The most arrogant in history

Chapter 166 Sand table simulation.

Jiaozhou, which belongs to the Baiyue area, was originally the territory of the Dading Kingdom. However, more than ten years ago, it became an independent state, refused to submit to the king, and expanded northward, encroaching on a large amount of land in Yizhou.

Later, there were constant fighting every year, and the area became a mess. It is said that there were seven forts and thirteen villages, each of which was independent.

Because the terrain in the south is dangerous, with mountains and rivers blocking the way, dense forests, miasma and poisonous insects everywhere, the southern princes were unwilling to invest heavily to recover Jiaozhou and turned a blind eye to them.

This led to the Baiyue soldiers becoming increasingly arrogant, and their power expanded northward to the northern part of Guizhou in later generations.

The last time Ye Kun was in Lingshan County, he and Shangguan Jifu dealt with the Qubi Fifth Company, which was the most powerful force among the Jiaozhou barbarians.

This guy was defeated in one battle, but other small forces took the opportunity to rise up, harassing everywhere, burning, killing and looting.

Ye Kun had no intention of pampering these people.

Decided to lead the troops there personally.

On March 24, Ye Kun returned to Dongba County and arranged various affairs within the country. He announced that he would set out the next day and personally lead his troops to Jigongling south of Fuling to fight against the Jiaozhou troops.

Gao Ling, the postmaster of Dongba County, was in charge of arresting prisoners, recording and sending them, collecting rent and recruiting soldiers. He stood up and said:

"Lord Ye, the terrain in the south is dangerous, with high mountains and dense forests. The people are ignorant, hot and barren. It is not a place to use troops. I think it is enough to defend the border and there is no need for a large-scale expedition."

Half of the other officials agreed with Gao Ling's opinion.

The other half think that they must give the other party a head-on blow to let them know how powerful they are.

Ye Kun listened to everyone's opinions and said with a smile:

"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people are his subjects. Since the Baiyue people in the southern wilderness have rebellious intentions and are harassing our people, I will go there to pacify them. Then I will open up the southern trade route, develop trade, and improve people's livelihood. I know that everyone is worried that the cost of war will affect our major construction. But after opening up the southern trade route, the money earned will be enough to make up for the losses."

Everyone nodded: "In this case, we will follow your orders."

Ye Kun gave the order: "Guan Yafu will stay in Dongba City and take charge of all government affairs. The three officials of this county, Bingcao, Weicao, and Duyou, will follow me to the battle. The others will perform their duties and make no mistakes."

General Wu Xuan had rested for twenty days and was probably tortured by Liu Dongliang's two beautiful daughters, so he volunteered:

"Master Ye, I am willing to go with you!"

Ye Kun nodded: "You take three hundred elite cavalry and set out with me tomorrow."

The next morning.

Ye Kun led the students of the Tanbing Hall, called up his personal soldiers and engineers, and Wu Xuan's 300 men, and embarked on the journey.

Lao He accompanied them and brought with him a lot of writing paper, pens, and drawing tools.

The next day, he met Qin Erwu on Jigong Ridge.

Qin Erwu has stationed a thousand troops here, all of them are elite soldiers.

Ye Kun climbed up Jigong Ridge, checked the terrain and inquired about the situation.

Qin Erwu gave a report.

To the south of Jigongling is a large valley with scattered villages. It originally belonged to Yizhou, but is now under the management of Jigongzhai in Jiaozhou.

The big mountain opposite the valley is where Jigongzhai is located.

The villages there are scattered, with a total population of about 20,000 people, who make a living by hunting, farming and collecting herbs.

As the saying goes, "If you see a mountain, you will die if you run away." The mountain on the opposite side seems not far away, but it is very difficult to walk towards it.

The mountain road is winding and blocked by dense forests, so it is easy to get lost.

You see a small village on the top of a mountain, and it seems to be right under your nose, but you go down to look for it, but you often can’t find it in a whole day!

Supervisor Gao Ling said:

"Master Ye, don't underestimate Jigong Mountain. Even if an army of 10,000 were to search the mountain, it would probably take two or three days to complete the search. The Jiaozhou soldiers are good at setting traps and making poison arrows. They can cross mountains and ridges as if they were walking on flat ground. When they gather together, they become soldiers, and when they disperse, they become civilians. They are very difficult to deal with."

Ye Kun nodded and asked Qin Erwu: "Do you know where the base camp of Jigong Village is? How far is it?"

Qin Erwu reports:

"Go through the valley, cross the opposite mountain, and go another ten miles to the main camp of Jigong Village. The leader of Jigong Village is a Han Chinese named Xue Ju, who calls himself the General of the North. He has about three thousand scattered soldiers under his command, most of whom are unarmored. The rest of the fighting force are all nearby mountain people."

"Is there a guide? Is there a map drawn up?"

"There are two businessmen who I have detained here as guides. I don't have a map, and I don't know how to draw it..."

"Fool."

Ye Kun rolled his eyes, retreated back to the camp, summoned the two merchants, comforted them with kind words, then asked about the route and terrain, led everyone to draw a battle map, and taught the students in the Tanbing Hall.

Huangfu Lin, Wu Xuan, Qin Erwu and others all followed suit to learn.

In an hour, Ye Kun had produced a military map of Jigong Mountain and its vicinity, with all the roads and passes, mountain rivers, highland water sources, troop and food distribution, etc. marked.

Qin Erwu grinned and said, "With this thing, I won't get lost anymore."

Ye Kun also ordered people to bring yellow sand and make a sand table, and taught everyone how to do sand table simulation and talk about military strategy on paper.

Wu Xuan was impatient, and he clasped his fists and said:

"Lord Ye, most of the Jiaozhou soldiers are unarmored. If we strike first, we can defeat them with a hail of arrows. Why should we be so cautious?"

"War is a place of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction, and one must be careful. I have said that once you are on the battlefield, you must be extremely careful. Even if it is a lion fighting a rabbit or a tiger pouncing on a sheep, you must use all your strength."

Ye Kun pointed at the map:

"In mountainous areas, large forces cannot be deployed. The enemy's forces are dispersed, and our rain of arrows cannot cover them. Our army has advantages in equipment and combat effectiveness. There are two sure-win strategies. One is blitzkrieg, accurately annihilating the enemy's main force; the other is to advance step by step and consume the enemy's forces.

At present, the conditions for a blitzkrieg are not in place, so we can only proceed step by step and wait for the opportunity."

Wu Xuan was not quite convinced, but he didn't dare to say anything more.

Ye Kun smiled and said, “General Wu, Xue Ju on the opposite side also knows the art of war and will not let his men line up and wait for your rain of arrows.”

Wu Xuan clasped his fists and said, "I will obey your orders."

The next morning.

After breakfast, Ye Kun ordered five hundred infantrymen, carrying bows and crossbows, and one hundred engineers to go down to the valley together.

In the open area of ​​the valley, Ye Kun asked everyone to cut wooden stakes and find hay to make a half-person-high fence wall, which was continuous and curved, about one hundred meters long.

Then, Ye Kun erected more than a dozen wooden signs in front of the fence, with large characters written on them:

"This is Ye Kun's Great Wall. Anyone who crosses the border will be killed without mercy!"

On the opposite hillside, Xue Ju's stragglers, about three to five hundred in number, were lying behind rocks and peeking.

After the fence was set up, Ye Kun waved to the soldiers:

"The Great Wall has been built, everyone can go back. From now on, this Great Wall will block Xue Ju's troops on the opposite side and prevent them from crossing the border!"

The soldiers didn't believe it and were all confused.

Can this half-person-high fence wall stop the enemy troops on the opposite side?

The commander has given the order, and the soldiers dare not disobey, so they retreat back to the hill together.

Qin Erwu also didn't understand what Ye Kun meant, and muttered:

"Brother, what are you doing? Can a fence stop the enemy?"

"You'll know then."

Ye Kun did not explain, but called Lao He to design a box-type keel waterwheel with him.

This type of waterwheel was used in later generations until diesel-powered pumps became popular, and then it was withdrawn from the market. After thousands of years of testing, it is absolutely effective.

Before crossing over, Ye Kun's hometown had a waterwheel. Later, after studying mechanics, Ye Kun also modified the waterwheel at home.

Looking at the drawings drawn by Ye Kun, Lao He was surprised and delighted:

"Master Ye, I heard that there is also a kind of dragon-bone waterwheel in the north, which is operated by foot. I thought about it at the time, but because of the lack of materials and the need to make a living, I never made it. Could it be that the waterwheel of Master Ye is the dragon-bone waterwheel in the north?"

Ye Kun thought about it:

"The pedal-operated keel waterwheel is heavy and needs to be made of stronger materials. It cannot adapt to complex terrain and is difficult to move. My waterwheel is very light and can be carried by one person. It is easy to set up and can adapt to various terrains, including terraces with large elevation differences. It can be operated by manual handlebars or standing position. Just stand firmly and it will be fine."

Old He was overjoyed: "Master Ye, if you had told me earlier, I would have made it for you a long time ago!"

"I'm afraid you're too tired, so take your time." Ye Kun smiled:

"First, you should figure out the structure and determine the size. Then send someone to send the blueprint back and have the master craftsmen make one to try. After we fight, we will go back and debug and improve it."

Lao He nodded and went into his tent.

Ye Kun is fine and plays chess with Huangfu Lin.

Suddenly, curses and laughter were heard in the valley.

The enemy troops on the other side, numbering about 300 to 200, set fire to Ye Kun's fence and Great Wall, holding their swords and guns and laughing, mocking and provoking:

"Ye Kun, is this your Great Wall?"

“Ye Kun, you surrendered early, and we will teach you how to build the Great Wall!”

These Jiaozhou soldiers are descendants of the generals sent by the previous dynasty’s First Emperor to conquer the Baiyue four hundred years ago. They might really be able to build the Great Wall!

Qin Erwu was furious and challenged Ye Kun to a fight: "Brother, I will lead the troops down and shoot them to death!"