Chapter 149: Ambitious

"The rebels are truly arrogant; they didn't even deploy heavy troops at the port!"

Lowering his binoculars, Jing Yifeng said with an expression of surprise.

The landing operation had proceeded very smoothly.

The rebel soldiers left to guard the port had scattered after the first round of artillery fire.

They hadn't organized any effective resistance at all.

"It's not that the rebels are arrogant, but rather that they simply cannot spare the resources.

Lianzhou Port only began to develop gradually after maritime trade flourished.

In the early years of the founding of the dynasty, this place was still a barren wasteland.

The coastal defense artillery deployed by the imperial court were all completed within the first fifty years of the dynasty, and Lianzhou was not among them.

The White Lotus Sect rebels lack the capability to cast large-caliber cannons.

Without the ability to deploy coastal artillery, to block our landing, they would need to deploy at least several thousand elite troops.

The rebels have only been on the rise for a few months; they simply don't have many elite troops.

They appear to have an army of hundreds of thousands, but in reality, they are all just a group of farmers who have just put down their hoes.

Under conditions of equal troop strength, they wouldn't even be able to defeat the garrison troops.

Arranging for people to guard this place is nothing more than ensuring that when they discover someone has landed, they can pass the message back immediately."

Li Mu explained with a chuckle.

Choosing to land at Lianzhou was not a decision made on a whim; he had done sufficient homework beforehand.

If there had been complete coastal defense fortifications here, he absolutely would not have taken his troops to take such a risk.

There are plenty of places where Guangdong and Guangxi border each other; attacking from next door would at most result in the Guangdong Provincial Governor taking a share of the credit.

"As long as you have a plan in mind, nephew, I owe you a favor for this matter.

Shall we hold the port next and wait for the enemy to come and throw their lives away?"

Jing Yifeng said with an air of seniority.

His tone was severely mismatched with his age, but given the seniority between the two sides, no fault could be found.

"You are too polite, Seventh Uncle. We are all family; there is no need to be so formal.

Besides, this credit comes with risks; if the White Lotus Sect rebels attack regardless of the cost, my single battalion won't be able to handle it alone.

Completing the landing and infiltrating the rebels' rear is already a great achievement for us.

The subsequent great battle to suppress the rebellion will still depend on the other three armies.

If the rebels in Lianzhou Prefecture come to throw their lives away themselves, then we will just take care of them while we're at it.

If these people don't come, then we will rest at the port for a few days and wait for the great counter-offensive to arrive."

Li Mu answered calmly.

He certainly wanted the credit for suppressing the rebellion.

But wiping out all the rebels in one go did not align with his interests.

In the Great Dayu Dynasty, it is a sin for a military general not to be able to fight, but it is equally a sin to be too capable.

As a family of the nobility, these officialdom ways are things one must learn from childhood.

The Yangzhou Battalion and the Huai'an Battalion are volunteer troops; it is perfectly normal for their combat effectiveness to be stronger than that of ordinary armies.

But the problem now is that the several encirclement armies have a registered troop strength of hundreds of thousands on paper, yet they are being defeated by the rebels step by step.

Against this background, Li Mu can only restrain his performance.

If he really fought too fiercely and made the imperial court think their combat effectiveness was invincible, they would likely be thrown directly onto the Liaodong battlefield.

Li Mu is not afraid of fighting the Tatars, but he cannot stand having too many pig-like teammates.

The Liaodong military families have long regarded Liaodong as their own private territory; they only like cannon fodder and scapegoats, and do not welcome powerful dragons coming over to share resources.

"Actually, we could find an opportunity to strike westward and cut off the connection between the rebels and the Annan people.

The current King of Annan is ambitious; seeing the rebellion in Guangxi, he will certainly take action.

It's just that if we do that, the pressure on you and me will be great.

Not only will we have to face the rebels' counter-attack, but we will also have to face the provocations of the Annan people.

Once ambition is bred, it will not be easily put aside.

The future front line in Guangxi is destined not to be peaceful, and we might even end up fighting a war with the Annan people.

Forget it, this credit is too hot to handle.

At a time like this, it is best that we do not appear too prominent.

Otherwise, if the imperial court issues a transfer order and keeps us in Guangxi, that would be miserable."

Jing Yifeng said, contradicting himself.

Establishing a career and making a name for oneself is the dream of every general, but one must always face reality.

Compared to the prosperous Yangzhou and Huai'an, Guangxi is truly a poor and remote backwater.

Nominally a province, its actual fiscal revenue cannot even keep up with a wealthy major prefecture.

The core reason the White Lotus rebel army was able to grow strong is that the local commoners were simply too poor.

Life was already bitter, and they still had to suffer the exploitation of landlords, gentry, and local chieftains.

"There are pros and cons!

Seventh Uncle, at our age, it is not easy to advance further in our official careers.

My father-in-law needs to consider the influence; even if he wants to promote you, it won't be to a good place.

If you honestly grind out your seniority, you'll be promoted half a rank every three years.

If everything goes smoothly, in ten years you might be able to serve as a Regional Commander of a town, or a Regional Military Commissioner of a province.

If we stay in Guangxi, this time can be cut by at least half.

The Grand Secretary has a limited term; if you and I don't take this opportunity to stand out now, our future official careers will be hard to be this smooth again."

Li Mu encouraged from the side.

Military generals develop faster in the early stages, but once they reach a certain position, the upper limit for subsequent development is very narrow.

Now they both have people in the imperial court; if they establish enough credit, or if their seniority is sufficient, they can obtain promotion.

Each emperor has their own courtiers.

If the new emperor cultivates new people from among the nobility, or simply relies on the Ministry of War, further weakening the power of the Chief Military Commission.

By then, the assistance the family can provide will be greatly reduced.

Just by looking at the actions of his own uncle and father-in-law, one knows they are already preparing for the possible power transition.

The Huai'an Battalion and the Yangzhou Battalion being transferred over together to suppress the rebellion is precisely to create opportunities for the two of them.

In fact, it is not just the two of them who have obtained opportunities; there are other descendants in the clan who have appeared in the suppression army.

It is just that the past performance of these people is a notch lower, and they have obtained fewer political resources.

Now the two of them can go out and work independently, while others have to take orders under civil officials.

"Stop tempting me.

The initial conditions in Guangxi were already a step behind to begin with.

Unless we can implement the policy of replacing Tusi with appointed officials and clear out the influence of the Tusi, it will be hard to have any development.

Local finances are not wealthy, and the military pay alone is enough to worry one to death.

Not to mention the Annan people eyeing us like tigers.

If you are really in a hurry to get ahead, it would be better to find an opportunity to be transferred back to Guanzhong.

Your Li family came out of Guanzhong and has great influence in the local military.

If you go there to serve, you will certainly be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Jing Yifeng refused immediately.

Top-tier nobility all have their own base of operations, but their influence is usually in one region.

Those nobles whose influence spread across the country fell in the political struggles of the early years of the dynasty.

Like the two of them running to Nanzhili to develop, it is the welfare brought by the power vacuum after the rebellion of the Lianghuai noble families.

After the pillars of the clan became Grand Secretaries, the room for development for the descendants of the two families further expanded.

But no matter how much they toss and turn, there is a limit.

Unless a large-scale rebellion occurs and clears out the local hereditary military forces, it is hard for outsiders to gain a foothold.

Many Regional Commanders and Regional Military Commissioners have no status in front of civil officials; besides logistics being controlled by others, the inability to control the subordinates below is also an important factor.

After the rebellion in Guangxi, the local military families are gone, but the Tusi are still there.

"This matter is simple; the White Lotus Sect rebellion could grow rapidly, and it would be impossible without the participation of the Tusi.

When we recover Lianzhou, we can just solve the local Tusi at the same time.

Pulling out one prefecture means one less prefecture's worth of trouble.

Using the suppression of the rebellion as a cover to strike down a portion of the Tusi's power will create a foundation for replacing Tusi with appointed officials.

The various Grand Secretaries in the imperial court are all rare, virtuous officials, and the current Emperor is also a person with ideas.

I think they will not let go of such an opportunity to leave a name in history."

Li Mu said frankly.

When he was in Yangzhou, not only was the Prefectural Magistrate's office watching, but the Provincial Governor's office, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner's office, and the Six Ministries of Nanjing were all nearby.

With so many "mothers-in-law" watching, his room for performance was very limited.

It is not that he has great ambition; it is mainly for self-preservation.

The empire of the Great Dayu already has a trend of going downhill.

The ability displayed by the current Emperor is truly worrying.

Enjoying blessings in the prosperous age in Jiangnan and avoiding disasters in remote places during chaotic times is the way to survive.

Guangxi is not the best choice, but it is the most suitable choice for him at the moment.

As for returning to Guanzhong to serve, one can just think about it.

The family's connections are an aid, but they are also an obstacle.

Internal interests have been carved up; even if he went there, he could only follow along and drink the soup.

Not to mention the Great Dayu imperial court has never given up on suppressing military generals.

Developing military equipment in Guangxi and promoting the theory of the Annan threat can get by.

If the imperial court doesn't believe it, then provoke war at the border; fighting a few battles will be enough to shut the Censors up.

Running to Guanzhong to engage in military equipment would look like a rebel.

"This matter is best discussed with your uncle and father-in-law; the official post in Guangxi is not easy to hold.

Even if you serve as a Regional Military Commissioner of a province and concurrently as a Regional Commander, life won't be as comfortable as in Yangzhou.

Not to mention anything else, just the land you borrowed from Yangzhou Prefecture is a big piece of fat meat."

Jing Yifeng advised tactfully.

Lianzhou Prefecture.

"What, the imperial army has attacked?"

Zhou Damao exclaimed.

As a high-ranking guest in the White Lotus Sect, his status was second only to the elders in the sect.

After the uprising succeeded, everyone was in a hurry to squeeze into the central hub; Zhou Damao, who had no great ambition, chose to stay behind.

Facts proved that his choice was very correct.

He didn't have to go to the front line to fight, he had endless delicacies every day, and he could sleep with different women.

Since serving as the Garrison General of Lianzhou, he had successively taken fourteen concubines.

He was just calculating whether to take another one when he suddenly received the bad news that the imperial army was attacking.

"General Zhou, this is true.

The imperial army launched an attack from the sea, and there are tens of thousands of them.

This subordinate led troops to fight back, but we simply couldn't beat them, so I could only retreat first to report to you."

Zhao Laosan said uneasily.

In plays, generals who suffer defeat are all going to lose their heads.

If he weren't Zhou Damao's trusted aide, he wouldn't have dared to come over to report.

"Trash!"

"With only tens of thousands of imperial troops, you couldn't block them.

I even..."

While scolding, Zhou Damao discovered something wrong.

"Tens of thousands of imperial troops" is a fatal number.

"Military Advisor Liu, the imperial army has attacked; do you have a brilliant plan to defeat the enemy?"

Zhou Damao asked the middle-aged scholar on the side.

"General, the main force of the sect is all fighting on the front line; the troops left behind in Lianzhou are no more than five thousand.

The imperial army is coming aggressively; we certainly can't block them alone.

Asking the sect for reinforcements is like trying to put out a fire with water from afar.

The current plan is to spend a large sum of money to bribe the Tusi, let them cooperate to send troops, and ambush the imperial army.

Anyway, they also shared the benefits from the previous rebellion.

If the imperial army attacks, they won't let them off either.

These Tusi are the greediest; if we promise them heavy profits, we don't have to worry about them not taking the bait.

When the Tusi and the imperial army are both exhausted, we will come out to clean up the mess, and we will certainly be able to establish world-shaking achievements!"

Military Advisor Liu answered calmly.

Compared to his calm appearance, deep down he was already panicking.

As a failed scholar, because he took a bookkeeping job, he unfortunately got involved in the White Lotus Sect rebellion.

He himself was ten thousand times unwilling; if the Great Dayu Dynasty were so easy to overthrow, the world would have changed hands long ago.

Not to mention that the ones rebelling were the White Lotus Sect, this evil cult organization that specializes in rebellion, which has been tossing about for nearly a thousand years and has never succeeded once.

No matter how smooth the opening is, it will end in failure later.

Especially after seeing the arrogant and extravagant style of the White Lotus Sect's high-level officials, he had even less confidence in this uprising.

Unfortunately, he is now on a pirate ship, and he has to offer advice.

(End of chapter)