Chapter 220: The Battle of Guangzhou

Wuchang Prefecture.

Looking at the battle reports arriving from the front lines, Zhu Jingyi felt a mix of joy and anxiety.

The imperial army had launched a counter-offensive in Guangdong and achieved phased results.

The Tuanlian (local militia) army had begun to show its effectiveness after being formed; the Hunan militia had now reinforced the Changde battlefield, and militias in other regions were springing up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

These troops, organized with local clans as their bond, were not as combat-effective as the court's elite forces, but they were significantly stronger than the garrison troops.

The addition of the Tuanlian army greatly relieved the pressure of insufficient manpower he was facing.

Besides this news, there was also a pile of bad news.

First, the Prince of Changsha was captured and committed suicide, and many members of the imperial clan, bewitched by the White Lotus Sect, had joined the ranks of the rebellion.

Then, the Jiangxi battlefield suffered a crushing defeat, and the rebel army broke into the Jiangnan region. The court's fiscal revenue was under severe threat.

The memorials in the court impeaching him could fill an entire room.

Two-thirds of them were the masterpieces of officials from Huguang, Jiangxi, Yunnan-Guizhou, Liangguang, and Fujian.

It was clear that his performance as a Grand Secretary had not satisfied the gentry.

It was one thing to repeatedly apportion war expenses to the lower levels to suppress the rebellion. The key was that after taking everyone's money, the battlefield situation remained a failure.

Everyone had developed serious doubts about his military competence, believing he was incapable of presiding over the great cause of suppressing the rebellion, and hoped the court would replace him with a capable general.

That he could keep his position was due more to the face of the Yongning Emperor than the special nature of being a Grand Secretary.

As the first Grand Secretary personally appointed to the cabinet, if he were a good-for-nothing, where would the Emperor put his face?

However, in the face of cruel reality, face could not last long. If he continued to have no achievements, entering the Zhao Prison was only a matter of time.

"Lord An, Guangdong has been successively recovered by the imperial army in many places. Why are you still here instead of returning to your jurisdiction to preside over the overall situation as the Governor of Guangdong?"

At the military meeting, Zhu Jingyi's first fire burned toward the Governor of Guangdong, full of displaced anger.

The reason for all this was mainly due to the soldiers below causing a ruckus over pay.

The imperial armies of Guangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong had collectively impeached him for withholding military pay and embezzling military supplies.

Such a thing was unimaginable in the past.

Civil officials overseeing armies skimming money from military pay was an open secret in the Great Dayu Dynasty.

The generals below, if they wanted to receive money and grain, had to curry favor with the civil officials who commanded the three armies.

This was an inevitable occurrence under the system of civil officials controlling the military. It was precisely these restrictions that allowed for better manipulation of the frontline generals.

If the court's military pay could always be issued in full, the power in the hands of the civil official overseers would inevitably be greatly reduced.

It would be impossible to summon generals at will and dismiss them at will.

In order to suppress the generals, even if there was a certain amount of embezzlement, the court could accept it.

The generals below, even if they were wronged, could only endure it.

Such cases of collective impeachment of an overseer by civil and military officials from multiple provinces were rare in the history of the Great Dayu.

Thinking about it, Zhu Jingyi felt stifled; in order to win people over, he hadn't cut the benefits of the civil officials.

Although the benefits for those below were reduced, the default "floating loss" (embezzlement) had increased. The civil officials handling the middle had seen their gains increase rather than decrease.

Logically speaking, these people had taken his benefits and should firmly defend him, the Grand Secretary who was willing to share the benefits.

Yet the reality was the exact opposite; just because of a few military orders, these guys stood together with the military generals below.

There were too many officials involved, and Zhu Jingyi could do nothing about them, so he could only vent his anger on the Governor of Guangdong.

Theoretically, since the imperial armies of Guangxi and Fujian were helping them fight, it was reasonable to let the Guangdong Governor's office bear the military expenditure.

"Grand Secretary, the funds for the reconstruction of Guangdong have not yet been approved by the court, and the vacancies for officials in various places have not been filled. Even if I arrive in Guangdong, I will just be a bare-bones Governor.

Affected by the war, production in various prefectures of Guangdong has been severely damaged. Now there are starving people everywhere; please quickly allocate some money and grain!"

An Qingfeng immediately played the victim.

The Governor of Guangdong could not control the guest armies of Fujian and Guangxi; if he had no money or grain in his hands, they wouldn't buy his account.

The only Guangdong army also asked him for grain and pay every few days.

Now that the two sides were far apart, he could still prevaricate. Once he arrived at his post, he wouldn't be able to shirk it.

Once the soldiers below started a ruckus, they wouldn't care if he was a Governor or not; if they weren't fed, they could just as easily ruin the Governor.

Accidents caused by pay riots had happened countless times in the Great Dayu Dynasty. It wasn't just one or two officials who had lost their lives because of this.

"Hmph!"

"Your mind is only filled with money and grain; have you ever thought about the difficulties of the court!

The court appointed you as the Governor of Guangdong to solve problems.

If you can't solve anything and rely on the court for everything, then what use are you?

It's a pity you have read the sages' books and don't even understand such a simple truth. Shamelessly demanding money and grain here is simply losing all our..."

Zhu Jingyi immediately rebuked him angrily.

He was also short of money and grain; if he really had enough in his hands, why would he need to be the villain!

The previous "open source and throttle" was originally intended to reduce expenses.

Never did he expect that due to operational errors, the expenses didn't go down, but instead, the income decreased.

Every time the rebel army ravaged a place, the tax revenue he could intercept would decrease by a portion.

The imperial army had recovered quite a bit of lost territory, but these lands ravaged by war could not be squeezed for money or grain at all.

Taking the Guangxi region as an example, in order to reduce expenses, the Governor's office didn't even bother to support the yamen runners responsible for tax collection.

As for tax revenue, there wasn't a single copper coin.

All expenses were requested from the court.

When the allocations from above didn't arrive, the local officials just let things rot. They directly threw the governance work to the military and adopted a policy of "governing by doing nothing" toward the people.

From the results, it was actually quite good for the time being.

No one went down to collect taxes, no one went to conscript corvée labor, and even the landlords who collected rent were gone.

Except for being slightly unaccustomed to it, the military control system was widely praised by the grassroots people.

The earliest recovered prefectures, after experiencing a few rounds of harvests, had now recovered some vitality.

But this was far from enough.

Even in times of peace, the tax revenue of Guangxi could not support the bureaucratic system. Just a broken Lianzhou Prefecture, how much money could it collect?

The officials of the Guangxi Governor's office had also thought about the local tax revenue, but after weighing the pros and cons, they gave up.

The money collected might not even be enough to support the clerks below. If a mess was made, the loss would outweigh the gain.

The situation in Guangdong seemed much better, but for a long time to come, the people would not be able to be squeezed for money.

Zhu Jingyi letting An Qingfeng solve the money and grain problem himself was clearly passing the buck.

Even if he were to raise money regardless of the consequences, he would at least have to wait until the imperial army recovered Guangzhou and restarted foreign trade.

Zhaoqing Prefecture.

Waking up to find that the enemy had run away from the city left Li Mu speechless.

The rebel army ran too fast; before the main force had even started to besiege the city, they were gone.

After hesitating again and again, Li Mu decided to let the rebel army leave.

The enemy fleeing without a fight was undoubtedly a good omen.

After setting this precedent, other rebel armies would have one more choice when encountering the main force besieging the city.

Recovering the city was real, and the military merit was in hand. How many enemy troops were annihilated was entirely up to him to say.

Anyway, Grand Secretary Zhu was stingy with reward silver now, so the number of heads obtained was not as important as before.

The rebel army was not worth much to begin with, and the court would not care if the number of annihilated rebels was ten thousand or twenty thousand; everyone cared more about the battle line.

"My lord, Governor An of Guangdong has arrived at his post, and Governor Zhang invites you to attend the banquet."

The words of his personal guard pulled Li Mu out of his deep thoughts.

Recently, he had been busy with military affairs and had no energy to care about when the Governor of Guangdong would arrive. He had no impression of this Governor An either.

"Tell Governor Zhang that I will attend the banquet on time.

Send someone to inquire about how much money and grain this Governor An brought with him to his post."

After receiving the invitation, Li Mu replied immediately.

Staring at money and grain was indeed a bit realistic.

But there was no other way; the consumption of war was too great.

As the war progressed to this point, not only had he not made a profit, but he had even lost a lot of the profits earned from subcontracting mineral production.

Now Grand Secretary Zhu had placed the strategic focus on Huguang and Jiangxi, so money and grain naturally tilted toward those two places, and the resources Guangxi could get were even fewer.

Money and grain allocations were not in place, yet orders to send troops were constantly issued, completely disregarding human life.

If Zhu Jingyi hadn't gone too far, the officials of the three provinces of Liangguang and Fujian would not have impeached him together.

After recovering three prefectures and one guard, the next step should be to recover Guangzhou City.

Helping to get so much territory, asking the Governor of Guangdong for some wages was also appropriate.

After Liangguang and Fujian were connected, the strategy of the Great Dayu in the South China region had come alive.

Li Mu was already powerless for the subsequent great war of suppressing the rebellion.

The court's money and grain could not keep up, and the daily consumption of money and grain by the hundreds of thousands of troops in the three provinces was not something he could solve.

If he wanted to launch an attack again, he would at least have to drag it out until after the autumn harvest to raise enough military grain.

"Congratulations to Commander Li for recovering Zhaoqing Prefecture and establishing another great merit for the court!"

Stepping into the banquet, Li Mu became the central figure.

The welcome banquet prepared for Governor An suddenly turned into a celebration banquet.

One couldn't blame the officials for being worldly; it was just that the victory came too suddenly.

Everyone didn't know what had happened, and the people below suddenly told them that Zhaoqing Prefecture had been recovered by the imperial army.

Looking at the map, at this time the imperial army had recovered Guangdong, and 80% of the territory was recovered by Li Mu leading the troops.

Who was the protagonist of the war went without saying.

Even if the Governor of Guangdong arrived at his post, he could only temporarily rely on Guangxi.

"You colleagues are too polite!

Being able to recover Zhaoqing is entirely due to the Emperor's great fortune..."

Polite words were thrown out without cost, and everyone who could be taken care of was brought along.

Having been in the officialdom for a long time, Li Mu had learned to integrate.

Although these words had no substantive meaning, they were politically correct.

"Commander Li, I wonder if you have any strategy for the upcoming Battle of Guangzhou?"

An Qingfeng asked with concern.

Only after the imperial army recovered Guangzhou would he truly be the Governor of Guangdong in the true sense.

Before that, he, this Governor, was just a display.

If he wanted to issue orders, he didn't even know who to issue them to.

"Lord An, recovering Guangzhou is not difficult militarily; the tricky part is money and grain.

Since Grand Secretary Zhu took office, the court's money and grain allocation has become a problem.

The military pay allocated from above was all used to exchange for grain, and the soldiers haven't seen their pay for half a year.

Now the morale of the army is fluctuating, and money and grain are urgently needed to soothe the army's heart.

The people are starving everywhere, and the Governor's office also needs to allocate money and grain for relief."

After Li Mu finished speaking, cold sweat broke out on An Qingfeng's forehead.

Although he was prepared, when it came to the moment, he still felt it was tricky.

Without money in his pocket, his words weren't firm.

If he had known that Li Mu would ask for military pay on such an occasion, he absolutely would not have attended today's welcome banquet.

It was simply too shameful.

Asking others to help recover Guangzhou, but he himself didn't pull out a single hair.

If it got out, he would be laughed at.

The problem was that the Guangdong Governor's office was now just an empty shell.

Let alone money and grain, even the subordinate officials hadn't been fully staffed.

He didn't bring anything with him this time except for some attendants.

"Commander Li, please rest assured. I have already reported the money and grain problem to the court, and I think there will be results before long.

Let's prepare for the Battle of Guangzhou first; I will handle the other problems on your behalf!

..."

An Qingfeng decisively drew a pie (made empty promises).

Whether he could do it or not was another matter; anyway, he said a lot of pretty words.

Those who didn't know would definitely be fooled.

"Then I will trouble you, Lord An!"

Li Mu responded with a smile.

Even knowing the other party was drawing a pie, he was too lazy to expose it.

He was a professional at asking for money and grain.

But encountering a pauper, he was still powerless.

Fortunately, the other party was an official and had power in his hands.

In the Great Dayu Dynasty, having power meant having money.

Even in that corner of Guangxi, one could find a way to get rich, let alone Guangdong.

As long as one worked hard to explore, one would always find a way to make money.

Guangzhou City.

"Guanghai Guard is lost, and Zhaoqing Prefecture is also lost!

If this continues, will I wake up one day to find that Guangzhou Prefecture is also lost?"

Chen Jingfeng couldn't help but curse angrily.

Losing a city or territory was acceptable, but it absolutely could not be lost so quickly.

Although Guanghai Guard fell, at least the garrison held on for more than a month before choosing to break out.

In the Battle of Zhaoqing Prefecture, the enemy army simply pushed across the whole way.

As the Governor of Guangdong, having such useless subordinates below really made him worry.

"Governor, the pseudo-dynasty's army is too fierce; we really can't hold them off.

In order to preserve our strength, I ordered the retreat.

This is also the Prince's meaning.

When things are impossible, preserving oneself is the priority!"

Lou Qinghong said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

To enhance persuasiveness, he even quoted the original words of the Southern Prince, Fu Haoxuan.

It was just that these words fell into the ears of Chen Jingfeng, the Governor of Guangdong, and they changed their flavor.

A subordinate using the Southern Prince to pressure him—if such a precedent were set, the future troubles would be endless.

The Guangdong region was not short of the Southern Prince's confidants; if everyone followed suit, he, this Governor, would become a display.

"I know the Southern Prince's meaning better than you do.

Whether we can defeat the enemy army or not, we have to fight to know.

Zhaoqing Prefecture City is a big city, with plenty of grain and grass in the city; holding on for a few months is not a problem at all.

Yet you actually fled without a fight, which is really losing the Southern Prince's face.

Someone, drag this guy who doesn't respect military law down and give him thirty military sticks!"

Chen Jingfeng immediately ordered.

"Kill the chicken to warn the monkey!"

This phrase instantly entered everyone's mind.

If it weren't for the sake of the Southern Prince's face, he guessed that what would be entertaining Lou Qinghong would not be thirty military sticks, but directly moving his head.

Chu Er, who was on the side, was already trembling with fear at this time.

He was the Southern Prince's confidant; if Chen Jingfeng targeted him, he might just lose his head.

Fortunately, the thing he worried about most did not happen in the end.

With Lou Qinghong, who fled without a fight, as a foil, he, this general who held the city for more than a month and was finally forced to abandon it, became an honor student.

If he were to be punished, Lou Qinghong would definitely have to lose his head, otherwise, he couldn't convince the public.

"Ah!"

In an instant, screams came from outside the door.

The generals present looked at Chen Jingfeng with a hint of awe.

Even the Southern Prince's confidant could be dealt with; if it were someone else who violated military law, the outcome would only be more miserable.

"You have all seen it.

Lou Qinghong is the first, and I chose to deal with him lightly.

If anyone commits an offense later, there will be no pardon!"

Chen Jingfeng warned immediately.

The White Lotus Sect's army was expanding too fast, and it was a mixed bag.

To hold Guangzhou Prefecture, it wouldn't work without ruthless methods.

However, this scene fell into Chu Er's eyes, once again strengthening his idea of defecting.

He couldn't continue to sit on this broken ship of the White Lotus Sect, otherwise, the ship would be destroyed and people would die sooner or later.

For a strategic town like Zhaoqing Prefecture, the garrison general could surrender without a fight, which was clearly a sign of fluctuating morale.

The internal factional infighting made him feel even more anxious.

The world hadn't been conquered yet, and it was already divided into several factions; what would happen later?

Vaguely, he felt he could go back and discuss it with his private secretary.

Lou Qinghong, who was being beaten outside, was clearly at odds with the Governor.

If these contradictions were utilized well, maybe in the subsequent process of capturing the city, it could play an unexpected role.

Unknowingly, he had already substituted his identity to the side of the imperial court.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 221 =====