Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Xia Dajun said, "The Ming Dynasty moved its capital this year, and it is estimated that it has already moved there."

Song Xihua said, "I will definitely bring the treasures as tribute."

The exchange between the two sides quickly became extremely harmonious.

During the banquet, Xia Dajun asked, "The Luo clan's ghost kingdom in the west submitted to the Ming Dynasty several years ago."

"But they haven't paid tribute since then. Do you know their background?"

The Luo Clan Ghost Kingdom, also known as the Luo Clan Barbarians, was led by an ancestor of the Shui'an clan of the Ming Dynasty.

Its territory extends north to Xuyong and Gulin; south to Zhijin and Liupanshui; west to Bijie; and east to Jinsha.

Song Xihua said, "The great ghost lord of the Luo clan's ghost kingdom is named Pu'e'eze."

"He is usually referred to as Eze. I don't know his temperament. He occasionally sends troops to plunder, but he has never launched a large-scale invasion."

Saying it is the same as not saying it.

Xia Dajun then asked, "What about the Luo Dian Kingdom to the south?"

The territory of Luodian Kingdom included Anshun, Puding, Liuzhi, Guanling, Ziyun, and Zhenning in later generations.

They share the same origin as the Luo clan's Ghost Kingdom and are regarded as ancestors by the Shui'an clan.

However, the Luo clan's Ghost Kingdom submitted to the Northern Song and the Ming Dynasty, while the Luo Palace Kingdom remained a vassal state of Dali.

Song Xihua said, "Luo Dian Kingdom is very poor, but it is also very brave in battle."

"Poor and fierce, there's no need to attack such a small country."

“The angels can bring their divine firearms; they’ll surely be terrified and submit.”

Xia Dajun remained noncommittal.

Although Luo Dian Kingdom was very poor, its geographical location was crucial, as it was situated at the only passage from Guiyang to Dali!

If the imperial court attacks Dali in the future, the first kingdom to be destroyed will probably be Luodian Kingdom.

Zhang Xian and Yang Zaixing were summoned to the capital to meet the emperor.

Zhao Yuan went straight to the point and asked, "What if you were ordered to attack the southwest and be stationed there for an extended period of time in the wilderness?"

"Are you willing? Don't say anything against your conscience."

“If you harbor resentment, things will not go well for you in the future.”

As if they had rehearsed, the two of them knelt down on one knee in unison.

The former said, "I will dedicate myself to the cause until my dying breath!"

The latter said, "Wherever the Emperor sends me, I will gladly go, without the slightest complaint."

There are just too many formidable people in the northern provinces.

Moreover, the Jin dynasty has been destroyed, so a major war is unlikely in the short term.

If they are transferred to the southwest, they will find it easier to make merits and get promoted.

Chapter 3518 A Clown

Zhao Yuan said, "There is a tributary prefecture in Guangxi called Ziqi, which submitted to China at the end of the Song Dynasty."

"In fact, it was the foolish Emperor Zhao Ji who was fond of grand achievements, and the local civil and military officials catered to his desires by giving him money and livestock to lure the barbarians into submission."

"After the fall of the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty did not bestow any more wealth upon the leader of Qizhou, who then established his own state."

The ancient state of Ziqi was located in the southernmost part of Guizhou Province, bordering Guangxi and Yunnan, nestled in a remote and impoverished mountainous region.

The leader, coveting the wealth of the local officials in Guangxi, surrendered his territory and submitted to the emperor during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song.

Although it was only a nominal territorial concession, it was still considered territorial expansion for Emperor Huizong of Song.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the leader of Ziqi came to pay tribute.

Zhao Yuan reciprocated with some gifts at market price and also conferred upon him an official title.

However, the leader of Ziqi felt that the official position was too low and the rewards too meager, so he directly declared himself independent and established the Ziqi Kingdom.

Zhao Yuan had always been too lazy to bother with such clowns.

However, the Qi state became increasingly arrogant and continued to encroach on the border territory of Guangxi.

Although the territory encroached upon by the Ziqi Kingdom was also a tributary state, it nominally belonged to the Ming Dynasty!

Zhao Yuan sent envoys to issue multiple warnings, and he also ordered the Guangxi garrison to fight two battles for the local barbarians.

In the last two or three years, the Qi Kingdom finally stopped encroaching on the territory of the Ming Dynasty and turned to occupy the land of the Dali Kingdom.

That's incredibly impressive—a small mountain kingdom simultaneously provoking both the Ming Dynasty and the Dali Kingdom...

After Zhao Yuan finished speaking, Yang Zaixing expressed his incomprehension: "Isn't this chieftain of Ziqi afraid of being attacked from both sides by the Ming and Dali?"

"It's a very poor place, and the climate and geography are extremely harsh."

Zhao Yuan explained, "The Shicheng County of Dali Kingdom has been partially annexed by Ziqi Kingdom."

"Faced with the aggressive Ziqi Kingdom, Dali was too embroiled in internal strife to be easily subdued."

"As for our Great Ming Dynasty, if the war in the north had not ended, we probably wouldn't have bothered with such a remote place."

Historically, the state of Ziqi actually succeeded in rebelling.

Taking advantage of the transition between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, they declared independence and began to aggressively encroach on the border between the Southern Song and Dali.

Furthermore, he acted as an intermediary, purchasing military horses from Dali and selling them to the Southern Song Dynasty, using the profits to purchase weapons and armor to develop the army.

In its later stages, it even swallowed up Xuanwei, Puan, Shizong, Mile and other places in the Dali Kingdom, leaving Kunming only a little over a hundred miles away in a straight line.

Zhao Yuan said to Yang Zaixing, "You are from Hunan, and you are relatively close to Guangxi, so you should adapt to the climate there."

"You will go to Guangxi to train 6,000 elite troops and station them in Guile Prefecture (Baise City)."

"Yes!" Yang Zaixing accepted the order.

Zhao Yuan said, "The south is mountainous, so fighting there is different from fighting in the north."

"You can go to Hunan first and see how Bai Qi trains his troops."

"That's an improved version of the Mandarin Duck Formation. Each Mandarin Duck squad is equipped with five flintlock muskets."

“Each of four mandarin duck squads is equipped with a small cannon, which can be carried by two people and moved quickly.”

Yang Zaixing cupped his hands and said, "When I go to Hunan, I will definitely study the methods of training troops carefully."

Zhao Yuan added, “Although the phenomenon of child abandonment has decreased sharply in recent years in the five provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Guangdong and Jiangxi, there were many abandoned children at the end of the Song Dynasty.”

"During times of war, there are also many orphans."

“Those orphans were adopted by sales agencies and baby care facilities, and many of them are now over ten years old.”

“Go and gather these orphans to form the foundation of the newly formed 6,000 elite troops.”

"Yes, sir!" Yang Zaixing said.

The selection of orphans in their teens as key members of the Guangxi New Army was primarily based on the following considerations:

First, orphans raised in welfare institutions may have some eccentric personalities, but they are certainly easier to manage.

Secondly, without family ties, they can be stationed in Yunnan or Guizhou and settle down in those two places.

Zhao Yuan continued, "This new army needs at least a year of training before it can be taken to fight against the barbarians."

"Let them adapt to the climate in Guile Prefecture first. Sufficient medical staff and medicines must be prepared to prevent acclimatization problems and Guangxi malaria."

"The doctors at Lingnan Medical College have a sound method."

"We have both external and internal medicines, and we also need to drink more Lingnan herbal tea. No soldier is allowed to drink raw water."

"You should also be careful when using mosquito repellent, as many diseases caused by miasma are caused by mosquito bites."

Yang Zaixing silently made a note of it.

Zhao Yuan added, "South of the Qi Kingdom is the Temo Road, the hometown of Nong Zhigao, a former Song Dynasty general who betrayed the country."

"That place only surrendered when the Song army defeated Nong Zhigao and went to capture Nong Zhigao's birth mother. They haven't really taken care of it for decades."

"Although the Nong clan chieftain has submitted to the Ming Dynasty, he demands rewards every year and prays for promotion every year. If things don't go his way, he will plunder the border people."

"Moreover, Temo Road is located at the junction of Guangxi, Dali Kingdom, and Annam Kingdom."

"After you conquer and destroy the Qi Kingdom, keep a close eye on the movements of Temodao and look for an opportunity to slaughter the chieftain of the Nong clan!"

"If we take that place, we can attack Dali to the west and Annam to the south."

"Yes!" Yang Zaixing cupped his hands in greeting.

Chapter 3519 A Life of Uncertainty

Temodao, which later became Guangnan County and Funing County.

It originally belonged to Dali, but after Nong Zhigao's rebellion, it was forced to submit to the Northern Song Dynasty, and now it has submitted to the Ming Dynasty.

However, they kept flirting with Dali and Annam, and would occasionally go down the mountain to plunder the border people.

After finishing his account of Guangxi, Zhao Yuan began to talk about southern Sichuan.

Zhao Yuan said to Zhang Xian, "You are from Sichuan."

"This trip will recruit orphaned children and young men from Sichuan who lack land to cultivate, and also train 6,000 elite troops using an improved Mandarin Duck Formation."

"After a year of training in Yibin, we will immediately march south and wipe out the Mahu tribe!"

"Yes, sir!" Zhang Xian bowed and stood up.

The territory of the Mahu tribe is located in the area of ​​Mabian, Suijiang, and Leibo.

They would frequently head north to plunder border residents, causing headaches for officials in places like Yibin and Qianwei.

The Han population in southern Sichuan is difficult to expand, and these tribes are one of the main reasons, which has led to the Han people on the border always living in a state of insecurity.

With the war in the north over, it's time to deal with the southwestern barbarian tribes.

Those who obey are naturally treated well, and are even provided with oxen, seeds, and advanced agricultural technology.

Zhao Yuan had been tolerating those tribes that caused trouble every few days for a long time.

Once the troops are deployed, there will be no way to surrender; the entire chieftain's clan will be wiped out!

In addition, Lin Chong has gone to Nanping (south of Qijiang) to train troops, also training 6,000 elite soldiers.

Once the time is right, we will launch a four-pronged attack.

Bai Qi led 8,000 elite troops from western Hunan into Guizhou.

Lin Chong led 6,000 elite troops from Zunyi into Guizhou.

Zhang Xian led 6,000 elite troops from southern Sichuan into Yunnan.

Yang Zaixing led 6,000 elite troops from Guangxi into Yunnan.

In addition to their own thousands of elite troops, the four leaders will also draw on garrison troops from several southern provinces. They will eventually meet up in Kunming and Dali.

……

After Zhang Xian and Yang Zaixing withdrew, Zhao Yuan summoned his eldest son, Prince Yu, Zhao Kang.

"My child meets his father!"

Zhao Kang's personality became increasingly stable, the complete opposite of his birth mother, Hu Sanniang.

Zhao Yuan smiled and asked, "How are you settling in at military school lately?"

"I made sure the teachers treated everyone equally. They didn't show favoritism because you're a prince, did they?"

Zhao Kang replied, "There was no favoritism, just that it wasn't as strict."

"The child wasn't used to it at first, but gradually got used to it."

"My child excels in subjects such as astronomy, geography, mathematics, and logistics, and is the best in the class."

"It's just...it's just that the other subjects are a little weaker..."

“That’s normal,” Zhao Yuan reassured him. “Many students in military academies are outstanding young officers from various military units.”