Chapter 231: Dividing the Forces

Liaodong.

Taking advantage of the Great Dayu being busy suppressing internal rebellions and having no time to look north, Hugjile incorporated the scattered Tatar tribes across various regions, completing the integration of the Tatar clan.

The remaining former Liaodong residents, as well as the Guifang, Oirat, and Goguryeo people who had defected to them, were also incorporated.

After a series of operations, the population under his rule directly doubled, and his military strength broke through the 100,000 mark.

However, this rapidly growing Tatar regime was not healthy.

Under the system of "every citizen a soldier," all able-bodied men were drafted into the army, causing severe damage to agricultural and pastoral production.

The internal grain self-sufficiency rate was less than 20 percent of the demand.

That they were able to maintain the regime's operation without a famine occurring was entirely due to the merchants.

With the outbreak of the Great Dayu's internal rebellion, grain prices rose all the way, and the Tatars were inevitably affected.

"Khan, this is the grain procurement list for last month. The price has increased by another 30 percent compared to before.

The price of rice has reached as high as nine taels per shi, and flour has also reached seven taels per shi.

At this procurement cost, if we continue to subsidize the tribesmen, I fear the national treasury will not be able to bear it!"

Sarina said, filled with worry.

The fiscal tax revenue of the Tatar clan was approximately zero.

Their main income relied entirely on—plundering.

If they weren't raiding the Great Dayu to the south, they were raiding the Guifang and Goguryeo people.

Whoever had them as neighbors was simply unlucky.

In essence, the Tatar regime established by Hugjile was just a large-scale robbery gang.

It wasn't that they hadn't thought about managing the territory with care, but reality did not permit it.

With hundreds of thousands of people under their rule, supporting an army of 100,000 was simply impossible.

Against this backdrop, all kinds of daily necessities and strategic materials needed to be procured from the outside world.

Merchants chase profit; if people are risking their heads to smuggle, who would do it without huge profits?

"No matter!

Consider this money as temporarily deposited with the Dayu people; once we stabilize the rear, we can just send troops to plunder it back.

Incidentally, we can also share some of the pressure for the White Lotus Sect rebel army.

If they were to be wiped out by the Dayu court, our days would become difficult."

Hugjile said with great bravado.

He could still distinguish who was an ally and who was an enemy.

Although they had never had contact with the White Lotus Sect, with the Great Dayu as their common enemy, they were the best of allies.

Compared to the Great Dayu, the Tatars were still too weak.

As long as the smuggling routes were cut off, even without sending troops to attack, they could be besieged and starved to death.

It was not just the Tatars; all nomadic peoples of the grasslands were dependent on the Central Plains dynasties.

Don't look at how happily they raid every few days; once a Central Plains dynasty becomes strong, the situation will be reversed.

……

Guangdong Provincial Governor's Yamen.

"Provincial Military Commander Jing, you should have stepped out to compete for the position of Regional Commander!"

An Qingfeng said with a look of frustration.

He had originally thought that Marquis Wuyang would personally command the main army and had never considered that he would appoint someone else as Regional Commander, so naturally, there had been no preparation beforehand.

By the time he received the news, everything was already set in stone.

"Governor, you aren't joking, are you?

The three-province allied army is primarily composed of the Guangxi imperial army; our Guangdong troops are at the bottom of the alliance.

The Governor's Yamen cannot provide any support, so what do you expect me to compete with?

Being able to snatch the position of vanguard was only because I, this general, reacted quickly!"

Jing Yifeng said with a calm expression.

Anyone would want to be the Regional Commander if they could bear the responsibility; no one wants to be a subordinate.

But the competitors were too strong, making competition impossible.

Not only was his military merit a notch lower, but the strength of his troops was also vastly different.

He had originally thought that by taking a post in the wealthier Guangdong, he could obtain more resources and build an elite, powerful army.

Unfortunately, he simply could not utilize the abundant resources of Guangdong.

He had also thought about imitating Li Mu in enclosing military farmland to solve the money and grain needed by the army, but these things required upfront capital.

Without sufficient capital, he simply couldn't hold out until the grain harvest.

After the failure of contracting mineral resources, the possibility of him pulling off a "white wolf with empty gloves" was cut off.

After all, the civil officials were not fools.

Li Mu was able to succeed because it was the first time it had happened; no one knew how much profit was hidden in the chronically loss-making state-run mines.

The most feasible thing now was to scrape together enough capital from the battlefield and then return to manage the military farmland.

However, this could only be thought about; the investment and return were not proportional.

A Provincial Military Commander's term was not infinite; if a sudden transfer order came down, it would just be making a wedding dress for someone else.

"Humph!"

"This Governor gave you a kind reminder, and you actually don't take it to heart.

The White Lotus Sect is making such a huge ruckus; if you become the Regional Commander of the allied army and make a great contribution, you might even be enfeoffed with a title.

If you miss this opportunity, there will be a time when you regret it!"

An Qingfeng scolded angrily.

It wasn't that he was deliberately sowing discord; he was purely forced by the situation.

Deep down, he knew better than anyone that Jing Yifeng had no chance.

Marquis Wuyang would not leave his more capable confidants unused just to promote an outsider.

Inciting the two to compete was mainly because he wanted to fight for the Regional Commander position himself.

Only by creating the image that Li Mu could not command respect would it be possible for Marquis Wuyang to compromise and appoint a civil official as the army supervisor.

With the Guangxi and Fujian Provincial Governors not present, he, the Guangdong Provincial Governor, would become the first choice.

Besides coveting fame and fortune, avoiding disaster was also an important factor.

In recent days, he had offended quite a few people in order to raise military pay.

To eliminate hidden dangers, the simplest operation was to climb higher.

The Great Dayu was currently most in need of civil officials who could fight; if he could make a great contribution in the process of suppressing the rebels, a promotion after the war would be inevitable.

Even for the sake of the national policy of "using civil officials to govern the military," the civil official group would have to push him to the top.

As long as he climbed up, the gentry in the Guangdong region would selectively forget the slight unpleasantness during the pay-raising process.

……

Fuzhou Prefecture.

"What? Letting Li Mu serve as Regional Commander? Isn't this just playing the piano to a cow!"

In the Provincial Governor's Yamen, Zhang Jingyi, having received the official document, could not help but scold angrily.

With over 100,000 men in the three-province allied army, handing it all over to a military officer to command—if word got out, they would all be mocked.

"Using civil officials to govern the military" was, after all, national policy.

In the last hundred years, no military officer had been able to independently command an army of over 50,000.

In fact, the appointment of Marquis Wuyang as Viceroy of the three provinces had already caused an uproar throughout the court and the public.

It was just that Emperor Yongning had a stubborn personality; once he had set his mind on something, not even nine oxen could pull him back.

The civil officials were dissatisfied with this situation, but they were troubled by not being able to find a suitable candidate, so the opposition was not intense.

This time, the situation was different.

Once this precedent was set, no one could guarantee whether a second time would happen.

After it happened a few more times, the national policy of "using civil officials to govern the military" would become a joke.

"Governor, at this time, it's quite possible the main army has already set out.

Even if we oppose it, we can't change anything.

If you want to blame someone, blame that idiot An Qingfeng; under his very nose, such a thing could actually happen!"

The Provincial Administration Commissioner on the side spoke up to persuade him.

As a member of the civil official camp, they had to oppose such rule-breaking behavior.

But besides group interests, there were also personal interests to consider.

From the perspective of personal career, what they needed was to suppress the White Lotus Sect rebellion as soon as possible.

Letting Li Mu serve as Regional Commander was indeed a bit out of line, but compared to wiping out the rebel army, it was not impossible to compromise.

If colleagues in the court were to hold a grudge afterward, there would be officials from Guangdong standing in front to take the heat.

They were officials of Fujian and could not stay in Guangzhou for long.

Being ignorant of the changes over there was a perfectly valid excuse.

"Commissioner Feng's words are reasonable, but this trend must not be allowed to grow; we must still find a way to persuade the Viceroy."

Zhang Jingyi said slowly.

Deep down, he had already accepted this result, but on the surface, he still had to state his opposition.

He could only do so much; making him fall out with Marquis Wuyang over a personnel appointment for Regional Commander was impossible.

Mixing in officialdom, the biggest taboo was acting on impulse.

Without touching their own core interests, no one wanted to be the villain.

If one truly offended a superior and was given "small shoes" to wear, it would end their career.

……

The hustle and bustle of the outside world did not affect Li Mu's good mood.

The position of front-line Regional Commander was not a permanent official post and didn't even have a rank.

But the significance behind it was extraordinary.

All things are difficult at the start.

Being able to tear open this gap in a situation where civil officials dominated was undoubtedly a good start.

The buttocks determine the head; having climbed to the position of Regional Military Commissioner, Li Mu would inevitably be drawn into the struggle between civil and military officials.

As a military officer, he certainly had to stand with the military camp.

After receiving the appointment from Marquis Wuyang, Li Mu did not delay in the slightest and led his troops on a northern expedition in the shortest possible time.

"Regional Commander Wei, when will your troops arrive at the front line?"

Under the walls of Shaozhou City, Li Mu asked with concern.

The price of "speed is the essence of war" was that many troops could not keep up.

The Guangxi troops, originally the center army, had stubbornly run to the front and arrived almost at the same time as the vanguard.

The Fujian troops, acting as the rear guard, were embarrassed; they had fallen far behind during the march.

The imperial army had been besieging Shaozhou City for two days, and there were still several units dawdling on the road.

"Regional Military Commissioner Li, rest assured, by tomorrow evening at the latest, we will definitely arrive at the front line!"

Wei Zhiyuan immediately guaranteed.

Unlike other generals, he was currently in the stage of "atoning for crimes with merit."

In the previous Battle of Guangdong, he had suffered defeat after defeat and lost countless troops and generals.

Being able to keep his position was entirely due to his merit in "balancing the accounts."

"No need for them to come to the front line!

I just received news that the enemy's main force in Ganzhou has moved north; it looks like they are aiming for Nanchang.

At this moment, Ganzhou's military strength is empty; it is the best time for us to recover lost territory.

This general has decided to change tactics: you will lead the Fujian troops to detour into Jiangxi and launch an attack on Ganzhou Prefecture.

After recovering Ganzhou, you can tentatively launch an attack on Ji'an.

As for the task of recovering Shaozhou Prefecture, it will be the responsibility of Regional Commander Jing.

This general will lead the army north in a few days to capture Yongzhou Prefecture!"

Li Mu's order gave the generals a fright.

The "three-province allied army" had just begun fighting, and it was already being split up.

Once the distance was opened, the three armies would have to fight on their own, and his power as the allied Regional Commander would inevitably be greatly reduced.

Standing from the perspective of power, the best choice was to drag the three-province army to act together, advancing steadily and surely.

"Regional Military Commissioner Li, the rebel army is the most cunning.

It seems they are attacking with all their might and ignoring the defense of their rear, but no one can guarantee this isn't the enemy's conspiracy.

If the enemy has been prepared for a long time, once we divide our forces, I fear we will not be the match of the rebel main force!"

Wei Zhiyuan immediately opposed.

He knew best what kind of goods his own troops were.

If they were truly capable of fighting, they wouldn't have been suppressed in Fujian by a rebel detachment and unable to move.

By acting in concert with the Three Provinces Allied Army, one can also hitch a ride on the credit.

If acting alone, he would have to bear all the risks himself.

"Rest assured, the rebel army has great ambitions.

What they want is the vast mountains and rivers; they don't care about the loss of a single city or territory.

The enemy's strategic focus at this moment is not on us.

It is impossible for them to leave such an obvious flaw just to lure us into attacking."

Li Mu said calmly.

Choosing to divide the forces was not because his brain had been flooded with water, nor was it because he disliked having too many troops.

The real purpose was to avoid being sabotaged by "pig teammates."

On the battlefield, it is never the case that the more troops, the better.

Many times, the damage caused by pig teammates is even more terrifying than the enemy.

Referencing Jing Yifeng, one knows that when he was in Guangxi, he led his own troops to win many battles.

After entering Guangdong, the number of troops under his command increased greatly, but he could not produce any achievements worth mentioning.

While there were factors of insufficient supplies, it was an indisputable fact that pig teammates were dragging him down.

Because of his status, he could not say these words that would destroy unity.

But preventive measures were still necessary.

As long as the main force could recover lost territory and continuously push the front line forward, even if the other two armies suffered defeats, they could be covered up.

Reporting good news but not bad news was also a traditional skill of the Great Dayu army.

The sudden collapse of the Huguang front line was the best example.

The outside world only saw the failure of the final decisive battle, ignoring the fact that the imperial army had been defeated all the way before the main decisive battle.

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 232 =====