Chapter 262: Clearing Guangdong Military Land

Xiangyang Prefecture.

"Grand Secretary, just received information that the rebel army captured Chongqing Prefecture ten days ago.

It perfectly matches the previous movements of the rebel army under the traitor Wei. The enemy wants to capture the Shu region with all their might and has carried out a strategic contraction in the Huguang region.

The opportunity to recover Wuchang Prefecture has arrived!"

Hou Huaichang said with excitement.

After returning from mourning, Xu Wenyue's reputation had declined significantly. Even with Viceroy Zhu taking the blame, he, as the former Viceroy of Suppression, was still affected.

Especially in the subsequent suppression wars, his performance was also very average. Although he held Xiangyang, the situation in Jiangnan rapidly rotted.

If he hadn't slipped away fast enough and actively split the war zone, his current situation would have been even worse.

Poor performance alone was not a big deal. It was well known that the White Lotus rebel army was difficult to deal with.

But the Marquis of Wuyang, who took office as Viceroy at the same time, performed brilliantly during this period; his troops not only recovered many prefectures but also killed the pseudo-emperor.

Comparing the two, Xu Wenyue's persona of being knowledgeable in military affairs was instantly exposed.

The general evaluation from the outside world was that Grand Secretary Xu was well-read in military books and understood military strategy, but lacked actual combat command ability.

Although the evaluation was already very tactful, the meaning expressed was still mocking him for "talking about soldiers on paper."

Coupled with the fall of Huguang, which caused the local gentry to suffer heavy losses, and many high-ranking officials of the Chu Party being forced to mourn, the power of the faction behind him was significantly weakened, and Xu Wenyue's recent days had been truly difficult.

With the boss having a hard time, Hou Huaichang, who relied on Xu Wenyue, naturally couldn't have a good situation.

The plan to recover Wuchang was formulated after the siege of Xiangyang was lifted.

Out of fear of the rebel army under the traitor Wei, Xu Wenyue dared not act for a long time. It was dragged out until now, when things finally took a turn for the better.

Although celebrating at this time was a bit unscrupulous, mixing in officialdom was not a place to talk about morality.

The fall of Chongqing Prefecture was a disaster for the imperial court, but for them personally, it was an opportunity.

With the main force of the traitor Wei's rebel army entering Shu, the prefectures they controlled in the Huguang region suddenly became empty.

Sending troops to recover Wuchang at this time was a god-given opportunity.

Once Wuchang was recaptured, their game of chess in Huguang would instantly come alive.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Saying "good" three times in a row, a smile hung directly on Xu Wenyue's face.

Once Wuchang was recaptured, he could unite the armies of the southern provinces to recover other fallen prefectures in Huguang.

After recovering all the lost territory, he, as the Viceroy of Huguang, would become worthy of the name.

The reputation lost earlier could also be made up for.

"Order all units to prepare for the expedition immediately; the Battle of Wuchang will be launched in three days!"

……

Yangzhou Prefecture.

"Lu Junliang and Li Yongliang are both trash!

The Shu region is easy to defend and difficult to attack, a unique strategic location in the world, yet they still let the rebel army capture Chongqing Prefecture.

They are unworthy of the imperial court and the common people of the world!

……"

Pei Yunxuan cursed incessantly.

The fall of Chongqing Prefecture meant that the imperial court had to divert a portion of its resources into the defense of the Shu region.

With the rise and fall of others, the resources available to the Jiangnan region would be less.

Only scolding the Viceroy and the Provincial Administration Commissioner was not because the responsibility lay entirely with them, but purely because he only knew these two.

Other officials in the Shu region were not worth Pei Yunxuan's attention.

"Viceroy, calm your anger!"

"Since things have already happened, even if Lu and Li were beheaded to show the public, it wouldn't solve any problems.

Affected by the fall of Chongqing Prefecture, the momentum of the rebel army is bound to rise.

At a time like this, we must take action to provide support to the defenders of Yingtian Prefecture!"

Gu Youwen stepped forward to advise.

Jiang and Huai are one; since the rebel army is attacking Nanjing, it is impossible for them to let Yangzhou go.

If Yingtian Prefecture were lost, the Yangzhou region would inevitably be lost as well.

This is a bloody lesson left by history.

What's worse is that Nanjing City seems to be cursed; clearly the city walls are very sturdy, but it has been broken into repeatedly.

"Taking action, I naturally know, but there are no troops to use now!

The troops of the Capital Battalion are deploying along the Yangtze River and are also tinkering with recovering Anqing.

They can't spare their hands for a while.

The reinforcements from Shandong are looking at the Capital Battalion's face the whole time and have no intention of coming over at all.

Even if they were willing to follow orders, without the navy to escort them now, they can't swim across the Yangtze River!"

Pei Yunxuan said unhappily.

The Capital Battalion and the Lu Army were not refusing orders, they were just selectively executing military orders.

With the slightest difficulty, they all started to complain.

Many times, they agreed well on the surface, but when it came to specific execution, they went back to slacking off.

Recovering Anqing was originally the "besiege Wei to rescue Zhao" strategy he planned after taking office.

The people below gave him a lot of face and participated in the Battle of Anqing one after another, but they just didn't see any fighting when they reached the front line.

Sending people to urge them, it was either lacking cannons yesterday, lacking ammunition today, or lacking pay tomorrow……

In short, there were thousands of excuses, but in the final analysis, they just didn't want to fight.

Facing a group of passive and slacking guest military generals, Pei Yunxuan really couldn't do anything about them.

Complaining to the imperial court was useless; they had too many excuses, and if investigated in detail, the responsibility would involve him, the Viceroy.

Crossing the river was indeed a difficulty, but not unsolvable.

The Jiangnan Navy was gone, but the Great Dayu Dynasty still had other navies.

Even if they weren't familiar with the Yangtze River shipping lanes, they could take the sea route and land from Suzhou Prefecture to reinforce Yingtian.

I don't know if he, the Viceroy, forgot, or if everyone around him was stupid, but no one stood up to remind him.

"Viceroy, since we have no troops here, let those who have troops go.

The Guangxi Army has been resting for two months and has initially recovered its combat effectiveness.

If we can get them over, it will definitely deter the rebel army!"

Gu Youwen suggested again.

Deep down, he wanted to curse.

Who exactly is the Viceroy!

The issue of suppressing the rebellion actually required him, the Prefect of Yangzhou, to push it.

In terms of being a person, Pei Yunxuan was really quite good.

Considerate to subordinates, kind and generous.

Such an official, in peaceful times, would be the most popular superior.

But now it is wartime; no matter how good you are at being a person, "being weak" is the original sin.

Without iron-fisted means to deter, suppressing the arrogant and fierce generals below is not an easy task.

……

Guangzhou Prefecture.

Just arrived to take up his post, Li Mu caught up with the bad news of Chongqing's fall.

Compared to the other two Viceroys, the Marquis of Wuyang's performance was much calmer.

Chongqing was too far from Guangzhou; no matter how chaotic it was, it wouldn't affect this side.

Liangguang had stabilized, and Fujian had not encountered the scourge of war; the only thing that needed worry was Zhejiang.

However, the Marquis of Wuyang didn't take this to heart either.

After appointing a group of military generals, he didn't rush to urge them to take office, but instead required everyone to fill the establishment before returning to recover the lost territory.

It was called "not giving the enemy a chance."

One must know that there were still many prefectures in Zhejiang that were still in the hands of the imperial army and didn't need to be recovered at all.

Identity determines stance.

Since he had joined the nobility camp, he naturally had to keep in line with the group.

On the issue of suppressing the Jiangnan gentry, the stance within the nobility was unprecedentedly consistent.

It just so happened that the group of military generals were also from the nobility.

Even if the order came from above to go and rescue, everyone would find excuses to delay.

"Marquis, the last general has come to report!"

Li Mu bowed and said.

"You kid came just in time; officials in the Zhejiang region are asking for help every three days.

I am also very worried now, not knowing how to save them!"

Saying he was worried, the smile on his face exposed his true thoughts.

As the Viceroy of Fujian and Zhejiang, he certainly couldn't watch Zhejiang fall.

But as the pillar of the nobility, he had to take action to suppress the Jiangnan gentry.

Concerning the right to speak in the court, this war without smoke had already begun.

To reverse the situation, the Jiangnan gentry had repeatedly tried to pull officials from the nobility system to serve in Jiangnan, forcing them to put in effort to defend Jiangnan.

Unfortunately, the plan was good, but problems arose during specific execution.

Most of those from the nobility were military generals, and the few who were civil officials were in marginal positions in the court.

In the past, when suppressing the nobility, they didn't think there was a problem.

When it came to needing people now, they suddenly found something wrong.

The Marquis of Wuyang was indeed put on the spot as the Viceroy of Fujian and Zhejiang, but unfortunately, his health bar was thick, and losing a few cities was not a big deal at all.

Out of long-term consideration, even if he had the ability to solve everything, he had to leave some problems for the Emperor to see.

After all, the Marquis of Wuyang's power had risen a bit too fast.

The group of commanders from the Guangxi Army were not only Li Mu's old subordinates but also the Marquis of Wuyang's old subordinates.

Standing in the court, now Liangguang, Fujian-Zhejiang, Huguang, and Jiangxi were all filled with the Marquis of Wuyang's little brothers.

Among the many frontier officials of the Great Dayu Dynasty, the Marquis of Wuyang was definitely the most powerful.

With just one order, the entire South China would tremble.

Even when Xu Wenyue served as the Viceroy of the Five Provinces, he didn't have such great influence.

"Marquis, you have already had a plan for a long time.

The situation in Zhejiang is complex, and comprehensive defense is unrealistic; it is better to temporarily contract the front line.

Hint to the Zhejiang Viceroy to concentrate the officials and troops of each prefecture to ensure Hangzhou is not lost.

I think the officials in Zhejiang will be grateful to you!"

Li Mu offered a damaging trick with a straight face.

Officials have the responsibility to defend the land; losing cities and territory means losing one's head, but there is one exception.

If the order comes from above to carry out a strategic contraction, they can legally retreat.

But once this happens, the pressure falls entirely on the superior.

The rebel army kills its way over, and the local gentry whose interests are damaged will not easily let it go.

If the imperial court holds them accountable, it is very likely they will be convicted.

Without the Marquis of Wuyang's support, the Zhejiang Viceroy would never dare to issue such an order.

"Nonsense!"

"The eleven prefectures of Zhejiang are all indispensable financial and tax hubs of our dynasty; how can we give them up lightly.

Order the Zhejiang Viceroy to defend Hangzhou Prefecture at all costs.

Tell the Zhejiang Viceroy that as long as he holds on for one month, my reinforcements will arrive in Zhejiang to recover the lost territory.

Before the New Year, we will definitely be able to recover the entire Zhejiang territory!"

The Marquis of Wuyang said righteously.

He issued the order, but whether the Zhejiang Viceroy could understand his meaning, that could not be guaranteed.

If the plan went smoothly, then one month later, his reinforcements would kill their way into Zhejiang.

If the officials in Zhejiang didn't cooperate, then he could only act sluggishly.

Besides serving as the Viceroy of Liangguang and Fujian-Zhejiang, the Marquis of Wuyang was also an Imperial Commissioner.

The authorization given by the imperial court was to wipe out the White Lotus rebel army and recover the land lost by the imperial court, without any scope restrictions.

Prioritizing the Huguang battlefield was also reasonable.

After all, now that grain prices were soaring, the imperial court needed Huguang as a granary.

Once he led his army to Huguang, he could also get the support of the Chu Party.

Human nature is complex.

Theoretically, the rebel army had harmed the gentry of Liangguang and Huguang, so they should hate them to the bone and wipe out the rebel party at all costs.

The hatred was indeed there, but on the issue of wiping out the rebel army, they were not active.

"Do not worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality"; now the gentry in these regions whose interests were damaged most hoped that the gentry in the Jiangnan region would suffer along with them.

Including the officials in the fallen prefectures of the Jiangnan region, they were now lying flat and watching the fun.

Their own losses were heavy; if the neighbors had no losses, then they would inevitably be coveted after the war.

Any fluke mentality would destroy the family inheritance.

To maintain balance, the best choice was for everyone to suffer together.

If their own losses were small and the neighbor's losses were large, that would be even better.

Perhaps after the war ended, when interests were redistributed, they could get an extra share of the profit.

The rebel army could advance triumphantly because some gentry with ulterior motives also played an important role in it.

Thinking about it, it felt ridiculous; the seemingly grand White Lotus rebellion had actually become a chaotic fight among the ruling group.

"Marquis, next, to wipe out the rebel army, it is bound to mobilize a large number of troops.

The cost of training all recruited troops is too high; they can serve as the main force, and auxiliary guard station soldiers can also be used.

The last general has decided to reorganize the guard stations and restore the abandoned establishment.

The military land of the various guards in Guangdong has long been occupied by lawless people.

In the past, the imperial court wanted to clear it many times, but all failed due to resistance.

Now that local order has been disrupted, it is the best time to take back the military land.

……"

Seeing that the Marquis of Wuyang was in a good mood, Li Mu directly threw out his plan.

In fact, regarding the issue of military land in Guangdong guard stations, Jing Yifeng had taken action after his transfer.

Unfortunately, his political experience was insufficient, and he handed the matter to the small officials below to handle, only to be pitted by the local gentry.

It should have been taking back military land, but accidentally, the fiefs of the vassal kings were also circled in.

Although the several vassal kings enfeoffed by the imperial court in Guangdong were all buried at the hands of the rebel army, there were still living people in the clan.

Whether to choose someone from a side branch to inherit the throne, the Yongning Emperor had not yet made a decision.

At such a time, daring to move the fiefs of the vassal kings was like poking a hornet's nest.

Fortunately, the Jing family's face was big enough; after the incident, they threw out the small official who poked the trouble, and the matter was suppressed.

Those gentry who were pulling strings behind the scenes didn't get any good out of it either, and not long after, they were wiped out by the remnants of the rebel army.

The imperial court was furious and ordered the Guangdong Viceroy's office to investigate strictly, and then there was no then.

Affected by the unexpected passing of their elders, the officials in the court were also forced to return home to mourn.

As a result, just after leaving the capital, they unexpectedly caught a cold and died suddenly, directly staging a drama of clan extermination.

After a toss where both sides suffered, everyone regained rationality.

The gentry saw the strength of the top nobility and stopped targeting them one after another, and Jing Yifeng was also tossed into fear.

The matter of clearing Guangdong military land was shelved all of a sudden.

When Li Mu took office, he aimed his eyes at the military land again.

Compared to snatching food from the tiger's mouth elsewhere, holding the banner of clearing military land had a significantly higher probability of success.

"Viceroy Li, Guangdong is not like Guangxi; the gentry's power is much stronger.

Even if it has been weakened, it still has no small influence.

Military land involves too many people; you must be cautious in your actions!"

The Marquis of Wuyang reminded tactfully.

Li Mu was his most important commander, and absolutely could not have problems at such a juncture.

Although he didn't think the Guangdong gentry could make any big trouble, there were exceptions to everything.

Especially after involving interests, it could make people forget themselves.

The unlucky ones who were wiped out earlier were typical examples.

Resisting the imperial court's recovery of military land was one thing, but daring to set traps and provoke conflicts between the clan and the nobility was another.

Killing the chicken to warn the monkey did not mean there were no successors.

There were simply too many fools blinded by interests.

"Marquis, rest assured, the last general has experience in clearing military land.

Rather than clearing military land, it is better to directly clear the owners of the land.

Conduct a large-scale screening of the land near the guard stations.

If it is ownerless land, then there is a high probability that it is military land occupied by others."

Li Mu answered calmly.

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 263 =====