Chapter 303: The Flames of War Ignite

Outside Jinan City.

Looking at the loot all over the ground, the Ghost Fang high-level officials revealed satisfied smiles one after another.

Great Great Dayu was truly wealthy; just grabbing a few things was enough for them to struggle for many years.

What was in front of them was only a part of the loot; there was more waiting to be transported over.

The original plan was only to grab Qingzhou Prefecture, but the temptation was too great, and they couldn't control themselves for a moment, so they grabbed the neighboring prefecture as well.

This couldn't be blamed on the Ghost Fang soldiers; they weren't familiar with the roads of Great Great Dayu and couldn't distinguish the administrative divisions at all.

Anyway, seeing what could be grabbed, they grabbed it first.

Grabbing and grabbing, they ran far away; the original agreement to return within half a month was now impossible to fulfill.

"Stop being happy for a moment; with so much loot, the vehicles we prepared are far from enough."

"If we abandon it because of transport problems, that would be too much of a pity."

Wuligai said with a look of worry.

Worrying about having too much loot for the first time could also be considered a happy trouble.

"This matter is simple; just grab a batch of laborers and craftsmen nearby."

"While there is time, hurry and build a batch of vehicles, and let the laborers push them."

"Some inferior warhorses can also be used to pull carts."

"At worst, the marching speed will be a bit slower."

"We still maintain relations with the Liaodong Garrison; at worst, we'll give them a share."

"The rest of the Great Dayu army has long since become birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring."

"The retreat of the front units was very smooth; I think we won't have much risk either."

Bashar said with a calm face.

Sitting on an army of 30,000, there weren't many units capable of posing a danger to them.

As long as they settled the Liaodong Garrison, the threat from other Great Dayu armies wouldn't be that great.

The only thing that needed to be worried about was the Great Dayu army in Jinan City.

"Actually, we can consider abandoning part of the loot in exchange for the army's mobility."

"If the line is too long, it's easy to attract the enemy's prying eyes."

"The combat effectiveness of the Great Dayu army is severely polarized; the elite units among them are no worse than us."

"If the profit temptation is big enough, it's possible that even the Capital Battalion will come out to block our return north."

Wuligai said with slight hesitation.

Abandoning the loot was too painful, but carrying the things made it impossible to move fast.

Reason told him that marching slowly in enemy territory was very dangerous.

Even if they could bribe the Liaodong Garrison, it might not be reliable.

When the profit is big enough, promises are unreliable.

"Wuligai's words make sense; the loot we obtained is indeed too much."

"Under normal circumstances, even if the Great Great Dayu Dynasty is wealthy, it shouldn't be possible to grab this much."

Wuri Mu thought for a moment and said.

It was true that Shandong was wealthy, but now the things grabbed were too many, unbelievably so.

Not to mention other things, pulling gold and silver cart by cart felt unreal.

"You two are too timid."

"Don't always think about conspiracies; we aren't worth someone playing such a big hand."

"I checked these problems long ago."

"The reason we could grab so much is that when we headed south, many gentry and wealthy merchants were also fleeing south."

The previous Great Dayu army's great victory in Jinan gave them confidence, and since the waves at sea were high this season, many people stayed behind."

"On the other hand, the gentry and merchants of these coastal prefectures have long been engaged in maritime trade and were already very wealthy."

Bashar said with a laugh.

He was just greedy, but definitely not stupid.

Having grabbed a huge amount of wealth, he certainly had to trace the reason.

"If that's the case, then everything makes sense."

"Great Great Dayu's goods are hot commodities; whether transported to Goguryeo or Japan, they can all obtain huge profits."

"After a hundred years of accumulation, it's not strange to possess so much wealth."

Wuri Mu nodded and said.

Just the loot in front of them was very astonishing; once the subsequent ones were transported back, the quantity would only be greater.

The original caution and care soon vanished in the face of huge profits.

One rarely gets a chance to gamble in life.

Having obtained huge wealth, they could sharpen their weapons and train their horses when they returned, continuing to develop and grow.

Once their strength grew to a certain level, they wouldn't need to look at the Tatars' faces anymore.

Although they were allies in this southern plundering, both sides were also filled with blood feuds in private.

As former grassland overlords, they also had their pride.

Being able to be the boss oneself, no one was willing to be a little brother to others.

On the Jinan city wall, Marquis Marquis Wuyang was holding high-magnification binoculars, looking out at the enemy camp.

"The enemy's harvest seems to be quite substantial!"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang couldn't help but exclaim.

The great battle had ended five days ago.

The heavy casualties caused the morale of the auxiliary troops, who acted as the main force for the siege, to completely collapse.

At one point, the soldiers even mutinied because of the siege order.

Although the mutiny was quickly suppressed, the army lost the ability to continue the siege.

Except for a few who sincerely defected to the Tatars, most of the auxiliary soldiers were strongmen forcibly grabbed.

Those with real combat effectiveness had long been taken away by the auxiliary army's high-level officials.

After all, being a traitor was just for glory, wealth, and high office, not truly to die for the Tatars.

Tasks destined for death certainly required preserving strength.

For these warlords, once they had no army in their hands, their own value would be gone.

But the orders from above had to be executed.

Grabbing strongmen to fill the numbers became the best choice.

"Marquis, Shandong has been a wealthy land since ancient times, and it has eaten up the dividends of maritime trade even more since our dynasty."

"Silk, tea, and porcelain are all hot commodities overseas."

"As long as a ship of goods is transported out and some overseas specialties are brought back, obtaining several times the profit is very normal."

"Every year, through maritime trade, the net inflow of silver into our dynasty is at least seven or eight million taels."

"The few prefectures plundered by the enemy now all have coastal ports."

"Sitting on the advantage of geographical location, it's not strange for local gentry and merchants to get a piece of the pie."

"It's a pity that the court couldn't control this huge wealth, and it was all eaten by the gentry and merchants."

"Otherwise, just the income from import and export tariffs could exceed the salt tax."

Li Mu applied eye drops (sowed discord) calmly.

With their status, pushing for reform was unrealistic, but they could let Marquis Marquis Wuyang know that maritime merchants were wealthy.

When there were financial difficulties in the future, he would naturally think of asking these people for money.

The status of merchants in the Great Great Dayu Dynasty was low; being targeted by a viceroy who held military and political power, it would be hard for them not to bleed.

Even if they had the support of noble families behind them, it would be useless.

After being tossed around by the rebels, the relationship networks of these families in the local area were almost wiped out.

Wanting to rebuild them, without ten or more years of operation, it would be hard to recover.

Even if they were willing to stand out, they were powerless to resist a high-ranking official.

"Hmm!"

"What you said is not bad; it seems the path of collecting likin from merchants before was the right one."

"With a net inflow of seven or eight million taels of silver every year, the profits obtained by these merchants must be as much as ten million."

When it comes to wealth, they can indeed compete with salt merchants.

"If this wealth could be included in taxation, the court's financial predicament would be solved."

"It's a pity that the vested interest group is too powerful; at such a time, it's not suitable for the court to toss around."

"We can do some coaxing and deceiving in the local area, but discussing it in the imperial court would just be asking for trouble."

Marquis Marquis Wuyang said with a gloomy face.

It could be seen that he was not in a good mood right now.

Although he made a fortune in Shandong, his own salt fields in Lianghuai had fallen into the hands of the rebels.

A business that had been profitable for a long time was suddenly tossed away, so his mood naturally wouldn't be good.

However, such things couldn't be spoken out loud.

Besides hating the rebels, he also had no good feelings toward the gentry and merchants who occupied a large amount of wealth but were unwilling to pay taxes.

If not for these guys desperately tossing around and constantly hollowing out the Great Great Dayu Dynasty, the situation wouldn't have deteriorated to this point.

"Marquis, the time for the decisive battle is almost here."

"Give the enemy army three more days, and it will be time for us to strike."

"The more they grab now, the more we can divide later."

Li Mu immediately changed the subject.

Applying eye drops was fine, but deeply participating in the discussion was unnecessary.

As a loyal minister of the Great Great Dayu Dynasty, criticizing the court's problems was a manifestation of worrying about the country and the people.

If he brought out a reform plan and wanted to direct the court on what to do, that would be overstepping a general's duty.

On this issue, Li Mu grasped the scale very accurately.

He always only raised problems and pointed out the court's drawbacks; as for how to reform specifically, he would at most strike from the side.

Discovering problems wouldn't offend anyone.

Pointing out the court's drawbacks wouldn't offend anyone either.

What truly offended people was going to solve the problems.

Regardless of what kind of plan was adopted, as long as major political reforms were carried out, it would inevitably touch the interests of the vested interest group.

Generally speaking, those who encountered such tragic things wouldn't have a good end.

Even if the reform succeeded, they would still suffer a backlash.

"Oh, so fast?"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang asked with slight surprise.

As an imperial envoy, his pressure was also very great, just that he didn't confide in outsiders.

He was also aware of the changes that had occurred in the court.

In order to save the situation, the civil official group had become polarized, which was unimaginable in the past.

From the current situation, Emperor Emperor Yongning was inclined to loosen the restrictions on the nobility and use the power of the nobility faction to suppress the White Lotus Sect rebellion as soon as possible.

Purely from the surface, this was a cake delivered to the door.

But behind the huge benefits, it was also accompanied by huge hidden dangers.

With all the big shots of the nobility faction sent out, it would inevitably lead to a power vacuum in the center.

Duke Cheng and Marquis Zhenyuan were auxiliary ministers appointed by the late Emperor, with very special status and position, capable of contending with the cabinet in politics.

When they encountered problems, they could argue with the civil officials.

This was something other nobles didn't possess.

Wanting to accept this suggestion, there was also a divergence within the nobility camp.

Some people thought they should stand out and save the empire's predicament.

More people held opposing views, and the reason was very simple: they didn't trust the civil officials.

They would take office in the front, and they would be undermined in the back; this was something they were completely capable of doing.

It was possible that just after cleaning up the mess in the local area, the nobility faction would be squeezed out of the court.

As a giant of the newly promoted nobility faction, Marquis Marquis Wuyang had a significant say in such matters.

Even if he wasn't in the capital, many officials wrote to him, trying to gain his support.

He could ignore other people's letters, but Emperor Emperor Yongning's private letters had to be replied to.

For a moment, Marquis Marquis Wuyang couldn't make up his mind.

"The enemy army has started rushing to build vehicles, proving that they have fallen for the trick; now the opportunity for battle is mature."

Li Mu answered calmly.

It wasn't that he was deliberately perfunctory; it was mainly that the real reason wasn't convenient to speak out.

The enemy rushing to build vehicles meant that they had already grabbed enough loot and were reluctant to let go.

This meant that the dispatched army would be transporting loot and wouldn't return to the main camp immediately.

At this time, the enemy army outside the city had less than half of their total strength.

Being able to break them one by one was certainly better than going up and gnawing on hard bones directly.

Choosing to set the decisive battle time three days later was to let the enemy further relax their vigilance.

"This Viceroy is busy with court affairs and doesn't have that much energy to take care of the battlefield."

"You handle the specific combat plan throughout; no need to report it."

"This Viceroy only wants the victory report; nothing else is important!"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang ordered decisively.

After years of fighting in the south and north, he was no longer the military novice he once was.

Although commanding tens of thousands of troops still had difficulties, he knew common sense knowledge.

Adding a layer of management would lower a layer of efficiency.

If you can't help, then don't add to the chaos.

Time flew by, and more and more loot was successively transported back to the camp.

The entire camp was filled with joy.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

The suddenly sounding artillery fire was like a blow to the head, stunning many Ghost Fang generals.

Accompanied by the sound of artillery, the tightly closed gates slowly opened, and the garrison soldiers stepped out of the city gates in an orderly fashion.

And at the fastest speed, they formed a military formation outside the city and advanced toward the Ghost Fang camp.

"What happened outside, why is the enemy firing artillery?"

Wuri Mu couldn't help but ask.

"Tribal Chief, the Great Dayu army in the city suddenly sallied out and is killing toward our camp."

"The number is very large, as if they are pouring out of the nest."

The guard's answer surprised Wuri Mu very much.

They weren't even besieging the city anymore, so why was the Great Dayu army still actively looking for trouble?

This was not a concept at all compared to the Great Dayu army he knew.

Even if they wanted to take action against them, they should wait for the reinforcements from all sides to gather and surround them from all four sides.

"Immediately organize a counterattack!"

Wuri Mu decided decisively.

Since the enemy had killed their way over, the process was no longer important.

The army camp was far enough from Jinan City, and the enemy's artillery on the city wall couldn't reach them; the artillery sound was more like a signal flare to start the war, so there was no need to panic.

Cavalry is an offensive arm and is not suitable for defending the camp.

Encountering an enemy attack, the best choice is to attack with an attack.

If they could defeat the enemy's attack, it's possible they could even push back in one fell swoop and take Jinan City.

If they could achieve a complete victory in this battle, their prestige on the grassland would surely reach a new height.

Things the Tatars hadn't done, they had done; it would surely attract many tribes to defect.

If enough tribes were attracted to defect, contending with the Tatar clan head-on was not impossible.

After all, the Ghost Fang clan's population was far larger than the Tatar clan's.

If they could complete internal integration, their military strength would exceed the Tatars'.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 304 =====