Volume 3: The Land of Jingchu Chapter 264 The Wise
"Welcome Military Advisor Chen to show us the direction." Mingtan, the leader of the Ming Snake clan, said to Chen Gong enthusiastically.
Although his Chinese was a little awkward, at least one could see his friendly attitude.
On the left and right of Ming Snake are the leaders of Xiu Snake and Hook Snake...
Although they are all wearing small leather jackets and leather pants, it can be seen from the style that the leather jackets of the Ming Snake Tribe generally have longer sleeves, almost reaching the elbows, but the navel is exposed. Among them, only the leather vests of the Xiu Snake Tribe are open-chested.
"Since you all have responded to the call of the General's Mansion, the General's Mansion will naturally not treat your tribe unfairly. I hope that the tribes in Wuxi will be as reasonable as you in the future." Chen Gong said.
At this time, Chen Gong only had four guards around him...
Before, Zhang Liao had suggested to Chen Gong that he take a few hundred people with him, so that even if they turned against him, they could buy some time.
But Chen Gong refused - if these people from the ancient Yue tribe really wanted to turn against each other, what could a few hundred people do among tens of thousands of people?
At least several thousand people are needed to achieve a delaying effect, but will people let you station several thousand people in the center of the tribal alliance?
Is it that you are the hostage, or that I am your hostage?
Since it's useless, it's better to be open and honest instead of deepening the rift.
"Haha, we have always been 'reasonable', but now it is for the food of the general's mansion, not for a 'call'." The leader of the Hook Snakes, Gou Cang, said.
Among the three clan leaders, only the clan leader Xiushe is a little older and a little "delicate", just an ordinary strong man, while the other two are enhanced strong men.
This is also in line with the custom of the Shanyue people - only the strong can serve as the clan leader.
At the same time, those who can become clan leaders can speak some Chinese. After all, clan leaders are often the "commanders" recognized by the Han Dynasty, but they do not recognize the title of "commanders" internally.
Chen Gong understood that Gou Cang said this not to urge him for food and grass, nor to hint at raising the price. The Shanyue people did not have so many roundabout words. The other party just wanted to make it clear that he did not accept the "recruitment" of the General's Mansion.
The General's Mansion provides food and they provide labor, that's fine...but asking them to move into the Han counties? No way.
After all, in the eyes of the Shanyue people, the lives of the common people among the Han people were not much better .
Everyone gets hungry sometimes. When the Shanyue people were extremely hungry, at least they could kill and burn people to appease the enemy, or they could rob the Han people.
Even the Han people come to the mountains to "pretend" to be Shanyue, and you still want us to come down the mountains to be oppressed by you dog officials? Do you think we are stupid?
Chen Gong didn't dwell on this for too long. If he wanted to change his inherent ideas, the most effective tool was "facts."
"However, we sincerely admire Military Advisor Chen! We really didn't expect that there would be a warrior like Military Advisor Chen among the Han people, and... we originally thought that even if Military Advisor Chen wanted to come, other Han generals would stop him!" Wang Kong exaggeratedly expressed his admiration and surprise.
At the same time, a hint of "sneer" appeared at the corner of his mouth... which was already seen by Chen Gong, and he was thinking in his heart: Yes, this is the legendary... sowing discord!
Hahaha, stupid Han people, you didn't expect that, did you? I, who am so wise, have already begun to comprehend the art of war!
Chen Gong was also a little surprised. Could this be the legendary... the hook is straight and the bait is smelly?
Even if you don't have a more covert statement, can you at least hide your sneer and the satisfaction of "I'm super smart" on your face?
"A warrior? No, I don't think it takes courage to come to the ally's base." There was no sign of lying on Chen Gong's face.
Mingtan and Gou Cang also benefited greatly from Chen Gong's words - they felt that their own credibility was being praised and recognized.
"That's right! We are not insidious! We welcome our allies and offer you wine and meat from Shanyue!" Mingtan said.
Among the three major tribes, the Ming Snake Tribe is the strongest.
Xiushe was obviously hostile, but unfortunately... even Chen Gong could not guess what Wangkong's purpose was.
After all, Wang Kong, the chief of the Xiushe clan, is someone that even Chen Gong cannot "see through".
It’s not because he’s so smart, but... his IQ is embarrassing.
On the one hand, he is a "wise man" among the Shanyue people, but on the other hand... in Chen Gong's opinion, his wisdom is probably equivalent to that of Song Xian, who raises pigs.
However, Chen Gong could see through Song Xian, who knew what was going on in his mind, but it was difficult for Chen Gong to see through Wang Kong, who was obsessed with the title of "wise man".
It's like a rookie who has a head full of king-level skills but only has bronze skills...
Chen Gong could sense that this Snake Cultivator Chief gave him a strange feeling, as if he had another purpose, but what that purpose was... was hard to guess!
Fortunately, Chen Gong has not discovered any ill intentions from the Ming Snake and Hook Snake tribes.
As for other small tribes, they must be headed by these three tribes. After all... there are only three Yue princesses. Other tribes with barbarian soldiers can be regarded as branches of the three major tribes.
In fact, it was Wang Kong who tried hard to make Chen Gong a hostage. However, no matter what he thought at this time, Chen Gong's arrival was still welcomed by a bonfire party symbolizing "friendship" and "passion".
Although Chen Gong was a scholar, he had practiced drinking, and... Shanyue's wine was very light due to the limitations of technology, and the taste was not something he could get used to.
During this period, Wang Kong hoped that Chen Gong would reveal the location of the Xianzhen Camp in the name of "knowing yourself and your enemy, and you will never be defeated in a hundred battles."
At this time, the Xianzhen Camp led by Gao Shun was not with Zhang Liao, but hidden in the surroundings. Chen Gong's requirement for him was to "avoid being seen by people and reach the destination in one day" - that is, he must not be discovered, and at the same time, he must stay within the range that can be reached in one day!
A “one-day” journey on the mountain road is only about 20 to 30 miles at the shortest possible time.
Even for the Shanyue tribe, which is also good at fighting, it is difficult to wander around other Shanyue tribes in the mountains without being discovered...
However, Gao Shun's Xianzhen Camp can do it!
Even every "soldier" can be Voldemort on the ground for a whole day, and try to keep the sound of "gnawing" food and grass as low as possible so as not to scare away even the birds. They can also march silently, tiptoeing, and holding hands in the pitch-dark night without any complaints.
At first, when Chen Gong, Gao Shun and Zhang Liao entered Luling County, especially after entering the southern part, the journey was not smooth.
There have been many frictions and conflicts during this period. The agreement reached now contains elements of coercion in addition to inducement!
The Shanyue had no patience with Gao Shun's army, which had only 3,000 men but was like a devil.
Such a "dagger" was quietly hidden around them, but every day after they changed their positions, they could find some clues of its presence. This was also a chilling thing for the Shanyue Alliance.
It can be said that Gao Shun's Xianzhen Camp had a more deterrent effect on them than Zhang Liao's 20,000 Han troops who were openly armed!
"The battlefield changes rapidly, and I don't know where General Gao is." Chen Gong did not lie.
"Hey, Military Advisor Chen has mobilized so many Yue people this time to fight for your General's Mansion and pacify the south in one fell swoop. He has made so many contributions. He will definitely be reused by your general in the future, right?" Wang Kong almost said bluntly, "You just want us to suffer losses together."
In his view, "the South" is the area where the Shanyue and Wuxi barbarians are active, and the places where the Han people live are considered "the North".
"No, if possible, the General's Mansion does not want to have a fight." Chen Gong did not continue to follow Wang Kong's words.
"But if the Wuxi barbarians are willing to submit to the General's Mansion, even if you really have so much food and grass, but... are you willing to squander it like this?" Wangkong asked meaningfully.
Chen Gong had also realized that Wangkong was deliberately weakening the credibility of the General's Mansion in front of Mingtan and Gou Cang.
Now we are questioning Chen Gong - you are either going to break the contract or use us to do something more dangerous!
"Food and fodder? No, if you really want to move out, you can follow the example of the King of Dong'ou and lead his tribe to move inland." Chen Gong said.
"Do you think our warriors can support themselves by farming like you Han people? What's more, even you Han people can't survive and want to rebel against the emperor." Wangkong said disdainfully.
He really was "righteous" - his so-called "warriors", that is, the barbarians awakened by Yue Ji, really could not support themselves as ordinary farmers, because... the barbarians' appetite was much larger than that of ordinary people!
The food intake of an ordinary barbarian soldier is equivalent to that of an ordinary farmer's family.
In tribes like the three major ones, almost all the men over the age of fifteen, and nearly half of the stronger women, are barbarians!
Now these 100,000 Shanyue barbarians are basically all the Shanyue who have been converted into barbarians.
If we take households as units, one Shanyue household is probably able to eat as much as three households. Moreover, although they are strong, their farming skills are very primitive. If they farm full-time, they are probably not as good as ordinary farmers in the first few years...
However, at the same time, their dietary structure will also change, and their dependence on staple foods will decrease.
"Some people are rebelling, and they are rebelling against the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. The General's Mansion was granted orders by the court. After coming to Yangzhou, the people under its rule have no worries about food and clothing... Otherwise, why most of those 'mountain people' in the northern part of Luling County have already gone down the mountain? As for your clansmen, if you are willing to submit, my General's Mansion is short of manpower and strength now. Are you still worried that it will be useless?" Chen Gong said frankly.
There is no need to be secretive when dealing with these Shanyue people. Are you still worried that they will go to the court to report that the general's mansion is plotting something ill?
As for incorporating them into the army, Chen Gong did not mention it. In his opinion... although the Shanyue barbarians were stronger than Ji Zao's soldiers and better at mountain warfare, but... that was all.
If the battle was fought head-on on normal plain terrain, a hundred thousand strong Shanyue men would be no match for the twenty thousand elite Han troops.
Moreover, they are completely unable to cooperate with the existing Han army, but instead increase the factors of disharmony. Their only use on the battlefield is to form an independent army and be used as consumables. However, Bai Tu would definitely not agree.
Thinking of Bai Tu's letter, Chen Gong also said, "We will also make proper arrangements for the three Yue concubines. The General's Mansion found Yizhou overseas. The Dongyu people there also had foreign concubines. Now they have all been assimilated into Chengji. I think the same can be done for Yueji."
As for what to do specifically, Chen Gong actually didn't know. After all, it was Kaihua Ji who "enlightened" Dongyu Yi Ji, and the birth of Kaihua Ji... can only be described as a coincidence!
However, Chen Gong noticed that when he mentioned Yue Ji, Xiushe Wangkong's expression changed obviously. Although he tried his best to hide it, but... no matter how Chen Gong looked at him, he looked like Song Xian who was lying and touching his bald head.
[Could this guy know something?] Chen Gong was secretly concerned.
At this moment, a barbarian soldier from the Hook Snake Tribe came to report. After a lot of chatter, Gou Cang translated it to Chen Gong - several Wuxi people were captured!
