There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 425 Taking Guiyang
After Zunyi was destroyed, one-third of Guizhou's fiscal revenue and important granaries all fell into the hands of the Han Dynasty.

The governor of Guizhou, Yisang'a, received military reports of the fall of Zunyi within a few days.

Zunyi Prefecture was not like the three prefectures of Nanlong (Xingyi), Liping, and Sizhou. Although it was said to account for only one-third of Guizhou's fiscal revenue, it actually accounted for more.

Because Zunyi alone accounts for one-third of the province's tax revenue, while the remaining two-thirds are distributed among other prefectures and cities in Guizhou, the disparity becomes even greater when the tax revenue is distributed equally.

Moreover, and more importantly, Zunyi Prefecture was not only rich in money and grain, but also geographically very close to Guiyang and Kunming.

Zunyi Prefecture was officially placed under the jurisdiction of Guizhou in the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty; prior to that, it had always belonged to Sichuan Province.

In terms of geographical division, Zunyi Prefecture, under the jurisdiction of Sichuan Province, is like interlocking teeth to Guizhou, looming high above and penetrating the heart of Guizhou Province.

While ancient dynasties often created a complex web of administrative divisions when establishing provinces and prefectures, such as transferring Hanzhong in Sichuan to Shaanxi and Kangzang to Sichuan, the purpose was to prevent local areas from becoming too powerful and threatening the central government's rule.

However, Zunyi Prefecture was different. Although it had long been under the jurisdiction of Sichuan, its geographical location was too special, which led to frequent rebellions and uprisings.

Zunyi was under the jurisdiction of Sichuan, but it was too far from Chengdu, with a straight-line distance of 400 kilometers, so it was often impossible to send troops to suppress rebellions immediately.

Guiyang is very close to Zunyi, less than 100 kilometers away, but Guiyang has no jurisdiction over it and has no right to send troops to deal with the Zunyi rebellion. At most, it can only report to the emperor.

Emperor Yongzheng knew that things couldn't continue like this, so after further consideration, he decided to cede Zunyi to Guizhou as compensation, and Long'an in Guizhou to Sichuan.

Of course, Sichuan definitely lost out in this land swap, losing Zunyi, which was rich in money and grain, but gaining Long'an Tusi, a region that had not yet been converted from a chieftainship to a centrally administered one.

Now that the Han army has captured Zunyi Prefecture, they have essentially seized control of Guizhou Province's lifeline. They can advance directly south to attack Guiyang, or retreat to hold Zunyi, using it as a base for the Han army's conquest of the southwest.

Guiyang, the Governor's Office.

Chang Ming, the Guizhou Provincial Governor, was extremely anxious. He asked the Governor Yisanga anxiously, "Governor, Zunyi Prefecture has fallen. If it is not recaptured as soon as possible, not only will Guiyang be in danger, but if this continues, Guizhou will definitely run out of food."

Guizhou Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Fang Ang nodded in agreement, saying, "Lord Changming is right. Governor, please send troops immediately to rescue Zunyi Prefecture."

Peng Xilian, the Guizhou Provincial Education Commissioner, did not speak. Theoretically, it was not his place to speak at such a military meeting, given his official rank and position. However, he was still qualified to participate in the meeting.

Seeing that all three of them were staring straight at him, even the Guiyang Prefect Zhai Xiangshi below, although he had his head down, was also sneaking glances at his reaction.

Isan was extremely agitated and did not reply to the others immediately. Instead, he looked at the map of Guizhou Province on the table first.

Although this map is full of the abstract style of ancient maps, the mountains, rivers, cities and counties are drawn in great detail. A large area of ​​prefectures in the eastern part of the map has been marked with red circles and crosses.

These prefectures marked with red circles and crosses include Liping Prefecture and Sizhou Prefecture, which were initially taken over by the Han army, and later Zhenyuan Prefecture, Sinan Prefecture, and Tongren Prefecture.

He Shunan's First Division was attacking Guizhou from the south and had just captured Zunyi Prefecture, the granary of Guizhou. Xu Sanlang's Fourth Division was even faster, launching attacks on the three prefectures in eastern Guizhou at the same time. In less than a month, they had almost captured the entire eastern Guizhou region and were pressing on Guiyang.

Looking at the map, Guiyang is now surrounded by three directions: east, west, and north. To the east is the Fourth Division of the Han Army, which has already captured eastern Guizhou; to the north is the First Division of the Han Army, which has moved south from Chongqing; and to the west is the Zhongmiao Army, which has occupied Nanlong Prefecture and has also raised the Han character flag.

It can be said that the Qing army in Guizhou was only slightly safe in the south, which was Guilin Prefecture in Guangxi. The Han army was still busy fighting in Pingyue Prefecture and had not yet reached Guilin.

Looking at Guiyang, which was surrounded by enemies on all sides, Ethan was almost numb.

Asking him to send troops to rescue Zunyi Prefecture now is pointless, not to mention whether he dares to do so. Zunyi has already fallen; sending troops to rescue it now would be no different from sending people to their deaths.
After a moment of contemplation, Isanga suddenly pointed to the map and said, "Since Zunyi Prefecture has already been captured by the rebel army, the rebel army in Zunyi Prefecture must be very powerful. If I rashly send troops, I am afraid I will fall into the rebel army's ambush. Once the rebel army in eastern Guizhou takes the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Guiyang, Guiyang will be in danger. The most urgent task is to prioritize the defense of Guiyang Prefecture. Other matters can be put aside for now."

Upon hearing this, all the officials present were stunned and stared at Isangah in disbelief.

So, after staring at the map for so long, you, Marshal, came up with this terrible idea? Even we scholars who have never fought a war know that prolonged defense inevitably leads to defeat.

The Han army has already reached Guiyang's doorstep, yet Yisanga is still thinking about avoiding battle and defending Guiyang to the death. Is this even a thought that a human could come up with?
There was nothing that could be done. If it were when Le Bao was still the governor-general, Isan'a, the governor of Guizhou, would probably have fled long ago.

The only reason they're not running now is because they no longer have Governor Le Bao to back them up, and Yisang'a has nowhere to run. He's surrounded by Han troops on three sides, and the only place he can run is Guilin in Guangxi.

Chang Ming wanted to persuade him further: "General, prolonged defense will inevitably lead to defeat! The puppet Han rebels have already captured Zunyi Prefecture and eastern Guizhou. If they were to join forces, Guiyang would be difficult to hold. The best course of action is to take the initiative and strike first."

Isanga shook his head and refused: "No, the puppet Han rebels were able to take over Qiandong and Zunyi so quickly, so their troops must be numerous and their firearms must be superior to ours. The Guiyang garrison is poorly trained, good at defense but not at offense, so we should prioritize defending the city. I will write another urgent secret letter, requesting Governor Chu of Yunnan to lead troops to aid Guiyang. As long as Yunnan and Guizhou provinces join forces, no matter how powerful the puppet Han rebels are, they will have to obediently retreat and withdraw from Guizhou."

"..."

Everyone was completely stunned. If it weren't for the fact that Isanga was a Manchu, they would have almost thought that this governor had secretly joined the rebels behind their backs, based on what these "divine beings" had just said.

Because of Isanga's insistence, the officials in Guiyang were completely unable to persuade him and could only disperse in disappointment.

Chang Ming, the provincial governor of Guizhou, was a Manchu, so he left alone.

Fang Ang, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Guizhou, and Peng Xilian, the Provincial Education Commissioner of Guizhou, were both Han officials, so they left the government office together.

They hadn't gone far when Zhai Xiangshi, the prefect of Guiyang, caught up with them and called out, "My lords, my lords, please wait!"

"What is it?" Fang Ang turned around and asked, looking down at him with a puzzled expression.

Although the Prefect of Guiyang was three ranks lower than the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Guizhou, they were both officials in Guizhou, so at most they were in a superior-subordinate relationship.

Zhai Xiangshi smiled and handed over an invitation: "Please invite the Provincial Governor and the Academician to Qingfeng Tower for a chat later!"

Fang Ang originally wanted to refuse, but upon glancing at the post, he saw a conspicuous Chinese character printed on the top.

Chinese characters on a red background!

Fang Ang's pupils contracted instantly, his eyes first showing shock, then scrutiny: "Prefect Zhai, you really have a lot of nerve."

Zhai Xiangshi smiled helplessly: "The governor is a Manchu, and the provincial governor is also a Manchu. If they want to die, they will surely die. But we Han officials have to find a way to survive, don't we?"

"..."

Fang Ang and Peng Xilian exchanged a glance and remained silent for a moment. Suddenly, Fang Ang quickly took the invitation and tucked it into his sleeve: "We will go to the banquet later to see for ourselves. We hope that what Prefect Zhai said is indeed a promising path."

Zhai Xiangshi said, "I wouldn't dare. It's not a smooth road, but there's definitely a way to survive."

……

Isanga, the governor of Guizhou, is truly incompetent. Guiyang is almost completely infiltrated by Han spies, yet he remains oblivious and is still thinking about defending Guiyang to the death.

In short, taking the initiative was impossible, there was nowhere to run, and if he surrendered, he was a Manchu, so surrendering would also mean certain death.

The spies that the Han army sent out in Guiyang persuaded a large number of Han officials in Guizhou, including the Guizhou Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the Guizhou Provincial Education Commissioner, and the Guiyang Prefect, to surrender and defect with almost no effort.

In other provinces, these puppet Qing officials would have had to show enough sincerity and perform meritorious service to have any chance of escaping death, even if they wanted to surrender.

But what can you do when this is Guizhou?
Fighting in the southwestern mountains is too troublesome. Just the marching will require conscripting a large number of laborers, and it will cost an unknown amount of money and food.

Even if they conquered it, this place, if not dirt poor, could still be considered a barren wasteland. There wasn't even enough land to go around, and the Han Dynasty would have to provide grain for disaster relief and to help restore production.

The Ministry of War, the frontline troops, and the Ministry of Revenue jointly submitted a memorial, leaving Nie Yu with no choice but to lower the threshold for surrender.

In Guizhou, any Qing officials who surrendered were given leniency. Even Manchu officials who were willing to surrender and offer up their cities to reduce casualties among the Han army and civilians could be spared death and sent to the mines to work until they died.

The Han army spies successfully persuaded most of the Han officials in Guiyang to surrender. Upon receiving the news, He Shunan and Xu Sanlang's two Han armies immediately launched an offensive against Guiyang.

Neither of them led large armies. One led only 4,000 regular soldiers from two towns southward, along with more than 6,000 chieftain soldiers from Shizhu and Youyang. The other led only three towns of Han soldiers westward, and his troops were a consolidation of the Zhongmiao local soldiers from Liping Prefecture and Sizhou Prefecture.

The two sides joined forces to attack Guiyang, claiming to have sent an army of 100,000.

Isan almost wet himself in fright, completely baffled as to where the Han army got so many troops. This was Guizhou, after all!

However, it didn't matter that he didn't understand; what mattered was that the Han army had arrived with such an obviously exaggerated rumor as "100,000 troops," and Yisanga had forgotten to stabilize the morale of his troops.

Or rather, this guy simply doesn't know that maintaining morale is crucial in warfare.

Therefore, the morale of the thousands of soldiers defending Guiyang collapsed almost instantly.

The three officials in charge—the Guizhou Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, the Guizhou Provincial Education Commissioner, and the Guiyang Prefect—all defected at the last minute, taking the opportunity to run out and take charge of the overall situation. They also led their yamen runners to capture the unsuspecting Governor Yisang'a and Provincial Administration Commissioner Changming.

Guiyang Prefecture City just disappeared in such a muddled way!
(End of this chapter)