The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 349 Women's Small Harmony
In the autumn of the second year of the Tianqi reign, bandits from Shaanxi forced their way across the Yellow River and entered Henan and Shanxi. They marched eastward, capturing cities and territories, and the starving people of Henan and Shaanxi provinces rose up in response.

The bandits killed the county magistrate, looted the granary, and released prisoners.

The situation in the Central Plains collapsed completely.

In early September, 8,000 Western Expeditionary Force troops arrived at the junction of Shaanxi and Mountains, and were immediately surrounded by bandits.

The number of bandits in the three provinces of Shanxi, Shanxi, and Henan totaled over 200,000, among whom the most famous were the great bandits Zhang Zicheng, Li Xianzhong, and Centipede Kuai.

The three great leaders successfully met in northwest Shanxi and unanimously agreed that the government troops in Shanxi and Henan were not to be feared. The most terrifying force was the Kaiyuan army that came from the capital to quell the rebellion.

The bandits regarded the Kaiyuan army as a thorn in their side.

From Pianguan in the north to Xichuan in the south, from Shenmu in the west to Luliang in the east, two hundred thousand bandits formed a dragnet, ready to annihilate the 8,000-strong Western Expedition Army on the borders of the three provinces.

~~~~
After entering the Pass, the situation inside the Pass deteriorated like a domino.

Due to the intervention of time travelers, the Shaanxi uprising in this dimension is worse than the original history.

When Liu Zhaosun attempted to change the course of history, the invisible hand of the chaotic sky always responded with even more cruel consequences. The border troops in Shaanxi suffered heavy losses in the "Battle of Jingnan", and their elite soldiers were almost completely destroyed. When the civil uprising broke out, the local government forces were unable to suppress it.

On the sixth day of September, the Western Expedition Army encountered the Eight Vajra Bandits in Pianguan County. Pianguan County was only a hundred miles away from Shaanxi, and after crossing the Yellow River, it was within the territory of Shaanxi.

There were 15,000 bandits under the command of the Eight Vajras, of whom 600 were cavalrymen, 1,000 of whom had surrendered to the border troops, and the rest were ordinary refugees.

The two sides fought two fierce battles in the wilderness west of Pianguan City. Deng Changxiong used the cavalry as the vanguard, plundered the refugees on both wings, and used artillery to break through the center.

The battle went smoothly, with the Eight Vajra losing 500 men and 3,000 captured by the Kaiyuan army. Deng Changxiong also lost 300 soldiers, most of whom were killed and wounded in battles with the bandits' cavalry.

After their crushing defeat, the Eight Vajra retreated to Hequ County in an orderly manner. Even though the Eight Vajra suffered a crushing defeat, their cavalry remained. After fleeing back to Hequ, they threatened the civilians to reinforce the city defenses and hide behind the city walls, preparing for a long-term defense.

~~~~~~
Deng Changxiong had fought against bandits before.

In the early years of the Taichang reign, he followed the Duke of Huguo to Weihaiwei and wiped out the Wenxiang Sect in Dengzhou, chasing them all the way from Dengzhou to Qufu. Xu Hongru's followers had almost no fighting power and fled when they encountered the Kaiyuan army.

However, the bandits they encountered this time in Shanxi and Shaanxi were clearly different from the Wenxiang Sect. They were more powerful and better organized, and even had professional cavalry and firearms—although their numbers were small.

This is because the Shaanxi bandits, both big and small leaders, have backgrounds in border troops and post soldiers, and many of them come from Xuanda and Yansui Town. Naturally, their combat power is not comparable to that of the Wenxiang Sect, which has not received any military training.

In addition to the natural disasters and man-made disasters in the Shanxi and Shaanxi regions, there are a large number of refugees in the surrounding prefectures and counties, who can continuously provide cheap cannon fodder for the bandit army.

Therefore, the opponents faced by the Western Expedition Army were not only powerful, but also numerous, with tens of thousands of people often surrounding them.

Even if one group is defeated, the bandits are like leeks, one wave will grow again after being cut, and they can never be killed or strangled.

The difficulties faced by Hong Chengchou, Yang He, Sun Chuanting and others in history now also appear before Deng Changxiong.

Deng Changxiong, Sun Chuanting, Wang Zengbin and others had different opinions on whether to cross the river and attack Hequ.

"The bandits gather and disperse erratically. In the past, they would immediately disperse when attacked by government troops. But now they are relying on the strong city to defend it. Are they trying to draw our troops to attack, and then launch a large-scale siege?"

Chief Officer Deng Changxiong saw through the Eight Vajra's trick at a glance. There were less than 8,000 combat-capable men under his command, and reinforcements were slow to arrive, so he could not take any risks easily.

Wang Zengbin returned from the Mongolian battlefield three months ago. By defeating Ligdan Khan and helping Bumbutai regain the throne of Khorchin, he was praised by the Duke of Protectorate, promoted to the chief of the cavalry regiment, and conferred the title of general of Iki Island. He was very proud of himself.

"Commander Deng is worrying too much. The cavalry has been keeping their scouts up all night and has learned that this Ba Jin Gang was just a blacksmith, a rough man who couldn't read a single word. How could he possibly use a trick? He must have been frightened by our attack and had nowhere to escape, so he had to hide in the county town."

After hearing this, Sun Chuanting couldn't help but pour cold water on the cavalry commander.

"General Wang, as the supervisor of this Western Expedition, I have an obligation to remind you not to forget how Shao Jiechun died in the Battle of Hetuala."

Wang Zengbin took a deep breath. The Battle of Hetuala was still vivid in his mind. If it were not for the desperate resistance of his cavalry battalion, he would have sunk into the Taizi River.

The young and energetic cavalry commander immediately retorted:

"The Jiannu are the Jiannu, and the bandits are the bandits. They shouldn't be confused. Besides, how would the bandits know how to defend a city? With one push, we can capture this city. The cavalry can march straight into northern Shaanxi and wipe out the bandits' lair. The main army can set up an ambush, and we can also use the strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao, and wipe out all the big bandits like Zhang Zicheng and Li Xianzhong."

Sun Chuanting sneered:

"The Protector of the Country wants the Western Expedition Army to preserve its strength and wait for an opportunity to fight, not to attack a fortified city..."

The two were still arguing when Deng Changxiong interrupted them with a wave of his hand.
"Okay, stop talking, I'm the chief officer."

Sun Chuanting and Wang Zengbin stopped talking.

Deng Changxiong looked at the generals standing around him and said loudly:
"Haven't you been asking all along the way when we can finally have a decisive battle with the bandits?"

His eyes fell on his adjutant Cheng Liang, who had accompanied him on the Western Expedition.

"Now, we've met a tough opponent."

Deng Changxiong pointed to the slowly flowing Yellow River.

"There's a dead end ahead, and bandits behind. There's only one way out, kill them!"

"Fight forward, occupy Hequ, and then, like the Eight Vajra Kings, hold your ground and wait for reinforcements while the bandit army surrounds you."

"Wait for the Kaiyuan army to arrive to reinforce us. Then we can attack the enemy from both inside and outside, severely inflict heavy damage on the bandits, and then we can win the battle in one go."

~~~~~
The bandit leaders Li Xianzhong, Zhang Zicheng, and Lao Huihui headed north from Shenmu, bypassed Fugu County, and headed straight for Hequ County.

Wenbi Town is ten miles southeast of Hequ County.

The nine-bend Yellow River is full of sand, and the waves and winds travel from the end of the world.

The Yellow River is known for its nine bends and eighteen turns. Hequ County is very close to the Yellow River, and Wenbi Town is located on the right side of the Yellow River's "J" bend.

The ninth day of the ninth month, Niangniangtan, Wenbi Town, Hequ County.

The sky brightened. In late autumn, a patch of withered yellow wheel grass on the bank of the Yellow River reflected the river water, which passed quietly and peacefully under my feet.

Above the East Mountain, the sun had just risen, illuminating the Hequ County in the distance.

Cheng Liang looked at the human blood remaining on the wheel grass and sighed with gritted teeth.

The Sixth Army fought a bloody battle with bandits at Niangniang Beach yesterday. Cheng Liang's men suffered heavy casualties, with more than 800 killed or wounded, but they finally occupied this small island in the middle of the river.

Before entering Shaanxi, less than 7,000 of the 8,500 Western Expedition troops were still alive.

Without receiving any report at night, many groups of bandits were rushing towards Hequ from all directions, and their number was more than 100,000.

The Beizhi reinforcements that were originally responsible for covering the flanks turned around and fled when they heard that the bandits were powerful.

In particular, Zhang Chun, the general commander of Hejian Prefecture, fled back to Beizhi with his servants when he was still fifty or sixty miles away from the vanguard of the bandits.

It was a waste of the Duke of Protectorate’s trust in Zhang Chun and the promotion of him to general. He didn’t expect that this guy could run faster than Wu Xiang.

"Zhang Changtui escaped?"

"They fled overnight, leaving behind provisions, gunpowder, and more than a dozen Portuguese cannons to Zhang Zicheng and Li Xianzhong."

"Damn it! Zhang Chun did it on purpose. He used to be Zu Dashou's confidant and had an affair with Wu Xiang. Why did the Duke of Protectorate spare his life and let such a person continue to lead the troops?"

Deng Changxiong waved his hand to interrupt Wang Zengbin and signaled Ye Bushou to leave.

The wind was cold and biting, and the generals had gloomy faces and remained silent.

Not far ahead, Kaiyuan soldiers led their war horses, and boatmen held up sheepskin rafts and began to slowly cross the river.

From time to time, a few light arrows floated over the river. As soon as the arrow feathers fell into the Yellow River, they were swept to the bottom of the water by the rapids.

"Zhang Chun is in Pianguan County, only a day's journey away from us. The bandits will be slow in transporting the cannons, so it will probably take two days to reach Hequ."

Deng Changxiong asked his personal soldiers to hold up a sheepskin map and point the tip of their whip at a mountain range between Hequ and Pianguan.

"Here, Shijiashan, General Wang, take a thousand cavalrymen and set up an ambush in the valley."

"Ah? Aren't we attacking Hequ City?"

Wang Zengbin opened his mouth wide and didn't react for a moment.

Sun Chuanting stared at the sheepskin map, turned around and looked at Deng Changxiong, as if thinking about something.

Deng Changxiong ordered the guards to bring the map closer so that everyone could see it. He turned to Wang Zengbin and said,

"Fight, of course we have to, but only the infantry will do the fighting. The cavalry should not get involved."

Wang Zengbin looked annoyed.

"Why? Commander Deng, do you look down on our cavalry regiment?"

Wang Changxiong didn't say anything, but winked at Sun Chuanting. Sun Chuanting smiled slightly and explained:
"The terrain around Hequ is high in the west and low in the east, with rolling hills, a broken surface, and ravines crisscrossing, making it difficult for cavalry to deploy..."

Deng Changxiong walked up to Wang Zengbin and said to the Iki Island general with a smile:

"Zhang Zicheng and Li Xianzhong thought our army was at the end of its strength, so they rushed from Shenmu overnight, hoping to devour us in one fell swoop. Shenmu is over 400 miles from Hequ, but they covered the distance in four days, carrying artillery with them. Sun Tzu's Art of War says: 'He who pursues advantage at a distance of 100 miles will defeat the general; at 50 miles, he will have half his army at hand!'"

"You are waiting in the valley for the enemy to tire you out. Man Gui's cavalry is almost here. If the bandits want to eat us, they'll have to knock out a few of our front teeth..."

~~~~~
Mid-September, Beijing.

In accordance with the Treaty of Ushigaseki and its subsidiary treaties, the Tokugawa shogunate sent people to deliver the second batch of war reparations of 5 million taels of silver.

Also sent to the Ming Dynasty were Princess Tokugawa Senhime and twelve female officials who accompanied her as a dowry.

The red seal ship that Japanese women rode was called "Kowato".

The Xiaohe departed from Nagasaki Port and arrived at Tianjin Port after a month's sailing.

The Komato had nothing to do with the Yamato being sunk by US aircraft during the Battle of Okinawa.

The name was decided by Yuan Chonghuan in his busy schedule, citing classics.

The Analects of Confucius: In the use of ritual, harmony is the most important.

"He" means peace, harmony and peace-keeping, and can also be divided into small harmony, medium harmony and great harmony.

Peace is a small harmony, harmony can be called moderate harmony, and only harmony is a great harmony.

Xiaohe implies long-term peace between the Ming Dynasty and Japan.

After Kang Yingqian was transferred back to the capital, Yuan Chonghuan, the Prime Minister of Handong, announced the political affairs and actually became the emperor of Japan.

Yuan Chonghuan expressed satisfaction with the appearance and demeanor of the Japanese princess.

Senhime is the eldest daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada. She is sixteen years old this year and has both beauty and talent.

Except for his height which is slightly shorter than six feet (about 1.6 meters), everything else is perfect.

It is said that she was intended to be presented to Zhu Youjian as a concubine.

However, Magistrate Yuan felt that it would be more appropriate to present the women on the Xiaohe to the Duke of Protectorate.

(End of this chapter)