Fu Shanhe

Chapter 192 New Battle Plan
"Commander Li is right. We should be cautious when deploying troops."

Jabo echoed with an embarrassed look on his face.

The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition has many soldiers and generals, and the loss of 3,000 troops will not affect the overall situation.

The situation in Guangxi is different. The mobile forces at hand are only more than 20,000 people, and they are deployed in two routes.

Not to mention the loss of three thousand, even the loss of three hundred would be enough to make people feel painful.

Elite troops and cannon fodder are not in the same league.

You can have as much cannon fodder as you want, but elite soldiers need money and food to feed.

“There’s something wrong with the battle report.

The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces together have a force of over 100,000.

The loss of only three thousand soldiers is nothing when shared among the two provinces.

According to the principle of reporting good news but not bad news, the Governor of Yunnan and the Governor of Guizhou should have kept the matter secret.

At worst, we can recruit some new soldiers and fill the vacancies in time. There is no need to report the news of defeat.

Unless the casualties are elite troops, causing them to lose their offensive capabilities within a short period of time, we have to report it!"

The people who know civil servants best are the civil servants, all of whom are governors. Zhang Sihan saw the trick from the battle report at a glance.

The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces seem to have hundreds of thousands of people, but not many of them can actually fight.

Due to financial constraints, Yunnan and Guizhou only had one battalion of recruits.

Nominally there should be more than 5,600 troops, but the actual strength is probably around 3,000.

The fact that we were suppressed by the rebels in the past is enough to explain the problem.

The reason why the imperial court was able to launch a counterattack was that it transferred a town of elite troops from Shu.

According to Dayu's fine tradition, this town of Shu troops will definitely not be fully staffed, and the strength of the troops should not exceed 8,000.

Taking into account the casualties of the previous war, the total strength of one town and two battalions combined should be around 12,000 men.

The loss of three thousand soldiers was equivalent to a quarter of the total casualties.

Such a loss is already devastating.

The best outcome is that a battalion is unlucky and is completely wiped out by the rebels.

The worst thing was that all these elite troops participated in the war, shared the loss, and were all severely injured.

"It doesn't matter what the truth is, there won't be much danger along the Yunnan-Guizhou front.

According to the intelligence gathered, the rebels are already transporting food in the rain.

If the enemy was not deliberately setting up a maze, then the rebels' food reserves had dropped to a very dangerous number.

In order to ensure the logistics of the army, they had to purchase grain from Annan at any cost.

In this context, the barren Yunnan-Guizhou region is nothing but a waste for the rebels.

Even Guangdong and Guangxi have to take a back seat, their real target is only Huguang or Jiangxi."

Li Mu analyzed calmly.

The human wave tactic comes at a price.

It would be impossible to support a million-strong army with the devastated Guangdong and Guangxi regions and to resurrect Xiao He and Kong Ming.

What's more, the rebels have not yet produced any outstanding internal affairs talents, and they did not even deliberately organize the resumption of production after the war.

It is not easy to survive until now by plundering landlords and gentry.

"Commander Li is right. The rebels' current targets can only be Huguang and Jiangxi.

I can’t take care of that anymore. I’ll write a letter to remind them right now!”

Zhang Sihan said worriedly.

With the defeated Governor of Yunnan and Governor of Guizhou as his backup, even if he fails to complete the task, his official hat will not be in danger for the time being.

Now that he was safe, he no longer urged to send troops, but instead began to consider the overall situation.

The coalition forces of six provinces are suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion. The troops from Yunnan and Guizhou provinces can be counted on for the time being.

It was good enough that they were able to tie down the rebels on the Western Front and prevent the enemy from withdrawing troops from the Western Front.

Fujian’s enthusiasm for joining the war was not high, and there was basically no hope of expecting them to tear through the enemy’s defense line and recover Guangdong.

If Guangxi does not perform well, the main forces left will be Huguang and Jiangxi.

These two families are the rebels' main targets. No matter how much we don't want to fight, we have no choice but to fight the enemy to the death.

“Governor, don’t panic.

The imperial court deployed heavy troops in Huguang and Jiangxi. The rebels did not have such a good appetite and they could not eat it all in a short time.

God is kind to the imperial court. The water level of the Yujiang River has returned to normal and the rainy season in Guangxi is about to end.

After being depressed for such a long time, it's time for us to move forward.

However, the combat objectives this time need to be slightly adjusted.

Our previous feint attack on Zhen'an worked. In order to protect the transportation lifeline, the rebels drew troops from the rear to reinforce the three prefectures of Zhen'an, Nanning and Xunzhou.

At this moment, Liuzhou, Pingle, Qingyuan and other places are almost undefended except for the soldiers who are there to maintain public order."

As he spoke, Li Mu pointed at the map.

Judging from the map, the three prefectures of Zhen'an, Nanning and Xunzhou happen to be the bordering areas of the two sides.

The White Lotus Sect heavily guarded the three places, which was completely in line with the essence of military strategy.

As for the emptiness in the rear, that is inevitable.

There were wars everywhere, and the White Lotus had too many fronts to take care of, so there was simply no room for more troops to stay behind.

"You want to bypass the enemy's heavily guarded city, cross the Yu River and march deep into the enemy's hinterland alone, and attack Huanglong and capture Guilin!"

Jing Yifeng couldn't help but exclaimed.

As a professional, he saw through Li Mu's true purpose at a glance.

Places like Liuzhou, Pingle and Qingyuan are all imaginary. The only place worth Li Mu's risk is the rebels' "imperial city" Guilin.

Once the goal is achieved, it will deal a fatal blow to the rebels politically.

If we are lucky and destroy the rebels' central government, we will have won most of the battle to quell the rebellion.

The White Lotus army, fighting on its own, will no longer be a threat to the imperial court.

"We don't have to capture Guilin first. We can also continue westward and poke the enemy's Western Route Army in the lurch.

After joining forces with the Yunnan-Guizhou Allied Forces to defeat the Western Route Army, they marched straight into Guilin.

Or we can mobilize the enemies in Zhen'an, Nanning, and Xunzhou out of the city and defeat them in the wild."

Li Mu explained with a smile.

The upper troops attacked the plot, the second attacked the Jiaotong, the second attacked the soldiers, and the lower attacked the city.

For the time being, he is unable to perform such high-end operations as "attacking the enemy's plans" and "attacking the enemy's alliances".

However, Li Mu still knew how to "attack the troops" and "attack the city".

In essence, his plan was an open conspiracy.

As long as the infiltration is completed, no matter what plan the rebels come up with, they will be strategically passive.

"Commander Li, if we do this, wouldn't the risk be too great?

A lone troop deep behind enemy lines will be unable to obtain supplies..."

Li Mu interrupted Jia Bo before he could finish.

"Master Jia, using troops is inherently risky.

As long as the reward is proportional to the risk, it is worth the risk.

As for the problem of logistics supply, the enemy has already prepared food for us.

Just robbing a grain transport team would be enough to consume the army for a while.

What's more, the enemy also established a grain transfer station in Liuzhou.

It is said that there are hundreds of thousands of stones of reserves there. If we can grab them, it will be enough for our troops who have gone deep into our territory to eat for several years.

It doesn't matter if we can't grab it, burning it will also hurt the enemy."

The news was so clear that it was obvious that they had been prepared in advance.

It was more like they had drafted a plan in advance and gathered everyone together to inform them of the battle plan.

If it were any other battlefield, the governor and the military supervisor would have been furious if the generals below had dared to snatch their power to formulate battle plans.

But it was different in Guangxi. It was always Zhang Sihan and Jia Bo who coaxed Li Mu to send troops.

Being able to come up with a plan is giving them face. It's not like they haven't done it before, taking action without asking.

"Commander Li, who are you going to assign to carry out this mission?"

Zhang Sihan asked with concern.

The intention was very clear. Anyone could lead troops to take risks, except Li Mu, who could not personally lead troops deep behind enemy lines.

After arriving in Guangxi for so long, he also figured out that Li Mu is the soul figure of Guangxi.

His influence, whether in the military or among the people, is unmatched by anyone else.

In peacetime, a general with such a high reputation will soon be "killed".

However, it is a time of war now, and most of Guangxi's territory is in the hands of the rebels, and the limited areas under the court's control are under martial law.

This is not a case of military generals exceeding their authority, but simply a case of civil servants not being in place.

Governor Zhang Sihan put in a lot of effort but could only put together a temporary team.

It is only limited to filling the governor's office. It is impossible to appoint officials from the prefectures and counties below.

The scholars did want to become officials, but they valued their lives more.

Although the newly recovered areas had been through many rounds of encirclement and suppression, remnants of the rebels still remained.

Under martial law, these people were forced to behave themselves.

Once normal conditions are restored, the few detectives recruited by the government will not be able to deter these desperate criminals.

"Of course it's this general!"

Before Li Mu could answer, Jing Yifeng spoke first.

To ordinary people, this journey is extremely dangerous.

But for Jing Yifeng, who understood the situation, he saw an opportunity.

Whether it is dangerous to advance deep into the enemy's territory alone depends mainly on the specific situation.

Even if the rebels wanted to encircle and annihilate his isolated army at this moment, the only ones who could be mobilized in a short period of time were the garrisons in Zhen'an, Nanning and Xunzhou.

Based on his understanding of Li Mu, if the enemy dared to leave the city, at least one of them would have no chance of leaving alive.

If one of the three is eliminated, the government troops might end up attacking the rebels from both sides.

What's more, when he breaks into the enemy's rear, he is like a dragon entering the sea, and can attack wherever he wants.

There is no need to actually capture Guilin. Just wandering around outside the city of Guilin is enough to scare the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus half to death.

If the White Lotus Saint had been a little more incompetent, the defenders of Zhen'an, Nanning and Xunzhou might have lost their heads.

Marching westwards was even more terrifying. If the western front was broken by attacking from both sides, the troops allowed in would not be 10,000 or 20,000 government troops, but a large army of over 100,000.

By then, the rebels will not only fail to defend Guangxi, but will also fail to defend Guangdong.

Without their base, no matter how good the remaining troops are at fighting, they will only become bandits.

Given the gentry's hatred towards the Holy White Lotus Kingdom, it would be difficult for them to break the situation.

“It would be best if General Jing is willing to lead the troops to fight.

The circumstances of this trip are special, and the strategic infiltration must be completed before the enemy can react.

The army could only carry half a month's worth of dry food, and attacked Liuzhou with a small group of people.

If the siege fails and you want supplies, you can only attack the enemy's food transport team.

And this time, we can only carry 10,000 soldiers and horses at most for a long-distance raid."

Li Mu immediately took over the conversation.

The number of troops dispatched was entirely based on the number of troops under Jing Yifeng's command.

It’s not that he was reluctant to send out his troops, but mainly because the characteristics of the times of Dayu were too obvious.

The armies of the generals are all based on their own retainers.

When you are in command, you can use it with ease.

If someone else takes charge, it is unknown how many people will buy into it.

The military force was only expanded to 10,000 people, and Jing Yifeng had no choice.

An ordinary town has two battalions, and when fully staffed, it has less than 12,000 people.

Considering Dayu’s tradition of not having military pay, it would be a huge loss for military generals to keep their troops fully staffed.

In fact, if it were not a time of war, a staff of 10,000 people would be considered large.

If you want more establishment, you can only strive for a few more battalions.

The military garrison organization of the Dayu Dynasty, in addition to the conventional two-battalion organization, also had three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine battalions.

The most representative ones are the military garrisons in the nine borders. Due to the needs of the situation, all of them adopt large-scale organizations.

It is not uncommon to see a military town with a population of 20,000 or 30,000 in border areas.

Guangxi is also located in the border area, but does not have the same treatment.

Compared to the Nine Frontier, the threat posed by the Annanites is still smaller.

More often than not, the people of Annan were worried that Yu's army would move south and retake Jiaozhi Provincial Administration.

Going north to invade Guangxi was always just a "dream" of the Annamites.

They have been making small moves in secret, and their actual actions have been limited to enfeoffment of chieftains. Supporting the rebels has been their biggest move.

The strategic threat is low and no additional funding from the court can be obtained.

It is very difficult for a poor province like Guangxi, whose finances rely on subsidies, to support two battalions and recruit soldiers.

The famous Guangxi Wolf Soldiers usually have only five to six thousand people.

"Eight thousand troops are enough. Too many will be detrimental to deployment.

As soon as the rainy season is over, I will lead my army to the west.

For safety reasons, no specific combat plan has been formulated for the time being.

As for the elder, I hope the governor and the military supervisor will keep it secret for the time being and report it after the mission is accomplished!"

Jing Yifeng replied immediately.

You still have to keep some of the old stuff.

The battlefield is ever-changing. If too many troops are lost, you must leave some capital to make a comeback.

"Don't worry, General Jing, we will keep today's incident to ourselves.

Even if we report it, we have to wait until the war breaks out!"

As he spoke, Jia Bo deliberately glanced at Zhang Sihan.

It was as if to say that there had been no mistakes in the previous cooperation, and if there were any problems now, it would be caused by the intervention of the fourth person.

Faced with a warning look, Zhang Sihan just nodded slightly.

It's rare that the Guangxi Front Army is willing to move, and we can't hold back at this time.

……

Wuchang Mansion.

Even though many days had passed, Xu Wenyue was still upset about the defeat of the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces.

The defeat was so unfair.

Until now, we still haven't figured out why we fell into the enemy's ambush.

If the change of commander had not occurred at the last minute, it would have easily caused greater chaos, and he would have wanted to carry out a major purge.

"Sir, Governor Zhang, Military Supervisor Jia, Commander Li, and General Jing have jointly written a letter.

They believed that the rebels would focus on attacking Huguang and Jiangxi next, and hoped that the two areas would strengthen their defenses and not give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage. "

Upon receiving this news, Xu Wenyue frowned slightly, and then said with emotion:
"What a troubled time!"

This was the first time he received a joint letter, but there were more than one or two people reminding him to strengthen the defense of Huguang and Jiangxi.

There is no need to think too much. The wealth of Huguang and Jiangxi alone is enough to attract the rebels.

Huguang provided the most grain to Dayu and contributed the fifth most in fiscal revenue.

Jiangxi is also a major grain-producing province. Although it cannot catch up with Huguang, its financial contribution to the imperial court has always ranked among the top three.

If any one of them is conquered, the rebels will be able to complete their transformation.

"Lord, their worries are not without reason. The rebels' next combat target may really be one of them."

……

(End of this chapter)