Fu Shanhe

Chapter 524 The situation suddenly changes

"Don't worry, the officials in the court are all busy discussing the selection of the new emperor, and they won't have time to bother us for the time being."

As long as no one takes a stance, they become targets for courting by all sides.

The infighting among civil officials is none of our business; everyone should try to stay out of it.

Li Mu spoke slowly.

Among his many achievements, his contribution to the rise of the new emperor is undoubtedly the most outstanding.

He wasn't sure if everyone could resist the temptation, but he still had to give them the necessary reminders.

Even if someone gets involved later, they will only be representing their own personalities and will have nothing to do with the Xun Gui Group.

"My lord, if we don't participate now, it would be tantamount to handing over the imperial court!"
When the new emperor ascends the throne, he will likely have reservations about us.

The heir of the Duke of Wei, standing to the side, frowned and spoke.

The reason why everyone is so eager to support their own people is essentially because they want wealth and status.

On this kind of issue, not taking sides in time is tantamount to standing on the opposite side.

In the short term, the new emperor will try to win them over, but once he has secured the throne, the situation will change.

In the emperor's eyes, any armed forces that were not loyal to him were unstable elements and had to be eliminated.

"With the direct line of the royal family cut off, all the members of the imperial clan in the country are distant relatives, so it is impossible to win the support of the people by choosing anyone to ascend the throne."

Unless we get involved, a new ruler won't be chosen anytime soon.

Even if the right person is chosen, gaining the approval of the entire nation is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

Li Mu gave a cryptic reply.

The order of succession to the throne in the Great Yu Dynasty was: Crown Prince, eldest sons of the Empress, eldest sons of concubines, other princes, the Emperor's brothers, and sons of his brothers.

If no heir can be found among the aforementioned groups, then we should start from the previous emperor's generation.

This system has been operating for nearly three hundred years without any problems.

This time was an exception; three consecutive emperors had no sons or brothers, which immediately broke the succession system established by the founding emperor.

This cannot be blamed on imperfect rules; no normal person could imagine that three consecutive emperors in the royal family would die without an heir.

In this context, whoever is chosen as the new ruler will be a member of a collateral branch of the family.

In chaotic times, an emperor with insufficient legitimacy can only maintain his rule by continuously winning over the military.

He is only emperor because everyone gives him face; if he dares to act recklessly, he could be dethroned at any time.

Having grasped the unspoken meaning, the group was filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry.

The saying that nobles and the nation should share the same path was not a joke; everyone's noble status came from imperial power.

With the decline of imperial power, the nobility also began to decline.

The fact that it's not apparent now is because Li Mu's unexpected rise to power allowed the nobility to control the army.

Nobles with military power naturally cannot be treated as ordinary nobles.

Unfortunately, most of the people present did not have any soldiers, and some were even commoners.

I was able to attend the meeting entirely thanks to the ancestral connections passed down through generations.

Those who were able to break through and head south were all elite sons of their respective families.

A sense of crisis permeated their lives, and those who had originally intended to observe the situation made the decision to enter officialdom.

Reason told them that if they didn't hurry up and enter the court to seize the initiative, they would just be spectators in the subsequent changes.

……

Jinan Prefecture.

"I'm sure you've all heard the news of Shi Ni's regicide."

News came from the south that the Marquis of Hanshui had led his troops on an expedition and would soon arrive at the front lines to fight the rebels.

As subjects of the Great Yu, we cannot stand idly by and watch the Emperor suffer misfortune without taking action.

Colleagues, do you have any good strategies to defeat the enemy?

"I asked in a deep voice, Li Bo, the commander of the Beijing garrison."

There's not much to argue about sending troops to quell the rebellion.

When it comes to the loyalty of various armed forces to the Great Yu Dynasty, the officers and soldiers of the Capital Garrison are definitely the highest.

After the fall of the capital, their team, responsible for suppressing the rebels, was forced to retreat to Shandong to avoid the brunt of the attack.

During this period, the Shi family sent people to induce them to surrender multiple times, and even threatened them with their families, but the people remained unmoved.

When the Southern court was established and a loyal army was formed, they were among the first to send people to respond.

In an attempt to remove this thorn in their side, the Shi family sent troops to attack, only to be utterly defeated at the gates of Jinan.

Perhaps seeing that the Jiaodong region had limited economic potential and feeling that it was not worthwhile to spend a great deal of money to seize it, the Liaodong army chose to turn south.

As the enemy's strategic focus shifted, the situation on the Jiaodong Peninsula gradually stabilized.

Subsequent supplies from the imperial court arrived, and the morale of the Beijing garrison troops gradually recovered.

Although they did not launch a counterattack against the Liaodong army, their location itself served as a hindrance to the enemy.

Time was on the side of the Southern court; if this dragged on, the Liaodong rebels would be the first to give up.

Since their superiors weren't urging them to attack, they naturally weren't in a hurry to engage the enemy.

The situation has now changed. The Shi family has openly murdered Emperor Yongning, once again challenging everyone's bottom line.

For political reasons, this battle must be fought, whether people like it or not.

"Your Excellency, the main force of the rebels is heading south. It may seem like an opportunity, but it is actually a trap."

In terms of distance, the enemy's main force is only a few hundred miles away from us.

At the speed of cavalry, they could arrive in two days.

Abandoning the city to seek a decisive battle with the enemy makes it easy for the enemy to take advantage of the situation.

The enemy ahead is unwilling to fight us to the death at great cost, because seizing the Jiaodong Peninsula wouldn't bring enough benefits.

But things are different now; wheat harvesting has already begun in some areas.

Even with limited production capacity, it was still a considerable temptation for the food-starved rebels.

In my humble opinion, it would be better to launch a localized counterattack and await the arrival of the Marquis of Hanshui's reinforcements.

Liu Taiyu, the commander-in-chief of the Fenwu Battalion, was the first to answer.

It wasn't that he was being pessimistic; it was mainly because he had fought against the Liaodong army several times, and the combat effectiveness of the Beijing garrison troops was clearly inferior to that of the Liaodong border army.

The reason the rebels were able to hold Jinan was that they were unwilling to use their elite troops to attack the city, and instead used newly formed units.

The officers and soldiers of the Beijing garrison who had been incorporated earlier did not want to fight their own people and were just slacking off the whole time.

The reorganized peasant army did work hard in attacking the city, but these people had almost zero combat skills and would rush forward in a swarm.

If you encounter a heavily fortified city, you're basically just throwing your life away.

When defending a city, the enemy is reluctant to expend their elite troops, but the situation changes when it comes to open field battles.

Facing the main force of the rebels head-on, these tens of thousands of remnants faced a very high risk of defeat.

Once they've lost their last fortune, these old noble families will have absolutely no chance of recovery.

Even if the rebellion is quelled in the future and the imperial court reorganizes the Beijing Garrison, it will not select these old-school officers.

"General Liu, your strategy is too conservative."

The whole world is watching. Other troops can wait for the main force of the army that comes to the aid of the emperor, but our Beijing garrison cannot.

The fall of the capital earlier made us lose face, and we still can't hold our heads high.

If you don't show your abilities now, it will be much harder to turn things around later!

Commander-in-Chief Ye Chengxuan of the Brave Warriors Battalion immediately objected.

Fighting the Liaodong army was certainly risky, but there were some things that we had to do even though we knew there were risks involved.

With the fall of the capital, the Beijing Garrison, responsible for defending the city, was suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

Even though they were acting under orders when they went out of the city to suppress the peasant uprising, they still faced a lot of criticism from the people.

Public opinion pressure and political pressure came at the same time, and these Beijing garrison soldiers would suffer tremendous mental stress.

Shame can only be washed away with blood.

Now is the crucial time to suppress the Liaodong rebels. If they stand idly by, they will be drowned in public criticism.

It's one thing for the individual to be criticized, but the key issue is that it also involves the reputation of the family.

There was nothing they could do; their ancestors were all renowned generals of the Great Yu Dynasty!

Each of them has a long list of achievements. But comparing their performance to that of others, anyone who sees it will shake their head in disbelief.

The glory of our ancestors has become a heavy burden on our shoulders.

"General Ye, you make it sound so easy, but the problem is, what are we going to use to fight?"

Before the main force of the loyalist army arrives, we are no match for the enemy. A rash attack will only result in heavy losses!

Liu Taiyu immediately retorted.

He wouldn't want to be so cowardly if he could defeat the enemy.

If his strength allows, he wouldn't mind sending troops directly to cut the enemy in two.

Unfortunately, while the plan was wonderful, various problems arose during its execution.

The enemy is not an easy target. If we fail to divide the enemy forces into two groups and instead find ourselves surrounded, it would be a tragedy.

In the blink of an eye, several more people joined the argument.

Seeing the situation escalating, Li Bo slammed his fist on the table.

"enough!"

"This is a military camp, not a vegetable market. You are not allowed to haggle here!"

"Pass down the order: all units are to prepare for an attack at any time and await my command!"

It was clear that Li Bo was struggling internally and finding it difficult to make a decision.

The aggressive stance was merely a means to suppress internal conflicts within the military.

He wasn't sure which route to choose.

It's not that I'm worried about losing soldiers and generals, but rather that I'm afraid the sacrifices will be meaningless.

Compared to other noble families, the Li family now clearly holds the advantage.

Even if they wipe out the Beijing garrison, it won't affect their status as the most powerful family in the land.

The hesitation stems primarily from considerations of the overall situation.

While suppressing the rebels, it is also necessary to prevent the Liaodong rebels from joining forces with the northern barbarians.

Once these two forces join forces, this war to defend the emperor will become a distant prospect.

Based on historical experience, once northern warlords colluded with northern nomadic peoples, the southern court never managed to fight back.

The best possible outcome was like that of the Southern Song Dynasty, where the small court endured a century of humiliation.

Most of them collapsed and disappeared into the long river of history.

Militarily, the Great Yu Dynasty still has the strength to fight, but the changes in people's hearts are irreversible.

……

Beneath the walls of Xiangyang, at the camp of the rebel army.

"King Chuang, good news!"

"The puppet emperor is dead again!"

Wu Sansi said excitedly.

In recent years, the Great Yu Dynasty has been plagued by bad luck.

Especially after the Liaodong army rebelled, they tore off the roof of this dilapidated house, exposing the weakness of the Great Yu to the world.

In less than a year, two emperors died in succession, a clear sign of the country's impending doom.

"Oh!"

"Another one died."

“I remember that Yongning’s last son died a few months ago.”

Doesn't that mean this tyrannical ruler has no heir?

Gao Yunliang asked with a smile.

The death of the emperor in the Dayu Dynasty was not a big deal; the key issue was that Emperor Yongning had no son.

With no heir apparent, the throne became vacant, and ambitious members of the royal family couldn't resist jumping in to claim it.

When it comes to the change of imperial power, the Great Yu Dynasty is bound to be in turmoil for a while.

For the rebels, this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity.

“Chuang Wang, you remember correctly.”

Not only did Yongning have no sons, but Emperor Fu'an and Emperor Tianyuan also had no sons.

With three emperors dying without an heir, it seems the Great Yu Dynasty has truly run out of its destiny.

"Congratulations, Your Highness! A change of dynasty is just around the corner!"

Wu Sansi immediately offered his congratulations.

It was as if the world would belong to them once the Great Yu Dynasty collapsed.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"I am merely the temporary leader of the rebel alliance, and many below me are dissatisfied."

If this gets out, wouldn't people laugh at us?

Besides, heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river; who knows who will ultimately claim this vast land!

Gao Yunliang immediately reprimanded him.

Having chosen the path of rebellion, they naturally coveted the throne.

However, reason prevailed in the end, and they knew that now was not the time to make a move.

The rebel kings in the alliance were only partners with him, not subordinates.

If he were to foolishly declare himself emperor, regardless of the outside world's reaction, it would cause a series of problems within the rebel alliance itself.

Despite his harsh words, deep down he had already made up his mind to reorganize the rebel alliance.

To repel external threats, one must first secure internal stability. Without resolving internal problems, how can one contend for power?

"Your Highness is right, I will remember this!"

Wu Sansi replied calmly.

Getting scolded is a minor issue; the key is to flatter the boss in a way that pleases him.

The fact that it has not been adopted now does not mean that it will not be adopted in the future.

"Ok!"

“If Yongning dies at this time, the situation in the world will inevitably change drastically.”

"Go immediately and invite King Taiping, King Zhulu, King Weiwu, King Shasheng, King Tianyun, and others to come for a meeting."

Gao Yunliang immediately gave the order.

As anti-Yu forces, if they don't take advantage of the problems within Yu to seize a piece of the pie, then they are not qualified rebels.

After all, the Central Plains of today is not the same as it used to be, and the saying "whoever controls the Central Plains controls the world" is a thing of the past.

The constant natural disasters made it impossible to support a million-strong peasant uprising army.

If we cannot quickly secure the southward passage and seize the granaries of Hubei and Hunan, decline is only a matter of time.

"Wei Chen obeys!"

No sooner had Wu Sansi finished speaking than a group of uninvited guests appeared at the camp gate—the very people he was about to invite.

It's clear that the rebel kings are all about the same in terms of intelligence gathering.

"Alliance Leader, we have come uninvited, please forgive us!"

King Weiwu spoke first.

"Ha ha……"

"The fact that you brothers have come is an honor for me."

To be honest, I was also preparing to invite everyone to a council meeting.

I never imagined that we brothers would be so in sync, thinking the same thing!

Gao Yunliang responded with great enthusiasm.

To overthrow Yu Da's cause, this group of rebels against the king were all sworn brothers who had sworn an oath before the statue of Guan Yu.

Although such sworn brotherhood is insignificant in chaotic times, people still have to give each other face on the surface.

(End of this chapter)