Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 376 370. Weakened
"Brothers, withdraw!"

Seeing that the Han army had almost wiped out the Nanzhong Army, Dong Tu's troops did not even engage in a fight with the Han army. At Dong Tu's command, they retreated directly in the direction Meng Huo had fled.

It was very strange that both Guan Suo and the Han army under his command turned a blind eye to Dong Dana's departure, as if Dong Dana did not exist at all. They cleaned up the battlefield and reorganized their formation, preparing to meet up with Feng Xi.

"Grand Commander, as you ordered, he has been released."

Guan Suo was counting the casualties and reorganizing the troops. Not far away, Feng Xi also came over with his Shenwu Camp. Guan Suo and Bao Sanniang hurriedly saluted Feng Xi on their horses.

"Well, let him go and see what he chooses."

Feng Xi was not surprised by this, but Guan Suo was still a little hesitant. He didn't quite understand Feng Xi's behavior.

The Han army was out in full force this time, with many brave generals. Logically speaking, it should be easy to capture Meng Huo. Guan Suo didn't understand why Feng Xi went to such great lengths.

"General, I don't understand. Just now, I and Sanniang only needed to charge and capture Meng Huo. Why did we have to wait for that person to take action?"

After all, Guan Suo was still young and energetic, with surging hormones and a bad temper. He couldn't hold back his questions, so he asked Feng Xi his questions.

"Weizhi, Meng Huo is just a clown. It is easy to catch him or even kill him. The hard part is to deal with the aftermath. If we kill Meng Huo directly or capture him alive, his prestige as the King of Nanzhong will still be there. Even if he dies, he can serve as a spiritual symbol to inspire other Nanzhong people and let them fight against our Han army."

Feng Xi shook his head. It was easy to conquer a country, but difficult to keep it. If Meng Huo died directly, it would be counterproductive.

Think about it carefully, among the Baiyue and other people in the Central Plains cultural circle, how many of them rose up against the Central Plains dynasty and were easily crushed, but later became their national heroes?
For example, the sisters Zheng Ce and Zheng Er in Vietnam. A hundred years ago, in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, the Zheng sisters rebelled against the Han Dynasty, but were easily killed by General Ma Yuan, who was sent by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu. Their heads were sent to Luoyang. As a result, after being killed, the two were regarded as national heroes by the locals, and symbols of "daring to fight against tyranny", and were worshipped for a thousand years. This result is counterproductive.

Although Meng Huo is not worthy of such a high position now, if Meng Huo died now, the effect would be the same. It would only make Nanzhong more suspicious of the Han army. The beautiful visions that the Han army had previously told Yang Feng, Dong Tuna and others would become a joke.

What should be done? The answer is actually very simple, that is, to stigmatize Meng Huo and split the various tribes in Nanzhong. If Meng Huo is no longer the king of Nanzhong, or if everyone is independent, then Meng Huo's influence will be infinitely reduced.

The reason why Feng Xi was willing to give Dong Tuna a chance to prove himself was very simple, that is, to surrender. As long as Dong Tuna captured Meng Huo, Meng Huo's narrow-mindedness would definitely not be tolerated by Dong Tuna. With Yang Feng, wouldn't there be two opposing forces in Nanzhong?
In fact, what Feng Xi is doing is ultimately the same approach that the British Empire used to treat its colonies in later generations, which was extremely lacking in morality.

This is the case with the African chieftains uniting tribes and India. If the locals are united, then look for differences. Dialects, beliefs, culture, and even certain concepts, as long as there are flaws, can be divided by the wicked and smoking British.

Feng Xi had already achieved some of the essence of what he had done in Jiaozhou, and now he was going to replicate it in Nanzhong in another way. What Feng Xi had to do was to reduce the legitimacy of Meng Huo and minimize the impact of his death.

What is scary is not death. Throughout history, many people have died and their names are still remembered by countless people. What is scary is that people die, die as humble as dust, and no one can remember them. As the American writer David Eagleman said, humans have three deaths. Biological and social death are only the first and second. The real death is when no one remembers them.

If the same happened to Meng Huo, who died without any ripples and no one would remember him after his death, then Feng Xi's goal would have been achieved.

In order to achieve this goal, Feng Xi still needs some opposition in Nanzhong, such as Yang Feng and Dong Dana. This is why Feng Xi is willing to waste some time and give Dong Dana a chance to perform, because although doing so will be slower militarily, it will bring more advantages politically.

If Feng Xi really rushed forward to chop the melons and vegetables, the war against the Nanman would have ended long ago, but it would have left a mess. Can Nanzhong be good from now on? The Han army can't really kill all these people, right? By then, let alone the civilians, even the court will probably have people who oppose Feng Xi.

As for Dong Dana, it didn't matter whether he was really willing to surrender to the Han army as he said. For Feng Xi, it would just take a little more time. So Feng Xi was willing to give Dong Dana a chance, let him submit his pledge of allegiance, and then join the Han Dynasty.

"Just sort it out and continue the march. The rest will be taken care of by Bao Feng and Shi Zai when they come over."

Feng Xi did not reveal too much to Guan Suo. After all, Guan Suo was still young, and these things were not what he should consider, so there was no need for Feng Xi to say so much. He asked Guan Suo and Bao Sanniang to reorganize the troops, and then join forces with him to continue "pursuing" Dong Tuna.

"Your Majesty, Marshal Dongdana is back!"

Meng Huo and King Duosi fled like rabbits all the way to the bank of Lao River, where the Han army and the Nanzhong army once faced each other across the river. Before they had time to catch their breath, King Duosi, with his sharp eyes, saw that Dongdana's second cave soldiers caught up with them in almost no time.

Meng Huo looked around him. After a round of ambushes by the Han army, his people were now in a very miserable state. Apart from himself and King Duosi, there were only about a hundred soldiers following them, looking miserable.

After hearing what King Duosi said, Meng Huo looked over and saw smoke and dust rising from Dongtana's side. It was obvious that there were still more than 2,000 people in Dongtana. This made Meng Huo happy and worried.

He was naturally happy that he had so many people with him, so he was not completely without support. Even if more Han troops came after him, he would not be captured immediately.

What he was worried about was Dong Tuna's position. Meng Huo was suspicious and narrow-minded, and always suspected that Dong Tuna had betrayed him and had set up this trap with the Han army in order to gain his trust.

"Your Majesty, Marshal Dong Tuna is the only remaining general. Even if you have any ideas, you have to wait for Marshal Ah Huinan to arrive."

King Duosi, who was standing next to him, saw Meng Huo's changeable expression and probably guessed something, so he reminded Meng Huo in a low voice.

(End of this chapter)