Chapter 351: Nanchang Defense Battle

Chengdu Prefecture.

Upon receiving the news of the rebellion in Guanzhong, the sky of a crowd of Shu officials collapsed.

After the rebel army besieged the city, the psychological pressure they endured increased day by day.

Being able to hold out until now was largely supported by faith, looking forward to the arrival of imperial reinforcements.

Now everything was over.

The operation plan to steal Chongqing failed, causing Huguang reinforcements to be unable to come.

At this time, Guanzhong was in chaos, and the reinforcements from the north were also gone.

"Governor, Chengdu Prefecture cannot be held for long; break out and retreat to the northwest of Sichuan!

Even if we cannot hold the Shu region, we must hold the road for the imperial court's future counterattack; we must not let the Sichuan-Shaanxi rebel army merge."

Lu Lu Junliang said with a grave expression.

The rebel army occupied the most essential areas of the Shu region, and the prefectures currently still in the hands of the imperial court were already few.

"Tell the local tribes that their conditions are agreed to by this Governor.

As long as they are willing to send troops to help the imperial court suppress the rebellion, the imperial court will expand their jurisdiction, and the official positions of the tribal yamen will all be handed over to them.

Allow them to collect taxes freely, establish......"

Xu Xu Wenyue said coldly.

Compared to directly retreating, he chose to drink poison to quench his thirst.

Originally, the power of the Shu tribes was already great, and once the restrictions were lifted, they would become new feudal lords.

Compared to the rebel army of outsiders, the threat caused by these local forces becoming big was greater.

But now there was no choice.

Only fools who didn't know military affairs would fantasize about being able to lead the team to retreat to northern Sichuan after retreating from Chengdu Prefecture.

Having experienced several years of military life, Xu Xu Wenyue was long ago not the military novice he once was.

He was very clear that under the current situation, once the defenders chose to break out, they would collapse rapidly.

Covering each other's retreat and retreating in an orderly fashion only existed in an ideal state.

Even if it were the elite of the Nine Borders, encountering this situation, they would also collapse.

Since the Shu region could not be preserved, continuing to restrain the local tribes had no meaning.

Lifting the restrictions on them, without the imperial court having to take action, these local snakes would fight with the rebel army.

In fact, even without his order, these tribal forces would not be peaceful.

Previously, conscripting tribal troops to participate in the war was refused, and the Great Dayu's restraint on these guys was getting weaker and weaker.

"Governor, without His Majesty's imperial edict, acting arbitrarily to let the tribes become big is a capital crime!"

Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Li Yongliang reminded.

Xu Xu Wenyue was an assistant minister left by the late Emperor, and his prestige among the pure stream was also very high.

On the issue of tribes, if he committed a taboo, the Emperor would at most dismiss him from office and strip him of his position; the risk of losing his head was not great.

But these participants were different.

Originally, they were the culprits of the deterioration of the situation in Shu, and they overstepped on the issue of tribes, so it was easy for the Emperor to pick them out to kill the chicken to warn the monkey.

"The country is in trouble, how can we retreat.

You are afraid of bearing responsibility, but I am not.

If His Majesty wants to punish and kill, I will recognize it!"

Xu Xu Wenyue said righteously.

Everything is afraid of comparison.

On the issue of suppressing the rebellion, the guys in the nobility group were fierce on the battlefield.

One shot killed an anti-king and recaptured a large area of lost territory.

Now they were making persistent efforts and attacking the biggest rebel in the world.

Judging from the current situation, the probability of the imperial army winning was very high.

Hosting the work of suppressing the rebellion in the same way, the illustrious battle achievements obtained by colleagues directly highlighted his incompetence.

Everyone was mixing in the same circle, and he, Xu Xu Wenyue, also wanted face.

If he didn't have the ability to defeat the rebel army, he had to think of a way to block the rebel army from carving up the Shu region, otherwise his reputation before and after death would be completely ruined.

Compared to these, acting arbitrarily on the issue of tribes was a trivial matter.

If the Emperor wanted to pursue responsibility, he would have to wait until he returned alive.

If he unfortunately died on the battlefield, all the promises he made earlier could be blown away by the wind.

The civil official group that mastered the right to speak had always had a tradition of beautifying their own people.

Like this kind of empty promise that was not fulfilled, everyone would subconsciously downplay it, or even simply not record it.

If it were not for the sharp writing of the Spring and Autumn period, those civil officials who abandoned Jiaozhi at the beginning would not have become famous ministers of the Great Dayu.

Jiujiang front line.

"Jiujiang is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is difficult to break through in a short time. I want to divert troops to raid Anqing from the land route.

Ministers, who is willing to take on this heavy responsibility?"

Li Yuan asked.

After recapturing the entire Wuchang, Jiujiang Prefecture and Anqing Prefecture were already at the mouth.

Looking at the map purely, he could send troops to Jiujiang or directly attack Anqing Prefecture.

Choosing Jiujiang as the focus of the attack was mainly to take the Yangtze River shipping route so that the main army could go down the river.

In water warfare, whoever occupied the upper reaches occupied the advantage.

First Jiujiang then Anqing was completely the correct method of military strategy.

However, attacking Jiujiang did not mean that Anqing could not be attacked.

As long as the war was ignited, regardless of whether Anqing could be taken, it would affect the deployment of the rebel army.

"My Lord Marquis, we have already taken the counties under Jiujiang, and the enemy army is left with an isolated city.

As long as we exert a little more effort, we can take Jiujiang Prefecture; there is no need to take the risk of attacking Anqing!"

Governor Fei Fei Songde opposed immediately.

Encountering a strong governor, he felt aggrieved as a governor, and the power in his hands was squeezed very severely.

What was worse was that when he was in the capital, Li Yuan issued Huguang public debt in the name of the Governor's Yamen.

From the results, it was undoubtedly successful.

But he was completely unaware at the time, so he carried a black pot on his back and was impeached by a group of censors afterwards.

The subsequent selling of official positions, although he did not touch it, was also sold in the name of the Governor's Yamen.

A series of reforms that offended people were all under the banner of his governor.

The results were all taken away by the governor, and the pots were all buckled on his head; no one would feel comfortable.

"Minister Fei, you don't know military affairs, and it is understandable that you don't know the reason.

Diverting troops to attack Anqing, not only do we have to send troops, but the Jiangxi side will also send troops.

They are besieging Nanchang on one side, and on the other side, they are diverting troops to advance to Poyang Lake, and it won't take long to hunt Anqing together.

Besides Anqing Prefecture, the further Huizhou Prefecture and Ningguo Prefecture can also become targets of attack.

With the Zhejiang imperial army responding, it is actually not a big problem to go deep alone."

Li Yuan's explanation made Fei Fei Songde very hurt.

There was no way; the struggle between civil and military had been so cruel since ancient times.

As the leader of the nobility, Li Yuan could not possibly share credit with him.

Unless things were messed up and someone was needed to share the pot, otherwise his name would not even appear in the battle report sent to the capital.

As for bypassing Jiujiang and Nanchang and diverting troops to fight in the south, it only existed in theory.

Wanting to achieve the goal, not only must they watch the defenders in the city and not let them come out to make trouble, but they must also consider the logistical supply of the main army.

Friendly armies helping, at most provide temporary logistical support for small troops.

Doing this now was mainly to disrupt the enemy's troop deployment and find flaws in the enemy.

Once the fight started, it entered the mode of melee.

This was exactly what they wanted.

Whether in terms of the comprehensive quality of officers or the combat effectiveness of the army, the imperial army occupied the advantage.

As long as the rebel army was fished out of the turtle shell, the subsequent battles would be easier to fight.

"Governor, I am willing to go!"

Bai Jing Yifeng took the lead to express his position.

It wouldn't work if he wasn't active; Li Yuan was not the civil official governor before, and people had their own foundation in the army.

The reliance on militia armed forces was so low that it could be ignored.

If it weren't for the fact that these troops didn't need the Governor's Yamen to pay, it was estimated that they would have been disbanded.

"Good!"

"Minister Bai is brave in taking on responsibilities, which is truly a blessing for the country.

This time sending troops to Anqing is intended to mobilize the enemy army.

It is best to be able to take Anqing Prefecture; if Anqing cannot be taken, don't let the enemy army be comfortable.

I won't ask how to fight at the front line.

There is only one principle: disrupt the enemy's rear with maximum intensity and weaken the rebel army's war potential.

In addition, restrain the military discipline; we are the imperial court's troops, don't act like wandering bandits."

Seeing Bai Jing Yifeng on the road, Li Yuan also specifically reminded him.

The imperial court was not responsible for the military pay of the militia, so they could only rely on themselves, and it was understandable to run out to rob.

However, what Bai Jing Yifeng's department did was truly a bit excessive.

Burning, killing, and looting, almost everything was done.

The name "Butcher" was not exaggerated at all.

If it weren't for the fact that they were all civilians who were killed, and it was now a time when people were needed, the imperial court would have dismissed him long ago.

Not moving him now did not mean that he would not be settled after the autumn in the future.

The atrocities of the regiment had offended quite a few people.

Wanting to wash white and go ashore, the difficulty was not generally large.

If it weren't for this feint attack on Anqing, which had the risk of the whole army being wiped out, Bai Jing Yifeng would not have had a share in this task.

"Thank you for the reminder, My Lord Marquis; I will definitely do my best to complete the task!"

Bai Jing Yifeng guaranteed immediately.

Walking to the present, he had no way out.

Holding tens of thousands of regiment troops, even if everyone looked at him unpleasantly, they could do nothing about him.

If military discipline was really restrained, logistics could drag the regiment down.

Without the army, those who were offended in the past would all pounce on him to take his life.

Choosing to take the risk to take the task was mainly to sell well to Li Yuan.

Civil official governors lacked roots in the army and did not dare to take action against him easily, but the nobles were different.

Holding more than ninety percent of the elite in the southeast, once they turned their faces, they could truly kill him.

In the officialdom, he, a regiment-training minister who was not from a regular path, was also a different kind.

Rather than staying and facing the strange eyes of colleagues, it was better to jump out of the cage and seek a new breakthrough.

How much credit could be made was not important; the key was to train an elite that could fight.

He had figured it out; in troubled times, having soldiers in hand was the only way to speak hard.

"Boom, boom, boom......"

Outside Nanchang City, the roaring artillery fire opened the prelude to the siege.

"Nanchang is not easy to fight!"

Looking at the shells hitting the city wall, only scratching a little skin, the Marquis of Marquis Wuyang could not help but sigh.

"Hmm!"

"The rebel defenders have some ways; not only did they clear the fields in advance, but they also burned down the houses near the city wall.

Wanting to use the nearby buildings to attack the city wall is not possible.

The ruins over there are said to be the famous Tengwang Pavilion, and now they have also been destroyed in the war.

We sent people to dig tunnels, but they were also discovered by the enemy, and we suffered quite a bit.

It is estimated that the defending general buried large urns near the city wall, which could monitor the movement of digging.

Even the moat was utilized, and those crisscrossing trenches were naturally the nemesis of tunnels."

Li Mu nodded and said.

The performance of the rebel defending general exceeded most generals of the time.

Without rich combat experience, it was difficult to notice so many details.

There were talents among the rebels, and he did not feel strange.

Being able to withstand the pressure of the imperial army's encirclement and suppression and stand out in troubled times, they definitely did not lack military generals who could fight.

Previously, the progress of suppressing the rebellion was smooth, not because the rebels were not good, but because their abilities had no chance to be displayed.

The Nanchang Defense Battle was different; the enemy general had prepared for at least half a year.

As long as the enemy general was not stupid, he would have preset various situations and taken targeted measures.

Not only was the city fortified, but the siege method of digging tunnels was also abolished.

The imperial army wanted to take the city, and what they could do now was to gather the main army to attack.

It just so happened that this was what Li Mu least wanted to see.

It was not easy to train an excellent soldier, and the price of attacking the city was too great.

Relying on filling human lives to take Nanchang City, even if the imperial army won the victory, he was also a big loser.

"Regional Commander Li, we cannot be passively attacked; we must take counterattacks as soon as possible.

If there is no better way, then conscript laborers and fill it with human lives!"

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang said slowly.

A general's success is built on ten thousand bones.

For a commander, the most taboo thing is to be soft-hearted.

Starting from the overall situation, as long as Nanchang could be recaptured, paying a certain price was worth it.

The elite could not afford to die, so take laborers to make up the number.

The Great Dayu Dynasty lacked nothing but people; dying tens of thousands under Nanchang City would not shake the foundation.

"Wait a little longer!

We are the side attacking the city, and now the ones who are more anxious are the defenders.

General Qin has led troops south, and the Huguang side has also sent a butcher to feint attack Anqing.

Quickly taking Nanchang can indeed deter the enemy, but it will also cut off their thoughts of coming out of the city to fight.

If there is no breakthrough here for a long time, then change the direction of the attack and put the strategic focus on Songjiang Prefecture.

Just take Suzhou Prefecture, and our war will burn to Ying Tian Prefecture, and then directly forcibly take Nanjing."

After hesitating for a moment, Li Mu revealed the hidden real combat plan.

Jiujiang Defense Battle, Nanchang Defense Battle, Hangzhou Defense Battle, Anqing Defense Battle, all were smoke bombs released.

The real combat goal had always been only one: Nanjing.

The paving done before was just to make the rebel army believe that he wanted to go south along the river.

When the rebel army mobilized the main force over, and the rear appeared empty, it was the best time to launch.

For the Great Dayu Dynasty, recapturing Nanjing meant winning this battle.

Once Nanjing was lost, the hearts of the Wu State regime established by the rebels would be scattered.

"Recapturing Nanjing, do you have confidence?"

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang asked in surprise.

According to his expectation, capturing Nanchang, Jiujiang, Hangzhou, and other places within the year and recapturing the entire Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces was victory.

The subsequent strategy for the Southern Zhili was a task for next year.

Suppressing the rebel army to a corner and slowly grinding with the enemy could pacify the rebellion.

The plan given by Li Mu was clearly more radical.

The three main battlefields were all decoys, just to create opportunities for the imperial army to raid Suzhou and recapture Nanjing.

"The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly; how can there be one hundred percent confidence.

This scale of battle is essentially a competition between the two sides to see who makes fewer mistakes.

We dug a pit for the rebel army, and they could still decide for themselves whether to jump into it.

If the enemy high level understands the truth and takes targeted response measures, waiting for us to go over and be beaten.

Of course, if the situation develops favorably, we can also make the fake real and make the currently implemented plan become real."

Li Mu explained seriously.

The most brilliant trick is to deceive one's own people as well.

In order to increase the chance of winning, Li Mu did not reveal the truth to anyone beforehand.

Including until now, the content told to the Marquis of Marquis Wuyang was only a part of the plan.

True and false, false and true.

Until the final answer was revealed, no one knew which version of his combat plan was true.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 352 =====