Chapter 165: Guangzhou Falls

"Kill!"

"What happened outside?"

The sounds of shouting and killing kept approaching, and Zou Yunchuan, who was awakened from his dream, asked with a face full of panic.

"Master, something terrible has happened; the rebel army has entered the city!"

Hearing the butler's answer, Zou Yunchuan's body began to tremble all of a sudden.

What one fears is what comes.

"Impossible!

Guangzhou City is so solid, how could it be broken by the enemy so easily?"

Zou Yunchuan's question, no one could answer.

Outside was a chaotic mess, and everyone was busy fleeing for their lives; no one cared about him, this Provincial Governor who had passed his prime.

"Master, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall; let's leave Guangzhou first."

As he spoke, the butler had already taken out a set of servant's clothes, signaling Zou Yunchuan to change into them and flee for his life.

"No!

Losing Guangzhou City, the Imperial Commissioner will not spare me, and the imperial court will not let me go.

Hurry and notify the commanders to send people to block the gap and drive the rebel army out of the city.

If it really doesn't work, then retreat to the inner city.

Tell them that the imperial court's reinforcements will arrive soon.

As long as we persist for a few more days, the situation will reverse!"

Zou Yunchuan ordered in a panic.

With the series of previous operations, in the eyes of the outside world, the label of incompetence had already been stuck on him.

Incompetent officials in the Great Yu Dynasty were everywhere, but the problem was that he had poked a big hole.

When Guangxi was lost, there were censors impeaching him for dereliction of duty.

However, at that time, he was not the only official watching the show, so it belonged to the law not punishing the masses.

To shirk responsibility, he even specially submitted a memorial to send troops, but the upload speed was a bit slow.

When the imperial court's order to send troops arrived, Guangxi had already been lost.

The procedural flow was legal, which allowed him to avoid accountability.

His series of blind commands in the subsequent Guangdong defense war were all centered on political correctness.

The responsibility for the great defeat in Zhaoqing was pushed to the Yangzhou Prefect, but the other party was not a fool either; after entering the capital, he quickly bit him, this Provincial Governor, out.

The group of assistant ministers in charge was not a fool and quickly figured out the ins and outs.

Toward him, this master of buck-passing, they naturally didn't have a good impression.

Changing commanders on the eve of battle is a taboo in military strategy; even if everyone was dissatisfied in their hearts, they were worried that changing people would cause the situation to collapse even more.

Having obtained the opportunity to make amends for his crimes through service, unfortunately, Zou Yunchuan still didn't grasp it and played it to collapse again.

He had thought that by using military grain to hold them, he could make the Yangzhou Battalion and the Huaian Battalion return to listen to orders, but he didn't hold the people, and instead waited for the reprimand of the Imperial Commissioner.

When a problem erupts, in reality, there are problems everywhere.

A Provincial Governor could withhold grain and pay from combat troops during wartime, so the bureaucrats below naturally wouldn't be clean either.

All the participating troops in Guangdong were victims.

Originally, the supply of materials was not considered sufficient, and after being peeled off layer by layer, it was even harder for the soldiers below to fill their stomachs.

In private, everyone gave him the nickname "Zou the Skinner."

From the outbreak of the great war until now, Zou Yunchuan's private treasury had increased by more than fifty thousand taels of silver.

In Zou Yunchuan's view, he was already very clean.

In normal years, the black income of him, this Provincial Governor, was much higher than this.

The difference was that in peacetime, the income mainly came from the filial piety of merchants and subordinates.

After the outbreak of the war, many trade activities shifted from Guangdong to Fujian, Zhejiang, and other regions.

The filial piety of these sea merchants shrank significantly, and the main force of paying money became grain merchants, cloth merchants...

Bureaucrats colluded with merchants to take the good military grain out and flip it.

After returning, fine grain became coarse grain, and coarse grain became dregs, and the profit went into everyone's pockets.

Doing this in peacetime was nothing.

The people below, even if they had opinions, could only hold them in.

But now it is wartime, and the soldiers full of resentment went to the battlefield, naturally they wouldn't risk their lives.

Theoretically, if Guangzhou fell, one could still retreat to other prefectures to resist and wait for the imperial court's reinforcements to arrive.

However, Zou Yunchuan, who had lost the military heart, did not have that appeal.

For many people, Guangzhou City was the final support of faith.

Losing this place, everyone's view of the White Lotus Sect would no longer be just a rebel party, but a force with a chance to compete for the world.

For some people who were not satisfied, as long as the White Lotus Sect could offer superior conditions to win them over, it was worth them joining to take a risk.

It was precisely because he knew how vile the political impact was that Zou Yunchuan couldn't accept the fall of Guangzhou.

"Master, such a big thing happened and no one came over; I guess those soldiers ran away long ago.

The carriages and horses are already prepared; you should hurry and change your clothes and run!"

The butler persuaded with great effort.

Running away is addictive.

With so many prefectures falling, the military officers below had long run out of experience.

Seeing that Guangzhou City was about to fall, no one had the idea of fighting to the death, and their minds were full of thoughts of running away.

A gap was blasted open in the outer city, which was originally just a small episode in the city defense battle, but under the dominance of the running-away ideology, it directly evolved into a great collapse.

……

Wuchang Prefecture.

"Guangzhou Prefecture is lost?"

"This is impossible!

It must be the enemy's conspiracy to make us mess up our own ranks."

Xu Wenyue said with a firm tone.

As a big city with few rivals in the southern frontier, Guangzhou City was built by the imperial court with heavy money.

Inside the city, not only was grain and fodder sufficient, but there were also heavy troops guarding it.

No matter how powerful the rebel army was, without three or five months, they shouldn't even think about taking it.

If the garrison commander could be capable, persisting for two or three years was possible.

Before the New Year was over, news of the fall of Guangzhou City came; that must be the rebel army's conspiracy.

"Grand Secretary, the news has been verified; Guangzhou City did indeed fall five days ago.

Now Guangdong is in chaos, and there is no one to preside over the overall situation; the Prefect of Shaozhou sent an emergency request for help."

Lu Jingxuan reported with trepidation.

This news was too shocking.

He had thought that the war fought in Huguang was garbage enough, but he never expected that his colleagues in Guangdong were also so excellent.

With the Guangzhou Provincial Governor as a cushion, Lu Jingxuan suddenly felt that he was still okay.

Although he also lost cities and territory, at least he blocked the rebel army outside Changsha City.

There were wins and losses on the battlefield, unlike Guangdong, where the war situation was purely one-sided.

It wasn't that Huguang's troops were stronger, mainly because he had been busy welcoming the Imperial Commissioner in recent days and couldn't attend to intervening in the front-line war situation.

Without him, this Provincial Governor, remotely controlling, letting the group of commanders below play freely, instead, they could fight to a draw with the rebel army.

Seeing that the battle line had stabilized, Lu Jingxuan also lost the heart to toss.

"Bang!"

"Idiots!"

"Trash!"

"Where is Zou Yunchuan?"

"This old man wants to chop off his head!"

……

A series of curses showed that Xu Wenyue had been broken.

From the intelligence he grasped, putting a pig in the position of Provincial Governor of Guangdong, Guangzhou City shouldn't have been broken by the rebel army in three days.

If he had known earlier that this idiot could poke such a big hole, he would have changed people long ago.

"Including Provincial Governor Zou, the group of high-level officials in Guangdong are now in an unknown state of life or death; perhaps they died for their country."

Lu Jingxuan answered in a low voice.

This time, he didn't kick him while he was down.

In the past, applying eye drops to the Provincial Governor of Guangdong was to avenge the previous sabotage.

Now that Guangzhou has fallen, Zou Yunchuan, as the first person responsible, is destined to be on the road to death.

There was no need to be a villain in vain at this time.

"Humph!"

"Making the situation in Guangdong a mess and then dying like this, it's really cheap for him."

Xu Wenyue said with displeasure.

If Zou Yunchuan were in front of him, he would have wanted to take a sword and chop people immediately.

With Guangzhou City lost, Guangdong, which had no leader, was bound to become more and more uncontrollable.

Wanting to arrange for someone to go over and clean up the mess, Xu Wenyue didn't know who to look for.

At the very least, he couldn't think of a way to save the crisis in Guangdong in the short term.

"Grand Secretary, the rotten situation in Guangdong has become a foregone conclusion; the top priority is to find a way to clean up the mess.

Now we must notify Jiangxi and Fujian to be prepared; we must not let the flames of war continue to spread.

In addition, on the Guangxi side, we must increase the intensity of investment.

Before the imperial court's reinforcements arrive, the only ones currently capable of launching a counterattack against the rebel army are the Yangzhou Battalion and the Huaian Battalion.

This subordinate feels that Official Jia's proposal to reuse the two Assistant Regional Commanders, Jing and Li, can be considered."

Hou Huaichang proposed tactfully.

With Guangzhou falling, the one who will be unlucky is not only the Provincial Governor of Guangdong, but Xu Wenyue, this Viceroy of the Five Provinces, also needs to bear responsibility.

Now he urgently needs a great victory to save the terrible strategic situation.

On the Huguang and Guizhou fronts, being able to stabilize the battle line is considered not bad.

In the short term, the only thing that can move is Guangxi.

The trouble is that although the imperial troops in Guangxi can fight, they can't stand the small number.

To launch a counterattack in Guangxi, the imperial court must increase the investment of manpower, material resources, and financial resources.

"Hmm!

Pass my order: appoint Li Mu, Assistant Regional Commander of the Yangzhou Battalion, to act as the Regional Military Commissioner of Guangxi; appoint the Assistant Regional Commander of the Huaian Battalion to act as the Regional Commander of Guangxi; and appoint Jia Bo, Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, as the Army Supervisor.

Order the three of them to immediately restore the military strength of Guangxi and then set about recovering lost territory.

Tell Li Mu and Jing Yifeng that as long as they can recover Guangxi, I guarantee their positions will become officially confirmed.

Send people to notify the Provincial Governor of Nanzhili, the Provincial Governor of Jiangxi, and the Provincial Governor of Zhejiang to limit them to raising five hundred thousand shi of grain and fodder within one month, and one million shi within three months..."

Xu Wenyue ordered decisively.

The situation is different, and the decisions made are naturally different.

The previous imperial troops in Guangxi were just a leisure move he envisioned, and he didn't think about exerting much effect at all.

Toward the irregular appointment proposed by his subordinates, he naturally had concerns.

Now that the situation has changed, the Yangzhou Battalion and the Huaian Battalion, which were supporting roles, are to be used as protagonists.

The previous treatment is definitely not enough.

He simply was generous and changed the Regional Military Commissioner of Guangxi to Regional Commander, sending out two Senior Rank Two military hats in one go.

Of course, doing so also had flaws.

The previous Regional Commander of Guangxi retreated into the mountains to resist after being defeated, and his life or death was not yet confirmed, and the imperial court did not announce the cancellation of his position.

Unlike the Regional Military Commissioner and the Regional Military Commissioner of Guangxi, who were directly on the imperial court's list of those killed in action.

In case the real owner comes back in the future, and two Regional Commanders of Guangxi appear at once, the scene will be a bit awkward.

……

Lianzhou Prefecture.

Looking at the battle report transmitted from Guangdong, Li Mu's head was buzzing.

Like everyone else, he didn't think Guangzhou Prefecture would fall so quickly.

According to the prior speculation, the White Lotus Sect's Eastern Expedition main army would hit their heads and bleed under Guangzhou City, gradually losing their sharpness.

After the imperial court's reinforcements arrived, he would send troops to cut off the connection between the rebel armies of the two Guangs and make a contribution to the imperial court's rebellion suppression cause.

However, plans couldn't keep up with changes.

He didn't wait for the imperial court's reinforcements, but instead received the tragic news of the fall of Guangzhou City.

"Is the Provincial Governor of Guangdong a pig?"

"Sitting on more than ten thousand main army troops and can't defend a Guangzhou City; it's simply a huge joke!"

Jing Yifeng on the side couldn't help but spray.

Guangzhou City falling is not only the deterioration of the situation in Guangdong, but even they, who are far away in Lianzhou, will be affected.

From now on, wanting to contact the imperial court, the nearest one will have to run to Fujian.

A batch of material procurement can only run to Min and Zhe.

Although sea transportation is convenient, it increases distance, and it also increases costs and risks.

"Seventh Uncle, don't insult pigs.

Putting a pig in the position of Provincial Governor of Guangdong, the situation wouldn't deteriorate so quickly.

At the very least, a pig wouldn't be corrupt, wouldn't be able to withhold our money and grain, and wouldn't make the people below angry!"

Li Mu cooperated and added a knife.

These words were said for the Imperial Commissioner's special envoy to hear.

The purpose was only one: to use the bloody and tragic reality to warn the Imperial Commissioner not to intervene in military command and not to reach out to the main army's money and grain.

"Two, stop talking about these useless things.

The situation in Guangdong has deteriorated; we must react.

If we can't deter the enemy, it wouldn't be surprising if their next target is Lianzhou!"

Jia Bo said with displeasure.

The acting of the two was clearly not up to standard.

The implication was too naked, making him look like a muddled official or a corrupt official.

The problem was that after arriving in Lianzhou for such a long time, he hadn't even fished a single hair.

Let alone embezzling military pay, he hadn't even received a single copy of filial piety.

Unfamiliar with the place, even if he wanted to reach out, he had to be able to get it.

The size of the military camp was managed to death by the two Assistant Regional Commanders, and they didn't give him a chance to intervene at all.

In peacetime, wanting to enter the military camp required the hand orders of the two Assistant Regional Commanders.

The soldiers below didn't buy his account at all.

In such a cruel reality, what ability and virtue did he have to dare to hit the idea of money and grain.

This is the front line of Guangxi, and there is a creepy name among the people—Lingnan.

In this ghost place lacking medicine, accidentally dying of illness as an army supervisor is completely understandable.

"The Lianzhou Guard has been supplemented, and the Xunzhou Guard and the Nanning Guard have also been supplemented for the most part, and the rest of the guards are being built.

However, the soldiers lack training and can only be used as auxiliary troops for the time being.

After the Lantern Festival, we will send troops to recover lost territory and properly knock the rebel army.

The only tricky thing is still money and grain; the soldiers' military pay is all owed.

If time is long, it will definitely affect the military heart and morale."

Li Mu said with a chuckle.

If you have power and don't use it, it will expire.

Being able to legally expand the army, he wouldn't waste the opportunity.

Although the land in Guangxi is basically in the hands of the rebel army, this doesn't affect him restoring the military establishment of various places first.

Even if there are not enough soldiers, he can set up the frame first.

After the war ends, it will become a settled fact.

Even if he is transferred away from Guangxi in the future, his influence in the local area will not disappear out of thin air for decades.

"Assistant Regional Commander Li, rest assured, money and grain will not be lacking for you.

On the Grand Secretary's side, I have already written to urge him.

As long as you can fight illustrious battle results, logistics will definitely be prioritized!"

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 166 =====

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