I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 609 Meng Mi

"There is KaWa outside Yongchang and Shunning in the south. It is connected to the Gengma Tusi boundary to the north, the Mubang boundary to the west, the Shengwa Wa boundary to the south, and the Menggen Tusi boundary to the east. The area is more than 2,000 miles away. Its long name is Bengzhu. , called himself Gourd King, but I don’t know where he started.”

The vernacular meaning is that from the Yunnan border to Mubang and Menggen, there is a Shengfan tribe called Hulu Di.

The tribal chief Bengzhu here calls himself the Calabash King and is not under the jurisdiction of Myanmar's Toungoo Dynasty. Although he is still a primitive tribe practicing slash-and-burn farming, the chief has a hereditary iron seal that symbolizes power.

Because this iron seal has been around for so long, we no longer know who canonized it, but it is definitely not a Burman from the Toungoo Dynasty.

Of course, the most important thing is that silver is actually produced here. Sun Yanjun marched to Huludi and quickly discovered the silver mine in the northern part of Huludi.

The Ming Dynasty's East Road Inspection Army hardly fought many battles. Not only did they recover a large area of ​​Dai chieftains in northeastern Myanmar, they also successfully seized a piece of silver mining land.

The silver mine in Huludi is just one of them. From Mubang, you can go south directly along the Irrawaddy River, and on the way you can reach Bolong, which is also rich in silver.

……

When the Ming Dynasty's East Route Army and West Route Army were fighting on the front line in northern Myanmar, what was Chief Mengmi doing who was caught in the middle?

Chief Meng Mi called the line officer Meng. This guy took advantage of the Ming army's war on the east and west fronts and the Yunnan border to take care of themselves. He actually went north to raid and seize the Hanlong Pass in the Mengmao area.

Hmm, so brave.

Chieftain Mengmi was so "courageous" that he dared to take advantage of China's war on Burma to sneak attack and occupy Hanlong Pass. This is also because although the territory here is not large, there is little land that can be cultivated, and the population is not large, the key is that Chief Mengmi is rich!

"There are treasure wells to the east of the Jinsha River (Irrawaddy River), which produce gems. There are also Bolongs, which produce silver. There are many people from Jiangxi, Huguang, Dali and Yongchang of Yunnan who come out as traders, and they gather in Bolong to open silver mines for a living. There are usually no less than tens of thousands of people.”

This is talking about Mengmi Chieftain. In terms of economic strength alone, Mengmi Chieftain can definitely rank first among the chieftains in northern Myanmar.

Of course, when it comes to being strong, Chieftain Meng Mi can also be ranked first.

Historically, before the Qing-Burma War broke out, the Mengmi chieftain first sent troops to sneak attack the Mengmao chieftain who had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.

When Myanmar was strong, chieftain Mengmi was very respectful to the Toungoo dynasty. But when the Burmese began to weaken, chieftain Mengmi was also the quickest to rebel.

Now, after hearing that the Ming army had marched south along the Irrawaddy River, Chief Meng Mi's line officer Meng immediately summoned his army of chieftains, as well as miners from the Bolong Silver Mine and the Jade Mine.

The eldest son, Xian Wengtuan, was worried: "Father, China is strong and the Burmese are destined to perish. Why do we still raise troops to fight? Isn't this annoying the Chinese?"

The line officer said fiercely: "We have invaded China's Hanlong Pass. If we don't raise troops to resist, are we waiting for the Chinese army to come and hold us accountable?"

Xian Weng Tuan said: "It's just a Hanlong Pass. My father will give it back to the Chinese."

The line officer shouted loudly: "The Chinese army has already come to kill us. How can there be any reason to return the land and stop the war? Moreover, I, Meng Mi, invaded Hanlong Pass. This is a slap in the face of the Chinese emperor and his father." I can’t bear it either.”

The Xian Weng Regiment is already a little speechless about his father. You know that this is not good, and you still send troops to invade Hanlong Pass. Isn't this because you are full?

The line officer Meng was wearing armor and had already begun to lecture the troops he had recruited: "The Chinese army is going to kill Meng Mi soon. They plan to seize our silver mines and jade. Chinese officials are the most cruel and unreasonable. They They will massacre you and take away your wealth. If you can defeat the Chinese army in this battle, you will all be rewarded, and you will be allowed to eat well. Those who have done meritorious service can redeem themselves and will no longer work as miners..."

Although most of these miners are slaves, many of the miners in the silver mines are Han Chinese who escaped from Yunnan.

All these Han people responded positively to the call of chieftain Mengmi. They could still survive here in Mengmi, but they worked harder. But when they returned to China, they would inevitably be brutally squeezed and suppressed.

Many of them were Han Chinese who fled to Burma when the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were still there. For those Manchu and Qing officials, especially those on the borders of Yunnan, they were all cannibals without spitting out their bones.

The line officer suddenly took out all the weapons available from his chieftain's arsenal and equipped these conscripted miners.

Coupled with the chieftain soldiers directly under his command, the little chieftain Meng Mi, he managed to assemble an army of 10,000, of which 1,000 were elite troops wearing armor.

With two major mines in hand, Chief Meng Mi is really rich.

So many troops were drawn out, but the discipline was pretty good. After all, they were all composed of miners. With this power alone, Mengmi Chieftain can dominate northern Myanmar.

But soon, the line officer suddenly gave up this idea. "This this……"

Looking at the ships heading south from the Irrawaddy River, line officer Meng was completely confused.

He, Chief Mengmi, is indeed rich, but even so, he can only raise an army of 10,000 people, and the real elite combat strength is only one-tenth.

With such a small force, you, the majestic emperor of China, send so many warships to fight?

Line officer Meng naturally did not think that the ships were loaded with young miners who were temporarily pulled out like him.

Cannons to kill mosquitoes!

Line officer Meng had obviously overthought things. Sun Yan's army, which came south from Mubang along the Irrawaddy River, was not here to fight against Meng Mi. It should be said that it was just a way to fight.

After all, the regular army on the Western Front seems to be still with Meng Yang, so I can do it for the friendly troops and save some time.

The line urn group urged in a hurry: "Father, surrender quickly!"

The line officer said fiercely: "No, we cannot surrender. If we surrender now, the Chinese will definitely take away our silver mines and emeralds."

How long has this been, and I’m still thinking about money.

The Xian Weng Group said: "But we can't defeat it. If we don't surrender now, when the Chinese army attacks the city, not to mention the silver mines and jade, even our property and life will be difficult to save!"

The line officer hesitated: "Even if we surrender...even if we surrender, we can't surrender like this. The Chinese army must make concessions. Now we are defending the city. As long as it takes longer, these Chinese people can't stand the climate here. By then, We can negotiate terms.”

Talk about conditions, talk nonsense!

Sun Yan's patrol army also brought artillery. Although not as many as the regular troops, they were certainly not something Chief Meng Mi could stop.

If Chief Meng Mi were smarter and better informed, he should surrender immediately.

Of course, even if they surrender, the Ming Dynasty will definitely have to settle accounts with the Qiu Dynasty, because they invaded Chinese land, which can be used as an excuse to return the Mengmi chieftain to his native land.

How could such a piece of jadeite, which is currently the largest jadeite producing area in the world, be managed by a group of toasts?

"preparation!"

"Measure the range, aim, and test the gun!"

"Boom boom boom!"

A series of orders were issued. The gunners of the patrol army were all novices, so their movements were inevitably a bit unfamiliar.

There were twenty artillery pieces, and all the shells were empty.

However, the chieftain soldiers at the top of the city were still frightened. Although many cannonballs were empty, they landed steadily not far from the city wall.

"Boom boom boom!"

The Ming army's artillery fired again, this time it was finally no longer so hectic, and its accuracy was much improved.

The city wall was shaken violently by the shells. The chieftain soldiers at the top of the city could barely stand firm. Moreover, without artillery, they were also helpless against the Ming army's artillery.

Chieftain Mengmi's city wall was made of rammed earth and stone. Its hardness could only be described as worrisome and could not withstand the continuous bombardment of artillery.

After only one day of shelling, the city wall was already covered with large-scale cracks.

The line officer looked at the powerful artillery of the Ming army and realized that he could not withstand it if this continued: "No, we must go out of the city for a decisive battle tomorrow, and we can't let the Chinese army's artillery fire anymore!"

　I'm here today, and then I'll visit relatives tomorrow...

　　

　

(End of this chapter)