Chapter 350: Eve of the Battle

Nanjing City.

"Your Majesty, good news!"

"A large-scale uprising has broken out in Shaanxi, and the days of the pseudo-dynasty are even harder!"

Yang Yang Jingren said with an excited expression.

On the issue of inciting the sect members to rise up, they had also contributed quite a bit.

In the past two years, they had successively sent dozens of elite teams deep into the north to contact the local White Lotus Sect.

Among the righteous army in Shaanxi now, there were also a few teams that they supported.

"Good!"

Fu Pingnan Fu Haoxuan said with a happy expression.

The imperial army was mobilizing troops, and a new round of major war was about to break out.

Facing the multi-provincial allied force without civil officials dragging their feet, Fu Pingnan Fu Haoxuan had no bottom in his heart, and the inside of the Wu State was also panicked.

At this time, the news of the rebellion in Shaanxi came, which played an important role in stabilizing people's hearts.

"Your Majesty, the rebellion in Shaanxi is a good thing for the righteous army in the world, but it is half joy and half worry for us.

The pseudo-dynasty will not stop the major war against us because of the change in Shaanxi.

In the upcoming Jiangnan battle, the main force of the pseudo-dynasty is the armies of the five provinces of the two Guangs, Huguang, and Minzhe, and their logistics all rely on local self-funding.

No matter how fierce the northwest is, it will not affect them, and the military pressure we face will not decrease.

The real beneficiary is still the Eastern King in the Shu region.

The chaos in Shaanxi cut off the thoughts of the imperial army in Shu; they could no longer get support from the pseudo-dynasty, and the Eastern King's capture of the Shu region had almost no suspense.

At that time, attacking from front and back, capturing Hanzhong would only be a matter of time.

Occupying both the Shu region and Guanzhong at the same time, if lucky, one could even replicate the momentum of the strong Qin.

We must speed up the progress, otherwise, in the next struggle for the world, another strong enemy will be added!"

After the Minister of Rites Hu Hu Yuzhe finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became grave.

In the struggle for the world, there had always been a theory of "four sides, four corners, and one central plain."

From historical experience, the regimes that occupied the Shu region and Guanzhong had always been the most favorable competitors in the struggle for the world.

It could be said that this Shaanxi great uprising directly made the Eastern King win.

In contrast, the situation of the Wu State was not so wonderful.

With the development of the two Guangs and Fujian, the Jiangdong land had long since changed from a four-sided land to a four-battle land.

Since the failure of the Northern Expedition, the Wu State had gradually fallen into a passive position strategically.

Enemies were on all sides, and now it was quite difficult for them to fight their way out.

"Minister Hu is right; our current situation is indeed very dangerous.

However, the Shaanxi righteous army cannot stay in Guanzhong forever.

Continuous drought and lack of rain, even if the grain stored in the hands of the Guanzhong clans is still very limited.

The current righteous army team has as many as over a million people, which is not something Shaanxi can support.

If these righteous armies go out of Tongguan, it will be a great help to us.

Your Majesty, I propose to provide support to the Shaanxi righteous army and incite them to send troops to Henan!"

Minister of War Fan Yu Xiuwen took the lead in giving the plan.

In the struggle for the world, today's allies may become opponents tomorrow.

The Eastern King Wei Hao becoming big did not conform to the interests of the Wu State.

Carving out the Shu region was their bottom line.

People's hearts are the most subtle; if the Eastern King is allowed to obtain Guanzhong again, this struggle for the world will have nothing to do with them.

"Minister Fan, letting the Shaanxi righteous army go out of the pass is not as simple as talking about it.

Even if Shaanxi is short of materials, it is enough for them to toss for a year or a half.

The Jiangnan battle is just around the corner; the imperial army will launch a comprehensive attack on us at the latest next month.

It is estimated that the envoys are still on the road, and the battle will have started.

Counting on the Shaanxi righteous army to go out of the pass to contain the imperial army is purely a dream.

The most urgent matter is to prepare for the great war!

As for the situation in the world, it will not be too late to consider it after winning this great war."

The words of Xie Qiu Ruiyu ignited a melee in the court.

A crowd of officials expressed their opinions, and everyone's words made sense, which made Fu Pingnan Fu Haoxuan very big-headed.

"Enough!"

"I called you here to discuss matters, not to let you shirk and pull skin.

I only want a solution; don't take out all kinds of reasons to talk nonsense!"

Fu Pingnan Fu Haoxuan could not help but burst into profanity.

No matter how eloquently they spoke, if they could not solve the actual problem, it was all in vain.

What the Wu State needed now was to win the war; all other problems could be dragged until after the war.

Nanchang City.

"General, the pseudo-dynasty army has come out of Linjiang Prefecture and is killing towards us.

Zheng Zheng Ruitao and Li Mu, the two thieves, have both appeared in the army.

......"

Upon receiving this news, the Nanchang garrison general Xiang Xiang Qinghong's face suddenly became gloomy.

What kind of virtue and ability did he have to encounter two famous generals of the Great Dayu at once?

He had originally thought that fifty thousand defending troops were enough to make Nanchang City impregnable, but now it seemed that it was still a bit short of meaning.

"Immediately send a request for help to the court, and make the situation we are facing clear to His Majesty!

Order each department to immediately conscript laborers and strictly guard the main roads in each place.

For any route that the enemy army may pass, strictly clear the fields, and absolutely do not allow a grain of food, a foot of cloth, or a pound of firewood to fall into the hands of the enemy army!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiang Xiang Qinghong made the decision immediately.

Learning the lesson of the previous defeat of the Chu State, the Wu State did not gather the main army to conduct a great battle with the imperial army from the beginning.

Of course, they conducted a great battle, and the realistic conditions did not allow it.

The Huguang imperial army attacked Jiujiang, the imperial army on the Jiangxi line attacked Nanchang, the imperial army on the Zhejiang line attacked Hangzhou, and the imperial army in the north also aimed at Xuzhou.

The above areas were all strategic locations.

Losing any place would make the Wu State very uncomfortable.

In addition to the four main battlefields, the coastal areas were also threatened by the imperial court's navy.

The imperial army entrenched in Songjiang was also marching towards Suzhou Prefecture.

With multiple battlefields starting to work together, the Wu State responded very strenuously and could only first adopt strategic defense and then wait for an opportunity to find an opportunity to break the enemy.

"General Xiang, you can't do this!"

"Nanchang is full of densely populated areas, and the city cannot accommodate so many people.

Once the fields are cleared, it will inevitably force these people to the side of the pseudo-dynasty.

At that time......"

Prefect Kong Tian Zhichen hurriedly advised.

These were all reasons on the surface; the real reason was that the land and real estate around them had fallen into the hands of officials.

In order to win the support of scholars, after the establishment of the Wu State, Fu Pingnan Fu Haoxuan made a series of concessions.

The gentry group that had been brutally slaughtered was resurrected in the Wu State.

They united with the meritorious faction and became the new rulers, dividing the most fertile land.

The situation in Nanchang was even more severe; the local bureaucrats were all reorganized from the Chu State.

The high level could be transferred, but the grass-roots level below had too high a cost for removal, and the Wu State did not move against them.

These people defected to the Wu State, completely following the general trend, and the sense of belonging deep in their hearts was not high.

Once their interests were violated, it was easy for these people to be alienated from the Wu State.

Between the Great Dayu and the righteous army, most of the gentry were still more inclined to the Great Dayu.

After all, in a newborn regime like the righteous army, the highest speaking power was the meritorious military generals, and the status of civil officials was far behind.

If they joined the righteous army and could not get more benefits, why would everyone follow them to rebel.

"Humph!"

"Whoever dares to defect to the pseudo-dynasty, I will wipe out his whole family.

At such a critical moment, everything is prioritized for defending Nanchang.

If the prefecture city cannot accommodate so many people, then disperse them to the county towns and fortresses below.

If it really cannot be accommodated, then let them enter the mountains to take refuge.

We only need to concentrate the young men and women to defend the city."

Xiang Xiang Qinghong's words made the local officials look like dead ashes.

Taking refuge in the mountains was purely nonsense.

After so many years of development, the mountains around Nanchang were all bare, and there were not even a few trees.

The profession of hunter had disappeared from the surrounding area.

Taking away their grain and driving people into the mountains was clearly letting everyone die.

They didn't care about the life and death of the bottom people, but their own clan had to be considered.

If they didn't want to follow up the mountain to eat dirt, they could only retreat into the city.

The lives of the whole clan were tied to the war chariot of the Wu State, and they had no chance to jump off the car.

Xiang Xiang Qinghong doing this was clearly learning the lesson of the previous defeat of the Chu State, lacking trust in these people.

"Minister Xiang, absolutely not!"

"Previously, the Chu State collapsed because......"

Before the middle-aged official finished speaking, a big knife pierced through his body.

"The matter is settled; whoever dares to shake the morale of the army, this person is the example.

In the upcoming Nanchang defense battle, I hope everyone can work together to defend the city.

In order to concentrate strength to deal with the enemy's attack.

The retainers in the mansions of the ministers, I will borrow them temporarily."

Xiang Xiang Qinghong said coldly.

He did not trust these people in the room.

Previously, the Chu State collapsed, and the internal ghost contributed important strength.

If it were not for the two-five boys jumping back, the imperial army would never have been able to recapture a large area of territory in a short time.

For the sake of safety, he decided to strike first and gather the power in the hands of these unstable elements.

After the great war broke out, they would be sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder to be consumed.

Without power in their hands, even if they had ideas in their hearts, they could not do anything.

Imperial Army Camp.

"Governor, Regional Commander, the scouts from the front line reported that the rebel army is clearing the fields."

Hearing this news, everyone did not feel surprised.

In order to increase the chance of winning, the defending side clearing the fields was a routine operation.

Relatively speaking, the rebel generals still lacked experience.

They actually did not send people to destroy the surrounding roads and bridges for the first time.

"Got it!"

"Regarding the rebel army's approach, does anyone have a response strategy?"

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang asked with a blank expression.

The name of the Regional Commander could not be hung in vain; presiding over the military meeting was his main job.

For this Jiangnan battle, the imperial court paid a heavy price.

Each battlefield had the possibility of becoming a breakthrough point.

Specifically where to tear open the rebel army's defense line, it was temporarily impossible to draw a conclusion.

"Governor, Nanchang is solid.

Previously, the rebel Wei attacked Nanchang and spent more than a year before taking the city.

Now the enemy is clearing the fields, clearly preparing to fight a protracted war with us, and it is feared that it will be difficult to break through in a short time.

Why not change to besieging Nanchang, first seize the surrounding cities, and then take Jiujiang together with the Huguang imperial army.

A city that has become an isolated city, no matter how well it can be defended, they cannot hold on for long."

Qin Qin Tianrui proposed.

As the acting general of the First Town of Jiangxi, this battle was crucial to his political career.

Only by performing well on the battlefield would he have a chance to take back the family foundation.

He had been able to walk to the present, and the nobility group had contributed a lot, almost exhausting the connections of the ancestors.

Now there was no ready-made credit delivered to the door, and wanting to progress could only rely on himself.

"Nanchang is solid, and Jiujiang Prefecture is also not easy to fight.

Why do you think that after we and the Huguang imperial army join forces, we can quickly take Jiujiang?"

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang asked with a frown.

Jumping attacks often appeared in previous wars to suppress the rebellion.

However, adopting this tactic was mostly to lure the enemy.

The problem now was that the enemy army was prepared, Nanchang and Jiujiang were both not easy to fight, and no one could guarantee that they could break the city in a short time.

If they could not eat the enemy army and could not pull out these two nails, the risk of the main army going deep into the enemy's rear would be too great.

"Governor, whether we can quickly take Jiujiang Prefecture is not important; the key is to make the Nanchang defenders believe that we can take Jiujiang Prefecture.

There are many people in the Jiangnan region who are towards the imperial court, and many of them still hold high positions in the rebel army.

If we can persuade them to act as internal responders and influence the judgment of the enemy generals, the subsequent battles will be easier to fight.

Even if the plan fails, we can take advantage of the situation to take Poyang Lake and advance to threaten Anqing Prefecture, disrupting the enemy's deployment.

Anqing is the gateway to Nanjing, and the rebel army dare not ignore Anqing; they will inevitably deploy heavy troops to defend it.

The more enemy troops we attract, the fewer enemy troops the friendly army will face, which will help other battlefields achieve breakthroughs."

Qin Qin Tianrui explained immediately.

On the issue of pacifying the rebellion, the position of the high level of the nobility group was consistent.

The special identity determined that he must take the overall situation into account.

No matter how much he wanted to make contributions, he must restrain his desires and highlight the overall strategic vision.

Putting the interests of the group first was the only way to get the support of the big shots of the nobility group.

"Regional Commander Li, what do you think of General Qin's proposal?"

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang asked with a smile.

It sounded good, but when it came to specific implementation, he had no bottom in his heart.

To avoid embarrassment, he simply performed a move of moving flowers and grafting trees.

Anyway, the person was brought out by Li Mu, so letting him comment had no problems.

"It can be tried, but the intensity must be grasped well.

Judging from the distribution of the rebel army's troops, they are clearly prepared for defense.

As the saying goes: if you defend for a long time, you will lose.

Try a few more times, and the long defense line of the rebel army will always reveal flaws."

Li Mu answered with a smile.

He was happy to see his old subordinates grow up.

Don't look at the fact that quite a few generals have popped up in the nobility group, but these were all piled up by the base number.

Among the younger generation, those with slightly military talent were all screened out.

Those who could stand alone were still few and far between.

The world was so chaotic, and military generals were needed everywhere to lead troops to suppress it, so it was good to have a few more generals to share the pressure.

In the late dynasty, there would always be people going against the current, trying to turn the tide.

Under his influence, the noble children who should have been eating and waiting to die unexpectedly became the last backbone of the Great Dayu Dynasty.

How long they could prolong the life of the Great Dayu, no one knew.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 351 =====