This article attempts to rebuild the military conflict route between the Wuling barbarians (武陵蠻) and the Eastern Han government as well as the military defense system in Wuling Prefecture (武陵) by utilizing bamboo manuscripts and local histories from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three kingdoms. According to this research, the main military conflict zone between the Wuling barbarians and the Eastern Han government was in the basin of the Yuan River (沅水), and the area next in importance was the basin of the Li River (澧水) during the reign of the Jianwu Emperor (建武). Along the two rivers, the Eastern Han government built many fortresses and castles in order to defend themselves against and rule over the Wuling barbarians during wartime and in the postwar era. In this system of military defense, soldiers came from outside the prefecture at wartime later became local residents. At the same time, the Wuling barbarians were recruited into the army by the Eastern Han government and Sun Wu government. The Sun Wu government inherited the military defence pattern of the Eastern Han Government, and furthermore, conducted administrative district reforms in the Li River and Yuan River areas, which left an impact on the ruling patterns of future dynasties over the Wuling barbarians.