It didn't take long for Li Wu to stand up and confess. But he was Li Sanjiu's personal soldier, and he didn't have much valuable information. He only knew that there were about 2,000 Yao people armed in Lianzhou, and they were known to the outside world as "five thousand elite soldiers." The weapons are complete, but there is basically no armor, not many firearms, and very little gunpowder. The boss didn't take firearms seriously either. Other than that, he couldn't provide any useful information. However, the work team learned from him an important cause of the riot: salt.
After Xiong Wencan took office as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he began to reorganize the military. Rearmament requires raising money. The way to raise money is naturally to "take it from the people." Table salt is naturally among them.
Therefore, the price of salt has been rising in recent years. Yao District is located inland and does not produce salt itself. It relies entirely on Han salt merchants to sell salt. Originally, the price of salt in Li District was higher than that of the surrounding areas: Han merchants sold salt to Yao District for a much higher price than the market price. It is not uncommon for a fat chicken to be exchanged for a pound of salt. The price has doubled in recent years, leaving many people with no choice but to eat light meals. Very angry. Li Sanjiu just "happened at the right time" and seized this opportunity.
The Senate captured the city of Guangzhou, and wars broke out across Guangdong. The salt trade routes were interrupted, and salt from the coast could not be transported in, causing the price of salt to rise further. In Lianzhou City, some salt dealers have already sold out their inventory, and some have started hoarding. Now the price of salt in Lianzhou is extremely high. The salt in Li District has reached the point where it has a price but no market - the roads are not smooth and no traders dare to sell it. It can be said that the main cause of the rebellion in Badai Yao was the salt in Lianzhou City.
Salt, salt again. Huang Chao recalled that the relevant papers he had read mentioned that the Datengxia Yao Rebellion broke out because some chieftains and local civil and military officials in Guangxi controlled the salt trade, which intensified social conflicts. According to Huang Chao's experience, whether it was the Li Rebellion in Hainan or the Yao Rebellion in Guangdong and Guangxi, there were two main reasons. One was the inequality in trade status with the Han people; the other was the poor living environment and low production level. Under the influence of these two factors, it is not surprising that these ethnic minorities living in mountainous areas make a living by rioting and looting. Temporary military suppression cannot only cure the situation for a while, but will inevitably be repeated over time.
But it's too early to address the root of the problem. Huang Chao took out the "Outline of Economic and Cultural Development of Lianyang Region" from his wallet and read it countless times before stuffing it back. This document was written by him. In addition to absorbing some of his experience in Hainan Island, he also made reference to Some information on local poverty alleviation in the past.
Speaking of the Lianyang area, the population pressure is actually far less than that of the old times, and the environment is also well protected. Although there are many mountains and few flat lands, there is still a lot of wasteland that can be reclaimed, and inland waterway navigation is even more convenient, not to mention that there are still a lot of resources that can be developed. Compared with several counties in Hainan where he once worked, this place is considered rich.
"As long as there is peace in the world, this place can do a lot."
Although it is not in the same time and space, and this "Lianzhou" is not the same "Lianzhou" that Huang Chao came to, his attachment to this land has never changed.
However, the problem of Badai Yao always weighed on his heart. He knows very well that whether the Lianyang area can be peaceful or not depends entirely on whether he can succeed in Fu Yao.
The so-called Badai Yao is the collective name of the Yao people living in three places between Lianzhou and Lianshan. The larger villages where they live are called Pai by the Han people, and the small villages are called Chong, so they are called Pai. Yao. Among them, the eight villages of Majian, Junliao, Libadong, Huoshuo, Dazhang, Nangang, Hengkeng and Youling are larger, and there are also several smaller villages. There is a saying of "eight rows and twenty-four rushes". So it is also called Bapai Yao.
Different from nearby Han clan villages, each Yao Pai does not necessarily have only one surname. For example, Nangang Pai has four surnames: Deng, Tang, Pan and Fang. Among the eight rows, the three rows located in Nangang, Hengkeng and Youling in the east are within the direct jurisdiction of Lianzhou, and are called state-owned three rows, east three rows or outer three rows; the remaining five rows are located in the jurisdiction of Lianshan County, and are called It is the fifth row of the county, the fifth row of the west or the fifth row of the inner row.
The Paiyao are a settled branch of the Yao ethnic group with higher levels of social organization and production, so their combat effectiveness is stronger than that of the Zuoshan Yao. The Yao platoons do not belong to each other and are relatively independent. Therefore, although the Yao platoons continue to cause chaos year after year, it is relatively rare for the entire eight platoons to riot together. Historically, the Badai Yao Rebellion lasted until the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty before being suppressed.
"This operation must be short and quick!" Huang Chao said secretly.
In the early morning, the troops began to set up a pontoon bridge. Because there was a large boat as a tugboat, the pontoon was quickly set up even though there were still two or three hours before dawn and we could only rely on torches for lighting. One pontoon bridge was made of more than ten small boats searched along the river as a floating body, and the other was made of an inflated cowhide bag carried by the army as a floating body. Connect them with cables, nail stakes on both sides, and then lay wooden boards.
The troops who had rested for most of the night began to cross the river. The Fubo Army, the Limiao Company and the National Army were all in high spirits. But after walking on the mountain road for a whole day, the Yangshan temporary squadron, which had just arrived a few hours ago, was a little depressed. The number of Yonghua Yao people in this temporary squadron is only about 80. Although the old and the weak have been eliminated, their physical fitness cannot be compared with that of the Fubo Army, and they have not had sufficient rest during long marches. Feeling tired.
Huang Chao didn't expect much effort from them - he couldn't trust this untrained team either. But their appearance is an important signal for Badai Yao. Their alliance with the Yao people in Yonghua Township has collapsed. This is the first step for Huang Chao to rebel against the Yao people.
When the sky just dawned, all the ministries had successfully crossed the river. The Fubo Army Company covered the artillery team and occupied Beishan; Before Pai Yao could react, he surrounded Yanxi Mountain; the Li and Miao Company was deployed in the south of Yanxi Mountain to monitor and defend the besieging Ba Pai Yao and the Lianzhou garrison in the city.
When he woke up, Li Sanjiu found that he was surrounded by Australians. He was surprised: someone had reported him from the beginning of the Australian pontoon ride. Li Sanjiu speculated that even if the other party started building a bridge in the middle of the night, it might not be completed by the evening of the next day. Judging from the organizational capabilities of the Yao people's armed forces, a hasty night attack would not only be difficult to achieve, but might also disrupt their own team first. So he only asked his subordinates to send people to "continue to keep an eye on".
Unexpectedly, at dawn, the troops of the Song Dynasty had already crossed the river and surrounded the Yanxi Mountain area!
Li Sanjiu had been in the military for a long time and was not panicking at this time. On the one hand, he sent people to contact the various leaders on the mountain, and on the other hand, he sent people to inquire about the enemy's situation.
The situation I heard was mixed. The good thing is that the number of enemies is much smaller than I thought. There are only a thousand people at most, and they are scattered everywhere. Although they are all located at traffic chokepoints, they may not be able to withstand a full blow from their own main force.
The bad news is that there are actually Yao people armed forces among the team besieging him.
He was so shocked that he realized: Could it be that the Yao people in Yonghua had betrayed him?
This thought made him break into a cold sweat. It was his "wonderful move" to coerce the Yonghua Yao people to riot, and his intention was nothing more than to attack the east and west and contain the Australians' actions.
As long as the Yao people in Yonghua do not surrender to the Australians, even if the Australians can successfully regain Yangshan, they can effectively contain their actions. Unexpectedly, the Yao people of Yonghua were so careless. Not only did they hand over Yangshan obediently, but they also followed the troops of the Song Dynasty to attack them!
"Hurry up and get ready to break out!" Li Sanjiu was giving instructions when someone suddenly reported that Li Wu was back.
"Bring him quickly." Li Sanjiu said quickly.
As soon as Li Wu arrived, Li Sanjiu scolded him: asking him where he had been and whether he had delivered the message in time.
Li Wulian complained that he was wronged, and explained exactly how he sent the message. He also said that he came back this time because Mr. Huang, the "Lianyang recruiter and knowledgeable about Lianzhou military affairs" of the Song Dynasty, let him back. Bring a message.
"What message?"
"This..." Li Wu felt quite embarrassed, "Master Huang... wants you, wants you... to surrender immediately, so that you can save your life..."
Li Sanjiu was so angry that he cursed. Not only did the other party not intend to negotiate with him, they also forced the Yonghua Yao people to surrender, and then surrounded them and asked him to surrender as well. Not only will his wishful thinking fail, he will lose everything in an instant.
"Man in charge! Now is not the time to be angry," Li Wu advised. "This Song Dynasty has a strong army and has even brought cannons. If there is a fight, we will definitely suffer a loss, so we should leave quickly."
These words reminded Li Sanjiu. He gasped and said, "Don't be afraid, I have a backup plan."
The last move was the 200 troops and Paiyao people who were ambushing on Jinfeng Mountain. This move was originally used by Li Sanjiu to guard against the Lianzhou defenders. If the defenders succeeded in breaking through, he would take Yan Xi with him. The Yao people on the mountain pretended to retreat eastward, tempting the Lianzhou defenders to pursue them. When they pursued until the southern flank of Jinfeng Mountain was exposed, they used smoke to send a signal to Jinfeng Mountain, asking them to rush down the mountain flank to attack the defenders, and then lead the main force to turn back and attack.
Although the Australians each have a blunderbuss and a cannon, they have far fewer people than they do. Now he only needs to send a signal for the Yao people from the military platoon to go down the mountain and attack its side. This will disrupt the Australians' deployment and attract their attention. The Yao people on Yanxi Mountain can then rush down the mountain and attack them from both front and rear. The Australians in the north of the mountain then took advantage of the victory to break through.
Success or failure depends on this! Li Sanjiu made up his mind in an instant and ordered: "Quick, raise the black fireworks!" He then ordered: "Tell the heads of the various departments to come to me immediately!"
The military platoon on Yanxi Mountain is one of the most rebellious Yao platoons among the eight platoons. Every time the eight platoons of Yao riot, Ma Jian and the military platoon take the lead. Not only are young men the most numerous, they are also more sturdy and good at fighting. This force is actually the reserve force used by Li Sanjiu in emergencies.
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Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 401
