Chapter 264: Difficult Situation

The Capital.

Looking at the battle reports gathered from all over, the Yongning Emperor's brows were tightly locked.

Since the Guangxi Army fell silent, the imperial army had once again started a mode of losing more and winning less.

Today this place fell, tomorrow that place was lost; the bad news was endless.

The counterattack plan, reported by those below every few days, just had deviations during the execution process.

Military pay could not be issued on time, which greatly dampened the morale of the army.

Grain and fodder supply could not keep up, which was the core factor affecting the suppression of the rebellion.

Compared to the previous suppression army, the main force participating in the war now was mostly guest troops who came to help, and their autonomy was much higher.

If you want everyone to sell their lives, pay the money and grain first, then talk about combat issues.

Grain and pay were insufficient, so everyone slacked off on the battlefield.

Of course, these were what the Yongning Emperor saw.

Although the matter of all parties deliberately holding back was poked out, the commanders on the front line firmly denied it.

They unanimously pushed the responsibility to logistics, saying that grain and pay could not be guaranteed, affecting the army's combat effectiveness.

The soft-hearted Yongning Emperor simply didn't know who to believe.

The only thing that could be confirmed was that after each issuance of grain and pay, a wave of battle results would be achieved, and then it would return to the slacking state.

"How is the recovery of the Guangxi Town?

When can they send troops to support Yingtian Prefecture?"

The Yongning Emperor asked with concern.

He endured the fall of Chongqing Prefecture, and he chose to accept the loss of large swaths of land in the Jiangnan region.

But Yingtian Prefecture was the bottom line; once Nanjing City was lost, that would be a heaven-piercing mess.

This pot was too big; no one could carry it.

By then, he would have to enter the Taimiao with the officials and plead guilty to the ancestors.

A "Self-Accusation Edict" was also indispensable.

Not only would it affect the Emperor's authority, but it would also stimulate the anti-Dayu forces in the world.

"Your Majesty, according to the Marquis of Wuyang's plan, they want to form another Guangdong Town on the basis of the Guangxi Town.

According to our dynasty's convention, each town has two battalions of troops, and each battalion is filled with over 5,600 people.

Plus the personal guard, the total force of the two towns is about over 25,000 people.

Currently, personnel recruitment has been completed, and they are undergoing intense training.

It is expected that around October, they will send troops to Jiangnan to lift the siege of Nanjing."

Minister of War Wan Yuxuan stepped forward to report.

Honestly speaking, such an expedition progress could not satisfy the Ministry of War.

But there was no way; the other party's reasons were very sufficient—severe lack of military funds affected the formation progress.

Attached was also a thick list of expenses, listing all the expenses required from recruitment to training completion and expedition.

The Ministry of Revenue tried to cut expenses, but they were all pushed back.

According to the Marquis of Wuyang's original words, missing any link during the period would affect the army's combat effectiveness.

Whoever proposed cutting the budget would have to be responsible for the army's combat effectiveness.

Such a life-threatening matter, no one dared to guarantee.

Originally, the battlefield was full of accidents; if they lost the battle, wouldn't they be putting themselves in?

What's more, the military funds for the two towns were expensive, but compared to the cavalry in Liaodong, it was still a small witch compared to a big witch.

The imperial court's appropriation was insufficient, and they were still raising military funds themselves; finding trouble again would be too ignorant.

Training cost money, and weapons and equipment were also a huge expense.

When the Guangxi Town was split earlier, they took away weapons and equipment together.

Now that they wanted to reorganize the two towns, the imperial court still had to find a way to make up for their equipment.

As an elite, naturally there were certain privileges; weapons were basically optional, and as long as the imperial court had them, they were satisfied as much as possible.

For this reason, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Works gathered together and had a big quarrel.

"What exactly is going on!

I remember that the Guangxi Town had 60,000 troops at its peak, and 35,000 to 36,000 after wiping out the pseudo-emperor; now they can't even gather 25,000 people?"

The Yongning Emperor asked with dissatisfaction.

He knew about the splitting of the Guangxi Town, and even secretly rejoiced in his heart that those below were sensible.

But splitting was splitting, this split was too ruthless.

Pulling away so many people at once was equivalent to ruining this troop that had high hopes, which crossed the line.

Suppressing the rise of vassal towns was not done this way; it was purely destroying the Great Wall.

"Your Majesty, the 60,000 troops of the Guangxi Town at that time were filled with a large number of auxiliary troops.

The number of real combat soldiers was actually less than two-thirds.

Those who fought on the battlefield were combat soldiers, and those who suffered the main losses were also combat soldiers.

After wiping out the pseudo-emperor's troops, the number of combat soldiers in the Guangxi Town was already less than 20,000.

With the promotion of the generals, they took away quite a few people, and the remaining combat soldiers were only over 10,000.

The two towns being trained now are based on this 10,000 people and expanded.

Unlike other armies, the Guangdong Town and the Guangxi Town are all composed of combat soldiers, and the tasks of the original auxiliary troops will be completed by the guard station army.

If they want to lift the siege of Nanjing, the total force actually dispatched by Liangguang will still exceed 50,000."

Jing Guoliang opened his mouth to explain.

The Yongning Emperor was not the orthodox successor to the throne and received the education of a vassal king of loyalty and patriotism.

The military books he read since childhood were all deleted versions widely circulated outside, all of which were empty things.

These were one of the means to restrict vassal kings, which was originally understandable.

With the vassal king becoming the Emperor, it suddenly became awkward.

The means once used to restrict vassal kings directly backfired on the empire.

Much of the education the Emperor received was biased, and his cognition was inevitably affected.

When making decisions, he also used biased knowledge as a judgment standard.

"Oh!"

Having gained knowledge, the Yongning Emperor's mood did not improve.

For an Emperor, anything could be accepted, except for being ignorant.

If it was not his responsibility, and he couldn't ask about his own ancestors, then it was the teacher's problem.

Deep down, the Yongning Emperor once again scolded Yin and Zuo to the point of being bloody.

It was all these two guys who harbored evil intentions, deliberately hiding things from him, that made him make a fool of himself.

Knowing the situation of the Guangxi Town, the Yongning Emperor's expectations for them directly dropped a grade.

New soldier training could not end that quickly.

Even if they could become an army, their combat effectiveness could not catch up with the peak period.

Whether they could lift the siege of Yingtian Prefecture, no one could say clearly.

"Pass the decree to the Jiangnan Viceroy, let him hurry up and launch a counterattack.

The battle plan to recover Anqing has been prepared for several months, and I want to see results as soon as possible!"

……

Wuchang Prefecture.

The sound of killing resounded through the clouds again, and everyone knew that the imperial army had killed their way back.

Those who were loyal to the imperial court were naturally overjoyed.

But the scholars who defected to the White Lotus Sect were not feeling well at this moment.

The situation changed too fast, and they, who were in the game, couldn't see clearly at all.

A few months ago, the White Lotus Sect had the capital to sweep the world, but in the blink of an eye, the White Lotus Holy Emperor was killed by the imperial court.

The leaderless White Lotus Holy Kingdom was divided into three in substance.

For the distribution of strategic materials, the three sides were making a mess.

If it weren't for the pressure from the imperial court being too strong, they would have fought internally first.

Forced, everyone could only divide the territory and play their own games.

Compared to the panic of his subordinates, the defender Yuan Yuan Lao Wu was quite calm.

Eating when he should eat, drinking when he should drink, and sleeping was exceptionally sweet.

"General, the pseudo-dynasty army is pressing on the city, and the people in the city are panicked.

If measures are not taken as soon as possible, I am afraid changes will occur!"

Guo Yi advised with a solemn expression.

Once involved in rebellion, one can only go to the end of the road.

The White Lotus Sect made too much noise and offended the gentry of the world.

Even if lucky enough to be recruited, one would inevitably be liquidated in the future.

"Mr. Guo, you are obsessed.

The pseudo-dynasty army is besieging the city, so let them besiege it.

Without the cooperation of spies, Wuchang Prefecture is not easy to break.

The Prince once taught me that the more it is at such a time, the more one cannot panic.

At such a time, the more you do, the more you make mistakes."

Yuan Yuan Lao Wu said calmly.

As a rough man, being able to mix to his current position, he relied on having thick nerves.

No matter how dangerous the situation in front of him was, he could always face it calmly, giving people a feeling of having a plan in his chest.

When he reached the battlefield, he never thought about this or that, only knowing how to fight bravely.

Falling into the eyes of his superior, this was a performance that could be used, and he was muddledly promoted to the position of Wuchang Town Defender.

The calmness of the main general made Guo Yi very embarrassed.

If he didn't know that Yuan Yuan Lao Wu didn't like playing routines, he would have suspected that this was beating himself.

The last time Wuchang fell, it was he who led people to open the city gate.

Successfully preserved his family, and also made him notorious in the gentry circle.

In an era that advocated loyalty and righteousness, as a *juren* of the Great Dayu Dynasty, he had enjoyed the grace of the Emperor.

"General, the pseudo-dynasty army is gathering more and more, let's hurry up and notify the Prince to send reinforcements!"

Guo Yi urged hurriedly.

He didn't know as much as Yuan Yuan Lao Wu about how to defend the city, so there was nothing to say.

Encountering a strong enemy and asking for help from above, he still knew.

"Don't dream!

The Prince has just led his army into Shu and is currently fighting fiercely with the pseudo-dynasty army; where would there be reinforcements to support us.

Wuchang City is sturdy, and there is quite a lot of grain in the city; persisting for two or three years is not a problem.

When the Prince solves the imperial army in the Shu region and leads his army out of Sichuan, he will naturally come to rescue us at the first time."

Yuan Yuan Lao Wu refused unceremoniously.

Distant water cannot quench near thirst.

Wanting to hold Wuchang, one could only rely on themselves.

Compared to ordinary people, Yuan Yuan Lao Wu thought openly.

Being able to live until now and enjoying a comfortable aristocratic life, every day was earned.

If he hadn't rebelled, he would have starved to death long ago.

Facing such a calm commander, Guo Yi swallowed all his words.

……

Wuchang Camp, Xu Wenyue held a telescope and looked at the city in the distance.

Between his brows, a trace of annoyance was vaguely revealed.

He organized the manpower to reinforce the city walls of Wuchang Prefecture.

Originally it was to block the rebel army's attack, but unfortunately, he met the prodigal son Viceroy Zhu, who buried the suppression army in advance.

The Wuchang defense battle didn't fight much, and it was easily broken by the enemy, and the city defense works were preserved almost perfectly.

Now it was his turn to attack the city; the sturdier the city he built that day, the more headache he had at this time.

"Viceroy, the Shaanxi Commander left a letter and ran away with his troops!"

Upon receiving this news, Xu Wenyue was directly angered.

The Battle of Wuchang had just begun, and one main force was missing; this was simply a bolt from the blue for him.

Snatching the letter from the guard, after opening it, his face became even uglier.

The reason for the Shaanxi Commander running away was: the rebel army invaded the Shu region, threatening the safety of Guanzhong, and they had to go back to reinforce their hometown.

From a reasonable point of view, this was completely reasonable.

The Shaanxi Regional Military Commission of the Great Dayu Dynasty governed the entire Northwest region, including Gansu, Ningxia, and other places in later generations.

Relying solely on Shaanxi's money and grain, it certainly couldn't support the defense of the above-mentioned regions.

Sichuan and Huguang provided a large amount of money and grain to the Shaanxi Regional Military Commission every year as cooperative pay.

Looking at the composition of Great Dayu's finances, one would know that the contribution of the Shu land to the central government's finance and tax was only two percent.

The proportion of tax grain in Huguang was also not high.

The taxes paid directly to the central government by the two places added together did not contribute as much as Shaanxi.

It was completely mismatched with the economic volume of the two places.

The main reason for this situation was that in order to reduce losses, the measure taken by the imperial court was the measure of transporting money and grain nearby.

Compared to Shaanxi, the Shu land was clearly further from the capital.

The tax grain collected by the imperial court from the Shu land was directly allocated to the border troops in the surrounding areas, while the tax grain of Shaanxi was sent to the capital.

The tax grain of Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Shandong exceeded five percent of the national tax grain, which appeared under this policy.

The granary in Huguang had already had problems; if the granary in Sichuan also had problems, then the border troops in the Northwest would go hungry next year.

Without the support of money and grain from the two provinces, even if Shaanxi intercepted all the tax grain, it couldn't plug this hole.

Involving the problem of the belly, Shaanxi was certainly prioritizing reinforcing Sichuan, not letting the flames of war burn to the Chengdu Plain.

"Bastard thing!"

"Actually, for the sake of selfishness, military orders were treated as nothing."

"Do they still have the imperial court in their eyes?"

"Do they still have the Emperor!"

……

Xu Wenyue couldn't help but curse.

Reasonably, he could understand, but reality didn't allow him to understand.

The Shaanxi army suddenly withdrew, directly affecting his plan to recover Wuchang.

After missing this border army, the only main force in the camp was the Capital Battalion.

This troop looked good, weapons and equipment were more than a notch higher than ordinary troops, and logistics were also prioritized.

The soldiers were all selected young men, and their momentum far exceeded ordinary troops.

The only drawback was that the Capital Battalion had been in the capital for a long time, and there were few opportunities for actual combat, and the real combat effectiveness was unknown.

In fact, the Capital Battalion could have the current level, thanks to the great reorganization of the late Emperor's dynasty.

Drawing elite soldiers from the Nine Borders to join, and eliminating a large number of old and weak, only then did they have today's Capital Battalion.

"Grand Secretary, calm your anger!"

"The Shaanxi army has made up its mind to leave; forcing them to stay can only keep the people, not their hearts.

It is better to give the Shaanxi side some face and let them leave."

Hou Huaichang advised tactfully.

Times have changed; Grand Secretary Xu, whose faction power was greatly damaged, had much less right to speak in the court than before.

Two years ago, no matter how dangerous the situation was, without Grand Secretary Xu's nod, the Shaanxi army would not dare to run away without authorization.

At this time, sending people to force the Shaanxi army to stay, it would be fine if the people were kept, but if they couldn't be kept, it would be a big loss of face.

For an army of over 20,000 people to leave, forcing them to stay was very difficult to complete.

If a fire fight occurred accidentally, falling into the Emperor's eyes, it would be a performance of the commander's incompetence.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 265 =====