Chapter 291: The Deteriorating Situation

Outside Jinan City.

"Great Khan, this place is dangerous.

The enemy's cannons are powerful; shells could strike at any moment.

You should retreat to the rear safety zone to observe the battle!"

Seeing Hugelijile approach, Aritan Wanhud hurriedly urged him.

Cannon range depends on many factors; the defenders' cannons are mounted on the city walls, so their shells naturally reach farther.

As the attackers, to breach the city, they must advance under enemy fire.

During siege warfare, elite cavalry are useless, and they dare not use cavalry for assaults.

The main force now attacking are all vassal troops gathered by the Khanate.

"Don't worry—no cannon capable of killing this Khan has been made yet.

Keep commanding the battle; I'm just here to observe. Don't let me distract you."

Hugelijile said with a smile.

He had spent his entire life in warfare; what grand scenes hadn't he seen?

This position may seem perilous, but the actual risk is low.

The enemy's shells can indeed fly this far, but they've long passed their effective range.

Even if the defenders spotted his position, with the cannons' accuracy at this time, they couldn't lock onto him beyond effective range.

The enemy cannons are aiming at the soldiers launching the assault.

Strikes against the rear are merely symbolic, meant mostly for intimidation.

As long as his luck isn't terrible, he won't be hit.

The boss can afford to be careless, but as a subordinate, Aritan dared not let his guard down.

He immediately made Hugelijile's safety the top priority and left all operational commands to his subordinates.

Wave after wave of assaults, each time advancing halfway before being shattered by enemy artillery fire.

The prepared siege engines—catapults, battering rams—were destroyed into rubble the moment they appeared.

"What kind of battle are you fighting?

Just hand over your men as targets!"

The poor performance on the battlefield enraged Hugelijile.

This southern campaign aimed to annihilate the Wu Yang Marquis's forces and cripple Great Dayu's resistance.

With this tactic, even if all the vassal troops died, they'd only exhaust some enemy ammunition.

"Great Khan, please calm down!"

"The defending imperial troops are elite of Great Dayu, unlike any enemy we've faced before.

Our old siege tactics no longer work—we must order all units into direct assaults."

Aritan hastily explained.

It wasn't that he wasn't trying; the enemy was simply too stubborn.

The royal relief army came from Guangdong and Among Guangxi and had no ties to the local populace.

The old tactic of capturing families to threaten defenders into surrendering was useless here.

Moreover, before they arrived, Shandong's local officials had already implemented scorched-earth policies; for fifty li around, not a soul remained.

To capture cannon fodder, they had to travel a hundred li away.

Even then, they captured few.

Knowing the northern barbarians were coming, the officials loudly enforced scorched-earth measures; those who could flee had already escaped the chaos.

Those left behind to guard homes were only elderly people unwilling to abandon their homes.

"Foolish!"

"If you can't siege, then learn!

There are so many siege methods in military texts—you don't use any of them, only the dumbest direct assaults.

With your tactic, the vassal troops will be wiped out in days.

Then will you send the Gui Fang cavalry to storm the walls? Or make our own people don armor and fight?"

Hugelijile scolded angrily.

He was ultimately a makeshift commander; though he'd fought many battles, his knowledge remained limited.

To improve his officers' military skills, he had repeatedly ordered them to study military texts—but with minimal effect.

Many officers, including Aritan, trusted their own experience and looked down on military texts.

Of course, this also had to do with the texts they collected.

They were mostly empty platitudes, endlessly praising strategy without teaching how to adapt it practically.

Training methods were outdated relics, long out of step with the times.

After testing, they found those ancient teachings less useful than their own hard-won experience.

The failure before Jinan was because this enemy differed from all previous ones.

The enemy had advanced to the forefront of firearms technology.

Their defensive tools weren't the old boulders, logs, or boiling oil—but a combination of cannons and muskets.

Many soldiers attacking never reached the walls before suffering heavy casualties.

They tried organizing artillery counterfire to suppress enemy firepower, but the enemy held the high ground.

With inferior firepower, they could only throw lives at the problem.

Yet the enemy didn't play by the rules—they showed no intention of conserving ammunition.

Before they could close in, enemy muskets fired.

Only one or two in ten attackers died, but many more were wounded.

The cries of the wounded severely damaged morale.

"Great Khan, calm down!

It's this servant's ignorance—please don't ruin your health with anger."

Aritan's face showed great fear, but inwardly he didn't believe it.

The dead were all cannon fodder, mostly deserters they'd recruited after invading—worth nothing.

When this batch died, another would come.

As long as the Khanate remained strong, cannon fodder would never run out.

Using Yu people to kill Yu people, they'd never lose, win or lose.

"Hmph!"

"Order the troops to withdraw immediately; from now on, only feigned attacks.

Send men to secretly dig tunnels under the walls, plant massive amounts of gunpowder, and blow the walls open!"

Hugelijile growled his orders.

Though long stationed in Liaodong, he never relaxed his vigilance over Great Dayu.

The Bai Lian Rebellion's rampage in the south caught his attention immediately.

The tunneling siege tactic was frequently used by Bai Lian rebels and had spread widely.

This open-source intelligence was always a favorite of intelligence agencies and quickly reached Hugelijile's ears.

In the past, he hadn't taken it seriously.

But now that siege efforts had stalled, he naturally had to try it.

…

The northern barbarians' tactical adjustments soon drew the defenders' attention.

As the nominal second-in-command and actual commander of the city's defense, Li Mu closely monitored enemy movements.

The notion that defenders need only hold their ground was mere reassurance for the people.

Others could afford to think little, but the commander must constantly track changes and adjust swiftly based on reality.

The royal relief army couldn't match the northern barbarians in open battle—that was true—but it didn't mean they had no resistance left.

If forced into a bloody fight, Li Mu still had confidence in inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.

But building up resources was hard; he wouldn't make such a losing trade.

"Issue orders: strengthen vigilance.

Dust is rising in the distance—the enemy is likely digging tunnels."

Li Mu ordered calmly.

Tunnel tactics aren't invincible; blowing up a section of wall doesn't guarantee entry.

With proper preparation and timely sealing of breaches, they'll waste their effort.

Besides, tunneling requires technical skill.

The location must be precise, and the tunnel's path, depth, and alignment must be carefully controlled.

A unit with no earthwork experience digging tunnels might bury themselves alive.

The order had just been issued when Li Mu received an invitation from the Wu Yang Marquis.

…

A sudden upheaval in the capital escalated factional struggles in court, directly affecting the front lines.

"Marquis, the death of Director Li was terribly timed!"

Looking at the intelligence in his hand, Li Mu sighed helplessly.

Though everyone shares the surname Li, Grand Coordinator of Three Xuan-Da, Li Li Zhihong, has no relation to his own Li family.

One followed the civil official path, the other the military officer path—destined to be on entirely different roads.

"Before the court even passed judgment, he died in the Imperial Prison."

Having finally caught this leverage, the civil officials certainly won't let it go.

Investigating Li Li Zhihong's death appears to seek justice, but in truth, it's merely a continuation of the civil-military struggle.

"The northern barbarians have just lifted the siege of the capital, and they're already stirring up trouble—no sense of the bigger picture at all!"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang couldn't help but complain.

These are all surface-level troubles; what truly troubled him was the shift in the situation.

Originally, all sides had agreed to jointly pressure Liaozhen and force them into a decisive battle with the northern barbarians.

Li Li Zhihong's death instantly disrupted the prior plan.

With one Viceroy just dead, if the court now removes another high-ranking provincial official, all local governors will fall into panic.

"Your Grace, those people seem desperate."

The profits from smuggling beyond the pass are enormous; many officials have been dragged into it, from every faction.

By factional lines, Grand Coordinator of Three Xuan-Da Li Li Zhihong was also part of the clean stream camp—likely involved as well.

Given his position, he must have known a great deal.

To save his own life, using the information he held to blackmail others in the interest groups into acting was only natural.

If the price wasn't agreed upon, or if those hiding behind the scenes wanted to eliminate this threat, killing him wasn't impossible.

Coincidentally, Liaozhen had just run into trouble, and a large number of clean stream officials were pulled in.

So they killed Li Li Zhihong to silence him, trying to bury the truth—and incidentally, rescue Director of Liaozhen Zhong Jingming.

But they forgot the Emperor's temperament: the more people oppose him, the more he insists on acting.

Zhong Jingming may have escaped this round of accountability, but he won't survive the next.

The day the northern barbarians withdraw will be his end."

Li Mu mused.

Frankly speaking, Director of Liaozhen Zhong Jingming had done his share of good work—but his blunders were greater.

During his tenure, he stabilized the regional situation and forged a crack Liaozhen elite force.

Unfortunately, he forgot that power requires checks and balances; he recklessly purged rivals, allowing Liaozhen to become dominant.

In Liaozhen, Li Mu saw his own reflection.

Both were dominant forces—except his Guangdong-Among Guangxi faction was built by the noble military clans.

They already wielded considerable influence at court and could communicate directly with the Emperor himself.

Unlike Liaozhen's military families, whose ties to imperial power were filtered through layers of civil officials.

Lack of communication inevitably bred suspicion.

Thus, in the eyes of Emperor Emperor Yongning, the Guangdong-Among Guangxi faction was his own newly established loyal military force.

Even if he didn't know the generals well, he knew their families intimately.

Not that he felt deep affection, but at least these noble clan heads could get a familiar face before the Emperor.

Compared to complete strangers, those he'd known since childhood were easier to trust.

Meanwhile, Liaozhen's rapid rise made it appear to him as an unruly, potentially uncontrollable frontier command.

Not only did the Emperor suspect Liaozhen; Liaozhen's own officers also lacked faith in the Emperor.

For the sake of profit, they had too many sins.

Any single charge could mean confiscation of property and extermination of their clans—dooming them to seek self-preservation.

He understood, yet felt no sympathy.

The conduct of Liaozhen's military families disgusted him.

Even if seeking self-preservation, they should at least fulfill their duties.

Letting the northern barbarians invade, watching comrades fight and die—how could any ruler on the throne not suspect them?

If a politically astute monarch sat the throne, he could dismantle and destroy them in no more than two or three years.

Rather than fighting the court for rights, what they truly needed was to save Zhong Jingming.

After all, during their rise, Director Zhong Jingming had contributed immensely.

By officialdom's rules, he was their patron.

Even just to appear virtuous to outsiders, they should have acted properly, proving themselves loyal and righteous.

In an age of poor communication, a good reputation carried vital weight.

Only those who repaid kindness could the Emperor trust with power.

Besides, preserving Zhong Jingming meant they'd have someone inside court who could speak for them.

Their deeply intertwined relationship was far more reliable than courting other civil officials.

With proper handling, Liaozhen need never have fallen into its current predicament.

In essence, the court could not afford to lose them now.

If their dignity was preserved, they'd willingly help cover things up, keeping the matter off the public record.

"Zhong Jingming? His death is no loss!"

The bright prospects of Liaozhen were ruined by his hands.

Had that fool not acted recklessly, allowing frontier commands to grow unchecked, how would the northern barbarians have dared invade?

Too bad the countless brave men sent to Liaozhen didn't die on the barbarians' blades—they fell to treachery from their own side.

No matter how the court situation changes, loyal ministers still hold it together; it's the southeastern front that truly troubles me."

News arrived from Zhejiang: Hangzhou Prefecture fell half a month ago; Nanchang Prefecture is on the brink of collapse.

In truth, both places have held out this long only because the rebels deliberately slowed their advance.

During our absence, they launched counterattacks in Jiangnan, Huguang, and seized several prefectures.

The war has already crossed the Yangtze and begun spreading northward.

If this continues, I fear Nanjing won't hold out!"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang said, deeply worried.

As an imperial relative, his wealth and glory were entirely bound to Great Dayu.

The northern barbarians ravaged the north, the Bai Lian Sect ravaged the south, and the most formidable Liaozhen refused to obey.

Great Dayu, under northern and southern assault, now showed signs of imminent collapse.

If Nanjing falls, the fragile southeastern situation will surely shatter completely.

"Your Grace, at this moment, all we can do is hold onto Jinan Prefecture."

Li Mu replied helplessly.

Since joining the royal relief campaign, he knew the southern situation would spiral out of control.

Nanjing, without reinforcements, was doomed to fall.

Had the rebels not feared heavy casualties, they'd likely have already sent word of its fall.

Knowing the outcome doesn't mean you can change it.

The Emperor issued an edict—they couldn't defy it to abandon the royal relief and rush to rescue Nanjing.

Prioritizing the northern front inevitably meant the southern situation would collapse.

…

(End of Chapter)