Chapter 236: Raiding

Anqing Prefecture.

"Enough, this Prince does not want to hear you arguing!"

Looking at the generals falling into an argument, the Prince of Ning could not help but scold angrily.

Since the inheritance of the feudal princes of the Great Dayu, they had long since lost power in their hands.

To avoid suspicion, they rarely interacted with local officials.

But now it wouldn't do; the rebel army was about to besiege the city, and if they continued to be salted fish, they would become dead fish.

Since the outbreak of the White Lotus Sect rebellion, the number of princes and commandery princes who had died was approaching double digits.

Unfortunately, scolding could not solve any problems; the arguments erupting in the room were mainly because the generals did not belong to each other.

For Anqing Prefecture, the reinforcements from Zhejiang and Nanzhili were all guest armies, and the court had not appointed a Regional Commander.

It wasn't that the Ministry of War had made a mistake, but purely that these guys had exerted subjective initiative when executing orders.

Originally, the court's order was to rush to reinforce Jiujiang and listen to the dispatch of the Jiangxi Provincial Governor.

They dawdled until they reached Anqing, and Jiujiang Prefecture was lost; the Battle of Jiujiang turned into the Battle of Anqing.

Anqing Prefecture was not under the jurisdiction of Jiangxi, so the Jiangxi Provincial Governor, who was the commander of the allied army, naturally would not run over to command the battle.

According to the tradition of "using civil officials to govern the military," when such a change occurred, the Anqing Prefect, as the highest civil official in the local area, should take over the command.

Unfortunately, the current Anqing Prefect was useless; upon hearing the news of the rebel army attacking, he was directly frightened into a faint and had been bedridden ever since.

Without a civil official army supervisor of sufficient weight, the guest army generals refused to give in to each other, and an argument erupted over the command of the allied army.

If it weren't for the precedent of Li Mu serving as the Regional Commander of the three-province allied army, it was estimated that everyone would not have argued so fiercely.

Now that there was a successful case, no one was willing to be lonely.

For the Regional Commanders and Regional Military Commissioners present, the opportunity to go further was too rare.

Not only did land army generals participate in the competition, but even naval generals were unwilling to be lonely.

Everyone knew that whoever got the position of allied Regional Commander would have a better chance to take a step forward.

A simple promotion was not enough to make them fight so hard, but it was unbearable that after taking this step, there was a possibility of obtaining a title.

Emperor Yongning had privately stated that he would give heavy rewards to the great heroes who suppressed the White Lotus Sect rebel army.

The Great Dayu was so poor that the "heavy rewards" in the Emperor's mouth certainly could not be money.

If not money, then the rest were official titles.

Official positions were mostly empty titles, and the permanent military positions further up were in the hands of the nobility.

For no reason, the Emperor couldn't let people vacate their positions.

To be worthy of the word "heavy reward," only a title would do.

Now was not the early years of the founding; the court was very stingy with titles.

Missing this opportunity, it was feared that only by suppressing Liaodong could one obtain a title.

Undoubtedly, for a group of southern military officers, Liaodong was a hell-level dungeon.

Just the climate could fold people to death; everyone couldn't jump into the pit, nor did they believe the court could suppress Liaodong.

At the very least, in the Yongning dynasty, there was no hope of suppressing Liaodong.

"Your Highness, since everyone is arguing endlessly, why don't you serve as the allied commander?"

The Hangzhou Regional Commander Zeng Zhiyuan responded unhappily.

The feudal prince's status was noble, but his speaking power in politics could be ignored.

Speaking of influence in the court, this Prince of Ning in front of them couldn't even catch up to these Regional Commanders.

It was only for the sake of the imperial family's face that they let the Prince of Ning sit in the main seat; it didn't mean everyone had to listen to the Prince of Ning's orders.

"Stop talking nonsense!

How could this Prince be someone who oversteps!

You guys still don't hurry to come up with a strategy to defend the city; if the rebel army breaks the city, you……"

After a burst of scolding, the Prince of Ning, who couldn't hold face, directly flicked his sleeves and left.

The position of allied Regional Commander, anyone could sit, but the feudal prince of the imperial clan could not.

The court's fear of feudal princes was even greater than that of military officers.

The current princes and commandery princes, besides the retainers and guards in the mansion, did not dare to recruit a single extra soldier.

In general, the feudal princes of the Great Dayu could bully men and women, could plunder, but were not allowed to have great ambitions.

Even small ambitions were not allowed; they were arranged for their fate from birth: eating, drinking, playing, and waiting for death.

A slight overstep would immediately lead to impeachment by the censors.

"Your Highness, since he has left, let's stop here for today!

Regarding the problem of the allied Regional Commander, I think the Ministry of War has its own considerations.

The capital is far away, and there is no time, but the Nanjing Ministry of War is right nearby."

Qin Xingchang said with a gloomy face.

As the host, he, the Anqing Regional Commander, had the best chance to take the position of Regional Commander.

It was just that he had eaten too much empty pay in peacetime, not only was the shortage of soldiers serious, but the combat effectiveness of the troops under his command was also worrying.

Nominally a town's Regional Commander, the real number of fighting soldiers was less than one guard.

Strength was insufficient, naturally unable to suppress the allied armies of various routes.

In the previous arguments, he had been mocked quite a bit.

Knowing he had no chance, he simply overturned the table and handed the decision-making power to the above.

Who would eventually get it would depend on their own abilities.

But in Qin Xingchang's view, the probability of everyone getting to the top was very low.

Setting aside the national policy of "using civil officials to govern the military," the generals gathered here all lacked military merit and could not suppress the pieced-together allied army with their prestige in the army.

Appointing a Regional Commander who could not command respect was not as good as sending a civil official important official to command, which could at least reduce many internal contradictions.

……

Under the walls of Yongzhou City, Li Mu was holding binoculars, gazing at the city wall in the distance.

"Pass the order down: let the engineers find a section suitable for digging, and dig the tunnel to the bottom of the city wall."

Li Mu ordered calmly.

The rebel army could dig tunnels to blow up the city wall, so he could naturally imitate it.

He didn't know if he could break the enemy city, but the posture of attacking the city had to be fully made.

The more realistic the feint attack, the higher the success rate of the raid on Hengyang.

Besides fighting wits and courage with the rebel army, it also depended on whether God gave face.

Looking at the water level of the Xiangjiang River, it was currently in the high-water period; it was possible for sudden heavy rain to fall.

Daring to promote this operation was because the officials of the Imperial Observatory guaranteed him that there would be no heavy rain recently.

Without technological means, observing celestial phenomena was too metaphysical; Li Mu had no bottom in his heart about how high the accuracy was.

Daring to take the risk to attack Hengyang was because he had confidence in the soldiers under his command.

Having trained for so long, the soldiers' endurance exceeded that of other armies in the same period.

Even if they couldn't beat the enemy army, they could outrun the enemy army.

This point had been compared with imperial army colleagues in previous actions.

During forced marches, the Fujian and Guangdong armies could not keep up with a single unit.

"As you command!"

After saying this, the guards immediately took action.

……

"Commander, from the intelligence gathered so far, the rebel army did not turn to besiege Nanchang, but went straight to Anqing.

If Anqing is lost, then Nanjing is in danger.

Once the rebel army kills its way to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Yangzhou Prefecture is probably not safe either.

The number of troops left in Yangzhou is too small, and I fear they are unable to block the rebel army's blade.

The Yangzhou Prefect and local gentry have written letters one after another, hoping you can send an army to reinforce Yangzhou.

We have a large amount of industry in Yangzhou; because the property rights are leased, we cannot cash them out.

Added to the fact that my wife is also over there, do you see whether to promise them?"

Lan Linjie stepped forward to inquire.

Ever since Li Mu was transferred to Guangxi, those industries left in Yangzhou had become the target of various parties.

Being able to keep those industries, besides the troops left behind, the most important thing was his wife sitting over there.

With the signboards of the Zhenyuan Marquis Mansion and the Chengguo Duke Mansion, no one dared to be the first bird.

However, the small movements in private had never stopped.

Everyone wished Li Mu would roll away immediately.

Without any accident, the claws that reached out were all chopped off by the troops left behind.

Before and after, hundreds of heads were chopped off to deter these jackals and tigers.

Because the killing was too ruthless, it once became very stiff with the Yangzhou Prefecture side.

The wind and water turn in turns.

With the approach of the rebel army, the gentry and officials of Yangzhou suddenly remembered the good of his Li Mou.

It was true that they occupied a large amount of interests, but they had a sense of security.

After the Yangzhou Camp went south, the achievements they fought out shocked the Great Dayu.

"Prevaricate and deal with them first; arrange for people to transport the materials we hoarded in Yangzhou out as soon as possible.

Farmland, mines—these things that cannot be moved can be abandoned when necessary.

Once Anqing falls, transfer the troops left behind and the families of the soldiers all to Guangxi.

As for my wife, I will write a letter personally.

Whether to follow the fleet south to Guangxi or return to the capital to take refuge, I will discuss it with her.

Mr. Lan, if you have no other arrangements, you can also take your clansmen to Liangguang to take refuge first."

Li Mu arranged immediately.

The performance of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom was too unexpected.

Under normal circumstances, rebel groups like this were all grassroots and had no strategic vision.

What they could see was only the one-third of an acre of land in front of their own doors, and they had no big-picture view at all.

Either they were chased and beaten by the imperial army, or they were fighting wildly themselves.

After the court reacted, they could easily wipe them out.

The White Lotus Sect rebel army was different; these guys who rebelled had clear goals from the start.

After the rebellion in Guangxi succeeded, they did not settle for pleasure but continuously expanded outward.

For strategic needs, they could even abandon their own old nest.

Having fought so hard to take down Liangguang, they truly abandoned it as soon as they said so; this courage was not something ordinary people could possess.

If the officials in the Jiangnan region were still busy with internal friction, it was quite possible that something would really happen.

……

"Platoon Leader Zhou, are you sure there are our people in Hengyang City?"

Zhu Jingyu asked with concern.

To hide their tracks, the army not only rested during the day and marched at night but also took off their military uniforms.

If one didn't pay attention, one would think it was a rebel army that popped out from some corner.

Such a team was not the first time it had appeared under the rule of the White Lotus Sect.

Usually, when encountering such a rebel army, the measures taken by the White Lotus Sect were to incorporate them.

"Commander Zhu, how would I dare to talk nonsense about such a life-threatening matter.

However, our people do not have a high status in the city.

Expecting them to capture the city gates from the inside is almost impossible!"

Platoon Leader Zhou answered immediately.

In fact, the ones who infiltrated Hengyang City were not scouts he had planted, but old people from the former Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The court abolished the Embroidered Uniform Guard, leaving these people without a livelihood and facing the revenge of civil officials.

Living in fear all day, after the White Lotus Holy Kingdom attacked, some people simply defected to the rebel army.

However, after joining the rebel army's team, their days were not easy either.

No way, the reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was too smelly.

Not to mention being reused, not being chopped as spies was considered good luck.

It wasn't that the rebel army turned its face and didn't recognize people, but mainly because Emperor Yongning changed his orders day and night, restoring the establishment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Many Embroidered Uniform Guards who had escaped the revenge of civil officials put on the flying dragon robes again and continued to serve the Great Dayu.

Living unhappily and encountering an old friend to incite rebellion, it was not strange to return to the embrace of the court.

"This matter is simple; they only need to provide cover, and we will arrange a team of people to disguise themselves as merchant guards to mix into the city.

When dusk arrives, we will coordinate from inside and outside and directly capture the city!"

Zhu Jingyu said, slapping his thigh.

Not daring to act rashly was because of a lack of intelligence support.

If there were insiders in the city to cooperate, it would be different.

As long as Hengyang could be captured, he didn't care where the scouts came from.

"Can do!

To ensure nothing goes wrong, this time I will lead the team personally.

But since it is a merchant team, it cannot be spearmen; you arrange some soldiers who use knives to follow me.

I will find people to collect some flying darts and crossbows to make the acting look more like it."

Platoon Leader Zhou thought about it and said.

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 237 =====