The news of the Ming army's invasion of Yunnan became more and more outrageous.
By the time the news had traveled from other prefectures back to Yunnan Prefecture, it had become known that the total strength of the Ming army had reached 500,000, with 10,000 artillery pieces.
Under the fierce bombardment of thousands of artillery pieces, Qujing City and the defenders and civilians in the city were all reduced to rubble.
This is not the end yet.
It is said that all the wild dogs outside the city were slapped in the face by the Ming army!
The Jinyiwei played an indispensable role in making the news spread like this.
Wherever they went, they processed the news before spreading it.
People who hear the news will further process it based on their own understanding, which causes it to become more and more outrageous.
After Li Dingguo captured Qujing, he was not in a hurry to send troops again.
One is the need to replenish military supplies and food, and the other is the need to gather information.
When we first arrived in Yunnan and were unfamiliar with the place, we must not advance blindly.
After learning that Sha Dingzhou was gathering his troops towards Yunnan Prefecture, he sent people to deliver letters of surrender to nearby prefectures and counties.
The elite garrisons of these prefectures and counties were transferred to Yunnan Prefecture for garrison.
The old, weak and sick in the city were already unable to fight, and they were immediately frightened when they heard that the Ming army was approaching.
They had already heard about what happened in Qujing City, and the defending general took the lead in surrendering in order to save his life.
The defender who was unwilling to surrender was forced to surrender by the soldiers and the people in the city.
One day in mid-March, scouts once again rushed into Sha Dingzhou's yard.
"Sir, something happened!"
"To make a long story short." Sha Dingzhou learned his lesson this time. He decided not to give the scout a chance to say more.
"Luliangwei and Shilin tribes in the south of Qujing, and Malongzhou and Xundian tribes in the west have surrendered to the Ming army."
After hearing the news, Sha Dingzhou knew that something bad had happened.
To the west is Malong Prefecture, which is the only way for the Xundian tribe to reach Qujing and Yunnan. Their surrender left the Yunnan provincial capital without any barriers.
Luliangwei and Shilin tribe in the south are two barriers leading to Mengzi from Qujing.
With them there, the Ming army could not march straight in to attack his hometown of Mengzi.
Now they surrender...
In order to attack various places in Yunnan, he pulled all the soldiers from Mengzi away. Now Mengzi was short of troops and had no defense.
The Ming army could easily send a troop of troops to attack Mengzi over a long distance.
"Everyone," Sha Dingzhou was calling all the generals to discuss matters in the room.
After taking a quick look, he continued, "The total number of soldiers available near Yunnan City is nearly 50,000!"
"It's more than enough to defend one place, but it's not enough to defend two places."
"What does Lord Sha mean?"
"I mean to hear your ideas." Sha Dingzhou replied very skillfully.
He is the leader of the rebels and the commander of three armies.
The word escape must never come out of his mouth.
"If you ask me, we should fight a big battle with the Ming army outside the city of Yunnan! We will accept victory or defeat!" said a general.
"Don't fight! Go back to Mengzi and stop the enemy. Our army's families are all there. If we are attacked by the Ming army, our army will be in chaos!"
"What you two said is wrong. Instead of hiding in the city and waiting for the Ming army to arrive, why not counterattack Qujing!"
"Counterattack Qujing?" The generals present laughed after hearing this: "Go ahead, the number of artillery there is almost as many as the people in a village."
Everyone was silent at the same time.
An hour later, everyone agreed to withdraw from Yunnan City and recall all the troops fighting in various places, planning to have a decisive battle with the Ming army.
Before leaving, Sha Dingzhou emptied out all the valuables in Prince Mu's Mansion.
There is a record that says: The Mu family ruled Yunnan for generations, and the treasury was full... the treasures were incalculable. Sand Dingzhou was transported to this cave, and it continued for months.
As soon as Sha Dingzhou left, Li Dingguo's army arrived.
On the day of entering the city, the people of the city lined the streets to welcome him.
With a declaration of military might, Li Dingguo recaptured the Yunnan provincial capital without bloodshed.
That night, Wen Anzhi and Li Dingguo wrote three letters.
A letter was sent to Mu Tianbo in Yongchang Prefecture, asking him to return to Yunnan Prefecture to stabilize the situation.
The other two were Tangbao sent to the imperial court.
They recorded everything that happened in Yunnan in detail in the Tangbao.
The two Tangbao reports were first sent to the Jinsha River ferry north of Yuanmou, and then taken down the river by small boat to Nanjing City.
One letter was sent to Jinling City, and the other was sent to Beijing by express horse.
Before Li Dingguo recaptured the Yunnan provincial capital, a major event also occurred in Beijing.
Spring Examination!
Three exams will be held on the 9th, 12th and 15th of the second lunar month.
Three days each.
All candidates who passed the provincial examination could go to Beijing to take the exam.
Those who were admitted were called Jinshi, which meant they had official status and could serve as officials in the court at any time.
During the Ming Dynasty, the number of Jinshi candidates admitted changed frequently.
There was no quota at the beginning. The number ranged from two to three hundred to nearly five hundred people, regardless of north or south.
In the first year of Hongxi, the quota for admission to the Jinshi degree was set, with six out of ten people from the south and four out of ten from the north.
During the Xuande and Zhengtong periods, the practice of splitting examinations into separate papers was introduced.
There is one set of papers in the south, one set in the north, and another set of papers in the provinces between the north and the south.
Students who pass the joint examination can take part in the palace examination and have the opportunity to meet the emperor face to face.
Although Chongzhen wanted Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu, Wang Fuzhi and others to be on the list, he did not help after careful consideration.
There are two reasons.
First, it is not conducive to their growth.
Second, once the news leaked out, the reputation of him, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and several of his students including Huang Zongxi would be completely ruined.
People are not worried about scarcity but inequality!
We cannot set a precedent for cheating.
The results of the examination came out very quickly.
To Chongzhen's surprise, Wang Fuzhi, the youngest of the three thinkers of the Ming Dynasty, actually passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.
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