Chapter 871 867 [Win the world's largest jadeite producing area]
Chapter 871 867 [Winning the world’s largest jadeite producing area]
Meng Mi.
This is a powder keg. The southwest border rebellion in the Ming Dynasty was more or less related to Meng Mi - it was the largest jade production base at that time.
To give a random example, Emperor Wanli sent mining tax inspectors all over the country, and the chieftains of the southwest did not escape this experience. At that time, the eunuch Yang Rong was guarding Yunnan and opened a new jade mine in Mengmi. Because of the uneven distribution of the spoils, a war broke out.
A rebellion broke out, and then another uprising broke out among the miners. Chief Meng Mi wiped the eunuch's buttocks and killed thousands of people, but it still could not be quelled.
The Wanli court decided to send troops to quell the rebellion, but due to lack of food and money, they had no choice but to give up. From then on, the chieftains saw the weakness of the Ming Dynasty and completely ignored the court. Even chieftain Meng Mi, who wiped the eunuch's buttocks,
Inverted.
At this moment, thousands of miners are standing in clusters in the east and west.
Chief Mengmi Si Kuang, wearing armor all over his body, began to lecture: "The Han people are coming to kill you. You also know that the Han people are the most cruel and unreasonable. Now we will organize you into an army. Those who have made great achievements will no longer be miners, and those who have made small achievements will no longer work as miners."
You can be a foreman... As long as you hold it for a month, the Burmese king will send reinforcements. As long as you hold it for three to five months, the Han people will retreat in the summer!"
One after another, crude weapons were distributed to miners. Some miners did not receive weapons and continued to use mining tools.
Many of these miners were snatched slaves, and some were even Han Chinese from Yunnan.
Although they were exploited by chieftain Mengmi, they had not yet reached the point of rebellion. Instead, the cruelty of Han officials has been engraved in the genes of the miners and has become a nursery rhyme passed down from generation to generation.
Half of the blame for the southwestern chieftain rebellion should be shouldered by local officials and eunuchs, who were often forced to rebel.
"Kill the bandits and you will live!"
Si Kuang took the lead and yelled a few words, and thousands of miners followed suit.
Behind Si Kuang, there were more than 2,000 chieftain soldiers standing. 800 of them were fully armed and armored, and they could be called elites.
Sure enough, the mine owners are still rich.
Guarding the world's largest emerald base in the 17th century, Chief Meng Mi had plenty of money to equip his army.
However, Si Kuang was destined not to wait for reinforcements from Myanmar, because Bhamo further north was the real strategic location in northern Myanmar. The reinforcements from the King of Myanmar were destined to go to Bhamo first.
More than 200 patrol and anti-smuggling ships were temporarily used as a fleet to transport baggage. Hundreds of commercial ships recruited by the private sector, carrying more than 10,000 patrolling troops, headed towards Chief Meng Mi's residence.
Si Kuang stood at the top of the city, looking at the densely packed ships, and was suddenly shocked and angry.
Do you, a small chieftain, need so many soldiers to fight? You have so many soldiers, why don't you start from Tengyue and go directly to the strategically important place of Bhamo? As long as you capture Bhamo, you can go down the river and take it directly.
The capital of Myanmar!
It's very simple. There are more troops attacking Bhamo, and they attack from both sides of the Dajinsha River and Daying River.
"Father, do you want to surrender?" Si Hong was already frightened.
Si Kuang said: "We cannot surrender. Once we surrender, the jade mines will be gone. The Han emperor will definitely send eunuchs to take over all our mines."
After leaving the Ming Dynasty, it had only been a few decades since they occupied the mines. Chieftain Si was already used to living a wealthy life, and would rather die in battle than live a life without mines. The Burmese king was so kind. He just gave away some money every year. When the Han people came
Yes, but it will grab the ores.
Sihong said: "But we can't defeat it."
Si Kuang said: "Just hold on to the walled city. As long as we hold on for a month or two, the Burmese king's army will definitely come to rescue us."
Sihong muttered: "We have so many soldiers here to fight. I'm afraid there are more enemies on the Bhamo side, and the reinforcements from the King of Burma..."
"Don't talk nonsense and defend the city with peace of mind!" Si Kuang scolded.
Outside the city, the inspection division had already set up camp. The leader, Dang Sirong, said: "General, there can be at most two or three thousand soldiers in the Mengmi Walled City. If all the miners are brought to defend the city, the number of troops will only be seven or eight thousand.
The Chinese artillery should be aimed at the southern city wall, which has collapsed before and is definitely not as strong as the other walls."
The division commander Pan Kai smiled and praised: "If we can capture this stronghold, you will be credited with the first achievement."
Si Kuang and Si Rong used to be a family.
Their respective grandfathers are called Siren and Sizhong respectively.
The brothers fought for the throne, Siren won, and Sizhong defected to Burma.
There is also an ethical love story mixed in. Sizhong leads the Burmese army to kill, and Siren escapes with his mother. Halfway through, Siren asks to marry his sister-in-law (Sizhong's wife), but the mother firmly disagrees. The mother runs away with her sister-in-law.
On the way, Siren unexpectedly led the elephant soldiers to pursue her, trying to snatch her sister-in-law away from her mother. Because she failed to snatch her, Siren became angry and defected to Myanmar.
Siren gained more attention from the Burmese king and continued to be chieftain of Mengmi. Sizhong, who defected to Burma first, gained nothing, and his mother and wife were controlled by the Ming Dynasty...
"When attacking a city, the last general is willing to be the first to attack!" Sirong eagerly sought the battle, wanting to settle the grievances of three generations, and at the same time, he also wanted to win the favor of the court.
Pan Kai was indeed very satisfied and praised: "Jun Zhen is a loyal and brave man."
What followed was another boring siege, with dozens of artillery aimed at the once-collapsed southern city wall.
The simple city wall made of earth and stone could not withstand the bombardment, and large cracks appeared in just one day.
The artillery of the Datong Army was too terrifying. Sikuang felt that he could no longer hold on, so he called his favorite general Meng Cai: "Tomorrow we will leave the city for a decisive battle. Your mission is the most important. The entire army will cover your elephant soldiers. You must seize the opportunity.
Riding an elephant to trample the Han military formation!"
"Guaranteed to trample the Han people into a pulp!"
Meng Cai's father had fought with the Ming army and knew that the Han soldiers had little combat effectiveness.
What's more, Chief Meng Mi is getting richer and richer, and his weapons and equipment are much better than before. When this guy puts on a suit of armor and rides on a war elephant, he feels invincible.
The next day, early morning.
The Datong patrolmen were about to leave the camp and form a formation when Pan Kai suddenly received news that the defenders in the city actually opened the city gate.
The defenders formed a formation two miles away from the city. In the front of the central army were ordinary chieftain soldiers, followed by elephant soldiers and elite chieftains. Thousands of miners were lined up on both wings.
"Is Chief Meng Mi crazy? Does he want to use a war elephant to attack my artillery?" Pan Kai held a telescope and had no idea what the enemy general was thinking.
The chieftain's army was advancing slowly, and the miners on both sides were slightly confused.
Pan Kai said to the artillery commander: "All artillery should be aimed at the war elephants."
The chieftain's army was still advancing, but the temporary patrol division had no cavalry, and all the infantry were waiting in formation.
"Test the gun!"
"Boom boom boom!"
More than ten rounds of artillery shells were fired, which caused the chieftain's front army to become a little confused.
"Hold on, the war elephant will charge you and win!" Si Kuang shouted, personally boosting morale.
The chieftain's troops advanced another hundred meters.
"volley!"
"Boom boom boom boom!"
Dozens of artillery shells were all fired at the war elephant.
The loud sound of cannons had already made the war elephants restless. As the shells continued to fall, three war elephants were directly hit, and one of them was not dead.
The war elephant whose leg was scratched went crazy in an instant. It ignored the rider's orders and charged randomly in its own military formation. The war elephant was surrounded by elite chieftains. More than a dozen of them were trampled to death on the spot, and other chieftain soldiers were killed.
Was made to feel at a loss what to do.
"Rush over quickly!"
Si Kuang shouted.
However, the ordinary chieftain soldiers at the front had been beaten by a round of artillery fire. They had not fought a major battle in more than ten years, and they could not withstand dozens of artillery salvoes. More than half of them were so frightened that they ran away.
Pan Kai ordered: "The whole army comes forward!"
"Boom boom boom!"
As the infantry advanced, another volley of artillery fire was fired.
The remaining war elephants could not hold it anymore, and more than a dozen war elephants went crazy collectively, running rampant like headless flies.
Si Kuang looked around blankly. The sudden defeat was completely beyond his imagination. He had never seen so many artillery pieces, nor had he ever seen a war elephant destroyed by artillery fire.
In the entire Myanmar region, the last time war elephants were destroyed by artillery was the Battle of Pyay more than 100 years ago. Portuguese artillerymen were hiding on the mountainside. The cavalry and elephant soldiers of the Ava Dynasty were lured over by the Burmese cavalry, and the artillery fired volleys.
Everything collapsed.
"Father, leave quickly!" Sihong shouted, but a war elephant rushed over.
Si Kuang wanted to cry but had no tears. He sold a lot of emeralds and spent a lot of money to build an elite army! Such an awesome army can move sideways in various chieftain territories in northern Myanmar.
The infantry of the patrol division had not even reached the firing range of the fire cannons, and the chieftain's army had already begun to disintegrate.
The miner troops on both wings threw down their weapons and turned around to flee. The ordinary chieftain soldiers in the middle were beaten to the point of negative morale by the artillery. But those elite chieftain soldiers were completely trampled to pieces by the crazy war elephants.
Meng Cai, Yelang's arrogant commander of the elephant soldiers, was directly thrown away by his own war elephant. After being thrown to the ground hard, he was stepped on by the war elephant.
Sikuang and Sihong, father and son, fled on Yunnan horses.
They did not dare to return to the city, abandoned their families, and walked around the city, hoping to escape into the valleys and mountains to the east.
The inspector's only dozen or so cavalry, originally sentry, were now pursuing them at full speed.
Pan Kai once again reiterated the military order: "Don't kill people indiscriminately, capture more prisoners, and use them all to work as miners!"
Jadeite, which began to emerge in the mid-Ming Dynasty, has become even more expensive in recent years (Emperor Zhao loved jadeite). And Mengmi is the largest jadeite producer. It is definitely profitable to mine this place, and every miner is a treasure.
The inspector captured Meng Mi on this road and had to rest for a day before setting out again.
For the next march, we first took a boat back to the north, entered the tributary and turned to the southwest, then abandoned the boat and crossed the mountains to the west. After leaving the mountains, we reached the upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River.
As long as the patrol division reaches there, even if it stands still, it can cut off the retreat route of the Burmese army in Bhamo. If it goes north along the river bank, it can cooperate with two friendly forces to form a three-sided pincer attack on Bhamo.
Bhamo and its surrounding strongholds were the core battlefields of the Qing-Burmese War. The Qing and Burmese armies fought there for several years.
If there is a stalemate between Huang Yao's army and the Burmese army, this patrol division that destroyed Meng Mi will directly take the back route to besiege and block the food route, which will starve the Burmese army to death.
Pan Kai led the inspection division and marched in the mountains for more than a month. More than 300 soldiers fell ill due to acclimatization.
Then, he saw the grain transport ship of the Datong Army on the bank of the Irrawaddy River.
"Did Governor Huang win?" Pan Kai stopped the grain transport ship and asked.
The captain smiled and said: "A few days ago, Governor Huang's army went south."
Pan Kai was speechless. He thought that by outflanking the enemy's retreat, he would be able to achieve great success. But he never thought that he only fought for three days, and spent the rest of the time marching. In the end, he didn't even eat a bite of hot dog shit.
