A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 261 Trapped in a Dead End

Those so-called rogue old men and strong women, the old and the woman, are indeed correct in these two aspects.

But to call it "healthy" really doesn't quite fit the bill.

The old man had large hands and feet, but his body was withered and his skin was covered with wrinkles. Underneath his coarse cloth clothes, which were full of patches and tears, was a timid and shrinking figure.

The women, who had been threatened and brought out, were already sobbing and staggering. The only thing that could be considered tough was their fingers, which were tightly gripping the small sacks of rice.

Gao Tuoshan frowned, glanced at the size of the rice bags, and then looked at the sallow faces of these people who had obviously not had enough to eat for a long time. He then scolded the soldiers away.

"Have you all forgotten military regulations? Besides, how many people would get enough rice to eat after all this rice ends up in their stomachs?!"

Several soldiers dared not utter a sound after being scolded. Gao Tuoshan looked at the people in the small town, wanting to appease them with the gentle tone he had heard in Liangshan, but he was also a little annoyed, so he just waved his hand and told them to go back.

He sent men to find out which wealthy families in the city were located nearby, and to inquire about other towns that would not have too many troops stationed there, but would still have a certain number of powerful clans residing there.

This time, they set off in an even greater hurry. However, after passing through two towns, they saw similar scenes to those here. Seeing that it was getting late and they could not delay any longer, they returned to the waterway boat.

The rebel army under Gao Tuoshan was almost entirely composed of naval forces. Since the uprising, in their several confrontations with government troops, whenever they had an advantage, they would always prioritize capturing ships. Over time, they had accumulated hundreds of ships of various sizes.

Although there were no large warships to stabilize the winds, there were still fifteen large warships, each thirty feet long.

Among all the righteous armies in the world, excluding Liangshan, their strength on the water alone is arguably the greatest.

Lin Chong was on one of the main ships. When he saw Gao Tuoshan returning, he immediately went forward to greet him.

"Have you found any food?"

Gao Tuoshan shook his head and explained the situation he had encountered.

Lin Chong, upon hearing this, became increasingly uneasy. He pulled Gao Tuoshan to a secluded spot on the deck and said, "In your opinion, is this a plan devised solely by the troops stationed nearby, or has the entire Jiangnan region adopted this method?"

Gao Tuoshan frowned, "I've been thinking about this for a long time on the way here, but I still can't be sure. If all the imperial troops really did this, it would certainly be a huge disadvantage for us, but would they really do that? Isn't that ridiculous?"

The common people at the bottom of society and the current Song Dynasty court are naturally not of one mind and one heart, but the noble families and powerful clans in various places are definitely willing to support the court. They are "family" who are in cahoots.

There's no such thing as looting your own people first during a war, leaving the enemy with nothing to loot.

"well!!"

Lin Chong sighed, "But the facts are right in front of us. I'm afraid they really will do such a thing. Besides, the emperor has brought back the elite border troops and taken in private soldiers from all over the country, incorporating them all into his army. Even if he really seizes the grain from those families and loots them, if the heads of those families find out, they will only dare to be angry but not dare to speak out. They won't be able to cause any trouble."

Gao Tuoshan said, "But in the long run, it will definitely affect their military strength. Besides, I've heard that methods related to the dynasty's fortune rely on the protection of the army and the people. We can't let all the powerful clans under his command hate him. The emperor's methods shouldn't last long."

He rallied his spirits and smiled at Lin Chong, "We still have some food stored on board. Jiangnan is known as the land of fish and rice. At this time of year, fish are swimming everywhere and their flesh is plump and delicious. Getting through this period won't be difficult at all."

Lin Chong nodded: "I hope so."

They ate some boiled fish, and around midnight they received orders from Liangshan, instructing them not to seek any victories in the near future, but to focus on their own survival and to try to move from Jiangnan towards Jingdong and Kaifeng to join forces with the various rebel armies.

Two days later, Shi Xiu, again traveling light and with only a dozen elite soldiers, traveled day and night, crossing mountains and rivers to meet up with Lin Chong and the others.

"The local military governors who were originally fighting against the rebels are still entangled with them, but the places where the four new armies of the imperial court are located have indeed begun to seize houses and grain. Shi Sheng and his group in Liangzhe, Qiong Ying and Lu Junyi in Daming Prefecture, and the rebels in Guangnan are all in a bad situation now."

Shi Xiu brought a lot of bad news, but there was also some good news.

"The troops assembled by Tong Guan, Gao Qiu, Zhu Mian, and others are now facing a force commanded by Han Shizhong and others; they will soon be powerless to stop us!"

"Once those rabble have been divided up and are no longer a threat, Liangshan's reinforcements will reach Jingxi and meet up with the various righteous armies."

In other words, Gao Tuoshan and his men would be considered successful as long as they could retreat from Jiangnan to Jingxi Road.

The retreat route, which was originally expected to reach the vicinity of Jingdong East Road, was now thousands of miles shorter than the winding waterways. When the news spread, Gao Tuoshan's troops couldn't help but cheer.

Just then, a soldier with a vantage point rushed to report that government ships had appeared in the direction their fleet was heading.

Just as Gao Tuoshan was about to order his men to turn the boat around, he suddenly reached out and caught a feathered arrow. The arrow shaft and his palm rubbed together, producing a burning smell.

The next moment, the arrow shaft shattered into sparks and dust, but the arrowhead continued to shoot forward and was caught by Shi Xiu.

Then, a whooshing sound of an arrow rang out from the sky.

Looking out from Gaotuo Mountain, one can see a handsome general with a lion-shaped belt and a red-tasseled helmet, holding a precious bow, standing at the bow of the soldiers' boat.

"It's Hua Rong again!"

He shouted, "The rear guard becomes the vanguard! Our warships will cover the rear! Retreat!"

The border troops were skilled archers, and although only a very few could shoot as far as Hua Rong, they only chased for less than a quarter of an hour before some of the rebel ships behind them came into range.

Arrows rained down like locusts, densely embedding themselves on the deck of the warship.

This is why Gao Tuoshan wanted his warships to cover the rear.

If it were a small boat, being hit by a dozen or so arrows would cause it to disintegrate on the spot, and none of the soldiers on board would survive. But these large warships were captured from government troops and were not easily damaged by arrows.

In the previous encounters, the large ship where Gao Tuoshan was located had been turned into a hedgehog more than once, but afterward, when the arrows were pulled out and examined, most of the deck and hull only had some scratches, which were not enough to penetrate the arrows.

The only thing to be wary of is artillery fire.

The two fleets drew closer and closer, and after a fierce battle, Gao Tuoshan managed to shake off the enemy again by taking advantage of the complex waterways.

Jiangnan is known as a land of water and marshes.

The Qiantang River and the Yangtze River systems are dotted with countless waterways and lakes here, and the canal connects the two systems.

The entire Jiangnan region is like the Queen Mother of the West in ancient mythology who dropped her jewelry box, with the shimmering beads scattered here, branching out and turning in countless ways.

The fleet from Gaotuo Mountain was able to maneuver against the government forces' navy thanks to the natural terrain. Unfortunately, the government forces split into multiple routes, with elite border troops and local soldiers taking turns to surround and intercept them, causing the rebels to deviate from their original retreat routes time and time again.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed.

Gao Tuoshan frequently sent people ashore secretly to gather information, while Liangshan regularly sent people to relay battle reports.

For more than a month, the rebel armies in various places have been in a state of decline. Even though they were ordered to retreat and consolidate their forces long ago, it has been extremely difficult to actually carry it out. So far, no army has successfully retreated to its destination.

It is said that in places like Xichuan Road, some rebels have been forced into deep mountains and ancient forests and have not been heard from for a long time.

The news of Han Shizhong and his men's victories became more and more frequent, and it seemed that as long as they could completely defeat Zhu Mian and his men by tomorrow, they could send troops to rescue the righteous armies in various places. However, the morale of Gao Tuoshan's men was getting lower and lower.

As they fought battle after battle, the number of fish that could be caught became fewer and fewer wherever their fleet passed. The landlords and powerful families were preemptively robbed of their grain and their homes were ransacked. The men that Gao Tuoshan sent out returned empty-handed time and time again. On several occasions, he even risked leading his elite troops to search more than a hundred miles away, but they still came up empty-handed.

Despite the numerous victories reported by Liangshan, their situation remained unchanged.

"If you're not allowed to rob us, then we can at least borrow some food, right?"

Recently, when the fleet has had a few breaks to rest, such voices have become more and more frequent; they are whispering and talking amongst themselves.

"At worst, we can have the general write them an IOU."

"That's right. We can borrow some grain from them. If we win back the battle later, we can find out where we have IOUs and return them. That way, it won't be considered a violation of military regulations."

"How can we borrow it? Will they even lend it to us?"

"With so many of us, do you think they dare refuse to lend us the money?!"

Gradually, some people even dared to speak these words indirectly to Gao Tuoshan and Lin Chong.

"We promise not to borrow everything. They might go hungry, but they can manage; they're used to it anyway. But the brothers on the ship can't go hungry. How can they fight if they're hungry?"

At this time every time, Shi Xiu was always the first to stand up and speak to them.

"Let's hang in there a little longer."

Shi Xiu pleaded, "It won't be long. I've received definite news that in five days at most, Liangshan will be able to send troops to support us, bringing some food to meet us."

They were told to leave, but they still sighed and grumbled.

"Even if reinforcements do arrive, who knows if they'll come to us first?"

………………

"I can't hold on much longer."

While in the military camp, the emperor received an urgent report from Zhu Mian and Tong Guan pleading for help, but he dismissed it and put it aside.

Based on his understanding of Zhu Mian, Gao Qiu, and others, he realized that their memorials to the emperor had become so disregarded in terms of literary style and structure that they were clearly driven to a desperate situation.

Next, it wouldn't be surprising if Gao Qiu and his mixed troops surrendered directly to Liangshan.

Even if they surrender, there's no need to worry about them being a rabble. They are, after all, just a rabble. They were only meant to hinder Liangshan's efforts because of their numbers. After their crushing defeat at Liangshan's hands, these people will only become more useless.

If Liangshan killed all the surrendered soldiers, it would gain nothing. If it accepted their surrender and used them as cannon fodder on the battlefield, they would only panic and disrupt Liangshan's formation when they encountered the elite border troops.

To put it bluntly, these people have been used up. What the emperor is now concerned about are the rebels who are also about to collapse.

Once the rebels in various regions could no longer hold out, they would resort to plundering the poor under whatever pretext they used. After that, the emperor would have his wishful thinking.

The Liangshan rebels have violated the military rules they set themselves. Should we let them go for the sake of the bigger picture?

Even if Liangshan let them go, what would those rebel leaders think?

The most terrifying thing since ancient times has been the insane suspicion that arises from within.

All the red-clad people in the world originated from Guan Luoyang. Guan Luoyang is not pursuing them now, but if the situation stabilizes later, he will settle accounts with them, and they will probably have no room to resist.

So, is it possible that some rebel groups might surrender to the court because of this suspicion and fear?

Once the first person does this, things become much easier afterward.

The most ingenious part of this plan is not even here, but rather that after failing to seize the government troops' provisions and without powerful clans to plunder, even if the local rebel armies looted the poor, the grain they obtained would not be enough to sustain their daily needs.

"Liangshan can't be unaware of this situation, so they will definitely send troops to provide support as quickly as possible, but that would only be a short-sighted solution."

The emperor gazed at the map on the table, his finger lightly tapping on one place after another, marking the locations where the rebels were entrenched.

"With the current forces of Liangshan, if we divide them, we can only send out two groups at most to ensure the strength of the rescue. Wherever their troops advance, I will immediately order a retreat, a scorched-earth policy, and let them take the rescue."

"But the other rebels will be forced into even more dire straits, and changes will occur more quickly. Thus, while they are rescuing those two groups of rebels, at least half of the rebellions across the land will be quelled."

"Those officials, gentry, and common people in those places, after this round of turmoil, will provide me with even more negative fortune."

Reverence for the emperor brings good fortune, as does hatred for the emperor. Only by becoming less concerned about the emperor or being completely placed under the rule of other forces can one escape this vicious cycle.

Liangshan originally did a very good job in this regard.

When faced with prisoners, they used moral education to instill good customs in the people, and the source of these customs was the people they had already won over. The method to win over the hearts of the people was the simplest one—distributing grain.

Two hundred years after the founding of the Song Dynasty, changing the hearts and minds of the people was by no means easy.

In places like Quancheng and Qingzhou, Liangshan used methods such as distributing porridge, grain, and land. Often, they could completely sever the region from the emperor's fortune in less than a month. Rebel armies in other places followed suit.

But now even the rebels themselves can't get food, so this method has been eradicated.

When the people are brought back under the control of the government after the war, they will naturally harbor more resentment. After reaping the resentment, distributing some grain can reap another wave of gratitude.

The powerful clans whose grain had been looted were different. They were greedy and not as easily fooled as commoners. Even if they had been rewarded and appeased, they would still harbor resentment towards the emperor deep down.

"Then I will become stronger and stronger."

The emperor chuckled softly. "The weaker the rebel army becomes, the stronger I grow. Locking up Luoyang is a dead end. How do you plan to break this?"

"You've occupied Bianliang, so you must be diligently cultivating yourself, but how can your efforts keep up with my progress of treating the entire world as my playground?"

His smile gradually turned cold.

"In three months at most, I will not only have to suppress the rebellion across the land, but I will also have to fight you again..."

"I'll beat you to death with my own hands!"

(End of this chapter)