Chapter 609: Chapter 283: Initial Governance in Qianzhong

Right when Li Xiong was in high spirits in the Kunhai region, news of the battle in the Yingsheng region in the south of Dali also came back.

Since May of this year, Su Country and Song Country had launched a joint attack on Yingsheng City from the east and south, resulting in numerous battles in this area.

At the beginning, the two countries’ armies were sharp and successfully captured more than ten cities around Yingsheng City, reaching the city itself.

However, with the arrival of Dali reinforcements, the offensive of the two countries was halted.

In the Dali army, there were two Inborn Grandmasters, King Pingchuan and the Divine Palace Great Witch Priest, both of whom had remarkable strength. They easily blocked Su Xuange and Xie Ning.

This caused the tactic of using Inborn Grandmasters as the spearhead to break the city to fail.

After several battles between the Grandmasters, Su Xuange and his companions couldn’t gain any advantage over the two Inborn Grandmasters from Dali. They even suffered serious injuries in several desperate fights, nearly threatening their lives.

After several probing battles, both sides realized that neither could gain an advantage in terms of top-level Inborn Grandmaster strength.

Therefore, under mutual fear, both sides tacitly stopped attacking each other and began to focus on their lower-level soldiers, seeking victory through military tactics and formations.

As a result, the battles between the soldiers of the two camps suddenly intensified.

However, in terms of soldiers, Dali maintained 50,000 elite troops, and now they had mobilized 30,000 more elite troops from various vassals within the country. So, there were about 80,000 elite soldiers in the Dali army.

This scale of elite troops was no less than the combined forces of Su Country and Song Country.

Moreover, considering the additional 220,000 hastily recruited militia, Dali had a numerical advantage over the other two countries.

After several big battles, both sides had suffered heavy casualties.

Su Country had lost more than 30,000 of its 100,000 troops, including about 10,000 elite soldiers. Song Country also lost more than 10,000 of its 50,000 troops, all of which were elite combat soldiers.

On the other hand, Dali’s losses were of a similar scale, if not slightly more than the other two countries.

However, Dali’s national strength was profound; losing 50,000 to 60,000 people out of their 300,000-strong army was bearable and sustainable.

On the Su-Song side, they had only 150,000 troops combined, and their loss of 50,000 soldiers was a third of their total forces, which was a huge setback.

It was at this time that news of riots breaking out among the local Yi people in the Heichi region and Tong Hai Country came from the territories occupied by the two countries. Several cities had already been conquered by the rioting Yi people.

Especially in Tong Hai Country, the riot was very serious, with about 100,000 Yi people reportedly taking up arms to resist Su Country’s rule.

Considering the small country’s population of less than 500,000, the fact that more than 100,000 Yi people had risen up meant that almost every able-bodied man in the country had joined the rebellion.

The reason for such an unprecedented feat was naturally linked to Su Country’s old practice – wanton levies and expropriation.

Yes, it was indeed wanton levies and expropriation.

The story goes back to last year.

After imposing heavy taxes within the country, which led to a nationwide rebellion, Su Country ultimately suppressed the uprising, but at the cost of ruining its domestic economy and causing its complete collapse.

Therefore, the main objective of Su Xuange’s campaign in the southwestern Yi regions was not to expand territory, but to find new sources of wealth for the country.

With this objective in mind, once the Su army arrived in Tong Hai Country, the destitute troops inevitably resorted to plundering everything they could get their hands on – food, money, women, everything was taken away.

Anyone who dared to resist was killed without exception.

Under such brutal measures, the Yi people of Tong Hai Country could no longer tolerate it.

They were already resentful of being ruled by foreigners, and now that these foreign rulers were so brutal, it would be strange for the Yi people of Tong Hai not to rebel.

So, once the rebellion broke out in this country, it spread nationwide.

All the Yi people in the country had suffered at the hands of the Su army, and everyone had a grudge against them.

Now that someone had taken the lead in rebelling, it was natural that countless others would follow suit.

Also, with Dali encouraging the rebellion from behind the scenes, a nationwide uprising was only natural.

With heavy losses on their frontlines and instability in their rear, Su Country and Song Country could no longer continue the battle.

So, in September, both countries each left part of their troops to cover their retreat and swiftly withdrew their main forces to the Heichi and Tong Hai regions to suppress the rebellion.

At the same time, both countries sent messages back home to mobilize more troops and prepare for another expedition against Dali.

Although Dali succeeded in this battle, more than half of its territory, including that of its vassal states, was affected by the war, resulting in significant damage to production. Furthermore, due to the large-scale conscription of local militia, this year’s spring plowing and summer planting were delayed, causing a food shortage within the country.

As a result, Dali was forced to give up on continuing to reclaim the Heichi and Tong Hai regions after attempting to dispatch troops but ultimately being met with fierce resistance.

Instead, Dali turned its attention to domestic affairs. They focused on restoring agriculture and stockpiling food, equipment, and weapons while preparing for the next round of battles in the new year.

Therefore, by the beginning of October, the battles in the Dali region gradually subsided as the end of the year approached and winter set in.