Chapter 118: Troops Reach Lingnan, Beacon Fires on Dayu Pass (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Unlike when he last left Luoyang, the passage of time had made everyone feel the cruelty of years.

Gu Ye was no longer the twelve-year-old boy who once brought boundless hope.

For many in the court,

this campaign was not about a great victory, but about Gu Ye returning safely.

Even Zhong Hui had changed.

He was older than Gu Ye, now nearing the age of candle-lit years, yet his ambition still burned fiercely in the court.

This was also the difference brought by the Gu clan's emergence.

In the original history, Zhong Hui had been loyal to Sima Shi, and his end was far from favorable.

But now—

the Sima family had long vanished beneath Gu Chen's iron hooves.

Even the Chancellor had died with a smile.

The Gu clan's emergence had ultimately altered too much of history, drastically changing the fates of many.

"Zhao De."

At the Hou Fu, Zhong Hui, his temples now streaked with gray, stared intently at Gu Ye, as if he had a thousand words to say—but in the end, they condensed into one: "No matter what, come back!"

"Our great undertaking is not yet complete—you must come back, no matter what!"

"Must come back."

His eyes slowly reddened, his lips repeating those four words over and over.

Gu Yi watched this silently.

He did not interfere much with Gu Ye.

Partings always brought a heavy silence.

Zhang Hua cared even more about Gu Ye's safety than Zhong Hui did; for days, he had barely slept, scouring records for ways to avoid miasma.

Though the Gu clan already had these methods.

Yet he still wished to give his utmost effort, to add one more layer of protection for Gu Ye.

He was no longer young.

Compared to his counterpart in the original history, he now worked far harder.

This was a virtue increasingly rare in the modern age.

He must live up to Gu Chen's evaluation of him!

The farewell came quietly, under a silent atmosphere.

In the seventeenth year of Ganji, August;

—Gu Ye departed Luoyang once again after several years.

At the moment of parting,

Liu Chen led the people of Luoyang and the court officials to see them off.

This scene had occurred many times before, yet each time it moved them deeply.

Generation after generation of Gu clan sons had stepped out of this city for the sake of the realm and the family.

An unmistakable sorrow hung over the entire city of Luoyang.

Among the crowd were elderly men with white hair, leaning on canes, their eyes filled with reluctance and longing;

women holding infants, tears soaking their sleeves, the babies within seeming to sense the sorrow and wailing loudly;

young men, though not weeping, bit their lips tightly, their gazes radiating respect and worry.

Gu Ye walked slowly to Liu Chen's side, bowed deeply, and spoke firmly: "Your Majesty, we shall fight to the death, not betray Your Majesty's trust, nor the people of Han!"

"All soldiers, proceed with caution, I—"

Liu Chen nodded slightly, gently lifting Gu Ye up, his voice low yet powerful: "I and the people await your triumphant return!"

Await your triumphant return!

A simple phrase, yet it held a thousand unspoken words.

Gu Ye nodded, then turned and left.

This battle was destined to be extraordinarily difficult.

Its deadliest challenge lay in the army's movement amid changing environments.

This was one of the most severe problems faced in the southern expedition.

High heat, miasma, poor adaptation to local conditions, dense populations

There were simply too many factors that could cause Han troops to fall ill, triggering chaos in the ranks.

In truth, this was the greatest weakness of feudal dynasties in distant campaigns.

Large, concentrated armies became breeding grounds for bacteria, spreading through the ranks.

For this reason, Gu Yi made extensive preparations.

He divided the entire army into three columns.

—The Eastern Column, thirty thousand strong, marched from Yuzhang Commandery down the Gan River, through Luling and Nanye, crossed Mei Pass into Zhen River, and headed straight for Panyu.

Water routes were the primary means.

Within this, further subdivisions were made to prevent mass illness.

—The Central Column, thirty thousand strong, dredged the Qin-era Lingqu Canal, linking the Xiang and Li rivers, to reach Cangwu.

Its purpose was to fully control the Li River.

If the Li River could be controlled, the western escape routes of the Shan Yue would be completely cut off.

It could also form a pincer with the Eastern Column to suppress the tribes of the Liao in the north of Lingnan.

The western route army of forty thousand marched along the Yuan River from Wuling Commandery.

The details within were too many to count.

Gu Yi could be said to have made every preparation — including the choice of campsite, the requirement to boil and settle drinking water, the use of hammocks to ward off snakes and insects, and everything else — he had already given orders for all of it.

Gu Yi could clearly feel his improvement compared to the last time he had taken control.

Setting that aside,

he might still be unable to match those generals whose names would go down in history when it came to judging the overall course of a war, but he had already gained the ability to take in the whole situation at a glance.

This was Gu Yi's progress!

The most crucial point was—

Gu Yi possessed a vision they did not have, using certain modern knowledge to minimize every possible risk they might face.

His choice to march in August also came with his own judgment.

As the saying goes, autumn skies are high and the air is crisp.

Spring and summer were precisely the rainy season in the two Guangs regions; moving troops at such a time would absolutely be a disaster for the Han soldiers.

As for the troops led by Wen Qiang, Gu Yi had also given them a unique arrangement this time.

He had them abandon Han armor and instead adopt the rattan armor woven by the southwestern Yi.

This too was Gu Yi's comprehensive consideration.

The environment of Lingnan was after all vastly different from that of the Central Plains; under such conditions, the heavy armor of the Han army might become a burden for these elite troops.

Rattan armor, however, was different.

Moreover, against the bows and arrows of the Shan-Yue, rattan armor was sufficient for defense.

These men were all elites.

Gu Yi had to let them bring forth their absolute combat power.

The great army pressed forward all the way.

Where Gu Ye stood was precisely where the main force of this battle lay — the eastern route army.

Although Gu Yi had already done what could be considered the limit of this era,

once the army continued to advance,

various problems still appeared one after another within the ranks.

Injuries and illness were unavoidable.

Prolonged marching was bound to bring injuries and illness — this was the inevitability of an expedition; Gu Yi could only prevent the spread of such ailments.

October;

as the army neared Lingnan, the unusual environment finally brought on disease.

Gu Yi immediately carried out isolation at the very first moment.

Beyond that, Gu Yi also took out the three "Miasma-Avoidance Pills" in his hand, dissolved one of them in water, and had the soldiers drink it.

Although he did not know whether, after such dilution, this "Miasma-Avoidance Pill" would still have any effect.

After all, this Miasma-Avoidance Pill was only an Ordinary Item prop.

But no matter what, he had to give it a try.

As for the remaining two pills,

he had to keep them.

One was to be saved for Gu Ye, and the other for great generals like Wen Qiang.

This was the choice he had to make.

Gu Yi could only do his utmost to reduce the casualties this would bring.

As for the casualties on the central and western routes, they would only be greater.

Although Gu Yi had already imparted some basic knowledge to the generals of those two route armies, this too was inevitable.

News kept spreading.

An attack of such scale had naturally long since become known.

Whether it was the Han or the Gu clan, both would make the Shan-Yue deeply wary.

Facing the Han army that had already come killing their way over,

the Shan-Yue tribes immediately sent envoys from the Likebian Sect, wanting to meet Gu Ye.

After all, for them,

the policies between the Han and the Shan-Yue had continued for so many years now.

They could not understand why Gu Ye had suddenly mobilized troops.

"I will say it once more!"

"You have only to surrender completely and respect the laws of our great Han; otherwise, you shall face the heavenly soldiers of our great Han!"

Inside the main tent,

looking at the envoys sent by a tribe before him, Gu Yi, controlling Gu Ye, spoke coldly.

"Grand General,"

the faces of the gathered envoys were all exceedingly ugly; they had not at all expected Gu Ye's attitude to be so resolute.

"Our tribes have maintained friendly ties with the great Han for a hundred years and have never caused any trouble."

"Why does the Grand General treat us thus? Could this possibly be the courtesy of the great Han?"

The crowd spoke, each putting in their own words.

All were emphasizing the friendly relations their tribes had maintained with the great Han over the years.

Facing the fierce advance of the Han army, not a single one of them wished to go straight to war.

But how could they possibly be fully integrated into Han?

These envoys understood Han culture deeply.

They sought to bind Gu Ye with Han rituals.

Such tactics might work on others, but how could they possibly affect Gu Yi?

He had no patience for idle words.

He didn't bother citing examples to refute when these tribal envoys had betrayed Han; he simply waved his hand and ordered them expelled.

This battle was inevitable.

Facing the formidable Gu Ye.

The Shan Yue, as they had every year, once again formed a united army.

They would never surrender.

The affairs of the northern frontier, after so many years, were no longer a secret in Lingnan.

One could say—

If they truly surrendered to the Han army, it would be the actual rulers of these tribes who would suffer.

As long as they remained, peace could never be achieved.

And for these men—

They did not believe the Han army would remain long in Lingnan; even if they lost this battle, the Han army would depart as it had before.

If so, what did they have to fear?

The entire Shan Yue alliance immediately deployed defenses along the southern stretch of the Mei Pass Ancient Road.

This was one of the gates into Lingnan from the north.

Though the Shan Yue as a whole lagged behind Han,

years of contact had given them insight into certain Han military tactics.

Most crucially—they knew the local terrain.

Han forces indeed had to break through Mei Pass Ancient Road.

Their assumptions were not wrong, but the one thing they had overlooked was Gu Han's existence.

Gu Yi did not expect Gu Han to provide him with much assistance.

To him,

Gu Han had already done enough.

He upheld the Gu clan's custom and sent Gu Yi a topographical map of Lingnan.

With this, it was enough!

The eighteenth year of Ganji, eleventh month.

Gu Yi officially launched the assault on Mei Pass Ancient Road.

He ordered Wen Yang as vanguard to attack the gates head-on, drawing the defenders' attention.

Meanwhile, he secretly dispatched an elite strike force.

Armed with grappling hooks, they circled behind the Shan Yue camp via a woodcutter's path to create chaos.

This battle demanded decisiveness from Gu Yi.

Just as in the northern frontier campaign, he aimed to settle victory in a single strike.

The Gu clan still held prestige among the Shan Yue.

If he could shatter their will to resist, he could swiftly seize full control of Lingnan.

As for dragging it out—

That would be pure self-depletion for the Han army.

The Shan Yue resistance was deeply tribal.

Facing Wen Yang's assault, they resisted only a few waves before realizing his ferocity.

Knowing they could not withstand his fierce assault,

they immediately leveraged local advantages, using bees raised in their tribes to harass the Han soldiers.

This was a tactic Gu Yi had not anticipated.

When the dense swarm burst from the hives, even Wen Yang struggled to unleash his full power.

The dense swarm always found gaps in the vine armor.

Gu Yi immediately devised a countermeasure.

He ordered his troops to light fires and produce smoke to drive off the bees, while tightening the encirclement to create an opening for the strike force.

These tribes' tactics were indeed bizarre.

For the age, they were often inexplicable and deeply misleading.

A single misstep could make one believe they controlled wild beasts.

But to Gu Yi, armed with modern knowledge, these tactics could not possibly alter the outcome.

As for Han army morale?

Gu Ye was here.

How could Han army morale possibly waver?

This battle was destined to be utterly hopeless for the Shan Yue tribes.

Their tactics proved useless against Han forces; due to technological backwardness, their weapons and arrows could not pierce the vine armor.

Their casualties were even fewer than those lost to disease.

The nineteenth year of Ganji, first month.

A great fire brought the entire battle along the Meiguan Ancient Road to its close.

The Han army officially broke through the gateway to Lingnan.

And surged into Lingnan.

At the same time, the central-route army likewise encountered the enemy.

The two sides opened a great battle at Qin Di's Hua Zui.

The Shanyue tribes dumped poisonous herbs into the Lingqu Canal, attempting to make the Han army collapse from within.

But fortunately, Gu Yi had previously taught the soldiers a filtering method, including boiling the water.

Though this method could not filter out every toxin completely.

But let's not forget—the Han army already had its own methods.

Upon discovering the drinking water was compromised, the Han army added alum on top of these measures to remove impurities.

Under all these methods—

Toxins that were never truly lethal to begin with simply could not have any effect.

Once this method lost its effect.

The Han army's advantage was fully displayed, although the Han army still could not resolve the drawbacks brought by environmental factors.

But what of it?

The overall strength of the Great Han already far, far exceeded that of the Shanyue!

This was a disadvantage the Shanyue could not make up for.

Third month;

The western-route army launched an ambush at Chenxi Crocodile Pool.

Facing the endless tide of Han troops, the entire Southern Frontier trembled.

Since the days of Emperor Xiaowu of the Great Han, the Southern Frontier once again welcomed its conqueror.

And this time—

Compared to before, it was all the more resolute!

Gu Yi was not after a momentary feat of merit; what he wanted was for Lingnan to be thoroughly integrated into the Nine Provinces!

At the very least, it could not remain as it was now, out of step with the Nine Provinces!

——————

"The Yan Han dynasty is one of the most fascinating dynasties in the history of our country's feudal era.

Not only because of its unique political features, with the 'Ten Directions Conquest Envoys' who could march alongside imperial authority, and the formation of the imperial examination system.

But also because of the ethnic integration policy it carried out during the Qianji reign.

This move thoroughly reversed the Han-Yi opposition that had existed since ancient times in our country, and laid a sufficient foundation for the unified development of our nation's peoples.

Beyond all dispute—

Looking at every later dynasty, one can see traces of the Yan Han system in all of them.

And the pacification of the Northern Frontier and Lingnan

also thoroughly demonstrates that the overall strength of the Yan Han had already completely surpassed every dynasty before it."

——《History of the Rise and Fall of the Yan Han Dynasty》

(End of this chapter)