Fu Shanhe

Chapter 521 The aftermath of the war
Nanjing City.

When news of the great victory at Xuzhou arrived, the tense atmosphere in the city instantly dissipated.

Once again, the facts prove that the Marquis of Hanshui is still the legendary Marquis of Hanshui, and has not changed despite ten years of silence.

"My lord, how should we handle the rewards for those who have rendered meritorious service?"

Minister of War Shi Qingchen asked.

The victory on the battlefield not only boosted everyone's confidence but also increased Li Mu's influence.

The resounding victory at Xuzhou gave the imperial court a strategic advantage over the Liaodong rebels. Even if they did nothing else, there was a certain probability that they could wear down the enemy.

However, this passive approach was something that the nobles and gentry of the north could not tolerate.

Years of natural disasters have led to widespread bankruptcy among ordinary people.

Natural disasters have displaced countless people, and even those who insist on staying in their hometowns have to rely on tree bark and grass roots to fill their stomachs.

In some communities, people even resorted to cannibalism by exchanging children, and "vegetable people" were even openly sold in markets.

The Liaodong rebels, wanting to gather provisions, had no choice but to beg from nobles and gentry.

In order to escape their predicament, these nobles and gentry constantly used their connections to urge the Southern court to send troops to quell the rebellion.

"Apart from Vice General Liu, who surrendered, who deserves special commendation, the rest will be rewarded according to past practice based on their merits!"
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel can discuss the specific rewards; I have no objection.

In addition, with the increase in troop strength along the Xuzhou front, the military pay and provisions allocated by the Ministry of Revenue must also increase accordingly.

To save money and food expenses, the prisoners of war were given a simplified procedure and exiled directly.

Li Mu answered calmly.

As the Commander-in-Chief, he needs to avoid any appearance of impropriety when it comes to his subordinates.

However, that was during the height of imperial power. This special time is clearly an exception. He may not care, but the Ministry of War cannot ignore it.

Especially when it comes to personnel adjustments and troop movements, the Ministry of War can't do anything without his approval.

"For political reasons, the Ministry of Personnel planned to promote Liu Conghan to the position of General of Liaodong, grant him the seal of General Who Subdues Bandits, and award him three thousand taels of silver."

Li Sanqi, the former commander-in-chief of the Left Guard of Annam, was granted the seal of General Who Pacifies the Bandits, and was put in charge of military and political power on the front line of Xuzhou. He was also awarded three thousand taels of silver.

Cao Zirui, the Assistant Commander of Xuzhou, was promoted to Deputy Commander to assist...

Minister of Personnel He Zhengze then presented the reward plan that he had already prepared.

Apart from Liu Conghan's exceptional promotion, the others received only standard, conventional rewards.

Judging from his expression, this was only one of the plans prepared by the Ministry of Personnel. If Li Mu raised objections, there were alternative plans.

In fact, according to the opinions within the Ministry of Personnel, they most wanted to turn the loyalist army into a directly subordinate army of the imperial court.

There was no other way; the imperial court was desperately short of capable, directly subordinate armed forces.

Nominally, they had the newly formed Five Divisions New Army under their command, but unfortunately, training soldiers is a technical task that not everyone can accomplish.

The Ministry of War officials lacked sufficient experience in training troops and were reluctant to delegate authority to military officers, so they could only rely on military books to conduct training in a rigid and methodical manner.

It looks plausible, but no one can say for sure how much actual combat capability it possesses.

"Ok!"

"The Ministry of Personnel's rewards are fair, and I have no objection."

If Your Excellencies have no objections, once the Cabinet has affixed its seal, these documents shall be distributed to the front lines!

Li Mu said with a smile.

He was not the only beneficiary of the changes in the North; the six people in front of him were also the biggest beneficiaries.

It is rare in the entire history of Dayu for a cabinet minister to concurrently serve as the head of the six ministries.

The power held by these people was arguably the greatest among all the cabinets in the history of the Great Yu Dynasty.

There is no such thing as checks and balances on power.

The appointments of the vice ministers in each department are all decided by themselves, so what checks and balances them?

The power of the six individuals lacked checks and balances, and Li Mu's power was also amplified to an unlimited extent.

He was not only the commander-in-chief of the armies that came to the aid of the emperor from various provinces, but he was also promoted to the high position of Grand Secretary.

If he hadn't refused, he would have been given a whole host of honorary titles.

"My lord, the main force of the Liaodong rebels has already moved south, and the garrison along the Xuzhou line alone may not be enough."

To ensure everything goes smoothly, let's send more troops!

Shi Qingchen couldn't help but urge him on.

Rewarding those who have rendered meritorious service is a minor matter; what everyone is most concerned about is how to quell the rebellion as soon as possible.

The Liaodong Rebellion was, for the Dayu Dynasty, akin to Dong Zhuo's chaotic rule at the end of the Han Dynasty.

If it weren't for the backup regime in the south becoming legitimate and promptly integrating the southern provinces, this would be a repeat of the "warlords' campaign against Dong Zhuo."

The fact that there are no heroes rising up now does not mean that there will not be in the future.

While sending out reinforcements to aid the emperor, officials in various provinces were also secretly preparing for war and continuously expanding their armies.

For the Great Yu Dynasty, the longer the Liaodong army rebellion lasted, the more the empire's prestige would be weakened.

When the authority of the imperial court declines to a certain extent, the central court's control over local forces will also disappear.

Even if the rebellion is quelled by then, the situation will be beyond saving.

"Rest assured, Lord Shi, I already have a plan for quelling the rebellion."

The reason we didn't place our main force along the Xuzhou line was to lure the enemy deeper into our territory.

The border troops in the north have already moved south, and tens of thousands of soldiers from the Beijing garrison in Shandong are still holding back the enemy's flank. Strategically, the imperial court has already formed an encirclement of the rebels.

Now we just wait for the enemy to show a weakness, then deliver the final blow!

Li Mu frankly stated.

It may seem like he did nothing, but in reality he did everything.

All available Yu troops have been mobilized, and they are gradually pushing the Liaodong rebels to the brink of defeat.

The main reason for deliberately leading them south was to prevent the Liaodong army from surrendering to the northern barbarians and becoming their guides after suffering defeats.

In terms of military strength, the present-day Tatar Kingdom is an enhanced version of the Later Jin.

With the Gui Fang acting as allies, the total number of troops that can be mobilized is as high as several hundred thousand.

If they were to join forces with the Liaodong rebels, it would be a huge problem.

The army he led to support the emperor was certainly not enough.

Even with the addition of the border troops and the remnants of the Beijing garrison, there is not much chance of victory.

To win, the only option is to continue investing heavily and draw more troops from the Protectorate General to participate in the war.

Such a large-scale war would be too much for the Southern court's finances to sustain, and he, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, would have to contribute money and supplies.

There was no other way; the era of firearms made us extremely reliant on logistics.

Neither Dayu nor Annam Protectorate completed industrialization.

Steam engines were put into use in industrial production, but the performance of the original machine tools was too poor, and they were only passable for the production of civilian products.

In the military industry, many of the parts produced are not precise enough and require manual secondary polishing.

It can be said that the most advanced weapons of our time are all made by craftsmen hammering them out.

The issue of production capacity is easy to address. The Annam Protectorate has over a million industrial workers, who can be converted to military production when necessary.

If that's not enough, we can continue to train more people; after all, the Great Yu Dynasty has no shortage of people.

The problem is that this production model requires financial and material support.

What used to take the imperial court a year to spend on military expenses can now be exhausted in just a few months.

If a swift victory cannot be achieved, then we will be bogged down in a quagmire of war.

To avoid the worst-case scenario, Li Mu sent a detachment to Liaodong to cause trouble for the Tatars before the battle even began.

However, such calculations are still only a temporary solution and not a fundamental cure.

The Tatar leadership, having risen from humble beginnings, is certainly not a fool.

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, they will certainly take countermeasures.
If pushed too far, it's not impossible that they might simply cede all the coastal areas.

Anyway, the Tatar Kingdom only had a small population, so even if they abandoned the coastal areas, they could still make a living.

If we were to launch a deep inland attack, a few thousand cavalry would not be enough.

If we want to continue to contain the Tatars, we can only send more troops to the Liaodong front.

There are no problems in terms of strategy and tactics; the only problem is that military spending will increase dramatically.

"My lord, now that the strategic encirclement is complete, when will the general offensive begin?"

The Liaodong rebels ran rampant in the north, massacring local gentry and causing widespread suffering among the people.

If this continues, the imperial court's foothold in the north will be destroyed.

Wan Huaijin asked with a solemn expression.

When the Liaodong army rebelled, the gentry and nobles were all victims.

However, compared to the gentry, the nobles still had the value of restraining the border generals.

In normal times, they would only extort money and grain, and rarely directly wield the butcher's knife.

The northern gentry, who originally served as local stabilizers, were unable to provide the Shi family with a stable source of income and provisions due to the large-scale displacement of people.

Regardless of the method of governance adopted, the ultimate goal is to collect money and grain.

If the common people can't be squeezed out of them, then it's the gentry's turn to suffer.

In particular, the Shi family completely lost trust in the gentry after being tricked at the gates of Xuzhou.

If they can't become one of us, then they are the enemy.

Taxes have been increased time and again; failure to meet targets will result in the extermination of the entire family.

They wanted to flee south, but the Liaodong army was keeping a close watch on them, and their direct descendants couldn't leave at all. They could only grit their teeth and hold on.

"I know all about these things."

Popular rumors suggest that Shi Jingfeng was a second Dong Zhuo, and these rumors are not entirely unfounded.

The northern gentry need a definite time, which I understand. If all goes well, the great battle will break out within the month.

However, this only refers to the start date of the war; no one can say for sure when the war will end.

Li Mu explained slowly.

After Shi Jingfeng entered the capital, he almost replicated Dong Zhuo's actions, which was actually forced upon him by various parties.

The civil officials and noble families of the Great Yu Dynasty, though not as arrogant as the powerful clans of the late Han Dynasty, were still formidable forces.

People look down on nouveau riche families like the Shi family.

No matter how hard Shi Jingfeng tried, everyone was just going through the motions and didn't genuinely pledge allegiance.

Even the Qingliu Party members who initially cooperated with them were only doing so to achieve their own political goals.

As a result, the northern court was filled with a large number of officials who dragged the country down.

No matter what policies the Shi family comes up with, they always end up making a mess of their implementation.

With the help of various parties, the Shi family quickly became the target of public criticism.

When appeasement fails to solve the problem, violence becomes the only solution.

Unfortunately, the Shi family was still wary and did not kill them thoroughly enough, failing to subdue the northern gentry and nobles by force.

The fact that the war to quell the rebellion has dragged on until now is essentially a deliberate act by Li Mu.

There are people acting as the executioner, helping to purge the vested interest groups in the north; why not use them?

The more thoroughly we clean up now, the fewer internal problems we'll face in the future.

With the intention of using someone else to do his dirty work, the more desperately the northern gentry and nobles pleaded for help, the less likely he was to achieve a swift victory.

On the battlefield, there are fast-paced tactics and slow-paced tactics.

There is no standard answer to who is right and who is wrong.

The best strategy is to win the final victory.

……

Liaodong Army Camp.

"Third brother, get up first!"

Looking at the disheveled Shi Jingming, Shi Jingfeng spoke slowly.

Those who suffer a defeat must be held accountable.

However, they were still his own brothers, and now was a time when he needed their help, so he really couldn't bear to punish them severely.

"Brother, I was truly wronged in the Battle of Xuzhou!"

Shi Jingming said with a wronged expression.

While complaining, a hint of dissatisfaction was also revealed between his brows.

According to his original plan, he could have taken Xuzhou City much earlier.

As soon as the siege began, the imperial court sent people to intervene and negotiate with the rebels.

This delay caused them to miss the best time to capture the city, which led to a series of subsequent problems.

In Shi Jingming's view, if the responsibility for the defeat were to be investigated, the first people to be killed would be the court officials responsible for liaison at the front.

Ironically, these are the people who should be killed the most.

Although the final outcome was tragic, he was the first among all the officials to pledge allegiance to the Shi family and risked his life to serve them.

If these people are killed, it will inevitably discourage the officials who have come to the Shi family, making it difficult to win over the people in the future.

As for Zhou Qihai fleeing with his cavalry and Liu Conghan leading his troops to defect to the enemy, there's not much to say about that.

As the head coach, failing to manage the subordinates is itself a dereliction of duty.

"The defeat at Xuzhou cannot be entirely attributed to you."

If it weren't for my desire to win over the gentry in the south, we wouldn't have suffered this defeat.

We will naturally settle accounts with Liu Conghan for his betrayal in the future.

As for Zhou Qihai, while he bears some responsibility, it is not the primary responsibility.

Shi Jingfeng said earnestly.

Over the past few days, he has gained a preliminary understanding of the ins and outs of the defeat at Xuzhou.

He can take responsibility for the mistakes in the initial negotiations, but Shi Jingming should bear the main responsibility for the subsequent defeat.

It is true that Liu Conghan's defection was the direct cause of the army's defeat, but the fact that he was Shi Jingming's confidant cannot be ignored.

If his trusted underlings make a mess, then he, as their leader, will definitely have to take the blame.

Cavalry Lieutenant General Zhou Qihai bears some responsibility for withdrawing prematurely, but the circumstances at the time were special.

Even if those few thousand cavalrymen stayed behind to fight a bitter battle, they could only increase the casualty figures.

If the main responsibility for the defeat is placed on the other side, the generals in Liaodong will not be convinced, which could easily exacerbate internal conflicts.

If Zhou Qihai is severely punished, then Shi Jingming, who bears the primary responsibility, will certainly not escape punishment either, and may even be punished more severely.

"Brother, I understand all of this."

I'm willing to shoulder all the responsibilities I should bear, but I just feel so frustrated!

Shi Jingming said indignantly.

Even though I know I've been scammed, I can only keep it to myself for now.

"Don't panic, you'll have your chance for revenge later."

"The key issue right now is that the Marquis of Hanshui is holding back his troops, which is making me very uneasy!"

After offering a reassuring remark, Shi Jingfeng decisively changed the subject.

No matter how important the Battle of Xuzhou was, that's all in the past. We need to focus on the present.

The biggest problem is that the main force of the loyalist army has been holed up in Songjiang Prefecture.

Heading north along the coastline, the enemy could attack their stronghold in Liaodong, launch a surprise attack on the capital, and join forces with the Beijing garrison in Shandong.

Even before the major battle broke out, the Liaodong Army was already at a strategic disadvantage.

If they are not careful, the enemy will seize the opportunity, and they will have no time to cry.

"Brother, the Marquis of Hanshui is holding back his troops in order to put pressure on us."

In my opinion, he has no intention of heading north to fight us in a decisive battle; instead, he wants to wear us down by relying on the supplies from the southern provinces!

When it came to military matters, Shi Jingming's mind suddenly became much sharper.

If he hadn't experienced the enemy's strength firsthand, he would have naturally assumed that Li Mu's forces were insufficient and that he needed to reorganize a larger army to fight them in a decisive battle.

But after personally experiencing the fight, his perspective changed drastically.

There are different strategies for fighting with a large army and for fighting with a small army.

The outcome of a war is never determined by numbers.

"What good will it do him to keep dragging this out?"

"The small court in the south has almost become his echo chamber; why does it need to harbor bandits to maintain its own importance?"

Shi Jingfeng asked with a puzzled look.

These were not problems he hadn't considered, but they simply didn't make sense logically.

The small court in the south almost hailed Li Mu as a saint of the time.

Given the current situation, if the Marquis of Hanshui intends to rebel, he needs to end the conflict quickly.

The faster the attack, the more intimidating it will be.

Defeat them, and you will be able to join forces with the northern border troops.

They were all Li Mu's old subordinates; it wouldn't be difficult to win them over.

With over 90% of the elite troops of the Great Yu Dynasty at their disposal, and riding the wave of a great victory after the war, there is a high probability that they can issue a proclamation and pacify the world.

Even if some people object, it is all in vain in the face of overwhelming military strength.

"I don't know, perhaps it has something to do with His Majesty."

When the emperor was deposed, the Marquis of Hanshui did not participate, but he also did not stand up to oppose it.

"If we are defeated, how to deal with the emperor will also be a thorny issue for the Marquis of Hanshui."

Shi Jingming couldn't help but speculate.

Rebellion doesn't require consideration of the emperor's thoughts, but loyalty does.

Emperor Yongning is no pushover; once he regains power, he's bound to cause a lot of trouble.

Unfortunately, Emperor Yongning currently has no sons, so if a deposition and enthronement were to be carried out, a candidate would have to be chosen from distant collateral branches of the family.

It is difficult to gain the trust of the people by placing a non-heir to the throne.

For ministers who value their reputation, this was definitely a terrible choice.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about these things anymore."

Regardless of what opportunities the Marquis of Hanshui may have, his current inaction is our opportunity.

First, seize Xuzhou and occupy the Jianghuai region to provide the army with a foothold.

As for our stronghold in Liaodong, or even the capital, if he wants them, we'll just give them to him!

Shi Jingfeng said with a cold smile.

With years of natural and man-made disasters, the northern lands are truly unsuitable as a foundation for the rise of kings and nobles.

For the Shi family, the capital and Liaodong are not an aid, but a heavy burden.

When the southern provinces chose to establish separate dynasties, the political advantages of the capital became negligible.

Even with the emperor in their hands, they are powerless to do anything now.

The imperial edicts issued only had an effect within the territory under their control; no one outside paid any attention to them.

(End of this chapter)