Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 513 Complete Rout
"By His Highness's decree! The returning northern soldiers are to take their pay and rest for three months. They shall return to their original garrisons on the fifth day of the fourth month and await further orders!"

"Imperial decree from His Highness..."

On the fifth day of the first month of the fourth year of Qianfu, as Liu Jilong's imperial edict was transmitted to all directions at breakneck speed, the northern soldiers who had been transferred back to the north cheered.

From ordinary soldiers to the generals who led their troops back to the north, the joy of the entire army was palpable.

The troops, which were originally slow-moving, became incredibly fast after the imperial edict was issued.

However, the decision to recall the northern troops also led to a period of adjustment and integration issues between different units on the front lines.

The 120,000-strong army that marched south from the Jianghuai region began to integrate with the nearly 100,000 troops already on the front lines in the Jianghuai region.

During the period of adjustment, the Han army's advance inevitably stalled, and the front line became deadlocked for a time.

"It's still the first month of the lunar calendar, Your Highness is in too much of a hurry. I think the weather in Lingnan in the first month is not hot at all, but just right."

"Indeed, if we leave those 70,000-plus northern soldiers behind and coordinate them with the 120,000 new recruits from the Jianghuai region, we might be able to recover Lingnan before summer. Why rush to recall them to the Central Plains..."

Inside the Lechang government office, the generals gathered around the sand table, observing the situation in Lingnan, and couldn't help but complain about Liu Jilong's imperial edict to transfer the northern troops back to the north.

After all, in their view, as long as the northern troops continue to stay in the south for two or three months, the recapture of Lingnan Road is just around the corner.

Now that more than 70,000 northern soldiers have been transferred away, although 120,000 Jianghuai soldiers have been transferred in, the Jianghuai soldiers have only been in service for a year, and their combat effectiveness is no match for the northern soldiers from Guandong.

"All right!"

Suddenly, Wang Shi's voice rang out, and everyone shut their mouths and looked outside the hall.

But when Wang Shi led Chen Jingchong into the hall, everyone turned their heads to look.

After all, just a few days ago there was news that Wang Shi had led his troops to garrison in Qianzhou. Now it seems that the troops in Qianzhou have been handed over to Chen Ying, while Wang Shi has come to Lechang in person.

While the generals were still speculating, Wang Shi took the initiative to say, "It was I who took the initiative to submit a memorial to Your Highness regarding the troop deployment to the north."

"Shaozhou is full of mountains and forests, so you naturally feel extremely comfortable now. But after another month, you will feel a bit hot and humid. Not to mention Guangzhou to the south and the places in Lingdong and Lingxi."

"In another month, you will know whether what I said is true or false."

Even though Wang Shi had explained it so confidently to everyone, they still looked at each other blankly, clearly not believing what Wang Shi said.

To this, Wang Shi could only shake his head and then said, "I have dismantled sixty cannons from warships in Jiangxi and other places, and they have all arrived in Qianzhou. They will arrive in Qujiang in just ten days, at which time it will be easy to recapture Qujiang."

"These days, you should train the troops you have recruited in Jianghuai well. Once the various units are in perfect coordination, that will be the best time to send troops to recover Lingnan."

After giving the instructions, Wang Shi looked at Chen Jingchong and gestured for him to follow him. The two of them got up and left the yamen one after the other.

After they left, the people in the hall whispered among themselves, clearly not believing Wang Shi's statement.

After hearing this, Chen Jingchong walked away with Wang Shi and couldn't help but say, "These past few mornings, I've seen frost in the garden of the yamen almost every day. Is it because winter has been delayed this year?"

Faced with Chen Jingchong's words, Wang Shi stopped and said with a complicated expression, "Does Governor Chen also think that I have exaggerated too much?"

"This humble general did not, it's just that I feel..." Before Chen Jingchong could finish speaking, Wang Shi shook his head and said:
"After the first month of the lunar calendar, those leeches will come back to life. When the army sets off, Governor Chen will know that what I said is true."

Wang Shi had witnessed the horrific sight of those ubiquitous leeches gradually reviving after the start of spring and then attaching themselves to the bodies of soldiers.

Although Liu Jilong taught his soldiers how to soak their clothes in salt water, he knew very well what the situation was like in Lingnan after spring. The salt water would only take the soldiers a few mountain paths to get their feet wet with dew, and then leeches would sneak into their trousers.

He didn't think his few words would persuade Chen Jingchong and the others. Only when they saw the tragic situation themselves would they understand his and His Highness's good intentions.

After thinking it over, Wang Shi realized that the only truly capable and useful people in the army were actually up-and-coming figures like Wang Jian, An Pohu, and Li Yangchun.

Others, such as Chen Jingchong, Husi Guang, and Cao Mao, were either too opinionated to be easily controlled, or, like Ma Cheng, Dou Jingchong, and Liu Yingyan, were arrogant and condescending due to their seniority.

The former at least had some ability and was relatively easy to negotiate with, while the latter relied entirely on Liu Jilong's glory to act arrogantly.

"After all, he was born a commoner, and suddenly, when the wind blew, he felt like he could ride it..."

Wang Shi sighed inwardly, then returned to the central hall and began to devise four attack routes targeting Lingnan Road.

The first route of attack was to attack Chaozhou from Fujian; the second route was to continue attacking Shaozhou; the third route was to attack Guizhou from Daozhou; and the fourth route was to attack the prefectures in Lingxi from central Guizhou along the Yu River.

Wang Shi did not assign Chen Ying to this battle, and even left 20,000 new soldiers from Jianghuai to Chen Ying in order to appease the surrendered troops in Jiangxi and other places.

With the four attack routes finalized, Wang Shi wrote them down in a memorial to the throne, then added his own ideas on how to govern Lingnan. Finally, he decided that the four armies would move out simultaneously on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month after the Lantern Festival, in order to catch Gao Pian off guard.

After he set the date for the mobilization of troops, countless fast horses traveled from Lechang to various places including Qianzhong, Daozhou, Zhangzhou, and Jiangling.

The closest to Shaozhou was Cao Mao's troops in Daozhou. His 20,000 soldiers were originally recruited from Jiangling and were naturally able to adapt to the climate of Lingnan. Therefore, only replacements were made, and no changes were made.

After receiving the order, he had no problems and immediately sent a fast horse to reply that he had received the order. Then he began to recruit laborers for the upcoming battle.

In the following days, Wang Jian and Li Yangchun received military orders one after another, replied that they accepted the orders, and made full preparations for the battle.

As time went by, and with the arrival of the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, the Han army, which had been quiet, suddenly launched attacks on various parts of Lingnan.

"put!"

"Boom——"

At noon on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, as 80,000 troops from the direction of Lechang gathered north of Qujiang City, the army began to bombard Qujiang City across the Zhenshui River (Wujiang River).

Although the Han army has been making adjustments these days, the shelling has never stopped, and Qujiang City remains in ruins.

Now, another sixty cannons have arrived from Jiangxi, bringing the total number of cannons to ninety. This bombardment has almost become the last straw that broke the camel's back for the defenders of Qujiang City.

If it weren't for Gao Pian's presence in Qujiang City, the Southern Tang army within the city would probably have surrendered long ago in despair.

"Damn it, when will King Gao lead us out of here?"

"They have seventy or eighty thousand troops; even King Gao couldn't defeat them, could he?"

"Nonsense! You have no idea how skillful King Gao is in using troops!"

Inside Qujiang City, many Southern Tang soldiers uttered discouraging words, but they were quickly reprimanded by the veterans who had followed Gao Pian in his campaigns from the very beginning.

In their eyes, even though their own Gao Pian lost to Liu Jilong by a single move, it was only a loss to Liu Jilong.

Not long ago, the King before us left behind thousands of Han soldiers dead in Hongzhou. Now, as long as King Gao is willing to lead them into battle, he will surely be able to recreate the results of that battle.

Even in dire straits, they still believed that their King Gao could lead them to victory. However, the King Gao, on whom they placed their hopes, had not appeared before his generals for several days.

"Father, go out. We still have nearly 100,000 troops, and there's still a chance to turn the tide..."

Inside the Qujiang government office, fifty-three-year-old Gao Pian, with his hair disheveled, had several unswallowed pills laid out in front of him.

Although it was already mid-January, the morning in Shaozhou was still a bit chilly, but Gao Pian was wearing his undergarments with his chest exposed.

His hair had started to turn gray, and as his chest rose and fell, his breath came out as white mist.

If some superstitious people saw him like this, they might actually believe that he had attained true enlightenment.

"Liu Jilong... he's brought troops from Jianghuai. What... what can I do now..."

Gao Pian said these words with his eyes closed. Gao Qin felt very uncomfortable listening to him and couldn't help but say, "The person leading the troops is just Wang Xiaonian. Even if his troops outnumber ours by a factor of two, our army is not without the ability to fight back."

"Father, listen, the soldiers outside the yamen are calling for your troops..."

Gao Pian slowly opened his eyes at Gao Qin's words, but he couldn't hear them, or rather, he didn't want to hear them.

He retreated from Longyou to Annam, then from Annam into Sichuan, and then from Sichuan he was defeated and retreated to Guizhou...

After finally unifying Jiangnan, they were swiftly suppressed by Liu Jilong and forced to remain in a remote corner within a few months.

Now, even this small corner of the land cannot be held back. What good is it if he has an army of 100,000?

Could the situation in Lingnan really support him to recover Jiangnan and continue his separatist rule with Liu Jilong?

Perhaps he should have done nothing in the first place; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so conflicted.

“Aye!!”

Gao Qin looked at his father, who was completely dejected, and he didn't know what was wrong with him.

Just over two weeks ago, he was as calm and collected as ever in the face of danger, but now he's so dejected that even he can't bear to look at him anymore.

"Forty-three Lang..."

Gao Pian uttered the name that hadn't been uttered for years, and Gao Qin's expression froze slightly upon hearing it.

"Father, can you really thwart the enemy's advance and turn the tide...?"

He slowly looked at his hands, opened them, and felt the years flowing through them.

My once strong and powerful hands have somehow become as delicate as scallions.

“Father…”

Gao Qin knelt on the ground, bowed deeply, and solemnly said, "Forty-Third Brother has always believed that Father is the pillar who can save the Tang Dynasty. He believed this before, and he still believes it now!"

"Regardless of the outcome of this battle, history will record that you preserved the true Tang Dynasty and upheld the dignity left by Emperor Taizong!"

Upon hearing Gao Qin's words, Gao Pian's previously gloomy eyes gradually regained their light.

He wasn't radiant because of the so-called Tang Dynasty and Emperor Taizong that Gao Qin mentioned, but rather because, as a father, he felt he shouldn't appear so dejected in front of his own child.

"Perhaps you are right. Regardless of success or failure, Father should not have acted this way."

Gao Pian wobbled to his feet, supporting himself on the chair with one hand. He took a deep breath and looked at Gao Qin: "Change your clothes..."

"Yes!" Gao Qin stood up excitedly, quickly summoned the maid who had been waiting outside for a long time, and personally combed Gao Pian's hair and changed his clothes.

Two quarters of an hour later, when Gao Pian reappeared in the Qujiang government office, the generals who had been discussing the matter fell silent and stood up to look at Gao Pian and Gao Qin outside the hall.

The two walked into the hall under the gaze of dozens of generals, and turned to face the crowd in front of the main seat.

“Since Wang Shi has mobilized a large army to attack, it is impossible that only this area's troops have been mobilized.”

"The imperial edict ordered Wang Zhongren that if Chaozhou could not be defended, the harbor should be burned down and the troops should be withdrawn to Xunzhou (Huizhou)."

"The imperial edict orders Lu Ruyue, Gao Jie, and Kuang Shiqian to hold fast to Guizhou, Hezhou, and Lianzhou, which must not be lost."

"If the prefectures and counties cannot hold their ground, the people must be relocated south first. Under no circumstances should the people be left behind to be used as manpower by the rebels!"

Gao Pian knew that it was easy for him to talk, but the real challenge was getting everyone to stick to their principles.

With over 80,000 troops, it was impossible for them to withstand a multi-pronged attack from more than 200,000 troops, let alone the fact that these enemy forces possessed powerful siege weapons like iron cannons.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian took a deep breath: "All the money and grain in the treasury should be allocated to the various cities. We should retreat one after another, relying on the city fortifications. We cannot afford to lose the prefecture in one battle!"

Although the Han army's iron cannons were powerful in breaching cities, the cities in Lingnan Road were among the first two batches of cities that Gao Pian began to build.

As long as the city is fortified layer by layer, and the Han army is prevented from recruiting enough laborers through a scorched-earth policy, it is not impossible to drag the war out until summer.

However, if Liu Jilong dispatched the Jianghuai troops south, and if the Jianghuai troops were not affected by the Lingnan climate, then Tianfu was destined to have only two years left to live.

With his thoughts settled, Gao Pian said solemnly, "Go and make arrangements. If Qujiang cannot be held, retreat to Zhenyang. First, transfer the people and supplies to Zhenyang."

"Your subordinates obey!" Hearing Gao Pian say this, the generals felt a little flustered, but they still bowed and agreed to the order.

They had thought Gao Pian would lead them to a decisive battle against the 80,000 Han troops outside the city, but now it seemed that Gao Pian did not want to fight them and was still sticking to the tactic of retreating and delaying time.

Under his decree, more than 100,000 people in Shaozhou were relocated to Zhenyang in the south, leaving only 30,000 troops to continue to hold Qujiang.

However, without a sufficient number of laborers, it was only a matter of time before Qujiang fell.

"put!"

"Rumble--"

As time went by, and two days passed, the Qujiang city wall had transformed from rammed earth and bricks into a sandbag wall.

Seeing that he could not hold out any longer, and with the people having already evacuated more than sixty li away, Gao Pian finally ordered the army to retreat to Zhenyang.

Less than half a day after he ordered a retreat, the Han army's cavalry discovered something was wrong and began to cross the river to scout the situation inside the city.

Upon learning that Gao Pian had withdrawn his troops, Tang Qi immediately reported the matter to Wang Shi.

While ordering his army to advance into Qujiang, Wang Shi also sent out cavalry to search the surrounding area and see how many civilians he had left behind.

Sure enough, within half a day, according to the report from the cavalry, all the people of Shaozhou had been moved to the south by Gao Pian.

"Of the hundreds of thousands of civilians, he left less than 30,000 orphans, widows, the elderly, and the weak for our army. Gao Qianli is truly decisive!"

Chen Jingchong looked at the report from the cavalry and spoke through gritted teeth.

Compared to him, Wang Shi, who was prepared in advance, took the opportunity to say: "Gao Qianli is decisive. He often relocated people and used scorched earth tactics to restrict our army when he was in Sanchuan. This time is no exception."

"If I'm not mistaken, prefectures such as Gui, He, Lian, and Chao would all do the same even knowing they are no match for the enemy."

"I will petition Your Highness to relocate the rebels who surrendered in Hunan and Jiangxi and their families to Shaozhou and Guizhou."

"His Highness likes to settle people in the border areas, so I think he would be happy to see this. It's better to let Gao Pian be a villain and move people south than to let us move people south."

Wang Shi was also aware of the benefits of immigrants settling on the border, so he was not in a hurry to pursue Gao Pian.

In his memorial to Liu Jilong, he mentioned driving Gao Pian away and forcing Gao Pian to relocate the people in order to strengthen the court's power in Lingnan.

Although Lingnan has a population of one million, it actually has more than two million people, the vast majority of whom are Miao, Yao and Dong barbarians who do not submit to the rule of the imperial court.

In the past, although the imperial court could easily quell the rebellion, it was limited by the insufficient Han population in Lingnan and could only allow the local officials to govern themselves.

If hundreds of thousands of Han people could be relocated to Lingnan, especially to Lingxi and Annam, these Miao, Yao and Dong barbarians would not be able to cause any trouble, the cost of military operations for the court in the area would continue to decrease, and the entire Lingnan region could then be brought under the rule of the court.

Thinking of this, Wang Shi continued to instruct Chen Jingchong: "Soldiers who have surrendered in various parts of Jiangnan should also be relocated to Lingnan, given land, and helped to settle down and build a home in Lingnan as soon as possible."

"Yes!" Although Chen Jingchong did not know that Wang Shi was not in a hurry to attack Gao Pian, he knew the benefits of immigration.

After all, Longyou was devastated at the time, and it was only through Liu Jilong's bribery of officials in Jiannan and Shannan that Longyou was able to develop. People who were considered a burden by others were moved to Longyou.

Today, Longyou has a population of one million, far exceeding that of the Kaiyuan era, all thanks to Liu Jilong's relocation of people to populate the border region.

Under Wang Shi's military orders, the Han army did not rush to attack, but instead slowly advanced towards Zhenyang, while simultaneously conscripting a large number of single men from Hunan as laborers.

Three days later, 80,000 Han soldiers and 160,000 laborers arrived at the walls of Zhenyang. Zhenyang, which was made of rammed earth and bricks, was not large. Gao Pian continued to adopt the strategy of relocating the people south while stationing the army in Zhenyang to buy time.

At the same time, Li Yangchun, Wang Jian, Cao Mao and other troops began to launch attacks on various states along the routes initially planned.

Lu Ruyue, Gao Jie, Wang Zhongren, and others reacted in the same way as Gao Pian, using layers of city defenses to buy time.

Shortly after more than 200,000 troops launched an attack on Lingnan, Liu Jilong received a memorial sent by Wang Shi on horseback.

"The one who truly understands me is Wang Xiaonian..."

Upon receiving Wang Shi's memorial, Liu Jilong praised it lavishly.

This memorial, which proposed relocating people from Jiangnan to Lingnan to enhance stability in Lingnan, perfectly aligned with Liu Jilong's ideas.

There are too few Han Chinese people in Lingnan, which is why there is constant unrest.

If hundreds of thousands or even millions of people could be relocated to Lingnan, the situation in Lingnan would greatly improve in the future, and the dozens of tributary states in Lingxi could be gradually resolved, thus ending the Miao and Yao turmoil in Lingxi and other places a thousand years earlier.

However, while Wang's thinking was sound, his methods were somewhat flawed.

What he was thinking was simply to relocate the surrendered soldiers and their families to Lingnan, but how many surrendered soldiers and their families did the Han army have?
All things considered, the Han army had no more than 70,000 surrendered soldiers, and with their families, no more than 300,000 to 400,000.

Of these, Liu Jilong had already planned to relocate 200,000 people to Hexi and the Western Regions, leaving only about 200,000 remaining.

The influx of 200,000 people into Lingnan may change many aspects of the region, but it is not enough.

The relocation of surrendered soldiers was just the beginning; the real issue was the relocation of wealthy families with their households.

Those powerful and influential families often have hundreds or even thousands of members. If they were to get involved, it could easily affect millions of people entering Lingnan.

After Gao Pian relocated hundreds of thousands of people from Jiangbei to Hunan and settled them there, and through continuous land reclamation and expansion, Hunan's agriculture has developed quite well today.

The development of Hunan would determine how many people could migrate into Lingnan, because the Lingnan Circuit was certainly unable to support a large influx of migrants. Before the wasteland was reclaimed and turned into arable land, the food supply for the migrants from Lingnan Circuit could only be provided by neighboring circuits, namely Jiangxi and Hunan under the Jiangnan West Circuit.

With the foundation laid by Gao Pian in Hunan, Liu Jilong only needed to restore production in Hunan and Jiangxi to begin a large-scale migration of people into Lingnan.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong breathed a sigh of relief and glanced sideways at Jing Xiang, who was recording the daily life records.

"Where have the officials dispatched by the imperial court arrived?"

Faced with this question, Jing Xiang bowed without hesitation and said, "More than 3,000 officials from Huainan Circuit have been transferred to Jiangnan, while the newly recruited officials sent by the court have just entered Huainan and Jiangling."

"It will take at least another month for these officials to arrive at their posts and take control of Shannan East and Shannan West for the court."

"In addition, a team of 850 officials and 3,000 clerks has just been dispatched to Lingnan Circuit, which has not yet been recovered."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong frowned and couldn't help but question, "Summer is just around the corner. If we send them to Lingnan now, will they be able to adapt?"

Seeing that he was unhappy, Jing Xiang quickly explained, "The officials here are all commoners selected by the court in Jianghuai this time, so they should be able to adapt to the climate of Lingnan."

After explaining, he took the initiative to suggest to Liu Jilong, "Your Highness, in governing Lingnan, it would be best to focus on the people of Hunan, Jiangxi, Lingnan, Fujian and other places."

"I believe that we could establish an official school in the area, or perhaps select children from commoner families?"

He prioritized establishing official schools, but he knew that His Highness could not wait five years, so he recommended selecting commoners from Jiangnan to govern Lingnan.

"Let's put this matter aside for now. Once we've recovered Lingnan and dealt with those who were hiding, it won't be too late to make the selections later."

"Yes……"

Seeing that Liu Jilong had his own ideas, Jing Xiang stopped talking. At this moment, Liu Jilong picked up another memorial from the north and frowned as he looked at its contents.

On the second day of the first lunar month, Li Sigong led the various Dangxiang tribes across the Yellow River, intending to graze their livestock in southern Mongolia. However, they were blocked by Zhang Chang and Zheng Chu's troops. The two sides clashed at Shengzhou Beach. An Pohu led his troops to bypass the Dangxiang tribes and launch a surprise attack from behind, throwing the Dangxiang tribes into chaos.

Li Sigong led over 60,000 troops from Pingxia and Dongshan to break through the encirclement, crossed the Yellow River to Dingxiang, and was then met by Li Keyong's troops before retreating to southern Mongolia.

The six tribes of Yeli, Feiting, Wangli, Pochao, Miqin, and Xifeng were besieged and annihilated. The Han army captured 120,000 Hu people and more than 500,000 cattle, sheep and horses. The Dangxiang tribes in Henan Province ceased to exist from then on.

The results were encouraging, but Li Sigong led the Pingxia and Dongshan tribes, the two most powerful among the Dangxiang tribes, to break through the encirclement.

Based on the strength of the two tribes, they could still muster at least ten thousand cavalry to continuously raid the border, which would pose a threat to the future Xin Dynasty.

"Li Sigong, Li Keyong..."

Liu Jilong murmured the two names, feeling as if he were born to be incompatible with people surnamed Li.

However, as long as the new dynasty lasts for more than ten years, he will be able to apply more advanced firearms technology to the army.

At that time, the threat posed by the northern nomadic cavalry to the Central Plains will gradually decrease. Although it will not end the threat of the nomadic cavalry, it will continuously reduce the cost of military operations.

It's a pity that Liu Jilong originally intended to hand Li Sigong over to Zheng Chu and Zhang Chang to deal with, so that they could accumulate more merits.

Although they have accumulated merit, they have not been able to completely eradicate the Dangxiang, so their achievements are not as great as imagined.

He let out a long sigh, it was unclear whether he was sighing for Zheng Chu and Zhang Chang, or for Li Keyong and Li Sigong.

Fortunately, no matter what, he finally resolved the Dangxiang problem that had been hanging over Guanzhong for nearly a century.

However, Liu Jilong still had to find a way to curb the development of Li Sigong and Li Keyong.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to Jing Xiang, "The imperial edict appoints An Pohu, the governor of Hedong, as the chief commander, and Zhang Chang, the governor of Guannei, as the deputy commander. They are to draw 20,000 troops from each of the two routes to launch a northern expedition against the troops of Li Keyong and Li Sigong in the southern desert in a few days."

"Your subject obeys the order..."

Jing Xiang respectfully accepted the imperial edict, while Liu Jilong, after giving his instructions, remained silent and instead immersed himself in the contents of various memorials.

While he was engrossed in governing, the Han army at the front was also advancing southward.

On the 22nd day of the first month, Li Yangchun recaptured Chaozhou, and Wang Chongren retreated to Xunzhou.

On the 28th, Cao Mao captured Lianzhou, and Kuang Shiqian led the people and the remaining troops to retreat to Hanjiang.

On the first day of the second month, Wang Jian successively recovered Guizhou and Zhaozhou, forcing Lu Ruyue to retreat to Liuzhou. At the same time, he built city walls in Meng, Xiang and Fu prefectures in an attempt to block Wang Jian's advance.

On the fifth day of the second month, Gao Pian ordered Kuang Shiqian to join forces with him and lead an army of 40,000 to retreat to Qingyuan City, the northern gateway to Guangzhou.

On the sixth day, Li Yangchun captured Haifeng, the gateway to Xunzhou, and his army advanced into Guishan City.

As time went on and more and more prefectures and counties were lost, the morale of the Southern Tang army inevitably began to waver.

At this point, no one dared to challenge the Han army to a decisive battle; instead, they were thinking about how to protect themselves.

Gao Pian observed the changes in the army and was well aware of what the generals were thinking, but he did not interfere with them.

As time went by, the Nanling Mountains gradually thawed in spring, and the Han army would soon suffer greatly...

"Uh-huh!!"

"Damn it! How can it be so terrifying!"

"Wang Sanlang, don't you know you have so many insects on your back?!"

A series of piercing screams echoed in the southern part of the Nanling Mountains, and the terror that Wang Shi had described began to materialize as February approached.

But it was discovered that the laborers responsible for logging and clearing the road were covered with leeches.

These leeches clung to his back and legs, constantly surging and drawing blood from his body to grow themselves.

The sight of the dense swarms of leeches was enough to make one's scalp tingle. The laborers around them retreated to the main road behind them, and almost everyone had a considerable number of leeches on their bodies.

"Don't pull it out, wait!"

While the Han soldiers were at a loss, Wang Shi arrived from the rear without anyone noticing.

At his reprimand, the hundreds of laborers in the area stopped what they were doing, while the soldiers retreated one after another.

Wang Shi dismounted and, after showing Chen Jingchong and the generals the horrific state of the laborers, immediately gave orders to his men:

"Sprinkle salt water on them, and the leeches will fall off on their own after a while."

"Do not pull or drag forcibly, otherwise you will cause wounds and the wind and evil will enter your body."

"After the leech falls off, chew dandelion and apply it to the wound; it will heal faster."

"Inform all the soldiers and laborers about this method, and make sure the salt water used to soak their clothes is more concentrated every day."

At Wang Shi's command, someone quickly found salt water. After the salt water was slowly sprinkled on the leeches, they immediately became twisted and then fell off the human body like seeds, struggling on the ground.

"it works!"

Chen Jingchong quickly looked at Wang Shi, but Wang Shi remained calm and said, "In the future, the vanguard will keep salt water readily available so that it can be used to treat the laborers at any time."

"Yes!" Lu Yanhong bowed in response, and then Wang Shi addressed the laborers:

“Any laborer bitten by a leech will receive an extra five coins per day.”

"Lord Wang's kindness is immense..."

The laborers, who had initially complained and felt apprehensive, immediately stopped grumbling and began to praise Wang Shi after hearing that their wages had increased from ten to fifteen coins.

Wang Shi didn't say much. He simply led his men onto their horses and left the logging and road-widening area, returning to their rear camp.

As they returned, the military camp soon learned of a type of leech in the mountains, which looked smaller than an ant but could jump several inches high in one leap before burrowing into people's clothes to suck their blood.

Some people even recounted the scene of the laborers' entire backs being covered by leeches, a sight that sent chills down one's spine. Even the generals who had previously been so self-important were now beginning to feel a sense of dread.

Seeing that his generals were aware of the terror in Lingnan, Wang Shi summoned them again and issued new orders:

"Wherever the army goes, all weeds and wild grasses are burned. Clothes are soaked in salt water, and a pot of salt water and dandelion are always carried on one's person."

"Mushrooms should not be eaten on ordinary days. The mountain mushrooms of Lingnan are different from those of Jianghuai. Many of them are similar in appearance but are highly poisonous."

"When ordinary soldiers finish their patrols, they must burn their clothes and wipe their bodies with hot salt water before they can return to their units."

"Artemisia juice is always kept in the army. If a soldier's feet are swollen like blisters, he must be separated from the other soldiers and drink Artemisia juice every day until the symptoms improve before he can return to his unit."

Wang Shi knew that if those weeds and wild grasses weren't cleared away, as the weather continued to get hot, there would be a putrid smell in the air.

Many weak soldiers vomited or even hallucinated after smelling these odors.

Aside from the miasma, when crossing mountain streams, one is likely to encounter leeches and ghost insects. At least the former can be spotted, but by the time the latter is spotted, one is already close to death.

Taking artemisia juice can greatly alleviate the symptoms of the disease, but whether a soldier can survive depends on his physical condition.

Thinking of this, Wang Shi wiped the sweat from his forehead and frowned slightly.

Even he started sweating, which means the weather is gradually getting hotter.

With this in mind, Wang Shi stopped holding back and ordered his generals, "The army will break camp tomorrow, quickly leave Nanling Mountain, and attack Qingyuan City."

"Yes!!"

Compared to before, the Han soldiers now had complete faith in Wang Shi's military orders.

Seeing how much they respected him, Wang Shi knew that he had achieved his goal.

The following morning, more than 200,000 Han soldiers and civilians quickly passed through the remaining 20-plus miles of the Nanling Mountains, and only after passing through did they leave people behind to continue logging and widening the road.

As more than 200,000 soldiers and civilians continued to appear outside Qingyuan City, Gao Pian, who was defending the city, obviously did not expect that the Jianghuai soldiers in the Han army would be able to withstand the climate of Lingnan.

Qingyuan is located on the north bank of the Zhen River, with a dense primeval forest on the south bank. The city is protected by two rivers, each more than ten feet wide, on the east and west sides, which hinder the Han army from attacking Qingyuan.

Without hesitation, Wang Shi ordered the artillery to begin bombarding Qingyuan City.

"put!"

"Rumble--"

A fierce artillery barrage erupted outside Qingyuan City, with ninety shells piercing the air and causing the bricks of the city wall to crack continuously.

Although Gao Pian had ordered the continued construction of the city walls in Lingnan Road, these walls were at most encased in one layer of bricks, and very few were encased in two layers.

Faced with Qingyuan City, which had only one layer of bricks, both Gao Pian and Wang Shi predicted when the Han army would breach the city.

"No shorter than five days, no longer than seven days..."

Just after the Han army finished bombarding the city, Gao Pian climbed onto the city wall and announced his predicted outcome.

Gao Qin and Kuang Shiqian's expressions changed drastically, with Kuang Shiqian's face turning particularly grim as he said, "The Emperor's residence is only 150 li south of Qingyuan. If that's the case, then..."

He wanted to suggest moving the emperor elsewhere, but now he didn't know where he could move the emperor.

Annam was being invaded by Dali, Lu Ruyue had retreated to Liuzhou, and Wang Zhongren was struggling to hold on in Xunzhou. They had also been reduced to fighting the rebels with their backs to the South China Sea.

Yazhou in the south was in great chaos due to the conflict between the Han and the local people, and the Han navy was more numerous and stronger than theirs. If they retreated to Yazhou, it would be tantamount to courting death.

Or rather, they have no other way to go now.

What he could think of, the generals could naturally think of as well, so the atmosphere became gloomy.

Just then, a fast horse galloped from the west of Qingyuan City, but it was in a very sorry state.

He rushed into the city, spurred his horse onto the ramp, and fell off his horse before he could even bow.

Upon seeing this, Gao Qin and the others hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, and he looked with difficulty at Gao Pian: "King Gao, Governor Gao has submitted a memorial stating that Hezhou has fallen..."

The loss of Hezhou, where Gao Jie was stationed, undoubtedly further dampened the morale of the troops.

"Where is Shisanlang...?"

Gao Pian inquired about Gao Jie's whereabouts, and Kuai Ma bowed his head and replied, "Governor Gao has retreated to Fengzhou."

"Fengzhou? Why would Fengzhou be removed?"

"If Fengzhou is removed, wouldn't the Han army be able to march through Kaijian and Huameng to attack the South China Sea?"

Kuai Ma's words immediately caused a commotion among the crowd.

Seeing their reaction, Kuai Ma could only explain, "Our army suffered heavy casualties, with less than three thousand soldiers able to retreat. Therefore, we can only retreat to Fengzhou."

Upon learning the whole story, the generals lowered their voices, but their expressions grew increasingly anxious.

"Order them to retreat to Guangzhou..."

Gao Pian suddenly spoke, and all the generals looked at him. Seeing his relieved expression, they knew that he was preparing for a final battle with Wang Shi in Guangzhou.

"Yes……"

Gao Qin agreed, but he found it extremely difficult and felt a faint bitter taste in his mouth.

Just a few months ago, he had triumphantly unified the entire Jiangnan region, but starting from the defeat in the Jiangxia naval battle, the entire front collapsed and he retreated.

In less than four months, they lost Jiangnan, and now they are about to lose Lingnan as well.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian said, "The army need not leave the city tomorrow. Five days later, we will break camp and retreat to the South China Sea."

Upon hearing this, Kuang Shiqian couldn't help but say, "But if the entire army retreats to the South China Sea, what about Annam and Lingxi..."

"I can't worry about that anymore." Gao Pian took a deep breath, turned around and looked at the Han army camp stretching for more than ten miles outside the city.

He had his own plans, namely, to abandon the garrisoning of Lingxi and Annam. Liu Jilong would certainly not sit idly by and watch Annam and Lingxi be occupied by Dali.

Since Wang Shi was able to become the commander-in-chief of the southern expedition, it shows that he understands Liu Jilong's thoughts, so he certainly wouldn't sit idly by.

If that's the case, then the 50,000 troops under Wang Jian and Cao Mao on the western front would not participate in the final battle.

All he had to face were Wang Shi's 80,000 troops and Li Yangchun's more than 40,000 troops on the eastern route.

With 70,000 against 120,000, although the gap is quite large, it is not impossible to win.

If he can win this battle, then Lingnan Province, and even Fujian and Hunan, will have a chance to be recovered.

If he loses, all he'll do is suffer defeat and die on the battlefield.

Seeing Gao Pian's reaction, Gao Qin could only grit his teeth, look at the generals, and raise his voice, "Pass on the order!"

"Yes……"

The generals hesitated, even though they had followed Gao Pian for many years and were loyal to him.

But faced with the prospect of death and the extermination of their clan, they inevitably began to waver.

Even though they had received the order to leave, their minds had already wandered far away.

As Kuang Shiqian watched them leave, he couldn't help but say to Gao Pian, "Your Majesty, although they are loyal to you, given the current situation, I am worried..."

"If they want to betray me, I will not blame them."

Gao Pian interrupted them, turned his back to them, and said in a self-deprecating tone, "Since I defeated Liu Jilong in Longyou, it is because I have failed to let them achieve success and enjoy peace."

"If they want to use me to exchange for wealth and status, I will not blame them."

"Not only them, but even if you wanted it this way, I wouldn't blame you..."

Perhaps because he had experienced too many betrayals, Gao Pian had even become somewhat numb.

Seeing his dejected state, Kuang Shiqian couldn't help but take a half step back and bow to Gao Pian, saying:
“If it weren’t for King Gao, I would still be a mere clerk, how could I have risen to such a high position?”

"If King Gao is alive, I will do my utmost to help him; if King Gao is defeated, I will certainly not live on!"

Seeing Kuang Shiqian's reaction, Gao Pian couldn't help but sigh, but he didn't continue the discussion with him. Instead, he gave the following instructions:
"Send the order to gather troops in the South China Sea. Success or failure depends on this battle..."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)