This is a mountain with hundreds of thousands of mountains. In addition to mountains, it is also mountains. Needless to say, the roads are also very difficult to walk.
Now that Sun Chuanting is conquering the bandits under Li Zicheng, the path taken by the army is actually much better.
Because in the first year of Taichang, that is, 1620, Min Hongxue was appointed as the chief envoy of Fujian Province, Zuobu Yushi, to patrol Yunnan, and also to manage military affairs in Jianchang, Bijie, Dongchuan and other places, to supervise the pay of soldiers in Sichuan, and to pacify the southwestern chieftains.
During the war, great efforts were made to build roads.
Otherwise, the road to Yunnan and Guizhou will only be more difficult!
However, continuous rainy weather, even if it stopped raining, would be very difficult for the Qin soldiers to march into Guizhou.
No, there was an army wearing bamboo hats and raincoats, walking on the official road in the mountains, walking on the muddy road, and few people spoke.
The pathfinders at the front were advancing cautiously. Behind the Chinese army, the two generals riding on horseback were talking.
"Commander, I thought I had seen the mountains!" One of the generals sighed to the commander, "Now I am convinced, this is the mountain, look!"
As he spoke, he pointed to both sides of the road with his hands, and then continued: "It's densely packed with woods. It's not like we in the north, which are often bare. If this person buries into the mountains, even if it's a hundred thousand,
Even if there are millions of people, you can’t even hope to find it!”
The coach was a tall, middle-aged man. When he heard this, he wiped his sweat and said: "Damn it, the key is the heat and humidity! It's so simple!"
This coach is He Renlong, known as "Crazy He", and beside him is his general Gao Jie.
Now the two of them were ordered to be the first to enter Guizhou. Because according to the news, the bandits under Li Zicheng's subordinates had caused trouble to the chieftain in front of him, took away people and money, and continued to flee to the depths of Guizhou.
No, when He Renlong said this, Gao Jie also took off his helmet, wiped his sweat and said: "No, it's really uncomfortable in this place. Many brothers in the army are also sick! There are many mosquitoes here, and it's so uncomfortable."
It’s a big day, the weather is sultry and hot, it’s either going to rain or it’s going to rain soon, so just go back early!”
At this point, he was afraid that He Renlong would train him, so he quickly explained: "If it were in our own Qin land or the Central Plains region, it would definitely not be mentioned. In such a ghost place, you really can't even use half of your strength!"
He Renlong listened and nodded, without any intention of lecturing him, and said: "The most important thing is that if you just chase the bandits like this without fighting, but just follow behind, you won't earn any military merit.
It’s so boring!”
After hearing this, Gao Jie was afraid that he would complain about the coach. He had been taught a lesson before, so he quickly explained: "The imperial court has decided to drive away wolves and swallow tigers. You see, the chieftain territories in the southwestern part of Huguang are not all occupied now."
It is to change his native land and return to his hometown, which will save the court a lot of trouble!"
This matter was not stated explicitly, but anyone who has followed Sun Chuanting for so long can see it.
Sun Chuanting just used the power of his army to force the bandits to flee, and then cleaned up the mess along the way. If he hadn't had this intention, would the bandits have been able to run so far?
Although on the surface it was said that the main purpose was to prevent bandits from jumping back to the north, so they had to act steadily; but seeing Sun Chuanting clean up the place afterwards, his real purpose was clear at a glance!
At this time, He Renlong heard what Gao Jie said, and he was not stupid, so he nodded and said: "These bandits are all cowards. I thought that they have become more capable over the years, but in the end they still don't dare to fight. You know. escape!"
"Haha, I'm just afraid of the fight!" After hearing this, Gao Jie said immediately, "In the Battle of Kaifeng, I didn't have any powerful troops under my command, so the bandits suffered a big loss. Then the elite soldiers from the Battle of Jizhou went south. , it would be strange if they didn’t run away!”
As soon as he heard what he said, He Renlong regretted and said: "Why can't I keep up with this kind of war! All the equipment distributed by the imperial court is in vain!"
Gao Jie listened and felt the same. The equipment distributed by the imperial court was both sophisticated protective gear and sophisticated ordnance, and its combat power was definitely several levels higher than before. The most important thing was that the military pay and food were sufficient, which made them even more capable. No more worries.
Some time ago, news came down from the army that Emperor Taizu had appeared in the Jinluan Palace. This was not a good omen, for it heralded a long life for the Ming Dynasty! The morale of the army was therefore even higher, and they were eager to catch the bandit Kacha and Duoli. Get some military merit.
It's just a pity that under the command of Lord Sun, he knows how to use his strength to suppress others and force the bandits to flee. There is no decent battle to fight at all. At most, it is just a scout battle!
Thinking like this, he looked up and saw the soldiers in the marching formation. Many of them imitated him and took off their hats to fan themselves. Some soldiers even took off their helmets to wipe their sweat and cool down. .
He didn't think anything of this. He turned around and suggested to He Renlong: "According to Ye Bu's feedback, the chieftain's village in front of him has been completely deserted. But this time, the bandits are also gone. If the village is not burned down, can we stay there for a day to rest?"
He Renlong listened, nodded and said: "This damn weather is really annoying. There are soldiers in the army who are sick and stay behind. The front must take a good rest. Anyway, your military order is only to drive away the thieves and continue. Just go deep into Yunnan and Guizhou!"
"Commander is wise!" Gao Jie heard this, flattered him, and then shouted loudly, "Commander has given orders, you can rest when you reach the village in front, brothers, work harder!"
Upon hearing his words, the soldiers of the Ming army at the front, left and right immediately let out a cheer.
But who would have thought that at this moment, a "bang bang bang" sound was suddenly heard.
He Renlong is also a battle-hardened general. He knows what the sound is just when he hears it.
Gu Chui
Suddenly, he shouted loudly: "Enemy attack!"
Almost at the same time, I saw arrows shooting out of the mountains and forests on both sides of the official road, and the target was this Qin soldier.
Moreover, among the sound of bows and arrows, a small amount of gunshots can also be heard.
Some of the more unlucky imperial soldiers were struck down by arrows, but most of them put on helmets for protection immediately.
He Renlong's reorganized Qin soldiers were indeed an elite force. When they were attacked, they did not panic, but immediately formed a defensive formation.
He Renlong's side was obviously the main target of the enemy's attack, and most of the bows and arrows were fired at his side first.
Gao Jie's right hand was unfortunately hit by an arrow. However, it was protected by armor and did not penetrate deeply into the flesh. He did not even frown. He immediately pulled out the arrow with his other hand. While dismounting, he shouted sharply: "Keep it up." Formation, formation!"
"Kill..."
After several rounds of arrows, shouts of killing rang out in the forest.
Just hiding in the mountains and forests and relying on archery can't annihilate this imperial army. They can only attack and destroy them in close combat.
Under the cover of his personal guards, He Renlong observed the mountains and forests on both sides. He frowned and seemed a little confused.
Because he could tell from the murderous cries that not only did they have a Qin Opera accent, but there were even strange cries that he couldn't understand.
But at this time, he couldn't care about it anymore. It was very dangerous to be attacked during the march.
At the same time, on the nearby hilltop, where you can see part of the official road, there is a group of people here, all of them are very proud.
The person leading the group was none other than Li Zicheng, who had been running away in embarrassment.
I saw him smiling and saying to a man in obviously different clothes: "This time we cooperate and destroy this imperial army, so that we can scare other pursuers and prevent them from going deeper!"
This person was Wan Hongwu, the local chieftain. He also had a smile on his face, nodded, and then said a little bit viciously: "The court is unjust, so don't blame us for being rude. You really think that we chieftains are all made of clay."
!”
Song Xiance saw him next to him, stroking his long beard and smiling. The mountain wind blew, which made him look a bit like Zhuge Kongming.
Even if he didn't know what the court was doing at the beginning, how could he still not understand it after so long?
Especially when they fled into the southwestern part of Huguang, they did indeed plunder the local chieftains at first, and then found that the imperial court had changed their ways and returned to the country.
This made Song Xiance think of a way, and after reporting it to Li Zicheng, he changed his approach.
Song Xiance personally sent an envoy to the chieftains in Guizhou, revealing all the imperial court's "sinister intentions".
He was not afraid that the chieftain would not believe him. He directly asked the chieftain to send someone to verify the situation of the chieftain in the south of Huguang, and he would be able to find out at a glance.
Therefore, after the chieftain Wan Hongwu knew everything, he decided to cooperate with Li Zicheng.
For a chieftain, they are absolutely unwilling to change their native land and return to their hometown. They are even less willing to become a victim of the imperial court. While they are wasting their lives as thieves, everything in the end will be returned to the imperial court.
In fact, in the original Ming Dynasty strategy, because of rebellions in various places, the strength of the chieftains was needed, so it can be said that the chieftains were given very preferential treatment.
The entire Ming Dynasty was basically passive in the process of reforming the country and returning to the local people. Only when something happened to the chieftain and his descendants were wiped out, the system would be changed to the local government.
For most of the chieftains in the late Ming Dynasty, the Ming court was not very grateful for their kindness. On the contrary, in the southwest of the Ming Dynasty at the end of the Ming Dynasty, rebellions among chieftains abounded.
In this context, these chieftains, such as Wan Hongwu, chose to cooperate with the bandit Li Zicheng without saying a word. On his territory, they first pretended to be robbed by bandits, and then ambush in the mountains and forests.
While waiting for the imperial army to enter, I thought about joining Li Zicheng's bandits to deal with the imperial army ruthlessly.
It would be strange if the chieftain and the emperor could stick out their necks and let them be punished by the court's knife!
Song Xiance was thinking about this and had even thought of the next countermeasure. That was to unite the many chieftains in the southwest of the imperial court to jointly fight against the imperial court.