I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 332 - 23: Troops Reach Lingnan, Flames on Dayu Ridge
But the rattan armor is different.
In the face of the Shanyue’s bows and arrows, the rattan armor is sufficient for defense.
These people are all elite troops.
Gu Yi must ensure that they bring out their utmost combat effectiveness.
....
The army continued to advance.
Gu Ye was located with the main force of this battle — the Eastern Army.
Although Gu Yi had already pushed to the limits of this era.
But as the army continued to march forward.
Various issues emerged one after another within the army.
Injuries and illnesses were unavoidable.
Prolonged marches inevitably cause injuries and illnesses, which is an inherent part of expeditions. Gu Yi could only prevent the situation from worsening.
October;
The army approached Lingnan, and the unusual environment eventually led to illness.
Gu Yi immediately imposed quarantine at the first sign.
In addition, Gu Yi took out three "Anti-Miasma Pills" and dissolved one in water for the soldiers to consume.
Although he wasn’t sure if the pill would still be effective after such dilution.
After all, the Anti-Miasma Pill was just an ordinary item.
But regardless, he had to try.
As for the remaining two pills.
He needed to keep them.
One was reserved for Gu Ye, and the other for Wen Yang and other generals.
This was a choice he was forced to make.
Gu Yi could only do his best to minimize the casualties caused by this.
As for the casualties of the central and western troops, they were bound to be higher.
Although Gu Yi had imparted some basic knowledge to the leaders of these troops, it was inevitable.
The news spread continuously.
An offensive of this scale had naturally already been widely known.
Both the Great Han and the Gu Clan would cause great apprehension among the Shanyue.
Facing the advancing Han Army.
The Shanyue tribes immediately sent envoys seeking to meet with Gu Ye.
After all, for them.
The policy between the Great Han and the Shanyue had been in place for so many years.
They did not understand why Gu Ye suddenly wanted to mobilize troops.
...
"I say it again!"
"Your only option is to surrender completely and respect the laws of the Great Han, or else face the wrath of the Great Han’s heavenly forces!"
In the main tent.
Looking at the envoys sent by various tribes in front of him, Gu Yi, through Gu Ye, spoke coldly.
"Grand General....."
All the envoys looked extremely distressed, completely unprepared for Gu Ye’s resolute stance.
"Our tribes have maintained good relations with the Great Han for a hundred years... never having caused trouble."
"Why does the Grand General treat us this way? Is this the etiquette of the Great Han?"
The crowd spoke one after another.
Emphasizing their tribes’ longstanding good relations with the Great Han.
Facing the powerful Han Army, no one wished for immediate conflict. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
But how could they completely integrate into the Great Han?
These envoys were well-versed in the culture of the Great Han.
They aimed to bind Gu Ye with the etiquette of the Great Han.
Such tactics might work on others, but how could they affect Gu Yi?
He couldn’t be bothered to argue.
Nor did he bother to provide examples of when these tribes had betrayed the Great Han, simply waving them away to be escorted out.
This battle was destined to be unavoidable.
Faced with the formidable Gu Ye.
The Shanyue once again formed a coalition as they had in the past.
They could not surrender.
The events at the Northern Border, though long past, were no longer a secret even now in Lingnan.
It can be said —
If they truly surrendered to the Han Army, those impacted would be the actual rulers of these tribes.
As long as they were present, peace couldn’t be achieved.
And for them,
They didn’t believe the Han Army would remain in a place like Lingnan for long, even if they lost this battle, the Han Army would, as before, leave directly.
So, what did they have to fear?
The entire Shanyue coalition quickly set up defenses at the southern section of the ancient Mei Pass route.
This was one of the gateways for the Han Army to step into the northern parts of Lingnan.
Though the Shanyue lagged behind the Great Han overall,
years of interaction had given them insights into some of the Han Army’s strategies.
The most crucial point was — they were well-versed in the local terrain.
The Han Army indeed needed to break through the Mei Pass route.
Their guess was correct, but they failed to account for the presence of Gu Han.
Gu Yi didn’t rely on Gu Han to provide much assistance on this expedition.
To him.
Gu Han has already done enough.
He maintained the habits of the Gu Clan’s descendants, sending the topographic maps of Lingnan back to Gu Yi.
Having this is sufficient!
In the eighteenth year of Qianji, November.
Gu Yi officially launched the assault on the ancient Mei Pass.
He ordered Wen Yang to lead as the vanguard to attack the city head-on, to attract the attention of the defenders.
While secretly dispatching a clever force.
Carrying grappling hooks, they circled around to the rear of the Shanyue camps along a woodcutter’s trail, creating chaos.
In this battle, Gu Yi had to be decisive.
Just like the earlier war in the Northern Border, he wanted to decide the outcome in one battle.
The Gu Clan still held prestige among the Shanyue.
As long as he could crush these people’s spirit of resistance to the point of collapse, he could completely control the entire Lingnan in a short time.
As for dragging it out.
That would be absolute self-exhaustion for the Han Army.
The resistance of the Shanyue is very tribal in nature.
Facing the attack of Wen Yang, after resisting a few waves, they thoroughly realized Wen Yang’s bravery.
Knowing they could not clash with him head-on.
Then they immediately utilized the local features, using bees bred within the tribe to disrupt the Han Army while resisting.
This was indeed an unforeseen tactic for Gu Yi.
When dense swarms of bees emerged from the hives, even Wen Yang struggled to exert his power.
The dense swarms of bees would always find the flaws in the rattan armor.
Gu Yi immediately came up with a countermeasure.
He had the soldiers light fires and create smoke to drive away the bees, continually tightening the encirclement to create opportunities for the raiding force.
The methods of these tribes were indeed strange and varied.
For the time, perhaps unsolvable, and equally perplexing.
A slight carelessness could lead one to believe they could control wild beasts.
But these tactics posed no threat to the overall situation for Gu Yi, who possessed modern knowledge.
As for the morale of the Han Army?
Gu Ye was present.
How could the morale of the Han Army waver?
This battle was destined to be utterly desperate for the Shanyue tribes.
Their various methods were entirely ineffective against the Han Army; due to the technological lag, neither their weapons nor arrows could penetrate the rattan armor.
The casualties caused were even less than the soldiers who died from disease.
In the nineteenth year of Qianji, January.
A great fire completely drew the Meiguan Ancient Road conflict to a close.
The Han Army officially broke through the gateway to Lingnan.
Advancing into Lingnan.
Simultaneously, the central army also encountered the enemy.
Both sides began a great battle at Qinti Huazui.
The Shanyue tribes released poisonous herbs into Lingqu, attempting to cause internal collapse in the Han Army.
But fortunately, Gu Yi had previously taught the soldiers filtering methods, including boiling water and such.
Though this method couldn’t thoroughly filter out all toxins.
But don’t forget, the Han Army had its own means.
Upon discovering an issue with the drinking water, the Han Army, on top of a series of basics, added alum to remove impurities.
Under these combined measures—
The originally non-lethal toxins were rendered completely ineffective.
When this method lost its effect.
The advantages of the Han Army were entirely evident, though the Han Army still couldn’t solve the drawbacks posed by environmental factors.
But what does that matter?
The overall strength of the Great Han far exceeded the Shanyue!
This was a disadvantage the Shanyue could not overcome.
In March;
The western army ambushed at Chenxi E Tan.
Facing the endlessly advancing Han Army, the entire Southern Border was shaken.
Since the time of the Great Han Emperor Xiaowu, the Southern Border welcomed its conqueror once again.
And this time—
More determined than ever compared to the past!
Gu Yi was not pursuing fleeting achievements; he wanted to completely integrate Lingnan into Kyushu!
At least it shouldn’t be as out of place with Kyushu as it is now!...
——————
"The Yan Han Dynasty is one of the most fascinating dynasties in our country’s feudal history.
Not only due to its unique political features, where figures like the Ten Directions Conquest Envoy could walk alongside imperial power, including the formation of the imperial examination system.
But also because of its ethnic integration policies implemented during the Qianji era.
This move completely reversed the long-standing antagonism between the Han and other ethnic groups in our country, laying a sufficient foundation for our national unity and development.
Undoubtedly—
Looking at all the later dynasties, one can see traces of the Yan Han system.
The consolidation of the Northern Border and Lingnan also completely demonstrated that the overall strength of Yan Han surpassed all previous dynasties."
——"The Rise and Fall of the Yan Han Dynasty"
