Fu Shanhe

Chapter 129: The Strategy for the Pacification of Liao

Liaodong front.

"Bastard!"

"How do they fight each other?"

“I asked you to lure out the enemy.

This is to lure the enemy, to lure the enemy!
I'm not asking you to attack the city!

......"

After being blocked for several consecutive days, Huugjil Chanyu was filled with anger.

But his subordinates were still not at ease. His order was clearly to lure the enemy, but some of them actually went to attack the city anyway.

There were no accidents, and apart from leaving behind a few hundred corpses, the battle record was almost negligible.

"Great Chanyu, the people of Yu are of the turtle type.

Since the outbreak of the war, they have never taken the initiative to attack once.

According to the intelligence collected, Bao Zhiyong, the Liaodong governor appointed by Emperor Yu, was a defensive general.

We have stopped the invasion of Guifang and Wala many times before, and it may not be easy to lure them out for a decisive battle."

Erde persuaded nervously.

Compared with the Dayu Dynasty, their strength is still too weak.

The previous victories were all achieved in field battles.

The Tatar people, whose entire population is a soldier, are mainly composed of cavalry, and their infantry consists only of the surrendered soldiers from Dayu who have been incorporated.

This group is still small, with a total of less than 20,000 people, and they mainly serve as auxiliary troops.

It is obviously hopeless to use such a small number of infantry to capture the enemy's heavily guarded city.

“It’s not easy, but we have to do it!
If it were easy, what would we need you for?
The Emperor of the Yu Dynasty is planning a counterattack. If we don't strike hard enough to hurt them first, there will be no peace.

With Dayu's human, financial and material resources, it can easily arm hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry.

By then, even if all the tribes on the grassland unite, they will not be their match!"

Huugjile shouted angrily.

The news that the Chanyu of Beilu, who was regarded as a mortal enemy by Dayu, was actually a Yu-phobia patient would probably shock many people if it were to get out.

However, no one present expressed any objection.

Judging from the data on paper alone, the Dayu Dynasty was a true behemoth.

The country has a population of over 10 million, nominally has an army of over 2 million, occupies the most fertile land of the era, and possesses the most advanced weapons of the time.

No matter how you look at it, Dayu has the power to crush a group of grassland nations.

Even though they had won many battles against Yu before, everyone still felt fearful.

The Tatars’ strategic plan was not to destroy Dayu.

Even the most optimistic people at this time only wanted to drive the Yu people out of Liaodong.

Then sign a peace agreement and become one of the many vassal states of Dayu.

"Great Chanyu, since the Dayu army refuses to come out, we will force them to come out.

Since Guangning Wei is difficult to attack, let's attack Gaizhou Wei, Fuzhou Wei and Jinzhou Wei first.

The people of the Yu Dynasty are best at infighting. If Bao Zhiyong does not help, we will spread rumors.

By then, the censors of the Yu Dynasty will definitely impeach Bao Zhiyong.

Perhaps we don't need to do anything, the ministers of the Yu Dynasty will take action to help us get rid of this stumbling block!"

Nichileg on the side suggested.

Wherever there are people, there are disputes.

Mocking the Dayu Dynasty for being good at internal strife, in fact the Tatars are not much worse.

It’s just that their base is small, and they have a common enemy, Dayu, on their side, so the situation does not allow them to fight among themselves.

During the attack on Dayu alone, the Tatars were divided into three factions.

One faction was firmly opposed to attacking Dayu and advocated conquering Goguryeo first and seizing the lands of the Three Han.

One faction advocated breaking through the Guangning defense line, seeking a decisive battle with the main force of the Dayu border army, and forcing the Emperor of Dayu to recognize their status.

Another faction advocated using the Liao River as the boundary, first conquering the three guards of Gaizhou, Fuzhou and Jinzhou, and then taking over the land north of the Liao River.

In the previous high-level meeting, the decisive battle faction headed by the Great Khan Huugjil had an absolute upper hand.

As the attack was hindered, the situation gradually changed.

Everyone's confidence in breaking through the Guangning defense line became less and less certain, and many people became conservative.

As the eldest brother of the Great Chanyu, Nichileg held a position second only to the Chanyu among the Tatars.

The suggestions put forward at this time represent the conservative position of the Tatar people.

Compared with the solid Guangning defense line, the three isolated guards of Gaizhou, Fuzhou and Jinzhou seem to be much easier to bully.

It would be best if they could force the enemy to come out for a decisive battle. Even if the enemy fails to fall into their trap, they can still consolidate their rear.

Huugjile glanced at everyone and knew the answer from everyone's evasive gazes.

After encountering a bump on the Guangning defense line, everyone was no longer as tough as before, and no one wanted to take on this tough challenge.

"Let's leave one Wan Hu behind to continue keeping an eye on the Yu army in Guangning, and the rest of us can go to fight the three guards!"

Huugjile gave the order in an unhappy mood.

It’s not easy to be the boss these days, especially to be the boss of the Tatar tribe where the law of the jungle prevails.

The younger brothers below all hold great power.

Several of his brothers were also restless, just waiting for him to make a mistake so that they could counterattack and take over.

Deep down, he had made up his mind that once he won the battle, he would put his internal affairs in order.

……

Guangning City.

"Report!"

"Reporting to the commander, the enemy army has separated a group of troops and is heading towards Gaizhou!"

After receiving this news, Bao Zhiyong nodded slightly.

The actions of the Northern Barbarians were completely within his expectations.

As a defensive commander, after witnessing the solidity of Guangning's defense line, he knew that the Northern Tartars would not fight to the death here.

For the Northern Tartars, in addition to the Guangning Defense Line being a shackle on them, the three coastal guards are also a major threat.

As long as the three places are in the hands of the imperial court, Dayu can send troops at any time to harass their rear.

If this thorn is not removed, the Northern Tartars will never be able to move south with peace of mind.

In order to strengthen the defense of the Three Guards, Bao Zhiyong wrote to the court early and sent the navy to transport strategic materials to the Three Guards.

If necessary, reinforcements can be sent from the sea to the three locations.

"Pass the order down. All units must guard the city strictly and ignore the actions of the northern barbarians."

Bao Zhiyong gave the order calmly.

As the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, he was not afraid of the Northern Tartars attacking the city, but he was afraid that the Northern Tartars would do nothing.

Given the strength of the three coastal cities, the Northern Tartars would have to pay a heavy price if they wanted to break through.

Even if the three territories were lost, the imperial court could still recover them from the sea.

The Northern Tartars have no navy, so if they want to ensure the safety of their rear, they must divide their troops and station them there.

Weaken the enemy's military strength, stretch the enemy's front line, and kill the Northern Tartars through attrition.

The only drawback of his strategy to pacify Liao was that it took a little longer and consumed an astronomical amount of manpower, material resources and financial resources.

After hesitating for a long time, Bao Zhiyong sighed secretly, and then put aside the "Plan to Pacific Liao" that he had prepared for a long time.

If Emperor Tianyuan is in good health, this would be the best strategy to pacify Liao.

We advanced steadily on the front battlefield, divided our troops into groups and continuously harassed the enemy's rear from the sea, thus weakening the enemy's war potential.

After three to five days, the Northern Barbarians will become history.

Although a victory won by slow and steady efforts may not lead to a brilliant record, it will not lead to a major defeat either.

“Don’t worry, Commander, the three coastal guards will not be lost.

At this season, the Bohai Bay will not freeze.

The sea routes are controlled by the imperial court. If they can't hold on, they can just send reinforcements from the sea.

Prolonged fighting is also a test for the Northern Tartars' logistics.

It will take at most a year or two, and then they will withdraw their troops.”

Seeing that General Bao was in a bad mood, Liaodong General Cao Kaiwei spoke to comfort him.

The Liaodong generals were still very supportive of the new Liaodong governor.

There are two reasons. He will neither withhold everyone's military pay nor force everyone to go out and fight the Northern Tartars.

The previous general of Liaodong died in a decisive battle with the Northern Tartars, and countless Liaodong men shed their blood on the battlefield.

Although it was caused by a variety of factors, leaving the city to fight the Northern Tartars would mean risking one's life.

"Of course, I know about these things, but the court...

Hey!
Reinforcements have already set out from various places. Once they are gathered, it will be time for a decisive battle with the Northern Tartars.

The problem is that the enemy is different from us. If we can’t defeat them, we can just run away.

Referring to the previous encirclements and suppressions organized by the imperial court, most of the time the enemy's lair was conquered. But that was meaningless, as the main force of the Northern Tartars could not be annihilated. The more territory captured, the longer the battle line would be.

Not only will it fail to bring help, but it will increase the probability of failure.

This governor has already submitted a letter to the court, stating the pros and cons, but the result is not optimistic! "

Bao Zhiyong shook his head and said.

He belongs to the neutral faction in the court.

The fact that he was able to serve as the governor of Liaodong was partly due to the lack of experience in commanding troops among the civil servants, and partly due to the mutual compromise among various factions in the court.

Without the support of any factional forces, he, as the governor of Liaodong, had very limited say in the issue of pacifying Liaodong.

"Commander-in-Chief, since we can't stop it, let's just go with the flow.

Compared with the northern barbarians, our biggest advantage is that the imperial court has more soldiers.

In addition to the front battlefield, you can also open up several rear battlefields to make it difficult for the enemy to take care of both the front and rear.

You might as well calculate which troops in North Korea are capable of fighting and make strategic deployments in advance.

If a real fight breaks out, we can attack on multiple fronts and won’t suffer much loss.”

Cao Kaiwei suggested with his own agenda.

It's easy to say that we should open up a multi-line battlefield.

But when it comes to actual implementation, there are many difficulties.

It is true that Dayu has many soldiers, but those are only soldiers on paper. There are only a handful of troops that can actually fight.

If you risk sending your elite troops to the rear, the pressure on the front battlefield will be reduced, but the troops who go deep behind enemy lines will be in danger of their lives.

If you are not careful, you will be defeated one by one by the enemy. This is a typical case of teammates sacrificing themselves.

"Just watch for now!"

Bao Zhiyong replied expressionlessly.

Such a simple calculation naturally could not be hidden from his eyes.

As the general of Liaodong, it is completely understandable that Cao Kaiwei made plans for the troops under his command.

But as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, Bao Zhiyong had to consider the overall situation.

If he really sent troops there without thinking and gave a lot of heads to the Northern Tartars, his career as a commander would be over.

However, he still kept this plan in mind.

The risk is indeed a bit high, but war is bound to be risk-free.

……

Yangzhou Prefecture.

"Pass the order down, all soldiers going out to the battle will be given one ounce of silver and five catties of salt.

As the main cavalry battalion, its military merits are calculated separately.

The reward for killing a pirate is two taels of silver, ten taels for a small pirate leader, and fifty taels for a big pirate leader.

All rewards will be paid in full, and no one will be left without a reward!"

After the war subsided, Li Mu began the post-war work.

Frankly speaking, these rewards are not high, and can even be said to be shabby.

But the army has its own rules, and a one-sided massacre in battle means that the military merit cannot be calculated too high.

If the reward amount is set too high, he, the lieutenant general, will go bankrupt after a great battle.

After all, after layers of deductions, only a small amount of the reward money distributed by the imperial court was left.

"Commander-in-Chief, it would be wrong to just hand out the salt!

Our battle report stated that we did not capture any spoils.

Distributing physical objects at this time can easily give others an advantage.

Especially the owners of these salt fields, each one is more powerful than the other, it would be troublesome if they came to claim the spoils.”

Shu Zhongyi persuaded tactfully.

As the first hero of this war, he has established a firm foothold in the Yangzhou camp and is no longer that unknown figure.

However, the instinctive habits he had developed over a long period of time still made him full of fear of the powerful people in the court.

I'm afraid that one might get into trouble if I'm not careful.

"Don't worry.

I have already communicated with the real owners of the major salt fields, and the responsibility for this pirate invasion will not fall on us.

After all, we are bound by the Dayu Law, and without the order from the Nanjing Ministry of War, we have no right to send troops privately.

The more important a person is, the more taboo he is about these things, and no one wants His Majesty to think too much about them.

From now on, everyone just needs to take good care of these salt fields and prevent pirates from causing trouble.

A little bit of spoils is totally insignificant to the boss behind it, and they won’t take it seriously.”

Li Mu said with confidence.

The owner behind the salt field is so easy to talk to because we are from the same circle.

The distinction between civil and military affairs is only limited to the stage.

Once you go behind the scenes, this boundary is not so obvious.

The pirate incident further highlighted the importance of the Yangzhou Camp, and no normal person would offend it.

If things really get out of hand, it won't be just a group of pirates attacking us, but we'll be encountering pirates every now and then.

It is difficult to maintain peace in an area, but it is very easy to disrupt the order in an area.

The reason for distributing salt to soldiers was simply because salt accounted for too large a proportion of the captured spoils.

It's fine to keep it for your own use, but if you sell it, you're challenging the bottom line of the salt field owner.

People spent a lot of money to buy the salt field and also contracted a tax quota.

Li Mu knows exactly what business can be done and what business cannot be done.

Selling private salt and disrupting the official salt market are affecting people's core interests.

Even if they really wanted to sell contraband salt, it would be the salt field owners who paid the taxes who would do the selling.

……

The mission of suppressing pirates came to an end, and the Yangzhou camp became busy again.

The land borrowed from Yangzhou Prefecture finally ushered in a bumper harvest.

For the soldiers who personally participate in farming, nothing can make them feel more at ease than seeing the spring grain being stored in the warehouse.

It can be seen that everyone is afraid of being hungry.

Although they were exhausted from harvesting every day, the soldiers always had smiles on their faces.

Although everyone was able to fill their stomachs after following Li Mu, the food they bought still made them feel insecure.

I was afraid that one day the army would run out of money and I would have to live a life of hunger and starvation again.

The situation is different now. The grains in front of us are all produced from military fields.

"Sir, after deducting the share of the hired households, this year's spring grain harvest was 120,000 shi, slightly less than expected.

The main reason was that during the rush to plant last year, in order to expand the planting area, we did not cultivate the land carefully.

The employers made all the arrangements, and from the next season onwards the land was well cared for.

The number of reclaimed fields will increase, the yield per mu will also increase, and the autumn grain income will definitely increase significantly.

In addition to keeping the food for our own use, we can also sell some of it for cash.”

Lan Linjie reported excitedly.

As the chief steward of Yangzhou Camp, financial issues have always been his biggest problem.

Even with the compensation from minerals, it is only possible to barely break even.

The situation is different now.

With the spring grain being stored in the warehouse, there will be no need to purchase staple food from outside, which will save a lot of expenses.

"Mr. Lan, there is no need to sell the grain this time.

The soldiers regarded these grains as their treasures. If they were sold at this time, it would inevitably undermine the morale of the army.

Build more granaries and store all the food.

After the autumn grain is stored in the warehouse, if the army has too much grain, we will distribute some of it as military pay."

Li Mu lied seriously.

I don’t know whether selling grain will affect morale, but one thing is certain: grain prices will rise this year.

The Liaodong War affected not only Liaodong, but also the surrounding provinces, which needed to draft able-bodied men to go to the front line to perform labor service.

A large number of laborers have been withdrawn, and the grain production in the northern provinces will inevitably be affected.

If the weather is not good and some natural disasters occur, the impact will be even greater.

No matter how the situation changes, as long as you have food in your hands, you will not panic.

Although Li Mu had no intention of hoarding goods and taking advantage of the national crisis to make a fortune, he still had to reserve some emergency food.

"Students understand!"

Seeing that Li Mu had made up his mind, Lan Linjie immediately replied.

……

(End of this chapter)