si-mexico Chapter 539 The Southern Barbarian Invasion! The Not-So-Clever Meng Huo and the Astute Meng Yi
Chapter 539 The Southern Barbarian Invasion! The Not-So-Clever Meng Huo and the Astute Meng Yi
"I am Ma Su, and I greet Chief Meng."
Ma Su, who looked somewhat like Ma Liang but was a few years younger, crossed the Lu River and arrived in the territory of the Meng family in the southern region.
Ma Su was a clever fellow; he knew that Lushui was a place one couldn't just wander around, so he specifically hired a local guide.
Furthermore, they painted a rosy picture for the guide, making him believe that he was someone they could continuously exploit, thus avoiding being taken advantage of.
In this way, Ma Su avoided various risks and successfully arrived in Mengyi.
Meng Yi was a middle-aged man in his early forties, whose face showed both the ferocity of a barbarian and the composure and calmness of a Han Chinese.
Yes, Meng Yi is a mixed-race man of barbarian descent.
It is well known that mixed-race people in the late Han Dynasty were ruthless.
The last mixed-race person was Ma Chao, who was of Qiang and Han descent.
Meng Yi's father's generation were Han Chinese who later moved to the southern region and married a barbarian woman, who gave birth to Meng Yi.
Seeing that Ma Su, a mere Han Chinese, had actually crossed the Lu River, Meng Yi beckoned with interest:
"Looked up."
Ma Su did as instructed, bowing to Meng Yi as he looked up.
“State the purpose of your visit.”
"If your purpose is not enough to entice this chieftain, then I will feed you to the bears I raise!"
Ma Su was afraid inside, but he didn't show it on his face and still said respectfully:
"Chief Meng is a hero who has always aspired to unify the southern region."
"But what if Yong Kai and the others block Chief Meng's path?"
Meng Yi sneered:
"Then kill them all!"
Ma Su's lips curled slightly.
"What if Chief Meng's strength is insufficient?"
Meng Yi waved his hand, interrupting:
"If we are not strong enough, then we will lead all the warriors of our tribe to die on the battlefield!"
"We barbarians will die standing, we will never kneel and surrender!"
Ma Su thought to himself:
"This guy is a complete lunatic! So stubborn!"
But Ma Su was unaware of this.
If the epidemic hadn't been so rampant, the great cause of unifying the south would have been delayed for who knows how long!
Finally, Ma Su presented the substantive conditions:
"If Chief Meng is willing to cooperate with my lord, the lands of Nanzhong are yours to conquer."
Meng Yi strode forward and grabbed Ma Su's chin:
Are you provoking our clan leader?
“This southern region was originally in my Mengyi’s pocket.”
"Why would I want Liu Bei to grant me the southern region?"
Ma Su was breathing heavily.
His throat only felt a little better after Meng Yi put him down.
"Chief Meng, you may also take Jianning."
"In addition, I will give you, Chief Meng, another 30% of the profits from the trade between the barbarians and the Han Chinese. How about that?"
Meng Yi nodded and said:
"It's finally starting to look somewhat decent."
"Otherwise, this clan leader would have thought Liu Xuande was just a despicable hypocrite who only knew how to talk nonsense and make empty promises!"
A cold glint flashed in Ma Su's eyes.
People like Meng Yi are truly terrifying.
If we do not eliminate him, he will surely become a major threat to Yizhou after he unifies the southern region.
But right now, even self-preservation is a problem for Yizhou.
If Liu Bei had not joined forces with Meng Yi, and Yong Kai and Cao Cao had joined forces, his forces would have been completely wiped out!
After arranging for Ma Su to stay for a few days, Meng Yi said to his son Meng Huo:
"The Han people are cunning; when dealing with them, you must show your strength."
"Otherwise, we'll be like mice being played by cats, completely kept in the dark!"
Meng Huo nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
He is still quite young.
Of course, even when he grew up, he didn't have the same intelligence as his father, Meng Yi.
Otherwise, we wouldn't have been played like fools by Zhuge Liang when we had the advantage!
At this moment, Meng Huo's greatest wish was to become the tribe's number one warrior.
His second wish was to marry Zhu Rong, the woman he had always dreamed of.
……
建宁
In the council chamber
Yong Kai, Gao Ding, Zhu Bao, and Li Xian were discussing matters here.
Li Xian, also known as Li Hui's biological father.
He took out the letter that Dong Yun had previously written to Li Hui and used it as a pledge of allegiance to prove that he had no ulterior motives and officially joined Yong Kai's rebel army.
The four of them stared at the map hanging on the wall.
The city of Jiangzhou on the map was shining brightly and was quite dazzling.
Yes, the rebels are preparing to launch a preemptive attack to gain the upper hand.
After capturing Jiangzhou, they continued north and joined forces with Cao Sikong at the gates of Chengdu. Yong Kai didn't even know how he could possibly lose this battle!
suddenly.
A scout came to report to Yong Kai:
"My Lord!"
"The plague in the southern region has rallied tribal leaders such as the Cave Master, Jin Huan San Jie, A Hui Nan, and Dong Tu Na, and raised an army of 50,000, seemingly intending to attack Jianning!"
"What!?"
"How dare Meng Yi raise an army at this critical juncture?"
Zhu Bao was furious.
The Juti County he controlled also bordered the Nanzhong region.
Therefore, the epidemic in Bangladesh is not unfamiliar to us.
Yong Kai frowned.
If it were just Meng Yi himself, at most he would have 20,000 troops.
However, with the addition of the Cave Master, Jin Huan San Jie, and others, their combat strength is completely different.
Barbarian soldiers emphasize morale in battle.
When you have the upper hand, the advantage can snowball.
If the battle is going against us, we don't even need to fight, because all the soldiers have already fled!
Upon hearing that Meng Yi had gathered a full 50,000 troops, many small and medium-sized tribes in the southern region would also join Meng Yi's camp and cheer for him.
In the end, this rebellion in the south will directly target Jianning, leaving Yong Kai with no ability to attack Jiangzhou to the north.
"No! Meng Yi is a wolf in sheep's clothing; we cannot ignore him."
Li Xian also expressed his opinion.
Although, like the Yong family, the Li family had previously profited considerably from trade with the Manchus.
The benefits that can be obtained are completely insignificant compared to the commotion caused by the Meng epidemic.
Suppression is necessary!
Gao Ding glanced disdainfully at Yong Kai and Zhu Bao.
"Gentlemen, although Meng Yi has many men and great power..."
"But if I'm not mistaken, many of the barbarians don't even have weapons or equipment, right?"
"We Yi people are different."
"The Yi people are skilled at iron smelting."
"My troops number eight thousand, all fully armed and equipped!"
"Eight thousand against fifty thousand, so what if we are outnumbered? We can still win!"
"Why don't I, Gao Ding, step in and solve this plague for you two!"
Zhu Bao and Yong Kai exchanged a glance.
Gao Ding's unit is indeed very strong in combat.
However, if Gao Ding is allowed to resolve the epidemic in Meng, he will definitely have to share some of the benefits of the Nanzhong region in the future.
To be honest, the two of them were a little reluctant to part ways.
But Li Xian winked at the two of them, suggesting that they agree.
"Well, only General Gao has a chance of defeating Meng Yi."
"If General Gao can truly resolve the Meng epidemic, then Meng's territory, as well as the territories of Jin Huan, San Jie, and others, will all belong to General Gao!"
Yong Kai said with a smile.
……