Fu Shanhe

Chapter 214: The Fall of Changsha
"Boom..."

After the loud bang, a huge gap appeared in the sturdy city of Changsha, and countless rebel soldiers swarmed in.

For a moment, shouts and screams pierced the sky, and the earth began to tremble.

"General, something terrible is happening!
The rebels dug tunnels, blew up the eastern wall, and have now entered the city..."

Han Song was shocked by the news brought by his personal soldiers.

The defense of Changsha was fought more than once, and he no longer cared about the rebels' siege of the city.

What was different from previous times was that this time the number of rebels was particularly large, and the siege tactics had also made a qualitative breakthrough.

"Pass the order down, have Lieutenant General Du lead his men to immediately block the gap and drive the rebels out of the city!"

Han Song gave the order decisively.

Changsha has great strategic significance. It is the strategic hub in the central part of the empire and must not be lost.

Once Changsha falls, the Huguang area will be plunged into endless war.

"General, Lieutenant General Du died for his country!"

The answer from the personal soldier was like pouring a basin of cold water in winter, which made Han Song feel very cold.

The war had just begun and the most trusted general had died for his country. This was undoubtedly a bad omen.

"Now that Admiral Du is dead, let our deputy take over.

In short, the lost gap must be recaptured.

I will go to see Prefect Shen, and together we will visit the King of Changsha and ask him to provide funds to reward the three armies!"

Han Song then added.

After continuous battles, the soldiers were already exhausted.

The higher-ups also cut financial and food benefits, which further undermined the morale of the army.

Although the governor's office promised to raise money and food to make up for their shortfall, it was just a piece of cake that could not be seen or touched.

The government's credibility had already been exhausted in the previous war.

When needed, all kinds of promises are given continuously.

Once the war zone eases, all these promises will be discounted.

Some shameless officials even simply deny their mistakes.

At this point in time, the soldiers no longer believe in the empty promises made by their superiors.

If you want to boost military morale, you must distribute real money.

……

Changsha Palace.

"The prince is ill. If you have anything to do, please come back another day."

The old butler said unhappily.

In order to defend Changsha City, the royal palace has paid money to reward the three armies five times.

The city was defended, but the money deposited in the palace plummeted.

Every time they said they had defeated the rebels, it wouldn't be long before the rebels came back again after each victory.

After continuous troubles, the King of Changsha also lost his patience.

Now I feel worried when I see these officials, so I simply choose to pretend to be sick and avoid them.

"Butler Liu, the military situation is urgent now. We must meet the King of Changsha today!"

Shen Yunqi said seriously.

As the prefect of Changsha, he also knew that it was wrong to fleece a sheep, but he had no better choice now.

After the previous battles to defend Changsha, the gentry and merchants in the city fled one after another, leaving behind only poor people with nowhere to go.

In order to raise supplies for defending the city, the government has levied charges on the public many times.

The city of Changsha at this moment has long lost its former prosperity, and walking down the street you can see all businesses in decline.

The only remaining fat sheep are the royal family members who have been canonized here.

"The military situation is urgent, you guys should deal with it immediately!
The prince is ill in bed and needs to rest, so you don't need to waste your time here."

The old butler said unhappily.

Every time these guys come over, something bad is going to happen.

Although it was not his own money, it was the accumulation of several generations of the royal family, and he also contributed to it.

Now he even suspected that the crisis in Changsha was caused by these guys nurturing the enemy for their own benefit, with the purpose of emptying the palace.

"Butler Liu, let's not waste any more time talking nonsense, we must see the prince today.

If Changsha falls because of your obstruction, can you bear the consequences?"

Shen Yunqi asked sternly.

Be it by coercion or intimidation, the money to reward the three armies must be found.

If the King of Changsha doesn't pay, we can't ask him to pay for it himself!

"Humph!"

"It is your duty to guard Changsha, but instead of trying to defend the city, you came to the palace and started a rampage.

Even if it were a mountain of gold and silver, it would have been emptied by you long ago.

Affected by the war, the palace had long been unable to make ends meet.

In order to cut expenses, the prince only ate twelve dishes for each meal.

Now that Magistrate Shen is here, let’s settle the salaries owed to the royal family at once!
In the three years since you took office, the royal family has only received eight months' salary, and 90% of it is in the form of banknotes."

Butler Liu immediately scolded.

According to the Dayu Law, the main expenses of the royal family were borne by local finances, with the central government providing a supplement.

But this is just a beautiful idea. Both the central government and the local government in Dayu are extremely poor.

The full amount of rice as stipend was only possible in the early years of the founding of the country.

As the empire's finances fell into trouble, withholding salaries from royal families became the norm.

Local officials treated people according to their situation, and the salaries of the royal family's close relatives were basically paid in full.

The branches that were distantly related to the emperor became the biggest victims.

At first, they distributed the money in discounted bills, but later on, they simply defaulted on payments.

It was useless to file a complaint, as the local officials had sufficient reasons and the emperor was unable to fill the hole.

In the later period of development, in order to limit the number of royal family members, the imperial court also created the clan register.

The number of royal family members that had to be registered each year was artificially stipulated, and the court would not recognize those who exceeded the limit.

In order to get a quota, some princes and dukes had to pay bribes to officials.

Just as the two sides were in a stalemate, the shouting and screaming outside were getting closer and closer.

With many years of military career, Han Song immediately realized that the situation was not good.

"Sir, the rebels are entering... entering the city!"

When the bad news came, both parties, who were originally in a stalemate, were dumbfounded at the same time.

"General Han, quickly find a way to drive the rebels out of the city!"

Shen Yunqi's words made Han Song very angry.

If he had the ability to drive out the rebels, the enemy would have had no chance of getting in.

The solid city walls failed to stop the enemy, and there was no possibility of defeating the rebels in street fighting.

There were too many rebels outside the city, and they could overwhelm the defenders with their numbers.

"Lord Shen, quickly give the order to retreat to the inner city and defend it!"

Han Songqiang said calmly.

He had no idea whether he could hold Changsha.

The letter for help has been sent. All we can do now is to do our best and leave the rest to fate.

……

Wuchang Mansion.

"Bastard!"

"What are the Hunan Army doing? Why haven't they arrived in Changsha yet?"

No one answered Zhu Jingyi's question.

During wartime, if you dare to cut soldiers' pay and food, you must be prepared to be retaliated against.

In front of us, the troops from Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou asked for travel expenses.

The Hunan Army, which was supposed to reinforce Changsha, missed the opportunity because of its slow action.

Deep down in their hearts, a group of officials greeted Zhu Jingyi's ancestors for eighteen generations.

The situation at the front line is obviously very good, but this person insists on increasing revenue and cutting expenditure.

The brutal increase in revenue and taxes has offended the people.

The one-size-fits-all cost-cutting policy has hurt the morale of the troops.

It seemed to save money and food, but in fact it made the situation a mess.

“Sir Shangshu, now is not the time to pursue responsibility.

Changsha is at its most dangerous moment and may fall at any time.

The Hunan Army alone was not capable of lifting the siege of Changsha.

The only solution now is to mobilize more reinforcements to protect Changsha."

Lu Jingxuan persuaded tactfully.

I thought my military level was quite poor, but I didn't expect that the Minister of War in front of me was also a armchair strategist.

Originally, the Hubei Army was stationed in Changsha, but because of this person's plan, the Hubei Army and the Hunan Army were swapped.

They say that the troops can better exert their combat effectiveness if they are in the local area.

There is nothing wrong with it in theory, but the embarrassing thing is that Changsha is about to fall when the military mobilization is halfway through.

Looking back, this theory is bullshit. The main battlefield of Huguang is in Hunan, and any place is the home ground of the Hunan Army.

The two lakes are one, and the Hubei Army and the Hunan Army are both local recruits from Huguang.

Military mobilization is essentially political in nature.

If Zhu Jingyi wants to join the cabinet, he must make achievements.

There is no doubt that it is too difficult to make a breakthrough on the battlefield in a short period of time.

In order to prove to the court that he was doing something, he had to make some noise.

Increasing revenue and reducing expenditure and adjusting the deployment of troops in various places are both indispensable links.

Facts have proven that there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing this politically.

As the head coach Zhu Jingyi, he has been commended by the emperor twice since taking office.

One was because of the recapture of Guilin, and the other was because of his big move.

With this series of operations, Zhu Jingyi successfully passed the imperial recommendation and became the most popular candidate for cabinet ministers, with only the final appointment edict missing. The government and the public had high hopes for him, believing that he could quell the White Lotus Rebellion as soon as possible.

"Um!

Pass the order down, asking the Hubei Army to turn around immediately and join the Hunan Army to reinforce Changsha together.

Order the armies of the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi to immediately launch an attack on the rebels in Yongzhou.

Order the troops in Fujian and Jiangxi to immediately launch a full-scale offensive.

Tell them to attack at all costs, and make sure they achieve results on the battlefield!"

Zhu Jingyi immediately gave the order.

Regardless of whether there are problems with the strategic deployment, he must stick to it now.

The battle to join the cabinet is not only about his personal career, but also about the future of the party.

The Nanjing Minister of War can live a life of idleness and wait for death, but the front-line governor who controls armies from multiple provinces cannot do so.

……

Wuzhou Prefecture.

Looking at the city reduced to ruins, the joy on the faces of the Guangxi officials disappeared without a trace in an instant.

The last piece of the puzzle was completed, and the entire Guangxi region returned to Dayu's hands.

This should have been a happy occasion, but the desolation everywhere made it hard to be happy.

The war was so destructive that they will have to worry about post-war reconstruction for a long time to come.

The imperial court's funding could not be relied upon, and the local authorities could not raise sufficient funds for reconstruction. Just imagine how difficult the days ahead would be.

"The Governor has issued strict orders that we must march north to attack Yongzhou immediately. We cannot delay any longer."

Zhang Sihan said with an embarrassed look on his face.

They had already discussed the plan of slacking off, and never expected the unexpected incident in Changsha.

Now only the inner city is left to defend. If the inner city is lost, the situation in Huguang will deteriorate.

If the Huguang front collapses, the cause of suppressing the rebellion will suffer a severe blow.

Even if Guangdong was recovered, it would not be able to make up for the aftermath of the fall of Huguang.

The current grain price is high. If the grain and grass in Huguang are lost, it will not be a matter of high grain prices anymore.

I'm afraid that even if I have money by then, I may not be able to buy enough food.

It was disastrous for both Guangxi and Dayu.

"Governor Zhu is about to join the cabinet. If we refuse again, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain."

Jabo nodded and said.

There are no secrets in the court of Dayu. After the court recommended Zhu Jingyi to join the cabinet, rumors spread like wildfire.

He was going to be promoted by the emperor, at least half of his confidants, so Emperor Yongning had no need to make things difficult for him in joining the cabinet.

The imperial edict had not been issued because of the endless dispute over the selection of another cabinet minister.

The cabinet was a unique entity in the Dayu Dynasty, and any cabinet minister was a powerful figure in the empire.

He has very high decision-making power over major affairs of the empire.

Unless one has a particularly strong backing, if one offends a cabinet minister and causes him to die, his career can basically be declared over.

"What's so bad about it!

The news of Governor Zhu joining the cabinet was just a rumor among the people.

As long as there is no imperial decree, there will be variables.

Even if he really joins the cabinet, he will have to clean up the current mess first.

You don't think that with our limited military strength we can capture Yongzhou and inflict heavy damage on the rebels, do you? "

Li Mu joked with a smile.

Compared to everyone else, he was much more pessimistic about the current situation and did not think that Zhu Jingyi could hold on to the position of governor.

Changsha was lost and Huguang was in turmoil. Someone must take responsibility for such a big mess.

It was the imperial court that demanded the reduction of military spending, but it was Zhu Jingyi who was responsible for its implementation.

Either he puts the blame on Emperor Yongning, or he takes it himself.

It is not surprising to shift the blame to others, but it is still a test of operation to directly shift the blame to the emperor.

No matter what the final result is, Zhu Jingyi will not have a good ending.

"Report!"

"Sir, urgent news came from the front that the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces were ambushed by rebels during their march.

Many officials, including the governor of Guizhou, were killed in the battle, and the army suffered heavy losses..."

The news brought by Xiang Xinghan caused the expressions of the officials present to change drastically.

Many people were secretly thankful that they had played it safe and did not rush to chase and kill the enemy.

If they had really rushed into Yongzhou Prefecture, they might be the ones in trouble now.

The specific casualties of the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces have not yet been counted, but the governor of Guizhou was killed in the battle, so the losses of the army must be small.

After this battle, the Yunnan-Guizhou Allied Forces had to withdraw with regret.

Without this fresh force, the government troops' situation will become increasingly worse.

"Pass the order down, the entire army will march to Guangdong, and work with General Jing to recapture Guangdong."

Li Mu immediately gave the order.

In the moment of crisis, he had no time to discuss with others.

Without the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces, the Huguang front was in danger again, and Dayu had reached its most dangerous moment.

The best option at the moment is to send troops to recapture Guangdong and join forces with the Fujian army in Guangdong.

Hundreds of thousands of troops were gathered from three provinces to pose a threat to the rebels in the rear.

As for my colleagues in Huguang and Jiangxi, I have no time to take care of them now.

Anyway, strategically, we must reduce the rebels' space for activities, otherwise Dayu will be in danger.

……

Changsha city.

The defenders held their ground hard, but instead of receiving any reinforcements, they received the tragic news that the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces had suffered heavy losses.

The military morale, already on the verge of collapse, became even lower.

"General, the people in the city are worried. I'm afraid we need to prepare a retreat."

Han Song was very disappointed by his confidant's words.

Everyone knows that Changsha is in danger, but the problem is that Changsha’s strategic value is too high and he cannot afford the responsibility of losing Changsha.

If he ran away now, he, as the general, would surely be killed when the imperial court came to settle accounts with him in the future.

"Shut up!"

“These words cannot be said casually.

Pass the order down, anyone who dares to talk about retreat will be killed without mercy! "

Han Song immediately scolded.

Even if you really want to run, you can't say it out loud. Escaping is always done quietly.

He had no idea what to do next, but one thing was certain: he had to make it clear that he was determined to live and die with the city.

It would be best if the prefect of Changsha or the King of Changsha could order the city to be abandoned, and he would be forced to carry out the order.

Unfortunately, they are not fools. They know the consequences will be serious and will not take the blame.

……

Late at night, the aroma of meat wafted from the rebel camp and was carried into the city along with the spring breeze.

"Damn the bandits, stewing meat in the middle of the night, it's killing him..."

The thin dark man kept cursing and blabbering.

I wasn't full to begin with, and now that I smelled the meat, I felt even hungrier.

"Alright, idiot.

It’s good enough to be able to smell it.

Those officials enjoy the lavish food and fish, but we don’t even have the right to smell it!"

After hearing what his companion said, the anger on Erlangzi's face increased a little.

The last time I ate meat was at the celebration banquet after the victory of the Changsha Defense War a month ago.

However, there were many troops in the city and the number of livestock was limited, so it was impossible to provide meat for everyone.

The good meat was divided up by the officers, and a soldier like him only got a bowl of meat soup.

He almost forgot what meat tasted like.

"What do you mean by that? Do you want it?"

Erlangzi asked in horror.

Trouble comes from the mouth, and talking nonsense will cost you your head.

These little soldiers always cursed the officials in their hearts but never dared to say it out loud.

"It's just as you thought. People outside said that if we are willing to go, we will all be promoted three levels.

All the wine and meat outside will be ours, plenty of it!"

As he spoke, the eagle-eyed young man swallowed.

The White Lotus Sect was widely spread among the people, and these low-level soldiers had always been the focus of the White Lotus Sect's missionary work.

Although they did not join in, they had contact with White Lotus believers.

"What are you afraid of?
As long as I have meat to eat, I’m not afraid of death!
Anyway, for people like us, there will be no tomorrow after today.

Rather than dying of starvation, it is better to fight hard before death and die well-fed! "

Erlangzi immediately expressed his opinion.

A promotion of three ranks is too abstract, and the officials of the White Lotus Sect are not worth much, but the flesh does exist.

The two men's performance, singing in unison, caused a commotion among the soldiers defending the city.

"You want to rebel, simply..."

The centurion, who noticed something was wrong, was stabbed through the body by the soldier behind him before he could even finish his words.

"Bullshit, I've been displeased with you for a long time.

You actually dared to whip me, today I will let you know how powerful I am!"

The sudden killing of the official made the defending soldiers realize that something was wrong.

It seemed that I didn't agree to anything, so how did I join the rebel army?

"kill!"

The battle unfolded on the city wall, and countless soldiers joined the battle in a daze.

(End of this chapter)