Because of his effective flood control and disaster relief work, Zhu Ping'an was deeply trusted and loved by the people of Jingnan. After the conscription order was issued, a thousand young and strong men were quickly conscripted.
Zhu Ping'an took out weapons and equipment from the treasury without hesitation and armed them all.
At first glance, the one thousand young and strong men are all young and strong, wearing uniform military uniforms, complete weapons and armor, and equipped with scimitars, spears, shields, bows and crossbows and other weapons. They are well-equipped and have the style of elite soldiers.
Of course, these are just appearances. In essence, they are just well-equipped farmers.
In a field battle, they are not much better than a mob.
Zhu Ping'an took Liu Dianli, Han Dianli, 150 servants, 800 young and strong men, and gathered 30,000 shi of grain and military equipment, and marched towards the southeastern mountainous area where the southern barbarians and Miao people were rebelling. The rest of the people stayed in the county town.
"I heard that the southern barbarians kill people without blinking an eye, eat people without leaving any bones, and are extremely cruel..."
During the march, some young and strong civilians couldn't help but say with some concern that this was their first time to participate in the conscription.
"Little brother, you are not afraid of anything. Our county magistrate is a god from heaven! Do you know the Japanese pirates? They are not only ruthless but also highly skilled in martial arts. They can catch swords with bare hands. They can also catch arrows with bare hands. We shoot arrows and the Japanese pirates can catch them with one hand. The Japanese pirates are powerful, more than 3,000 of them. But so what? They were still defeated by the county magistrate and us!"
There was a young and strong man who had participated in the anti-Japanese war and defending the city nearby. He patted the worried young man on the shoulder and said calmly.
"That's right. With our county lord here, you can rest assured. The Japanese pirates were cowards last time. They were short but ran fast, so I didn't kill them all. I hope these southern barbarians can be tougher and hold out longer."
Another young and strong man who had participated in the anti-Japanese war and defending the city patted his chest vigorously and said arrogantly.
"Let me tell you, our county lord is a master at using troops. We can't beat the Japanese pirates in a one-on-one fight, but the county lord asked us to set up a simple battle formation. Isn't it amazing? The Japanese pirates were beaten to a pulp under our battle formation. We killed the Japanese pirates like we killed pigs and sheep... When the time comes, you just follow me closely, and I guarantee that you won't lose a single hair."
The young and strong men who had participated in the anti-Japanese war and defending the city came forward to share their experiences and encourage the newly recruited young and strong men.
Infected by their companions, the newly recruited young and strong men put aside their worries and straightened their chests.
Such scenes were repeated many times in the team. As the team marched, its morale was steadily rising.
When the last rays of the sun disappeared over the horizon, Zhu Pingan and his party arrived at the scene of the incident - Wuxi Mountain.
"Your Excellency, the mountainous area ahead is occupied by the rebellious Miao people from the southern barbarians. After the southern barbarians broke through the southeast flood refuge area, they took away the food and fodder and kidnapped the people and retreated to the mountain ahead." An officer pointed to the rolling Wuxi Mountains and said to Zhu Ping'an.
Wuxi Mountain is a mountainous area where the Miao people from the southeast have lived for generations. They have lived and multiplied here for thousands of years.
Zhu Ping'an had read the county annals and the archived materials of the county government before. There are more than 100 Miao villages of different sizes in the rolling Wuxi Mountain area, with about 70,000 to 80,000 Miao people living here. The Jingnan County annals collectively refer to them as "Wuxi Miao", saying that they "have names but no surnames" and "marriage does not require the same surname."
Wuxi Miao is relatively underdeveloped, mainly engaged in agriculture, supplemented by hunting, and only a small amount of plows are used. Agriculture is mainly cultivated in a relatively primitive slash-and-burn method, and the harvest is far less than that of the Han people. Wuxi Miao is between slavery and feudalism, with more than 100 tribes, that is, Miao villages. The imperial court inherited the Yuan Dynasty system and set up Wuxi Tusi to indirectly manage Wuxi Miao. The leader of the largest tribe of Wuxi Miao served as Wuxi Miao Tusi. However, for more than a hundred years, Wuxi Miao has been in constant conflict with the government and Han people in Jingnan and other places, and small fights have continued. Rebellions have also occurred from time to time, which has always been a hidden danger to governance. The government in Jingnan and other places has also sent troops to suppress rebellions many times, paying a lot of costs and losses, but the results have not been ideal. A county magistrate in Jingnan died in a rebellion. Therefore, over the years, the government in various places bordering Wuxi Miao has regarded Wuxi Miao as a hot potato, and they will push it away if they can, and they will not touch it easily. Most of the Wuxi Miao people live in Jingnan, and local governments have pushed this hot potato to Jingnan, making Jingnan the victim...
Zhu Ping'an estimated that the reason why the Miao people in the south rebelled at this time was because of the flood, and they could no longer survive.
Liu Dianli was the clerk of the military ward of Jingnan County. He was also a brave man. He looked at the neatly dressed young men and officers and confidently asked Zhu Ping'an for orders, "County Master, I will go and tell the rebellious Nanman to return the looted food and civilians, and make their chieftain tie himself up and come out of the mountains to apologize!"
"That's fine. As the saying goes, courtesy comes before force. If we can solve the problem without resorting to violence, that would be great."
Zhu Ping'an nodded slightly, but he knew very well in his heart that shouting would not solve the problem in 99% chance.
However, although it cannot solve the problem, it is good to take a look at the attitude of the Miao people through this.
"Liu Dianli, be careful. Just give it a try and don't force it." Zhu Ping'an reminded Liu Dianli.
"Don't worry, Your Excellency. I think the Southern Barbarians are just a mob. Seeing our army's mighty might, they will not dare to act rashly."
Liu Dianli said with confidence.
Zhu Ping'an asked Liu Dadao to hold a shield and protect Liu Dianli before letting Liu Dianli go to the front to shout.
"Where is the chieftain of Wuxi? Return the looted food and civilians as soon as possible and tie yourself up to atone your sins, otherwise my army will destroy your Miao village." Liu Dianli walked to the front, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly towards the mountain where the Miao people were entrenched.
"I will destroy your Miao village..."
"I will destroy your Miao village..."
Liu Dianli was indeed a martial artist with a great lung capacity, and the echo of his shouting reverberated among the valleys.
"mighty."
When more than a thousand young men heard Liu Dianli call them a large army, they all shouted in unison, cooperating with Liu Dianli to create the atmosphere of a large army. For a moment, the whole valley was filled with the young men's shouting of might.
A thousand strong young men, with loud and powerful voices, neatly arranged weapons and excellent equipment, really have the style of a great army.
People's confidence also increased.
However, people's confidence was soon extinguished. First, a loud roar with a strong Miao dialect was heard in the valley.
Then it was like gunpowder exploded, and the whole mountain and field exploded.
"Dream on, you dog official!" "Go to hell, Ming dog!" "You thief, you're still asleep, right?!" "Come up..."
The whole mountains and plains were filled with the roars of the Miao people. The whole mountains and plains were crowded with people waving weapons and shouting loudly. The whole mountains and plains were filled with the glow of the setting sun reflected by the weapons. There were at least tens of thousands of people.
At the foot of the mountain, Liu Dianli was dumbfounded, and more than a thousand young and strong men were also dumbfounded, how... how could there be so many.
At that time, there were no more than 3,000 Japanese pirates, but these southern barbarians had at least 30 to 50,000, while our side had only 1,000 people.
Outnumbered is not an adequate description.
The initial confidence was gone at this moment, and despair quickly occupied the top of their minds.