The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

While the army was launching attacks in various places to wipe out local nobles in Tibet, Liu Weiqing summoned Ji Nanshou.

"Ji Nanshou, I have reviewed your file. You were previously a military officer in the Southern Ming rebel army, known for your adaptable and unpredictable tactics. You once defeated Wu Sangui's Guan Ning army!"

At this point, Liu Weiqing took out the map given to him by Peng Suk and pointed to a place called Brookba.

"According to the Dalai Khan's map, there are about 70,000 to 80,000 people here, most of whom do not believe in the Yellow Sect. Now we need you to lead troops to take them down before they know that the Khoshut Khanate has been destroyed!"

Ji Nanshou stared at the small country on the map, completely baffled. Although the map wasn't very clear, he had seen the snow-capped mountains marked on it before.

"Your Highness, there are snow-capped mountains separating us. Even if I were to cross them, what use would it be to conquer this unknown little country?"

Having never been there before, and knowing the roads in the mountains were difficult to traverse, Ji Nanshou was still a little flustered, so he tried to subtly inquire about it.

Upon hearing this, Liu Weiqing also looked puzzled.

"This is His Majesty's will. He said that after pacifying Tibet, we should continue south, where there is an abundance of food."

Well...

Ji Nanshou was speechless. He didn't know anything about why they were going to the south. But the emperor had given the order, so someone had to go. Not going would be disobeying the imperial decree.

"Your Highness, how many soldiers do you intend to give me?"

Upon hearing that Ji Nanshou was willing to go, Liu Weiqing showed a look of relief. Not everyone dares to go to barren lands; these days, one might just die in the mountains.

"General Ji is so valiant, I cannot be stingy. We only have enough ammunition for five hundred men, so the Han army can only give you five hundred, plus two thousand recently recruited Tibetans!"

"But don't worry, these are all noblemen's private soldiers. They're physically strong, good at riding horses and archery, and each one is incredibly accurate!"

Upon hearing that there were 2,500 people, Ji Nanshou breathed a sigh of relief. These mountain savages, as long as they weren't more difficult to fight than the Jurchens, would be easy prey.

"Shall I depart today?"

Liu Weiqing nodded upon hearing this.

"Three thousand Tibetan horses are ready, and the extra five hundred have been provided with a month and a half's worth of rations. If that's not enough, you'll have to find your own way!"

"By the way, His Majesty said that if we really succeed, don't worry about domestic moral boundaries; your mission is to squeeze every last drop of blood from the local people!"

"The best thing would be to get them to build the road, to open up the mountain route south from Tibet. Don't worry about so many other things!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Nanshou nodded. He wasn't exactly a kind person, so he turned and left the temple.

If Liu Mu were here, he would definitely shout that he was wronged. This Brookba is the future Bhutan, and further down is the Bengal plain, where there is indeed an abundance of food.

……

After taking stock of his troops, Ji Nanshou did not rush to march. Instead, he organized his troops and marched south along the river valley to the south of the mountains, mainly to familiarize the Tibetan soldiers with simple Chinese military orders.

Five days later they arrived at Shannan, where the nobles had been cleared out, and Ji Nanshou replenished his supplies.

They then spent ten days heading south to Cuona. The route was through barren, rocky mountains, and the roads were only wide enough for warhorses to travel alone. Since the Han army had not yet conquered it, Ji Nanshou led his army straight ahead without lingering.

Twenty days later, the army arrived at the Ningsangla Pass. To the south lay endless mountains, each one appearing to gradually descend from a high vantage point.

You can vaguely see terraced fields in the mountains, which means there are people living there if you continue.

This scene brought tears to the eyes of all the Han soldiers. They had been eating sand and snow in the snowy mountains all the way here, and their food supplies were almost gone. They were about to have to eat their warhorses.

Speaking of horse meat, most of the Han soldiers felt like vomiting because they had eaten horse meat for two months before entering Tibet, and they continued to eat it without a month's rest. They really couldn't stand it.

Only the two thousand Tibetan soldiers remained unchanged, because they had been helping the nobles suppress the Tibetan people for many years. They were used to riding horses all over the mountains and eating sand.

Just as Ji Nanshou was preparing to march again, Ye Bushou, who had been leading the way, turned back.

"General, two years ago at the mountain pass, there was a mountain stronghold built of stones, which should have housed several hundred people!"

Yes, Ji Nanshou, who came from the Southern Ming rebel army, habitually organized night scouts, which were actually scouts, requiring outstanding personal abilities.

There are troops here; it seems to be the fortress of Brookba. Thinking of this, Ji Nanshou immediately gave the order.

"Pass on my order: everyone tie up your horses and follow me slowly forward. No one is to make a sound!"

As soon as the military order was given, everyone found a tree to tie their reins to and followed Ji Nanshou slowly.

The journey was only a little over 500 meters along the mountain path, and Ji Nanshou quickly arrived at the grass outside the mountain village.

The entire mountain stronghold spans two mountain corners and is about two hundred paces wide, surrounded by vines that stretch as far as the eye can see.

The wall, built of mountain stones, is only three meters high, but it has more than a dozen watchtowers, each with three archers, who are all lazy and chatting while leaning against the railing.

After taking out a flintlock pistol, Ji Nanshou whispered orders to the centurions around him.

"When we charge up, all of you aim for the arrow tower!"

"Everyone else, charge! The first one to get over the stone wall gets thirty acres of land and three beautiful women—take your pick!"

Ji Nanshou was not a full general and could not directly promise an official position, but after capturing Brookba, he still had the right to allocate troops to the soldiers.

After giving the order, Ji Nanshou quickly rushed to the front of the mountain stronghold, pulled the trigger, and accurately shot and killed a Brookba soldier. The five hundred Han soldiers behind him immediately followed suit and fired.

With each arrow tower targeted by a small flag, more than a dozen arrow towers were cleared in an instant, and the Brookba soldiers fell from the towers one after another.

As the saying goes, alcohol emboldens the timid, but land and beautiful women can unleash a man's boundless potential.

Although these hidden soldiers were all private soldiers of nobles, they were not living a good life in essence. Faced with Ji Nanshou's promise, they quickly approached the stone wall one by one.

Once a Brookba soldier was spotted, a volley of arrows was immediately unleashed. The accuracy was just as Liu Weiqing had described; the arrows were very precise, with a high chance of headshots.

These warriors, chosen by the Tibetans themselves, would bite on short knives, step on the backs of their comrades, and use the gaps in the stone walls to quickly climb up to the top.

Because the stones were piled up unevenly, most of the Tibetan soldiers charged up the city wall and fought with the Bukba soldiers inside.

When Ji Nanshou climbed the city wall, he learned why the emperor wanted to go south: a Tibetan soldier, armed with a suit of armor, could chase after three or four Bukba soldiers.

Even when more than a hundred Tibetan soldiers entered, nearly four hundred Brookba soldiers actually began to kneel down and kowtow.

After practicing for a while, Ji Nanshou could still understand the basics; they were all saying not to kill them.