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

Chapter 313 Pacifying Guizhou
With An Wei's death, the already crumbling An family completely collapsed.

Some of the clansmen who settled down had no choice but to submit to the powerful Huasha and Awumi tribes.

The other group sought refuge with Li Awang, who had escaped.

Li Awang, in various parts of Shuixi, raised the banner of avenging the "An Xuanwei Envoy" and the "Wang Brothers," and successfully incorporated Wang Ahei's followers and some members of the An clan.

The land of Shuixi was suddenly engulfed in flames of war, with the allied forces of Huasha and Awmi locked in a fierce and bloody battle with Li Awang's forces.

When the news reached Guiyang, Shao Yong and the others were stunned.

They never expected that the title of "Pacification Commissioner" would cause these chieftains to fight each other so fiercely, even more efficiently than sending troops to suppress them!
"Two dogs fight, play off."

"The time has come!"

Shao Yong immediately dispatched a messenger, ostensibly to mediate, and ordered both sides to cease hostilities immediately.

He then invited the main leaders of the two factions to Longchang Post Station on the east bank of the Yachi River for talks, claiming that the Han army would uphold justice and discuss the future ownership of Shuixi and the resettlement of the leaders.

Longchang Post Station was originally an obscure post station, but it became famous because Wang Shouren attained enlightenment there.

The once wild and desolate frontier has become a place where literature flourishes and merchants come and go in an endless stream after Mr. Yangming opened academies and lectured to enlighten the people.

In addition, its strategic location has led to its development into a small-scale post town.

Although both sides had doubts about Shao Yong's invitation, they obeyed the agreement and headed to Longchang Post Station with their main leaders and elite guards, due to the prestige of the Han army and the hope of gaining their support.

Shao Yong personally presided over the negotiations, displaying extreme patience and fairness, as if he genuinely wanted to turn hostility into friendship.

He listened carefully to both sides' statements and occasionally offered some "fair" suggestions, which gradually made these bloodthirsty leaders lower their guard.

Meanwhile, Yu Chengye, Ma Ke, Liu Ning, Li Dingguo and others had already split into two groups and quietly left Guiyang, heading straight for the hinterland of Shuixi!

Led by Yu Chengye and Ma Ke, the group headed north through Jinsha, crossed the Chishui River, and headed straight for Li Awang's stronghold in Gulin County.

The other route, led by Li Dingguo and Liu Ning, headed south through Zhijin and launched a surprise attack on Dafang County, the stronghold of Huasha and Awumi.

To ensure the army's secrecy during the march, all travelers encountered along the way, whether merchants, woodcutters, or farmers, were temporarily detained and brought along with the army.

Time passed quietly, and before we knew it, it was the winter solstice of the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign.

Inside Longchang Post Station, Shao Yong hosted a grand banquet, inviting all the leaders from various factions to celebrate the festival and the peace talks.

The peaceful negotiations over the past few days have greatly reduced the wariness of these chieftains.

In addition, the winter solstice feast is an important local custom, so everyone happily went to the feast.

The banquet was lavish, with plenty of food and drink, and the atmosphere was lively.

The leaders of both sides toasted each other, believing that the overall situation was settled. Some even began to look to the future, hoping to become the new Shuixi Pacification Commissioner.

The banquet was in full swing, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Shao Yong, who was sitting in the main seat, snorted coldly, his smile suddenly vanished, and he then raised the wine bowl in his hand and smashed it against the sole of his foot!

Clap!

The sound of the porcelain shattering was like a thunderclap, instantly echoing throughout the entire hall!
Upon hearing the commotion, hundreds of elite Han soldiers who had been lying in ambush outside the hall and under the corridors rushed into the banquet hall.

Seeing that things were not going well, the guards beside the chieftains tried to draw their swords to fight back, but in the blink of an eye they were chopped into mincemeat.

Only then did Huasha, Awumi, Li Awang, and the others realize that they had fallen into the Han army's treacherous trap!
Hua Sha's eyes were bloodshot, and he pointed at Shao Yong at the head of the table, cursing loudly:

"You despicable and shameless scoundrel!"

"A man who breaks his word! May he die a horrible death!" But Shao Yong didn't even look at him, simply waving his hand dismissively.

"Take them out and behead them all!"

All twenty-three key figures from both sides involved in the negotiations were executed outside Longchang Post Station, without exception.

The Han army preserved their heads with lime and hung them on the city wall of Guiyang as a warning to the public.

On the same day, two Han armies launched a surprise attack on the unsuspecting Gulin and Dafang counties!
The few chieftains who remained in the city still wanted to organize a resistance, but the chieftain's soldiers were already terrified by the sudden arrival of the Han army.

After a brief encounter, the chieftain's soldiers defending the city scattered and fled.

The battle lasted only half a day before the core cities ruled by the two chieftains changed hands one after the other.

After capturing the city, the Han generals did not rest. They immediately divided their forces into several routes and launched a sweeping campaign to eliminate the stubborn Yi tribes and fortresses in Shuixi.

Wherever the army passed, those who resisted were killed without exception, while those who surrendered were placed under centralized guard.

In just over half a month, the Han army swept through the enemy with overwhelming force, destroying 15 large and small chieftain cities, 83 fortresses and villages, and capturing more than 30,000 Yi people!
The Shui'an An clan chieftaincy, which had lasted for hundreds of years, and the Yongning She clan chieftaincy, were thus destroyed.

Upon hearing the good news, Shao Yong was overjoyed and immediately began writing a detailed battle report to send to Chengdu.
Meanwhile, the other side wrote a proclamation about the matter and ordered people to take several heads from the city wall and display them to other chieftain tribes in Guizhou.

Shao Yong issued an ultimatum in the proclamation:

The local chieftains were required to personally travel to Guiyang to pledge allegiance before mid-February of the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign.

Those who disobey the order will be considered as disrespecting the king's rule and will be annihilated by a large army.

The proclamation caused a stir among the local chieftains throughout Guizhou.

The Shuixi Tusi, a figure who had ruled for hundreds of years and was like a local emperor, was uprooted in such a short time.
At first, some people doubted the news of Shuixi's destruction, but when they saw the heads preserved in lime, their eyes wide open in death, they had no choice but to believe it.

Terrified, the group dared not delay and braved the biting cold wind to leave the warm official residence and yamen, hurrying towards Guiyang.

When they arrived at the city of Guiyang, the first thing that caught their eye was the row of chilling heads on the city wall.

The endless stream of barbarian laborers brought in by the Han army from the west side of the river further eroded any remaining hope among the crowd.

The Shuixi Tusi, who dominated Guizhou for hundreds of years, has completely become history.

The last glimmer of hope was shattered.

Local chieftains from various regions rushed into the city, expressing their willingness to submit to the Han Dynasty and their unwavering loyalty.

Shao Yong also laid out the unpleasant truth upfront, stating that he was willing to surrender, but there were several conditions that needed to be met.

First, each department must hand over all maps and records of land, strongholds, and population within its territory, which will be governed by officials dispatched from Chengdu in the future.
Second, each leader may retain some of their wealth, but must disband their army and is not allowed to recruit any more in the future;

Third, in the future, we should promote the coexistence of Han and non-Han peoples. Except for the wild barbarians, all other tribes should intermarry with Han people, and tribal leaders should also marry Han people.

If anyone goes against this, Shuixi will serve as a cautionary tale.

The conditions were harsh, but with a knife to one's throat, who would dare say "no"?

The chieftains had no choice but to agree repeatedly, and they presented their surrender documents and the chieftain's seals issued by the Ming court to show that they had completely broken with the Ming Dynasty and recognized the Prince of Han as the legitimate ruler.

Thus, the Guizhou war, which lasted for nearly a year from April of the ninth year of the Chongzhen reign (when the Han army swore an oath in Chengdu before setting out to fight) until February of the tenth year of the Chongzhen reign (when the army accepted the surrender in Guiyang), finally came to an end.

Guizhou was officially incorporated into Jiang Han's territory.

(End of this chapter)