November of the first year of Longwu.

It has been a month and a half since the military planning meeting in Jiangning Town, Yingtianfu.

The series of plans and schedules made at the meeting have also been faithfully implemented, and no one has obstructed them - according to the plan, this winter will start pacifying Yungui while it is cool, and it will only be done next year against Dayuan Hongyi.

As early as the end of September, Li Dingguo and other generals rushed to the southwest on light horses.

At the beginning of October, a part of the Ming army stationed in Huguang also received a military order to march after a short preparation.

Finally, they gathered in Chenzhou Mansion, which is located at the hub of Qianzhong Road, and entered Yungui after a short rest.

Of course, according to the plan, the Ming army did not rush to war from the beginning.

Nominally, they were just escorting the newly appointed officials of the imperial court to take office this time, and as long as the local Tusi did not resist, it could be resolved peacefully.

The Yunnan-Guizhou region has nominally been the territory of the Ming Dynasty since ancient times. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were only frequent rebellions, or armed resistance, and self-government, but no one dared to establish their own national name.

The total number of soldiers of the Ming army who came this time was about 20,000, and there were many logistics auxiliaries. Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang each took half of the charge, and were in charge of Yunnan and Guizhou respectively.

The backbone soldiers of these troops are mostly former Western Army officers and soldiers who have been transformed by the Ming Dynasty, and they have also made meritorious contributions and withstood the test in defensive battles such as the Battle of Nanyang.

There is also a part of the source of soldiers, which is the old Ming army and local armed forces in Sichuan, and the loyalty of these people is also reliable, but the original combat effectiveness is not good, or they are used to eating empty salaries and being veteran oilers, and this year the imperial court has also focused on rectifying them

Loyalty is not equal to the will to fight, many people in the old Ming army were just weak deserters, but they didn't have the courage to rebel and join the thieves. On the contrary, other troops are very brave and fierce, but they are also more courageous when rebelling or surrendering to the enemy.

Previously, because none of these troops had been fully tested, even if they were commanded by Zhu Shuren and participated in some battles, they would not be equipped with the latest weapons.

Including Zhang Huangyan's defense of Nanyang before, Li Dingguo's soldiers were only worthy of fighting with melee weapons and fighting on the line, proving themselves in the battle of killing Tartars. What "Wuchang-made" first-class new muskets, or double-barreled rear-loading cavalry guns, they didn't take them at that time.

Beginning in the second half of this year, the production capacity of the Daye Arsenal was further increased, and the stock of new weapons was also increased, so Zhang Huangyan, according to Zhu Shuren's instructions, selected about 1,000 "Wuchang-made" guns equipped with the latest high-quality forged steel bayonets, plus 200 double-barreled rear-loading cavalry guns and a few revolvers, and distributed them to Li Dingguo's department.

When distributed, priority was given to the soldiers who performed best and were rewarded for their meritorious service in the Nanyang Campaign, which can also be regarded as an incentive for them to see hope. After the distribution, after a short two or three months of training in the use of new weapons, this new mission was assigned.

Before the troops set off, they were also told that the Yungui public security mission was a rare opportunity to make meritorious contributions in peacetime, and those who performed well here would be given priority in the future when they started another war against the Tartars.

Therefore, the morale of the troops is very full, and those who missed the opportunity to make meritorious contributions during the Nanyang Battle are now holding back their strength.

……

After the troops mobilized and set off, after more than a month of trekking, the troops finally arrived in Yungui by two routes.

Not to mention, maybe because of the local army, two years ago with the peasant army that wandered here and was still a thief at that time, coupled with the local news, the original impression of the Ming army was very bad, and I felt that the Ming army was a group of cowards who had no will to fight.

Therefore, when Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang first arrived, some local toasts were still tough, and several particularly strong people jumped out to resist.

Fortunately, the first batch of officials sent by the imperial court to change the land and return to Yungui were mostly cannon fodder, and they were not loyal and virtuous talents, so even if they encountered resistance and losses, they were not distressed-

In the Battle of Nanjing at the end of last year, a large number of officials whose crimes were not serious but were also implicated by Wang Duo and Qian Qianyi were either demoted and devalued, or they were registered and only waited for the future to be released to the poor and remote areas.

In addition, there are also some representatives of the interests of the large landlord class in the south who oppose the imperial court's inventory of acres and population this year, and those study families with a large hidden population have also been registered by Zhu Shuren.

Now, the imperial court wants to change the land and return to the stream, of course, let these two types of people take the lead and become the first batch of rogue officials! Test the edge of the rebellious toast to see if it's sharp! If you do a good job, you are still alive after a few terms, and you have successfully naturalized the natives, you will naturally be able to atone for your previous sins and be reused by the imperial court.

Yungui each has more than a dozen large and small toasts, and in just half a month, they clashed with some of the officials, and they also wanted to give the court a dismount, and more than a dozen cannon fodder officials were killed and expelled.

Of course, Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang will not be soft-hearted, and wherever there are evil cases of crowding the government and killing officials in chaos, they will immediately attack and kill them with thunderous means.

There were a few rebel Tusi in Yunnan, and when they heard that Li Dingguo had sent troops, they were not too afraid. The main reason is that the terrain is dangerous and remote, and the Ming army originally had no way to take them, and they have been fettered for the past two hundred years, so why should they be soft now?

On the ninth day of the first day of November, Lima Xuanwei Si Mengshi killed a rogue official sent by the imperial court, who was a protégé of Wang Duo, and the news was transmitted back to the Dali Mansion where Li Dingguo was stationed himself.

On November 13 and 14, it was successively reported back to Ganya Xuanfu Si Tusi Meng Shi and Nandian Xuanwei Si An Shi also killed officials and caused rebellion, and the two officials who were killed were Qian Qianyi's literary friend, and the other was an unknown civil official who was punished at the beginning of the year for resisting the imperial court's thorough investigation of the population and land and deceiving his superiors and subordinates.

Li Dingguo got bad news one after another in Dali Mansion, and knew that he couldn't be soft, so he decided to send troops.

Liu Wenxiu, who came with him, objected on the grounds that those places were too remote and logistically difficult to get too many soldiers.

Liu Wenxiu analyzed: "Second brother, this matter should not be reckless, the imperial court strictly controls our military expenditure, saying that in the past few years, the truce, the quelling of civil strife and the use of troops against large personnel, the total annual expenditure cannot exceed three or five million taels."

If you abandon the basics and start a war against the Tartars again in the future, the veterans of military equipment will be damaged a lot, which will affect the combat effectiveness. ”

Li Dingguo's attitude was very resolute: "Since the imperial court has done it, it will be thunderous and powerful, and now it is to destroy a few toasts, so that other toasts can see the example and save troops in the future." ”

Liu Wenxiu shook his head, pointed to the map and sighed: "I didn't stop the use of troops, a few days ago, I just came, didn't I extinguish the resistance of the Chashan Division on the border of Dali Mansion, and the whole family of the Tusi chieftain was killed, and it has already established its authority."

Let's pick this kind of soft persimmon thorn head that is relatively close to the traffic arteries in the future, but still not long-eyed, to kill chickens and monkeys, is it more affordable than crossing Gaoligong Mountain to deal with those who are in the Ma Si and Ganya Division? ”

Liu Wenxiu's words also have a certain amount of truth. The main reason is that the Yunnan region of the Ming Dynasty was actually very vast and larger than that of later generations.

The Ming Dynasty theoretically had a border with Burma all the way to the Maili Kaijiang River, and there were three or four Xuanwei Divisions in these lands between the Gaoligong Mountains and the Maili Kaijiang River.

After the Qing Dynasty, Yongzheng and Qianlong betrayed the country several times, ceded and allocated some land to Burma, and later the border between China and Myanmar in the middle of Yunnan retreated from the Maili Kaijiang River to the watershed between the Maili Kaijiang River and the Nu River, that is, the Gaoligong Mountain.

(Note: According to Qing Fan, it is because Yongzheng feels that "since Burma has been subdued, it has announced that the Qing Dynasty is the suzerain, the vassal is tributary, and it no longer supports the remnants of the former Ming Dynasty who have fled to Burma, we should show the tolerance of the Celestial Empire, and give some land that has not been changed to the flow to the king of Burma to govern.")

At that time, the Chinese civilization did not have the concept of modern diplomacy, and it did not take the indiscriminate granting of land jurisdiction seriously. ）

And since the nominal area of Yunnan in the Ming Dynasty was so large, how could the four Xuanwei Divisions west of Gaoligong Mountain be easy to reach?

If you don't know the harshness of the local geographical environment, you can refer to an example - the land west of Gaoligong Mountain belonged to part of the "Savage Mountain" in northern Myanmar in later generations, until the time of the Anti-Japanese War, the Burmese army was forced into the Savage Mountain by the Japanese army, which was miserable and suffered heavy losses.

If the troops are transferred to those places, even if there are no enemy troops blocking the roads and creating logistical obstacles, at least five or six logistical auxiliaries will be required to maintain one combat soldier, and the loss will be too great.

After Li Dingguo arrived in Dali Mansion, he also observed the surrounding terrain, and did not rest for ten consecutive days, and has been running around to understand the actual geography.

So he didn't make empty statements and fight an unprepared battle, but he really understood this logistical difficulty.

He sorted out the strategy and discussed with Liu Wenxiu: "Don't I know that the road is dangerous and far, so I will bring fewer soldiers and attack the enemy because of food." Then coerce some other Tusi near the new Ming Dynasty, and use the original contradictions of the various departments under the Xuanwei Division to drive the tiger and devour the wolf.

】

Fortunately, the prince now gives our army more pills and medicinal oil to drive away miasma, that is, the diet of melon mushrooms and mushrooms in the south to supplement the military rations, which should not make the soldiers too unaccustomed to the soil and water.

In addition, the soldiers who want to go on an expedition are best chosen from those who followed the eldest brother to Yungui two years ago. I heard that anyone who has lived in Nanzhong for a year or two and survived the miasma of vomiting fever will form resistance in the body, which is also summed up by several great Confucians of the Jiangning Research Institute, and experiments have been done. ”

Liu Wenxiu didn't know much about the reliability of these statements, and he was a little suspicious, so Li Dingguo divided his troops with him and assigned tasks:

This winter, one of them was stationed in Dali Mansion and the other in Kunming Mansion, dividing the east and west to pacify the many rebels that might emerge, and striving to extinguish the thief chieftains each time with small forces rushing and dividing and disintegrating.

The plan has been decided, and Li Dingguo will do it.

In order to prevent logistical difficulties, he actually sent only 2,000 soldiers to ensure logistics mules and horses, and climbed the Gaoligong Mountain to attack the three Tusi who were in chaos.

Among these soldiers, they are equipped with 300 "Wuchangzao" riflemen, sufficient ammunition supply, other soldiers carry more traditional bows and crossbows, and finally, there are dozens of double-barreled cavalry guns, two lightweight and smallest cavalry guns, which are convenient for towing and marching in the mountains, and at the same time, in case of attacking the village after the attack, they can also be put into battle as soon as possible, so that the enemy is caught off guard-

Because if you don't bring cannons, you have to temporarily build siege weapons when you get to a strong camp and other places, even if these civil camps are not strong, and it takes a day or two to build a flying ladder and hit the wood to break the wall, but it will still give the enemy time to react.

After having cavalry artillery, it was possible to carry out a sneak attack, and even a small army marched in the middle of the night to arrive outside the camp, and then had no other firepower to prepare, and the first artillery was to directly drag the cavalry artillery to 200 steps outside the gate and bombard the gate.

Once the sneak attack smashes the gate of the village as soon as possible, and then covers the influx, you can maximize the effect of the surprise attack.

……

With a lot of preparations, coupled with mental calculations and unintentional calculations, Li Dingguo's seemingly risky and radical gamble on his life really achieved miraculous results.

On the one hand, before sending troops, Li Dingguo first tricked and tried to be gentle, and sent some gold, jewelry and other property to the two chaotic Tusi of the Lima Xuanwei Division, pretending to want to compromise, and asking them to "not actually accept the control of the liuguan, but not to pull the flag openly".

Li Dingguo's letter also said that as long as they agreed to accept "the actual emperor of the soil and nominally not resist the system of liuguan", then the imperial court would not send liuguan over for several years, and they could still put on the heads of the three liuguan who had already been killed, saying that they had violated the law and looted after taking office, which led to the rebellion of the righteous people.

also said that the dead people are the old ones of Wang Duo and Qian Qianyi anyway, and they don't deal with the country surname, and the country surname is counting on borrowing a knife to kill people, and he won't embarrass them.

The letter was false and real, and there were many nonsense, but it also made the southwest toast, who had little strategic knowledge, relax his vigilance, and continued to mistakenly think that Da Ming was so cowardly.

While the negotiations were stable, Li Dingguo had already personally led a small army to quietly go on the road, climb the Gaoligong Mountain, eat and sleep all the way, and spend a lot of money to buy grain, fruits, and vegetables in other local Shunmin Tusi tribes who were oppressed by those rebel Tusi, and rushed forward lightly.

In just half a month, he killed the main village of the cave house of the Simon clan in Limaxuan, and also got the guide of the local tribe who disobeyed the rule of the Meng clan in advance, and calculated the time to kill in front of the village at dawn.

When the barbarians were still asleep, the Ming army set up a cannon and directly bombarded the door of the cave and killed them. The battle was resolved in one morning, and the rebel Tusi family was killed.

Such a risky and bloody battle, in just one month, many nails were pulled out in Limasi and Ganyasi.

Li Dingguo hurriedly gave tobacco seedlings to those tribes who helped the imperial army lead the way and provide assistance, and also taught the local toast how to smoke this tobacco leaf, or took out a sample of a snuff bottle and let people wipe it under their noses to try the refreshing effect.

And it is advertised that this kind of leaf will be purchased by the imperial court in the future to ensure the purchase price.

After some operation, those who were lucky that they did not follow the rebellion decided to try to grow for two years, and if they could really get rich, there was no need to resist again.

In the process of advancing the actual work, Li Dingguo and others later discovered a new situation: in addition to tobacco, there were other crops brought by the Ming army, which seemed to be more sought after by the locals.

Li Dingguo's military rations originally brought some spice crops that had been promoted and planted in Huguang a few years ago, that is, red peppers, which were dried and made into chili oil.

Yunnan-Guizhou, especially Guizhou, where Sun Kewang is in charge, because of the inconvenient transportation, even the salt is very expensive, and the freight of Sichuan salt is extremely high, and the locals have long been accustomed to putting less salt and using various other plant products with heavy flavors to enhance the weight of food.

Now after discovering that chili peppers, which can be planted directly in the local area and do not rely on foreign transportation, those Tusi who have returned to the Ming Dynasty have asked Li Dingguosun Kewang for chili seeds, asking not only tobacco seedlings but also chili seeds next year.

After Li Dingguo and others discovered this unexpected demand, they naturally reported it immediately, and it was sent to Nanjing at the beginning of the next year. Of course, Zhu Shuren also approved it immediately after reading it, and transferred the pepper seeds over.

It's just that chili peppers are not like tobacco, which can be forced by the state to monopolize them, and after providing seeds, they can easily spread naturally within a few years, and everyone can plant them if they want to.

Originally, Yungui lacked cultivation, but it was just inconvenient transportation, and no one trafficked the original seeds into it on a large scale.

But in any case, even if a time lag can be formed, for example, those Shunmin tribes who served the Ming Dynasty could popularize chili peppers two or three years earlier, and those tribes who resisted the Ming Dynasty would get chili peppers two or three years later.

The time difference in this is enough for the Shunming tribe to make a lot of money by selling seeds, and over time, it will also make the strength of the Shunming tribe richer, forming a crushing force and accelerating the transformation of the land and returning to the stream.