I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 425 Shenglong City

"Six thousand Guangxi Wolf Soldiers, great! Six thousand people, really a timely help. I am troubled by insufficient troops, and Governor Hu has sent me a timely relief!" Wu Weizhong said happily.

Pan Yinglong asked curiously, "General Wu is short of troops?"

"Yes. To be honest with you, Officer Pan, Wu's troops are stretched to the limit, and we are in a state of panic. I have signed a military order with Governor Hu to destroy the Mo family in three months and report the victory to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The rest of the people were busy, either directing the wolf soldiers to go ashore from the docked ships, or dispatching civilians to carry goods.

Pan Yinglong and Wu Weizhong were standing on the deck and talking when suddenly a large dark cloud floated over. Before anyone could react, raindrops began to fall rapidly. Everyone lined up and headed for their respective shelters.

A group of soldiers and civilians rushed out holding oilcloths and covered the goods exposed to the open air.

Everywhere I looked was busy but not chaotic, and everything was in good order.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier. Pan Yinglong and Wu Weizhong hid in the cabin and looked out through the window. Heavy rain covered the sky and the earth, and everything was gray and hazy, like smoke.

Raindrops fell on the river surface, splashing water in dense masses. They fell on the deck, making rapid crackling sounds, like rain hitting banana leaves, one burst after another.

"The weather in Annan is like this. Heavy rain comes unexpectedly and catches you off guard. It is now June and July, the rainy season here. Sometimes it rains heavily for several days and nights, just like the Milky Way in the sky bursting, endlessly.

We are suffering from it.”

"It was after Governor Hu read your report that he sent Pan to take a look at the site."

"Look, General Pan!" Wu Weizhong pointed out the window and said, "The land between heaven and earth is all water, a swamp. After the heavy rain, the land is muddy, mosquitoes are everywhere, and malaria is rampant.

Fortunately, the imperial court issued a miraculous anti-malarial drug and other anti-epidemic pills early on, and asked the Military Medical Bureau to repeatedly teach anti-epidemic measures, so our navy and army did not suffer from the rampant disease and repeat the mistakes of Yongle's southern expedition. "

Under the guidance of Zhu Yijun, Li Shizhen improved the Huoxiang Zhengqi Powder in the "Taiping Huimin Hejijufang" of the early Song Dynasty, and then added "ethanol" purified from strong liquor to make the "Compound Huoxiang Zhengqi Water".

They also experimented with "spices" that flowed in from the West and the South China Sea, such as chili pepper, eucalyptus oil, cinnamon, etc., and integrated them with camphor, dried ginger, and rhubarb. After several adjustments, they added ethanol to make Ten Drops of Water, which became a good medicine for preventing and treating heatstroke.

There were also several other good medicines, plus prevention measures such as drinking boiled water, digging deep into garbage and feces and burying them with lime, which reduced the incidence of infectious diseases such as dysentery and malaria, and also increased the cure rate. This positive and negative effect reduced the lethality of the epidemic that had previously terrified the army on the southern expedition to a minimum.

From General Ma Yuan of the Han Dynasty to the southern expedition during the Yongle period, epidemics were the biggest enemy of the royal army in the Central Plains.

As long as its lethality can be reduced to a certain level and the casualty rate is within an acceptable range, the biggest obstacle for the Ming army's southern expedition will be overcome.

"This is a good thing. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was wise. He invited King Li and Doctor Wan to the capital early on, and then summoned famous medical doctors from all over the country to study prescriptions and prepare miraculous medicines, which led to the convenience we have today."

Wu Weizhong also sighed: "Your Highness is very smart and far-sighted."

After sighing for a while, Pan Yinglong continued to ask, "General Wu just said that the troops were insufficient. As far as I know, the Xuanwei Envoy deployed 21,000 soldiers from the Marine Battalion. Later, you requested an order to deploy 7,000 sailors from the Right Battalion of the South China Sea Fleet to land. Are you still short of troops?"

Wu Weizhong smiled and said, "General Pan, the more soldiers and generals the better. Thang Long City is the largest city in Annan. For hundreds of years, the Annan people have been constantly repairing and expanding it. It is as strong and magnificent as the cities in the Central Plains.

The Mo family gathered another 100,000 soldiers and civilians in this city. Logically, our army should have more than 50,000 soldiers and horses to besiege the city. However, in the past half year, the Mo family has been frightened by our army, and the millions of people in Annan have come to follow us with food and drink, so I led 21,000 people and barely surrounded Thang Long City.

Now Thang Long City has become an isolated city, and our army is determined to destroy the Mo clan. There is no such thing as encircling three sides and leaving one side, so if our army wants to encircle it, we must encircle this city to the death.

Therefore, I have been requesting reinforcements from the Xuanwei Envoy Office."

Pan Yinglong nodded and said, "General Wu will take me to the front line later."

"it is good."

"Hu Duxian also knew that General Wu was in trouble, so he dispatched 6,000 Guangxi wolf soldiers. This is the closest troop to Thang Long City that the Xuanwei Envoy could mobilize."

"Guangxi Wolf Soldiers, Yin Futai and General Liu have carried out the transformation of the natives into commoners in Guangxi, and have achieved considerable results?" "Yes, Yin Futai and General Liu have lived up to the expectations of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in Guangxi.

General Liu led a large army and took tough measures such as stationing troops, garrisoning troops, repairing borders, and building checkpoints to intimidate the chieftains of Guangxi. In the early stage, a group of chieftains were killed, especially in Nanning Prefecture, Siming Prefecture, Taiping Prefecture and other counties close to Annan. More than 30 chieftains had ill intentions and were all beheaded, becoming the chickens that frightened the monkeys.

After summarizing the situation, Yin Futai formulated a method to change the flow of people. Appeasement was the best policy, military suppression was the worst policy, and forcing them to surrender was the best policy, and ordering them to surrender was the worst policy. The method of controlling the Yao should be a combination of kindness and force.

The areas that were pacified and suppressed were investigated, household registration was checked, land was measured, taxes were collected, cities were built, and schools were established. At the same time, the original tax and service system of chieftains was abolished, and taxes were levied according to the acreage of land, with reduced amounts, which were better than those in the Central Plains.

At the same time, township schools, county schools, and prefectural schools were set up, and scholars from the Yao, Miao, and Zhuang ethnic groups were given financial aid and preferential places in the imperial examinations. The worship of loyal and heroic ancestors was promoted, and the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues as well as loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness were widely spread. An order was issued to prohibit private worship and other activities in the township, in order to change the customs.

Wu Weizhong was dumbfounded.

This Yin Zhengmao was truly a capable official. He was able to accomplish such a thing in just half a year.

"In just half a year, the Cen family of the Tufu of Sicheng, the Wei family of the Tuzhou of Donglan, the Cen family of the Tuzhou of Guishun, the Zhao family of the Changguansi of Xialong, and the Zhao family of the Tuzhou of Encheng were either dismissed from their local posts and sent to other places for resettlement, or demoted to assistants and stayed in the local area.

Most of the chieftains in Guangxi were replaced by officials. Among them, Siming, Guishun, Dukang, Xiangzhou, Taiping and other prefectures were merged into Siming Prefecture; at the same time, Sicheng, Tianzhou and other prefectures were merged into Baise Prefecture. Now, only the two chieftains of Anlong and Shanglin in the southwest corner of Guangxi are still resisting.

General Liu will station his troops in Tianzhou, Baise, and use his military force against the two chieftains. They will be defeated soon."

Wu Weizhong exclaimed: "Yin Futai is truly a god!"

Pan Yinglong replied: "Yin Futai was the governor of Guangxi in the 43rd year of Jiajing. He was ordered to suppress the rebellion of Yaotong Tusi. He had both successes and failures. After several years of accumulation, he had a lot of experience and was very familiar with the situation in Guangxi.

In the first year of the Longqing reign, Yin Futai went to the capital to report on his work and was summoned several times by the Crown Prince. It is said that the law of changing the natives to officials was decided at that time.

"I see. These six thousand Guangxi wolf soldiers look brave and strong, with murderous eyes. They all look like veterans."

"General Wu's eyes were sharp. These 6,000 Guangxi wolf soldiers were all private soldiers of the chieftains. They had fought for many years, fighting against the imperial court soldiers, other chieftains' soldiers, and Annan's invading troops.

They signed up enthusiastically because each family could be allocated 20 mu of paddy fields if they were military members, and at least 40 mu of paddy fields if they made meritorious service or died in battle. It is said that there were more than 15,000 applicants, and Governor Yin selected these 6,000 elite soldiers after careful selection.

"Okay, I now have 21,000 Marines, 7,000 Sailors, plus these 6,000 Wolf Soldiers, 34,000 troops, plus the Right Camp Navy, that's enough."

"General Wu, we have enough troops. Can we fulfill our promise to destroy the Mo family in three months?"

Wu Weizhong's face suddenly fell.

After hesitating for a while and about to speak, the heavy rain suddenly stopped. Wu Weizhong walked out of the cabin and looked at the sky.

"The clouds have dispersed. It won't rain for a while. General Pan, why don't we go to the front line and take a look around."

Pan Yinglong knew that Wu Weizhong had something to worry about, so he nodded.

"it is good."

The two men stood on the deck and saw people coming out from their shelters and continuing to work.

Those who were carrying cargo were carrying cargo, and the wolf soldiers who were disembarking continued to disembark.

Wu Weizhong and Pan Yinglong got off the boat and went ashore. Several guards brought their mounts. The two men jumped on the horses and galloped towards Thang Long City under the escort of a team of personal soldiers.

In less than two quarters of an hour, Thang Long City appeared in front of Pan Yinglong. The city walls were high, with stone foundations and blue bricks, winding for more than ten miles under a rainbow.

(End of this chapter)