Hepu County.
Meng Xiao felt bad at the moment. After recognizing that the man in front of him was his nephew, Meng Xiao felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He didn't even need to ask, he knew exactly what the man in front of him had done.
From the disheveled appearance of his clothes, it can be seen that this bitch must be doing some evil.
"Bastard, bastard!!"
"How did I tell you? How dare you do such a heinous act?"
"I...I'll kill you bastard!!"
Meng Xiao was so angry that he was shaking all over. In the end, he even pulled out his sword and was about to chop the person in front of him.
The man's neck was so frightened that he didn't expect Meng Xiao to be so cruel and want to kill him directly.
The crisis of death made him burst out with unprecedented potential. He hurriedly hugged Meng Xiao's thigh and cried loudly:
"Uncle, you really don't blame me for this. Someone passed on your order and asked the brothers to go out and plunder!!"
"Not long after you left the camp, there was an envoy who claimed to be the chief Ruan Xiufeng. He told us that you were a guest in the government office and would not be able to come back for a while."
"And convey your order so that brothers can go to the city to party anytime and anywhere."
"In addition, brothers have been working hard for so long, but they can only see people from other tribes getting rich, and their hearts have long been unbalanced."
"After hearing this order, regardless of whether it was true or not, the brothers all rushed out in a swarm."
"Except for me, all the brothers are looting in the city!!!"
Meng Xiao was confused. He didn't expect Ruan Xiufeng to do this.
He originally planned to go to Ruan Xiufeng to argue, hoping that Ruan Xiufeng would stop the looting, but he did not expect that his camp would be stolen after he only went out for a moment.
Now that tens of thousands of his tribe have all participated in the robbery, what should he do?
Should everyone be punished? This is simply impossible!
"Good, good, good Ruan Xiufeng!!"
Meng Xiao gritted his teeth, wishing he could bite Ruan Xiufeng hard now.
It’s just that it’s useless to talk about this now. After a while, Meng Xiao sighed and said slowly:
"Mengzhi, go and pull all the brothers back and tell them that we are going home!!"
Meng Xiao was disheartened. For him, the temptation of gold, silver and jewelry was not that great.
If it was as Ruan Xiufeng said at the beginning, it was a just battle to save his people, then Meng Xiao would not hesitate to go up against the sword and go into the sea of fire.
But now, Ruan Xiufeng is simply a liar. He deceived himself.
When I came here, I not only failed to rescue the tribesmen, but even robbed these tribesmen who originally lived a stable life.
The blossoming Hepu County has now been turned into ruins, with heavy casualties and bloodshed and war everywhere.
"Chief, these people are scattered throughout the county. I'm afraid it's difficult to notify them all."
Meng Zhi looked a little embarrassed, and then suggested:
"It's better to withdraw the troops after three days. By then, these people will definitely return to the camp after looting."
"Hmph, we'll return to Qingxiu Mountain tomorrow!"
Meng Xiao snorted and said coldly:
"If they don't want to go back, then they can stay here forever!"
When Meng Zhi heard this, his expression became serious, and he hurriedly bowed to leave. It was obvious that Meng Xiao was really angry now.
Regarding the unsatisfactory nephew in front of him, Meng Xiao directly asked him to be hung at the gate of the camp and flogged.
...
Zhennanguan.
Before receiving Lan Yu's order, Fu Youde had already set off from Zhennanguan, preparing to attack Hepu County to quell the rebellion.
Fortunately, halfway through, Lan Yu's messenger arrived in time and conveyed the new military order to Fu Youde.
After hearing Li Jin's judgment, Fu Youde did not hesitate at all and turned directly to the north. He wanted to block all the trash from the Hundred Thousand Mountains in Hepu County.
He had personally participated in the battle to annihilate Guangxi and Yunnan-Guizhou.
At that time, he also suggested to Tang He that all the chieftains from Shiwandashan should be moved out to avoid future chaos.
However, this suggestion was rejected by Tang He, not because the suggestion was bad, but because it was difficult to implement.
After all, the Shiwanda Mountains are high in mountains and densely forested, and the territory is vast. How to move all these chieftains out is a big problem!
If these chieftains were induced to rebel against the Ming Dynasty, it would really be more than worth the gain. After all, if these people hid in Shiwanda Mountain, the Ming army would not be able to catch these people at all.
Not to mention the expense of teachers and wages, it may even lead to renewed wars in various parts of the southwest that have just been pacified.
Regarding these chieftains, Ming Dynasty could only turn a blind eye. As long as these people could not afford to rebel, Ming Dynasty would pretend that these people did not exist and live in peace.
But now, these people are so brave that they dare to break through the county and rob the people. This is simply not taking the Ming Dynasty seriously.
What is intolerable is unbearable.
Fu Youde decided that this time this cancer must be completely eradicated.
Under Fu Youde's urging, the 150,000-strong army moved very quickly and arrived at the entrance of Shiwan Mountain in less than three days.
Immediately, Fu Youde worked non-stop and began to deploy defense lines at various important roads.
In order to drive out this group of chieftains, Fu Youde also spent a lot of money to buy information from the local natives, and blocked all the small roads from south to north that could enter the Shiwan Mountain.
Just after Fu Youde had done all this, he met the first batch of natives returning to Shiwanda Mountain without even taking a breath.
According to the spies' reports, there were approximately tens of thousands of natives in this group, and the convoy stretched for several miles, all carrying some property and food.
After hearing the report, Fu Youde knew that these people must be chieftains who had returned from plundering Hepu County. Without any hesitation, Fu Youde immediately issued an order for the entire army to prepare for battle.
The road in Shiwanda Mountain is rugged and difficult to navigate, and although there is a wide road at the exit of the mountain, there are still steep peaks on both sides of the road.
The so-called highway is just a narrow path in the valley, which can barely pass the convoy.
Under today's technical conditions, if Ming Dynasty wanted to build roads, it could only use existing roads, then lay the foundation and pour concrete.
As for digging tunnels and digging mountains to fill lakes, there is no need to even think about it.
But it was precisely because of this that Fu Youde was given the opportunity to annihilate this group of chieftains in one fell swoop.
Fu Youde immediately set up pocket formations on both sides of the road, preparing to eat this group of more than 10,000 toasts in one bite.
On the other side, Meng Xiao looked at the meandering motorcade that stretched for miles behind him, and didn't know whether to be happy or angry.
It can be said that the supplies in the convoy can keep their tribe fed and drunk for several years, including food, salt, ironware, gold, silver and jewelry.
But these things were looted, which made him, who always regarded himself as an upright person, feel very uncomfortable.
He never thought that he would rob others in his life.
With sadness in my heart, coupled with the large number of convoys, the journey from Hepu County to Shiwanda Mountain was only one day, but it took four days to reach the mountain pass.
Looking at the still green mountain peaks, Meng Xiao didn't think much and directly ordered the entire army to march into the mountains.
He would never have thought that there would be an ambush by the Ming army here.
You know, Shiwandashan is his territory. When he comes back here, it's like going home.
But this time, he didn't expect that a group of Avengers had been waiting at his door.
After Meng Xiao's convoy all entered the ambush circle, three distinctive fireworks shot into the sky.
As the fireworks exploded in mid-air, a sharp whistling sound followed.
"Boom!"
That was the roar of the Ming Dynasty's artillery. During this operation, Fu Youde set up the Shenji Camp at the highest point of the mountain, where he could overlook the overall situation, and the artillery could play the most important role.
Dozens of cannonballs landed directly on the densest part of the Tusi crowd. These people were knocked upside down by the explosion. When the smoke cleared, only broken arms and limbs were left on the ground. There were scraps of meat everywhere and blood flowing everywhere. The scene was horrific.
When Meng Xiao saw this scene, he instantly realized that he had been ambushed.
In order to survive, he roared loudly at the tribesmen:
"Rush forward!! If you rush out, you can survive!!"
As the chieftain of Shiwandashan, he was extremely familiar with the terrain here. He understood that fighting the Ming army in the canyon was simply seeking death.
Only by rushing out of this canyon can there be a chance of survival.
The exit of the canyon was just ahead, and he believed that he would be able to lead his clan members out alive.
Meng Xiao's roar brought the still shocked tribesmen back to reality. These people hurriedly followed Meng Xiao and began to charge towards the entrance of the valley.
However, when they arrived at the entrance of the valley, they found that the place had long been blocked by huge rocks. If they wanted to escape, they could only climb up the mountain walls on both sides.
What was even more terrifying was that a large number of Ming troops suddenly appeared at both ends of the mountain wall. These Ming troops held black fire sticks in their hands and fired wildly at them.
"Bang bang bang!"
"Bang bang bang!!"
There were bursts of gunfire, accompanied by the blooming of blood flowers.
A bullet took away a native, and Meng Xiao watched helplessly as his heroic tribesmen fell on the charging road, helpless.
Meng Xiao's back molars were shattered, but there was no way. They could not cross the line of fire formed by the Ming army's shooting, and the cannons on the top of the mountain were still roaring.
Every moment, Meng Xiao's people were dying, and they were dying in droves.
Meng Xiao knew that if he rushed forward, he would be dead.
"Retreat, retreat!!!"
"Get out of the valley!!"
Meng Xiao ordered again that the only option was to retreat at this time. Even if he fled to Hupu County again, it would be much better than waiting to die here.
The natives turned around again, but how could the Ming army give them another chance to escape? Not to mention that the valley entrance at the rear was also heavily guarded. It was already extremely difficult for these natives to break through the Ming army's blockade in the valley.
"Master Patriarch, what should we do if we can't retreat? What should we do now?"
Meng Zhi came to Meng Xiao with his face covered in blood and reported a piece of desperate news to Meng Xiao.
Meng Xiao closed his eyes in pain. At this moment, he felt extremely regretful.
He regretted why he didn't check carefully to see if there was any ambush before returning to the valley entrance?
He even regretted that he was bewitched by Ruan Xiufeng, and finally sent troops rashly, causing atrocious killings in Hepu County.
"Retribution, this is all retribution!!"
If Meng Xiao lived peacefully in the mountains, nothing would happen. But it was precisely because of his recklessness that he was in this desperate situation.
"Surrender!!"
Meng Xiao finally issued an extremely shameful order. At this time, this was the only way to survive.
He, Meng Xiao, is not afraid of death, but there are tens of thousands of tribesmen behind him. Once he dies, the tribesmen of Shiwandashan will also lose their protection, and they will still not be able to escape the fate of being annexed by other tribes.
At that time, they will be worse off than dead.
Meng Zhi's eyes widened and he couldn't believe his ears. In his heart, the clan leader had always been a god-like existence, omnipotent.
But now the patriarch actually wants to declare surrender? !
But after seeing Meng Xiao's tired look, Meng Zhi had to believe that his clan leader was not omnipotent.
Soon, a white flag was hoisted high, and the natives announced their surrender.
The sound of gunfire gradually stopped. Meng Xiao and his tribe slowly came to the mouth of the valley, put down their weapons, and expressed their intention to surrender to the Ming army.
Finally, a Ming army general who spoke the same dialect brought people to surrender.
Meng Xiao was very surprised when he heard the familiar language. It wasn't until he confirmed it repeatedly in dialect that he believed that this was really a native.
The Ming soldier was very angry about Meng Xiao's title. He told Meng Xiao that he was a Ming soldier, not a native.
Moreover, he was extremely resentful for Meng Xiao's attack on Hepu County. If it hadn't been for the general's orders, he would have killed Meng Xiao now.
Meng Xiao was extremely shocked. He said that he attacked Hepu County to save his tribe.
However, the natives were full of ridicule, mocking Meng Xiao just for money, and people like themselves lived very comfortably in Hepu County and did not need Meng Xiao's rescue at all.
It was Meng Xiao's self-righteous rescue that made the situation of the natives more serious. The natives in the army all hated them.
Meng Xiao was completely confused. He hurriedly asked what was going on?
The native told Meng Xiao everything about the life of himself and others in Hepu County, and finally added that he and others had not been treated unfairly at all, just like ordinary people in the Ming Dynasty.
The court treated them equally, but now because of Meng Xiao's stupid behavior, the army began to distrust the natives.
Therefore, the natives of the Ming army all wanted to peel off their skin and bones in order to relieve their hatred.
Meng Xiao finally realized that he had been deceived by Ruan Xiufeng from beginning to end, and Ruan Xiufeng really deserved death.
After awakening, Meng Xiao clamored to see the commander of the Ming army. He wanted to tell the Ming army all this and was willing to help the Ming army capture Ruan Xiufeng.
