I

"Brother, the Han army has come out of the camp!" Ganma Chief Tusto Nafa rushed over.

Chief Meng Gong said fiercely: "I know, I just received a military order from the Burmese people, asking our chieftains to defend the northern camp."

Meng Gong is a middle-level chieftain who belongs to Meng Yang, and there are many small chieftains who make a living in the territory of Meng Gong chieftain, such as Ganma, Meng Xu, Meng Gao and so on.

The army under Tuona Meng's command can be understood as a coalition of chieftains. The most scummy chieftains only sent two or three hundred troops.

As soon as Tuannafa heard the name "Burmese", he knew that Tuannameng was planning to stab him in the back: "Brother, when are you going to do it?"

"It can't be too early, and it can't be too late," Tuonameng inherited the rich experience of jumping back from his ancestors. "If we act too early, we will be seriously injured. If we act too late, we will be easily blamed by the Han generals after the war. Even if they are not blamed, You can't discount the merits. Go tell the leaders of each department and let them see my flag. I will raise the white flag and we will fight against the Burmese army together."

"Okay, I'll go immediately." Tuonafa turned around and left.

The geographical location of this group of chieftains is very awkward, relatively far from the Yunnan border. However, the dynasty formed by the Burmese people could directly attack them from the narrow plains in the south.

If they were loyal and unyielding to the Ming Dynasty, they would be destroyed by Burma before the Ming Dynasty's reinforcements arrived. But they will not be loyal to Burma, because the Ming Dynasty does not need to send troops by itself, it can be easily dealt with by directly sending Meng Yang Chieftain. Therefore, they have always jumped sideways repeatedly and it has become a common occurrence.

The Burmese army commander caught them violently, and of course he knew that these chieftains were unreliable. But he really had no choice, because the main forces in northern Myanmar were all piled up on the side of Bhamo. He didn't have enough troops in his hands and could only rely on these chieftains.

He called his two sons and ordered: "If something bad happens, ride away immediately. Don't flee south along the river, but flee to the southwest. From there you can escape back to Ava."

The Datong Army sent troops too quickly and followed a precise route.

A blockade in the direction of Bhamo will cut off the connection between the northern and southern Myanmar armies in Mengyang. They also gathered troops here to cut off the Burmese army in the north of Mengyang and the chieftains in the west. Whether it is gathering troops or requisitioning food, the Burmese army has become very troublesome. Now that they have made a surprise attack on Mengyang City, the battle situation is basically no longer suspense.

The reason why the Datong Army was so successful was not only its own strength but also the advantageous terrain left by the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty set up the Three Xuan and Liuwei. The three Xuanxuan all belonged to Yunnan, and the Six Welfare were places like Laos and Myanmar. In the land of Sanxuan, the surrounding areas can be controlled. Whether it is mountains or rivers, the Chinese army has the power to dominate. In a word, it is very difficult for you to hit me in this broken terrain, but it is easy for me to hit you.

Just like the army led by Huang Yao, if they don't take action, they will seize two throats.

"Don't leave the camp. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed. Defend the camp with all your strength!" Those who are caught by force will not dare to leave the camp to fight in the field. There is still a slight hope of victory in the defensive camp.

This camp is located at the foot of a mountain with a small river flowing down it. There was usually only one beacon fire fort, but now it has been expanded into a camp, and many deep ditches have been dug around it.

"Boom boom boom!"

Burmese artillery fired first from halfway up the mountain.

But there weren't many, just a few cannons, and they opened fire before they even got into range.

Well, it might also be a test of the cannon.

The heroic ruler of Myanmar, King Thalung, spent twenty years cultivating his health and recuperating. During this period, the Myanmar army did not fight many wars. Even if they fought, they were only small ones. They mainly suppressed the Mon rebellion in the south. Now this faint king has only been enjoying himself for several years, and the decline of the army is even more serious.

"boom!"

There was a loud noise halfway up the mountain. A Burmese army artillery test bomb exploded.

Dozens of artillery pieces from the Datong Army were pulled out, which made the Burmese troops guarding the village feel frightened. In various battlefields in Myanmar alone, the Datong Army deployed a total of more than 280 artillery pieces, not including the cavalry's use of Crouching Tiger Artillery.

If European monarchs and generals knew about it, they would all go crazy. These many cannons are enough for them to fight a war that will overwhelm their country.

Artillery fire.

Burmese artillery is aimed at Chinese artillery.

Chinese artillery is aimed at the Burmese army's camp.

"Brother, do it quickly, China's artillery is really powerful!" Tuonafa came over and suggested.

Tuona Meng said: "You just need to step back, the Chinese artillery will hit the village wall."

Tuonafa said: "I'm afraid that our wall will collapse first. What if the Chinese army attacks us first? It will be too late to defect by then!"

Tuona suddenly felt that it made sense, gritted his teeth and said, "Then take action in advance!"

The two sides were still firing at each other with artillery. The camp where the chieftain's army was located suddenly heard loud killing noises and launched an attack on the Burmese army without any warning.

"I knew, I knew, those damn Shan people were unreliable!"

Mengzuo roared for a while, drew his sword and shouted: "Kill the Shan people first, then break out from the south!"

Before the Chinese and Burmese armies joined forces, the Burmese army and the chieftain were already fighting.

Hot air balloons floated in the sky, and the sentry could see clearly with a telescope. The enemy troops were not acting, but were really fighting among themselves, and they immediately waved signal flags frantically.

When Huang Yao received the signal, he immediately smiled and said: "The Chinese army will stay here to prevent the enemy troops from coming out of the city, and the rest of the troops will attack the stronghold immediately!"

The Datong cavalry quickly circled the north and south sides of the enemy camp, preparing to intercept and kill the enemies who broke out.

The infantry deployed according to their positions and rushed towards the nearest village wall. During the charge, the Burmese artillery on the mountainside was still firing shells sporadically, killing and wounding dozens of Tatung troops one after another.

The melee soldiers rushing at the front were carrying something similar to a bamboo raft, but it was longer and narrower than the bamboo raft. The temporary trench dug by the enemy was not wide. Once the bamboo rafts were placed on top, there would be no delay at all.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

"Boohoo!"

The Burmese army's musketeers and archers hid behind the wall and started firing.

Because the distance was too close, with only one encounter, the Datong Army suffered hundreds more casualties. However, most of them were injured, and only about 20 soldiers were killed on the spot.

Just this one time, when the Datong soldiers rushed outside the wall, the Burmese troops defending the wall fled one after another.

They had never fought much in the first place, and they usually bullied the Dai chieftains and people. The passage to the south was cut off, and their hometown in the north was captured. Even their family members were not sure whether they were alive or dead. Now that the Datong army is charging in front and the chieftain soldiers are stabbing behind, how can there be any will to fight?

The front wall of the village was breached, and the Burmese army inside completely collapsed. More and more soldiers fled up the mountain.

"Father, there is no way to break through from the south, there are so many Han cavalry!"

"Escape to the mountains!"

The three Burmese army generals, father and son, with more than 20 personal followers, actually abandoned their troops and ran away.

"Catch and snap!"

Tuona ignored the defeated Burmese troops and led his only twenty cavalrymen in a mad pursuit of Mengdu and his son.

When Huang Yao led the Chinese army into the enemy camp, Tuo Nameng had already captured Meng, and led the chieftains to kowtow and plead guilty: "Please forgive me, General of Heaven. We surrendered to the Burmese. There is really nothing we can do. We have had enough of the Burmese." Today, we have finally waited for the general to bully us. The general is the Bodhisattva Buddha who saves the suffering. From now on, we will be loyal to the court from generation to generation. If the Burmese attack again, we must be loyal to the court even if we die!"

Huang Yao did not mention the faults of these chieftains at all. He lifted Tuo Na up with his own hands and encouraged him with a pleasant expression: "The general took action before the battle. He can be said to be loyal, righteous, wise and brave. I will report it to His Majesty the Emperor and ask for rewards for the general's merits!"

"Thank you, General!" All the chieftains were overjoyed.

Of course, they should be rewarded for their merits. A loyal person like Tuo Nameng is too frustrated to stay in Meng Gong. He should go to the fertile land further south to make toast.

After the war, in the Lower Myanmar region, the Mon people were supported to establish a country. In the central Myanmar region, they supported the Dai people to establish their country. As for the big chieftains in northern Myanmar, they were all thrown into two new countries to become nobles, and they were powerful chieftains who owned territory.

In this way, the northern chieftains can be eliminated without bloodshed and all their territories can be annexed. It can also add sand to the two small countries in the south, causing constant internal strife between Central Myanmar and Lower Myanmar.

What, you don't want to leave?

It's not up to you!

Take the land of Meng Gong as an example. To get rid of Nameng, you must go to the south. The rest of the small chieftains, if they support the reform of the land and the policy of dividing the land, they can stay and become the mayor.

Well, Meng Gong is the second largest source of jade after Meng Mi.

On the second day after tying down the enemy camp, the army once again surrounded Jiajiu City.

There are only a few hundred defenders in the city, and the rest of the defenders are all young men in the city.

A chieftain cavalry rushed to the bottom of the city and threw out the captured head: "Quickly open the city and surrender, but I will spare your life. Once the city is breached, kill them all!"

After the cavalry left, the defenders hung their baskets down and picked up the captured heads for identification.

After discussing for about half an hour, the defenders finally reached a consensus, opened the city gate, knelt down and surrendered.

Huang Yao ordered: "Men and women should be kept in separate custody, and the children should be taken care of by women!"

Death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be avoided.

Of course the men were sent to mine for jade, but the women could be sent to the north where there were more men than women.

Huang Yao led his army southward and headed straight for Bhamo.

The one who attacked here was also an inspector. Exiting Tiebikuan is the boundary of Manmu. Chieftain Manmu was so frightened that he surrendered immediately, and soon arrived at the intersection of Dajinsha River and Daying River (Ganli Village).

Because the Datong Inspection Division sent troops too quickly, the Burmese army did not respond. The siege of Ganli Village was broken in two days. Subsequently, the Burmese army did not even dare to defend Xinjie and retreated directly to Laoguan Village to gather together.

Laoguan Village was later called Kaungton in Myanmar.

As long as we capture this place, we can take a boat across the mountains and go directly to Ava, the capital of Myanmar.

Historically, the Qing army fought with Burma for several years, and its strategic goal was to capture Laoguantun. In the end, tens of thousands of people were dispatched, and a 3,000-pound cannon was specially cast, as well as 80 mountain-splitting cannons (long-barreled cannons), a large number of nine-section cannons (detachable light cannons), and many soaring cannons (mortar cannons). Advance together, and also send partial troops to go around the rear from Mubang.

As for the Laoguantun Walled City in Myanmar, its walls were all made of wooden fences, which could not withstand the bombardment and its troops were seriously insufficient.

This should have been a battle without any suspense.

But when it comes to actually fighting, the whole process is so weird that it’s hard to complain about it, it’s just weird to the extreme.

First of all, the Qing army prepared for a full year. I don’t know how to prepare, but they actually chose to send troops in the hot and humid rainy season.

How do you do intelligence work?

This is not a new arrival in Myanmar, but it has been fought for several years. It is nonsense to not even avoid the rainy season.

While the main force of the Qing army was on the march, a large number of soldiers, livestock and war horses fell ill and died. After finally reaching Jiajiu City, the Burmese army here had already received the news and fled early.

It rained heavily, the river swelled, and the flow was rapid. The Qing army could only stop advancing.

After finally surviving the rainy season, the scheduled joint attack period has exceeded 50 days.

The main force of the Qing army was in such a horrible state, and it was even worse on the side of the division. They had to cross mountains and ridges during the rainy season, which not only caused a large number of non-combat casualties, but also made it impossible to transport food and grass. When these guys arrived at their destination, the troops who had set out to build the ships in advance had only half of the ships built, and the deputy governor in charge of shipbuilding had died of malaria.

A surprise attack planned for a year turned into a head-on battle inexplicably.

Even in this situation, the Qing navy went for a surprise attack. The naval guerrillas were ambushed midway and were shot dead by the Burmese army hiding on the shore.

Moreover, the Navy didn't even understand the conditions of the nearby rivers, and they were stranded when they rushed to the battlefield...

Tian Chen, the commander of the inspection division who successfully captured Bhamo, said: "Captain, according to Xizuo and merchants, after passing through Bhamo, the speed of the Dajinsha River suddenly slowed down when it encountered Jiwan. The river in Laoguantun area has A large amount of sediment has accumulated, and our army is not familiar with the situation and cannot rush over by boat."

"How are you going to fight?" Huang Yao asked.

Tian Chen said: "Don't rush to attack by boat, march cautiously along the shore. From here to Laoguantun, there are mostly low hills. Just be prepared for enemy ambush."

"You're right, you can't take risks." Huang Yao agreed with this suggestion.

Why is it said that Laoguantun is difficult to reach? There are sandbars everywhere in the nearby river, and there is serious sedimentation under the water, and the navigation channel is very narrow. If you are not an experienced helmsman who has been running boats for many years, you may be stranded when you drive over, and then you will be a living target for the Burmese navy.