Chapter 217: The Magical War Report

"Light the fuse!"

Looking at the city wall ahead, Li Mu gave a decisive order.

In recent days, the front lines have been flooded with bad news—either a city had fallen or some official had died for the state.

Of course, in battles of this intensity, desertions were inevitable.

To downplay the political impact, everyone had tacitly chosen to cover it up.

Every day, soldiers were preached to about loyalty and patriotism, but the actual effect was poor; since the rebels captured Changsha, the number of deserters kept rising.

In some local areas, soldiers had even killed their officers and army supervisors and defected directly to the rebels.

It wasn't that anyone believed the White Lotus Holy State could seize the throne and sought to gain favor by siding with the victor.

Troop mutinies joining the rebels were mainly caused by corruption.

The officials above feasted on meat and fish, while the soldiers themselves "couldn't eat enough or stay warm"—who wouldn't feel resentment?

Under the White Lotus Sect's guidance, long-suppressed grievances erupted all at once.

These upheavals had little impact on the Among Guangxi Army; as a newly formed force, it had not inherited the Guangdong Army's corrupt practices.

Supplies were never lacking, and night scouts transferred from the Embroidered Uniform Guard kept watch—White Lotus infiltrators barely showed their heads before being caught, leaving no time to cause trouble.

The rebel force that captured Changsha was now rampaging through Huguang; the court had no strength to stop them, and Grand Secretary Zhu was preparing the defense of Wuchang.

If the Battle of Wuchang failed again, the empire's heartland would sink into endless chaos.

The rebels could march north into the Central Plains, east to ravage Jiangnan, or west into Bashu.

No matter which direction the rebels struck, it would be a disaster for Great Duyu.

To alleviate the military pressure on Huguang's imperial forces, Li Mu intensified his offensive against the Guangdong rebels.

The thunder of artillery fire marked the beginning of the Guanghai Garrison siege.

Unlike previous battles, this was pure frontal assault on the city.

The rebels, having suffered repeated defeats, had learned from past failures; no matter how the imperial forces provoked them, they stayed holed up inside the city.

Faced with enemies cowering within the walls, Li Mu could only order a direct assault.

Various siege engines were being continuously constructed; the roar of cannons never ceased, all to pressure the rebels.

"Boom… boom… boom…"

After a tremendous explosion, the expected collapse of the wall did not occur—instead, a flood of river water poured into the tunnel.

It was clear now: a miscalculation had buried the explosives beneath the moat, and the blast had triggered a backflow of water.

Suffering a setback in the attack, Li Mu was not surprised. No tactic is infallible; if any were truly unstoppable, city walls would have been abandoned long ago.

"Sound the retreat!"

Li Mu gave the order decisively.

Tunneling had failed; continuing the assault would only waste lives with no benefit.

…

"Commander Li, the Guanghai Garrison defenders are extremely stubborn; it will likely take a long time to take the city."

"Why not change course and join forces with General Jing, stationed in Qiongzhou, to launch an amphibious assault on Guangzhou?"

Zhang Zhang Sihan proposed.

In his view, tying down the army at Guanghai was pure waste of time.

Better to use that time to attack Guangzhou directly; after all, the rebel main force had already surged into Huguang and had little chance of turning back to deal with them.

"Governor, the rebels have deployed numerous coastal artillery along the shore; General Jing has attempted three landings—all ended in failure."

"Even with our forces added, it wouldn't change anything. To force a landing, we must break through where the enemy's defenses are weakest."

"Such an obvious weakness, the rebels will surely notice."

"Besides, our military funds have yet to be allocated, and morale among the troops is unstable."

"We can handle easy victories, but in a hard fight, the army will easily collapse."

Li Mu shook his head.

General Jing had complained to him repeatedly about failed landings; the two had even exchanged letters discussing the tactics.

Overall, the imperial forces had made no major mistakes—their failures were purely because the enemy had prepared well.

Without a revolutionary technological advantage, naval ships could not hope to win against coastal artillery.

Now, even getting ships close to the harbor was difficult; without landing, an attack on Guangzhou was impossible.

War breeds growth; compared to their initial naivety, the White Lotus rebels have matured significantly.

Both their command capabilities and soldier training have undergone earth-shattering changes.

If the early rebels were mere bandits, the current White Lotus Holy State is now a secessionist regime.

Though their foundation is unstable, they've used religious manipulation to build a functioning system.

Such a theocratic regime has grave flaws, but in the early stages of rebellion, it proves remarkably effective.

Zhang Zhang Sihan was not surprised when his proposal was rejected again.

Different positions meant different perspectives.

As Provincial Governor of Among Guangxi, he had to consider the entire picture.

Even when he knew risks existed, he still had to act.

In contrast, military officers thought more simply.

Military officers in Great Duyu who wanted comfort had to learn to hide their strengths.

Especially commanders like Li Mu, who held substantial forces, needed to deliberately show weaknesses so others knew he had flaws.

Occasionally doing the right thing for the greater good was acceptable; if you always did it, you'd be buried by it.

If funds weren't allocated but the troops still fought well, those above would think they'd been given too much.

Subsequent allocations would be gradually cut until the commander finally failed catastrophically.

"I've already fought for your funding," Zhang Zhang Sihan said.

"But the court is in chaos now; everyone's focused on Huguang, so payment will likely be delayed."

"The imperial treasury is strained—we can't rely solely on them."

"Since our pay quota is insufficient, we must find our own solutions."

"We have no money or grain—but the rebels do…"

Zhang Zhang Sihan's words sounded like ordering Li Mu to raid the rebels, but in truth, he was hinting that Li Mu could turn a blind eye to his troops looting.

He was Among Guangxi's Provincial Governor, not Guangdong's; his duty to protect the people and maintain order applied only to his own jurisdiction.

Since imperial funds were insufficient, to maintain the army's combat effectiveness, someone had to sacrifice.

But such unsavory matters could never be spoken aloud.

Even if they happened, they'd be blamed on rogue soldiers—unrelated to him, the governor.

If he didn't see it, it didn't exist.

"Then wait until autumn harvest. The rebels don't have grain either!"

Li Mu replied without expression.

Deep inside, he cursed Zhang Zhang Sihan's ancestors eighteen generations deep.

The governor needed a good reputation—he needed one too!

Sure, military officers shouldn't have too good a reputation, but there were plenty of ways to tarnish it without letting troops plunder.

Discipline was hard to build but easy to destroy.

After his internal rant, Li Mu immediately realized the situation was worse than he'd thought.

Great Duyu's finances were even worse than he'd imagined—or rather, its corruption far exceeded his expectations.

If Zhang Zhang Sihan hadn't been truly desperate, he wouldn't have dared hint that Li Mu could allow looting.

As expected, the court would offer no help in the coming days.

Without court funding, feeding the army from garrison production alone was manageable—as long as they didn't fight.

Once war began, money flowed like water.

Every cannonball fired, every bullet shot, was paid for in gold.

After retaking Among Guangxi, Li Mu immediately restored local ammunition production—but it still only met half the army's needs.

The shortfall had to be supplied by the court.

Theoretically free, but to get quality goods, bribes were still required.

The grain consumed by soldiers piled up like mountains.

Those unaware thought he was slacking; those who knew the truth understood he simply had no money.

Grand Secretary Zhu had slashed funding for Among Guangxi, leaving a gap that had to be filled locally.

The governor's office was broke, offering only verbal support—pressure fell entirely on Li Mu.

There was no perfect solution; Zhang Zhang Sihan had offered this foul idea out of desperation.

…

Changsha City.

As the victor, surrounded by followers, Shi Shi Rongxuan stepped into the Changsha Prince's mansion.

Though hastily repaired, the scars of war remained clearly visible.

"Did the Changsha Prince surrender?"

Shi Shi Rongxuan asked with concern.

Since the rebellion began, every royal relative captured by him had always been killed.

But people change; after capturing Changsha, he realized his earlier massacre policy had problems.

There were many vassal princes in the Great Dayu Dynasty; a few deaths didn't matter.

Aside from the first vassal prince's execution causing a sensation, everyone grew accustomed afterward, losing its power to intimidate.

Compared to brutal executions, persuading a vassal prince to surrender carried greater political impact.

If imperial clan vassal princes could all surrender, it would surely become easier to persuade government troops and recruit scholars afterward.

"Holy Emperor, the pretender's Prince of Changsha showed no gratitude and hanged himself in prison."

"But we've persuaded several Assistant State Generals and State Generals to surrender, and the number of lower-ranking officers like Captains is even greater."

Chancellor Wuzhou Zekai replied, slightly embarrassed.

He had personally guaranteed he could persuade the Prince of Changsha to surrender.

Yet just as the persuasion effort began, the main target killed himself.

Without the Prince of Changsha, the remaining imperial clan members were minor figures.

Even if they surrendered to the Bai Bai Lian Holy State, they could not achieve the intended goal.

"Enough!"

It seems not all Great Dayu imperial clan members are useless—some still know propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame.

Give him a straw mat and bury him anywhere."

Shi Shi Rongxuan frowned and said.

The Bai Bai Lian Holy State had come this far; the coming wars would require not just military action but also political battles against the court.

At the start of the rebellion, they had slaughtered the scholar-gentry too brutally. Now they needed these people's support, making things complicated.

Whenever the army arrived in a region, local scholar-gentry fled in advance, giving them no chance to make contact.

Without their support, Bai Bai Lian Holy State officials alone could not possibly organize the populace to restore production.

These old comrades who followed him to conquer the realm were all experts at destruction, but asking them to build was too much.

When they were driven out of Among Guangxi by government troops, the biggest problem was that they controlled land but couldn't restore production in time.

Despite owning vast territories, they could not supply sufficient grain and forage for the army.

Even now, confiscating property remained the Bai Bai Lian Holy State's primary source of income.

He had read history and knew this was wrong, yet found no better solution.

Without seizing the estates of powerful scholar-gentry families, the meager local tax revenue could never support so many troops.

"Holy Emperor, government troops have gathered a large force in Wuchang; it will be difficult to capture in the short term.

Why not send a portion of our forces to attack Jiangxi, reach the Yangtze River as soon as possible, and advance downstream to seize Nanjing?"

Prince of the South, Fu Pingnan Fu Haoxuan, proposed.

The battles for Changsha were won mainly by the Eastern and Western Princes; his own role as Prince of the South had been to deliver the final blow to government troops at the last moment.

As a man who cared about face, he had no desire to claim false credit.

Since the earlier victories belonged to others, he felt no right to seize the glory of capturing Wuchang.

As a fellow prince of the Holy State, Fu Pingnan Fu Haoxuan did not want the other two to monopolize the glory—he turned his eyes to the more tempting prize: Nanjing.

"I grant it!"

After brief consideration, Shi Shi Rongxuan immediately agreed.

To maintain court stability, he could only balance among the three non-imperial princes.

Since the Eastern and Western Princes were temporarily ahead, he must give the Prince of the South a chance to prove himself.

Only if the three princes' power remained balanced would his position as Holy Emperor remain secure.

…

Wuchang Prefecture.

When news arrived that the rebels had split their forces, Zhu Zhu Jingyi, as Viceroy, immediately sighed in relief.

A million rebels were terrifying—even if their true strength was less than a million, fifty or sixty thousand was certain.

With only a few tens of thousands of government troops in Wuchang, he had no confidence they could hold against tens of thousands of rebels.

Though he knew splitting the enemy would increase pressure on Jiangxi, he could no longer care.

To preserve his power, he had sworn a military oath to the Emperor: to die with Wuchang.

"What are Fujian and Among Guangxi doing? Why haven't they captured Guangdong yet?"

Zhu Zhu Jingyi could not help but rage.

With the rebel main force entering Huguang, enemy troop strength in Guangdong had dropped sharply—this was the perfect moment to reclaim lost territory.

Unfortunately, the Fujian and Among Guangxi armies assigned to this task were performing poorly.

Among Guangxi's performance was at least acceptable; though not advancing rapidly, they had reclaimed two prefectures.

Fujian's performance was beyond criticism—the two sides had been locked in stalemate along the border.

They sent frequent victory reports, yet the front line never moved.

"Your Excellency, the rebels have stationed heavy forces in Chaozhou; it will be hard to capture in the short term.

The Provincial Governor…"

Before Yang Yan could finish, Zhu Zhu Jingyi interrupted.

"How many heavy forces have the rebels stationed?

According to my knowledge, Fujian's forces have already eliminated over four hundred thousand rebels since the war began.

This achievement is nearly equal to Among Guangxi's results.

But unlike Among Guangxi, which not only reclaimed the entire province but also recovered two and a half prefectures in Guangdong!"

Everything suffers from comparison.

Falsifying battle reports was nothing new in the Great Dayu Dynasty.

But the problem was that under identical reported results, their front lines hadn't moved at all.

Anyone with half a brain knew their claimed victories were pure nonsense.

They hadn't been challenged because these reports had been accumulated gradually.

Each victory report claimed only a few hundred or a thousand kills—too insignificant to notice.

No one imagined one day someone would add them all up.

"Your Excellency, this was purely accidental.

We…"

Halfway through, unable to fabricate a plausible excuse, Yang Yan simply gave up.

Deep inside, he hated his colleagues.

If you're going to falsify, at least make it believable—why make the numbers so absurd that anyone could spot the fraud?

If you want to match Among Guangxi's achievements, first look at your own actual situation.

(End of Chapter)