At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

Now, hundreds of years later, the Yong family has become a deep-rooted local tyrant, a local tyrant, sharing the ruling power with the local barbarians, and even occupying a dominant position.

After calming down the centrifugal forces and local forces in the Sichuan Basin, what Man Chong and Le Jin had to face was the four southern and central counties that were still rebellious and had rough roads.

It is really not an easy task to go to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau from the Sichuan Basin.

Zhang He and Huang Zhong stationed troops in Yuexi County and Cangcai County respectively, but the place where they stationed troops was the place that Liu Zhang's generals had opened up, in the northern part of Yuexi County and Cangcai County.

If you continue to the south, most of the area is still a paradise for local tyrants and aboriginal barbarians.

Because of the need to stabilize the situation in Yizhou before, Zhang Xi and Huang Zhong could only stay on the defensive and could not launch an offensive.

They reclaimed land, garrisoned fields, built roads, and repaired military facilities in Yuexi County and Cang County, consolidating the strategic achievements of Liu Zhang's army.

After Le Jin and others finally rectified the Sichuan Basin and stabilized the core of Yizhou, they began to really attack the four counties of Nanzhong.

In the past, the battle in the four counties of Nanzhong would not have been fought at all.

It depends on the direct transmission, you continue to live yours, I continue to live mine, we don't violate the river water, the four counties of Nanzhong are your paradise, and the Sichuan Basin is a piece of meat of Wei State, so that's fine.

Moreover, the four counties of Nanzhong are located on the border of the empire, a large number of primitive forests cannot be developed, and all kinds of ferocious beasts, poisonous insects, and ferocious barbarians are everywhere. It is very difficult to fight and develop.

There were also voices in the court of Wei State who opposed the attack on the four counties of Nanzhong, thinking that the gain outweighed the loss.

Although the Shu Han regime under Zhuge Liang went deep into Nanzhong to eliminate the local separatist forces and defeated Meng Huo, the leader of the Nanzhong barbarians, Zhuge Liang's control of Nanzhong was actually inseparable from the scope of restraint, and it was still not substantive. .

The difficulty of road traffic, the difficulty of barbarian ignorance, the difficulty of land development, the pressure of Wei State in the north, and so on.

The existence of these objective factors made Zhuge Liang unable to invest resources in the four counties of Nanzhong with peace of mind, seriously develop the four counties of Nanzhong, and obtain the war potential that the Shu Han urgently needed from the four counties of Nanzhong.

Even so, Zhuge Liang did a pretty good job. The existence of the Wudang Feijun and the Nanzhong garrison means that the Shu Han regime still has basic control over Nanzhong.

But this kind of basic control is unacceptable to Guo.

What Guo asked for was the establishment of prefectures and counties and the collection of taxes.

It is not difficult to set up counties and counties. Places like Jiaozhou can set up counties and counties, so what about the southern part of Yizhou?

But collecting taxes is a technical task.

It is definitely not easy to make people willingly hand over the wealth they have obtained to the government. It is a test of a government's grassroots governance capabilities and military deterrence, both of which are indispensable.

If there is a slight lack of one, tax revenue will be unsustainable. If there is not enough tax revenue, the government will not be able to strengthen its rule and provide public services, and it will fall into a vicious circle.

Therefore, in order to maintain the tax system of the Wei Empire as much as possible, Guo expanded the number of officials under the Ministry of Finance on a large scale, and arranged a large number of tax collectors under the Ministry of Finance throughout the country, so that no corner of the country could evade paying taxes.

The number of officials in the Ministry of Finance is currently the largest in the central system of the entire Wei Empire, much more than the inner court.

Mr. Guo, who has such an obsession with and enforcement of tax collection, will not allow his military deterrence to cover places where he cannot collect taxes.

Not to mention the rich mineral resources he dreamed of in Nanzhong, and conquering and occupying this place will also open up another road to Jiaozhou.

Therefore, Guo Peng severely reprimanded the group of officials who advocated the implementation of the detention policy for the four counties of Nanzhong, reprimanding them for being short-sighted and unable to see the long-term benefits of mastering the four counties of Nanzhong.

After being reprimanded, the officials were panicked and no longer dared to oppose the emperor's opinion, so they could only admit their mistakes on the table and agreed with Guo Peng's idea of ​​insisting on marching into the four counties of Nanzhong.

The emperor's desire for power is rare in ancient and modern times, and any land that is not subject to surrender cannot be tolerated by him. Officials think this is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Of course it is a good thing for the country, but not necessarily for them.

An emperor with such a strong desire for power will not tolerate anyone under him who still has power beyond his control, and he will inevitably attack the so-called "power ministers" mercilessly.

Whoever wants to be a powerful minister must weigh his own weight and see if he can get benefits under the emperor.

Both Cheng Yu and Tian Feng tried, but obviously, the results were not good.

When Manchong submitted a letter to Manchong for the regional reform of the whole Yizhou, he also sent a letter from Yong Kai, the local tyrant leader of Nanzhong, to Manchong.

In the letter, Yong Kai's words were quite arrogant. He was very dissatisfied with the Yongchang prefect that Guo had appointed him to appease him before, and asked the Wei Central Committee to appoint him as the governor of Nanzhong, the governor of the military and administration of the four counties of Nanzhong.

And he also questioned the series of actions taken by Wei Jun Zhang Yun and Huang Zhong's troops in Yuexi County and Cang County, thinking that this was a kind of provocation, and clearly expressed his dissatisfaction.

A certain Guo was very angry after reading Yong Kai's letter, thinking that this man would not shed tears when he saw the coffin, so he almost immediately ordered Le Jin to march south, cut off Yong Kai's head, and killed his three clans.

But after thinking about it carefully, someone Guo realized that Yong Kai dared to disrespect him, the emperor of Wei, so obviously he had a lot of support.

On the one hand, the information is blocked, and the strength of the Wei Empire is not well understood.

On the other hand, the four counties of Nanzhong are located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. The terrain is higher than that of the Sichuan Basin, and the transportation is inconvenient.

In such a state, it is difficult for the superior cavalry of the Wei army to be effective, it is not easy for the infantry to attack, and it is even more difficult to transport food. Naturally, the transportation and use of large ordnance is even more difficult.

It means that many of Wei Jun's advantages are difficult to exert under such geographical conditions.

At the request of Guo Peng, Wu Yi and Wu Ban under Liu Zhang also reported their South China War on the table.

They stated on the table that they had suffered logistical disadvantages many times, and also suffered from the many sneak attack tactics of the Nanzhong barbarians. The battle was very difficult, and the logistics could not keep up, making it difficult to advance.

The logistics for the army to attack the four counties of Nanzhong from Chengdu were very difficult. Presumably this is the greatest confidence that Yong Kai dared to face him in his letters.

Yong Kai was speculating on his psychology, thinking that Guo Peng would not go to war for Nanzhong, a barren land in the eyes of the Central Plains people.

He is gambling.

chapter 1032 Le Jin and Cao's relationship is not good

Guo Peng, who had penetrated Yong Kai's psychology, took a deep breath and buried his monstrous anger deep in his heart.

Now is indeed not the time to fully attack the four counties of Nanzhong.

If you really want to fight, you will definitely be able to fight, no matter what the cost, Yong Kai will eventually be crushed by Guo Peng.

But the price is too high.

The elites of the Wei army fought for the rest of their lives, and Guo Peng invested a lot of money in training each one of them. Guo Peng was not willing to let them die innocently because of his anger.

It's not worth it to die because of the climate, because of logistics, because of unfamiliarity with the geographical environment, even before seeing the face of the Nanmanzi, or because of the inability to use one's abilities.

The elite Wei Jun should not die for such a thing.

Their lives are far more valuable than Yong Kai's.

According to Wu Yi and others' performances, the battle against the barbarians in Nanzhong was not as strong as Guo Peng imagined.

The so-called good fighting means that under a specific geographical environment, with the help of geographical advantages, they can achieve their expected goals very well.

But this does not mean that their tactics and combat effectiveness are really excellent.

No matter how powerful the stragglers are, they are here to give away their heads in the face of the elite Wei army forming an army formation.

Especially in terms of weapons and equipment, they can be said to be worthless.

If we can find a way to improve the disadvantages in transportation and keep up with the logistics, then everything will be solved easily.

This is one of them.

Another problem is the terrible miasma and dense primitive jungle.

The unfamiliar geography and environment of these northern troops will become a huge obstacle for the Wei army to advance.

This will cause a terrible infectious disease, which will make the Central Plains army lose its combat effectiveness before fighting.

Obviously, Yong Kai thought this was his greatest reliance.

Even if the Wei Empire had millions of soldiers, the army with sufficient logistical supplies would only have 4 to [-] troops. If one of them was infected with the disease, it would not be enough to pose much threat to him.

I think that when General Fubo Ma Yuan led tens of thousands of troops to fight here, he died in the harsh environment of Nanzhong.

Emperor Guangwu can't do anything to Nanzhong, so what can you Guo Zifeng do?

Yong Kai was very confident about this. He once challenged Man Chong in a letter, saying that he was willing to raise [-] troops and that Man Chong would hunt in Chengdu, and that he would invite Man Chong to barbecue at the city head of Chengdu.

He also showed off that his barbecue skills are very good, and when the time comes, he will sit in the East himself to ensure that Man Chong will be full.

The letter turned his petulant face red, and he almost ordered his courier to be cut down to vent his anger.

But this is also enough to prove Yong's appeal in Nanzhong and its influence on the barbarians, which both Man Chong and Guo have to consider.

The road has not yet been repaired, so if you force a war at this time, you can win, but the loss will be too great.

Once the loss is too large, resulting in the weak successor of the Wei army, it will be difficult to occupy and develop the four counties of Nanzhong.

Mr. Guo has always fought wars to make money, to open up construction and collect taxes, and to build counties and counties. It is not a model of fighting once and leaving.

After thinking about it, Man Chong should treat Guo with seriousness and deal with him as much as possible, no matter if he is hypocritical or submissive, even if he is coaxed or deceived, he should be held steady and don't fight for now.

If you want to hit him, you have to kill him in one breath, and you can't give him a chance to breathe.

If you want to swallow it, you have to swallow all the four counties of Nanzhong in one go, and then slowly manage it.

The governor of Nanzhong can give it, but he must be honest and not allowed to move around.

And you can't give it all at once, you have to give it slowly, give in little by little, and work hard with him slowly, consuming his energy and time.

Then step up road repairs, stockpile food, and prepare for war.

If he still wants to provoke after gaining benefits, he should resolutely counter-kill, and he cannot be made to feel that the central government is weak and bully, so that he can gain an inch and demand more rewards.

Man Chong received Guo Peng's instructions, so he thought of a countermeasure.

On the one hand, they sent people to negotiate with Yong Kai continuously, perfunctory Yong Kai, and then slowly made concessions, so that Yong Kai could continue to be satisfied, so that he could stand still.

At the same time, he began to cooperate with Le Jin to prepare for the matter of Nanzhong.

The roads that need to be repaired must be arranged, the food and fodder that must be transported must be arranged, and the troops that must arrive at the local area for strategic preparations must also be arranged.

According to the spirit of Guo Peng's instructions, the war must be prepared in advance, and it is not appropriate to wait for the war to be imminent.

So Man Chong has been preparing for a long time.

Some time ago, Man Chong often took people to the road construction site to investigate and check the progress and quality of the road construction, read out the policy repeatedly, and alerted the grassroots officials.

In order to further supervise the quality of the project and speed up the progress of the project, after Le Jin asked Guo Peng for approval, he mobilized [-] troops to join the road construction team. He worked with prisoners of war slaves and local civilians to build roads, and he also took charge of public security management at ordinary times. responsibilities.

Le Jin himself is also a person who doesn't have much time for leisure.

Once when Man Chong was out on an inspection tour, he ran into Le Jin who was carrying a load and carrying soil shirtless on the construction site.

Man Chong and Le Jin get along relatively happily.

They usually have more official business contacts, and they get to know each other well after coming and going.

Le Jin was commanding the battle on the front line, and Man Chong dispatched logistics supplies to him in a timely and efficient manner, and there was never a shortage. Wherever Le Jin fought, Man Chong could arrange for officials to deliver the food.

This makes Le Jin like to cooperate with Man Chong very much.

Although the nickname of "Black-faced Manfu Lord" in the capital has not been taken away by Man Chong for many years, people love to talk about the past when Man Chong made Cao Hong miserable.

But Le Jin didn't think there was anything wrong with Man Chong.

Anyway, the relationship between Le Jin and Cao's is not very good.

In the early years, when both Le Jin and Cao Hong were fighting under Guo Peng's command, they had a bad fight with Cao Hong because of some military exploits.

Afterwards, Le Jin once fought under Cao Ren, but was soon promoted by Guo Peng to lead an army on his own, directly under Guo Peng.

So Le Jin didn't feel that he was any worse than the relatives and generals of the Cao family and Xiahou family.

Le Jin was very dissatisfied with the fact that the generals of the Cao family were very popular in the army.

Especially for Cao Xiu and Cao Chun, he was not satisfied.

He didn't have a good feeling for these two young generals of the Cao family who were quickly promoted without much glory at a young age.

When Cao Chun was fighting under him before, although Cao Chun was brave, Le Jin didn't think that Cao Chun's bravery was worthy of Guo Peng's promotion.

When these people were fighting with their heads up under Guo Peng's command, Cao Chun and Cao Xiu were still being good babies under Guo Peng's protection!

How old is this, and you have such a high military position?

But I grew up with Guo Peng since I was a child, and I just got the honor of the queen.

In the end, it's just trust. Are their abilities worthy of such a status?

Le Jin expressed doubts.

To say that among the Cao family and the Xiahou family, the only person who deserves Le Jin's special attention is Cao Ren. The generals of the Cao family and Xiahou family, including Xiahou Yuan, are nothing in Le Jin's eyes.

No one would question the fact that Cao Ren was the number one general under Guo Peng, and the others...

Forget it.

Especially Le Jin and Cao Hong had some unhappiness, and he also couldn't understand Cao Hong's arrogance, so when Man Chong severely punished Cao Hong, he still felt a little gloating.