Chapter 164

Ye Xiaotian went out to battle!

The native soldiers of Crouching Bull Ridge, together with the villagers Ding Yong who were temporarily recruited from the Great Wan Mountains, totaled eight thousand people. They could be considered as Ye Xiaotian's direct descendants. The Zhan family, Shi Qian Yang family, Guoji family, and Tongren Yu family sent a total of five thousand people.

In addition, the other chieftains of Liansi Eight Prefectures also received orders to send people to Crouching Bull Ridge with their own money, rations, and supplies. The number of people sent by these chieftains did not wait. The largest number was eight hundred people, and the smallest was only a few dozen people.

Some of this was because the chieftains were indeed very weak. Their territory was at most equivalent to two or three towns. The total number of native soldiers they could mobilize was only one to two hundred people. They could not go all out like Ye Xiaotian, so they had to leave people to protect their headquarters. Another reason was that some of the chieftains paid lip service but opposed in secret.

Naturally, Magistrate Li took note of this kind of chieftain. Magistrate Li was Li Dazhuang. After Ye Xiaotian became a chieftain, he had the right to appoint officials under his command. However, because the magistrate himself was not a high-ranking official, the number of official positions that could be appointed were even fewer.

This time, because Ye Xiaotian had submitted a memorial to the emperor to express his loyalty at the most critical moment, the emperor generously changed his official position, Yin Jin, to the commander, Guan Fang, who was two inches in diameter. The civil and military officials under Ye Xiaotian naturally rose in status. Li Dazhuang also had an official position, and in one step, he was promoted to the seventh rank magistrate.

Magistrate Li recorded these people, not only to settle the score later, but also to list these chieftains as important 'targets of care'. He made a separate list and presented it to the Handprint Lady, Tian Miaowen. Once Tian Miaowen received the name list, she would naturally 'treat' these chieftains in a different light.

At that time, when it came to the requisition of money and rations, as well as the replenishment of troops and horses, these chieftains would be dealt with in a different way. Although they did not send many people, they did not wish to throw these people on the battlefield as cannon fodder. This was their weakness. Naturally, Madam Palm Print would crush their bones and suck their marrow, using the war to gradually drag them down into "Ye Xiaotian's quagmire"!

At that time, whether they were willing or not, they would no longer be able to get off Ye Xiaotian's chariot. They could only become his vassals. In the end, Ye Xiaotian led eighteen thousand people and set out on a mighty journey. This time, he only brought one woman: Tian Xiufeng.

There was no need for him to announce the reason for bringing her along to the three armies. However, it would be troublesome to have a beautiful woman wandering around in the main tent. Therefore, Tian Xiufeng also changed into a soldier's clothes and walked around the main tent, just like Ye Xiaotian's secretary.

Ye Xiaotian did not shackle her because the soldiers inside and outside the main tent were all chieftains' death warriors personally trained by Hua Yunfei. Ye Xiaotian had already ordered them to be on guard against Tian Xiufeng. Even if Tian Xiufeng had a pair of wings, she would not be able to escape Ye Xiaotian's main army.

Ye Xiaotian also did not have to worry that Tian Xiufeng would harm him. Given Tian Xiufeng's intelligence, she would not do something she knew she could not do. Therefore, giving her a certain amount of freedom would not harm her.

As for the lies that Tian Xiufeng had told in order to protect herself, Ye Xiaotian did not chase after his lovely wife every day to explain. Some things were better left unexplained than unexplained. As for Tian Miaowen, Zhan Ning 'er, and the others, they were still skeptical about the relationship between them.

In fact, the other half of their skepticism was not aimed at Ye Xiaotian, but at the male group. 'All crows in the world are black', 'Which cat does not eat fish', these were the views women had on men. Ye Xiaotian was also a man, so naturally, they believed that what Tian Xiufeng said was true.

However, they believed that Ye Xiaotian did not bring Tian Xiufeng because of his lust for women. First of all, it was because Ye Xiaotian was very smart. He should know the danger of this trip and would definitely not waste time on women at this time. On the other hand, it was because of the irrefutable truth that all crows in the world are black, and which cat does not eat fish:

Tian Xiufeng was already his. Was there a need to be reluctant to part with her? Did he have to bring her along even when going to war? This was not in line with a man's behavior. Therefore, they believed Ye Xiaotian's words: Bringing Tian Xiufeng along would help him make a more accurate judgment of Yang Yinglong.

And these judgments had nothing to do with his character. Ye Xiaotian was also speechless.

…

The entire situation of the war had begun to change. After the imperial court was caught unprepared, they gradually reacted. Some of the incompetent generals and mediocre officials were replaced. As for Yang Yinglong, facing the gathering of more than two hundred thousand Ming troops, he also felt fear. At this time, the territory he occupied was equivalent to doubling the territory of Bozhou, so he lost the desire to advance. He had the heart to defend his current territory and proclaim himself as the Emperor.

Li Hualong received an order in the face of danger and once again rushed back to Sichuan to control the military affairs of Sichuan, Hubei, and Gui provinces. He transferred the famous generals of Korea, Liu Ting, Dong Yiyuan, and the others back to help. At the same time, he continued to transfer more soldiers from Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces to help.

At this time, the commander-in-chief who had been patrolling the Songpan defensive line to deal with Borbai also moved to Chongqing to take charge of the military affairs of Bozhou. Ye Xiaotian led an army of eighteen thousand and trained along the way in order to integrate the three armies. He followed Shiqian, Sinan, Dejiang, all the way north, entered Sichuan, and hurried to Chongqing to assemble.

The first time Ye Xiaotian openly entered Sichuan, it was to act as a witness for Yang Yinglong. The second time he secretly entered Sichuan, it was to help Yang Yinglong bring his lover Qin Furen and illegitimate son Ma Qiansi back to Bozhou. This time, he openly entered Sichuan with great fanfare, but it was to rush to Chongqing to participate in the crusade against Yang Yinglong.

Ye Xiaotian did not go to Gui province, on one hand, because there were too many highly autonomous local officials in Guizhou. Although Ye Mengxiong was capable, his main role at this time was to stabilize the Guizhou chieftains and not cause trouble, allowing him to take the initiative to attack. The troops and horses he could mobilize were far less than those in Sichuan.

On the other hand, it was also because to go to Guiyang, he had to go west, pass through Shiqian residence, and cross the river to Guiyang. And when he left Shiqian, it was very easy for him to be ambushed by Bozhou. The Tong family of Shi Qian was guarding this line, and it was difficult for the Tong family to protect themselves. If they were ambushed, it was impossible for them to support them.

If that was the case, Ye Xiaotian's army of nearly twenty thousand would most likely suffer a crushing defeat and be buried at the banks of the Wu River. Therefore, Ye Xiaotian chose to head north and enter Sichuan directly from the Liangsi Eight Prefectures in the territory of the Yuantian clan. He would gather under Li Hualong's banner and lead his army south to fight together.

The Liangsi Eight Prefectures was the old territory of the Tian Clan. Now that Ye Xiaotian had personal prestige, the status bestowed by the imperial court, and even had a Tian Clan daughter as the Handprint Lady, he did not have to worry about anyone from the Liangsi Eight Prefectures plotting against him, so this was the safest route.

On this day, Ye Xiaotian finally arrived in Chongqing. Governor Li and Zongbing Wan's oath ceremony would be held three days later.