Chapter 354

"His arrogance is his own business; we just need to follow the Viceroy's orders and launch an attack on Anqing together.

In the coming days, send out more scouts to closely monitor the rebels' movements.

I have a premonition that this battle for Anqing will not go smoothly.

Qin Qin Tianrui is a noble's son with someone to back him up, so he can afford to ignore the rebels, but we cannot.

It wasn't easy to raise this force; once it's lost, it will be hard to replenish."

Bai Jing Yifeng said indignantly.

Everyone was an army of the Great Dayu Dynasty, yet they belonged to the third class.

After the Marquis of Zhenyuan took office, the money and grain for the noble's direct units were basically issued in full.

Other imperial army units could also get sixty percent of their pay, but only they had never seen what money and grain looked like.

When asked, the answer was: the court has ordered that the Regiment Army must raise its own grain and pay.

Except for him, the Minister of Training, who had an official establishment, everyone else was a temporary worker.

They didn't even have an official designation, let alone grain and pay.

Back in Huguang, even the lowly garrison soldiers could look down on them.

Suffering unequal treatment, it was impossible not to have any complaints.

To obtain an official establishment, the Regiment Army had to be broken up and dispersed into other regular armies.

Seeking help from former classmates and teachers had no effect.

Within the civil official group, there was also a greater tendency to break up and reorganize the Regiment Army, or disband it on the spot.

In the minds of most officials in the court, their uncontrolled armed forces were all considered unstable elements.

Except for them, this anomaly, most Regiment Armies in other places were strictly controlled to under one thousand men.

To avoid policy risks, local aristocratic families would rather use multiple aliases to keep the numbers within the court's regulations.

The Huguang Regiment Army was essentially a militia alliance, and it was only through Bai Jing Yifeng's iron-fisted methods that everyone was gathered together.

Once they were broken up, it wouldn't take long for the troops to slip out of control.

He had offended too many people while raising military pay; if he didn't have a large army in his hands, not only would he be finished, but the entire Bai clan would suffer.

Since the two sides couldn't agree on terms, the reorganization was shelved, and no one paid for the Regiment Army's money and grain.

As Huguang was recovered by the court, it became difficult for them to recruit soldiers.

It was fine to pull in a few people secretly, but once they raised the recruitment banner, local officials would immediately come to block them.

Their excuse was very sufficient: to recruit soldiers locally, produce the court's official document.

He, the specially appointed Minister of Training, had no power to recruit soldiers independently.

Expanding the army in the Great Dayu Dynasty followed a strict set of standards.

First, apply to the Viceroy's office for approval, then have the Viceroy's office report to the Ministry of War and the Regional Military Commissioner's office for approval, and finally report to the Emperor for consent.

If any link in the middle was blocked, it was illegal recruitment, and if investigated, it would cost one's head.

Li Mu was able to expand the army smoothly because he was tinkering within the court's existing establishment, which counted as replenishing battle losses.

Subsequent recruitment followed regular channels, with the establishment requested from the court by the Marquis of Marquis Wuyang.

Recruitment in other provinces was also carried out only after the court gave them designations.

According to the court's regulations, the Huguang Regiment Army only had one thousand legal militia, and the remaining personnel exceeding the limit were all "black households."

It was mainly because they believed the lies of the previous two Viceroys and underestimated the difficulty of obtaining an establishment in the Great Dayu.

They mistakenly thought that after fighting a few battles, they could obtain the court's official establishment.

Alas, the other side was just painting a pie; they gave all kinds of privileges but never applied for an official establishment.

One slip leads to eternal regret.

They didn't seize the opportunity to operate earlier, and the successor Viceroy not kicking them while they were down was already for the sake of the big picture; he wouldn't take the risk to clean up the predecessor's mess.

The local officials who supported them in the past had either died or been convicted in the great war, and the newly appointed officials avoided them like the plague.

"Big Brother, you are just too easy to talk to.

Learn to be as arrogant as those military generals, and they would definitely not dare to treat you like this.

That Marquis of Marquis Hanshui back then often disobeyed orders, yet he still kept getting promoted."

Bai Bai Yihao's complaints were directly ignored by everyone.

Being arrogant and domineering requires capital, which they happened not to have.

Li Mu could disobey orders back then not only because his own backing was strong enough, but crucially because he was far enough away from the imperial envoy.

Separated by rebels, it took nearly a month for both sides to pass a message.

Remote control was simply unrealistic; as long as he could win, Xu Xu Wenyue could turn a blind eye to other things.

The subsequent Viceroy Zhu was even worse, blindly giving orders and directly causing the front line to collapse.

Before he could settle scores with Li Mu, he had already ruined himself.

When a general is in the field, he is not bound by the orders of his sovereign.

Since the Regional Commander didn't pick faults, the court naturally wouldn't pursue the most capable general below.

If they dared to follow suit, they would have been taken down as rebels long ago.

Don't look at Bai Jing Yifeng's high prestige in the Regiment Army; if he really chose to confront the court, there wouldn't be many below who would support him.

It's likely that as soon as he revealed any disloyal thoughts, someone would run to the government to report him and trade his head for an official position.

Essentially, this kind of landlord armed force, when they joined the campaign to suppress the rebels, was just to mix into the officialdom, not to rebel against the Great Dayu Emperor.

"You fool, stop talking nonsense!"

Bai Jing Yifeng reprimanded immediately.

If you can't enter the officialdom through the regular path, you can still donate.

Referring to historical experience, once the court starts selling official positions, it is very difficult to stop.

Usually, they start by selling empty titles, then remote and peripheral positions, and then ordinary official positions.

After layers of advancement, there will always be a day when lucrative positions are put up for sale.

Don't look at the public outcry when Emperor Emperor Yongning opened up the sale of official positions; in fact, many people were silently preparing silver, ready to seek a good job.

The gentry children in the Regiment Army were even more eager, wanting to make a fortune in the counter-insurgency war.

By then, with military merit and money in their pockets, the difficulty of operating for an official position would be greatly reduced.

It was precisely because he knew his subordinates' thoughts that Bai Jing Yifeng constantly reinforced his image as a loyal official.

Even if he complained in private, it was only directed at individual officials, not at the court and the Emperor.

The roaring sound of artillery broke the tranquility of Anqing City.

Qin Qin Tianrui, who arrived in Anqing first, did not hesitate at all and took the lead in launching a probing attack.

Without any surprise, the rebels had reinforced the city defenses in advance, and the siege did not go smoothly.

"Regiment Army, how far are they from us?"

Qin Qin Tianrui asked with concern.

He held no hope for the Regiment Army's combat effectiveness.

But to recover a military stronghold like Anqing, one couldn't do without using human lives to fill the gap.

The Jiangxi First Town was something he had painstakingly built up; no matter how much he craved military merit, he couldn't take them out to use as consumables.

"Regional Commander, the Regiment Army is less than forty miles away from us; at their marching speed, they are expected to arrive tomorrow afternoon.

Do you want to send someone to urge them?"

A young officer on the side asked.

When they agreed to march together, the Regiment Army was closer to Anqing than they were.

As a result, they arrived at the front line, set up camp, and rested for a day before launching an attack on the rebels, while the Regiment Army was still dragging their feet on the road.

Compared to the time agreed upon by both sides, they were a full three days late.

"No need!

No matter how much you urge them, they will still arrive tomorrow; it doesn't matter for those few hours."

Qin Qin Tianrui said calmly.

He had never held much hope for the Huguang Regiment Army.

As long as expectations were low enough, one wouldn't feel disappointed.

Although he was higher in official rank than Bai Jing Yifeng, the two sides were not in a subordinate relationship.

In a joint operation, he had no command over the Regiment Army.

If the other side didn't cooperate actively, any legal dispute would just be the two Viceroy's offices passing the buck; it wasn't his turn to hold them accountable.

If such a small matter couldn't be handled by himself and had to be taken to the top, it would only make everyone think he was incompetent.

If they broke the conflict before the two armies even met, it would be even harder to cooperate in the subsequent battles.

From the big picture, he now had to forget the previous agreed-upon time to avoid embarrassment for both sides if a scene were made.

Wu Army camp.

"Marquis, the enemy has taken the bait.

The Jiangxi troops that arrived first have taken the lead in launching an attack on Anqing.

The 'Human Butcher's' troops are still on the march and are expected to arrive at the front line tomorrow.

No unusual movements have been discovered from the other imperial troops for the time being.

Do you think we should close the net?"

Assistant Regional Commander Zeng Zeng Haochuan said with excitement.

The plan was progressing too smoothly; the enemy was almost following the script they had set.

"To avoid long nights and many dreams, it is indeed time to close the net.

Since the enemy troops are divided into two waves, we will break them one by one.

Pass the order: select one thousand elite soldiers; the enemy will be broken tonight.

Notify the main force to arrive at the battlefield within three days to surround and annihilate the enemy."

Fang Wan Yuxuan said domineeringly.

To deal a heavy blow to the enemy, he personally led ten thousand elite soldiers to replace the garrison in several counties on the south bank of Anqing.

The total troop strength stationed did not change; each time the garrison was replaced, it was only a thousand men, which was a completely normal adjustment.

They were still lurking on the south bank of the Yangtze River, facing Anqing Prefecture across the river, making them even less conspicuous.

Choosing a night raid was learned entirely from Li Mu.

The righteous army had suffered many losses from this, and Fang Wan Yuxuan wanted to take the opportunity to pay them back.

"Marquis, which enemy force should we strike first?"

Zeng Zeng Haochuan asked suspiciously.

Night raids on enemy camps had always been high-risk, high-reward.

There were countless examples of night raids in history.

Only a few resulted in crushing the enemy, while most ended in failure.

"When picking persimmons, of course, you pick the soft ones!

Although I haven't fought Qin Qin Tianrui, this person was brought up by that rebel Li Mu and once led troops in a night raid on the Tatars; he will certainly have precautions.

Sending one thousand soldiers to raid his camp is likely just delivering heads to them.

That 'Human Butcher' fellow, apart from his fierce reputation, has troops whose combat effectiveness is actually not that great.

Don't look at his forty thousand-strong army; once they fall into chaos, even if another forty thousand come, it's all for nothing.

The probability of a successful raid is at least eighty percent.

After solving these guys, we will concentrate our forces to go back and deal with Qin Qin Tianrui's unit."

Fang Wan Yuxuan explained impatiently.

Choosing to strike the Regiment Army, besides picking the soft persimmon, was mainly because they had many troops.

The more enemy troops there are, the better the victory report will look.

Even if they couldn't leave behind the Jiangxi First Town later, he could play the game of shifting battle achievements to create the illusion of having severely damaged the enemy's main force.

Anyway, they all look similar, and it's hard to distinguish the difference between the two armies from the severed heads.

Of course, such words that would damage morale could not be said directly.

At midnight, Zeng Zeng Haochuan led his team and quietly touched the outside of the Regiment Army camp.

"Attack!"

After scouting and confirming it wasn't a trap, Zeng Zeng Haochuan immediately issued the combat order.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Arrows took the lives of the patrolling soldiers, and the screams before death also attracted the attention of the garrison soldiers.

"Enemy attack!"

Realizing the situation was bad, the Regiment Army general on night duty hurriedly ordered a warning.

"Beat the gongs and drums!"

The communication method was a bit ancient, but it was effective.

In the dark night, flag signals and beacon fires were difficult to use, and only the sound of gongs and drums could transmit information to the camp the fastest.

"How many enemy troops are outside?"

Bai Jing Yifeng, awakened from his sleep, asked hurriedly.

Different drum rhythms represented different messages.

The current beating meant that the south side of the camp was under a night raid by the enemy.

"My Lord, it's chaotic outside, and there is no specific information yet.

Why don't you wait a moment, the people below will soon..."

Before the personal guard captain could finish, Bai Jing Yifeng reprimanded him immediately.

"Less nonsense, hurry and send someone to take a look."

While the personal guards took action, the camp was also in chaos.

The Regiment Army soldiers awakened from their sleep didn't react by picking up weapons to defend, but with endless panic.

The soldiers on the front line were stunned by the suddenly appearing enemy, and at this time, a rout had already occurred.

In the panic, many routed soldiers ran around in the camp, directly causing the already fragile camp order to verge on collapse.

"Don't run!"

"All of you, get back!"

Seeing the soldiers retreating constantly, the Regiment Army general shouted hurriedly.

Unfortunately, once chaos appears, it cannot be reversed by manpower.

The Regiment Army, lacking night combat experience, encountered this treatment for the first time and simply didn't know how to counterattack.

"Big Brother, the situation is not good; there is a camp stampede in some areas.

The chaos is spreading rapidly; hurry and order a retreat!"

Bai Bai Yihao, who rushed over, advised in a panic.

As the sounds of killing grew louder, the chaos in the camp also expanded rapidly.

Not many soldiers died at the hands of the enemy; instead, the trampling caused by their own people running around became the main casualty of the Regiment Army.

To maintain the balance of power within the Regiment Army, Bai Jing Yifeng had buried many landmines below in peacetime.

Many conflicts that could have been resolved were deliberately suppressed by him.

The Xiangxiang disciples were clear about grievances, and long-term suppression not only failed to solve the problem but instead caused internal contradictions to continue to intensify.

At this time, the chaos in the camp became the best opportunity for those below to settle scores.

Once someone started, it couldn't be stopped later.

"No!"

"The situation outside is unclear; if we order a retreat now, the army will easily collapse completely.

The enemy's night raid force cannot be too large; hurry and send someone to organize the army and launch a counterattack!"

Bai Jing Yifeng said with a firm tone.

As a commander who had been defeated repeatedly, he had always had the reputation of a "long-distance runner" within the Great Dayu.

If he could run away, he would have ordered a retreat long ago.

Alas, it was pitch black now; once the army left the camp, it would be hard to gather the troops again.

(End of chapter)