Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 721 The Prelude to the Great Expansion 2
The cold wind is howling and snowflakes are flying in the north of Saibei, but the Guangxi side is still full of green trees. For the soldiers who have been fighting here from Henan, the winter in Guangdong and Guangxi is like the summer in Henan.

Now Nanning Mansion has become the world of Huguangyi Army.Although on the surface, the Huguangyi Army was driven all over the world by the Heluo New Army, from the Jianghan Plain all the way to Nanning Mansion, it looked weak and vulnerable, but those who went to attack them with this idea Without exception, the Ming army all died in an ugly way—for example, the defenders of Nanning Mansion dispatched more than [-] people to intercept the Huguang Yi Army, but they were defeated by the vanguard of the Huguang Yi Army with less than [-] people , more than four thousand people lost half.After finally escaping back to the city of Nanning, before he could catch his breath, the main force of the Huguangyi Army came. When he saw the huge lineup of [-] to [-] troops appearing in front of him, he saw more than [-] howitzers aimed at him. At that time, the Nanning defenders immediately pissed and surrendered without hesitation.The Huguang Volunteer Army did not make things difficult for them. Those who were willing to join were welcome, and those who were not willing to join put down their weapons and each gave some money to tell them to leave.Then it is naturally the same old way, everyone has accumulated enough experience, it can be said to be familiar with the road, and it is extremely easy.

But this very effective policy went wrong when it was implemented.It's not that the common people don't like the land, but... this ghostly place has many mountains and little land, and there is so little land suitable for farming that it can't be divided no matter how much it is.The most terrible thing is that more and more people came to join the rebel army after hearing the news, and more and more people tried to get a piece of land, especially the ethnic minorities. Minority, Shui, Jing... These ethnic groups who have lived in the deep mountains and old forests for generations heard that there is land to be divided, and they all rushed over. Of course, not all of them are local species. For example, many of the Miao and Yi ethnic groups came from Hubei. At the beginning, they followed Wang Rui and Qin Mai to fight everywhere. When they stayed in Nanning for rectification, a large number of Miao people, Buyi people, and Yi people came from Guizhou to seek refuge. cultivated land.

If there is a large piece of fertile and flat land that can be cultivated, ghosts are willing to hide in the deep mountains and old forests to slash and burn!They also want to multiply tens of millions of people and rule hundreds of thousands or millions of square kilometers. Unfortunately, they have never had such an opportunity!

When the Guangxi officials saw that the Huguangyi Army had begun to grow like a snowball again, they gasped. Damn it, these guys are really invincible. No matter how many of their people the Heluo New Army captured or how many of their troops were annihilated, as long as they gave Give them a little time and they always bounce back quickly!In Hunan and Hubei, officers and soldiers still dared to encircle and suppress it, but in Guangxi, no officers and soldiers dared to touch this snowball that was getting bigger and bigger. The Guangxi wolf soldiers were notoriously fierce. If they dared to provoke The Huguang army, before Wang Rui and Qin Mai take action, the Guangxi wolf soldiers will chew them up until no bones are left!The governor of Guangxi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot. He ran hundreds of miles to the Heluo New Army camp and complained to Han Peng: It's terrible. When the Huguang rebels came, all the natives rebelled. Please Please, hurry up and deal with them!
Han Peng rolled his eyes: "Our army has been fighting for a whole year, from Jianghan to Guangxi, without taking a breath, even an iron man can't stand it! Besides, they have already gone to Guangxi, and they can still fight." Where are you going to escape? Let us rest for a while, I don't believe they can fly into the sky!"

The Huguangyi army didn't plan to fly into the sky, but they didn't plan to stay in Guangxi and wait for the officers and soldiers to kill them.While the Heluo new army was busy resting, they were also busy reorganizing, selecting fierce and combative young men from the tribes that had run over to join them, and trained them rigorously, preparing for another battle.Those ethnic minorities who came to defect were surprised to find that although the Huguangyi Army had been defeated countless times by the Heluo New Army, they never lacked sophisticated weapons. To equip them with swords and spears, and for them to have as many strong bows and crossbows as they can't buy with money, the blockade of officers and soldiers seems to have no effect at all. This situation is really too weird.

What is even more astonishing is that even the precious medicines, the Huguangyi Army needs as much as they want. From Jinchuang medicines to special medicines for treating dysentery and malaria, they are all available at the quartermaster.Now the quartermaster is bringing out the barrels of medicines, and each person is handed out a pack, which contains a dozen small white pills, which are said to treat malaria. If you find symptoms of malaria, take them quickly. The military medical officer wants it, so don't delay.The environment in Guangxi is relatively harsh. If a large number of people gather, the chance of malaria epidemic is almost [-]%. People will soon suffer from malaria, but they will recover soon after taking the pills. It is really amazing.These precious special medicines made the many simple mountain people full of confidence in the Huguangyi Army. They firmly believed that the Huguangyi Army would lead them to a new world and eventually establish their homes in a piece of fertile soil.

The main force of the Huguangyi Army has been equipped with rifled flintlock guns. Their training can only be described as "rich and powerful". The 8000 to [-] musketeers have an average of at least ten bullets per person per day, rain or shine, I really don't know Where did they get so much ammunition!
"Where are we going to fight next?" In the commander's tent, Sun Xiucai frowned tightly, raising doubts in his heart, "It has been two full years since we fought from Jianghan to Guangxi, and we have never stopped fighting. The soldiers are tired. , If this continues, the team will disperse!"

The grey-haired but vigorous Miao old man said, "That's right, how long are we going to flee?" His name is Shi Nu, Shi Tianbao's father, and he led his people to join the rebel army when they attacked Xiangyang.

A large group of chieftains also shouted, expressing their dissatisfaction.In their view, with the strength of the Huguangyi Army, they can completely rely on the dangers of mountains and rivers to separatize Guangxi. Why do they have to retreat again and again, so that the Heluo New Army can be driven out of Daming?

Wang Rui raised his hands to signal everyone to be quiet. He was full of confidence and said loudly: "Everyone, I know that you have followed me for two years, fought countless vicious battles, and suffered countless hardships. It is very hard! Until now I have not I'm really sorry to let you get enough returns, but I assure you that my promise will be fulfilled in the end. I will let you get the land you dream of and build a beautiful home on that land! Now we are not far from that land!"

Everyone cheered up: "We are not far from that land? Where is it? Where is that land?"

Wang Rui said: "The land I promised you is Annan! It's not a county or a state, but the entire Annan!"

Sun Xiucai gasped and shouted in shock, "General, are you planning to invade Annan?"

Wang Rui grinned: "Why not? In the Song Dynasty, the Annan people invaded Hu Ning and slaughtered 8 or [-] of us. We haven't settled the debt with them yet!"

A chieftain of the Jing nationality said: "General, Annan is very poor. The whole country is forests except forests. Even if they are defeated, they cannot be farmed!"

Wang Rui said: "Of course this is the case in the north, but beyond the Liangshan Mountains, you will find the fertile Honghe Plain, where the land is fertile, the climate is humid, there are endless rice fields and banana forests, and there are swarms of fish and shrimps in the river. , is enough to feed all of us, and further south, the plains suitable for farming are wider and more fertile!"

All the chieftains immediately burst into cheers, and a chieftain of the Yao ethnic group laughed straightly: "Annan, it's easy to deal with, one of us can kill three of them!"

The Miao chieftain said proudly: "In the mountains, 100 of us can consume 1000 of them! As long as we are in the mountains, we are kings!"

Wang Rui said loudly: "Annan people are thin and weak, with loose discipline and poor equipment. They don't even have a few guns. In a real fight, 2000 of us can defeat 1 of them!"

The chieftains cheered: "That's right! Those guys are very weak. We always let us beat them in the fights for water sources and forest farms. They have never won!"

Wang Rui said: "Our troops are divided into two groups. We will fight through Zhennan Pass on this side, and General Qin will take a boat to fight across the Red River on the other side. We will join forces on the Red River Plain! I know that you are all very good at farming, even if you It is possible to open up arable land to plant rice in the mountains full of rocks, and there is such a large plain——"

The chieftains all said in unison: "As long as we are given a plain, even if it is sand, we can turn it into a rice field with fragrant rice!"

Wang Rui said: "Everyone is armed, young and strong will open the road and build bridges in front, and middle-aged people will take care of women and children and follow behind the army!"

The chieftains blushed with excitement: "Okay!"

Sun Xiucai was a little worried: "Annan is a vassal of Ming Dynasty. If we destroy Annan and build a country by ourselves, I'm afraid we will offend Ming Dynasty and cause disaster!"

Wang Rui waved his hand vigorously: "After destroying Annan, we will submit a letter to the Ming Dynasty requesting the vassal status. We will always be the most loyal and reliable vassal of the Ming Dynasty. We will not go to Qin Muchu like the Annan people. I think the Ming Dynasty will definitely agree!"

Only then did Sun Xiucai feel relieved.

Having found a new target, the Huguangyi Army suddenly became excited.At the beginning of December in the seventh year of Chongzhen, the Huguang volunteer army set out from Nanning in mighty strength and went straight to Zhennanguan.The scale of this large army is unprecedentedly terrifying. The headquarters of the Huguangyi Army and the ethnic minorities who have defected from Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou provinces add up to 36 people. It can also exhaust those waste wood guards to death.Han Peng heard the news and strictly ordered the officers and soldiers along the way not to stop them. The officers and soldiers who received the order were so excited that they burst into tears—this general is really considerate, there are hundreds of thousands of tigers and wolves, whoever stops him is an idiot!
In mid-December, Wang Rui's troops crossed the deserted Zhennan Pass and entered the Annan Mirror.At the same time, Qin Mai's 13 people marched by land and water, and all crossed the Red River and entered Annan.After learning that the two gods of plague had all gone to Annan, Beijing was overjoyed. From the princes and ministers to the landlords, they all cheered and told each other, feeling relieved—two years like a nightmare, these two years How many landlords in the village have lost their heads, how many vassal kings were decapitated, and their families were destroyed?And how many people are in constant panic, fearing that the Huguangyi Army will come and destroy their clan, and distribute the land they bought with great difficulty to those mud legs?They really don't want to try that kind of dreadful feeling again!Now... Empress Nuwa, those two plague gods finally got tired of playing, but they brought disaster to the people of Annan!At the time of the court, there was an idiot who proposed that Annan was a vassal state of Ming Dynasty, and that he should send troops to help Annan people destroy the Huguangyi Army, and was immediately beaten up by all the ministers—send troops?Out of your sister, do you want to force those two gods of plague to be untenable in Annan, and come back to harm everyone?What kind of heart do you have!

The Huguang Rebel Army entered Annan in a large scale, and Daming breathed a sigh of relief. The plague gods that even the Heluo New Army could not deal with finally left, thank God!But Annan was miserable, because at this time the Huguang Rebel Army was mainly composed of ethnic minorities in Huguang, Yunnan, and Guizhou. They faced cruel battles almost from birth, fighting diseases, wild animals, and poisonous snakes. The fighting between villages is even more commonplace, and this environment honed their tenacious will and bloodthirsty nature.They faithfully carried out Wang Rui's order of "keep the land and leave no one behind". Wherever they went, they burned, looted, and killed them all.They have no psychological pressure when wielding butcher knives. For them, this is similar to opening up wasteland. All weeds have to be shoveled before they can grow crops.

In the north of Annan, wars broke out everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers.

(End of this chapter)