. The last darkness before dawn, Lingshan County. (
A dirt road and a circle of dirt walls two people high, this is a typical small county town in Guangxi. Although occupied by the Yi people, the Yunnan king's regime did not cause too much damage to production. Except for the fact that thousands of peasants were forced to work as civilians and missed a season of farming, in other respects, the King of Yunnan did not further damage the production here.
Nearly a thousand years of family inheritance made Sha Dingzhou more politically experienced than Nurhachi, and he chose the same strategy as Huang Taiji. He obviously knew what a man who wanted to conquer the world should do, and he would never offend the deep-rooted gentry forces in the Central Empire. Apart from paying more food and wages and making life more difficult, the people of Guangxi did not feel many changes at all.
The yamen is still the same yamen, and Baozheng is still the same Baozheng. Those who need to farm are still farming, and those who need to watch are still working.
Three miles away from the city, the Yi whistle in Qiangang Village was nervous all night, and finally it was time to change shifts. Unable to hold back his sleepiness, he dozed off against the earth wall. The sky before dawn turned white, and there was gradually some light everywhere, but it was still hazy and it was difficult to see far. Torches made of pitch pine were inserted into the earthen houses, emitting thick black smoke and crackling from time to time.
The weather in late autumn is so comfortable.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
If it weren¡¯t for being awakened by the deafening sound of fire, the whistle would not have known it had encountered an enemy. When they stretched their heads out from the village gate, under the bright sky, they saw ten artillery pieces already standing on the high ground in the west of the village, spitting out angry tongues of fire in the direction of the county seat.
Under the bright sky, a Nanhai army of more than a thousand people suddenly appeared three miles southwest of Lingshan County.
Click on the alarm bonfire, and the whistle at a glance at the county, sprinkled his legs and fled to the south of the mountain.
If the cannonballs hit the city wall, what is the point of calling the police at this time? This probably proves that the whistle is not derelict in its duties. The other shift whistles in the bonfire house woke up at this time. When they stretched out their heads in panic, they saw sparks exploding on the south gate of the county seat.
How could the brick-and-wood structure of the city tower withstand this bombing? Four volleys were fired in just two minutes. The south city tower collapsed. These four or five minutes. There were only two to three thousand Yi soldiers who ran up the city wall in a daze. But the soldiers of the Xiongzi Banner of the Pioneer Battalion had already rushed to the city gate on horseback. A burst of grenades exploded in the Yi people who were trying to block the gap in the city gate. The seemingly neat array of swords was blown up into pieces.
The two halberds were dancing like flowers, and one of them took the lead. Entered the city gate.
"Brothers, kill them!"
The Yi soldiers who had just picked up the sword and jumped out of bed were caught off guard by the sudden attack. The area near the south gate was thrown into chaos by Deng Aqi's sharp attack. The Yi people who looked horrified were dispersed. Everyone can no longer organize themselves for war.
"Hold it! Hold it!"
Yuanmou chieftain Wu Bikui was a tall, middle-aged man. In the chaos, he ran over with a knife. The southwest of the empire has never been stable, and wars between chieftains spanned more than a thousand years of history. Wu Bikui was in Tian and Sha Dingzhou were "famous generals" who grew up in the tribal wars in the southwest of the mainland.
Although this reputation is only recognized among ethnic minorities in the southwest of the empire, it is enough. In the southwest of the empire, the appeal of these names is amazing. Bikkui seemed to be the reassurance for the sergeants. Everywhere he went, he brought calmness and order. More and more Yi soldiers gathered along the main road of the city followed him, pressing towards Deng Aqi who was making a surprise attack at the south gate.
"The Han soldiers are few! Don't panic!"
A burst of grenades exploded on the main road. Deng Aqi had already occupied the south gate. One hundred grenadiers and two hundred musketeers guarded the three- to four-meter-wide main road, blocking the influx of nearly 10,000 Yi soldiers. The remaining 900 musketeers drew their steel swords and began to fight with the Yi soldiers for the southern city wall.
Wu Bikui gritted his teeth and looked at Deng Aqi, who was rushing to fight at the top of the city. He watched the Yi soldiers guards being beaten back by his halberd, and the city wall was lost one foot after another. Wu Bikui felt filled with anger, roared like a tiger to vent his anger, and shouted again,
"Get back! The swordsmen get back! The archers come up and shoot! Those from Badong in the southwest go around to the left, and those in the southeast go around to the right! Surround them and shoot them to death!"
A burst of fire shot into the sky. Nanhai soldiers discovered several houses serving as barracks in the south of the city and set them on fire.
Fire-fighting measures these days are extremely ineffective. A house made of wood will burn down to a large area. How can we put out a fire in such a chaotic situation? In the blink of an eye, the fire burned a large area, making Wu Bikui's eyes red with blood. Taking out his big bow, Wu Bikui rushed behind a pile of stone lions at the Yamen, bent his bow and shot at the musketeers at the end of the main street.
The fire is getting bigger and bigger, and has spread to residential buildingsTwo more mounted scouts came ahead.
The vanguard battalion has already figured out which areas are easy to walk in the swamp and which areas are not. The two fast scout horses are walking in the better areas, much faster than walking. After entering the central army, the scout jumped off his horse and said loudly,
"Commander, I will chase you faster and faster. We are only six miles away from the northeast. The Xiongzi Banner is five miles away from the northeast. Try your best to escape to the south."
Lu Ce's eyes lit up, he opened the map he drew and looked at it, a faint smile appeared on his face.
It was already early morning, and a red sun jumped out of the mountains and gradually climbed up from the end of the plain, illuminating the wilderness with golden light. The dark silk flag was also trimmed with a golden edge by the light of dawn, swaying with countless rays of light in the north wind. Lu Ce pulled out the Nanhai man's long sword and pointed it straight at the rising sun.
"There is no victory in this battle! The whole army rushes forward to intercept Wu Bikui's tribe! Take the Xunyu Plain!"