Chapter 433 Wu Yi's Southern Expedition
After hearing Huang Quan's suggestion, Liu Fan thought about it for a while and nodded decisively: "Okay, let's do as you say and send Wu Yi. Gong Heng, you should discuss with Wu Yi more and make sure this expedition to the south is done."
Now, the civil officials under his command, such as Zhang Song and Li Yan, each have their own thoughts. Li Su is too rigid and not good at dealing with the powerful and the barbarians. The only one he can rely on and trust completely is Huang Quan.
"I obey your order." Huang Quan said solemnly.
He was well aware of the critical situation. If he stayed in Yizhou, he could do very little and would not be of much use to Liu Fan.
Only by following the army south can we have a better chance of breaking the impasse.
After receiving the order, Huang Quan and Wu Yi began to prepare for the journey south.
The envoys sent by Zhang Song lobbied local powerful people and went deep into the various tribes of the southern barbarians. Relying on the intelligence he collected in advance and extremely tempting promises, he successfully won over many tribes.
In fact, the powerful people in Yizhou had already made preparations, and they were the ones who secretly made efforts to win over the various southern barbarian tribes.
In the past, they were busy consolidating their own territory. They were not unaware of those places and small countries in the south of Yizhou, but they looked down on them.
After all, for them, expanding territory is just like ordinary people expanding fertile land. The cost and benefits are not proportional at all.
Not only will it consume a huge amount of manpower and material resources, but it is even possible that before the development is successful, the base of the land will be encroached upon by other aristocratic and powerful families.
Moreover, even if the territory was conquered, it might not be theirs. A word from the imperial court might make everything go in vain.
No one is willing to do such an unfair thing with high risks and low returns.
But with the support of the country, the situation is different.
Although the risk is still not small, it is still controllable.
The most important thing is that the huge benefits are enough to make them rush to take risks.
Not to mention the path of the powerful families under Tian Ze's rule, the current experience of the Jingzhou families has already sounded a wake-up call for the Yizhou families.
Liu Bei's abilities and means far surpassed Liu Fan's. With the help of Chen Qun, Pang Tong and others, as well as his own terrifying personal charm and political skills, he controlled the Jingzhou families firmly through various means such as winning over and suppressing them.
As a result, the current Jingzhou family has been weakened by Liu Bei, and is gradually being controlled by Liu Bei. In a more gentle way, they are heading towards Tian Ze's path.
The days when aristocratic families could rest on their laurels are gone forever!
This situation has become a consensus in the world. The noble families under the command of various princes are beginning to have a hard time.
Although Yizhou has become a special case due to Liu Fan's ability problems and the crisis it is facing, how many years can this good life last?
The Yizhou families knew very well that they had no choice.
Whether it was Tian Ze or Liu Bei who took Yizhou, their interests were doomed to be damaged. So they were still loyal to Liu Fan, but this loyalty was out of their own interests.
But can they defeat Tian Ze and Liu Bei?
Liu Fan himself did not have much confidence, let alone the Yizhou family.
Therefore, the southern expedition became their best choice and retreat.
Small countries such as Shan and Pyu in the south of Yizhou were extremely weak. To put it bluntly, just some scattered southern barbarian tribes nearby could pose a great threat to them.
During the Eastern Han Dynasty, these small countries all moved closer to the Han Empire and gained its support, which was how they were able to barely maintain the situation.
Liu Fan and the Yizhou families had no doubt about the success of the military campaign southward.
Since we can’t defeat those perverts in Central Plains, isn’t it easy to deal with these small characters?
Liu Fan is indeed not strong, but that is compared with the princes in the Central Plains. In Southeast Asia, Liu Fan is terribly strong.
He is the emperor whose words can determine the rise and fall of nations.
The day of departure finally arrived. At the gate of Yizhou city, flags were waving and war horses were neighing.
Wu Yi, wearing armor, stood majestically in front of the team, with the mighty army and warriors of the southern barbarian tribe behind him.
Huang Quan, who is both civil and military, is beside him, also wearing armor and with a resolute face. Liu Fan came to see them off in person. He looked at the team in front of him, full of expectations and worries: "Ziyuan, Gongheng, this trip south is related to the future of Yizhou. I entrust this important task to you, and I hope you will live up to everyone's expectations."
Wu Yi and Huang Quan knelt on one knee and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, rest assured that we will do our best to fulfill our mission."
Liu Fan then gave some more instructions. After that, the army marched towards the south in a mighty manner.
Liu Fan looked at this seemingly mighty army, but he felt a little worried.
I hope Wu Yi and Huang Quan can control the situation.
This army had nearly 100,000 soldiers, but only 10,000 of them were regular soldiers sent by Liu Fan, and the rest were soldiers from local tyrants and nearby barbarians.
And, that's not all.
As Wu Yi's army marches southward, some southern barbarian tribes that have agreed to help along the way will join in one after another.
Therefore, this army is just a ragtag group of troops, with no organization or combat effectiveness at all.
If they were dragged to the Central Plains battlefield, they might not even be able to defeat an army of 10,000 people.
After all, there is internal chaos, and it is unclear whether this army can exert the strength of 10,000 regular soldiers. It would be good if those powerful and barbarian soldiers do not cause more trouble.
But it is enough to deal with those ugly creatures in the southwest of Yizhou.
There is no need for any combat power. To deal with those weak countries, as long as the number of soldiers is sufficient and the situation can be controlled, it will be fine.
Liu Fan actually thought about whether to send more people or reduce the number of staff, but he made this decision at the suggestion of Huang Quan.
After all, Liu Fan's focus is still on controlling Yizhou and resisting Tian Ze. Sending too many soldiers will damage his own combat effectiveness, and this is also what the local tyrants in Yizhou do not want to see.
It is almost impossible to lose this battle, it is simply a matter of dividing the cake.
Therefore, the local tyrants in Yizhou would try their best to send a large number of people just to have a bigger bite.
Liu Fan had a clear understanding of the goal of this battle.
To put it bluntly, it is to use the piece of cake in southwest Yizhou to exchange for support and manpower with the powerful people and barbarians in Yizhou, consolidate Yizhou's defense, and enhance one's own prestige.
As long as there are enough troops to barely stabilize the situation and prevent Wu Yi from being sidelined, it will be enough.
As for the remaining troops, Liu Fan would be more than happy to send as many as the powerful people and barbarians in Yizhou could.
After all, these soldiers did not belong to him, but now they are under his command.
As long as it is done well, it will be equivalent to weakening the strength of the Yizhou gentry and barbarians invisibly, while strengthening oneself.
Therefore, this time Liu Fan sent his most trusted men Wu Yi and Huang Quan to handle this matter, in order to gradually control and take over this force in the course of the war and completely use it for his own purposes.
The local tyrants and barbarians in Yizhou were not unaware of this, but the piece of cake in southwest Yizhou was big enough, so they were willing to give Liu Fan some benefits.
After all, Liu Fan is not someone who can be easily fooled, and the orthodoxy is still in Liu Fan's hands.
Even though they actually controlled the southern part of Yizhou, as long as Liu Fan did not give the order, their move south would not be legitimate and would lose its meaning.
Therefore, Yizhou's southern expedition was a win-win or even win-win-win choice. The local tyrants and barbarians in Yizhou, as well as Tian Ze, were undoubtedly the beneficiaries.
As for Liu Fan, his gains outweighed his losses.
After all, with more than 100,000 additional troops and a large amount of material support, his own prestige and control over Yizhou also increased greatly.
However, Liu Fan was aware that the powerful people in Yizhou were gradually drifting away from him.
(End of this chapter)
