Chapter 191: Greed for merit and rash advancement

With the Viceroy's death order issued, the allied forces of the various provinces were full of complaints.

Now they could only hope that Heaven would give them face and provide a few more sunny days; otherwise, the war simply could not be fought.

To fight against the timing of Heaven required paying a price.

"Minister Jia, why have you come?"

Li Mu asked with confusion.

Ever since he suffered on the march last time, this person no longer requested to follow the army, focusing instead on logistics in the rear.

Braving the wind and rain to run to the front line was not his style.

"Commander Li, the Emperor has sent an imperial decree ordering the suppression army to wipe out the rebels within the year.

The Grand Secretary has also issued a death order that results must be produced before September."

Jia Bo said with a bitter smile.

Being on the Guangxi front line, he was crystal clear about the main army's current predicament, but the orders from above did not allow for bargaining.

The Emperor's decree had actually been sent directly to the various provinces; one could imagine the pressure Grand Secretary Xu was under.

With the Regional Commander unable to withstand the pressure, he naturally had to shift the pressure downward.

"Oh!"

After saying a single word, Li Mu had no further reaction.

Compared to before, Grand Secretary Xu's attitude had clearly softened.

He only required the provinces to produce results and did not reiterate that they must recover two prefectures; he must have known the predicament the front-line main army was facing.

However, this was only Li Mu's personal interpretation.

Official language has two mouths; the final interpretation of such official terms that had not been clearly changed still rested in the hands of Grand Secretary Xu.

Afterwards, he could choose to handle it lightly or choose to elevate it to a matter of principle.

In fact, the summer offensive had existed with innate deficiencies from the moment the strategy was formulated.

An experienced commander should have considered the impact of the climate in advance before formulating the combat plan.

Under normal circumstances, the backup plan should have been activated at this time, or the combat plan should have been postponed altogether.

"Commander Li, do you have no thoughts?"

Jia Bo asked anxiously.

As a trusted underling, he dared not neglect the tasks entrusted by Grand Secretary Xu.

After receiving the order, his first reaction was how to complete the task.

But with limited knowledge, he truly did not know what method could be used to recover lost territory while braving the rain.

"Minister Jia, isn't the situation very obvious?"

"The court and the Emperor are putting pressure on Grand Secretary Xu, and Grand Secretary Xu has no choice but to put pressure on us.

As for whether the task can be completed, that depends on whether Heaven gives us face.

I am not very clear about the situation in other regions, but Zhen'an Prefecture cannot achieve a breakthrough in the short term.

The torrential rain has stopped, but Heaven insists on dropping some every day; the muddy roads have never dried out.

Even if the soldiers could advance through the rain, the convoys transporting grain and fodder would get stuck in the mud.

Once the main army penetrates deep into enemy territory, logistics will certainly not be able to keep up.

For the sake of safety, I withdrew the troops that successfully crossed the river from the front line two days ago.

If there are no accidents, General Jing's side has also chosen to withdraw troops at this moment.

Now all we can do is wait for the weather to clear.

As for Grand Secretary Xu, you can handle it as you see fit!

If you really can't handle it, just say that we discovered the grain route traded between the rebel army and the Annan people and are trying to cut off this grain route.

You can compile the specific battle report yourself and give us a copy later."

Li Mu bluffed with a straight face.

The muddy roads targeted both warring parties; while delaying the imperial army's actions, it also affected the rebel army's grain transport.

In this situation, the one who should be most anxious is not the imperial army.

When it comes to strategic material reserves on the front line, the two are not on the same order of magnitude.

A broken Liangguang could not support a million-strong army in battle.

Just dragging the time out, the first to be unable to hold on will definitely be the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

"Commander Li, doing it this way will not work.

Such perfunctory handling—if the Grand Secretary finds out, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Jia Bo hurriedly vetoed.

Li Mu was not someone who followed Grand Secretary Xu, so he could naturally choose to bluff, but he was Grand Secretary Xu's underling.

To be so perfunctory would inevitably lead to the loss of Grand Secretary Xu's trust.

Let alone his future career, he couldn't even get past the immediate accountability.

"What are you afraid of? You are not the Guangxi Provincial Governor.

According to Great Dayu's tradition of civil officials governing military officials, the Regional Commander of the Guangxi Front Army is Provincial Governor Zhang.

Even if there is accountability, the primary person responsible is him.

As the Army Supervisor, you only need to urge Provincial Governor Zhang."

Hearing Li Mu's shirking, Jia Bo rolled his eyes on the spot.

Revolving around power struggles, he had fought multiple rounds with Zhang Sihan and had always lost more than he won.

Wanting to use Zhang Sihan as a scapegoat was simply impossible.

If the court truly wanted to hold someone accountable, it would be him accompanying Zhang Sihan to be escorted to the capital together.

On the contrary, Li Mu and Jing Yifeng, because of their outstanding military achievements earlier, would most likely be left behind to make amends through meritorious service.

This was caused by the structure of Great Dayu's army.

The backbone of the army consisted of the military generals' retainers; once these people were removed, the combat effectiveness would drop rapidly.

When dealing with military generals with real power, the court had always been very cautious.

Because the progress of the main army was unfavorable due to the rainy season and the tasks from above were not completed, it did not count as a principled error.

"Commander Li, I am not joking with you.

If the task is not completed and the court holds us accountable, it will be good for no one."

Jia Bo said helplessly.

Other Army Supervisors in the army were all domineering.

When it came to him, he could only coax the front-line generals and fear that the other party would not cooperate.

It was simply turning the world upside down.

"Rest assured, Minister Jia.

I have asked around; Guangxi rarely has continuous rain for two or three months; there will definitely be times when it clears up in between.

The summer sun will scorch the earth, and at most in two days, the muddy roads will be dried out.

As long as there are ten days or half a month of continuous sunny days, we can recover several cities.

Recovering some territory in Zhen'an, Nanning, and Xunzhou respectively and claiming to the outside world that we have recovered two prefectures—no one will be pedantic about it.

After the rainy season ends, we can then send troops to encircle and suppress the rebel army.

As for Grand Secretary Xu's side, you should also persuade him more.

Tell him not to keep urging the front line; if some idiot is anxious to complete the task and launches an attack in the rain and suffers a defeat,

and the summer campaign fails, when the court holds us accountable, he won't be able to clean up the mess either."

Li Mu's explanation made Jia Bo breathe a slight sigh of relief, followed by helplessness.

Persuading Grand Secretary Xu—just thinking about it was enough.

Those who could enter the Grand Secretariat were all those who had fought their way up through the officialdom.

Once they had made up their minds, they would not easily change.

Moreover, the problem now was not just Grand Secretary Xu, but also the Emperor and the civil and military officials in the court.

If the capital did not apply pressure, Grand Secretary Xu would not force everyone to send troops.

The imperial army side was complaining, and the White Lotus Holy Kingdom was having an equally hard time.

The great war had just begun, and money and grain were disappearing like flowing water.

"Hmph!"

"What are you all eating?

Even such a simple thing as transporting grain and fodder, you can actually mess it up.

After the soldiers on the Huguang front line ate moldy grain, nearly three hundred people were poisoned.

The soldiers on the Jiangxi front line were even more miserable; because they did not receive grain and fodder in time, they were forced to withdraw to Yongzhou.

..."

Facing Shi Rongxuan's angry scolding, the officials lowered their heads one after another.

Large-scale food poisoning in the army was not a small matter.

Once involved, heads would roll.

"Holy Emperor, from the time the military grain reaches the front line to the time it is issued to the soldiers, there are many links in between.

Under normal circumstances, the grain eaten by the soldiers on the front line should be from several months ago.

The grain being moldy is not necessarily a problem during transport.

I am not deliberately defending my subordinates; it is mainly that both sides verify before handing over military grain.

Moldy grain simply cannot enter the warehouse.

Of course, this is not to say they have no responsibility.

Guangxi's rainy season began long before the Qingming Festival.

If the soldiers can ensure the grain does not get rained on, they have completed the task.

It is inevitable that grain gets damp during transport.

Generally speaking, as long as it is spread out to dry in time, there will be no problems.

If the officials in charge of guarding the grain and fodder on the front line were careless when the military grain entered the warehouse and did not discover the grain was damp,

or if there were slip-ups in subsequent storage, it is possible for the grain to become moldy.

The cooks also have responsibility; moldy grain is so obvious that one can see it at a glance.

Knowing that the grain was problematic and still cooking the moldy grain into rice for the soldiers to eat—their hearts are punishable."

Wu Zekai explained nervously.

It was not that he wanted to shift the blame; it was truly that the matter was too big for him, the Prime Minister, to bear.

"The food poisoning in Huguang can be considered the responsibility of the front-line generals, but how do you explain the delay of grain and fodder in Jiangxi?

Have the officers and soldiers responsible for escorting the grain and fodder been arrested?"

Shi Rongxuan questioned again.

The requirements for transporting military grain were very strict; once delayed, the punishment was whipping at best and beheading at worst.

The Jiangxi grain delay case was undoubtedly the most severe type.

All the officers and soldiers responsible for escorting the grain and fodder had to be severely punished.

"Holy Emperor, the Jiangxi grain delay case has already been investigated clearly.

During transport, the grain transport team suddenly encountered a landslide, and the convoy was buried by mud.

Less than one in ten of the officers and soldiers and laborers responsible for the escort survived; it is truly impossible to hold anyone accountable."

Wu Zekai explained helplessly.

He knew very well that such an answer could not satisfy Shi Rongxuan.

But the truth investigated was indeed a landslide.

To blame such a natural disaster on the survivors would be too heartless.

"Hmph!

Your excuses are truly numerous.

Either it's a natural disaster or it's someone else's problem; it has nothing to do with you, the Prime Minister!"

Shi Rongxuan mocked.

Conflict between imperial power and prime ministerial power was a matter of time.

Choosing to pick faults at this time was entirely because Wu Zekai's power was expanding too fast, and half of the officials in the court were from his sect.

In recent days, there were even people memorializing that he should confer the title of Prince Gui upon Wu Zekai.

In terms of merit, being able to supply a million-strong army with the territory of Liangguang,

and managing internal affairs in an orderly manner, Wu Zekai's contribution to the White Lotus Holy Kingdom was absolutely no less than the Three Kings at the front line.

By the standards of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom for conferring titles, he was absolutely worthy of being Prince Gui.

Shi Rongxuan also wanted to reward and punish clearly, but the problem was that a monarch's instinct must prioritize maintaining balance in the court.

Wu Zekai's prestige was already high; if he were conferred the title of Prince, he would be even more impossible to suppress.

"Holy Emperor, please forgive me!"

Wu Zekai said with a gloomy face.

It was clearly not his responsibility, and to have a hat forced onto him, he naturally could not accept it.

Deep in his heart, he was already calculating how to counter-attack Shi Rongxuan.

Essentially, they were partners, not simple monarch and subject.

Before the rebellion, their status in the White Lotus Sect was on par.

Shi Rongxuan was able to ascend the throne because he was the first to pull together a team to rebel.

Including Wu Zekai, the various powerful figures of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom were all original shareholders of the startup.

Each brought a group of people and joined the rebellion one after another.

Against this background, Shi Rongxuan, this Holy Emperor, naturally could not achieve a situation where his word was law.

"Alright, let the past be the past!

Prime Minister, although the grain route between the Holy Kingdom and the Annan people has not been cut off, transport has encountered difficulties.

In addition to the impact of the muddy roads, that group of dogs from the pseudo-dynasty has also discovered our grain route.

Losing this grain replenishment, the grain and fodder stored by the Holy Kingdom can last at most three months.

If we cannot open up the situation during this period, the subsequent situation will be completely out of control!"

Shi Rongxuan changed the subject.

A little beating was enough; the current White Lotus Holy Kingdom could not do without Wu Zekai.

No matter how wary he was, he had to acknowledge his ability.

To replace him with someone else, just smoothing out the internal situation of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom would take a lot of energy.

To raise a large amount of strategic materials from within the country would be even more difficult.

"Holy Emperor, Heaven's timing and geography are on the side of the defending party.

In this kind of ghostly weather, whoever takes the initiative to send troops to launch an attack will have to pay a greater price.

What we need to do now is to remain calm, do a good job in war preparations, and wait quietly for the enemy to act.

The pseudo-dynasty's combat plan requires the allied armies of the various provinces to recover two prefectures before September.

It is already July, and the enemy army has gained nothing; the pressure they are under is by no means less than ours."

Wu Zekai said calmly.

In a sense, this was a high-stakes gamble.

Betting that the enemy would make a mistake first and take the initiative to launch an attack on them.

Time flew by, and in a blink, it was August, getting closer and closer to the deadline set by Grand Secretary Xu.

The front line had gained nothing, and the various provinces were already panicked; the Provincial Governor and Army Supervisor in Guangxi were also stomping their feet in anxiety.

Li Mu, as the Regional Commander of the main army, was like someone who had nothing to do, eating and drinking as usual.

"Commander, just received news that five days ago, the allied armies of Yunnan and Guizhou launched an attack on the rebel army.

As a result, they fell for the enemy's lure-the-enemy-deep tactic and suffered a loss of three thousand troops."

Receiving this news, Li Mu did not feel surprised at all.

It was also the rainy season, but the situation faced by different regions was also different.

Among the provinces participating in the war, the one with the highest average annual rainfall was naturally Jiangxi, followed by the Liangguang region, and then Huguang and Yunnan-Guizhou.

The rainfall in the Yunnan-Guizhou region was slightly less, and there would be more sunny days.

The imperial armies of the two provinces seized the opportunity of the sky clearing up to launch an attack to recover lost territory; everything was very reasonable.

The rebel army followed the plan and set an ambush in advance, waiting for them to go over, which was also very reasonable.

"Provincial Governor, this is the battle report that just arrived.

Facts have proven that greed for merit and rash advancement require paying a price.

Three thousand troops do not sound like much, but suffering a defeat at this juncture is a huge blow to the morale of the army."

Li Mu turned his head and said to Zhang Sihan and Jia Bo.

For more than a month, every time they saw the sun, the two of them urged him to send troops.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 192 =====