Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 393 Deterrence

The envoy sent to Qiuchi Kingdom returned quickly, willing to return Liangzhou and the two Huan families, and to reconcile with the Jin Dynasty, but requested military support to resist the attack of Yao Qin.

With Qiao Zong's rebellion, Hanzhong was left vulnerable. The Kingdom of Qiuchi, being geographically close, had the advantage of being the first to seize the opportunity. However, Yao Xing also sent Qifu Qian Gui, Wang Min, and others to lead troops south. After being repelled by Yang Sheng, the ruler of Qiuchi, they launched a major invasion this year.

With 5,000 cavalry under General Jianwei Zhao Kun as the vanguard, and 10,000 infantry under General Lijie Yao Boshou as the rear guard, General Yao Hui and General Yao Du advanced into Jiuxia, General Yao Gao, the governor of Qinzhou, advanced into Yangtouxia, and General Hu Yidu led his troops out from Qiancheng and attacked Wudu from Dasanguan. The four armies marched out to attack Yang Sheng.

Yao Xing personally led 5,000 light cavalry out of Yongcheng, stationed himself at Longkou, and supervised the troops from all directions.

Chouchi was a small country, and it faced immense pressure from Yao Qin's army of 50,000 to 60,000 men.

Yao Xing's eastward expedition a few years ago ended in a disastrous defeat at Chai Bi, which interrupted the fate of the Northern Wei dynasty. In recent years, he has been repeatedly defeated by Liu Bobo. After his westward advance was thwarted, he changed his course and headed south.

He happened to run into Liu Daogui, who had just destroyed Qiao Shu.

"Save me!" Liu Daogui replied with only one word.

Yang Sheng, the ruler of Qiuchi, has repeatedly defeated Yao Qin, demonstrating his worth.

Despite having only two prefectures, Wudu and Yinping, the Qiuchi Kingdom was extremely resilient. As early as the sixth year of Emperor Hui of Jin's Yuankang era, when Yang Maosou established the kingdom, it consistently regarded the Jin dynasty as the legitimate dynasty.

Now that my younger brother is in trouble, as the older brother, it's only natural that I should help.

Compared to the state of Qiuchi, the state of Yao Qin was the real enemy.

After the fall of Southern Yan, the rebels, and Qiao Shu, the next target of the Northern Expedition was Yao Qin. The goal was to take Guanzhong, acquire more superior warhorses, then sweep through Hebei, attack Mobei, recover Liaodong and Hexi, and restore the former Han territories.

So it's not a bad thing to get a feel for it beforehand.

Liu Daogui immediately recalled all the troops and, in front of all the generals, requested that they be rewarded. Wang Zhongde was appointed General Yingyang, Commander-in-Chief of the military affairs of Yizhou, and stationed in Chengdu. Mao Xiuzhi was appointed General Dangkou and Prefect of Bazhou. Duan Hong was appointed General Xiaoqi and Prefect of Badong.

Shen Tianzi was appointed General Liwei and Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Liangzhou; Shen Linzi was appointed General Yanglie and Prefect of Zitong.

Zhu Lingshi already held the rank of Palace General, and his contribution to the attack on Chengdu was the greatest. He persuaded Shen Tianzi's rebel army to stop the rebellion and saved Chengdu. Liu Daogui requested that he be appointed as the General of the Western Central Army and the Prefect of Hongnong.

Zhu Chaoshi was appointed Prefect of Hedong and concurrently General of Ningyuan.

The rank of General of the Western Central Army is third grade, equivalent to a grain of rice of two thousand shi (a unit of grain), and is already a key general of the state. He is usually paired with the governor of a prefecture, making it the most prestigious position. Previously, the Generals of the Four Directions were all from high-ranking families such as Xie, Wang, Xun, and Huan.

Liu Daogui did this in order to curry favor with the Zhu brothers.

Both men were capable generals, understanding the bigger picture, unlike the unruly Shen brothers.

Of course, Shen Tianzi's position as the military governor of Liangzhou was also quite good, essentially handing over military power in Hanzhong to him.

Liu Daogui has taken all aspects into consideration to the best of his ability, taking into account both his own interests and those of the four generals of Jiankang.

"Thank you, General!"

The generals were all delighted and were generally satisfied with the promotions and rewards.

"Zhu Lingshi and Zhu Chaoshi, listen to my command and lead your troops to Hongnong to intimidate Tongguan. Duan Hong's cavalry will enter Shunyang to intimidate Wuguan. Shen Tianzi and Shen Linzi will lead their troops to Nanzheng to support Qiuchi Kingdom."

"We obey!" The generals bowed.

Liu Daogui looked at Ma Dan and said, "Write a letter to Yao Xing to withdraw his troops, otherwise this general will lead 100,000 infantry and cavalry to attack Guanzhong!"

When attacking Southern Yan, Yao Xing also claimed that he would lead 100,000 cavalry to support Southern Yan.

The matter was eventually dropped.

Liu Daogui is now using the same methods against him.

The letter itself is his business. If Yao Xing's attack on Qiuchi fails, it will be more than just a threatening letter.

Since his disastrous defeat at Chai Bi, Yao Xing has become somewhat obsessed with martial arts. In recent years, he has been fighting in the south and north in an attempt to regain his military prestige, but he has repeatedly stumbled against Liu Bobo.

Qifu Qian Gui and other Xianbei leaders in Hexi and Longyou also rebelled and surrendered at different times.

The state of Qiuchi is located in the Qinlong Mountains. Wudu and Yinping are both strategically important and impregnable passes. Yao Xing's attack on Qiuchi last year was unsuccessful, and morale has declined. He may not be able to conquer it this year. In his early years, Yao Xing was quite diligent in governing the state, but in recent years, he has been waging wars everywhere, exhausting the Qin state and causing it to gradually show signs of fatigue.

Liu Daogui now actually hopes that Yao Xing can fight Qiu Chi to the death and exhaust the last bit of vitality of the National Middle School.

As the armies marched north, Liu Daogui continued to observe the situation while simultaneously preparing his troops.

Wang Zhongde, stationed in Chengdu, and Mao Xiuzhi, stationed in Badong, were both busy suppressing bandits and sending young men of the Liao and Man peoples to Chengdu to become slaves for land reclamation.

However, not everyone in this world is as hardworking and conscientious as the Jin people. These barbarians and Liao people are fierce, evil, and lazy, and their way of life is like that of savages.

Their farming skills were even inferior to those of the Wuxi barbarians of Jingxiang.

The soldiers taught them the skills, but forgot them as soon as they learned them. They would often desert, ambush the soldiers, and injure or kill more than ten of them.

This caused a great deal of trouble for Ma Dan and other officials in Sichuan.

"They won't shed tears until they see the coffin. I treat them like human beings, but they don't. Since they don't consider themselves human, then I'll have to find a way to do it in a human way!"

The system of collective punishment was immediately implemented, and all the Liao and Man people were organized into groups of five, ten, and fifty. If one person disobeyed a military order, the entire group would be executed; if a group committed the same offense, the entire group would be punished.

Two meals a day were reduced to one, barely enough to survive. If you did a good job, you would get an extra meal at night; if you didn't do a good job or deliberately caused trouble, you wouldn't get a single meal.

Liu Daogui refused to believe that he couldn't tame them.

Liu Daogui was willing to send those who were determined to die on their way.

I didn't want things to get so bloody, but even after Zhuge Liang captured and released Meng Huo seven times, the rebellions in the south did not decrease. Xiang Chong, a general on whom we placed great hopes, died in the Han Jia barbarian rebellion.

Our ancestors never made a mistake in naming their children. The character "獠" contains the radical for beast, signifying that savagery and belligerence are inherent traits.

But being belligerent does not equate to being brave.

Compared to the armored and crossbow-wielding soldiers, these men's barbarity and belligerence were insignificant, and their physiques were not even in the same league.

The soldiers transferred from Jingzhou and Xiangyang were on average a head taller and stronger than the Liao people.

Even without armor and weapons, a single soldier can fight three bandits by himself.

These days, it's impossible to get anything done without resorting to force and bloodshed.

Under such intense pressure, people's heads were hung on flagpoles every day.

Liu Daogui personally led troops to inspect the various military farms.

Looking at the rows of heads lined up by the roadside, Liu Yizhen said innocently, "Although the Liao people are savage by nature, they are also simple and honest. If we treat them with benevolence and righteousness, we can surely influence them."

"How about I let you take some men to the south and show them benevolence?" Liu Daogui didn't tolerate him.

“This…how can we do that? The South is a wild and uncivilized land. I am the governor of Yizhou and cannot go far away. A-Xing is quite capable of governing, so why not send him there?” Liu Yizhen was not really stupid. In some aspects, he was self-taught and actually knew how to shift the blame eastward.

Liu Yixing said, “Nanzhong is not a wild and uncivilized land. Shu Han has governed it for many years and achieved considerable results. There are also many barbarians who are loyal to the court. However, if we want to govern Nanzhong, we should first govern Shuzhong. Once Shuzhong is restored, Nanzhong will be easily obtained.”

These words are quite insightful.

Sichuan has recovered, and the south is next.

Liu Daogui did not truly intend to exterminate the Liao people, but rather to tame them and gradually integrate them into the Chinese civilization, just as the Eastern Wu did with the Baiyue.

Since Eastern Wu could succeed, Liu Daogui felt that he could too.

Every human being wants to live, to have enough to eat and wear.

"You should remember this: the Great Way is not named, the Great Eloquence is not spoken, and the Great Benevolence is not benevolent." Liu Daogui looked at the two men.

"Yes."

(End of this chapter)