Chapter 188

"Holy Emperor, corruption is rampant throughout the Yu Dynasty.

Among these 450,000 troops, who knows how many are just making up the numbers.

The number of real combat soldiers who can fight is still very few.

The Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp were completely accidental; other Great Dayu military officers do not have the Left and Right Regional Commissioners backing them up!"

Prince Pingnan Fu Haoxuan said disdainfully.

He had deep experience with Great Dayu's corruption.

When they attacked Guangdong earlier, the Holy Kingdom was far from as strong as it is now.

Leading a few tens of thousands of weak troops to attack Guangdong, which was guarded by 230,000 heavy enemy troops, they took it down in just a few months.

It was the Guangdong campaign that allowed him to see Great Dayu's weakness and also built the confidence of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

After occupying the two Guangs, the strength of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom achieved a leap-forward improvement.

The million-strong army claimed externally was indeed a bit exaggerated, but there were still 600,000 to 700,000 troops.

On the front battlefield, their troop strength at this time already exceeded that of the imperial army by quite a bit.

As for the combat effectiveness of the army, no one should look down on anyone; everyone has a small amount of elite troops mixed with a large amount of cannon fodder.

"Prince Pingnan, the puppet dynasty still has some strength.

The enemies we encountered earlier were mostly the puppet dynasty's second-line troops; the only ones that could count as first-line were the Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp.

The situation now is not certain; the enemy has gathered many recruited armies such as the Shu Army, Xiang Army, E Army, and Gan Army.

The combat effectiveness is much stronger than before; if one is not careful, the tragedy of the Guangxi campaign will be repeated!"

Prince Dongping Wei Hao reminded with a frown.

As the Regional Commander of the Northern Expedition to Huguang, he had suffered quite a bit in the last few months.

Fools like the Guangdong Provincial Governor were just extreme cases; civil officials were not all idiots.

Knowing that they did not possess military command ability, they would still delegate power when they should.

In terms of logistics and material supply, they would also try hard to let the soldiers on the front line be well-fed.

The Huguang troops, having shaken off their shackles, let him see the true level of the imperial army.

When troop strength is equal, they have no advantage against the imperial army.

"Haha..."

"Prince Dongping, you really are getting older and more timid.

The combat effectiveness of the puppet dynasty's imperial army elites is indeed very strong, but they can't help that the ones commanding the operations are civil officials.

The Guangxi Provincial Governor has already taken office; just watch, the combat effectiveness of the Guangxi imperial army will definitely be greatly reduced.

As long as we make good use of the enemy's eagerness to win, we can easily find flaws and deal a heavy blow to the enemy army.

By then, you take Huguang, I will send troops to occupy Guangxi, and then we will join forces to attack Nanzhili.

Prince Zhenxi will pierce through Yunnan and Guizhou and kill his way into the Shu region, and then the world can be settled!"

Fu Haoxuan said heroically.

The strategic vision was a bit exaggerated, but it was indeed feasible.

The fact that the operational plan reached their hands before the war even started was enough to prove that Great Dayu's civil officials were their greatest allies.

If he couldn't know in advance that the imperial army was attacking with a mission, he wouldn't have been able to keenly capture the key information—the enemy is eager to win.

Recovering two prefectures before September was not impossible for the imperial army, but that was based on the operational plan being strictly confidential.

With the key information exposed, they only needed to deploy specifically to defeat the imperial army one by one.

"What about Guangxi?

Nanning Prefecture and Xunzhou Prefecture have both lost more than half, and Zhen'an Prefecture and Wuzhou Prefecture have also been exposed to the enemy's blade.

Gaozhou Prefecture, Leizhou Prefecture, Guanghai Guard, and even Huizhou Prefecture and Chaozhou Prefecture on the Guangdong front line may also be subject to the enemy's maritime attack.

The Holy Kingdom's main force is mostly on the front line, and limited troop strength cannot defend all areas."

Shi Rongxuan asked with a frown.

The imperial army in Guangxi was simply too much of an eyesore.

The enemy can attack the hinterland of Guangxi by land or attack Guangdong by sea.

The two Guangs are now the rear of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom; once the imperial army in Guangxi moves, it is equivalent to a sharp blade stabbing into their heart.

"Holy Emperor, the possibility of the enemy army attacking Guangdong is not high.

Puppet dynasty officials have a tradition of sweeping the snow from their own doorsteps.

The original Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp were guest armies, which is why they could play freely and choose attack locations at will.

But the situation is different now; the enemy commanders have been appointed as Guangxi Regional Military Commissioner and Guangxi Regional Commander respectively; they have become Guangxi troops.

The Guangxi Provincial Governor will not tolerate his subordinates going to recover Guangdong before recovering Guangxi.

The focus of the next defense can be placed directly on Guangxi.

I don't expect to eliminate the enemy army in a short time; as long as we can stabilize the battle line and block the enemy army east of Yu, it will be enough.

What is tricky now is the choice of commander; considering the battle line is too long, I am afraid it will require multiple generals to cooperate to complete it."

After Prime Minister Wu Zekai finished speaking, there was silence in the great hall.

In the past, if there was a chance to lead troops on an expedition, everyone would fight for it.

Today was undoubtedly an exception.

After two consecutive failures in the Guangxi campaign, everyone's heart had developed a shadow, and they no longer had their previous arrogance.

Except for the three princes with fierce battle merits, other generals did not dare to guarantee that they could defeat the enemy army.

Undoubtedly, these three could not be mobilized.

If an accident happens at any of the three major battlefields in front, it could cost the White Lotus Holy Kingdom its life.

Compared to 100,000+ imperial troops driving straight in, the threat of the 10,000 to 20,000 enemy troops in Guangxi was clearly not on the same level.

"Why is everyone dumb?

Could it be that in such a large Holy Kingdom, we can't even pick out three commanders!"

Shi Rongxuan couldn't help but scold angrily.

Now is the time to conquer the world; if they fear the strength of the imperial army, then they might as well break up early.

"Holy Emperor, count me in!"

Vice Prime Minister Fu Sanqi said with a hardened heart.

Where you fall, you climb up from there.

Although he was not sure he could defeat the enemy army, this mission was defense; as long as he could delay time, it would be enough.

Judging from the imperial army's operational plan that was scouted, the enemy army would launch an attack on June 15th and recover two prefectures before September.

During this period, there were two and a half months in total, so they definitely couldn't just stick to one place.

Once they realize it's hard to fight, the enemy will choose to shift the attack target.

Whether his colleagues can block it, he can't control that much; anyway, he must perform to save his reputation from the previous failure.

"Holy Emperor, this general also wants to go and bump into the enemy army!"

Marquis Zhongyi Huang Yuheng bit the bullet and stepped forward.

It was all caused by the title.

As the Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness, encountering such a thing, he definitely had to perform.

"Good!

In times of national crisis, one thinks of good generals.

Both of you are pillars of the Holy Kingdom.

When the day of your return comes, I will personally hold a banquet here to celebrate your success!"

Shi Rongxuan said with satisfaction.

Although one was still missing, having two step forward was enough.

After all, there were not many people who could participate in the decision-making meeting, and that included civil officials.

As for the final vacancy, it could be promoted from the generals below.

As a new regime, as long as one has battle merits, rising is relatively easy.

Lianzhou Prefecture.

After receiving Grand Secretary Xu's military order, the Guangxi Army immediately held a military conference.

Different from the past three-person meeting, it became a four-person meeting at this moment.

"Grand Secretary wants us to recover two prefectures within two and a half months; I wonder if the two generals have any plans?"

Zhang Sihan asked uneasily.

The Guangxi region has the least troop strength, yet the task to be completed is the same as other provinces.

The most critical thing is that if the task is not completed, the Provincial Governor will be held accountable.

He highly suspected that Grand Secretary Xu's military order was specifically aimed at him.

The purpose was to get him down and replace him with his own trusted subordinates.

"Since the Grand Secretary has issued an order, we will just execute it.

Recovering two prefectures within a time limit is not a difficult task for the imperial army of each province.

What I fear is someone giving blind commands and interfering with military affairs, leading to a battle that could have been won being lost in the end."

Jia Bo spoke first.

This question should not be answered by the two commanders.

Once the precedent is set, Zhang Sihan can justify interfering with military affairs in the future, and his weight as an army supervisor will drop significantly.

The best choice is to push back from the beginning, cut off the possibility of Zhang Sihan interfering with military affairs, and maintain the previous three-person meeting mode.

If that doesn't work, he can be responsible for entangling Zhang Sihan and letting Li Mu and Jing Yifeng play freely.

Anyway, as long as Zhang Sihan is not allowed to get military power, other problems can be discussed.

"Magistrate Jia is overthinking; this official is not a person who acts recklessly.

The Grand Secretary has issued an order, and this Governor is the primary person responsible; I can't just ignore it, right?"

Zhang Sihan couldn't help but push back.

Involving matters of principle, he would not give in.

If Li Mu and Jing Yifeng slack off and work passively on the battlefield, he, the Provincial Governor, will be miserable.

He can ignore specific command, but regarding operational tasks, he needs a definite answer.

"The two Magistrates are both for public business; please do not hurt the harmony.

As for the operational plan, Jing the Regional Commander and I will be responsible; anyway, the task must be completed."

Li Mu spoke to smooth things over.

At this time, there must be no infighting.

Once a fire is fought and they trip each other up, the battle won't need to be fought later.

Fortunately, the operational order was issued by Grand Secretary Xu; as a trusted subordinate, Jia Bo must try his best to complete it.

Zhang Sihan, as the primary person responsible, dared not make trouble on this.

"Regional Commander Li is right; everyone is working for the imperial court, so there is no need to hurt the harmony.

The specific operational plan has actually been formulated by us long ago.

It's just that for the sake of safety, it hasn't been brought out.

If the two are interested, this general can briefly talk about it."

Jing Yifeng then expressed his stance.

Having just received the operational order, there was no such thing as an operational plan, but this did not affect his bragging at all.

Having stayed with Li Mu for a long time, he had realized that when facing civil officials, one needs to bluff.

The more civil officials who don't understand military affairs, the more they need to be bluffed.

As long as people are bluffed, things will be easy to handle.

"There is no need to talk about the specific operational plan.

If too many people know, it's easy to leak the news.

The two generals are both famous generals of the current age.

Using troops according to your plan will definitely be able to break the enemy army!"

Jia Bo said with a smile.

It's not that he doesn't care about the operational plan, it's mainly that he doesn't understand it.

The operational plans Li Mu brought out before could wrap him in every time.

At the beginning, he didn't pay attention and asked a series of idiotic questions, and even made a lot of jokes.

Exposing his ignorance once is enough; there is no need to do it again.

Especially in front of political enemies, he must not show weakness.

As long as no specific operational plan is brought out for discussion, the other party will not know he is a military novice.

When it comes to military affairs, he, an army supervisor with battle merits, can puff out his chest and push back against the Provincial Governor.

"Forget it!

This Governor won't ask either!"

Zhang Sihan said helplessly.

Among the people present, except for him, everyone had military merits.

Discussing topics involving military affairs, he was already a head shorter.

Political enemies were determined not to let him touch military power.

If he forcibly seized power, it would easily lead to uncontrollable consequences.

The short military conference ended without achieving any results, and Li Mu was also very helpless.

Many things about military affairs cannot be brought to the table for discussion.

The more people involved in the discussion, the more perfect the plan formulated, and often the more outrageous it is.

In an era where communication relies on shouting, the more perfect a military plan is, the harder it is to execute.

Seemingly checking for leaks and filling gaps, in fact, the added gap-filling behavior itself is the biggest loophole.

Any military plan is probabilistic; besides one's own efforts, it also depends on whether the enemy is willing to cooperate.

Any change on the battlefield may cause the previous operational plan to lose its operability.

(End of chapter)