Fu Shanhe

Chapter 317 Siege
Such a major event as the independence of the Chu State must be celebrated.

After the ceremony of offering sacrifice to heaven ended, Wei Jiarui returned to the palace with his ministers and started the celebration.

The generals ate meat with big mouthfuls and drank wine with big bowls, pushing the atmosphere to a climax.

Compared to the roughness of the military generals, the civil officials are much more elegant.

Also celebrating the founding of the State of Chu, many civil servants had very forced smiles.

Having lived in an environment where civil officials control military officials for a long time, they have long been accustomed to suppressing military generals.

But the situation in Chu State was completely opposite. The military generals had much more say than the civil officials.

Especially those military generals who started their careers with Wei Jiarui, they relied on their seniority and looked down upon the civil servants of the same level.

"Your Majesty, etiquette cannot be abolished!"

Seeing someone dragging Wei Jiarui downstairs to drink, an old man couldn't help but step forward and give some advice.

He is so presumptuous that he doesn't even know the difference between a ruler and his subjects.

In the eyes of Confucian scholars, this behavior that challenges the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues is an unforgivable crime.

If it is not stopped in time, the King of Chu and the generals who come down will become brothers, and they will have no chance of turning things around.

"We are all brothers, there is no need to worry about so much today!"

Wei Jiarui responded with a smile.

Everyone gathered together, drinking and eating meat without any restraint, which was exactly the life he liked best.

Wine and meat are secondary, what we enjoy is the atmosphere.

However, he obviously underestimated the determination of the civil servants. Since someone took the lead, everyone naturally followed suit.

Admonishing the monarch is a reflection of the character of the scholar-officials.

Although their literary character no longer existed since they betrayed Dayu.

"Your Majesty, the saint said..."

"Stop talking nonsense. We are just brothers drinking together. What does it have to do with you?"

Wei Jialiang, who was drunk, interrupted immediately.

There is nothing wrong with what he said. Just by looking at the name, you can tell that he and Wei Jiarui have a special relationship.

They are not just being polite, they are truly brothers.

"Third brother, don't be rude!"

Wei Jiarui scolded immediately.

As a leader with ambitions for the world, you must show what you should do.

Even though he also believed that these civil servants were too busy with formalities, they should still be encouraged on the surface.

The addition of these people allowed his rebel team to break away from the makeshift group and gradually move towards formalization.

"Brother, do you really take the words of a few corrupt scholars seriously?"

Wei Jialiang’s words made Wei Jiarui so angry that he almost died.

It’s okay to think about this kind of thing in private, but don’t say it out loud regardless of the occasion!

Isn't it embarrassing for him to say this in front of all the ministers?

If he follows his heart and speaks the truth, he will probably turn against the civil servants who have defected to him.

Severely punishing his own brother, not to mention whether he can do it.

Even if you can be ruthless, you still have to consider the thoughts of the generals.

It's useless to talk about big principles, as the knowledge level of most generals is very limited.

They are not familiar with Confucianism at all.

Everyone just follows their own simple understanding to analyze and evaluate things.

"Report!"

"Emergency military situation at the front line, Yongzhou is in danger..."

The middle-aged general, who had been holding back for a long time, finally found an opportunity to submit a battle report.

The current situation is at a stalemate. Any carelessness will affect the unity within the Chu State. Wei Jiarui needs a way out.

The news of Yongzhou's emergency appearing on a day like today is certainly not a good sign.

But internal unity is far more important than face.

"My dear ministers, the puppet army is heading straight for Yongzhou, and the battle on the front line is urgent.

I have official business to attend to, so I won't celebrate with you.

All officials above the second rank in the court, please follow me to the side hall to discuss matters."

Wei Jiarui took the opportunity to change the subject.

For entrepreneurial teams, the later internal conflicts are aroused, the better.

As for resolving the conflict, that is impossible.

It seems to be a struggle between civil and military affairs, but in fact it is a struggle for power.

When it comes to their vital interests, it is not possible for the King of Chu to stop just by saying a few words.

Even if he could really resolve the conflict, he wouldn't do it.

Without conflicts of interest, the people below will stick together and he might be sidelined one day.

In this context, what he needs to do most is to maintain balance as much as possible and act as an arbitrator of conflicts.

……

"Rumble..."

With the sound of artillery fire, a new round of attack and defense of Yongzhou officially began.

"General Min, the enemy is attacking the city. What should we do now?"

Song Zetao asked in a panic.

A person's name is like the shadow of a tree. The two words "Li Mu" brought too much pressure to him.

Back then, the top leaders of the White Lotus Holy Nation caused the central government to be wiped out by this man due to a strategic misjudgment.

The White Lotus Saint Emperor, who was the backbone of the group, was gone all of a sudden, leaving everyone at a loss as to what to do. This led to the three kings dividing the White Lotus.

If it weren't for this great defeat, the rebels would be much more powerful than they are now.

It is possible that at this moment, the main force of the Holy Kingdom's army has already entered the Central Plains and secured victory in advance.

"Sir Song, if we calculate the time, the letter for help should have been delivered to His Royal Highness the King of Chu by now.

It is not yet known how the prince will deal with the situation next.

Anyway, the enemy has come and we cannot be forced to fight, so we should defend the city first."

Min Wuliu said carelessly.

Although he said it lightly, he was also extremely panicked deep down.

The Holy Emperor's army of more than 100,000 was forced to break out. His 10,000 troops were really not enough.

Now we can only hope that the reinforcements will arrive soon, otherwise the subsequent battles will be difficult to fight.

……

Outside Yongzhou City, the Allied Forces camp.

Li Mu stood on the observation deck holding a telescope, watching the battlefield quietly.

"The picture is too blurry. We can't see exactly what's happening on the front line. How about we move the headquarters forward?"

Li Yuan said with a frown.

This place is more than ten miles away from Yongzhou City, which is far beyond the range of conventional artillery shells.

The reason why Li Mu set up the camp so far away was simply because he was afraid of death.

All kinds of unexpected accidents may happen on the battlefield.

As a cautious general, he naturally wanted to avoid risks as much as possible.

“No need!

There is nothing new about siege warfare, it is enough to just watch it briefly.

Now that the commander's camp has moved forward, the command center has been exposed to the enemy's artillery range.

If we are unlucky and a missile hits the commander's camp, then the loss will outweigh the gain."

Li Mu explained without changing his expression.

As a commander, being too "cautious" on the battlefield is not a sin, but being too brave is a disaster.

Hiding the camp is useless because the enemy's artillery has a terrible accuracy and the shells may hit anywhere.

The best option is to set up the commander's camp outside the battlefield. No matter how the enemy's artillery fires, it cannot threaten the security of the command system.

"Um!

It's better to be cautious, and we should indeed be more careful.

The advancement of artillery technology has directly changed the mode of warfare.

Traditional military experience has become outdated today.

I will compile your combat experience into a military book and leave it in the clan for the outstanding children to learn from."

Realizing his own shortcomings, Li Yuan did not hide anything and directly admitted his flaws.

The lag in military knowledge is undoubtedly disastrous for a family of military generals.

"Let's talk about it after the war is over and we have some free time!

At a time like this, we should prioritize defeating the enemy."

Li Mu agreed after a little thought.

In a clan society, this kind of thing is indispensable.

It is by relying on the valuable experience left by his predecessors that he has been able to reach where he is today.

Relying on the memories of his previous life and his own explorations, he was definitely at the forefront of the times in the use of firearms.

If you tidy up the language and combine it with previous cases, you will have a ready-made military book.

With this contribution, there must be a vivid description of it in the clan’s family history.

Opening a family tree alone is just basic operation.

Ever since he was granted the title of marquis, the lineage he represented has skyrocketed in status within the clan.

There was no conflict because Li Mu's lineage had long since moved to Hanzhong and distanced itself from the other branches in the capital.

The less contact there is, the smaller the chance of conflict.

There is no core conflict of interest for the time being.

Everyone has his or her own business and will not be concerned about the small profits from the clan land. The strategic focus of each family is on officialdom.

As time passed, the sound of artillery fire became more frequent.

Faced with heavy psychological pressure, the defending soldiers chose to fire the shells first, regardless of whether they could hit the enemy or not.

With a loud "bang", the cannons on the city wall exploded violently.

The flying shrapnel launched random attacks on the surrounding soldiers.

"What happened? Why did the cannon explode?"

Min Wuliu asked sternly.

In order to solve the problem of artillery explosion, a variety of measures were taken during the White Lotus Holy Kingdom period.

Strict regulations have been established for the use of artillery and its daily maintenance.

If you follow the operating procedures, the probability of chamber explosion will be greatly reduced.

(End of this chapter)