Chapter 129: Strategy for Pacifying Liaodong

Liaodong front line.

"Bastards!"

"How are you all fighting?"

"I told you to lure the enemy out."

"This is luring the enemy, luring the enemy!"

"Not telling you to go and attack the city!"

......"

After being blocked for several consecutive days, Chanyu Hugjile had accumulated a belly of anger.

It just so happened that the younger brothers were not worrying; clearly his order was to lure the enemy, but some people still ran to attack the city.

Without any accident, except for leaving behind hundreds of corpses, the military exploits were almost negligible.

"Great Chanyu, the Yu people are like turtles."

"From the outbreak of the war to now, they have not taken the initiative to attack even once."

"According to the intelligence collected, Bao Bao Zhiyong, the Liaodong Governor appointed by the Yu Emperor, is a defensive general."

"He has blocked the invasion of the Gui Fang and Oirat many times before; wanting to lure them out for a decisive battle is afraid it will not be easy."

Erder persuaded anxiously.

Compared to the Great Great Dayu Dynasty, their strength is still too weak.

The several victories before were all achieved in field battles.

The Tatar tribe, which is a nation in arms, is mainly cavalry, and the infantry establishment only has the surrendered soldiers of Great Great Dayu who were reorganized.

This group is small in scale, totaling less than 20,000 people, mainly serving as auxiliary troops.

Wanting to use these infantry to conquer a strong city guarded by the enemy's heavy troops, there is clearly no hope.

"It won't be easy, but we must do it!"

"If it were easy, what would I need you for?"

"The Yu Emperor is planning a counterattack; if we don't strike first to hurt them, there will be no peace in the future."

"With Great Great Dayu's manpower, financial resources, and material resources, they can easily arm hundreds of thousands of elite cavalry."

"By then, even if all the tribes on the grassland unite, they will not be their opponents!"

Hugjile reprimanded angrily.

The Chanyu of the Northern Barbarians, who is regarded as a mortal enemy by Great Great Dayu, is actually a patient with 'Yu-phobia'; if this spread out, it is estimated that many people would be shocked.

However, the people present did not express disagreement.

Judging from the paper data alone, Great Great Dayu is a proper behemoth.

With a population of hundreds of millions, nominally possessing more than 2 million troops, occupying the most fertile land of this era, and possessing the most advanced weapons of the contemporary era.

No matter how you look at it, Great Great Dayu has the strength to crush a group of grassland nations.

Even if they have fought against Yu many times and won, everyone's fear still exists.

The strategic plan of the Tatar tribe is not to destroy Great Great Dayu.

Even the most optimistic people at this time are only thinking about driving the Yu people out of Liaodong.

Then sign a peace agreement and become one of the many vassal states of Great Great Dayu.

"Great Chanyu, since the Great Great Dayu army refuses to come out, then we will force them out."

"Since Guangning Guard is not easy to fight, then we will first go to fight Gaizhou Guard, Fuzhou Guard, and Jinzhou Guard."

"Yu people are best at infighting; if Bao Bao Zhiyong dares to see death and not save, we will release rumors."

"By then, the censors of the Yu Dynasty will definitely impeach Bao Bao Zhiyong."

"Perhaps we don't need to do it ourselves; those ministers of the Yu Dynasty will take action to help us get rid of this stumbling block!"

Nichilege on the side proposed.

Where there are people, there are disputes.

Mocking Great Great Dayu for being good at infighting, in fact, the Tatar tribe is not much worse.

It's just that their basic foundation is small, and there is a common enemy, Great Great Dayu, on the side, so the situation does not allow them to fight internally.

Just for this attack on Great Great Dayu, the Tatar tribe is divided into three factions internally.

One faction firmly opposes attacking Great Great Dayu, advocating first conquering Goguryeo and seizing the land of the Three Hans.

One faction advocates breaking through the Guangning defense line, seeking a decisive battle with the main force of the Yu border army, and forcing the Yu Emperor to recognize their status.

There is another faction that advocates using the Liao River as the boundary, first conquering the three guards of Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou, and taking the land north of the Liao River.

In the previous high-level meeting, the decisive battle faction led by Great Chanyu Hugjile occupied an absolute upper hand.

With the obstruction of the attack, the situation gradually changed.

Everyone's confidence in breaking through the Guangning defense line became less and less confident, and many people became conservative.

As the elder brother of the Great Chanyu, Nichilege has a status second only to the Chanyu in the Tatar tribe.

The suggestion made at this time represents the position of the conservative faction in the Tatar tribe.

Compared to the solid Guangning defense line, the three guards of Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou, which are isolated outside, clearly look much easier to bully.

It is best to force the enemy to come out for a decisive battle; even if the enemy does not fall into the trap, they can consolidate the rear.

Scanning everyone, from the dodging eyes of everyone, Hugjile had already learned the answer.

After hitting a bump on the Guangning defense line, everyone's heads were not as hard as before, and no one wanted to chew this hard bone.

"Good, leave a ten-thousand-household unit to continue watching the Yu army in Guangning, and the rest will turn to fight the three guards!"

Hugjile ordered unhappily.

It is not easy to be a boss these days, especially being a boss in the Tatar tribe where the strong eat the weak.

The younger brothers below are all in power.

Several brothers are also restless, waiting for him to make a mistake so they can counterattack and take the top spot.

Deep in his heart, he had already made up his mind that after winning this battle, he would properly rectify the internal affairs.

Guangning City.

"Report!"

"Report to the Governor, the Barbarian army has divided a group of people and headed towards Gaizhou!"

Receiving this news, Bao Bao Zhiyong nodded slightly.

The actions of the Northern Barbarians were completely within his expectations.

As a defensive commander, after witnessing the solidity of the Guangning defense line, he knew that the Northern Barbarians would not fight to the death here.

For the Northern Barbarians, besides the Guangning defense line being a shackle on them, the three coastal guards are also a major threat.

As long as the three places are in the hands of the imperial court, Great Great Dayu can send troops at any time to harass their rear.

Without pulling out this nail, the Northern Barbarians will never be able to go south with peace of mind.

In order to strengthen the defense of the three guards, Bao Bao Zhiyong wrote to the imperial court early to send the navy to transport strategic materials for the three guards.

When necessary, troops can also be reinforced to the three places from the sea.

"Pass the order down, all departments should strictly guard the city and ignore the actions of the Northern Barbarians."

Bao Bao Zhiyong ordered calmly.

As the Liaodong Governor, he is not afraid of the Northern Barbarians attacking the city, but afraid of the Northern Barbarians doing nothing.

With the solidity of the city walls of the three coastal guards, if the Northern Barbarians want to break through, they will inevitably have to pay a tragic price.

Even if the three places are lost, the imperial court can still recover the lost territory from the sea.

The Northern Barbarians have no navy; if they want to guarantee the safety of the rear, they will inevitably have to divide troops to garrison.

Weakening the enemy's troops, lengthening the enemy's front line, and dragging the Northern Barbarians to death in consumption.

This is his strategy for pacifying Liaodong; the only drawback is that it takes a long time, and the manpower, material, and financial resources consumed are also an astronomical figure.

Hesitating again and again, Bao Bao Zhiyong sighed secretly, and then suppressed the 'Strategy for Pacifying Liaodong' that had been prepared for a long time.

If Emperor Tianyuan's health does not have problems, this is the best strategy for pacifying Liaodong.

Steady and steady on the front battlefield, dividing troops to constantly harass the enemy's rear from the sea, weakening the enemy's war potential.

After three or five years, the Northern Barbarians will become history.

The victory won by the water-grinding effort, although it cannot achieve prominent military exploits, will not encounter a great defeat.

"Governor, rest assured, the three coastal guards will not be lost."

"In this season, the Bohai Bay will not be frozen."

"The sea route is in the hands of the imperial court; if they cannot hold on, just reinforce from the sea."

"Long-term combat is also a test for the logistics of the Northern Barbarians."

"At most, it will take a year or a half, and they will retreat."

Seeing that Governor Bao was in a bad mood, Cao Kaiwei, the Liaodong General on the side, comforted him.

For this new Liaodong Governor, the Liaodong generals are very supportive.

The reason is two points: this man will neither deduct everyone's military pay nor force everyone to go out and fight the Northern Barbarians.

The previous Liaodong General died in the decisive battle with the Northern Barbarians, and countless Liaodong children bled on the battlefield.

Although it was caused by many factors, going out of the city and fighting the Northern Barbarians is really about risking one's life.

"These things, I naturally know, but the imperial court side......"

Sigh!

Reinforcements have already set out from various places; once all the various reinforcement routes assemble, it will be time for the decisive battle with the Northern Barbarians.

The problem is that the enemy is different from us; if they can't win, they can run.

Referring to the several encirclement campaigns organized by the court previously, most of the time they captured the enemy's lair.

But that is meaningless; if the main force of the Northern Barbarians cannot be annihilated, the more territory captured, the longer the battle lines become.

Not only will it fail to provide assistance, but it will actually increase the probability of failure.

I have already submitted a memorial to the court stating the pros and cons, but the result is not optimistic!"

Bao Bao Zhiyong shook his head and said.

In the court, he belongs to the neutral faction.

Being able to serve as the Liaodong Governor-General is half because there is a lack of civil officials with experience in commanding troops, and half due to the mutual compromise between the various factions in the court.

Lacking the support of a factional power base behind him has resulted in his influence as Liaodong Governor-General being very limited regarding the issue of pacifying Liaodong.

"Governor-General, since it cannot be stopped, then we should go with the flow.

Compared to the Northern Barbarians, our greatest advantage is that the court has many soldiers.

Besides the frontal battlefield, we can open up several rear battlefields to make the enemy unable to attend to both ends.

You might as well calculate which troops in the court are capable of fighting and make strategic deployments in advance.

Once the fighting really starts, if we strike on multiple fronts, I imagine we won't suffer too many losses."

Cao Kaiwei proposed, carrying his own private agenda.

Opening up multiple battlefields is easy to say.

To actually implement it is beset with difficulties.

It is true that Great Yu has many soldiers, but those are soldiers on paper; the troops that can truly fight can be counted on one's fingers.

Committing elite forces to the rear to take risks will indeed reduce the pressure on the frontal battlefield, but the troops deep behind enemy lines will have to risk their lives.

A moment of carelessness and they will be defeated one by one by the enemy—a classic 'teammate sacrifice' tactic.

"Let's just wait and see for now!"

Bao Bao Zhiyong replied with an expressionless face.

Such a simple calculation naturally could not escape his eyes.

As the Liaodong Regional Commander, Cao Kaiwei planning for the troops under his command is completely within reason.

But as the Liaodong Governor-General, Bao Bao Zhiyong must consider the overall situation.

If he were to muddle-headedly mobilize troops and send a wave of heads to the Northern Barbarians, his time as Governor-General would also be at an end.

However, he still took this plan to heart.

The risk is indeed a bit high, but how can one fight a war without taking risks?

……

Yangzhou Prefecture.

"Pass the order down: every soldier who went on the expedition is to be issued one tael of silver and five catties of salt.

As the main force, the Cavalry Battalion will have its military merits calculated separately.

Beheading one pirate is rewarded with two taels of silver, a small pirate leader with ten taels, and a big leader with fifty taels.

All rewards must be issued in full; no one is allowed to skim off the top!"

After the flames of war subsided, Li Mu began the aftermath work.

Frankly speaking, these rewards are not high; one could even say they are stingy.

But the army has its own rules, and a one-sided massacre battle dictates that the verification of military merit cannot be set too high.

If the reward amount were set too high, after a major battle, he, the Assistant Regional Commander, would go bankrupt.

After all, the reward silver issued by the court, after being skimmed off layer by layer, is all that remains.

"Assistant Regional Commander, it wouldn't be good to issue the salt directly, would it!

In our battle report, we stated that we didn't capture any spoils of war.

Issuing physical goods at this time is very easy to give people a handle against us.

Especially since the owners of these salt fields have backgrounds one bigger than the next; if they come to demand the spoils of war, it will be troublesome."

Shu Shu Zhongyi advised tactfully.

As the first meritorious official of this great battle, he has finally gained a firm foothold in the Yangzhou Battalion and is no longer that little 'transparent' person.

But the instincts formed over a long time still made him full of fear toward the powerful and noble in the court.

He feared that one moment of carelessness would bring disaster upon himself.

"Rest assured.

I have already communicated with the true owners of the major salt fields; the responsibility for this pirate invasion will not fall on our heads.

After all, there is the Great Yu Law to constrain us; without a dispatch from the Nanjing Ministry of War, we have no authority to send troops privately.

The bigger the big shot, the more they taboo these things; no one wants His Majesty to think too much.

From now on, everyone just needs to take a little care of these salt fields and not let pirates go there to cause trouble.

A few spoils of war are completely unworthy of mention to the proprietors behind them; they won't take it to heart."

Li Mu said with confidence.

The reason the owners behind the salt fields could be so easy to talk to is that everyone is already in the same circle.

The distinction between civil and military is limited to the front stage.

Once you enter the backstage, this boundary is not so obvious.

With the disaster of the pirates, the importance of the Yangzhou Battalion is further highlighted, and no normal person would go and offend them.

If one were to really fall out, it wouldn't be just being attacked by a group of pirates, but encountering pirates every few days.

Guarding the peace of a region is difficult, but disrupting the order of a region is very simple.

Choosing to issue salt to the soldiers is purely because salt accounts for too much of the captured spoils.

Keeping it for personal use is fine, but taking it out to sell would be challenging the bottom line of the salt field owners.

They spent a lot of money to purchase the salt fields and also contracted for tax quotas.

What business can be done and what cannot, Li Mu is very clear.

Selling private salt and disrupting the official salt market is touching their core interests.

Even if one really wanted to sell private salt, it would be these tax-contracting salt field owners who would sell it.

……

The matter of annihilating the pirates came to an end, and the Yangzhou Battalion became busy once again.

The land borrowed from Yangzhou Prefecture finally ushered in a bumper harvest.

For the soldiers who personally participated in the farming, nothing is more reassuring than watching the spring grain enter the granary.

It can be seen that everyone was scared by hunger.

Even though they were exhausted from the rush-harvesting every day, the faces of the soldiers were always filled with smiles.

Although after following Li Mu, everyone was already able to fill their stomachs, the purchased grain still made them feel insecure.

They feared that one day the army would have no money, and they would have to go back to living a life of one meal hungry and one meal full.

Now the situation is different; the grain before their eyes was all produced from the military fields.

"My Lord, after deducting the share for the hired farmers, twelve thousand piculs of spring grain were harvested this year, slightly less than expected.

It was mainly because when we rushed to plant last year, in order to expand the planting area, we didn't farm intensively.

The employers have all been arranged in place; from the next season on, the land will be carefully cared for.

The number of cultivated fields will increase, and the yield per mu will also increase; the autumn grain income will surely increase significantly.

Besides leaving grain for our own use, we can also sell a portion to cash in."

Lan Lan Linjie reported excitedly.

As the chief steward of the Yangzhou Battalion, financial problems have always been the biggest difficulty plaguing him.

Even with the compensation from mineral production, it could only barely achieve a balance of payments.

Now the situation is different.

With the spring grain entering the granary, from now on, the main grain will not need to be purchased from outside, which will save a large amount of expenses.

"Mr. Lan, there is no need to sell this grain outside.

The soldiers treat this grain as a treasure; if we sell it now, it will inevitably damage the morale of the army.

Build more granaries and store all the grain.

After the autumn grain enters the granary, if there is too much grain stored in the army, then issue a portion of the grain as military pay."

Li Mu bluffed with a straight face.

Whether selling grain will affect morale is unknown, but one thing is certain: grain prices will rise this year.

The Liaodong war affects not only Liaodong; surrounding provinces also need to draft able-bodied men to rush to the front lines for corvée labor.

With a large amount of labor drafted, the grain production of the northern provinces will inevitably be affected.

If the weather is not favorable and some natural disasters break out, the impact will be even greater.

Regardless of how the situation changes, with grain in hand, one's heart is not flustered.

Although Li Mu does not have the intention to hoard and speculate to make a fortune from national disaster, storing some emergency grain is still necessary.

"The student understands!"

Seeing that Li Mu's mind was made up, Lan Lan Linjie replied immediately.

……

(End of chapter)