Sweep Yuan

Chapter 298 The Mandate of Heaven Lies with the Han, Not the Barbarians

In November, Jiangning was already quite chilly. The thin mist rising from the Qinhuai River had not yet been dispelled by the rising sun, but inside the main hall of the Han King's Palace, the lights were already on, and the atmosphere was as heavy as if it were frozen.

The flickering flames in the charcoal brazier illuminated the ferocious dragons on the palace pillars, and also reflected the undisguised worry on the faces of the civil and military officials who stood solemnly in two rows.

Just a few hours earlier, the tranquility of the early morning was broken by an urgent report from Zhang Zhou from Jiangbei.

Zhang Shicheng's plea for help landed on Shi Shan's desk like a thunderclap. At this moment, this weighty letter, carrying the scent of gunpowder and bloodshed from the fall of Gaoyou, was already stirring within the hearts of Shi Han's ministers.

Shi Shan sat upright on the throne, his face calm, his gaze like a deep well, sweeping over every face in the hall, calmly observing the reactions of his ministers.

Long before Toqto'a launched his campaign, Shishan had already begun to adjust the defenses north of the Yangtze River in preparation for a possible large-scale southward advance by the Yuan army. Toqto'a's army quickly broke through Huaidong, which was not unexpected. He had also long planned how to deal with the crisis in north of the Yangtze River.

But he had already established a kingdom and become king, and any decision he made concerned the lives of millions of people, requiring the entire bureaucratic system and a massive army to implement it.

A tyrant may enjoy temporary pleasure, but he cannot build a foundation for lasting rule.

Today, he broke with the convention of holding small meetings for important matters, deliberately bringing such a crucial military and national affair to the forefront. On the surface, he was seeking the opinions of his ministers, but in reality, he was taking the opportunity to unify their thinking so that everyone could work together to win this vital war for the founding of the nation.

"My lords."

Shi Shan's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of every official, breaking the solemn atmosphere in the Fengtian Hall.

"Now that we know the contents of Zhang Zhouguo's letter, what are your opinions?"

A brief, deathly silence fell over the hall, broken only by the faint crackling of the burning candles and the howling of the cold wind outside.

Two months ago, they had just collectively urged Shishan to become king, and they knew that the conflict between Shihan and the Mongol Yuan was already irreconcilable, and that they would have to face the fierce counterattack of the Northern Yuan sooner or later.

In fact, the Mongol Yuan counterattack had been going on for more than a month. The fact that Toqto'a broke through Huaidong was also within the expectations of some people. At this moment, naturally no one would be so tactless as to talk about the discouraging words that "the Yuan army is too powerful to be defeated".

The general direction of resisting the Yuan dynasty must not be shaken.

The core of the Shishan issue lies in whether or not to rescue Zhang Shicheng, and if so, how to do so in the best interest of the Han state.
The civil and military officials in the palace are in different positions, so their understanding of this issue will be different. No matter what they say, there will definitely be people who have different opinions, so none of them are willing to be the first to speak.

The first to break the silence was Shi Nai'an, the Minister of Propaganda. He was a man of upright character and a native of Xinghua County, Gaoyou Prefecture. Thinking of his hometown being ravaged by war again, and his elders and fellow villagers groaning under the iron heel of the Yuan army, he was filled with anxiety. He immediately stepped forward, his voice trembling with emotion:
"Your Majesty! Zhang Zhou and our country have signed an alliance agreement, which is written in black and white. We should help each other! This is the essence of trust and righteousness! Moreover, once the Yuan army breaks through Huainan and destroys Zhang Zhou, our Jiangbei gateway will be wide open, and our situation will inevitably collapse!"
At that time, the Yuan army will cross the Yangtze River in full force and attack our Jiangdong hinterland. Our army in Jiangnan will be trapped in a desperate situation, attacked from both sides! This is a matter of mutual dependence, and we must not fail to consider it. Zhang Zhou must be rescued!

Shi Nai'an took a deep breath, intending to calm himself, but as he continued to state his views, his tone became increasingly impassioned:
"Although there are hundreds of thousands of Yuan troops in Jiangnan watching us like tigers, our army has already taken all of northern Zhejiang. We have the advantage of terrain on both the north and south routes. Moreover, the king is wise, the soldiers are brave and the people are loyal. All the defense lines are as solid as a rock and we have repeatedly defeated the invading Yuan army!"

At present, the Yuan army under Buyan Temur and others has repeatedly attacked our key points without success, and their morale has been waned. However, the Yuan army also has the advantage of terrain, and it is not convenient for our army to engage in a decisive battle with the Yuan army at this time. The situation in Jiangnan has actually entered a stalemate.

Now is the perfect time to break out of this stalemate and make a crucial move!
Your Majesty, I believe we should swiftly dispatch a large army to cross the Yangtze River to the north, join forces with Zhang and Zhou, and first defeat Toqto'a's main force, which has penetrated deep into enemy territory! Once Toqto'a is defeated, our army can then march south with the momentum of a great victory. At that time, the stalemate in Jiangnan will be resolved without a fight!

His words were full of the ideals and passion of a scholar, but they also made the Privy Councilor Park San, who was in the front row on the right, purse his lips imperceptibly.

"This old man is a civil official, yet he is so enthusiastic about military affairs. It's a pity that he only has the views of a scholar and talks about war on paper!"

Park San thought to himself, but as the head of the military, he could not immediately step in to refute the argument since the court meeting had only just begun.

Moreover, he knew that he didn't need to personally intervene in this matter; someone else would step forward and challenge Shi Nai'an.

Sure enough, as soon as Shi Nai'an finished speaking, Shao Rong, the commander of the Left Guard of the Army, snorted coldly and stepped forward. He was wearing a military robe and did not carry a sword, but he exuded the fierce killing intent of a battle-hardened general, which contrasted sharply with the refined manners of the civil officials.

"Minister Shi's words are something I cannot agree with!"

Shao Rong's voice was booming. These generals, who commanded powerful armies, already wielded considerable influence in the court. Moreover, the battles against the enemy relied on their own efforts in the front lines, not on these civil officials hiding behind the scenes and spouting empty rhetoric. They could not allow Shi Nai'an, who had won many victories before suffering many defeats, to offer unsolicited advice.

"The reason why the Yuan army could not break through our defenses was that our main land and naval forces held back and guarded key points, so that none of them dared to go all out, for fear of being attacked by our main force in a thunderous counterattack!"
This is a strategic, proactive containment, not a useless, abandoned force! According to Minister Shi, if our army were to launch a large-scale northward advance now, it would be a gamble with the fate of the nation. If we win, we can indeed resolve this dilemma. But what if…?

His sharp gaze swept over Shi Nai'an, then around the assembled civil officials, finally settling on Shishan, and he continued:
"If the war in Jiangbei also falls into a stalemate, or even... encounters setbacks! The forces of Buyan Temur, Yesen Temur, Qingtong and others in Jiangnan already know that our main force has been transferred north and is stuck in a quagmire, leaving the rear vulnerable. How could they let this opportunity slip by?"

At that time, the Yuan army will surely advance from multiple directions, launching a fierce attack on all our defensive lines! Then, our army will be on the defensive on both the northern and southern fronts, stretched thin, with no more mobile forces available for deployment! How should we deal with such a critical situation? Has Minister Shi considered this?!

As a military commander, Shao Rong's analysis, based on the worst-case military possibility, was reasonable and well-founded, immediately causing many officials who had just nodded in agreement with Shi Nai'an to fall into deep thought.

Shi Nai'an's idea was indeed somewhat far-fetched, but it was justifiable both publicly and privately. Being publicly refuted by Shao Rong made him lose face, so he retorted:
"According to General Shao, does that mean we should just stand by and watch Gaoyou fall and the Yuan army besiege Yangzhou?"

Shao Rong wasn't refuting for the sake of rebuttal. Seeing that Shi Nai'an was still unwilling to admit defeat, he realized his tone had been inappropriate, softened it slightly, and offered his in-depth analysis based on the battle situation:
"General Yin Congdao has been guarding Xuzhou and Suzhou for less than ten days, but he has been carrying out our army's established strategy and has taken the initiative to fortify the walls and clear the fields. This is not a fault of his incompetence! After that, the cities in Huaidong surrendered without a fight and were quickly broken through by the Yuan army. This was because Zhang Zhou's foundation was weak and he was not popular!"
Therefore, while the situation north of the Yangtze River seemed to have deteriorated rapidly, it was not due to Toqto'a's skill in battle, nor was it because the Yuan army was invincible. In a true head-on confrontation, had the Yuan army ever breached a fortified city in ten days in recent years?

He paused, his tone carrying a hint of contempt for Zhang Shicheng:

"Zhang Zhou now only has the isolated city of Gaoyou left, with no way to retreat! It's either fight or die! Only under such desperate circumstances can the defenders be motivated to fight to the death, and can Zhang Zhou's civil and military officials be united as one!"
Given this situation, if that so-called "Prince Cheng" can't even hold out for a little over a month, what good is it for us to rescue such a vulnerable and unresilient "ally"? What use is he?

"not to mention."

As Shao Rong got into the conversation, his voice unconsciously rose a few decibels.

"Our army also has General Fu Youde leading more than 10,000 elite Zhenshuo Guards to guard Yangzhou. The city is well-defended and has ample food supplies. Are they just for show? Even if Tuotuo can quickly break through Gaoyou and destroy Zhang Zhou, if he cannot continue to break through the Yangzhou defense line, he can forget about setting foot in Jiangnan!"
General Fu has not yet sent word of emergency, and Yangzhou is as solid as a rock. Minister Shi's statement about "the collapse of Jiangbei" is far too alarmist!

After explaining his analysis of the battle situation, Shao Rong turned around, bowed deeply to Shi Shan, and gave his conclusion:

"Taktuktu came with the remaining power of the pseudo-Yuan dynasty and captured Xuzhou, Huai'an and other places in succession. At this moment, his army is at its peak. If our army goes north to fight him now, we will suffer heavy casualties if we win, which will be detrimental to the subsequent battle in Jiangnan; if we lose, the situation will be out of control and we will be in trouble on both fronts if we are stuck in a stalemate."

Your Majesty, I believe that we should first use the fortified cities of Gaoyou and Yangzhou to blunt the advance of the Yuan army under Tuotuo, deplete their supplies, and break their morale!

He had been accompanying Shishan on military campaigns in Jiangnan during this period, and then added his assessment of the Yuan army's intentions in Jiangnan:

"In order to support Toqto'a, the Yuan army in the Jiangnan region will inevitably intensify its attacks on our Ningguo, Taiping, Hangzhou, and Shaoxing prefectures in the near future, in order to tie down our main force and prevent us from looking north."

Our army should do the opposite, relying on favorable terrain, defending strictly, and taking the initiative to attack when the opportunity arises. We should first concentrate our forces to annihilate or cripple one part of the Yuan army in Jiangnan!
In this way, we can both thwart their attempt to contain our army and weaken their tactical options in the future. Only when the time is right can we withdraw northward to engage in a decisive battle with Toqto'a, thus ensuring victory!

Shao Rong's viewpoint is logically clear and well-considered, and it is quite close to Shi Shan's internal judgment.

Upon hearing this, Shi Shan nodded slightly to indicate that he had heard it, but still did not rush to express his opinion.

His gaze continued to sweep across the hall, awaiting more voices.

Shi Nai'an was now deep in thought, clearly persuaded by Shao Rong's reasoned analysis, and no longer insisted on sending troops immediately.

Minister of Revenue Li Shanchang, holding a jade tablet, slowly stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, my colleagues, I am not well-versed in military affairs and dare not speak presumptuously about military strategy. However, as the Minister of Revenue, I am in charge of the nation's treasury and granaries, and can only state some facts based on my duty for Your Majesty and your colleagues' reference."

Li Shanchang's voice was calm and steady, which immediately eased the tense atmosphere created by Shao Rong and Shi Nai'an.

"Since His Majesty led his army across the river in March of this year, our army has fought dozens of battles, large and small, before finally pacifying the prefectures of northern Zhejiang. The continuous fighting has meant that the military and civilians have not had a proper rest. Now that the war has broken out again, it will have a significant impact on the local recovery of production."

Your Majesty, I have recently carefully examined the tax registers of Zhejiang Province from previous years and discovered that, apart from Taiping and Yingtian, the two territories I initially acquired, the autumn tax revenue from newly attached prefectures such as Zhenjiang, Changzhou, and Hangzhou is far less than in years of peace. The largest decrease is nearly 40% less than in previous years! I have also requested Your Majesty to send people to inspect the registered fertile land of 10,000 mu each in Dantu, Wuxi, and Kunshan. In all three areas, it was found that a significant amount of land has been abandoned due to population loss caused by war; in the largest cases, over 30% of the land has been abandoned!

This series of specific data elicited a murmur of discussion in the hall. Li Shanchang then summarized:
"The most important matters of a nation are sacrifice and war. However, the foundation of war lies in provisions and money. In conclusion, I have only one piece of advice: this war should be fought quickly, not slowly. It would be best to finish it before the spring planting next year. Otherwise, the implementation of many good policies next year may have to be postponed for another year."

His remarks, which included data and analysis, pointed out the pressure on public finances and people's livelihoods, without explicitly opposing Shi Nai'an's "quick victory" view or directly supporting Shao Rong's "gradual victory" view. They were watertight and appealed to both sides.

Li Shanchang was eager to achieve something to advance further, and it was normal for him to worry that the prolonged war would affect spring planting. However, Shishan did not believe that the war would be delayed to the point of affecting spring planting.

The reason was not the "historical plot" he remembered—that internal strife within the Yuan court would lead to Toqto'a's sudden demotion.

After all, the world had already been completely changed since his arrival.

In this version of the story, Tuotuo had just destroyed Xuzhou and then went on to conquer the cities of Huaidong. His achievements were far more "glorious" than in the original historical version, enough to intimidate his political enemies for quite some time.

Moreover, the rise of the Shihan regime made Emperor Yuan, Toghon Temür, have to consider whether he could bear the huge risk of punishing Toqto'a and causing the Han army to launch a direct northern expedition against Dadu when he was considering discarding the useful minister.

The real limitation preventing the Yuan army from holding out until next spring's planting season was the practical problem.

The Yuan army in Jiangbei was short of food, which severely limited Toqto'a's pace of advance and tactical options.

Meanwhile, the Yuan army in Jiangnan had not achieved complete success in annihilating the Xu Song regime, which also sowed the seeds of great hidden dangers.

According to the latest intelligence, the Xu Song regime still has several remnants of its army, among which two are the most powerful. One is led by Xu Shouhui and has retreated into the Dabie Mountains, while the other is led by a rebel leader named Chen Youliang and has retreated into the lake area of ​​Mianyang Prefecture.

Because the Yuan army committed excessive killings during the suppression of the rebellion, public resentment was boiling over. Xu Song's remnants were not only not wiped out by the Yuan army, but also recovered some of their strength due to the large number of refugees who came to join them.

It is said that Xu Shouhui has learned from his mistakes and is now carefully selecting his troops and intensifying their training.

Shi Shan predicted that once Xu Song's troops returned to the mountains, they would inevitably cause upheaval in Huguang and Jiangxi.

Even if the Yuan court was slow to govern the local areas, it dared not ignore the Jinghu region, which had not yet been completely pacified. At the very least, once Xu Song revived, the Yuan army in Huguang and Jiangxi provinces would certainly find it difficult to continue to fight the Han army in Jiangdong.

However, the authenticity of this information has not yet been verified, and it is not appropriate to disclose it to the court today. Naturally, Ishiyama will not bring it up to disrupt the agenda.

After Li Shanchang returned to the ranks, Xia Yu, the Minister of Rites, straightened his clothes and stepped forward to speak.

"Your Majesty, I have a concern."

Xia Yu's voice was clear and bright; he was more concerned about the long-term political impact.

"The Han and Zhou dynasties belonged to two separate states. As the saying goes, there cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers for the people. Currently, the two states are forced to join forces to resist the enemy due to pressure from the Yuan court. However, once our main force marches north, fights a bloody battle, and defeats Toqto'a's army... I ask my colleagues, what will the world situation be like then?"

He paused, allowing everyone to think about the question, and then answered it himself:

"If this thunderous strike by Tuotuo still fails to destroy Zhou and Han, and their armies are even defeated by our army, then the last bit of deterrent power that the Yuan court can offer will completely vanish!"
From this point on, although the Yuan Dynasty still existed, it had lost the ability to command the world and restore order! At that time, the political landscape would inevitably shift from "expelling the barbarians and restoring the Han" to... a struggle for supremacy among the warlords!

Xia Yu's political acumen was still quite sharp. He pointed out that this war was divided into two historical phases, and the Han state's strategy would inevitably change profoundly as a result—at least, the slogan of "expelling the barbarians and restoring the Han" would gradually fade after the war.

"That Zhang Shicheng, who only controlled five cities including Gaoyou, dared to usurp the title of king! I ask you, once the threat from the Yuan court is gone, will such an ambitious man be willing to sincerely bow down and submit to Your Majesty?"

Xia Yu's concern was that the Han Kingdom might have to exert tremendous effort, even suffering serious damage, to defeat the Yuan army and rescue Zhang Shicheng.

As a result, this ally will not only be ungrateful to the Han army, but will also compete with the Han state for living space after the common external threat to both countries disappears. Moreover, once the Han army's weakness or flaws are discovered, it is very likely that it will turn around and bite back!
After all, Zhang Zhou's geographical location was completely blocked by the Han state in a corner north of the Yangtze River, leaving him with almost no room for development and expansion. If Zhang Shicheng had any ambition, he would have had designs on the Shi Han regime next to him.

Although Xia Yu did not say it explicitly, he actually supported Shao Rong's idea, hoping to postpone the rescue of Gaoyou, use Zhang Shicheng to wear down the Yuan army's strength, and even... use Tuotuo to eliminate this future rival.

"Kings!"

Just as discussions were rising in the hall and various opinions were swirling, Liu Xingge, the Chancellor of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, spoke up, and the hall immediately fell silent.

Liu Xingge first bowed slightly to Shishan, then looked around at the assembled officials and slowly said:
"I have heard that those skilled in strategy in ancient times established themselves to govern the world, and were not swayed by any momentary event. May I ask my colleagues, what is the main contradiction we currently face: is it the struggle for hegemony between our country and Zhang and Zhou, or... uniting all forces that can be united to resist the Yuan?"

He elevated the issue to the level of a core strategic contradiction. Upon hearing this, Shi Nai'an, Shao Rong, Li Shanchang, Xia Yu, and others, regardless of their specific opinions, had to ponder it carefully.

Although Shishan had established positions such as Privy Councilor and Vice Chancellor to divide power, and this trend was likely to continue, Liu Xingge was the Prime Minister, and since he had spoken, he had to be given face. Therefore, Shishan said:
“What Pingzhang said resonates deeply with me!”

He first affirmed Liu Xingge's view of addressing risks and challenges based on its own capabilities, which is also the idea that Shishan wants to unify in today's court discussion.

"Although our main force is currently concentrated in Jiangnan, confronting the Yuan army led by Buyan Temur, the world is a game of chess!"

Shi Shan stood up, waved his arm in the air as if drawing a vast map, and said:
"Your vision must not be limited to the Jiangdong region, nor should you be prejudiced against those from the north or south of the Yangtze River! Tuotuo has united the Yuan armies from both the north and south of the Yangtze River, boasting a million troops, and is coming with overwhelming force! The world is shaken, and the feudal lords tremble!"

Zhang and Zhou's troops suffered repeated defeats, and within half a month, only the isolated city of Gaoyou remained! Given this situation, if our country is not strong enough, we cannot forcefully intervene on their behalf; we can only establish layers of defense and passively resist, waiting for the global situation to change further.

He abruptly changed the subject, his voice rising, brimming with confidence:

"But now! Our country clearly has well-trained troops and sufficient food, brave soldiers, and dedicated officials. We still have enough strength to turn the tide! Are we going to sit idly by and watch the Mongol cavalry wantonly ravage our Han people on our homeland of Huainan?!"
If we stand idly by today, even if we unify the world one day, what face will we have to face the thousands of weeping and wailing elders of Huainan? What right will we have to claim that we have inherited the legitimate succession of the Chinese dynasty?!

This latter part of the statement is driven by heartfelt national sentiment and serves as a political slogan and moral banner for the Han state to promote to the outside world in the future.

Of course, the real core reason that prompted Shi Shan to make up his mind to send troops to Huainan lay in his judgment:
The Han army was indeed capable of using the favorable terrain to hold back hundreds of thousands of Yuan troops from Jiangnan who had different thoughts and commands, while also being able to send some of its elite main force northward to take advantage of its mobility within the inner lines and deal with the seemingly powerful but actually logistically weak isolated army of Toqto'a!

As for specific tactics, as Shao Rong analyzed, knowing that the Yuan army in Jiangnan would do its best to contain them, and that Tuotuo's troops were in high spirits upon their arrival, no qualified commander would immediately confront them head-on with a weaker force.

The most urgent task is to adjust some of the troops and strengthen Fu Youde's forces in Yangzhou, thereby bolstering Zhang Shicheng's confidence to hold out for reinforcements and turning Gaoyou into a grinding mill that wears down Tuotuo's troops and morale.

Moreover, Shi Nai'an's initial opinion was not entirely without merit.

Once the Han army has withstood the pressure from Buyan Temur on the southern front and the Toqto'a army on the northern front is exhausted, Shishan can personally lead fresh troops northward to cooperate with Fu Youde and Zhang Shicheng from within and without, and decisively defeat Toqto'a's main force!
At that time, riding on the momentum of this unprecedented victory, we can turn back south and the stalemate in Jiangnan will be easily resolved!

This was undoubtedly more efficient than simply engaging in a war of attrition with the Yuan army in the complex terrain of Jiangnan, and it was also more in line with the strategic interests of the Han state to achieve a quick victory.

While risks certainly exist, the potential rewards are equally substantial.

Xia Yu's words just now pointed out the strategic shift that the Han Kingdom is about to undergo. Since Shi Shan is determined to take this risk, he will not miss the excellent opportunity to completely establish the Han Kingdom's prestige through this battle.

His voice, booming like a bell, echoed throughout the palace, carrying a resolute determination to make history.

"As the sage said: 'He who bears the disgrace of the nation is called the master of the state; he who bears the misfortune of the nation is called the king of the world!' Today, the Mongol Yuan Dynasty has brought its so-called 'elite troops' with only one purpose—to extinguish the flame of our Chinese rejuvenation!"
We are here not merely to save ourselves, but to rise to the challenge and declare to all Han sons still struggling under the iron heel of the barbarians—Heaven's mandate is with the Han! The barbarians' fate is sealed!

……

P.S.: I wrote 8000 words yesterday and posted them relatively early. I was planning to write two chapters today, but my eye pressure was high and I had a headache, so I almost didn't finish this chapter.

(End of this chapter)