Fu Shanhe

Chapter 133 Deploy troops and generals
After some bargaining, the salary was successfully increased from 30,000 to 50,000, and Li Mu left the government office satisfied.

If we involve Yangzhou Prefecture, half of the task will be done.

At the Governor's Office, Li Mu had already made a plan.

If the pirates can come once, they can come twice and report pirate attacks more often.

For the sake of their own political achievements, the officials in the governor's office had to support him in rebuilding the Yangzhou Water Fort.

Of course, you can't act too hasty about this kind of thing, otherwise it will be easy to be exposed.

……

"Sir, I just received an official document that the salt fields in Huai'an Prefecture were attacked by pirates."

Li Mu was delighted when he received the good news as soon as he returned to the mansion, but his expression did not change.

"Which saltworks were attacked? Do you know the details?"

Li Mu asked with concern.

As the Lieutenant General of Yangzhou, he also has a mission, which is to protect the interests of the noble group.

The attack on the salt field in Nantong Prefecture seemed accidental, but in fact it was inevitable.

The coastal salt fields in other areas were not far from the Yangzhou Camp’s base.

If there is any slight disturbance, the nearby garrison will receive the news and arrive at the battlefield within an hour.

In such a short time, even if the robbery was completed, there would be no way to evacuate safely.

For pirates who bully the weak and fear the strong, they rob to make money, not to risk the lives of government troops.

Nantong Prefecture, where there is no military stationed, is undoubtedly the biggest soft persimmon, and it is only a matter of time before it is squeezed.

Even if the Heroes don't take action against them, there will be other pirates who won't be able to resist taking action.

Realizing the seriousness of the lack of armed protection, the owners behind the salt field sent people to communicate with Li Mu.

Later, Yangzhou Camp added three more camps in Nantong Prefecture to ensure local security.

“It’s not clear yet, Huai’an is deliberately blocking the news.

Judging from the information collected, the situation should not be as serious as that in Nantong Prefecture. The pirates withdrew after looting.

The people from Huai'an Camp went over and found nothing."

Lan Linjie replied with a little excitement.

Everything needs comparison.

The failure of the Huai'an Camp highlighted the strength of the Yangzhou Camp.

As a general with a broad perspective, Li Mu had no interest in laughing at his colleagues.

The pirates had obviously learned from their previous lessons and were no longer obsessed with attacking the city.

They just rob and run away, without staying there at all.

Like Yangzhou Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture was also a victim of rebellion by aristocratic families.

Many counties along the coast are essentially undefended to pirates.

At this moment, the main force of the Jiangnan Navy was heading north. Facing the enemy coming from the sea, it was difficult to organize an effective counterattack.

The reason why he chose to start from Huai'an instead of staying in Yangzhou to commit crimes was probably because he was frightened by the previous battle.

After seeing the power of the Yangzhou Camp, any normal person would instinctively choose to give way.

"Pass the order down, and have all departments pay close attention to the situation at sea.

The local government of Tongzhou asked them to organize the people to build beacon towers along the coast and light signal fires immediately when they found any traces of pirates.

Once any trace of pirates was discovered, an official document would be drafted immediately and sent to the Yangzhou Prefecture, the Governor's Office, and the Nanjing Ministry of War.

Remember to make the pirate threat more serious.

Let's say the remnants of the rebels fled overseas and became pirates, specifically opposing the imperial court."

Li Mu said calmly.

From the fact that the pirates attacked the salt field twice, it can be judged that they had a grudge against the owner of the salt field.

Under normal circumstances, pirates would not commit massacres during robbery.

It's not that I have any moral baggage, it's just that there is no need to do so.

Once the bad precedent of massacre is set, people will fight to the death when they go out to rob in the future.

Even if they cannot win, they will destroy all their property before failing.

Unless there is a blood feud, under normal circumstances, no one would do such an extreme thing.

To highlight the seriousness of the problem, it is natural to choose an enemy with weight.

Any problem involving traitors is a serious political issue, and no official dares to take it lightly.

……

Wenyuan Pavilion.

“You all know what your Majesty means.

Let's discuss together where to deploy the troops!"

As he spoke, Pang Hengsheng turned his gaze to the Minister of War Yi Chuanliang.

When it comes to military mobilization, the ones who really have the say are the Ministry of War and the Grand Marshal's Office.

The rest of the officials are amateurs, and they may not even be able to figure out the allocation of domestic troops.

Just listen along. Letting amateurs participate in the discussion is a pure waste of time.

Even Zuo Guangen, who always liked to show off, sat in his seat without saying a word.

For him, there were many opportunities to establish his prestige, so there was no need for him to get involved in military affairs.

If something goes wrong, it will be difficult to clean up the mess.

“The garrison troops are not very useful, and the forces that can be mobilized now are mainly recruited soldiers.

There are only so many troops in Dayu that can fight.

Needless to say, the troops on the nine-border fronts are under great military pressure and cannot be withdrawn at all.

The Beijing Army also had a heavy task. In addition to reinforcing Liaodong, it also had to ensure the safety of the capital.

The military pressure in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi is also very heavy, and the local troops must not move.

Among the remaining troops, the Shu Army, Qin Army, Hunan Army, Lu Army and Hubei Army had the best combat effectiveness.

Further down are the Yangzhou Camp, Huai'an Camp, Yong'an Camp, Tongzhou Camp, and Baoding Camp, which had just been established.

In order to reinforce the three guards of Liaodong, we have drawn troops from the Lu army.

Considering that reinforcements may be needed later, we should not act rashly for the time being.

Guanzhong is close to the nine borders and needs military reinforcements at any time, so it is also not advisable to mobilize them.

The Ministry of War's plan was to draw 20,000 men from each of the Shu Army, Hunan Army, and Hubei Army to form a coalition force of 60,000 men to serve as the Left Route Army.

The Three Thousand Battalion, the Shenji Battalion, the Five Military Battalions, and the Fen, Yao, Lian, and Xian Four Military Battalions, totaling about 60,000 troops, were drawn from the capital to form the Right Route Army.

After the army is assembled, the left and right armies will rush to Liaodong and fight a decisive battle with the northern barbarians together with the local garrison. Considering that the Yangzhou Camp, Huai'an Camp, Yong'an Camp, Tongzhou Camp, and Baoding Camp were established in a short time.

The combat effectiveness has not yet been fully formed, so no arrangements will be made for the time being.

If subsequent wars require it, military deployment will be carried out based on the actual situation.”

Yi Chuanliang said slowly.

This military deployment plan was discussed by the Ministry of War and the Grand Marshal's Office, and was reported to Emperor Tianyuan for approval.

The various troops that needed to be dispatched had received the notice early and were about to arrive at the capital.

Bringing this up at this time is just a routine procedure.

What is different from the past is that this military mobilization involves real troops.

The water in the various departments that were drawing up empty salaries was squeezed out in advance when the plan was formulated.

In order to ensure that food and wages were delivered in place, not only was the Jinyiwei East Factory arranged to supervise, but many officials from the six ministries in Nanjing were also arrested to serve as a warning to others.

“Lord Yi, if we mobilize like this, the military forces at home will be left empty.

If something unexpected happens, can the five newly formed battalions handle it?"

Shi Zhongbo, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, could not help but question.

Nominally, the Dayu Dynasty had a total of more than two million registered soldiers and horses.

However, the ones who really had combat effectiveness were the recruited soldiers who were subsequently formed, and the actual strength totaled only more than 300,000.

The transfer of 120,000 troops to Liaodong was equivalent to deploying half of the empire's military forces to Liaodong.

The remaining troops have to guard nearly 10 million square kilometers of land. The military pressure can be imagined.

"Now that you know you can't handle it, why didn't you do it earlier?

In normal times, it is you in the Imperial College who make the most noise, complaining every day that the imperial court is warmongering.

Don't you think about it? Without these troops protecting us, there would be no peace!"

Yi Chuanliang retorted unhappily.

When they want to expand the military, they just cite the more than two million troops on paper.

When the time came to use military force, everyone lost their sense of security.

As in all previous feudal dynasties, unrest among the people never stopped.

Especially in recent years, various natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued to occur, and civil unrest could occur if we are not careful.

Generally speaking, after these rebels robbed a few landlords, they went up to the mountains and became bandits.

There are only a very small number of people who actually raise the banner of rebellion and make a big fuss.

Most of the rebellions were suppressed by the imperial court in the early stages.

Once the rear is empty, it will be different.

The White Lotus Sect, a professional rebellion hidden among the people, never stopped for a moment.

These evil cult organizations are always thinking about overthrowing Dayu and establishing their own imperial paradise.

To the local gentry, these guys are a greater threat than the northern barbarians.

After all, no matter how powerful the Northern Tartars were, they had no direct impact on them.

"Master Yi, we have a clear conscience in advising the country!
In my humble opinion, there is no need for the imperial court to launch the Liaodong War at this moment.

Instead of spending a lot of money and food on the Liaodong battlefield, it is better to directly defend the city.

The worst situation is to abandon the bitter cold land outside the pass without damaging the national strength of Dayu!"

Shi Zhongbo's output represents the views of a considerable number of officials in the court.

Since the establishment of Dayu, the land of Liaodong has been a money-losing commodity and is not welcomed by everyone.

During the Youyu Dynasty, they had given up so much land that they didn't care about losing Liaodong.

"Shut up!"

"How can we give up our ancestors' legacy so easily?

We have received the emperor's grace for generations, and we should take it as our responsibility to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country.

The invasion of the northern barbarians and their seizure of our Liaodong land is a great shame and humiliation.

Only blood can wash away such humiliation!
Anyone who dares to compromise with the enemy is disloyal and unfilial! "

Zuo Guangen on the side was the first to get angry.

It's not easy to catch Qingliu's handle. It's rare that a fool comes to your door, so you naturally can't let him go.

Unlike in the past, these guys always held high the banner of ancestral rules and criticized him for being autocratic.

This time, the title of righteousness fell into his hands.

Abandoning the ancestral heritage is much more serious than violating the ancestral rules.

Among ordinary people, he is also considered an unfilial person.

If it were put in the court, it would gather all the disloyalty and unfilial people.

No matter who you are, once you are labeled with this label, you are doomed.

Not only will his political career end, but his personal reputation will also instantly turn negative.

Shi Zhongbo realized the seriousness of the consequences and fainted on the spot before he could even explain.

Then two guards came in and dragged the man out.

Throughout the whole process, the ministers remained silent, as if they saw nothing.

There is no way. There are some things you can do, but they must never be said.

Our ancestors gave up the bitter and cold frontier land in silence.

On the surface, the slogans of regaining lost territory were shouted louder than anyone else.

In order to avoid taking responsibility, they will even deal with a few unlucky people involved and let them bear the blame.

When civil servants gather privately, officials usually complain a few words, and everyone discusses the matter and then moves on.

Shi Zhongbo was unlucky. While he was talking nonsense, Zuo Guangen caught him.

"Let the imperial physician take a look. Lord Shi must be possessed by a demon. What he just said does not count.

Next, we will continue the discussion. If you have different opinions, feel free to express them. You will not be punished for speaking out during the court meeting!"

As soon as Pang Hengsheng opened his mouth, the originally tense atmosphere suddenly eased.

Countless members of the Qingliu Party secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, their boss was the Prime Minister and showed responsibility at the critical moment.

Even though the explanation given is a bit far-fetched, it is better than no explanation at all.

As for the unlucky Shi Zhongbo, he has to choose between being crazy and being unfaithful and unfilial.

The former is nothing more than returning home early due to illness, but the latter is a serious political mistake that may lead to eternal infamy.

(End of this chapter)