Chapter 331: Strategy to Quell Rebels

Allied camp.

"The Eastern King has made breakthrough progress in the Shu region, with his troops pointing directly at Chengdu Prefecture; the puppet court's rule in the Shu region is about to collapse.

As long as we win this battle, Great Dayu will be cut in half by us.

Victory against Dayu is just around the corner!

..."

Wang Weijiarui's words did not evoke any echo from the crowd; the generals of the Wu Kingdom side still had cold faces.

They had kindly lent the path for the Chu army to pass through, only to be ravaged by the other side all the way, which made them furious.

If it weren't for the sake of the big picture, both sides would have already turned against each other.

Even if the high-level officials tried their best to suppress it, private fire-fights had never stopped.

Especially the imperial soldiers born in Jiujiang were even more gnashing their teeth in hatred at the Chu army.

These problems, Wang Weijiarui naturally knew, and was still trying to find a way to solve them.

Unfortunately, that thing called military discipline was not established at the first opportunity; wanting to rectify it later was not something that could be achieved by a single order.

In the past, they didn't notice this point because the various units were stationed separately.

On their own turf, everyone still had some scruples in their hearts.

Even if someone violated military discipline, because the base was small, no big trouble was caused.

Now fifty thousand troops were gathered, and they had become guest troops; the scruples in their hearts decreased, and their courage grew.

Even if only a small part ravaged the locality, with the support of a huge base, it could lead to a great disaster.

If the generals stopped it in time and severely punished those who violated military discipline, this trouble could also be solved.

Unfortunately, between Wu Chu, there were already not small contradictions.

The generals of both sides tacitly chose to protect their own, and the light-handed handling method made the courage of the soldiers below grow larger and larger.

Coupled with the provocation of spies mixed into the army, the situation below was very lively.

"Prince Chu, it is still too early to talk about victory against Dayu now.

That thief Li Mu is not easy to deal with.

Huguang has fallen into his hands; wanting to take it back is by no means an easy task.

It seems that in recent days, the imperial army is attacking other prefectures in Huguang; it might be that now again..."

Yin Mufeng responded coldly.

It wasn't that he wanted to slap the Prince of Chu in the face; it was mainly a political need.

Everyone came from the White Lotus Holy Kingdom, and in the past, there was still some friendship between us.

If they didn't deliberately distance themselves and stir up some contradictions, the Wu Emperor wouldn't be at ease.

Superimposed on the contradictions that already existed between the two sides, now that these words were spoken, they became sarcasm.

"Haha...

Losing cities and territory in the hands of the thief Li is nothing to be ashamed of.

In the beginning, Brother Fu's Guangdong was taken away by this thief, so adding Huguang is also normal.

Since receiving the news of Wuchang's fall, I have no longer held hope for other prefectures in Huguang.

Being able to persist until now proves that the sons of my Chu Kingdom are all brave warriors.

Even if they encounter a strong enemy like the thief Li, they still dare to pick up weapons and fight the enemy to the end.

A good start has added three points of winning odds to the upcoming great battle!"

Wang Weijiarui responded without changing his expression.

Losing the person, but not the formation.

Anyway, it's all a war of words; bragging doesn't require responsibility.

Seemingly fighting for face in front of allies, in reality, what they were truly competing for was the command of the allied army.

Private contradictions did not affect the continued cooperation between the two sides.

Theoretically speaking, as a ruler of a country, Wang Weijiarui, who had a higher status, should have occupied all the advantages.

Unfortunately, the continuous defeats on the front line gave the Wu army an excuse.

The current stiff relationship was, to a certain extent, also preparing for the upcoming struggle for the right to speak.

If he accepted his goodwill, relying on the seniority of the three kings before, unless Fu Haoxuan came in person, no one else would be qualified to compete with him.

"Prince, as long as you have confidence, that's fine.

The Emperor has given instructions that the upcoming great battle will depend on you, Prince.

In this great battle, the last general will fully cooperate with you, Prince.

However, in recent days, the two armies have accumulated quite a few contradictions in private, and it is difficult to eliminate misunderstandings in a short time.

In order to reduce trouble, in the upcoming great battle, the two armies can only be commanded separately."

Yin Mufeng said with an expressionless face.

Originally wanting to compete for the command of the allied army, when the matter came to a head, he suddenly changed his mind.

In this cooperation, it is true that the Wu Kingdom occupied a certain advantage, but the one acting as the main force was the Chu army.

Moreover, Wang Weijiarui was still a ruler of a country; wanting him to act as a little brother and accept command was almost impossible.

Even if the goal was truly achieved, the Chu army would not buy his account.

If, because of internal contradictions, the allied army suffered a defeat on the front line, the Regional Commander would have to take the blame.

Considering his own stature and inability to bear the responsibility of defeat, Yin Mufeng decisively chose to retreat and seek the next best thing.

If the command of the allied army could not be obtained, then he would guarantee independent command.

With the two armies commanded separately, he could refuse any of Wang Weijiarui's unreasonable orders.

Even if they suffered a defeat, he could still throw the blame to the Prince of Chu.

Involving joint operations between the two countries, right and wrong were difficult to sort out, and the country could not deeply investigate.

Operating like this, he stood in an invincible position.

As long as the army's losses were not large, no matter how the war situation developed, he had no responsibility.

"Brother Yin, there are only some slight misunderstandings between the two armies, which will not affect the big picture.

Because of this little problem, separating command is a bit too much.

You must know that on the battlefield, speed is precious; only unified command can exert the maximum combat effectiveness of the allied army.

..."

Wang Weijiarui immediately persuaded.

This war was to recover Huguang for the Chu Kingdom, and the Wu Kingdom participated more for its own strategic security.

The bulk of the benefits were on their side, so naturally, they had to pay more attention.

In order to win over the Wu army, he had lowered his posture from the beginning.

"Prince, if you really value this war, why not agree to the Emperor's conditions?

Using Zhejiang, which is full of mountains, to exchange for Huguang, the granary of the world, you are not at a loss.

Once the deal is reached, the Emperor will personally lead the army to participate in the war; by then, with the two armies joining forces, why worry about not breaking the imperial army?"

Yin Mufeng's words made Wang Weijiarui want to vomit blood from anger.

From the paper data, in troubled times, Huguang is indeed more important than Zhejiang.

The problem is that in the current Huguang, a large part of the territory is in the hands of the imperial army, while Zhejiang is entirely in the hands of the Wu Chu kingdoms.

Although affected by the war, leading to a significant decline in Zhejiang's economy, the economic foundation is still there.

The Wu Kingdom, sitting on Nanzhili and Zhejiang, has money when it needs money and grain when it needs grain, and also has the most developed manufacturing industry in the world.

With a little management, they can significantly lead the heroes in the struggle for the world.

The Chu Kingdom and the Wu Kingdom are allies, but they are also competitors.

If they can only get the whole territory of Huguang, this deal is not considered a loss.

What is feared is that the deal is reached, the Wu Kingdom gets Zhejiang first, but their Huguang is still in the hands of the imperial army.

"This win-win deal, I naturally will not refuse.

As long as you help me take the whole territory of Huguang, I will withdraw from Zhejiang.

I can swear in the name of the White Lotus Holy Mother that I will absolutely not break my word, otherwise I will surely die by being pierced by random arrows!"

Wang Weijiarui immediately guaranteed.

The order of the deal is very important, which relates to his own strategic security.

In troubled times, all kinds of promises and guarantees are all empty.

The White Lotus Holy Mother can at most fool the low-level officers and soldiers; few high-level officials believe it.

If swearing were really useful, these people would have long ago died from the backlash of their oaths.

Originally, before raising the banner, they also swore oaths.

Later, for their own interests, one by one they all broke their faith and betrayed the White Lotus Holy Emperor at the critical moment.

Relatively speaking, he, Wang Weijiarui, still performed well; although he did not fully rescue, at least he dispatched a reinforcement.

Wuchang, on the city gate tower.

Looking at the rebel flags fluttering outside the city, Li Mu's expression also became solemn.

It was not that he was waiting for death, but purely that several consecutive military actions had ended in failure.

The rebel army had learned the lessons of previous failures, not only dispatching a large number of scouts but also learning to build strong camps.

Even if it was a temporary marching camp, the surroundings were filled with trenches, pits, and various traps.

The rebel army spent half of every day tossing and turning on the camp, and the marching speed was comparable to a snail.

Whether it was an ambush or stealing the camp, there were no conditions for implementation.

The imperial army sent out, aside from causing some destruction and further delaying the enemy's speed, only had the record of hunting scouts.

Unable to find an opportunity to attack, Li Mu, who did not like to take risks, chose conservative tactics.

"How is it, have you discovered the enemy's weaknesses?"

Li Yuan asked with concern.

The Wuchang defense battle had started again, and the strongest armed forces of the nobility group were all in the city; this time, losing was not allowed.

"Except for the Wu Chu army camps being slightly further away, there are basically no big problems.

From the intelligence collected, the rebel army's growth speed is very fast.

Compared to the grass-roots team that fought by feeling in the past, now it has moved toward regularization.

In camp layout, they completely follow what is taught in the art of war, executing it step by step.

Perhaps there are still some problems in the coordination of various units, but judging from the current situation, it is not fatal."

Li Mu shook his head and said.

Facts have proven that war is the best teacher for growth.

After suffering losses several times in a row, the rebel army's high-level officials have now learned to be smart.

They abandoned fancy tactics and directly used their own troop advantage to fight a dull war against the imperial army.

Past military victories, besides the soldiers under their command being able to fight, were also built on the other side making mistakes.

Up to now, the rebel army has not made any fatal mistakes; attacking at this time is a head-on collision of flesh and blood.

Fighting this way, even if the imperial army can win, the soldiers will suffer heavy casualties.

"Then just defend directly!

The grain stored in the city is enough for a year, and we can afford to wait.

Outside, there are still imperial troops reclaiming lost territory; the longer it drags on, the smaller the rebel army's controlled area will be.

After reclaiming the whole territory of Huguang, these troops will also come to participate in the war, and by then, the troop gap will not be as disparate as it is now."

Li Yuan immediately expressed his position.

Having few battle records does not affect his solid theoretical foundation.

He cannot achieve victory by surprise, nor can he achieve a combination of odd and orthodox, but he is very familiar with orthodox fighting methods.

"This is indeed a way, but we still need to exert pressure on the rebel army.

Large-scale formation combat is the greatest test of a commander's patience.

The rebel army looks very organized, but I don't believe that Wei the Rebel is a military genius who can truly coordinate sixty thousand troops to fight.

We don't see the enemy's problems, which doesn't mean their problems don't exist.

Jiangxi has been stable for so long; the rebel army treats Jiangxi as its old nest; it is time to let Guangdong move.

When people are in a panic, they always like to do something.

Usually, the error rate of decisions made at such times is far higher than usual."

Li Mu said with a smile.

Originally, he was prepared to break the rebel army into pieces and destroy them one by one.

As a result, the enemy troops were scared by him, and each one was cautious, not giving him a chance to display his skills.

Unable to fight a quick battle, he could only fight a war of attrition.

However, if it goes like this, the one who should be anxious is the rebel army.

Sixty thousand troops fighting on the front line, wanting to guarantee logistics supply, is difficult to complete without a million laborers.

Such high-intensity mobilization is a great test of organizational ability.

Even if Xiao He were reborn, facing such complex scheduling, it would be difficult not to make mistakes.

In the early stage, they can rely on stockpiled materials to support, and relatively speaking, the pressure will be slightly smaller.

After dragging on for a few months, the rebel army will feel why war is known as a gold-swallowing beast.

A large amount of materials consumed on the road is absolutely the most thorny problem for Wei the Rebel, who has lost the Huguang granary.

"Not only can Guangdong move, but the imperial army in the Central Plains cannot be left idle either.

That bunch of guys in Liaodong blow their own horns to the sky all day long.

Now that we have dragged down the main force of the rebel army, it is time for them to show off.

Doesn't the Shi family want to serve as the Liaodong Viceroy? Then give them this opportunity.

As long as they can reclaim Nanjing, we will support them."

Li Yuan said with a half-smile.

In the past, the Liaodong Garrison in the Great Dayu Dynasty had always been a unique existence.

Following the two great victories in Jinan, the status of the Liaodong Garrison in the army suffered a serious impact.

The outside world generally listed the Liangguang Garrison in the same category as them.

In the eyes of some people, they even believed that the combat effectiveness of the Liangguang Garrison was stronger, and the heads of the Hu Ren were the best proof.

As the Right Army Commissioner, Li Yuan had suffered quite a bit from the Liaodong Garrison.

That bunch of guys held tight to the thighs of the civil officials and completely ignored the orders of the Commissioner's Office.

The nobility high-level officials fully supporting their own direct armed forces was, to a certain extent, also stimulated by them.

Of course, in this process, other border garrisons also contributed a share of strength.

Forced by political needs, no matter how dissatisfied, they could only try their best to win over the border garrisons.

The bad situation made the nobility realize that if they didn't take action, they would be squeezed out of the center of power.

Once the nobility faction's armed forces stood up again, the nobility's position quickly changed.

The Liaodong Garrison and the court's relationship turning stiff, the nobility also contributed a lot of effort.

During the Hu Ren invasion, the civil officials tried their best to cover up, while the nobility stood on the side and overturned the table.

Many hidden problems were poked in front of Emperor Yongning, aggravating the Emperor's dissatisfaction with the civil officials and border garrisons.

The nobility faction being able to take down a bunch of Viceroy positions was also the result of early paving.

As a competitor, supporting the Shi family to serve as the Liaodong Viceroy was purely drawing a cake.

Reclaiming Nanjing is not as easy as just saying it.

Although historically, no force defending Nanjing has truly held it, it is not something a group of landlubbers can capture.

"Uncle, what you say is reasonable.

Those border garrisons have been idle, wasting the court's money and grain in vain; that is not a way.

I don't expect them to reclaim Nanjing, but taking down the Jiangbei region should always be achievable.

The Emperor has long been impatient; now is the best time to present the strategy to quell the rebels."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 332 =====