Chapter 150

Guangdong Provincial Governor's Yamen.

"Bang!"

The teacup was thrown to the ground, shattering into pieces, and water splashed everywhere in an instant.

The usually steady Zou Yunchuan had completely lost his composure today.

The Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp had just left yesterday, and today came the news of the recovery of Lianzhou Port.

For the suppression of the Guangxi rebellion, this was a great piece of good news.

But for him personally, this victory report was a naked slap in the face.

He had originally intended to give the Yangzhou and Huai'an camps a good dressing down once their attacks were blocked and they were forced to retreat to Guangdong.

That was now impossible.

Successfully recovering Lianzhou Port was equivalent to telling the outside world that the reason the suppression war had been dragging on without progress was due to his incompetence as the Guangdong Provincial Governor.

Even wanting to offer an excuse was impossible.

The fact that nearly half a year had passed since the Guangxi rebellion broke out and the Guangdong side had yet to take any substantive action was the best proof.

"My lord, please calm your anger first.

It is not worth ruining your health over a group of irrelevant people."

The old man in blue robes at his side spoke up to persuade him.

Though he spoke lightly, deep down he was equally shocked.

Judging from the progress of the Yangzhou and Huai'an camps, the rebel army did not seem as powerful as expected.

After occupying Lianzhou Port, the three-pronged siege planned by the imperial court suddenly turned into a four-pronged siege.

The rebel army's previously safe lair was now under a serious military threat.

From the perspective of overall strategy, the imperial court had regained the initiative.

Even if the Yangzhou and Huai'an camps stood still, just planting their banners there would exert pressure on the rebel army.

"Hmph!"

"It is not that I am jealous of the talented, but rather that military officers being arrogant and domineering is not a blessing for the country.

The military officers of the Yangzhou and Huai'an camps were already arrogant and domineering; now that they have won a battle, won't their tails be wagging up to the sky?"

"That bunch of White Lotus rebels are also stupid enough; such an important rear base as Lianzhou Port, and they actually didn't deploy a sufficient army."

"In my opinion, the day this group of rebels is defeated..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the steward who suddenly burst in.

"Master, something terrible has happened!"

"The White Lotus rebel leader Shi Rongxuan has declared himself emperor in Guilin, and not only has he enfeoffed a bunch of rebel kings, but he has also issued the 'Holy Sect Equal-Field Edict', wanting to divide the world's land equally!"

As he spoke, the old man handed over the 'Holy Sect Equal-Field Edict' he was holding.

"These rebellious subjects are simply courting death.

To provoke the imperial court and the gentry of the world like this, they are mocking the fact that our blades are not sharp."

"Pass down the order to summon the generals to discuss this matter."

"I will capture the rebel leader alive and have him sliced into a thousand pieces!"

After a quick glance, Zou Yunchuan immediately cursed loudly.

He suddenly changed from a passive, war-avoiding faction to a pro-war faction. It was not that he had changed, but that he had no choice but to react.

Whether it was the rebel leader Shi Rongxuan declaring himself emperor or the Equal-Field Edict, both were earth-shattering events.

If they, the commanders responsible for suppressing the rebellion, continued to passively avoid fighting, he would not be far from being thrown into prison once the imperial court held him accountable.

In fact, a large part of the reason he dared to passively avoid fighting earlier was that the Emperor had issued an edict to abolish the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

With no Embroidered Uniform Guard watching over him, the main officials of Guangdong Province were all members of the vested interest group, and no one would dare to pierce the window paper.

Yongzhou Prefecture.

"Everyone, what should we do now?"

Huguang Provincial Governor Lu Jingxuan asked with a grave expression.

The matter was too big, ten times greater than the political impact caused by the previous failure to attack the rebels.

The White Lotus rebels not only declared themselves emperor, but they also started playing with land redistribution.

Regardless of whether it was a political slogan or they were truly prepared to do it, the political impact caused was extremely malicious.

Yet the Huguang suppression army had just suffered a major defeat not long ago and could now only hold Yongzhou Prefecture.

"Governor, this matter is not something our Huguang province can solve alone."

Jing Yifeng said with contradictory thoughts.

Establishing a career 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 place.

Nominally it is a province, but its actual fiscal revenue cannot even compare to a wealthy large prefecture.

The core reason why the White Lotus Sect rebels were able to grow large was that the local people were too poor.

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

Yongzhou Prefect Jiang Junfeng took the lead in suggesting.

The enemy's military force had reached their doorstep.

According to the rules of Great Dayu, local officials have a duty to defend their territory.

Others had a way out, but he, as the Yongzhou Prefect, could not abandon his jurisdiction and run away.

At this moment, the White Lotus Sect had pierced the sky; for others, it was a political disaster, but for him, it was an opportunity.

"This matter must indeed be reported to the imperial court; those who intend to join their names with mine, just follow along!

However, it will take some time for the imperial court to send an imperial envoy, and the rebel army will not stand there waiting for us.

The rebel leader dared to declare himself emperor at this time, clearly telling the world that he intends to swallow the world.

If nothing unexpected happens, the rebel army is brewing a new round of offensives.

The Yunnan-Guizhou region is poor and tucked away in a corner, so it is definitely not the enemy's main target.

The rebel army's next target is either to capture Huguang or to attack Guangdong.

If the enemy's main attack direction is Huguang, do the generals have a strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Hearing Lu Jingxuan's analysis, the atmosphere in the room became increasingly grave.

For the Huguang army that had just suffered a major defeat, asking them to fight a decisive battle against the rebel army at this time was undoubtedly making things difficult for them.

"Governor, the rebel army's momentum is high right now.

Relying solely on our strength, it is very difficult to defeat them.

When I came, I learned a piece of news from the captives.

It is said that an imperial army completed a landing in Lianzhou and inserted themselves into the rebel army's rear.

If we can contact them and contain the rebel army from the rear, it should be able to reduce some of the pressure."

The initial conditions in Guangxi are already a notch worse.

This news had not yet been verified.

The Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp had no relationship with the Huguang side; even if it were a victory report, it would be sent to the capital first and then forwarded down.

By the time this process was completed, it would be at least a month or two later.

"Guangdong Provincial Governor Zou Yunchuan is slippery by nature and does not look like someone who could do such a big thing.

Send someone to verify the news first; be careful that it is an enemy conspiracy."

Lu Jingxuan shook his head and said.

So many opportunities to suppress the rebellion earlier had been missed by Zou Yunchuan; he did not believe this person would suddenly change his nature.

If he said he received the news of the rebel leader's enthronement and did this to avoid punishment from the imperial court, that might be possible.

However, the timing did not match.

Both Huguang and Guangdong border Guangxi, so the time for both sides to receive the news should be about the same.

Even if they took action immediately after receiving the news, it could not be this fast.

The Capital, Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Just after receiving Li Mu's victory report, news of the White Lotus Sect declaring themselves emperor followed.

The experience of being in both ice and fire suddenly ruined Ji Ji Zhao Shun's good mood.

"My ministers, the White Lotus rebel party has been suppressed repeatedly but never eliminated; does everyone have nothing to say?"

Hearing the Emperor's question, the various ministers continued to let their minds wander.

The continued deterioration of the situation was largely due to factional strife.

The eunuch faction was gone, but that did not mean the court was peaceful.

Yin and Zuo, who were attempting to seize power, used the old story of Sima Yi to insinuate against Grand Secretary Pang, sparking a new round of factional strife.

Different from previous power struggles, the scattered rumors made Pang Hengsheng very passive.

The Emperor's attitude also left everyone confused.

On one hand, he publicly supported Grand Secretary Pang in the court, while privately he trusted Yin and Zuo deeply.

Under this complex situation, Pang Hengsheng wanted to retaliate several times, but chose to stop at the last moment.

For the Senior Grand Secretary, getting rid of Yin and Zuo was not difficult; the tricky part was the Emperor's attitude.

For this reason, he tested the waters several times, but unfortunately, the Emperor seemed not to understand and gave no effective feedback.

As a political survivor, he would not make a move before figuring out the situation.

Pang Hengsheng's patience stimulated the ambition of Yin and Zuo, causing the rumors to spread even more fiercely.

This strange change made the hundred officials mistakenly believe that the Emperor and the Senior Grand Secretary were playing a game of chess.

It made the ministers feel terrified every day when they went to court, fearing they would be drawn into a political storm, and they had no heart to handle government affairs.

The most direct impact was that the ministers did not pay much attention to the Guangxi rebellion.

The problem of the three-pronged suppression army fighting on their own was directly ignored by everyone.

"Senior Grand Secretary, you speak first."

Ji Ji Zhao Shun frowned and named him.

The silence of the ministers made him record this account on the various assistant ministers.

In his view, the silence of the hundred officials was a silent warning to him from the assistant ministers.

Even for daily court meetings, the ministers had to look at the faces of the assistant ministers.

If this continued, the hundred officials would only know the assistant ministers; who would take him, the Emperor, seriously!

"Your Majesty, rebellious subjects should be executed by everyone.

In this old minister's view, it is better to approve the request of the Huguang officials.

Send an imperial envoy to supervise the military affairs of the five provinces of Guangxi, Guangdong, Huguang, Yunnan, and Guizhou, and preside over the overall situation of suppressing the rebellion."

Pang Hengsheng replied with an expressionless face.

Sending an imperial envoy to supervise the military affairs of the five provinces was equivalent to a replica of the Liaodong Governor.

The difference was that he was supervising the military affairs of five provinces, and the real power in his hands was even greater than that of the Liaodong Governor.

Presiding over the overall situation of suppressing the rebellion, such an arrangement was certainly correct.

But the position of imperial envoy was not so easy to sit in.

The five provinces were far apart, and it was impossible to concentrate the army, which brought great trouble to the command.

Most of the time, it was estimated that before the order could be delivered, the battle would have already ended.

Unified command was more like a pie in the sky.

Knowing that there were problems and still choosing to do so, Pang Hengsheng was also forced to do so.

He was just a civil official, and he could only say he had a slight understanding of military affairs.

The Emperor did not ask the Ministry of War, did not ask the left and right commanders, but first caught him, the Senior Grand Secretary, to ask; no matter how you look at it, there was a suspicion of digging a hole.

Saying he did not know was certainly not okay, so he could only choose the plan that looked the most stable.

No flaws could be found in the strategic deployment, but whether it could be implemented during execution was another matter.

If it were not for the Emperor's strong request, he would not want to discuss this matter in the court at all.

The correct way to solve it was to gather a few assistant ministers for a small meeting, and a solution could be produced in an hour.

Taking it to the court for discussion, not only was the efficiency low, but it could not be kept secret.

By the time they came up with a solution, it was estimated that the rebel army had already received the news.

The White Lotus Sect was an old-fashioned rebel organization, and they had believers from south to north.

Once discussed in the court, many people who were skeptical about the growth and strength of the Guangxi rebel army also received definite news from the imperial court.

It might even stimulate the ambition of White Lotus believers in other regions and stir up even greater chaos.

"Everyone, do you have any different opinions?"

Ji Ji Zhao Shun asked again.

"Your Majesty, the Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp have completed their landing from Lianzhou, threatening the rear of the rebel army.

The imperial court can increase support for them so that they can recover Lianzhou Prefecture as soon as possible and march into Nanning to threaten the rebel army's heartland.

Combining the four armies to attack together will make the rebel army unable to take care of everything, and we will definitely be able to wipe out the rebel army in one fell swoop."

Jing Guoliang suggested implicitly.

Compared to coordinating the suppression of the rebellion, he was more optimistic about concentrating a main force to be responsible for the main attack, while the other routes were responsible for feint attacks to disperse the enemy's forces.

Guangxi's grain production was limited, and after the White Lotus Sect rebellion, agricultural production was even more abandoned.

Coupled with the losses caused by the war, dragging it until the spring of next year when the old grain was exhausted and the new one had not yet ripened, the rebel army would have problems on its own due to lack of grain and fodder.

Instead of sending a civil official to command the military affairs of the five provinces, it was better to let the military officers play freely, contain the main force of the rebel army, and slowly wear the enemy to death.

Based on his understanding of the White Lotus Sect, the rebellion of this kind of cult organization had the fiercest combat power in the early stage, and the further it went, the more it would lag behind.

"Hmm!

Then we will do both, appointing a minister as the Viceroy of the Five Provinces to coordinate the military affairs of the five provinces and preside over the overall situation of suppressing the rebellion.

At the same time, increase support for the Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp; I hope to recover Lianzhou Prefecture within the year!"

Ji Ji Zhao Shun's words fell, making the assistant ministers frown.

The Emperor was almost obsessed with taking personal control of the government, and the number of times he bypassed them to act on his own was increasing.

If they tried to stop him, the Emperor would take personal control next year.

If they slapped the Emperor in the face now, they would definitely not have a good life after the Emperor took personal control.

For the sake of long-term consideration, they had to choose to retreat again and again.

Unfortunately, this retreat did not make the Emperor grateful, but instead made him more keen on interfering in government affairs.

Lianzhou Port.

Since the landing was successful, Li Mu had settled down locally with peace of mind.

To collect intelligence, he also sent out the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, the identities of these people were no longer the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but had transformed into 'Night Scouts' under the Yangzhou Camp.

As for their original identities, they were naturally 'killed in action', or rather, about to be killed in action.

This was not forced by Li Mu, but entirely requested by these people themselves.

When they were in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they had offended too many people.

Now that they had no big tree to shelter them from the wind and rain, they would inevitably be retaliated against by others.

The best choice was to die on the battlefield and play a game of 'death clears the account'.

"Assistant Regional Commander, the first platoon of Night Scouts sent news that the rebel generals are bribing local chieftains.

They are attempting to use the power of local chieftains to create trouble for us.

My lord, do you think we should take action to sabotage it?"

Yao Yong stepped forward to report.

From a Company Commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard to a recruited Trial Company Commander, it seemed that the rank had only dropped by one level, but the actual status and position had fallen by three levels.

Mixing in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he could ignore ordinary Assistant Regional Commanders and Regional Commanders.

Entering the army, all kinds of special privileges were gone.

But there was no other way; if he wanted to survive, he had to leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Following Li Mu, he could at least keep his official status, which was better than wandering around.

"No need!

Notify those who have infiltrated the enemy camp to just keep an eye on the enemy and don't act in a hurry.

Everything should prioritize personal safety.

If conditions permit, you can facilitate the cooperation between the chieftains and the rebel army."

Li Mu shook his head and said.

At this moment, Guangxi seemed to be controlled by the White Lotus rebel army, but in reality, the inside was a mess.

Besides the White Lotus rebel army, local chieftains, mountain bandits, and bandits were also taking advantage of the fire, each occupying a piece of territory.

The White Lotus Sect did not take action against them; as long as they were willing to accept the enfeoffment, they were members of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

Under the chaotic situation, refugees were everywhere, creating favorable conditions for the Night Scouts to lurk.

By bribing White Lotus Sect officials, they successfully joined the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

(End of chapter)