Chapter 253: The End of the Road for an Overlord

"Ahead is Loushan Pass; as long as we capture the pass, we can defend it.

By then, no matter how many troops the fake dynasty has, they can only..."

Shi Rongxuan tried hard to boost morale.

After breaking through layers of blockades, they were only twenty miles away from Loushan Pass.

To reach this point, they had also paid a painful price.

The 130,000-strong army that set out from Yongzhou now had only ten thousand left.

The others had either fallen on the battlefield or become deserters along the way.

Those willing to follow him to this point were the foundation of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

Unfortunately, the morale of this team was also low at this time.

To boost morale, they constantly promoted the good life after entering Shu.

But the reality was cruel; the Guizhou army's combat effectiveness was not great, but they were locals.

Along the way, they constantly used the terrain to set traps; these traps were not very lethal, but they were truly disgusting.

Shi Rongxuan wanted to clean up the Guizhou army, but unfortunately, others were unwilling to cooperate and simply wouldn't engage in a decisive battle with him.

The enemy's troops each time they went to battle were at most a guard, and at least a thousand-household office.

Many times, just as they had set up their formation, the enemy would drill into the mountains.

If there were no pursuers behind, he would naturally have a way to deal with these enemies.

Regrettably, the enemy didn't give him a chance, and Li Mu's unit was chasing very closely behind.

Except for the three days delayed earlier to collect spoils, they were basically outputting at full strength afterwards.

The precious time the rebel army fought for at any cost was wasted by the Guizhou army.

Now the pursuers were less than thirty miles away from them; if they couldn't quickly break into Loushan Pass, Guizhou would be their burial ground.

……

"Holy Emperor, from the intelligence detected, the fake dynasty has deployed heavy troops in Loushan Pass.

Judging from the flags, the troops currently garrisoning Loushan Pass mostly come from Shu territory.

The specific combat effectiveness is unknown, but the number is not less than 30,000."

Shi Qichuan reported in a low voice.

Once such deadly news spread, the morale would inevitably be in chaos.

Everyone was fantasizing about breaking into Loushan Pass and then defending against the enemy from the dangerous pass.

They never expected that the fake dynasty had long been prepared and had deployed heavy troops in Loushan Pass in advance.

Loushan Pass, garrisoned by 30,000 troops, let alone their 10,000-strong army being unable to break through, even if hundreds of thousands of troops were gathered, they could only sigh at the pass.

Having walked to the front door, suddenly announcing that the road ahead was cut off, no one could take it.

Shi Rongxuan was not an ordinary person after all; after a brief moment of distraction, he quickly reacted.

Administratively, Loushan Pass belonged to Guizhou's land.

Handing it over to the Shu army to garrison was far beyond his expectations.

Now the plan to capture Loushan Pass had gone bankrupt, but life had to go on.

The imperial army was chasing too closely, and there wasn't much time left for him to make a decision.

"Chancellor, do you think we should kill our way back to Huguang, or directly change our route to Guiyang?"

Shi Rongxuan asked with concern.

Undoubtedly, both choices were inferior strategies.

If there was a choice, neither place would be considered.

"Holy Emperor, if we kill our way back to Huguang, Li Mu's unit will keep biting us.

With the current situation of the Holy Kingdom, we don't have the conditions to engage in a decisive battle with the enemy.

Capturing Guiyang and then plotting for the Yunnan-Guizhou region is different.

Poor and remote places are not the strategic focus of the fake dynasty, and Li Mu's unit cannot stay here for a long time.

The Southern Prince and the Western Prince are fighting well on the Jiangnan battlefield; in order to protect the Jiangnan land, the fake dynasty will sooner or later let that thief Li Mu return to support.

Without this troublesome guy, we can completely build a foundation in the Yunnan-Guizhou region."

Wu Zekai thought for a while and said.

Pick the soft persimmon to pinch; having witnessed Li Mu's prowess, he really didn't want to face this enemy again.

If you can't afford to offend, you can hide.

Being a king in a poor and remote place is also a feudal lord.

"Capturing Yunnan-Guizhou and temporarily avoiding the sharp edge is indeed a good choice.

But you can hide for a while, you can't hide for a lifetime!"

Shi Rongxuan said with a frown.

Having encountered such a strong enemy before the business was half done, he had serious doubts about his own destiny.

How could he reach the end when encountering such a strong enemy!

……

Chengdu Prefecture.

"Governor, you are in such a rush to find me; what major event has happened?

Could it be that an accident happened at Loushan Pass?"

Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Yongliang asked with concern.

The Land of Abundance is rich in products and has a nourishing climate; no matter how fierce the White Lotus Sect rebellion was outside, it did not affect Shu territory.

The only trouble was: the White Lotus Sect rebel army attempted to enter Shu.

Fortunately, they were well-prepared and had sent a reinforcement force in advance to rush to Loushan Pass to garrison.

With a majestic pass in hand, they were not afraid of the rebel army at all.

Moreover, behind the rebel army, there was the court's encirclement and suppression army following.

They only needed to defend for a period of time to unite with the armies of Guangxi, Guizhou, and other places to wipe out the rebel army attempting to enter Shu.

"Loushan Pass is fine, but Chongqing Prefecture is in danger.

Just received a message from Grand Secretary Xu; after the siege of Xiangyang was lifted, the rebel king Wei Ni led his troops westward.

Counting the days, I'm afraid he has already arrived at Chongqing Prefecture at this moment.

Most of the troops in the province are concentrated on the Loushan Pass line, neglecting the defense of the gateway to eastern Sichuan.

Now I have called you over to discuss countermeasures together."

Governor Lu Junliang explained patiently.

Shu territory is just attractive; first, the fake Emperor killed his way to Shu territory, attempting to enter Shu from Loushan Pass.

Now the rebel king Wei Ni has also killed his way over, aiming at the gateway to eastern Sichuan.

It makes it seem like they are a soft persimmon that anyone can come over and pinch a few times.

"Governor, I'm afraid this battle will not be easy to fight.

The eastern Sichuan region has empty troops; now we can only order the Chongqing Prefect to recruit young and strong men to defend Wan County with all their might.

Then quickly withdraw troops from the Loushan Pass line and rush to the eastern Sichuan battlefield."

Li Yongliang thought for a while and said.

Involving the safety of Shu territory, he was not prepared to take the merit of killing the fake Emperor.

However, he was not too worried about the safety of Shu territory.

Whether it is Loushan Pass or Qutang Pass, they are all majestic passes in the world.

As long as there is no internal chaos, the probability of opening the gateway from the outside is not very high.

"It's not that simple; the Chongqing Prefect's reputation among the people is too poor, and it is too difficult to count on him to defend the gateway to eastern Sichuan.

Now Regional Commander Zhong is leading troops on the front line of Loushan Pass and cannot get away.

Commander Zhou, I hope you can personally go to Qutang Pass to garrison, in case of any accidents!"

Lu Junliang said seriously.

He didn't understand the rebel army, but he knew what kind of goods his subordinates were.

The reputation of the Chongqing Prefect among the people was no longer simply poor. Having extorted and looted locally for many years, the people wished they could eat his flesh and blood.

The number of people complaining was countless.

It's just that these cases were all suppressed.

In peaceful times, this was not a big deal; as long as the people above were appeased, it was not a problem.

But now the rebel army has killed its way over, and no one can guarantee whether the people will be angry enough to join the rebel army.

"Governor, you are overestimating me.

Military equipment in the eastern Sichuan region is lax; not only is there a severe shortage of soldiers, but even military equipment has been sold off in large quantities.

When I went to inspect last time, the gunpowder in the army was replaced by yellow soil.

……"

Commander Zhou decisively poured out his bitterness.

Lax military preparedness looks like the fault of military generals on the surface, but in reality, it is the responsibility of many aspects.

A large amount of garrison land has been occupied, and local garrisons are unable to support soldiers; the original garrison soldiers have all become tenants of the gentry.

Regarding these behaviors of occupying military land, local officials not only ignored them but also covered for the gentry in the court.

After a long time, several garrisons in eastern Sichuan were abandoned.

In normal times, everyone covered up together.

Now that he was asked to defend eastern Sichuan, there was no way, he could only poke the window paper.

The consequences could no longer be taken care of; offending people is better than being defeated and losing one's life.

"No matter how difficult, we must find a way to hold the gateway to eastern Sichuan.

Once the rebel army enters Shu, the millions of people in Shu territory will all suffer.

Those of us sitting here will also be unable to escape the court's accountability!"

Lu Junliang said with a firm tone.

He was truly driven to the corner; once the rebel army enters Shu, it will be difficult to encircle and suppress them again.

Great Dayu has been passed down to the present, and the grievances of the people are not only in the southern provinces; the people in the southwest region have also accumulated a belly of anger.

Now it only takes a spark to detonate this powder keg.

……

"Prepare!"

"Fire!"

As dawn broke, rows of cannons launched a volley at the rebel camp.

The rebel soldiers who had been fleeing all the way had just woken up from their sleep when they were hit hard.

"How did the enemy get so close, and why didn't the sentries discover it in advance?"

Shi Rongxuan asked, almost roaring.

Setting up camp is just a beginning; if you want to sleep peacefully, you must also deploy dark sentries around the camp.

In normal circumstances, it is normal for small units to sneak attack and touch the vicinity of the camp.

But now, waking up to find the camp surrounded on three sides is too outrageous.

"Holy Emperor, the soldiers are really too tired; many died suddenly while on night duty.

We were unable to issue a warning in time, which allowed the enemy to take advantage!"

Shi Qichuan explained, biting the bullet.

In fact, today's tragedy was not that the night duty soldiers died suddenly collectively, but that he didn't arrange so many dark sentries at all.

It wasn't that he didn't know the importance, but that the situation of the rebel army was too bad, and the soldiers couldn't afford to be tossed.

It seems they took the same road as the imperial army, but they were fighting while advancing.

If you count the steps of the march, they walked at least one-third more distance than the imperial army behind.

At this point, many soldiers' bodies were on the verge of collapse.

Marching, sleeping, and even while eating, soldiers fell down.

In this background, arranging people to go out for night duty and then keeping up with the team the next day was basically impossible.

The night before last, he arranged for fifty people to be on alert outside the camp, and only two returned the next day.

The rest either became deserters or died of exhaustion at their posts.

Those who could serve as scouts on night duty were the elites of the army.

The war has lasted until now, and they only have the last 3,000 troops left; such heavy losses cannot be borne now.

In this background, he could only reduce the number of sentries.

"Useless!"

"Pass the order down, immediately break out of the encirclement with the whole army!"

After cursing angrily, Shi Rongxuan decisively ordered.

Fighting is impossible; the troops under his command are now all tired soldiers.

If they really fight hard with the imperial army, they will be wiped out in less than two hours.

"Chase!"

Seeing the rebel army running away again, the imperial generals immediately issued the order to chase.

The war has progressed to now, and the number of rebel soldiers around the fake Emperor is getting smaller and smaller; a great merit that crosses classes is beckoning to them.

The soldiers' desire to fight is also becoming higher and higher.

Even if they can't catch the fake Emperor, killing the White Lotus Sect high-level officials around the fake Emperor is also not a small merit.

On a distant hilltop, Li Mu, who was watching the battle with binoculars, sighed slightly.

After tormenting for so long, it is finally time to harvest.

Purely in terms of combat effectiveness, the rebel army's strength is actually not weak.

Especially the Holy Emperor's Imperial Guard, their close-quarters combat strength can even catch up with the elites under his command.

Even while fleeing, they could easily abuse and kill the more numerous Guizhou local army.

Unfortunately, these people were unlucky and encountered an Emperor who was full of fear and dared not stay to fight hard.

After tossing all the way to now, this elite infantry has all become tired soldiers.

Ten percent of the combat effectiveness cannot even exert three percent.

For soldiers, such a strong army not blooming its own light and falling silently on the battlefield is undoubtedly a tragedy.

However, as the Regional Commander of the army, he must do so.

Watching the enemy soldiers fall one after another, Li Mu put away his last pity.

Those with different paths do not conspire.

The world is cruel; since they stand on the side of the court, the rebels must die.

Bringing out the strongest strength and letting the enemy fall on the battlefield is the greatest respect for the enemy.

As for whether he can capture the fake Emperor alive, Li Mu doesn't take it to heart.

Even if the person is alive and escorted to the capital, it is nothing more than letting those lords in the court vent their anger.

For the country and the society, how to avoid the appearance of a second or third Shi Rongxuan is what really needs to be considered.

The cruel battle continues.

Shi Rongxuan, who was fleeing all the way, looked back and showed a look of despair on his face.

The imperial army killed too fiercely; in just one hour, his 3,000-strong army was wiped out.

At this time, there were only the last dozen guards left by his side.

Let alone making a comeback, I'm afraid a group of yamen runners could take him down.

"Holy Emperor, exchange clothes with the last general and flee separately!"

Shi Qichuan gritted his teeth and said.

Being able to survive, no one wants to die, but in the current situation, someone must die.

The imperial army can let anyone go, but they will not let Shi Rongxuan go.

From the moment he proclaimed himself Emperor, it was decided that only one of him and the Great Dayu Dynasty could survive.

"Don't waste your effort; at this time, even if I luckily escape the pursuit, where can I escape to?

The imperial army's target is me; while there is still time, you quickly take the brothers and run out.

No matter what, the Shi family's incense cannot be broken!"

Shi Rongxuan said with a tired face.

The situation has developed to this step; not only does the court want his life, but even within the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, there are many people who want him to die.

"Swish, swish, swish……"

The rain of arrows accurately took away the last guards by his side, leaving only Shi Rongxuan and Shi Qichuan.

"Why is it you?"

After seeing the person clearly, Shi Rongxuan asked in disbelief.

He had thought of many ways to die, but never expected to die at the hands of his own people today.

"Since the Holy Emperor does not want to leave, then you don't have to leave.

We brothers have followed the Holy Emperor for many years and have gained nothing; now that we have reached the end of the road, please trouble the Holy Emperor to fulfill our wealth!"

Mi Yingbo said calmly.

There have been many traitors in the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, but no one expected that among the last rebels, there was actually Mi Yingbo.

As the Minister of Revenue of the Holy Kingdom, he was definitely in a high position and had great power, and he was also registered on the court's side.

"Dog thief!

A traitor like you is destined not to have a good end!

Even if you defect to the fake dynasty, sooner or later you will be liquidated……"

Before Shi Qichuan could finish cursing, the surrounding soldiers took action, and two heads flew out on the spot.

Looking at the two headless corpses on the ground, Mi Yingbo sighed secretly.

If possible, he didn't want to do this either.

But there was no way; Shi Rongxuan's survival blocked many people's paths.

"After all, we were monarch and subject; we cannot let them have no peace after death.

It's too late to dig a pit and bury the corpses; take off the clothes on them and change into the clothes of ordinary soldiers.

Whether they can mix through depends on their luck."

Mi Yingbo ordered the people behind him.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 254 =====