During the banquet, the captured high-ranking officials were also brought before everyone.
Seeing the high-ranking official bound hand and foot, Zhuge Liang then approached Liu Wen and whispered a few words in his ear.
Liu Wen nodded, then looked at the high-ranking official with a friendly expression: "Untie him, then bring over some wine and meat!"
"yes!"
The two soldiers agreed and immediately stepped forward to untie the ropes binding Gao Gan.
"You're not going to kill me?"
Freed from his restraints, the high-ranking official looked at Liu Wen with a puzzled expression.
Upon hearing his subordinate's translation, Liu Wen smiled and asked, "Why would I kill you?"
"In our tribe, the victor always kills the prisoners to demonstrate their strength..."
"That's you!" Liu Wen glanced at Gao Gan. "Our Great Han would never use such methods to demonstrate our military might. We only kill those who offend us!"
Upon hearing this, the high-ranking official's heart stirred, and his gaze toward Liu Wen changed slightly.
These tribes actually had no major conflicts with the Han Dynasty. It was just that in the past, some tribes that had submitted to the Han Dynasty had robbed them a few times in order to obtain more gems and spices, which they believed was all instigated by the Han Dynasty.
Now, the Han Dynasty suddenly wants to come and divide up their territory, which they believe is the Han Dynasty's intention to completely annex them, so they raise an army to resist.
Of course, the instigation of the erotic troupe was also indispensable in this process.
A few years ago, a group of burly Han merchants, carrying grain and supplies, came to the Segen tribe to trade. However, the leader of the Segen tribe, seeing the wealth, robbed the supplies and killed the Han merchants as well.
Therefore, upon learning that the Han Dynasty had sent people, the guilty leader of the Segen tribe began to spread rumors and use sweet words and deception to persuade the tribes to resist the Han emperor's edict of investiture.
Of course, Gao Gan was unaware of these circumstances. He simply thought Liu Wen was a very good person, being kind to him despite being a prince of the Han Dynasty.
Before long, two soldiers brought wine and meat to the high-ranking official.
The starving high-ranking official, upon seeing the steaming meat, didn't hesitate and grabbed it, stuffing it into his mouth.
Seeing the high-ranking official's eating manners, Liu Wen chuckled, "You seem to be a very generous person. May I ask which tribe you belong to?"
"Um... my name is Gao Gan... I'm the leader of the Gao Lin tribe!"
"Gao Linbu..."
Liu Wen murmured something and turned to look at Cao Pi beside him.
Seeing this, Cao Pi stepped forward and whispered, "Your Highness, the Gaolin tribe is about 240 li away from here, with a population of about 10,000. They have no grudges against our Han Dynasty!"
Liu Wen nodded, then looked at Gao Gan: "I think you are an honest person. Your tribe has no conflict with my Han Dynasty. You are just being misled by the Segeng tribe."
"Today I will let you go back, so that your people may come and surrender, thus avoiding great calamity!"
"You...you're going to let me go back?"
Upon hearing the translator's words, the high-ranking official, who was enjoying his meal, stopped and looked at Liu Wen with disbelief, as if he doubted that he had misheard.
"What? Don't you want to go back?" Liu Wen asked with a smile.
"I am willing... Thank you so much, Your Highness!"
The high-ranking official nodded hastily, then kowtowed deeply to Liu Wen.
Subsequently, at Liu Wen's signal, Gao Gan also led his captured subordinates away from the camp.
"Your Highness, what if he returns and refuses to surrender, continuing to oppose our army? That would be a real problem!"
Watching the departing figure of the high-ranking official, Taishi Ci said with a puzzled expression.
Liu Wen smiled and waved his hand: "Ziyi is worried. Even if he refuses to surrender, he won't oppose our army anymore. We might even be able to use him to dismantle the alliance of those tribes!"
Cao Pi, who was standing nearby, stepped forward and explained with a smile: "Brother Ziyi, you are only concerned with fighting, but you have overlooked people's petty thoughts."
The Nasegen tribe and other tribes will surely be suspicious of the high-ranking officials who have been released by our army. They will not only dare not use them again, but may even become wary of them in the future.
This will inevitably create discord among them, so how can they possibly continue to fight our army with all their might?
"I see……"
After hearing Cao Pi's explanation, Taishi Ci suddenly understood.
...
Two days later, Gao Gan led his remaining troops back to the Segeng tribe's base.
The leader of the Segen tribe, who had already learned of Gao Gan's capture, was greatly surprised to see that Gao Gan was not only unharmed but had also brought back his captured subordinates.
The leader of the slug gang immediately stepped forward and asked with concern, "High-ranking official, how did you escape?"
Gao Gan gave a bitter smile: "It was the Third Prince who let me come back. He said that the Han army had no intention of annexing us, but only wanted to help us, and asked me to persuade my people to surrender!"
The leader of the stags sneered, "How could the Han people be so kind? They've traveled thousands of miles to come here just to help us? I don't believe such nonsense even if you beat me to death! Don't fall for it!"
"I knew that, so as soon as they released me, I rushed back!"
The high-ranking official nodded, but as he recalled Liu Wen's kind and gentle face, he was still somewhat unsure.
"The high-ranking officers have returned exhausted. They should rest at the rear of the camp first. We'll take care of the rest of the battle!"
Seeing that Gao Gan seemed distracted, the leader of the sluts couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.
After arranging a place for Gao Gan in the rear, the leader of the Segeng tribe summoned the other tribal leaders together again and told them about Gao Gan's return.
"The Han army's sudden release of Gao Gan must be a trap; we must be careful!"
"Yes, maybe Gao Gan has already been bribed by the Han army and is ready to cooperate from within and without at any time?"
"If all else fails, let's wipe out his Gaolin tribe first!"
Upon hearing of the high-ranking official's return, the group of leaders were also filled with doubt.
Hearing what everyone said, the leader of the Segen tribe said in a deep voice: "In this battle, we suffered a setback in our first battle. Those small tribes that were watching from the sidelines are probably even less likely to come over. Now that we are outnumbered, it would be inappropriate for us to clash with the Gaolin tribe."
In my opinion, it would be better to first arrange for someone to secretly monitor them.
The rest of the men dispersed into the jungle to set traps and lay ambushes.
Anyway, the jungle is our territory. We'll fight the Han army for as long as they come..."
"Okay, let's do it this way!"
Upon hearing the suggestion from the leader of the Segen tribe, everyone nodded in agreement.
Soon, the group had gathered 30,000 men. After leaving 5,000 men to guard the area, the remaining 20,000 men were all deployed along the Han army's route and began to work.
Just as the leaders of the Segen tribe were making tense arrangements, Liu Wen led his army to a river a hundred miles away from the Segen tribe.
Looking at the dense jungle ahead, Liu Wen immediately ordered the camp to be set up and commanded 50,000 soldiers to take turns cutting down trees and clearing weeds, preparing to open up a road in the most rudimentary way.
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