Just as the Southern Han Dynasty, the last of the Ten Kingdoms, came to an end, 20,000 troops and horses led by Zhang Cheng also approached the former Dali Tonghai Governor's Palace.
The general scope of this place is equivalent to that of Gejiu City and Honghe Prefecture in the later Republic of China, including the one that often appears on various short video platforms. Hekou County, which is the favorite place for Vietnamese, is also among them.
Speaking of which, the ruling methods of Dali and even Nanzhao are similar to those of Zhang Xiancun's Chu vassal state.
They all regard white people and Han people as nationalities and let them go out of town to rule various tribes such as Hei Cuan and Pai Yi. The difference is that Zhang Xiancun has a strong backer.
The Tonghai Dudu Mansion has a very special status in Dali, because the ancestors of the Duan family were sent here by King Nanzhao to pacify the barbarians. Duan Siping's father, grandfather and other generations were all members of the Tonghai Navy at that time. Jiedushi.
At the same time, Duan Siping's mother was the daughter of a powerful chieftain of the Wuman tribe in Tonghai Navy.
The Wuman Tribe, also known as the Heman Tribe, was a very powerful force in the southeastern part of the Dali Kingdom. Its control area was basically the same as that of Honghe Prefecture in Yunnan in later generations. It had a population of 60,000 to 70,000 and could dispatch three to four thousand people at any time. After mobilization, it could dispatch more than 10,000 men. .
Historically, Duan Siping was persecuted by Yang Qianzhen because he took shelter from his uncle, Cuan Fan, a powerful chief of the Wuman tribe.
It was under the protection of the Wuman tribe that Duan Siping was able to convene an alliance in Tonghai City and formed an alliance with the Thirty-Seven Tribes of Eastern Yunnan to overthrow Yang Qianzhen's Dayi Ning Kingdom.
After winning the country, Duan Siping was extremely grateful for his uncle's blessing in the past and upgraded Tonghai Jiedushi to Tonghai Dudufu.
He sent his son Duan Sizhong to Tonghai as the governor, and also let Duan Sizhong marry his uncle Cuanpan's granddaughter, further strengthening the marriage relationship between the two families.
In addition, Duan Siping also rewarded the Wuman tribe with a large amount of wealth. He added thousands of Piao people kidnapped from Lishui Jiedu to the Wuman tribe. In his later years, he even rewarded the Wuman tribe with gold in one go. There are more than seventy Buddha statues (brass).
In return for this intensity, the strength of the Wuman tribe began to expand rapidly, and the relationship with the Duan family in Dali became closer. More than 70 golden Buddha statues also brought about the prosperity of Buddhism here.
So when Zhang Cheng arrived at the Tonghai Governor's Mansion, he faced a barbarian tribe that was deeply bound to the Duan family, regarded the Gao family and the Dong family as traitors, and was not very backward.
In addition, the local Buddhist Ajali sect refused to accept the call of Chongsheng Temple to go to Tianzhu, and also refused to accept the Six Dharma Sect, and the atmosphere of religious resistance was very fanatical.
Once the two sides merged together, it was simple.
Zhang Cheng also knew that facing this situation, war was the only option, but at the same time, as he was responsible for the heavy task of attacking Jing Haijun, he could not completely wash away the Tonghai Governor's Mansion.
Otherwise, this place will not be able to be used as a logistics base for daily suppression of the Jing Haijun rebellion in the future.
Fortunately, Zhang Cheng was not only excellent in personal martial arts and military affairs, but also very strong in politics.
If Murong Nobunaga was the first disciple that Zhang Yan handed over hand in hand, then Zhang Cheng was the second.
Originally there was Li Cunhui, but this guy had a dull head as soon as he left the army, and Zhang Gao didn't teach him that.
Therefore, after Zhang Cheng quickly captured Tonghai City, he forcefully restrained his troops Qiu Wuwu.
Because Zhang Cheng arrived too quickly, almost all the family members of Duan Sizhong and others were captured, as well as thousands of defeated troops.
Zhang Cheng ordered people to protect their family members as pledges, hoping to have a detailed discussion with Duan Sizhong and the Wuman tribe.
As a result, Duan Sizhong and the Wuman tribe did not reply at all and continued to retreat to Jianshui City in the southeast.
Against all objections, Zhang Cheng took the initiative to release the family members of Duan Sizhong, Wuman and other tribes. He gave each of the captured soldiers fifty kilograms of beans, wheat, black millet and other grains for food on the road. He informed them of the imperial policy and then sent them all freed.
Of course, Zhang Cheng still kept an eye on it. The released soldiers did not include officers above the centenarian rank, and they were not given any weapons other than simple daggers and daggers.
The fifty kilograms of grain given was definitely a huge fortune for the poor tribesmen at this time.
These people escaped death and received rewards. The first thing they thought about was definitely not to go back to Duan Sizhong and others, but how to send food home as soon as possible.
At the same time, carrying fifty pounds of grain on the road can greatly weaken their physical strength and prevent them from causing trouble halfway.
The absence of officers above the centenary level cut off their organization.
Only daggers and short knives ensured that their combat effectiveness would not recover quickly.
At this time, swords, spears, bows and arrows are all very valuable items, not to mention armor. Without these, there is not much combat effectiveness.
Afterwards, Zhang Cheng left 2,000 men to defend the city and continued to lead the remaining 17,000 troops south to attack Jianshui City.
Jianshui City only had low earth walls, and there was no place for the Zhou army, which was good at attacking cities. Zhang Cheng also deliberately surrounded three towers and allowed Duan Sizhong and others to escape.
After seven days of siege, Duan Sizhong and others did not escape from the Zhou army. However, the family members who had just caught up with them were captured again by the Zhou army. At the same time, thousands of soldiers in the city were also captured again.
At this point, Zhang Cheng chose to release the family members and soldiers again, but before releasing them, Zhang Cheng asked the elders of the family members and the brave soldiers to visit the Zhou army camp.
On the one hand, it lets them see how powerful the imperial army is, and on the other hand, it lets them know that after two releases, the soldiers below are already very dissatisfied.
Because every prisoner was their meritorious service, Zhang Cheng could only release him twice with his prestige.
Zhang Cheng made it clear to them that if Duan Sizhong and the Wuman tribe continue to resist, then in the next battle, the female family members will be used as military prostitutes, the young men will be used as slave labor, and all the boys taller than a wheel will be killed. reached the point.
After that, Zhang Cheng released thousands of family members of Duan Sizhong and the big and small heads of the Wuman tribe for the second time, and also released all the soldiers, and then continued to advance to Sixia Hall (Mengzi) further south.
But this time it was different. The released family members of Duan Sizhong were unwilling to leave again.
First, the road becomes more difficult the further south they go, and they may die in large numbers before they can reach the destination after traveling long distances. Second, if they are captured next time, they will not receive preferential treatment.
Seeing that the imperial troops and horses were so strong, there was no need to think about it. There was a high probability that they would be captured next time. Then they would be in trouble. So they only sent a dozen and a half young men on horseback to inform Duan Sizhong and others, and the rest did not leave. .
This suited Zhang Cheng's wish, so he immediately settled his family members in Jianshui City.
In mid-May, Zhang Cheng led his army to Sixia Hall. There was no one guarding the place, and the people in the city did not panic after seeing Zhou's army.
Because after more than three months of two captures and two releases, Zhang Cheng had successfully displayed Zhou Jun's signature.
Not only did the people in the city not panic, but a large number of white people did not leave and chose to seek refuge. They also revealed to Zhang Cheng the news that Duan Sizhong and others had fled to the mountainous area controlled by the Wuman tribe in the southwest, which would later become Luchun County in Yunnan. .
Soon, the leader of the Abo tribe, located on Qilin Mountain east of Gejiu City in later generations, led dozens of small and large local chiefs to come to Sixiaguan to pay homage to Zhang Cheng and express their surrender.
Two days later, the leader of the Liaozi tribe, Nong Minfu, who controlled Wenshan and Malipo in later generations, led more than a hundred powerful chiefs from the Nongren, Sharen, Liaoren and other tribes. They came to Sixiaguan to pay homage to Zhang Cheng and also expressed their willingness to submit. imperial court.
The reason why these two groups came so quickly is because among the soldiers released by Zhang Cheng twice, there were a large number of civilians from these two groups.
Not only did Zhang Cheng not kill them, he also gave them beans, wheat, black millet and other grains. His sincerity in handling the matter with tenderness moved the two actors.
Among them, the surrender of the Abo tribe meant that Duan Sizhong and the Wuman tribe had no choice.
Because on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the mountains and forests cannot produce much food at all, let alone necessities such as salt, sugar, tea, cloth, etc.
The only place rich in products is the basin plains called Bazi mixed in these mountains.
There are only three dams in the area under the jurisdiction of Tonghai Dudufu, namely Tonghai, Jianshui, Sixiaguan and Muze (Gejiu).
With these three traps in hand, Zhang Cheng can wait until Duan Sizhong and the Wuman tribe can no longer bear it and come down the mountain to come to him. Whether it is a fight or a draw, there will be a result.
Generally, when you conquer Yunnan and Guizhou, you don't need to chase them all over the mountains and plains. They are locals, and you can't catch them at all. Once you get into the mountains and forests, they will disappear in an instant.
In this kind of mountain forest, the heavily armored warriors who grew up in the vast North China Plain and the cavalrymen from Hexi and the grasslands may not be able to get out of the mountain forest as quickly as others.
Therefore, it is still the same as conquering the grassland. The grassland is found along the river, and Yunnan and Guizhou occupy the dam and wait for them to come.
Of course, you can also choose to act recklessly, but the cost is exhaustion and heavy casualties on both sides. This approach must not be adopted unless it is on the scale of the She'an Rebellion in the late Ming Dynasty.
And if the defection of the Abo tribe cut off the last hope of Duan Sizhong and the Wuman tribe, then the arrival of Nong Minfu from the Liaozi tribe was no less than an earthquake in the hearts of the local people.
Because Nongminfu represents not only the officials who now control the Wenshan and Malipo areas.
He also represented the Liaoren Nong family who had received canonization from the Southern Han Dynasty and lived in Xilin and other counties in northwest Guangxi, west of Baise, as well as the Nong family that now belongs to Jinghaiguangyuan Prefecture (Gaoping area, Vietnam).
The Nong surname can be said to be the largest and most influential clan among the tribes that were later attributed to the Zhuang people.
The Qinong family has been basically loyal to the court for thousands of years after the Song Dynasty, and is a good partner.
Historically, after Jing Haijun became independent as Vietnam in the late Tang Dynasty, the Nong family became the main force in the southwest frontier to resist Vietnamese encroachment.
Even Nong Zhigao, who caused a rebellion in the Northern Song Dynasty, was a poor man. His original intention was not to resist.
We, the Song Dynasty, do have a special ability in pushing our own people to become enemies.
Nong Zhigao, a father and uncle who was killed by the Vietnamese Li Chao and had a deep hatred against the Vietnamese, was forced to rebel.
Looking back on history, Nong Zhigao contributed many times with training elephants and gold and silver. In the end, he was so humble that he asked the coach to make such a rubbish official, and even just asked the Northern Song Dynasty court to give him an official robe to use to frighten the Li Dynasty. If you can force it, you can only raise troops to fight against the trapped beast.
As a result, the Northern Song Dynasty suddenly realized that the entire Guangnan West Road was almost in ruins. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and injured, millions of military expenditures were spent, and all face was lost.
I, Zhang Shengren, would naturally not do such cowardly things as the Northern Song Dynasty court, so I have an explanation for Zhang Cheng on how to deal with the various ethnic groups in the southwest.
In Zhang Shengren's view, the most suitable system for these places is the chieftain system.
In areas where there were few wealthy families, powerful and brave Han people were placed as chieftains.
If there are wealthy families in the local area, these wealthy families will be directly recognized as chieftains by the imperial court.
They also need to appropriately strengthen their strength so that they can continue to move their excess population southward. Every time they occupy and develop a land southward, they will directly give the chieftains titles and rewards to help them gain a foothold in the area.
Let them and the Han people, to be precise, together with the second and third generations of Zhang Zhouxun in Longtao Yuan, continue to encroach southward and establish hundreds of large and small semi-independent vassal states in the Indochina Peninsula.
Of course, the most important thing is that these southwestern chieftains must be Chineseized first.
Therefore, as soon as Zhang Cheng heard that the Nong family had arrived, he immediately sent an urgent message to the King of Chu, Zhang Xiancun, who was in Dali City.
This kind of local snake who can command 200,000 to 300,000 people must be recruited by Zhang Xiancun himself to achieve more perfect results.
Nong Minfu's name sounds like he's quite old, but actually he's only twenty-one years old this year, and he's not an easy character to get along with.
Because the Nong family is the largest local tycoon in the west of Lingnan and is also a very large family. Nong Minfu is not the most direct descendant of the Nong family, but he relies on his excellent ability and the two generations of father and son to dominate various forces. Eventually he became the leader of the Nong family.
Historically, Nong Minfu not only received canonizations from the Southern Han Dynasty and Dali, but was also granted official positions such as School Inspector Situ and Shangzhu Kingdom in the Northern Song Dynasty. The Nong Zhigao who was forced to get into trouble was the grandson of Nong Minfu. .
The reason why he rushed to Wenshan from Guangyuan Prefecture and came to visit Zhang Cheng in person was because Zhang Cheng had really built up his reputation in the past few months, making Nong Minfu feel that Zhang Cheng was someone he could contact.
Don't think that these chiefs deep in the mountains must be ignorant of the affairs outside the mountains. These people are outstanding people among the local natives. Some are cruel and arrogant, but they are not fools.
Of course, Nongminfu knew that the Central Plains had been unified, and he also knew that another great dynasty like the Han and Tang Dynasties had emerged.
Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, although these natives have basically managed themselves, it has become a practice to seek a canonization from the northern court and take control of the place in a legitimate and legitimate manner.
The second thing is that the destruction of Dali and the imminent destruction of the Southern Han Dynasty frightened the peasants and the rich.
He originally wanted to contact Qu Yanqing, who was besieging Yongzhou (Nanning), but for some reason, the hundreds of people he sent were mistaken by Qu Yanqing for local soldiers who came to reinforce Yongzhou, and he defeated them in a surprise attack. collapsed.
Dozens of people who were lucky enough to survive ran back to Guangyuan Prefecture to add fuel to the fire, describing the Central Plains soldiers as gods descending from the earth.
This frightened Nong Minfu. At this time, he was very afraid that after the death of the Southern Han Dynasty, the court would question him about this matter.
So when he heard that General Zhou in Dali was relatively gentle, he rushed over in a hurry.
Zhang Xiancun came very quickly, because the young man has now found a little bit of the feeling of being a king.
In the past, when Zhang Zhi taught him not to get his eyes stuck on women, he said that a man's happiness is only a very small part in bed.
To hold power, to open up territories, to decide the sorrows and sorrows of thousands of people with one word, and to leave great achievements in history is a man's greatest happiness. Zhang Xiancun now fully understands.
When Nong Zhigao saw Zhang Xiancun, he couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, because he felt that he was already a young hero, but he didn't expect that the King of Chu was even younger than him.
At this time, Zhang Xiancun was wearing a silver-white python robe with one shoulder, a gauze scarf on his head, sword-shaped eyebrows and starry eyes, showing his elegance and elegance. He looked like a prince with the natural wealth and aristocratic temperament.
A fair-skinned girl next to Nong Minfu was so fascinated that she forgot to put the crispy cake in her hand into her mouth. Her bulging cheeks seemed to be filled with saliva, which was about to come down from the corner of her mouth.
Although Nong Minfu was also shocked by Zhang Xiancun's demeanor and temperament, he was more concerned about the two strong men behind Zhang Xiancun.
One of them was heavily armored like a giant bear. Nong Zhigao was very sure that if an assassination happened now, this strong man would be the best shield, enough to cover Zhang Xiancun without any blind spots.
The other man has long arms and gnarled muscles. He walks with the strides of a dragon and a tiger. It seems that he can suddenly jump in front of you in the next second, and then kill you with a knife.
"A true tiger minister!" Nong Minfu couldn't help but admire in a low voice. If he had such a warrior under his command, he would at least be able to manage thousands of people in a cave and serve as his right-hand man.
But next to the King of Chu, he was only enough to be a personal guard.
While sighing, Nong Minfu accidentally looked to the left and immediately discovered that his sister Guangyuan Yizhihua, whom many good athletes in the state looked down on, was having a nymphomaniac.
Nong Minfu's heart moved and he suddenly made a decision.
As soon as Zhang Xiancun arrived, more than a dozen generals on the scene immediately called themselves kings and knelt down in obeisance to the ground.
Nong Minfu and the leaders of the Abo tribe were stunned for a moment, especially Nong Minfu. He understood very well that kneeling and worshiping was not the daily etiquette of the Han people, and it was most likely aimed at them.
But since they were under the eaves, the two of them knelt down immediately without much reason. Hesitation at this time was not a good thing.
Zhang Xiancun walked slowly to Nong Minfu and helped him up with his own hands. Then he took the hands of Nong Minfu and Abobu leader with his left and right hands, walked to both sides of the banquet chairman, and said to them with a smile:
"Today is a day of joyful gatherings. Guzi has brought fine wine from the Central Plains to Dali City. You two can just drink as much as you want with Guzi."
Zhang Xiancun will not talk to them in detail at this time, because Zhang Xiancun has not yet figured out the purpose of the two of them, especially Nong Minfu, from Guangyuan Prefecture.
Cooperation is definitely necessary, but we must know the basics before talking about it.
The most important thing is that Zhang Xian was waiting for the results of Qu Yanqing's attack on Yongzhou (Nanning) to come.
Although Zhang Xiancun knew that the Southern Han Dynasty was doomed, he was not sure when Qu Yanqing could capture Yongzhou.
Only by capturing Yongzhou can the armies of the Chu vassal and the imperial court squeeze the territory of the Nong clan from left to right. That is the best time to accept being a dog.
I may have to take a day off tomorrow. My unit is organizing a team building activity and I am not in the office, so I can’t type.
(End of chapter)
