Mythical Three Kingdoms-Chapter 1719 - 1633: Scheming Against the Empire (2)
Therefore, Wutugu became the vanguard of Yizhou. For the civil officials, a military general like him, who had a problematic mind but was highly capable in combat and easy to control, was quite necessary.
Latterly, as the situation developed, it basically turned into a map-crushing scenario. The last of the Southern Barbarians, incited by Zhang Su and others, were all taken down one by one, and those who weren’t killed were gradually subdued by the aura of Zhang Su and others in this battle.
Of course, in Zhang Song’s view, it was merely following Yizhou for a meal. The further south these barbarians went, the worse they got at farming. They couldn’t even level the land, a disgrace to humanity.
So the further they went, the easier it became to subdue them. In the end, Zhang Song and the others realized they had actually pushed beyond Yongchang Prefecture. But by this point, how could they possibly admit to attacking another country? Surely the map was wrong.
As the saying goes? Right, where our feet tread is the empire’s territory, where the long spear points is the empire’s frontier. How could you say we attacked another country? Clearly, the map is wrong. Even if it’s not wrong, it’s territory naturally assimilated to the Han Dynasty.
So after conquering Yongchang Prefecture, Zhang Song and the others continued to push south, west, and east. Anyway, they didn’t plan on returning this year. Continuing the war, they wouldn’t have to follow military commands from afar. Even if Liu Zhang wanted to curse them, he couldn’t reach them.
But if they returned after conquering Yongchang Prefecture and completing the task of pacifying the southern part of Yizhou, it would honestly be a tragedy. Zhang Song and others could guess with their knees that Liu Zhang was still vexed because he couldn’t beat the Huns. Better to reconfirm the map after defeating the barbarians, then discuss it.
In short, after pushing beyond Yongchang Prefecture and entering Myanmar, Zhang Song and the others began investigating while finding suitable excuses. After all, all the civil and military officials at the top of Yizhou were involved in this event initially, using deceitful methods to empty Yizhou’s years’ worth of food reserves.
If it weren’t for such reserves, the Yizhou army would have run out of provisions by the time they reached Myanmar. It’s known that ever since Liu Yan became the Provincial Governor, then Liu Zhang ascended to power, until now, the grain and fodder accumulated by Yizhou were no joke.
With a single expedition, Zhang Song and others nearly emptied the government treasury. It was thanks to this near-endless food supply that they could fight all the way to Myanmar, and the military strength grew stronger. Naturally, the food consumption increased as well.
After all, some barbarians helped, labeling themselves as allies. While they could be asked to bring their own weapons and equipment, food couldn’t also be their responsibility. So Wang Lei, who managed logistics, initially thought, "Let them eat freely, it’s like winning over the allies," but the army grew larger, and the barbarians revolted simply for food.
The so-called oppression happened mostly at higher levels, but hunger was the real issue. So many barbarians who initially rebelled switched sides, following the Yizhou army to fight other barbarians. Since they had to fight someone anyway, why not choose a better backer?
Such ridiculous thinking caused the Yizhou army’s forces to rise significantly. Even Wang Lei had to limit recruits to only excellent barbarian soldiers. Though Yizhou wasn’t short of food, it wasn’t like it was blown in by the wind. In the southern part of Yizhou, a spooky place, there had to be less than a million barbarians.
As mentioned before, the gap in combat strength between Southern Barbarians and Han people wasn’t due to individual qualities or beliefs but entirely due to organizational power. Therefore, Wang Lei’s methods couldn’t win over too many people. So while they kept moving to Myanmar, the Yizhou and barbarian army totaled around eighty thousand.
Though somewhat lacking in military formation dispatch, their combat effectiveness was decent. Especially Wutugu and King Mulu’s main forces could withstand fierce Han army elites with no issues. Together with Meng Huo’s elite thirteenth cave troops, their combat power was assured.
Pairing the intellect of Zhang Song, Huang Quan, and others with five Inner Qi Manifestation rank experts, this army was truthfully formidable. This made Zhang Ren and others confident enough to keep moving forward into Myanmar despite knowing they crossed the national boundaries.
After all, returning would mean scoldings, but every inch of land conquered abroad was practical expansion and real work. When they’re old, they can brag about such achievements to their descendants.
However, after reaching this point, the Yizhou scholars and warriors understood the situation. Indeed, there were no strong nations nearby, but it was genuinely far from Yizhou. If they lost a battle, it would be disastrous.
Considering the great distance of supply routes, even with cement roads bought from Liu Bei’s side to build roads, transporting food from Yizhou took three months. If someone tampered with supplies, they could end up with no burial place.
Now, hearing that the Baisheng Dynasty, that is, Shendu, needed their help, Zhang Su’s crafty thoughts immediately surged. The occupied areas were unsuitable for farming, but intelligence from all sources suggested Shendu was extremely wealthy.
Therefore, linking the Yizhou army to Shendu, like the Wuxi Colonel once linked themselves to the Thirty-Six States of the Western Regions, extracting money and grain from the Thirty-Six States to sustain their army, and using this method to grow stronger and suppress the Thirty-Six Kingdoms.
Once this idea emerged, Zhang Su couldn’t stop thinking. The Thirty-Six States of the Western Regions claimed to be independent nations, but everyone knew the truth when the Han Dynasty was at its peak, and Shendu was very similar to the Western Regions Thirty-Six.
Compared to the Thirty-Six Kingdoms, which were at least nation-sized forces, Shendu could only be considered a league of tribes. In such an environment, attaching a massive army to siphon nutrients from Shendu was entirely feasible.
They hadn’t considered this before because the Great Han Dynasty had its dignity. The Wuxi Colonel initially attached themselves to the Thirty-Six Kingdoms because they needed to deal with the Huns. Now the situation in Shendu was incredibly similar, only that the Kushan Empire made Zhang Su hesitant.
No matter how much cunning there was, combat strength needs consideration. You couldn’t afford to get beaten up without gaining anything; it wouldn’t be worthwhile.
"It’s not that we don’t want to help the Baisheng Dynasty, but I’m not the commander of this army. I need to discuss with the other generals," Zhang Su said hesitantly.
In reality, Zhang Su had already made a decision. The saying goes, "Fortune favors the bold." Not taking chances might allow Kushan to wipe out Shendu, which would be troublesome. Whether Shendu perishes or not was irrelevant to the Great Han Dynasty, but it must not cause trouble for us.
"Thank you, Your Honor!" The Shendu Envoy quickly presented a piece of precious jade. Such things were worthless in Shendu, given the abundant jade mines in Northern Myanmar. Polishing them a bit was all it took, so the gifted jade was exceptionally high-quality, causing a flicker of greed in Zhang Su.
After restraining his greed, Zhang Su looked at the Shendu Envoy with clear eyes. Mere bribery with such treasures piqued his interest more in Shendu and Kushan.
After dismissing the Shendu Envoy, Zhang Su ordered the drum to be struck and called a meeting. Soon, the Yizhou civil and military officials appeared, along with the barbarian-styled Wutugu, King Mulu, Meng Huo, and others.
Honestly, Wutugu had no interest in discussions. His life revolved around fighting and eating. However, each time Zhang Su included Wutugu as a show of respect, Meng Huo, who was a smarter barbarian, felt genuinely respected and increasingly submissive.
Yet, every time during a meeting, seeing Wutugu devour food, Meng Huo was honestly conflicted. Fine, the opponent once again devours from his table.
The face of a barbarian, oh well, Meng Huo handed Wutugu the food on the desk and, seeing the silly smile in return, felt immensely weary. If it weren’t for Wutugu’s support in becoming the Barbarian King and his insane combat prowess, I’d have kicked him out long ago.
"Someone, get General Wuo a bushel of fine rice, ten pounds of cooked meat." Zhang Su instructed the escort expressionlessly, internally cursing, [If not for your stupidity paired with combat prowess, I’d utterly toss you out of the camp—you completely lower our standard.]
