The two groups of Zhang Yao and Ma Hui were recruited, which was another bloodless victory after the imperial army advanced southward and captured Meiguan. As these two forces were pulled out, the northern part of Lingnan was no longer a threat to the imperial army, and several weak forces in the northern part also surrendered one after another.

Liu Yu suddenly acquired more than 10,000 troops. Although more than 10,000 troops were backward in weapons, he had rich experience in combat in the south and had his own military rations and material reserves. Liu Yu did not need to worry about their supply issues. It can be said that he was a group of troops who did not need to be used for nothing.

As a result, the imperial army controlled more than a dozen cities in the northern part of Lingnan within less than half a month, and imposed an oppression on the forces in the central part.

For several consecutive days, the forces in the central region began to form alliances to fight against the further southward invasion of the court army, but some forces also conveyed information to Meiguan to express their willingness to surrender to the court. In the past two years, the Shun Dynasty army will win every battle in the south and the north, which has made the Lingnan forces, especially those small forces, feel difficult to meet their fronts. At this time, the imperial army quickly controlled the north and south of the Lingnan region, making them even more afraid.

Liu Yu was not in a hurry to send troops south. First, several forces in central Lingnan were relatively large, with many troops, and several solid cities as their backing. The central Lingnan region was already bordering ethnic minority areas, and this part of the terrain was relatively complex and there were many mountains and forests. Northern soldiers who were used to fighting in open plains were particularly unsuitable for fighting in this environment.

More importantly, Liu Yu couldn't afford to fight or consume it, and there was still no money or supplies that bother him.

It is too troublesome to advance bit by bit. If you can directly reach the old nest, it is most in line with Liu Yu's character and the current situation. However, Lingnan has many forces, and no place is considered a "old nest", which makes Liu Yu quite anxious about his current occupation. If the materials are consumed, it will only take another two months to eat up. It is simply a fantasy to get rid of nearly twenty small countries of different sizes within two months.

Normal means will definitely not be solved.

At this moment, Liu Yu received a war report from the south. It was said that some ethnic minority armed forces took advantage of the opportunity when local forces were about to exchange fire with the imperial army, and they took the lead in attacking, snatching territory and scrambling supplies. Because some dry rice in the south will mature in late June, and this is exactly the time when the southern grain is in short supply. The most large-scale local conflicts launched by ethnic minorities are also an opportunity for the imperial army to quell the southern incident, but Liu Yu did not seem to have planned to make use of it.

It’s not that Liu Yu doesn’t want to use it, it’s not easy to use it.

Because he had no communication with the southern ethnic minorities, and the armed forces of the ethnic minorities were relatively scattered, the conflicts were of different sizes, and local forces could basically quell the situation. Perhaps Liu Yu learned that there was a conflict and sent troops to him today. When the conflict had ended halfway, he could only go home. Local forces could roughly distinguish which ethnic minority armed forces or the imperial army, which was more threatening to them. One was just to rob their supplies, and the other was to directly wipe them out. They could distinguish between the court army and the ethnic minority armed forces.

So under this background, in the first few days when the southern ethnic minorities and local military forces clashed, the court army was just waiting and watching. Liu Yu had always stayed in Meiguan under the pretext of recuperation. This time, Liu Yu did not appear on the front line of the war.

On May 14th, Liu Yu received a letter from Han Sheng from Chang'an City. In addition to reporting on the recent situation in Chang'an City and informing the court of summer grain collection, Han Sheng also tactfully advised Liu Yu not to force it. Liu Yu knew that Han Sheng was trying to persuade him to go back, and there was no need to fight for the southern affairs.

Liu Yu received the letter and calculated the number of summer grain provided by Han Sheng, and felt a little comforted. Although the court had levyed taxes on the local area for many years due to frequent wars in the north in the past two years, the court still had some surplus after the collection of summer grain. If all of them were transferred to fight this war, the replenishment of strategic materials could be extended for another month.

When Liu Yu mentioned this issue at the military meeting, Huo Bing said excitedly: "Why don't we fight quickly?"

Liu Yu smiled bitterly on his face and said, "Your proposal is very good, but tell me, how can I fight quickly?"

Huo Bing is just brave but not wise in his daily life. He is good at speaking in this moment. As for how to arrange the strategy carefully, he will be disgraceful.

Qi Fang said: "It really doesn't work. King Lin might as well go back to Jiankang City for the time being. The war can be delayed temporarily in the south. We have the city around Meiguan as the foundation, and it will take less than two years to calm Lingnan."

Liu Yu understood what Qi Fang meant. Qi Fang said that he would slow down the war and wait until the country became a little richer next year before fighting this war. The starting point was good, but Liu Yu couldn't deal with it. Although Liu Yu liked to be calm and seemed a little lazy on weekdays, he was not the kind of person who was just doing it. He also knew that the court still had internal and external troubles now, and the matter of King Su Zhe of Chu was already annoying him. If he could not pacify the south quickly, it would become a drag on him and he could not take into account both ends.

"I want to go back too." Liu Yu sighed, "But who can tell me where the King of Southern is now? Who can tell me, what if the south becomes the country after the withdrawal of troops? The imperial army is approaching, and local forces are still planning their own policies. If the imperial court withdraws its troops, they may no longer comply with the court's orders. This is a war that must be achieved when there is a beginning!"

Liu Yu expressed his determination to fight to the end for the first time at the military meeting, and also let the soldiers know his position. That is to say, if the south cannot be pacified, the court cannot withdraw its troops, and Liu Yu would stay in the south until the end of the war.

Liu Yu had his determination to pacify the south in one go, and the soldiers were also thinking of returning home after a long battle. The best way now is to quickly end the war, and the south is to pacify the soldiers, and the soldiers can also return to the north to reunite with their families.

In the past few days in mid-May, the Lingnan area was surrounded by rain and the humidity was very heavy. However, during these days, the imperial army still remained unmoved, and local military forces were also busy quelling the looting of ethnic minorities. Liu Yu analyzed through intelligence that the looting of ethnic minorities was a bit of a desperate mentality that I could not get you and could not catch you. If you could not grab supplies, you would simply destroy it. So the dry rice that was about to mature in one month was severely damaged.

Although the robbery of ethnic minority armed forces destroyed the food and grass reserves of the southern military forces, it seemed to have secretly helped Liu Yu, but Liu Yu did not appreciate it. The southern forces had sufficient food and grass reserves, and Liu Yu wanted to end the battle in a short time. The robbery of ethnic minority armed forces increased the winning rate of the court army after the war was delayed for a long time, and had little impact on the current situation.

Liu Yu thought that if he could contact the armed forces of ethnic minorities and work with them to remove the military forces in the south, and then the imperial court established local administrative agencies like "autonomous regions" or "protectorate" in the south to govern the south, it would be perfect.

When Liu Yu was having a headache because he had no way out, Liu Yu received another letter from the capital. This time the letter was sent from the intelligence system. Liu Yu was still shocked after receiving it because the letter was Liu Liniang. The letter was sent in early April and it only came to his hands a month and a half later.

"...If you are away, you will be at peace. Be careful when you return home. Take care of your health. When I succeed in the future, I will return early. If you have something to do with me, there will be Hu grass in the south. The body is the most important thing, remember..."

There are hundreds of words throughout the article, but it is mentioned many times that the person who reads the letter takes care of his health. Although the letter was nominally written by her husband to his wife far away in Chang'an City, Liu Yu could feel that the words in it seemed to be what he said to him. After he came to the south, he was in a state of being ill, which seemed to be something that Liu Liniang had foreseen. Liu Yuxin said, was it that the young doctor sent by Liu Liniang?

"Is this letter for the little woman?" When Liu Yu read the letter, Qu Ning was taking Liu Yu's pulse. Liu Yu knew it was Liu Liniang's letter, so he did not avoid Qu Ning. Qu Ning was curious and noticed that the content of the letter was written by a man to a woman. At this time, she was the only woman among the soldiers of Meiguan's army, so she had the idea that this letter was for her.

"Of course." Liu Yu smiled, "This is the letter your young master Liu wrote to you."

When Qu Ning heard this, he didn't bother to take Liu Yu's pulse. He immediately snatched the letter from Liu Yu's hand and read it carefully. He was still a little skeptical, but after carefully reading the word "for husband", he felt a little angry. Liu Yu was lying to her.

"Why should your highness take the little girl to have fun? If Mr. Liu wrote to the little girl, how could he speak in such a tone?"

Liu Yu took the letter back and smiled while reading it, "It's better if you don't believe it, what do you say... Mr. Liu couldn't help it. He didn't want people to know that the letter was written to you, so he concealed it in his words. Doctor Qu, what does this Nanyou Hucao mean?"

Qu Ning said in surprise: "Your Highness is looking for happiness with the little girl again?"

Liu Yu frowned and said, "What does it mean?"

"'There is a Hu grass in the south, called water chestnuts.' This is a famous sentence in "The Poem of Anya". Have you never heard of it?"

Liu Yu felt ashamed. He had never heard of "Shang'an'an's Poems" at all. It was thought that it was the work of a great poet in history. Unfortunately, he only knew that Li Bai and Du Fu did not know who "Shang'an" was.

"I am a little talented and knowledgeable, but you don't know. What does this Nan's Hu grass mean? "

"Water chestnuts are specialties in the south, and they can be eaten if they are used as medicine. At that time, Yuan Shang'an was sent to the south as an official. When he ate this water chestnut, he felt this feeling when he thought of his relatives at home, meaning that he hoped to bring this water chestnut back to his family in the north to taste. Later, this was a common sentence in a letter from his husband to his wife."

After listening to Qu Ning's explanation, Liu Yu realized that there was such an allusion in this "Nan You Hu Cao". Originally, Liu Liniang wrote a letter to her wife in Chang'an City using her husband as the tone. This sentence is correct. But she put it on the front "If there is something to me", then there must be a meaning.

"Where do water chestnuts come from?" Liu Yu immediately asked.

"Where is the specific place in the south? I have to ask the local people about it."
Chapter completed!