Great Wei Overlord

Chapter 990 An Elephant Is As Long As Your Trunk

Chapter 997 An Elephant Is As Long As Your Trunk
Ran Ming sometimes wondered if in the original time and space, Liu Laozhi, as Xie Xuan's subordinate, was suppressed by Xie Xuan, and in this time and space, Liu Laozhi was taking revenge on Xie Xuan?However, this time Xie Xuan did a good job, and Liu Laozhi did not hesitate to praise Xie Xuan.Liu Laozhi ordered the three armies to be rewarded, but on the third day when Liu Laozhi continued to march towards the goal, a group of unexpected guests came to Liu Laozhi's Chinese army camp.

This group was headed by Tha. Er. Ganesh, the elder of the Pandya tribe.Throughout the ages, things that cannot be resolved on the battlefield are often resolved through negotiations. As the gods of Liu Laozhi block the gods and the Buddhas block and destroy the Buddhas, this makes the Pandiya tribe very frightened. The marching route of the Ministry of Suo was clearly not heading towards the core area of ​​the Pandya Ministry, but heading towards the Chennai area. This made the elders of the Pandya Council of Elders think that these Wei troops were not looking for trouble for them. It might be a misunderstanding if the Wei army fought.

Therefore, the Pandya Ministry sent an envoy headed by Ta Er Ganash. This Ta Er Ganash is not only an elder of the Pan Diya Ministry, but also a learned scholar. He is not only proficient in Tamil , Sanskrit and more than a dozen languages, still proficient in mathematics, and still the pocketbook of the Pandya tribe.

Ta Er Ganash, wrapped in white linen, gave Liu Laozhi the most solemn prostration ceremony of the Gupta Empire, and explained to Liu Laozhi through the tongue that the Pandyans and Nayamalik were natural enemies. If Liu Laozhi wants to deal with Naya Malik, they can provide a lot of help.

Hearing this, Liu Laozhi's heart was moved. You must know that they are only 110 kilometers away from Chennai City. If it is such a distance in Wei State, it would take up to three days to march. Under the traffic conditions, Liu Laozhi's department walked for four and a half days, and it has not completed half of the planned journey, which is far below expectations.There is no way. In the Gupta Empire, especially in the southern Indian region, the traffic situation is no different from that of the wasteland. However, at this time, the Wei army relies heavily on logistics. , There are also a large number of ballista shells, rockets and crossbow bolts, crossbow guns, and maintenance parts for various equipment.

Although the Wei army at this time was very different from the armies of later generations, in this era, the Wei army's land transportation capabilities were also very weak and pitiful.A ballista ballista needs to be equipped with at least three vehicles for transporting shells. As for the fuel oil tank, it is even more pitiful. A vehicle filled with kerosene is only barely enough to support the consumption of the fuel oil tank for a quarter of an hour, while the rocket bombs The launch frequency is faster, and the nine-packed rockets can be launched in a dozen breaths. However, enough spare rockets and incendiary bombs can be transported, which will undoubtedly cause the Wei army's supply troops a headache.Especially the cheating road conditions made Liu Laozhi want to go crazy for a while.

Liu Laozhi is very fond of the elephants in the Pandya tribe. This kind of thing is extremely powerful. The things that a war elephant can transport can almost be compared with the heavy carriage of the Wei army. There is no way for a heavy transport carriage to go.Although the unicycle does not have high requirements on the road conditions, its carrying capacity is limited.If there are enough war elephants to open the way ahead, Liu Laozhi can not only reduce the logistical pressure, but also open up a new way for the army.Moreover, things like elephants are very alarmed, and it is obviously impossible for any ambush not to alarm them.

Liu Laozhi said: "Misunderstanding? I don't think that if you show your sincerity, we Wei Guo can establish friendship with your Pandiya Department!"

"Dear General, how can you trust the sincerity of the Pandya Department?"

"I need war elephants. Of course, the more you have, the more sincere you Pandiya will be. Give me a thousand war elephants, and an equal number of elephant slaves. Then your Pandiya will not only get the power of our Wei State Friendship, you can also get what you want, see if you see it, this is the rainbow brocade produced by our Wei country, only the nobles deserve it, this is our porcelain, this is our sword, everything is very precious! "Liu Laozhi was not a pure general in history, but a mixed military and political politician. It's just that Liu Laozhi's political methods in history were not directly proportional to his military acumen, and the result was very tragic.

Ta Er Ganash has seen the fighting power of the Wei army. The strongest ascetics in their tribe wanted to assassinate the generals of the Wei army, but these nearly a hundred masters were killed by the Wei army like chickens. The war elephants did not seem to cause any trouble to Wei Jun.As for the cavalry, in the eyes of Ta Er Ganash, it is even more a joke.He definitely couldn't defeat the Wei army, but it was too difficult to satisfy the Wei army's appetite. If there were a thousand war elephants in Pandiya, how could he humblely seek peace with Chennai?
You must know that they belong to the same Tamil family, but Pandya and Chennai have completely different treatment. The most prosperous and fertile land in Tamil Nadu is controlled by Malik of Chennai. Although their Pandya tribe occupies The territory is not small, but it is very poor. The territory of the tribe is either barren grassland, saline-alkali land or forest. The places suitable for growing food are limited, and the output is not high.

Ta Er Ganna said with a wry smile on his face: "Your Excellency General, you don't know that although our Pandya tribe is one of the larger tribes of the Tamil tribe, our tribe is very poor. Enough financial resources to support a thousand war elephants, it’s not that our Pandiya Department doesn’t want to gain Wei’s friendship, it’s just that we really don’t have that strength!”

Although Liu Laozhi has never trained a war elephant, he knows that an animal as big as a war elephant must have an amazing appetite.Although Wei Guo was not weak at this time, in fact, there were less than a million war horses in the country, and the cavalry accounted for only [-]% of the entire army.Doesn't Ran Ming want to increase the proportion of cavalry?It wasn't that Ran Ming didn't want to, but that he really couldn't afford it. Although war horses needed money, they couldn't eat money directly. Instead, they ate grass and needed artificial feeding and training.In the same way, a tribe must not have too many war elephants. After all, all the war elephants in the Gupta Empire add up to less than ten thousand.

Thinking of this, Liu Laozhi said: "Then how many war elephants can you produce at most?"

"Three hundred heads"

"No, at least [-] head." Liu Jianzhi said: "Our country of Wei treats friends very generously. You can go and inquire. People in Wei country are the most trustworthy. Of course, it doesn't matter if your Pandiya tribe doesn't have war elephants. , you can buy it from the tribes near you, we can pay for it, isn’t it for nothing?”

I'm afraid Ran Ming didn't expect that Wei's war elephant troops appeared like this. Unlike the Gupta Empire's use of war, Wei could use war elephants even more superbly.Wei Guo moved the weakened version of the eight-ox crossbow to the war elephant, and also moved the weakened version of the crossbow to the war elephant, which gave the war elephant a certain long-range attack capability.

Ta Er Ganna thought for a while and said: "Although our Pandya tribe can't get five hundred war elephants, we can buy them from other tribes, and we can get them together! However, we need the help of Wei Guo !"

Although the Pandiya tribe is just a tribe, they used to be a country on the South Asian subcontinent. They existed as early as the fourth century BC. Even the Mauryan Dynasty, one of the most powerful unified dynasties in Indian history, still did not annex Pandian. Dia.Pandya at the time seemed to be a matrilineal country.Ashoka's inscriptions also mention Pandya, noting that she was not under the Mauryan Empire.Classical writers before and after AD described Pandea as a wealthy merchant nation, largely dependent on sea routes; she is said to have sent envoys to the Roman emperor Octavian.

However, when the Gupta Empire rose, this country was wiped out, and it didn't even have a chance to become a state. Instead, it was directly placed under the jurisdiction of Tamil Nadu, and Tamil Nadu led by Naya Malik Debon is precisely the old enemy of the Pandyans.

Relying on the strength of the Pandyans alone, let alone getting rid of the rule of the Gupta Empire, they don't even have the strength to defeat Tamil Nadu.

However, the Pandiya people's heart of restoring the country has never died, so when they saw this powerful Wei army, especially the enemy of their old enemy, this gave the Pandiya people hope.During a long-winded introduction, Ta Er Ganna still said what he meant, and asked the people of Wei to help them restore their country. After their restoration, they will do business with Wei in all aspects.

Liu Laozhi smiled and said: "Elder Ta Er Ganna, you are a strong man. You ask too much. If you need gold or a small amount of weapons, these generals can make the decisions, but help you recover. Guo, it is very difficult for me to agree to this condition. Even if this general agrees, it will not be of any use. This general is just a loyal military general of Wei State. He ranks in the third rank of military rank. Although this general is also a third rank military general, he is not the governor of one side. , so this general has no power."

Liu Laozhi didn't understand these Pandyan people very much. Their country had just perished for more than 20 years, and the Gupta Empire's vigilance towards them had not disappeared at this time. The banner, the Gupta Empire will definitely get rid of it and then quickly.You must know that there is no possibility of compromise when the dynasty changes, unless one side completely disappears, a new balance will emerge.

Ta Er Ganna said: "Your Excellency, the Pandyans can lead the way for you, we can organize [-] warriors to help you attack Chennai City, and we can also find ways to provide you with [-] war elephants."

"It's impossible!" Liu Laozhi said: "Chennai City is our Great Wei, there is no doubt about it, you Pandiya people can't get involved, but if you want, you can go to attack everything except Jinnai. Anywhere outside of Nye."

"It's not good for both of us!" Ta Er Ganna said: "Although our Pandya is not very powerful, it won't be easy for you to wipe us out? If you We teamed up with Malik, even if we can't defeat you, we can still cause you a lot of trouble!"

"Are you threatening this general?" Liu Laozhi immediately drew out his sword when he heard the interpreter's translation, "You must think carefully when you say this!"

"Don't dare!" Ta Er Ganna said: "How dare I threaten Your Excellency General, this is just a kind gesture!"

"Huh!" Liu Laozhi ignored Ta Er Ganna, and said lightly: "Our China is a country of etiquette, and the two countries will not be beheaded if they fight each other. Elder Ta Er Ganna, please do as you please!" Well, without your guides, without your war elephants, we can still take down Chennai city."

This is not the time for Wei Guo to be tricky, just like wealth, if it is obtained through hard work, every penny will be cherished very much, but if a huge sum of money falls from the sky but is inherited, then it is not would care so much.If the Wei State needs to establish its prestige, it needs to defeat the Gupen people.Even if the Gupta Empire was defeated, they would not succumb if they adopted strategies or relied on external forces. Only when the upright soldiers completely defeated them from the frontal battlefield would they be able to understand the reality.

Liu Laozhi continued: "Our expedition to the Gupta Empire this time is not to destroy the Gupta Empire, but to punish the Gupta Empire for wantonly slaughtering the people of our Great Wei. Since the Gupta Empire dared to slaughter the people of our Great Wei, it is natural that we will bear General Wei's anger, since the Pandiya people want to restore the glory of their ancestors, Great Wei is naturally happy to see it, but your demands are too high. Whether it is me or the commander of the Great Wei Expeditionary Army, General Chen I don't have the right to agree to the conditions you put forward."

"It's not that we Pandyans don't know good and bad, but that we Pandyans have sacrificed countless warriors and finally found a clever plan to break through Chennai City. As long as Your Excellency the General is willing to help us, I can help you Break through the city of Chennai at the smallest cost." Ta Er Ganna said: "With the smallest investment, the greatest benefit can be obtained. I think there is no reason for your Excellency to refuse."

Liu Jianzhi said: "This general still has no right to help you restore the country, but I can submit a memorial to His Majesty the Great Wei Emperor and state the matter. If His Majesty the Emperor grants permission, then you Pandya will be supported by the Wei State. , if His Majesty does not allow it, then there is nothing the general can do!"

With Liu Laozhi's permission, Ta Er Ganna was overjoyed. He naturally knew that Liu Laozhi definitely had no authority to deal with military and state affairs, but if Liu Laozhi was fooling them, he would definitely satisfy their requirements one by one.But seeing that Liu Laozhi would rather offend him than explain the truth to them, Ta Er Ganna really believed Liu Laozhi.

The beginning of trade is competition, competition for raw materials, and competition for dumping places.Liu Laozhi's department was originally a surprise army, so he did not adopt any tough policies. If political means could be used to solve things, he used political consultation means to solve them.

Anyway, Xie Xuan, Liu Laozhi's subordinate, also inflicted heavy damage on the Pandiya department, allowing the Pandiya department to see the strength of Wei.After the Pandya Ministry chose to give in, Liu Laozhi also accepted it as soon as he saw it.Of course, because it is an army, Liu Laozhi's logistics troops did not bring any goods except for the necessary supplies.However, this did not prevent Xie Laozhi from conducting transactions with Pandya. In order to ensure the nutrition of the soldiers and take care of the eating habits of some soldiers, the Wei State produced a large number of canned food of various styles and tastes. The stuff is the same as the instant noodles of later generations. Although it can fill the stomach at critical moments, it will definitely not be delicious.Especially the luncheon meat, which was hated by the soldiers of Wei State, was made of beef in name, but in fact, the main raw material of this luncheon meat was starch, which was mixed with some butter and animal offal. When the people of Wei State were below the food and clothing line, these soldiers were very fond of canned luncheon meat in the army, but as the living standards of the people of Wei State improved greatly, these soldiers did not catch a cold for luncheon meat.Sometimes, those soldiers would rather eat salted fish than canned luncheon meat.

However, the luncheon meat, which the soldiers of the Wei State hated, is the rarest delicacy in the world in the eyes of the Pandiya people. A canned luncheon meat with a net weight of only one catty can actually get a big basket in Pandiya Fresh vegetables or a lamb.Even the cheaper canned fruits can be exchanged for a hundred times the amount of fresh fruits, which made Wei's heavy soldiers and the whole army very happy.As for fried noodles with lard, various nuts and salt, you can also eat a lot of food.

Of course, Liu Laozhi was more pleased with the war elephant deal. For Liu Laozhi, the treasure seized in the small town of Moludubang was a burden, so he happily replaced it with a war elephant.Although a small town is very poor and its wealth is very limited, there are many seizures in Banruo Temple. There are as many as 27 Buddha statues made of pure gold, and the lightest ones weigh eight or nine hundred catties. There are also tens of hundreds of Buddha statues, which are almost equivalent to 20 gold coins if converted into Wei Guo gold coins.Liu Laozhi is not a good man and a believer. All the Buddha statues are melted into gold or copper ingots, which facilitates Liu Laozhi's transaction.Moreover, Liu Laozhi knew better about Ran Ming's character, and he would not lose any money that should belong to him. When he returned to Wei State, Ran Ming would definitely reward him with a lot of money, or even more.

(End of this chapter)