"Luopang Yao of Luoding was indeed the main force in the Guangdong Yao rebellion, but they are no longer a problem." Huang Chao thought for a moment and came to this conclusion.
"Oh, tell me."
"Luopang Mountain in Luoding Prefecture, later Yunan County, was once the main battlefield of the Guangdong-Guangdong Yao Rebellion, with repeated pacifications and revolts in history. However, in the early years of Wanli, Luopang Yao had been defeated by the Ming army commanded by Yin Zhengmao and Ling Yunyi. After being completely defeated, and after decades of 'recruiting people to occupy the country' policy, the power of the local Yao people has been greatly reduced."
Luopang Mountain is located in today's Yunan County, connecting Dongshan, Xishan and Longshui Back Mountains. It stretches for 700 miles, connecting Xinxing to the east, Yangchun to the south, Yulin (Yulin, Guangxi) and Cenxi (Guangxi) to the west, and Yulin (Yulin, Guangxi) and Cenxi (Guangxi) to the north. All along the Yangtze River (north of the Xijiang River including all parts of Lingbei and Hunan), it is connected by thousands of mountains, and Yao children live among them. Over the past hundreds of years, although officers and soldiers have attacked and suppressed many times, they have immediately attacked. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of people have gone bankrupt and fled into the mountains, forming various settlements and integrating with the local Yao people. It is said that "many people gather from all over the world to help them in their cruelty. They are called rogues and bandits come out from all directions to plunder."
"...After the end of Wanli's five-year siege, the Ming Dynasty absorbed a large number of refugees from other places and resettled them in Luoding Prefecture. In terms of the proportion of population and villages in mountainous areas, the Yao people no longer have an advantage. Although the defenses against Yao and Dongxi Shanshen will now be withdrawn, some Yao people The village will be tempted to rebel, but judging from the current situation, only a small number of the Yao people in Luoding can really rise up and respond, and what is more worrying is the local bandits who will take the opportunity to cause chaos."
"So there's no need to preemptively strike?"
"Yes." Huang Chao nodded, "First, the Yao people in Luoding are no longer a big threat. Their current population is small and their productivity is low. Even if there is a riot, the National Army can cooperate with the local militia to suppress it. If we Taking the initiative to attack will make them unite out of fear. Besides, after several encirclement and suppression campaigns by the Ming army, most of the Luopang Yao villages are now deep in the mountains, inaccessible places. With their usual practice, they will not cooperate with The army is facing what they are carrying. It is all based on mountain guerrilla warfare. It will inevitably turn into a long-term and entangled security war. It will take a lot of effort."
Bei Wei nodded noncommittally and asked, "What else?"
Huang Chao wondered if he was taking the civil service exam? Fortunately, he had spent a lot of time researching this issue and was fairly confident.
"We must have a strategy when dealing with the Yao people. There are many Yao people scattered in the Guangdong and Guangxi areas. Looking back at the historical records of the old time and space, the officials of all dynasties have suppressed and suppressed the Yao people again and again, and even resorted to massacres. Not only do both sides have The feud also includes various economic reasons - this is the root cause of the Yao people's repeated rebellions. Our policies towards the Yao people should still be the same as the Li people in Hainan Island, focusing on economic and political policies, supplemented by military. "
Bei Wei laughed: "It seems that everyone has the same attitude."
With this affirmation, Huang Chao became more confident. He continued:
"In fact, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Yao people in Guangdong had basically been pacified. If the Bapai Yao Rebellion at the end of the Ming Dynasty had not been combined with the refugee uprising in the late Ming Dynasty and the financial difficulties of the Ming Dynasty, it would not have been that big in scale. . Now our arrival has broken this balance. It is impossible for the Yao people in Luopang to say that they have no ideas, but they are now so weak that they can only wait and see. We only need to maintain close monitoring and appropriate military pressure. However, if the Yao people's rebellion in Lianyang continues to expand, it will definitely arouse the idea of rebellion and revenge among the Yao people in Luoding Prefecture. If the Lianyang Yao people go south and connect to the north bank of the Xijiang River, the Yao people in the Luopang Mountain area will definitely rise up. Response. We cannot let the Yao people have too much confidence in causing rebellion, so I think the first task is to quell the Yao people in Lianyang area."
In fact, Huang Chao's views did not exceed the content discussed at the South China Army's North Guangdong Operation Conference not long ago. But Huang Chao is the one who is going to be in charge of the front line in Lianyang, and it is very important to "unify our thinking" with the military.
Huang Chao paused for a moment, and seeing that Bei Wei was still "listening to the lecture", he became more and more enthusiastic to talk: "For this Lianyang Yao rebellion, strategically, we must first fight, then divide, and finally appease. But now I I don’t know much about the situation in the Lianzhou area, so it’s hard to talk about the specific details.”
"Director Huang, currently only Yangshan County is under our control in the three cities of Lianyang. In fact, strictly speaking, Lianyangshan County is not controlled by us, but some of the local Ming troops and local people who were recruited by us are resisting. Yang Shanxian City is currently occupied by the Yao people, and Lianzhou City is special: Cui Shizhao, the magistrate of Lianzhou appointed by the Ming Dynasty, refused to surrender to us, but he is still struggling to support us. It is currently under siege by Bapai Yao. "
"Cui Shizhao is a very capable person, and he has a reputation of being honest, and he also has a good way of governing the local area. The people are willing to die for him. If he can be used for us, it will definitely be a good help." Huang Chao said.
"It's up to you to consider this," Bei Wei smiled, "Now the main force of Ba Pai Yao is outside Lianzhou City. There are more than a thousand people with weapons mainly machetes and medicine crossbows, and a small number of matchlock guns. The strength of the troops is unknown, but it should be mainly due to the strength of the people - the Yao people have no armor and lack firearms, so they may not be able to capture it in a short time. Once our Suijiang detachment arrives, there will be no suspense about the outcome of the battle, but the follow-up issues will have to rely on You take care of it."
"Don't worry!" Huang Chao knew that it would be extremely risky for him to go there, but the merits of his achievements were very valuable. "I will definitely pacify Lianzhou!"
"Your cadre team and the Government Affairs Council have prepared it for you. They will set off with you this time. I consider that the situation will be complicated after you arrive in Lianzhou, so there will be more National Army under your command this time: Lianzhou is a brigade, and the company is a brigade. There are two squadrons each in Shanshan and Yangshan."
Huang Chao saw this and said quickly: "I have a small request."
"What?"
"Can you give me a Li-Miao Mountain Company? The Lianyang area is mostly mountainous."
"Your request is not small." Bei Wei smiled, "The Li-Miao Mountain Company is now the most popular company. One of the current three companies has been sent to Shaoguan. I only have two companies on hand. The ones from western Guangdong The situation is also very complicated - let's put it this way, I will give you a company, but I may call them at any time."
"Okay, no problem."
He wanted to ask for something more, "If possible, I hope the navy will send me two small gunboats. The draft must be shallow enough..."
"No problem, the South China Military Headquarters will contact the Navy for you." Bei Wei said, "The Army will also equip you with six 12-pound mountain howitzers. In addition to the gunners, you will be assigned twelve non-commissioned officer trainees from the artillery training class."
"Everyone checks weapons!" Li Dong shouted in front of the queue, ""
As a unit that has proven itself, the Wuzhou Integrated Squadron has all members equipped with Nanyang-style rifles this time. The soldiers were very happy - after all, the spear was not only unsatisfactory to use, but also felt too shabby in front of the brother troops who were all equipped with firearms.
Li Dong had some opinions on the matter of changing firearms. The brothers in the squadron have indeed been coveting the Nanyang rifles, but the timing of the change was a bit poor. The veterans fought all the way with spears. There was no death battle from the veterans in front, showing combat power and courage, and the Senate also It was impossible to issue Nanyang rifles to the integrated squadron. The newly arrived recruits got rifles without having fought a single battle. This made the veterans feel a little unbalanced, so they could not help but "strictly teach" the recruits.
Li Dong was blind to this kind of thing, as long as he didn't make too much trouble - it was inevitable in the company. However, he vaguely felt that the Senate's attitude towards the new National Army was obviously "tentative": it was not confident about their combat effectiveness and had no confidence in their loyalty.
He never mentioned this idea in front of the soldiers. Occasionally, when a soldier muttered it, he would scold him "Don't think nonsense" and explained: "The production capacity is not enough." However, he himself didn't quite believe in this official statement. In his experience, the supplies of the Senate have always been plentiful to the point of luxury, and there was obviously a problem with the difficulty in supplying a few rifles.
He wanted to think about it, but on the surface he was still "without any doubt" as before, and he was busy arranging the arrangements for the march every day.
The soldiers did not know the specific goal of the march. Li Dong only knew a place name - he didn't know where Lianzhou was. He was from Yao. He had heard of it but never seen it. But he had seen a lot of Li people and had fought with them. He didn't think they could fight, and he thought the Yao people weren't that powerful either.
During the free time when the troops were packing up, Li Dong ordered the entire squadron to step up training and prepare for battle.
People who have been in the military for a long time have a saying: If you are not afraid of going into battle, you are afraid of training. It doesn't matter whether you live or die when you go into battle, it will be over in a while. Only this training is endless every day from morning to night. Not only was he exhausted to death, but he was also scolded by the sergeants so that his ancestors could not live in peace for eighteen generations.
"Damn it, hurry up and go to the battlefield, this is going to cost people's lives..." Many people muttered.
But there are also people who, although they have been drilled to death, feel extremely depressed when they think of going to the front line, and they have no choice but to train here forever.
Ai Buyi is one of them. Before he was drafted, he was an ordinary soldier. He had never been on the battlefield and was taciturn by nature. Everyone was happy to use a rifle. Ai Buyi felt very confused but did not dare to express it due to the military stick. It seemed that he was the only one who did not understand what was so happy about this. Wasn't he about to go out to fight again? Aren't they afraid of death?
Theoretically, he was born as a "soldier", but in reality he had been working as a hoe all his life. Not to mention fighting, he had not even been to Dian Mao a few times. When the commander surrendered to the Song Dynasty, he also surrendered. I originally thought that no matter whether it was the Song Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, there would always be people farming. Unexpectedly, the official of the Song Dynasty saw that he was short and strong, with a simple expression and an innocent family background. He was very in line with Qi Shaobao and Zeng Taibao's recruiting philosophy, so he was recruited into the National Army.
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 377
