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No one had expected that the strategically located Pingxi Wei would be captured by Ma Liuliang in one day.
Ma Liuliang captured more than 1,200 people, including Chen Guimin, the deputy commander of Guizhou. Tang Yue stayed up most of the night like a hawk, and finally persuaded Chen Guimin to surrender by promising him the position of commander-in-chief.
The next morning, Chen Guimin and more than 1,200 captives became the vanguard of the Qin army, with more than 4,000 men advancing rapidly westward;
The guards along the way, such as Sizhou Prefecture, Zhenyuan Prefecture, Pianqiao Wei, Xinglong Wei, Chong'an Si, and Pingyue Wei, had very few troops to begin with, and were captured one after another when they were caught off guard.
Some prefectures did not even know that Pingxi Guard had been defeated. When they saw the deputy commander Chen Guimin leading his troops, they were surprised but thought it was their own army and were completely unprepared. It was not until the Qin army showed up that they woke up from their dream.
Chen Guimin played a key role in the army's smooth and rapid advance.
Ma Liuliang only left 200 men in each prefecture to garrison, waiting for Cui Feng's follow-up army. His main force did not stop for a moment and advanced rapidly, and along the way he asked Chen Guimin to recruit the local garrisons.
Therefore, the number of Ma Liuliang's troops advancing along the way not only did not decrease, but increased to 5,000 when they arrived at Pingyue Wei, and their momentum became even stronger.
He Tengjiao, who was sent to persuade the surrender, almost ran himself to death, but finally caught up with Ma Liuliang's army in Pingyuewei.
Ma Liuliang was quite disdainful when he saw his miserable appearance. Tang Yue was afraid that he would say something bad, so he quickly pulled him aside and advised: "General Ma, don't underestimate He Tengjiao's role. This time we caught the Guizhou garrison by surprise, so we were able to advance quickly;
But it is precisely because we are advancing too fast that the states behind us have not had time to sort out the situation. Once our army passes, there is a high possibility of recurrence. Now is the time when Lord He is urgently needed to appease them.
General Ma, it is easy to conquer a state or a prefecture by force, but it is not easy to win the hearts of the people. To quickly stabilize the entire Guizhou region, He Tengjiao is the key, General Ma must not underestimate him. "
Ma Liuliang replied indifferently: "You sour scholar. He appeases his people. I fight my war. We have nothing to do with each other. Why the hell are you talking to me all this nonsense?"
Seeing his attitude, Tang Yue was really worried that he might offend He Tengjiao, so he quickly flattered Ma Liuliang and said, "General Ma, you and He Tengjiao are like the general and the prime minister in Guizhou. If the general and the prime minister are not in harmony, it will inevitably lead to bad things. General Ma doesn't want to lose the credit he has earned, right?"
"Alright, alright. I'll listen to you this time."
Tang Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Ma Liuliang was too much of a bandit. Except for Ma Yongzhen and Qin Mu, he didn't care about anyone else.
As the saying goes, it is easy to conquer a country but difficult to keep it. Now we have hastily conquered a large area and it may seem unstoppable on the surface, but if there is no capable person behind to appease them, it is difficult to guarantee that the conquered areas will not rebel again.
The important task of winning the hearts of the people now depends on He Tengjiao. If Ma Liuliang offends He Tengjiao too much, things will be difficult.
To be honest, Tang Yue knew the joys and sorrows of working as an assistant to Ma Liuliang, and he spent most of his energy on catching this wild horse.
After hurriedly persuading Ma Liuliang, the two of them went to find He Tengjiao together. After a discussion, they decided to give He Tengjiao 500 troops, led by Deputy General He Jinan, to accompany He Tengjiao to inspect the prefectures and counties that had just been conquered, as well as to pacify Duyun Prefecture and Liping Prefecture.
Among them, Liping Prefecture is He Tengjiao’s hometown. The local officials have close relations with him. They believe that if He Tengjiao comes forward, he will be able to win without a fight.
Ma Liuliang continued to advance towards Guiyang City with Chen Guimin as the leader. There were still more than 200 miles from Pingyue Wei to Guiyang City, but the post road close to Guiyang was relatively flat, and the army advanced faster and faster.
In Guiyang Prefecture, Zhang Yao, the provincial governor of Guizhou, Zeng Yi, the provincial governor, and Chen Ruizheng, the commander-in-chief, were shocked when they heard the news of the fall of the eastern states.
Several people gathered at the governor's office to discuss countermeasures. Censor Zhang Yao asked in panic: "What should we do? What should we do? Chen Guimin has received the country's grace in vain, but he actually surrendered to the enemy and rebelled. It's over. Guizhou is finished..."
"Sir Zhang!" Governor Zeng Yi shouted angrily, shocking Zhang Yao and causing him to shut up immediately. However, he could not conceal the confusion on his face.
Zeng Yi turned to look at the Commander-in-Chief Chen Ruizheng and said, "The situation is urgent. Sir Chen, do you have any solution?"
Chen Ruizheng's eyes flickered a little, and he answered hesitantly: "Now it seems that we have no choice but to withdraw the 3,000 troops from Wujiang Pass to defend Guiyang."
Wujiang Pass is located in Yanglongkengsi, which is the boundary between Guizhou and Sichuan. The troops originally sent to Wujiang Pass were mainly to prevent Liu Wenxiu from Luzhou from going south.
The area from Guiyang to Wujiang Pass was originally the territory of the Shuidong Song family. The Shuidong Song chieftain was dismissed in the fourth year of Chongzhen because of his participation in the She'an Rebellion. The Ming court took the opportunity to send officials to govern this area.
But the Song family has been operating this area for thousands of years. Even though they are still alive, they still have great power in secret. Zeng Yi said worriedly: "I am afraid that once the troops at Wujiang Pass are withdrawn, the area north of Guiyang and east of Yachi River will be completely out of control."
Chen Ruizheng said, "Master Zeng, how can we care about so many things now? If we don't withdraw the troops from Wujiang Pass, I'm afraid we won't be able to protect Shuidong. An Rupan in Shuixi has assembled an army of 20,000 and is eyeing Shuidong covetously. The remnants of the Song family in Shuidong are also secretly making strange moves. The 3,000 troops at Wujiang Pass may be blocked by them at any time. If we don't withdraw now, I'm afraid we will never be able to withdraw."
Zeng Yi sighed and said, "If that's the case, then let's withdraw. The defense of Guizhou will be handed over to Lord Chen."
"Master Zeng, what are you going to do?"
"I will personally go to the Guizhou Xuanwei Office to meet An Rupan. If I can convince him to send troops to cooperate in the war, Guizhou will still have a chance to succeed."
Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhang Yao quickly dissuaded him, "Master Zeng, you can't go. An Rupan is ambitious and has already revealed his rebellious nature. If you go to him now, you will be walking into a trap. You can't go, Master Zeng."
Zeng Yi replied calmly, "You can't get a tiger cub without entering the tiger's den. The Ming Dynasty has nurtured scholars for three hundred years, and there must be a few who will die for the country. If I fail, I will die for the country. Lord Chen, Guiyang is entrusted to you."
"Take care, Lord Zeng." Chen Ruizheng was somewhat moved. He bowed deeply and watched Zeng Yi leave the yamen.
At this time, the city of Guiyang was already undercurrent.
All along, the Qin State focused its energy on fighting against the Qing army, and was relatively peaceful towards the southwestern provinces, and did not prohibit merchants and people from various provinces from interacting with each other.
The people of Huguang were given land, rents and taxes were reduced, and they lived a stable and beautiful life. These things had long been spread to Guizhou through merchants. Now, after being widely publicized by the Yebushou sent to Guiyang, the people of Guiyang had some of the expectations of the people in Beijing that "the King of Rebellion will not pay taxes when he comes."
Ye Bushou never relaxed his efforts to instigate rebellion among officials and officers at all levels in the city. Thanks to their efforts, the people in the city were already in a state of unrest and on the verge of collapse before Ma Liuliang's army even reached Guiyang.
Inside a trading house inside Wusheng Gate, east gate of Guiyang, Long Guangsheng, a captain stationed in Guizhou at night, sipped tea while sizing up the young man opposite him.
This man was dressed as a businessman, about 25 years old. He was the only surviving son of Song Wanhua. His real name was Song Ping, but he now used the alias Song Chou to cover up his business.
Song Ping looked back at him and replied calmly, "I don't ask for much, just to restore my position as Shuidong Tusi."
Long Guangsheng put down his cup of tea and said, "Since Mr. Song is so straightforward, I will speak directly. It is impossible to restore the chieftain of Shuidong. This is the general trend. The chieftains that have been removed will definitely not be re-established by my king. If Mr. Song is willing to cooperate, my king is willing to grant him the position of prefect. This is my king's bottom line."
"If we don't share the same ideals, we won't work together. Then there's nothing to talk about."
The Song family of Shuidong was originally Han Chinese. Although they were Tusi, they read poetry and books. Song Xuan was a famous poet in the Ming Dynasty. He once wrote the poem "The water is bright and beautiful, and the clouds are moving. The boat floats on the water. The clouds lock the empty courtyard and the day is idle. Two lines of returning swallows meet the setting sun." Influenced by his family, Song Ping dressed like a businessman, but he had the temperament of a scholar and spoke very calmly.
Long Guangsheng smiled and said, "An Rupan is eyeing Shuidong covetously. I'm afraid the two or three thousand men under the Song family will not be able to get away with it. If my Great Qin doesn't intervene, is the Song family confident that they can deal with An Rupan?"
Song Ping frowned slightly. He didn't expect that Long Guangsheng knew so much about him.
What Long Guangsheng said was exactly what he was most worried about. Although the original territory of the Shuidong Song family was only one-tenth of that of the Shuixi An family, they were all the richest areas in Guizhou. The Shuixi An family had long been coveting it. Now that Guizhou has encountered such a change, what else will An Rupan worry about
Seeing Song Ping remained silent, Long Guangsheng continued, "Song Dongjia is a wise man. He should know that my Great Qin does not necessarily have to rely on Song Dongjia. But with Song Dongjia's current strength, if you don't cooperate with my Great Qin, you have no chance at all."
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ps: It's so difficult. These days are so quiet. I beg my brothers to support me with some monthly tickets. I feel so cold in my heart that I can't bear it anymore.
.(To be continued..)
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