Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 821 Annan Raiders 1
Now Hainan is only a prefecture under the rule of Huguang, that is, Qiongzhou prefecture, which is notoriously barren.If you work in the center of the Ming Dynasty and gain the emperor's trust, if you have a grudge against someone, you can find a way to get the emperor to bring him to Qiongzhou Mansion. There will be no return.However, Yang Menglong insisted that Hainan should exist as a province, and such a large piece of land would be too cheating for a mansion.The officials under him rarely agreed with this. As a province, this means that there will be one more governor and several prefects among them, their power will be much greater, and their remuneration will also increase. This way It would be a fool to disapprove of a good thing.Read it to me: "Hainan Province!"

The main force in the development of Hainan is naturally Japanese prisoners of war and Annan prisoners of war.Many Japanese prisoners of war have died of injuries and illnesses because they could not bear heavy physical labor, and Annan prisoners of war have become the main force.The Annan battlefield transports prisoners of war to Guangdong and Hainan almost every day. These prisoners of war work hard under the whip of the supervisor and contribute to the construction of Guangdong and Hainan... There are too many prisoners of war, and they are worthless. Some slang on Hainan Island The chieftains of the tribe can take out a few prisoners of war in exchange for their furs, treat them as their own slaves, and let them cut wood for themselves... These chieftains will not talk about human rights with their slaves, and they are absolutely insane when it comes to laboring prisoners of war. Three seasons of rice and four seasons of vegetables are planted in a year, and trees are also cut down to dig mines.Benefiting from the hard work of these prisoners of war, Hainan has developed rapidly, and within ten years, it will surely become a famous rice, sugar, and timber supplier in the south!

Yang Menglong was quite satisfied with the progress of Hainan's development. He stayed in Haikou for a few days and tasted Hainan's delicacies before taking a boat to Annan via Beibu Gulf. He had to see how Qin Mai and Wang Rui were doing.

As a result, I was dumbfounded as soon as I arrived in Annan.

The entire Red River Plain is full of fragrant rice, sugarcane forests, and densely populated villages and towns formed of wooden houses and bamboo buildings. Dozens of ethnic groups work hard here, and if possible, they even engage in poultry and aquaculture. It is an idyllic scene. .In sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle of the plain, the dead silence of the mountainous area, there is no human habitation at all, but you can hear ghosts crying.

"There is no one left in the mountain area." said the beautiful Qiang woman who acted as a guide, "They have all been wiped out."

The red lady was dumbfounded: "It's been wiped out!? What do you mean?"

The beauty of the Qiang people said: "Those monkeys hid in the mountains and kept attacking us. It was so annoying. We destroyed all their strongholds, killed all those who dared to resist, and sold those who did not dare to resist back to Daming or to Xiyi became slaves, so there are basically no people in the northern mountainous area now."

Speaking of these creepy things, this beautiful woman took it for granted, without any sense of guilt... These are the traditions of their ethnic minorities, and they are fighting for living space.

Yang Menglong covered his face with his hands, what evil did he do, a whimsical idea made Annan look like this!

After walking and stopping all the way, we arrived at the foot of Thang Long City.

The siege of Thang Long Sheng City by the barbarian army has lasted for six months. The defenders of Thang Long City were beaten back by volleys of guns and cannons when they broke through the siege several times. .Wang Rui was very cunning. When the Annan Army came to support him, he put their main force into the city, but concentrated cavalry to intercept the Annan Army's grain convoy. Simply put, people could enter, but not a grain of grain!As a result of several reinforcements, there were more and more soldiers in Shenglong City, but less and less food. In addition, Wang Rui bought spies from time to time and sneaked into the city to set fire to the grain depot. Soon the defenders in the city were starving. I have to eat human flesh.The inside of Thang Long City has become a purgatory, but outside the city are endless rice fields, sugar cane, and cassava. The defenders leaned feebly on the battlements, looking at the ripe crops outside the city, their eyes were green and very scary.Wang Rui just trapped Thang Long City with deep moats and strong walls, and did not attack on a large scale. He ground it into meat paste, and now no Annan army dares to come to reinforce Shenglong City.

At this point, it is only a matter of time before Shenglong City falls.

Wang Rui was quite excited about Yang Menglong's arrival, but due to the need for confidentiality, he could not welcome Yang Menglong's arrival with grand etiquette, let alone arrange a large feast, and could only bring a few personal entourages to greet him, and greet him as soon as they meet: "Sir, you are here and you miss me so much!"

Yang Menglong laughed loudly: "I'm not your wife, what do you want me for?" Looking at Wang Rui for a long time, he reached out and tapped Wang Rui's shoulder armor, and sighed: "It's incredible, the descendants of the former frontier army have changed. He has become a great general who can stop Annan's children from crying at night, what a great thing!"

Wang Rui said gratefully: "It's all thanks to the guidance and support of the adults, otherwise there would be no success for the subordinates today!"

Yang Menglong said: "That's just for your sake, what does it have to do with me? By the way, how is Lao Qin doing now?"

Wang Rui said: "He is busy contacting the Zhan people and intends to unite with the Champa Kingdom. We are in the north, and they are in the south, attacking Annan."

Yang Menglong was a little surprised: "Champa? This country still exists?"

Wang Rui said: "It still exists, and it was a great success 200 years ago. Their heroic monarchy was so powerful that they mobilized and trained troops. If it hadn’t been for Zhi Peng’e’s death in an ambush, Annan would not have known how he would have been ravaged by him. However, after Zhi Peng’e’s death in battle, the state of Champa had plummeted, and now there is only one capital city left. There is no difference. However, the Champa Kingdom has lasted for thousands of years and has a deep influence on this land. As long as it forms an alliance with Champa, the Cham people in various places in Annan will definitely rise up and attack Annan. It saves us a lot of effort.”

Yang Menglong nodded: "Well, there are indeed many benefits to forming an alliance with Champa, but you have to be careful, don't be used by others."

Wang Rui showed a stern smile: "I feel sorry for them. It is not easy for them to continue their national fortune for a thousand years. They have been bullied and invaded by the Annan people for hundreds of years, so they form an alliance with them and allow them to be a satellite country after we occupy the entire Annan. Continue to exist and continue their civilization, if they are still greedy, don't blame me for being cruel!"

Yang Menglong is quite satisfied with Wang Rui. He is decisive in killing and knows how to make choices. He has all the advantages that a hegemon should have. With him in Annan, the people of Annan will never have a good life!

He inspected the area controlled by the barbarian army in the Red River Plain. Good guy, not only the land left by the Annan people has been used, but also a lot of land has been reclaimed!These ethnic groups are indeed experts in farming. It is no wonder that the repeated suppression and conquests of the Central Plains dynasties in the past dynasties could not destroy them. The vitality of the people is stronger than that of camel grass seeds, and they can thrive with just a little water.It can be seen that these barbarians are very satisfied with the land of Annan. Although the climate in Annan is a little hotter and there is more rain, compared with the barren mountainous areas where they used to live, it is already a paradise like the Garden of Eden.The Honghe Plain is full of strong young men wielding axes and hoes to reclaim wasteland. Folk songs of various ethnic groups come and go, all day long, which is intoxicating.

Only the Qiang and Tibetans privately complained that the place was a little hot...

No way, these two ethnic groups originally lived on the Western Sichuan Plateau and were accustomed to the steep mountains and cold glacial winds. Suddenly they came to the hot and rainy Red River Plain. It is understandable that they would not adapt for a while.However, complaints are complaints, and they will definitely not do it if they are asked to return to the Western Sichuan Plateau.According to Wang Rui, these warriors from the snowy plateau are very good cavalry. They can ride on the back of a galloping horse and use a rifled flintlock to knock down mangoes 50 meters away from the branches intact, even in many rivers. The officers of the Luoxin Army who were cavalrymen all felt inferior.It seems that the advantages of being good at riding and shooting have been perfectly inherited by these plateau hunters. They just replaced the bows and arrows with rifled flintlock guns.

The relationship between the various ethnic groups is very harmonious, and conflicts in belief, diet, culture and other aspects have not affected their friendship.For them, the Red River Plain is big enough and fertile enough. With sufficient living space and resources, all contradictions are just minor problems.Besides, there is still a more fertile Mekong Delta waiting for them to conquer, so what can they do now?However, it is quite funny that so many ethnic groups are nestled together. The Yao and Miao people build their ancestor temples wherever they go, and worship their ancestor Chiyou devoutly. Invite incense to the Yanhuang Temple, so you can often see Chi You and Yandi Huangdi living next to each other, enjoying the incense of their descendants. I wonder how these three great ancestors of the Chinese nation think about this?Not to be outdone, other ethnic groups threw away the Buddha statues in Buddhist temples and invited their own ancestor god statues in. This is a big joke. All ethnic groups have different ancestors, and the temple is not enough, so a wall is built in the middle, or a curtain is drawn, and one side worships the Frog God, and the other side worships the Pan King.The Yanhuang Temple and Chiyou Temple are the most popular. Most ethnic minorities believe that their genealogy can be traced back to these three people, so they must worship when entering the temple.

Yang Menglong's head got dizzy from seeing it, my god, there are so many temples, how can I worship here!He kept saying: "Isn't this too confusing? Wang Rui, why don't you let them mess around like this?"

Wang Rui smiled bitterly: "It's better than letting them believe in Western religions, Islam, or Buddhism, right? Besides, they don't have any major construction projects. They just want to pass on their own beliefs and give their souls a sustenance. Can I stop them?"

It is true that most of the temples are very simple, but the etiquette of worshiping gods is very grand. These ethnic minorities who have experienced thousands of years of hardship know how to cherish their own beliefs better than any other ethnic group. If they are not allowed to worship their ancestors, they will Rebel.

Yang Menglong's arrival also affected the situation on the Annan battlefield. Wang Rui sent someone to find Qin Mai and said to him, "It's time for us to attack the city!"

Qin Mai was stunned for a moment: "Didn't you say that the siege will last for another two months, and then attack the city after the monkeys in Annan are hungry and weak? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Wang Rui said: "My lord is here!"

Qin Mai understood right away, this is the rhythm of taking Shenglong City before Yang Menglong leaves!
(End of this chapter)