Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 83: Subjugating the Chieftain
The Tusi soldiers were defeated and retreated to the mountain stronghold in a panic. Tian Qi was heartbroken and ordered the gates of the stronghold to be closed, not knowing what to do.

During the Ming Dynasty, there were often Tusi who were unruly and even fought against the government troops. At first, Tusi soldiers could use the terrain advantage to defeat the government troops. But this would only attract more government troops, who would be defeated by Tusi soldiers. If Tusi refused to surrender, the government troops would pursue and attack him until he surrendered.

There are too many lessons to learn from this. When the Yao people in Da Tengxia revolted, they finally retreated to the cliffs of Da Tengxia, but were still defeated by the Ming army.

With the strength of the Jinxiu Tusi, if they really wanted to fight the Yongan Army to the death, they would have to fortify their walls and retreat to the deep mountains and forests. Even if they defeated the Yongan Army, Cen Danchu still had the Yongan Mo family and Jiao Lian behind him, neither of whom was easy to mess with.

Tian Qi sat in the hall, looking worried and drinking. He also sent his personal soldiers out of the village to spy on the enemy. As expected, the Yong'an army had already approached the Tusi village and set up camp, only two miles away from the village gate.

This battle was really a pathetic one. The Tusi's soldiers attacked at 3:00 p.m., with more men and horses than the enemy, yet they didn't even touch the enemy's hair before they were defeated.

At present, people are panicking, and the soldiers have no will to fight. Damn the Yao people! Damn the soldiers! They are never trustworthy!

The ancestors of the Tusi in the southwest are both Han Chinese and ethnic minorities. But no matter what their origins are, Tusi have been highly Sinicized in terms of language, culture, and psychological identity. Even if Tusi's ancestors are ethnic minorities, they will modify their family tree and pretend to be Han Chinese.

Tian Qi was at a loss for ideas and was filled with worry. He wanted to raid the camp at night, but he did not have the strength. He wanted to abandon the stronghold and clear the countryside, but he was reluctant. He wanted to surrender to Cen Danchu, but he was unwilling.

A personal soldier stumbled into the hall. Tian Qi was startled, but he could not hide his smile and said, "Master, the soldiers are back!"

Coming back? What does that mean? Tian Qi frowned and shouted, "Why are you panicking? Explain it clearly!"

The chieftain was furious, and his personal guard was startled. He put away his smile and said, "My lord, the Yong'an Army has repatriated the prisoners, returned the armor and weapons, and sent envoys to negotiate peace."

There is such a thing? Tian Qi was full of suspicion and asked, "How do you know that the Yong'an Army is here to return the prisoners' weapons?"

"My younger brother has been captured by the Yong'an Army and is knocking at the gate."

"Humph!" Tian Qi snorted coldly and asked, "If something is out of the ordinary, there must be treachery. Perhaps there are spies among the captives who want to open the gate and seize my stronghold. No one is allowed to enter without my order!"

"Yes." The personal soldier was greatly disappointed and left in anger.

Tian Qi soon broke his promise because among the captives was his son Tian Yuan.

"Father! Please open the gate. The prisoners are all soldiers, not spies!"

Tian Qi stood at the gate of the village. Seeing his son safe and sound, he was relieved and said, "Yuan'er, are you serious? You haven't been wronged, have you?"

Tian Yuan, who was in his early twenties and the eldest son of Tian Qi, said, "Father, it is absolutely true. The Yong'an Army did not harm us. Marshal Cen came to talk to me with a sincere intention to make friends with you, and he had no ill intentions."

He Guozuo raised a white flag and said, "Captain, you should believe your son's words. I am here on the orders of the commander-in-chief. I am unarmed and alone. I want to talk to you, Captain."

Tian Qi was skeptical, and scanned the prisoners, but found nothing unusual. He then looked at the soldiers around him, and saw many of his relatives and comrades among the prisoners, and they looked reluctant to leave.

He could only sigh and say, "Throw your weapons thirty steps away, and then enter the camp in groups." The captives did as they were told and threw away their weapons. Tian Qi led his soldiers in person, drawing their bows and arrows, as if they were facing a powerful enemy.

Fortunately, as Tian Yuan and He Guozuo said, there were no spies among the captives. Tian Qi was still worried, so he ordered the gates of the camp to be tightly closed and on high alert.

When the father and son met, they hugged each other and cried bitterly. Tian Yuan said, "Father, I think Cen Danchu is not a bad person. Since he is willing to release the captives, it can be seen that he has no hostility. Now that we have been defeated, we should change our position and cooperate with him."

"Yes," Tian Qi nodded and said, "The soldiers were defeated and were already panicking. The captives who returned were all grateful to Cen Danchu for not killing them, and they no longer wanted to fight. For now, I have no choice but to apologize to him."

So, Tian Qi requested the release of Mo Guangshu, who had been detained for a long time, and summoned He Guozuo, treating him with courtesy.

He Guozuo followed the instructions carefully, without the arrogance of a victor, and still bowed to Tian Qi and said, "Captain, this is the commander's handwritten letter, please take a look."

Tian Qi read the letter, took a long breath, and handed the letter to Tian Yuan without saying anything.

He Guozuo and Mo Guangshu looked at each other and said, "Marshal Cen said that the battle between the two armies in the afternoon was actually due to misunderstanding. To show his sincerity, he specially ordered the repatriation of prisoners and the return of weapons. The Marshal still wants to cooperate with Qianhu to develop mineral deposits. He will only set up a mine supervisor in Jinxiu, not a patrol inspection office, and the conditions are exactly the same as before."

Mo Guangshu said, "Brother Tian, ​​Marshal Cen has great ambitions and is upright. He is definitely not a mean person. Developing mineral deposits is related to firearms, and firearms are sharp weapons for killing enemies. The Tian family has been blessed by the country for generations. Brother Tian, ​​please put national affairs first, open the mines, and help the Tian army build firearms."

Tian Qi looked ashamed and said, "I am a defeated general and dare not talk about bravery. But in terms of loyalty to the emperor and the country, the Jinxiu Tian family is not much behind. In the distant Songjin Battle, the Jinxiu Tusi once sent troops to participate in the battle. Recently, when General He was in Huguang, the Jinxiu Tusi also sent troops to help.

"As the Marshal said, today's battle was purely a misunderstanding. Tian was blind and overestimated his own capabilities. He led his troops to offend the Marshal, and he deserved it. There is no reason not to agree to the development of the mineral deposits. Tonight, I will send someone to visit the Marshal to discuss cooperation."

Negotiating peace is a big deal, so Tian Qi dare not act hastily. He still has to send someone to test Cen Danchu's attitude first.

Tian Yuan volunteered, saying, "Father, Marshal Cen knew that I was the eldest son of a chieftain, but he still let me go back, which shows that he is magnanimous and forgiving. I will ask to go on the mission to show Tian's sincerity."

Tian Qi hesitated again and again, feeling happy about his son's bravery but also worried about his safety. His son had grown up and would definitely go out to gain experience. Tian Qi finally agreed to his son's request and couldn't help asking:

"In today's battle, your army's firearms were very poisonous. There was a firearm that looked like the Rumi gun, but was even more vicious. I would like to ask you two, is this the Banjiu gun?"

The Banjiu gun is a super-heavy matchlock gun that was once equipped by the southern Ming army. This matchlock gun is too heavy, reaching an astonishing 28 pounds, with a charge of 1.5 liang of powder and a bullet weight of 1.9 liang of powder, which is almost like a small artillery. Because it is inconvenient to carry and has a slow firing rate, the Banjiu gun is not as common as the bird gun and the Rumi gun in the Ming army.

Mo Guangshu replied, "No. The firearms used by our army are indeed fire guns, but they are lighter than the banjiu guns and are as powerful as the banjiu guns. These guns were imported from the Western countries, and the secret lies in the frying of iron.

"In the future, if we work together to develop iron ore, we can improve the iron frying process and manufacture firearms on the spot. Qianhu is close to the water tower, so we might as well ask the Marshal to allocate some firearms."

Tian Qi's heart beats fast and he has a better impression of Dan Chu.

(End of this chapter)