After Huang Mengjia walked out of the house, Xia Nan looked at Sima De with a smile: "Mr. Sima, Huang Mengjia is not here, you can tell me why you assisted him in attacking Chengmai and Lingao counties, right?" Don't tell me, you believe that a Li local official can become a great weapon. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo”

Sima De replied unhurriedly: "Although he is only a small official who can be entered into the stream in Nanjing, he usually likes military affairs, and especially admires Mr. Chao Chaoming, who is a literati and a military officer. After being rescued by the lord of Huangtong, it happened that he had an old grudge with the Chengmai County Commander, so I suggested that he lay down the two counties of Chengmai and Lingao, suppress Danzhou in the south, and peep into the city of Fucheng in the north. It's not that I believe that he can achieve any great things, but if I can assist him to achieve a hegemon, it can be regarded as a demonstration of what I have learned in my chest. ”

"How can a few hundred native soldiers achieve a hegemon?"

"The six hundred native soldiers of Lord Huangtong are all elite soldiers who have experienced wars, and in Qiongzhou Mansion, few counties can have the strength to compete, even if they are the officers and soldiers of the guard, they are not afraid. As far as I know, Chengmai and Lingao, including the patrol and government officials, are only thirty or fifty people, and even if they recruit villagers, they are nothing more than a hundred people, and they are easy to capture. After conquering the two counties, the banner was played, and the neighboring mountains would inevitably respond, at that time it was not six hundred, I am afraid that it is tens of thousands, not to mention the county seats, I am afraid that the government can also be laid. ”

Xia Nan became interested, "What if the imperial court mobilizes a large army from Liangguang to attack?" You tens of thousands of Li people, listening to bluffing, I am afraid that less than half of the young and strong people who can fight, how can you beat the elite soldiers of Liangguang? ”

"If you can't beat it, run and retreat between the mountains. The officers and soldiers of the imperial court are not good at fighting in the mountains and forests, and they will not pursue, but it is too expensive to garrison for a long time, so they can only retreat to Liangguang, and we can go out of the mountains and recapture the county seat. Sima De was confident, and he could see that he already had a plan in his heart, "If it weren't for your ministry, my plan would have come true!" ”

This strategy sounds simple, but it is very practical, Xia Nan nodded. If it weren't for the birth of his own escort team, I am afraid that Huang Mengjia would be able to set off a storm in Qiongzhou Mansion with the assistance of this Sima De.

Xia Nan felt that this person was even more available, and asked: "I intend to do something in Qiongzhou Mansion, can Mr. Sima be interested in helping me?" ”

Sima De was waiting for this sentence, he could see that Xia Nan was very ambitious, a person with strong force and ambition, worthy of following and serving, he was just a criminal officer, and if he missed this opportunity, he might die of old age on this island. He was not hypocritical at all, and simply replied neatly: "I am not talented, and I am willing to serve the Lord and the horse!" ”

This "lord" made Xia Nan very useful, didn't Cao Cao and Liu Bei's subordinates in the Three Kingdoms call their boss "lord"? This Sima De can show off his talents, and his cultural level must not be low, and it is rare that he does not have the pedantry and sophistication of a scholar, and it is the way to analyze the head of the military struggle, and it will be a great help in the future. One of the two is thirsty for talent, and the other is looking for a good master, and they hit it off.

At this time, Huang Mengjia returned, saying that most of the scattered native soldiers had been gathered, and the clansmen had also gathered.

Everyone came to the open space in the village, and the local soldiers and their people had already packed it to the brim. They had just recovered from the panic, and they were still a little nervous, even if the bird guns were not enough, the two cannons really scared them a lot, if it wasn't for the lord to summon them, I'm afraid none of them would come.

The convoy consisted of only three hundred men, and the native soldiers plus the clansmen had an absolute advantage in numbers. However, as soon as more than 100 rifles and two mountain cannons were lit up, they did not even dare to come out of the atmosphere, and the audience was silent.

Xia Nan faced everyone and said loudly: "The Chopping Foot Pass has been defeated by me twice, and today I broke through the village, I could have taken the lives of your lord and everyone present......"

There was a slight commotion in the crowd, but it quickly subsided. That's right, the Li people advocate force, whoever has a big fist, who is justified, Xia Nan defeated the elite local soldiers who were known as the elite of the chopping foot mountain several times, and the village was captured, and the fate of all the clansmen was indeed in his hands.

"However, I am not a murderer, and since the outcome is decided, I am willing to give you a chance. As long as you descend to me and listen to my orders, I will let you live! ”

The crowd was in a commotion again, and it was true that he was brave and brave, but the difference in strength was too great compared to the escort team, and he could leave his life, who would want to die.

Xia Nan looked at Huang Mengjia and stopped talking. Sima De knew what Huang Mengjia should do, and quietly pushed him behind his back.

Huang Mengjia took a deep breath, faced Xia Nan, knelt on one knee, clasped his hands into fists, and said loudly: "Huang Mengjia is willing to surrender, and he is willing to obey the drive!" ”

Seeing that the lord of the mountain had expressed his position, most of the people in the crowd shouted: "It's down, it's down, I'm willing to obey the drive!" ”

Xia Nan was very satisfied, and subdued this thorn, which not only eliminated a strong opponent, but also added a big boost, one in and one out, and his strength also increased.

"Very good, Huang Mengjia is still the lord of the Foot Cutting Mountain, and the clansmen can continue to live here, but you and the remaining native soldiers must accept my incorporation and join my escort team."

After subduing the Chopping Pass and stabilizing the situation, Lin Weiye did not forget one of the most important purposes of this battle - saltpeter mine.

He led the native soldiers to the salt-producing cave to explore. It is a cave-like cave with a small entrance but a large interior. The rocks in the cave are full of crystalline rock salt, mixed with pale yellow translucent glass-like objects - sure enough, natural albite saltpeter, which is very pure in terms of quality. As long as you send someone to mine it and send it to the Bairentan Arsenal, you won't need to worry about saltpeter for a long time in the future.

After the matter was arranged, Xia Nan ordered Huang Mengjia to clean up the battlefield, and then led the remaining three hundred native soldiers to follow him back to the horse.

On the way back, Lin Weiye quietly asked Xia Nan: "Why don't you just kill Huang Mengjia and cut the grass and eradicate the roots?" Aren't you afraid that this muscular man will regurgitate the water? ”

"I've also thought about it, but Huang Mengjia and his native soldiers are first-class among the Li people, if it weren't for us, maybe they would have conquered Chengmai County and recruited Li people to gather people to rebel, and they could also achieve a career. We are short of manpower now, it would be a pity to eliminate it directly, wouldn't it be better to collect it for our own use? As for whether it will be anti-water, I don't think it's very likely, he is now afraid of us, and the ethnic minorities are not as flowery as the Han people, and if it is said that it will fall, it will definitely fall. ”

After that, there was no word all the way, and more than 600 people returned to Lingao. The soldiers and the guards temporarily lived in a simple board house in the training ground of Mayuan Village, but fortunately, there was no cold weather in Qiongzhou all year round, as long as there was a shelter from the wind and rain. As the team slowly expanded, Xia Nan planned to build a complete barracks at the training ground, which could not only accommodate more troops, but also undertake the full training program for new recruits, including a playground and shooting range.