There were a lot of people, very many, and the mountains and plains were full of the southern barbarians, shouting and roaring, with great momentum.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Just then a mountain breeze blew, and the grass and trees on the mountain swayed left and right in the wind, blending with the noisy southern barbarians and Miao people. Looking up from the foot of the mountain, it was impossible to tell which were the grass and trees and which were the southern barbarians and Miao people.
In people's eyes, the countless plants and trees swaying in the wind on the mountain are the noisy descendants of the southern barbarians.
In people's ears, the humming sound of the mountain wind blowing through the trees sounded like the roaring and clamoring of the southern barbarians.
It was like the Ming Dynasty version of the situation where every tree and grass seemed to be an enemy and the young and strong people looked pale and terrified.
"Why... why are there so many barbarians? Last... last time, how many Japanese pirates came to attack the city?"
The worried young man on the road looked at his companion with a pale face, and his voice trembled.
It's only the end of autumn, why is it so cold?! It feels like winter, I have goose bumps... ...
"Three... five thousand or so..." The companion who was full of confidence on the road now spoke incoherently.
At that time, there were only 3,000 to 5,000 Japanese pirates, but now the rebellious southern barbarians are everywhere, there are too many people to count, at least 70,000 to 80,000! We only have 1,000 people, how can we defeat them!
Looking at the southern barbarians all over the mountains, deep despair arose from the bottom of my heart, and they grew wildly.
"Your Excellency, I am incompetent... Please punish me!" Liu Dianli came back with a guilty look on his face and knelt on one knee to apologize to Zhu Ping'an.
"Liu Dianli, please stand up. I have already said it just now, just give it a try, don't force it. Besides, Liu Dianli did not return without success. Through Liu Dianli's test just now, I already know the strengths and weaknesses of the Nanman Miao people."
Zhu Ping'an stretched out his hands to help Liu Dianli up, and encouraged him with a smile.
"Ah? The county lord already knows the strength of the Nanman Miao people?!" Liu Dianli was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and asked hesitantly, "The county lord has discovered that the Nanman people are too numerous and powerful, and that we can't do anything today? Do we need to go back and make a long-term plan?"
Liu Dianli felt that the greatest achievement of his previous attempt was that he discovered that there were too many rebellious Nanman Miao people, and the mountains and plains were full of Nanman. If they had launched a large army at the beginning, their 1,000 people would not be enough to fill the gaps in the Nanman's teeth.
Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and shook his head, pointing to the mountains where the rebellious Nanman Miao people were entrenched and said to Liu Dianli, "Haha, Liu Dianli, look carefully, how many Nanman Miao people are there all over the mountains?!"
"A lot." Liu Dianli was confused.
"Haha, don't you find it strange? Since the other side has a large number of people and we only have a thousand, why didn't they take advantage of the situation and kill us when we just arrived and have not yet established a firm foothold?!"
Zhu Pingan said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Liu Dianli broke out in a cold sweat. If the rebellious southern barbarians really attacked them while their foothold was unstable as the county magistrate said, their side would probably have been wiped out.
But why didn't the southern barbarians take advantage of the opportunity to attack? Why did they let this great opportunity slip away? !
"Maybe the rebellious southern barbarians don't understand military tactics? They can't seize the opportunity to fight." Liu Dianli hesitated and said indecisively.
"Not really. If the Miao people from the southern barbarians do not understand the art of war and act rashly, they will attack us without hesitation when they see that we have fewer people and have an advantage." Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and said softly.
"Why is that?" Liu Dianli asked in confusion.
"That's because they appear fierce on the outside but are weak on the inside. They look large in numbers but are actually just a facade. They don't have much more people who can fight than us, otherwise they wouldn't be so cautious. It's precisely because they are not sure of victory and because they are afraid of our army that they didn't attack us when our army was not yet firmly established." Zhu Ping'an turned his head, looked at Liu Dianli and the people behind him, pointed his finger at the southern barbarian Miao people all over the mountains and explained loudly with confidence.
"The more they bluff, the more cowardly they are." Zhu Ping'an said to everyone with certainty.
When Liu Dianli and the others heard this, they suddenly realized what had happened, and their dusty faces regained color.
yes.
The county magistrate said that the southern barbarians seemed to have a large number of people, but in fact they were like silver-plated spears, which looked good but were useless. The people knew their own situation, and the southern barbarians knew their own situation very well, so they did not attack.
The fear and despair in everyone's hearts suddenly dissipated a lot, and the morale that was on the verge of collapse was restored a lot.
"Liu Dianli, you lead three hundred people to cut wood, set up deer horns, fences, and set up camps; Han Dianli, you lead two hundred people to build military tents; Qian Dianli, you lead a hundred people to cook..." After Zhu Ping'an calmed down the people, he waved his hand and ordered everyone to set up camps and cook.
Cut wood, set up camp, cook...
Zhu Ping'an's group set up camp and cooked meals openly at the foot of the mountain.
When everyone was setting up camp, Zhu Pingan called Liu Dadao, Liu Daqiang and others and said to them, "Dadao and Daqiang, you have to work harder. Take fifty brothers to guard the front two miles to prevent surprise attacks."
"Don't worry, sir. With us here, we will never give the Southern Barbarians any chance to take advantage of us." Liu Dadao and the others took the order and left.
The art of war is a matter of deception.
Zhu Ping'an was arrogant and fearless, but he was just showing it to the southern barbarians. In fact, he was very cautious. When setting up camp and cooking, he patrolled, sent scouts, and stood guard.
On the mountain where the southern barbarians lived, a man with bare arms and wearing wolf skin came to an old woman in her fifties, knelt on one knee and reported: "My Lord, the Ming dogs have set up camp at the foot of the mountain and started cooking."
This old woman is the chieftain of Wuxi Miao—Lady Yilan. She was originally the wife of Wuxi Miao chieftain Longlu. Later, Longlu was shot by a poisoned arrow and died in a war against a rebellious tribe. Lady Yilan inherited the position of chieftain for more than 20 years. Lady Yilan is a strong woman. She not only suppressed the opposition voices in the tribe, inherited the position of chieftain as a woman, but also avenged Longlu and wiped out the rebellious tribe. For more than 20 years, she has been firmly sitting on the position of chieftain. Her prestige in the tribe is much higher than that of Longlu at his peak, and she is deeply supported by Wuxi Miao.
"Be confident and fearless. The Ming people must have something to rely on. Qian Guda, tell Ah Hu Man and the others not to act rashly and not to fall into the trap set by the Ming people."
Lady Yilan, leaning on a tiger-head cane and supported by a maid, walked forward a few steps, came to a protruding rock, climbed up the rock with the help of the maid, and observed the mountain down for a moment. Looking at Zhu Ping'an's men who were setting up camp and cooking in a swaggering and fearless manner, her eyes became more cautious, and the Shaoqing turned his head and gave instructions to the man who was kneeling on one knee.
"As you wish, my lord." Qian Gu took the order and left.