Fu Shanhe

Chapter 516 Uneasy
"General, I have been strictly following your instructions and carrying out military orders."

The ambush location you arranged happened to be within the range of the enemy navy's artillery.

Following your orders, we launched an attack while the enemy was still establishing their position, but we were met with a direct artillery barrage.

The muskets used by the enemy were also different from those we used.

The enemy can penetrate the armor even when shooting from two hundred paces away.

Even cavalry would find it difficult to break through the enemy's firepower!

Zhou Qihai answered without changing his expression.

After suffering a defeat, one naturally loses face.

But this time the situation was special. The defeat had nothing to do with his command; it was purely due to the enemy's overwhelming firepower.

Having spent half his life in the military, he had never seen an army with such fierce firepower.

Even the renowned Shenji Battalion, at its peak, couldn't match half the firepower of the enemy.

If he hadn't reacted quickly and ordered a retreat in time, the troops sent to intercept the enemy might have been wiped out.

Of course, these reasons are secondary; ultimately, someone needs to take responsibility for the defeat.

Shi Jingming immediately flew into a rage, clearly intending to shift all the blame for the defeat onto him.

You can't back down when it comes to something so life-threatening!

The Zhou family was also a long-established military family in Liaodong. Although their military strength was not as great as that of the Shi family, they still had considerable influence.

Besides, he is the son-in-law of the Shi family. Even if his status is not as high as Shi Jingming's, it is not so low that he has no right to speak.

As the first defeat in the south, the political risk was too great. Zhou Qihai could not bear it alone, so he had to drag the main general down to share the responsibility.

"Fine, it's all my responsibility as the commander-in-chief. What's the point of having you as the vanguard general?"

Shi Jingming said with a disdainful look.

Even close brothers need to keep clear accounts, let alone distant relatives.

Wanting to share the burden with him is simply a pipe dream.

"General, I am but a rough man, not one to think so much."

Whatever the military order is, that's how I will carry it out.

Other matters are beyond my jurisdiction!

Zhou Qihai responded in a feignedly naive manner.

When it comes to one's future, one cannot make rash decisions at times like this.

No matter who he was facing, he would insist that he was following military orders.

While he, as the executor, certainly bears responsibility for the mission's failure, the primary responsibility lies with the commander-in-chief.

It was written clearly in black and white, and he wouldn't back down even if the case was taken to Shi Jingfeng.

"Humph!"

"it is good!"

"very good!"

In an instant, Shi Jingming felt a murderous intent.

What's the point of keeping subordinates who dare to shift blame upwards?

"General, enemy reinforcements are approaching. We should order a halt to the siege!"
The matter of assigning blame can wait until after the war.

The deputy general standing nearby hurriedly spoke up to persuade him.

Zhou Qihai dared to cause trouble with Shi Jingming because they were both direct descendants of the Shi family and had a bloodline connection.

This unfortunate deputy general didn't have any of these connections.

His ability to climb to his current position is not only due to his outstanding military achievements, but also largely due to his cautiousness and meticulousness.

Being able to assist the commander-in-chief in handling military affairs clearly can save the commander-in-chief a lot of unnecessary trouble.

"Pass down the order: sound the retreat!"

After glancing at the battlefield, Shi Jingming reluctantly gave the order.

The lieutenant's words promptly brought him to his senses.

The household servant system prevalent in the Dayu Dynasty laid the foundation for the Shi family's rebellion, and also sowed the seeds of future troubles.

Other military families from Liaodong, though not as powerful as the Shi family, still wielded considerable influence.

Now that Zhou Qihai has been killed, many things will become unclear to him.

In order to appease the military families, he will most likely be severely punished when the matter is investigated later.

Moreover, enemy reinforcements have arrived, and it is time to fight them with all our might.

Killing Zhou Qihai is easy, but dealing with his loyal troops will take some effort and could even cause internal strife.

……

"Halt! Set up camp here!"

Li Sanqi waved his hand and said.

They were on a forced march all the way to rescue Xuzhou.

We just fought a battle with the enemy cavalry on the way.

Even the elite are not immune to fatigue.

Since the enemy had stopped attacking the city, there was no need for him to rush forward and engage in a decisive battle with the Liaodong army.

The loyalist army needs rest and recuperation, and the Liaodong garrison also needs to readjust its troop deployment.

After all, they were busy attacking the city and never expected that the loyalist army could break through the blockade so quickly.

The two armies stood facing each other across the distance, one to the south and one to the north, surrounding the city of Xuzhou.

Cao Zirui, who witnessed this scene from the city gate tower, smiled.

The fact that both the loyalist army and the Liaodong army are so cautious clearly shows that they are wary of each other.

This was undoubtedly a good thing for the rebel army that had just been granted amnesty by the imperial court.

The more a situation is deadlocked, the more it proves its own value.

The city of Xuzhou beneath his feet was his best pledge of allegiance.

"Shi Qi, please take a generous gift and visit General Li at the camp of the loyalist army on my behalf."

Let's also discuss our subsequent strategies for defeating the enemy.

Tell General Li that the defenders of Xuzhou have shed their blood in the previous battles, but we are still willing to do our part for the imperial court.

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

Given the importance of Xuzhou, he didn't think Li Sanqi would send the garrison into battle, but he still had to make a show of it.

In officialdom, the process is often more important than the result.

Especially for those who were recruited and surrendered, they needed to be even more cautious.

"Students obey!"

Shi Qi readily agreed.

Being an envoy is a challenging job, but also the easiest way to achieve success.

……

As dusk settled, wisps of smoke rose from their respective camps.

"General, the enemy has come from afar and is exhausted."

"Or, while the enemy is still establishing their position, we could launch a night raid with a small number of elite troops."

Deputy General Liu, who was inspecting the camp, couldn't help but offer his advice.

The horrific state of Zhou Qihai's troops during the day was enough to prove that the enemy's firepower was truly formidable.

The Liaodong army was also equipped with a large number of firearms, but those were all distributed by the Dayu court.

As a regional warlord, it was inevitable that it would be treated differently.

Especially after the revival of the noble faction, the most advanced firearms of the Great Yu court were always prioritized for equipping the noble direct troops.

These troops, treated like stepchildren, were given firearms that were actually usable, a testament to the relatively clean administration of the court. This situation only improved after the capital was captured.

Because of the poor quality of firearms, Liaodong Town had previously mainly relied on cold weapons and had not conducted in-depth research on the use of firearms.

After receiving the equipment from the Beijing Garrison, the elite troops of Liaodong Town underwent a major re-equipment upgrade, with their weaponry and equipment being significantly improved.

However, there are always stronger players out there. Compared to the stagnant military industrial system of Dayu, Li Mu has been investing heavily in weapons research and development for a long time.

The artisans who promoted the advancement of firearms technology all went from being low-level craftsmen to joining the ranks of officials.

Not only could they become officials, but they could also continue to be promoted through subsequent technical contributions.

Such stimulation is something that artisans who have long been at the bottom of society simply cannot resist.

Some students who had not succeeded in the imperial examinations also joined the research and development team.

Looking at the world, the research and development institutions under the Annam Protectorate are all in the first tier.

With an annual R&D investment of nearly one million taels of silver, even if other competitors wanted to keep up, they would find it difficult to maintain the financial resources.

The huge sums of money were not wasted, most directly reflected in the rapid development of heavy industry in Annam Protectorate.

The benefits brought by the upgrading of the industrial system enabled the equipment of the Protectorate Army to far surpass that of other Yu Army units at the same time.

Encountering such an enemy, one is likely to suffer heavy losses if they meet on the front lines.

The best option is to play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses, preventing the enemy's firearms from being effective.

"It's useless, don't waste your time!"

"The Marquis of Hanshui was renowned for his skill in night raids."

The troops he led all received night combat training.

Going to attack them would be like showing off one's limited skills before an expert!

Shi Jingming refused outright.

Elite training is difficult; if you know it's impossible, there's no need to throw your life away.

As enemies, the Shi family did a lot of research on Li Mu after they raised their army.

The more I studied it, the more challenging it seemed.

Among the Yu army of the same era, Li Mu's troops were the only ones who were able to obtain a long-term supply of meat and vegetable oil.

Although fish was not particularly popular in this era, the soldiers were not picky eaters.

As long as you're willing to use plenty of oil and salt, it'll be delicious for the average person.

During military campaigns, they were also able to supply cured meat and sugar.

Its ample logistical support set it apart from all other armies of the time.

The Shi family once considered following suit, but after learning about the situation, they immediately abandoned the idea.

To ensure the logistics of the army, tens of millions of acres of military farmland in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions were planted with sugarcane and peanuts.

Such a grand gesture is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

When Shi Jingming first saw this intelligence, he wondered if Li Mu had gone mad.

Given the backdrop of soaring grain prices, the profitability of growing cash crops is actually not high.

Especially with this kind of self-production and self-sales, there is almost no return on investment; it is purely an investment.

The Great Yu Dynasty has no shortage of people, so investing so much in ordinary soldiers seems like a huge loss.

Of course, this is mainly due to a lack of understanding of the Annam Protectorate; the merchants' words only provide a glimpse of the situation.

The reason they dared to make such a lavish investment was essentially because the Annam Protectorate was too large.

After a period of large-scale expansion, and through gradual encroachment and annexation, the Annam Protectorate has now taken control of two-thirds of the Indochina Peninsula, plus half of Southeast Asia.

If we only consider the territorial area, the Annam Protectorate is larger than several northern provinces combined.

With such a large territory, the area of ​​arable land is naturally considerable.

Compared to its pitiful population of just over 20 million, it is definitely a place with a vast land area and a sparse population.

Only when you have the resources to experiment can you plan ahead as you please.

The outside world doesn't understand the strategic significance behind it, so they think it's nonsense. In fact, oil and sugar are both strategic resources.

A large portion of the sugar production was consumed, but the majority was used as ammunition to fire at the enemy.

After occupying the capital, the Shi family also seized a small number of high-explosive bombs, but no matter how hard they studied them, they couldn't figure them out.

"General, if we cannot launch a night attack, then we must prepare for the worst."

Although Zhou Qihai's words were unpleasant to hear, he was still capable of leading troops.

Five thousand cavalrymen went to block the enemy, but they were suppressed by enemy artillery fire. This is definitely not a simple matter.

Based on the past battle record of the Marquis of Hanshui's troops, even in a head-on confrontation with the Northern barbarians, they would not be at a disadvantage, given comparable troop strength.

"I can't believe it," said Deputy General Liu, sounding slightly uneasy.

A person's name, the shadow of a tree.

Li Mu's name was renowned throughout the Great Yu Dynasty.

Although Li Mu did not participate in several major battles in the later period of the Great Yu Dynasty due to distance.

However, the generals he trained performed well, and even when they fell into the enemy's trap, they were still able to knock out the enemy's teeth in the end.

As a result, his status as the top general of the Great Yu Dynasty not only did not decline, but instead continued to rise over time.

"What's there to be afraid of? The enemy has only come to one town."

In terms of troop strength, they are less than a third of ours.

Even if it means piling up lives, we can overwhelm the enemy!

Despite his tough words, Shi Jingming couldn't help but feel uneasy inside.

There was no way around it; the defeat during the day had affected him too much.

Under normal circumstances, it would be as easy as playing a game for 5,000 cavalry to attack a military town.

But the result was a huge disappointment; the Liaodong cavalry, on which high hopes had been placed, actually lost over a thousand men.

Even if the rapid expansion of the army has led to a decline in its combat effectiveness, it shouldn't be this weak.

He had never fought against Li Mu and did not know the specific combat capabilities of the enemy's army, but Shi Jingming of the Northern Barbarians was familiar with him!

Even though the Shi family had been trying to avoid war with the Northern Barbarians in Liaodong, there were still many clashes between the two sides.

The Liaodong Iron Cavalry was said to be able to fight against the Northern Barbarian cavalry, but that was only to bully the Guifang cavalry. When they encountered the Tatar elites, they were still a little bit outmatched.

Back then, Li Mu annihilated a Tatar commander of ten thousand men, along with tens of thousands of Guifang cavalry, on the battlefield.

At that time, the six garrisons of Guangdong and Guangxi had only recently been reorganized, and many of the famous generals of the Great Yu Dynasty were still in their formative years.

The army's combat effectiveness is far from reaching its peak.

If they had used their peak-era equipment, they might have broken the backbone of the Northern Barbarians back in Shandong.

Regardless of whether others believe it or not, the generals of the noble families firmly believe that Emperor Yongning did not personally lead the expedition, but instead sent the Marquis of Hanshui to lead the troops north, and now Liaodong has been recovered.

The worst part is that Shi Jingming himself believed this claim.

For no other reason than news came from Liaodong that the Marquis of Hanshui had sent a cavalry force that suddenly landed and massacred tens of thousands of Tatars.

Even a small detachment caused chaos and unrest in the Tatar Kingdom.

It's either this village being massacred today, or that town being gone tomorrow.

Coastal villages and towns all became victims.

The Tatars set up ambushes several times, but as soon as the enemy realized something was wrong, they immediately turned tail and left, without even engaging them in battle.

They chased the enemy all the way to the sea, only to be met with a barrage of fire from the enemy navy.

Perhaps inspired, Yu Jun's navy then extended its greetings to the few remaining port cities in Liaodong.

The sea routes connecting Liaodong to the outside world were completely blocked.

To ensure their own safety, the Tatars were forced to station a large number of troops along the coast.

What's worse is that the garrison had to be extremely careful, setting up camps more than ten miles from the sea, for fear of being shelled again.

If Emperor Yongning had been willing to set aside his airs of being the superior Celestial Empire and use such methods to torment the Tatars, even if he couldn't kill the enemy, he could at least torment them to death.

(End of this chapter)