Just as Xiao Duo and Tang Guangchen judged, Sicheng Prefecture, as one of the few remaining cities controlled by those rebellious Miao Zhuang people, did occupy a pivotal position in this battle of counterinsurgency. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Before the official army was blocked in Sicheng, the local people in Guangxi seemed to be very uncalm again, as if those who had long since died down and were hiding elsewhere had the intention of continuing the rebellion. However, after the occupation of Sicheng by the government in mid-October, this momentum was greatly curbed, and what was even more surprising was that in just a few days, several other rebel cities that were still able to hold on also raised their flags, and they finally surrendered because they could not bear the tremendous pressure from the government.

In this regard, whether it is a person in power like Tang Guangchen and Xiao Duo, or ordinary soldiers and ordinary people, they are all quite excited. Because this result is not only a merit, but the soldiers no longer have to fight with their lives to stain the outer walls of the cities with blood.

As a result, the important prefecture capitals and counties of Guangxi had returned to the control of the imperial court, and the government had no intention of further purging the scattered Miao Zhuang villages and the rebels among them who might still harbor opposing intentions.

This is not to say how magnanimous Tang Guangchen is, this is really determined by the complicated public conditions in Guangxi. Unless they want to completely exterminate the few ethnic groups that have been rooted in Guangxi for many years and are almost completely integrated with this land, the investigation of these people will inevitably lead to a new disaster.

This is not what today's Guangxi officials and the imperial court want to see. In fact, at the beginning of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the two sons of heaven were very talented and strategic, and they did not dare to completely let go of their hands and feet in these places, and they could only use it to restrain and divide the strategy, so it was naturally impossible for later generations to have such courage and means.

However, Yang Zhen has his own views on this. It is not a problem for officials to fool this rebellion in such an unclear way, they can still take credit for it, and when time passes, they will be promoted and transferred, and thus leave the land of right and wrong. But what about the Han Chinese who have completely integrated with the land?

They will be terrified that one day the nightmare will come back to them. And this is very likely, after all, the surrounding Sichuan and other places are still in rebellion, once Yang Yinglong's rebels really kill, those unwilling guys are afraid that they will immediately pick up their weapons and rebel again, right?

Yang Zhen is helpless about this, these officials always have to start from their own interests, at least for now, it is best to maintain a skillful balance, and they can also give an explanation to the imperial court.

The only thing that can make Yang Zhen relax a little is only one point - even if there will be people in Guangxi who continue to respond, their sharpness has been lost, and those really appealing toast masters are still under the control of the government, at least the local chaos in Guangxi is unlikely to be as fierce as last time.

Now the only thing they can hope for is that the official troops of the imperial court who have gone to other provinces to quell the chaos can arrive as soon as possible, so that the flames of war will not spread to the ground in Guangxi again. Otherwise, no one knows what it will be like here.

However, apparently their prayers had no effect, and as soon as November began, military reports from the front rushed into the city of Guilin -- where Guangxi meets Guizhou and Sichuan, and a large number of native soldiers has been emerging, and according to rough estimates, their number has reached a chilling 50,000 or 60,000 people, and their posture is precisely the intention of attacking Guangxi in a big way.

When this news was known to the busy officials, everyone was stunned at first, and then gasped: "After all, they can't hide, they really intend to control all the southwestern provinces, and then they can confront the imperial court head-on." ”

Then, everyone looked at each other for a while, and they didn't know what to say for a while. In the past, it had been exhausting to quell the rebellions in Guangxi, which were like scattered sand, but now, a rebel army with strong control, a huge number of soldiers, and a great increase in combat effectiveness by taking the territory of several other provinces is coming in a rage, can they, the soldiers under their command still be able to resist it?

In the midst of a panicked coldness, someone was finally the first to speak: "No matter what the final result is, no matter how strong the invading enemy is, the last general will definitely lead the army to do his best to stop them." I also believe that our officers and soldiers in Guangxi are not bad seeds, and they will also use their lives and blood to protect their homeland! ”

It was Xiao Duo who said this. In the several major battles that quelled the chaos, he had fully demonstrated his ability to lead troops to fight, so his statement could somewhat calm the hearts of the officials. But as long as they think that the enemy army is large and has a unified command, their hearts are still not so optimistic.

Seeing this situation, Tang Guangchen could only cheer everyone up as the governor: "You don't have to worry too much, my geographical advantage in Guangxi is far superior to that of other places, and we are sitting at home to meet the enemy, and we may not necessarily lose the upper hand." Lord Yang, what do you think? As he spoke, he turned to look at Yang Zhen, who had been smiling.

Yang Zhen nodded, and shook his head again: "Governor Tang's statement is naturally correct, but what if some local people become thieves?" In that case, our so-called geographical advantage will be gone. ”

"This ......" is at this time, why are you still thinking about the suggestion that I refused to follow your advice that day, and took advantage of the victory to uproot those Miao Zhuang villages one by one and move the people into the city? It's not like you don't know that these things have to be stable enough to be done. With a slight complaint in his heart, Tang Guangchen's face showed a wry smile: "This is indeed a problem, but I don't know if Lord Yang has a solution for you?" ”

"Nope!" Yang Zhen shook his head very dryly and gave his own answer.

This made everyone's hearts sink again, even Xiao Duo, who was already fighting with the heart of death, was also slightly stunned, and didn't understand why Yang Zhen, who was much firmer than himself and others before, was so angry this time.

"In fact, you should all know very well that once Yang Yinglong's rebels invade Guangxi, the situation will be completely different. It's almost impossible for us to beat them. Yang Zhen continued to speak. Just when everyone felt that he was growing the enemy's morale and destroying his own prestige, his words suddenly changed: "Although, whether it is the location or the people, it is not on our side, should we give up?" No, even if there is only a glimmer of hope, we should fight back! But how to fight back, how to resist their offensive, requires some planning, and this must be based on the condition that the enemy is far stronger than us. ”

I see, it turns out that what he said is so that we can better face up to the gap between us and our enemies. Only then did everyone understand, and at the same time they had a certain amount of confidence in him.

"General Xiao, although I am really a layman in the use of soldiers, I have an opinion that I want to ask you for." Yang Zhen said, and looked at Xiao Duo.

At this time, Xiao Duo also seemed more cautious than just now, and nodded hurriedly: "Please Lord Yang for advice." In public, the two of them still seem to be the same as everyone else.

"In the case that our Guangxi soldiers and horses are already inferior and their morale is low, how can we deal with the enemy? Do you take the initiative to fight a battle, or rely on the cities to fight a war of attrition with them, in order to drag on for a while? Yang Zhen was not polite, and immediately raised such a question.

In this regard, Xiao Duo did not hesitate to express his opinion: "Of course, the latter is more beneficial to us. As long as we hold the city, even if each city can only withstand them for half a month, it will be enough to consume their strength and give the imperial court enough time to send troops. ”

"In this case, I hope that you can use this as a strategy to deal with Yang Yinglong's department, and don't talk about fighting to the death. That's a pleasure, but it's only cheaper for the enemy. Yang Zhen said.

"Lord Yang is really high-minded, I'm waiting to be taught." Only then did the officials understand, and they all praised it sincerely.

But Yang Zhen didn't stop there, but quickly stretched out two fingers: "In addition, there is a second thing, which is also one of the keys for us to resist Yang Yinglong's department this time." ”

"I don't know what?" Tang Guangchen hurriedly asked, and the others also focused their attention on Yang Zhen.

"The toasts of the Miao Zhuang people in various departments are still closed in the yamen now. And these people, after all, are a big hidden danger. So I mean, I have to take this opportunity to kill them all! Yang Zhen said with a murderous expression.

Everyone was stunned again, of course they would not forget those toast masters, but they never thought of killing them. After all, these guys still have a lot of followers and names in Guangxi, and once the government kills them, it will inevitably attract the revenge of some guys who are already ready to move.

Yang Zhen saw their hesitation, and said: "I did this not to be quick for a while, but to eliminate hidden dangers. If they were there, there would always be people who would be thinking about rescuing them, and Yang Yinglong's troops would also send troops under the pretext of rescuing them. But if they all die, things will be different. What do you think? ”

"This ......" There was some truth in his words, which made the officials a little unable to object. Tang Guangchen had no choice but to ask: "Then what's next?" The implication seems to be that Yang Zhen's suggestion has been adopted.

"It's up to you to do the next, and I'm going to take people out of here and leave Guangxi." Yang Zhen suddenly said something that caught everyone off guard......