I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 682 Hey, new recruit!

Ren Boan stood in the yard, bent over, his hands on his knees, breathing heavily, his chest heaving like a windmill, his Adam's apple moving up and down, and he kept swallowing.

Everyone surrounded him, and their burning gazes almost melted him.

You better speak up quickly!

Ren Boan took a breath for about ten seconds, finally calmed down, and spoke.

"The Second Division set out from Tianzhu and Wenxi, crossed the Qiongshui Shiwudongsi (Sansui) and reached Zhenyuanwei. Four days ago, they defeated the troops of Bozhou at Pianqiaowei (Shibing), and took advantage of the situation to attack Huangpingfusi and Chong'ansi, and are heading towards Caotangsi and Bainisi."

Attacked Huangping Pacification Division?

Everyone was very excited!

Good thing!
The Huangping area is covered with continuous hills, dense river valleys and basins, with a flat terrain and abundant river water. It is one of the few granaries in Guizhou and an important granary for the Bozhou Xuanwei Office.

The Second Division's recapture of that place was equivalent to cutting off an important arm of Bozhou. More importantly, the chieftains of Huangping Caotang could control the natural barrier of Wujiang River in the north and overlook the road to Zhenyuan in the south, especially the southern road was stuck on the official road between Guiyang, Zhenyuan and Xiangxi.

Conquering these chieftains not only opened up the eastern route of Guiyang, making it unobstructed in the future, but also blocked the Wujiang River, which became a very important route for Bozhou to the outside world.

Ren Boan continued to tell the good news, "The Third Division set out from Fenghuang, passed Tongren City and Shengxi and Tixi Divisions, and went straight into Shiqian Prefecture. They recovered Shiqian City, Gezhang, Geshang, and Miaomin Division in one go. A part of them went down the Wujiang River and will reach Sinan City tomorrow."

"Great!" Everyone couldn't hold back any longer and cheered in unison.

Very good!
Sinan City pinned down the main force of Bozhou led by Yang Zhaolong, making him distracted. The imperial army swept through Zhenyuan, Huangping, Tongren, Shiqian and Sinan at lightning speed, and now formed an encirclement of Bozhou. The Yang family, who had occupied Bozhou for hundreds of years and had never submitted to the king, was about to be destroyed.

Qiu Qizhuo saw that Li Mingchun looked normal and asked, "Ziming, such great news, and you can't be happy?"

"There is even greater good news. I am happy now, but what should I do later? Brother Ren, tell me all the good news you have received."

Ren Boan paused deliberately and glanced at Li Mingchun. "Ziming is still very insightful about the situation. Indeed, there is even bigger and more shocking good news."

"Hurry up and tell me! Hurry up and tell me!"

Yang Piandao jumped to his feet and asked with gritted teeth.

Even the usually calm Zhang Rong looked anxious, "Hurry up and tell me, Ren Du, tell me what's going on!"

"The main force of the Fourth Division, led by Division Commander Deng Zilong, left Baojing County and wiped out the chieftains of Youyang, Pingchadong (Xiushan), Shiyedong and other chieftains in southern Sichuan. They went up the Wujiang River and subdued the chieftains of Youxi along the river."

what!
Even Youyang and Yanhesi were wiped out?
so good!
But it’s okay to think about it.

The vanguard regiment of the Fourth Division was the Zhenxiang Army. It was famous in the border areas of Sichuan, Hunan and Guizhou. Not to mention fighting, just standing in front of the chieftains' camps would make the chieftains tremble with fear.

Now they are equipped with muskets and artillery, and they are joined by brother troops who have fought against various Yao and Tong chieftains in Lingnan. These chieftains, who only have a few hundred or thousands of young and strong men, can accurately defeat every one of them.

Why did we have to wipe out Youxisi along the river?
This chieftain had been flirting with the Yang family of Bozhou for a long time, and had long been lured over. The chieftains of Youyang, Pingchadong and other southern Sichuan chieftains were also external aids in the internal struggle of this chieftain, and the relationship between them was unclear.

The imperial army was dispatched to wipe out all the chieftains of Sichuan and Guizhou in the lower reaches of the Wujiang River.

Yinjiang City was located right on the main road of Wujiang River. Once it was blocked, no news from downstream could reach it. No wonder the Commanding Office ordered the Chief Officer of the Barbarian Chief Office, An Yue, and the Deputy Chief Officer, Zhang Chengzu, to take their men down the river to control Yinjiang County first at the beginning of the war.

In addition to protecting Sinan City's retreat, it also means blocking the news.

After hearing the news, everyone was ecstatic, but not as excited as before. The excitement had worn off and they were a little less excited.

"Ren Dushi, where is the Fourth Division now?"

Qiu Qizhuo asked anxiously.

"After conquering the Youxi Commandery along the river, the Fourth Division passed through Wuchuan, went south along the Fengle River, passed by the Longquanping Commandery, and headed straight for Meitan."

Everyone was stunned.

Heading straight to Meitan?

Meitan used to be Yang Yinglong’s old nest, the Bozhou Xuanwei City.

Qiu Qizhuo's voice was trembling with excitement, "The Fourth Division is going to attack the enemy's nest directly!"

After saying that, he looked at Li Mingchun, "Ziming, is this true?"

The others also looked over nervously.

"Ren Dushi, if you have any news, tell me at the same time."

"Okay," Ren Boan said happily, "My people have contacted the Fourth Division, and we received a report from them that the First Division, led by Chen Lin, set out from Wulong, Chongqing Prefecture, went up the Rong River, broke through Zhenzhousi, and then broke through Sangmu Pass and Suiyang. When they contacted the Fourth Division, they were rushing to cross the Ren River."

The courtyard was silent for a while, and Yang Yan asked first: "First Division? Which division's first division?"

Li Mingchun replied: "Of course it is the First Division of our Qianzhong Commandery."

Luo Sheng was also very curious, "Does our Qianzhong Military Command have a First Division? I have only heard of the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions, but never the First Division."

"There are the Second, Third, and Fourth Divisions, so why can't there be the First Division? The First Division had previously been stationed in Shizhouwei, suppressing the local movement to convert the natives into civilians.

From the beginning of the second year of Longqing to the middle of the first year of Wanli, more than 40 Xuanfusi, Anfusi and Changguansi of Shizhou Wei, large and small, were all transformed into Shizhou Prefecture, which governed seven counties: Enshi, Shinan, Jianshi, Wufeng, Rongmei (Hebi), Longtan (Xianfeng), and Zhonglu (Lichuan).

This was the first success of the governor-general in Huguang's reform of the native system, and the second case was Yongshun Prefecture. Because it happened in Hubei and the governor-general deliberately suppressed it, not many people in Hunan knew about it.

After Shizhou Prefecture was transformed from aboriginal to official, the First Division moved to Shizhu Xuanfusi. Shizhusi and the five Tusi of Youyang, Rongmei, Yongshun, Baojing and Sangzhi were combined into the six Tusi of Wuxi Man, which were closely related and had frequent exchanges.

Moreover, the Shizhu Tusi Ma family is the descendant of General Ma Gong (Ma Yuan). During the Jianyan period of the Southern Song Dynasty, Ma Gong's 39th-generation grandson Ma Dinghu was ordered to quell the Wuxi Barbarian Rebellion. He was awarded the title of Shizhu Anfusi for his merits. During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, he was promoted to Xuanfusi, and had a huge influence in the Sichuan-Hunan border area.

After several disputes, Shizhu Tusi Ma Su finally agreed to change the status of Tusi to official. Shizhu Tusi was changed to Shizhu County, which was officially under the jurisdiction of Chongqing Prefecture.

Qiu Qizhuo asked curiously, "Shizhou Prefecture and Shizhusi were changed from aboriginal to official. How come Ziming knows so much about this?"

Yang Piandao said disapprovingly: "Li Canjun is the governor's secretary, so he knows everything."

Li Mingchun looked at him and said, "Now that things have come to this, I will tell you the truth. In the past two years, I have been running around Shizhou as a supervisory official, coordinating and participating in the reform of the native system.

At the end of last year, Commander Zhang, the four of you went to Luxi City to visit the Governor, but I was not there. I was said to be staying in Changsha City to assist Ling Futai, but in fact I was in Shizhu at that time."

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

You are hiding well enough! Zhang Yong and Yang Piandao looked at each other.

Old Yang, I told you, this guy is not simple. You see, after he arrived in Sinan City, he was very familiar with our situation and habits. Especially when he was fishing for Yang Zhaolong, he was a fishing master and knew other people's thoughts very well.

Now you understand, besides being extremely intelligent, he also has extensive experience in dealing with us chieftains. He can accurately understand our thoughts, Yang Zhaolong's thoughts, and Yang Yinglong's thoughts.

Qiu Qizhuo crossed his arms and touched his chin and said, "Both the Fourth Division and the First Division are heading straight to the Bozhou Xuanwei Division. Are they familiar with the roads? They won't get lost, right?"

Luo Sheng agreed and said, “Yes, in Guizhou, there are mountains when you look up and when you look down, there are mountains on the left and on the right.

If you don’t know the way, you might end up wandering around in the mountains forever.”

Ren Boan replied: "The guide of the Fourth Division is Yao Bingzhou and Yao Dushi, but I don't know the guide of the First Division."

Yao Bingzhou and Yao Du?

Zhang Yong and Yang Piandao looked at each other.

Let’s say, why did they leave Yao Dushi, who was most familiar with the situation, in charge of coordination and liaison in Sinan City this time, and instead use Ren Dushi, who was unfamiliar with the situation here?

Saying that Yao Dushi knew people everywhere and would be recognized was just an excuse. He just had a more important mission.

It's true, you Han people are so cunning that you even deceive your own people.

However, Zhang Yong and Yang Piandao could understand that even their own people had been deceived, let alone the enemy.

"It will be no problem for Yao Dushi to be the guide of the Fourth Division. He has been traveling to the border areas of Sichuan, Guizhou and Hunan for more than ten years, and has visited various chieftains. He is more familiar with the roads and people than we are."

Li Mingchun explained, "The guide of the First Division might be someone from Shizhu, or a general of Yang Yinglong bribed by Yao Dushi, who is responsible for patrolling the northern front line and is very familiar with that area.

For unknown reasons, he offended the brother of Yang Yinglong's favorite concubine and was framed. Yao Dushi happened to meet him and tried to rescue him from Bozhou.

The battle situation was now completely clear. Yang Zhaolong and his main force were led out by the bait of Sinan City and trapped outside the city. The imperial division took the opportunity to attack. The second and third divisions were responsible for occupying Zhenyuan, Shiqian, and Tongren, forming an encirclement of Bozhou.

The 1st and 4th Divisions took advantage of the lack of troops in Bozhou and attacked the old nest from the north and east respectively.

so good!
Wang Duxian, who formulated this plan, really dared to think and act!

Yang Piandao was somewhat puzzled: "The Fourth Division is in Baojing, and the First Division is in Wulong, both are very far away from our Sinan City. How did they know to work together and cooperate so well?"

Zhang Yong's eyes flashed, and he stroked his goatee and replied, "The thousand disguised Bozhou soldiers are the key. I think that when the thousand soldiers arrived in Changde City, the commander sent a letter to the first, second, third, and fourth divisions.

Everyone calculated the date for when the thousand Bozhou soldiers would arrive in Sinan City. They would wait for another three to five days, and when the fire outside Sinan City would start and attract Yang Zhaolong, they would start the attack with full preparations.

"Old Yang, didn't you notice that these 1,000 Bozhou soldiers were very punctual in their schedules. They would arrive in Chenxi when they were told to, and they would arrive in Tongren when they were told to."

Yang Piandao slapped his thigh and said, "Right! That's right. The report said they arrived at Sinan City on March 25th. Hey, we saw them camped outside the city at noon that day."

"Both the governor and the envoy Tang Dushi are cautious people. They have secretly asked people to measure the number of days required to travel from Sinan City to Changde City by land and sea, and they know the number of days they need to travel by land and sea. They know it well."

Yang Yan shook his head. "But I still think it's a bit mysterious. Sinan City is one point, and the other four divisions are advancing in different directions. If something goes wrong in the middle, it will be a big deal."

Li Mingchun replied: "You have made the governor and Tang Du consider the idea you are worried about. The Dusi Staff Bureau discussed the governor's idea countless times and finally formulated four plans.

The worst scenario is that Sinan City falls and we can only retreat to Tongren and Zhenyuan. The best scenario is that Yang Yinglong personally leads his troops to attack Sinan City, but is ambushed by us halfway and his entire army is destroyed.

The current situation is similar to the plan we envisioned, with only some differences in details. This is normal. In a war, it is possible to follow our plan completely. As long as the direction is consistent and the key nodes can correspond, it will be fine. "

Qiu Qizhuo repeatedly clicked his tongue, "Hearing Ziming say this, it seems very simple, but I still think that Wang Duxian, Tang Dushi and the General Staff Bureau are really amazing, planning and strategizing thousands of miles away."

Everyone discussed it with joy and couldn't help looking northwest towards Bozhou.

"Do you think the Fourth Division has caught up with Yang Zhaolong's troops?"

"We should be able to catch them. The Fourth Division will go to Meitan and guard the main road that Yang Zhaolong takes back to Bozhou. We just need to wait and see."

"That's not that easy. The mountains here overlap, and each valley is a mountain road. I don't know which mountain road Yang Zhaolong will take, so it's not easy to ambush him."

"Yang Zhaolong is not alone with a hundred men. He had 10,000 troops when he left Sinan City. 10,000 people, covering the mountains and plains, even a blind person can see them. There are only a few important roads from Meitan back to Bozhou Xuanwei City, so it should not be difficult to defend."

Everyone had different opinions. Ren Boan said, "I sent Yang Guian to contact the Fourth Division. He is currently following the Fourth Division. In a few days, he should return to Sinan City to report. We can ask him for details then."

"Yang Guian went to the Fourth Division?"

"Correct."

"Then when he comes back, we must ask him to tell us the details."

At this moment, Yang Guian was extremely nervous.

He was squatting in the woods on the hillside, holding a Longqing Type 2 cavalry musket in his hand, sweating from nervousness.

Damn it, I’m a spy, but how come I was stuffed with a musket and sent to the battlefield?

I am a spy from the Investigation Division of the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division. According to the Jinyiwei spy Wuchang crash course, every spy is a high-end talent and a treasure of the court.

Your Fourth Division actually let such a highly talented person, the imperial court's darling, go directly to the battlefield to be cannon fodder?

A violent thing!
What a shame!
The deputy lieutenant Zhongwu next to him saw Yang Guian's expression and asked in a low voice: "You new recruit, have you ever touched a gun?"

"I'm not a rookie. I'm from the Jinyiwei Zhenfu Division. I'm an intelligence officer, specializing in gathering enemy intelligence for you. I'm a top talent."

"Have you ever been on the battlefield?"

"No."

"That's the new recruit."

Fuck your head!

Yang Guian was angry!

(End of this chapter)