Fu Shanhe

Chapter 535 Arrest warrant
North Bank Camp.

"My lord, something has happened in the capital!"

"The rebels from Liaodong raised their butcher knives in the capital and carried out a large-scale massacre of noble families."

Blood stained red…

Upon hearing the devastating news, the generals' expressions changed drastically.

As generals of the Beijing Garrison, their families were all in the city.

After receiving Li Mu's military order, everyone was still worried about what to do if the enemy threatened their families.

I never expected the Shi family to be so ruthless.

Even threats and inducements were useless; they simply raised their knives.

"These traitors have gone too far! I swear to fight the Shi family to the death!"

Li Bo slammed his hand on the table and said.

Although the younger generation of the Li family successfully evacuated, a large number of clansmen remained in the capital.

The reason they were able to gather a crowd to protect themselves was because the Shi family was wary of them and dared not kill them.

Now that the bottom line has been breached, the few servants in the city certainly won't be able to hold out.

A blood feud must be avenged.

"Give the order, Your Excellency! We swear to fight the rebels to the death!"

"Give the order, Admiral!"

……

Amidst the growing trend of hatred, a number of generals expressed their stance.

Clearly, the Shi family's atrocities have crossed everyone's bottom line.

Enraged, they no longer cared about preserving their strength; now they only wanted to kill the Shi family.

"I understand everyone's feelings."

Revenge must be taken, but a hasty decisive battle with the enemy is not necessary.

All we need to do is hold the Yellow River line and prevent the enemy from withdrawing, and the loyalist army will encircle and annihilate them on the south bank.

Let those remaining forces in the capital be left to our colleagues in the border army!

After the great war ends, we will go to Liaodong and make the enemy pay with their blood.

"Once you're down there, immediately spread the word to the soldiers in the camp about the rebels' atrocities. In this battle, we must demonstrate the might of the Beijing Garrison!"

Li Bo gave the order with a serious expression.

The fall of the capital made the Beijing Garrison a laughing stock.

These remnants of the Beijing garrison, in the eyes of the people, became synonymous with good-for-nothings and incompetent fools.

If it weren't for Li Mu's insistence, the Nanjing court wouldn't have been willing to pay their military salaries and provisions.

Explanations are meaningless; people only believe what they see.

Shame can only be washed away with blood.

If they fail to achieve results in this battle, they will not have a good life after the new emperor ascends the throne.

No matter who is the emperor, no one would want to rely on a useless army to protect their safety.

The best outcome would be for him to vacate the position himself.

"I will obey your orders!"

Everyone answered in unison.

The commander-in-chief's order was to block the rebels' retreat.

With the Yellow River providing a natural barrier, we should definitely make use of it.

……

Compared to the Hebei camp, which was united in hatred against the enemy, the Liaodong army camp to the south presented a completely different picture.

"Brother, we've searched the area within dozens of miles, but we still haven't found enough materials."

The enemy clearly had made preparations in advance and carried out a scorched-earth policy.

Building a raft to cross the river won't be possible in a short time!

Shi Jinglin reported in a low voice.

Make bricks without straw.

Whether it's a bamboo raft, a wooden raft, or a sheepskin raft, you need raw materials first.

Unfortunately, the enemy generals were all seasoned veterans with rich combat experience, and they took measures in advance to cut off their supply lines.

In fact, even without a scorched-earth policy, he would have difficulty finding enough raw materials in a short period of time.

As the birthplace of Chinese civilization, the forests along the banks of the Yellow River have long been completely cut down.

"What a vicious plan!"

"But with just this little trick, you won't be able to keep us here."

Since the road here is impassable, let's look for a way to cross the river upstream!

Shi Jingfeng said, feigning composure.

Compared to the Yangtze River, the Yellow River has a much smaller volume of water.

It's the dry season again, and the Yellow River, stretching for thousands of miles, can always find a suitable place for a large army to cross.

Throughout Chinese history, we have only ever heard of a country controlling half of the country by the Yangtze River, but never by the Yellow River.

If the Liaodong army wanted to, they could always find a way to cross the Yellow River.

What's truly worrying is the pursuers.

The loyalist army did not pursue them; they were busy capturing prisoners.

With hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers from Liaodong fleeing in all directions, the enemy certainly couldn't let them go unchecked.

The ability to buy time with reliable retreating soldiers has its limits; at most, the enemy will catch up in two or three days.

Their detour to cross the Yellow River does not mean the enemy also has to take a detour.

They might collide not long after crossing the Yellow River.

Unless they change their evacuation route and go directly from Henan into Shanxi, taking a route back to Liaodong via the grasslands.

Changing the marching route sounds good, but it's not so simple in practice.

Logistics and supplies alone are a major problem.

The Central Plains are the territory of peasant armies, and they certainly wouldn't welcome these uninvited guests.

If it were just a matter of passing through, these rebel kings might not stop him. But if he were to eat on their territory, it would harm the interests of the local bullies.

If some stubborn rebel king were to intercept them along the way, it could cost them their lives.

Even if one successfully crosses the border, the grasslands are still fraught with danger.

No matter how incompetent the border troops were, they still had to fight against the northern barbarians, and the two sides had long been sworn enemies.

No one can guarantee that the Guifang and Tatar people along the way won't take advantage of the situation.

"Brother, since the enemy has made preparations in advance, I'm afraid the road upstream won't be safe either."

In addition to the capital garrison, the puppet regime also had border troops as part of its military forces in the north.

We don't need many; as long as even one town remains stranded in Shanxi, we won't be able to escape unscathed!

Shi Jingzhong couldn't help but pour cold water on the idea.

As the war dragged on, only about 30,000 troops remained with them.

Many of the soldiers even dropped their weapons.

In the past, this would definitely have been a serious matter of holding those responsible accountable, but now it's clear that that's not an option!

As the only remaining asset of the Shi family, as long as they are willing to risk their lives for them, that's enough; they can't ask for too much else.

"Even though things aren't peaceful, we have to go!"

Shi Jingfeng said in an icy tone.

Without a boat, they couldn't possibly lead their army across the Yellow River.

If they delayed any longer, the loyalist army would catch up, and they wouldn't have a chance to escape.

"Rumble..."

The sudden sound of artillery fire interrupted the military meeting.

"The sound of artillery fire is coming from the north; it shouldn't be pursuing troops."

Seeing everyone in a state of panic, Shi Jingfeng hurriedly spoke up.

Being attacked by the enemy's artillery is better than being bombarded by pursuing troops.

With the Yellow River in between, even if the Beijing garrison had boats, they wouldn't cross the river in the middle of the night.

The Yellow River, like a mother, has a rather unpredictable temper; one moment it may be calm and peaceful, and the next it could unleash a raging torrent.

The Beijing garrison was a typical landlubber unit; crossing a river in the dark at night would be irresponsible towards the lives of its soldiers.

If a small force is sent to raid the camp, there's no need to use artillery; the darkness will conceal their movements. "Hmm!"

"Everyone, go down and reassure the troops!"

"At a time like this, any unusual action will cause chaos."

The enemy is employing a strategy of attrition; their use of artillery at this moment clearly indicates they don't want us to sleep peacefully.

Especially at times like these, we must not…

Halfway through his sentence, a shell suddenly landed and exploded a dozen paces away, and shrapnel from it pierced the bodies of nearby soldiers.

"what!"

The screams continued to ring in his ears, and Shi Jingfeng's composure vanished.

I thought that the enemy wouldn't be able to aim at their targets in the dark and wouldn't pose much of a threat.

To everyone's surprise, the shells flew right up to the commander's camp right after the fighting started.

If it weren't for everyone's good luck, that one shell could have paralyzed the Liaodong Army's command system.

How did the enemy aim?

Shi Jingfeng asked in surprise.

Artillery has a low hit rate to begin with.

It's difficult to hit a target even during the day, let alone at night.

"The campfire has given away our location!"

Shi Jingzhong replied with a troubled expression.

It was pitch black, and the enemy artillery could only bombard randomly based on their senses, but they were able to hold off the campfires.

The campfire burned, its light guiding the enemy to their target.

The more important the target, the more fiercely the nearby flames burn.

The once-hidden military stronghold was completely exposed in the face of the flames.

"Extinguish the campfires near the commander's camp immediately!"

Shi Jingfeng immediately gave the order.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

Knowing that the enemy is aiming from the campfire, continuing to let the flames burn is irresponsible towards one's own life.

The crisis at the command camp was averted, but the chaos within the camp continued to escalate.

They were a newly defeated army, and it's easy to imagine how low their morale was when a bunch of defeated soldiers were mixed together.

Suddenly subjected to artillery fire, many soldiers, unable to withstand the pressure, ran amok in the camp, turning it into complete chaos.

By the time the generals realized something was wrong, chaos had already spread throughout the camp.

It's unclear who started it, but officers and soldiers who had grudges against each other took advantage of the chaos to engage in a business of "revenge."

Once the bad precedent of infighting is set, the situation becomes uncontrollable.

The feud, sparked by personal grudges, quickly spread throughout the camp, soon escalating into a camp riot.

Influenced by the atmosphere, many soldiers joined the civil war without fully understanding what was happening.

At first, they had clear objectives, but as the killing continued, the soldiers, blinded by rage, switched to indiscriminate attacks.

No matter who it is, anyone who appears nearby will become a target of attack.

Seeing the chaos escalate and knowing that the situation was hopeless, the Shi family's higher-ups chose to withdraw.

……

Xuzhou City.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Li Mu sighed inwardly at the unpredictability of life.

The once-renowned Liaodong Army ended its reign with a "camp uprising".

Although none of the high-ranking officers of the Liaodong army were captured, the Shi family, having lost their large army, was like meat on a chopping board.

Even if they manage to escape back to their stronghold, Liaodong will not become their base.

Xiang Yu refused to cross the river even at the cost of his life, and the Shi family's current situation is actually quite similar.

Apart from the troops left to guard the capital, the main force was lost on the battlefield.

With so many people dead, they will no longer be guardians when they return to Liaodong.

"Issue arrest warrants to apprehend the rebel leaders."

Anyone who captures Shi Jingfeng will be promoted five ranks and rewarded with 100,000 taels of silver.

Anyone who captures Shi Jingming, Shi Jinglin, Shi Jingyi, Shi Jingzhong, Shi Jinghai, and others will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with 30,000 taels of silver.

catch……

Those who have broken the law are allowed to use the heads of these rebels to atone for their past sins.

"Regardless of whether those rebels live or die!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Li Mu directly put all the high-ranking officers of the Liaodong Army on the wanted list.

The Liaodong Army of today is no longer the formidable Dayu vassal state, but a pack of toothless, clawless, sick tigers.

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

Things that bring both fame and fortune are most likely to motivate people.

Even the most notorious rebel kings, Li Mu dared to issue them pardons as long as he captured the Shi family rebels.

There was no need to worry about opposition; bearing the infamy of "regicide," the Liaodong army's high command was the common enemy of the court and the public.

Breaking the tacit understanding of the rules of the political game inevitably leads to being devoured by those rules.

All the factions within the Dayu system now wish they could tear the Liaodong army's high-ranking officers to pieces.

Having lost the protection of a large army, fleeing with only a few hundred cavalrymen, they were easy targets.

Whether or not it is possible to pass through Henan is still unknown.

Despite the peasant uprising army's earth-shattering slogans and its actions that were undermining the foundations of the Great Yu Dynasty, many people were still tempted by the prospect of being granted amnesty.

On the one hand, they were constrained by the strength of Li Mu's forces, and their peasant uprising army was not confident in seizing power and was worried about being purged by the imperial court later.

On the other hand, there is the influence of traditional ideas.

The Great Yu Dynasty lasted for nearly three hundred years, and its rule had long been deeply ingrained in people's hearts, with a particularly great influence on the lower strata of society.

Apart from a few peasant army leaders who genuinely wanted to seize power, most peasant army rebels were forced into the position and did not truly intend to rebel against Yu.

His greatest ambition was to secure a high position for his wife and children.

"My lord, these rewards are far too generous."

If it were obtained by a court official, wouldn't they be able to rise directly to the top and seize power in the court?

If some rebel kings were to actually carry this out, and then directly pardon and recruit them into the court as officials, the subsequent troubles would likely be considerable.

Li Sen reminded him with concern.

As a member of a noble family, he possessed basic political literacy.

According to normal procedures, any substantial reward would require discussion among the officials and approval from the emperor.

Although Li Mu is currently serving as the Grand Secretary, he still cannot recklessly promise official positions.

"It doesn't matter!"

"After this battle, I will resign from my position as chief minister and return to Annam Protectorate to retire."

The affairs of the court should be left to the new emperor to handle.

After so much debate in the court, it's time to decide the winner. I reckon the new emperor will be established soon.

Especially at such critical times, people are less inclined to make any trouble.

Li Mu said casually.

Making promises that violate the rules of the political game will indeed provoke criticism from both the government and the public, but he himself returned to the Annam Protectorate in the end.

No matter how much trouble followed, the imperial court would be responsible for cleaning up the mess.

With the ancestors no longer weighing on our heads, everyone is overjoyed.

It's unlikely that anyone would be foolish enough to recall him for such a trivial matter.

"My lord, that makes sense, but what if..."

"There's no 'what if'!"

This achievement could have been won by either the Beijing garrison or the border troops.

We all raised an army to serve the emperor, and we reaped the greatest political gains. We should at least share some of the spoils with our colleagues!

The bounty I'm offering is for them.

Whether they can seize the opportunity depends on their fate.

Before Li Sen could finish speaking, Li Mu interrupted him.

(End of this chapter)