Chapter 234: Scorched Earth

Outside the commander's camp, the rain poured down incessantly.

Inside the commander's camp, the generals sat upright.

"Gentlemen, Jiujiang Prefecture fell five days ago; our previous operational plan must be adjusted!"

Li Mu said with a grave expression.

Plans cannot keep up with changes; "besieging the point to strike reinforcements" was set based on the previous situation.

At this moment, the rebel army had taken Jiujiang Prefecture, and their blade pointed directly at the Anqing camp, causing a major impact on the world situation.

If they continued to dawdle with "besieging the point to strike reinforcements," it was quite possible the entire Jiangnan would be gone.

Losing the three provinces of Jiangnan, the Great Dayu would also reach the end of its dynasty.

The most urgent matter was to find a way to boost the morale of the army and the people, and to stimulate the fighting spirit of the Jiangnan military and civilians.

Only by holding onto Jiangnan could the Great Dayu's mountains and rivers be preserved.

"Commander, how could a military stronghold like Jiujiang Prefecture fall so quickly?"

Yun Yufeng asked in confusion.

In his memory, Jiujiang had always been a military stronghold of the Great Dayu.

Not to mention the sturdy city walls, it was also stationed with main forces.

Especially after the White Lotus Sect rebellion spread to Jiangxi, the court had strengthened the defense of the Jiujiang region.

After the Jiujiang defensive battle started, the court ordered various provinces to send reinforcements to Jiujiang at the first opportunity.

"We encountered a group of pig teammates who only care about protecting themselves and lack a big-picture view, causing the defenders to lose their courage.

Added to the betrayal of traitors, it would be strange if they could hold it.

Alright, this involves too many people; it is of no benefit for you to know too much.

Now reformulate the plan; this general wants to capture Yongzhou in the shortest possible time.

If conditions permit, it would be best to capture the rebel leader alive or kill him!"

Li Mu frowned and said.

Jiujiang's fall was the result of multiple factors superimposed.

In the official definition, it was certainly the traitors who took the blame.

But as a bystander, Li Mu could not forgive those idiots in Zhejiang and Nanzhili.

Abandoning Jiujiang Prefecture and directly constructing the Anqing defense line seemed like a good choice.

In reality, it was the most stupid decision.

Losing this bridge connecting Jiangxi with East China and Central China, Nanchang fell into the rebel army's three-sided encirclement.

The situation in Jiangxi could almost be said to be irreversible.

After taking Jiangxi, the rebel army's military strength would inevitably usher in explosive growth.

Next, the two provinces of Nanzhili and Zhejiang would also passively become the main battlefield for the confrontation with the rebel army.

Such a terrible situation, whoever encountered it would be blind.

Deep down, Li Mu had already mourned for Grand Secretary Xu, who was thousands of miles away.

Just having been re-appointed while in mourning, he had already carried a huge black pot.

With the civil officials' style of mutual friction, the various impeachment memorials that followed would probably be enough to fill several rooms.

"Commander, your strategy is too slow.

The court needs good news, and the Great Dayu needs victory.

The other armies cannot be relied upon; the only ones who can turn the tide now are us, so this battle must be fast."

Yuan Ze's proposal made everyone's eyes light up.

The risk was indeed a bit high, but the gain was sufficient.

If this operational plan could succeed, the strategic situation in Huguang would be reversed.

The rebel army in Yongzhou would not even need to be attacked; they would obediently run away.

"Official Yuan, your plan is too risky.

If one is not careful, the army will suffer heavy losses.

The plan wants to succeed entirely based on the enemy not being fully prepared.

If after capturing Hengyang, the enemy is prepared, and we fail to capture Changsha in one fell swoop, then the rebel armies from all directions will surround us.

Don't forget that at this moment, hundreds of thousands of rebel troops are rushing to Yongzhou from various battlefields!"

……

Looking at the active performance of the generals, Li Mu knew that the sky of the Great Dayu would not collapse for the time being.

However, the positions of these generals did not have universality.

His foundation initially came from the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, and later he successively pulled quite a few relatives of the nobility into it.

Because they had received systematic military education, these people developed much faster than ordinary people after entering the army.

Ordinary soldiers were almost all illiterate and relied on themselves to grope, so their growth rate was relatively slow.

To balance the forces under his command, Li Mu had been promoting literacy education in the army and had also created officer training classes.

But these were long-term projects and would not see results in a short time.

Having a high proportion of nobility children was not without benefits.

Besides being active in suppressing the rebel army, everyone's courage was much greater when facing civil officials.

Without Li Mu's nod, no matter if it was a Provincial Governor or a Viceroy, everyone dared not buy their account.

They also dared to execute some slightly out-of-line reforms.

The most critical thing was that through these ties, the relationship with a group of nobility was drawn closer.

Although these old-school nobility were mostly waste who only knew how to eat and wait for death, they were still good for building momentum.

For example: his personnel appointment this time had caused an uproar in the capital.

The civil officials' impeachment memorials were a pile; if it weren't for the support of the nobility group, Emperor Yongning would certainly not have been able to withstand the pressure.

Surrounding this personnel appointment, the nobility and civil officials tore at each other in the court, which could be considered the first civil-military struggle of the Yongning dynasty.

Undoubtedly, military officers were certainly not the match of civil officials in arguing.

But it didn't matter; the quarreling in the court successfully delayed the decision-making time.

With the fall of Jiujiang Prefecture, the civil-military struggle suddenly became a secondary contradiction, and the main contradiction became the mountains and rivers of the country again.

Even if civil officials in other regions didn't care, the civil officials in the Jiangnan and Huguang regions must be panicked now.

Suppressing military officers—there would be plenty of opportunities later.

The rebel army's butcher knife did not care about how prominent their status was.

If the clan and family fell into the hands of the rebel army, it was nine deaths and one life.

Unless there were a few with value for surrender, most aristocratic families were slaughtered by the rebel army.

Theoretically, as long as they fought a few beautiful battles at this time node, it was estimated that he would usher in a new appointment.

Regional Military Commissioner and Regional Commander were just the end points for local military officers in this era; in the early years of the founding of the Great Dayu, there was also an official post called "Provincial Military Commander."

One could command the military affairs of a province, or command the military affairs of several provinces.

Similar to the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty, the speaking power in the local area was very heavy, and they could stand on equal footing with Viceroys and Provincial Governors.

It was not a permanent position, and the rank was Senior Rank Two, Junior Rank One, or Senior Rank One, mainly depending on the additional titles behind it.

Li Mu had coveted this position for a long time.

He had originally thought he would have to grind for eight or ten years in the position of Regional Military Commissioner before having the opportunity to plan and operate.

Never did he expect it to be delivered to his mouth so quickly.

Don't look at how fiercely the civil officials were clamoring; once their own interests were involved, they were also the group that compromised the fastest.

To protect their family interests, the gentry in Jiangnan and Huguang would likely choose to temporarily untie the military officers.

The situation had deteriorated to this step; if the rebel army was not suppressed, they would become rootless duckweed.

Even if they were cold-blooded, they had to consider their own official hats.

According to the rules of the Great Dayu, once an elder in the clan passed away, the younger generation within five degrees of mourning had to observe mourning.

If the officials in Jiangnan were like the previous Liangguang, returning home in large numbers to observe mourning, their speaking power in the court would soon be lost.

After the mourning period ended and they returned to the court, everything would no longer be the same.

For their own interests, they also had to find a way to suppress the White Lotus Sect rebel army as soon as possible.

"Pass the order down: starting from tomorrow, speed up the marching speed.

Must arrive under the walls of Yongzhou within three days!"

Li Mu ordered immediately.

Having straightened out his thoughts and distinguished between enemies and friends, what to do next was clear at a glance.

War, in essence, serves politics.

……

Yongzhou City.

Just having held a celebration banquet for taking Jiujiang Prefecture, they immediately received the bad news that the puppet court's main army was pressing on the border.

Although reinforcements from all routes were rushing over, Shi Rongxuan still felt the pressure.

"The enemy army has accelerated its marching speed; the rain could not hinder their pace.

According to the enemy's current speed, their arrival time is two days earlier than estimated.

Pass the order down: let the nearby Holy Kingdom troops immediately move toward Yongzhou.

The speed must be fast; once it drags on until the enemy besieges the city, there will be no chance!"

When issuing this order, Shi Rongxuan always felt a bit awkward.

The Holy Kingdom troops in the Yongzhou region numbered 80,000.

Added to the surrounding troops, the total military strength was over 100,000.

Facing the puppet court's 40,000-strong army, the most normal operation should be to lead the main army to kill the enemy.

But this time, he actually chose to defend the city.

What made him feel even more wrong was that such an order was not opposed by anyone present.

This meant that subconsciously, everyone felt that these 100,000-plus troops were not the match of the enemy's 40,000-strong army.

"Holy Emperor, please rest assured!

Upon learning the news of the enemy's attack, all units are seizing the time to prepare.

Now we have completed the scorched earth policy for Yongzhou Prefecture.

With Yongzhou City as the center, within a radius of fifty miles, the enemy cannot find a single house, a grain of food, a piece of wood, or a single laborer!"

Wu Zekai guaranteed with certainty.

Scorched earth was the militia's favorite tactic—small tricks played when they couldn't beat them head-on.

Relying on these measures, not only could they delay the enemy's siege speed, but they could also increase the enemy's logistical pressure.

If it weren't for backing onto the Great River, he would even be prepared to poison the water sources.

"Hmm!"

"Well done!"

"This time we are so well prepared, I don't believe that thief Li Mu can still break Yongzhou City.

However, the enemy is the most vicious in using troops, especially liking to break them one by one.

Send people to notify the reinforcements on all routes, telling them to increase vigilance on the road and not give the enemy a chance to take advantage.

After approaching the front line, do not rush to enter Yongzhou; act together after completing the assembly in Hengyang."

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 235 =====

Yet this time, he actually chose to defend the city.

What made him feel even more wrong was that, regarding such an order, not a single person present opposed it.

This meant that everyone subconsciously felt that these hundred-plus thousand troops were no match for the enemy's forty thousand.

"Holy Emperor, please rest assured!

Upon learning the news of the enemy's arrival, all units are racing against time to prepare.

We have now completed the scorched-earth policy for Yongzhou Prefecture.

With Yongzhou City as the center, within a radius of fifty miles, the enemy will not be able to find a single house, a single grain of food, a single piece of timber, or a single laborer!"

Wu Zekai guaranteed with absolute certainty.

The scorched-earth policy was the militia's favorite tactic; if they couldn't win in a head-on fight, they would resort to these little tricks.

Relying on these measures, they could not only delay the enemy's siege speed but also increase the enemy's logistical pressure.

If not for having their backs to the Great River, he had even prepared to poison the water sources.

"Hmm!"

"Well done!"

"With us so well prepared this time, I do not believe that thief Li Mu can still break through Yongzhou City.

However, the enemy is most vicious in their use of troops, especially fond of defeating us one by one.

Send word to all reinforcement routes, telling them to heighten their vigilance on the road and not give the enemy any opportunity.

After approaching the front line, do not rush to enter Yongzhou; rendezvous at Hengyang and act together."

(End of chapter)