All Heavens and Worlds Modified History System

Chapter 241 Han Powu, shut up!

The Funing Hall, the imperial palace of Bianliang City.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty~~~"

The shouting outside the window woke Chen Ran up from his sleep.

He raised his hand to rub his eyes and responded in a low voice, "What's the matter?"

"There is an urgent military envoy four hundred miles away, reporting the military situation to the Privy Council."

Hearing this, Chen Ran immediately sat up and his spirits returned to normal. "Where did the military report come from?"

"Huaixi."

Upon hearing the area, Chen Ran immediately understood that Tong Guan's army had finally received the news and turned around to fight back.

Before confronting the Jin army head-on, the enemy force that Chen Ran paid most attention to was Tong Guan's hundreds of thousands of elite imperial guards.

It is said that of the Song Dynasty's annual military expenditure of more than 50 million strings of cash, only one-tenth or 20-thousandth of it actually fell into the hands of soldiers across the country.

Most of these ten or twelve miles were used to support the elite troops of the Western Army and the last elite troops of the Bianliang City Imperial Guard.

That is the tens of thousands of troops under Tong Guan's command.

If the 50 million strings of cash were all spent on the one million Song troops every year, wouldn’t that be one million elite troops?
Forget about Song Jiang and Fang La. When facing a million elite Song troops, the Khitan and Jurchen had to kneel down and call him "brother~" and perform songs and dances to liven up the atmosphere.

Unfortunately, most of the military pay became a feast for the powerful and was divided up and devoured.

It was precisely because of these military pay that the abnormal prosperity of the city of Bianliang was created.

So many famous officials and high-ranking officials in the court could spend huge amounts of money in brothels and buy all kinds of luxury goods in bulk without blinking an eye, because money came so easily and they were naturally willing to spend it.

As the saying goes, "Today I have nothing to do, so I listen to music in the brothel. The sixteen notes of Yanyun are all in my drunken dream."

Behind this was the extreme decline in the combat effectiveness and morale of the millions of Song troops.

Chen Ran quickly got up and dressed, and told Zhao Fujin, who looked tired and had been woken up, "It's none of your business, go back to sleep."

He arranged for people to summon all the generals to the Privy Council for a military meeting, and they also had breakfast here.

"Tong Guan, that eunuch, the army set out from Yangzhou City, marched along the canal, and headed straight for Nanjing City (Yingtian Prefecture)."

As the one who recommended and accompanied Chen Ran to Tokyo City, Hu Yanzhuo had no other choice at this time and devoted himself to serving under Chen Ran.

After all, he was too deeply involved with Chen Ran before. From officials to dignitaries, everyone regarded him as Chen Ran's accomplice, and there was no way he could clear himself.

When there is no choice, then there is no need to choose. Hu Yanzhuo simply followed Chen Ran and is now in charge of the military affairs of the Privy Council.

"There are about 120,000 soldiers and horses." Hu Yanzhuo continued to introduce the military situation. "The Bianliang Imperial Guards led by Wang Bing were left in the southeast."

"They are going to Huaixi." Yang Zhi stared at the map. "Where will they get the food and money?"

"They looted the southeast, without distinguishing between the gentry, the rich and the common people." Hu Yanzhuo explained, "They even took away the crops they planted."

Upon learning about this, everyone's faces suddenly changed and they started shouting and cursing.

If we rob the people of their crops, there will be starvation everywhere.

"He's a jerk, but he's really cruel." Chen Ran had a blank expression on his face. "He was very kind to the Tanguts and Khitans, but he's so cruel to his own people. We must capture him alive and chop him into pieces!"

"Arrange personnel to go to various places in Huaixi to spread the news of Tong Guan's evil deeds in the southeast."

"The people of Huaixi have always been tough and brave. They will not sit idly by and watch their food and property being taken away."

"If Tong Guan comes to Huaixi, at least skin him alive!"

Chen Ran has made a decision. "Yang Zhi, Hua Rong, Lu Zhishen, Li Ying and others will stay in Bianliang City. Hu Yanzhuo, Wu Song, Hu Cheng and others will follow me to Yingtian Prefecture to fight against Tong Guan's troops."

Everyone accepted the order in unison, and Hu Yanzhuo immediately asked, "My king, how many troops will be sent?"

"Tong Guan has 120,000 men, and I will also send 120,000, totaling 300,000 troops." He turned to look at Li Ying and said, "All the money, food and military supplies will be in your charge."

"Don't worry, my king. If I fail to meet you on time, I will bring my head to you!"

"You don't have to come to see me if the grain delivery is delayed." Chen Ran waved his hand, "Go and explain to the soldiers who have no food to eat."

The soldiers who had no food to eat would usually hack to death the grain transport officers they saw, and the even more unfortunate ones would be thrown into the pot and cooked.

"We have calculated the distances on both sides and the obstacles along the way." Hu Yanzhuo continued to calmly explain the situation. "Around the tenth day of next month, we should be across the river from Xiacai and Shouzhou."

"Big leader." Lu Zhishen said in a carefree manner, "Let me go with you. When we reach Xiacai, we will burn our boats and cross the river to fight to the death."

"You are from the Western Army." Chen Ran refused very straightforwardly. "Tong Guan has many acquaintances under his command. You should stay behind and take good care of the palace. Don't let those who deserve to be cut into pieces escape alive."

"As for burning the boats," Chen Ran replied solemnly, "It's OK, but it's not me. Tong Guan has to do it himself."

Lu Zhishen was puzzled and full of doubts.

"We have plenty of money and military supplies here. Bringing troops to fight is a way to sharpen our military strength. We can afford to waste time, but what can Tong Guan do? Even if he plunders the land of Huaixi, how can the people of Huaixi tolerate him? When the time comes and food and money are scarce, they will either flee directly or fight to the death and force their way across the river to fight a decisive battle."

"Burn the boats?" Chen Ran paused slightly. "Does he think he is the Overlord of Chu?" Burning the boats is indeed an excellent strategy to boost morale. In short, it means 'risking death in order to survive'.

Fight to the death to survive.

The King of Chu was able to do this because his personal charm was strong enough, and the soldiers he led were all from Jiangdong, and some were even from his nine clans, who were willing to die for him.

As for Tong Guan, this eunuch without testicles, why would he be so desperate? Just because he could grow a beard even though he had no testicles!
Large-scale troop mobilization has always been a very tedious and lengthy process.

Especially Chen Ran’s main force, most of them were the imperial guards of Bianliang City who had surrendered to him, as well as the good families from villages and towns all over the country who had been recently recruited.

In the past, they either played some musical instrument, sang, carried heavy bags, or did miscellaneous work, or they used hoes to farm.

The military training with adequate food and pay only lasts a few months, and they are all complete rookies.

The distance from Kaifeng Prefecture to Yingtian Prefecture was not that long, but it took more than a month for the army of more than 100,000 to arrive after marching intermittently.

Fortunately, the situation on Tong Guan's side was even worse. He set out from Yangzhou and "replenished supplies on the spot" in Huaixi all the way, but encountered extremely fierce resistance.

With Chen Ran's extensive publicity and the vivid descriptions of the refugees from the southeast, the people in Huaixi resisted the levy extremely fiercely, and the losses caused were even greater than those caused by Fang La.

This also greatly hindered the marching speed of Tong Guan's troops.

As for Chen Ran, the reason why he dared to use so many new recruits to fight against the elite of the Western Army.

On the one hand, he believed that the Han men, who had sufficient food and wages, would be strong enough to fight with their courage.

On the other hand, there are advantages in weapons, equipment and material supplies.

The arsenal of Bianliang City has the largest number of and the best quality military weapons in the world.

When Chen Ran was in the Privy Council, he used various means to seize the military equipment that was supposed to be sent to the southeast, and now all of it is equipped to his own troops.

"The elite of the Western Army are only the elite of the Song Army." Chen Ran, who came to Yingtian Prefecture, was making preparations for the decisive battle with Tong Guan. "If they were really super capable, they would not have been unable to destroy the Western Xia with a population of only 3 million, nor would they have been completely defeated by the Jin people."

"I will use you as a training ground, so that the new soldiers can gain experience and become a sharpening stone for the veterans."

More than ten days later, Chen Ran arrived at Xiacai City.

Standing on the city wall of Xiacai City, you can see the densely packed Western Army camps on the opposite bank.

"Your Majesty, an envoy from the other side has crossed the river and is seeking an audience."

Chen Ran said without turning his head, "Ask about your purpose. Apart from coming here to surrender, I won't discuss any other topics."

Not long after, the captain returned and reported again, "I came to persuade the king to surrender."

"Pfft." Chen Ran spat, "Let him go."

On the opposite bank of Xiacai City is Shouzhou City, and there is a floating bridge across the river between the two cities.

Chen Ran did not destroy the pontoon bridge in order to give the Western Army on the other side a chance to cross the river and fight, but to use it for training.

"General." In Shouzhou City, Commanding Officer Yang Keshi saluted and said, "There are too many soldiers and horses on the other side, and the pontoon bridge is too narrow. If we rashly cross the river to attack, we may be outnumbered."

Liu Yanqing, the governor of Baoxin Army, immediately refuted upon hearing this, "The enemy is just a group of new soldiers who are not good at fighting. As long as the army goes over, it will surely crush the enemy in one fell swoop!"

Liu Yanqing was a man of very high status. He was appointed as the Jiedushi and could be called the Taiwei.

However, his ability was very poor. When he was on the Northern Expedition to Yanyun, he was beaten and fled in panic. He was even worse when facing the Jin people. He would flee as soon as he encountered the enemy and was known as the Long-legged General.

However, the legacy he left behind was very rich. His son Liu Guangshi, who was also very good at escaping, was given the title of one of the Four Generals of the Restoration and was as famous as Yue Fei and Han Shizhong.

Liu Yanqing, who had not yet been beaten by the Khitans and the Jin people, was very confident. "No need to say more. Since we are the vanguard, we should defeat the enemy as soon as possible!"

Xin Xingzong, the commander of the Xihe Front Army under his command, also echoed, "Although the other side has many soldiers and horses, they are not up to the task. Besides, we have no other choice. Whether we move up or down the river, the other side can follow us, so it doesn't matter where we fight."

The Western Army looted extensively in Huaixi, severely offending the local people.

They could hardly muster boats and boatmen to cross the river.

Continuing to move westward along the river would be equivalent to driving into the mountains, and in the absence of supplies, we would inevitably collapse without a fight.

If we go east, the other side can also deploy troops to the east. We can't go all the way east through the Huaixi area full of hateful eyes, but we can't just walk to the seaside.

"Xin Xingzong." Liu Yanqing, who was appointed as the vanguard by Tong Guan, immediately ordered, "Immediately lead our troops across the river, defeat the rebels and seize Xiacai City!"

With insufficient food and supplies, and the local area full of enemies, a quick victory was the only way out.

Xin Xingzong, who had snatched away Han Shizhong's great achievement of capturing Fang La in history, immediately accepted the order proudly, "Taiwei, rest assured, I will win the battle!"

Xin Xingzong's troops had more than 3,000 people. When crossing the river, they were not good at swimming, and more than ten people accidentally fell into the water while walking on the shaking floating bridge.

"We are not good at water battles, and we have to take this floating bridge. This is clearly a case of playing to one's weaknesses and avoiding one's strengths."

There was a burly general in the marching column who kept complaining, which immediately caused Xin Xingzong to scold him, "Han Powu, shut up!"

(End of this chapter)