Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 262: Kill First
In the backyard of Bozhou Prefecture, the meeting in the hall had just ended, but the generals of Pingdong General's Mansion gathered again.

In the hall, on the left were Sun Kewang and Ai Nengqi, the commander of the Central Army Wang Shangli and the commander of the Rear Army Feng Shuangli, and on the right were He Jiuyi, Yang Wu, Zhang Sheng and other generals of the Pingdong Army.

Sun Kewang looked at everyone in the hall, his face darkened, and he spoke directly

"The Ming court has bad intentions. We cannot accept their offer at this time!"

Sun Kewang had a resolute look on his face. He knew that the Tartars were a great threat to the Central Plains since the Qing invaded the country.

At this time, the Tartars were already trying to conquer the Central Plains. If we wanted to stop them, we had to unite the forces of the South to have a glimmer of hope.

Sun Kewang's plan was to seize Lingnan and then establish Dashi, but in fact he did not rule out cooperating with the Ming court first.

The backbone of the Dashi Army was still there, but its strength was seriously damaged. It was not a bad idea to temporarily accept the Ming court's pacification, but it was definitely not at this time.

Although Sun Kewang was elected as the leader by the armies at this time, he was actually a leader in name only. He was only used to coordinate the armies to carry out unified actions. He was far from being comparable to Zhang Xianzhong.

The only army Sun Kewang could truly control now was the Pingdong Army under his command. The other three generals and the various camps of the Five Military Commanders' Offices all had their own responsibilities.
If the commanders of the various camps were unwilling to cooperate, Sun Kewang would not be able to mobilize these people.
He was Zhang Xianzhong's eldest adopted son. After Zhang Xianzhong's death, it was his grandson Kewang who would inherit Zhang Xianzhong's throne and become the next emperor of Dashi.
Sun Kewang had already regarded the Dashi Army as his own possession. At this time, each army was doing its own thing. If it accepted the title of appeasement from the Ming court at this time, the Dashi Army camps would most likely fall apart completely.
Dashi was the foundation left to him by Zhang Xianzhong, and he could never allow such a thing to happen.

Daxi wanted to unite with the Ming court, but only after he had completely mastered the Western Army. Only in this way could Daxi maintain its independence and integrity.

Sun Kewang thought of this and no longer hesitated. He looked at Ai Nengqi, Wang Shangli and the others below and said in a deep voice:
"The recruitment must be a conspiracy of the Ming court. Why did the Ming court come only after we fled to Bozhou, instead of earlier or later? The Ming court must have already found out the situation in Sichuan and Shu."

"The Tartars have won a great victory in Sichuan and Shu, and they will certainly not give up. I'm afraid they will chase us soon. The Ming court is trying to recruit us now, in fact, to use us as a shield for them."

"Our Great Western Empire has been severely damaged since the defeat in Xichong. How can we fight the Tartars again? We must not hesitate at this moment. We must immediately send troops to your province to seize food and money so that our Great Western Empire can recuperate."

Wang Shangli nodded slightly after hearing this. Not everyone was as aggressive as Li Dingguo. After the defeat of Xichong, the Western Army had also witnessed the power of the Qing Army. At this time, no one wanted to fight the Tartars.
Although Wang Shangli and others were unwilling to fight the Qing army, they were also concerned about attacking your province.
As Li Dingguo said, now that Zhang Xianzhong is dead, these people must find a way out for themselves.

Sun Kewang wanted to lead all the generals and become the ruler of the Great Western Kingdom, but why did everyone let him lead?

The Western Kingdom is now in turmoil, with only a group of defeated soldiers left, but the Ming Dynasty still controls half of the world. Although both are officials, being an official in the Ming Dynasty is obviously more attractive than being an official in the Western Kingdom.

Wang Shangli looked hesitant and said

"Although General Anxi's desire to fight the Tartars again is reckless, he is right in one point. If we attack your province now, we will be completely at odds with the Ming court. We just fought a battle with the Tartars, and if we become enemies with the Ming court again, it will not be a good thing."

Sun Kewang saw the hesitation on the faces of Wang Shangli and Feng Shuangli, and he also knew what everyone was thinking.

The generals of the Western Army were unwilling to fight the Qing court again, but they were also tempted by the Ming court's offer of appeasement.
The Ming Dynasty had ruled the world for hundreds of years and was still the orthodoxy in everyone's mind. At this time, the Ming court came to offer amnesty, and everyone did not think there was anything wrong with accepting the offer.

Sun Kewang's eyes turned, and he said

"Brother Wang, you are wrong. As long as we have a large army, we can recruit them anytime. Why rush now?"

"If we listen to what my second brother said and stop here, and fight with the Qing court and use up all our Daxi elite, I'm afraid we will be unable to seek amnesty."

"We should go straight to Guiyang now. Bozhou is a small city, how can it stop the Tartars?"

"The Ming court wants us to surrender only to stop the Qing invaders. As long as we can repel the Tartars in Guiyang, the Ming court will still surrender us."

"Let's take a step back. Even if we have really made up our minds to surrender to the Ming court, we should occupy your province first."

"If we can occupy your province and then ask the Ming court for surrender, the conditions offered by the Ming court will definitely be better than now, instead of just giving us a mere 2,000 shi of grain and asking us brothers to work for the Ming court like now."

Wang Shangli and the others nodded inwardly when they heard this. Sun Kewang's words were indeed correct. Now that they had just been defeated, the Ming court also regarded them as defeated generals, so the price they offered was not high.

If they can occupy your province and repel the Qing Dynasty, and then ask the Ming court for a title, I'm afraid the whole province can become their base for military support.
Sun Kewang glanced at the people below who were deep in thought, his expression straightened, and he spoke

"We have been resting in Bozhou for more than half a month. We don't know when the Tartars will catch up with us. We can't just sit in the city any longer."

"I have decided to send troops to capture Wujiang Pass immediately and seize the passage to retreat into your province. Are you willing to work with me?"

Wang Shangli and the others' expressions changed slightly, and they immediately spoke up.

"This is not appropriate. Sending troops is no joke. We should discuss this in the camp."

"My second brother has been deceived by the Ming court. You have seen what happened today. If I want to convince my second brother and his men, I don't know how long it will take. We don't have time to delay. I have decided to send troops immediately. Are you willing to follow me?"

Wang Shangli looked at Sun Kewang, who looked determined, and his expression darkened. Sun Kewang's words sounded nice, but it was clear that he wanted to kill first and report later. He wanted to send troops directly into Guizhou Province and cut off the possibility of negotiating with the Ming court.

Wang Shangli and others instinctively felt that something was wrong. Sun Kewang was the strongest among the Western Army, but General Anxi Li Dingguo was not an easy opponent.

Sun Kewang's forcible destruction of the Ming court's appeasement at this time may cause a direct rebellion within the Dashi Army.
Sun Kewang looked at Wang Shangli and Feng Shuangli who were silent below him, but his face remained unmoved. He spoke again

"Since you have nominated me as the leader, I must be responsible for the future of Daxi. It's not that I am acting arbitrarily, but at this moment, we have no other choice."

"The army has been short of food for a long time. I am afraid that within a month, our army's food and wages will be exhausted. We have no choice but to go to Guizhou to collect wages."

"Do we really want to let our brothers in the camp fight the Tartars to death just for these two thousand shi of grain?"

"If you are determined to surrender, I would rather lead my army away. My brothers are not so cheap."

"Since the Ming court is offering food and money to persuade us to surrender, it means that your province must have a large amount of food in stock. Instead of staying in Bozhou and fighting the Tartars, it is better to go to your province and take the rice from the Ming court."

"As long as we have food, money and troops, both the Ming court and the Tartars will win us over."

Wang Shangli and Feng Shuangli looked at each other, and their faces became solemn. Sun Kewang was already confronting them. Li Dingguo wanted to surrender, but Sun Kewang was absolutely unwilling to surrender.

They were worried that Sun Kewang would send troops to disrupt the pacification, which would cause Li Dingguo to turn against them, but they forgot that Sun Kewang also had the ability to overturn the table.

At this time, Ai Nengqi also slapped the table and said

"Brother, what you said is right. The Ming court has grain in your province. We can just send troops to get it. Why should we accept his call?"

"Once we have taken over your province, our brothers in the army can each take over a prefecture to get food and support the army, just like we did in Sichuan and Shu. Wouldn't it be a happy life then? Why would we need to worry about the Ming court Tartars?"

"If you want to send troops, I will follow you."

Ai Nengqi agreed, and the generals of the Pingdong Army in the hall looked at Wang Shangli and the others. Wang Shangli felt a sinking feeling in his heart when he saw the looks they were giving him.

Wang Shangli and Feng Shuangli's army's food and wages were mostly dependent on Sun Kewang at this time. They wanted to agree, but they were worried that hiding it from Li Dingguo and others would cause the Western Army to split. For a while, they were in a dilemma.
Seeing the two people who remained silent for a long time and still refused to respond, Sun Kewang changed his mind and spoke again.

"What Sun has done now is all out of public interest. If our Western Army expends all its elite troops here, how can we avenge the old Wansui in the future?"

"The food and wages needed for this expedition will be paid by Sun. The spoils from the raids on the cities of your province will be divided equally among the four of us, and the rice, grain and silver in the Guiyang treasury will be shared by all the soldiers. Brothers, are you willing to help me?" Wang Shangli and the other two were moved. Although your province is narrow, it has also been less plundered. They should be able to gain something by sending troops at this time. Sun Kewang can confiscate the Ming court treasury and give an explanation to Li Dingguo and others in the camp.

Wang Shangli and the other man looked at each other and said without hesitation.

"General Pingdong has far-reaching plans. We are willing to follow him to fight."

Sun Kewang saw the two people bowing and responding below, and a hint of joy flashed across his face. As long as this matter was accomplished, the Western Army would never be able to be pacified by the Ming court again.
He did not lie to Wang Shangli and the others. After taking Guizhou, if he could not advance to Lingnan, he would not rule out temporarily surrendering to the Ming court and accepting the Ming court's offer of amnesty.
But pacification is different from appeasement. At this time, the Western Army detained the Ming envoys and brazenly attacked to seize Gui Province. After this, the Ming court could no longer trust the Western Army.
Even if the Western Army wanted to integrate into the Ming court, they would have no way to do so. At that time, the Western Army would have no choice but to gather together under the command of Sun Kewang.
Zhang Xianzhong had accepted the Ming court's surrender in the past, but after recuperating and regaining his strength, he immediately raised the banner of rebellion again. This was the kind of surrender that Sun Kewang wanted.
Among the Dashi Army, Sun Kewang now has the most soldiers and generals under his command, and he also has the banner of Zhang Xianzhong's eldest son. As long as he is given a few years, he will be able to bring all of these people from the Dashi Army under his command.
At that time, he will be able to naturally take over Zhang Xianzhong's position and become the rightful lord of Dashi!

Sun Kewang was excited when he thought of this, but he remained expressionless as he looked at Ai Nengqi and his men below.

"This matter cannot be delayed, we need to act quickly and carefully. Most of the Pingdong Army is stationed in Bozhou City, so we should not move lightly. This matter still requires the cooperation of my fourth brother and the two generals."

Sun Kewang and others wanted to kill first and report later, so as to make the attack on your province a foregone conclusion.
If Sun Kewang mobilized the Pingdong Army at this time, he would certainly be discovered by Li Dingguo and others in the city, which would cause more trouble.

Most of the Pingdong troops were stationed in the city and could not move easily. However, Ai Nengqi and Wang Shangli's troops had already stationed at Luomeng Pass because of their previous plan to advance south to Gui Province. Gui Province was not far south of Luomeng Pass, so these two troops could be mobilized.

After some discussion, they finally appointed He Jiuyi, commander of the Pingdong Army, to lead the two thousand troops stationed outside the city to march to Luomeng Pass.

The armies of Ai Nengqi and Wang Shangli each sent out 1,500 men, and joined forces with He Jiuyi at Luomeng Pass to attack Gui Province.
Feng Shuangli's troops were also stationed near Bozhou, but they were not suitable to move lightly, so they only sent 300 people out of the city in the name of collecting food, and went out with He Jiuyi and others.

Feng Shuangli's 300 men certainly couldn't play a big role, but they had to go. At this time, the four parties decided to attack Gui Province alone, so naturally they couldn't let Feng Shuangli stay out of it.
Once the news of their conquest of your province is leaked, there will certainly be a dispute in the army, and these three hundred people are Feng Shuangli's token of surrender.
Feng Shuangli obviously understood this and agreed to it immediately.

On the second day, the generals of the Western Army gathered again. Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo had another heated debate on whether to accept the Ming court's offer of amnesty, but in the end, nothing came of it.
But while everyone in Bozhou City was arguing, a large army had quietly set out and was heading towards your province.
On the north bank of the Wujiang River, on a flat area in the mountains, He Jiuyi and 5,000 Dashi troops were camping and resting in the mountains.

On the official road, several scouts came running and soon entered the camp.
The scout was soon brought to He Jiuyi's tent, and the Dashi Army also found out the situation on the other side of the Wujiang River.
According to the scouts, a Ming army of about 2,000 people was stationed in the Wujiang River. These Ming troops had already seized the boats near the river bank in advance. Now there was no boat on the Wujiang River.
After the Ming army in Wujiang Pass seized the boats on the river bank, they thought they were safe and secure, and no one could cross the Wujiang River. However, the gates of Wujiang Pass were wide open, and merchants and civilians were traveling as usual.

Except for looting and patrolling at a few ferry crossings from time to time, the Ming army stayed in the city and ignored external affairs.
He Jiuyi sneered when he heard the scout's report.

"These Ming troops are really the same as always. They were like this in front of Fotu Pass in Chongqing and in front of Wujiang Pass. They think we can't get through without the boats. These Ming troops deserve to be taken by me!"

"Go to the army and get 500 skilled sailors. We will cross the river and attack the city immediately."

Five hundred soldiers from the Western Army were quickly gathered. He Jiuyi handed the army over to his deputy general, and then led the five hundred soldiers to swim across the Wujiang River from the shallow water.
The five hundred men swam across the river without alarming anyone. After crossing the river bank, they divided into five teams, each pretending to be a merchant and heading to Wujiang Pass.

The Ming army in Wujiang Pass was completely unprepared. When He Jiuyi and others drew their swords and charged out from the city gate, the Ming army that had set up checkpoints to collect taxes in front of the city gate immediately scattered, and the Wujiang Pass gate was captured.

He Jiuyi led his men into the city, and on the one hand, he ordered dozens of people to split into two teams to set fire to various places in the city, and on the other hand, he gathered the remaining 400 people and rushed straight to the Ming army station in the city.
As the Western Army set fire, the city soon became a mess. The city was filled with smoke and fire, and shouts of killing echoed throughout the city.

The Ming army in the city had no idea how many people had entered the city, and everyone was madly fleeing outside the city.
When Yang Ji, the commander of Wujiang Pass, found that the rebels were killing people in the city, the city was already in chaos. Yang Ji heard that the rebels were coming towards the government office, but he did not say a word and directly fled the city with several officers and soldiers.
Once Yang Ji fled, the last hope of defending the city was gone. The dangerous river bank guarded by 2,000 troops fell into the hands of the Western Army in less than half a day, and the Western Army's retreat to the south was opened.
Inside the government office, the shouting and killing outside the mansion had begun to subside.

In the hall, He Jiuyi sat with a long sword hanging from his waist. The hall was in a mess, with several bleeding corpses lying on the ground.

Lieutenant General Hu Shougui hurried in with two of his personal soldiers and said respectfully:

"General, we have taken control of the four gates of the city. We have found more than a thousand stones of rice in the treasury, and..."

He Jiuyi interrupted directly and asked

"Have you figured out the origins of these Ming troops?"

"Yes, we have interrogated them clearly. According to the surrendered soldiers, all the people in the city are soldiers under the command of Guizhou General Pi Xiong. Wujiang Pass is the front, and there is another group of troops stationed in Xifeng in the south, also with more than 2,000 people."

"Order the troops on the other side to cross the river immediately, and then immediately assemble the army and march out. Do not give the Ming army time to catch their breath."

Wujiang Pass was captured, and the Western Army on the other side no longer needed to hide. The Western Army built a floating bridge on the river, and 5,000 troops quickly crossed the Wujiang River.

He Jiuyi left a few hundred people to guard Wujiang Pass, and then led 5,000 troops to attack Xifeng.
In the lobby of Xifeng Station, Pi Xiong looked at Yang Ji, who was covered in dust and looked embarrassed, with a look of shock and anger on his face.

"what is going on"

"Since I entered Wujiang Pass, I immediately fortified the city and cleared the countryside, and confiscated all the boats on the river."

"But those rebels did something, thousands of them suddenly appeared outside the city. I tried my best to resist, but they were too numerous and powerful, so I had to flee."

When Pi Xiong heard what Yang Ji said, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately said

"Thousands, how many are they exactly? And what is the banner these people are fighting for?"

"At least seven or eight thousand. At that time, the city was filled with shouts of killing, and the flags could not be distinguished. But is there any need to say this? Elder Qu transferred us here to defend against the Western bandits. It must be the main force of the Western bandits coming to attack us."

Yang Ji's eyes flickered slightly. Seeing the chaos in the city, Yang Ji fled immediately. He didn't know how many people had entered the city. But he had lost the city gate at this time, so of course he had to report the number of people higher. If he reported less, wouldn't that be courting death?

Just as Pi Xiong was about to ask again, a personal soldier rushed into the hall with a panicked look on his face.
"General, the scout reported that a large army is coming towards us. According to the scout, there is a lot of smoke and dust on the road. I'm afraid there are no less than 7,000 to 8,000 people."

Yang Ji was also shocked when he heard this. Then a trace of fear flashed across his eyes. There were really seven or eight thousand people.

Fortunately, he acted decisively. If he had stayed in the city to gather troops to resist, he would probably have lost his life now.

Yang Ji looked at the ugly face of Pi Xiong above him, and without caring about anything else, he immediately spoke

"General, retreat quickly!"

"These Western bandits are the biggest bandits in the Central Plains. They are fierce and hard to control. We only have about 2,000 people left. If we are really surrounded in this small town, I'm afraid there will be no way to survive."

Pi Xiong looked irritable, pacing back and forth in front of the hall, unable to help but shouting in a low voice:
"There is only one army left in Guiyang. If we withdraw, how can I explain to Lord Qu?"

"General, as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Why should we care about so many things at this moment?"

"Besides, Lord Qu has no good intentions towards us. He occupied Guiyang City as soon as he arrived. The army in the court was fully equipped with weapons, but they hid in the rear, and instead drove us out of the city to defend against the bandits in the west."

"It's clear that the imperial court doesn't consider us as their own. If that's the case, we should make more plans for ourselves."

Yang Ji saw that Pi Xiong had a gloomy face, but he remained silent. He also looked anxious. Yang Ji was about to persuade him again when his personal soldiers rushed in.

"General, the scout reports that the enemy troops are thirty miles outside Xifeng Station."

When Pi Xiong heard this, he became panicked and finally made a decision.
"Send someone to notify Guiyang, and then immediately gather all the troops in the city, and we will retreat."

More than 2,000 Ming troops hurriedly withdrew from Xifeng Fort. When He Jiuyi led his men to the city, Xifeng Fort was already empty.

He Jiuyi captured two cities without a single blow, and he became increasingly contemptuous of the Ming army in Guizhou Province. Seeing that even the Guizhou generals had fled, He Jiuyi no longer hesitated.
The Western Army rested in Xifengso for one night. The next morning, He Jiuyi led 5,000 troops and headed straight for Guiyang.
(End of this chapter)