Fu Shanhe

Chapter 263 A Difficult Situation

Capital.

Looking at the battle reports coming in from all over the place, Emperor Yongning frowned.

Since the Guangxi Army fell silent, the government army has once again started to suffer more defeats than victories.

Today this place falls, tomorrow that place is lost, the bad news keeps coming.

The counterattack plan was reported every now and then, which meant that deviations occurred during the execution process.

The failure to pay military salaries on time greatly dampened military morale.

The lack of food and fodder supply is a core factor that affects the suppression of the rebellion.

Compared with the previous encirclement and suppression army, the main forces participating in the war now are mostly guest troops who came to help in the past, and they have much higher autonomy.

If we want everyone to fight for their lives, we need to provide them with enough money and food before we talk about fighting.

With insufficient food and money, everyone just slacked off on the battlefield.

Of course, these were seen by Emperor Yongning.

Although the fact that all parties were deliberately dragging their feet was exposed, the front-line generals firmly denied it.

They all blamed logistics, saying that the lack of money and food had affected the army's combat effectiveness.

The easily influenced Emperor Yongning didn't know who to trust.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that after each distribution of food and wages, there will be a wave of achievements, and then the state of slacking off will return.

“How is the recovery of Guangxi Town?
When can we send troops to support Yingtian Prefecture?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

He endured the fall of Chongqing Prefecture, and he also chose to accept the loss of large tracts of land in the Jiangnan region.

But Yingtian Prefecture is the bottom line. Once Nanjing City is lost, it will be a huge mess.

This pot is too big for anyone to carry.

At that time, he would bring his ministers into the Taimiao to apologize to his ancestors.

The "Confession of Sins" is also indispensable.

Not only will it affect the emperor's authority, it will also stimulate anti-Yu forces throughout the world.

“Your Majesty, according to Marquis Wuyang’s plan, we will establish a Guangdong Town based on the Guangxi Town.

According to the practice of our dynasty, each town is under the jurisdiction of two battalions of troops, and each battalion has a full staff of more than 5,600 people.

Including the personal guards, the total strength of the two towns is about 25,000 people.

The recruitment of personnel has been completed and intensive training is underway.

It is expected that troops will be dispatched to Jiangnan to relieve the siege of Nanjing around October."

Minister of War Wan Yuxuan stepped forward to report.

Frankly speaking, this pace of troop dispatch does not satisfy the Ministry of War.

But there was no way out. Their reasons were very sufficient and the severe shortage of military funds had affected the progress of army formation.

There is also a thick list of expenses attached, which lists all the costs from conscription to training and departure.

The Ministry of Revenue tried to cut spending, but was rejected.

According to Marquis Wuyang's original words, if any link is missing during the process, it will affect the combat effectiveness of the army.

Whoever proposes to cut the budget will be responsible for the combat effectiveness of the army.

No one can guarantee such a life-threatening thing.

The battlefield is full of surprises. If you are defeated, you will be the one to suffer the consequences.

What's more, the cost of the garrison troops in Guangdong and Guangxi is still dwarfed by the cavalry in Liaodong.

The imperial court's funding is insufficient and people are still raising military funds on their own. It would be very ignorant to look for trouble again.

Training costs money, and weapons and equipment are also a huge expense.

When Guangxi Town was split up earlier, weapons and equipment were taken away as well.

Now the two towns need to be reorganized, and the court must also find a way to provide them with sufficient equipment.

As elite troops, they naturally have certain privileges. They can basically choose any weapon they want, and they will try their best to satisfy any weapons the court has.

For this reason, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works gathered together and had a big fight.

"What on earth is going on!

I remember that Guangxi Town had 60,000 troops at its peak, and 35,000 or 36,000 after the annihilation of the false emperor. Now, they can't even gather 25,000 people?"

Emperor Yongning questioned with an unhappy look on his face.

He knew about the split of Guangxi Town, and he was even secretly happy in his heart that the people under him were sensible.

It can be split, but this split is too harsh.

Withdrawing so many people at once would be equivalent to destroying this army that had high hopes, and that would be crossing the line.

This is not the right method to suppress the rise of feudal lords. It would simply be self-destruction.

“Your Majesty, Guangxi Town’s original army of 60,000 was filled with a large number of auxiliary troops.

The actual number of combat troops was actually less than two-thirds.

The ones fighting on the battlefield are combat soldiers, and the main casualties are also combat soldiers.

After encircling and suppressing the false emperor's troops, the number of combat troops in Guangxi Town was less than 20,000.

As the generals were promoted, many of them were taken away, and in the end there were only more than 10,000 soldiers left.

The two towns currently under training were expanded based on these 10,000 people.

Unlike other armies, Guangdong Town and Guangxi Town are composed entirely of combat soldiers, and the original tasks of auxiliary troops will be handed over to the garrison troops.

If the siege of Nanjing is to be lifted, the total number of troops actually deployed by Guangdong and Guangxi will still exceed 50,000. "

Jing Guoliang began to explain.

Emperor Yongning was not the legitimate heir to the throne, and was educated as a vassal king to be loyal to the emperor and patriotic.

The military books that I have been familiar with since childhood are all abridged versions that are widely circulated outside, full of false and empty stuff.

These are one of the means to restrict the feudal lords, and there is nothing wrong with it.

As the prince became the emperor, things suddenly became awkward.

The means that were once used to restrain the princes directly backfired on the empire.

Much of the education the emperor received was distorted, and his cognition was inevitably affected.

When making decisions, we also use biased knowledge as the criterion for judgment.

"Oh!"

Although he gained more knowledge, Emperor Yongning's mood did not improve.

For an emperor, anything is acceptable except his own ignorance.

If it is not your responsibility and you cannot greet your ancestors, then it is the teacher's problem.

Deep down in his heart, Emperor Yongning once again scolded Yin and Zuo.

It was these two guys with evil intentions who deliberately hid things from him, causing him to make a fool of himself.

After learning about the situation in Guangxi Town, Emperor Yongning's expectations of them dropped to a lower level.

The recruit training will not end so soon.

Even if they could form an army, their combat effectiveness would not be as good as it was during its peak period.

No one can tell whether the siege of Yingtian Prefecture can be lifted.

“Send an order to the Governor-General of Jiangnan, asking him to launch a counterattack as soon as possible.

The battle plan to recapture Anqing has been prepared for several months, and I want to see results as soon as possible! "

……

Wuchang Mansion.

The shouts of killing resounded through the sky again, and everyone knew that the government troops were coming back.

Those who were loyal to the court were naturally delighted.

However, the scholars who had defected to the White Lotus Sect were not in a good mood at this moment.

The situation changed too quickly, and those who were in the middle of it couldn't see clearly at all.

A few months ago, the White Lotus Sect had the potential to conquer the world, but in the blink of an eye, the White Lotus Saint Emperor was killed by the imperial court.

The leaderless Holy White Lotus Kingdom was essentially divided into three parts.

The three parties were at loggerheads over the distribution of strategic materials.

If the pressure from the imperial court had not been too strong, internal fighting would have broken out first.

As a last resort, everyone could only divide up their territory and play on their own. Compared to the panic of his subordinates, the defending general Yuan Lao Wu was quite calm.

Eat when you should, drink when you should, and sleep soundly.

"General, the puppet army is approaching the city, and the people in the city are in a panic.

If we don’t take action quickly, something unexpected may happen!”

Guo Yi persuaded with a serious look.

When it comes to rebellion, once you get involved, you'll have no choice but to go down this path until the end.

The White Lotus Sect caused too much trouble and offended all the gentry in the world.

Even if you are lucky enough to be recruited, you will inevitably be held accountable in the future.

"Mr. Guo, you are crazy.

The puppet army is besieging the city, so let them do it.

Without the cooperation of spies, it would not be easy to capture Wuchang Prefecture.

The prince once taught me that the more times like this, the more I should not panic.

At a time like this, the more you do, the more mistakes you make.”

Elder Five said calmly.

As a rough guy, I was able to get to my current position by relying on my thick nerves.

No matter how dangerous the situation is, he can always face it calmly, giving people a feeling of confidence.

When on the battlefield, he never thought about anything else but fighting bravely.

In the eyes of his superiors, this was a performance that could be of great use, and he was promoted all the way to the position of Wuchang Garrison Commander.

The commander's calmness made Guo Yi very embarrassed.

If he didn't know that Elder Five didn't like to play tricks, he would have suspected that this was a warning to him.

The last time Wuchang fell, it was he who led his men to open the city gate.

He successfully saved his family, but also made him notorious in the gentry circle.

In an era that advocated loyalty and righteousness, as a juren of the Dayu Dynasty, he enjoyed the emperor's great favor.

"General, the Pseudo-Dynasty army is gathering more and more. Let's quickly send someone to notify the prince to send reinforcements!"

Guo Yi urged hurriedly.

As for how to defend the city, he didn't know as much as the fifth elder, so there was nothing much to say.

He still knew to ask for help from above when encountering a strong enemy.

“Stop dreaming!
The prince has just led his troops into Sichuan, and is now fighting a fierce battle with the army of the pseudo-dynasty. There is no reinforcement for us.

Wuchang City is strong and there is plenty of food stored in the city, so it will be no problem for it to hold out for two to three years.

When the prince has dealt with the Shu army and marched out of Sichuan, he will naturally come to rescue us as soon as possible."

Elder Five refused without hesitation.

Far water cannot quench near thirst.

If they want to defend Wuchang, they can only rely on themselves.

Compared to most people, Elder Five is more open-minded.

Being able to live to this day and enjoy a comfortable aristocratic life, every day is earned.

If he hadn't rebelled, he would have starved to death long ago.

Faced with such a calm coach, Guo Yi swallowed back all the words in his mind.

……

In the Wuchang camp, Xu Wenyue was holding a telescope and gazing at the city in the distance.

There was a hint of annoyance between his brows.

It was he who organized people to reinforce the city wall of Wuchang Prefecture.

The original intention was to stop the rebel attack, but unfortunately they encountered the prodigal Governor Zhu, who killed the rebel army prematurely.

The Battle of Wuchang was not fought hard before the enemy easily broke through the city, and the city defense fortifications were preserved almost perfectly.

Now it is my turn to attack the city. As strong as the city was built that day, it is becoming more and more of a headache now.

"Governor, the Shaanxi general left a letter and ran away with his troops!"

Upon receiving this news, Xu Wenyue was furious.

The Battle of Wuchang had just begun, and already a main force was missing. This was a bolt from the blue for him.

He snatched the letter from the guard and after opening it, his face became even uglier.

The reason why the Shaanxi general led his men to flee was that the rebels had invaded Shu and threatened the security of Guanzhong, so they had to go back to reinforce their hometown.

Logically speaking, this makes perfect sense.

The Shaanxi Regional Military Commission of the Dayu Dynasty governed the entire northwestern region, including Gansu, Ningxia and other places in later generations.

The money and grain from Shaanxi alone cannot support the defense of the above-mentioned areas.

Sichuan and Huguang provide a large amount of money and grain to Shaanxi every year as financial support.

This can be seen from the financial composition of Dayu. The contribution of Sichuan and Shu to the central government's fiscal revenue is only more than two points.

The proportion of tax grain in Huguang is also not high.

The combined taxes paid directly to the central government by the two places are not as much as Shaanxi's contribution.

The economic scale of the two places is completely mismatched.

The main reason for this situation was that the imperial court took measures to transport money and grain nearby in order to reduce losses.

Compared with Shaanxi, Shu is obviously farther away from the capital.

The tax grain collected by the imperial court from Shu was directly allocated to the surrounding border troops, while the tax grain from Shaanxi was sent to the capital.

The tax grain in Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei and Shandong accounts for more than 50% of the national tax grain, which was achieved under this policy.

There are already problems with the granary in Huguang. If there are also problems with the granary in Sichuan, the border troops in the northwest region will starve next year.

Without financial and grain support from the two provinces, even if Shaanxi intercepted all the tax grain, it would not be able to fill this hole.

When it comes to the issue of food security, Shaanxi will definitely give priority to reinforcing Sichuan and must not let the war spread to the Chengdu Plain.

"Bastard thing!"

"He actually disregarded military orders for his own selfish reasons."

"Do they still have the imperial court in their eyes?"

"Is there still an emperor?"

……

Xu Wenyue couldn't help but curse.

He could understand it logically, but reality did not allow him to understand it.

The sudden withdrawal of Shaanxi troops directly affected his plan to recapture Wuchang.

After the loss of this border army, the only main force in the camp was the Beijing Camp.

This unit looks good, its weapons and equipment are much better than those of ordinary armies, and logistics are also a priority.

The soldiers are all selected young and strong men, and their momentum is far superior to that of ordinary troops.

The only drawback is that the Beijing Battalion has to stay in the capital for a long time, has few opportunities for actual combat, and its true combat effectiveness is unknown.

In fact, the Beijing Army can reach its current level thanks to the major rectification during the previous emperor's reign.

Elite soldiers were drawn from the nine border areas and a large number of old and weak soldiers were eliminated, which led to the establishment of today's Beijing Camp.

"Mr. Ge, calm down!"

“The Shaanxi soldiers have already made up their minds to leave. Forcing them to stay will only keep their bodies, not their hearts.

It would be better to give Shaanxi some face and let them go."

Hou Huaichang persuaded tactfully.

Things are different now. Lord Xu’s faction has suffered a great loss of power, and his say in the court is far less than before.

Two years ago, no matter how dangerous the situation was, the Shaanxi soldiers would not dare to run away without Xu Wenyue's approval.

If we send people to forcibly retain the Shaanxi army at this time, it would be good if they can be retained, but if not, it would be a disgrace to the people.

It is very difficult to retain a troop of more than 20,000 people if they want to leave.

If a gunfight accidentally breaks out, it will be seen by the emperor as a sign of the commander's incompetence.

(End of this chapter)