After the tribal leaders left, Liu Wen gathered his followers together to discuss what was to come.
This campaign against those tribes that refused to submit to the king's rule is not only their first battle, but also a battle to establish their authority. Whether they can establish themselves here in the future depends entirely on this campaign.
Before a simple map, everyone looked at the locations of the various tribes marked on the map, and each person was seriously considering all possible plans to make this expedition perfect.
The most perplexing issue for everyone right now is that there are far more tribes unwilling to submit than Liu Zhong and his group.
Once I send troops, these tribes will inevitably unite, and the navy stationed here, as well as the accompanying Imperial Guards, are not good at mountain warfare.
It would be difficult to succeed in relying on Liu Zhong and the other twenty-four tribes to conquer the remaining seventy-odd tribes.
Cao Pi, standing at the forefront, looked at the tribes scattered on the map, which resembled the Hundred Schools of Thought vying for supremacy during the Spring and Autumn Period. His eyes lit up, and he came up with a good idea.
"Your Highness, I have come up with a strategy to divide and conquer, which may break the alliance of those tribes and allow our army to defeat them one by one!"
"Oh? Tell me about it!"
Liu Wen looked at Cao Pi. He knew that this guy might not be good at strategy, but when it came to politics, he was in no way inferior to his father, Cao Cao.
Cao Pi nodded, walked to the map, and said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, these places are about the same size as Jingzhou, but so many tribes lived together. It is evident that they fought each other quite a bit in the past, and there must have been some hatred between them."
Therefore, I believe that although they have united because of the threat from our army, the divide between them still exists.
Therefore, I believe that Your Highness might select some tribes that have had contact with the Han Dynasty, send people there in a grand manner, offer them generous rewards, and persuade them to surrender..."
Hearing this, Liu Wen frowned: "Since the other party has not come to accept the title, they must be unwilling to submit. A generous reward alone is probably not enough to make them surrender."
Cao Pi smiled slightly: "Your Highness, this is just a superficial action. My real intention is to create discord among those united tribes so that they cannot unite to resist."
Ultimately, the plan isn't complicated; it simply targets the weaknesses of human nature.
"Oh?" Liu Wen raised an eyebrow: "Then tell me your plan in detail!"
"Yes!" Cao Pi cleared his throat, then said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, those tribes that have had contact with our Han Dynasty but have not come to receive titles are mostly small and medium-sized tribes."
The reason they resisted our army together this time was either because they were coerced by some large tribes or because they received favors from large tribes.
Therefore, even if they cannot surrender, you can have someone tell them that as long as they remain inactive and do not oppose our Han Dynasty, we will not pursue their offenses any further…”
"Isn't this enough?" Yang Hao, Yang Biao's second son, asked with some confusion.
"Of course not!" Cao Pi's lips curled into a smile. "No matter what, words alone are not enough. Our army must also take action. As for how to take action, you may all guess..."
At this point, Cao Pi looked at everyone in the hall with a smug expression.
In Cao Pi's mind, his father was one of the emperor's most trusted confidants, and he naturally had to rely on his own abilities to become the third prince's confidant as well.
Therefore, Cao Pi posed this question, hoping that if no one could answer it correctly or well, then he would be the undisputed chief advisor under the Third Prince.
Everyone naturally noticed Cao Pi's ulterior motives. Although they were somewhat annoyed, they did not show it and all began to ponder.
Seeing this, Zhuge Liang immediately said, "These small and medium-sized tribes are not as numerous and difficult to relocate as those large tribes, so they are the most difficult to deal with. Once they are defeated, they can scatter and flee, or even relocate as a whole tribe."
Therefore, the first thing our army needs to do is to reassure them and let them know that our army has no intention of dealing with them.
Therefore, when our army attacks, it can bypass those small and medium-sized tribes and only attack those large tribes.
In this way, not only can the small and medium-sized tribes believe in the sincerity of our army, but the large tribes will also become suspicious of us and dare not place too much hope in us.
Without the harassment from those small and medium-sized tribes, our army can concentrate on dealing with those large tribes..."
At the end, Zhuge Liang paused for a moment, then looked at Cao Pi with a smile: "Young Master Cao, I wonder if what I have said is correct or not?"
"right!"
Despite feeling humiliated, Cao Pi nodded, his eyes darting around before he turned to Liu Wen and said respectfully, "Your Highness, what Vice Envoy Zhuge said is indeed what I thought!"
Seeing that Cao Pi had regained face without batting an eye, Zhuge Liang simply smiled and said nothing more.
His purpose in coming here is merely to assist the Third Prince in stabilizing the area. Once the matter is settled, he will return to the Han Dynasty. Cao Pi and the others will likely remain here, so there is no need for him to compete with them.
"Excellent! Excellent! This plan is indeed brilliant!"
Upon hearing Cao Pi's plan, Liu Wen couldn't help but applaud it.
Then, Liu Wen looked at Cao Pi with a smile: "Since this plan was your idea, how about you also take charge of the negotiations?"
"Well... Your Highness, I'm just offering suggestions. I'm not good with words, and I'm afraid going there would only jeopardize things!"
Cao Pi waved his hand awkwardly, not daring to accept the task.
After all, those indigenous tribes are a bunch of barbaric guys. If I go there and say something wrong, they might just kill me on the spot.
"A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall!" Remembering his grandfather's advice, Cao Pi naturally kept it in mind and refused to put himself in danger.
"You bastard!"
Liu Wen shook his head helplessly and looked at the rest of his followers.
"Your Highness, my name is Chu Han, and I am willing to go!"
Sensing Liu Wen's gaze, a young man with a resolute face stepped forward.
This man was Chu Qian's nephew. He had grown up listening to stories of his uncle since childhood, and naturally longed to become a Han envoy who would be remembered in history, just like Chu Qian.
"Alright, if we succeed this time, I'll credit you with the greatest contribution!"
Seeing Chu Han step forward, Liu Wen nodded in satisfaction and promised to take the credit.
Chu Han said solemnly, "Thank you, Your Highness. I will certainly not fail in my mission!"
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