Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 273 Return to Support
Outside Chuxiong City, in the morning, tens of thousands of troops surrounded Chuxiong City tightly. The low sound of the advancing drums sounded, and countless foreign soldiers rushed to the city of Chuxiong like a tide.
As soon as the soldiers stood up to the city, a hail of arrows came from the top of the city. Except for a few soldiers in the front row who were wearing red leather armor and holding shields, most of the others were just wearing black clothes made of homespun cloth.
These soldiers did not form any formation. They held Yi knives and short swords of various shapes in their hands and swarmed under the city. At this time, a rain of arrows fell from the top of the city, and more than a hundred people fell immediately.

The barbarian soldiers who attacked the city fell down in front of the city, but the rear formation remained unmoved, and the drums of advancing continued to beat.

The soldiers below the city set up ladders, and a group of barefoot black-clad barbarian soldiers climbed up the bamboo and wooden ladders and were about to climb up the city.

But at this time, rocks rained down from the top of the city. Stones as big as millstones fell from the city, knocking a group of barbarian soldiers to the ground. But then a piece of gold poured down from the city, and screams suddenly rang out from below the city.

Although Sha Dingzhou had attacked Mu Mansion unexpectedly more than a year ago, and had also kidnapped the three officials in the city to recruit people from all over the country, he had used his military power to kill and make the people of Yunnan Province submit.
But Sha Dingzhou's action was ultimately flawed. Although Sha Dingzhou captured Kunming, he let Mu Tianbo go.

The Mu family has guarded Yunnan Province for hundreds of years and has long been the de facto leader of the chieftains of Yunnan Province. Sha Dingzhou can collude with the three chieftains of Yunnan Province and deceive the Ming court into granting an order, but he cannot deceive the officials and chieftains of Yunnan Province.

As long as Mu Tianbo is alive, Sha Dingzhou will always be regarded as a traitor in the eyes of the chieftains in Yunnan Province.
Therefore, after Sha Dingzhou pacified Kunming, he immediately led his troops to pursue Mu Tianbo, and at the same time pacified the prefectures and counties west of Kunming.
Sha Dingzhou sent his men to attack Chuxiong. Seeing that Sha Dingzhou was powerful, Yang Weizhi, the Jincang patrol officer, pretended that the situation was unclear and sent people to tell Sha Dingzhou to surrender after capturing Mu Tianbo and receiving the imperial decree to govern Yunnan Province.

Sha Dingzhou suddenly started a rebellion, and the people of Yunnan Province were in a panic. At that time, many officials and chieftains in Yunnan Province closed their cities and waited and watched. Sha Dingzhou did not doubt Yang Weizhi's words, and directly crossed Chuxiong and continued to pursue Mu Tianbo westward.
After Sha Dingzhou led his troops to leave Chuxiong, Yang Weizhi immediately used the order left by Mu Tianbo to urgently recruit nearby Yongming Tusi and garrison soldiers to settle in Chuxiong. At the same time, he gathered food and grass, repaired the city walls and prepared for the enemy.
Sha Dingzhou led his troops to Yongchang Prefecture, but was blocked by the Tusi army of Xixi, which was mobilized by Mu Tianbo.

At this time, Yang Weizhi and Chuxiong were ready and resolutely raised the flag to support the Ming Dynasty. Under the leadership of Yang Weizhi, the chieftains of Shiping, Li'e, Ningzhou and other places near Lin'an Prefecture also rose up to support the Ming Dynasty. For a time, the land of the east was full of pro-Ming righteous armies.

Yang Weizhi was stationed in Chuxiong and could threaten Sha Dingzhou's army at any time. Lin'an Prefecture, the old nest, was in chaos. Sha Dingzhou had no choice but to give up the attack on Mu Tianbo and lead his troops to retreat.

Since Sha Dingzhou dared to rebel, he must be quite powerful. After Sha Dingzhou led his troops back, he successively conquered Ningzhou, Li'e and other prefectures and counties. Seeing that he was alone and helpless, the chieftain of Shiping Prefecture, Long Zaitian, had no choice but to abandon his territory and flee to Yongchang Prefecture.

Under Sha Dingzhou's series of great victories and threats of massacre, the various prefectures in Dongdong once again stopped their movements and surrendered to Sha Dingzhou.
After Sha Dingzhou put down the rebellion in Xidong, he led his troops to besiege Chuxiong again, preparing to capture and kill Yang Weizhi, the culprit of the rebellion.
There were only 4,000 to 5,000 people in Chuxiong City, but who would have thought that Sha Dingzhou led an army of 30,000 to 40,000 to besiege the city for 4 to 5 months, but he was unable to capture this small city of Chuxiong.

To the west of Kunming is Chuxiong Prefecture. Only by going west through Chuxiong Prefecture can you reach Yongchang Prefecture. If Chuxiong is not taken down, Sha Dingzhou would not dare to attack Mu Tianbo to the west.
Chuxiong was unable to be conquered, and Sha Dingzhou's army could only remain deadlocked outside the city of Chuxiong, unable to move.

On top of Chuxiong City, shouts of killing shook the sky. The Yi soldiers below the city and the Ming chieftain soldiers on the city were fighting each other. After several months of siege, the troops in Chuxiong City were gradually insufficient.

When Sha Dingzhou's army first attacked the city, they couldn't even get to the top of the city wall. But now, as long as they reach the foot of the city, they will definitely be able to climb the city wall.

Countless barefoot barbarians jumped onto the city walls from the flying ladders and attacked the city. The defenders on the city walls seemed to be retreating step by step, but no matter how many troops the rebels below the city sent, they could not defeat the defenders on the city walls.
This situation has been going on for several months, and no one knows how long Chuxiong can hold out.

The reserve troops at the foot of the city saw that the siege troops on the top of the city had stabilized and were preparing to attack the city, but at this moment, a sound of a gong suddenly rang out from the rear army.

At this time, it was only half an hour away from the start of the siege. According to the previous progress, it had just begun. Although the soldiers on the top of the city did not know why, they heard the retreat signal from the rear and began to retreat.

A group of foreign soldiers have been attacking Chuxiong City for several months. Chuxiong City has become a meat grinder. If it weren't for the forced oppression of the chieftains and soldiers above, who would want to come here to attack the city and die?
The barbarian soldiers under the city happily withdrew their troops and returned to the camp, but at this time, the atmosphere in the barbarian army's tent was extremely solemn.
Above the big tent was Sha Dingzhou, and below were Tang Jiabin, Xiong Yiyuan, Li Achu, Black Tiger and other generals in the army.

Tang Jiabin is the brother-in-law of Sha Dingzhou's wife Wan, who was the wife of Pu Mingsheng, who had rebelled in Yunnan Province more than ten years ago. Sha Dingzhou unified the power of the two chieftains and had the strength to rebel in Yunnan Province.

Above the big tent, Sha Dingzhou was reading the urgent report in his hand, but his face was filled with shock and anger.

"How is it possible that the Ming army entered Yunnan to quell the rebellion?"

There was a reason why Sha Dingzhou chose to rebel at this time. On the one hand, after Wu Bikui's rebellion, Sha Dingzhou had seen through the weakness of Mu Tianbo's Qianguo Mansion. On the other hand, Sha Dingzhou concluded that the Ming court was already unable to take care of itself.

Before Sha Dingzhou rebelled, he already knew about the Qing invasion of Jiangnan. That was why he was so fearless.

The Ming court was now half occupied and could no longer protect itself. Even if the Ming court had troops, they would certainly be used to fight the Qing invaders for the Central Plains. How could they care about a remote place like Yunnan Province?
As long as he eliminated Mu Tianbo and subdued the chieftains in Yunnan Province, when the time came, he would submit a memorial to declare his loyalty, and the Ming court would have no choice but to accept it, no matter how dissatisfied it was.
Sha Dingzhou chose to rebel at this time because he had the right time, right place and right people. However, he couldn't understand why the Ming court would leave the Central Plains untouched and instead send a large army into Yunnan Province.

Could it be that in the eyes of the Ming court, Mu Tianbo and Yunnan Province are really more important than the Jiangnan of the Ming Dynasty?
Tang Jiabin, who was below, also looked frightened and said

"The Ming army entered Pingyiwei on May 6th and reached Qujing City on May 9th. It took less than a day to capture Qujing."

"Now the Ming army is entrenched in Qujing and has sent out a large number of soldiers to solicit surrender. According to reports from Kunming, all the prefectures and counties in Qujing, Xundian and other places in the east have surrendered..."

Before Tang Jiabin could finish his words, he was suddenly interrupted by a shout from above.
"These people deserve to die. Last time they followed Long Zaitian and other traitors to rebel, and this government generously pardoned them. I never thought that these people would not be grateful at all, and now they are rebelling again. I should have killed all these people from the east."

Sha Dingzhou's face was filled with anger, and his roar resounded throughout the tent. Everyone below was silent when they saw the furious Sha Dingzhou.
Li Achu and others dared not speak, but Tang Jiabin did not hesitate. He looked anxious and spoke directly.

"General, now is not the time to talk about this. According to Kunming, the Ming army is now heading towards Lin'an Prefecture."

"Now the mistress is still in Lin'an. If the Ming army breaks into the city, what will happen? General, let's withdraw our troops and return to Lin'an as soon as possible."

Li Achu and other generals below nodded when they heard this, staring closely at Sha Dingzhou above.
Sha Dingzhou occupied the entire Yunnan Province, and the number of enemies that needed to be defended also increased greatly. In order to defend various parts of Yunnan Province and encircle and suppress Mu Tianbo and others, Sha Dingzhou has transferred most of his soldiers out of Lin'an. Now there are only a few thousand soldiers left in Lin'an.

When Sha Dingzhou had previously wiped out the chieftains who supported the Ming Dynasty in Ningzhou, he had already slaughtered all the powerful chieftains near Lin'an. There was no force near Lin'an that could threaten Lin'an. But at this time, the Ming army suddenly entered Yunnan, and the situation in Lin'an suddenly became critical.

Li Achu and others were Sha Dingzhou's confidants. As they were Sha Dingzhou's confidants, they were all from Lin'an Prefecture. Some of them were even hereditary tribesmen from Mengzi Tuzhou of Sha Dingzhou.

Their families are all in Lin'an Prefecture. If the Ming army invades Lin'an, what will happen?

Sha Dingzhou looked at the anxious expressions on the faces of the generals below, but did not answer. Sha Dingzhou was silent for a while, and suddenly a stern look flashed across his face. He said in a deep voice:
"Chuxiong is out of ammunition and food, and can't hold out for much longer. If we withdraw now, Yunnan Province will no longer belong to us. We must not withdraw now!" Although Lin'an Prefecture is important, if they withdraw and return to help, they will be in danger in an instant.

At this time, Xidong has been occupied by the Ming army. If they withdraw to Lin'an at this time, Yang Weizhi will be able to join forces with Mu Tianbo to regain control of Xixi.

At that time, Sha Dingzhou and others would face the situation of being attacked by the Ming army from both the east and west.
Chuxiong is the gateway from Xixi to Kunming. If Sha Dingzhou can defeat Yang Weizhi, who is still alive, he will be able to control Chuxiong and completely separate Xixi and Xidong.

This would prevent the two Ming armies from connecting, and he would be able to gather his forces to fight a decisive battle with the Ming army that entered Yunnan.
If they withdraw the siege now, and wait for Mu Tianbo and others to unite with the Ming army entering Yunnan, it would be a blessing for Sha Dingzhou and others to hold on to Lin'an Prefecture. It would be impossible for them to control Kunming and occupy all of Yunnan.

Tang Jiabin and the others were silent when they heard what Sha Dingzhou said, but there was a flash of disapproval in their eyes. It was already this time, and Sha Dingzhou was still thinking about occupying Yunnan Province.

Their families and troops are all in Lin'an Prefecture. If they lose their families and troops, what will happen even if they eventually occupy Yunnan Province?
Besides, they have been plundering Yunnan for more than a year and have already made a lot of money. What's wrong with returning to Linfu to protect their families and relatives?

Seeing that Tang Jiabin was about to say something, Sha Dingzhou raised his hand to stop him and said in a deep voice:
"I have made up my mind about this matter. Chuxiong is already at the end of its strength. We cannot retreat at this time. Of course, Lin'an Prefecture is our foundation, so we cannot ignore it."

"According to reports from Kunming, the number of Ming troops entering Yunnan this time is not large, only about 10,000 or 20,000 people. We still have more than 20,000 people in Kunming. I will let Du Qifei lead the troops back to Lin'an to provide assistance."

"What we need to do now is to capture Chuxiong as soon as possible. Once Chuxiong is captured, we will immediately return and defeat the Ming army that entered Yunnan."

Tang Jiabin and others below saw the firm look on Sha Dingzhou's face and nodded in agreement.
Sha Dingzhou looked at the hesitant generals below, a hint of cruelty flashed across his face, and he said

"Block the news of the Ming army entering Yunnan, and never let the army know about what happened in Lin'an. Do you understand what I mean?"

The generals below looked at Sha Dingzhou, who had a sinister look on his face, and were startled. They no longer dared to hesitate and all responded respectfully.
The main force of Sha Dingzhou's army were all from the Sha clan in Lin'an Prefecture, Inner Mengzi and other places. If the army knew that the Ming army was attacking Lin'an, there would be chaos in the army. Sha Dingzhou was obviously warning the generals not to try to incite the soldiers to cause trouble.
In Shadingzhou's camp, several cavalrymen quickly ran out of the camp and headed towards Kunming.
The horn for gathering troops in the camp sounded again, and the barbarian soldiers in the camp were assembled again and lined up under the city of Chuxiong.
In Sha Dingzhou's formation, several cavalrymen suddenly ran out of the formation and quickly arrived at the foot of the city, shouting at the city.
"Sir Yang, General Sha has issued an order that you have been defending the city for several months and have run out of ammunition and food. If you still resist, when the city is captured, the soldiers in the camp will definitely massacre the entire city to vent their anger."

"General Sha is kindhearted and does not want to see the people in the city being killed for no reason. As long as Lord Yang is willing to open the city and accept the surrender, General Sha can guarantee the safety of the people in the city. General Sha can also ask the court to appoint Lord Yang as the Governor of Yunnan Province. I hope Lord Yang will consider the thousands of people in the city and open the city as soon as possible..."

A middle-aged man in a green official robe on the top of the city wall looked at the cavalry below with an indifferent expression on his face. Before the cavalry below finished shouting, the middle-aged man waved his hand.
Then a wave of arrows rained down from the city. Seeing this, the seven or eight cavalrymen who were shouting did not say a word and just lay on their horses and fled back to the formation.
Not long after the cavalry fled back to the formation, the drums of advancing suddenly sounded again in the formation. Countless barbarian soldiers once again rushed to the city of Chuxiong. The soldiers of the two sides on the city of Chuxiong began to fight fiercely again.
In Kunming City, the garrison commander Du Qifei received an order from Sha Dingzhou and did not dare to neglect it. The families of Sha Dingzhou and others were in Lin'an. Du Qifei was Sha Dingzhou's confidant, so his family was naturally also in Lin'an.
Du Qifei received Sha Dingzhou's order and immediately began to mobilize his soldiers that day, and then looted and confiscated the carriages, horses, mules, rice and grain in Kunming City.

After preparing the marching food and money, Du Qifei left 5,000 soldiers to guard Kunming, and then led 20,000 Kunming defenders to rush to Lin'an Prefecture for assistance.
Du Qifei led the Kunming garrison out of the city and marched along the Dianchi Lake. It took only two days to reach Jinning Prefecture.

In Jinning City, the Kunming Army was stationed outside the city, but the four gates of the city were closed, and even the people near the city wall fled.

The Kunming cavalry outside the city soon arrived and ordered the city to open its gates and provide food and money.

As the army passed through, the gentry and common people in the city dared not open the city gates, but at this time the Kunming army had already arrived outside the city, and the people in the city did not dare to ignore it.
Soon after the Kunming cavalry arrived at the foot of the city, a large amount of wine, meat, rice and grain fell from the top of the city.

More than a dozen carts of wine, meat, rice and grain fell into the city, and then Duan Bomei, a scholar from Jinning Prefecture, led his men to deliver the wine and meat to the camp.
Du Qifei saw that the city had sent wine and meat, but he was still not satisfied. He ordered the city to send another ten carts of wine and meat and one thousand stones of rice to the camp, otherwise he threatened to attack the city.

After Duan Bomei returned to the city, wine, meat, rice and grain began to fall from the city again.

The Kunming Army camped outside the city for one night. Supplies were being delivered from the top of the city walls almost non-stop. Carriages carrying rice, grain, wine and meat also kept going in and out of the Kunming Army camp all night.

Du Qifei and his men were in a hurry to rush back to Lin'an to reinforce the garrison. They did not delay any longer after receiving food and wine, and they broke camp and left the next morning.
On the top of the city wall, Duan Bomei was wearing a Confucian robe, his eyes were full of bloodshot. In order to meet the material requirements of Du Qifei and others, he almost stayed up all night last night, organizing people in the city to transport supplies to the Kunming army.

Duan Bomei looked at the Yi army marching away on the official road, but a hint of coldness flashed in his eyes. He looked at the servant Duan Rong beside him and said

"How is it, have you found out the situation of these bandit troops?"

"Yesterday, I followed the emperor and sneaked into the bandit camp. I have roughly found out the situation of the bandit army. This bandit army has at least 10,000 people, 1,000 to 2,000 horses, and there are 10 war elephants in the camp."

"The soldiers in the camp were drinking and playing around, with no military discipline at all. The number of troops in each unit was different, and they were not properly organized."

"The soldiers in the army are all called by the names of Bingtou, Congse, etc., and their words are also varied. They should not come from the same place."

Duan Bomei heard this, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes, and he said

"The bandits in the Sands led their troops to besiege Daoyuan Yang, and they will surely take away the elite of the bandits. The troops from Kunming should be a mixed army of barbarians from various barbarian villages."

"Knowing that the imperial army was entering Yunnan to quell the rebellion, these bandits were still so arrogant. They deserved this disaster."

Duan Bomei's eyes flashed with a hint of sternness, his face became serious, and he said

"This group of troops is moving very quickly. You should immediately set out and take a shortcut to Xinxing Prefecture and inform the court and Mr. Lei of the situation of this bandit army."

"This is a matter concerning the lives of millions of people in Yunnan Province. We cannot afford to make any mistakes. Do you understand?"

"As long as I am still alive, I will deliver the news to the court," Duan Rong said in a deep voice.
The two men descended from the city wall, and soon Duan Rong led several guards out of the city and headed for Xinxingzhou.
After passing Jinning Prefecture, Du Qifei's army arrived at the city of Kunyang in just one day. From Kunyang, they could reach Xinxing, and after Xinxing, they could reach Lin'an Prefecture.
Du Qifei and his companions made some rest in Kunyang Prefecture, replenished their food and supplies, and then set off again, heading towards Xinxing Prefecture.

(End of this chapter)