Chapter 193: Feint attack on Nanning

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The sound of artillery fire rang out in Nanning city, opening a new chapter in the Guangxi war.

"Where did the enemy land from? Why was there no news?"

Marquis Zhongxiao Huang Yuheng asked with a confused expression.

In order to guard Nanning, he patrolled the defense line every day. It was impossible for him not to have discovered the imperial army's movement to cross the river.

However, upon waking up, the enemy army was already on the verge of the city.

"Marquis, the pseudo-dynasty's main army seems to have come from Zhen'an Prefecture."

"They bypassed the defense line we deployed at the ferry and killed their way directly to the foot of Nanning city."

Hearing the answer given by the Assistant Regional Commander, Huang Yuheng immediately cursed angrily.

"Fu Sanqi, I'll screw your ancestors!

..."

Guarding against everything, they didn't guard against the enemy taking a detour.

Calculating everything, they didn't calculate that the friendly army would pit their teammates.

However, Fu Sanqi certainly wouldn't admit to such accusations. Now that the water level had receded, the river surface in the direction of Zhen'an Prefecture had narrowed.

In some shallow water areas, the enemy army didn't even need boats to cross.

At this time of year, wading directly across the river had no impact.

To conduct a comprehensive defense, even if he filled in all the garrison troops of Zhen'an Prefecture, it wouldn't be enough.

Moreover, the situation in Zhen'an Prefecture was different from Nanning. The prefecture city was not by the river, so the focus of defense was not on the river.

Angry scolding couldn't solve the problem, but it could soothe his mood. After asking about Fu Sanqi's ancestors for eighteen generations, Marquis Zhongxiao Huang Yuheng slowly regained his rationality.

What happened before was no longer important. The enemy army being on the verge of the city was the most urgent matter.

With the cases of the two previous failures in the Guangxi campaign, now when mentioning the Guangxi imperial army, there were few who were not fearful.

"Pass the order: have the troops along the Yu River withdraw as quickly as possible."

"Tell the people below: if they discover the pseudo-dynasty's main army pursuing, throw gold, silver, cloth, grain, salt, and other materials along the way."

"At critical moments, you must not be stingy!"

These were all experiences of escaping with one's life.

In the past, when encountering pursuit by the imperial army, after throwing things down, the imperial army soldiers would first go to fight for the spoils of war.

When lucky, they could even counter-kill and directly turn defeat into victory.

The Guangxi Front Army was famous; Huang Yuheng didn't harbor unrealistic fantasies of defeating the enemy. He only hoped to be able to protect the main army.

Defeating the enemy army was an unrealistic fantasy. He knew best what kind of goods the army under his command was.

Earlier, the Holy Kingdom assembled a 200,000-strong army and was still chased and beaten by the enemy; the troops under his command would even less be the enemy's match.

"Marquis, the pseudo-dynasty's imperial army has cavalry."

"If we withdraw the troops at this moment, our losses will be very large!"

The Assistant Regional Commander advised tactfully.

Withdrawing was easy, but wanting to withdraw the troops back to Nanning city was difficult.

The imperial army was not stupid; they certainly wouldn't let them enter the city.

"Withdrawing troops will cause devastating losses; not withdrawing will result in the entire army being wiped out."

"The defense line we built can only defend against the enemy on the other side of the river, but the enemy has already finished crossing the river."

"Have the main army withdraw under the cover of night, and remember to have the people below blow up the cannons; they cannot be left for the enemy to use as siege weapons!"

Huang Yuheng said coldly.

The greatest taboo for a commander is to be soft-hearted.

War is destined to have sacrifices; what commanders can do is to reduce sacrifices as much as possible.

"General Jing, the rebel army's attention has been attracted by us; what happens next depends on you!"

At the foot of Nanning city, Li Mu said calmly.

As the Regional Commander of the main army, the troops under his command had already entered the semi-firearm era and had a considerable reliance on logistics.

Jing Yifeng's subordinates were still mainly based on cold weapons.

To penetrate deep into the enemy's rear, cold weapon troops with relatively low reliance on logistics were undoubtedly more suitable.

"Rest assured, as long as the enemy army hasn't prepared in advance, I will definitely be able to take Liuzhou within ten days!"

Jing Yifeng said with high spirits.

The demeanor of a famous general is fought out; having participated in two Guangxi campaigns, the rebel army was military merit in his eyes.

At this moment, launching a surprise attack on the enemy's empty rear, he was even more fearless.

Compared to taking Liuzhou, he wanted even more to take Guilin, where the rebel army's leaders were located.

However, as the capital of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, no matter how empty the rear was, Guilin also had over ten thousand troops guarding it.

With equivalent troop strength, wanting to break through Guilin was by no means a matter of one morning or evening.

Attacking Guilin was just a gesture, using a strategic feint to deter and force the rebel army to return to rescue.

"If you can take Liuzhou within ten days, General Jing will be credited with the first merit."

"After the great battle ends, this Governor will personally celebrate your merit in Guilin!"

Provincial Governor Zhang Sihan's words did not resonate.

It was still too early to talk about recovering Guilin.

This kind of pie that could be seen but not touched was hard to have appeal.

Including the planner of the campaign, Li Mu was also unsure in his heart how far this battle would be fought.

If the outside was powerful, after they sent troops to disrupt the rebel army's strategic deployment, taking advantage of the front line to break the rebel army and wipe out the White Lotus Sect rebel army in one fell swoop was possible.

If the progress was not smooth, directly withdrawing to launch a frontal assault on Nanning, Xunzhou, and other areas was also an option.

"Many thanks for the Provincial Governor's auspicious words!"

"Set out!"

After a simple polite remark, Jing Yifeng leaped onto his horse and directly ordered the expedition.

After watching the main army leave, Li Mu withdrew his gaze.

Affected by the rainy season, the outbreak of the great battle was delayed by three months, which was not entirely without benefits.

With three months of buffer time, the troop strength in his hands increased by two guards.

The newly recruited troops temporarily did not have much combat effectiveness, but the earliest recovered guards, after more than half a year of high-intensity training, already possessed the level of second and third-line troops.

The backbone strength among them was naturally the retainers of his Commander Li.

Compared to before the outbreak of the great battle, the number of retainers under his command had gradually expanded from over eight hundred in the Yangzhou period to over two thousand.

Expanding at this speed, breaking through three thousand retainers before the end of the suppression war was completely not a problem.

Such private army strength was already a "warlord" ranked very high among the military generals of Great Yu.

Facts have proven that whether civil or military, once power loses checks and balances, it will develop in an uncontrollable direction.

Even though Li Mu didn't want to do anything, he still instinctively expanded his private army.

With two thousand private troops, he directly controlled the Yangzhou Battalion and over 30,000 Guangxi guard troops; plus the expanded navy, the total troop strength in his hands directly broke through the 40,000 mark.

It did not cause waves, except that there were stronger "warlords" outside, and Guangxi's special situation, as well as his identity as a descendant of the nobility, played an important role.

Once the great battle ended, these good days would be over.

Especially since he took advantage of the war to enclose a large amount of land as military fields, it was even more of a taboo for civil officials.

Even though Provincial Governor Zhang Sihan tried his best to maintain restraint, Li Mu still keenly felt a trace of malice from him.

If there were no accidents, it should be that the previous bluff had been exposed, making this Guangxi Provincial Governor realize that Guangxi's land was not as barren as he had seen before.

Wanting to go back on his word, yet worrying about unpredictable things happening after turning against each other.

Not to mention Li Mu's influence in the court, just the troop strength in his hands now made him, this Provincial Governor, sit on pins and needles.

It just so happened that it was wartime, and rebuilding the various guards of Guangxi was the general trend; he not only could not stop Li Mu from expanding his military power but also had to fully help Li Mu expand the army.

Being so stifled, it was hard not to harbor resentment in his heart.

At the farewell ceremony just now, the words Zhang Sihan said actually had the meaning of sowing discord between the two.

Unfortunately, he did not anticipate that Li Mu was not that concerned about the first merit, and Jing Yifeng was also uninterested in the bait he threw out.

The official careers of both were basically at their stage-level peak.

In the short term, wanting to advance further, unless it was a great merit of opening up territory and obtaining a title from the court, they could only slowly grind out seniority.

Waiting until the Left and Right Commanders-in-Chief in the court retired ten or twenty years later, they would have the opportunity to fill the vacancies and become the spokespersons for the interests of the nobility group.

With such a long waiting cycle, there were too many variables in between.

The leaders of both the Jing and Li families had sons; if during this period their next generation grew up, they would be the rightful heirs of the family.

As long as they showed convincing ability, under the patriarchal system, Li Mu and Jing Yifeng would have no chance to ascend.

Let alone actively participating in the competition, even if there were no competitors, if the family wanted to push him to ascend, Li Mu would also actively refuse.

The capital was prosperous, but behind the prosperity, it was also filled with sword light and sword shadows.

Guangxi was indeed a bit remote, but it was precisely because the place was remote that it could stay away from the disputes in the court.

To speak bluntly, hoarding troops here—

even if he were impeached, the Emperor would suspect whether the person impeaching him had a personal vendetta against him.

In the inherent cognition, Lingnan was a ghostly place filled with miasma. Being exiled to Lingnan was equivalent to losing half a life, and the mortality rate was higher than in Liaodong during peaceful times.

Officials, if they had the opportunity, were all busy seeking transfers. Wanting to support a main army was difficult, let alone hoarding troops.

"Commander Li, are you worried about General Jing's trip?"

Jia Bo, who was on the side, asked.

Penetrating deep into the enemy's rear alone was itself filled with great danger. If Li Mu, the planner, had no confidence, then the trouble would be big.

On the issue of suppressing the rebellion, the positions of the few were consistent; they all wanted to quell the White Lotus Sect rebellion as soon as possible.

"No!"

"We are on the verge of Nanning city, and the enemy's deployment along the Yu River has become a decoration."

"If there are no accidents, it won't be long before the rebel army shrinks its troop strength and fully guards Nanning."

"If we can eat the enemy's troops outside the city, it should be of no small help to the subsequent war."

Li Mu bluffed casually.

Just as the situation had signs of improvement, the Guangxi Provincial Governor developed thoughts of internal strife. If the plan went smoothly, who knew what would happen next.

However, these concerns could not be spoken of at all.

Thoughts were thoughts, actions were actions.

There were too many people in the world with bad thoughts; if one judged the enemy and ourselves based on this standard, then the whole world would be an enemy.

Suppressing military generals was itself a consensus among civil officials. No matter who served as Guangxi Provincial Governor, they would limit his strength after the war ended.

Small actions in private didn't count for much.

What he feared most was that the big shots in the court would feel he was too powerful in Guangxi and that the Guangxi Provincial Governor could not check and balance him, directly pulling the firewood from under the cauldron and transferring him away from Guangxi; then all the hard work would be in vain.

The night was hazy, and the rebel army camp on the Yu River was still brightly lit.

"The Marquis issued an order for us to withdraw under the cover of night and for everyone to blow up all the cannons."

"Once the explosion sounds, all our actions will be exposed. If the enemy general is not stupid, he will know what we are doing. Wanting to withdraw safely, I fear there is not much hope."

"Old Su, you have the most ideas; hurry up and give us an idea!"

The scarred-faced general urged anxiously.

The imperial army had just reached the verge of the city and temporarily couldn't take care of them. If they didn't withdraw tonight, the opportunity for subsequent withdrawal would become increasingly slim.

However, withdrawing was not as simple as saying it; a slight carelessness would turn the retreat into a rout. Especially withdrawing at night, it was easier for chaos to occur.

"The enemy took a detour to cross the river and reached the verge of the city; continuing to guard the Yu River defense line has no value, so withdrawal is inevitable."

"However, the withdrawal time must be grasped well. Let the soldiers have a good rest first, and when it is the Yin hour, call everyone to get up and leave."

"Remember not to light fires on the road; only use the faint starlight to hurry on the journey."

"Prepare more ropes and have the soldiers hold hands to hurry on the journey, so as not to fall behind."

"As for the cannons along the river, leave a small number of dare-to-die soldiers to blow them up two hours after we withdraw."

Old Su said slowly.

The withdrawal plan was very rough, approximately equal to none.

But this was already the best strategy he could think of; a better plan might exist, but it had already exceeded his ability scope.

Whether he could hide from the enemy's sight and successfully withdraw the troops intact, Old Su had no confidence at all.

"Fine!"

"Your experience is rich; we all listen to you!"

"..."

Facing the flattery of a group of generals, Old Su directly chose to ignore it.

"Rich experience" placed here was not a good word.

Rich experience in escaping with one's life meant he often suffered defeats. Generally speaking, the luck of such generals was not very good.

No Regional Commander liked having such a jinx under his command.

Others' official positions were getting bigger and bigger, only his position hadn't moved. If he weren't a veteran in the sect, I fear he wouldn't even have his current status.

Deep in his heart, Old Su even suspected that he had been cursed and was not favored by the White Lotus Holy Mother.

Time passed second by second, and soon it entered the second half of the night. The group of generals who decided to follow the order to withdraw overnight were now finding it difficult to fall asleep.

"General, the Yin hour is almost here!"

The reminder from the personal guard called Old Su out of his deep thoughts.

"Hmm!"

"Pass the order: notify all units to discard all unnecessary materials and prepare for retreat."

"In addition, ask the generals who is willing to stay behind to cover the retreat and blow up all the cannons."

"Tell them, regardless of who completes the task, they will be promoted three ranks and rewarded with a thousand taels of silver!"

Old Su decisively drew a big pie.

Promotion and wealth were the exclusive property of the living.

If people died, then everything would have nothing to do with them.

This kind of near-suicidal task could only be participated in voluntarily by the people below. Otherwise, they would leave, and the others could defect to the imperial army in the next second.

"Obey!"

With the departure of the guards, the originally quiet camp soon became noisy.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 194 =====

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