Fu Shanhe

Chapter 181 Postwar Influence
The operation to capture prisoners lasted for ten days, which was longer than the fighting between the two sides.

Even though the cavalry cut off the enemy's retreat, they still only captured 30,000 people. The remaining rebel soldiers either hid in the mountains or fled to the other side of the river.

Li Mu was naturally dissatisfied with such a record. But there was no other way. The rebel soldiers who wanted to escape had burst out with amazing potential.

If many rebel soldiers had not been unaware that their retreat was cut off and foolishly ran to the ferry, the number of prisoners captured would probably have been even fewer.

The only consolation was that while capturing prisoners of war, the army also recaptured Siming Prefecture.

"Commander Li, General Jing, when will we launch the crossing of the river campaign?"

Jabo asked with concern.

The good news of the victory in the Guangxi Campaign has been sent out, and now the last step is to recover the lost territory.

If we can capture the two important cities of Nanning and Xunzhou, half of Guangxi will be under our control.

“Master Jia, the situation has changed.

I just received news that the Annan people have suddenly deployed troops on the border and may invade at any time.

If the rebels collude with the Annamites and stab us in the back at the critical moment of the river crossing battle, we will be in big trouble.

For the sake of safety, we must first restore the Simingzhou defense line. After ensuring the stability of the rear, we can send troops to recover the lost territory.

The next combat mission will mainly be to recover the land east of Yujiang River and expand our strategic depth.

If the elders can provide more support, we can also take over Leizhou Prefecture, Gaozhou Prefecture, Guanghaiwei and other areas. "

Li Mu said with a serious face.

The Annamites did increase their troops on the border, but the force was not very strong.

Before the war broke out, the Holy White Lotus Nation had an absolute advantage in military strength. Even if the government troops were more elite, the two sides would have engaged in a fierce fight.

The quick end of the Guangxi Campaign also caught the Annamites off guard.

Judging from the intelligence obtained, the Annamites are not yet ready for war.

The Le Dynasty also had a history of more than 200 years, only slightly younger than the Dayu Dynasty.

When any dynasty develops to this stage, it is inevitable that there will be a large backlog of internal contradictions. The efficiency of the government will also decline again and again.

The contemporary Annan King is ambitious and has conquered cities and territories all over the Indochina Peninsula. However, external expansion also requires a price.

Affected by the war, the current Kingdom of Annan is similar to Dayu, and both have financial deficits.

Slightly better than Dayu, they expanded their territory and eased internal conflicts during the war. Once the fruits of the war were digested, their national strength would increase significantly.

"Damn the Annamites!
When the imperial court has time, we will make sure to let them know how powerful we are!
......"

After angrily cursing the Annamites, Jia Bo never talked about sending troops again.

For the rebels, it was simply a matter of selling their father's land for their own benefit, but they dared not gamble with the integrity of the White Lotus.

If we were caught off guard and the rebels and the Annamites got involved and lost large tracts of land in Guangxi, our merit would become a fault.

When serving as an official in the Dayu Dynasty, it doesn’t matter if you don’t make any achievements, but you must not make any mistakes.

Especially the serious crime of losing cities and land, which should not be touched.

……

Wuchang Mansion.

Looking at the good news in his hand, Xu Wenyue, who was always serious, couldn't help but smile.

The Guangxi Campaign was a complete victory, defeating more than 400,000 rebels, killing more than 50,000 enemy soldiers, and capturing more than 100,000 enemy soldiers.

The rebels' forces in the area east of Yujiang River were wiped out by the government troops. Now only a few remnants are left to resist, and it is only a matter of time before they are destroyed.

This was the greatest victory since the outbreak of the White Lotus Rebellion, sweeping away the shadow of the failure of the Guangdong Battle.

“I just received news that our army won a great victory in the Guangxi battle, and the results are very gratifying.

If nothing unexpected happens, a large area east of Yujiang River can be recovered within this month.

However, the Guangxi Front Army had also become exhausted and needed to rest and regroup, while also having to guard against the Annan people taking advantage of the situation to rob.

Pass on my order to take out one million taels from the funds for suppressing the rebellion and allocate it to the Guangxi Front Army for military use.

Another 500,000 taels will be allocated to help refugees and restore production."

After Xu Wenyue finished speaking, the eyes of the civil and military officials below almost popped out.

One million and a half taels is a huge sum of money, enough to make anyone excited.

It's such a big cake, but people can't have a piece of it, so they are jealous.

But this is exactly what Xu Wenyue wants to see.

He doesn't know how to command troops, but he knows how to control people.

If you want your subordinates to work hard for you, you must set an example.

Now that the Guangxi Front Army is performing the best, it is natural that we need to increase resource investment.

As for the fact that doing so would cause the Guangxi Front Army to become the target of public criticism, that was not his concern.

Anyway, the two sides were far enough apart from each other, and the civil and military officials could only express envy and jealousy, and at most make a few criticisms.

"Lord, the fighting on the front lines is intense. Do you think it is possible to..."

Before Huguang Governor Lu Jingxuan could finish his words, Xu Wenyue interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

“Let’s talk about it later!

The purpose of calling everyone here today, in addition to informing you of the good news of the victory in the Guangxi Campaign, is more importantly to organize a counterattack.

The reinforcements sent by the imperial court have already arrived at the front line one after another. The rebels can no longer be allowed to act recklessly.

You are all pillars of the court, please speak out whatever you think!"

The funds prepared by the imperial court to quell the rebellion were limited, and as the governor-general of five provinces, he had to spend the money wisely.

Various methods of defrauding funds have been used countless times in the past.

At the beginning, as long as it involved strategic security, Xu Wenyue would give money readily.

Gradually he realized that something was wrong. The number of strategic locations was too many.

The worst thing was that after he allocated a large amount of money and food, the front line was still losing the battle.

After sending someone to investigate privately, he found out that no matter how much military funds he allocated, the soldiers under him still had to eat coarse food.

After all, he was an old fox in the officialdom, and he did not get angry just because his subordinates embezzled military supplies.

Corruption is Dayu's chronic disease and it cannot be changed by his personal will.

Even if a group of people are replaced, corruption will still occur if the official atmosphere does not change.

Rather than increase uncertainty, it is better to keep these people and continue using them.

However, when it comes to funding, Xu Wenyue starts to block the budget. You can ask for money, but you have to show your political achievements first.

The evaluation criteria are very simple. If we can defeat the rebels and regain the lost territory, then everything will be fine.

If we cannot defeat the enemy on the battlefield, we can forget about expecting any additional funding other than daily military expenses.

"Sir, I propose to gather a coalition of forces from multiple provinces and launch a strategic counterattack against the rebels from Guangdong, Huguang, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi and other regions at the same time."

Yu Xiuwen, the military governor of Jiangxi, suggested this.

After the fall of Guangdong, Jiangxi and Fujian provinces began to face the rebels. Although the rebels had not yet launched a large-scale attack, it was only a matter of time before a war broke out.

In order to strengthen the connection between the two provinces, the two provinces sent officials to Wuchang. Yu Xiuwen was an official sent by the Jiangxi Governor's Office.

“Sir Yu, asking all provinces to coordinate and launch a strategic counterattack is not a simple statement.

How many troops should each province send, where should the attack be launched from, how to respond to emergencies, and how to solve the problem of money and food?

These are all real problems that we need to solve.

Apart from anything else, communication between the various anti-rebellion forces is a big problem.

In the Guangxi Campaign, we took advantage of the rebels' division and defeated the enemies one by one.

With a ready-made case, the enemy can also follow suit.

If the rebels concentrate their forces to attack one route, no one can guarantee whether the other rebel forces can respond in time! "

Lu Jingxuan was the first to object. Having suffered losses in joint operations, he was not interested in the joint military campaign of various provinces.

The failure of the previous joint hunt for Guangxi by the armies of the four provinces proved that it was very unreliable to pin hopes on the integrity of colleagues.

If everyone had cooperated sincerely, the White Lotus rebels would have been suppressed before they even left Guangxi.

After all, the rebels were not so strong at the beginning. They were able to make the current movements only after absorbing the government troops from various provinces to join.

“Governor, the problem you mentioned does exist.

However, suppressing an insurgency is not always smooth sailing and is bound to be accompanied by various problems. We cannot stop doing it just because there are troubles.

The Guangxi Campaign was able to concentrate military forces to defeat the rebels one by one, because the area was small and the distance between the several armies was only two or three days.

The White Lotus rebels spanned several provinces, and the distance was there. It was simply not feasible to concentrate superior forces to defeat them one by one.

If the rebels really do this, it will be an opportunity for us.

The army only needs to advance steadily and gradually towards the front line to recover a large amount of lost territory and reduce the rebels' space for activities.

Guangxi was not wealthy and could not support so many rebels. The situation in Guangdong was slightly better, but the grain production was still low.

Needless to say, the situation in Yunnan and Guizhou is also not rich.

In order to quell the rebellion, the most important thing is to drive the enemy out of Huguang and cut off their food supply.

Even if we have to fight back, we will be able to wear down the rebels!"

Yu Xiuwen replied without changing his expression.

The rebels’ shortcomings are very obvious. Even though their influence spans several provinces, they cannot change the predicament of lack of grain-producing land.

In order to seize the world, the Holy White Lotus Nation must seize a granary as soon as possible. Otherwise, they will be trapped and starved to death sooner or later.

The key to the problem was pointed out, and the pressure was suddenly placed on the Huguang side.

As the largest granary in the world, Huguang must be the focus of the attack by the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, and it is also an important direction for the government army's counterattack.

“Master Yu, it’s correct in theory, but we are not ready for war yet.

At present, the front line of Huguang has just been stabilized. The court in Yunnan and Guizhou is still at a disadvantage, not to mention the strategic counterattack.

After the fall of Guangdong, the reinforcements sent by Jiangxi and Fujian were almost wiped out, and the military forces of the two provinces suffered severe damage.

Now, the only troops that Huguang can rely on are the Hubei Army and the Hunan Army, which together have no more than 20,000 men.

There is only one Shu army town in Yunnan and Guizhou, with just over 10,000 elite soldiers.

The situation in Fujian is similar. Except for one town of elite soldiers, the rest of the troops are equally useless.

The situation in Jiangxi was the best. In addition to the Gan Army, it also received reinforcements from the Yong'an Camp, Tongzhou Camp, and Baoding Camp.

The combined strength of all provinces, the real elite troops numbered no more than 80,000. Adding the two battalions in Guangxi, it was still not enough to gather 100,000 elite troops.

If we divide our forces to siege the rebels, it will be easy for the enemy to take advantage of us.

It is better to concentrate our forces on the front line and directly attack the rebels' lair!"

Lu Jingxuan responded calmly.

"One hundred thousand troops" may not sound like a lot, but with the addition of elite troops, the size suddenly becomes different.

The huge Dayu Empire could only support 200,000 to 300,000 elite troops with the whole country's strength, and this was the result of the massive military buildup during the reign of Emperor Tianyuan.

If it were in peacetime, a 100,000-strong elite army, plus the garrison troops in various places, would be enough to maintain the rule of the Dayu Empire.

If these elite troops could really be concentrated and used, the rebels would be no match for them.

Unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking. If we really draw troops from various provinces, I don’t know how many battle lines will collapse.

As the governor of five provinces, Xu Wenyue did not dare to take the risk at all.

"Okay, you two, let's listen to other people's opinions first!"

Xu Wenyue said with a slightly unhappy tone.

Regardless of whether the plan was reliable or not, at least these two people were giving advice. There was also a large group of people in the room just watching the fun and had no intention of contributing at all.

He deeply hates those guys who just take the salary without doing any work and then like to find fault afterwards.

……

Holy City Palace.

From the moment he received the news that Marquis Zhongxiao was defeated and killed, Shi Rongxuan knew that the situation in Guangxi was going to get worse. But he never expected that the situation would deteriorate so quickly.

According to prior estimates, even if the other two armies could not stop the government troops, they would be able to hold out for a while, buying time for the Holy Kingdom to mobilize reinforcements.

The reality was very disappointing. Without waiting for his order to be conveyed, the other two armies ran away.

The 20,000-strong army of the Holy Kingdom was saved, but the chieftain coalition that acted together unfortunately suffered losses.

From now on, the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus no longer has to worry about threats from the chieftains.

A large number of young and strong men died on the battlefield, and those lucky chieftains who managed to escape can only keep a low profile now.

"Bastard thing!"

"What kind of battles are you all fighting?"

……

Shi Rongxian couldn't help but burst into cursing.

No matter whether he is a confidant or not, when it comes to conquering the world, being a green hand is the original sin.

Fortunately, Marquis Zhongxiao died on the battlefield, otherwise he would have to shed tears and execute Ma Su now.

Fu Sanqi, standing in the middle of the crowd, was very embarrassed at the moment. The failure of the encirclement and suppression he led last time led to the failure of this Guangxi Campaign.

Although he was not responsible for the failure of the Guangxi Campaign, the Holy Emperor's scolding still made him ashamed to face others.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

The ministers said in unison.

If you encounter a thunder that you cannot handle, then everyone should fight together. It is impossible for the emperor to vent his anger on everyone, this is an eternal truth.

After absorbing the demoted officials, the Holy White Lotus Kingdom was gradually influenced. Many official experiences were quickly spread among the officials.

"Calm down!"

"Calm down!"

"Besides talking about calming down anger, what else can you do?"

"The situation in Guangxi has worsened, and the Guangdong and Guangxi regions are unstable. Do you have any countermeasures?"

Shi Rongxian scolded coldly.

The defeat in the Guangxi Campaign not only interrupted the White Lotus Holy Kingdom's rapid progress, but also ruined their national destiny.

Affected by the failure of the war, Guangdong and Guangxi were severely impacted. If they were not careful, their home base would be overturned.

“Your Majesty, although the Guangxi Campaign failed, the puppet army also paid a heavy price.

The best proof is that the enemy did not take the opportunity to cross the river.

In the short term, the puppet government troops in Guangxi should not be able to launch a second battle.

The most urgent task is to capture Huguang as soon as possible, then go downstream to seize Nanjing and lay the foundation for the eternal cause of the Holy Nation! "

Prime Minister Wu Zekai began to persuade.

It seems to be talking about the Guangxi government troops, but in fact it is talking about themselves.

After the disastrous defeat, the Holy White Lotus Kingdom would not allow them to launch a second Guangxi Campaign, either militarily or economically.

If we launch the attack by force, we will have to draw troops and supplies from the front line.

Once this is done, the Holy White Lotus Kingdom will change from being the attacking party to the defending party.

For a new rebel regime, it must continue to attack externally. Once the offensive is stopped, the ambition to seize the world will be lost.

When the external offensive stops, the internal contradictions that were originally concealed by the victory will gradually be exposed, thus marking the beginning of internal strife.

……

(End of this chapter)