Su Xiong came to the hospital to welcome Li Zhengfeng after he was discharged.
"How is your recovery going? You came back just in time. There is something you need to do."
Li Zhengfeng shook his fist and said:
"The effect of artemisinin is really great, I am now like a normal person.
But the feeling of being sick is really uncomfortable. When I get sick, I feel like I am about to die.
Commander, leave something to me.
Now that my health has recovered, I can do things with no problem."
"Just recover." Su Xiong said happily, "We have conquered Guiyang and most of the Guizhou Ming army surrendered.
A small number of them fled to Huguang and Guangxi. We ignored these small Ming troops.
The biggest headache for me is these toasts in Guizhou. The toasts in Guizhou are mainly from Miao villages.
The terrain in Guizhou is more complicated than that in Sichuan. Even the mountain division of the Second Army attacked these chieftains.
We started to attack, but the chieftains fled directly into the mountains because they were familiar with the terrain. They did not engage in battle with us at all.
Our army, in an unfamiliar jungle, suffered too many non-combat casualties."
When Li Zhengfeng heard what Su He said, he was not surprised at all.
In Yunnan, the chieftain relied on his familiarity with fighting in the mountains and forests and dared to confront the Qin army head-on.
They thought that the Qin army, like the Ming army, was not familiar with mountain and jungle warfare.
They fought at home in a familiar place, using traps and poisonous arrows, plus the camouflage of the jungle.
These chieftains could also drive the Qin army away from the mountains and forests.
These chieftains did not expect that they would be beaten directly by the Second Army led by Su Zhuang.
It is a mountain jungle warfare unit specially trained for the terrain in the southwest.
More than half of the soldiers in the army are naturalized natives recruited from various chieftains.
The major chieftains are already in conflict with each other, and they all know the enemy's fighting habits very well.
The chieftain wanted to ambush the troops of the Second Army in the jungle. This was simply a wishful thinking.
Wearing special camouflage uniforms, they are the best in the army at digging and breaking traps.
The Second Army's individual combat capabilities are also the best in the entire army.
In the jungle, the power of muskets and artillery cannot be exerted at all.
Firearms experts, based on the characteristics of jungle warfare, developed a musket that fires shotguns with reference to cannon shotguns, and named it a shotgun.
The shotgun has a range of only more than ten meters, but it can spray dozens of iron beads at a time.
A barrage formed in front of the soldiers, leaving the enemy with no way to escape.
He specializes in skills, and the Second Army defeated the chieftain of Yunnan.
Especially the Jianchang Reclamation Corps, officer Zhao Ke, improved the flintlock rifle.
Wu Ming, commander of the First Division of the Second Army, took only seven days to wipe out the two largest local chieftain villages.
Wu Ming treated the chieftains who dared to resist with extremely cruel methods, and his fighting style was also very crazy.
He was called Wu Butcher by these chieftains.
The Second Army broke through many chieftain villages, effectively frightening the chieftains in Yunnan.
These chieftains had to accept the policy of returning natives to their native lands, and no chieftain dared to resist the Qing army anymore.
Li Zhengfeng immediately asked: "Commander, we can still use Yunnan's method.
I was in the ward and reading some military reports.
We have wiped out all the toasts in Yunnan.
Yunnan also formed its own reclamation corps.
There will definitely be no problem maintaining local stability.
We can move the Second Army here in Guizhou."
"I have transferred the first and second divisions of the Second Army to Guizhou.
Among them, the First Division of the Second Army was stationed in Shibing County, the hinterland of the Miao Village. They had already captured Shibing County.
There is not much news about Miao village toast here in Guizhou.
The toast here in Guizhou is mainly Miao village toast, and some Miao village toast is highly sinicized.
Knowing our great strength, these Miao village chieftains did not dare to confront us.
They proposed negotiations and let the people from the Southern Front Headquarters discuss the conditions for their surrender.
You are the only one in the headquarters who is free now. I am going to send you to Shibing County to negotiate with these Miao village chieftains.
These Miao village toasties who want to negotiate terms are all mature Miao.
There are more than 10,000 troops stationed by Wu Ming in Shibing County, so security is definitely no problem.
It would be best for these mature seedlings to surrender to us by recruiting them to surrender.
We can only suppress those uncivilized seedlings with force.
In the process of suppressing the seedlings, mature seedlings joined the army as guides.
For our military, it becomes a home battle, and combat efficiency and safety are guaranteed to a certain extent."
Li Zhengfeng understood these Miao village chieftains and classified them into mature Miao and raw Miao according to their degree of Chineseization.
The mature Miao only retain the living habits of the Miao people.
They intermarried with Han people, could speak Chinese, and their names were also Chinese.
They are also good at communicating with the outside world and understanding the strength of the Qin army.
Some places even accepted the exiled officials sent by the Ming Dynasty, and completed the reform and return to exile decades ago.
Among these Miao village chieftains, the power of the chieftains has been greatly weakened, and Miao landlords have taken advantage of the situation.
Shengmiao mainly lives in deep mountains and old forests and refuses to intermarry with Han people.
They have their own language and live a tribal-like primitive life.
"Army Commander, Chief of Staff Wang Shiyuan needs him for important strategic execution, so he went to the Third Army as Chief of Staff.
The Third Army has two chiefs of staff, and the position of chief of staff is still vacant.
His Highness King Qin doesn't know when he will send another chief of staff.
There are only two of us left in the military department. We are really unable to do our job well.
Why haven't Su Zhuang and other senior officials of the Second Army arrived in Guizhou yet?
This matter is decided only by the two of us through discussion, which is inconsistent with military regulations.
There are only two of us, and the conditions negotiated can easily be impeached by those civilian officials." Li Zhengfeng asked.
Let him negotiate terms with the Miao village chieftain, and they must discuss their bottom line.
Only by knowing the bottom line can we achieve better negotiation results.
But now there are only two people in the headquarters. Generally, major matters must be agreed by the three commanders of the army.
Unfortunately, their army's chief of staff was absent.
"Su Zhuang and others were dragged away in Yunnan.
There was a conflict between the Han and Bai people in Yunnan.
Things are a bit tricky, and I suspect that Ming Dynasty's elders are deliberately causing trouble.
The local officers in charge of military control were not easy to deal with.
Only Su Zhuang's people have the power to deal with it."
Su Xiong said firmly: "The two of us can discuss this matter.
You have to record the details of what happened, and I will report it personally to His Highness King Qin.
I'll tell you my opinion first, and then you can give me your opinion on what's not good about it.
If the chieftain of the Miao village wants to surrender, our bottom line is that the Miao village must return to its native land and the Miao village is not allowed to have its own armed forces.
As long as they can accept these two items, other conditions are easy to negotiate."
After Li Zhengfeng listened, he nodded and said: "These two conditions are the core and our bottom line.
We must not give up. If the chieftain of the Miao village does not agree, I will get it on the battlefield.
We also need to make careful choices regarding other conditions.
For example, among the Miao people, we must deal with the chieftains and landlords who are extremely angry.
His Highness the King of Qin has always supported the people at the bottom.
Our Qin army also relies on the support of the people at the bottom to develop and grow.
Those low-level Miao people are very likely to join our army, and they will also have the opportunity to take the imperial examination.
When someone becomes successful and reveals that there are still landlords and gentry bullying men and women in their hometown, we cannot afford to lose face."
Su Xiong nodded with satisfaction and said: "You understand it very thoroughly. I leave the negotiation to you, there will be absolutely no problem.
His Highness the King of Qin once said that we must always safeguard our fundamentals.
Our basic base is the people at the bottom.
As long as we let them live a better life and give them some hope, the power these people will unleash will shock the world."
Su Xiong and Li Zhengfeng discussed the terms for their negotiations with the Miao village chieftain.
Li Zhengfeng took a company of guards and set off south from Guiyang to Shibing County.
This is the area where Hanren County and Miao Village Tusi meet.
To the south of Shibing County is the very famous Miao hinterland, where a large number of mature and raw seedlings live.
When Li Zhengfeng came to Shibing County, he rushed directly to the headquarters of the First Division of the Second Army.
He discussed with Wu Ming and others the corresponding plan for the negotiations.
After the discussion is completed, the Miao side is notified and negotiations can begin.
The two parties discussed it and agreed on a time for formal negotiations.
Li Zhengfeng got up early in the morning. He read a lot of information about the Miao village along the way and was already confident about the negotiations.
At the Shibing County government office, Li Zhengfeng met with representatives of the Miao village chieftains.
They are three old men wearing different clothes, representing the three major tribes of the Miao people.
Li Zhengfeng bowed his hands to them and said: "I congratulate Li Zhengfeng, the commander of the First Army of the Qin Army, as a second-grade officer."
The short, fat old man on the left spoke first.
"Old and decayed gold and jade are eternal."
The old man with a beard in the middle said immediately.
"Old old Ma Yufeng."
The old man on the right with a cane said finally.
"Old Lu Qizhe."
After Li Zhengfeng heard their self-introductions, he felt completely relieved.
These people are indeed mature people. They speak Chinese and use Chinese names.
Being able to communicate is the greatest progress.
Li Zhengfeng asked the guards to bring chairs and they sat down to talk in detail.
He gave these Miao elders enough respect.
After they exchanged a few pleasantries, they went straight to the topic.
Li Zhengfeng directly laid out the conditions of the Qin army.
"You Miao village chieftains must repatriate, disarm all your troops, and obey our orders."
When Jin Yuheng heard this condition, he immediately stood up and stared at Li Zhengfeng with angry eyes.
"Such conditions are impossible and we absolutely cannot accept them.
When you Han people treat our Miao village chieftains, you have always followed the rules and accepted them but not rebelled. If you rebelled, you would abandon them but not pursue them.
Our Miao village toast is different from other toasts.
We, the Miao village chieftains, have never caused any major troubles since we became attached.
If we accept your conditions, what's the difference between us being defeated?"
Li Zhengfeng looked at him and said slowly: "It's not because our Qin army is strong that you took the initiative to come to negotiate.
What you can't get on the battlefield, you want to get at the negotiation table, which is simply impossible.
Our Qin army is not afraid of war. You must have heard about the fate of those chieftains in Yunnan.
You also want to learn from those chieftains in Yunnan and fight to the end.
Then we will let you see how powerful our Qin army's guns are."
Ma Yufeng stood up immediately and grabbed Jin Yuheng.
"Master Li, Jin Yuheng's temper is a bit violent, please be patient with him.
If you give in one more step, we can accept the return of the native tribes, but can we retain some of the tribal armed forces?
Our tribe lives in the mountains, and we also need to deal with attacks from poisonous insects and ferocious beasts in the mountains and from tribes that grow seedlings.
If the village loses its arms, it will turn into a sheep and will soon be annexed by the Miao tribe.
You want us to be attached, but you certainly don't want us to slowly die."
Li Zhengfeng looked at the performance of the two, and he estimated that Jin Yuheng was playing the bad role, and Ma Yufeng was playing the bad role.
Ma Yufeng's request is what these Miao village chieftains want to achieve.
"It is absolutely impossible. Only if you accept these two conditions of our Qin army, will we have the need to continue the negotiation.
As long as you surrender, your safety will be protected by the Qin army.
If you don't accept our conditions, we can only send out a large army to achieve what we want.
How many people in your tribe will be killed or injured by then will be beyond my control."
The three chieftains of the Miao village exchanged glances with each other.
They wanted to negotiate, but they were frightened by the Qin army's force.
In Yunnan, there are not only chieftains from other ethnic groups, but also many Miao village chieftains.
Many of these Miao village chieftains fled to Guizhou.
They learned about the cruel methods used by the Qin army towards the chieftains.
There were many chieftains who resisted fiercely, and more than half of the young men in the village were killed by the Qin army.
The Qin army was never merciless in its attacks and was very powerful.
They also had chieftain soldiers from Sichuan join the army, which was very suitable for fighting in the mountains and forests.
They held meetings for several days and discussed for a long time.
With no glimmer of victory in sight, they decided to let them negotiate with the Qin army on behalf of the chieftain of the Miao village.
Li Zhengfeng took out a firework and said confidently: "Master Wu Mingwu is in Shibing County.
As long as I light this firework, more than 10,000 Qin soldiers will rush into the hinterland of the Miao territory and attack you, the chieftain of the Miao village."
"Wu Ming."
"Butcher Wu."
"Wu Ming is here."
Three Miao elders heard that Wu Ming was leading his army here.
There was a look of horror on their faces.
The name of Butcher Wu has been spread to them, and this man is too ruthless.
In particular, his men are extremely good at jungle and mountain warfare.
These villagers, who were not even equipped with steel knives, met the butcher Wu's army with all firearms.
There is not even a glimmer of victory in sight.
Lu Qizhe tapped the ground twice with the crutch in his hand.
The three of them looked at each other, and then Lu Qizhe said: "We can agree to your army's conditions.
All chieftains of the Miao village implement the policy of returning their native land to the countryside, and the Miao village does not retain any armed forces.
But we have three conditions, which the Qin army must agree to.
Otherwise, if we fight until the last person, we will never surrender."
When Li Zhengfeng saw these Miao village chieftains, he agreed to his conditions.
These people also have some conditions.
If the conditions are not harsh, he can agree on behalf of the Qin army for the sake of Guizhou's stability.
"Please talk about your conditions. If there are some conditions that we cannot agree to, please don't say them out loud.
For example, conditions such as retaining the privileges of the chieftain and not holding the chieftain accountable.
This will affect our impression of Miao Village."
Jin Yuheng, on behalf of the Miao village chieftain, put forward their conditions.
"Our first condition is not to set up a reclamation corps in the Miao village.
We can cooperate with the officials sent by King Qin to establish corresponding yamen in our area.
Your army can also send regular troops to station in our area.
But the tribesmen are very resistant to this kind of reclamation corps, and we will never agree to it.
The second condition is that the King of Qin must treat our people equally.
We all have the rights that the Han people have.
We can also pay the obligations that the Han people have to pay.
The third condition is that your Qin army must marry our Miao village, especially the top brass of the Qin army.
What if you go back on your word and seize our Miao village directly?
Only the marriage relationship is the strongest relationship."
Li Zhengfeng listened to the conditions of the Miao people and found that their conditions were not difficult to accept.
Article 1: Reclamation Corps will not be established, but regular troops can be stationed.
Regular field troops are not necessary, the garrison can be stationed.
According to the plan, the Second Army will be stationed in various places in Yunnan and Guizhou.
There is a Miao village near their planned station, which would be more convenient.
As long as the Miao village implements the reform of their native land, they will have garrison troops.
The Qin Palace will be able to fully control the Miao Village and bring these populations under its rule.
These are mature seedlings, which are easier to control than some uncivilized toasts.
The only difference between these mature Miao and Han people is their different customs and habits.
The second condition is that the Miao people demand equal treatment.
There is no need for him to agree to this, the Qin Palace has been doing this all the time.
If you want to govern a region for a long time, the most important thing is fairness and justice.
Whether it is favoring the Han people or the natives, it will alienate one of the people in this place.
The third condition is even more joyous.
Many soldiers in the Qin army are single and are very willing to marry a wife, even if she is a native.
Senior generals like myself have no problem marrying wives.
The Marriage Law of the "Laws of the King of Qin" stipulates that in normal times, the consent of all wives is required to marry a wife.
Exceptions are made in special circumstances, such as marriage granted by the King of Qin and other reasons.
But for a political marriage between two forces like theirs, there is no need to abide by these regulations.
If the wife he marries is not satisfied, he just keeps her at home and raises her, and no one will be short of this ration.
Li Zhengfeng smiled and said: "Our Qin Army fully agrees to your three conditions."
They reached an agreement and everyone was satisfied.
Ma Yufeng said happily: "It's really good that everyone can reach a consensus and avoid a unnecessary war.
This is a good thing for each of us.
We are ready to make a blood alliance, worship the sky, and complete the most important ceremony."
Li Zhengfeng directly agreed and asked the cooking team to find a live pig and use pig blood to perform a blood alliance ceremony.
After a lot of fiddling, they officially completed the ceremony.
Li Zhengfeng smiled and said: "I have completed the blood alliance according to the tradition of your Miao village.
We Han people value writing in black and white and require all parties to sign an agreement.
Only in this way can the performance of the agreement be guaranteed.
Breaking the agreement will be spurned by everyone.
If you seek refuge with us, we will definitely give you reassurance and sign an agreement with you as an equal."
When Li Zhengfeng said this, the three Miao elders were very excited.
What they care about most is dignity and equality.
What they fear most is that the Qin army will use them as slaves, which is why they strongly resist the reclamation corps.
The Miao village elder immediately agreed to sign an agreement between the two parties.
Li Zhengfeng asked someone to draft the relevant agreement, and he and three Miao elders signed the agreement.
There are three agreements in total, one is kept by the First Army Headquarters, one is kept by the Miao Village, and one is sent to the Prince of Qin's Mansion in Hanzhong for filing.
After the agreement was signed, Li Zhengfeng discussed with Wu Ming to implement military control over the Miao village first.
To prepare for the official return of the Qin Palace to local rule.
In this process, they used the gendarmerie, and they started with the Dali Temple in the city.
The Minister of Dali Temple upheld justice for the lower class people of the Miao village and sentenced a group of the most evil chieftains and landlords of the Miao village.
Through this method, the people of Miao Village were won over.
In this process, some Miao village chieftains and landowners suffered losses, and they regretted it extremely.
These people wanted to mobilize ordinary Miao people to resist the rule of the Qin army.
Before these people could organize themselves, they were directly wiped out by the nearby garrison.
Li Zhengfeng saw that the Miao village had stabilized, so he returned directly to Guiyang.
When the war ends this time, he will return to Sichuan.
He hadn't seen Su Xiong yet and heard the discussions among the soldiers around him.
Li Zhengfeng knew that while he was dealing with the Miao village affairs, the Qin army had captured all areas of Guizhou.
The Qin army officially annexed the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou.
The Yunnan-Guizhou River forms a complete barrier to protect the southwest region.
If the Ming army wants to encircle and suppress them again, it will become very difficult, and their strategic space has become larger.
Su Xiong went out in person to greet Li Zhengfeng.
He stepped forward and patted Li Zhengfeng on the shoulder, and said happily:
"Our great hero is back, and with your sharp tongue, you will save many of our brothers from death.
Now that the entire southwest has been captured, the defense of Guizhou and Yunnan has been handed over to the Second Army.
There is no garrison here either, they serve as temporary officers.
Waiting for His Highness King Qin to send governors and officials at all levels to rule Yunnan and Guizhou.
The war is over, we have sorted out the team and are waiting for you to come back before we officially set off back to Sichuan."
"Don't be too happy yet. The Miao people surrender to us, but that is conditional.
You may be too busy to read the letter I wrote to you."
Li Zhengfeng clapped twice, and his guards walked into the courtyard with several young Miao girls.
"The other two requirements for the Miao people to submit to us are very simple. One of them is to intermarry with us.
Among them, the top generals of our First Army and Second Army must intermarry with the Miao people.
Commander's wife, I have brought her here for you, don't thank me too much.
I also brought back five thousand young girls from outside Guiyang City."
Su Xiong's eyes widened and he glanced at the Miao girl standing in the yard, dressed in colorful clothes.
Li Zhengfeng also said with a strange expression: "Why don't you go to His Highness the King of Qin for such a good thing? How will my tigress explain to you when you get home?"
Su Xiong laughed and said: "As a man, it is worthwhile to marry a wife for the country.
I guess one of the reasons why the Miao people did not choose His Highness the King of Qin was because they felt that they could not reach a higher level.
Another reason is that they feel that the time is too long and there are too many variables, and they are also afraid that something will happen midway.”
Su Xiong immediately asked people to bring these 5,000 Miao girls to Guiyang City for safe placement.
He said excitedly: "This is really great, there are so many unmarried girls.
The soldiers who have done meritorious service this time will be able to get wives.
This is good for the development of the army and makes other soldiers more eager to perform meritorious service."
Su Xiong decided to postpone leaving Guizhou.
The two of them arranged blind dates between the soldiers and these Miao girls based on their merits.
After the army had a collective kiss, they sang military songs and returned to Sichuan in neat formation with the joy of pacifying the southwest.
