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

Chapter 289 What is the Principal Contradiction (Part Two)

"Without these lands, properties, and people, what's the point of us being high-ranking Han officials?"

“Listen to what that Jiang guy has done in Sichuan. He’s trying to uproot us chieftains and local lords!”

"Once those Han peasants and their servants in the houses are given land, will they still be as obedient and hardworking as they are now?"

"By then, who will still recognize us as leaders?"

Awmi's words precisely struck at the core interests of all the chieftains present.

Land, wealth, and servants—these are the foundation of their power, status, and pleasure-seeking life, and also the absolute bottom line that cannot be crossed.

“Awmi is right!”

"Think of the fertile land we have, the grain taxes we collect every year, and the servants we can beat and scold at will."

"If all of these are gone, what's the point of living such a pampered life?"

"Defend our property! We swear we will never surrender!"

The crowd was stirred up again, and their emotions became even more intense.

Seeing that the time was right, Awmi put forward his idea:
"In my opinion, the Han army is our biggest enemy right now."

"Right now, aren't the Ming Dynasty troops in Guiyang also stepping up their defenses along the Wujiang River to prepare to resist the Han army?"

There's a saying among the Han people: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"We can send someone to Guiyang to contact Xu Chengming, the general of Guizhou, and form an alliance with him to fight against the Han army!"

Upon hearing this, the leaders who had just been shouting for war were stunned again.

"Contact the Ming army?"

The man lying there immediately sprang to his feet, his face filled with disbelief.
"The Ming army is our mortal enemy!"

"Especially Xu Chengming, the general of Guizhou, who personally led troops to wipe out the local people in the deep mountains of Shuixi and Gulin back then."

"He burned down countless villages, and killed countless clansmen and brothers."

"This is a deep-seated grudge; how can we possibly form an alliance with Xu Chengming?"

Wang Ahei, standing to the side, also frowned and hesitated, saying:
“That’s right. The Ming army is our sworn enemy. How can we trust them?”

"I fear we've managed to keep the tiger out the front door, only to let the wolf in through the back!"

Awumi sneered upon hearing this:
"This time, that time."

"Besides, most of those who died back then were ordinary locals and members of the She family. What does it have to do with us?"

"When the Han army arrives, we will lose our land, property, and slaves. This is the most important matter concerning our life, death, wealth, and glory!"

Compared to this, what are those past grievances?

He pointed to Li Awang and Wang Ahei across from him.

“You, Awang and Ahei, are not only unharmed, but you have also been given Han surnames and are helping the Ming army to go into the mountains to wipe out your own people. What are you worried about?”

"Xu Chengming wants to hold onto Guizhou, while we want to preserve our foundation. Since we share the same goal, why can't we form an alliance?"

Awmi's words are cold and realistic, profoundly revealing a fundamental logic:

For the ruling class, maintaining their own class privileges and vested interests is far more important than ethnic hatred or historical grievances.

When faced with a new threat that could completely overturn the foundations of their rule, they may not hesitate to cooperate with their former mortal enemies.

Jiang Han's policies directly threatened the core interests of these chieftains, which they could not tolerate.

The Ming Dynasty, at least, preserved some of their privileges.

Therefore, choosing the lesser of two evils, allying with the Ming army became the only viable option in their eyes.

The side hall fell silent again as everyone carefully weighed the pros and cons.

Indeed, the prospects of fighting the powerful Han army were bleak, but if they could join forces with the Ming army, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope, and they might be able to preserve their current power and wealth.

Soon, all the chieftains present reached a consensus and agreed to form an alliance with the Ming army.

They immediately dispatched messengers with secret messages to Guiyang to find Xu Chengming, the general of Guizhou, and discuss the specifics of forming an alliance to jointly resist the Han army.

Amidst the commotion and arguments, Anwei, the Pacification Commissioner of Shuixi, seemed to be an outsider. No one consulted him, even though Anwei was the nominal leader of the Yi people.

An Wei lowered his eyes and watched the farce unfolding before him in silence, but inside he was already overjoyed.

These simple-minded brutes, who only knew how to fight and kill, were easily provoked and gradually walked down the path he had carefully planned.

After everyone had left, Anwei immediately went to the courtyard where the Han envoy Zheng Yufei and others were staying.

"Mr. Zheng! Something terrible has happened!"

Upon seeing Zheng Yufei, An Wei immediately put on a panicked and breathless appearance.

It was getting late, and Zheng Yufei was preparing to rest.

Seeing Anwei's appearance, his heart sank, and he quickly asked:

"Envoy An, what's the matter that you're in such a panic?"

"Sit down and talk slowly."

As he spoke, he handed him a cup of hot tea.

An Wei took the tea, ignoring its scalding heat, and gulped down two mouthfuls. Then, lowering his voice, he quickly explained:

"As instructed by the Han envoy, I summoned all the chieftains under my command to Dafang for a meeting."

"But not only did Huasha, Awumi, and the others refuse to submit, they... instead, they unanimously decided to resist the Han King's heavenly army!"

“These people completely ignored my advice. Instead, they started hurling insults during the meeting, accusing His Highness the Prince of Han of being a robber who only knew how to plunder the people’s wealth.”

"They even said they would defend their family property to the death and would never give in."

"What's worse is that these leaders bypassed me and secretly sent messengers to Guiyang overnight, trying to contact Xu Chengming, the general of Guizhou, to fight against the Han army together!"

He exaggerated and went to great lengths to sow discord.
"Then Hua Sha immediately shouted, saying that the Han traitor wanted to seize his land and children, and that he would only do so if Hua Sha was killed first;"

“That Awmi is even more vicious, saying that a traitor is a traitor, and that he is going to divide the land among those lowly slaves, which is to break the rules that have been in place for thousands of years.”

"I just received news that these audacious people are planning to surround the post station tonight and capture and kill the Han envoy and your entourage!"

"They're going to cut off your head and send it to Xu Chengming as a gift for forming an alliance!"

"Upon receiving the news, I dared not delay and rushed over immediately."

"The Han envoy would better leave quickly, or I fear it will be too late!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yufei's expression changed drastically, filled with surprise and doubt:
"Is this true?! How dare they do such a thing?"

Anwei immediately raised his finger and swore an oath to the heavens:
"Absolutely true!"

"Since I have already decided to submit to the King of Han, how dare I deceive the Han envoy with such an important matter?" "You should leave quickly, or it will really be too late!"

Although Zheng Yufei still had doubts, he heard An Wei speak so earnestly, and given the perilous situation they were in, he decided to believe it rather than dismiss it.

He didn't bother to carefully distinguish between truth and falsehood. He immediately woke up all his followers, and under Anwei's guidance, they fled Dafang County overnight, rushing towards Zunyi without stopping.

An Wei watched as Zheng Yufei and his group disappeared into the night, a sly smile of triumph spreading across his face.

Now that the two sides are hostile, he only needs to sit back and wait for both sides to be exhausted.

At that time, he will be able to regain control of Shuixi in one fell swoop, and even block the Han army!

At this time, Xu Chengming, the general of Guizhou, was inspecting the Wujiang defense line in Xifeng. He was unaware that he had suddenly gained a group of allies.

He gazed at the turbid, rushing river and the hastily reinforced fortifications along its banks, his face filled with worry.

The rebel army of 50,000 was stationed in Zunyi, across the Wujiang River, eyeing the city covetously and ready to march south at any moment.

He only had seven thousand troops at his disposal, and raising funds and supplies was extremely difficult.

He had no idea whether he could hold the Wutianjiang River.

Just then, a bodyguard suddenly ran up quickly and whispered:

"General, a few suspicious-looking Yi people have arrived outside the gate."

"They claimed to be messengers sent by the Tusi of Shuixi, saying they had important matters to discuss and insisted on meeting with the General."

Upon hearing this, Xu Chengming began to have doubts.

The Tusi of Shuixi? What are they sending people for?

Since the She'an Rebellion was quelled, although the chieftains of Shuixi have outwardly submitted, a deep chasm has always existed between them and the government, and friction and small-scale conflicts have never truly ceased.

Moreover, he had led troops into the Shuixi area many times to suppress those disobedient local chieftains.

The two sides have a long-standing grudge.

At this moment, with the Han army pressing in, what exactly do these chieftains want by suddenly coming to our door?
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to meet with him:
“Bring the messenger to my tent.”

Soon, several weary Yi messengers were brought in, and the one in the lead respectfully presented a secret letter.

With a sense of doubt, Xu Chengming unwrapped the sealing wax and carefully read the contents of the letter.

Soon, a surge of ecstatic joy welled up on his face, and he almost burst into laughter.

The letter was jointly signed by several powerful leaders in Shuixi, such as Huasha and Awumi, as well as two former Ming generals from the Gulin area, Li Awang and Wang Ahei.

In the letter, several chieftains denounced the Han army for "acting perversely and attempting to seize the ancestral property of our people";
They expressed their willingness to set aside past grievances, form an alliance with the imperial court and its troops, and jointly resist the Han army to protect their respective lands and homes.

"Heaven is helping me! Heaven is truly helping me!"

Holding the letter, Xu Chengming couldn't help but burst into laughter, the gloom of the past few months vanishing in an instant.

He was worried that his troops were insufficient to withstand the onslaught of the Han army.

Unexpectedly, several local strongmen took the initiative to join forces and act as reinforcements to fight against the Han army.

In fact, Xu Chengming had considered before whether he could take the initiative to contact these chieftain tribes for help.

However, recalling his past experiences of leading troops into the mountains to suppress rebels, killing people and burning villages, Xu Chengming felt that they would definitely not agree, so he didn't even bring it up.

Unexpectedly, these chieftains came to us on their own initiative, seeking an alliance.

Although the two sides were mortal enemies in the past, times have changed. Faced with the greater and more pressing common threat of the Han army, the old grudges were naturally put aside.

Xu Chengming immediately sent someone to invite Liang Sitai, the prefect of Guiyang, to discuss the matter with him.

After reading the letter, Liang Sitai was both surprised and delighted.

The two highest-ranking civil and military officials in Guizhou quickly reached an agreement to act first and report later, forming an alliance with the chieftain before submitting a report to the capital.

After all, the enemy army was right in front of them. By the time they finished requesting instructions from the capital, it would be too late. They had to seize every available resource.

Soon, Xu Chengming, in his capacity as the General Commander of Guizhou, and Liang Sitai, in his capacity as the Prefect of Guiyang, jointly signed a reply agreeing to form an alliance, and solemnly affixed the seals of the General Commander and the Prefect.

To show his sincerity, Xu Chengming generously issued a stack of appointment letters, granting Hua Sha, A Wumi, Li Awang, Wang Ahei and others military titles such as guerrilla general and local garrison commander.

Liang Sitai issued a document allowing local chieftains to recruit soldiers and organize local militias to assist government troops in fighting against bandits.

They also promised that as long as they made meritorious contributions in battle, they would report to the imperial court to secure official positions and rewards for them.

To defend Guizhou, this scholar and the military man risked their lives, even offering official positions in return, truly doing their utmost.

After doing all this, Xu Chengming felt it wasn't enough.

The Han army is powerful, so we must mobilize all available resources to distract them and keep them occupied.

Xu Chengming summoned his personal guards and gave them a secret order:
"Go and find a few reliable brothers, take my handwritten order and these blank official documents, and secretly go to the banks of the Wujiang and Chishui rivers, as well as various dangerous mountainous areas."

"We specifically target the most powerful local river pirate leaders and mountain bandit kings."

"Tell these people that the court is in dire need of manpower right now. As long as they are willing to work hard, I will forgive their past crimes of robbing villagers!"

"I don't need them to engage the enemy head-on. I just want them to attack the Han army's supply lines and harass the Han army's rear strongholds. Then I will recognize their identities and grant them official positions."

"When the time comes to reward those who have made contributions, the court will certainly not treat them unfairly."

Upon hearing Xu Chengming's words, Liang Sitai, the prefect of Guizhou, hesitated.

"General Xu, shouldn't we postpone the recruitment of river bandits and mountain bandits for now?"

"It's still believable that we've formed an alliance with the chieftains, since the imperial court recognizes their status."

"But these bandits and mountain brigands..."

Liang Sitai frowned.
"These people are all heinous criminals who rob villagers in various places and often massacre villages and hamlets. Their methods are extremely cruel."

"If we recruit these bastards, how are we going to explain this to the imperial court?"

Xu Chengming waved his hand dismissively:

"Confess? Confess what?"

"We're isolated in the southwest. We'd be lucky if we could just hold onto the city. Why think so much?"

"In a life-or-death situation, we must use every available force. Otherwise, if the city falls, our heads will be on the line, and then what will we have to say about answering the court?"

Xu Chengming used every means at his disposal to defend Guizhou.

They even went so far as to incorporate all the local bandits and mountain thieves into the Ming army, giving them a nominal designation.

In this way, documents bearing the seal of the general and promising official positions were scattered throughout the intricate mountains, rivers, and bandit strongholds of Guizhou.

These bandits and outlaws may not be strong in combat and their discipline is poor.

But as long as he can cause trouble for the Han army, slow down their advance, and exhaust their energy, it is a sure-fire way to make money for Xu Chengming.

(End of this chapter)