Chapter 166: Plotting a Counterattack

White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

Before the New Year ended, they received news of breaking Guangzhou, and the entire high level of the Holy Kingdom was filled with joy.

One step closer to seizing the world, Shi Rongxuan's mood was great.

While happy, he couldn't help but have a headache.

Not even celebrating the New Year and rushing to launch an offensive, Pingnan Prince Fu Haoxuan's enterprising spirit was really too strong.

In the face of the strategic goal of seizing Guangzhou and then occupying the two Guangs, this little hidden worry was not worth mentioning at all.

To celebrate the Holy Kingdom's foundation going a step further, Shi Rongxuan held a grand celebration in the Imperial Palace.

At the same time, he issued an edict to add officials and bestow titles to the soldiers on the front line.

The sequelae of wantonly bestowing officials and titles at this time gradually exposed itself.

The rewards for the middle and lower-level officers were easy to handle; just reward them according to the size of their merit.

For the first-merit minister Fu Haoxuan, who had already been crowned Prince, he didn't know how to reward him anymore.

The title definitely couldn't be raised anymore.

The White Lotus Holy Kingdom only occupied a corner, and there was still a long distance from seizing the world.

Adding a first-class Prince at this time, and then making illustrious battle achievements later, he couldn't give up the throne.

In fact, not only could the Pingnan Prince not be added, but many of the Dukes and Marquises below couldn't be added either.

Many people would be crowned Prince if they went one step further.

Shi Rongxuan didn't mind conferring a few more people as Princes, but he had to consider the thoughts of those who were already crowned Princes.

Everyone is on an equal footing; how can the main commander on the front line command the fighting.

Reason told Shi Rongxuan that the Holy Kingdom's title system needed further innovation.

The traditional Prince, Commandery Prince, Duke, Marquis, and Earl were not enough now, and more titles needed to be created.

……

"You are all my pillars of support; today I summoned everyone here mainly to discuss the major event concerning the fate of the Holy Kingdom.

The day before yesterday, the Pingnan Prince requested to move the capital to Guangzhou to show the Holy Kingdom's determination to seize the world.

After deep consideration, I still couldn't make up my mind and wanted to hear the views of the ministers."

As Shi Rongxuan's voice fell, the hall became noisy all of a sudden.

As an emerging startup team, the etiquette norms of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom had not yet had time to be standardized.

The grassroots shareholders were mostly semi-illiterate and couldn't play high-end ones.

Discussing affairs in the hall was no different from the previous meetings of the White Lotus Sect's high level.

"Holy Emperor, the choice of capital concerns the next strategic step of the Holy Kingdom.

Guilin is too partial to a corner and is only suitable for feudal lords to split the land; it cannot become a long-term capital.

The Holy Kingdom's moving the capital is imperative!

Where to move it needs careful consideration.

Guangzhou is one of the few big cities in the world, and its political and economic influence is not something Guilin can compare to.

However, the shortcomings of Guangzhou are equally very obvious.

Like Guilin, its geographical location is too far south, making it difficult to radiate to the whole world.

It can be used as a temporary transition, but it is still a bit lacking as a capital.

The next main battlefield of the Holy Kingdom is the Huguang, Jiangxi, and other regions; rather than moving the capital to Guangzhou for a transition, it is better to move the capital directly to the Yongzhou front line."

Chancellor Wu Zekai expressed his stance first.

Where there are people, there are disputes.

With the growth of the rebellion cause, the White Lotus Holy Kingdom also differentiated into large and small groups.

Where the capital was moved meant that the local forces in that region would have a greatly increased say in the court.

"Chancellor Wu's words are wrong!

Although the regional strategic position of Yongzhou is important, its popularity is too low and it lacks sufficient historical foundation.

In the minds of the people of the world, that is just an ordinary prefecture.

Moreover, Yongzhou is close to the front line and may be besieged by the imperial troops at any time, so it is not suitable as a capital at all.

Guangzhou City and Guilin are both partial to a corner and can only be used as temporary transitional capitals.

Rather than wasting resources tossing about on this, it is better to stay in Guilin.

Wait until the main army on the front line conquers Wuchang, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Xi'an... these famous cities of the world, then it won't be too late to move the capital there!"

Loyalty and Righteousness Marquis Huang Yuheng retorted immediately.

Compared to the Eastern Expedition faction and the Northern Expedition faction, the Western Expedition faction had a much more serious homesickness.

It wasn't that they had no pursuit, but purely that the Yunnan and Guizhou regions were also partial to a corner.

Before taking Shu, jumping out to compete for the capital was a joke.

"Holy Emperor, what Chancellor Wu and the Loyalty and Righteousness Marquis said both make sense.

However, before moving the capital, we need to pull out the hidden dangers behind us first.

According to the intelligence collected, the pseudo-dynasty is continuously increasing troops in Lianzhou Prefecture.

The Lianzhou Guard, Xunzhou Guard, Nanning Guard, Central Gui Guard... that were heavily damaged by the Holy Kingdom before are all being rebuilt one after another.

The enemy's ambition is obvious.

If these enemy troops are not annihilated, once the Holy Kingdom moves the capital and leaves, Guangxi will be in danger!"

Fu Sanqi said calmly.

The defeat in Lianzhou created the biggest failure since the White Lotus Holy Kingdom started the rebellion.

Being able to stay in the court was because he completed the Holy Kingdom's hidden strategy while being defeated.

No regime likes unstable factors.

In the early stage of entrepreneurship, the Guangxi chieftains were the best allies of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

After seizing Guangxi, the allies became hidden dangers.

Except for a few chieftains who were willing to follow the footsteps of the Holy Kingdom to seize the world, more chieftains only stared at their own one-third of an acre of land.

After the rebellion succeeded, they wantonly circled land and occupied fields.

For the sake of the big picture, the White Lotus Holy Kingdom could only choose to compromise.

But everything has a limit; after a long time, the high level of the Holy Kingdom also realized the threat of these chieftains.

Now being able to betray the Great Dayu for the sake of interests, these guys could bite the White Lotus Holy Kingdom back for the sake of interests in the future.

The defeat in Lianzhou not only caused the military strength of the local chieftains to be heavily damaged but also ignited the internal contradictions of the chieftains.

The original balance was broken, and now the Guangxi chieftains are having armed fights every few days.

Especially some chieftains whose strength was heavily damaged, light ones spit out a large amount of interests in exchange for peace, and heavy ones were directly slaughtered and exterminated.

Toward these changes, the White Lotus Holy Kingdom not only didn't come forward to stop them but also pushed the waves behind the scenes.

Expand the contradictions where there are contradictions, and help them create contradictions where there are no contradictions.

The Guangxi chieftains, who were already a plate of loose sand, had no arrogance before in front of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom after falling into internal strife.

Relying on the merit of solving the chieftain hidden danger for the Holy Kingdom, Fu Sanqi straightened his back in the court again.

"The pseudo-dynasty's layout in Guangxi is indeed worrying.

Once the enemy is allowed to recover military strength, the rear of the Holy Kingdom will bear a severe test.

Ministers, who is willing to lead troops on an expedition to sweep away this hidden danger for me?"

Shi Rongxuan thought for a moment and said.

Taking a defensive stance before was because the Holy Kingdom's military strength was tight and couldn't attend to the rear for a while.

The situation is different now.

Thanks to the Great Dayu's strategy of valuing civil officials and despising military officers, the loyalty of the bottom-level soldiers to the empire is extremely low.

Every time the White Lotus Holy Kingdom conquers a place, it can easily incorporate the local army.

With the comprehensive development of the Eastern Expedition, Northern Expedition, and Western Conquest strategies, the Holy Kingdom's military strength has grown significantly.

Plus the army trained in the Guangxi base camp, it gradually formed combat effectiveness, and the previous tight military strength no longer existed.

After freeing up hands, the Lianzhou Prefecture, located in the rear, suddenly became an eyesore.

"Holy Emperor, this guilty minister is willing to go!"

Fu Sanqi opened his mouth first.

Where one falls, one climbs up from there.

The defeat in Lianzhou once made him unable to lift his head in the Holy Kingdom's army.

Even with the merit of solving the Guangxi chieftains to protect him, many people still mocked him.

After a long time, this became Fu Sanqi's heart knot.

"Chancellor Fu holds an important position and is not convenient to lead troops out of the capital.

In this subordinate's view, it is better to let Loyalty and Filial Piety Hou Kong Siliu lead troops on an expedition to clear away the heart-and-belly trouble for the Holy Kingdom!"

Wu Zekai's words made Fu Sanqi half-dead with anger.

As Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, the two were originally roles of checks and balances in the court, and he hadn't received less mockery since the defeat in Lianzhou.

It was hard to wait for the opportunity to turn over, but the old rival didn't even want to give him the opportunity to play.

If it couldn't be washed away with blood on the battlefield, this political stain would accompany him for a lifetime.

No matter how illustrious merit he achieved later, the defeat in Lianzhou would be a sharp blade for political enemies to attack him.

"Chancellor Fu means that this battle can only be fought by you, and others won't work!

If it is really like this, then why was the defeat so miserable last time in Lianzhou?"

Loyalty and Filial Piety Hou Kong Siliu questioned angrily.

Now is the time to seize the world; every time one leads troops on an expedition alone, it represents an opportunity to go further.

Pulling out this nail of Lianzhou has an obvious strategic importance to the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

Completing this task, even if one couldn't be directly crowned Prince, one could touch the edge of the throne.

The White Lotus Holy Kingdom has three Princes; everyone wants to be the fourth one to be crowned Prince.

Chancellor Wu Zekai's recommendation made Kong Siliu a strong competitor for the main commander of the army, so he naturally wouldn't give up.

"I don't mean that, it's just that the pseudo-dynasty's imperial troops in Lianzhou are indeed hard to deal with.

Rashly sending troops there will lead to a big loss!"

Fu Sanqi explained helplessly.

He said all sincere words; if the imperial troops in Lianzhou were easy to bully, he wouldn't have dragged it until the Holy Kingdom freed up hands to propose sending troops.

Even if he took the initiative to ask for the expedition, he didn't have the certainty of victory.

It was just that political needs forced him to come out and compete for the position of main commander.

"Humph!"

"You can't do it, doesn't mean others can't!"

"Holy Emperor, last time the Holy Kingdom sent one hundred thousand troops to encircle and suppress the pseudo-dynasty's main army in Lianzhou.

This time, this subordinate will also lead one hundred thousand troops, and we can definitely take Lianzhou in one fell swoop!"

Loyalty and Filial Piety Hou Kong Siliu challenged and asked for the expedition.

Not steaming buns, but fighting for breath.

Being doubted about his own ability is something he absolutely cannot tolerate.

Although he didn't have the experience of commanding one hundred thousand troops, without experiencing the first time, this experience would never exist.

"Holy Emperor, Loyalty and Filial Piety Marquis showed amazing military talent in the battles to seize Nanning, Zhen'an, and other places.

Letting him command the main army, I think it shouldn't be a problem to deal with these pseudo-dynasty imperial troops.

After the strength of the Guangxi chieftains was weakened, they have been peaceful in recent days, but this is still not enough.

It is said that in the hands of the pseudo-dynasty's imperial troops, a large number of prisoners were captured.

The opportunity to wash away the shame and save the clansmen, I think these chieftains will not refuse.

If possible, it is best to take advantage

Although he lacked the experience of commanding a hundred thousand troops, one would never possess such experience without going through it for the first time.

"Holy Emperor, Marquis Zhongxiao has demonstrated astonishing military talent in the battles to capture Nanning, Zhen'an, and other places.

Letting him command the grand army should make dealing with these puppet court imperial troops a simple matter.

After the power of the Guangxi Tusi was weakened, they have been much more well-behaved in recent days, but this is still not enough.

It is said that the puppet court's imperial troops have captured a large number of prisoners.

These Tusi will surely not refuse the opportunity to wash away their shame and rescue their clansmen.

If possible, it would be best to take advantage of this battle to further weaken the power of the Tusi."

Marquis Zhongyi Huang Yuheng then submitted his memorial.

Compared to Fu Sanqi, the military record of Marquis Zhongxiao Kong Siliu was clearly much more impressive.

Although most of it involved bullying the garrison troops, a win is still a win.

The White Lotus Holy Kingdom needs victory; in his view, Prime Minister Fu's experience of defeat is worthless.

"Enough!

Since Marquis Zhongxiao is willing to lead the troops on an expedition, I will give up this opportunity to lead the army.

However, one hundred thousand troops is still too few.

The Guangxi Tusi still have room to be squeezed; we can fully allow them to send out more troops, and the Holy Kingdom can send out some more elites.

Let's just gather a grand army of two hundred thousand to wipe out the puppet court's imperial troops in Lianzhou in one fell swoop, and incidentally intimidate the restless Annan people."

Fu Sanqi said with a gloomy expression.

The colleagues present all expressed doubts about his military ability; continuing to fight for the position of Regional Commander would only invite resentment.

Originally, he had wanted to act out of spite, but considering the overall situation of the Holy Kingdom, he finally swallowed the provocative words back.

To demonstrate his public spirit, he even took the initiative to propose increasing the troop strength.

A two-hundred-thousand-strong rebel-suppression army sounds like a huge number, but most of them are a rabble.

Guangxi's economy is backward, and the Tusi who have lived in the mountains for years are even more lacking in financial resources.

Ninety-nine percent of the Tusi armies are troops raised on the spot.

The few elites painstakingly cultivated have also gone down the wrong technological path, running off to tinker with elephant troops that have been eliminated by history.

When fighting in the mountains, these troops still have some combat effectiveness.

Once they leave their familiar environment, their combat effectiveness will be greatly discounted.

The situation of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom is not much better; most of the army is a rabble.

Troops that can be counted as elites are few and far between in the Holy Kingdom's army.

To recover Lianzhou, it is necessary to rely on human-wave tactics.

……

The Capital, Yangxin Hall.

After the start of the year, the new Emperor, eager to take personal control of the government, issued an edict to change the reign title at the first opportunity.

The reign title is Yongning, meaning eternal peace for the world.

Unfortunately, things went contrary to his wishes; before the first month of the new year had ended, he received a 600-li urgent dispatch from the front line.

"Guangzhou Prefecture is lost!"

The sudden bad news made Emperor Yongning lose all interest in the imperial selection.

According to the rules, after the imperial selection and the wedding were over, it would be time to take personal control of the government.

But the prerequisite was that the world was at peace; if the empire itself were gone, taking personal control would lose its meaning.

"Guangzhou City was lost in less than three days; is the Guangdong Provincial Governor a pig!"

Emperor Yongning could not help but burst into a rage.

While he appeared to be scolding the Guangdong Provincial Governor, he was actually expressing his dissatisfaction with the various regent ministers.

The regent ministers were in charge of military and state affairs, so they had to be held responsible for the current dire situation.

If he were not worried about causing trouble, he would have wanted to scold Xu Wenyue as well.

As the Viceroy of Five Provinces, after taking office, he not only failed to turn the situation around but instead made it worse.

In his view, this was a classic case of dereliction of duty.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!

The reason for the loss of Guangzhou Prefecture is currently under investigation.

Grand Secretary Xu is preparing a grand counter-offensive; if the operation goes smoothly, he will capture the rebels' lair, Guangxi, in one fell swoop."

Pang Hengsheng said, biting the bullet.

As the Senior Grand Secretary, he had to step up when the Emperor flew into a rage.

Even though he and Xu Wenyue were political rivals in normal times, he could only help with the aftermath for now.

With the Emperor about to take personal control of the government, the influence of these regent ministers was declining rapidly.

If internal strife were to occur at this time, they would no longer be able to survive in the imperial court.

"Oh!

Capturing Guangxi in one fell swoop; it seems I misunderstood Grand Secretary Xu.

However, I hope this is not just empty talk, but that he can truly recover Guangxi and leave the rebels as duckweed without roots!"

Emperor Yongning said coldly.

It was clear that he was not interested in the cabinet's empty promises.

If Guangxi were so easy to recover, why not recover Guangdong and Huguang first?

In the Great Dayu Dynasty, Guangxi and Yunnan-Guizhou were all money-losing provinces, and their fiscal contribution had always been negative.

Recovering Guangxi had great political significance, but its economic value was negative.

Not only could it not provide fiscal revenue for the court, but the central government would instead have to pay for post-war reconstruction.

Of course, if the Guangxi region could truly be recovered, Emperor Yongning was still willing to pay this money.

Taking the rebels' lair was of great significance to the grand cause of suppressing the rebellion.

Especially the impact on the hearts of the people.

It could allow those who were wavering to restore their loyalty to Great Dayu.

(End of Chapter)