling in the sky, without saying a word, he reached out for his iron bow and took out two feathered arrows.

One was in his mouth, and the other was on the bow. After aiming for a while, he shot out with an arrow. However, he didn't stop his movements, but put the feathered arrow in his mouth like lightning on the On the iron bow, shot again.

This set of movements was like flowing clouds and flowing water, and it was completed in the blink of an eye. At this time, all the people in the tribe reacted and looked up.

Seeing the goshawk circling in the sky, it suddenly stopped flying and fell slowly, so the crowd erupted into applause, and the tribal leader's face changed slightly.

Soon some cavalry locked their positions and galloped away. After a while, they came back with the goshawk in their hands, with two feathered arrows stuck under its chest. Meng Di took the goshawk and handed it to Meng Di. Open your mouth and say.

"When we meet for the first time, I will give the leader a small gift, I hope you can accept it."

His face twitched fiercely. The scene just now had already shocked him very much. You must know that it is extremely difficult to shoot the eagle in the sky due to the limitation of bow and arrow skills these days. There are no one-in-a-million marksmen.

And the Central Plains man in front of him not only hit the flying eagle, but also hit the two arrows together. He had never seen or heard of such a technique before, and at this moment he was already beyond shock.

After being dazed for a moment, he stretched out his hand to take Goshawk, and said with admiration.

"Your Excellency is really amazing, I admire you very much, and I am willing to entertain you with the best food in my tribe."

After hearing this, a smile appeared on Meng Di's face, and at the same time, he was very moved. Although the leader of the tribe, Meng, spoke and acted very directly, it also made people feel very comfortable. There was no lie or conspiracy calculating.

Meng Di took a few soldiers to attend the tribal banquet together, and at the same time took out the wine he had brought, and drank happily.

Because of the strength he showed, he was recognized fiercely, so the people in the tribe treated him like a guest of honor, and they answered every question during the dinner, which made him gradually understand.

Today's Huaiyi is divided into two tribes, one is in the north, and their leader is Ran Yi, while the other is in the south, named Lingda. The two tribes cooperate with each other in order to protect themselves. Of course, there are some friction.

Over the years, because of Jin's struggle for hegemony, Huaiyi began to make good friends with the surrounding vassal states. The north is Lu, and the south is Wu, so for the time being, they live in a stable life.

The situation of the Meng tribe is actually not very good. Because they were defeated by the surrounding tribes, they were forced to migrate here. Seeing that this place is good, they stayed here for only two or three years.

After understanding these situations, Monty understood why he saw that there were no old people and children in this tribe. It was obviously because they were plundered or killed by others because of defeat.

(End of this chapter)