Fu Shanhe

Chapter 348 The Eve of the Battle
Nanjing City.

"Your Majesty, good news!"

"A large-scale uprising has broken out in Shaanxi, and the puppet regime will have a harder time!"

Yang Jingren said excitedly.

They also made considerable efforts in instigating the religious uprising.

Over the past two years, dozens of elite teams have been sent deep into the north to contact the local White Lotus Sect.

Among the current Shaanxi volunteer army, there are also several teams that they support.

"it is good!"

Fu Haoxuan said with a look of joy on his face.

The government troops are mobilizing their forces, and a new round of war is about to break out.

Facing a coalition of multiple provinces without any civil servants to hold them back, Fu Haoxuan was completely unsure, and the people of Wu were also in a state of panic.

At this time, news of the rebellion in Shaanxi played an important role in stabilizing people's hearts.

"Your Majesty, the rebellion in Shaanxi is a good thing for the righteous army, but it is a mixed blessing for us.

The Pseudo-Dynasty will not stop its war against us just because of the incident in Shaanxi.

In the following Jiangnan Campaign, the main force of the puppet dynasty was the army from the five provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Huguang, Fujian and Zhejiang, and their logistics were entirely raised by local forces.

No matter how violent the situation in the northwest is, it will not affect them, and the military pressure we face will not decrease.

The real beneficiary was the Eastern King of Shu.

The rebellion in Shaanxi put an end to the hopes of the government troops in Shu. They could no longer gain support from the pseudo-dynasty, and there was almost no suspense about the Eastern King's capture of Shu.

By then, it will only be a matter of time before we attack from both sides and capture Hanzhong.

If we occupy Shu and Guanzhong at the same time, we may even be able to replicate the might of Qin if we are lucky.

We must speed up our progress, otherwise we will have another powerful enemy in the next battle for the world!"

After the Minister of Rites Hu Yuzhe finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became solemn.

In the struggle for the world, the theory of "four sides and four corners and one Central Plains" has always been circulating.

From historical experience, the regime occupying Shu and Guanzhong has always been the most advantageous competitor in the struggle for world power.

It can be said that the Eastern King won the Shaanxi Uprising.

In comparison, the situation of the State of Wu was not so good.

With the development of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, the current Jiangdong area has long since changed from a land surrounded by borders to a land surrounded by wars.

Since the failure of the Northern Expedition, the State of Wu gradually fell into a passive position strategically.

There are enemies on all sides, and it is quite difficult for them to fight their way out now.

“Master Hu is right, our current situation is indeed very dangerous.

However, the Shaanxi rebel army could not stay in Guanzhong forever.

Due to the continued drought and little rain, even the grain reserves of the wealthy families in Guanzhong were still very limited.

The current rebel army has more than one million people, which is beyond the ability of Shaanxi to support.

If these rebel forces could leave Tongguan, they would be of great help to us.

Your Majesty, I propose to provide support to the Shaanxi rebels and encourage them to march to Henan!"

Minister of War Fan Xiuwen was the first to come up with a plan.

In the struggle for the world, today's ally may become tomorrow's opponent.

The expansion of the Eastern King Wei Hao was not in the interests of the State of Wu.

Seizing Shu is their bottom line.

Human hearts are the most subtle. If the King of the East is allowed to gain control of Guanzhong, they will have nothing to do with the battle for the world.

"Master Fan, it is not as simple as saying that we can get the Shaanxi Volunteer Army to leave the country.

No matter how scarce the supplies are in Shaanxi, it will be enough for them to struggle for a year or two.

The Jiangnan Campaign is imminent, and the government troops will launch a full-scale attack on us by next month at the latest.

It was estimated that the envoys were still on the way, so the battle began.

It is pure dreaming to expect the Shaanxi volunteers to come out of the border and tie down the government troops for us.

The most urgent task is to prepare for the war!
As for the situation in the world, it won’t be too late to consider it after we win this war.”

Yu Ruiyu's words ignited a melee in the court.

A group of officials expressed their opinions, and everyone's words made sense, which made Fu Haoxuan very confused.

"enough!"

"I called you here to discuss matters, not to let you shirk responsibility and argue.

I just want a solution, don't bring up any other excuses!"

Fu Haoxuan couldn't help but swear.

No matter how wonderful your words are, they will be useless if they cannot solve practical problems.

What Wu needs now is to win the war; all other issues can be put off until after the war.

……

Nanchang City.

"General, the puppet army has left Linjiang Prefecture and is heading towards us.

The two villains, Zheng Ruitao and Li Mu, both appeared in the army.

......"

Upon receiving this news, General Xiang Qinghong, the garrison commander of Nanchang, suddenly became gloomy.

How could he have the good fortune to meet two famous generals of Dayu at once?

I originally thought that 50,000 defenders would be enough to make Nanchang City impregnable, but now it seems that they are still a little short of it.

"Immediately send a letter to the court requesting assistance, and explain the situation we are facing to His Majesty!

Instruct all departments to immediately recruit laborers and strictly guard the important roads in various places.

All routes that the enemy may pass through must be fortified and cleared, and not a single grain of food, a foot of cloth, or a pound of firewood must be allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy! "

Without any hesitation, Xiang Qinghong made the decision immediately.

Having learned from the lesson of Chu's defeat last time, Wu did not immediately gather a large army to engage in a major battle with the government army.

Of course, realistic conditions did not allow them to launch a large-scale battle.

The government troops in Huguang attacked Jiujiang, the government troops in Jiangxi attacked Nanchang, the government troops in Zhejiang attacked Hangzhou, and the government troops in the north also set their sights on Xuzhou.

All of the above-mentioned areas are strategic locations.

Losing any place would make the Wu State very uncomfortable.

In addition to the four main battlefields, coastal areas were also threatened by the imperial navy.

The government troops entrenched in Songjiang were also marching towards Suzhou Prefecture.

With multiple battlefields underway at the same time, the State of Wu had a hard time coping and could only adopt a strategic defense first and then wait for an opportunity to defeat the enemy.

"General Xiang, you can't do this!"

“Nanchang is surrounded by densely populated areas, and the city cannot accommodate so many people.

Once the policy of scorching the walls and clearing the fields is implemented, these people will inevitably be forced to join the pseudo-dynasty.

By the time……"

The prefect Kong Zhichen hurriedly persuaded.

These are the apparent reasons, but the real reason is that the surrounding land and properties have fallen into the hands of officials.

In order to win the support of scholars, Fu Haoxuan made a series of concessions after the establishment of the Wu State.

The gentry group that had been bloodily massacred was revived in the State of Wu.

They joined forces with the Meritorious Faction, became the new rulers, and divided up the most fertile land.

The situation in Nanchang is even more serious, as the local bureaucrats were all recruited from the State of Chu.

The top leaders could be replaced, but the cost of replacing the lower-level officials was too high, so the State of Wu did not take any action against them.

These people defected to the State of Wu simply in accordance with the general trend, and they did not have a strong sense of belonging deep in their hearts.

Once their interests are violated, it would be easy for these people to become alienated from the State of Wu.

Between Dayu and the rebel army, most gentry still prefer Dayu.

After all, in a new regime like the rebel army, those with the highest say are meritorious military generals, while the status of civil servants is far lower.

If we cannot gain more benefits by joining the rebel army, why would we join the rebellion?

"Humph!"

"Whoever dares to defect to the Pseudo-Dynasty will be killed by me. At this critical moment, defending Nanchang is our top priority.

The provincial capital could not accommodate so many people, so they were dispersed to the county towns and fortresses below.

If there is really not enough space for them, let them take shelter in the mountains temporarily.

We just need to gather the young and strong men and women to defend the city."

Xiang Qinghong's words made a group of local officials look disheartened.

Taking shelter in the mountains is pure nonsense.

After so many years of development, the mountains near Nanchang are now bare, with only a few trees.

The profession of hunter has disappeared from the surrounding areas.

Taking away their food and driving them into the mountains was clearly a way to leave them to die.

In fact, they don’t care about the lives of the lower-class people, but they have to consider their own clans.

If you don't want to go up the mountain and eat dirt, you can only retreat into the city.

The lives of the entire clan, young and old, were tied to the Wu chariots, and they had no chance to jump out.

Xiang Qinghong did this obviously because he had learned the lesson from the previous defeat of the Chu State and lacked trust in people like them.

"Master Xiang, you absolutely cannot do that!

The reason why the Chu State collapsed before was because..."

Before the middle-aged official could finish his words, a big knife pierced through his body.

“It’s settled now. Anyone who dares to shake the morale of the army will be made an example of.

In the upcoming defense of Nanchang, I hope that everyone can work together to defend the city.

In order to concentrate forces to deal with the enemy's attack.

I will temporarily borrow the servants from your lordships' houses."

Xiang Qinghong said coldly.

He did not trust the people in the room.

The previous defeat of the Chu State was caused by the internal traitors who made important contributions.

If there had not been some traitors who defected, it would have been impossible for the government troops to recover large tracts of territory in such a short period of time.

To be on the safe side, he decided to take the initiative and gather the power of these unstable elements.

After the war breaks out, they will be sent to the battlefield to be used as cannon fodder.

Without power in your hands, even if you have ideas in your mind, you can't do anything.

……

The government army camp.

"Governor, Admiral, scouts from the front reported that the rebels are clearing the countryside."

No one was surprised to hear the news.

In order to increase the chances of winning, it is common practice for the defenders to fortify the city and clear the countryside.

Relatively speaking, the rebel generals are still inexperienced.

They didn't even send people to destroy the surrounding roads and bridges immediately.

"understood!"

"Do you have any countermeasures against the rebels' actions?"

Marquis Wuyang asked expressionlessly.

The title of commander-in-chief cannot be given in vain, presiding over military meetings is his main job.

The imperial court spent a huge amount of money on this battle in the south of the Yangtze River.

Every battlefield has the potential to become a breakthrough point.

It is currently impossible to conclude where the rebels' defenses were breached.

“Governor, the city of Nanchang is strong.

Qian Wei attacked Nanchang in the front and it took more than a year to capture the city.

The enemy is now defending their positions and is clearly preparing for a protracted war with us. I'm afraid it will be difficult to break through in a short period of time.

It would be better to change the strategy to besiege Nanchang, seize the surrounding cities first, and then join forces with the Huguang government troops to capture Jiujiang.

Nanchang has become an isolated city. Even if they can hold on, they won’t be able to hold on for long.”

Qin Tianrui suggested.

As the acting general of the First Town in Jiangxi, this battle was crucial to his political career.

Only by performing well on the battlefield can you have a chance to take back the family foundation.

He was able to get to where he is today thanks to the great efforts of the noble group, which almost exhausted the personal connections of his ancestors.

There is no ready-made credit coming to you now, so if you want to make progress you can only rely on yourself.

"Nanchang City is strong, and Jiujiang Prefecture is not easy to attack either.

Why do you think that we and the Huguang troops can quickly capture Jiujiang?"

Marquis Wuyang asked with a frown.

Leap attacks have often appeared in past counterinsurgency wars.

However, this tactic is mostly used to lure the enemy.

The problem now is that the enemy is well prepared. Both Nanchang and Jiujiang are difficult to attack, and no one can guarantee that the city can be captured in a short period of time.

If we cannot defeat the enemy and remove these two nails, the risk of our army advancing deep behind enemy lines will be too great.

"Governor, it is not important whether we can quickly capture Jiujiang Prefecture. The key is to make the Nanchang defenders believe that we can capture Jiujiang Prefecture.

There were many people in the Jiangnan region who were loyal to the imperial court, and many of them held high positions in the rebel army.

If we can convince them to act as traitors and influence the judgment of the enemy generals, the subsequent battles will be easier to fight.

Even if the plan fails, we can take over Poyang Lake, march to threaten Anqing Prefecture, and disrupt the enemy's deployment.

Anqing is the gateway to Nanjing. The rebels dare not ignore Anqing. They will have to deploy heavy troops to defend it.

The more enemy forces we attract, the fewer enemy forces our friendly forces will face, which will help achieve breakthroughs on other battlefields."

Qin Tianrui explained immediately.

On the issue of quelling the rebellion, the top leaders of the noble faction were unanimous in their stance.

His special status requires him to consider the overall situation.

No matter how much you want to make a contribution, you must restrain your desires and demonstrate a global strategic vision.

Only by putting the interests of the group first can we gain the support of the noble leaders.

"Admiral Li, what do you think of General Qin's proposal?"

Marquis Wuyang asked with a smile.

It sounds good, but he has no idea whether it can work when put into practice.

In order to avoid embarrassment, they simply used a trick of grafting.

Anyway, this person was brought up by Li Mu, so there is nothing wrong with letting him comment.

“You can try it, but you have to control the intensity.

Judging from the distribution of the rebel forces, they are clearly preparing for defense.

As the saying goes: If you keep it for a long time, you will lose it.

If we try a little more, the rebels' long defense line will eventually reveal loopholes."

Li Mu replied with a smile.

He is also happy to see his old subordinates grow up.

Although there are many generals in the noble family, these are just based on the base number.

Among the younger generation, those with a little military talent were screened out.

There are still very few people who can stand on their own.

The world is in such chaos, and military generals are needed everywhere to lead troops to suppress it. It would be good to have more generals to share the pressure.

At the end of a dynasty, there will always be people who go against the current and try to turn the tide.

Under his influence, the sons of noble families who were supposed to live a life of idleness and wait for death unexpectedly became the last backbone of the Dayu Dynasty.

No one knows how long Dayu can survive.

……

(End of this chapter)