Fu Shanhe

Chapter 533 The world is shocked
On the city gate tower.

"Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable."

"Issue my order: the Beijing garrison must immediately deploy to cut off the rebels' retreat, and the border troops must immediately attack the capital!"

Seeing that the overall situation was settled, Li Mu decisively issued the order.

The victory came so suddenly that even the head coach was a little stunned.

If the Liaodong army hadn't been so calculating and had instead focused on fighting the loyalist army in a straightforward manner, it wouldn't have been difficult for them to hold out for ten days or half a month.

If we are shrewd enough to learn from the experience of war, the war might even last for several more months.

Unexpectedly, the rebels dug their own grave.

Judging from the raging fire, it's clear that the rebels were trying to lure them into a trap.

The plan seems good, but the more detailed the plan, the higher the requirements for execution.

Before expanding its forces, the Liaodong Army might have had a chance; now, doing this is simply courting death.

The fire is still burning, as if announcing the end of an era.

The Liaodong soldiers who had fled the camp were now in complete chaos, each scrambling to escape for their lives.

Mixed in with the fleeing crowd, Shi Jingfeng had long lost his former high spirits.

Although he knew that the Marquis of Hanshui was not easy to deal with, and even had a bad feeling before the decisive battle, he never expected to be defeated so badly.

The Liaodong Army, which once commanded respect and prestige under his command, has now degenerated beyond recognition.

When faced with the army that came to the aid of the emperor, they were not even able to put up a fight.

As darkness fell, the Shi family's higher-ups, who had narrowly escaped disaster, were finally able to catch their breath.

"Third brother, you're right, the Marquis of Hanshui is indeed no match for us!"

Shi Jingfeng said in a low voice.

"Brother, what's done is done, there's no point in talking about it now."

The most urgent task is to shake off the pursuers as quickly as possible, and then devise a plan for the future.

Shi Jingming said slowly.

My usually arrogant cousin actually admitted his mistake, but now he's not happy at all.

The daytime battle destroyed the Shi family's hard-earned wealth.

After this defeat, the Liaodong faction had no place to stand in the Dayu Dynasty.

Bearing the infamy of regicide, the Shi family is universally reviled wherever they go.

"Eldest brother, third brother is right. Now is not the time to argue about right and wrong."

Besides, we didn't have a choice before.

We need to feed hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and we also need to support civil and military officials. If we don't head south, we'll just be waiting to die.

This battle was destined from the moment the Marquis of Hanshui raised an army to defend the emperor.

Shi Jinglin began to explain.

The greater the crisis, the more important internal unity becomes.

While Shi Jingfeng certainly bore some responsibility for the daytime battles, he was largely forced into it by circumstances.

From a strategic perspective, no matter how great the risks, the Liaodong army had to head south and fight the Marquis of Hanshui.

From the moment they rose in rebellion, their ultimate fate was sealed.

To be precise, the fate of the Liaodong Army was sealed from the moment the anti-tax movement of the gentry in Jiangnan broke out.

Outsiders only saw their rebellion and turmoil, but little did they know that the Shi family was also forced into this situation.

The gentry of Jiangnan cut off the imperial court's funds and supplies, and the imperial court cut off theirs, but the Liaodong army, with its many soldiers, still needed to eat.

If the Shi family doesn't act, the people below will stage a mutiny.

When you're starving, you don't care what kind of leader you are.

The Shi family's choice was simply a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils.

Strategically, their plan was not wrong; their biggest mistake was their own lack of strength.

"Ok!"

"After this defeat, we no longer have the strength to contend for the world."

Or rather, in the entire Great Yu Dynasty, there was no other force that could rival the Marquis of Hanshui.

If he were to attempt to usurp the throne and establish himself as emperor, the entire country would be transformed in an instant.

We cannot stop it, nor can anyone in the world stop it; this is the inevitable trend!

The only course of action now is to return to Liaodong first, and then devise a plan for the future.

Shi Jingfeng said slowly.

Deep down, he now desperately hopes that Li Mu will usurp the throne.

Because once Li Mu takes this step, he won't be the only traitor, and the people of the world won't keep targeting the Shi family to curse them.

Besides sharing the blame, the political changes could also give the Shi family a glimmer of hope.

With the fall of the Great Yu Dynasty, their issue of regicide will be downplayed.

After the new dynasty is established, it will certainly not welcome them, but at least it will not immediately start calling for war and killing.

Given the remaining resources of the Liaodong Army, as long as they surrender quickly enough, being pardoned is highly probable.

In order to appease the people, the new emperor must treat them well.

"Brother, that scoundrel Li Mu is a loyalist of the Great Yu Dynasty."

It is almost impossible to expect him to rebel against Yu.

Rather than pinning our hopes on the Marquis of Hanshui rebelling, we should seek allies in the north.

Shi Jingyi immediately objected.

Whether someone is loyal or not depends on what they actually did.

Looking at Li Mu's growth history, it is entirely a history of a military general's struggle to protect the country and the state of the Great Yu.

There were several opportunities to offer themselves to him, but he never crossed the line.

Coupled with the deliberate praise and embellishment by civil officials to achieve their political goals, Li Mu's image as a loyal minister was deeply ingrained in people's minds.

Similar political figures have appeared in history, and more than once.

Each one was the last pillar of a dynasty at its end; once the pillars fell, it was time for a change of dynasty.

"The Tatars are the most greedy people. If we go to them seeking cooperation now, they will devour us without leaving a trace."

Unless the Marquis of Hanshui rebels and brings them a survival crisis, even if we come to him for help, we won't get a good price.

Those people have no political principles; they might just reach an agreement one minute and then sell us out to the imperial court for their own gain the next.

Shi Jingfeng shook his head and said.

He felt no psychological pressure in colluding with the Tatars.

The problem is that the two sides are not equal in strength. Even if the other side agrees to form an alliance, they can only play the role of a subordinate.

If it were merely a matter of social status, the Shi family, who were nearly driven to desperation, were not incapable of making a compromise.

Unfortunately, the Tatars were too greedy; they didn't want a subordinate, but rather to completely annex them.

In this way, everyone else would have a chance to survive, but he, the leader of the Liaodong army, would undoubtedly die.

He would not easily side with the Tatars until he had a guarantee of security.

……

Xuzhou Prefectural Government Office.

"During the daytime battle, our army killed approximately 45,000 enemy soldiers and captured 230,000."

Due to the fire, only over 30,000 heads were recovered.

Judging from the battlefield situation, the daytime fire killed at least tens of thousands of enemy soldiers and destroyed countless strategic materials.

The operation to capture the fleeing soldiers is ongoing, and significant gains are expected in the coming days.

In this battle, the main force of the Liaodong army was decimated and had no strength left to resist the imperial army.

......"

After listening to the report from the Central Army Staff Officer, the room fell silent.

Despite knowing that they had won a great victory during the day, the results still stunned everyone.

The once invincible Liaodong Army was wiped out by a fire, fueled by their own own efforts—it's unbelievable. Judging solely from casualties, the proportion of rebel soldiers burned to death within the Liaodong Army was not high.

But the morale of the troops collapsed.

The fire destroyed the camp and took away its food supplies and strategic materials.

It's clear that the enemy went to great lengths to bury the loyalist army.

Unfortunately, plans can change quickly. The traps they had set up failed to be followed by the loyalist army.

"Ok!"

"The daytime battle went well for all the units, but there were also many problems."

The biggest problem lies in the coordination between the various departments.

After the enemy forces suffered a rout, the cavalry's primary task was to cut off the rebels' retreat route, rather than expanding their gains.

Although they later realized the problem and made corrections, their reaction speed was still somewhat slow.

After receiving the general's orders, the various units in the city acted more slowly than expected, wasting almost the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

Without these mistakes, we could have captured at least tens of thousands more prisoners during the day.

In recent years, everyone has been fighting their own battles and there has been no joint action.

The lack of coordination between departments is understandable, so no responsibility will be pursued.

Afterwards, each of you should write a summary of your experiences.

As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, the generals of the loyalist army responded one after another, but Cao Zirui and Liu Conghan, who were attending the meeting for the first time, were dumbfounded.

I had long heard that the Marquis of Hanshui was strict in governing his army, but I never imagined he was this strict.

In their view, the loyalist army's performance during the day was already outstanding.

If their soldiers could reach even half of this level, they would be overjoyed.

I thought I would receive praise from the head coach, but instead, he started by finding fault with me.

What surprised them even more was that all the proud and fierce soldiers became obedient children in front of Li Mu, and not one of them made a fuss.

I wanted to speak several times, but I held back the words.

The fact that everyone can accept it calmly proves that similar things have happened more than once under the command of the Marquis of Hanshui.

Although they didn't understand the point of doing this, it didn't affect their obedience to military orders.

"My lord, the generals performed admirably in the battle during the day."

There's no need to fuss over minor flaws!

The supervising censor, Ma Wenbo, couldn't help but offer some advice.

He was well-versed in military strategy, and this kind of nitpicking was clearly a way of criticizing the generals.

Even though these people are all following the Marquis of Hanshui, if they cause trouble, it will still affect the foundation of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Without rules, nothing can be accomplished.

Imperial Censor Ma, no further words are needed!

Instead of wasting time on this, we should quickly draft a report of victory and send it to the Nanjing court.

Li Mu said irritably.

Many seemingly meaningless rules can actually play an unexpected role on the battlefield.

Learning from mistakes is the fastest way to grow. The experience gained firsthand on the battlefield is far superior to the dry words in military books.

A military supervisor actually jumped out to play the good guy, without even considering whether he was qualified.

If it weren't for the fact that after suppressing the Liaodong rebels, he would have returned to his homeland and wouldn't have had to deal with the mess left by the imperial court.

Faced with such a situation, Ma Wenbo must be dismissed from his post.

Since we're just here to watch the show, it doesn't matter.

The more ignorant and incompetent officials there are in the imperial court, the faster the family will squander its wealth.

It's better to die sooner rather than later, rather than dragging on in a half-dead state and causing suffering to everyone in the world.

"My lord, you are right to reprimand me. I was reckless!"

Seeing Li Mu get angry, Ma Wenbo hurriedly apologized.

As the Grand Secretary and Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, he had long transcended the boundaries between civil and military affairs, and could decide his career path with a single word.

If someone is ruthless, they might just kill him suddenly.

After calming down, Ma Wenbo realized that he had broken a taboo.

Only Li Mu could win over the hearts and minds of his troops; anyone else who got involved was courting death.

Fortunately, he was just a minor censor, not worthy of Li Mu's attention, otherwise he would be finished by now.

"Alright, everyone carry out your orders."

As for the rewards and honors bestowed upon meritorious officials, they will be reported to the imperial court for commendation after the military achievements have been fully calculated.

Li Mu waved his hand and said.

Having spent so many years navigating the officialdom, he had long realized that not everyone deserved to be treated with respect.

One's abilities may be mediocre, and one's moral bottom line may be flexible, but keen insight is indispensable.

……

Nanjing City.

Before the cabinet could even finalize the rewards for the last great victory, they received news of another triumph.

Compared to the minor skirmishes that broke through enemy lines, the crushing defeat of the Liaodong army was earth-shattering.

Has the information been verified?

"Even if the Liaodong Army is incompetent, it shouldn't be wiped out so quickly, right?"

Wan Huaijin asked incredulously.

It wasn't that he lacked knowledge; it was just that the details of the Xuzhou victory were truly too explosive.

The Liaodong army, with its hundreds of thousands of troops, could not hold out for even a day after the main attack by the loyalist army.

Throughout Chinese history, there are numerous examples of battles where the few defeated the many, but these victories were often coincidental.

And most of the time, winning was extremely difficult.

"The Ministry of War has checked the battle report, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Moreover, everyone knows the Marquis of Hanshui's style; he never bothers to exaggerate his military achievements.

Putting everything else aside, those two hundred thousand-plus rebel prisoners couldn't have just sprung up out of nowhere.

Shi Qingchen responded today.

There are many cases of exaggerating battle achievements, but these battle reports all have common characteristics: they emphasize embellishment and downplay actual data.

To mitigate the risk of failure, battle reports are usually very general.

It felt like a significant victory, but the specific strategic significance was nowhere to be found.

"Since there's nothing wrong with the battle report, let's send it out to the world as soon as possible!"

With the Liaodong rebels dealt with, the imperial court would be able to focus on a host of other complex issues.

Wan Huaijin said with a smile.

No matter how outlandish the battle reports may be, the fact remains that the rebels were defeated.

Releasing this information would completely cut off the Shi family's escape route.

Those powerful families who originally planned to spread their bets across different regions during the chaos would immediately sever ties with the Liaodong army.

"Second Minister, a country cannot be without a ruler for a single day."

With the war to support the emperor drawing to a close, the failure to determine a new ruler could lead to major chaos.

Bai Jinwen couldn't help but urge him on.

The various factions in the court were vying for power, each vying to install their own people in the throne.

The struggle for the throne had already thrown Nanjing into complete chaos.

In an effort to eliminate their rivals, the candidate princes took action, revealing each other's dark pasts.

This commotion from all sides has brought previously hidden issues to the forefront.

(End of this chapter)