Fu Shanhe

Chapter 238: Conquering the City
"News came from Yongzhou that the government troops had launched a surprise attack on Hengyang City.

Meng Zeyang, that rubbish didn't even last a day before the city was destroyed and everyone died.

After the loss of Hengyang, not only did Yongzhou fall into the strategic encirclement of the government army, but the gate of Changsha was also opened by the enemy.

The Holy Kingdom was established only a short time ago, and the local area is still filled with a large number of remnants of the pseudo-dynasty.

In order to ensure the strategic security of the Holy Kingdom, the Holy Emperor asked us to reinforce Changsha and then plan to recapture Hengyang.

What do you think? "

Duting Hou Qi Datou asked with a frown.

As a fierce general, strategy is really too difficult for him.

However, from the limited information, we can still conclude that the Holy Kingdom has been defeated again.

They were expanding their territory on the front line, but they were constantly losing cities and territories in the rear, and they couldn't even keep their old nest.

The original awe of the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus had long been worn away by the repeated failures before.

In the Holy Kingdom Army now, the three kings of different surnames have the highest prestige, followed by these dukes and generals with outstanding military exploits.

Although the White Lotus Saint Emperor can still issue orders, his effectiveness has been greatly reduced when it comes to specific execution.

Judging from the speed of the various armies, everyone is not that interested in the Battle of Yongzhou initiated by the White Lotus Saint Emperor.

In the view of many generals, to defeat the tens of thousands of government troops under Li Mu, the hundreds of thousands of troops near Yongzhou would be enough.

Mobilizing troops from all over the place is a sheer waste of money and food.

If it weren't for the overall situation, they would not have carried out such a stupid order.

"My Lord, those gentlemen in the court must have been frightened into illness by that villain Li Mu.

Changsha is a strong city, and after learning that Hengyang had fallen, it would definitely strengthen its defenses.

Unless the Pseudo-Dynasty concentrates heavy troops to attack, Changsha will not be in any danger at all.

The few thousand soldiers of the Pseudo-Dynasty in Hengyang are no match for us.

In my opinion, we should just split our forces into two groups.

Send troops to recapture Hengyang and continue to Yongzhou, just in time to teach the senior officials of the Holy Nation how to fight! "

The bearded general's words expressed the thoughts of many people present.

They fought in many battles and had seen all kinds of government troops, but in the end, they all became their victims.

Perhaps Li Mu's troops were more powerful, but after all, they only had a few tens of thousands of soldiers, and more than 80% of them were garrison troops.

With the 100,000 troops they led, it was more than enough to annihilate the enemy.

“Don’t take it too lightly.

The villain Li Mu is an outlier among the government troops, and his strength cannot be evaluated by that of ordinary government troops.

The Holy Kingdom had fought against him many times, all of which ended in failure, which was enough to prove that this man was no ordinary person.

Of course, we can't be too conservative.

With an army of 100,000 men, he was still hiding in Changsha waiting for reinforcements. If this news got out, he would be laughed at.

The masters of the Holy Kingdom are scared silly, we can't follow suit.

Pass the order down, the army will rush to Hengyang, I want to use the official troops in Hengyang as a sacrifice!"

Qi Datou said with high spirits.

One hundred thousand against a few thousand, this is clearly a credit that comes right to your doorstep.

The more the Holy Kingdom’s top leaders fear the enemy, the greater the merit he will gain after defeating the enemy.

If he is lucky, he might be able to go one step further and become the new king of a different surname.

……

Ganzhou Prefecture.

"What madness are these government troops going through!

I have no grudge against them, so why should I fight so hard?"

Yu Dabao said indignantly.

Ganzhou has been under siege for some time, but in the past period of time, the government troops only made symbolic sieges.

I don’t know what happened, but the government troops suddenly changed their behavior starting from yesterday.

Bombs were poured onto the city walls free of charge, and tunnels were dug one after another.

A series of siege weapons such as catapults and battering rams were brought out by the enemy.

If the enemy had not been afraid of the defenders' artillery, it is estimated that they would have piled up the earth into a mountain.

This kind of attack at all costs is clearly not in line with the style of the government troops.

"General, the government troops outside are from Fujian, and in previous battles, they were the ones who liked to slack off the most.

Now the situation has suddenly changed. It must be due to pressure from senior officials.

According to the intelligence we have collected, the commander of the army in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian at this moment is the famous general Li Mu of the pseudo-dynasty.

This man is strict in military discipline and has a very high prestige in the army. He is not like those civil servants who are so easy to fool.

The Fujian government troops now accept his control and most of them dare not disobey him."

The middle-aged official at the side spoke up.

Before surrendering to the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus, he had just been promoted from chief clerk to county magistrate and was very familiar with the bureaucratic system of Dayu.

Deep-rooted corruption from top to bottom has eroded the army's combat effectiveness.

The system of using civil officials to control military power also restricted the on-the-spot performance of military commanders.

In this context, the generals would fight in a muddled way, believing that merit lies in not making mistakes.

The soldiers below are even better at slacking off. In the previous siege, everyone seemed very busy, but in fact they were just busy doing nothing.

From a distance it looked like a huge movement, but in reality it was just a symbolic charge and no one was willing to fight to the death.

The mental pressure on the defenders was far greater than the actual combat casualties.

At this point the situation reversed, the enemy really tried their best to attack the city, and the defenders were unable to withstand it.

After all, there were only five or six thousand soldiers left in Ganzhou Prefecture, and some of them were in the counties below.

After the enemy surrounded the city, the troops below were unable to assemble, and there were only three thousand soldiers in the city.

Together with the young and strong men who were temporarily recruited, they constituted the entire force to defend the city.

“Those damn officials are such bastards!

The pseudo-dynasty only gave them a few dollars, so is it necessary for them to fight so hard?

Governor Duan, the city is currently under-guarded and short of supplies. Do you have any good ideas for defeating the enemy?"

Duan Shengde was very dissatisfied with Yu's bold commanding tone.

It was unimaginable in the Dayu Dynasty that a mere garrison general would order a civil servant of the same rank around.

Even the most arrogant and domineering military general would have to lower his posture to show respect when meeting a civil servant of the same level.

When ordinary military generals meet civil officials of the same rank, they are required to show courtesy.

People have to bow their heads under the roof.

In addition to constantly comforting myself in my heart: "Now is the time to conquer the world, and we need warriors to fight for our lives.

When the world is at peace, everything will return to normal.”

As for the rest, he couldn't do anything.

If a conflict really occurs and you are caught and beaten up by the other party, you can only blame yourself for your bad luck.

The surrendered ministers will always be inferior to the direct descendants.

“General Yu, if the guard force is insufficient, continue to recruit people in the city.

Anyone who can move, regardless of gender, age or status, can be recruited to defend the city.

Even if you are physically exhausted, you can still serve as a hostage.

If anyone was afraid of the enemy and refused to advance, their entire family would be cooked and the meat would be used as a reward for the three armies.

If there are not enough supplies to defend the city, just demolish the houses.

......"

Duan Shengde immediately came up with an idea, without paying any attention to the changes in the generals' expressions.

"Master Duan, you shouldn't be called Duan Shengde. I think you should change your name to Duan Quede!"

A young general couldn't help but complain.

Although they also killed people like crazy, people still disliked Duan Shengde's direct approach of eradicating the entire group.

If this were to happen, even if the city was temporarily saved, the White Lotus Kingdom's rule in the area would be over. They had to be careful when they went out in the future, because no one knew who would come to seek revenge one day.

"Captain Liu, since you think my suggestion is wrong, then come up with your own brilliant plan!

As far as I know, there is not much food and fodder stored in the city, only enough for the soldiers and civilians in the city for one month.

Now the puppet army has surrounded the city on all sides and supplies cannot be transported in at all.

After the Anshi Rebellion broke out, Doctor Baoyi was stationed in Suiyang and worked hard to turn the tide and save the Tang Dynasty.

Don't you want to be the Holy Kingdom's guardian doctor?"

Duan Shengde said with gritted teeth.

He knew very well how bad his ideas were.

However, there were 60,000 government troops outside the city, and they had only 3,000 defenders. If they did not force the soldiers and civilians in the city to fight together, it would only be a matter of time before the city fell.

After the city was broken, everyone present could surrender except him.

Once he falls into the hands of the government army, not only will he be tortured to death, but his family will also be destroyed.

Let him be infamous for eternity, anyway, the name "Duan Shengde" is used by him as an enemy.

Amid the chaos and war, the Holy White Lotus Kingdom had no time to verify the facts.

In public, he personally killed a member of the royal family as a token of his allegiance, and everyone believed that he was truly loyal.

"Okay, let's do as Governor Duan wishes.

Now the Holy Kingdom's troops are concentrated on several fronts, leaving the hinterland of Jiangxi empty.

Once Ganzhou is lost, Ji'an Prefecture and Linjiang Prefecture behind it will be threatened by the enemy.

At that time, the Fujian government troops and the Nanchang defenders will be able to cooperate with each other and jointly attack the Western King's army.

For the future of the Holy Nation, please bear with it for now and obey Lord Duan's orders!"

Yu Dabing thought for a moment and said.

Originally, he wanted to take the responsibility generously, but considering that the blame was too big, he backed down at the last moment.

Although he had not read much, he knew that such violent behavior would not have a good end.

Since Magistrate Duan can come up with such an unscrupulous idea, he must not be a good person, so let him take the blame.

……

Shaozhou Prefecture.

With the retreat of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom, this place has become an isolated city.

Under the continuous artillery fire, many gaps have appeared on the city wall.

"Master Zhu, you are well-informed. Do you know what kind of artillery the Pseudo-Dynasty used and why it was so powerful?"

Qi Dingyuan asked with a frown.

They were unlucky because the heavy siege artillery prepared earlier was not used in Guangzhou and all fell on them.

The huge iron ball was thrown at the city walls, which could not withstand it at all.

"Qi Zhenshou, you overestimate me.

When I was in the pseudo-dynasty, I was just a minor official, how could I know these things? "

The middle-aged general replied with a bitter look on his face.

After being defeated and captured, he was ready to die.

However, he failed to resist the rebels' sugar-coated bullets and made a decision that went against his ancestors two months ago to join the camp of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom.

He never expected that the situation would change as soon as he joined in.

The government troops broke through Guangzhou, rushed in recklessly, and besieged Shaozhou Prefecture.

"Rumble..."

"Retreat quickly, the enemy is using shrapnel!"

As he spoke, the middle-aged general hurriedly pulled Qi Zhenshou back.

The person in front of him is the benefactor who persuaded him to surrender.

If Qi Zhenshou died, he would have no support in the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus.

Just when he was halfway through the run, Qi Zhenshou's face suddenly changed drastically. He turned around and found that a large group of people were following him and running for their lives frantically.

There is nothing wrong with the commander dodging enemy fire, and the soldiers defending the city also dodging, which means they are handing over the city wall to the enemy!

"It's going to be bad!"

After this thought flashed through his mind, he made a prompt decision:
"Hurry back to me!

Everyone return to your positions immediately, anyone who violates this order will be killed without mercy!"

Driven by the personal guards, the soldiers who ran down the city wall were forced back again.

But after all this, the defenders, whose morale was already low, became even less motivated.

Looking at Captain Zhu who was following him, Qi Zhenshou suddenly felt that he had made a "wrong choice".

This guy is just a waste, and he is not at all the destined benefactor as the fortune teller said, who can help him achieve great success.

"Captain Zhu, what are you doing standing here? Return to your position immediately.

If you let the pseudo-dynasty army take advantage of this, I will chop off your head!"

Captain Zhu was startled by the sudden change in attitude.

In order to persuade him to surrender, he was given beauties and wine at an endless stream, and his treatment was almost as good as that of a king or a prince.

Not knowing what happened, or under the suppression of Qi Zhenshou's murderous aura, he returned to the front line with trepidation.

At this moment, a loud noise was heard and the city wall collapsed more than ten meters.

Seeing the gap, the government troops who were on high alert outside the city immediately launched an attack.

"Block it!"

"Hurry up and plug the gap!"

Captain Zhu gave the order hurriedly.

Unfortunately, as the captain guarding the city, he has been immersed in a life of gentleness since he was recruited to surrender.

Normally, he seldom entered the military camp and was not familiar with the soldiers under his command, let alone prestige.

"Whizzing……"

Captain Zhu, who was busy organizing the defense, fell directly on the city wall as a sharp arrow pierced through his body.

The defenders, having lost their command, became increasingly confused.

Faced with the all-out attack by the government troops, the defenders could only retreat continuously.

At this time, there were defeated soldiers everywhere and the supervision team had lost its function.

No matter how the general shouted, it could not change the fact that the city wall had been breached.

The battle lasted until dark, when it came to a temporary halt.

"Sir, the fall of Shaozhou is inevitable, so leave someone useful behind to plan for the follow-up.

Now that the sky is dark, it is the best time to evacuate! "

The persuasion of his personal soldiers helped Qi Zhenshou regain some of his rationality.

"The man surnamed Zhu misled me!"

"If he can escape, I will tear him into pieces!"

"withdraw!"

It is too frustrated.

Although he couldn't defend Shaozhou Prefecture, it shouldn't have fallen so quickly.

Even if he were lucky enough to return to the Holy Kingdom now, he would inevitably be laughed at by his colleagues.

……

Yongzhou Camp.

Looking at the information gathered from all over the place, Li Mu felt mixed emotions.

The Guangdong government troops successfully recaptured Shaozhou Prefecture, but the Fujian government troops were blocked by the enemy in Ganzhou Prefecture.

Without the addition of a new force, the deterrent effect on the rebels will inevitably be greatly reduced.

"Send a message to the Fujian general, telling him to capture Ganzhou as soon as possible.

Sixty thousand government troops could not recapture a city guarded by three thousand rebels. He is not ashamed. I am ashamed for him!"

(End of this chapter)