Fu Shanhe

Chapter 173: Incompatible with Military Strategy
When the rebel reinforcements arrived at the battlefield, Li Mu had already held a celebration banquet in the camp. The food and wine were prepared in advance, and the soldiers returned to the camp to eat.

As the military supervisor, Jia Bo was both in pain and happiness at the same time. The first time he saw the densely packed heads, he almost lost half his life.

He could have chosen not to go, but he felt uneasy unless he saw it with his own eyes.

Falsifying battle records is common in Dayu.

The number of enemy troops defeated and the number of enemy troops killed could all be falsified, and even the number of heads of innocent people could be killed to claim credit.

After suppressing his nausea and inspecting the truckloads of corpses, Jia Bo breathed a sigh of relief.

According to convention, after the military inspector has reviewed it, the Ministry of War must send someone to verify it before it can be officially counted as military merit.

"Master Jia, are you okay?"

Li Mu asked with concern.

Everyone was cooperating happily, and he didn't want to replace him with a military supervisor who would cause trouble.

What's more, the two of them had an agreement to work together to promote the policy of native officials in Guangxi and seize the opportunity to leave their names in history.

"fine!"

"Hold a celebration banquet and don't keep the soldiers waiting for too long!"

Jia Bo said with a smile that was uglier than crying.

But he was obviously overthinking it, the celebration party had already begun.

The soldiers' celebration banquets were all held in their respective tents and they would never all gather together.

Among the officers and soldiers who participated in the war, only a few senior generals were still waiting for him, the military supervisor.

“Master Jia, this is the battle report that was just compiled.

If there are no problems, please report it to the elder after you have reviewed it!"

Li Mu said with a smile.

In order to make the battle report more reasonable, he has revised it three times.

"We defeated 50,000 enemy troops, killed 25,000, and took 23,000 heads.

Our casualties were 5,000, but less than 2,000 were killed in action.

The two generals are truly famous generals of the time!"

Jia Bo couldn't help but sigh.

It can be seen that he can grasp the key points, and his eyes are full of groups of cold numbers.

He simply chose to ignore the combat details that were mentioned briefly.

We are all in the officialdom, if we argue too much, we will lose.

Although the number of officers and soldiers dispatched yesterday was less than 5,000, it did not affect the army's casualties of 5,000.

Not to mention the battle record, with more than 23,000 heads lying around, no one could find fault with it even if they said they had defeated 100,000 rebels.

Only 50,000 were reported; that was the enemy's vanguard, and the number was announced to the outside world as 50,000.

With a serious and responsible attitude, Li Mu chose to use the number of people claimed by the rebels as the basis for reporting.

In this regard, there is no need to worry about impeachment by the censor. The enemy's military strength on the battlefield can only be estimated.

There is a slight error, which is completely reasonable.

The court wanted to review it, but there was no place to check.

The only flaw was that in this battle only gains were made, but no prisoners were taken.

"Mr. Jia, thank you for your praise. We are just doing what we should do.

To achieve a great victory, all..."

After a round of business flattery, Jia Bo readily stamped his seal on the battle report.

……

Chinese army camp.

The face of the loyal and filial Marquis Kong Siliu was terribly gloomy.

The action of pursuing the enemy ended in failure as expected.

Apart from gathering a group of useless defeated soldiers, the cavalry was dispatched this time purely to collect the bodies of their own people.

"Pass the order down to cremate the fallen soldiers!"

Kong Siliu gave the order coldly.

If so many corpses are piled together and not dealt with quickly, it will easily cause an epidemic.

Guangxi is the base camp of the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus. Once a plague occurs, the old nest will be destroyed.

“My Lord, those defeated soldiers we gathered together are spreading panic in the camp.

We must take measures as soon as possible, otherwise it will affect the morale of the army!"

Master Zhou at the side spoke up to remind him.

The defeat of the vanguard troops had already caused an uproar in the army.

If the defeated soldiers described their defeat again, it would only increase their panic.

Some timid soldiers might have nightmares even when they sleep.

"Ok!"

"Pass the order down, organize the defeated soldiers into separate battalions and send them to the rear to serve as laborers."

Kong Siliu immediately gave the order.

The defeated soldiers had no fighting power. If he had not considered that there were still many chieftains and soldiers in the camp, he would have wanted to chop these trash to pieces.

After dealing with these trivial matters, the biggest problem facing him was how to fight the next battle.

An army of 200,000 besieged an enemy army of 30,000. If they didn't know how to fight the battle and it got out, they would be laughed at.

But this is exactly what happened.

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

Although his Xunzhou Front Army still has more than 70,000 people left at the moment, its actual combat effectiveness may not be comparable to the enemy's 30,000.

“The defeat of the vanguard troops was mainly caused by my faulty planning and the blind command of the three chieftains of Mengyanghou.

I will report the reason to the Holy Emperor and will not implicate you.

The next battle will rely on your advice and suggestions!"

Kong Siliu took the responsibility alone, which made everyone feel relieved.

This pot is too big for them to carry.

“My Lord, the failure of the plan does not mean that the plan was wrong.

The defeat of the vanguard army was caused by many factors, but the biggest mistake was in execution.

If you are prepared in advance, you can deal with it calmly even if you encounter a night attack.

The three chieftains of Mengyanghou knew that they should camp separately, but because of laziness, they did not keep a safe distance between them, which gave the enemy an opportunity to take advantage.

The main responsibility for this defeat lies with the three of them, not with the Marquis!"

Master Zhou was the first to speak in agreement.

It is a sign of responsibility that Marquis Zhongxiao stepped forward to take the responsibility, but as a subordinate he cannot let the commander-in-chief take the responsibility.

The three chieftains of Mengyanghou who were defeated in the battle were undoubtedly the best scapegoats.

Anyway, the casualties were all soldiers from these three families. As long as they keep their mouths shut, the top leaders of the Holy Kingdom will not pursue responsibility.

“The dead are great!
We didn't know whether the three chieftains were alive or dead, so how could we put the blame for the defeat on them?

You don't need to say more, I will explain this matter to the Holy Emperor."

Kong Siliu said in a pretentiously generous manner.

This is said to the chieftains.

As a commander from a grassroots background, Kong Siliu did not understand what politics was, but he knew that the most important thing in life was face.

If you want people to be cannon fodder, you must calm everyone down.

Anyway, it's just talk and it won't cost you anything.

What to write specifically in the battle report is another matter.

"My Lord, you are unrivalled in benevolence and righteousness. You are truly the martial marquis of the age

……

After a round of flattery, the tense atmosphere in the tent suddenly became relaxed.

The three chieftains who suffered heavy losses were simply ignored by everyone.

Kong Siliu, the protagonist, was not as happy as he looked.

This is all just nonsense, no one even mentioned a specific battle plan.

"All right!"

"According to the intelligence provided by the Xunzhou garrison, the puppet government troops are less than a hundred miles away from us.

The vanguard camp suffered a great defeat because they underestimated the enemy. We must learn a lesson.

Next, each unit must strengthen camp construction and advance steadily.

Especially at night, we must strengthen our vigilance to prevent the enemy from attacking the camp again!"

Kong Siliu gave the order helplessly. Facts have proved that all kinds of ingenious strategies are low-probability events.

Most wars are contests of strength.

After suffering a big loss, everyone became cautious.

Even if you have an idea in your mind, you dare not speak it out easily unless you are sure enough.

If the plan fails and the coach loses his trust, it will affect his career.

……

Wuchang Mansion.

Just as he was worrying about the complete fall of Guangdong, the good news from Guangxi made Lord Xu smile for the first time in a long time.

The Huguang generals were embarrassed when they saw the battle report. The outstanding performance of their colleagues made them look even more useless.

Fortunately, there are still the Guangdong government troops at the bottom, otherwise they would be embarrassed to continue sitting here.

“The Guangxi Campaign has just begun, but we have already achieved a remarkable victory, which is enough to prove that the rebels are not invincible.

All generals should follow the example of Generals Li Mu and Jing Yifeng, and continue to work hard to put down the White Lotus Rebellion as soon as possible! "

Xu Wenyue said with a smile.

In times of national crisis, we need good generals.

Preparations for the emperor's wedding have already begun in the capital, and the date has been set for March.

According to convention, after the emperor's wedding, he would begin the process of ruling the country.

The status of regent can be retained for life, but the power of the empire will gradually shift from the hands of the regents to Emperor Yongning.

This process usually lasts one to two years.

It can’t be any longer. Emperor Yongning is not a patient person.

If it drags on for too long, even the last bit of affection between the monarch and his subjects can’t be preserved.

The few ministers who remained in the capital were all smart people and would definitely not stop the emperor from ruling the country.

In this context, he had to quell the White Lotus Rebellion as soon as possible so that he could catch up with this power reshuffle.

If you want to quell the rebellion quickly, you need your subordinates to be willing to fight for your lives.

In order to stimulate everyone's enthusiasm for suppressing the rebellion, Li Mu and Jing Yifeng, who had performed well in the early stages, became his role models.

Judging from the current results, it is undoubtedly a success.

No matter how much motivation he brought to other troops, at least he set an example and was willing to fight for his life on the battlefield.

The Guangxi Campaign had just begun and it caught the rebels off guard, achieving outstanding results.

If all tribes had this ability, the White Lotus Rebellion could be quelled within the year.

"The elder has a keen eye for heroes. Generals Li and Jing lived up to everyone's expectations, which led to today's great victory!
At this moment, the Hunan Army and the Hubei Army have crossed the Yellow River and will return to Huguang soon. We are about to usher in the moment of a strategic counterattack.

If everything goes well, we can recover Huguang next month!"

The Governor of Huguang, Lu Jingxuan, took the lead in expressing his position, vowing to fully cooperate with Lord Xu in suppressing the rebellion.

As for whether or not we can win, there is no need to worry at all.

The current troops in the province alone are able to hold the front line, so how can we not win after the two recruited soldiers return to support us?

However, this kind of confidence is only limited to civil officials, while military generals are not so optimistic.

While the government troops were increasing their strength, the rebels were also not idle.

In addition to conquering cities everywhere, the enemy is also constantly training new soldiers.

Every time they occupied a place, the rebels would search and confiscate the homes of local gentry and merchants to use as military supplies.

After receiving the money and food, they did not keep them to have children, but quickly recruited young and strong men into the army.

Judging from the treatment of grassroots soldiers, the rebels’ food is much better than that of the official army.

Many officers and soldiers joined the rebel army after being captured.

The top leaders only saw that the rebels were stopped in Changsha, but did not notice that the county towns below were still falling.

Although they are not strategic locations, once these areas fall into the hands of the rebels, they will still enhance the enemy's strength.

"General Han, you seem to have something to say?"

Seeing that Han Song's expression was not right, Xu Wenyue asked.

When he first took office, he really looked down on this defeated general.

However, in recent days, the troops of Huguang have performed well, and his impression of this defeated general has also improved a bit.

"My Lord, the strength of the rebels is growing too fast.

In just one year, they had assembled an army of millions.

In the barren Guangxi, they were able to mobilize 400,000 troops. This is beyond my imagination."

Han Song replied nervously.

Since he couldn't stab his boss in the back, he could only use the rebels' strength as an excuse.

The Holy Kingdom of White Lotus not only expanded rapidly, but also took root in the local area, which was completely different from bandits.

Generally speaking, these rebels who have their own bases are usually more difficult to eliminate.

"Do you suspect there is something wrong with the battle record reported by Guangxi?"

"Ha ha……"

"General Han, you are worrying too much.

The military supervisor I sent to Guangxi has personally verified it, and the Ministry of War will send officials to verify it later. It is impossible to falsify the data.

They killed 25,000 enemies and brought back more than 23,000 heads, which was a completely normal loss.

It was normal that they didn't capture any prisoners. There was a food shortage on the Guangxi front line and they couldn't afford to feed the prisoners.

This is my responsibility as an old man, and I cannot be too harsh on the soldiers on the front line.

Pass the order down, urging all provinces to quickly transport money and grain to Guangxi, so that meritorious officials cannot go to the battlefield hungry."

Xu Wenyue said with a smile.

He was still very tolerant towards generals who could win battles.

He simply filled in the final gap in the battle report with his imagination.

Knowing that his intentions had been misunderstood, Han Song could only nod in agreement.

The governor and the governor were planning a strategic counterattack, and he, a small general, could not stop them at all.

……

Six days have passed since the night attack.

The rebels, who had been cautious all the way, finally arrived outside Pubei County.

It was only a distance of about a hundred miles, but it took six days to finish the journey. If this were to get out, people would laugh at it.

But Li Mu did not laugh. The enemy's caution prevented him from finding a suitable opportunity to fight.

What was expected to be a quick field battle turned into a head-on showdown of strength.

"Commander Li, the rebels are so cautious, should we change our target?"

Jabo suggested.

Beheading rebels, killing elite troops and cannon fodder, the heads have the same value in the eyes of the imperial court.

As a bully who only cares about the weak and fears the strong, he likes to bully newbies.

After experiencing the last night attack, they knew that the chieftain’s army was easy to bully, so naturally they would bully the weak ones first.

At this point in the war, if we turn around and defeat the Nanning rebels, we can still win the battle.

"It's too late to turn around now. We will easily be attacked from three directions by the enemy, resulting in the loss of Lianzhou.

Although the rebel army before us seems to be well organized, there are still many problems.

If more than 20% of the troops in any army are killed or wounded, the morale of the army will be affected.

The enemy's caution actually proves that they are afraid.

A troop that has lost its courage will not be very strong in combat.

Once the enemy has set up camp, we will seize the opportunity to attack and give them a surprise."

Li Mu's answer left Jia Bo confused.

Military books only record launching an attack while the enemy is still unstable, but never record launching an attack after the enemy has set up camp.

"Commander Li, this is not in accordance with military tactics!"

Jia Bo couldn't help but remind him.

What is recorded in the Art of War may not necessarily be useful, but going against the Art of War will definitely not lead to any good results.

Experienced generals will not make these common sense mistakes.

“Master Jia, the military books you have seen have all been edited.

The real art of war has always kept pace with the times and adapted to local conditions. There is no fixed routine.

Just wait and you will know at night!"

(End of this chapter)