The Kuidong area includes Wushan, Wuxi, Dachang and the counties of Jianshi and Badong in western Hubei today, and the scope is called eastern Sichuan. The eastern part of Sichuan borders western Hubei Province, so it is now called the Sichuan-Hubei border area, and at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the western part of Hubei in Huguang Province was called Jingxi or Western Chu (including Xiangxi) according to the ancient name of Jingchu.

It is located in the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River, with high mountains and rapid waters, and the situation is dangerous. Militarily speaking, it is not only a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but also cuts off the passage between Sichuan and Hubei, and can attack the two lakes, western Henan, southern Shaanxi, and Sichuan, and retreat can defend itself according to the danger.

In this land radius of several hundred miles, in the anti-Qing base with Maolu Mountain in Xingshan County, Hubei Province as the center, occupying more than 20 counties and supporting tens of thousands of soldiers, there are thirteen famous Kuidong families in history. They insisted on slash-and-burn farming, self-sufficiency in the fields, and tenaciously resisted the Qing Dynasty for 14 years.

The so-called "Thirteen Families of Kuidong" is actually not very accurate, it mainly refers to the remnants of the Dashun Army headed by Li Laiheng, Liu Tichun, Yuan Zongdi, Hao Shaoqi, Dang Shousu, Ta Tianbao, Ma Tengyun, and other anti-Qing forces headed by Wang Guangxing and He Zhen.

Among them, He Zhen was stationed in Daning County (now Wuxi County, Chongqing), Yuan Zongdi was stationed in Dachang County (now Dachang Town, Wushan County, Chongqing), Hao Shaoqi was stationed in Yangjiaozhai in Fang County, Li Laiheng was stationed in Qilianping, Xingshan County, Dang Shousu was stationed in Badong County, Liu Tichun and Ma Tengyun were stationed in Chenjiapo in Badong County, Ta Tianbao was stationed in Pingyangba, Badong County, and Wang Guangxing was stationed in Shizhouwei.

From the point of view of organizational structure, the "Thirteen Families of Kuidong" is a loose political armed group, and although "Xi Tui Tichun is the leader and listens to moderation," in fact, Liu Tichun's command power and appeal are quite limited.

The wind is soft, the air is fresh, and the sun is warm. Enchanting spring generously spreads fragrant scents, and birds reawaken hope with mellow, moving chirps.

At this time, outside the Ming military camp in Ba County. A group of people walked over from afar, led by a middle-aged businessman carrying a suitcase, followed by four buddies dressed as merchants.

The group stood still in the distance outside the camp, looking at the red flag fluttering over the camp, but they hesitated and did not get closer.

Soon, the soldiers in the camp also noticed these people. These people are still far away. But the stay is not short, and the appearance is very suspicious. Soon, a group of soldiers left the camp and surrounded the men.

At this moment, several people in the distance seemed to have suddenly made up their minds, and the merchant led by him strode straight towards the camp, and his companions followed closely.

The merchant didn't stop until he walked in front of the Ming army, and looked at the Ming army who met him fearlessly: "Which general's subordinate are you?" ”

"It's under the command of the Duke of Anhui." After seeing the demeanor of the person who came, and hearing the other party's question. The little officer felt that the other party seemed to be a little pretentious, and replied in a very polite tone: "Dare to ask Mr. ”

"The book of the Ming Army, Li Weizuo." The merchant replied with a smile on his face.

……………

The moon emerged from the clouds and sprinkled the moonlight everywhere, like spreading the wings of light.

No need to kill yourself! Li Weizuo, who has been crowned by Zhu Yongxing as the secretary of the military department, and the military affairs of the governors of Sichuan and Hu, leaned back in his chair. I feel good that I have finally arrived at my destination.

Although there are documents forged by Cha Rulong of Wu Sangui, pretending to be Wu Sangui's relatives. Along the way, I was still scared, for fear of being recognized. Li Weizuo recalls the experience along the way, and his mood is still difficult to calm down.

After settling down, Li Weizuo moved his gaze to the box on the table that had not left him for a moment, and reached out and slowly opened the lid. Taking out the debris inside, Li Weizuo's movements were more careful. He gently cut the thin line hidden at the bottom of the box with a knife, and then cut open the sandwich panel, revealing the edicts, letters, code books and other items inside, as well as a small mirror the size of a palm wrapped in brocade.

That's right, this box is specially made. The mezzanine contains a powder column and a hair-pulling device, similar to a landmine, which can cause an explosion if opened indiscriminately. In case of an emergency, Li Weizuo can also detonate it from the outside of the box, turning the confidential documents in the mezzanine into ashes.

This idea was conceived by Li Weizuo, although Zhu Yongxing had already had the idea of contacting the Thirteen Families of Kuidong, but the road was blocked, and he was worried that the document would be intercepted by the Qing army on the road, which would expose his strategic intentions. It wasn't until Li Weizuo repeatedly asked for help and came up with a way to destroy the documents that Zhu Yongxing reluctantly agreed, and sent several dead soldiers to accompany him to protect him.

Although Li Weizuo was taught by Zhu Yongxing face-to-face, after reading all the documents, he fully understood Zhu Yongxing's strategic deployment and personnel arrangements. Rubbing his somewhat sore eyes, Li Weizuo fell into a long thought.

The Kuidong region is mostly mountainous and sparsely populated, and production is very underdeveloped, so it is very difficult to maintain a sufficiently strong army, both in terms of personnel replenishment and material supply. At this time, the main direction of attack of the Qing army was the southwest region, and it was impossible to mobilize heavy troops to besiege the Kuidong anti-Qing base. Zhu Yongxing's intention was to enable the Thirteen Families to take the opportunity to enter eastern Sichuan, contain the Qing army in Sichuan, and echo the Ming army in Yunnan Province that marched into Sichuan.

On the whole, the strategy of the "Thirteen Families of Kuidong" to divide one corner is too conservative. For a long time, they retreated in the Kuiwu Mountains on the border of Sichuan and Chu, "strangling the danger and rushing away, watching the provocation and moving." The operation never left the center of Kuiwu, let alone went to the area outside the Three Gorges to open up new battlefields and seek greater development, thus shackling his hands and feet. Although he also used troops for many years, and even expeditions to Yidu, Dangyang and other places, they were all to raise food and salaries and supply military supplies, and did not have more significant military significance.

Although His Royal Highness Min's idea is good, can the thirteen families follow the order? Li Weizuo stroked his forehead, feeling that things were not so easy. Although Zhu Yongxing also explained before the trip, it is naturally good if it is successful, if it does not work, it will be no big problem, let him stay in Kuidong with peace of mind, as a liaison messenger between the two sides.

His Royal Highness Min is simply promoted to me, in a high position, looking forward to Yin, I will do my best to promote this matter, so as not to live up to His Highness's trust. Li Weizuo thought for a long time and secretly decided that he must complete the task. However, in order to achieve Zhu Yongxing's vision, it involves the personnel arrangements of the thirteen families, which is the first problem to be solved.

Although the battle of Kuidong's Ming army to attack Chongqing was defeated due to the rebellion of Tan Yi and Tan Hong, this battle itself shows that most of the generals of the Thirteen Kuidong families resolutely resisted the Qing Dynasty and also took the overall situation into account. However, this important anti-Qing armed force with the former Dashun Army as the main body was almost always discriminated against and excluded in the Southern Ming court, as early as the Longwu period, when He Tengjiao, Zhang Kuang and others controlled the entire territory of Hunan. He made it difficult for him in many ways in terms of food and salary, and later in the Yongli court, he was overwhelmed by Qu Shiyun, Chen Bangfu, Li Yuanyin and others.

When Sun Kewang was in power, he never provided him with logistical support, putting this army that could conquer and fight in a key position. Only Gu Yinxi and Liu Wenxiu have the overall situation in mind and advocate the reuse of the thirteen families to restore the great cause of the Ming Dynasty, but they themselves are unwilling. Empty words do not help.

In terms of strength, the anti-Qing armed forces in Kuidong were still quite strong, not only had a lot of soldiers and horses, but also most of them had experienced a hundred battles, some were good at land warfare, some were good at water warfare, and their combat effectiveness was very impressive. However, their weakness is that they work in silos and do not form a strong leadership core. Thereinto. One of the reasons is that the leaders of the various ministries are not subordinate to each other, and in order to facilitate his own moderation, Wen Anzhi, the superintendent sent by the Yongli Imperial Court, deliberately treated everyone equally in the title of knighthood, and sealed a large number of princes of comparable status, which strengthened the tendency of separation.

Therefore, the Ming army in the Kuidong region controlled the mountains and rivers on both sides of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, which were easy to defend and difficult to attack. Concentrating the main force to conquer areas with abundant products and large populations will certainly play a major role in the cause of resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty. And not like it is now. In vain, the location is advantageous, but it has always been in the poor mountains and remote corners, and the situation cannot be opened.

A county king, I don't know who it will be? Liu Tichun is the most likely, right? Li Weizuo stroked the blank edict with his hand, feeling a strange heaviness, how could he be virtuous. He suddenly rose to the throne, and he was an angel, and he could fill in the edict. There is also the small mirror wrapped in brocade cloth embroidered by the princess herself, which is a gift to Queen Gao, the widow of King Chuang, and she is also given a lady. What a thoughtful thought!

……………

Since the Thirteen Families of Kuidong were ordered to attack Chongqing and relieve the pressure on the Qing army in the southwest, they had lost contact with the imperial court for a year. Although among the thirteen families, there are also Mao Shoudeng, Hong Yuao, the highest officials appointed by the Yongli Imperial Court to liaise with the various branches of Kuidong, and Zhu Shenglang, the king of Ming Dong'an, who has been attached to Hao Shaoqi for a long time, but these people are more like decorations that respect Yongli, and how can the will of the imperial court be conveyed.

For the news in the southwest, the thirteen families in Kuidong also do not know much, most of them are a lin's half claws, and it is not true. As soon as Li Weizuo arrived, he issued an edict to Queen Gao, the widow of King Chuang, and named her a lady of festival, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness, and gave gifts.

Immediately afterwards, Li Weizuo convened a meeting of the leaders of the family. Out of respect or for the purpose of listening to news from the southwest, Wang Guangxing, Duke of Jingguo, Hao Yongzhong, Duke of Yiguo, Liu Tichun, Duke of Wanguo, Yuan Zongdi, Duke of Jingguo, Li Laiheng, Duke of Linguo, Hou Ta Tianbao of Yidu, Hou Ma Tengyun of Yangcheng, Hou He Zhen of Qi, Marquis of Weiyuan, Li Furong, Marquis of Xingping, and other major leaders all came.

The first day of the meeting was mainly for Li Weizuo to give a detailed introduction to the leaders of the present situation in the southwest, starting from the battle of Tengchong, the crusade against Annam, the counteroffensive in western Yunnan, the great victory in Yuanjiang, the beacon fire everywhere in eastern and southern Yunnan, the advance of Guangxi, and the expansion of overseas territory...... Listening to it made everyone's eyes dazzle, as if in a dream. I never imagined that in more than a year, the southwest has been earth-shaking changes.

In the evening, the leaders of the thirteen families gathered together and began to discuss the suggestions made by Li Weizuo during the day, and elected the leaders of the thirteen families.

"Brothers, His Royal Highness Min has read all the handwritten letters, and if you have any ideas, you can say them, and now behind closed doors, they are all your own brothers, and there is nothing to hide." As a landlord, Liu Tichun picked up the teacup, took a sip of water, and said to Hao Shaoqi, Li Laiheng and others: "It seems that His Royal Highness Min is still aware of our doubts, otherwise he would not have written to comfort us." ”

"His Royal Highness Min is indeed a wise and powerful man, and the reversal of the war situation in the southwest depends on his strength. It's just that I'm afraid that the court's policy will be repeated, if the Son of Heaven and the courtiers come out of Burma-" Hao Shaoqi shook his head worriedly, and ended his speech with a hehehe.

"His Royal Highness Min made it clear in his letter that now the Qing army's offensive is in the southwest, so let me wait for the troops and horses to wait for the opportunity to move. did not let us send troops to attack, it can be seen that His Highness is sincere, if the sky does not extinguish the light, we will do our best to assist. Li Laiheng interjected: "When the Empress Dowager Gao heard the edict, she sighed again and again, asked for grace, and trained a certain family with great righteousness: let one of his virtues be good at the end, and wait for the unification to be successful, and the son of Er will worship in the Fengtian Palace, and you will be favored in the Kunning Palace, and the history will be clear, isn't it great?" ”

"The queen's words are reasonable!" Yuan Zongdi nodded, and sighed: "His Royal Highness Min does not take away our military power, and does not let me be cannon fodder, but is willing to use the power of the southwest to attract the attention of the Qing army, so as to teach us to develop and grow, which is really sincere." No matter what happens in the future, His Royal Highness Min is now staying in the imperial court, with the name of righteousness in hand, and the southwest armies have all obeyed his orders, how can we disobey? Since he should obey the orders of His Royal Highness, in order to fight for the blessing of his wife and son. ”

"We are all officials of the imperial court, ranking as princes, no less than close ministers of the imperial court, and we should obey the orders of His Royal Highness." Wang Guangxing was originally a general of the Southern Ming Dynasty and did not belong to the Dashun Army, because his brother Wang Guangen was innocently killed, and he swore not to stand with the Qing court. At this time, seeing that Liu, Li, Yuan, and Hao all expressed their loyalty to the court and obeyed the orders of the clan to stay behind His Royal Highness Min, naturally there was no objection.

"A man does not walk without a head, and a bird does not fly without a head. Since His Royal Highness Min wants us to promote the big leader, let's follow it. Dang Shousu opened his mouth to get to the point, "In the past, it was Brother Liu who took the lead, and now I still elect him, I have no opinion, I don't know what other brothers think?" ”

"Brother Liu is brave and resourceful, and the most fair, I am willing to listen to his command." Ta Tianbao also agreed.

"I have no opinion, I am willing to listen to Brother Liu's orders." Others also confessed, but no one took it seriously, and thought it was the same as before.

"Thanks to the high opinion of all the brothers, I reluctantly made it difficult and led the brothers to fight for wealth." Liu Tichun stood up and thanked each other, "Brothers are of the same heart, their profits are gold, we have to talk about what we think, but we are not allowed to complain secretly." ”

"Erhu, don't worry." Hao Shaoqi jumped out to support the old brother and said: "Everyone understands the truth of the same qi and branches, and the cold lips and teeth. In the past, you were the main thing, and everyone knew how well you were doing, but now, it's still the same. ”

"Thank you, Brother Hao, thank you leaders for your love." Liu Tichun said with a smile: "Since everyone has no opinion on loyalty to His Royal Highness Min, then let's do some practical things and let His Highness Min see, we are not just lying idle." All the brothers said that it would be good for us to work together to raise some food and wages! ”

…………… (To be continued......)