Chapter 319: The Establishment of the Chu State

The establishment of an independent Chu State was a major event that naturally called for celebration.

Once the sacrificial rites were concluded, Wang Weijiarui led his officials back to the palace to begin the festivities.

A crowd of military officers ate meat and drank wine from large bowls, pushing the atmosphere of the scene to a climax.

Compared to the ruggedness of the military officers, the civil officials were far more refined.

They were also celebrating the founding of the Chu State, but their smiles were forced and strained.

Having long lived in an environment where civil officials governed the military, they were accustomed to holding the upper hand over the officers.

However, the situation in the Chu State was the exact opposite; the military officers held far more influence than the civil officials.

In particular, those officers who had started out with Wang Weijiarui relied on their seniority to look down upon civil officials of equal rank.

"Your Highness, the rites must be observed!"

Seeing someone pull Wang Weijiarui away to drink, an elderly man could not help but step forward to remonstrate.

It was simply too insolent; they didn't even know the proper distinction between sovereign and subject.

In the eyes of a Confucian scholar, such behavior that challenged the Three Fundamental Bonds and Five Constant Virtues was a heinous crime.

If this were not stopped in time, and the Chu King became like brothers with the officers below, there would be no chance for them to make a comeback.

"We are all brothers here; there's no need to be so formal today!"

Wang Weijiarui responded with a laugh.

Gathering together to drink and eat without restraint was exactly the kind of life he enjoyed most.

The wine and meat were secondary; what he enjoyed was this atmosphere.

However, he clearly underestimated the determination of the civil officials. Since someone had taken the lead, the others naturally followed suit.

Remonstrating with the sovereign was the embodiment of the integrity of a scholar-official.

Even though, from the moment they betrayed the Great Yu, their integrity as scholars had already ceased to exist.

"Your Highness, the Sage once said..."

"Stop spouting that empty, pretentious nonsense! We brothers are drinking—what does it have to do with you?"

Wei Jialiang, who had drunk too much, interrupted immediately.

There was nothing wrong with these words, and one could tell from the name that his relationship with Wang Weijiarui was no ordinary one.

It wasn't just polite talk; they were true brothers.

"Third Brother, show some respect!"

Wang Weijiarui reprimanded him immediately.

As a leader with ambitions for the world, he had to maintain the proper posture.

Even if he also thought these civil officials were overly fussy, he still had to offer encouragement on the surface.

It was the addition of these people that allowed his rebel team to move past being a ragtag group and gradually head toward regularization.

"Big Brother, are you really taking the words of a few pedantic scholars seriously?"

Wei Jialiang's words made Wang Weijiarui so angry he nearly died.

It wouldn't have mattered if he thought this privately, but saying it out loud without regard for the occasion was putting him in a difficult spot!

If he spoke his true heart in front of all the officials, he estimated that the civil officials who had defected to him would all become disaffected.

Punishing his own brother severely was not something he could bring himself to do.

Even if he could be ruthless, he had to consider the thoughts of the military officers.

Reasoning with them was useless; the knowledge level of most officers was very limited.

They were not familiar with Confucianism at all.

Everyone simply followed their own simple understanding to analyze and evaluate matters.

"Report!"

"Urgent military intelligence from the front: Yongzhou is in critical danger..."

The middle-aged officer who had been holding back for a long time finally found an opportunity to submit the battle report.

The situation was at a stalemate, and internal unity was at stake; Wang Weijiarui desperately needed a way out.

The news of Yongzhou's critical danger appearing on a day like today was certainly not a good omen.

But internal unity was far more important than saving face.

"My lords, the puppet dynasty's army is heading straight for Yongzhou, and the situation at the front is critical.

I must attend to official business and cannot continue celebrating with you all.

Officials of the second rank and above, follow me to the side hall to discuss matters."

Wang Weijiarui took the opportunity to change the subject.

For a startup team, the later internal conflicts erupted, the better.

As for resolving these conflicts, that was impossible.

This was a struggle for power, not just a dispute between civil and military officials.

Since it involved their own vital interests, it wasn't something he, the Chu King, could resolve with a single word.

Even if he could resolve the conflict, he wouldn't do so.

Without conflicting interests, if the people below banded together, he might be sidelined one day.

In this context, what he needed most was to maintain balance as much as possible and act as an arbiter of conflicts.

"Boom, boom, boom..."

As the sound of artillery fire erupted, the new round of the Yongzhou siege battle officially began.

"General Min, the enemy army is attacking the city. What should we do now?"

Song Zetao asked in a panic.

The reputation of a person is like the shadow of a tree; the prestige of the Great Yu's 270-year reign had long been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Three years ago, he was still a scholar who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations.

He happened to run into the White Lotus Sect uprising and was swept into it as an accountant.

He had thought he would muddle through a few days before being wiped out by the pacification army as a bandit.

He never expected his ancestral graves to smoke with good fortune; the rebel army he had looked down upon grew rapidly, sweeping across multiple provinces.

As an early veteran, Song Zetao's career rose steadily along with the rebel army's expansion.

In this context, his sense of belonging to the White Lotus Sect was at its peak.

"Yes, Prefect.

This news came two hours ago; perhaps the enemy is now less than twenty li away from us.

The enemy is flying the 'Li' banner; it is suspected to be Li Mu's troops."

The young officer's answer caused the atmosphere in the room to turn heavy.

The rebel army had fought north and south, invincible, and they had long since stopped taking ordinary government troops seriously.

The government troops under Li Mu, however, were undoubtedly an exception.

They were the ruthless men who had driven them out of their old home in Guangxi and beheaded the White Lotus Holy Emperor; no one was not afraid of them.

It had been said from above that Li Mu's troops had suffered heavy losses in the King-Rescue War, but the truth of such matters was hard to determine.

They had experienced false propaganda used to boost morale more than once or twice.

Before Guangxi was lost, the news they received was all about the Holy Kingdom's army crushing the enemy.

If the news had been true, Li Mu's troops should have been wiped out in Guangxi two years ago.

"That scoundrel Li Mu is not easy to deal with.

Prefect Song, let's report this to the King together and have him send reinforcements quickly!"

Min Wuliu, the garrison commander of Yongzhou, immediately stated his position.

Fighting alone to defend Yongzhou was impossible.

On paper, he had 10,000 troops, so defending the city was not a problem.

But the White Lotus Holy Kingdom had clashed with Li Mu's troops many times and had never won once, so they had long since developed a psychological shadow.

Without a superior force, he did not want to try.

"Good!"

Song Zetao agreed immediately.

Being cautious when the situation was unclear was the right move.

In any case, their King had already decided to send troops to Guangxi and was busy mobilizing, so asking for reinforcements now would resolve the dispute over the choice of the main battlefield.

Outside Yongzhou City, the coalition camp.

Li Mu held his binoculars and stood on the observation platform, quietly watching the battlefield.

"The view is too blurry; I can't see what's happening on the front line at all. Shouldn't we move the command post forward a bit?"

Li Yuan asked with a frown.

Although he held a high position, he was also from a military background.

High-intensity training could indeed produce elite soldiers faster.

However, there was a limit; once that limit was exceeded, the men would be broken.

For big shots like them, the rank-and-file soldiers were just a set of numbers, but the attrition during training could not be too high.

If they were pushed too hard, it would trigger the soldiers' resentment, and they might be shot in the back on the battlefield.

"Don't worry, Uncle.

This isn't the first time we've trained new recruits; they have experience.

If someone faints, it's mainly due to malnutrition in normal times. After a few months in the army, the situation will improve.

Look at those veterans; aren't they all strong and healthy?

The current training is just a start; the real high-intensity training is yet to come.

Our soldiers have never lacked resilience.

As long as the food is sufficient and the military pay is issued in full, morale will not be a problem."

Li Mu replied calmly.

The poor combat effectiveness of the Yu army was largely due to the lack of money and grain.

Talking about loyalty to a group of starving soldiers was a joke.

Compared to those ethereal grand principles, everyone cared more about what they would eat next and when they would get paid.

Everyone's life was already bitter.

The resentment during training could be quelled with a single meal of meat.

The full payment of military wages was an even sharper tool for winning hearts.

Li Mu liked to fight alongside other Yu armies, not because he expected them to play much of a role.

It was mainly to cultivate a sense of belonging among his soldiers through comparison.

When their comrades were eating chaff and starving, being able to eat their fill was a kind of happiness.

When their comrades were being docked or having their pay delayed, being able to receive their full pay was also a kind of happiness.

"Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in war."

The daily training was bitter, but that was because the commander loved his soldiers like his own children, and they should be grateful.

After every joint operation, the loyalty of his soldiers would increase significantly.

Gathering the old subordinates who had been sent out and filling the ranks to train with everyone else seemed like doing a favor for his father-in-law and uncle, but in reality, it was for his core confidants to see.

Officers with resources and backgrounds had such a bitter time after leaving the team.