Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 276 Calm down
In Kunming City, the Ming army destroyed two camps, and the rebels in the city had no power to resist. After entering the city, the Ming army immediately blocked the four gates of the city.

On the streets of the city, Ming cavalrymen galloped past, loudly announcing

"The imperial army has entered the city, the rebels have been defeated, the city is under curfew for two days, the people are to stay at home, no one is allowed to go out without permission"

"If the barbarian soldiers and bandits are hiding in the city, if the people in the city find any trace of the bandits, they should immediately report it to the patrolling soldiers. Those who report it will be rewarded, and those who harbor the bandits will be punished with the same crime as the bandits."

The army had repeatedly stated military discipline during this entry into the city, but after entering the city, a few soldiers still could not control themselves and entered the houses to loot.
However, under the suppression of the generals of each camp, these people were still a minority after all, and were soon killed by the inspectors patrolling the city.
The people in the city hid in their homes and saw that the soldiers who entered the city did not plunder. They also learned from the gentry in the city that this time the imperial court entered Yunnan to quell the rebellion. The people in the city soon settled down.
The Ming army immediately blocked the four gates when they entered the city, and the bandits in the city were trapped. As the people in the city calmed down, the bandits were soon caught by the angry people of Kunming. Yu Xipeng, Zhang Guoyong, Xu Tingzhen and other criminals of the Yi army hiding in the city were captured by the Ming army one after another.

In the hall of the government office, civil and military officials from Yunnan Province gathered together. Zhang Huangyan and Ma Bao sat at the top.
On the left below are officials and gentry such as Lei Yuelong, Gong Yi, and Yan Shizu, and on the right are military officers from various camps such as Gao Yigong, Li Dingguo, Liu Wenxiu, and Xu Gao.
Everyone in the hall sat down, and several men with disheveled hair were escorted into the hall. They were the five people who had just been arrested, Yu Xipeng, Ruan Yunjia, Zhang Guoyong, Yuan Shihong, and Xu Tingzhen.
Yu Xipeng was originally the chief steward of the Mu Mansion. However, after Yu Xipeng came to power in the Mu Mansion, he used his position as the steward to extort money from local chieftains.
Yu Xipeng and Lieutenant General Li Dazhi jointly extorted Tusi Wubikui in the name of Mu Mansion. Wubikui had already had the intention of rebellion, so he took the opportunity to directly shout out the slogan "There is no Emperor Zhu, how can there be Duke Mu", and officially raised his army to rebel. This was also the fuse of Sha Dingzhou's rebellion.
Mu Tianbo mobilized the chieftains of various places and quickly put down the rebellion of Wu Bikui, but this also made the chieftains of various places see the weakness of the Qianguo Mansion.

After the Wu Bikui Rebellion was quelled, Yu Xipeng began to lose power in the Qianguo Mansion. For unknown reasons, he even owed the Mu Mansion tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Yu Xipeng became resentful and immediately linked up with Sha Dingzhou. After unifying the two chieftains, Sha Dingzhou also had rebellious intentions and had already secretly colluded with Ruan Yunjia, Yuan Shihong and others, the generals of the Mu Mansion.
With the help of Yu Xipeng, Ruan Yunjia and others, Sha Dingzhou found out the true situation of Mu Mansion and finally defeated the Duke of Qian Mansion with one stroke.

The wealth accumulated by the Mu family over hundreds of years was taken away overnight, and the entire Yunnan Province was controlled by Sha Dingzhou.
When Yan Sizu saw Yu Xipeng and others being escorted into the hall, he looked angry and said

"These five thieves are the culprits for the fall of Kunming. They secretly colluded with Sha Dingzhou, which allowed the Sha thieves to break into the Qianguo Mansion."

"Since the fall of Kunming, countless gentry and common people in the city have died because of these five thieves. All the people in the city want to devour the flesh and blood of these five thieves."

Ma Bao heard this and said

"The people in the city are extremely angry about these five people?"

Yan Sizu said with hatred

"Who wouldn't hate this traitor who colluded with the rebels and brought chaos to Yunnan Province?"

Ma Bao looked at the five frightened people below, his face calm, and after a little thought, he spoke

"Since the crime is extremely heinous, then he should be executed by slow slicing"

"Detain him first, and lift the curfew in two days. Then execute him in the city to appease the public anger."

Yan Sizu and the others were shocked when they heard this. Although Yan Sizu wanted to punish these people, the punishment he wanted was nothing more than beheading them in public.
Although the crime of these five thieves is not too harsh, the punishment of lingchi is still too cruel.
Moreover, the court has always respected civil officials. Even if they want to deal with these five people, it should be the governor Zhang Huangyan who should deal with them. At this time, Zhang Huangyan did not speak, but the admiral Ma Bao spoke directly and made the decision.

Yan Shizu and the others subconsciously looked up at Zhang Huangyan, but found that Zhang Huangyan did not react at all and simply accepted it.

Yan Sizu, Lei Yuelong and other city gentry looked at the two people sitting side by side above them. For a moment, they were confused about the origin of Ma Bao. However, even Zhang Huangyan acquiesced to this matter at this time, and Yan Sizu also sat back in his seat.

After hearing what Ma Bao said, Yu Xipeng collapsed to the ground. Ruan Yunjia and others also looked desperate. Yu Xipeng kept shouting for mercy, but was soon dragged out of the hall by the soldiers.

Yu Xipeng and the five traitors were dragged out of the hall. Soon, the soldiers brought a man into the hall. The man was wearing a third-rank official robe. It was Wu Zhaoyuan, the former governor of Yunnan Province.

Yan Sizu, Lei Yuelong and others in the hall looked at Wu Zhaoyuan, who looked pale, with complicated expressions on their faces.

Wu Zhaoyuan sided with Sha Dingzhou, not only falsely submitted a memorial to protect Sha Dingzhou, but also assisted Sha Dingzhou in pacifying the people of Yunnan Province. For this alone, Wu Zhaoyuan should be sentenced to death.
But apart from this, Wu Zhaoyuan did not do any more evil things. After Wu Zhaoyuan surrendered to Sha Dingzhou, he even protected many gentry in Yunnan Province. Yan Sizu and others in the field also took refuge under his protection to avoid being harassed by Sha Dingzhou.

This time, the imperial army was at the gates of the city, and Wu Zhaoyuan surrendered the city, which was also a great achievement. However, everyone in the hall didn't know how to deal with Wu Zhaoyuan for a while.

At this time, there were two governors of Yunnan Province in the hall. One was Wu Zhaoyuan, the governor of Yunnan Province during the Longwu Dynasty, and the other was Zhang Huangyan, the governor of Yunnan Province during the Guangdong Province court.
Wu Zhaoyuan looked at the young man in red official robes above him, with a bitter look on his face. He was over fifty years old when he was appointed as a frontier governor, while the new governor Zhang in the hall looked only thirty years old, but he had already surpassed him.
Now the new governor Zhang holds his own life and death in his hands. If he takes a wrong step, everything will be in vain. Even if he regrets it now, it is too late.

Everyone in the hall was silent at this time. Ma Bao looked at Zhang Huangyan beside him, but he didn't say anything at this time. He just dealt with those people, and it didn't matter.

The Mu family not only inherited the title of Duke of Qian, but also served as the military commander of Yunnan Province for generations. Although Ruan Yunjia and others were generals of the Mu family, they were also deputy commanders of the Yunnan Provincial Command and they were military personnel. As the governor of Yunnan Province, Ma Bao was responsible for handling all military affairs in Yunnan Province.

But Wu Zhaoyuan was a civil official after all, and he was once a governor of a certain place. As a military official, it would be best for him not to get involved with such people.

Zhang Huangyan also knew that he was the only one who could deal with Wu Zhaoyuan, the former governor of Yunnan Province. After thinking for a moment, Zhang Huangyan said:

"Wu Zhaoyuan, you are the governor of a region. When the Sha bandits rebelled, not only did you fail to help the imperial court to quell the chaos, but you secretly sided with the rebels, deceived the imperial court, and even helped them to pacify the prefectures and counties of Yunnan Province, causing the Sha bandits to become more powerful. The evidence of your crime is solid, and you cannot deny it."

Wu Zhaoyuan listened to what Zhang Huangyan said. Every time Zhang Huangyan said a word, Wu Zhaoyuan's face turned paler. However, Zhang Huangyan ignored Wu Zhaoyuan's panicked expression and continued to speak.

"But you were able to turn back this time, kill the rebels and seize the city gate, and help the court capture Kunming, so you have made great contributions."

"You were previously a governor of a region, and I cannot dispose of you without authorization. From today on, I will remove Wu Zhaoyuan's honors and honors, and dismiss him from his post."

"I will send your case to your province, and His Royal Highness the Regent will decide your guilt. Do you have any objections?"

"The criminals obey orders, and there is no objection."

Wu Zhaoyuan opened his mouth slightly and tried to plead for himself several times, but in the end he couldn't speak and could only agree.
The fact that he had colluded with Sha Dingzhou was known to everyone in Yunnan Province. If he had not just won the city, he would not even have the opportunity to report to the court. He would have been directly questioned and executed.

Zhang Huangyan's treatment was the best outcome for him, and Wu Zhaoyuan did not dare to ask for more.
Wu Zhaoyuan pleaded guilty and was soon stripped of his official robe and hat and escorted away by soldiers.

Ma Bao saw Wu Zhaoyuan being taken down, and found that Yan Sizu and others below seemed to be preparing to deal with the traitors in the city. At this time, he also waved his hand and said

"Let's stop here for now. Now is not the time to celebrate or blame others. Let's discuss the matter of suppressing the rebellion in Yunnan Province first."

Yan Sizu and others in the hall also looked serious when they heard this. The imperial court's recapture of Kunming was a great victory, but Sha Dingzhou had not yet been executed.
Sha Dingzhou's main force has not been lost, and he is now leading 30,000 to 40,000 troops to besiege Chuxiong. If this rebel army is not eliminated, Yunnan Province will never have peace.
Zhang Huangyan thought about the situation in Yunnan Province and said

"I think we should follow the previously agreed strategy. Time is on our side, so there is no need to rush into a decisive battle with the bandits."

"At this time, we should quickly send troops to surrender Anning, Lufeng and other counties east of Kunming, block Sha Dingzhou's route to attack Kunming, and at the same time send people to publicize the capture of Kunming, forcing Sha Dingzhou to retreat to Lin'an."

Kunming was Chuxiong's retreat. The Ming army suddenly attacked and captured Kunming. When Sha Dingzhou's army suddenly learned that Kunming had fallen, they would be in chaos. At that time, the Ming army would make a gesture of trying to march into Chuxiong in a large scale, and Sha Dingzhou would have no choice but to retreat to Lin'an.

As long as Sha Dingzhou withdraws his troops and returns to Lin'an, Sha Dingzhou will never be able to make a difference again.

Hearing this, Ma Bao nodded slightly and said

"I heard that after the Duke of Qian, Mu Tianbo, fled to Chuxiong, he also needs to be recalled first."

Although the Ming army was elite, it only had 10,000 soldiers, while Sha Dingzhou had 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers under his command. Compared with them, the Ming army was still too small.

The Duke of Qian had guarded Yunnan Province for hundreds of years and had great prestige among the chieftains of Yunnan Province. Once Mu Tianbo was recalled, they could use the name of the Duke of Qian to recruit the chieftains of various tribes to send troops to help in the war.
The Tusi coalition was responsible for guiding and logistics, which freed up the main force of the Ming army, allowing them to gather their elite troops to defeat the main force of the Shadingzhou rebels and truly give full play to the advantages of the Ming army.

Everyone in the hall nodded slightly after hearing what Zhang Huangyan and the other two said. Since Sha Dingzhou seized Yunnan Province, he has intimidated the entire Yunnan province with brutal killings and is unpopular.

As long as Sha Dingzhou was forced to retreat to Lin'an, the imperial court could recruit people from all over the country to surrender, and then use the influence of the Duke of Qian to gather the chieftains of Yunnan Province and crush Sha Dingzhou with the power of the entire Yunnan Province.
Zhang Huangyan and Ma Bao, the two leaders of the civil and military affairs, reached a consensus, and the matter was settled.

Ma Bao seemed to remember something at this time and looked at Li Dingguo below.
"Have Gao Wengui and his team from the Loyalty Camp received any intelligence?"

Li Dingguo heard this and stood up to report back. Gao Wengui and Yang Wu led 3,000 soldiers to pretend to be the main force of the army and continued to march south.
When the rebels in Lin'an Prefecture learned that the Ming army was coming south, they did not sit and wait for death, but took the initiative to send soldiers north to guard the various passes leading into Lin'an Prefecture.

Gao Wengui's army had not traveled far when they were stopped at the Ge Ni Pass not far from Lu Nan Prefecture. To the south of Ge Ni Pass was Mile Prefecture, and to the south of Mile Prefecture was Lin'an Prefecture.
Ge Ni Pass is a key pass from Dongdong to Dongnan. There are many mountains near the pass, and the terrain is extremely dangerous.

When Gao Wengui and his men arrived at the pass, Guanzhong had been occupied by more than 2,000 elite soldiers from Lin'an Prefecture. Gao Wengui and Yang Wu led their troops to attack several times, but were unable to shake the pass.

Ma Bao thought for a moment and then said

"If it's difficult to attack, then don't attack it"

"Send a message to Gao Wengui and the other two to lead the troops back to Lunan Prefecture and monitor the various prefectures in Ruinan to prevent the rebels from Ruinan from flowing into Ruidong."

The Ming army had already decided to slowly gather the manpower of Yunnan Province, and then use the momentum of Mount Tai to destroy Shadingzhou in one fell swoop. So it would be meaningless to seize this pass at this time.

The road to Lin'an Prefecture is not limited to the one in the south of Milezhou. Once the Ming army has gathered its soldiers, they can go south from Kunming and directly attack Lin'an. Everyone in the hall has decided on a strategy to quell the rebellion. Yan Sizu and others know that they will not immediately fight a decisive battle with the rebels, and their faces are also relaxed.
Ma Bao looked at the missionary Zhu Xuexi below and continued

"General Zhu, how is the statistics of the spoils in the city?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Xuexi immediately stood up and reported back that Kunming was indeed the capital of Yunnan Province. The three courts of the Ming court were set up here. After Sha Dingzhou occupied Yunnan Province, he also established a government here.

This time the Ming army captured Kunming without bloodshed, but made a lot of money.

After the Ming army took over the government treasury in the city, they found nearly 100,000 dan of rice alone. These grains were originally looted by Sha Dingzhou from various prefectures in the east to support the siege of Chuxiong, but now they were all taken by the Ming army.

These 100,000 shi of grain and grass were enough for the Ming army entering Yunnan for several years. However, Sha Dingzhou suddenly lost so much grain and grass that he might not be able to return to Lin'an.
In addition to food and fodder, what is even more amazing is the gold and silver treasures seized from the treasury.
This time, more than one million taels of silver were seized from the Kunming treasury, and countless jade ores such as jadeite, agate, and red gold were also seized.
If all the silver could be exchanged for silver at the market price, it would probably be worth no less than 1.5 million taels. There are also countless other antiques such as gold and jade Buddha statues. Even a rough estimate of the total value of the seizure this time is no less than 2.5 million taels.
Some of the treasures in the Kunming treasury belonged to the three chieftains of Kunming, some were looted and brought back to Kunming by Sha Dingzhou after he massacred Ningzhou and Li E and other chieftains rebelled against them, and the rest were all from the Mu family's treasury.
According to the information Zhu Xuexi received, Sha Dingzhou had already transported most of the Mu family's treasures back to Lin'an after conquering the Mu Mansion, and only a small part that had not yet been transported away remained in Kunming.

But even this small half of the size is already terrifying. It can only be said that the Mu family has guarded Yunnan Province for hundreds of years, and the wealth accumulated is really rich enough to rival a country.

Zhu Xuexi briefly introduced the captured items and continued

"The imperial court entered the city just in time this time, and the rebel army had no chance to cause chaos before we took over the treasury."

"According to the account books in the treasury, there are currently 1.06 million taels of silver in the treasury. Although there are many other jade and antique items, these treasures are not cash after all, so it is not easy to sell them."

"I think it would be better to record these jade and other miscellaneous items as 500,000 taels, and then sort them out one by one and submit them to the court later. It would be better to record the total amount seized this time as 1.5 million taels."

Everyone in the field was amazed that Kunming had obtained so many spoils, but they were not too shocked.

Ma Bao and other Tengxiang troops followed the army to capture Fujian Province and had already seen the seizure of millions of taels of silver, not to mention Gao Yigong, Li Dingguo and others.
Gao Yigong and others followed Li Zicheng to extort money from the capital, and had seen a lot of silver. Li Dingguo and others followed Zhang Xianzhong to destroy several royal palaces, and had also seen a lot of gold and silver. Although a million taels of silver was a lot, it was nothing to them.
Ma Bao looked at the generals below and said

"Then the plunder this time will be set at 1.5 million taels. Do you have any objections?"

When the people in the hall heard this, no one was so tactless as to say that they would go to the army to personally check the spoils. The spoils of this battle were thus set at 1.5 million taels.

Seeing Li Dingguo and other commanders responding, Ma Bao nodded and said:

"The total spoils of this battle were 1.5 million taels. According to the rules set by His Highness, 20% of the spoils of war belong to the army. So in this siege, the spoils of each army will be 300,000 taels."

"General Zhu, take out 300,000 taels from the treasury and distribute them to the various armies as spoils of war."

Zhu Xuexi bowed his hand in response, while the Yunnan scholars such as Lei Yuelong and Yan Shizu below were shocked.

This is three hundred thousand taels of silver, and Ma Bao actually brought it up so openly, wanting to divide it among the army, and to give it out immediately. Is Ma Bao crazy?
Yan Shizu and others looked up at Zhang Huangyan, only to find that Zhang Huangyan also said nothing, allowing Ma Bao to arrange
At this time, Yan Sizu and others finally discovered that among the two people who entered Yunnan this time, although Zhang Huangyan was a civil official and governor, it seemed that Ma Bao, the military governor, was not weaker in power at all, and even suppressed Zhang Huangyan.

In fact, they had already discovered something was wrong when they entered the hall. Zhang Huangyan and Ma Bao sat on the upper main seat, one on the left and one on the right. Although Ma Bao was the governor of Yunnan Province, when would a military official be able to sit on an equal footing with a civil official?
They were already used to the civil officials ordering the military officials around, and now seeing Ma Bao, a military official, taking the lead, made them extremely uncomfortable.
At this time, not only Yan Sizu and others were shocked, but also Gao Yigong, Li Dingguo and others were shocked.
Although they had heard the Ming court's statement of dividing the captured items into 20% when they came with the army, they did share some silver when they captured Qujing.

But Qujing City was small, and after they conquered it, each army only shared one or two thousand taels of silver, and no one thought it was a big deal.

But now it is 300,000 taels. Although it is also 20%, can it be the same?
Gao Yigong hesitated for a moment, then spoke

"The amount of the spoils this time is too large. Should we report it to the court first? After the court agrees, the army can divide the spoils among themselves."

Yan Sizu and others nodded when they heard this. This was the right thing to do. How could such a large amount of silver be divided up privately by these military officials without waiting for the court to send civil officials to check it one by one?
These military officials have always been greedy for money. If there were no civil officials watching over them, how could this be possible?

Ma Bao ignored the expressions of the people below, looked at Zhang Huangyan beside him, and said

"Have the officials under Governor Zhang ever checked the spoils seized in the city?"

"I have sent Daoyuan Gong to accompany Zhu Junshi to check the captured items in the city. After both sides checked the records, they found no discrepancies."

Hearing this, Ma Bao nodded and said

"That's all, no need to wait, just take it out and distribute it to the armies."

"Your Highness has explained this matter before he left. If the army has any captured items before the battle, they must be distributed promptly after the battle. This will boost the morale of the army and maintain military discipline."

Yan Sizu looked at Zhang Huangyan who was silent above him, and knew that what Ma Bao said might be true.

They now understood why the Ming army entering the city had such good military discipline. They did not plunder, rape, or burn houses. It was not an exaggeration to call this Ming army entering the city the Royal Army.

Ma Bao looked at Gao Yigong, Li Dingguo and others below and continued
"The Tengxiang Army and the Gui Army will take 50% of the captured goods, the Zhongyi Camp will take 30%, and the Zhongzheng Camp will take 20%. Do you have any objections?"

Gao Yigong was displeased when he heard that the Loyalty Camp had obtained the least spoils. However, after a careful calculation, he found that even if it was only 20%, the spoils they received would still amount to 60,000 taels. He was a little shocked.
Tengxiang's army and Gui's army took 50%, which is 150,000 taels; Li Dingguo's loyal and righteous camp took 30%, which is 90,000 taels; Gao Yigong's loyal and righteous camp took 20%, which is 60,000 taels.
Liu Wenxiu, Li Laiheng and the others made a rough calculation in their minds and fell silent. This number was not a small number for any battalion.

Ma Bao asked everyone, Gao Yigong, Li Dingguo and others all agreed, and the distribution of the captured items was decided.

Li Dingguo saw that Ma Bao seemed to be really ready to divide the silver immediately. He was silent for a moment, but suddenly he said

"I don't know how we should distribute the spoils sent by the imperial court to the camp."

After Li Dingguo finished speaking, Gao Yigong also looked up at Ma Bao. The troops of the two camps had just returned to the Ming court, and this was also the first time for them to divide the silver. Seeing that the Ming court was so generous, both of them felt a little unsure.
Ma Bao glanced at the two of them and said

"Your Highness has only set a rule that 20% of the captured money should go to the troops that go out to fight. As for how to distribute the money among the troops, there are no detailed regulations. You can choose 20% to 80% or 40% to 60%."

"But His Highness once said that victory on the battlefield cannot be achieved by just a few officers who dare to fight and kill. To win, the soldiers must be willing to fight and sacrifice their lives. Therefore, only half of the captured soldiers in the camp can be taken, and the rest must be distributed to the soldiers in the camp."

Upon hearing this, Li Dingguo asked again

"May I ask how the captured items are distributed among the Tengxiang army?"

"Tengxiang's army was divided into three parts and seven parts, three parts were taken by officers and seven parts by soldiers"

Hearing this, Li Dingguo nodded and said

"The Loyalty Camp will also be divided according to this rule."

After Li Dingguo finished speaking, Gao Yigong immediately agreed. The Loyalty Camp also divided the captured items in a 3:7 ratio.
Ma Bao looked at Li Dingguo and the other man below, nodded, and said

"You, the commanders of each camp, can make your own decisions on this matter. However, you need to state the situation in a memorial after the division. Someone in the court will verify the soldiers' pay status."

After the discussion on the distribution of military pay was over, everyone dispersed. On the second day, more than a dozen carriages entered the Loyalty Camp.

In the Loyalty Camp tent, there were dozens of black wooden boxes on the ground. When the lids were opened, they were filled with silver ingots.

Wang Shangli looked at the account full of silver with an expression of amazement on his face, and could not help but speak out:

"It was actually delivered. The imperial court is really generous this time. It's really decent."

Li Dingguo ignored Wang Shangli and looked at the silver in the account. He said to Liu Wenxiu at one side:

"Third brother, call the officers in the camp and divide the money in a 30:70 ratio. Take out 27,000 taels of silver first. The remaining 63,000 taels will be distributed to the soldiers in the camp by you and me."

After Li Dingguo finished speaking, he seemed to remember something and spoke again

"Remember to save the money for Gao Wengui, Yang Wu and their troops, and distribute it when they return to the camp."

Liu Wenxiu nodded, and then went to the army to summon the generals.
The camps in the city were happily dividing the silver, but the Ming army's actions did not slow down.

After the armies had divided the silver, that afternoon the 3,000 Loyalty Camp and 2,000 Gui Army soldiers set out again, marching towards Lufeng. At the same time, the Ming cavalry was everywhere, and the news that the Ming court had recaptured Kunming quickly spread to all the prefectures in the west.

(End of this chapter)