The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 793 Defeat the thief!

"I have come here by imperial decree to punish you, the rebels!"

"Your Majesty was able to tolerate your rampage before because the footless beasts in the south had not yet been eradicated, and because you were incompetent, so you let it go. You have been ruling Liang for nearly ten years, yet you have not thought of sending your sons to Luoyang as hostages. Instead, you use your feet to travel along the trade routes, robbing merchants and harming the people!"

"You, wearing armor and holding weapons, have harmed the unarmed people, bringing shame upon your whole nation. Now you have come to pacify the people. If you knew the will of heaven, you would return naked with the sheep. I can still spare your lives and take your women as concubines and your men as slaves."

After Shu Ji Neng arrived at the Xi people's camp, he wrote a long manifesto and shot it into the enemy's camp with a bow and arrow.

Perhaps the Xianbei people all had the habit of writing short essays to scold their opponents. In any case, in this letter, Cao Shuji used all his talents to scold the opponent harshly.

There is no need to worry that the enemy won’t understand.

These tribes generally have think tanks and translators, and some leaders can even write manifestos themselves.

After writing the manifesto, Cao Shuji ordered his soldiers to take the main flag and lead thirty knights to the outside of the enemy's camp to shout and ask the enemy to come out and surrender quickly.

After receiving the letter, Xiren Shijin asked his attendants to translate it for him.

After learning the general content, he was immediately furious.

The trade route from Shazhou to Luoyang actually supported many forces, such as the Xi people who were defeated by Ma Long in history. They migrated around for a long time and survived by looting merchants and grazing.

Their civilization process may be slower than that of the Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Qiang.

While others have started to engage in semi-nomadic and semi-agricultural life, they are still stuck in the most primitive nomadic stage.

In the past, they traded with the Qiang and Xianbei tribes in exchange for corresponding supplies, and occasionally traded with the Wei Dynasty, each taking what they needed.

However, since Deng Ai took Pingliang, many forces have lost their past advantages.

The Qiang and Hu peoples scattered across the country were sent to states such as Yongliang, and cities in various places were not allowed to trade with these people who had not surrendered. This was to force them to submit to the Wei Dynasty and actively accept education.

The Xi people were forced to do so. They even went north to plunder the remnants of the Xianbei, the ones that fled west from Tuoba. However, they were unable to defeat them and were instead ravaged by the other side.

They retreated to the border of Wei again, preparing to attack the wealthy cities of Wei.

They never thought they could break through these tall cities, and their siege methods were still quite backward.

They just wanted to grab some stuff along the way and then go back.

But now, before the plan could even be implemented, someone came to challenge him.

At this moment, Ji Jin was furious and waved the whip in his hand, wanting to beat the slaves on both sides to vent his anger.

Another general came in to report that enemy knights were shouting outside.

The Xi people's city camps were not cities in the traditional sense. They used carriages and fences to build city walls and set up camps inside the walls to facilitate their migration and movement.

In order to guard against sneak attacks from other tribes and wild beasts, they also dug tunnels everywhere outside the city.

Ji Jin immediately led the cavalry out of the city and confronted those people in the distance.

Seeing the opponent's size, Shi Jin became even more angry.

Has your contempt for me reached this point?
The commander of the Wei army was not afraid at all and was still shouting provocatively: "Come out and surrender, why don't you take off your clothes?!"

Ji Jin roared angrily and was about to launch an attack.

The counselor beside him advised: "The enemy has dozens of men here to provoke us. There may be an ambush ahead!"

Ji Jin said unhappily, "There are no dense forests to hide in the south. Could their ambush troops be hiding underground?"

He led his troops in pursuit, but of course, the Wei army quickly fled.

Ji Jin led more than a thousand cavalrymen to charge from behind, and it was difficult for the two sides to keep distance.

The Wei army had no choice but to drop their flags and weapons and run even faster.

Shi Jin was overjoyed and held on to the other party tightly, refusing to let go.

At this moment, Shu Ji Neng led over a hundred other knights to the other side of the city.
There was indeed an ambush, but it was not to ambush their leaders, but to attack their cities.

When Shu Jineng led the cavalry into the camp, the people who stayed behind were shocked and hurriedly began to stop them.

The tree can shoot left and right, killing the enemy commander while making people rush around and set fire.

In just a moment, the entire camp was engulfed in flames. Shu Jineng was guarding the north exit, and everyone else had to block the south exit. Shu Jineng then sent cavalry to charge at those at the south exit, intending to burn them to death in the camp.

The people in the city could only escape by climbing the city walls.

Shu Jineng immediately reorganized the army and had them garrison at the south exit, abandoning the north exit, allowing the people in the city to escape.

Ji Jin was chasing the enemy when he suddenly discovered a fire rising into the sky behind him. At this moment, everyone was shocked.

After all, their families and property were left in that city.

Ji Jin cried out that he had been tricked and stopped chasing the cavalry. He turned around and began to rescue his own city. The cavalry changed direction and began to approach his own city.

But when Si Jin led his cavalry just to the outside of the city, Shu Jineng suddenly led his elite cavalry to charge out. Seeing the enemy rushing out of the city, Si Jin was shocked and frightened. The two sides fought and the Xi people were defeated. Shu Jineng charged all the way to Si Jin and knocked him down.

"Shi Jin is dead!!!"

Shu Ji Neng shouted loudly in Xianbei language.

The remaining cavalrymen immediately lost their resolve to fight and fled in all directions, and Shuji Neng launched another pursuit.
"General!"

Shu Ji Neng pushed a man to the front of Ma Long, kicked the man to the ground, and then saluted Ma Long with a smile.

"I have captured the Xi leader!"

At this time, only fourteen days had passed since Shu Jineng led his troops away.

Ma Long sat in the upper seat, and the other generals sat on his left and right. When they saw the triumphant Shu Ji Neng, no one dared to speak for a moment.

Although the Xi people were weak, they had tens of thousands of troops, and nearly 10,000 of them were capable of fighting on horseback.

It is not an exaggeration to say that they defeated the enemy with only hundreds of elite cavalrymen. They pacified the enemy within fourteen days, and almost without any casualties. Only six knights were burned in the city. In addition, they completely wiped out the enemy and no one escaped.

This is a bit too exaggerated!!!

It would take four days to get from here to the Xi people! Eight days round trip, and an entire tribe was wiped out in six days?

Ma Long nodded slightly at this moment.

He knew why the emperor valued the person in front of him so much.

He also knew the other party's abilities.

Shu Ji Neng was a very outstanding general. Among the rebels in the Western Jin Dynasty, he was able to win battles in succession and kill several famous generals when facing the early Western Jin Dynasty.

He is very suitable for being ordered to fight in battles, but not for being a commander.

Because his strategic vision was not very good. He could fight, but he didn't know how to think three steps ahead. Therefore, when he met Wen Yang, who was a better fighter than him, or Ma Long, who had mastered the strategic tactics, he was defeated miserably.

Ma Long praised: "As long as there are brave warriors in the west, there will be no more rebellion."

Afterwards, he sent people to count Shu Jineng's military merits and gave him an official position. When the emperor sent him here, everyone was a little unhappy, wondering why he could become an officer as soon as he arrived.

But at this moment, no one was dissatisfied.

With this guy's bravery, he deserves such kindness!

After submitting a petition to commend Shu Ji Neng, Ma Long kept Shu Ji Neng and let the others leave.

"Jiangwu, have you ever read the Art of War?"

Shu Jineng sat next to Ma Long and answered truthfully, "I've only read The Art of War and only have a general idea of it."

"Very well, until His Majesty officially bestows the award, you will remain here as my cavalry commander and stay by my side. I have some military strategies with annotations here, which you can look through from time to time. If there is anything you do not understand, you can ask."

"Thank you, General!!"

After staying in Luoyang for a while, Shu Jineng had already opened his eyes. He knew that Ma Long was going to teach him some military knowledge, and he was very happy.

After explaining these things, Ma Long looked at the map in front of him again, and he couldn't help pinching his forehead.

Originally, the Zhenxi Corps only needed to guard against Yongliang, but now, including Shu and Shazhou, its defense line was suddenly stretched too thin.

Although there is a Huo Yi in Shu and a military governor's office in Shazhou, His Majesty has also ordered that the roads should be kept open to guard against thieves.

There were really a lot of thieves at that time. Even in the Central Plains, one had to be careful of encountering thieves when going out. Groups of bandits were still very active, let alone the Yongliang area at this time?
The thieves in the Yongliang area are quite different from those in the Central Plains.

The difference between the two is more like that between bandits and rebels
The thieves in the Central Plains usually consist of four or five people who rob people on the road and then run away.

The Xi people whom Shu Ji had just defeated were considered thieves in the eyes of the government.

Those big families built Wubao in the name of guarding against thieves. However, since the Han Dynasty, the government has been prohibiting these people from building military castles. No dynasty would allow its people to build such things. If they want to build inner walls to guard against thieves, the temple has its own regulations.

Going beyond that is usurpation and treason.

It’s just that the law was not enforced so strictly during the Wei and Jin dynasties.

Ma Long now had a new idea about guarding against thieves. The road was too long and there were too many people to guard against. It was not a good idea to divide the troops into different places.

It seems that we still have to defend through offense. As long as we eliminate those larger forces and eliminate them with appeasement or other means, and turn the thieves into real thieves, the soldiers in the counties and prefectures in that place can be dealt with.

Ma Long then took out the paper and began to write.

The task of clearing out bandits from all states must begin today, and we must do our utmost to ensure the smooth flow of trade routes!
There's someone nearby who's familiar with the habits of these thieves. It's perfect for him to go and defeat them everywhere. He can even guess where the thieves will run. Could that be why His Majesty sent him here?
Ma Long looked at the tree function beside him and smiled contentedly.

(End of this chapter)