Fu Shanhe

Chapter 514 The Beginning of Guerrilla Warfare

"Now that you understand, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go set it up!"

Li Mu waved his hand impatiently.

Frankly speaking, he had no enmity with the gentry of Jiangnan, and there was not even a conflict of interest between them.

The decision to take drastic measures against these individuals was purely out of a sense of public duty.

Influenced by the ideology left over from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, these guys are particularly addicted to pursuing privileges.

If we don't get rid of these guys and let their toxic ideologies proliferate, who knows if they might create a caste system?

Despite the backwardness of India's caste system, it holds immense allure for the ruling class.

Besides this concern, the issue of vying for supremacy also arises.

Throughout history, the establishment of a new dynasty has always involved bidding farewell to the past.

The cleaner the cut, the fewer problems will remain.

Li Mu's situation is special; he is an integral part of the ruling group of the Great Yu Dynasty, and no matter how he is separated, he cannot be completely separated.

If political means cannot solve the problem, then physical means must be used to settle the matter.

The Shi family stepped in and solved the problem of the noble faction for him. If he could also deal with the powerful families in the country, then everything would be perfect.

Only when the biggest burden is gone can we move forward with a lighter load.

……

Liaodong Army Camp.

"We've been unable to take Xuzhou Prefecture for so long that the Prime Minister has personally led troops south to supervise the battle. You've completely disgraced me!"

Shi Jingming roared in fury.

Throughout his military career, he had always exceeded expectations in every mission, yet this time he was defeated at the gates of Xuzhou.

If the enemy is strong, then there's nothing to say; after all, battles on the battlefield are never smooth sailing.

But this time the situation was special; the guards of Xuzhou were a motley crew.

The reason he failed to break through for so long was mainly because he initially tried to use political tactics to induce surrender.

After all, the rebel leaders in the city were not from humble backgrounds, but rather sons of gentry from Southern Zhili.

The Qingliu Party members who facilitated the connection also came from prominent gentry families in Jiangnan.

What appeared to be a routine surrender was in fact the beginning of an alliance between the Liaodong and Jiangnan factions.

Unfortunately, plans change quickly. Everyone had agreed on things, but in the blink of an eye, things changed.

The rebels in the city did accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty, but it was the southern court that accepted it, which made Shi Jingming uncomfortable.

This is such a slap in the face to the Shi family; if we don't make an example of them, how will they ever be able to get by in the future?

"General, the walls of Xuzhou are strong; it's really not easy to attack!"

The lieutenant said with a wronged expression.

If they had launched a fierce attack on Xuzhou a month earlier, they would have captured the city, no matter how strong the walls were.

Unfortunately, negotiations were needed, and the best opportunity to attack the city was missed.

"Even if it's tough, you have to take it down for me!"

"The Marquis of Hanshui's army is less than a hundred miles from Xuzhou. If we cannot capture Xuzhou as soon as possible, you know the consequences."

Shi Jingming immediately issued a death order.

Knowing full well that a forced siege would come at a terrible cost, they have no choice but to risk lives.

If they cannot capture Xuzhou before the enemy arrives, their southward campaign will be a complete failure.

Even if Shandong was captured along the way, the strategic failure could not be made up for by a single city or place.

Once Xuzhou falls into the hands of the loyalist army, they can rely on the Huai River to build a defensive line and trap them in the northern lands.

Conversely, if they were to capture Xuzhou, it wouldn't be fair to say that they could roam freely across the Jianghuai region. In any case, it would become extremely difficult for the enemy to hold onto places like Huai'an, Yangzhou, and Luzhou.

If everything goes smoothly, the army will be able to reach Nanjing in one or two months.

Even if they couldn't break through the Yangtze River defense line, capturing these prefectures in northern Southern Zhili would still be a great boon to the Shi family.

"As ordered!"

The generals answered in unison.

On the battlefield, military orders are absolute. Even though they knew that a direct assault on Xuzhou would result in heavy losses, they had no choice but to carry out the orders.

……

The incessant roar of artillery fire and the ever-increasing casualty figures made Cao Zirui's face grim and terrifying.

Even knowing that reinforcements were on their way, the darkness before dawn was still heart-wrenching.

"General, we lost another eight hundred soldiers in the daytime battle, and these were all elite troops!"

"I am a commander of the Left Army," Bao Junxian reported in a somber tone.

"Elite" is a relative term; the elite troops in the garrison are those that are relative to the conscripted militia.

Compared to the enemy forces outside the city, their combat strength was far inferior.

In an effort to appease the public, they deliberately altered the casualty statistics template.

Only the losses of soldiers were calculated; the losses of civilian militia were simply ignored.

Numbers can be deceiving, but the corpses carried off the city walls every day cannot be fooled.

"We have suffered heavy losses, and the enemy will not fare any better."

"Let's all keep up the momentum; the enemy's offensive can't continue this fiercely."

Cao Zirui spoke up to comfort him.

The defenders suffered greater losses than the attackers, something that would have been unimaginable in the past.

However difficult it may be to accept, it cannot change reality.

In the era of firearms, the mode of warfare is changing.

Whoever is skilled in using firearms will have the advantage in war.

Compared to the Liaodong Army, their garrison, which was recruited from the peasant army, was far inferior in this respect.

Most of the defending soldiers lost their lives under the enemy's exploding shells.

In reality, not many were actually killed when the enemy stormed the city walls.

Knowing the problem doesn't mean you can change it.

Leaving aside the use of firearms, the quantity and quality of the firearms they possessed were on a completely different level from those of the enemy.

The cannons on the city wall were all left over from the early years of the founding of the nation, and half of them are no longer usable.

The musket was also an old relic; its exact year of manufacture is unknown. In any case, its range and accuracy were inferior to those of the enemy, and it was prone to barrel explosions.

Such a pile of junk was not enough to equip the entire army, and most soldiers were fighting with bamboo spears.

"Not only were the soldiers killed or wounded, but the supplies for defending the city were also being consumed very quickly."

In order to defend the city, the stones in the nearby houses were dismantled and used as rolling stones.

The people are very resentful; if this continues, something bad could easily happen!

Yu Jingfeng, commander of the central army, added.

They don't care about public opinion at all, but the current situation is special.

The enemy is launching a fierce attack on the city. If the people in the city are pushed too far, chaos could easily break out.

"Ok!"

“Here’s a good idea. Take some silver from our treasury and give it to the people whose houses were demolished as compensation.”

After thinking for a moment, Cao Zirui gave the order.

At this critical juncture, he cannot afford to be petty.

With reinforcements just around the corner, a disturbance breaks out in the city, leading to a failure to defend the city—that would be a huge loss.

Moreover, it is well known that the Marquis of Hanshui was strict in governing his army and hated government troops disturbing the people.

If this offends the Marquis of Hanshui, no matter how great the merits, it will all be in vain.

...The capital city.

"Prime Minister, leading an army in person is no small matter; it could easily shake the very foundations of the nation!"

Left Censor-in-Chief Mei Zhiling was the first to object.

He didn't object to leading the army south, but he couldn't allow Emperor Yongning to personally lead the expedition.

The last time the emperor personally led an expedition, it resulted in the loss of more than 200,000 troops of the Great Yu Dynasty, directly shaking the foundation of the nation.

If this were to happen again, the political consequences would be unimaginable.

Moreover, Shi Jingfeng's plan to lead the emperor on the expedition was not to boost morale, but purely to use the pretext of a personal imperial expedition to actually relocate the capital.

If there were no army coming to the aid of the emperor in the south, and the Shi family wanted to move the capital to Nanjing, Mei Zhiling would definitely have wholeheartedly supported it.

However, the situation is now special. The Marquis of Hanshui has personally led an army from the southern provinces, clearly intending to compete with the Shi family.

At this moment, Emperor Yongning's appearance in the army was tantamount to the emperor personally confronting the loyalist army.

If the loyalist army wins, the newly enthroned Emperor Yongning will most likely lose the throne again.

Most of these officials could not escape political purges.

For the sake of their own political standing, the newly established Nanjing court would not let them off the hook.

If the Shi family wins, then needless to say, they will immediately prepare for the abdication ceremony.

Once someone has committed regicide, they won't hesitate to do it again.

At that time, the positions of these former officials of the previous dynasty will become awkward.

With the last fig leaf gone, there's no room for excuses anymore.

If you don't follow the Shi family, you'll lose your head immediately.

If he were to seek refuge with the Shi family, his reputation, both before and after his death, would be completely ruined.

Sacrificing one's reputation for the sake of family wealth and prosperity is not unacceptable.

The problem is that traitors are the least welcome people wherever they go; they simply cannot gain trust.

Based on historical experience, once the situation stabilizes, it is the time when traitors suffer.

There was no way around it; after a change of dynasty, the new emperor needed to promote his own people, and coincidentally, they had already taken their positions.

Every husband is not guilty, and he is guilty of his crime.

For their own benefit, the civil and military officials in the court had to prevent the emperor from personally leading the expedition.

"My mind is made up, my ministers need not say more!"

Shi Jingfeng refused on the spot.

A major battle is imminent, and in order to gain control of the war, they must seize Xuzhou first.

The Shi family's foundation was not as solid as the Cao family's. Historically, when Cao Cao led his troops on a campaign, Emperor Xian of Han gathered a group of people to plot a coup.

If he dared to leave Emperor Yongning in the city, he would probably be betrayed from behind as soon as his army started fighting the loyalist army.

To be on the safe side, it's clearly more reliable to keep Emperor Yongning under our noses.

As for the political consequences of the emperor's failed personal campaign, that's a joke!
If they really suffer a defeat, the Shi family will be finished, and who will care about the fate of the Great Yu Dynasty?

If he were in a bad mood, he might even take the emperor and all the officials to the underworld with him.

Faced with the domineering Shi Jingfeng, the ministers swallowed back all the words they had to say.

Talking about the big picture with this person is pure nonsense.

They only care about the overall situation of the Shi family; the overall situation of the Great Yu Dynasty is not even on their radar.

……

The Tatar royal court.

"First, Jinzhouwei was massacred, then Fuzhouwei was attacked, and now the Gaizhouwei tragedy has occurred."

Tens of thousands of your people perished, and you didn't even catch a glimpse of the enemy. Nadam, what were you doing?

Hugjil asked sternly.

Having fought in numerous battles over the years, he had witnessed many grand occasions, but this was the first time he had felt uneasy.

The enemy did not engage them in direct combat, but instead targeted the elderly and weak in the rear.

If tens of thousands of people had been lost in the Great Yu Dynasty, no one would have taken it seriously; even the emperor might not have received the news.

However, the Tatars were different; their biggest weakness was their insufficient population.

The loss of 30,000 people is equivalent to a decrease of nearly three percentage points in the tribe's population.

And this is just the beginning. The enemy is like a ghost at sea, constantly looking for their weaknesses to exploit.

The long coastline is not something they can defend with their limited military strength.

Moreover, the Tatars had many areas to attend to, and it was impossible for them to deploy all their troops in the coastal regions.

"Great Chanyu, the enemy is truly despicable!"

As soon as our troops arrived, they fled without giving us a chance to engage in battle.

The enemy forces all came from the sea; we have no navy.

Even if I wanted to pursue her, I couldn't!

Nadam hurriedly explained.

To annihilate the enemy, we must first locate their position.

Unfortunately, the enemy came from the sea, and no matter how powerful they were, they could only look on helplessly at the vast ocean.

In an attempt to annihilate the enemy, he even tried the strategy of waiting for them to run into a trap, but unfortunately, plans can't keep up with changes.

The enemy's attacks were launched completely randomly.

Even though he laid out bait, the enemy wouldn't bite.

"Humph!"

"This Chanyu doesn't want to hear any explanations; whoever's defense zone it is, is responsible for cleaning up the mess."

We must capture this enemy force at all costs!

Hugjil gave the order forcefully.

He knew better than anyone how difficult this task was.

A person's potential is often brought out by being forced into it.

"Great Chanyu, it is not that I am shirking responsibility, but that the enemy is too cunning."

After being attacked in three places in succession, the general immediately ordered the relocation of the clansmen in the coastal areas back to the inland.

Seeing that they cannot gain any advantage, the enemy will most likely choose to attack elsewhere.

Nadam spread his hands and said.

If he can't be offended, he can afford to hide.

In any case, the coastal residents in his defense zone were almost all slaughtered by the enemy.

The few survivors were terrified and trembled with fear, and they had no reason to object to being relocated to the interior.

His retreat may have been a minor issue, but it severely impacted other prefectures.

Since the enemy dared not penetrate deep into his defense zone, they naturally turned their attention to other coastal areas.

If the occasion hadn't been inappropriate, the other Wanhu (household commanders) would have already taken action and engaged in friendly exchanges with their fists.

"You're really clever!"

Hugjil said through gritted teeth.

The tortoise strategy is a bit cowardly, but it's undeniably effective.

Others who want to follow suit should first consider the actual situation.

Without supplies from Dayu, the Tatar Kingdom must learn to be self-reliant; now every liter of food is precious.

If the Tatar Kingdom abandons its coastal lands and ports simply because it has heard of an attack by foreign enemies, how can it survive on the steppe?

……

(End of this chapter)