Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

On the third day after the troops marched out of Guizhou, Ma Qiancheng's main force appeared like a ghost on the outskirts of Qujing, a major town in eastern Yunnan.

Instead of launching a direct assault, he stationed his troops in a hilly area thirty miles from the city, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, and set up camp.

The camp did not have deep trenches or obvious barricades; instead, it appeared somewhat sparse, even giving the impression of being "undefended."

But anyone with a discerning eye can see that behind this sparseness are countless carefully disguised foxholes, snipers lurking in the woods, and light artillery hidden under the wagons.

The garrison commander of Qujing was Mu Tianbo's cousin, named Mu Chengzhu.

He received a report that an army bearing the name "Qin" but with unusual equipment had appeared outside the city, which terrified him.

Although he had 5,000 soldiers under his command, most of them were locals who were temporarily recruited. They were poorly equipped and had low morale. How could they be a match for Ma Qiancheng's elite troops who had been tempered in the "Mountain Laboratory"?

Mu Chengzhu dared not go into battle, so he kept the city gates closed. On one hand, he rode to Kunming to ask for help, and on the other hand, he sent out several groups of scouts to find out the enemy's strength.

However, all the spies either never returned or came back with only vague statements like "appearing and disappearing like ghosts" and "powerful firearms," ​​which only added to the panic.

Just when the two sides were at an impasse, Ma Qiancheng did something that surprised everyone.

He brought only ten personal guards, two of whom carried a large box, and swaggered to the gates of Qujing.

"Listen up, you on the city walls!"

Ma Qiancheng reined in his warhorse and shouted through a megaphone, his voice booming, "I am Ma Qiancheng, Military Advisor of the Left Commander-in-Chief's Office of the Great Xia Divine Martial Army! By order of the Emperor, I am here to punish the traitor Mu Tianbo! You, the garrison commanders, if you know what's good for you, open the city gates immediately and present Mu Chengzhu's head. I will guarantee your lives and reward you according to your merits!"

On the city wall, Mu Chengzhu was terrified, but relying on the wall's height, he stubbornly retorted, "Ma Qiancheng! Don't be so arrogant! My uncle, Duke Mu, commands an army of 100,000, and we have the support of the Eastern Yu elephant corps. You, with your mere few thousand men, dare to come and die?"

"Hahaha!"

Ma Qiancheng laughed loudly, "Mu Chengzhu, open your dog eyes and look at what this is!"

He waved his hand, and his guards opened the large chest.

Inside the box, there were no gold or silver jewelry, but neatly stacked items—sealed meat jars and compressed biscuits!

"Do you know that the Imperial Guard's Divine Martial Army has been completely re-equipped with new uniforms! This is His Majesty's special 'heavenly rations' bestowed upon our army! It can be stored for a year and is ready to eat as soon as it's opened! You are trapped in this isolated city; how many days can your rations last? When the city's food runs out and the people resort to cannibalism, that will be the day your heads are separated from your bodies!"

The soldiers guarding the city walls were mostly local men, and upon hearing this, they immediately became agitated.

Hunger is the greatest enemy of a city defender.

Moreover, the "heavenly provisions" that Ma Qiancheng presented were extremely tempting to them.

Mu Chengzhu roared in fury: "Fire! Fire arrows!"

Several arrows were shot down, but they were all blocked by Ma Qiancheng's personal guards with their shields.

Ma Qiancheng remained calm and produced another scroll: "Mu Chengzhu! This is His Majesty's personal edict! All those who are coerced into submission will be punished, and the ringleaders will be brought to justice! If you surrender, your past transgressions will be forgiven! If you resist, after the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared!"

After saying this, he used a rope to hoist the document onto the city wall, and then calmly left with his personal guards.

This psychological tactic proved remarkably effective.

That night, several junior officers secretly slipped out of the city to probe Ma Qiancheng about surrender terms. Ma Qiancheng agreed to all of them and promised them a generous reward.

Meanwhile, on the main road from Kunming to Qujing, a team bearing the name "Mu" was rushing to provide support.

Leading the group was Mu Tianbo's son, Mu Chengzong. He was both shocked and furious that Ma Qiancheng had acted so quickly.

Halfway there, they ran into Deng Zhilong's troops who had cut in from another side road.

Deng Zhilong had only 800 men, but they were all cavalry and equipped with Yuanfeng guns.

In a sudden "encounter battle," Deng Zhilong fought and retreated, deliberately letting Mu Chengzong's army enter the encirclement—a spot that Ma Qiancheng had already chosen for an ambush.

On the mountainside, the sounds of flintlock muskets firing in unison, cannonballs exploding, and the shouts of White-Clad Soldiers mingled together.

Although Mu Chengzong was brave, he was quickly routed when faced with these unprecedented tactics and weapons.

At the critical moment, Ma Qiancheng sent a letter of persuasion to surrender. The letter not only promised not to kill him, but also implied that his father, Mu Tianbo, had been surrounded in Kunming by officials turned by Shen Dong and was in imminent danger.

Mu Chengzong was in a state of turmoil. Seeing flames shooting into the sky in the direction of Qujing (which was a feint attack deliberately created by Ma Qiancheng), he thought his father was really in danger and finally chose to defect on the battlefield!

He led his troops in a counterattack, cutting off the retreat of the pursuing troops behind him, and sent someone to contact Ma Qiancheng, offering to act as an inside agent to jointly capture Kunming!

When the news reached Ma Qiancheng's ears, he clapped his hands and laughed, "Heaven is on my side! The Mu family father and son are indeed each harboring their own ulterior motives!"

Five days later, at the gates of Dali City.

Dali, though named a city, is more like a huge Tusi fortress, nestled against Cangshan Mountain and beside Erhai Lake, with a strategically important location.

But at this moment, the owner of this fortress, Mu Tianbo, was on tenterhooks.

With the fall of Qujing and the disappearance of Mu Chengzong's son (who had secretly surrendered), the elephant cavalry of the Toungoo Dynasty were still lingering on the border, hesitant to advance, clearly observing the situation.

Even more terrifying, he received a message from Shen Dong through a secret passage: at least three powerful Han Chinese officials in Kunming had been turned against the government, and his residence was being secretly monitored!

With Ma Qiancheng's massive army pressing in from the front, Shen Dong's undermining efforts from behind, and the Toungoo Dynasty eyeing them covetously from the outside, the situation was dire.

Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Qian who had ruled Yunnan for over a century, felt genuine fear for the first time.

Just then, an envoy arrived from the city. It was not Ma Qiancheng, but a trusted confidant sent by Shen Dong.

The envoy brought an "agreement" with extremely "generous" terms:

I. Mu Tianbo immediately submitted a memorial to plead guilty and resigned from his title of Duke of Qian, but retained the honorary title of "Commander-in-Chief of Yunnan" and enjoyed his later years in peace.

Second, relinquish military power, and have the troops under their command reorganized into the Shenwu Army or local garrisons.

Third, the Yunnan Copper Ancient Road was opened to ensure the transportation of copper materials, and the imperial court allocated 10,000 taels of "anti-corruption silver" annually.

Fourth, assist the court in driving out the invading troops of the Toungoo Dynasty.

If they do not comply, the rebels in Kunming will immediately take action, Ma Qiancheng's army will attack the city, and the entire Mu family will be destroyed.

Mu Tianbo clutched the agreement, his hands trembling violently.

He looked around. Few of his trusted confidants remained in the mansion, and his son was nowhere to be found. The outside world was no longer under his control.

"I'm getting old... really old..." Mu Tianbo slumped into a chair, his cloudy eyes filled with resentment and helplessness.

Finally, trembling, he pressed his fingerprint on the agreement.

The next day, the gates of Dali were opened wide.

Ma Qiancheng's army took over this important southwestern town without bloodshed.

Dressed in plain clothes, Mu Tianbo, "accompanied" by Shen Dong, boarded a ship and headed north to the capital to "apologize."

Ma Qiancheng stood atop the city wall of Dali, gazing at the distant Cangshan Mountains and Erhai Lake, and said to Li Rumei beside him, "Do you see? Sometimes, what's more powerful than swords and spears is His Majesty's new laws, the scheming of people's hearts, and this—fighting without bloodshed!"

"Send the order down: reorganize the troops, contact the elephant corps of the Toungoo Dynasty, and tell them that they either have to go back to Burma, or... taste our 'mountain howitzers'!"

The winds of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau dispersed the smoke of war and also the century-old dream of the Mu family.

Xiao Chen's plan resulted in an initial victory with almost no large-scale bloodshed.

But everyone knew that the real test was yet to come—the direct confrontation with the Toungoo Dynasty had only just begun.