Fu Shanhe

Chapter 249 Cruel
Outside Xiangyang City.

“Your Majesty, the reinforcements from the Pseudo-Dynasty are less than a hundred miles away from Xiangyang, and they will confront us in three days at most.

If we can't capture Xiangyang before then, we'll be in big trouble!"

Vanguard General Qin Laosan said with a serious expression.

Even if you have not read any military books, you will acquire basic common sense after several years of fighting in the military.

The delay in conquering Xiangyang had already affected the morale of the army.

Once the enemy receives reinforcements, the offensive and defensive situations will be reversed in an instant.

He kept shouting that the government troops were not worth mentioning, but deep down in his heart, he was still full of fear of the imperial court.

“You can see that this king naturally knows the seriousness of the problem.

But the problem is that the walls of Xiangyang are strong and there are tens of thousands of defenders in the city.

We have been attacking for such a long time but have not been able to break in. It is simply impossible to capture Xiangyang in just two days.

The people in charge are diehards who are loyal to the pseudo-dynasty. No amount of coercion or bribery will work."

Wei Hao said with a frown.

He wasted too much time in Xiangyang City.

If he were asked to give up at this moment, he would definitely be unwilling to do so.

But the reinforcements of the government army arrived again, with the Beijing camp and the border troops coming together. Looking at the scene, it was clear that the court was serious this time.

He had no idea whether he could defeat the enemy.

Just look at the White Lotus Saint Emperor. He was originally the most powerful person in the White Lotus Sect. But because of the imperial court's targeted crackdown, he can only flee around the world.

Fortunately, he was careful and deliberately delayed sending reinforcements, otherwise the reinforcements would have been in vain.

"Your Majesty, since we have been unable to capture Xiangyang, why don't we just turn around?
There are a large number of cavalry among the pseudo-Korean reinforcements. We have no advantage in a decisive battle with the enemy in the Central Plains.

Although many of the decisions made by the Holy Emperor were wrong, his decision to enter Shu was a brilliant move.

Unfortunately, the action was taken too late, and the Holy City was too much of a burden, so it was not easy to escape unscathed.

But we are different, we don’t have a large family to burden us.

It is entirely possible to adjust the direction of combat and charge into Shu before the enemy arrives at the battlefield, temporarily avoiding the attack of the pseudo-dynasty army.

Most of the enemy's reinforcements are from the north, and once they cross the Yangtze River, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.

We can definitely choose a suitable battlefield and annihilate them!"

Chief Secretary Xu Yanyu began to persuade.

Compared with the idea of ​​seizing the Central Plains, advancing westward into the land of Bashu is obviously more cowardly in terms of strategy.

But there is no way. The plan to compete for the Central Plains has now failed.

They continued to besiege Xiangyang and fought to the death. If the enemy reinforcements arrived, they might not be able to withstand them.

"Mr. Xu, are you sure the Holy Emperor cannot enter Shu?"

Wei Hao asked with a hint of surprise.

He had long been dissatisfied with the Holy Emperor who was oppressing him.

When foreign wars were launched, the Holy Kingdom did not contribute at all, but kept asking for soldiers, money, food and supplies.

In addition to these, the top leaders of the Holy Nation often interfered with the command on the front line, and even the offensive route was decided by the White Lotus Holy Emperor.

It's okay once or twice, but if it happens too many times, he will feel unbalanced.

Fighting for the Central Plains sounds impressive, but it is too difficult!

He had long since given up on making any breakthrough in Xiangyang.

However, for the sake of the overall interests of the Holy Kingdom, someone must attack the Central Plains to contain the Pseudo Dynasty, so he can only fight to the death against Xiangyang City.

Even if you are dissatisfied, you have to hold it in.

No matter what, he is the East King of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

Within the framework of the Holy Kingdom system, one must be subject to constraints.

He could not afford the bad reputation of betraying his master.

The Holy Emperor Bai Lian did not do anything wrong, and the grievances he suffered could not be brought to the table.

If he could betray the White Lotus Saint Emperor for some trivial matters today, then the generals under his command could also betray him for the same reason tomorrow.

"Loyalty and righteousness" are the bonds that hold the rebel army together. Once loyalty and righteousness no longer exist, the rebel army will come to an end.

But if the White Lotus Saint Emperor was seeking his own death and destroyed himself, then it wouldn't matter.

At worst, after the White Lotus Saint Emperor dies, he will burn more paper money and then raise the banner of revenge.

"My Lord, who can say for sure about this kind of thing?

But that villain Li Mu is indeed powerful, and now he commands the troops of three provinces.

The army in front of the Holy Emperor only had a few hundred thousand soldiers, and they did not have much advantage in terms of military strength against the villain Li Mu.

What's more, there are Guizhou's government troops blocking the road ahead. If nothing unexpected happens, the Shu's government troops will also be attracted to Loushan Pass.

Not only is the road difficult to travel, there are powerful enemies blocking the way ahead and pursuers chasing behind. The journey into Shu can be said to be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

In comparison, it is much easier here.

The troops of the pseudo-dynasty in Shu were attracted there again, and the country was internally empty at that time.

If we go upstream by boat, the government troops along the way will be almost negligible, which is much better than fighting our way out of the mountainous areas of Guizhou."

After listening to Xu Yanyu's explanation, everyone was excited.

From Guangxi all the way to the present, we have fought countless battles in the south and the north, but we have never had a stable home.

Compared with other regions, Sichuan is really suitable for separatism.

After taking Sichuan, Jin can follow the example of Emperor Gaozu of Han and march north to Guanzhong to seize the foundation of his kingdom.

You can retreat to establish your own regime and enjoy decades of wealth and prosperity.

"Your Majesty, Mr. Xu is right.

Now is the best time to enter Shu. As for the Central Plains, it is better to leave it to others to fight with Dayu.

After we occupy Shu, we will prepare our troops and wait for Dayu to decline, then we will fight for the world."

The Left General Deng Er began to persuade.

“I understand what you mean.

But if we lead our troops into Shu alone, what will happen to the foundation of the Holy Kingdom?
Without us to hold them back, the puppet army would surely march southwards and recover Huguang, Jiangxi and other areas.

Although the Southern King and the Western King were good fighters, they could not withstand the siege of multiple government troops.

If you do this, wouldn't that be putting me in an unjust position?"

Wei Hao frowned and refused.

There were fierce internal struggles among the major factions of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom, and they often attacked each other in private.

It's fake to worry about the life or death of colleagues. It's pure nonsense.

What really made Wei Hao hesitate was that once he ran away, these colleagues would not be able to withstand the encirclement and suppression by the government troops.

If all the rebel kings were killed, even if he succeeded in entering Shu, he would be fighting alone.

To fight the whole world with one corner of the country is a sure way to death.

"Your Majesty, if a tree is moved, it will die; if a person is moved, he will live.

The Holy Kingdom has many loyal and brave people. Even if they cannot defeat the government army for the time being, they should be able to fight against it with the help of the terrain.

As long as they can use tactics flexibly and change the battlefield in time, the Southern King and the Western King will not be in danger."

Xu Yanyu immediately persuaded.

Deep down, he was already groaning inwardly.

He had mentioned the matter of entering Shu many times, but the King of East was always hesitant and wasted too much time.

If you don’t make a decision now, you won’t be able to leave in the future.

The imperial court is not made of paper. Once it gets serious, these rebel armies will be no match for it.

Looking at the peasant uprisings in various dynasties, we all know that whoever raises the banner of rebellion first, no matter how violently, will not escape the fate of being destroyed.

Looking at the entire history, the commotion caused by the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus can only be considered quite good.

When Huang Chao started the uprising, he directly captured the capital, but he still could not escape the counterattack from the Tang Dynasty.

With the little strength they have now, if they stay at the north-south transportation hub, they are just waiting for death.

"Okay, I'll do it!

Pass the order down, let everyone pack their bags and prepare to enter Shu!"

Wei Hao slammed the table and said.

……

"Bang, bang, bang..."

"what!"

The dense sound of musketry, mixed with screams, broke the silence of the night sky.

"What happened?" Shi Rongxian, who was awakened from his sleep, asked hurriedly.

“Holy Emperor, the sound came from the east, it seems that the government troops have launched an attack.

The guards have already gone to investigate, and I think there will be news soon."

The female official's answer made Shi Rongxian frown.

Whatever you are afraid of will come to you.

Knowing that Li Mu's troops were good at night attacks, he also gave orders to strengthen the defense of the camp.

Unfortunately, the team was too large and had to set up camp separately.

During the specific implementation process, due to various special circumstances, the following commands cannot be strictly executed.

The battle has begun at this moment. Once a camp is breached, other camps will inevitably be affected.

It was pitch dark and he wanted to send reinforcements, but he didn't know how to deploy them.

Deep down in his heart, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

His intuition told him that the team would never be able to reach Shu with so many family members.

"kill!"

On the battlefield, shouts of killing resounded through heaven and earth.

The trained soldiers were still able to withstand the pressure, but their accompanying families were thrown into chaos.

The rebel camp that was the first to be caught up in the war has now become a living hell.

In order to counter the government army's muskets, the rebels also formed their own firearms units.

In the dark night, the rebel soldiers picked up old antiques and fired at the government troops on the battlefield.

The brief confrontation exposed the gap in training.

Compared with the orderly echelon shooting of the government troops, the rebel army simply shot randomly based on their feelings.

Not only was the accuracy even worse, the key point was that after a round of shooting was over, when the soldiers were busy reloading ammunition, the enemy's musket attacks continued.

The interval between reloading becomes the enemy's hunting time.

The rebel generals obviously overestimated the fighting spirit of their own army. Standing there and getting shot was simply not something an ordinary soldier could endure.

After discovering that the government army's firepower was uninterrupted, the rebel army's painstakingly trained musketeers collapsed in an instant.

No matter how hard the generals tried, they could not stop everyone's determination to escape.

It was pitch dark, with defeated soldiers everywhere, and the supervisory team was too busy to handle it.

As soon as one camp was captured, the war spread to another.

"No one is allowed to approach the camp. Anyone violating this rule will be killed without mercy!"

The defending general gave the order coldly.

"General, we are all on the same side outside!"

The young soldier said reluctantly.

"Snapped!"

“I don’t want to repeat my order a second time.

Archers aim at those who are close to the camp and shoot. I will never allow anyone to threaten the safety of the camp!"

After slapping him, the defending general gave orders again.

The camp gate, which was originally designed to defend against the enemy, was not used to defend against the enemy, but instead was used to block their own people.

But there is no way, war is cruel.

Once the defeated soldiers and their families from outside were allowed in, their own camp would soon fall into chaos.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

As the sharp arrows flew out, the chaotic troops that had originally attacked the camp gate instantly fled in all directions.

Faintly, threats and curses could be heard.

……

The tragedy outside gradually reached Shi Rongxian.

"enough!"

“I called you here to discuss a strategy for repelling the enemy, not to listen to you complain about each other.

In the dark night, who knows if there are government troops lurking among the chaotic army? What's the problem with stopping them from entering the camp?"

Shi Rongxian scolded angrily on the spot.

The number of government troops that came for the night attack was not large, and the ones that suffered heavy losses were mainly the several camps in the east.

The situation would be different if the spread of chaos was not contained in time.

Once the government troops seize the opportunity, it will be a massacre, which may affect the entire army.

As for the losses of his family, Shi Rongxian pretended not to see them.

As the situation has developed to this point, the families brought by the army have become the biggest burden for the Holy Kingdom.

But he couldn't order these people to be thrown away.

Death in a night raid by government troops was exactly what he wanted.

He had arranged for a large number of troops to guard the place, but he was unable to save his family because the government troops' attack was too fierce.

Even if they felt resentful, they could only blame the government troops.

"Holy Emperor, we must find a way to fight back!"

Mi Yingbo said with a red face.

The government troops were too cruel. They killed anyone they saw during the night attack, which dealt a heavy blow to the morale of the troops.

If you leave it alone, you will never have a peaceful night.

"I just sent out reinforcements, but unfortunately they were blocked by our own people before they could encounter the enemy.

Not only has our formation been disrupted, but we can only return to the camp after daybreak."

Shi Rongxian said with a serious expression.

The camps that have suffered heavy losses now all have a high proportion of family members.

Regardless of whether you want to rescue or not, you must make every effort to rescue.

After understanding the situation, he sent reinforcements immediately.

As a result, the team had just passed by when their own people disrupted their formation.

In the dark, the soldiers do not know their generals, and the generals do not know their soldiers, making command much more difficult.

"You can't just do nothing!"

As soon as he said it, Mi Yingbo realized that he had said something wrong.

Since ancient times, only those in higher positions have taken their anger out on those in lower positions. If those in lower positions take their anger out on those in higher positions, that would be reversing the Tiangang.

No matter what, a minister should not point his finger directly at the emperor. This is the way of a minister.

"Master Mi, watch your words!
No one wants to see the current situation.

The tragedy that happened tonight was entirely due to the enemy's despicable behavior.

If you have any grievances in your heart, you can blame it on that thief Li Mu instead of getting angry here."

Prime Minister Wu Zekai reprimanded immediately.

At a time like this, there cannot be any internal strife in the court.

If the Holy Emperor gets angry and kills Mi Yingbo, it will only make the situation worse.

"I have spoken out of turn. Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

After realizing what was happening, Mi Yingbo quickly apologized.

"Okay, these are just some small matters, I don't want to bother with them right now.

Everyone should quickly discuss the strategy to repel the enemy. If we delay any longer, I am afraid that more government troops will join the battle after daybreak."

Shi Rongxian waved his hand magnanimously.

When Mi Yingbo saw this scene, his face instantly turned pale.

Just because you don’t care about it now doesn’t mean you won’t care about it in the future.

If you really want to let this matter go and not bother with him, you should punish him now.

If no punishment is imposed, it means that old issues may be brought up at any time.

Shi Rongxian doesn't even need to take action, his political enemies in the court will take the initiative to collect evidence against him and give him a severe blow at the critical moment.

There is no use knowing it, because what Mi Yingbo said just now violated the Holy Emperor's taboo.

It was almost as if he had said it clearly: Shi Rongxian despised the family members who followed the army as a burden, and deliberately gave them to the government troops.

……

(End of this chapter)