Blitzkrieg

"Who are you people? How dare you barge into the Local Chieftain's Office? Don't you know this is rebellion?"

Faced with being surrounded on all sides, Zuo Long roared with a fierce expression but inward fear.

Xia Luqi flicked the blood off the tip of his spear, grinning to reveal a row of bright white teeth.

"Xia Luqi, Division Commander of the Nanzhou First Division. By order of Princess Roujia, I am here to apprehend the rebel Local Chieftain of Puer, Zuo Long, for the murder of an official."

"You... It's actually you... I... I didn't kill any official! I was merely capturing the culprit who raped my daughter!"

Xia Luqi's reputation preceded him; how could these Local Chieftains not have heard of him?

At this moment, Zuo Long had completely lost his composure, and he actually had the mind to try and reason with this murderous general.

"I'll let you explain yourself to Her Highness the Princess after I've taken you down. Kill them!"

Xia Luqi threw out those words and was the first to charge in.

Zuo Long's Personal Guards were few to begin with, and his tribal soldiers were scattered across several barracks and had not yet arrived. How could they possibly withstand the elites led by Xia Luqi?

The battle lasted less than fifteen minutes before Zuo Long obediently became a prisoner.

By the time the tribal soldiers from the other barracks reached the Local Chieftain's Office, all they saw was Zuo Long tied up and thrown on the ground.

One by one, they instantly lost the will to resist, dropping their weapons and kneeling to beg for surrender.

The battle had begun very suddenly and ended just as quickly. In about two hours total, Puer City had fallen into the hands of Gao Yuan.

Soon, after a careful search by Liu Lin and his men, the letters detailing the conspiracy between Zuo Long and Yang Zhao were discovered.

After reading the contents, Liu Lin couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.

"Fortunately, fortunately, County Duke Gao moved with divine speed, otherwise..."

Taking the secret letter handed over by Liu Lin, Gao Yuan couldn't understand a single word and could only helplessly toss it back.

"I can't read a single one of these messy characters. Just read it out loud to me."

"It was my oversight, my oversight."

Liu Lin slapped his forehead and smiled with a face full of flattery. After he finished smiling, he cleared his throat and began to read.

After hearing the contents of the secret letter, Gao Yuan also felt a lingering fear. It was a good thing he had struck first.

He knew Yang Zhao's strength; the man occupied Bo Prefecture, Jianchang, Dian Prefecture, and other places.

Not only did he have mines, but he also had over twenty thousand elite troops. His strength was not to be underestimated.

If Yang Zhao had taken the initiative, Gao Yuan was certain that fellow would have taken the opportunity to annex Puer.

But now, he was the one who had seized the initiative.

"Not bad, not bad. Now that we have the evidence, what else does Local Chieftain Zuo have to say?"

Zuo Long lay on the ground, his face ashen and his eyes revealing a hint of despair as he muttered unconsciously.

"It's heaven's will, it's all heaven's will, hahaha! Just you wait, Yang Zhao won't let you off!"

"Then don't you worry about that!"

Gao Yuan stood up and looked at Zuo Long with a face full of disdain.

"Bang Jie, follow the previous rules. Oh, and as for Zuo Long's daughter, since she was favored by Young Master Liu after all, leave her to Prefect Liu to handle."

Xia Luqi grabbed Zuo Long like a dead dog and went out with a savage grin.

Soon, screams and cries echoed from the courtyard!

A blank-eyed young woman was brought over by two soldiers and handed to Liu Lin.

This woman looked decent enough. Gao Yuan had no interest in her, but Liu Lin's gaze already showed resentment and greed.

Gao Yuan couldn't help but remind him.

"Prefect Liu, your son did favor her, after all. She might even be pregnant. Perhaps it's better to wait a bit..."

Unexpectedly, Liu Lin's response left Gao Yuan completely speechless.

"Impossible. When my son favored her that day, this wench just happened to have her period..."

"Holy crap, so he was a beast who fought through the blood!"

Originally, Gao Yuan had thought about keeping Liu Lin around, as he was at least a civil official with administrative abilities.

At this moment, he had completely lost all favorable impressions of Liu Lin. What kind of good person could raise a son like that?

"Prefect Liu, I intend to send you back to Luoyang..."

With his revenge taken, Liu Lin indeed did not want to stay in this godforsaken place any longer.

Hearing Gao Yuan's suggestion, his eyes darted around.

"Then I thank County Duke Gao."

As for later, Liu Lin returned to Luoyang and complained that Yang Zhao and Zuo Long had conspired to rebel and kill an official, which incensed the Emperor.

Zuo Long's daughter was tortured until she became delirious, yet Liu Lin still managed to get a son out of her.

All of that is a story for another time and won't be detailed here.

As for this side, of the five hundred Pacification Commissioners Office troops, over a hundred left with Liu Lin.

The rest settled down locally, married, and had children. Attracted by Gao Yuan's generous conditions, they were naturally unwilling to leave.

Regarding the tribal soldiers, after a process of voluntary withdrawal and survival of the fittest, over one thousand two hundred remained.

From these sixteen hundred plus men, Xia Luqi picked over three hundred to replenish the First Division, and the rest were all transferred to Dehong.

As for the local defense, they would wait for troops to be drawn from the three regions of Nanzhou to garrison the area.

Gao Yuan handed over the command of the nearly three thousand troops for the defense of Puer and Menge to Liu Rengui.

Because they had to wait for the replacement troops, Gao Yuan had to spend the New Year in Puer.

Yang Zhao, who had just finished a fine meal, received the news that Puer had changed hands.

Although according to Southwest customs, the New Year was not on this day, as they gradually accepted Sinicization...

The New Year and New Year's Eve had gradually become important traditional festivals for the people of the Southwest.

It was for this reason that Yang Zhao had decided to dispatch his troops after the New Year; he thought Liu Lin's reinforcements would also move after the New Year.

Who would have known that the situation would change so abruptly?

While he had eaten a fine meal, others had eaten a piece of fat meat—and it was the fat meat that was already at his own lips.

At this moment, an image even appeared in his mind: Gao Yuan standing before him with a loathsome face, wiping the grease from his mouth and saying cockily...

"Local Chieftain Yang, you're late!"

Bang!

Yang Zhao slammed the table and stood up. He suddenly remembered that the technology for this table seemed to have come from Gao Yuan's side as well, and his anger flared even more.

"Pass down the order for all departments to draw troops. I want to take Puer while Gao Yuan's footing is still unstable and avenge my good brother, Zuo Long."

"This..."

His subordinates hesitated for a moment before gathering the courage to speak.

"Chieftain, our troops are currently scattered in various places. Drawing troops and gathering grain and military supplies will likely take a month to complete..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear: by the time they were ready, the others would likely be ready as well.

As the head of the Yang Family of Bo Prefecture, although Yang Zhao was prone to impulsiveness, he was definitely no ordinary man.

Now, being reminded, he immediately reacted and began to hesitate.

Seeing this, an aide immediately advised.

"Your subordinate believes that Gao Yuan is surely feeling complacent now that he has seized Puer through a sneak attack;"

"Why doesn't the Family Head follow his example and also send troops to launch a sneak attack on Puer? It might achieve extraordinary results."

Yang Zhao looked at the man as if he were an idiot.

"Since Gao Yuan understands the principle of moving with divine speed, he certainly won't be without defenses."

"Family Head, your subordinate believes that although Gao Yuan gained Puer through a sneak attack, his losses must have been significant. Right now, before his reinforcements arrive, perhaps..."

"Yes, Family Head. We have elite troops stationed in Dian Prefecture right now. A full-speed march would get them there in five days. It's worth a try."

"If the Family Head gives the order, your subordinate is willing to send Personal Guards to assist."

Yang Zhao was already hesitating, and now seeing his subordinates offering suggestions one after another, the fire of anger rose within him again.

Most importantly, these Yang clansmen were all willing to provide troops and grain, so his worries about the future were gone.

Making a prompt decision, Yang Zhao ordered the three thousand troops stationed on the border of Bo Prefecture and Puer, along with a thousand temporarily assembled troops, to set out immediately and launch a raid on Puer City.

At this moment, in Puer City, the rotation of troops had not yet been completed, and Liu Rengui was still in Menge City waiting for the army to assemble.