Chương 433: Taking Over the Entire Territory of Yizhou

The leading barbarian chieftains even boasted that they would kill all the Han soldiers and cut off their heads to use as wine bowls. When this reached Qi Jiguang's ears, he smiled and said nothing, but simply marked a few circles on the map.

As a result, their little tricks were like children playing house in front of Qi Jiguang, Gongsun Zan and other ruthless men who had fought for many years.

Gongsun Zan led his cavalry and, under cover of darkness, circled around to the rear of the ambush.

The mountain roads were rugged, making it difficult for cavalry to run, but Gongsun Zan's cavalry could even traverse grasslands, so what was a little mountain road to them?

At dawn, they arrived at their designated location on time.

Qi Jiguang led his army to press forward head-on, beating drums and shouting, creating a powerful and imposing force.

The barbarian soldiers were waiting for the Han army to enter the ambush, but unexpectedly a cavalry force suddenly appeared from behind them.

White horses and silver armor, long spears like a forest, their charge was like a landslide and an earthquake.

Gongsun Zan took the lead, wielding his long spear with great force. Before the barbarian soldiers could react, they were scattered and defeated.

Caught in a pincer attack, tens of thousands of barbarian soldiers collapsed instantly.

Crying for their fathers and mothers, they fled in all directions, trampling each other; more people died than were killed by the Han army.

Some ran up the mountain, some jumped into the river, and some knelt down to surrender, abandoning their weapons.

Gongsun Zan's cavalry chased after them, cutting them down as easily as chopping melons and vegetables.

The barbarian soldiers ran until their shoes fell off, but they still couldn't outrun the cavalry's hooves.

Blood flowed like a river in the valley, and corpses piled up everywhere.

Qi Jiguang showed no mercy to those barbarian tribes who resisted to the bitter end and even dared to launch sneak attacks. He directly issued a death order: those who resisted to the bitter end shall be exterminated along with their entire clan!

Gongsun Zan's cavalry and Qu Yi's elite vanguard took turns fighting.

The cavalry were responsible for charging into the enemy lines, while the elite assault troops were responsible for attacking fortified positions; their coordination was seamless.

Those arrogant tribes were wiped out by the army, and their strongholds were burned to the ground.

The stockade walls were crackling and burning, billowing thick smoke that could be seen from dozens of miles away.

The remaining tribes were terrified when they saw this display of force.

Only then did they realize that this time, the imperial army that had come was not the same cowardly, weak force they had encountered before, but ruthless people who could truly kill.

How could they possibly dare to resist?

They rushed to the Han army camp with their cattle, sheep, and treasures, kneeling and surrendering without daring to raise their heads.

Qi Jiguang did not make things difficult for them.

Those who are willing to submit shall be registered and made into a list, and shall pay tribute as required and obey as required.

Several barbarian leaders tried to play tricks, but Qi Jiguang saw through them at a glance, captured them on the spot, and made an example of them to warn others.

The rest were even more obedient.

The army marched south with unstoppable momentum, sweeping away all obstacles.

Zangke Commandery, Yuexi Commandery, Yizhou Commandery, and Yongchang Commandery were captured one after another.

Those who are willing to surrender should be properly appeased, and their granaries should be opened to distribute grain and provide relief to the people.

Those who dare to resist will be directly attacked. After the city falls, the leaders will be beheaded without exception.

Qi Jiguang also ordered notices to be posted everywhere, stating the Han army's policy: those who surrendered would be pardoned, and those who resisted would have their entire families executed.

After the notice was posted, many tribes that were still observing sent people to surrender overnight.

In just over a month, Qi Jiguang led his army to capture all four counties: Jianwei State, Jianwei Commandery, and Nanzhong Commandery.

Starting from Mianzhu and taking over Yongchang County in the south, the entire territory of Yizhou was completely recovered, and there was no longer any territory left to be divided.

On the way back to Mianzhu with the army, Gongsun Zan, riding his horse, laughed and said to Qu Yi beside him, "I thought the southern regions would be so difficult to conquer, but it turns out they're only this capable? They're not even as good as the Xianbei and Wuhuan in the north. They're utterly pathetic!"

Qu Yi grinned and said, "Of course! With our 60, 000 elite troops, and General Qi leading them, let alone the Southern Region, there are few in the entire country that can withstand us!"

Gongsun Zan nodded, then added, "However, this place is indeed far away. It took almost a month to walk from Chengdu to Yongchang. If we hadn't brought enough supplies, it would have been really difficult to fight here."

Qu Yi said, "That's why our lord has made good arrangements. There's plenty of food, medicine, and equipment; we just need to focus on fighting."

...

In the general's tent in Mianzhu.

Qi Jiguang was holding a pen, writing a victory report to Liu Ce in Luoyang, his face full of smiles.

He wrote meticulously, stroke by stroke, detailing the process of pacifying Yizhou: the date of arrival in Mianzhu, the date of troop deployment, the date of capture of which prefecture, which prefecture was persuaded to surrender, which prefecture was captured, how many prisoners were taken, and how much was seized—all were written down clearly.

When writing about the battles in the south, he hesitated for a moment, but still wrote it truthfully. Although the killings were a bit ruthless, one had to be ruthless when dealing with these barbarians who did not submit to the king's rule.

If we don't teach them a lesson, they'll cause trouble again.

Rather than suppressing rebellions every year, it's better to subdue them all at once.

In his report of victory, he wrote clearly: the entire territory of Yizhou has been recovered, all the prefectures and kingdoms are now stable, and the people are living in peace and contentment, living up to the trust placed in them by their lord.

After finishing writing, he blew on the ink to dry it, folded it neatly, put it in an envelope, and summoned his personal guard: "Send this to Luoyang by express courier, 800 li away!"

...

Around February of 191 AD.

Luoyang, the Prince of Yan's residence.

Liu Ce was sitting in his study, staring blankly out the window.

The snowfall this year wasn't heavy, but it was cold; the wind was bone-chilling.

He had just finished a cup of milk tea and was about to ask the kitchen to brew another pot when he heard hurried footsteps outside the door.

Lu Bing pushed open the door and came in, holding an urgent military report in his hand, his face beaming with joy:

"My lord! Good news from Yizhou! Qi Jiguang's troops have pacified the entire Yizhou region!"

Liu Ce's eyes lit up. He reached out and took the military report, then opened it and began to read.

Qi Jiguang wrote it clearly: 60, 000 troops entered Sichuan, first taking over five commanderies and kingdoms including Guanghan, Shu, and Ba, then marching south to recover Jianwei Commandery, Jianwei Dependent Kingdom, and the four commanderies of Nanzhong. In less than two months, the entire Yizhou region was pacified. All the commanderies and counties had submitted, and the people lived in peace and prosperity.

After reading it, Liu Ce burst into laughter, slapping the table and exclaiming, "Excellent! Excellent! Yuan Jing is indeed reliable! This battle was fought brilliantly!"

He immediately summoned Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, Guo Jia, Xi Zhicai, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, and others.

After everyone had arrived, Liu Ce handed out the news of victory to them for them to read.

After reading it, Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and laughed, "General Qi's military strategy is brilliant. Yizhou has been pacified, and Jiaozhou has already sent people there. Only Yangzhou remains in the world."

Du Ruhui nodded and said, "Yizhou is a fertile land. After we take it, our food supplies will be more plentiful. We will have more confidence whether we attack Yangzhou or defend the country in the future."

Xun Yu also smiled and said, "My lord, Yizhou has been pacified, and the southern barbarians have been intimidated. There are no more worries about the southwest. This is a cause for great joy."

Guo Jia, waving his feather fan, said with a smile, "That's great. We've captured eleven out of the thirteen provinces. Except for Jiaozhou, only Yangzhou is left. Once we take it, the world will truly be at peace."

Liu Ce smiled and nodded, then looked at Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xun Yu, and the others, and said seriously:

"Xuanling, Keming, Wenruo, Yizhou has been captured. Officials must be in place as soon as possible, and the people's livelihood must be restored as soon as possible. Those places in the south, which the court couldn't manage before, must now be taken over. County magistrates should be appointed where necessary, and prefectural assistants should be appointed where necessary. We can't let them be local tyrants anymore."