Cutting 1719

Chapter 396
"The slave leads the order!"

Ertai accepted the imperial decree with a serious face, but the expression on his face did not change at all, as if he was not disappointed at all because his suggestion was rejected.

From "reforming the land to the bloc" to "uniting the land to fight against Chu", it can be said that Yang Mingshi and even Ertai's plans have been completely negated by the Qing court, and it can even be said that they were not negated, but completely reversed. .

"Duxian, don't worry, old man. The emperor doesn't mean to blame you, it's really not the right time. Besides, whether it's reforming the land to return to the bloc or uniting the land to fight against Chu, it's all for the court. The emperor will understand your painstaking efforts! "

In the study room, a gray-haired old man sighed softly. He was Ertai's staff member found in the Governor's Mansion. His name was Li Zhuan. He was also quite famous in Yunnan Province. He lived in seclusion in Qianxi, Zunyi and other places, and didn't start to do things until Ertai became the governor.

When Ertai went to look for Li Zhuan, there was a teaching test, which probably meant what he could do for Ertai. Li Zhuan said that he could open up land for him and fill the treasury, so he was awarded Ertai's appreciation.

Hearing the consolation of Li Zhuan's words, Ertai nodded and said with a wry smile: "When I first came to Guizhou Province, I was treated so hard by Mr. Yang. I wanted to change the situation in the Southwest, but it was a pity It’s hard work, and I really can’t continue Master Yang’s past, so I have to change course, so I still need Mr. Li’s advice.”

"I don't dare to teach you. Since the imperial court has given a clear path, you might as well follow the path. It's just that the matter in the southwest is complicated. If you want to unite with chieftains and fight against Chu Ni, it depends on how much capital the imperial court has."

Li Zhuan sighed quietly. It's not that he didn't want to give Ertai some ideas, but now the Qing court's going against the trend has already become inevitable, how can it be changed by one or two ideas?
As for the matter of uniting chieftains against Chu Ni, it is not so easy. After all, the chieftains now know in their hearts that they are clear about the situation of the struggle, so they naturally maintain a neutral posture and take advantage of it. How can they easily end up helping the Qing court? Offend Ning Chu?
Ertai can naturally understand the twists and turns, and said in a low voice: "Even if the chieftain is difficult to be bribed, we must beware of the chieftain being used by Chu Ni, otherwise it is just a delusion to want to defend the southwest. But fortunately, Yes, I have exchanged letters with Yue Zhongqi, governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, and he will send Zhang Guangsi to the south to assist us."

"With the current 8 troops in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, plus Governor Yue's 12 troops, there are at least [-] troops. It's not like there is no chance."

Li Zhuanfu had to think for a while before he said in a low voice: "Duxian, Yue Zhongqi is in Sichuan to guard against Chu Ni's main force, and I am afraid it will be difficult to mobilize more troops to go south. , I just need some convenience from Du Xian and the old man."

"Mr. Li is being polite. If you can persuade the chieftain to join us in fighting Chu's rebellion, I will naturally do anything. It's just that Mr. Li has been in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces for many years. Can you know who among the chieftains can be used by me?"

Ertai nodded. This is the reason why he asked Li Zhuan to be his staff. If there is no one who is familiar with the local forces to use him, I am afraid it will be difficult to touch the overall situation.

"Master Duxian, if we talk about the chieftain forces back then, there were three major chieftain houses in Yunnan and four major chieftain families in Guizhou, but after so many years, most of these families have disappeared. Although the chieftain forces are smaller today, It's even more confusing."

The three major Tusi prefectures in Yunnan, namely Mushi, Menghua, and Yuanjiang, are the most powerful of the entire Yunnan Tusi.The four chieftain families in Guizhou refer to the Shuidong Song family, the Shui'an family, the Sizhou Tian family, and the Bozhou Yang family. Yang Yinglong, who rebelled in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, was born in the Bozhou Yang family, and later the Bozhou Yang family was destroyed along with Yang Yinglong. .

Li Zhuan is well aware of the current chieftain forces in the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, and said softly: "Master Du Xian, among the chieftain forces, Wumeng chieftain Lu Wanzhong and Zhenxiong chieftain Long Qinghou are the most powerful, and I am willing to go to appease you for your lord. .”

Ertai was overjoyed at the moment, and said with a smile: "With Mr. Li acting as the governor's recruiter, the governor is relieved, but Mr. Li has worked hard this time."

At that moment, Ertai sent Li Zhuan to Wumeng and Zhenxiong in the name of the Governor-General's Mansion of Yunnan and Guizhou to appease Lu Wanzhong and Long Qinghou, and promised that if the two were willing to accept the appeasement, they would both be granted the title of ginseng. Title it.

When Li Zhuan was arranged to go to recruit, Ertai was also making preparations in Kunming, rectifying the green camp, and preparing to fight Ningchu in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

Sicheng Mansion in Guangxi, formerly known as Gudong, is located in the same land as Yunnan, Guizhou and Miaoluo. It has been a remote and remote place in the past dynasties. Here, there are mountains and rivers, cliffs and ravines, and the precipitous ones are still rare. Even if it is flat, there are twists and turns. It is not possible to gallop by car, and the roads to and from the mountain mostly wind around the waist and shin of the mountain, which can be called the barrier of western Guangdong.

In Sicheng Mansion, the government has no power to go deep into the people, so the only ones in the whole mansion who can really give orders are the chieftain family of the Cen family, and the current local magistrate of Sizhou Prefecture is Cen Yingchen, a child of the Cen family.

The Cen family is well-known in western Guangxi, and is a famous local family. Its ancestor, Cen Numuhan, was awarded the military and civilian chief of Sicheng Road in the first year of Yuan Tianshun. For hundreds of years today, almost the whole of Western Guangxi can be said to be dominated by the Cen family.

As a child of the Cen family, Cen Yingchen's strength should not be underestimated. He has more than [-] wolf soldiers, all of whom are elite soldiers. Therefore, during the battle between Guangdong and Guangxi, Cen Yingchen was summoned by Kong Yuxun, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi at that time, and asked him to lead the army. Soldiers and horses went to Guangdong to fight against the Fu Han army.

However, the Cen family originally belonged to the local chieftain, so they were naturally unwilling to sacrifice their lives for the Qing court. Therefore, after the Fuhan army captured Guangdong and Guangxi, Cen Yingchen chose to join Ningchu with great interest. At that time, Ningchu also let Cen Yingchen Continue to be his native state.

However, with the gradual approach of the Southwest War, among the Southwest Group Army formed by the Fuhan Army, several divisions are already stationed in Guangxi, and will be ordered to attack Guizhou at any time. Therefore, the status of Sicheng Mansion at this time is even more important. It is not only related to the channel to attack Guizhou, but also related to the retreat of the Fuhan army.

In the yamen of Sizhou Prefecture, at this time, people were chatting and laughing, and it was the Fuhan Army who sent envoys to discuss with the Cen family.

The one who came here as an envoy was Deng Ziyi, deputy director of the Southwest Group Army Staff Office. He originally served in the Privy Council and was transferred to the Southwest Group Army. The first thing he did was to completely solve the problem of the Cen family. The four thousand wolf soldiers were actually transferred to the subordinates of the group army and became available troops.

Sizhou Tu Zhizhou Cen Yingchen sat at the top, while Deng Ziyi sat at the first seat on the right. As for the other Cen family members, such as Cen Yingchen's younger brothers, Cen Yinghan, Cen Yingbi, and Cen Yinglincen, they were on both sides. It was very lively for a while.

"Master Cen, you should be clear about the purpose of my visit today. We are all members of the army, so we don't need to go around in circles." Deng Ziyi had a smile on his face, but he was not polite at all when he spoke.

Cen Yingchen, who was sitting on the main seat, just drank a glass of wine and didn't speak. Instead, his younger brother Cen Yinghan said softly: "When the army arrives, the officials and others will naturally know that [-] stones of food and grass have been prepared. Just wait for the army to go north, and there will be no delay at that time."

"Oh?"

Deng Ziyi's face was not angry at all, he just said softly: "Could it be that Mr. Cen Yinghan, the governor of Sizhou Prefecture, is Mr. Cen Yinghan? But the name I know is Mr. Cen Yingchen, Mr. Cen."

Hearing Deng Ziyi's unceremonious words, Cen Yinghan's face turned red in an instant, and he said in a low voice: "The meaning of these words is also the meaning of my elder brother. Don't worry too much, Mr. Deng. You go back and tell Marshal Cheng that although my Cen family are only rural people, this matter can still be done."

After saying these words, Deng Ziyi's face turned livid. He sneered and said, "Your Cen's family is not a countryman. Who doesn't know that Sicheng Mansion is your Cen's family? The chieftain of hundreds of years The aristocratic family is indeed majestic!"

"Hmph, just know what's interesting"

"Shut up!"

Before Cen Yinghan could finish his sentence, Cen Yingchen, who was sitting on the main seat, interrupted his younger brother coldly, and then looked at Deng Ziyi indifferently.

"Master Deng, don't blame me, my younger brother is used to being domineering, and this temper is hard to change for a while. Hehe, the army passed by Sizhou, and our soldiers and civilians in Sizhou will naturally cooperate. How about this, in addition to the original 3000 stones of grain and grass, The next official gave another [-] taels of silver as a token of comfort to the army."

"Lord Cen's kindness, I appreciate it. As for the food and silver, I don't bother Lord Cen. I can't talk about anything today, so I will leave now!"

There was a trace of coldness on Deng Ziyi's face, so he stopped talking and walked away, but it turned the faces of all the Cen family members present here into ashen.

"Hmph, something that doesn't know what's good or bad!"

Cen Yinghan sneered, "Brother, since the Fuhan army doesn't want our grain and silver, we simply won't give them! If we are pushed further, we will simply go to Ertai!"

After Cen Yinghan finished speaking, the rest of the Cen family also started clamoring. They have been the local tyrants in Sizhou Mansion for hundreds of years, how could they ever swallow their anger?

"Nonsense, my Cen family has been inherited for 600 years, how can I be so decisive? You better stop talking about it, the situation in the world is different now, since he wants to see the sincerity of the Han army, let's give him some sincerity! "

Cen Yingchen said coldly: "Third brother, in two days you will take our four thousand hyena soldiers, escort forty thousand stones of grain and grass, and three thousand—no, 5000 taels of silver, and send them to Si'en Mansion."

Si En Mansion is the temporary station of the Fu Han Army in Guangxi, and the distance between the two is not too far away.

"What? Forty thousand stones of grain and grass and 5000 taels of silver? Brother, how can there be such a reason?"

Cen Yinghan was a little puzzled. In his original opinion, it was enough to give 3000 shi, grain and grass and [-] taels of silver, but now it has been doubled. What is the use of the money for other things?
Cen Yingchen sighed, "The Fuhan army is not easy to deal with - this time they have tens of thousands of people, and they can beat the Qing court like this, which shows that they are indeed not simple. As long as they don't come to embarrass my Cen family, they will pay more money Just pay a little money, and you can eventually collect it from below."

"Hehe, big brother is very sophisticated. Food, grass and money are one thing, and our Cen family's four thousand coyote soldiers are another. If they refuse to give up, our four thousand coyote soldiers are not vegetarians either!"

There was a bit of a sneer on Cen Yingbi's face. He was not bragging, but in the whole of Guangxi, the coyote soldiers of the Cen family in Sizhou were all first-class elite soldiers.

As early as the Ming Dynasty, the hyena soldiers had already become famous. There were many hyena soldiers on the Zhejiang anti-Japanese front line and the Liaodong battlefield. These local armed forces formed by the chieftains of the Zhuang nationality were not only very brave, but also their system It is also very streamlined, and it is very good at the strategy of dividing and attacking.

On the battlefield, Guangxi wolf soldiers usually form a team of seven, and each team fights independently. In each team, four people specialize in stabbing and three people specialize in beheading, so as to claim meritorious service and receive rewards. When one person moves forward, the left and right members of the same team shout and support, and when the first team charges, the left and right teams support each other, and the whole team cooperates closely.

When encountering the enemy, the wolf soldiers are also very strategic. They often put the gunners in front, and the crossbowmen guard the two sides, forming a sharp knife formation, and the arms are also very rich, divided into horsemen and stepmen. Soldiers, Stepped Spearmen, Waist Card Soldiers, Bird Gun Soldiers, Fire Soldiers, Banner Soldiers, Crossbowmen, Skirmishers, Sanshou and other arms.

In addition, because the wolf soldiers use an organization that integrates the army with the people, the people in the same camp are generally people of the same clan, and the clan law is used instead of military discipline. tough.

Even though Ertai now has [-] green battalions in his hands, he may not be able to win well in front of these [-] hyena soldiers. Therefore, for Cen Yingchen, with these [-] hyena soldiers, he has the confidence to dare to fight. Watch from the sidelines.

However, after Deng Ziyi returned to Si'en Prefecture, he immediately went to see Cheng Ming, the deputy commander of the Southwest Army, and expressed the attitude of the Cen family.

"This generation is so rampant. If in the future when our army is fighting the Qing army on the front line, they will act secretly in the back. I am afraid that it will be very disadvantageous to our army. From the perspective of humble positions, it is better to wipe them out as soon as possible."

Deng Ziyi didn't speak like this because he was humiliated. In fact, he had already felt the dangerous atmosphere. If these chieftains were indulged, it might cause serious trouble in the future.

After listening to Deng Ziyi's words, Cheng Ming said softly: "Your Majesty has issued a decree. This campaign to conquer the Southwest is to put down the Qing army forces in the Southwest, and completely eliminate the chieftains in the Southwest. Realize reforming the land and returning it to the local people, and we must not compromise with it!"

"Since the Cen family thinks they can fight against my Fuhan army, then you don't have to be polite, order the third division to march into Sizhou immediately, and uproot the Cen family!"

(End of this chapter)