Chapter 119: Three Years of Brutal Campaign, Securing Lingnan (Bonus Chapter)

The Southern Frontier shook.

The momentum generated by the three Han armies was destined to shake heaven and earth.

And don't forget—

The commander this time bears the surname Gu!

Although the Gu clan's influence among the Baiyue pales compared to that in the Central Plains and Northern Frontier, it still holds sway.

Gu Chen's name alone struck terror into the barbarians—not empty boasting.

Gu Yi now need not lift a finger to reap the benefits of Gu Chen's legacy.

Not to mention Gu Ye, who is already a famed general known throughout the realm!

Clouds stirred from all directions.

Under this shift in tide, the entire Northern Frontier underwent a dramatic transformation!

The Shan Yue could never withstand the Han army.

This time, Gu Yi had prepared exhaustively, pushing his current capabilities to their absolute limit.

The Shan Yue could only delay!

Hoping to drag the Han army into the quagmire of war, as they had before.

Using environmental factors to force the Han army to withdraw on its own.

But all of this was destined to be in vain.

Gu Yi had waited this long—he would not stop now!

He had already given orders.

For every thirty li advanced, the Han army was to build an earthen fortress, stationing two hundred troops; beacon fires between fortresses would keep watch, compressing the Shan Yue's maneuvering space.

As for the coming plum rain season in Lingnan,

He had prepared for it too.

He ordered the Han army to camp on high ground, not to rush forward, and to avoid all possible diseases.

The nineteenth year of Ganji, fourth month.

The central army breached the Qin Di Hua Zui.

Facing the Shan Yue army's renewed guerrilla tactics, the Han army remained unruffled, advancing steadily.

The same year, sixth month;

The western army also broke through.

They officially entered Lingnan and even made contact with the Li people tribe, meeting Gu Han.

Gu Han naturally cared about Gu Ye's whereabouts.

But unfortunately, though the western army's route would have allowed earlier contact with Gu Han, Gu Yi did not station Gu Ye within the western army.

No choice—the eastern army was the key to this war.

Moreover, the location it attacked was, for future generations, Top Priority.

This place would later be known as the "Pearl River Delta."

This was the land Gu Yi had chosen for the Gu clan's roots!

Battles raged continuously.

A sense of despair spread across Lingnan.

Every Shan Yue tribe could clearly feel that this Han offensive was unlike any before.

This was inevitable.

The Han dynasty always advanced, absorbing the lessons left by its predecessors!

Not to mention Gu Yi was here this time.

The eastern army advanced steadily.

Let it be said—

Wen Yang's body was truly rare in the world; his adaptability was extraordinary.

After several months, he had gradually acclimated to Lingnan's climate.

His soldiers were equally exceptional; though "Avoiding Miasma Pills" were low-grade, they were no less effective as artifacts.

Though diluted,

They perfectly fulfilled their purpose, reducing the Han soldiers' likelihood of falling ill from miasma.

Though this seemed ordinary, its impact on the overall war was devastatingly critical.

No illness meant the Han army could unleash greater combat power!

July;

Gu Yi led his troops through Qujiang, heading straight for Yingde Gorge.

The Shan Yue had stationed heavy forces here.

Using limestone caves along the gorge's banks, they hid archers to fire poisoned arrows.

Though a single arrow lacked force,

When arrows fell like rain, they became a deadly weapon.

But what of it?

Gu Yi merely ordered constant harassment, exhausting all their poisoned arrows.

What followed was the Han army's charge.

At the same time, the central army advanced toward Cangwu.

This was the goal Gu Yi had established before the war: the eastern and central armies would rendezvous at San Shui.

Completely cutting off the Shanyue from the entire central region.

As for the western army, it carried the meaning of severing their retreat.

The three-pronged allied army would ultimately converge at Panyu to decide victory and defeat.

The great battle raged like a raging fire.

The cruelty of this war was utterly beyond comparison with the northern border campaign of before.

Though the Shanyue retreated step by step, they could still use the terrain to launch guerrilla harassment.

The most critical point was—

As time passed, after surviving the plum-rain season of Lingnan, Lingnan once again welcomed scorching heat.

For the Han army, this was absolutely fatal.

High temperatures were a breeding ground for bacteria.

In the current era, no matter how heaven-defying Gu Yi was, it was completely impossible to avoid disease.

One after another, soldiers fell upon this land.

Even Gu Yi was powerless.

He could only spare no effort to prevent the spread of disease.

And compared to the main force of the eastern route, the casualties of the other two armies would only be greater.

Even to reduce the impact of the high temperatures, he chose to have the soldiers move by night and hide by day.

In the end, he had even given up on attacking.

But he also no longer relied entirely on the court's supplies as before.

He set his sights on the Shanyue's fields and granaries.

Many Shanyue tribes also had the habit of farming, planting dry rice and storing grain.

And besides that—

Gu Yi even had the Han army plant grain on the lands already seized.

He reinstated the military-colony policy.

This was destined to be a grueling journey, and only blood and tears could fully pave this difficult road.

That night.

The moonlight was like washed silk, the stars dazzling.

The chirping of insects echoed through this Minlin.

At this moment, within the Han army's great camp.

Several more squads of riders left the camp, heading straight for the targets Gu Yi had set.

After several raids, the Shanyue had already grown wary, so Gu Yi could only dispatch more troops to employ harassment-and-lure tactics.

Beside piles of bonfires.

Countless Han soldiers sat around the fires warming themselves; some were wringing out their clothes, trying to make them a bit drier.

The expressions on everyone's faces were heavy.

This was inevitable.

Prolonged fighting combined with the oppressive heat was a double blow to body and soul.

Sitting by the fire only made people feel even hotter

But to make their clothes a bit drier, the soldiers could only endure the scorching heat.

At this moment, Gu Yi, controlling Gu Ye, walked out of the main tent.

Now, to this day.

Even Gu Ye, this great general, had aged considerably; he had even fallen ill once, and without the Miasma-Avoiding Pill and the Instant-Recovery Talisman.

Even Gu Ye might well have died in this expedition.

"Great General!"

Seeing Gu Ye come out, the soldiers immediately rose and saluted.

"No need." Gu Yi directly waved his hand, and meeting those gazes one after another, slowly walked to a bonfire and casually sat down.

Small Small Yugu Ye's action, the soldiers were all somewhat surprised.

The great camp, where no one had been willing to talk because of the oppressive heat, grew even quieter at this moment.

"There's no need to be so formal—am I going to eat people or something?"

Gu Ye revealed a kindly smile and spoke the words Gu Yi was thinking.

Hearing this, the generals nearby immediately relaxed a little.

A burst of murmuring rose up at once.

Nearby soldiers quietly passed along Gu Ye's words to those beside them.

"All of you brothers are exhausted, and I am well aware of that."

Gu Yi put on no airs at all, chatting with the soldiers about everyday matters just like the ancestors of the Gu clan.

Talking about everything in the Great Han.

Talking about the current campaign.

The atmosphere grew increasingly relaxed, and what followed was an inexplicable sorrow.

The homesickness deep in the bones of the Huaxia people quietly fermented.

Finally—

Accompanied by the sound of weeping, a general finally could not help but look at Gu Ye and ask: "Great General, is there truly any need for us to keep fighting this battle?"

No one would think this battle could not be won.

Everyone had absolute confidence in the Gu clan.

But contrary to the previous wars.

None of the officers and soldiers could see what benefits this battle could bring.

They would wonder whether those who died for this cause had died for nothing.

If the situation weren't this despairing, such thoughts might still be bearable.

But now—

This had already become one of the risks for the Han army.

Gu Yi's move today was also to resolve this matter.

The moment these words were spoken, the great camp fell instantly silent.

Countless gazes gathered in an instant, and under the flickering light of the bonfires, there was something strangely chilling about it.

Gu Yi let out a soft sigh.

Looking at the crowd before him, he finally spoke: "The brothers will not have died in vain."

A simple sentence that struck straight at the heart of the matter.

To open his heart to these soldiers, Gu Yi had no need to act as he did before court officials, telling them what benefits this move could bring to the Great Han.

These men were rough folk.

Speaking that way, they wouldn't understand either.

Sincerity is the killing blow; better to be direct.

"I know you brothers have doubts in your hearts."

"This battle, fought as it is, we see no real gold and silver treasure, nor do we feel we'll seize much fertile land."

"But we must understand why we shoulder this Han banner, why we wear this armor."

"Behind us are the fathers and elders of Luoyang City, the common folk of all under heaven!"

"If the borderlands aren't at peace, the Hu barbarians will come like starving wolves into our villages, burn our houses, steal our grain, and violate our wives and daughters!"

"If we don't win this fight now, later our fathers, mothers, wives, and children will suffer for it!"

"I, Gu Yi, stand here today to make one thing clear to everyone: I value every single brother's life!"

"Not a single drop of hot blood shed will be spilled in vain!"

"This battle is for the land beneath our feet, so that the sons and daughters of the Great Han can live their days in peace, plant their crops without worry in their own fields, and gather their families whole beneath their own rooftops."

"Perhaps this battle won't bring each of us promotion and rank, but it will carve our names into the history books of the Great Han, so that future generations, speaking of us, will hold up their thumbs and call us heroes who protected our homes and country!"

As he spoke, Gu Yi's tone paused briefly, then he slowly rose, sweeping his burning gaze across everyone present:

"I also make this pledge here—"

"The Great Han will not forget us, nor will posterity forget us."

"When the banners of our Han army truly stand upon this land, your names will be passed down."

"Until... the very end."

"Even should you fall in battle, your families will be cared for by the court!"

—For posterity.

Talk like this, if placed in the modern era, would simply be drawing a big empty pie.

But for the soldiers of the Great Han of today, it was different.

That future generations could live in peace and tranquility — who knew how many people dreamed of exactly that.

Not to mention Gu Yi had also said he would care for their families.

Reputation, at a time like this, would play its role.

When such words were spoken by a son of the Gu clan.

It made people believe, inexplicably.

Breeze after breeze kept drifting past.

On this very night, the gradually restless morale of the Han army finally settled once more.

Time slipped swiftly by.

Facing this unprecedented style of warfare from the Han army, all the Shanyue tribes gradually sensed something was wrong.

What's going on?

Why does it feel like everything has been turned around?

The Han army has started plundering us?

This sudden change finally made people realize the Han army's resolve.

An unprecedented gloom grew ever thicker over the southern frontier lands.

A war of attrition was indeed a torment for the Han army.

But for the Shanyue, it was exactly the same!

Their productivity had always been far inferior to the Great Han's; if this kept up, one day they would simply be worn down to death.

And the most critical point was—

The importance of able-bodied men to them far exceeded that to the Great Han.

No Shanyue tribe could stand by and watch the strong men of the tribe keep dying on the battlefield.

A strange rift appeared within the Shanyue coalition.

Although in the short term it wasn't enough to cause problems for their alliance, if it continued, this internal division would absolutely erupt.

They tried many methods.

Facing the Han army's plundering, when they gradually found that vigilance wasn't doing much good.

He immediately planned to switch from defense to offense.

After all, compared to the Han army, they were far more adept at raiding.

In this scorching summer, both sides engaged in a frantic tug-of-war over this very matter.

But the Shan Yue's actions perfectly suited Gu Yi's intentions — the Han army had the advantage in numbers!

Although Gu Yi could not possibly guard against every single Shan Yue force.

On the whole, he still held the upper hand.

Time flowed on.

At last, autumn came once again.

As the weather gradually turned cool, Gu Yi did not hesitate in the slightest, and launched his offensive once more.

East, center, west —

The three armies advanced forward once again.

The immense pressure immediately intensified the internal divisions within the Shan Yue coalition.

Gu Yi had been waiting for this day, though this time he did not know exactly what the situation within the coalition was like.

—But he knew the hearts of men.

There would always be someone who could not bear such pressure.

The Li Tribe played a crucial role at this moment. After the first tribe took the lead in surrendering, this move utterly pushed those divisions to their peak!

But Gu Yi still did not grow impatient.

The Shan Yue were ultimately different from the northern barbarians; their estrangement from the great Han ran far too deep.

They had to be made to feel despair at the very root.

The great army continued to press forward.

Countless people fell one after another upon this land.

At last, as spring departed and autumn came.

In the second month of the twenty-first year of Qianji;

The Han army's eastern and central forces joined up at Sanshui.

The spearhead of the army pointed straight at Panyu.

And the western army was also advancing steadily.

Beneath this immense pressure, the discontent within finally erupted completely.

After nearly three years of fierce assault.

This battle seemed at last to be drawing to a close.

One tribe after another sent forth envoys, declaring their willingness to surrender to the great Han.

And once this breach was thoroughly torn open.

This battle —

Had fundamentally lost all suspense!

Although there was no outright great victory yet, for Gu Yi it was already enough.

Right there in the lands of Lingnan.

Gu Yi, through Gu Ye, issued for the first time in the name of the current Gu family head a final proclamation to all the Shan Yue tribes of Lingnan.

"The Han's iron armor is already arrayed at Cangwu! You have squatted beyond the mountain ranges for years, tearing apart our lands, blocking our royal transformation — do you not know that 'a flickering torch dares not vie with the sun and moon'? Now a hundred thousand fierce warriors march forth from the Five Ranges, a thousand sails blot out the sun and lock the Pearl River; all your so-called natural barriers and passes shall be ground to dust beneath the might of Lei Ting!

Those who surrender may keep their ancestral spirits' offerings of blood; their sons and grandsons shall study the Odes, rites, and music and grow into men. Those who resist shall leave not a single intact egg in Cangwu, and Jiaozhi shall be wrapped wholly in mourning white!

Those who do not surrender —

Die!"

This was the Gu family head's proclamation.

This was the proclamation of the descendant of the Nuo Hu Grand Ghost Lord!

Once this proclamation was issued, it could be said to have directly taken the Serious atmosphere throughout the entire southern frontier;

And pulled it utterly to its peak!

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(End of this chapter)