Chapter 325: Plans Don't Change as Fast as Reality

Nanjing, Wu Imperial Palace.

"Wei Wei Jiarui seems to have been dizzied by the world of earthly pleasures in Nanchang.

How long has the war been going on, and he even lost Changsha City; it's simply a disgrace.

Now he actually has the nerve to ask us for rescue?"

Fu Fu Haoxuan said with disdain.

It was nothing strange for the rebel army to lose battles under Li Mu.

But in the past, when they were defeated, everyone persisted for a period of time, and occasionally could counterattack on the local battlefield.

The newborn Great Chu regime had been getting beaten since the war started.

Let alone organizing a counterattack, they couldn't even persist in defending the city for a few days.

Such a battle record naturally couldn't enter his eyes.

"Your Majesty, the Chu army has been defeated all the way, and the situation in Huguang has already rotted.

The Chu King's main force is gathered in Jiangxi; wanting to mobilize into Huguang to participate in the battle, the fastest would be more than a month.

With that rebel Li Mu's attack speed, more than a month is enough for him to sweep through Yuezhou and capture Wuchang.

The next step is very likely for the enemy to go down the river and attack Jiujiang Prefecture.

The pseudo-dynasty imperial army under Jing Jing Guoliang has now occupied most of Songjiang Prefecture.

There are also the Nine Borders' elites of the pseudo-dynasty on the northern line.

If measures are not taken, we are very likely to be attacked from three sides in the future."

Left Chancellor Xie Qiu Ruiyu was the first to speak.

Among the many rebel armies in the world, the Wu State occupying Nanjing had the most magnificent momentum.

The price of infinite glory was also attracting firepower from the Yu army for them.

To suppress them, Emperor Emperor Yongning didn't hesitate to compromise with the Liaodong military town in exchange for the Liaodong iron cavalry to go south to suppress the rebellion.

The effect was very obvious; the Northern Expedition army was directly hit and suffered a bloody nose.

While the northern line suffered heavy losses, there was also the imperial army landing in Songjiang Prefecture in the east, posing a threat to their rear.

They could still face these troubles with ease.

After all, although the border army elites were capable of fighting, the soldiers were all northerners.

There was no problem galloping on the Central Plains, but once they entered the water towns of Jiangnan, their combat power would drop sharply.

The imperial army under Jing Jing Guoliang in the east seemed to have tens of thousands of troops, but the truly capable ones were only twenty or thirty thousand recruited troops.

After occupying Songjiang Prefecture, they stopped their offensive pace.

But if Li Mu's troops were allowed to occupy Wuchang and go down the river to kill their way over, it would be really hard to say.

Facing the joint suppression of three sides, the Wu State's strategic activity space would be compressed in the shortest time.

If they couldn't defeat the enemy quickly, defeat and death would be a matter of time.

One couldn't hope that every time, there would be Tatars invading to relieve them.

"Your Majesty, the Chancellor is right; we must save Yuezhou Prefecture.

At the very least, we must make a gesture of rescue to encourage the Chu State to keep fighting the pseudo-dynasty.

Even if Yuezhou Prefecture is not preserved, we must help the Chu King hold Wuchang Prefecture and let him stand on the front line against Li the rebel.

In fact, the tragedy of the Chu State today is entirely caused by their strategic mistakes.

Clearly having Wuchang, which is more suitable for the capital, they ran to Nanchang to establish the capital, leading to a shift in strategic focus."

Minister of Rites Hu Hu Yuzhe couldn't help but complain.

Lack of strategic planning is a common problem for all peasant uprising armies.

Most of the high-level officials of peasant uprising armies came from the bottom of society and had very limited knowledge.

After successfully launching the uprising, they immediately started to enjoy themselves and had no lofty ambitions at all.

This White Lotus Sect uprising, among the many peasant uprising armies in history, was considered a high configuration.

These people at the high level mostly had some family foundation in the local area and had read books for a few years.

But that was only limited to this; if they truly had great talents and bold vision, they wouldn't have taken the lead in opening troubled times.

The Chu State choosing to establish the capital in Nanchang was essentially the result of internal compromise.

The Chu King's startup team was divided into five major factions.

They were the original faction composed of Among Guangxi people, the Southwest faction composed of Yun-Gui generals, and the Jiangxi faction, Huguang faction, and Zhejiang faction that joined later.

The original faction and the Southwest faction joined earlier, when it was still a grassroots team, unable to absorb civil officials, and were mainly military generals.

The startup team led by the Chu King developed and grew after entering Jiangxi.

Jiangxi's literary style was prosperous, and the literacy rate was far higher than that of the Southwest, with a large number of frustrated scholars among the people.

At that time, the White Lotus Holy Kingdom was in its prime, and it had enough attraction for these frustrated scholars.

As the team took shape, it absorbed a large number of surrendered officials and gentry, becoming the core of the Chu State's civil official group.

The Huguang faction and Zhejiang faction were the last to join, missing the startup dividend period, and their speaking power in the court was relatively low.

The Chu State's territory was distributed in the three provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Huguang, and the capital must be produced from these three provinces.

The main participants in the capital dispute were these three factions.

To be precise, it was the Jiangxi faction and the Huguang faction; the Zhejiang faction only expressed it symbolically and didn't fight for it hard.

After all, Hangzhou Prefecture was carved up by the Wu and Chu families, and other prefectures were not enough in weight.

Just looking at the existing territory of the Chu State, Nanchang connecting to Huguang above and Zhejiang below seemed to be a good choice.

Plus the Jiangxi faction had greater influence in the court, so Nanchang naturally became the capital.

But looking at the whole world, Nanchang's limitations were too obvious, only suitable for serving as the political center of a partitioned regime.

Huguang was attacked by the imperial army, and the Chu State couldn't react, unable to adjust its strategy in time.

If they wanted to take the world, Nanchang's limitations would be even greater, far less convenient than Wuchang.

"Minister Hu, you can't say that.

The pseudo-dynasty's mansion is about to collapse, and among the rebel armies in the world, the ones with the most hope of competing for the Central Plains are His Majesty and the Chu King.

The Chu King is short-sighted and chose to establish the capital in Nanchang, which just shows that His Majesty is the one destined by heaven.

We not only shouldn't mock, but we should also let them keep making mistakes.

In fact, Nanchang Prefecture isn't too remote; if the Chu King wants to plot for Guangdong and Among Guangxi, he can completely place the administrative center in Ganzhou."

As soon as Yang Yang Jingren finished speaking, the officials burst into laughter.

Saying they weren't mocking, in reality, he was mocking even more severely.

Ganzhou Prefecture was also a major town in Jiangxi; serving as a temporary political center wasn't impossible.

The prerequisite was: the Chu army recovered Huguang and took Guangdong, Among Guangxi, and Fujian.

Otherwise, fighting the capital defense battle every day, they wouldn't be able to take care of other battlefields.

Changsha being broken reached Hengyang, and the morale of the garrison was further weakened.

The city, which was already tottering, was recovered by the imperial army after persisting for three days.

Recovering three prefectural cities in a row had a huge influence on the Huguang region.

The rebel army occupied these places for too short a time, and they had been recovered by the imperial army once in the middle, so the people's hearts in the local area were already unstable.

Now that they were recovered again, the gentry who leaned towards Great Great Dayu in the Huguang region quickly became active again.

Only compared to the last time, the number of gentry who were active this time had already decreased significantly.

Continuous flames of war brought a devastating blow to the Huguang gentry group.

But this was just a beginning; the rebel army looted and slaughtered the gentry, and the court also had to settle accounts after the autumn.

Those speculators needed to pay for their actions.

The struggle within the gentry group was equally cruel.

Before the investigation was carried out, someone had already sent the list over.

Those gentry families that had descendants who defected to the rebels were all recorded clearly.

"My Great Great Dayu has raised scholars for two hundred and seventy years, yet there are so many rebel party members; this is truly a great misfortune for the world!"

Hearing his uncle's exclamation, Li Mu shook his head secretly.

Where are we even at!

Betting on both sides is the way for great clans to survive.

The rebel army is powerful and has revealed the possibility of taking the world, so they must certainly intervene.

Even if the family business is robbed and the clan members are killed, it doesn't affect their betting.

Family blood feuds are recorded first, and then they will wait for an opportunity to retaliate later.

Targeting the entire rebel army group is unrealistic; under normal circumstances, they will find the specific executors to settle accounts.

Emperors of all dynasties killing meritorious officials, behind them, there is no lack of these people fanning the flames.

In the various great cases of the early founding of the dynasty, they were all behind the scenes.

Great Great Dayu's literary families are not as powerful as the Jin Dynasty's clans, daring to ignore the court.

Those responsible for the front station are mostly distant branches or students and former officials who depend on them.

According to normal operations, while participating in betting in batches, they need to use the court's relationships to help hide their identities and avoid the court tracing it back to themselves.

With many families participating together and providing cover for each other, the court can't do anything about them either.

Unfortunately, their luck this time is not very good; only some families placed bets and they overturned the boat in advance.

The gentry families that hadn't jumped off the boat from Great Great Dayu wouldn't give up this opportunity to strike at their competitors.

Lists of reports appeared one after another in the hands of the Marquis of Zhenyuan, the Governor of Huguang.

"Uncle, why worry about a group of rebels.

Verify with the list, and those who participated in the rebellion will be dealt with according to the law."

Li Mu immediately stated his position.

He understands the great clans betting on both sides.

If the rebellion was from Guanzhong and swept through many provinces in the north, for the sake of clan continuation, the Li clan would likely do the same.

But understanding doesn't mean not holding them accountable.

Others can jump off the boat, but they, these nobles with titles, are too deeply bound to Great Great Dayu.

The most critical thing is that Li Mu hasn't prepared to break away from Great Great Dayu yet.

At this time, he must support the court and strike hard at these half-hearted masters, taking the opportunity to weaken the gentry group.

"Rebels should be killed, but this time it involves too many people.

Once dealt with according to the law, the number of people offended will be too many!"

Li Yuan said with a furrowed brow.

Being able to receive so many report lists, it's obvious that someone wants to use him as a gun.

According to the evidence provided above, opening a killing spree against these local great clans, all the hatred will be pulled by him.

Not dealing with them is also not possible; letting these families bet on both sides will seriously affect the stability of the country.

"Uncle, if you are worried about these, we are only responsible for arresting people and handing over the disposal power to the court.

Involving so many people, and there is no lack of high-ranking officials in the court, we are not entitled to dispose of them.

Such a big matter should be reported to His Majesty first."

Li Mu gave a bad idea with a straight face.

Saying it nicely is reporting to the Emperor; in reality, it's not wanting to bear the butcher's infamy and shifting the blame to the top.

On Emperor Emperor Yongning's side, there is only one result—kill!

Not killing is not enough to appease the people's anger!

Not killing is not enough to deter people's hearts!

"Forget it!"

"These problems, put them aside for now and make a decision after recovering Huguang.

If these people repent and can make meritorious service, I don't mind taking responsibility for them!"

Li Yuan nodded and said.

Saying taking responsibility, in reality, is forcing these families to spend money to buy their lives.

If they are willing to take out a large amount of money and grain to support the imperial army in suppressing the rebellion, then the previous problems can be discussed.

Descendants who defected to the rebel army, as long as they repent in time, can obtain the opportunity to make meritorious service.

If they give enough, they can even change to a better-sounding statement.

For example: lurking in the enemy camp.

It's not that Li Yuan is short-sighted, but that he, this Governor of Huguang, is too poor in his pocket.

If there was no looting by the rebel army, he could do it himself and raid their homes.

Strictly interrogate the insiders; with so many people, it's impossible for all of them to be tough guys.

Now it's not possible; the wealth on the surface of each family has fallen into the hands of the rebel army.

The surviving clan members have also mostly gone out to avoid the war, and only a part remains in Huguang.

What is placed on the surface is just those officials serving in other places.

Against this background, even arresting people requires the cooperation of Yamen everywhere.

Wanting to trace their hidden wealth is truly too difficult.

It's better to exert pressure and let them take it out voluntarily.

"Uncle, it's good that you have an idea.

However, for the long-term peace and stability of Huguang, killing the chicken to warn the monkey is still necessary.

Just received news that the Third Garrison stationed in Changsha, together with the imperial army in the Dongtinghu area, launched a great battle in Yuezhou Prefecture.

The Third Garrison ambushed thirty thousand troops rushing from Wuchang to reinforce Yuezhou, beheading five thousand enemies and capturing fifteen thousand.

The imperial army in Dongtinghu was responsible for blocking the rebel army coming out of Yuezhou to meet them, beheading more than one thousand people.

Unfortunately, they were too timid and didn't take the opportunity of the enemy's retreat to take Yuezhou City in one fell swoop.

But according to the captives, the current Wuchang City is about the same as Yuezhou City, with only a few thousand old soldiers stationed.

The Third Garrison requested battle, wanting to take the opportunity to send troops to take Yuezhou City and recover Wuchang Prefecture."

After applying the eye drops, Li Mu immediately shifted the topic to the battlefield.

Extorting the gentry hard and forcing them to hand over all their wealth, this kind of thing can only be understood and not spoken.

"The rebel army's reaction is so slow?

It seems this is heaven wanting them to perish.

Since the Wuchang garrison came out to die on their own, then naturally it's best to take Wuchang Prefecture in one go.

However, the Third Garrison alone, I fear the troops are not enough; let's hurry over there!"

Li Yuan said with a look of surprise.

Having seen victory, his mentality also changed.

He once doubted the steady-and-steady tactics he pursued.

However, this doubt didn't last long before it returned to normal.

Whether it was the surprise attack on Changsha or dividing troops to ambush the enemy with several times their own strength, these were not things an ordinary army could complete.

The Third Garrison could create miracles, mainly because of the confidence in victory built up in a series of suppression wars.

Even facing ten times the enemy, they dared to take the initiative to attack, and the whole army was not afraid.

If it were other imperial troops, letting them defend Changsha City, they could only defend Changsha City to the death.

He chose to ignore Li Mu's complaints about iron not becoming steel.

The imperial army in Huguang dared to come out and fight the rebel army, which was already not bad.

Not all armies are elites; after blocking the rebel army, they could take the city in one go.

"Uncle, you judged wrong this time.

The rebel army's slow action is not because their reaction is slow.

On the contrary, it's because their reaction is too fast.

Wei Ni mobilized a large army to Nanchang, besides wanting to attack Guangdong and Among Guangxi, it was also to strengthen centralization.

From the current situation, Wei Ni has done it very successfully.

But the price of centralization is sacrificing the autonomy of front-line generals.

Front-line generals receive news, pass the news back to Nanchang at the first opportunity, and wait for Wei Ni to make a decision and issue an order; this period naturally consumes a lot of time.

The Wuchang garrison should have set out immediately after receiving the order, but they were just unlucky.

No one expected that they could encounter an ambush thirty miles from Yuezhou City.

If it weren't for the imperial army general in Dongtinghu also being my old subordinate, it would be impossible to have this cooperation.

Yuezhou and Wuchang suffered losses at the same time, and the number of garrison troops in other nearby prefectures is not large, so I estimate they don't dare to come out of the city.

In a short time, the fastest to reinforce Wuchang is still the Wu State's garrison in Jiujiang.

Involving two forces, no matter how fast the coordination is, it will be one step slower than us.

Of course, if the enemy dares to come over, I don't mind launching the battle to recover Jiujiang in advance!"

Li Mu said with a smile.

War is like this; plans can never keep up with changes.

To adapt to the situation, the battle plan has been adjusted all along. Compared to the initially formulated battle plan, it had long been changed beyond recognition.

There is no way; the rebel army's thoughts simply cannot be grasped.

If it were a peak duel between strong men, then they could still guess one or two.

The rebel army generals are mixed, and no one knows whether the enemy encountered is a dragon or a fish.

This victory mainly benefited from having many old subordinates.

Pitfalls between teammates in the Yu army happen from time to time, and the cooperation ability between various units is terrible.

If it weren't for familiar troops, it would be very difficult to cooperate with each other.

Without the help of local snakes, even if they received intelligence, the Third Garrison wouldn't dare to divide troops deep into the enemy's rear to play ambush.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 326 =====

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