Fu Shanhe

Chapter 149 Ambitious
"The rebels are so arrogant that they didn't even deploy heavy troops at the port!"

Putting down the telescope, Jing Yifeng said with a look of surprise.

The landing operation went very smoothly.

The rebel soldiers who remained at the port fled after the first round of artillery fire.

No effective resistance was organized at all.

“It’s not that the rebels are arrogant, but they simply can’t take care of it.

Lianzhou Port gradually developed after the prosperity of maritime trade.

In the early years of the founding of the country, this place was still a barren land.

The coastal defense artillery deployed by the imperial court were all completed in the first fifty years of the founding of the country, and Lianzhou was not among them.

The White Lotus rebels did not have the ability to cast large-caliber artillery.

It is impossible to deploy coastal artillery. To stop our landing, at least thousands of elite troops must be deployed.

The rebels have only been rising for a few months and do not have many elite troops.

It looked like there were hundreds of thousands of troops, but in fact they were just a group of farmers who had just put down their hoes.

With equal military strength, they could not even defeat the garrison troops.

Arranging people to stay here is nothing more than to pass on the news as soon as possible when someone lands."

Li Mu explained with a smile.

The decision to land in Lianzhou was not made on a whim; he had done sufficient homework beforehand.

If there were complete coastal defense fortifications here, he would never take his troops into danger.

There are many places bordering Guangdong and Guangxi. If an attack comes from the neighboring country, at most Guangdong Province will take away some of the credit.

"As long as you have a plan in mind, my dear nephew, I owe you a favor for this matter.

Next, we will hold the port and wait for the enemy to come and die?"

Jing Yifeng said in a sophisticated manner.

The tone was seriously inconsistent with his age, but the seniority of both parties was there, so there was nothing wrong to find fault with.

"Uncle Qi, you're too polite. We are all family, there's no need to be so clear-cut.

Besides, this achievement is also risky. If the White Lotus rebels attack at all costs, I alone will not be able to handle it.

We have accomplished a great feat by completing the landing and infiltrating the rebels' rear.

The next battle to quell the rebellion will still depend on the other three armies.

If the rebels from Lianzhou Prefecture come here to die, then we can just get rid of them.

If these people don't come, then we can rest in the port for a while and wait for the counterattack."

Li Mu replied calmly.

He really wanted the credit for suppressing the rebellion.

But it was not in his interest to wipe out all the rebels in one fell swoop.

In the Dayu Dynasty, it was a crime for a general to be unable to fight, and it was also a crime for him to be too good at fighting.

As a family of nobility, they have to learn the ways of officialdom since childhood.

The Yangzhou Camp and the Huai'an Camp are recruited soldiers, and their combat effectiveness is stronger than that of ordinary troops. This is very normal.

But the problem now is that the several encirclement and suppression armies, with a registered strength of hundreds of thousands on paper, are being defeated one after another by the rebels.

Under such circumstances, Li Mu could only restrain himself.

If they fought too hard and the imperial court thought that their fighting power was invincible, they would probably be thrown directly onto the battlefield in Liaodong.

Li Mu is not afraid of fighting with the Northern Tartars, but he can't stand the large number of stupid teammates.

The Liaodong generals have long regarded Liaodong as their private territory. They only like cannon fodder and scapegoats, and do not welcome strong dragons to share resources.

“In fact, we can find an opportunity to attack westwards and cut off the connection between the rebels and the Annan people.

The contemporary King of Annan is ambitious and will definitely take action when he sees the rebellion in Guangxi.

But this will put a lot of pressure on you and me.

Not only did they have to face the rebels' counterattack, but they also had to face the provocations of the Annan people.

Once ambition is born, it will not be easily let go.

The future of Guangxi is destined to be turbulent, and there may even be a war with the Annan people.

Forget it, this credit is too expensive.

At a time like this, it’s best not to stand out too much.

Otherwise, if the imperial court issues a transfer order and keeps us in Guangxi, it will be disastrous.”

Jing Yifeng said in a contradictory manner.

To achieve great things is the dream of every general, but one must always face reality.

Compared with the wealthy Yangzhou and Huai'an, Guangxi is a poor and remote place.

Although it is nominally a province, its actual fiscal revenue is not even as high as that of a wealthy prefecture.

The most fundamental reason why the White Lotus rebels were able to grow so powerful was that the local people were too poor.

Life was hard enough, and they had to endure exploitation by landlords, gentry and chieftains.

“There are pros and cons!

Uncle Qi, at our age, it’s not easy to make further progress in our careers.

Your father-in-law has to consider the influence, so even if he wants to promote you, it won’t be a good place.

Work hard to gain experience and get promoted half a level every three years.

If everything goes well, he can be appointed as the general of a town, or the commander-in-chief of a province in ten years.

If you stay in Guangxi, this time can be saved by at least half.

The position of regent is time-limited. If you and I don't take advantage of this opportunity to step forward, it will be difficult for our future careers to be so smooth."

Li Mu encouraged from the side.

Military generals develop quickly in the early stages and can reach a certain position, but their subsequent development ceiling is very narrow.

Now they all have connections in the court, and if they have made enough contributions or have enough qualifications, they can be promoted.

One emperor and one courtier.

If the new emperor trained new people from among the nobles, or simply relied on the Ministry of War, the power of the Governor's Office would be further weakened.

By then, the support that the family can provide will be greatly reduced.

Looking at the actions of my uncle and father-in-law, I know that they are already preparing for a possible change of power.

The Huai'an Camp and the Yangzhou Camp were transferred together to quell the rebellion in order to create opportunities for the two.

In fact, they were not the only ones who got the opportunity, but also some members of the clan appeared in the army to suppress the rebellion.

It’s just that these people’s past performance was inferior and they obtained fewer political resources.

Now the two of them can work on their own, while the others have to obey the orders of the civil servants.

“Don’t tempt me.

Guangxi’s prerequisites are already inferior.

Unless the chieftains can be reformed and their influence eliminated, it will be difficult to make any progress.

The local finances are not rich, and the military pay alone is enough to make people worry to death.

What's more, the Annamites are eyeing us covetously.

If you are really anxious to get promoted, you might as well find an opportunity to transfer back to Guanzhong. Your Li family came from Guanzhong and has a great influence in the local army.

If I had worked in the past, I would have been able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.”

Jing Yifeng refused immediately.

The top nobles all have their own base, but their influence is usually limited to one area.

Those nobles whose influence spread across the country fell first in the political struggles in the early years of the founding of the country.

Like the two of them, they ran to Nanzhili to develop and benefited from the power vacuum after the rebellion of the Lianghuai families.

After the pillar of the family took up the post of assistant minister, the development space for the children of the two families was further expanded.

But no matter how hard you try, there is a limit.

Unless a large-scale rebellion occurs and the local hereditary military forces are eliminated, it will be difficult for outsiders to gain a foothold.

Many generals and commanders-in-chief have no status in front of civil officials. In addition to the fact that their logistics are restricted by others, another important factor is that they are unable to control their subordinates.

After the Guangxi rebellion, the local generals were gone, but the chieftains remained.

"It's a simple matter. The White Lotus Rebellion could have grown so quickly without the participation of the chieftains.

When we recapture Lianzhou, we can get rid of the local chieftain at the same time.

Removing a state capital means one less state capital’s troubles.

Under the guise of suppressing the rebellion, they eliminated some of the chieftains' power and laid the foundation for their transformation into a democratic society.

All the ministers in the court are rare and wise, and the current emperor is also a man with ideas.

I think they will not let go of this opportunity to go down in history."

Li Mu said frankly.

When he was in Yangzhou, not only was the prefectural office keeping an eye on him, but the governor's office, the provincial judge's office, and the six ministries of Nanjing were all nearby.

With so many "mother-in-laws" managing him, his room to perform is very limited.

It’s not that he is ambitious, it’s mainly for self-protection.

The empire of Dayu has been declining.

The abilities demonstrated by the current emperor are truly worrying.

The way to survive is to enjoy life in the south of the Yangtze River in times of peace and to avoid disaster in remote places in times of chaos.

Guangxi is not the best choice, but it is the most suitable choice for him at the moment.

As for returning to Guanzhong to take up a post, just think about it.

Family connections can be both a help and a hindrance.

All the internal interests have been divided up, so even if he goes there, he can only drink the soup.

What's more, the Dayu court never gave up suppressing military generals.

We can deal with it by developing armaments in Guangxi and promoting the Annan threat theory.

If the imperial court doesn't believe it, then start a war on the border. A few battles will make the censors shut up.

He went to Guanzhong to build up armaments, and it was obvious at first glance that he was a traitor.

“It’s best to discuss this matter with your uncle and father-in-law. It’s not easy to be an official in Guangxi.

Even if he served as the commander-in-chief of a province and concurrently as the chief military commander, his life was not as comfortable as in Yangzhou.

Apart from anything else, the land you borrowed from Yangzhou Prefecture alone is a big piece of fat meat."

Jing Yifeng persuaded tactfully.

……

Lianzhou Prefecture.

"What? The government troops are coming?"

Zhou Damao exclaimed.

As a senior member of the White Lotus Sect, his status was second only to the elders of the sect.

After the uprising was successful, everyone rushed to the central government, but Zhou Damao, who had no ambitions, chose to stay behind.

As it turned out, his choice was very correct.

He doesn't have to fight on the front lines, he can have a life of luxury and sleep with different women.

Since he took office as the garrison general of Lianzhou, he has taken fourteen concubines.

Just when he was considering whether to marry again, he suddenly received the bad news that the government troops were attacking.

"General Zhou, this is true.

The government troops launched an attack from the sea, numbering tens of thousands.

I led my troops to resist, but we were defeated, so we had to retreat and report to you."

Zhao Laosan said nervously.

In operas, generals who were defeated in battle would lose their heads.

If he wasn't Zhou Damao's confidant, he wouldn't dare come here to report.

"waste!"

“You can’t stop them with only tens of thousands of government troops.

I still put you..."

As he was cursing, Zhou Damao realized something was wrong.

"Tens of thousands of government troops" is a fatal number.

"Military Advisor Liu, the government troops are coming to attack us. Do you have any good ideas to defeat them?"

Zhou Damao asked the middle-aged scholar beside him.

"General, the main forces of the sect are fighting on the front lines, and there are only 5,000 soldiers left in Lianzhou.

The government troops are coming with great force, and we certainly can’t stop them on our own.

Seeking help from the church is like a drop of water from afar that cannot quench immediate thirst.

The current plan is to spend a large sum of money to bribe the chieftains and ask them to cooperate in sending troops to launch a surprise attack on the government troops.

Anyway, they also shared the benefits of the previous rebellion.

Even if the government troops attack them, they will not let them go.

These chieftains are the most greedy, and there is no doubt that they will not take the bait if you promise them huge profits.

When both the chieftain and the government troops are defeated, we will come out to clean up the mess and we will surely be able to establish unparalleled achievements!"

Military Advisor Liu replied calmly.

Although he looked calm on the outside, deep down he was extremely panicked.

As a failed scholar, he took a job as an accountant and was unfortunately involved in the White Lotus Rebellion.

He himself was absolutely unwilling to do so. If the Dayu Dynasty was so easy to overthrow, the world would have changed hands long ago.

What's more, the rebels were the White Lotus Sect, a cult organization dedicated to rebellion that had been going on for nearly a thousand years but had never succeeded in anything.

No matter how smooth the initial start is, it will end in failure later.

Especially after seeing the extravagant and licentious lifestyle of the White Lotus leaders, he had even less confidence in this uprising.

Unfortunately, we are now on this pirate ship and have no choice but to come up with some advice.

(End of this chapter)