The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 288 What is the Principal Contradiction (Part 1)

While Zheng Yufei and his group patiently waited in Dafang County for the Pacification Commissioner Anwei to summon the local leaders, another group of messengers, carrying the same mission, were also trekking through the mountains.

The person in charge of this route was named Qiao Hong, who had also surrendered from the Ming army.

Qiao Hong, accompanied by four or five capable brothers, arrived in Gulin area on the banks of the Chishui River, covered in dust from their journey.

This place was once the stronghold of She Chongming, the Pacification Commissioner of Yongning, and the base from which he raised an army to rebel against the Ming Dynasty.

Qiao Hong's goal for this trip was very clear: he wanted to find two chieftains in the Gulin region.

These two men, one named Li Awang and the other Wang Ahei, were originally generals under She Chongming and were quite brave.

Back then, She Chongming launched a rebellion under the pretext of "aiding Liaodong," and once captured Chongqing and besieged Chengdu, making a great show of force.

Awang and Ahei were the backbone of their army.

In the second year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, with She Chongming being killed by the Ming army at Taohongba in Yongning, this rebellion of the chieftains that shook the southwest was finally gradually quelled.

The trees fell and the hozens scattered.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Awang and Ahei led their troops to surrender to Zhu Xieyuan, the governor-general of the three provinces who was in charge of suppressing the rebellion.

Zhu Xieyuan was a shrewd man who understood the principle of "using barbarians to control barbarians".

Instead of severely punishing the two surrendered generals, he bestowed upon them the Han surnames "Wang" and "Li".

Immediately, Zhu Xieyuan ordered Wang Awang and Li Ahei to redeem themselves by assisting the Ming army in eliminating the remaining chieftain forces that were still putting up a stubborn resistance.

After several years of continuous suppression by the Ming army, the once prominent She family of Yongning was completely eradicated, its members scattered, and its bloodline severed.

Taking advantage of the situation, the imperial court abolished the Yongning Pacification Commission and replaced it with an official appointed directly by the Ministry of Personnel to manage the area.

Li Awang and Wang Ahei, thanks to their contributions in assisting the Ming army and their familiarity with the local area, naturally became powerful local leaders, playing the role of intermediaries between the Ming court and the local people.

After arriving in Gulin, Qiao Hong and his group immediately began inquiring about the whereabouts of the two men.

However, after several twists and turns, the reply received was disappointing:
Li Awang and Wang Ahei were not in the village, and had left many days ago. No one knew where they went, and their return was uncertain.

Unable to find the person, Qiao Hong keenly sensed that the atmosphere in the Gulin area was very strange, exuding chaos and tension.

The conflict between the Tu and Han people intensified, with frequent arguments over trivial matters, and even large-scale armed clashes.

The cause of this tension and chaos can be traced back to the period after the suppression of the She'an Rebellion.

In order to eliminate future troubles, the Ming court took a series of measures.

Not only was the Yongning Pacification Commission abolished, but military outposts such as Chishuiwei and Manisuo were also established there, with heavy troops stationed to suppress the rebellion.

At the same time, the Ming court also implemented a policy of "settling the border with immigrants" in the Yongning area.

The imperial court relocated tens of thousands of soldiers from garrison posts and their families from Huguang, Jiangxi and other places, allowing them to settle and cultivate wasteland, thus forming new Han Chinese military settlements.

A large number of Han Chinese merchants and farmers were also encouraged to enter the Yongning area.

By the ninth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, the proportion of Han Chinese near Yongning had risen sharply from less than 10% before the rebellion to over 60%.

Large areas of fertile flat land were occupied by Han Chinese immigrants, and the traditional markets of the local people, known as "Che Le Chang," were gradually replaced by Han Chinese shops.

Most of the local people were marginalized and forced to relocate to remote, inaccessible mountainous areas, resulting in a situation where "Han people live in the plains and the locals live in the mountains."

The imperial court even forced Yi chieftains to marry Han gentry in order to dismantle the local traditional family and marriage system.

The shrinking living space and the clash of cultural customs have led to profound and long-standing conflicts between the Tu and Han peoples.

In addition, when She Chongming raised his army, his 30,000 chieftain soldiers slaughtered Han people along the way, leaving almost nothing but barren land in their wake.

She Chongming besieged Guiyang for half a year, and of the 400,000 soldiers and civilians in the city, only more than 20,000 survived. The tragedy of cannibalism was commonplace.

The government troops used equally ruthless methods when suppressing the rebellion.

Not only were the chieftain's soldiers almost completely wiped out, but Zhu Xieyuan also ordered the Ming army to advance into the Gulin mountain area in five routes, using the "combing tactic" to clear out each village one by one, destroying a total of 127 Yi villages and killing more than 8,000 "rebellious people".

How can such a deep-seated hatred be easily resolved?

In this era, there's no such thing as universal brotherhood; everyone is vying for limited living space and resources.

Why are ethnic minorities called "minorities"? Is it because they don't want to have children?

Why do they live in remote mountains where travel is inconvenient? Is it because they don't want to live on flat land?

of course not.

Previously, this conflict was forcibly suppressed due to the presence of a large number of Ming troops stationed at Chishuiwei and Manisuo.

However, since Sichuan was captured by Jiang Han, Xu Chengming, the general of Guizhou, felt that his troops were insufficient and had transferred most of the Ming troops from Chishuiwei and Manisuo back to Guiyang for defense.

Once the force that maintains the balance disappears, the suppressed contradictions immediately erupt.

Those local chieftains who had retreated into the deep mountains and the remnants of the She family gathered in the mountains and became outlaws.

They began to organize themselves and would occasionally go out of the mountains to attack towns and fortresses inhabited by Han people, plundering food and property to avenge their grievances.

The chaos that Qiao Hong felt stemmed from this.

He also understood better why the King of Han repeatedly emphasized to General Shao Yong that it was imperative to capture Shuixi, Yongning and other places.

These areas have a relatively mature agricultural base and a large number of Han Chinese settlers, making them almost indistinguishable from cultivated land.

To stabilize Guizhou, the stubborn chieftains entrenched in these areas must be eliminated.

As for those tribes that are far away in the remote mountains and almost isolated from the world, Jiang Han currently has no time to attend to them.

Qiao Hong and his group lingered in Gulin for several days, but still could not find Li Awang and Wang Ahei.

Left with no other choice, Qiao Hong could only leave a letter and return to Zunyi with his men to report the course of his mission to Shao Yong.

Unexpectedly, Li Awang and Wang Ahei, whom they had been waiting for, had already quietly slipped into the Shuixi area.

The news that the Shuixi Pacification Commissioner had summoned local leaders had already spread throughout the various villages and hamlets.

Upon receiving the news, the various leaders and chieftains dared not delay and set off from all directions to Dafang County.

Among them were powerful local figures from Shuixi, such as Huasha, Wozhe, and Awumi, as well as Li Awang and Wang Ahei who came from Yongning.

In the side hall of the An family, a group of chieftains sat around the fire pit, while the Pacification Commissioner An Wei, dressed in a black men's skirt symbolizing his status as a leader, sat upright in the main seat.

He first greeted the chieftains who had come from afar according to etiquette, inquiring about the harvest and the situation of the local people in each village.

However, this harmonious atmosphere was soon broken.

On the left side of the hearth, a burly chieftain wearing a traditional Chinese overcoat impatiently interrupted the small talk between the people present.

This person is none other than Hua Sha.

His voice was booming, and his manners were rough and uncouth.

"Stop talking nonsense, Lord An!"

"We're all mountain folk, why beat around the bush? Just say what you want!" "What exactly do the Han people want with this envoy?"

Anwei was interrupted in public, and a shadow of gloom flashed in the depths of his eyes. He cursed inwardly that Huasha was becoming more and more arrogant and rude, even skipping the respectful title of "Lord".

He suppressed his anger and forced a smile onto his face.
"Hua Sha is indeed a straightforward person, so I won't beat around the bush."

"Jiang Han, the Han king who defended Sichuan and captured Chengdu, recently sent a military envoy to my Shuixi."

"Their only goal is to persuade us to surrender and switch our allegiance from the Ming court to the Prince of Han."

Upon hearing this, Hua Sha's brows immediately relaxed, and he then asked in return:
"Surrender?"

"That's great! What conditions did the King of Han offer us?"

"Should we give them money and food, or weapons?"

An Wei coughed lightly, his smile fading as his expression turned serious.

"Conditions? What conditions are there?"

"The King of Han's envoy only told us to submit, but did not offer any benefits."

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, and Hua Sha by the fire pit looked on in disbelief.

He thought that this surrender would be nothing more than a formality, with everything remaining the same except for a change in the nominal leader paying homage.

After all, when they surrendered to the Ming court, the emperor had bestowed upon them many gifts.

Unexpectedly, the King of Han was so stingy that he wanted them to switch allegiances without giving them any benefits.
An Wei glanced at everyone's expressions, sneered inwardly, and continued to embellish the story:
"Not only that, the King of Han also intends to send Han officials to the Shuixi and Gulin areas to completely replace our Tusi (chieftains) status."

These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd.

"He's dreaming! What kind of bullshit Han King is he?!"

"That's right. Even the Ming Dynasty preserved the rights of our Tusi (chieftains), so why should the Jiang family appoint officials?"

"Could he be even more tyrannical than the Ming Dynasty?"

An Wei sighed and slowly explained:

"That's right, he's even more arrogant than the Ming Dynasty."

"He even annihilated the main force of the Ming army in Sichuan. What makes you think he could have done that?"

"Moreover, I've also heard that the King of Han was involved in robbing the rich to help the poor."

"All the land, forests, and mineral resources under his jurisdiction shall be confiscated by the government and then distributed to the tenant farmers below."

“Once the King of Han takes Guizhou, the family property and land that our ancestors have worked so hard to accumulate, as well as the slaves and servants under our command, will probably all be taken away by the government and distributed to others.”

Before he could finish speaking, the hall erupted in an uproar.

"Damn it! I won't allow it!"

The simple-minded Hua Sha was the first to jump up, kicking away the low stool in front of him and roaring,
The man lying nearby suddenly raised his head, his tone icy:
"These Han Chinese are masters of cunning and force!"

“Back then, the Ming court moved troops here, seized our good fields on the plains, and drove the local people into the mountain valleys.”

"Now another King of Han has come, trying to seize our territory. This is simply outrageous!"

Seeing the indignant expressions of the leaders, Anwei added fuel to the fire:

"Sigh, that's only one of them."

“Once we submit, the King of Han will send officials from Chengdu to govern the region.”

"Our power of life and death is entirely in the hands of these foreign Han officials."

"In the long run, no matter what kind of headman or chieftain you are, you will all become empty shells; you might even have to kneel and kowtow to Han officials and beg for mercy!"

"What I'm worried about is that our chieftain and the Han government have a long-standing feud. Once they gain power, we're probably in for a world of trouble."

Anwei's words cleverly intertwined historical grievances, ethnic divisions, and practical interests, instantly igniting the panic in the hearts of all the chieftains.

"No! We absolutely cannot lower our guard!"

“This area of ​​Shuixi and Gulin has been our Tusi’s private territory since the time of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang a thousand years ago. Why should outsiders interfere?”

"Let the Han army go back to Sichuan!"

"We swear to defend our family business to the death!"

Immediately, the crowd in the side hall was filled with indignation, and almost all the chieftains present unanimously rejected the offer of surrender.

Amidst the opposition, a slightly worried voice suddenly rang out; it was Li Awang who had come from Gulin.

"Everyone, please don't rush to refuse. Please hear me out."

"According to news from Sichuan, the Han army has 100,000 soldiers, well-trained and well-armored, and their firearms are extremely powerful."

"Even the former governor Zhu Xieyuan, as well as the generals Hou Liangzhu, Zhang Ling, and Qin Liangyu, all of whom were capable and skilled Ming generals, were defeated and killed by the Han army."

"If we refuse to surrender, what if... what if the King of Han is enraged and sends troops to attack us?"
"With our small force, can we really... withstand the Han army?"

Wang Ahei, standing to the side, also looked worried and nodded repeatedly in agreement:
"Yes, Awang is right."

"The Han army is at its peak, so this matter needs to be carefully considered and we should proceed with caution."

Wang Ahei and Li Awang had fought against the Ming army before, and they were no match for them.

After surrendering, the two of them served as auxiliary troops, following the Ming army to suppress the local people.

They were the ones who knew the Ming army's fighting strength best, and therefore the most clear-headed.

Their words were like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads, instantly silencing the boiling side hall.

The She-An Rebellion, led by She Chongming and An Bangyan, was incredibly powerful back then.

The two men, who claimed to have a force of 100,000, once conquered Chongqing, Luzhou, Zunyi and other places, and established the state of "Daliang" and set up their own government.

Later, they advanced into Sichuan, capturing Fushun, Neijiang, Longquan and other places, and even besieged Chengdu for a hundred days.

The result was that this rebellion, which spanned two provinces, was quelled by Zhu Xiewen, Hou Liangzhu, Zhang Ling, Qin Liangyu and others.

Now, even the Ming military officers who suppressed them have been killed by the Han army, and Chengdu has changed hands.

This series of victories was enough to prove the Han army's formidable fighting power, and it also made the leaders present feel uneasy.

Just then, a chieftain named Awmi stepped forward.

He looked around and, seeing the oppressive atmosphere in the hall, tried to rally the crowd again:
"So what if the Han army is strong?"

"Do you really want to willingly hand over the legacy passed down from your ancestors, the wealth you've worked so hard to accumulate, and the servants and children you're used to serving, all to the Han army?"

(End of this chapter)