Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 251 Governor's Office
Even though the morale of Ji Zao soldiers would be lowered when casualties increased, they were much braver than the mortal Dongyu warriors.
This can be considered a special attribute of Ji Zaoyi soldiers. Just like the elite soldiers of Danyang, even if they do not have much daily training and combat experience, they are still very brave, unlike ordinary recruits.
Moreover, the individual strength of Ji Zao's Yi soldiers is obviously stronger than that of ordinary Yi warriors - equivalent to a skilled Yi warrior with peak physical strength and experience.
When facing ordinary tribes, even the "crudely made" barbarian soldiers in Gan Ning's eyes could win every battle.
Before encountering the Amberjack Tribe, Gan Ning only had over a thousand land and naval forces to support him, but several tribes had already surrendered to the Kaihua Tribe. The way they surrendered... was still so familiar.
Obviously, Gan Ning's brocade robe was not a 100% guarantee of making the girls offered by the other party become city princesses. It required the right time, place and people. As for these surrendered tribes, Gan Ning incorporated them into the Kaihua Tribe.
It is difficult for fishing and hunting peoples to form too large a tribe, because to "support" a tribe member by means of fishing and hunting requires much more land and resources than farming. If they gather too many people, the required territory, or gathering area, will be too large, forcing them to live separately!
However, Gan Ning now wants to transform the Dongyu people into an agricultural society, which will make it easier to manage them and help them civilize. This is also Bai Tu's will.
With rapid expansion, the Kaihua tribe soon came into contact with the overlord of the west coast, the Amberjack tribe. The Amberjack tribe was also wary of the Kaihua tribe, which was expanding rapidly, suspected of having Yiji, and had changed its name.
Originally, the Yellowtail tribe was obviously stronger. Although it continued to annex small tribes, giving the Kaihua tribe more manpower and training more Ji-zaoyi soldiers, the Yellowtail tribe was larger in size and had more beast-faced warriors, so it was obviously stronger in terms of military strength alone.
What's more, Kaihua Ji did not have Yi Ji's ability of "roar to inspire", so she could not provide direct help in the battle, which further widened the gap in strength between the two sides.
If Gan Ning hadn't been there to lead the charge, the Kaihua tribe would have had a chance to retreat and develop, using the Ji- made Yi soldiers to protect themselves, with the people farming to obtain more food than gathering, and to feed a larger population... After one or two generations, even if the Yili tribe was determined to destroy it, it would easily be worn down by the Kaihua tribe. After three or five generations, as the demand for land grows due to population expansion, the Kaihua tribe would be able to take the initiative to crush the Yili tribe!
And now...
For the Kaihua Tribe, which is in the period of transition to agriculture, there is no need to go to war. After all, in an agricultural civilization... the land seized is used for cultivation, and the land currently occupied by the Kaihua Tribe is actually quite sufficient!
Then why take the initiative to fight?
It was only because of Gan Ning's support that the Kaihua tribe could expand boldly without any worries...
It doesn’t matter if we can’t defeat the Yellowtail Tribe. Gan Ning can lead a charge just once and defeat the Yellowtail Tribe soldiers, which are several times larger than his own!
As a large tribe that possessed Yi Ji, their way of surrender was somewhat different from that of ordinary tribes. The one who replaced the "girl" was Yi Ji herself - and only when Yi Ji decided to surrender would such a large tribe surrender.
The surrender of large tribes was not essentially a donation of food and women, but... the entire tribe was "enslaved".
Normally, the victorious party would directly "claim" Yi Ji at this time, and after gaining control of Yi Ji, the corresponding Dongyu tribe would naturally be incorporated into the victorious party.
Afterwards, soldiers and warriors may be able to join normally, but other old people and women will be no different from slaves.
What was a little different from other surrendered girls was that Yi Ji was only wearing light clothing instead of being naked...
And what is different from the usual situation is that the one who came forward to accept the surrender of the other party Yi Ji was not someone from the Kaihua tribe, nor was it Gan Ning, but... Kaihua Ji herself!
Princess Kaihua walked towards Princess Aoi, and then... took off the mask on her face, revealing a face that was not as ferocious as the mask.
Then a large number of ordinary warriors of the Amberjack tribe lost the fighting power originally blessed by Ikihime.
Originally, the Yellowtail tribe thought that the Kaihua tribe wanted to kill them all or completely enslave them, and they burst into a shrill cry. However... then Princess Kaihua and the envoy of the Kaihua tribe came forward to talk with the leader of the Yellowtail tribe and dispelled their doubts!
It is not that the Kaihua tribe "canceled" the power bestowed by Yiji, but from now on, the Amberjack tribe will be incorporated into the Kaihua tribe, and like them, the military and civilians will be separated, and all the people will no longer be soldiers.
In fact, after ordinary young and strong men are stimulated to become Dongyu warriors, their appetite will increase, which is much larger than the normal appetite of generals due to training. After the pressure on food is eliminated, the pressure will also be reduced.
And after Kaikahime took off the mask of Amberhime, the latter's abilities began to approach those of Shirohime...
In addition to the princess, in more than three months, Gan Ning also led the Kaihua tribe all the way eastward and annexed the Lie tribe in the western plains. Relying on the advantage of sea vessels, he went directly around the east coast and annexed the Xiao tribe!
The area of Yizhou is just that of a larger county. The reason why it took three months was because the Dongyu people had no idea of building roads, and all roads had to be "walked", so the marching speed was relatively slow. The reason they were able to reach the east coast in time was thanks to the large number of Gan Ning ships.
Otherwise, three months would be enough for Gan Ning to travel around a county with complete official roads...
But now, after destroying three large tribes in a row in three months and occupying the entire central part of Yizhou, Gan Ning did not act rashly in the face of the hills in the north and the mountains in the south.
In a real fight, Gan Ning's army with their strong armor and sharp swords would be no match for any Dongyu tribe. Facing a tribe that still had stone weapons, there was no challenge at all. Even if they had several times more people, it would be useless...
Gan Ning was even a little worried that after he got used to fighting these guys, he might not even fight a war when he returned to the Central Plains!
However, in complex terrain such as mountains and hills, miasma, poisonous insects, sneak attacks and poisoning... just dealing with nature would cause Gan Ning's side to suffer losses.
Moreover, after annexing nearly 50,000 Dongyu natives, the relief food that Gan Ning brought was running out, so he chose to come back first.
As long as you are familiar with this sea route, it is actually not that far. Even if you start from Wujun, three months is enough for a round trip, and there is even room for further compression.
Including the Yi Ji of the Owl Tribe and the Hyena Tribe, there were a total of three subordinate Yi Ji to Kaihua Ji in Yizhou. Gan Ning used his authority as the Grand Commander to first establish Yizhou as the Eastern Yi Commandery, with Kaihua Ji as the Governor-General. The three Yi Ji who showed signs of sinicization became governors under the Governor-General.
In fact, it corresponds to the "provincial governor's office", provincial princess and county princess, but the area of Yizhou is much smaller than that of a province, not to mention that the population is only at the county level...
Moreover, even though Gan Ning was the Grand Admiral of the Navy, he did not have the power to set up a provincial governor's office. At the same time, if it was established as a county and incorporated into the Yangzhou Department, it would be too isolated and difficult to manage, so a governor's office was established as a trick.
Compared with the "Protectorate", the "Governor-General's Office" has greater authority and is responsible for directly governing , not just "supervising".
This time, Gan Ning brought back only the concubine he named "Kaihua Ji". He wanted her to meet Bai Tu first, and also to "network" with other concubines in the General's Mansion.
Yizhou is also building its first city. When "Kaihua Ji" returns, she will have her own city, and then she can see if she can become a real city princess.
As for the remaining three...since they are nominally subordinates of Kaihua Ji, after Kaihua Ji "connects to the Internet", they should also be able to "freeload on the Internet".
Of course, even if connected to the Internet, it would only facilitate private internal chats between "city princesses". If they really wanted to transmit information and intelligence, they had to cross the sea...you can imagine how slow the "signal" would be!
But even so, Gan Ning's gains in the past six months have far exceeded Bai Tu's expectations.
It was mainly the appearance of Kaihua Ji that greatly improved Gan Ning's efficiency in civilizing the Dongyu people, which was something Bai Tu had not dared to think of before.
It can be said that if Kaihua Ji had not appeared, Gan Ning would probably still be relying on force to intimidate the west coast, gradually exploring the island, and always be on guard against the rebellion of the Dongyu people who had already been intimidated...
Bai Tu also supported Gan Ning's establishment of the Yizhou Governor's Office. Later, he would follow Gan Ning's idea and appoint the Governor of Yizhou from the General's Office.
As for the selection of governor, Bai Tu really had a headache.
First of all, as a governor, you must be able to stand on your own!
Gan Ning is more than qualified to be the governor, but... for the sake of Yizhou, you are going to slow down Gan Ning's pace? Just thinking about it makes me feel bad...
After that, Gan Ning would at most escort one more voyage for the Governor of Yizhou, and then he would start a new journey - the "Yangzhou-Liaodong" waterway!
Not to mention that there is also Danzhou in the direction of the rising sun, the South Sea Islands southwest of Yizhou, and... the Golden State where it is said that sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn can be obtained.
Gan Ning is limited, but the navy's mission is unlimited. How is it possible to keep Gan Ning in Yizhou?
Similarly, important aides such as Lu Su should not even think of slacking off, and as for Lu Kang and Zhang Zhao... given today's medical and navigation conditions, those over 40 should not bother!
And... we also have to consider the issue of "selfishness".
Bai Tu was not too afraid that the Governor of Yizhou would rise up and secede. Judging from the current development path, the warship and sea vessel technology of the General's Mansion would only become stronger and stronger.
Moreover, in an agricultural civilization, one can occupy an island and establish a regime because one can be self-sufficient, but... Bai Tu is already promoting the development towards industrial civilization. No matter how far it can be pushed, the future positioning of Yizhou will be a shipyard and relay station!
A small agricultural island can be self-sufficient, but a super shipyard or relay station needs to be "imported" for supplies and does not have the basis for secession.
What Bai Tu was "selfishly" worried about was that the governor's policy towards the natives would go astray. After all, there had been previous examples of Dongyu people landing in Kuaiji to trade but becoming slaves.
In the name of "the debate between Chinese and barbarians" and in the name of "the interests of the rich and powerful", once the true situation of Yizhou spreads, I'm afraid some people will be eager to use it as a place for inspection...
