Chapter 318: Chapter 184: Losing the Territory Again _3
Translator: 549690339
The facts proved that the scout’s words were true.
Perhaps they felt that there was no danger on their side, after all, to outsiders, Lu Yuan’s army was in Wuling Prefecture to the north, hundreds of miles away, separated by several prefectures and counties, a great distance away.
The northern Shaoyang Prefecture has 50,000 troops defending it. The Lu Yang Prefecture in the south and east is also under attack day and night by 50,000 troops.
Under such circumstances, who could have imagined that Jiuyi Prefecture, located at the rear, would be targeted?
What about Hengyang Prefecture?
Those guys who pulled tens of thousands of civilian workers, would they have the guts to challenge me?
The Miao people of Jiuyi Prefecture, who had become used to making periodic trips to Hengyang Prefecture to loot food, goods, and fodder, really looked down on the wimps of Hengyang Prefecture.
So because of all these reasons, when Lu Yuan’s army arrived at the city, the city gate was still wide open, and some Miao people and city residents were going in and out.
With the door wide open like this, inviting you in, there’s nothing more to say.
Lu Yuan personally led the charge, taking the lead and rushing in with his army.
The pedestrians going in and out of the gate were immediately scattered and driven away. The dozens of Miao people responsible for guarding the city were also killed instantly.
In just a few breaths, the entire city gate was controlled.
Then the army entered the city, and those Miao soldiers who reacted and tried to mobilize troops to retake the city gate were directly killed in the streets.
Perhaps Yan Wangqiu wanted to regain some face that he had lost previously because he was unable to keep Lan Cai’er. This time, he took the initiative to fight, killing over three hundred Miao people on his own. This directly frightened the enemy to the point of collapse and retreat.
Lu Yuan was also killing enthusiastically.
Although he could not match Yan Wangqiu’s killing efficiency, once his Red Sun’s aura field was activated, he could also take away a dozen lives casually.
The entire man killed all the way, leaving more than a hundred people dead under his hands.
And both of these commanders were so valiant.
The vanguard soldiers who were inspired by them rushed forth, eager to fight, afraid of falling behind.
Jokingly.
In such a divine battlefield led by immortals, if they don’t show their worth and earn some merit at this time, they are really fools.
Be aware that Lu Yuan always rewarded merit and punished mistakes. He offered very tempting rewards to his troops who had rendered meritorious service.
Not to mention the gold and silver rewards.
The other secret martial arts books, promotions, and wealth, even accepting them as disciples, were more of a shortcut to achieve a leap of life status and earn glory and wealth.
There have been too many examples before, placed in front of the soldiers.
There are precedents, naturally, there are too many people who want to follow suit, and become the next person to succeed rapidly.
As a result of the efforts of the two gods and over a thousand brave men, the Miao defenders in the city were virtually annihilated in less than half an hour.
Yes, all killed, not one left.
This time, Lu Yuan was fighting a surprise attack, and the reinforcements behind him were all civilian workers.
Therefore, leaving these Miao aged men would only leave hidden dangers to the rear. Other than burying the unknown time that it would explode, there was basically no other benefit.
As for ruling over them and collecting taxes?
Before the flag of the Poison Sect fell, Lu Yuan didn’t feel that he could get the Miao people’s allegiance.
Even aside from allegiance, whether they can settle down and produce locally is a question.
If these Miao people were really honest, how could they have provided the Poison Sect with a continuous stream of troops over the past several years, nearly three hundred thousand in total front and back.
You know, there are only over a million Miao people in the whole Dongting county.
With three hundred thousand Miao soldiers coming out, almost every adult man has joined the rebellion with them.
For such a rebellious ethnic group, although it is not impossible to surrender and integrate, it is too difficult and taxing to do so.
And during this period, it is unknown how much risk and loss will have to be borne.
Rather than that.
Lu Yuan chose to do what he had done before in Shaoyang Prefecture.
Kill those adult Miao men, physically eliminate the enemy. Then grant the captured Miao women to meritorious soldiers and local militias.
After 20 or 30 years like this, even if there are still Miao people in Dongting Prefecture, they will never become a significant force again.
To annihilate their clan, take their wives and daughters, and destroy their culture, this is the most effective and straightforward method of assimilation.
Lu Yuan is not sure what is happening in other places.
Anyway, he did this in Shaoyang Prefecture, and for five or six years, there was very little trouble, the place was very stable.
This proved it was effective.
So now in Jiuyi, Lingling, and Yangshan, the policy is to carry it out according to this policy.
As for whether this will cause a heavy loss of population in these three prefectures?
Lu Yuan feels that for the sake of his own stable rule, for the hundreds of thousands of good people in the three prefectures, the sacrifice of these one to two hundred thousand people is acceptable.
He firmly believes this point.
After capturing Dali County, Lu Yuan led his troops to rest for a day, then left a hundred people to guard the city, waiting for the civilians from Hengyang Prefecture to arrive.
He himself led the main force directly south to Jiuyi Prefecture.
In the meantime, they passed Dao County, where the city’s defenders were scant and easily conquered.
Then, without stopping, they continued to rush to Jiuyi Prefecture.
Finally, they reached Jiuyi Prefecture in the evening.
There were over a thousand defenders in the city, but like Dali County, they had no idea an enemy army was coming.
So when they saw the imperial troops coming, they were all panicked.
Lu Yuan, as usual, led the charge with Yan Wangqiu, leading the men into the city easily. It took half an hour to recover this prefecture city which had been occupied by thieves for two years.
After resting in the city for one night, Lu Yuan split his troops into two. He let his disciple, Gu Wei, who had previously commanded the Vanguard Army, lead four thousand troops to the east, going to attack Yangshan Prefecture, cutting off the rear of the Miao thieves who were attacking Lu Yang Prefecture.
For safety, the last remaining first-class expert from the Nanhai Sect was also assigned to Gu Wei.
With four thousand elite soldiers and a first-class high-level practitioner, attacking Yangshan Prefecture, which has at most only two thousand defenders, is more than enough.
Lu Yuan himself, meanwhile, led Yan Wangqiu and four thousand elite soldiers to the west to attack Lingling Prefecture.
