Chapter 324: Recovering Changsha

The city gate slowly opened, and the prepared imperial army rushed into the city at the fastest speed, seizing strategic locations.

More and more imperial troops entered the city, and the garrison soldiers, realizing the situation was bad, fled one after another, abandoning their posts.

The city belonged to the Chu King, but their lives were their own.

Being able to pick up weapons and participate in the battle was worthy of the treatment of five dou of rice; there was no need to throw their lives away to defend the city.

"General, something is wrong, the city gate is lost.

The enemy..."

The worst thing ultimately happened.

Just finished assembling the troops and preparing to organize a counterattack, Jia Jia Xuanfeng collapsed completely.

The imperial army outside the city only had one garrison of troops, with a total strength of no more than twelve thousand, but the garrison had twenty thousand troops plus ten thousand civilian recruits, occupying an absolute advantage in troop numbers.

Unfortunately, the outcome of war never depends on numbers.

Having many troops doesn't mean combat power is strong.

Defending the city, he still had confidence in blocking the enemy.

Now that the enemy had killed their way into the city, they had to compare hard strength head-on.

"Pass the order down, each unit cover each other, retreat in an orderly manner!"

Jia Jia Xuanfeng decisively issued the order.

Reason told him that fighting head-on with the army under Li Mu's command without five times the troop advantage was just sending them to death.

Since they couldn't win, it was better to preserve strength.

Many people had lost to Li Mu; adding one more wasn't a big deal.

When the Chu King held him accountable later, he would also be dealt with lightly.

Accompanied by the retreat order, the garrison, which was already panicked, quickly fell into chaos.

In the dark, the soldiers didn't know the generals, and the generals didn't know the soldiers.

Everyone scrambled to flee for their lives, unable to care about being "orderly."

When the dawn sunlight sprinkled on the world, the flags on the Changsha city walls had already changed color.

Under the walls of Hengyang, Li Mu, who was presiding over the great battle to attack the city, was stunned by the victory report in his hand.

The victory came too suddenly; Changsha City was actually taken before Hengyang.

"Good!"

"Tell the Third Garrison, after they clear out the remaining enemies, immediately organize manpower to reinforce the city defense and prepare to hold Changsha."

Li Mu decisively issued the order.

Changsha City being taken in advance completely changed the battlefield situation.

Sitting on the Xiangjiang water system, the imperial army could go down the river and kill their way into the Yangtze River basin.

In Dongtinghu, there were still remnants of the Yu army persisting in resistance.

The adjacent Jingzhou Prefecture and Xiangyang Prefecture were currently still in the hands of the court.

Just take Yuezhou Prefecture, and the two sides would connect into one, directly splitting the Huguang rebel army into two.

Originally, the foundation was unstable, and having lost rear support, the prefectures west of the Xiangjiang, which were isolated, couldn't persist for long.

By then, the rebel army's territory in Huguang would only be left with Wuchang, Hanyang, Chengtian, De'an, and Huangzhou, five prefectures.

It looked like the area wasn't small, but it was carved up by the Wu and Chu states together.

The Wu State's foundation was in the Nanzhili region, and the influence received was not great, but the Chu State was different.

The fallen prefectures were all their territory.

Was the Chu State without Chu land still the Chu State?

Directly losing half of the territory, and it was the main grain-producing area, directly hitting them into a state of hemiplegia.

Let alone fighting for the world, how to feed the million troops in their hands would become a problem.

Compared to the loss of territory, the blow to people's hearts was the most fatal.

In the struggle for the world in troubled times, one was not only fighting for territory but also for people's hearts.

For a rebel army with a religious background, wanting to obtain the support of scholars was not easy to begin with.

Suffering heavy losses during the startup journey, those who were watching would all abandon them.

Even those who had already joined the Chu State camp would consider a way out.

Regardless of whether the rebel army was willing or not, if they wanted to keep the current foundation, the Chu King had to come to Huguang to fight a decisive battle with him.

Gathering troops in Jiangxi, but the main battlefield was in Huguang.

The massive redeployment of logistics materials was a labor-intensive and money-wasting job.

No matter how prosperous the governance was, after being tossed around like this, it would be tossed quite enough.

"This battle report is too shocking; could it be the enemy's conspiracy?"

After waving his hand to signal others to retreat, Li Yuan asked suspiciously.

A strategic location like Changsha being taken in such a dramatic way was truly too surprising.

If it weren't for Li Mu's face, he would have wanted to say if the people below had made a mistake.

An accident occurred in the process of intelligence transmission, leading to the distortion of the intelligence content.

Similar blunders had happened many times in history.

"No!

Our rapid advance to Hengyang was itself a miracle in military terms.

The surprise attack on Changsha was a decision I made on the spur of the moment; no one knew about it in advance, and the rebel army couldn't have made arrangements in advance.

Even if the enemy has a conspiracy, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, Changsha Prefecture has fallen into our pocket, and the next step will be mainly defensive.

After taking Hengyang Prefecture and controlling the Xiangjiang waterway, and after the main army goes over to converge, we will start a new round of great battle.

As long as the rebel army isn't stupid, they will do their best to mobilize troops and die to protect Yuezhou Prefecture.

If there are no accidents, those rebel troops besieging Jingzhou will immediately withdraw to Yuezhou.

Now, we only need to pass the message along, and the imperial troops throughout Huguang will take the initiative to contact us.

If the rebel army's actions are slow, then continue north to take Yuezhou Prefecture, hold the Yangtze River waterway, and cut off their connection with the rebel army in the Shu region.

If Wei Ni brings the main force over, then we will just consume them here.

Once they are prepared, we will turn around and start the Jiangxi decisive battle."

Listening to Li Mu's explanation, Li Yuan became more and more confused.

These strategic layouts, if looked at separately, he could understand them.

Combined together, he was left with a head full of fog.

Looking at the map on the wall, he truly had no way to connect Li Mu's strategic layout together.

Between Jiangxi and Huguang, there was a mountain range.

Although it hadn't reached the point of being impassable, the roads certainly couldn't be very good.

From Huguang to Jiangxi, the best choice was still to take Yuezhou first, then go down the Yangtze River.

"There is only one garrison of combat troops in Guangdong; to launch the Jiangxi decisive battle, I fear the strength is not enough?"

Li Yuan asked with a furrowed brow.

From Guangdong to Jiangxi, there was no problem strategically, but the trouble was the lack of troops.

Even if the enemy's interior was empty, it wasn't something ten thousand imperial troops could solve.

"Uncle, you overestimate the rebel army.

The enemy gathered hundreds of thousands of troops in Jiangxi; the strategic materials required are not just a little bit.

Besides conscripting a large number of laborers for transport, they must have stockpiled a large amount of materials in Ganzhou Prefecture.

These things are not something that can be easily moved with a sentence of strategic transfer.

The Jiangxi decisive battle is not about how many cities were taken or how much land was taken.

When necessary, one can let the garrison army use the flags of several other garrisons to impersonate the main force to scare the enemy and mislead the enemy's judgment.

Regarding logistics security, as long as the flames of war break out on the Jiangxi front line, the enemy commander will inevitably panic.

Once panicked, it's easy to make mistakes.

We just need to continuously exert pressure on the enemy, let them respond hastily in panic, and make more wrong decisions."

Li Mu explained with a smile.

True and false, false and true.

Where on the battlefield is true and where is false, before the great battle ends, even Li Mu himself wasn't sure.

Daring to lay it out like this was mainly based on strength.

No one stipulated that the recruited troops impersonated by the garrison army couldn't possess the combat power of recruited troops.

Which battlefield is the main battlefield depends entirely on the changes in the situation.

When the rebel army's main force is in Jiangxi, Huguang is the main battlefield.

When the rebel army's main force is in Huguang, then Jiangxi is the main battlefield.

Underestimating the military strength in his hands is the biggest mistake the rebel army made.

Unfortunately, some mistakes cannot be made on the battlefield.

If the rebel army directly defended strictly and didn't concentrate troops to fight him, wanting to recover lost territory wouldn't be done in two or three years.

If the centripetal force is strong, some cities that are easy to defend and hard to attack could persist for three to five years.

Wei Ni is willing to sacrifice himself, dragging down his pace.

It's possible that other rebel armies could really complete a rebirth during this period and go north to destroy Great Great Dayu.

By then, pressing over with the momentum of the world, unifying the world would have great hope.

However, this is an idealized state.

The White Lotus Holy Kingdom didn't split, perhaps there was still a possibility of completing integration.

Since it split, it was destined for everyone to sweep the snow in front of their own doors.

Not stabbing each other in the back is already an excellent ally.

Nanchang Prefecture.

"Impossible!"

"This is impossible!"

"The pseudo-dynasty army just captured Yongzhou, and there is still a Hengyang Prefecture in between; at this moment, the enemy should be worrying about attacking Hengyang.

Even if that rebel Li Mu dared to divide his troops, there were twenty thousand troops in Changsha City; how could it be captured so quickly?

..."

Looking at the battle report, Wei Wang Weijiarui couldn't help but roar.

Having fought north and south for so many years, he was also well-informed.

He had experienced all kinds of strange great battles, and his psychological endurance had long been exercised.

But the content on the battle report still refreshed his cognition once again.

Calculating the time, the time Changsha City was lost was when the order to reinforce Hengyang reached the surrounding prefectures.

With an interval of less than seven days, the imperial army went all the way from Yongzhou to Changsha and captured Changsha City.

This wasn't fighting a war at all; it was clearly an armed march.

Wei Wang Weijiarui flew into a rage, and the officials bowed their heads one after another.

Fighting a battle like this exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Your Highness, perhaps the battle report was written incorrectly, writing the enemy's attack on Changsha as capturing Changsha.

However, the pseudo-dynasty army is coming fiercely, and neither Yongzhou nor Hengyang could play the role of a barrier; the few garrison troops in Changsha are afraid they are also not up to the task.

For the strategic security of Great Chu, we must adjust our strategy in time to ensure Huguang..."

Halfway through the words, seeing Wei Wang Weijiarui's face becoming more and more ugly, Fang Fang Kecheng decisively chose to shut up.

The Minister of War of the Chu State had far less power than Great Great Dayu.

But as the Minister of War, the front line suffered a defeat, and he still needed to bear the responsibility.

Now the Chu King was in a fit of anger, and he didn't dare to provoke him.

"Adjust strategy, you say it lightly?"

"For this great battle, we mobilized the power of the whole country, cumulatively conscripting over a million laborers.

Spent a huge amount of manpower, financial resources, and material resources to transport strategic materials to the front line.

As early as five days ago, the army had already set out, and the vanguard troops had even reached the Ganzhou line.

According to the original plan, we were going to launch an attack on Guangdong tomorrow.

Now suddenly changing the strategy, all the efforts made earlier would be wasted!"

Wei Wang Weijiarui scolded immediately.

The initial investment cost was simply too huge.

Suddenly canceling the original plan, the sunk cost was truly too large.

Unfortunately, the current conditions did not possess the conditions to launch an attack.

If the original plan continued to be executed, it would be fine if they could successfully take Guangdong; at worst, it would be a swap.

Connecting Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang into one, possessing a stable rear, was strategically cost-effective.

What he feared was that Guangdong wouldn't be taken, and Huguang would be lost first.

The pseudo-dynasty didn't expand its army on a large scale in Guangdong and Fujian; the biggest problem was money and grain.

No money, one could think of ways; no grain, then there was really no way.

Relying on three provinces that couldn't be self-sufficient in grain to support one hundred thousand standing troops was a miracle in itself.

No matter how hard one worked, before solving the grain problem, this troop limit couldn't continue to increase.

Once the imperial army was allowed to recover Huguang, the situation changed.

As long as there was grain in hand, even if there was no money in the pocket, one could still recruit soldiers.

"Your Highness, in extraordinary times, one must do extraordinary things.

Even if the pseudo-dynasty captured Changsha, the next step must be to attack Yuezhou Prefecture.

There are still remnants of the pseudo-dynasty in Dongtinghu, resisting the King's Army.

Jingzhou Prefecture is even occupied by the butcher's regiment.

If Li Mu the rebel takes Yuezhou, they will hook up with the remnants of the pseudo-dynasty in Huguang.

By then, our Great Chu will be split into two by the enemy, and those remnants of the previous dynasty hiding in the dark will also become active.

The prefectures west of the Xiangjiang will all become precarious, and half of the country will not be preserved!"

Chancellor Chang Junyi hurriedly persuaded.

Involving the safety of half the country, now was not the time to act on impulse.

Great Chu could support a million troops; besides the wealth of Jiangxi and Zhejiang, there was also the grain provided by Huguang.

Sitting on this granary of Huguang, they were a major force with the opportunity to compete for the world.

Once Huguang was lost, the current million troops would have to be cut by at least two-thirds.

The situation in Jiangxi was slightly better, but Zhejiang was a mountainous province, and the price of prosperous industry and commerce was the inability to be self-sufficient in grain.

For the newborn Chu State, what was lost was not Huguang, but the country and society.

"Humph!"

"These problems, this King naturally knows.

But the army has already gone south; even if this King immediately orders them to turn around, it's afraid it will be too late in terms of time.

You have all experienced the speed of that rebel Li Mu's use of troops.

Can the garrison of Yuezhou Prefecture persist until reinforcements arrive?"

Wei Wang Weijiarui said unpleasantly.

If it were before this, he definitely wouldn't have this kind of worry.

The garrison of Yuezhou, although only eight thousand, wouldn't be so easily taken by the enemy.

It was different now; after experiencing the fall of Changsha, his fear of Li Mu had been awakened.

Hoping to use eight thousand garrison troops to block Li Mu's military edge, he didn't dare to have such a dream.

"Your Highness, we can mobilize part of the troops stationed in Wuchang to go over for an emergency.

At the same time, ask the Wu State for help and let their army in Huguang participate in the battle.

They should understand the principle of the lips being gone, the teeth being cold.

Wuchang Prefecture was exchanged from the Eastern King at a great price; it must play its due role.

If the foundation of Huguang is truly not preserved, then we will abandon the cities along the Yangtze River, open up the Yangtze River shipping route, and let the pseudo-dynasty army go down the river to take Nanjing!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 325 =====