Chapter 187: Discounted Military Plan

"Good!"

Zhang Sihan agreed helplessly.

Mixing in the officialdom, compromise is an art.

If you don't make concessions at this time, you can't throw away the hot potato.

With the grain in the treasury, it cannot support for a month.

In such a short time, he simply cannot get enough grain from the outside.

Once the grain is cut off, even if those refugees and war criminals don't eat him alive, the political disaster of rebellion is not something he can bear.

For the sake of his own life and official career, abandoning some interests is also acceptable.

Anyway, leaving those lands behind will not provide the imperial court with a few days of tax revenue, and they will be encroached upon by the gentry.

Now including it in military land is also meat rotting in the pot.

Raising a strong army is also not a small help to the imperial court.

The future "replacing Tusi with appointed officials" cannot be separated from the support of the military and needs to be prepared in advance.

"Congratulations to the Provincial Governor for settling a worry!"

Jia Bo blessed with suppressed dissatisfaction.

Witnessing the insider trading, his heart was very collapsed.

However, he is a person who has seen big scenes and can control his emotions.

Involving the interests of several million mu, or even ten million mu of land, is not something that a little friendship in the past can compare to.

Jumping out to destroy the transaction at this time means offending the Provincial Governor and the military at the same time.

If you are not careful, you will be infected with a bad disease and die.

Since it cannot be stopped, rather than incompetent roaring, it is better to show your demeanor.

"Haha......"

"Working for the imperial court, everything should be!"

Zhang Sihan laughed loudly.

Although he paid a not-small price, he finally won the first round in this political struggle.

In a place like Guangxi, there are too many accidents.

Reaching a deal means his personal safety is guaranteed.

After all, only a living Guangxi Provincial Governor can fulfill his promise.

Wuchang Prefecture.

Relying on strong pressure, the provinces finally reported their troop-sending plans.

"Guangxi is a newly recovered place, and it is fine that the troops that can be used are few, but why are the troops in Fujian also so few?"

Xu Wenyue asked with dissatisfaction.

According to his plan, Huguang and Jiangxi each sent twenty-five thousand troops, Yunnan-Guizhou and Fujian each sent fifteen thousand troops, plus the five thousand main army in Guangxi, just enough to gather one million.

As a result, first the Guangxi side indicated that five thousand main army was too many, and at most could send two thousand.

Considering the actual situation, he still agreed.

After all, the troops on the Guangxi side can fight, and the combat power is enough to make up for the lack of numbers.

But Fujian side also dragged their feet, so he was very dissatisfied.

You must know that besides the local army, Fujian also received five thousand reinforcements from the neighboring province.

The situation in other provinces is about the same; besides Guangxi not receiving reinforcements for the time being, all provinces received support from the imperial court.

"Grand Secretary, the Fujian main army previously lost five thousand in Guangdong and has not yet supplemented the establishment."

"The reinforcements from Zhejiang nominally have five thousand main army, but the real number is only five hundred."

"With such a huge difference, even if we barely gather the number, the new soldiers don't have much combat power!"

Fujian Military Commissioner Yang Yan complained immediately.

The window paper was poked by him, and he had already pulled hatred.

At this time, he must perform a bit to calm the resentment of his colleagues as much as possible.

The Zhejiang reinforcements supporting Fujian were better than blue, directly using five hundred people to pretend to be five thousand main army.

If it were an urgent need for reinforcements, this loss would be eaten.

The problem is that the situation in Fujian is special, and the rebels have no interest in them at all.

After the enemy captured Guangdong, they aimed at Huguang and Jiangxi.

Originally there was no survival pressure, and the five hundred reinforcements from Zhejiang were of little help to Fujian.

But the four thousand five hundred officers and soldiers who died in battle were enough to make the Fujian Provincial Governor a negative textbook in military history.

The Fujian Provincial Governor, who did not want to bear the scolding, decisively chose to poke the window paper.

"Bastard!"

With a loud curse, Xu Wenyue was flushed with anger.

The matter of eating empty salaries is common in the Great Dayu army.

Using war to settle accounts is also a routine operation.

But playing so excessively, this is the first time he has encountered it.

It is a pity that he has no right to interfere.

With Emperor Yongning's personal governance, it marks the end of the auxiliary era; now his identity is a cabinet minister and Viceroy of the Five Provinces.

The jurisdiction of the Viceroy of the Five Provinces is limited to Yunnan-Guizhou, Liangguang, and Huguang, not including Fujian and Zhejiang.

People gave him the face of a cabinet minister to participate in this suppression action.

If they don't buy it, they can go back and play by themselves, and he has no way to deal with these people.

Not to mention the time problem of reporting to the imperial court, even if the problem is placed on the table, it may not be able to deal with the other party.

If there is no one in the court, you cannot serve as a frontier official.

"Grand Secretary, calm your anger!" 【187-66

Do not let it ruin your health!

Since there are difficulties in Fujian, then reduce the troop numbers!"

Lu Jingxuan hurriedly spoke up to persuade him.

The problem of phantom soldiers is widespread, and Huguang is naturally no exception.

Nominally, Huguang's troop strength exceeds 300,000, but the real strength must be discounted by at least forty percent.

And even after the discount, there is still padding.

Not only are horses counted as heads, but even transport vehicles are converted into troop strength based on the number of wheels.

Among the encirclement armies of all provinces, only the data from Guangxi is relatively reliable.

The culprit behind all this is, in reality, corruption.

The "floating loss" system uniquely created by Great Dayu's civil officials means that money and grain are skimmed off layer by layer; by the time it reaches the lower levels, it is impossible to support so many troops.

"Hmph!"

"All of you tell me the truth: how many troops have actually been mobilized now?

Do not think about fooling me; the data compiled today will be recorded.

If, because of false reporting of troop strength, you mislead this Cabinet into making incorrect strategic deployments, leading to the failure of the encirclement operation,

even if I cut off your heads, you will not be able to bear this responsibility!"

Xu Wenyue warned sternly.

The lid being lifted in Fujian made him realize that the situation of phantom soldiers below was even more severe than he had anticipated.

And the performance of each unit in this regard was not the same.

Originally, he looked down upon the descendants of the nobility the most, thinking those fellows were all trash, purely living off the legacy left by their ancestors.

But after a careful comparison, he helplessly discovered that there is no "most useless," only "more useless."

At the very least, the retainers around those noble descendants still had combat effectiveness.

Using retainers as the backbone and recruiting some able-bodied men, they could quickly form combat effectiveness.

As long as outstanding talent appeared among the descendants, they could quickly stand out.

The Guangxi Army, which performed the most brilliantly in the pacification war, was born this way.

The organizational structure of the border armies is similar, except the core is the Nine Borders' military families, who are the rising stars among military officers.

Because they have been fighting against foreign tribes for years, they have honed more elite troops.

"Grand Secretary, the total troop strength of Fujian Province does not exceed 60,000, and the mobile troops that can be deployed do not exceed 40,000."

Yang Yan spoke first.

He was the one who poked the hole in the window paper, so he had already drawn hatred.

At this point in time, he had to perform to appease the resentment of his colleagues as much as possible.

"Hmm!"

The expected angry scolding did not happen; Xu Wenyue just nodded simply.

Since he chose to know the truth, he had to accept reality.

Phantom soldiers were not caused by any one person; if he vented his anger on others now, he would never hear the truth again.

"Guizhou's financial resources are scarce, and the situation is even worse.

After the war broke out, each unit urgently replenished a batch of soldiers, and the total troop strength is around 60,000.

Adding the reinforcements from the Shu region, the troops that can be deployed are about 50,000."

Pang Zhenghao answered next.

Compared to the numbers requested by Grand Secretary Xu, the real troop strength was directly reduced by two-thirds.

However, this was normal data; if they really needed 150,000 mobile troops, they wouldn't have been bullied by the rebels.

The White Lotus rebels are mostly a rabble, with only a small number of elite wolf soldiers possessing decent combat effectiveness.

However, the wolf soldiers have a considerable reputation in Great Dayu, but this unit is limited in number, and even at its peak, it did not exceed 10,000.

After the rebellion broke out, this unit also split into two waves.

Part supported the imperial court, part supported the White Lotus, and the two sides even had a fierce battle.

Later, it was absorbed by the White Lotus and split into various units, becoming the backbone of the rebellion.

"Yunnan is also lacking in financial resources, only slightly better than Guizhou.

After the war broke out, the Provincial Governor's office strictly ordered all units to replenish their troops, and the total troop strength is about 80,000.

Adding the reinforcements from the Shu region, the troops that can be deployed are about 70,000."

Dou Yutang followed up immediately.

Compared to Guizhou, Yunnan has rich copper and silver mine resources, and its economy is slightly better.

Even though it is a highly profitable industry, because of government operation, it is basically in a state of loss.

Only when the imperial court conducts audits can it make a temporary profit; after a few years, it falls back into loss.

Private mines among the people are profitable, but unfortunately, they could not be converted into tax revenue.

Temporary fundraising during wartime is fine, but wanting to turn it into local fiscal revenue to support a large army long-term is impossible.

"Jiangxi previously lost 50,000 troops in Guangxi, but after the war, we actively strengthened our armaments, and now the total troop strength is around 150,000.

Adding the imperial court's reinforcements, mobilizing 130,000 troops to participate in the encirclement operation should not be a problem."

Yu Xiuwen said calmly.

Originally, he was worried that his own troop strength was severely depleted and might cause a big mess.

Now, after hearing his colleagues' data, he suddenly gained confidence.

Regardless, the troops of their one province exceeded the sum of the two provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou.

This is the confidence brought by strong financial resources.

As an important part of Jiangnan, Jiangxi in the agricultural era has always been a representative of wealth.

Among the many provinces of Great Dayu, Jiangxi's fiscal revenue has always been in the top three.

"Huguang has been in a state of war; although we are continuously replenishing troops, the attrition has always been high.

The total troop strength in the province is about 160,000 to 170,000; adding the reinforcements sent by the imperial court, the troops that can be deployed should be 140,000."

Lu Jingxuan answered, biting the bullet.

Unlike other provinces, Huguang is right under Grand Secretary Xu's nose.

Exposing the problem at this time is equivalent to being caught red-handed.

At this moment, Xu Wenyue could no longer afford to be angry; his mind was full of calculations.

40,000 + 50,000 + 70,000 + 130,000 + 140,000 + 20,000; the theoretical total troop strength is 450,000.

Compared to the planned million-strong army, it was directly discounted by more than half.

However, this was just the beginning; based on his understanding of these officials, the reported data would certainly still contain padding.

Among these 450,000 troops, if half could be combat soldiers, it would be considered good.

Among them, the ones who can fight best are less than 100,000 recruited soldiers; the rest are just there to make up the numbers.

"Alright, I have an idea in my mind.

How each province fights specifically, you adjust yourselves.

On the 15th of next month, all provinces will act together to launch a summer campaign against the rebels.

My requirement is very simple: before September, each province must at least recover two prefectures.

Tell your Provincial Governors that if they cannot complete the task, they should go and plead guilty to His Majesty themselves!"

Xu Wenyue ordered coldly.

Compared to the initial goal of wiping out the rebels in one fell swoop, he had clearly lowered his expectations at this moment.

Originally, he wanted to issue orders to kill the enemy, but fearing that those below would kill innocent people to claim merit, he temporarily changed it to recovering lost territory.

After all, battle reports can be faked, heads can be faked, but recovered lost territory cannot deceive people.

"Grand Secretary, to recover two prefectures in such a short time..."

Before Pang Zhenghao could finish, Xu Wenyue interrupted:

"Don't give me excuses!

You have difficulties, but can they be as difficult as Guangxi's?

They went deep into the rebels' lair alone and were still able to open up the situation.

Your conditions are so much better, yet you are still here bargaining; it would be a laughingstock if it got out!"

Setting such a task was purely caused by Jia Bo's letter.

In the letter, he stated that Guangxi's troop strength was tight and they were unable to recover the entire province, only two or three prefectures.

Looking at the data on paper, Guangxi's situation was undoubtedly the worst.

Not only was troop strength limited, but the rear could not provide them with support in time.

Under such dire circumstances, if they could still recover lost territory, there was no reason why other provinces couldn't do it.

If they couldn't complete the task, that was incompetence.

To avoid people shirking responsibility, Xu Wenyue even went as far as delegating power to the provinces, letting everyone play freely.

For a civil official with a strong desire for control, being able to do this was not easy.

"Magistrate Pang, you don't need to worry too much.

Regarding matters on the battlefield, you can ask the military officers below more often."

Lu Jingxuan reminded him tactfully.

These were the lessons he had gradually summarized after experiencing a series of failures.

As long as he, the Huguang Provincial Governor, did not interfere with specific military command, the generals below could fight back and forth with the rebels.

After realizing this, he had already delegated power for several months.

The generals of both sides were like novices pecking at each other; although they didn't achieve a great victory, the imperial army was constantly improving and had successively recovered several county towns.

The troops fighting in the front were still Great Dayu's second and third-line units.

Now that the main force had returned to reinforce, recovering two prefectures was highly likely.

"Many thanks for your guidance, Magistrate Lu!"

Pang Zhenghao said with feigned gratitude.

Deep down, his thoughts were completely different.

As for experience, the ancestors left behind countless lessons; the problem is that everyone is unwilling to learn from them.

He was just a small Military Defense Circuit official; if he went to lecture the Provincial Governor on how to fight a war, he probably wouldn't be planning to stay in the officialdom.

Unless Grand Secretary Xu personally ordered the command of the front line to be handed over to a certain military officer.

But doing so might make the situation even worse.

Great Dayu had too many people holding them back.

Ordinary military officers simply could not straighten out the complex relationships within the province.

Not all officials know how to consider the big picture.

Many times, when the Provincial Governor personally issues an order, it will be discounted when it comes to specific execution.

If it were changed to a military officer to coordinate, I'm afraid the issue of money and grain alone could drag the army to death.

There are no secrets in Great Dayu's officialdom.

With the conclusion of the Wuchang military conference, the operational plan for the summer offensive soon appeared in the hands of the White Lotus Holy Emperor.

Fortunately, Xu Wenyue knew his micromanagement ability was poor and did not play remote control command.

Otherwise, the operational orders would still be on the way, and the rebels would have received the news first; that would be funny.

"450,000 troops; Great Dayu really has a large family and a big business!"

(End of chapter)