The most arrogant in history

Chapter 406: A tentative fight.

With Ye Kun's current status, going out to fight is equivalent to leading the army in person.

The nine ministers believed that the emperor could lead the army in person to attack the Central Plains, but it would be a waste of talent to attack the southern barbarians.

Ye Kun explained:

"Sending a general can certainly help us conquer the South, but have you ever thought about how to govern it in the future? If we conquer it but don't manage it, it won't take many years before the South rebels and becomes a big problem for us again.

Therefore, I personally led the troops to fight, using both kindness and force. After conquering the south, I also had to appease the local residents, send professional personnel, guide them in production, and strengthen management and guidance, so that we can have long-term stability.

This time I will not only bring a large army, but also nine technical personnel to participate in the governance of the south."

Zhuge Feng then understood Ye Kun's painstaking efforts and nodded in approval.

Everyone nodded together and admired Ye Kun even more.

Ye Kun gave the order: "Send a message to Chengdu and Chongqing to immediately organize the army, horses, weapons, food, ammunition, and various medicines. Ten days later, the army will set out. Each of the nine departments must select 100 capable people, young ones, to follow me."

It was winter now, which was a perfect time to send troops to the south.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times. He tried to cross the Lu River by force in the summer, but encountered malaria and suffered great losses.

Ye Kun will also follow Zhuge Liang's route this time, but the season is different and his equipment is far better than Zhuge Liang's.

Two days after the military order was issued, Ye Kun led 40,000 troops across the river, passed Chongqing, and went to Luzhou to join forces with troops gathered from other places.

All food and fodder were provided by the southern part of Yizhou, and Chengdu was responsible for logistical supply.

In mid-November, Ye Kun assembled an army of 100,000 and a logistics force of 200,000 in Luzhou, with a total force of 500,000, and marched south.

This was the richest war Ye Kun had ever fought, with sufficient military supplies and food.

1,500 muskets, 200,000 rounds of ammunition;

One thousand small artillery pieces and fifty thousand rounds of ammunition.

20,000 grenades and thunder bombs each.

There are also powerful crossbows and arrows, kerosene incendiary bombs, chili powder tear gas bombs, etc.

Gongsun Erniang was worried, so she took Ding Ding and a group of Mohist disciples to follow him on the expedition.

Lu Kaijiang and Zhou Xuanwu were the vanguards, Yao Caidie was the chief military doctor, and Tan Bamao was in charge of logistics and food transportation.

Two days after the departure, Xue Ju and Wu Xuan led their troops to meet up.

He felt a little listless because Xue Ju and Wu Xuan were not among the five tiger generals who were awarded last time.

Ye Kun found out Wu Xuan and Xue Ju's intentions and said calmly:

"You two have guarded the South for so many years. Although you have protected the territory, you have never expanded it. So you were left out in this reward. Now that we are attacking the Southern Barbarians, it's your chance to make achievements. After I pacify the Southern Wilds, you will both be generals and deputy commanders of the military department."

Wu Xuan was happy now, and he clasped his fists and said, "My lord, rest assured. I will fight with all my strength and take Yunnan for you!"

Ye Kun nodded and ordered Wu Xuan and Xue Ju to be the left and right vanguards, cooperating with the central vanguards Lu Kaijiang and Zhou Xuanwu to advance forward.

The troops marched in sequence, clearing paths through mountains and building bridges over rivers, traveling during the day and sleeping at night, without harming anyone along the way.

Wherever we passed, there were no cities, only some large villages and strongholds.

Some villages are relatively large, with a population of seven or eight thousand.

This place nominally still belongs to the jurisdiction of Yizhou, but due to difficult transportation and sparse population, Ye Kun has never had the energy to control this area.

It’s different now. As soon as the army arrives, the village chief here surrenders immediately and dares not show the slightest disrespect.

The economy in the mountains depends entirely on Yizhou.

Salt and iron tools, porcelain, glass, and even silk and linen clothes were all traded with Yizhou.

From an economic perspective, the mountain people cannot leave Yizhou.

Ye Kun met with the local village chiefs, comforted them with kind words, and gave them salt and iron tools. He also retained technical personnel from various industries to help them develop production, promote hygiene, and improve medical care.

However, management personnel, medical and education staff were also retained, and household registration books and ID cards were made for them to facilitate control.

At the same time, publicize the law so that they can restrain themselves and achieve peaceful coexistence.

Ye Kun also promised to organize them to build roads, improve the traffic environment, build markets, and expand the scope and quantity of transactions.

The small villages were unable to resist Ye Kun, and since there were practical benefits, they all submitted to him.

But going further ahead is the territory of Jianwei Kingdom.

Because in the early period of the Da Ding Kingdom, the county system and the feudal system coexisted, and there were many such small feudal states in the border areas.

The fiefdom originally belonged to the Gongsun family, but later powerful ministers usurped the throne and the family name was no longer Gongsun.

At this moment, the governor of Jianwei State is Lu Rentao, who is well versed in military tactics and has more than 30,000 soldiers and horses under his command. He is known as the Great General of Tiannan. He secretly colludes with the Southern King Shamoke and refuses to submit to the king's rule.

When Ye Kun conquered Yizhou, Lu Rentao was still cursing Ye Kun in Jianweiguo, saying that Ye Kun was a slave of the common people and dared to divide the territory. He wanted to have a decisive battle with Ye Kun.

Later, Jian Weiguo nominally submitted to Ye Kun, but the emperor was far away and Lu Rentao was still the local emperor, living a free and easy life.

The vanguard troops of Zhou Xuanwu and Lu Kaijiang approached the territory of Jianwei State and ordered Lu Rentao to come and greet them.

As expected, Lu Rentao was unwilling to sit there and wait for death, so he raised three armies to fight against Ye Kun.

Ye Kun ordered Zhou Xuanwu to use the middle route to contain Lu Rentao's main force, and Wu Xuan's right-wing vanguard troops to directly attack Jianweiguo's big city and cut off the enemy's front and rear connections.

The generals of Jianwei State were unaware of the strength of Ye Kun's army, and they were very proud of themselves before the battle:

"My country is vast, with a huge population and mountains and rivers. It is not like the Chengdu Plain where you can roam freely. You should retreat immediately, or you will die without a burial place!"

The area is vast, but only about the size of three or four counties;

The population is huge, but only adds up to 150,000.

There are some dangerous mountains and rivers, but compared with the big mountains in the north of Yizhou, it is still a little bit worse.

Zhou Xuanwu had to wait for Wu Xuan's action, so he was not in a hurry. He first had a tentative fight with the opponent and pretended to be defeated.

The opponent became even more proud and pursued relentlessly.

Lu Kaijiang suddenly led the ambush troops to charge out and cut off the enemy's retreat. Five hundred muskets fired at the same time, and countless powerful crossbows and heavy arrows poured out.

Zhou Xuanwu turned around to kill the enemy and threw a wave of thunder bombs and grenades.

Half of Jianwei's front army, totaling 15,000 people, were killed or wounded, and the rest surrendered obediently.

Wu Xuan's troops also reached the city of Jianwei State and controlled the main transportation routes.

Ye Kun asked Wu Xuan to keep his troops still while he dealt with the prisoners first.

Ye Kun ordered a proper burial for the fallen soldiers and generals of the country.

Provide treatment and comfort to the injured soldiers.

There were still several thousand captives, all of whom were in good health, just frightened.

Ye Kun asked: "Jianwei is a fiefdom of Dading, no different from a county, and is also under the management of Yizhou. Why don't you obey the king's rule and fight against the heavenly army?"

The captives said, "It was General Tiannan who threatened us, and we were helpless."

Ye Kun smiled and said, "I'm letting you go now, do you still dare to rebel?"

"I dare not, never again."

"You wouldn't dare to do that." Ye Kun gave the order, showing the power of the cannon to the prisoners.

A heavy artillery was aimed at the tree and fired.

boom!

There was a loud bang and smoke rising, and a tree thicker than a bowl was broken in half.