Fu Shanhe

Chapter 321 Hidden Secret Passage

Nanjing Imperial Palace.

"The Northern Expedition has suffered a setback, and the Pseudo-Dynasty has sent troops to Songjiang Prefecture. This is truly a critical moment for survival. Do you have any strategies to teach me?"

Fu Haoxuan said with a serious look.

Since ancient times, it has always been difficult to unify the north from the south.

The Wu Kingdom had not even unified the south yet, so it rushed to the north, so naturally the journey would not be smooth.

However, everyone has fantasies about beautiful things.

The Northern Tartars had been wreaking havoc in the north for more than half a year, causing great distress to Dayu, which provided them with an opportunity to launch a northern expedition.

Now that the opportunity has come to me, I must try my best.

Unfortunately, the miracle did not happen. No matter how poor the Dayu Dynasty was, it still had some assets.

The Northern Expedition Army encountered border cavalry during the march and was hit head-on, causing a bloody mess. The main general was almost killed.

“Your Majesty, the setback of the Northern Expedition was expected.

Since ancient times, conquering the north from the south was always successful only after going through many hardships and obstacles.

This Northern Expedition was more out of political considerations, and not many troops were involved.

The fact that the puppet dynasty dispatched troops to Songjiang Prefecture just proves the correctness of our Northern Expedition.

The false emperor was afraid, so he desperately ordered the Yu army to split up and launch the Battle of Songjiang.

We have basically achieved the strategic goal of tying down the energy of the pseudo-dynasty and buying time for the rear to recuperate.

It successfully won half a year of peace for the provincial capitals in the rear.

During this period, the Wu Kingdom completed the reorganization of internal affairs and strengthened the training of the army.

The overall strength has increased by at least 50% compared to half a year ago.

Since the Pseudo Dynasty can't help but take action, then we will cut off their claws first!"

Ruiyu Yu answered tactfully.

The art of avoiding the important and focusing on the trivial is used to the extreme in his work.

The failure of the Northern Expedition was simply downplayed.

It’s not that Yu Ruiyu likes to flatter, but the current situation requires stability to be the priority.

In the start-up phase, the most important thing is morale.

The emperor's first words were "the Northern Expedition suffered a setback", which set the tone directly, and the prime minister naturally had to follow suit.

“What the Prime Minister said is right, just chop off their claws.

The main reason for the failure of the Northern Expedition was that we lacked cavalry and experience in fighting cavalry.

The pseudo-dynasty cavalry in the south is completely not on the same level as the elite troops of the Nine Frontiers.

The closest they came to having cavalry was during the White Lotus Holy Kingdom period, when they concentrated all their strength to put together a cavalry team.

Unfortunately, this unit was destroyed before it could play any role on the battlefield.

Since then, our cavalry units have been constrained by a shortage of war horses and have been unable to expand to a large scale.

However, this problem is not completely unsolvable.

We lack war horses, but some people do not lack war horses.

What they lack is exactly what we have.

And everyone has a common enemy - Dayu.

Your Majesty, as long as you authorize me, I am willing to contact the Shanxi merchants and purchase a batch of war horses from the north."

Minister of Rites Hu Yuzhe immediately gave suggestions.

As a new regime, Wu State had not yet reached the point where it needed to pay attention to etiquette, and Fu Haoxuan was even less particular about etiquette.

As a result, he, the Minister of Rites, became almost a decoration except for presiding over celebration ceremonies.

For a surrendered official, losing power is undoubtedly the beginning of disaster.

Even if the emperor needs a huge sum of money to buy a horse and gives him generous treatment, he will still suffer misfortune if he is not worthy of the position.

He made a lot of efforts to integrate into the team, but still achieved little results.

Those who are willing to huddle together with him for warmth are also a group of surrendered ministers.

The identities of these people are more sensitive than each other, and they would be in even greater trouble if they stick together.

For the sake of his life, Hu Yuzhe did not dare to form a clique, and even did not dare to engage in corruption.

I am afraid that the flaws left now will send me to hell one day in the future.

If a surrendered official wants to gain power, he must first resolve the trust issue.

Purchasing war horses for the State of Wu was undoubtedly an opportunity to show off one's abilities.

He not only demonstrated his ability to get things done, but also proved with practical actions his loyalty to the State of Wu.

"My dear Hu, you are truly a man of great talent.

If we can buy good horses from the north, and if the Northern Expedition succeeds in the future, Mr. Hu will be the first to make the contribution!"

Fu Haoxuan immediately started to make a big promise.

For the current Wu State, the importance of war horses is really too great.

Without a strong cavalry, the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains would be a joke.

……

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The gunshots at midnight broke the tranquility of Changsha city.

"The enemy is attacking the city?"

"No!" "The enemy is attacking the city, there can't be no sound of artillery.

The gunshots outside the city can't be heard here, could it be that the army in the city has mutinied?"

Jia Xuanfeng, who was awakened from his sleep, said with a look of panic.

The strongest fortress is always breached from within.

The walls of Changsha are strong. The Holy Kingdom of White Lotus paid a heavy price to capture Changsha City.

After the Holy Kingdom split, the Great Chu regime that inherited the legacy also attached great importance to the defense of Changsha.

Not only were 20,000 troops deployed in the city, but a large amount of strategic materials were also stockpiled.

According to the strategic conception of the top leaders, Changsha City is an important strategic transit station, shouldering the important task of providing support to battlefields in various places.

He had just received the order to reinforce Hengyang this morning.

It's just that the order came too late. By the time he received the message, the government troops had already arrived at the city of Changsha.

Whether Hengyang Prefecture is still in the hands of Chu is still an unknown, so reinforcements are naturally non-existent.

The enemy is coming in full force, and if we send troops out of the city at this time, we will just be sending our heads off.

Not daring to send troops does not mean that Jia Xuanfeng is afraid.

As the defending side, with an army of 20,000 plus young and strong men recruited from the city, he was not afraid of the enemy attacking the city at all.

Deep down in his heart, he had thought more than once about making great achievements here and becoming a noble or prime minister.

But among all the situations he encountered, none of them included problems in the city.

"General, a group of enemy troops have sneaked into the city and are heading this way.

You should get out of the way quickly!"

Upon hearing the news, Jia Xuanfeng first breathed a sigh of relief, as he thought it was not a mutiny in his own army.

The morale of the soldiers in the city was already low, and if there was another civil strife, they would be completely doomed.

His good mood didn't last long, and he realized something was wrong again.

As early as when the enemy attacked Yongzhou, he ordered to strengthen vigilance and strictly investigate outsiders.

Not to mention bringing a musket into the city, even if you brought an iron rod into the city, it would be confiscated by the government.

Under such circumstances, the enemy was still able to sneak into the city. There must be something fishy going on.

“Hurry up and send someone to find out how the enemy entered the city and how many troops they have.

At the same time, notify the guards at each gate to be on high alert and not allow the enemy to take advantage of you!"

Jia Xuanfeng immediately gave the order.

As a defending general, he couldn't sleep or eat well until he figured out how the enemy entered the city.

The defending general was confused, and the soldiers below were even more bewildered.

I was awakened by the sound of gunfire, and then I received news that the enemy had entered the city. Panic quickly spread throughout the city.

"The plan to capture the king has failed. Hurry up and cooperate with Captain Liu to seize the city gate!"

Li Yunxian made a prompt decision.

The raid on Changsha was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

They were able to appear in the city thanks to the help of the gentry in the city.

No matter how thoroughly the rebels are wiped out, there will always be some that slip through the net.

The family business was destroyed and hundreds of members of the family were killed.

The young man from a noble family who was avoiding the rebels' hunt came to the door and contributed a secret passage leading to the outside of the city.

Of course, you have to seize the opportunity that comes to you.

An elite team of 800 people sneaked into the city under the cover of night.

Then the troops were divided into two groups, one to implement the plan to capture the king, and the other to open the city gates to welcome the army into the city.

The unexpected action really caught the enemy off guard, and the city is now in chaos.

Unfortunately, the thief was too alert and left the mansion early when he sensed the approaching gunshots.

For a job like “capturing the king”, there is only one chance to make a move.

Now that the enemy garrison commander has escaped, it won’t be easy to find him!

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The sound of musketry rang out again, and the rebel soldiers standing in front lost their lives before they could react.

Defending the entire city in the dark is equivalent to having no defense.

If it is not a close contact, it is impossible to distinguish between friend and foe.

In particular, many soldiers suffer from night blindness, which further exacerbates the difficulty of night combat.

"Don't get entangled with the enemy!"

Seeing that the soldiers were killing enthusiastically, Li Yunxian hurriedly gave orders.

Now is not the time to act on impulse. Compared with retaking Changsha, these enemy soldiers are not worth mentioning at all.

Let them go now, and settle accounts with them after the main force enters the city.

If you surrender quickly, you will have a chance to enjoy the "Exile to Lingnan" package.

If you react slowly, you will be killed by the knife. There is no need to bother with a group of dead people.

After breaking through layer after layer of defense, the team's tracks were discovered by the enemy and the battle became more brutal.

……

(End of this chapter)