Zhuge Liang's request for Meng Huo's assistance was related to a letter he had received earlier.

From the content of that letter, Zhuge Liang learned that Sun Quan would use his power to fund the rebellion in Nanzhong.

If calculated based on time, Sun Quan's funding will arrive in Nanzhong in the near future.

The letter did not specify how Sun Quan would fund the Nanzhong rebels, in terms of money, food, or both?

They even sent troops directly into Nanzhong.

Based on Zhuge Liang's understanding of Sun Quan, he believed that Sun Quan was probably a combination of all three.

After all, Sun Quan is different from Cao Pi. Cao Pi's sphere of influence is not bordering on Nanzhong, so he can only fund the Nanzhong rebels in name.

Although Sun Quan's main sphere of influence is in the Jiangdong area, everyone knows that Jiaozhou has also been included in his rule not long ago.

Jiaozhou borders Xangqi County in Nanzhong, especially Jiaozhi County, Shixie's base camp, is not far from Xangqi County.

If Sun Quan could persuade Shi Xie, then with Shi Xie's power that had been entrenched in Jiaozhou for many years, he would be able to mobilize an elite army to fight in Nanzhong.

This is what Zhuge Liang is most worried about right now.

Regarding this matter, Zhuge Liang had already had a countermeasure in mind, and this countermeasure was to divide his troops.

Currently, among the four counties in Nanzhong, only Yizhou County and Zanggao County have not yet been pacified.

Yizhou County is the most developed of the four counties in Nanzhong. Even if Yong Kai suffered heavy losses in today's war, it should not be underestimated.

After all, being hit hard means that Yong Kai will be more cautious in the next battle. If Yong Kai wants to fight in the field, Zhuge Liang is not afraid. What he is worried about is that Yong Kai is focused on defending the city and deliberately delaying time.

Because of this concern, Zhuge Liang was bound to lead the main force of the Han army all the way south to attack Yong Kai, without giving him any chance to breathe.

However, possible enemy reinforcements in Jiaozhou should not be underestimated.

Under this situation, dividing the troops was the best strategy for the Han army.

Zhuge Liang even thought about the candidate for the leader of other armies, and that person was Deng Ai, who had already made an outstanding performance.

But Deng Ai was not from Nanzhong after all, and the terrain of Nanzhong was very complicated, so Zhuge Liang thought of letting Meng Huo act as Deng Ai's guide.

In this way, Zhuge Liang can truly feel at ease.

After Meng Huo clearly showed his surrender, Zhuge Liang informed Meng Huo of his plan.

After Meng Huo learned that Zhuge Liang wanted him to serve as a guide for a Han army, Meng Huo naturally had no reason to refuse such a simple thing.

Seeing that Meng Huo agreed to the matter, Zhuge Liang asked the generals and Meng Huo to retreat, leaving Deng Ai alone.

After everyone left, Zhuge Liang told Deng Ai all his thoughts.

When Zhuge Liang asked Meng Huo to act as a guide just now, he did not clearly state in front of the generals that his move was to guard against Sun Quan.

So far, Sun Quan has been quite courteous to the Han on the surface. As Sun Quan has not made any clear rebellious move, Zhuge Liang does not want to rashly arouse hostility towards Jiangdong.

The Northern Expedition is imminent, and in the next few years, the Han Dynasty will still need Sun Quan's "surrender".

But the generals didn't know that Zhuge Liang thought that Deng Ai must know his inner worries.

Sure enough, after Zhuge Liang told Deng Ai his overall plan, Deng Ai immediately expressed his attitude to Zhuge Liang:

"The Prime Minister has a far-sighted vision, and Ai Yuan leads other troops to defeat the rebels in Zangda County."

Deng Ai knew that Mi Yang sent him south to assist Zhuge Liang in quelling the rebellion in Nanzhong as soon as possible. In this case, he would certainly not refuse in the face of Zhuge Liang's trust.

Seeing that Deng Ai accepted the task without hesitation, Zhuge Liang nodded slightly.

Although Deng Ai had shortcomings in personal ethics, he never backed down on important matters.

However, Zhuge Liang, who was cautious by nature, still told Deng Ai: "I can't allocate you too many troops and horses, you can only lead your own five thousand Liang troops.

And you also know that the Battle of Zangda was ostensibly to deal with Zhu Bao, but in fact it was to deal with enemies from Jiangdong.

There are many talents in Jiangdong, none of whom can be compared to Zhu Bao. You have to be more careful and don't be careless in the slightest."

Facing Zhuge Liang's instructions, Deng Ai bowed to him with a serious look on his face.

After giving instructions to Deng Ai, Zhuge Liang asked Deng Ai to retreat first.

His command will naturally be sent to Deng Ai soon.

After Deng Ai left, Zhuge Liang looked east and murmured:

"If it's not for the overall situation!"

Zhuge Liang did not say the second half of the sentence, but a hint of chill could be felt from his tone.

How could Zhuge Liang not feel disgusted with Jiangdong who had betrayed him several times?

...

In the first month of the third year of Emperor Zhangwu of the Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang led his army to Qiongdu County.

On that day, Zhuge Liang sent soldiers to report Gaoding's head to the whole county.

When the news of Gaoding's death was known to the counties in Yueqi County, they all changed their flags and returned to the embrace of the Han Dynasty.

The speed at which they change their flags is as fast as the speed at which they joined Haoding.

At the end of that month, after the territory of Yuexi County was re-integrated into the Han Dynasty, some ministers suggested that Zhuge Liang should liquidate the previously rebellious county magistrates.

In troubled times, killing to stop killing is a frequently used method of deterrence.

But in the face of this commonly used method of deterrence, Zhuge Liang did not adopt it.

It's not that Zhuge Liang doesn't have such a hard-hearted heart, it's just that as a political master, Zhuge Liang knows that Nanzhong is different from the northern counties of Yizhou, and high-pressure policies here will only cause endless backlash.

After Zhuge Liang rejected the suggestion of killing to stop killing, someone else suggested to Zhuge Liang that the army should be stationed and left behind.

Everyone knows that the rebellions in Yizhou County and Zangqi County have not yet been put down, and Zhuge Liang will definitely continue his southern expedition.

After Zhuge Liang led his army to leave Yueqi County, the local situation may fluctuate, so everyone believed that it was necessary to leave a certain number of troops in Yueqi County.

At least one trustworthy foreign general should be left behind.

This can be regarded as the consensus of the generals.

However, in the face of this consensus, Zhuge Liang had a different view:

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "If you keep outsiders, you should stay as soldiers. If soldiers stay, they will have nothing to eat, and nothing will be easy."

"If you add new injuries to the foreigners, the death of your father and brothers, and leave foreigners without soldiers, you will definitely become a disaster, and it will not be easy."

"Also, the barbarians are worried that they have committed the crime of rebellion. They are suspicious of the provocation. If they stay with outsiders, they will not believe them. This is not easy."

Zhuge Liang rejected the consensus of the generals with his three-not-easy view.

Zhuge Liang then made his arrangements: "I will appoint Li Hui as the governor of Yuexi and Lu Kai as the governor of Yongchang."

Li Hui's original official position was the governor of Yuejiang, but now Zhuge Liang gave him the additional position of governor of Yuexi.

Lu Kai, whose courtesy name was Jiping, was from Buwei County, Yongchang County.

Lu Kai first served as the Wuguan Gongcao of Yongchang County. When Yong Kai led his troops to rebel, both Yuexi and Zangda counties responded to his rebellion. Only Lu Kai was resolutely loyal to the Han Dynasty and closed the border to resist Yong Kai.

Lu Kai, together with the prince and his wife, led and encouraged the officials and people to close the four borders to resist Yong Kai. Such deeds were also spread to Zhuge Liang's ears after he captured Yueqi County.

For such a loyal minister, Zhuge Liang had no reason not to reward him.

Of course, the reason why Zhuge Liang promoted Lu Kai and asked Li Hui to concurrently serve as the governor of Yueqi was related to his policy of governing Nanzhong.

This political policy is "governing the south from the south."

Li Hui and Lu Kai were both from Nanzhong, and they already had a high reputation in Nanzhong.

Appointing these two people as the governors of the two counties in Nanzhong can stabilize the situation in Yueqi and Yongchang to a large extent, and can also prevent the two counties that have just been pacified from causing trouble.

After roughly arranging the government affairs of Yuexi and Yongchang counties, Zhuge Liang led the remaining more than 10,000 Han troops to continue marching towards Yizhou County.

Not long ago, Deng Ai and Meng Huo led 5,000 Liangzhou troops to march towards Xianggao County.

The division of troops was not only a practical need for Zhuge Liang to defend against Sun Quan, but also a manifestation of his psychological appeal to quickly put down the Nanzhong rebellion.

But whether his plan to divide his forces will allow him to achieve his wish depends on the further development of the situation in South China.

...

While the armies of Zhuge Liang and Deng Ai were heading towards their destinations, the Jiaozhou Army led by Shi Hui, Sun Huan, and Yu Fan arrived outside Qielan County in Xangda County one step ahead.

Qilan is the administrative seat of Xangqi County and the headquarters of Zhu Bao, the prefect of Xangqi.

After learning that Shixie had sent troops to support him, Zhu Bao happily led his army ten miles outside the county to meet him.

As the top leader of the East Gate of Nanzhong, Zhu Bao had a personal relationship with Shi Xie a long time ago.

Historically, during the Nanzhong Rebellion, Shi Xie had the effect of encouraging and guiding the rebellion behind the scenes.

Without the support of Shi Xie and Sun Quan behind him, Yong Kai would not have been so decisive in rebelling against the Han in history.

From this point, we can infer that the private contact between Shixie and Nanzhong not only started very early, but also reached a very deep level.

Shi Xie can be said to be a firm political ally of the powerful powers in South and Central China.

How could Zhu Bao not be happy when his political allies sent troops to support him?

Especially not long ago, he had learned the news of Gao Ding's death.
To be continued...