Fu Shanhe

Chapter 206 The troops are approaching the city
The dust has settled.

The civil and military officials present were not happy.

Although Emperor Yongning's handling of the matter was pleasing to the people, the political impact it caused was extremely bad.

The most prestigious leader of the Qingliu faction in the world suddenly became a traitor. The contrast was too strong.

"Your Majesty, according to Dayu law, the family members of the bandit leader..."

Before the Minister of Justice could finish speaking, Emperor Yongning interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

“All will be dealt with severely!
I have finally come to understand that being well-read in the books of sages does not mean one has good character.

Yin Zuo and his companions behaved inappropriately on a daily basis, and it seemed likely that there were many evil people among their students.

School principals and teachers in all localities must shoulder their responsibilities.

We must never allow these cancerous creatures to enter the imperial court and bring disaster to the country and the people!"

As soon as the words were spoken, several people in the court fainted, and many others could not stand steadily.

These people are either disciples of Yin Zuo and the other, or their family members are their disciples.

Now everything is over. The emperor has transferred his hatred towards Yin and Zuo to their disciples.

The emperor has spoken, and if nothing unexpected happens, a large number of scholars in the Jiangnan region will lose their fame and fortune.

Even if no problems were found, these people could not expect to enter officialdom through the imperial examinations.

Those who have entered officialdom now also have a bleak future.

Next, you have to behave yourself to keep your position.

None of the civil and military officials in the court asked for mercy.

When it comes to treason, no one wants to get into trouble.

In addition, Yin Zuo and the other two had caused a lot of trouble before and offended a large group of people.

……

Guilin Prefecture.

"Are you all dead?

The pseudo-Dynasty army is making such a huge movement, but you can’t see it!
We have just started, and you are all slacking off.

All he thinks about is his beautiful wife and concubines, and he hasn't even conquered the world yet!"

Shi Rongxian couldn't help but scolded.

In the past, every move of the government troops could not be hidden from their eyes.

But now, when I woke up one night, I received the news that the government troops were about to arrive at the city.

At this moment, the government troops were only fifty miles away from Guilin Prefecture.

If there had not been resistance in the counties along the way, he might not have known that the enemy was coming.

"Holy Emperor, calm down!"

All the ministers spoke in unison.

They were also confused when this happened.

The White Lotus has deep roots in Guangxi. Even though they have lost several prefectures, their believers are still lurking among the people.

Every move of the government troops was based on clues provided by these believers.

No one knows what happened, and it suddenly didn't work this time.

Even though the puppet army was coming to attack them, the intelligence they received showed that everything was normal.

Until the battle started, no news was delivered back.

"Humph!"

"Just know that I can calm down, calm down!
What's the point of just calming down? Come up with a plan!"

Shi Rongxian continued to scold.

According to the previous evacuation plan, they had only completed half of the mission.

There is still a large amount of food and fodder gathered in Guilin, and we need to organize manpower to transport it to the front line.

The government troops came over so quickly, obviously they had noticed their actions and wanted to disrupt the grain transportation operation.

"Holy Emperor, if an enemy comes, we will stop him; if a flood comes, we will block it with earth.

Since the pseudo-dynastic army is coming to attack us, we can just send troops to intercept them.

We all have one head on two shoulders, and I don’t believe that the puppet regime’s army in Guangxi is invincible! ”

Shi Qichuan said arrogantly.

As Shi Rongxian's younger brother, he was not crowned king, which always bothered him.

Now that the opportunity has come, he also wants to show it.

“Gui Hou, don’t take it lightly!

The puppet army in Guangxi is extraordinary; they are the real elite of the puppet dynasty.

The troops were led by relatives of the left and right generals of the pseudo-dynasty, and received resource support far exceeding that of other troops.

The intelligence collected showed that after taking office, Li Mu, the pseudo-commander-in-chief of Guangxi, quickly restored the organizational structure of the various guards in Guangxi.

Compared with the previous puppet army in Guangxi, the number has increased significantly.

The enemy's forces in this attack have more than doubled compared to the last war."

Wu Zekai tried his best to persuade.

The White Lotus troops in Guilin were indeed as numerous as the official troops in Guangxi, but their combat effectiveness was not at the same level. The following battle was mainly defensive.

The decisive battle will only begin when the Western Expedition Army returns.

If you lose patience and go out early to fight the rebels, you will be asking for your life.

“So what if the military strength has doubled?
Compared with the Holy Kingdom, the enemy is still at a disadvantage in terms of military strength.

We just need to defend the city and wear down the enemy's morale.

Wait until the enemy loses their temper, then launch a counterattack, and we will surely defeat the enemy!"

Shi Qichuan said with disdain.

He was just trying to show off, he wasn't really being stupid.

With a strong city to defend, why take the risk of going out to fight the enemy in the field?

Even if we have to fight a decisive battle, it will be after the reinforcements arrive.

In fact, if there were not a large amount of food and fodder in Guilin, there would be no need to fight this battle.

For a place that is destined to be abandoned, there is no difference between abandoning it one day earlier or one day later.

Since deciding to change strategy, the top leaders of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom have been busy studying the map of the Central Plains.

After seeing how powerful the government troops were, everyone no longer had full confidence in capturing Nanjing.

In addition to marching into Nanjing, they also had an alternative plan - advancing into the Central Plains and entering Guanzhong.

This plan was not a spur-of-the-moment idea, but the final conclusion reached after integrating intelligence from various places.

The north is constantly hit by natural disasters, making it a perfect place for starting a business.

The main reason why Huguang and Jiangxi could not be conquered, apart from the heavy defense of the government troops, was that they lacked supporters.

In the prefectures that were conquered in the early stage, the people's attitude towards them was very cold, and there was no scene of welcoming the royal army at all.

Even though the recruitment banner was raised, few people signed up.

In order to complete the task of expanding the army, the people below directly conscripted able-bodied men from the local area.

Soldiers who were forcibly brought here naturally have no will to fight.

"enough!
I don't want to hear your nonsense here.

The order was passed down, and the Western Expedition Army immediately returned to the Holy City.

All the supplies that cannot be taken away are discarded.

Tell them they must hurry up. If they can't arrive within ten days, we won't wait for them!"

Shi Rongxian's words shocked everyone.

From what our Holy Emperor said, it seems that he is not prepared to fight to the death with the Guangxi government troops and is planning to give up Guilin directly.

If this is done, not only will the large amount of supplies in the city not be taken away, but even family members and children will have to be abandoned.

"Don't think I'm cruel, I have no other choice.

If the Western Expedition Army fails to arrive on time, the tens of thousands of defenders in Guilin alone will not be able to defeat the puppet regime's Guangxi official army.

You should know the enemy's battle record. Nanning, where tens of thousands of troops were stationed, was captured in one day.

It is unknown whether the defenders of Guilin can hold out for ten days."

As if he had noticed everyone's thoughts, Shi Rongxian immediately added.

"Saint Emperor, before the government troops come, it is better to arrange for your family to leave in advance."

Wu Zekai stepped forward and suggested.

"Humph!"

"Damn family!

Don't think that I don't know that your wives, children and elders have been sent away long ago.

What remains in the Holy City are just a bunch of concubines, why are you reluctant to let them go?"

Shi Rongxian said with a sneer.

As high-ranking officials of the Holy Nation who had access to first-hand information, knowing that the situation in the Holy Nation was deteriorating, they naturally had to make arrangements for their wives and children in advance.

They were either sent to the front line or simply arranged to hide their identities.

Most of those who remain at home now are concubines.

What really needs to be worried are the soldiers, as their families really have nowhere to go.

Once discovered by the government, the family will be confiscated and exiled at the very least, or the entire family will be wiped out at the worst.

Although he knew that there were hidden dangers in doing so, Shi Rongxian had no other choice.

All government orders need to be implemented by top leaders.

On some non-principle issues, he can only selectively turn a blind eye.

After all, everyone has enjoyed life, and no one has the initial ferocity and determination to fight to the death.

He could allow the families of senior officials to leave, but he could not evacuate the families of all the soldiers together.

If you really want to bring your family along, it won’t be an expedition, but a large-scale population migration.

Not to mention going to war, the food, drink, defecation and urination of millions of people and the logistics alone would be enough to kill them.

The decision to leave two months' worth of food rations for the people was to take the soldiers' thoughts into consideration.

(End of this chapter)