The team quietly climbed up the hill, which was less than thirty meters away from the camp and could overlook part of the camp. Zhen Huan hid behind a pile of thatch, raised his telescope and carefully observed the situation in the camp.
There were piles of bonfires burning in the camp, and the Yao people were lying on the ground around the fire pond. Some were taking a nap by the firepit with weapons in their hands - probably the night watchmen. On the outskirts of the camp, there were armed Yao people guarding them, who looked more alert, and patrols with torches patrolling along the edges of the campfire.
The size of the campfire roughly tells you how big the camp is. Zhen Huan quietly lit the bonfires in the camp. Within the visual range of his telescope, there were about thirty bonfires. There are about fifteen or sixteen Yao people resting beside each bonfire, and there are 450 people in thirty bonfires.
"There are quite a lot of people." A scout whispered.
"There are fewer people." Zhen Huan shook his head, "According to the Intelligence Bureau, if San Ding draws one of Ba Pai Yao, at least a thousand people can be mobilized to fight. We need to find out whether this is their main camp or not. There are other camps.”
Zhen Huan led the reconnaissance team around the camp marked by bonfires and counted about fifty bonfires, which meant that there were about 700 Yao people on Yanxi Mountain.
In addition to the troops stationed around Lianzhou to monitor the city gates and roads, the estimate that there are more than a thousand Yao armed forces under Lianzhou City is roughly accurate.
"Let's go, let's go check out other locations."
After coming down from Yanxi Mountain, they went along the Lianzhou City Wall to several locations where Yao people armed forces might be stationed, and found three or four places in succession. Just when they were about to finish their reconnaissance, the Yao people on patrol discovered them and started yelling. More than a dozen crossbow arrows flew towards their direction.
"Don't be anxious, lower your body and run slowly." Zhen Huan knew that the opponent's eyesight was poor at night, and he did not dare to chase too far out of the campfire circle. As long as his side did not show obvious signs of movement, they would not be able to find the target and could only Dry firing.
They moved lightly to the outside with the help of bushes and trees. Sure enough, the enemy did not dare to pursue them too far. They only shouted beside the campfire and shot a few arrows from time to time.
Suddenly there was a horn sound in the camp, and Zhen Huan knew that this was them summoning a large number of troops and preparing to start the search. He saw that he was nearly 200 meters away from the perimeter of the bonfire, and ordered "Run!"
Several people straightened up and ran away. The Yao people behind made a noise and followed them out in a noisy manner. However, the physical fitness of the Yao people was not as strong as that of the battle-hardened Zhen Huan, and their physical strength and endurance were far inferior. It was difficult to judge the direction in the dark. After a commotion, the reconnaissance team easily shook off the pursuing Yao people, ran back to the north of the city, retrieved the hidden boat, and rowed back to the other side.
There was a commotion in the Badai Yao camp on Beishan Mountain, and the leaders of all walks of life were panicked. Because no one expected that the Australian troops would arrive so soon! The Yao people's fighting capacity is limited, and every time they riot, they take advantage of the lack of military strength in various states and counties. Once the army of officers and soldiers comes to encircle and suppress them, they can only retreat to the mountains and rely on the terrain to maneuver.
The Australians attacked Guangdong and the Yao generals and other troops were withdrawn, which gave the Yao people a great opportunity to riot and go down the mountains to plunder. According to the speculations of most of the leaders, it would take at least a month for the main force of Australians in Zhaoqing and other places to reach Lianzhou - not to mention the dangerous roads along the way, the bandits rising everywhere would be enough for them. No one expected them to come so quickly!
Although Li Sanjiu, Ma Jianyao's boss, was a little surprised by the Australian's speed, he was not surprised. At noon yesterday, Ma Jianyao's Yao people who were guarding Longjin Gate and Jichuan Gate discovered this strange group of troops on the other side: gray cloth military uniforms, no armor, and all holding blunderbuss. Li Sanjiu knew as soon as he heard that it was Australian soldiers coming.
Unlike most Yao people who have stayed in the mountains all their lives, Li Sanjiu is a person who has seen the world. Although he is a Yao citizen, he grew up in a village of the Han people. Most of the people in Guangdong were transferred from Guangxi to Zhenyao by the Ming government. These warrior villages are often distributed along the periphery of Yao District and along the main traffic roads. The people sometimes worked alone and sometimes cooperated with the officers and soldiers to launch campaigns against the Yao District. It is said that Li Sanjiu's father and mother died when officers and soldiers broke into the stronghold. The young Li Sanjiu was spared his life and brought back to the village.
Li Sanjiu did well among the Han people. When he was seventeen, because of his outstanding martial arts skills, he became a personal soldier under a small chieftain of the Han people. I fought many battles with Tusi: I went to Guangxi, Guizhou, and the two lakes. He was also sent to Guangzhou on business.
After the Ming Dynasty's rule in Guangdong collapsed, the men and horses guarding the middle route withdrew to Guangxi, and many Mao people's villages also abandoned their villages and moved back to Guangxi. Li Sanjiu did not run away with the chieftain - he knew that he was not a common man and had no "roots" in Guangxi, so he took several brothers to Ma Jianyao.
Based on his background and experience, he was naturally a rare "talent" in Ma Jian Yao, and it didn't take long for him to become the leader of Ma Jian Pai.
This person in charge is actually not an official position. Most Yao people basically still have a primitive social commune system. There is no distinction between nobles and commoners, and there are no fixed hereditary chieftains or chieftains. The Yao Lao system is implemented internally in Ba Pai Yao, and the Tian Chang Gong serves as the leader of the entire Yao Pai once a year; the leaders of each surname in the Yao Pai are called the Tou Gong, and serve as the deputy of Tian Chang Gong; the Mingli old man who is equivalent to the deliberative elder; responsible There are the temple masters and incense-burning masters for religious sacrifices; the water release masters who are responsible for agriculture; and the chief ministers who are temporarily set up during wartime to lead the tribesmen in war. The Yao elders each perform their own duties. Generally, the elders with more prestige in the clan will perform their duties, but this is not always the case.
Li Sanjiu, who is just in his early thirties, is such an exception. As a representative of the young and strong faction in Bapaiyao. Even though Li Sanjiu grew up in a village of Mao people and worked as an officer and soldier as an adult, he was well-informed and experienced hundreds of battles, which made him brave and resourceful. Soon a group of restless young people gathered within Ma Jian Yao, forming a strong force that gradually overturned the Ma Jian Pai's Tian Changgong and became the de facto leader of the Ma Jian Pai.
The Australians sent troops to attack Guangdong, which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Ba Pai Yao. The Ming Dynasty officials were busy fighting with the Australians and would definitely have no time to deal with them. For Li Sanjiu, this is a great opportunity to realize his personal ambitions - he is not interested in being a temporary head in charge. Even if he is manipulating Ma Jian Pai behind the scenes, it doesn't make much sense: a Yao Pai can have How many people and goods! His real ambition is to become a "Tu Emperor" like the chieftain and local magistrate he saw when he went to Guizhou to quell the chaos. He can enjoy all kinds of things and be majestic. He has the power to kill and kill his subordinates, and he can also spread the word. Descendants will be rich and prosperous for generations.
So when the riots were discussed internally in Badai Yao, Li Sanjiu expressed his support very firmly, and he was also the most active after the riots started. Because of his military talent, he soon took over the actual command of the riot team in Bapaiyao. He first sent people to pretend to enter Lianshan City to sell mountain goods, and cooperated with others to destroy Lianshan City; he colluded with the young Yao people in Baimangzhai, and coerced the Yao people in Yonghua Township to break Yangshan City; without stopping, he looted Sanjiangwei and besieged Lianzhou. city.
Hunan has been eating Cantonese salt since ancient times, and Lianzhou happens to be on the trade route of Hunan-Guangdong salt trade. The salt produced along the coast goes up the river, disembarks in Lianzhou, and is then transferred overland to Huguang. Many goods traveling south from the two lakes are also transited in Lianzhou. Therefore, there were many salt merchants and warehouses in Lianzhou City. Li Sanjiu deliberately placed Lianzhou City last and did not even block the roads, so that Lianzhou City could trap more merchants and goods.
According to Li Sanjiu's calculations, the best outcome would naturally be for Lianzhou City to surrender to him. He occupied the three cities of Lianyang without any bloodshed, connecting the two cities together, and then submitted a surrender form to the Australians, expressing his willingness to surrender to the "Great Song Dynasty". ". If the newly arrived Australian recognizes this situation, he can take advantage of the situation and become a local governor of the state, and be the local emperor of the three cities in Lianyang for generations.
This seems quite possible to him. I don't know where this Australian came from. He knows a thing or two about the Song Dynasty. With few people and few soldiers, they only relied on strong ships and powerful artillery. I went on an expedition to Guangdong - the most important place in Guangdong is Guangzhou Prefecture. If I can occupy it, I will enjoy endless glory and wealth. Why go into the valley to fight with these "foreign people"? Furthermore, beyond Guangzhou, Guangxi, Hunan, and other places, there are still troops from the Ming Dynasty, and bandits are behind them to cause chaos. No matter how powerful the Song Dynasty's ships and artillery are, they still have to have many soldiers to fill them. So nine times out of ten, they will just go with the flow and admit it by pinching their noses. As long as the family manages the three areas of Lianyang well, uses them as a source of wealth, integrates the Yao people in Lianyang into a large stock, and gives some more children and treasures to bribe the thieves, then it will not be a problem to be the magistrate of Taipingtu for more than ten years. From now on, no one can tell. Anyway, even if Ming calls back, he still has to admit his fault. Those Guizhou toasts have been passed down for more than ten generations!
If Lianzhou refused to surrender, he would attack the city with all his strength and plunder the city - those salt merchants were very fat. To occupy Lianzhou, he can also negotiate terms with the Australians. If the negotiation fails, he will not lose. At most, he will take the loot from Lianzhou and return to the mountains.
Although the Yao people lacked siege equipment and weapons, there were not many defenders in Lianzhou City, and there were even fewer grain stores. A large number of people fled into the city. Now that the food in the city is about to run out, the people have already run out of food, and people's hearts are floating. As long as the food shortage lasts for a long time, the city will inevitably be in chaos without fighting.
As for himself, Li Sanjiu is not worried. He has already robbed and extorted a large amount of food from the surrounding areas, enough to support the entire army for more than two months.
Now the Australians came so quickly, which somewhat disrupted his plan. This forced Li Sanjiu to completely reconsider his plan. He has dealt with the government and the people, but he has never dealt with the Australians. However, since they call themselves the Song Dynasty, they are probably also descendants of the Han people. It's almost impossible to go wrong if you use the same attitude you used to deal with Ming Dynasty.
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 399
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