Fu Shanhe

Chapter 292 The conspiracy strikes
Outside Jinan city.

"Erdun, what a loser! He can't even catch a Yanshenggong!"

Huugjile said unhappily.

The failure of digging a tunnel to attack the city made him, the Great Chanyu, very embarrassed.

I thought that by digging a tunnel under the city wall and blowing up the wall, we would be able to successfully capture the city.

I never expected that in actual operation, it was not the case at all.

Several times when we were digging tunnels and reached under the moat, accidents happened.

I thought it was the people of the Yu Dynasty who were causing trouble on purpose, but later on our own people went down to dig.

As a result, during the underground construction process, the direction was deviated and the explosion was carried out more than 100 meters away from the city wall.

No casualties were caused to the enemy, but many of the vassal soldiers who risked their lives to launch a siege were killed by their own people.

There are even more accidents of collapse along the way.

They are prairie eagles, not burrowing marmots.

With no experience in digging tunnels and the tight deadline, it is normal for accidents to happen.

After much difficulty, they succeeded in digging a tunnel under the city wall, but failed to blow up the wall.

No one can tell whether it was because the amount of gunpowder filled was insufficient or there was a problem with the process of bombing the city.

It has continued to this day and is still a process of trial and error.

In order to maintain the dignity of the Chanyu, the suggestions he put forward must be continued.

With a lot of anger accumulated in his heart and no place to vent it, it was Erdun's turn to be unlucky after he had made up for his crime.

The escape of Duke Yansheng was an incident before, and now it was brought up again by Huugjile.

Fortunately, everyone knew that Huugjile was just speaking in anger and no one was in a hurry to add insult to injury.

"Great Chanyu, good news!"

"News came from the Shanxi merchants that Dayu Yingtian Prefecture had fallen.

The small court of the Yu Dynasty in Nanjing was directly wiped out by the White Lotus rebels.

The Yu people suffered heavy losses this time, I'm afraid they don't want to keep us!"

Erde reported excitedly.

Anyone with a little common sense knows the significance of Nanjing to the Dayu Dynasty.

It seems that only a city was lost, but in fact what was lost was Dayu's status in the hearts of people all over the world.

In the past, everyone treated all kinds of troubles as minor problems and did not take them seriously.

The situation is different now. People with foresight are considering how long Dayu's national fortune can last.

Thoughts that you didn't dare to think about in the past will slowly arise.

"it is good!"

“It seems that this is God’s help!

Pass the order down, and quickly convey the news that Nanjing fell to the White Lotus rebels to the defenders in Jinan City.

I don’t believe that their morale will remain unaffected!"

Huugjile couldn't help but exclaimed.

This time he invaded the south, taking most of his family assets with him, and he did it under great pressure.

If his actions were thwarted or something unexpected happened in the rear, his status among the Tatars would be affected.

"Great Chanyu, the situation has developed to this point. Whether we can capture Jinan City is no longer that important.

The White Lotus rebels are growing very fast. If they continue to cause trouble, they will replace Dayu.

The newly-born dynasties in the Central Plains are often also the periods when the military’s combat effectiveness is the strongest.

The destruction of Dayu at this moment would not bring any benefits to the Khanate.

What we need to do next is to transport the supplies out as quickly as possible and then rest and recuperate in peace.

As for the fight for the world, let Dayu and the White Lotus fight it out first!"

Internal Minister Sarina immediately persuaded.

Capturing Jinan and destroying the elite troops of the Dayu Dynasty is certainly important, but compared with the strategic security of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, it is not worth mentioning.

When becoming neighbors with the Central Plains Kingdom, one must definitely choose the weaker one in order to gain an advantage.

He didn't know the level of the White Lotus rebels for the time being, but since they were able to defeat the Yu army, they should not be too bad.

“The Minister is right, we should really consider retreating next.

However, we still need to find a way to remove this thorn in Jinan.

Wuyang Hou has a lot of troops under his command. If they come out to cause trouble for us when the coalition forces are withdrawing, it will be difficult to deal with them. "

Huugjile thought for a while and said.

After coming here from afar, how can he keep his dignity as the Chanyu if he doesn't have any outstanding military achievements?

We don't expect to completely annihilate Marquis Wuyang's troops, but at least we must inflict heavy damage on the enemy.

“Great Chanyu, the walls of Jinan are strong and the defenders are quite capable.

If we follow the normal siege method, it will take a while to see any results.

I think it would be better to divert the water from the Yellow River and use the water to attack the city!"

Arutan Wanhu on the side offered a suggestion.

During this invasion to the south, he robbed a theater troupe and listened to many operas.

There just so happens that one of the scenes is about the seven armies being flooded.

There have been cases in history where the Yellow River flooded and the water passed through Jinan.

Theoretically speaking, it is entirely possible to dig up the Yellow River to flood Jinan.

“Arutan Wanhu, digging the Yellow River is easy, just send people to dig the riverbed.

The problem is that the river flows and we cannot control it.

Jinan city is not close to the Yellow River, so it is hard to say whether the flood can flow over.

Even if there is no diversion in the middle, the flood can still flow over, but it is afraid that it will not be very powerful.

If we want to flood Jinan, we have to build a channel to prevent the water from flowing everywhere."

Sarina objected immediately.

Naturally, he had no objection to digging the Yellow River to attack the city.

The problem is the plan, it is totally unfeasible.

The city of Jinan is not located on the Yellow River, so how can the city wall be destroyed by digging the river?

Due to a little carelessness, the Yellow River was dug up, and the water did not flow to where they expected.

The entire surrounding area turned into a vast ocean, and the landlubber army of the grassland coalition could not adapt to the living environment in the water.

At that time, there will be no other option except retreat.

“It’s impossible to repair the canal!
The shortest distance from Jinan City to the Yellow River is probably hundreds of miles.

Such a large project cannot be completed in just two or three days.

However, the plan of digging the Yellow River can be used as an alternative.

Wait until the army withdraws, and then find an opportunity to take action, which will be considered as a gift to Emperor Dayu.

Now let’s carry out the original plan and spread the news of Nanjing’s fall to shake the defenders’ will to resist.”

Huugjile made the decision immediately.

As an enemy, he will never show mercy to anyone who can weaken Dayu's war potential.

The rise of the White Lotus Sect made him a little worried, but at the moment, Tatar’s biggest enemy was still Dayu.

……

After inspecting the city defenses, Li Mu found that the situation in the city was not good. The soaring food prices made it difficult for the people in the city to survive.

In order to fill their stomachs, some people took risks and went to hack at the city walls and eat "bricks".

In order to avoid long-term siege by enemy troops, the Dayu Dynasty usually made "glutinous rice bricks" using radish and glutinous rice as raw materials when building city walls.

When they ran out of food in the city, they would take off the bricks, soak them and cook them before eating.

The military craft soon spread to the people.

Far-sighted people would also make "glutinous rice bricks" to build houses during years of plenty.

When disaster strikes, they are used to satisfy hunger and save lives.

However, only a few people have reserves, while most people are not prepared and do not have the ability to prepare.

After the Northern Tartars besieged the city, trade with the outside world was cut off and many people lost their livelihoods.

The high food prices exceeded their tolerance limit.

In order to survive, they had no choice but to take the risk and break the "glutinous rice bricks" on the city wall.

There is no need to worry about the taste. Li Mu doesn't dare to try it because it looks like a brick.

"Lieutenant General Liu, how many people have you captured?"

Li Mu asked with concern.

In order to prevent the northern barbarians from causing trouble, he withdrew the original garrison after taking full control of the city defense.

For ordinary people, the city wall is a restricted area at this moment.

If you approach the city wall without permission, the defenders will think you are a spy and kill you. Not only will you die in vain, but your family will also be implicated.

Unless they were forced to do so, they would not dare to approach the city wall, let alone think about breaking the bricks.

"We captured more than 80 people in total, and a few unlucky ones were killed by the defenders as soon as they reached the top of the city wall."

Liu Qifeng replied helplessly.

So many people were arrested in the area he was guarding alone, and even more would be arrested if the area was expanded to the whole city.

Deep down, he sympathized with these people.

However, the army has its own rules, and the Dayu Law clearly stipulates that those glutinous rice bricks are emergency rations for the soldiers defending the city, and they are only allowed to be used when the food is cut off.

What these people are doing now is undoubtedly a violation of the national law and they are destroying military facilities without authorization.

If you want to make meritorious service, just accuse them of being spies of the Northern Barbarians, and there is no doubt about it.

"Since their crimes were relatively minor, we will give them a lighter sentence this time.

According to Dayu law, their entire family was exiled to the army and kept as coolies in the camp."

Li Mu sighed and said.

It seems like punishment, but in fact it is saving their lives.

If you stay in the army and do hard labor, at least you can have something to eat and won't starve to death.

However, this is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution. If the food problem is not solved, more people will take risks.

Although the military food reserves were sufficient, they were not enough to feed the people of an entire city.

After a brief contemplation, Li Mu suddenly had an idea.

It is the job of civil servants to stabilize food prices and appease the people, and he doesn't need to worry about it at all.

"Mr. Lan, send a letter to the Shandong Governor's Office and the Jinan Prefectural Office, telling them that the skyrocketing prices in the city have seriously affected the defense of the city.

I hope they can take effective measures to crack down on unscrupulous merchants who hoard goods and stabilize the prices in the city as soon as possible.

Especially food prices, they must be brought down as soon as possible."

Li Mu thought for a while and said.

He didn't know whether the local government could solve the problem, but the necessary procedures must be followed.

If they can't handle it, then take action yourself and help them solve the problem.

According to the Dayu law, during wartime the imperial court had the right to requisition grain from merchants as military rations for the army.

Once the table is overturned, no matter how much grain the unscrupulous merchants in the city hoard, they will all be helping him.

If the other party cooperated, an IOU would be written to the merchants whose grain was collected in the name of the Shandong local government.

As for the subsequent accounts, let the local authorities and them slowly negotiate.

If these people don't give him face, then his knife will also draw blood.

The only downside is that doing this will offend a lot of people.

Any merchant who dares to hoard goods at this time must have someone backing him up, otherwise he would have lost his head long ago.

From the perspective of personal career development, doing so will do more harm than good.

But if we want to defend the city of Jinan, someone has to do these offensive things.

"Admiral, now is probably not the right time to solve the problem.

In the past two days, some people in the city spread rumors that Nanjing City was captured by the rebels and the entire Southern Zhili fell into the hands of the White Lotus Sect.

Some exaggerated rumors even said that the White Lotus rebels and the Northern Tartars had formed an alliance to jointly attack the imperial court.

Normal people know that these rumors are false, but the people in the city believed them.

The local government offices are busy trying to appease the people, and I'm afraid they won't have the energy to do anything else in the short term."

Lan Linjie reminded gently.

The local government appeased the people, in other words: appeased the hearts of the gentry.

At such a sensitive moment, the government usually does not dare to offend the local residents in the city.

If they are pushed into a corner, they will defect to the northern barbarians in anger and start colluding with the enemy from both inside and outside.

The difficulty of defending the city of Jinan will definitely increase significantly.

“Rumors may not be false.

As early as ten days ago, the Northern Barbarians blocked our channels of communication with the outside world.

At that time, Hangzhou had already fallen and Nanjing was also in danger.

Due to the distance, there is a certain lag in the information we receive.

It is possible that Nanjing had already fallen at that time, or it was making a final resistance, but the news was not delivered in time.

Since the Northern Tartars have brought it up for publicity, I think it's not without purpose.

If nothing unexpected happens, they will deliberately leave a loophole so that we can send someone to verify the news.

Tell the Shandong Governor's Office directly and ask them to issue a notice stating the conspiracy of these northern barbarians.

Let them be responsible for stabilizing the price increases.

Especially at times like this, we should not be afraid of offending people.

If the merchants don't cooperate, they will be killed in the name of collusion with the enemy.

No matter who is involved, we must get to the bottom of it.

If they don't have the courage to do it, then just authorize us and I can help them complete it.

If you want to appease people, empty propaganda alone is not enough, the key is to let everyone fill their stomachs.

It is unrealistic to let everyone eat until they are fully full, so as to avoid any troubles.”

Li Mu said calmly.

He was mentally prepared in advance, so the news of the fall of Nanjing did not scare him at all.

Compared with the rumors among the people, what needs more attention is the military.

As long as the army supporting the king remains unaffected, no matter how hard the enemy's spies try, it will be in vain.

……

(End of this chapter)