For a long period of time, the relationship between the Ming government and the Li and Miao residents on the island was not harmonious, and the rule of the Central Plains regime on Qiongzhou Island was almost always accompanied by constant struggles with the Li aborigines. The Miao soldiers who were introduced to Qiongzhou Island as a force to quell the Li rebellion also fell into a similar situation to the Li people after settling on the island for several generations - there was no arable land, iron farming tools and corresponding farming techniques, all the means of production were controlled by the Han people, and they could only survive by relying on the mountains to eat the mountains, and in this difficult situation, they had to pay taxes to the Ming government, perform hard labor, and endure all kinds of unequal treatment.

The government's deliberate suppression of the Li and Miao ethnic groups naturally aroused their dissatisfaction, which often led to major conflicts from time to time due to some minor contradictions, and almost every few years, small-scale armed conflicts broke out between the government and the two ethnic groups, as well as between the two ethnic groups.

Because of this deep-rooted contradiction, the state and county close to the Li and Miao areas will not be very good, and Changhua will naturally be no exception. Xiao Laosan was the general manager of Changhua County, and he also experienced several armed conflicts, the most recent of which was five years ago, when the Li people in Shizitong cut off both ears of the tax collectors sent by the county government to collect taxes, and blocked the passage into the mountain, and the Changhua government also closed all channels for supplying daily necessities to the Li people. However, the Li resistance did not last long, and three months after the supply lines from outside the mountains were cut off, the Li chose to give in in exchange for salt, medicinal herbs, and rice that they could not produce themselves.

In Xiao Laosan's view, the treatment of these Li and Miao people should be treated with the same means as before, blocking their trade channels, and firmly controlling the necessities of salt, iron and rice in the hands of the government, which is enough to effectively control these mountain people who have no king's law. As for building roads to give these mountain people the opportunity to get out of the closed environment they have lived in for generations, this is a thankless and dangerous approach - after these people get out of the mountains, they will have to compete with the Han people for their limited living space and means of production, and this contradiction is not so easy to solve.

However, the Haihan people clearly had a different idea, not only did they have to build a road to the inland mountains, but they also made early contact with the local Li people and assisted them in their relocation. Xiao Laosan heard that Shi Zitong had reached an agreement with the Haihan people to build another residential area for them in the mountainous area five miles north of Changhua County, and instructed them to grow some mountain crops, which were said to be spice crops that could be sold for a large price. Although the Li people in Shizitong have not yet moved, the construction of the new residential area near the mountainous area is said to have begun, and it seems that the Haihan people are not joking, they really plan to move these Li people out of the interior, and will support the Li people to start a new business in the coastal area.

This is not good news for the county seat of Changhua to celebrate, Xiao Laosan believes that not only will it not calm down the irritable Li people, but will also be prone to more incidents due to the shortening of the distance from the Han Chinese settlement. But since the Haihan people can afford the price and have already paid in advance for a year, even if Xiao Laosan has any opinions, he can only turn a blind eye and silently pretend not to know. However, in a cautious consideration, Xiao Laosan still asked the soldiers guarding the city to pay more attention to the construction site outside the city, and prevent the Haihan people from playing tricks.

An hour ago, there was turmoil on the road construction site outside the city, and more than 20 people left the construction site and rushed all the way into Changhua County. Although the soldiers defending the city felt that the situation was a little strange, these people did not carry any dangerous items on them, and all of them were Han Chinese, and it seemed that they could not find a reason to refuse them to enter the city, so they were all released into the city. Unexpectedly, this matter did not end there, and soon the people of the Haihan militia arrived, and seeing that the posture was directly towards the city gate, the soldiers on duty hurriedly reported to Xiao Laosan as quickly as possible.

"The Haihan militia is here, there are hundreds of people fully armed?" Hearing this news, Xiao Laosan only felt a little pain in his head.

Xiao Laosan had heard of the deeds of the Haihan militia before, but the real insight was after these people were stationed in Changhua Fishing Port. More than ten days ago, the Haihan people politely handed over invitations, inviting Xiao Laosan and some local landlords and bosses to visit a place outside the city to visit the militia drill. Of course, this is not in vain, and anyone who accepts the invitation to watch it will receive a set of glass dishes presented by Haihan - this thing costs at least fifteen to twenty taels of silver on the market.

So almost all the people who received the invitation at that time went, and they also witnessed the Haihan militia that was said to have conquered the country of Annam with muskets and cannons, and felt what a powerful army was. Judging from Xiao Laosan's "professional vision", the elite Cheng dù of the Haihan militia has probably surpassed all the armies he has seen, including the so-called regular army stationed in the capital city of Qiongzhou. If the Haihan army, as rumored, is as large as several thousand, then it is estimated that it will be enough to push the entire Qiongzhou Island.

Although Xiao Laosan is just a small boss and has not seen much of the world, he is not stupid, and after watching the so-called military exercises of the militia group, he also understands that this is a deliberate demonstration by the Haihan people, which means nothing more than to remind these local leaders not to try to oppose them. And from this, Xiao Laosan also understood why the Yacheng government in the south would turn a blind eye to what the Haihan people did, and even deliberately shielded it, in addition to collecting enough silver, it was also an important reason to be under the threat of force from the Haihan people at all times.

Changhua County is much closer to the Haihan people's garrison than Yacheng and Sanya, and when the weather is good, you can even directly see the guard tower of the Haihan people's camp when you stand on the county city wall, and it is said that the number of Haihan militia troops in the local area will rise synchronously with the increase in the number of labor inputs, which basically means that Changhua County is completely under the peripheral monitoring of the Haihan militia. Xiao Laosan had no means to resist this situation, so he could only hide in the city silently as if nothing had happened.

The laborers of the Haihan people fled into the city, Xiao Laosan did not regard this as a big deal, but the Haihan militia came after him, so he could not continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb, after all, the two sides also had a verbal agreement, and the people of the militia could not carry weapons into the city in an organized manner.

Xiao Laosan didn't care about putting on his armor, so he rushed to the city gate wearing a cloth coat. At this time, the militia army led by Qiao Zhiya had already arrived at the city, and the soldiers defending the city also closed the city gate in advance in order to prevent accidents.

Xiao Laosan lay on the battlement of the city wall, poked his head out and shouted below: "The Haihan militia under the city listens to the order, leave here quickly, don't do unwise things!"

Qiao Zhiya had also dealt with this Xiao Laosan twice, so he shouted and responded: "Mr. Xiao, you come down first and open the city gate, you have something to say face to face, it's too hard to shout like this!"

Xiao Laosan said: "After opening the door, you must restrain your sergeants and not enter the city!"

"Okay, okay, I won't let them enter the city until I get your consent, right?" Qiao Zhiya waved his hand and said, "Hurry up and open the door." ”

Of course, Xiao Laosan didn't expect to shout a few words on the city wall to make the people of the Haihan militia retreat, the purpose of doing so was more to show a gesture, at least to make the onlookers think that the situation was still controlled by themselves. As for really giving the Haihan people a closed door, Xiao Laosan didn't plan to do such a desperate thing, if the Haihan people sent troops to attack the city in a fit of anger, then who would clean up this mess?

In short, if you can talk about it, you can talk about it, and if you can't talk about it, you can delay it, and if you can't even drag it...... That's probably just a matter of pretending to be dead. With such a plan, Xiao Laosan ordered the soldiers to open the city gate.

Qiao Zhiya asked the militia soldiers to stay where they were, and stepped forward alone, Xiao Laosan also painted a gourd in the same way, and the two had a separate meeting outside the city gate.

Xiao Laosan said: "Major Qiao, I said that the militia would not enter Changhua County!"

Qiao Zhiya shook his head and said: "The situation is different now, we have more than twenty hard laborers who have escaped into the city, if you can catch the people and return them to us now, then we can not enter the city." Mr. Xiao, these people are all rebellious bandits who rebelled in Guangdong at the beginning, and it is easy for them to escape into the city. ”

"How about the next night? After these people are arrested, they will be handed back to you. Xiao Laosan didn't fully believe Qiao Zhiya's statement, but it was not good to say it too hard, so he would hold it off first.

Qiao Zhiya didn't eat this at all, and continued to shake his head and said: "Now, immediately, hand over someone immediately, otherwise please let us go into the city and arrest it ourselves." ”

Xiao Laosan frowned and said, "Then you don't plan to abide by the agreement you made at the beginning?"

"There is nothing in the agreement that allows you to harbor fugitives. Qiao Zhiya said: "In this way, I will give you two choices, one is to give way, we will go in and arrest people, and then leave Changhua City calmly." The other way is that you continue to block here, and I will kill you, and then go into the city to arrest people. ”

"Bold! You dare to murder the imperial court officials...... Xiao Laosan was angry and afraid, he knew that the Haihan people had a lot of means, and they would really do some daring things. It is said that the former general of Yazhou Shuizhai died in a pirate attack less than three months after he took office, which was actually done by the Haihan people. People even dare to deal with the generals, and they don't seem to have more sense of security.

"It is precisely because you are an official of the imperial court that I am standing here now and talking to you slowly. Qiao Zhiya unceremoniously interrupted Xiao Laosan's weak argument: "Do you know what we did in Annan? If we don't surrender, we will directly use artillery to blast the city wall into slag, and then enter the city to destroy the remnants." ”

Qiao Zhiya pointed to the city gate behind Xiao Laosan: "A city wall like Changhua County, I think about ten cannons are enough, what do you think of Mr. Xiao?"

"I also have hundreds of brothers under the command of Xiao Laosan, how can I ...... How can you ......" Xiao Laosan wanted to say a few words to strengthen his voice, but he really didn't have enough confidence to brag. He knew best what the situation of the army under his command was, if the Haihan people really planned to attack Changhua County by force, these guys probably wouldn't have the courage to fight to the death with their opponents.

"Mr. Xiao, why let the conflict break out when it can be avoided? We don't want to offend you, nor do we intend to disturb the lives of the inhabitants of the city, we just want to capture these prisoners and take them where they should be. Qiao Zhiya handed Xiao Laosan the steps in a timely manner: "Xiao General is always convenient, let us enter the city, and the problem can be solved in an hour, and after the matter is over, our people will leave the county and never stay." ”

"This ...... Is it appropriate?" Xiao Laosan's tone finally began to loosen.

"Nothing out of place. We did not enter the city against the hostile actions of the Ming Dynasty, but to cooperate with Xiao to arrest the bandits. Qiao Zhiya glanced at Xiao Laosan and said, "Actually, we will only enter the city to assist the government after accepting your command and dispatch, and the situation is as simple as that." ”

"My command dispatch?" Xiao Laosan was stunned for a moment, but soon came to his senses -- isn't this the opportunity he has been looking forward to to being on the top of the list? If he helps the Haihan people this time, he will definitely be rewarded in the future.

"That's right, Xiao General is always the highest-ranking officer in Changhua, and of course all the armed personnel here should obey your orders. Qiao Zhiya did not hesitate to start putting on a high hat for Xiao Laosan.

"In that case, then give you an hour, don't lose your trust!" Xiao Laosan hesitated for a moment, but decided to take a risk. Because he knew that there was indeed no need for the Haihan people to occupy Changhua County, and the area of the camp built by the Haihan people by the sea had almost exceeded that of Changhua County, and since they had the ability to build a new urban area on their own, Changhua County was actually not of much use value to them.

Qiao Zhiya nodded, then turned around and waved back, and the militia army that received the order immediately trotted into the city in two columns. The team also entered the city with a number of naturalized citizens who had just been temporarily requisitioned from the construction site, and their task was mainly to identify the target of capture so as not to slip through the net.

Qiao Zhiya looked back and saw that Xiao Laosan's forehead had begun to soak with sweat, and he smiled and comforted: "Xiao Don't be nervous, what I just said is not to scold you, we just went into the city to arrest people, and there is no other purpose." ”

Xiao Lao Sanqiang replied with a smile: "This is the best." ”

Of course, the actual situation was not as calm as Qiao Zhiya promised, and after entering the city, this group of militiamen was immediately divided into several action groups in squads and platoons, starting from the north gate and combing the streets and houses in the city from north to south. The county seat of Changhua is square from the air, the area of the city is not large, and there are very few places to hide, and soon some militia found the traces of the fugitives.