Fu Shanhe

Chapter 269 Panic
Capital.

After the imperial edict was issued, Emperor Yongning was still feeling anxious.

The speed of the northern barbarians' attack was much faster than expected. It was only December when the enemy besieged the capital.

Such a grand scene was too much for the young Emperor Yongning to bear, and even the old ministers in the court were frightened.

Perhaps it was because their own lives were involved, or perhaps they were really scared, but the ministers who had been fighting among themselves finally stopped making trouble this time.

The nobles temporarily took over the defense of the capital, and the civil officials, apart from frequently making comments, did not directly try to seize power.

Everything was forced by the situation. Everyone knew that as long as the situation in Beijing eased slightly, a new round of infighting would break out.

"Your Majesty, the reinforcements from all over the country are making intensive preparations. It is expected that reinforcements will arrive in the capital in the early spring of next year."

Minister of War Wan Yuxuan stepped forward to report.

Judging from the distance, when the capital was in danger, the troops that would rush to provide reinforcements the fastest would naturally be from Tianjin, Xuanda, and Shandong.

Next was the army from Shanxi, followed by the armies from Shaanxi and Henan, as well as the garrison in the Shanhaiguan area.

However, all this is only theory. The enemy came from Xuanda, and the local government troops had already been defeated.

Only a few lucky ones managed to escape by hiding in the city.

Tianjin, Shandong, Shanxi and other places are now the targets of looting by the grassland coalition forces, and the local garrisons are unable to take care of themselves.

The government troops in Henan came to the aid of Huguang and are currently busy retaking Wuchang. The two sides have been fighting for several months.

In order to defend the capital, the court has withdrawn troops from the Beijing camp and the Henan army. I'm afraid Lord Xu will go crazy immediately.

The situation in Shaanxi was similar. The main forces of the Shaanxi Army entered Shu one after another. In order to protect the granaries in the rear, they were fighting desperately with the rebels.

In the northern land, the only town that can spare some time and has good combat effectiveness is Liaodong Town.

Unfortunately, Liaodong Town is not so easy to obey.

As the strongest military town of the Dayu Dynasty, Liaodong Town was the only force capable of confronting the Northern Tartar cavalry head-on on the battlefield.

Since we can't count on reinforcements from the north, we can only place our hopes on the south.

The White Lotus Rebellion spread so widely that only five provinces in the south were not threatened by the rebels.

The Guizhou soldiers were simply ignored. Unfortunately, in the previous battle to encircle and suppress the false emperor, their last capable soldiers were also taken away.

Due to financial constraints, there is no possibility of a turnaround in the short term.

The situation in Yunnan was only slightly better. Even if they tried their best, they could only mobilize 10,000 or 20,000 troops at most.

In fact, this only exists in theory.

As an inland province, it was thousands of miles from Yunnan to the capital. It would probably take them half a year to get there.

Considering Yunnan’s financial resources, which are unable to provide sufficient logistical supplies for the army, this support army is a huge disaster.

The only three provinces that are truly capable of sending troops are Guangdong, Guangxi, and Fujian.

However, this support army is too far away from the capital. We can't rely on it in the short term.

The only ones who could come to support the enemy the fastest were the four regiments of the Beijing Camp that were away from the battle. This small number of reinforcements was obviously no match for the Northern Tartars.

If we really want to keep the enemy troops here, we can only succeed by concentrating the reinforcements from the Beijing Camp, Liaodong Town, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, and adding them to the scattered reinforcements from other places.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!

You knew I would wait!

Even if I can afford to wait, the people outside cannot.

The coalition forces composed of the Northern Tartars and the Guifang people are carrying out devastating plundering on our Dayu.

If the imperial court does not take action, how will the people of the world view me?"

Emperor Yongning asked angrily.

Affected by the siege of the city by the grassland coalition forces, he brought all the civil and military officials to the Taimiao to apologize.

If we cannot wipe out this shame, we will inevitably be criticized in future history.

It is useless to force the historians to make changes, as there are simply too many people in the society who like to record history.

The grassland coalition invaded, besieged the capital, and plundered everywhere.

There is no need to exaggerate; this one fact alone is enough to make Emperor Yongning bear the stigma of being incompetent.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

……

The performance of the ministers made Emperor Yongning even angrier. What he wanted was a solution, not a group of people trying to persuade him to calm down.

Unfortunately, the reality was too cruel. After the only feasible tactic of changing homes was rejected, the Dayu Dynasty at this time did not have the ability to launch a counterattack.

The emperor did not want to bear the blame, and his ministers did not want to bear the blame either. It was impossible to expect someone to take the initiative to stand up and take responsibility.

Those who can get into the court are all good at shifting the blame, and everyone cares about their reputation during their lifetime and after their death.

They had to find ways to shirk their responsibilities, let alone take the initiative to help the emperor shoulder the responsibilities.

Of course, even if someone wants to show off, they can't bear such a big blame.

"waste!"

"They're all trash!"

"There are so many civil and military officials in the court. Is there no one who can share my worries?"

Faced with the furious emperor, the ministers lowered their heads tacitly.

No matter how clever their plans are, they can't make a meal without rice.

Before the arrival of reinforcements, any military operation would be a mistake.

……

Yangzhou Prefecture. After watching the Beijing Camp leave, Pei Yunxuan almost collapsed to the ground.

The reinforcements from Guangdong and Guangxi were about to come to support him. He had been dreaming of recovering the lost territory and becoming the pillar of support for the Great Yu Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, on the day of the army's swearing-in ceremony, the plan was interrupted by an imperial decree from the emperor.

The lack of reinforcements was tragic enough. However, misfortunes never come alone, and the army in the capital also had to return home to defend the capital.

"Governor, something terrible has happened!
The Shandong Army suddenly left a letter and marched away. At this moment, the camp was empty.

Lord Zhou has already sent people to chase him, but..."

"I understand. No need to say more."

Pei Yunxuan waved his hand to interrupt the soldier before he could finish speaking.

As a guest army, the Shandong soldiers were very considerate of themselves for being able to wait until now before withdrawing.

If they were disrespectful, they would run away to seek help as soon as their hometown encountered a crisis.

Although Emperor Yongning personally issued an edict that officers and soldiers who participated in the encirclement and suppression of the White Lotus rebels were not required to participate in this operation to support the king.

But everyone knows that this is just empty talk. They are foreign troops, and if their hometown is threatened, they must rescue their hometown first.

As for the difficulties faced by the Jiangnan region, they are only here to help and are not responsible for the deterioration of the situation.

"Governor, our plan to retake Anqing has failed. The rebels will definitely take advantage of our lack of manpower to expand their territory.

Let’s prepare for the defense of Yangzhou!

The imperial court has already lost Jiujiang, Anqing, and three-quarters of Jiangnan. Nanchang, Hangzhou, and Nanjing are also in danger. Yangzhou must not be lost again.

Since ancient times, to guard the Yangtze River, one must guard the Huai River.

By preserving the Lianghuai region, the imperial court would have the strategic initiative for future counterattacks.

Once the Huai River and Huai River regions were lost, the rebels would truly become a separatist regime. The enemy could use the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to block the offensive from the north.

The price to be paid to recover the lost territory will inevitably increase significantly!"

Gu Youwen said solemnly.

The worst situation has occurred. Even if Zhuge Kongming were reborn, he would not be able to save the Jiangnan region.

In this context, he, as the prefect of Yangzhou, had to consider his escape route.

A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist.

In order to encourage Pei Yunxuan to devote the last armed forces in his hands to the defense of Yangzhou, he could only keep emphasizing the importance of Yangzhou.

“You guys decide!

I am tired and need to go down and rest."

Pei Yunxuan waved his hand and said.

If you can't find a solution to the problem, just give up.

Drink while you can and live one day at a time.

He would accept any punishment from the imperial court in the future.

Make use of the rest of your life to enjoy it, so that you will not have lived your present life in vain.

……

Guangzhou Prefecture.

Li Mu put a lot of thought into collecting cotton.

Cotton cultivation had become popular during the Yu Dynasty, but the main planting areas were still concentrated in the Yangtze River Basin and the Yellow River Basin.

Although it is also grown in Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places, the scale of cultivation is much smaller.

Every time the cotton is ripe, it will be quickly purchased and then sent to workshops and factories for processing.

Before the war, Songjiang Prefecture was already the world's largest cotton spinning center.

In the past, when purchasing cotton-padded clothes, we just sent people to Songjiang Prefecture. It was not a problem to produce tens of thousands of cotton-padded clothes in a month.

It’s no longer possible now. Songjiang Prefecture fell into the hands of the rebels two months ago.

In fact, even if Songjiang Prefecture had not fallen, there would not be enough raw materials for processing and production.

In order to purchase enough cotton-padded clothes and quilts, Li Mu had to send people to place orders with workshops in Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Shandong and other places.

As the number of suppliers increases, the difficulty of quality control also increases. What's worse is that even if you have money, you can't buy enough goods in a short period of time.

As a last resort, Li Mu could only reduce the number of orders.

The original plan of two sets of cotton-padded clothes for each person was directly halved, and the expected one quilt for each person is now only prioritized for combat soldiers.

The northern land in winter is completely bare, especially near the capital, where there are only a few trees within a hundred miles.

With so many people in the army, there would definitely not be enough firewood to use locally.

As a moral general, he certainly cannot allow his soldiers to rob.

In order to solve the problem of heating for the soldiers, the only option was to increase the supply of charcoal in the logistical supplies.

Considering that the consumption was too high and the charcoal production might not be able to meet the demand, the coal quota was increased.

During the winter march in the north, frozen steamed bread could be used as weapons. If everyone had to eat dry food for a long time, even if the soldiers did not mutiny, the non-combat casualties would be an astonishing number.

Fire alone is not enough, a cooking pot is also needed. Although the military already has one, it does not affect its inclusion on the procurement list.

All ingredients must also take into account the soldiers' eating habits. In addition to the daily rice and meat, Li Mu also increased the proportion of sugar and salt by 30%.

After a series of operations, the original logistics material supply list was changed beyond recognition by Li Mu.

……

(End of this chapter)