Chapter 266: Unexpected Result

Liaodong.

"Great Chanyu, the White Lotus rebel army has thrown the Dayu Dynasty into chaos; this is the best time for us to go south.

If we can wipe out the Dayu border army and break the Dayu capital, the Central Plains will be ours!"

E'erde said persuasively.

Affected by the internal chaos of Dayu, the days of the Tatars were also not good.

The Tatar tribe had limited productivity and relied heavily on the smuggling materials of the Shanxi merchants; Dayu's soaring prices would only rise faster on their side.

The bottom-level tribesmen had long been unable to live.

Now on the Liaodong land, human flesh was publicly sold.

If they didn't go south to plunder, the Tatar tribe's economy would be dragged down.

"Do you have any different opinions?"

Hugejile asked with a smile.

"Great Chanyu, what is there to discuss.

The tribesmen are hungry and thirsty, wanting to drink the blood of the Dayu people; you just give the order!"

The general Nichilege on the side answered first.

On the issue of going south to plunder, the Tatar tribe had always been very active.

Being peaceful for two years, it was because of the previous battle, they also damaged their vitality.

Relying on annexing other tribes, now they not only recovered their vitality but their strength was also several points higher than before.

It just so happened that Dayu was in internal chaos; if they didn't take the opportunity to get involved, it would be too sorry for the opportunity given by heaven.

"Haha……"

"Since you have such ambition, then I will fulfill everyone.

Pass the order down, all units immediately assemble the army; I will lead everyone south to grab money, grab grain, grab women……"

Hugejile ordered with high spirits.

As the newly risen grassland hegemon, the days of the Tatar tribe were actually not good.

Backward productivity could not support this military monster that was armed to the teeth.

From the time he served as Chanyu, he was either leading troops to plunder everywhere or preparing to go out to plunder.

First, he grabbed small tribes on the grassland, then grabbed big tribes, and later even grabbed Dayu's Liaodong Regional Military Commission.

At this point, just grabbing on the border could no longer satisfy his appetite.

Only by going deep into Dayu's hinterland could there be a bigger harvest.

In the past, he certainly wouldn't have this idea.

No matter how Dayu declined, it was not something his grassland barbarians could touch.

Fighting on the border didn't matter; if they lost the battle, they would drill into the depths of the grassland, and things would pass.

But going deep into Dayu's hinterland was different; with the slightest carelessness, they could be forcibly left behind.

Now it was different.

The rise of the White Lotus rebel army consumed a large amount of Dayu's national strength, making this aging giant increasingly stumbling.

At such a time, grabbing was grabbing for nothing; even if the Dayu Emperor was angry, he had to clean up the internal mess before he had the ability to seek their bad luck.

Looking at the whole history, as long as the Central Plains fell into internal chaos, there were few that could recover.

……

Guangzhou Prefecture.

Sending away the guests from Jiangnan, Li Mu was in a great mood.

Pei Yunxuan being willing to send someone to lobby him was really beyond expectation.

In the Great Dayu Dynasty where civil officials were noble and military generals were cheap, when had there been a case of high-level civil officials bowing to military generals.

Although everyone's official rank was the same, in terms of status in the court, five Li Mus added together couldn't catch up with one Jiangnan Viceroy.

Being able to let Pei Yunxuan lower his face, there was only one possibility, and that was that the situation in Jiangnan had deteriorated to the point of no return.

Without external intervention, he, this Jiangnan Viceroy, would be at the end of his term.

If he didn't take measures, the first one to kill him would be the Jiangnan gentry.

Mixing in officialdom, there were few fools.

On the issue of suppressing the White Lotus rebellion, all parties joined hands to trip each other, and anyone with a discerning eye could see it.

Officials from Jiangnan were holding a belly of fire.

As the Jiangnan Viceroy, if he didn't do something, just wait to be targeted!

"Commandant, the Marquis invites you to the mansion for discussion."

Hearing the butler's words, Li Mu knew the Marquis of Wuyang had been moved.

Everyone fought back and forth, in essence, it was still for interests.

Now that the goal was achieved, there was no need to keep watching the show.

If he really waited until the situation was completely rotten and then went to clean up the mess, it wouldn't be that easy.

The rebel army was also growing; compared to the beginning, its combat effectiveness had improved by more than one level.

"Understood.

Tell the messenger, I will go over later.

Notify the Madam, no need to leave dinner tonight!"

Li Mu said calmly.

Going over at this point and having dinner at the Viceroy's mansion belonged to basic operation.

Not only him, but all members of the small circle had this treatment.

With the stabilization of status, officials leaning towards the Marquis of Wuyang were not few.

Besides these military generals, there were many civil officials who also hugged the Marquis of Wuyang's thigh.

People are gregarious animals; as long as they are mixing in officialdom, they can't avoid hugging together.

To make their official career smoother, officials below would automatically lean towards higher-level officials.

As long as they were high-ranking officials in the court, there would be a group of little brothers below.

Relying on these people, they could ensure that the policies they pushed could be effectively implemented.

Without wasting time, changing into a set of clothes, Li Mu set off directly.

After arriving at the place, he found that a large group of people had gathered in the Viceroy's mansion; it could be seen that everyone wanted to advance.

From the confused eyes of the crowd, it could be seen that they had no preparation for this sudden invitation.

Some silly ones, not figuring out the situation, brought gifts over.

Without any surprise, such occasions certainly couldn't accept gifts, and as a result, the gatekeeper blocked them outside.

Greeting each other, Li Mu sat in his position and waited quietly for the meeting to start.

"Just received a request for help from the Jiangnan Viceroy; Nanchang Prefecture and Yingtian Prefecture are in an emergency, urgently needing us to send troops to support.

The rebel army's offensive in the Jiangnan region is very fierce; besides Jiangxi and Nanzhili, the imperial army has also been defeated in the Zhejiang battlefield.

The issue of accountability, let's talk about it slowly later.

Now calling you over, it is mainly to discuss the matter of sending troops to rescue.

Our situation here, everyone is clear.

The Guangxi Town is resting, and the Guangdong Town is newly formed; the two main force troops have not yet fully formed combat effectiveness.

If we send troops to reinforce, the troops that can be used now are mainly the original Guangdong and Fujian armies."

The Marquis of Wuyang's words directly set the tone for the meeting.

It could be seen that the Jiangnan Viceroy offered a good price, but this price didn't reach the point where he had to go all out to support.

Not using the two towns of elite recruited troops, the most capable among other armies was the recruited troops under Jing Yifeng.

Investing in other battlefields was fine, but if sent to support Nanjing, it was still a bit short.

One had to admit that the rebel army besieging Nanjing had already become a climate.

Even if the two towns of elite army were sent, there was no certainty of victory.

Wanting to lift the siege of Nanjing required the combined efforts of all parties to do it.

"Viceroy, rescuing Nanjing is our duty.

But under the current situation, our isolated army going deep to reinforce Nanjing, I am afraid there is no small risk.

In my opinion, it is better to send troops to support Jiangxi and Zhejiang first, and carry out the act of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao."

The Guangdong Viceroy An Qingfeng, who was on the lower left, spoke first.

Among the civil officials present, his official rank was the highest, so this bird that sticks out must be him.

Regardless of whether the strategy was easy to use, it was a countermeasure anyway.

Rescuing Nanjing, having developed to now, had already been reduced to a political slogan.

Whether it could be realized, everyone didn't care.

Mentioning it at the military meeting to prove one's loyalty and patriotism was enough.

If one foolishly led troops over, that was brain water.

Wanting to take this credit, one first had to weigh one's own weight.

At such a time, the only ones who really wanted to lift the siege of Nanjing, besides the Emperor and the clan, were the group of guys trapped in Nanjingcheng.

Looking at the troop deployment of all parties, one would know that everyone was preparing for the aftermath of Nanjing's fall.

Once the rebel army captured Nanjing, the Capital Battalion and the Lu Army staying north of the Yangtze River would be the first to recover Anqing.

The imperial army besieging Wuchang would also exert force at the first time, trying their best to capture Wuchang.

Liangguang would also set off from the sea in the shortest time and gather a large army to go north to attack.

No way, after the Yongning Emperor succeeded to the throne, the Qingliu group expanded too fast.

Among them, the Jiangnan faction had the ugliest way of eating, wantonly excluding dissidents in officialdom and holding too many positions in the court.

In the previous power struggle between the Emperor and the auxiliary ministers, they stood in the right position and obtained rich political returns.

Positions in officialdom are limited; if someone goes up, someone will come down.

In the early stage of the White Lotus rebellion, the Jiangnan faction was also the biggest beneficiary.

When mobilizing troops from the southeast provinces, they dragged their feet, so that the reinforcements failed to participate in the war at the first time.

Affected by the war, a large number of officials from Liangguang were forced to mourn, letting them pick up a bargain.

When the rebel army killed Huguang, they still played an inglorious role and offended the Chu Party.

When the rebel army killed Jiangnan, the situation reversed.

It turned from them dragging others' feet to others dragging their feet.

After recovering Liangguang, the Marquis of Wuyang prioritized supporting the Huguang battlefield, which had the influence of the Liangguang gentry behind it.

Having suffered such a big loss earlier, not taking the opportunity to retaliate, everyone's thoughts were not smooth.

As for the imperial court suppressing the rebellion initially, they themselves were also dragging their feet, naturally being forgotten.

"Lord An, these words are inappropriate!"

At this moment, the Huguang battlefield is at a critical moment; we should prioritize recovering Huguang.

Taking down Huguang, this granary, everyone won't have to worry about grain and fodder, and can mobilize more troops to support Nanjing.

Liangguang and Fujian are not major grain-producing provinces; if we send troops to support now, military grain will be a big problem.

Unless the Jiangnan Viceroy's office can bear all the expenses of the army, otherwise any plan to send troops is futile!"

Surveillance Commissioner Wu Qiyu immediately opposed.

As an official from Huguang, at such a time, he had to stand out.

Even if he offended the Viceroy, he had to insist on the strategy of prioritizing Huguang.

In the previous battles, the imperial army successively recovered many prefectures, and it looked like they could recover the entire Huguang territory.

Making strategic adjustments at this time would inevitably thin out the resources invested in the Huguang battlefield, and perhaps the clear situation would have changes again.

As for the militia army that rose in the chaotic battle, Wu Qiyu looked down on it completely.

That group of guys had good combat effectiveness, but their ability to harm the local area was even more powerful.

Now in the Huguang region, "bandits passing like a comb, soldiers passing like a rake" is still circulating, which is the masterpiece of that group of militia.

With these negative examples for comparison, the nobility-system generals who walked out from under Li Mu's command all became model students with strict military discipline.

Although occasionally individual soldiers violated military discipline and disturbed the local area, large-scale robbery and murder never happened.

Regardless of the battle record, everyone disdained to kill the good to claim merit.

With troops with good military discipline available, who would be willing to let troops with poor military discipline go and harm their own hometown!

With the killing of the nobility system, to a certain extent, it limited the development of the Huguang militia.

"Lord Wu, that is not the right way to put it."

We cannot just stop saving Jiangnan because of difficulties.

The situation in Nanjingcheng is not very good, and it doesn't have the possibility of long-term defense at all.

To protect Nanjing, we must send troops to Jiangnan as soon as possible, so that the defenders can see the imperial court's determination to protect Nanjing!"

An Qingfeng said coldly.

At this moment, he was extremely unhappy with Wu Qiyu; originally they agreed to hug together for warmth, but as a result, he dismantled his platform just after it started.

Even if there were people who opposed, it should be the officials under the Marquis of Wuyang who proposed it.

Wu Qiyu jumped out so hurriedly, making him, this Viceroy, very faceless.

"Governor, on the battlefield, speed is of the essence."

Li Mu's sudden opening attracted everyone's attention.

Generally speaking, such internal fighting among civil officials would not be participated in by military generals, nor were they qualified to participate in the discussion.

But Li Mu's identity was different; as the first Commandant from a military general background in a hundred years, he couldn't be treated as an ordinary military general.

As if receiving a signal, a group of military generals expressed their support one after another.

Although they didn't know why their own boss did this, keeping in line with him was right.

In the blink of an eye, the situation became clear.

Civil officials were divided into two factions, military generals directly leaned to one side, and Wu Qiyu's proposal occupied the upper hand in the heated discussion.

The regiment organized by Bai Yifeng did indeed contribute significantly during the process of suppressing the rebel army.

On Grand Secretary Xu's side, I will send someone to coordinate.

General Jing, let your subordinates prepare well, and send troops to recover Changsha three days later."

The Marquis of Wuyang said readily.

In an instant, the result that only Bai Yifeng was injured was achieved.

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 267 =====

Yet, on the battlefield, they suffered more defeats than victories, and their noteworthy achievements could be counted on one hand.

Let alone leading everyone to promotion and wealth, even Bai Yifeng himself did not receive an official establishment for his position as Minister of Militia Training.

Given a choice, the imperial court would certainly prefer to rely on the established military system rather than troops organized privately by civilians.

In the eyes of some traditional scholar-officials, the regiment under Bai Yifeng was nothing more than a regional power base with an unstable foundation.

"Lord Wu's words are reasonable; rescuing Nanjing requires speed."

Li Mu's sudden interjection immediately drew everyone's attention.

Generally speaking, military generals would not participate in such infighting among civil officials, nor would they have the qualifications to join the discussion.

However, Li Mu's status was different; as the first Provincial Military Commander in a century to rise from the ranks of military generals, he could not be treated like an ordinary general.

As if receiving a signal, the group of military generals expressed their support one after another.

Although they did not know why their boss was doing this, following his lead was the right thing to do.

In the blink of an eye, the situation became clear.

The civil officials were divided into two factions, while the military generals were completely one-sided; Wu Qiyu's proposal gained the upper hand amidst the heated discussion.

"Alright, since there are more who support Lord Wu, then let us proceed according to Lord Wu's proposal!

As for Grand Secretary Xu's side, I will send someone to coordinate.

General Jing, have your troops make preparations; we will march to recover Changsha in three days."

Marquis Wuyang said, following the flow of the situation.

In an instant, the result was achieved where only Bai Yifeng was left injured.

(End of chapter)