Because of the fruitful flood relief, Zhu Pingan was deeply trusted and loved by the common people of Jingnan and won the hearts of the people of Jingnan. After the conscription order was issued, a thousand young, strong and sturdy men were quickly recruited.
Zhu Pingan did not skimp on the armour and equipment taken out of the government treasury and armed them all.
At first glance, the 1,000 young and strong men were all young and strong, with uniformed uniforms, complete armour, cutlasses, spears, shields, bows and crossbows, and other armaments, and were well-equipped, with the style of an elite soldier.
Of course, these are just appearances, in essence, they are just well-equipped farmers.
In a field battle, they were not much better than the rabble.
Zhu Pingan brought along Liu Dianliang, Han Dianliang and one hundred and fifty officers and eight hundred youths, ordered thirty thousand stones of grain, grass and armaments, and headed towards the south-eastern mountainous area where the southern barbarians of Miao descent were rebelling, while the rest of the people stayed behind to guard the county town.
“I heard that the southern barbarians kill without blinking an eye, eat people without spitting out bones, and are ferocious as hell …….”
On the way of marching, some young and strong people couldn’t help but say with some worry, it was their first time to join the conscription.
“Little brother, you’re afraid of a hammer, our governor’s great master is a god of heaven! Do you know about the Japanese invaders? Not only do they kill without blinking an eye, but they are also highly skilled in martial arts, and they can catch arrows with their empty hands, and they can catch arrows with their hands as soon as we shoot an arrow. The Japanese are powerful, aren’t they, more than 3,000 of them, but so what, they were still defeated by the governor with us!”
Next to him, a young strong man who had participated in the anti-Japanese defence of the city reached out and patted the worried young strong man, saying in an old-fashioned manner.
“That’s right, with our county zun around, just put your heart in your stomach. Last time, the Japanese goons, not tall enough to run strangely fast, causing my old man not to kill painfully, I hope these southern barbarians are tougher and hold out longer.”
Another young strong man who had participated in the anti-Japanese defence of the city patted his chest vigorously and said in a bullish manner.
“Let me tell you, our county zun is really like a god with his soldiers. We can’t beat the Japanese alone, but the county respect let us set up a simple formation, you say God is not God, the Japanese in our formation under the head of the blood, we are like killing pigs and stabbing sheep, the Japanese dwarf killed a broken roll urine flow …….When the time comes, just follow me closely, and I’ll make sure that not a single hair on your head will fall off.”
The young strong men who had participated in the anti-Japanese defence of the city had told the story, cheering up the new young strong men who had joined the conscription.
Infected by their peers, the new recruits also put down their worries and straightened their chests.
Such a scene was repeated in the procession. As they marched, the team’s morale steadily rose.
As the last rays of the sun disappeared into the horizon, Zhu Pingan and his party arrived at the place of the incident – Wuxi Mountain.
“Prefect Zun, ahead is the mountainous region where the Miao descendants of the rebellious southern barbarians are entrenched. After the southern barbarians breached the southeastern flood avoidance zone, they escorted the grain and hijacker people back to that mountain in front of them.”An errand boy pointed at the rolling Wuxi Mountain and said to Zhu Pingan.
Wuxi Mountain was a mountainous area where the Miao descendants of Southeast had lived for generations, and they had flourished here for thousands of years.
Zhu Pingan had previously read the county records and the information archived at the county office, and there were more than a hundred Miao villages of various sizes in the rolling Wuxi Mountains, with about 70,000 to 80,000 Miao living here. Jingnan County Records collectively referred to them as the “Wuxi Miao”, saying that they “have a name but no surname” and that “they do not have to share the same surname for marriage.”
The Wuxi Miao are relatively backward in development, with agriculture as their mainstay, supplemented by hunting, and only a small number of ploughs used, mainly in the relatively primitive way of slash-and-burn agriculture, with harvests far inferior to those of the Han Chinese. The Wuxi Miao were between slavery and feudalism, with more than 100 tribes, or Miao villages. The imperial court inherited the Yuan Dynasty system and set up the Wuxi Tusi to indirectly manage the Wuxi Miao, with the leader of the largest tribe of the Wuxi Miao acting as the Wuxi Miao Tusi. However, for more than a hundred years, the Wuxi Miao had been in constant conflict with the government of Jingnan and other places as well as the Han Chinese, with small fights and rebellions occurring from time to time, and had always been a hidden danger to the rule. The government of Jingnan and other places also sent troops to quell the rebellion many times, paying the price and losing a lot, but the effect has not been satisfactory, Jingnan’s one governor even died in a quell the rebellion. Therefore, over the years, the governments bordering the Wuxi Miao have regarded the Wuxi Miao as a hot potato, pushing it away when they can, and not getting their hands on it easily. Most of the Wuxi Miao are in the territory of Jingnan, and all the governments have pushed this hot potato to Jingnan, making Jingnan the wrongdoer. ……
Zhu Pingan estimated that the reason why the southern barbarians of Miao descent rebelled at this time was also because of the flooding, which was difficult for them to sustain.
Liu Dianliang is the Jingnan County Yamen’s military room official, and is himself a man of martial arts and courage, he looked at the military’s neatly organised youth and soldiers, and confidently asked Zhu Pingan for orders, “Prefect, I’ll go and shout for the rebel southern barbarians to return the plundered grain and grass and the people, and to make their Tusi bind themselves to come out of the mountains to thank them for their sins!”
“Also good, as the saying goes, first show courtesy and then go to war. If the problem can be solved without resorting to swords, that would be the best.”
Zhu Pingan nodded slightly, but he also knew very well in his heart that shouting would not solve the problem ninety-nine per cent of the time.
However, although it would not solve the problem, it would be good to see the attitude of the Miao descendants through this.
“Dignitary Liu pay attention to safety, one try is good, no need to force it.”Zhu Pingan reminded Dignitary Liu.
“Don’t worry, I think the southern barbarians are nothing more than a horde of people, and when they see our army in full force, they won’t dare to make a move.”
Liu Dianlian said confidently.
Zhu Pingan let Liu Dazhou accompany him with a shield to protect Liu Dianliu, before letting Liu Dianliu go to the front to shout.
“Where is the Wuxi Tuji? Quickly return the plundered provisions and people and bind yourself to atone for your sins, or else my army will trample through your Miao fortress.”Liu Dianliang walked to the front, took a deep breath of luck, and shouted forcefully towards the large mountain where the Miao descendants were entrenched.
“Tread through Er et Miao fortress ……”
“Tread through Er et Miao Zhai ……”
Liu Dianliang was worthy of being a martial arts practitioner, his lung capacity was great, and the echoes of his shouts reverberated between the valleys.
“Mighty.”
More than a thousand of the young and strong heard Liu Dianliang address them as the army, they all shouted mighty in unison as well, cooperating with Liu Dianliang to create the atmosphere of the army. For a time, the entire valley echoed with the voices of the green strongmen shouting mighty.
A thousand strong young strong, voice strong and loud, armour neat, well-equipped, really have a big army style.
People’s confidence also went up.
However, soon people’s confidence was extinguished, the valley first came with a thick Miao dialect roar.
Then like gunpowder exploding, the mountains exploded.
“Dream on dog officer!””Die Ming Dog!””Sun thief, not awake?!””Come up ah ……”
The mountains are filled with the roar of the Miao people, the mountains are full of people, waving weapons drumming and shouting, the mountains are weapons reflecting the sunset afterglow produced by the haze, at least tens of thousands of people.
At the foot of the mountain, Liu Dianliang was dumbfounded, and more than a thousand of youthful strength were also dumbfounded, how ……How can there be so many.
Back then, the Japanese invaders were only three thousand or so, but this southern barbarians have at least thirty to fifty thousand, while their own side is only one thousand people.
Outnumbered is not enough to describe.
The confidence they had at the beginning was now gone, and despair quickly took over the high ground of their brains.
