Chapter 278: Unexpected Enemy

Jinan City.

Just returned to the Provincial Governor's yamen, Jia Jia Xiaochen received a formal notice from Marquis Marquis Wuyang.

His previously good mood vanished instantly.

His official experience told him: anything out of the ordinary must conceal deceit.

Marquis Marquis Wuyang was tricked into staying on the Shandong battlefield—not without cost.

After suffering such a heavy loss, any normal person would harbor resentment.

Deep down, he had already prepared himself for Marquis Marquis Wuyang's troops to go through the motions on the battlefield.

As long as they preserved a few key cities within the province, let the Northern Barbarians take whatever else they wanted!

Since the Northern Barbarians invaded, the court had already lost more than just one or two prefectures.

"This doesn't feel right."

"I remember when we begged for help earlier, Marquis Marquis Wuyang kept making excuses—how did he suddenly change his mind?"

Jia Jia Xiaochen muttered, puzzled.

"Your Excellency, it was Prince Lu and the Duke Duke Yansheng who offended Marquis Marquis Wuyang—we didn't lift a finger."

Even if he's angry, he's likely directing it at those two."

Prince Lu's fief is in Yanzhou; the Duke Duke Yansheng's mansion is also in Yanzhou."

Now, with a massive cavalry force advancing from the steppe, both Jinan Prefecture and Yanzhou Prefecture are under threat."

Even if Marquis Marquis Wuyang is resentful, he must at least send troops to rescue one of them—otherwise, he can't answer to the court."

Under these circumstances, his choice to reinforce Jinan isn't surprising."

Xu Shiyeh smiled as he spoke.

The plan had gone even smoother than expected.

Provoking Prince Lu and the Duke Duke Yansheng to act as the scapegoats and forcibly keeping Marquis Marquis Wuyang behind was precisely our scheme.

Most people would fear the status of Prince Lu and the Duke Duke Yansheng and couldn't bear the political fallout if something happened to them—they'd have to rush to their aid. But Marquis Marquis Wuyang is different.

Given his relationship with the Emperor, as long as he didn't personally pull the trigger, the matter would be buried.

He's off leading troops to defend Jinan Prefecture—what does it matter if something happens in Yanzhou?

Refusing to aid someone isn't something you can accuse him of without proof.

As a capable imperial relative, his reputation among the literati was never going to be good.

He didn't rise to power through the civil official bloc.

Let the scholars curse if they want—the Confucian holy land falling is their problem.

No matter how harshly or venomously they curse, he won't hear it.

In a certain sense, the more fiercely the scholars curse, the more the Emperor will trust him.

"Shiyeh speaks wisely—Marquis Marquis Wuyang has a petty heart."

"When I was in the capital, I heard he held grudges and sought revenge for every slight."

"Anyone who crossed him was eventually punished."

"Refusing to go to Yanzhou out of spite and coming straight to Jinan's defense? That's perfectly in character for him."

"But now, how do we protect Yanzhou Prefecture? That's become a thorny problem."

"Whether the prince is captured or Qufu falls, it's a capital offense!"

Jia Jia Xiaochen looked troubled.

The Da Yu Dynasty had many feudal princes, but few were imperial princes—and the Confucian holy land was unique.

If an ordinary feudal prince met disaster, local officials would still be punished, but mostly just demoted.

After all, the Northern Barbarians came with overwhelming force—no local official could possibly stop them.

The court, when assigning blame, would hold accountable those who allowed the steppe cavalry to enter, not the local administrators.

If local offices preserved key cities and stabilized the region, that was already a great achievement.

But if an imperial prince or the Confucian holy land suffered disaster, it was a matter of life and death.

The Emperor had to give the imperial clan an answer; the ministers had to give the scholars of the realm an answer.

If the local officials didn't take the blame, would you have the Emperor take it instead?

Especially if the latter suffered disaster—not only would this Provincial Governor be ruined, but even the Grand Secretaries would be implicated.

"Your Excellency, Shandong's troops aren't limited to just one force."

"Marquis Marquis Wuyang's troops have come to Jinan Prefecture—send other armies to defend Yanzhou Prefecture."

"As long as they hold the city walls, the enemy's chance of breaching a prefectural capital is slim."

"Qufu is even simpler."

"Since Emperor Wu of Han elevated Confucianism, who among the invaders has ever entered Qufu without first paying respects at the Shengmiao?"

"The Northern Barbarian cavalry may be savage, but their commanders aren't fools—they'd never dare touch the Sage's tomb."

"Just have the defenders hold Qufu and protect the Duke Duke Yansheng's family!"

Xu Shiyeh spoke calmly.

In his view, the steppe alliance might be greedy, but they weren't stupid.

Robbing the Duke Duke Yansheng's family would yield real plunder.

Anyone who operated in Shandong knew the Kong clan, with its thousand-year lineage, was truly as wealthy as a kingdom.

But looting Confucius's tomb? Unnecessary.

When the Sage died, Confucianism wasn't nearly as dominant, and the Kong family was merely an ordinary noble house.

No matter how lavish the burial, given the productivity of that era, there couldn't have been many grave goods.

Without sufficient gain, who would risk such a thankless endeavor?

"Enough!"

"Send word to Marquis Marquis Wuyang—do as he requests."

Jia Jia Xiaochen sighed.

As Provincial Governor of Shandong, he could issue orders to military officers—but he couldn't command a Viceroy.

Only if they could reach an agreement could they coordinate operations.

If they fell apart, and he deliberately sabotaged the campaign on the battlefield, causing cities to fall, it would be them who suffered.

If the royal relief army suffered defeat, even if the court punished someone, the penalty would be reduced.

…

Dawn. The expeditionary army camp.

"Report!"

"Your Excellency, enemy cavalry spotted fifty li ahead."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu frowned slightly.

After switching to water routes, the army's advance speed increased dramatically.

In less than three days, Dengzhou Prefecture had entered Jinan Prefecture.

To make the deception more convincing, after landing along the Yellow River, the army immediately set up camp.

Then they sent men everywhere to hire physicians and buy medicine, deliberately spreading word that the royal relief troops were suffering severe maladjustment to the local environment.

Li Mu wasn't lying—the army did have many soldiers with adverse reactions.

But the real situation wasn't nearly as bad as rumors claimed.

Most soldiers recovered fully after a few days of rest.

Only a very few required medical treatment.

These soldiers received diagnoses from multiple physicians.

Through their accounts, they created the impression of severe non-combat losses.

Originally meant to deceive the court—to prove their loyalty to the Emperor and pave the way for future developments.

With this narrative in place, if Qufu later suffered disaster, they could easily shift blame.

Never did they expect that while fooling the court, they'd also drawn the enemy's attention.

Fifty li was nothing to steppe cavalry with multiple horses each—they could reach the camp in under an hour.

Though geographically, this spot was only a few dozen li from Jinan City,

Li Mu was certain that if fighting broke out, the troops inside the city wouldn't dare come out to help.

"Keep sending scouts to monitor—don't let the enemy slip from sight."

"Issue orders: all units increase vigilance, prepare for enemy surprise attacks."

"Summon all military officers of rank four and above to the Commander's tent for a meeting."

Li Mu gave the orders without changing expression.

Too many people knew the army's location—he had no time to find out who betrayed them.

Since it had happened, he must face it head-on.

Ignoring meals, after giving orders, Li Mu strode out of the tent.

This was too critical—he had to notify the Regional Commander immediately.

…

"What?"

"You say a large force of enemy cavalry has been spotted nearby?"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang asked in surprise.

Reports from Shandong indicate that the northern barbarian cavalry have been raiding primarily around Great Ming Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, and Hejian Prefecture, with only small forces crossing the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

In just this short time, the steppe cavalry have reached the gates of Jinan City.

If the report is true, then he has once again been betrayed by those bastards in the Shandong Provincial Governor's office.

Had they known the steppe cavalry were coming, they would not have staged their performance outside the city—they would have moved into Jinan Prefecture in advance.

Anyone with even a shred of military sense knows how difficult it is for infantry to fight cavalry.

To put it bluntly, as long as the enemy wishes to leave, they can come and go at will.

Whether to fight, and when to fight, is entirely up to them.

The earlier plan was predicated on the enemy having looted vast quantities of spoils and being unable to easily abandon them.

Now, the steppe cavalry have just arrived and carry nothing beyond their daily rations.

We can afford to harass them without restraint.

The enemy cavalry can make countless mistakes; if we make even one, our army will suffer catastrophic losses.

"My Lord, no one dares to falsify such life-or-death military intelligence.

Though we don't know what the Shandong local officials are doing, the steppe cavalry have indeed penetrated deep into Jinan Prefecture.

We must adjust our earlier plan."

Li Mu said solemnly.

He was not overly fearful of the steppe cavalry.

With the advancement of firearms technology, the cavalry archery once prized by the steppe warriors is now utterly insignificant against muskets.

Training a soldier skilled in horseback archery requires at least several years of effort and depends heavily on innate talent.

In contrast, the threshold and time required to train a musketeer are far lower.

Moreover, the Great Dayu army has developed specialized weapons against cavalry, far more powerful than muskets.

During the Shenji Camp's northern expeditions, they slaughtered the steppe tribes until rivers ran red, forcing them to migrate westward en masse.

Only those tribes that had shown submission back then remained.

Even now, the nomadic peoples of the steppe are in their most weakened state in history.

Had Great Dayu not declined, allowing the Tatar tribes—expert hunters and fishers—to rise and shatter the Yu army's myth,

the Hu people, having suffered Yu's brutal punishment, would never dare approach the border.

"You handle the arrangements.

I don't care how you fight—just win."

Marquis Marquis Wuyang waved his hand.

Fighting small bands of rebels is fine for showing off tactics.

Facing the steppe cavalry head-on—that's a high-difficulty maneuver he's not ready to attempt yet.

As commander of the royal relief army, he knows his own forces better than anyone.

Officially, he commands a hundred thousand troops; in reality, only the Among Guangxi Garrison and Guangdong Garrison are truly combat-capable.

"My Lord, rest assured—the various steppe tribes are rife with internal conflicts.

Even within the same ethnic group, different clans frequently fight each other.

Even the mighty Northern Barbarians have serious internal threats.

Moreover, the enemy is striking from all directions and has large forces besieging the capital.

The steppe cavalry appearing in Jinan Prefecture are merely a fraction of their total strength.

From my estimation, the true Northern Barbarians number at most one or two ten-thousand-man units; the rest are mostly Gui Fang cavalry.

If we seize the opportunity, we can defeat them one by one.

Even if the enemy unites perfectly, we can simply hold our camp and tie them down here.

Time is on the court's side; the longer we delay, the more advantageous it becomes for us."

…

During their conversation, a group of officers gradually entered the command tent.

Unlike other Great Dayu armies, which trembled at the mere mention of the Northern Barbarians, these officers were all eager and restless.

Young bulls fear no tigers.

As scions of noble houses, they had grown up under the glory of their ancestors.

Many of their forebears had won great military exploits during northern expeditions against the steppe.

With such ancestors as models, they too longed to taste the glory of sealing the Wolf's Lair.

The Northern Barbarians were famed for their might, yet these men, fighting alongside Li Mu, had never known defeat.

An army that has never lost knows no fear.

Scanning the room, Li Mu felt reassured.

War is fought on morale—especially when facing steppe cavalry, morale is paramount.

If the officers are eager, the soldiers below will be steady.

"My Lord, these are all newly appointed officers.

As suitable candidates have yet to be found, the commanders of the Guangdong and Among Guangxi Garrisons remain vacant; I am temporarily acting in both roles.

They are: Qin Qin Tianrui, Assistant Regional Commander from the Duke of Xingguo's household; Liu Yue Qifeng, Assistant Regional Commander from the Marquis of Nanyang's household; Ye Ye Hongchang, Assistant Regional Commander from the Marquis of Pingyuan's household…"

Li Mu introduced them on the spot.

These officers were all promoted beyond normal protocol before the royal relief army marched out.

Previously, they held low ranks in the military and were unworthy of Marquis Marquis Wuyang's notice.

Their family power had been devastated in the earlier Beijing explosion.

These survivors were all collateral branches of their clans, some even beyond the fifth degree of kinship.

Especially the first few families—since they had no direct heirs, the court had revoked their titles.

Having enjoyed wealth and glory, they could not bear to sink into obscurity.

Without the protection of their main branches, their collateral lines suffered greatly, under constant scrutiny from all sides.

Soon after the explosion, they mobilized their networks, seizing the fleeting opportunity while the tea was still warm and the masters still fresh in memory.

To smoothly absorb these families' political legacies, the Jing and Li clans, who controlled the noble faction, naturally had to pacify them.

Capable young men from each house were recruited into official posts, mostly as mid- to low-ranking military officers.

Some of the lucky ones ended up under Li Mu's command.

Coincidentally, many senior officers had been promoted away, leaving vacancies.

Considering these men had no backing in court and could only rely on him,

and since Li Mu wished to expand his influence within the noble faction, he gave them a push.

He recommended several capable men, mixing them with his own trusted subordinates.

Unsurprisingly, these noble scions received extraordinary promotions, while his own loyalists were promoted only by standard procedure.

Of course, to the outside world, these men were seen as his trusted inner circle.

Having entered service under his patronage and been elevated by him, according to bureaucratic norms, they were unquestionably his loyal adherents.

Even these men themselves believed so.

The only difference was that they had illustrious ancestors and large extended clans behind them.

Though politically dependent on him, their loyalties were uncertain, burdened by too many competing obligations.

Officers who rose from humble origins had their entire families dependent on Li Mu for survival, their interests more tightly bound.

"Your servant, Qin Qin Tianrui, bows before the Viceroy!"

"Your servant, Liu Yue Qifeng, bows before the Viceroy!"

"Your servant, Ye Ye Hongchang, bows before the Viceroy!"

…

(End of Chapter)