And all this was just the strength of Bozhou alone. Of the four chieftains, Bozhou might not be the strongest, but the other chieftains did not have such obvious rebellious intentions.
They ruled over Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, and threatened Sichuan, Guangdong, and even the whole of Jiangnan. This made Xiao Ruxun feel deeply threatened. This time, no matter what, he had to get rid of this worry.
After the Ming government officials in Guizhou accepted the Daqin's command, Xiao Ruxun changed their candidates several times.
For example, the Governor of Guizhou was replaced by the former Governor of Ningxia, Zhu Zhengse. To protect him, Xiao Ruxun sent 5,000 troops to escort him to Guiyang to take up his post. At the same time, he changed some of the important local officials.
The chieftains had been managing the area for many years and had a strong grasp of the various positions in the area. A month after Zhu Zhengse took up his post, he sent people to send three secret memorials, saying that the local power was so complicated that it was hard for him to imagine.
After working hard for a month, he went from not letting government orders leave the Governor's bedroom to not letting government orders leave the Governor's office.
He also listed the gifts he received on his first day in office — a hundred taels of gold, two hundred taels of silver, a belt inlaid with gold and precious stones, a plain straw hat inlaid with pearls, a coral tree, and a plain jade belt.
The people who gave him the gifts both openly and secretly warned him, saying things like "the rules of the previous dynasty should be used in this one. Otherwise, the place will not be safe and the court will blame us."
After a few months, with all kinds of support from Xiao Ruxun, Zhu Zhengse said that once the war started, he could at most guarantee that Guiyang would be under his control. He dared not guarantee anything else.
Xiao Ruxun believed in Zhu Zhengse's ability. He saw it with his own eyes in Ningxia. But even so, Zhu Zhengse could only do this much. One could imagine how strong the Guizhou chieftains, who were once suppressed by Daming, were now.
This was enough to shake the foundation of the country.
If he didn't eliminate them as soon as possible, when would he?
The Black Tortoise Battalion's army of a hundred thousand was ready. Their troops would arrive in Guizhou in just a few days. The Sichuan Battalion's thirty thousand soldiers were on standby, ready to launch an attack from Qijiang at any time. The White Tiger Battalion's thirty thousand soldiers were carrying new firearms and all kinds of military supplies as they headed south to Wuchang. They were waiting for Xiao Ruxun to give the order to attack Bozhou and dig up the Chieftain's grave.
To put it bluntly, what Xiao Ruxun wanted was not just Bozhou, but the entire Chieftain of the Southwest. He wanted to do what his predecessors could not do. Yang Yinglong rebelled and the imperial court sent a crusade against him, but could others not rebel and not be sent a crusade?
It was up to the imperial court to decide whether to rebel or not.
The people who were beating Zhu Zhengse up were not from the Yang Consortium!
House Tian, House An, House Song, anyone who dares to challenge the imperial authority of the Daqin can forget about escaping!
The group of generals before him had clearly smelled Xiao Ruxun's determination to go to war in the southwest, his determination to accomplish Qin Shihuang's great undertaking of sending five hundred thousand soldiers and one million immigrants south to Lingnan. They were extremely excited.
Each and every one of them was eager to show their ability and show themselves to the Emperor.
But they did not think about how the other troops would think if they had to eat again after they had just eaten a meal.
The Daqin did not only have one army.
"We just finished the war in Liaodong. Now that Liaodong is not stable, you want to go out to war again? Guarding Liaodong should look like guarding Liaodong. Otherwise, why did I put you in Liaodong? Hmm? You are the only army in the whole country, and the other troops can't be used, right?
I sent the navy to help in the war in Seoul, but in the end, it became a vacation! What ability you have! The Liaodong Army of the former Ming Dynasty was arrogant and despotic. They looked down on the armies of the whole country and were taught a lesson by me. What happened to them now? Hmm? Do you want to follow in their footsteps?! "
The generals of the Liaodong Army hurriedly knelt down together to beg for forgiveness. Each of them looked sorrowful. Only Jiang Dahai and several generals of the navy were full of complacency and felt very comfortable.
He gave the Liaodong Army a hard knock and left them cold for a period of time. It could be regarded as tidying them up and giving an explanation to other troops. Otherwise, they would become arrogant.
No one dared to challenge the authority of the Emperor. The generals of the Liaodong Army looked sorrowful and begged for forgiveness. Of course, Xiao Ruxun would not punish them. He would reward them if they deserved it. But if he did not give them a knock, they would not know pain.
After that, Xiao Ruxun gave the Liaodong Army a new order to maintain local stability. He left an army to be stationed in Korea to help King Li Zong of Korea stabilize the place and ensure the stability of the rule of Korea. In Liaodong, they were to guard Haixi Jurchen and Donghai Jurchen to prevent them from making trouble. Then, they would cooperate with Xie He to carry out the transformation of Jianzhou.
They did not even think about the battle of Bozhou.
The generals of the Liaodong Army left the Imperial Palace with their heads down like a group of defeated roosters. Only one person was left, Mao Wenlong.
Xiao Ruxun asked Mao Wenlong to stay.
Xiao Ruxun was very interested in this guy who had a lot of legends about him.
"Mao Wenlong, you did a good job. You wiped out Jiannu with a small division. You came up with all kinds of schemes and let the army eat the dust behind you. You have guts."
Mao Wenlong's forehead was full of sweat. He knew that the Emperor was not happy about this.
"I … I just did what I should do!"
Mao Wenlong could only defend himself in this way. He did do what he should do. Otherwise, would he let Nurhachi and the others catch up with the King of Korea and kill him?
"That's right. You did what you were supposed to do as a subject and a general, but you didn't do what a comrade in the army should do."
Xiao Ruxun walked to Mao Wenlong's side and turned his head to look at Mao Wenlong, who was kneeling.
Mao Wenlong was stunned.
"Com … colleagues?"
"You only think about yourself and don't think about your comrades. You want credit, and your comrades also want credit. They've all sent troops, so who doesn't want some benefits? You killed Jiannu alone. What do you want them to do after you let them follow you? Go sightseeing?
The imperial court spent so much money and sent so many people to transport it. I don't know how much manpower and material resources were consumed. Tens of thousands of troops went to war. You alone took all the biggest benefits and did not leave any for your colleagues. How many people do you think are resentful of you?
In the future, when we fight together, will your colleagues remember to share the credit with you? When there is important information, will they tell you? Will they take you to eat meat and drink wine? Will they be friends with you? You will be isolated by the entire Liaodong army. Soon, you will have no place to stand! "
Mao Wenlong knelt on the ground, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"The most taboo thing for a general in the army is to take credit. As a commander, the most taboo thing is to not clear rewards and punishments. In the battle of Korea, in order to take care of all the troops, I let the troops go to war in turns. The Xuan army, the Liaodong army, the Southern army, the Shandong army, and the Ningxia army.
These local troops were taken care of as much as possible, so that they would be willing to listen to my orders, and thus successfully suppress the Japanese pirates. Military credit is tempting. No one is willing to let go of wealth that they have fought for with their lives. For them, getting rewards for meritorious deeds is the biggest goal.
You, on the other hand, took the biggest benefit and didn't leave anything for others. You didn't do anything wrong, but you committed a huge taboo. Not only did you offend Jiang Dahai's navy, but you also offended the people in your own army. You're the one who's the worst. "
Xiao Ruxun stopped and did not continue. He wanted to see Mao Wenlong's reaction.
Mao Wenlong's body trembled a little. Obviously, he expected his future to be gloomy.
"Your Majesty … I … I didn't mean to do this. I just …"
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