Fu Shanhe

Chapter 323 Plans don’t change quickly

Nanjing, Wu Palace.

"Wei Jiarui, it seems that he has been dazzled by the glamorous world of Nanchang.

The war had just begun and even the city of Changsha had been lost. It was truly disgraceful.

Now you have the nerve to ask us for help?"

Fu Haoxuan said with disdain.

It was not surprising that the rebel army suffered a defeat at the hands of Li Mu.

In the past, even if we were defeated, everyone held on for a while and occasionally fought back on the local battlefield.

The newly born Great Chu regime has been beaten since the war began.

Not to mention organizing a counterattack, they couldn't even defend the city for a few more days.

Such a record is naturally not pleasing to the eye.

“Your Majesty, the Chu army has been defeated all the way, and the situation in Huguang has deteriorated.

The main force of the King of Chu gathered in Jiangxi again. It would take at least a month to transfer them to Huguang to participate in the war.

With the attack speed of that villain Li Mu, more than a month would be enough for him to sweep across Yuezhou and capture Wuchang.

The next step is likely that the enemy will go downstream and attack Jiujiang Prefecture.

The puppet government army led by Jing Guoliang has now occupied most of Songjiang Prefecture.

There are also elite troops from the nine frontiers of the pseudo-dynasty on the northern front.

If we don’t take action, we are likely to be attacked from three sides in the future.”

The left prime minister, Yu Ruiyu, spoke first.

Among the many rebel armies in the world, the Wu State that occupied Nanjing was the most powerful.

The price of their glory was that they attracted the firepower of Yu’s army.

In order to encircle and suppress them, Emperor Yongning compromised with the Liaodong military garrison in exchange for the Liaodong cavalry going south to suppress the rebellion.

The effect was very obvious, and the Northern Expedition Army was directly beaten to a pulp.

While the northern front suffered heavy losses, government troops landed in Songjiang Prefecture in the east, posing a threat to their rear.

They can handle these troubles with ease.

After all, although the elite border troops are capable of fighting, they are all from the north.

There is no problem galloping in the Central Plains, but once entering the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River, the combat effectiveness immediately decreases.

Jing Guoliang's troops in the east seem to have tens of thousands of troops, but only about 20,000 to 30,000 of them are recruited soldiers who can actually fight.

After occupying Songjiang Prefecture, the offensive was stopped.

But if Li Mu's troops were allowed to occupy Wuchang and march south along the river, it would be really hard to say what the outcome would be.

Faced with the joint efforts of the three parties, the strategic space for maneuver of the Wu State will be compressed in the shortest possible time.

If we fail to defeat the enemy quickly, defeat is only a matter of time.

We cannot expect to rescue them every time the northern barbarians invade.

“Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is right, we must save Yuezhou Prefecture.

At the very least, we must make a gesture of rescue and encourage the State of Chu and the Pseudo-Dynasty to continue fighting.

Even if Yuezhou Prefecture is lost, we must help the King of Chu to defend Wuchang Prefecture and let him be on the front line against the thief Li.

In fact, the current tragedy of the State of Chu is entirely caused by their strategic mistakes.

There was clearly a more suitable place to establish the capital in Wuchang, but they chose to establish the capital in Nanchang, which resulted in a shift in the strategic focus. "

Minister of Rites Hu Yuzhe couldn't help but complain.

Lack of strategic planning is a common problem among all peasant uprisings.

Most of the high-ranking members of the peasant uprising army came from the bottom of society and had very limited knowledge.

After successfully launching the uprising, they immediately began to enjoy themselves and had no far-reaching ambitions at all.

The White Lotus Rebellion was considered one of the most ambitious peasant uprisings in history.

Most of these high-level people have some wealth in the local area and have received some years of education.

But that’s all. If they really had great talent and strategy, they would not take the lead in starting a chaotic world.

The Chu State's choice of Nanchang as its capital was essentially the result of internal compromise.

The Chu King's entrepreneurial team is divided into five major factions.

They are the Yuancong faction composed of people from Guangxi, the Southwest faction composed of generals from Yunnan and Guizhou, and the Jiangxi faction, Huguang faction and Zhejiang faction that joined later.

The Yuancong faction and the Southwest faction joined earlier, but at that time they were still makeshift teams that were unable to absorb civil officials and were mainly composed of military generals.

The entrepreneurial team led by the King of Chu grew and developed after entering Jiangxi.

Jiangxi has a flourishing literary culture and a literacy rate much higher than that of the southwest, and there are a large number of dissatisfied scholars among the people.

At that time, the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus was at its peak, and it was attractive enough to these down-and-out scholars.

As the team took shape, it absorbed a large number of surrendered officials and gentry to join, becoming the core of the Chu State's civil service group.

The Huguang faction and the Zhejiang faction were the last to join, missed the entrepreneurial bonus period, and had relatively little say in the court.

The territory of the Chu State was distributed in three provinces: Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Huguang, and its capital must have been located in one of these three provinces.

These three factions were the main ones involved in the dispute over the capital.

To be precise, they were the Jiangxi faction and the Huguang faction. The Zhejiang faction only made a symbolic expression but did not make any effort to fight for it.

After all, Hangzhou Prefecture was divided between the Wu and Chu families, and the other prefectures did not have enough weight.

Judging from the existing territory of the Chu State alone, Nanchang seems to be a good choice as it borders Huguang in the upper part and Zhejiang in the lower part.

In addition, the Jiangxi faction had greater influence in the court, so Nanchang naturally became the capital.

But looking at the whole world, Nanchang’s limitations are too obvious, and it is only suitable to serve as the political center of a separatist regime.

When Huguang was attacked by government troops, the State of Chu was unable to react and could not adjust its strategy in time.

If you want to conquer the world, Nanchang's limitations will be even greater and it will be far less convenient than Wuchang.

"Minister Hu, you can't say that.

The pseudo dynasty is about to collapse. Among all the righteous armies in the world, Your Majesty and the King of Chu are the ones with the greatest hope of conquering the Central Plains.

The King of Chu was short-sighted and chose Nanchang as the capital, which just proves that Your Majesty has been chosen by destiny.

Not only should we not ridicule them, we should also let them continue to make mistakes.

In fact, Nanchang Prefecture is not too remote. If the King of Chu wants to take over Guangdong and Guangxi, he can just put the administrative center in Ganzhou. "

As soon as Yang Jingren finished speaking, all the ministers burst into laughter.

He said he wouldn't mock, but in fact he mocked even more.

Ganzhou Prefecture is also an important city in Jiangxi, so it is not impossible for it to serve as a temporary political center.

The prerequisite is that the Chu army recovered Huguang and took over Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian.

Otherwise, we would be busy defending the capital every day and would have no time to take care of other battlefields.

……

The news of Changsha's capture reached Hengyang, further weakening the morale of the defenders.

The already crumbling city was recaptured by government troops after only three days of resistance.

The successive recovery of three provincial capitals had a huge impact on the Huguang region.

The rebels occupied these places for too short a time, and were even recaptured once by government troops in the middle, so the local people were already unstable.

Now that it has been recovered again, the gentry in Huguang region who were inclined towards Dayu soon became active again.

However, compared with the last time, the number of active gentry at this time has decreased significantly.

The continuous wars dealt a devastating blow to the Huguang gentry group.

But this was just the beginning. The rebels looted and massacred the gentry, and the court also had to take revenge on them.

Those speculators need to pay for their actions.

The struggle within the gentry group was equally brutal.

Before the investigation was conducted, someone sent the list over.

Those gentry families whose sons defected to the rebels were all recorded clearly.

"We have nurtured scholars for 270 years, yet there are so many rebels. This is truly a great misfortune for the world!"

Hearing his uncle's sigh, Li Mu shook his head secretly.

Where have we reached yet?

Placing bets separately is the way for the aristocratic families to survive.

The rebels are powerful and have the potential to take over the world, so they are bound to get involved.

Even if their property was robbed and their clansmen were killed, it would not affect their betting.

Remember the family blood feud first, and then wait for an opportunity to retaliate later.

It is unrealistic to target the entire rebel group. Generally speaking, the specific executors will be held accountable.

Whenever emperors of every dynasty executed their meritorious officials, this group of people would always be the ones fanning the flames.

They were the masterminds behind various major cases in the early years of the founding of the country.

The literati families of Dayu were not as powerful as the aristocratic families of the Jin Dynasty and dared not ignore the imperial court.

Those who were in charge of the front were mostly distant branches with low presence, or students and old officials who were attached to them. According to normal operations, while placing bets in batches, they needed to use their connections in the court to help conceal their identities to prevent the court from tracing them all the way.

Many families participated together and provided cover for each other, and the imperial court could not do anything to them.

Unfortunately, their luck was not very good this time. Only some families placed their bets, but they failed early.

The gentry families who have not yet had time to jump ship from Dayu will not give up this opportunity to strike at their competitors.

Lists of reports kept appearing in the hands of Zhenyuan Hou, the Governor of Huguang.

"Uncle, why bother worrying about a bunch of rebels?

Take the list for verification, and those who participated in the treason will be dealt with according to the law.

When it comes to treason, no one dares to reach out to save him at this time!"

Li Mu immediately made his position clear.

He expressed his understanding that the aristocratic families were placing bets separately.

If the rebellion was a revenge from Guanzhong and swept across many northern provinces, the Li clan would most likely do the same for the continuation of the clan.

However, understanding does not mean not pursuing responsibility.

Others can jump ship, but these nobles with titles are too deeply bound to Dayu.

The most crucial thing is that Li Mu is not yet ready to leave Dayu.

At such a time, we must support the imperial court, severely crack down on these wavering leaders, and take the opportunity to weaken the gentry group.

“Of course the rebels should be killed, but this time they have implicated too many people.

Once the law is followed, many people will be offended!"

Li Yuan said with a frown.

The fact that he received so many reports clearly shows that someone wants to use him as a tool.

According to the evidence provided above, he slaughtered these local clans and took out all the hatred on them.

It is also not possible to do nothing. Allowing these families to place their bets will seriously affect the stability of the country.

“Uncle, if you are worried about these things, we are only responsible for arresting people and leave the right of disposal to the court.

With so many people involved, including some high-ranking officials in the court, we have no right to deal with them.

For such an important matter, we should consult with His Majesty first."

Li Mu came up with a bad idea without changing his expression.

To put it nicely, it was asking for permission from the emperor, but in reality it was just that they didn't want to be branded as a butcher and wanted to pass the buck to their superiors.

When it comes to Emperor Yongning, there is only one result - killing!

Not killing is not enough to appease the public anger!
If we don’t kill, it won’t be enough to shock people!

"That's it!"

“Let’s put these issues aside for now and make a decision after we recover Huguang.

If these people can turn back from their mistakes and make meritorious contributions, I don’t mind taking some responsibility for them!”

Li Yuan nodded and said.

They say they will take responsibility, but in reality they are forcing these families to pay for their lives.

If you are willing to provide a large amount of money and food to support the government troops in suppressing the rebellion, then the previous issues can be discussed.

As long as the children who defect to the rebels realize their mistakes and return to the right path in time, they will have the opportunity to redeem themselves for their crimes.

If you give enough, you can even change it to a better-sounding phrase.

For example: lurking in the enemy camp.

It’s not that Li Yuan is short-sighted, but he, as the Governor of Huguang, is too poor.

If there are no rebels looting, you can also search the house yourself.

Those who knew the situation were severely interrogated. It is impossible that all of these people are tough guys.

It’s no longer possible now. All the visible wealth of each family has fallen into the hands of the rebels.

Most of the surviving members of the tribe went out to avoid the war, and only a few stayed in Huguang.

The only ones that are exposed are officials serving in other places.

In this context, arresting people requires the cooperation of local government offices.

It is too difficult to track down their hidden wealth.

It is better to put pressure on them and let them take the initiative to take it out.

“Uncle, it’s good to have an idea.

However, for the long-term stability of Huguang, it is necessary to kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

I just received news that the Third Town stationed in Changsha has joined forces with government troops in the Dongting Lake area to launch a major battle in Yuezhou Prefecture.

The Third Brigade ambushed 30,000 troops rushing from Wuchang to Yuezhou to reinforce, killing 5,000 enemies and capturing 15,000.

The government troops in Dongting Lake were responsible for blocking the rebels coming out from Yuezhou, and killed about a thousand people.

Unfortunately, they were too timid and did not take advantage of the enemy's retreat to capture Yuezhou City in one fell swoop.

However, according to the prisoners, the current Wuchang City is similar to Yuezhou City, with only a few thousand old soldiers left garrisoning.

The Third Town requested to fight, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to send troops to capture Yuezhou City and recapture Wuchang Prefecture. "

After applying the eye drops, Li Mu immediately shifted the topic to the battlefield.

Blackmailing the noble families and forcing them to hand over all their wealth is something that can only be understood but not described.

“The rebels are so slow to react?

It seems that it is God who wants them to perish.

Since the defenders of Wuchang have come out to die, it would be best if they could take back Wuchang Prefecture.

But the Third Town alone may not have enough troops, so we should hurry over there!"

Li Yuan said with surprise.

Accustomed to victory, his mentality has also changed.

At one point, he began to doubt the steady and cautious tactics he was pursuing.

However, this doubt did not last long, and everything returned to normal.

Whether it was a surprise attack on Changsha or dividing the troops to ambush an enemy force that was several times their own strength, it was not something that an ordinary army could accomplish.

The Third Town was able to create miracles mainly because of the confidence in victory it gained through a series of counter-insurgency wars.

Even when facing an enemy force that is ten times their size, they still dare to take the initiative to attack, and no one in the army is afraid.

If other government troops were replaced and asked to garrison Changsha City, they would have no choice but to defend Changsha City to the death.

He simply chose to ignore the complaints about Li Mu's disappointment in his work.

It is good enough that the government troops in Huguang dared to come out and fight the rebels.

Not all troops are elite and can capture the city after blocking the rebels.

"Uncle, you made a wrong judgment this time.

The rebels were slow to act, not because they were slow to react.

On the contrary, they reacted too quickly.

The Wei rebels mobilized a large army to Nanchang, not only to attack Guangdong and Guangxi, but also to strengthen centralization.

Judging from the current situation, Wei Ni's operation was very successful.

However, the price of centralization is sacrificing the autonomy of frontline generals.

When the generals at the front received the news, they immediately sent it back to Nanchang and waited for Wei Ni to make a decision and issue an order, which took a lot of time.

The defenders of Wuchang should have set out immediately after receiving the order, but they were not very lucky.

No one could have imagined that they would be ambushed thirty miles away from Yuezhou City.

If it weren't for the government army generals in Dongting Lake, who are also my old subordinates, this cooperation would never have been possible.

Yuezhou and Wuchang both suffered heavy casualties, and the number of garrisons in other nearby prefectures was not large, so they probably dared not leave the city.

In the short term, the Wu troops stationed in Jiujiang were the ones that could rush to Wuchang's aid the fastest.

Since it involves two major forces, no matter how fast they coordinate, they will still be one step slower than us.

Of course, if the enemy dares to come, I don't mind launching a battle to recapture Jiujiang in advance!"

Li Mu said with a smile.

That's how war is, plans can never keep up with changes.

In order to adapt to the situation, the battle plan has been adjusted all the time. Compared with the original battle plan, it has long been changed beyond recognition.

There is no way. The rebels' thoughts are completely unpredictable.

If it is a peak showdown between the strongest, then they can still guess a thing or two about each other.

The rebel generals are a mixed bag, and no one knows whether the enemy they are facing is a dragon or a fish.

This victory was mainly due to the benefits gained from many old subordinates.

Teammates often betrayed each other in the Yu army, and the coordination between different units was terrible.

If the troops are not familiar with each other, it is difficult to cooperate with each other.

Without the help of the local tyrants, even if the Third Town received the intelligence, it would not dare to send troops deep behind enemy lines to ambush.

(End of this chapter)