Fu Shanhe

Chapter 305 Hidden Arrow
"After this battle, the matter of serving the king is over, and the court will now reward those who have made contributions.

As the only army that achieved two major victories in the war to support the king, our battle report also represents the reputation of the imperial court.

The Ministry of War will not take it too seriously if there is some water in the battle report.

It is impossible to fake the heads of real prisoners, so we report them according to the actual results achieved and modify the other data.

As for the number of enemy troops defeated, since the statistics is the sum of multiple battles, we might as well report that a total of 160,000 enemy troops were defeated.

When counting prisoners of war, able-bodied men captured by the enemy were also included in the count.

As for the spoils of war, I'll take the broken weapons and some iron pots.

The rest of the supplies were burned by the enemy, and we didn’t capture anything.”

Marquis Wuyang thought for a moment and said.

The day when he is rewarded according to his merits is when he is conferred a title.

The better the results, the easier it will be to operate later.

It's not only for his own face, but also for the face of the Queen Mother in the palace.

In the era of family rule, people are never independent individuals.

In addition to the commander-in-chief Wuyang Hou, who was able to receive rewards, the officers and soldiers under him also had their own honors.

The Dayu Dynasty was extremely poor and the imperial court could not afford to give gold and silver rewards, so it could only make compensation from other sources.

Even if there is no position temporarily, an honorary title should be granted.

In peacetime, such empty and nominal positions are meaningless.

But now is a time of war, and with the rampage of the rebels, official vacancies have appeared in many provinces.

If the imperial court could recover the lost territory, these people could legally fill the vacancies.

These are the worst times for the civil service.

The rebels slaughtered gentry at will, and many literati families declined.

In order to stabilize the situation and for the sake of his fellow countrymen, he had to make concessions in the court.

This is the best era for the noble group.

There is military merit only when there is war, and there is a right to speak only when there is military merit.

Recovering lost territory is also a way to grab land.

The vacant official position will naturally be filled by a meritorious official.

Compared with the separatist Liaodong Town, they actually took more.

It is only because their political skills have become more mature and they have expanded their power under the rules system, so their operations are more covert and less noticeable.

"My Lord, the battle report is easy to handle. I will make new arrangements once I go down.

The battle of Jinan is coming to an end, and next we have to go to the capital to report on our work.

The current situation in the DPRK is complicated and I really don’t understand it. Please give me some advice.”

Li Mu asked.

There are people like him in the capital, so he is naturally aware of the changes in the situation in the court.

But what he saw was the situation in the court and the political arrangements of the nobles and civil officials, and he had no way of knowing what the emperor was thinking.

Although they are all high-ranking officials in the imperial court, there are differences in closeness and distance between them.

Marquis Wuyang has a special status. He was pushed to a high position by Emperor Yongning and is a core member of the emperor's party.

With him in this position, the emperor would definitely ask for his opinion on the court’s next strategic plan.

As we spend more time communicating, our understanding of each other will naturally deepen.

Compared with others, Marquis Wuyang undoubtedly has a deeper understanding of Emperor Yongning.

"Why are you panicking? You are now an important official, not a small captain in the capital.

If nothing goes wrong, you will be rewarded with a title after the war.

It is not only a reward for your achievements, but also a deliberate act for all the troops who came to support the king to see, especially for the Liaodong Town to see.

The situation in the court changed, and serious disagreements arose within the civil service group on the issue of suppressing military generals.

Some even suggested that a nobleman be appointed governor-general to be responsible for suppressing the rebellion.

Your Majesty is moved.

However, it is not necessarily the case that a nobleman will be appointed as the governor. It is also possible that he will serve as an imperial envoy and exercise the governor's powers.

Simply based on your military achievements and status, after being awarded a title by the imperial court, you are also eligible to participate in the competition.

The risks and benefits are huge, so you need to consider whether to fight for it.

I personally suggest that you stay calm for a few more years. If you reach the pinnacle of military command at such a young age, your future will be dangerous."

Marquis Wuyang gave a subtle reminder.

Being too successful and thus endangering the ruler is too fatal for a military general.

If they were in an ordinary relationship, he would never say such taboo words.

However, on the road to rise, he and Li Mu were too closely tied together.

All the civil and military officials in the court knew that Li Mu was his direct confidant and it would be difficult to cut off ties with him.

If Li Mu were to die one day, he, as the boss, would inevitably be implicated.

"Thank you for your teachings, Lord. At this sensitive moment, I will not fight for it.

My uncle wrote to me the day before yesterday and also told me about this.

Not only will I not come out to argue, he will also find a way to refuse."

Li Mu expressed his opinion immediately.

These words were not only spoken to Marquis Wuyang, but also to Emperor Yongning.

As the core of the noble camp, the Li family has expanded rapidly in the military in recent years.

In addition to Li Mu, many clan members also entered the army and held important positions.

Including Li Mu's subordinates, there are many clan members.

However, in order to avoid suspicion, these people were not promoted to high positions, and they were not even allowed to do jobs that would attract attention.

On the surface, the troops under his command do not bear a strong imprint of the Li family.

But if you study it carefully, you will find that the positions held by these people are basically core positions.

Although his rank is not high, he has great power.

Li is a common surname, so it is not surprising that there are some generals with the surname Li in the army.

We don’t have much contact during normal times.

All the generals in the army are unaware of these relationships, so they are like hidden pieces.

However, no matter how covertly it is done, it cannot be hidden from those who are interested.

Fortunately, everyone does this these days, so one more person won’t be noticeable.

Relatively speaking, this is considered a good way of eating, as the person knows how to avoid suspicion.

When it comes to the Nine Frontier Generals, they directly put their nepotism on the table.

Three generals and more than a dozen lieutenant generals appeared in the army.

“I’m afraid he can’t refuse!
Among the civil service group, the people in Jiangnan have the most say.

In the past, they were the main force to suppress the generals, and he was the one who took the lead every time to suppress the generals.

Now the situation has changed. My hometown has been occupied by the rebels, and many people's ancestral graves have been dug up by the rebels. Everyone hates the White Lotus Sect to the core.

Many previous wars have proved that the traditional method of using culture to control military power is incapable of cleaning up the current mess.

For their own interests, these people's political stance has passively changed.

They are said to be lobbying hard and achieving significant results.

The last time the Minister of War proposed that a nobleman be appointed as governor, he was able to gain the support of half of the people, and there will be even more supporters in the future.

The situation is now very bad, with provinces either occupied by rebels or threatened by them.

The northern provinces also face the threat of the northern barbarians. For the sake of their own family's interests, they must support the court to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.

The atrocities committed by the Northern Tartars in Qufu shattered the fantasies of many people.

Once the various factions of the civil service group reach a consensus, and His Majesty is also inclined to use meritorious officials, it will be difficult for Marquis Zhenyuan to leave the capital.

After all, there is a shortage of talent among the nobles now, and only a few are capable of commanding a large army."

Marquis Wuyang shook his head and said.

Some things cannot be avoided even if you want to.

It is an indisputable fact that the nobles have fallen.

There seem to be quite a few children of nobles in the army, but in fact most of them are from the side branches of the nobles.

Apart from having a prominent ancestor, his life is better than that of ordinary people.

If they were not supported by their clans and provided free family education, they would be no different from ordinary people. It is precisely because they have nothing that these people are willing to join the army and fight for wealth on the battlefield.

It will take time for these people to grow up.

The main line of the direct lineage cannot step out of their comfort zone because of their wealthy life.

Even if they joined the army, they only served in the capital and thought it was too far to go out of the capital.

Naturally, no famous generals would be born in such a living environment.

Among the nobles of the previous generation, Duke Chengguo and Marquis Zhenyuan were the only remaining generals with rich experience in leading troops.

As for the ability to use troops and fight wars, it is actually not outstanding.

The main reason why all parties pushed them forward was that they had prestige among the nobles.

Now the main force of the army suppressing the rebellion in the south is mostly military generals from the noble family.

They can come here seamlessly and directly command the army to fight without causing any trouble.

If it were a civil servant, it would take a lot of time just to sort out the relationships below.

It is also unknown whether the generals below are willing to execute the military orders issued.

Even during the time when Xu Ge Lao personally went to the front lines to supervise the troops, his subordinates often pretended to obey but actually disobeyed.

At least Li Mu was selective in executing orders at the beginning, and he only contributed 5 or 6 points out of his 10 points of strength.

The situation in other departments is similar. Before executing orders, the first thing everyone does is weigh the pros and cons.

In this context, it is normal to suffer defeat on the front line.

After suffering several losses in a row, everyone is summing up the experience and lessons.

Knowing that something bad will happen if an amateur commands professionals in a battle, we might as well give the professionals the chance to take over.

No matter what the military level of Duke Chengguo and Marquis Zhenyuan is, they are definitely better than those unlucky civil governors mentioned above.

He also has a good prestige in the army, and the generals under him are willing to obey his orders.

No matter how poorly the performance on the battlefield is, it is better than continuing to send civilians into battle.

The fact that no civil servant was willing to serve as governor-general to suppress the rebellion was also an important factor contributing to this result.

……

Standing by the Yellow River, looking at the surging river water, Ulige felt his eyes go dark.

The boat at the ferry had long since disappeared.

The soldiers left behind in the front became a Jingguan.

Everything was fine when we came here, but now there is no boat, how can we go back?
Just think about riding a horse across the Yellow River.

If you really want to try it, it would be like offering sacrifice to the river god.

"Chief, all the ferries have been pulled to the other side. We have searched for dozens of miles but have not found any trace of any ships."

After hearing the bad news brought by his men, Ulige was once again certain that this was an enemy conspiracy.

No wonder there were no enemy troops to intercept us. With the natural barrier of the Yellow River, there was no need to add unnecessary trouble.

Even if we build a raft on the spot to cross the river, it will still take time.

Now is the time to escape. Any delay may lead to the destruction of the entire army.

"Turn upstream immediately. I don't believe we will never find a chance to cross the river!"

Uligai immediately issued the order to march.

Knowing that Yu's army in Jinan was a tough nut to crack, he no longer wanted to engage in a head-on confrontation with the enemy.

If you can't afford to provoke him, he can afford to avoid him. The worst that can happen is that he will take a detour.

Having discarded all their spoils of war, the Guifang cavalry, with their light vehicles and few followers, marched much faster than the infantry.

As long as we get rid of the pursuers, there will be plenty of opportunities to cross the river later.

Although he spoke tough, deep down, he was still very nervous.

After suffering heavy casualties in Jinan Prefecture, the army now assembled only has more than 7,000 people.

Among them, there are quite a few people from the other two departments.

Theoretically, seven thousand cavalrymen are enough to gallop across the plains.

However, they had just suffered a defeat and their morale was too low to fight a tough battle.

The day after the Guifang army withdrew, Shu Zhongyi also arrived with his cavalry.

He dismounted and checked the remaining traces, and his brows suddenly furrowed.

The order he received was to weaken the enemy, but now the enemy was only interested in escaping and did not give him a chance to fight.

"General, judging from the time, the enemy troops who are one day ahead of us have probably already left Shandong by now.

If we continue to pursue them, we will have to enter Henan Province.”

The captain of the left army at the side spoke up to remind him.

The Dayu Dynasty had very strict restrictions on the use of the military, and this kind of cross-provincial pursuit was usually not allowed.

If it is really necessary to cross the border, a formal document must be issued and the consent of the local government must be obtained.

The only place where restrictions can be broken is in enemy-occupied areas.

Since local government offices do not exist, there is naturally no need to follow procedures.

The authority the emperor gave to Marquis Wuyang was to manage military affairs in Shandong, but it did not involve Henan, which meant that the army sent to defend the king did not have the legal authority to fight in Henan.

Once they catch up, if they can win the battle, their superiors will take the responsibility for them.

If we return empty-handed, it will be fatal.

If they were charged with the crime of acting on their own and crossing the border to pursue the enemy, they would be severely punished if they did not die.

"Send someone to deliver the message back and ask the Admiral to make the decision."

Shu Zhongyi thought for a moment and said.

As a general who was not from a noble family, he was able to hold a high position because of his caution.

Without military orders from above, he would not dare to cross the border without authorization.

……

"Everyone, work harder, we'll soon reach the Yellow River!"

Bashar worked hard to encourage his soldiers.

The cavalry became infantry and had to take a detour through Henan, which was very frustrating.

The troops now look like a group of refugees.

The surrounding areas have been looted by the grassland coalition forces, making it difficult to obtain supplies.

If I hadn't been lucky enough to rob two small landlords who had escaped the net, I would have started to starve long ago.

"Chief, let's take a break!

This horrible weather is really not suitable for traveling."

The middle-aged man stepped forward and persuaded.

The weather in May has already felt a bit like the scorching summer heat.

Marching under the scorching sun is torture.

"That's it!
Let's rest here for half an hour, and then we'll be on our way again."

As soon as Bashar finished speaking, he saw a large group of cavalry rushing towards them.

"The flag of the Hyrule tribe, this is Uligai and his men!"

After a brief moment of joy, Bashar's face suddenly turned gloomy.

There is also brutal competition among the Guifang tribes.

It’s just that everyone’s strength is almost the same, so a large-scale war has not broken out.

It is not a good thing to encounter this situation now.

"Hide quickly, we can't let them find us!"

Bashar gave the order hastily.

In order to escape, he made promises to his subordinates that they would be safe if they met the coalition forces.

However, as a warlord on the grassland, he would not simply think that his allies would help them unconditionally.

Especially when they meet under a huge disparity in strength, the probability of the other party taking advantage of their misfortune is much greater than the probability of lending a hand to help them.

"Bashar, hiding like this is not what a steppe eagle should do!"

Bashar's defense broke down instantly when he heard this familiar voice.

What is meant to come will eventually come.

He was careful and struggled to survive along the way. Unexpectedly, he escaped the enemy's pursuit but could not escape the hidden arrows from his own family.

(End of this chapter)