Chapter 356

After charging forward all the way, Qin Tianrui frowned at the tightly closed gates of Luzhou City.

The key to a surprise attack lies in catching the enemy off guard.

Now that the enemy is on alert, with only the forces I have on hand, capturing Luzhou Prefecture is simply too difficult.

“Issue orders: change course for Yangzhou!”

Qin Tianrui ordered coldly.

“General, Yangzhou is no match for Luzhou—it lies behind the rebel lines, and we’ll have no reinforcements to support us there!”

The deputy commander hurriedly urged.

Attacking Luzhou Prefecture is dangerous, but at least it borders Huguang and Henan.

If trouble arises, we can shift toward either side.

Penetrating deep into Yangzhou Prefecture changes everything—every surrounding area is enemy territory.

If we fail to seize Yangzhou City swiftly, the rebels will quickly mobilize large forces to encircle and crush us.

“Don’t worry.

Once we reach Yangzhou Prefecture, someone will coordinate with us.

The navy patrols the open sea and can support us at any moment.

The troops under the Fujian-Zhejiang Viceroy are already attacking Suzhou Prefecture—they can easily coordinate with us.”

Qin Tianrui said confidently.

Unlike other regions, Yangzhou Prefecture is the very birthplace of the Yangzhou Camp.

Their influence there had long penetrated every corner of society.

Just because the Yangzhou Camp withdrew from Yangzhou Prefecture doesn’t mean their old networks vanished.

Many who were closely tied to the Yangzhou Camp and unwilling to abandon their homeland still remain.

With prior warning, these people didn’t fight the rebels to the death; instead, they actively joined the rebel ranks, waiting for the imperial forces to strike back.

Among the many hidden agents, at least a few will prove useful.

Compared to attacking other regions, the odds of seizing Yangzhou Prefecture are actually higher.

Qin Tianrui doesn’t expect much—he doesn’t dream of swallowing Yangzhou whole; just capturing a few cities and establishing a solid foothold would be a major achievement.

If possible, we can later use it as a base to seize the Huai-Yang region.

Even if the offensive fails, burning the region will cut off the rebels’ financial resources.

From a purely tactical standpoint, the imperial army’s division of forces into Anqing Prefecture, which inflicted heavy losses on the militia, was clearly a failure.

But viewed from a strategic level, the picture changes entirely.

The imperial army’s large-scale advance forced the rebels to conscript civilians to defend their cities and implement scorched-earth policies outside the walls, severely damaging the local economy.

Vast areas from Poyanghu to Anqing, plus half of Luzhou Prefecture, suffered massive economic destruction, weakening the rebels’ war potential.

Pushing deeper into enemy territory and setting fire to Huai-Yang, the heartland of salt tax revenue, will cause even greater damage.

By now, except for a few isolated cities, the rebels’ territory has been compressed back into Nanzhili.

There are only fourteen prefectures total—Songjiang Prefecture fell long ago, Xuzhou, Suzhou, and Fengyang Prefectures have become battlefields.

Now Anqing and Luzhou Prefectures are also affected by war, and the Fujian-Zhejiang Viceroy is planning to attack Huizhou and Ningguo Prefectures.

If we drag Yangzhou Prefecture into the fire, the rebels’ situation will grow even more desperate.

Even if no front achieves breakthroughs, dragging this out for a year or two will exhaust the rebels on the battlefield.

…

“Damn rebels—I didn’t even dig up your ancestors’ graves, so why are you chasing us like this…?”

As the militia soldiers cursed on their flight, their words struck Bai Yifeng like arrows piercing his heart.

The rebels dogged them for two reasons: partly because they were easy prey, partly because of the hatred they’d earned.

In dealing with rebels, no unit had been as ruthless as the militia.

Even Li Mu’s unit, which killed the most rebels, hadn’t drawn as much hatred.

On the battlefield, each side fought for their master—nothing to be said about that.

The issue lay after the battle.

When rebel soldiers fell into other imperial units’ hands, they were either beheaded or exiled.

The government’s punishment of families usually meant confiscation and exile.

Only the militia was an exception.

Not only were captured rebel soldiers brutally executed, but their families were also hunted down.

Innocent neighbors were often dragged into it too.

They hadn’t dug up rebel ancestors’ graves because those rebels were all poor peasants—there was nothing valuable to extract.

But if they encountered families with past wealth, they wouldn’t miss the chance to profit.

Hearing the militia was being pursued, rebel morale surged +1+1+1…

Even with their vast experience in escape, they gained no advantage in this chase.

“Big brother, the road back to Huguang is blocked—let’s head for Henan!”

Bai Yihao proposed grimly.

The blocked road was a minor issue—they moved fast, and the rebels behind hadn’t caught up yet.

The rebels blocking the way ahead were mostly old or weak garrison troops with very limited combat power.

Their ability to break through layer after layer of roadblocks largely came from the fact that the enemy was just going through the motions, never truly intending to fight to the death.

The real reason for suggesting Henan was that Huguang had been devastated by the militia—they’d made too many enemies locally.

The few thousand men they’d gathered weren’t enough to guarantee their safety.

By contrast, Henan’s situation was far better.

The militia had never operated there, so they’d made no enemies.

With no personal grudges, everyone was imperial troops—the local yamen wouldn’t deliberately make things hard for them.

“Hmm!”

“At a time like this, we really should break out toward Henan.

But it’s unfamiliar territory, and the local yamen are financially poor—they’ll likely be unable to supply us with logistics.”

Bai Yifeng mused.

Deep inside, he thought of many things.

His plan to earn merit had failed, and instead he’d suffered a crushing defeat—his official career was essentially ruined.

The militia’s future had become uncertain.

If no major change occurred, the militia would almost certainly be disbanded after the war.

If lucky, he might maneuver to secure a real post.

If unlucky, he might simply be dismissed on the spot.

For Bai Yifeng, either outcome was unacceptable.

Having missed the chance to earn merit suppressing the Fu Rebellion, he must now seek a new opportunity.

The Great Yu Dynasty was now ablaze everywhere.

The southern rebels had grown strong and were hard to defeat—so he’d seek development in the north.

Compared to the southern rebels, who were entrenched in their territories, the northern rebels were still in their infancy in every way.

“Big brother, the money and grain problem is a major headache.

Raiding the rebels now is easy—the trouble is how to transport the loot out safely.

The pursuing forces keep growing.

One misstep, and the enemy bites down hard—we’re done for!”

Bai Yihao shook his head.

Money and grain had always been the Great Yu Dynasty’s persistent problem—from the elite border troops to inland garrison soldiers, none escaped the struggle.

The militia, lacking official status, suffered worse—they had to raise all their funds and supplies themselves.

Back home, with rebels threatening, local gentry had still contributed some resources to protect their estates.

Most of the money and grain, however, came from forced levies and plundering the people.

The militia’s terrible reputation was forged during this fundraising.

As local armed forces, they’d once maintained decent relations with the gentry and never targeted their own.

The main reason for the rupture was that they took the money but still failed to stop the rebels.

They spent the funds, yet the people still suffered war.

The gentry, suffering heavy losses, resented not only the rebels but also the militia’s incompetence.

After being burned once, no one believed their “protecting the land and pacifying the people” excuses anymore.

When imperial forces reclaimed Huguang, not only did the gentry refuse to fund the militia, but merchants and commoners alike refused to pay them.

Failing to recognize the problem early, the militia kept using force to extract funds, instantly making themselves enemies of everyone.

Bai Yifeng realized the situation was beyond repair.

Reluctantly, only after the great war erupted did he volunteer.

In truth, even if he hadn’t stepped forward, Marquis Hou would have forced him into the campaign.

After all, the marquis had his own loyal troops—the militia’s existence was an eyesore.

After all, they had their own loyal armed forces; the existence of the regimental army was a thorn in their side.

Directly ordering their dispersal would require a huge sum of money and easily provoke unrest.

Consuming them on the battlefield is a decent option for all sides.

“Take as much as you can.”

The situation in the north is equally dire.

Even the reforms of the late emperor could not halt the endless natural disasters.

Grain reserves in Guanzhong are limited; the rebel forces will soon leave the passes to raid.

Once they pass the initial phase and the bandits surge into Henan, the local officials there will come begging us to send troops.

“If we can’t defeat Fu Haoxuan’s growing force, can’t we crush a bunch of bandits?”

Bai Yifeng analyzed with forced calm.

The speculation that the rebels would break out of the passes came from his attendance at the military conference.

He himself was unsure whether this prediction would come true.

But to calm public sentiment, it must be true.

Although burdened by the bandit army’s infamous reputation and with no retreat left for its high command, they still needed a grand promise to motivate everyone.

Whether to develop in Henan or in Huguang was not important.

The key was that the bandit army must grow strong, so that everyone’s wealth and glory could be secured.

Even now, within the bandit army, there remained a strong desire to gain official status and join the ranks of Great Yu’s rule.

…

Nanjingcheng.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Fu Haoxuan frowned deeply.

Judging purely by battlefield results, the Anqing counterattack had been quite successful, with over ten thousand enemy heads taken.

This was the largest victory the Wu Army had achieved since the war began.

Tactically, they had won; strategically, however, it had made the Wu Army even more passive.

The fire of war burned hotter, the front lines stretched longer, and not a single safe place could be found across the entire Wu state.

Due to the war, winter plowing had been severely damaged across many regions; next spring’s grain harvest would certainly decline.

“Everyone has seen the good news from the Marquis Wu.”

This battle was well fought, severely crippling the enemy and demonstrating the might of our Great Wu.

The only regret is that we failed to capture the First Regiment of Jiangxi, allowing Qin Tianrui’s forces to escape.

Aside from a few scattered remnants, the Anqing campaign has essentially concluded.

Now, from where should we launch our counteroffensive? What ideas do you gentlemen have?”

Fu Haoxuan asked.

Regardless of whether the Anqing campaign met its objectives, he must heavily promote it.

Since the war began, Wu has been on the defensive, and the situation in every region has been grim.

Compared to the constant loss of cities and territory, the Anqing campaign at least defeated the enemy and claimed over ten thousand heads.

With some artistic embellishment, it’s roughly equivalent to annihilating fifty thousand enemies and severely crippling the allied forces of Jiangxi and Huguang.

“Your Majesty, the forces under Jing Yifeng, commander under the Viceroy of Fujian and Zhejiang, are advancing on Suzhou Prefecture, numbering approximately thirty thousand.”

Compared to other fronts, the pretender regime’s troop deployment along the Suzhou line is relatively weak.

After concluding the Anqing campaign, the Marquis Wu could immediately turn south to join the Suzhou campaign.

Defeating Jing Yifeng’s forces would not only stabilize our rear but also allow us to retake Songjiang Prefecture and push the front line toward Hangzhou.

If conditions permit, we could launch the Zhejiang campaign in succession, sweeping the Fujian-Zhejiang allied forces away with the momentum of our great victory.

Eliminate one of the four pretender armies, and the strategic initiative will return to our hands!”

Minister of War Fan Xiwen immediately presented his operational plan.

The entire Wu state had poured tremendous effort into this campaign.

Yet no matter how hard they tried, Wu still struggled desperately against the multi-pronged offensive of the imperial forces.

Possessing a million troops was merely an illusion; only a small fraction were truly combat-capable.

After distributing them across all fronts, Wu’s available mobile forces amounted to only about one hundred thousand.

The number sounded large, yet it still felt insufficient.

The gap in combat effectiveness meant they had to concentrate several times the enemy’s strength just to stand a chance against the imperial main forces.

“Minister Fan, that is incorrect!”

“On the battlefield, speed is paramount. Besides assessing enemy strength, we must also consider troop deployment speed.”

“The Marquis Wu’s forces are stationed in Anqing; whether joining the Jiujiang campaign or reinforcing Nanchang, they are much closer than marching south to Suzhou Prefecture.”

Right Chancellor Yang Jingren immediately objected.

Long marches inevitably degrade troop combat effectiveness.

Having just finished the Anqing campaign, the troops have not yet had time to rest, and now they are ordered south to Suzhou.

After such turmoil, the army would become exhausted.

Moreover, such high-intensity troop movements place a heavy burden on logistics.

Although Wu’s controlled territories are wealthy, they are small in area.

Half of its territory is now engulfed in war; supplying the army solely through the remaining prefectures is unimaginably stressful.

Every day of battle consumes Wu’s dwindling reserves.

For a newborn regime, such intense consumption is undoubtedly dangerous.

“Minister Yang, if we remain in the west to fight the pretenders, we face Li Mu, that villain.”

“Past battle records show that no unit engaging him in open battle has ever come out ahead.”

“Even though the Marquis Wu is a master of strategy, facing Li Mu, he may not have a guaranteed victory.”

Fan Xiwen’s reply left Yang Jingren speechless.

No matter which direction we choose, the priority must be winning.

From the Bai Lian Holy State to the Great Wu regime, we have never gained any advantage over Li Mu.

The Anqing campaign’s report looked impressive, but all senior commanders knew it was hollow.

No matter how many bandits the army killed, it would not alter the overall situation.

“Implement the Ministry of War’s plan as soon as possible!”

“Send orders to the Garrison Commander of Luzhou: hold the city, do not launch unauthorized attacks against the pretender forces.”

Fu Haoxuan said slowly.

Choosing to send the army south meant letting Qin Tianrui’s forces escape.

Emotionally, eliminating an enemy force would never be willingly abandoned.

But war demands a strategic perspective; Qin Tianrui’s forces accounted for a negligible portion of the entire campaign.

Mobilizing a large force to pursue them would waste manpower and resources, and crucially, there was no guarantee of catching them.

Beyond Luzhou Prefecture, the neighboring territories were under pretender control.

Wu lacked the strength to open another front, and even if they located the enemy’s base, they could not launch an attack.

…

(End of Chapter)