My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 252: Annan Surrenders
On August 5, the 16th year of Hongwu, after a rest, the Ming army launched a swift and fierce offensive, marching straight from Sangnu, Laos, and heading straight to Sangdai, Annan.

Li Jisi also set up the first line of defense with Bannamang to the north of Sangdai and Guanshan and Bannazhang to the northeast. An open triangle was formed between Bannamang, Guanshan and Bannazhang, with the tip at Guanshan. This was the core of the garrison, trying to block the Guanshan barrier and stop the Ming army's advance.

Behind Guanshan, a second line of defense was set up between Gannang and Meizhou to support Guanshan at any time. At the same time, a third line of defense was set up in Heping Prefecture, east of Gannang and Meizhou, to protect Jiaozhou Prefecture.

The Ming army did not take so many detours. No matter how many lines of defense you have, I will only go one line. After reaching the first line of defense on August 10, it only took one day to break through the mountain pass.

Before Gannang and Meizhou had time to send troops to support, the first line of defense had been taken.

Although there were as many as 100,000 people guarding the pass, with the momentum of one man blocking a thousand, the Ming army would not play swords and guns with them. Only bows and arrows could cause them some trouble.

Moreover, most of the defenders were local militiamen, who were good at bullying the villagers by relying on their status as gentry. But when they really went to the battlefield and faced the powerful firepower of the Ming army, they were lucky if they didn't wet their pants.

In fact, when the Ming army fired the first round of artillery fire and killed hundreds of people, the militiamen were already frightened out of their wits. If the regular army had not tried desperately to stop them and organize a defense, the militiamen would probably have run away long ago.

After taking Guanshan, the Ming army did not stop, but continued to advance towards Gannang. Although Meizhou was easy to capture from the terrain point of view, it was a bit far from Heping Prefecture. Xu Da did not want to waste time on the road, so he decided to take Gannang directly and then Heping Prefecture.

On August 14, when the Ming army marched to the city of Gannang, it encountered resistance from the Annan army. However, after being defeated, the Annan army retreated into Gannang City and refused to leave.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival night of August 15, it rained heavily and the night was pitch black. Just when the defenders of Gannang thought that the Ming army would not take any action due to the heavy rain, they did not expect that the Ming army took advantage of the darkness and, with the help of night vision goggles, sneaked under the city of Gannang.

The reconnaissance team of the sniper battalion, wearing night vision goggles, quietly climbed up the city wall with ladders made overnight. Under the cover of heavy rain, they quietly killed the sentries and then opened the city gate. The Ming army took the opportunity to rush in and captured Gannang effortlessly.

After resting for a day in Gannang, the Ming army set out to capture Heping Prefecture and set their sights on Jiaozhou Prefecture!
At this point, the three defense lines carefully arranged by Li Jishun were easily broken by the Ming army. This time, Li Jishun could no longer sit still.

What's even more terrible is that wherever the Ming army arrived, they would take the local people with them to liquidate the gentry and landlords who supported Li Jishun, and then distribute the land, property and other items to the farmers according to households.

After hearing the news, Li Jishen was so angry that he vomited blood. This Ming army was destroying the foundation of his position as Prime Minister Li!

Moreover, this trend intensified. Wherever the Ming army went, they were greatly welcomed by the peasants, because when the Ming army came, they could get land to share. There was even a folk song that spread among the people: "The Ming army has arrived, and joy is high. The joy of dividing the land is boundless. The army flags are flying, and the people are in favor. The land is fertile and the family business is prosperous."

Although Li Jilian was persuaded by his confidants to flee Jiaozhou Prefecture, he refused. He understood that once the King of Annan came to power, his entire family would be killed, not to mention the Ming Dynasty!
Annan is very small and there is no place for Li Jixun to stay. Although it is said that as long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood, but there are no green mountains for Li Jixun in Annan at all!

However, there is always a way out. Annan did not have the green mountains of Le Qui Si, but Champa did. Under the persuasion of his confidants, when the King of Annan regained power, Le Qui Si took his family and swept away the people's wealth that had been embezzled for many years, left Jiaozhou Prefecture, bypassed the Ming army's attack route, and fled all the way to Champa.

I have to look for another opportunity to make a comeback.

A few days later, the Ming army arrived at the city gate of Jiaozhou Prefecture. The King of Annan personally came to the city gate to welcome the arrival of the Ming army.

Let's not talk about the loud gongs and drums and the blast of firecrackers. They also welcomed the royal army with food and drink. Let's not talk about the common people. The Annan King Chen Riwei really regarded the Ming army as his relatives. After driving away Li Jisun, the next things went much more smoothly. In order to completely settle the remnants of the Li Party, Chen Riwei still needed the support of the Ming army, and Xu Da took the opportunity to put forward the Ming Dynasty's demands to Chen Riwei.

First, the Annan Mandarin was determined to be the official language of the Ming Dynasty. All schools across the country studied the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and children were required to learn Chinese characters and speak Chinese as an early childhood education.

Second, it was clearly stated that the imperial examination was the basic national policy of Annan, and the examination papers were set and printed by the Ming Dynasty.

Third, the market between Annan and the Ming Dynasty was fully opened, trade was carried out, and the currency of Annan had to be completely changed to Baochao.

Fourthly, the exploitation of all mineral deposits in Annan was contracted to the Ming Maritime Trade Co., Ltd., which also paid the Annan court a contract fee of about 40% of the mineral income each year.

Fifth, the Ming Dynasty established a commander-in-chief and a garrison in Annan, and the national defense of Annan was the responsibility of the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Riwei agreed to these five points without reservation. It was not that he was incompetent and sold out his country. On the one hand, due to the distribution of land by the local tyrants, the people's support for the Ming army reached an astonishing level. Without the support of the Ming Dynasty, it would be a pipe dream for the Chen family to sit firmly on the throne.

On the other hand, as early as when the Qin Dynasty sent a large army to the south to conquer the Baiyue and established Xiangjun, the area around Annan was already the territory of China. Even during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when separatist forces emerged in Annan, it still existed as a vassal state of China.

Therefore, from the perspective of historical heritage, the people of Annan did not have much aversion to the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the most important point is the practical benefits.

Before this, the court was controlled by Li Jisun, and the financial power was no exception. When Li Jisun fled, he took away a large amount of gold and silver from the national treasury. At this time, Chen Riwei was a poor king who could not even pay the salaries of his ministers.

Li Wenzhong did the math for Chen Riwei. Apart from anything else, the 40% of the mining revenue each year alone could bring hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to the Annan treasury. If trade was added to the mix, the money would be enormous.

Although Chen Riwei still wanted to increase his share of mining to 50%, he was told by Li Wenzhong that all mining costs would be borne by Daming, so he gave up.

After the agreement was signed, with the support of the Ming army, Chen Riwei began to liquidate the remnants of the Li Party across the country.

The earth-shaking changes that took place in Annan were also seen by various countries. Although the Ming Dynasty had issued an edict long ago, the fact that the Ming Dynasty conquered the entire territory of Annan with only 25,000 troops in just over ten days also stunned the courts of various countries.

Soon, various countries sent envoys to the Ming Dynasty. In addition to expressing their loyalty to the Ming Dynasty once again, they also wanted to establish comprehensive trade relations with the Ming Dynasty.

In addition to the vassal states, many Western countries also sent envoys. The strength of the Ming Dynasty has deeply shocked them. Now that it has become a trend for various countries to join the tribute system and trade with the Ming Dynasty, they also want to get a piece of the pie.

Li Jisou was also captured by the Champa king, who then sent troops and envoys to escort him back to the Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)