Which pot is not opened and which pot is lifted——
This was the thought of everyone present.
After all, He Tengjiao's expression changed slightly, but he soon recovered.
Guizhou civil and military officials looked at each other and suppressed their smiles.
The faces of Zuo Liangyu and his son on the side turned red, obviously their pain points had been mentioned.
"What belongs to Sichuan belongs to Sichuan, which is different from Yunnan."
He Tengjiao laughed and reluctantly turned around. Seeing that Mu Tianbo wanted to ask again, he said:
"Now Guizhou has gathered 30,000 soldiers and horses, and we will recruit some chieftain soldiers and horses. Once the food and grass are in place, we can set off."
"My lord, I wonder how many soldiers and horses the Western bandits have?"
As the Marquis of Ningnan, Zuo Liangyu raised his voice and looked like a rough man, asking questions at He Tengjiao's signal.
"This is about thirty to fifty thousand, or maybe one hundred thousand."
Faced with this question, Mu Tianbo said with some embarrassment.
Everyone's eyelids jumped, and they were really speechless for this unreliable Duke.
How can we fight if we don’t know how many enemies we have? How did we become the Duke of Guizhou?
"However, Governor, you are really incompetent with 30,000 people. You will definitely not be able to defeat us."
Seeing everyone's disappointed expressions, Mu Tianbo couldn't help but add:
"As long as the heavenly troops from the imperial court enter Yunnan, the local chieftains will naturally eat pots of pulp and raise troops to greet them. When the time comes, they will defeat the Western thieves as if they were searching for something."
Zuo Liangyu shook his head vaguely at He Tengjiao.
He Tengjiao hastily ended this awkward welcome, and specially arranged for the Mu family to be accommodated, and they must not be neglected.
The Duke still needs to have some dignity, and more importantly, the Mu Mansion is an important part of defeating the Western Thieves.
When only He Tengjiao and Zuo Liangyu were left, Zuo Liangyu couldn't help but say:
"Duke Xian, this battle is difficult to fight!"
"I know too."
He Tengjiao picked up the tea cup and tasted the bitterness on his tongue, which was just like his mood.
I originally thought that with the title of Governor-General of Huguang, Guizhou, Yunnan and other provinces, I would be able to defeat the Western bandits in a matter of days.
But who would have thought that it would get stuck in Guizhou.
Without him, there will be insufficient troops, insufficient money and food, and insufficient moral energy.
The lack of military strength is due to the previous suppression of the She'an Rebellion, which resulted in a significant reduction in Guizhou's military strength. The population was already not wealthy, and now it should be even worse.
If money and food are not enough, the spirit will be insufficient.
But in a barren land like Guizhou, it was difficult for the yamen to support themselves, let alone support the imperial court in sending troops.
Of course, in the final analysis, money and food are still insufficient.
There are many barbarians in Guizhou, which is a good source of soldiers. As long as there is enough money and food, many people can be recruited as soldiers.
"Brother, there's not enough food over there."
Zuo Liangyu said in a deep voice: "There is only half a month's worth of food left in the army. If this continues, there will be no military discipline whatsoever, and we will have no choice but to rob it."
"Absolutely not!"
He Tengjiao said decisively.
Not to mention that Guizhou is his hometown and he might be forced to break into his ancestral grave in the future, but the current situation in Guizhou cannot tolerate such a scene.
Guizhou is different from Huguang, Jiangxi and other places. There are many chieftains and barbarians here. Once a dispute arises and the fragile balance is interrupted, Guizhou itself may be in chaos if it is not quelled.
“We still have to take a long-term view!”
He Tengjiao said tangledly.
Zuo Liangyu was speechless.
He really couldn't understand the entanglements of these literati.
The army is different from the unruly people. If you don't feed their stomachs, they will really rebel. It is even more unimaginable to reach this point.
"so!"
He Tengjiao gritted his teeth and said: "For the time being, we will find a few disobedient chieftains to eliminate them. If we wait for a while, I will write to the court and ask Huguang and Lingnan to get some money and food."
"This couldn't be better."
Zuo Liangyu grinned and laughed.
Once he leads the army independently, won't his opportunity come?
…
Nanjing.
Emperor Hong Quang still delegated power, and Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng united to deal with the Dong Lin Party.
The Donglin Party has been engaging in soft confrontation.
However, the two parties, whose hatred was getting deeper and deeper, had no choice but to gather together to discuss matters in Yunnan.
The emperor was unwell and Ma Shiying presided over the meeting.
With a glance, Ruan Dacheng, as a minister, said directly:
"He Tengjiao sent a letter saying that the Duke of Guizhou escaped from Yunnan and came to Guizhou, looking for help in a state of embarrassment..."
After this petition for help reached the General Affairs Department, almost all high-level officials knew the specific situation, but when they first heard it, everyone still felt it was outrageous.
"The Duke of Guizhou made it clear that the Western thieves had been recharging their strength for many days. After gathering 100,000 troops to launch a sneak attack on Kunming, they also took advantage of those chieftains with evil intentions. Now, they have more than 200,000 troops..."
"Of the ten prefectures in Yunnan, only a few prefectures such as Chuxiong and Dali remain. It can be said that 70% of the territory is occupied by Western thieves."
Speaking of this, Ruan Dacheng paused for a moment before saying:
"Moreover, according to what Duke Qian said, this time the Western bandits did not massacre the city and hijack the people as usual, but instead managed with peace of mind——"
"not good!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone's expressions changed.
Rogue bandits are not to be feared, but bandits are to be feared.
Those chieftains in Yunnan are only interested in profit and fear power rather than virtue. Once they are subdued by the Western bandits, it will lead to unpredictable consequences.
No one can afford to lose another province.
Of course, the fall of the north was a matter of the Chongzhen Dynasty and had nothing to do with our Hongguang Dynasty.
"It must be eradicated without delay!"
Qian Qianyi understood the seriousness at this time and stepped forward, winning everyone's praise:
"However, if He Tengjiao wants money and food, he will definitely not be able to transport it to Jiangxi. He can only find a way to Huguang and Lingnan, and Huguang is the most convenient..."
As he said that, he looked at the confident Ma Shiying.
Now, it was Ma Shiying's turn to scold her.
As the chief minister of the cabinet, only he has the right to reach out to King Yu, and the others are not qualified.
How can the King of Yu, who is like a local overlord, be so easy to deal with? If he gets angry, once King Qin comes, it will cause a big fuss.
And if he is overthrown, what will be lost is his prestige as the chief assistant.
However, Ma Shiying's position as chief assistant is not for nothing. He has two tools:
"I gave the order to the Chief Secretary of Huguang and asked them to support one or two as appropriate. The main thing is to rely on Guangdong."
Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up instantly.
Nowadays, the Chief Secretary of Huguang exists in name only, and the so-called decrees are only received by the King of Henan in the end. This also creates a buffer space for the Chief Secretary and not the King of Henan.
Take care of everything inside and out.
After a little trouble, the Donglin Party had no choice but to compromise and support Guangdong in providing money and food.
Ma Shiying breathed a sigh of relief. This was the fastest time in recent times.
When he returned to his house, it was already dusk, and after working for a long time, Qian Qianyi calmly changed into his normal clothes.
His beloved wife Liu Rushi was waiting on her, squeezing her shoulders and saying softly: "That student of yours has been waiting for a long time."
"Which student?"
Qian Qianyi was stunned.
"That's the student with a weird accent and a Mandarin accent. He's from Fujian."