Chapter 357: Catching Them Unprepared

Outside Jiangjiucheng, the camp of the Huguang Allied Forces.

"We have just received news: the Regiment Army suffered a crushing defeat on the road to Anqing, and the Regiment Minister Bai Yifeng's fate is unknown.

Dragged down by the Regiment Army's disastrous defeat, the Jiangxi First Town was forced to conduct a strategic withdrawal; the plan to seize Anqing has failed."

As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, the expressions of everyone present changed instantly.

The Regiment Army combined with the Jiangxi First Town had a total force of over fifty thousand.

According to the prior plan, even if they couldn't seize Anqing, they were supposed to be a sharp blade thrust into the enemy's heart.

Unfortunately, plans could not keep up with changes; the military operation, in which such high hopes were placed, ended in the Regiment Army's crushing defeat.

"Governor, since this was a joint operation between the two armies, why didn't the Jiangxi First Town help?"

Fei Songde asked with dissatisfaction.

No matter what, the Regiment Army was still an armed force of Huguang.

When dealing with internal matters, it was fine to dislike the Regiment Army, but once outside, they still had to be protected.

To immediately pin the responsibility for the battle report on his own troops made him, the Huguang Provincial Governor, very dissatisfied.

"The Regiment Army's movements were sluggish, and they did not arrive to rendezvous at the agreed-upon time.

Not only did they miss the best opportunity to seize Anqing, but they also gave the rebel army time to mobilize their troops, which led to this defeat.

The battle broke out at night; by the time the Jiangxi First Town received the news, the fighting had long since ended.

The news was learned from the mouths of the Regiment Army's routed soldiers; the issues with the Jiangxi First Town will need to be verified after we find them.

However, Bai Yifeng must be held responsible for the Anqing defeat; there is no escaping that."

Li Yuan replied without changing his expression.

As a leader of the nobility faction and concurrently serving as the Huguang Viceroy, he had to balance the interests of both sides.

If not for the fact that the responsibility for the defeat at Anqing lay entirely with the Regiment Army, he would not have dumped the entire pot onto Bai Yifeng.

"Governor, the current situation is difficult, and His Majesty is under great pressure.

The Regiment Army is merely a civilian militia, not the court's regular army.

There is absolutely no need to report such a minor matter to the court and cause His Majesty to worry."

Provincial Administration Commissioner Ge Ningyuan immediately proposed.

Covering up the truth is a traditional skill of the Great Dayu officialdom.

Losing tens of thousands of troops and generals is a life-threatening matter at any time.

If the court were to hold them accountable, none of the high-ranking officials in Huguang would be able to escape.

Fei Songde's earlier rush to defend the Regiment Army was not because he had a friendship with Bai Yifeng, but purely because he wanted to shirk responsibility.

After all, Li Yuan was a regent appointed by the late Emperor and had the merit of recovering Huguang.

The upcoming great battle would still require him to risk his life.

Even if the court held them accountable, the pot for the loss of troops and generals would not be placed on his back.

If the Viceroy did not bear the responsibility, then it was highly probable that the Provincial Governor, the Provincial Administration Commissioner, and the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner—the three giants—would be the ones to suffer.

There were not a thousand, but at least three to five hundred civil officials in the Great Dayu dynasty who could replace them.

Making them bear the political responsibility would be no problem at all.

"Not reporting it—that might not be good, right?"

Li Yuan said with feigned reserve.

The people below did not want to poke the matter up to the imperial court, and he did not want to either.

The biggest characteristic of civilian militia forces is that they have no official establishment; the Ministry of War and the Regional Military Commissioner's office have no records of how many men the Regiment Army has.

The only official on the register is the miscellaneous-titled Regiment Minister Bai Yifeng.

It is entirely feasible for the local yamen to cover it up.

"Governor, this is a critical moment.

Once the news of the Regiment Army's defeat spreads, it will inevitably affect the morale of the army.

For the sake of the big picture, let us suppress this matter first, and it will not be too late to deal with it after we find Regiment Minister Bai Yifeng.

The Regiment Army is, after all, a civilian militia and not as brave or skilled in battle as the imperial army.

If the Regiment Army soldiers didn't want to fight and fled home halfway, that is not impossible."

Fei Songde hurriedly changed his tune.

Since his own little brother was entirely to blame, this lid had to be kept on.

Reporting only the good news and not the bad has always been the first rule of promotion.

If it can be solved by oneself, then don't bother the court.

"Enough!"

"As a subject, one should share the worries of the sovereign.

The Regiment Army attacked on its own initiative, and since the situation is currently unclear, we will temporarily not report it to the court.

It will not be too late to deal with it after Minister Bai returns and the specific situation is clarified."

Changing the wording directly changed the nature of the event.

An attack under orders became an attack on one's own initiative, and the responsibility for the defeat was instantly transferred from the Viceroy's office to Bai Yifeng personally.

Not a single person present spoke up for Bai Yifeng.

The lid was temporarily covered, but that did not mean it wouldn't be exposed in the future.

The current characterization was equivalent to applying a patch in advance.

Everyone unified their story; even if the court investigated in the future, it would be Bai Yifeng's sole responsibility.

Sacrifice the friend, not oneself.

When it comes to shirking responsibility, everyone is a professional.

……

Yangzhou City.

"Uncle, what should we do now?"

Wang Yichen asked with an anxious face.

The gears of fate turned, and a sudden letter sent the Wang family back to the edge of a cliff.

"That the imperial army could kill their way to the foot of Yangzhou City is enough to prove that the current situation on the battlefield is not as good as the Wu State propaganda claims.

We witnessed with our own eyes how formidable the Yangzhou Camp is.

Although the General Qin who brought the troops here this time cannot compare to the Marquis of Hanshui, he is still a fierce general.

I fear these few thousand garrison troops in the city will find it difficult to block them.

The Yangzhou Camp's influence in the local area has not been uprooted.

Even if we do not act as internal agents, others will receive them into the city.

When that time comes, our Wang family will be in a passive position.

When the court settles accounts after the autumn, I fear we will face the disaster of extermination!"

Wang Wenju said in a low voice.

If they had known the situation would develop this way, they should have followed the Yangzhou Camp when it withdrew years ago.

Unfortunately, there is no regret medicine in the world.

Before things happened, no one could have predicted that the Yangzhou Camp could be so glorious.

In just a few short years, it had produced one Marquis, over twenty Regional Commanders, and an even greater number of Deputy Generals, Assistant Regional Commanders, and Guard Commanders.

Now, the senior military commanders in the armies of the Two Guangs, Min-Zhe, Huguang, and Jiangxi are basically all people who walked out of the Yangzhou Camp.

It is a real-life version of a Great Dayu military academy, specifically cultivating generals for the court.

The Wang family followed the path of civil officials; it seems to have nothing to do with this, but that does not mean there is no room for development.

After the rebel army's devastation, a large number of vacancies appeared locally, all of which are opportunities.

Wang family descendants with academic honors can be directly recruited as officials.

"Uncle, supporting the court is what we should do.

Our Wang family has enjoyed imperial grace for generations and should have stood on the court's side from the beginning.

Joining the rebel army was also to preserve our strength and prepare for the court's counterattack.

It is just that after we defected to the rebel army, we were not given important roles; they do not trust us.

I fear the difficulty of opening the city gates to welcome the Royal Army into the city is not small.

If we are not careful, the extermination of our family is right before our eyes.

Moreover, we still have clan descendants serving in official positions within the rebel army.

Once we lean toward the court, I fear the rebel army will be unfavorable to them."

Wang Yichen said with a furrowed brow.

For descendants of noble families, it makes no essential difference who is the emperor.

What they think of first is the family, followed by personal prospects; the court doesn't even rank.

In troubled times, they defect to whoever is strong.

If it weren't for the imperial army pressing on the city walls, making him realize the rebel army was weak, there would be no discussion today.

"Some things are destined to require sacrifice.

For the sake of the family's continuation, the person who sacrifices can be you, can be me, and can likewise be...

In short, everything is for the sake of the family's continuation.

We must participate in this high-stakes gamble.

Otherwise, when the imperial army enters the city to purge the rebels, our Wang family will not be able to clear its name."

Wang Wenju said with a grave expression.

From the moment they received the letter, they had no choice.

Of course, being able to receive the letter is better than not receiving one.

That the imperial army is willing to contact the Wang family means that their previous relationship with the Yangzhou Camp can still play a role now.

The greatest risk is not the danger of receiving the imperial army into the city, but being ignored by them.

With contact, everyone is still on the same side.

Then the previous act of defecting to the rebel army politically belongs to being undercover.

If they hadn't even received a letter, it would mean they belong to the objects to be purged and there is no need to win them over.

"Uncle, we are willing to treat them with sincerity, but the imperial army outside the city may not believe us.

The number of people they are contacting privately should not be small.

It is a pity the other side is unwilling to disclose the specific list; otherwise, if everyone acted together, the chances of winning would inevitably increase greatly."

Wang Yichen said with a depressed face.

Being on guard is as it should be; if there were no guard, he would instead not dare to cooperate with them.

Everything is contacted through a single line; even if the wind leaks, they won't be wiped out in one go.

But as the person involved, he still wanted to gain more trust.

It is not just a matter of the probability of success, but also represents the degree of being valued, which will directly affect the distribution of benefits after the war.

"Time reveals a person's heart.

Before achieving results, it is difficult for us to gain the court's trust.

After all, when we defected to the rebel army back then, we didn't do fewer dirty and hard jobs; being suspected is inevitable."

Wang Wenju said calmly.

The time given by the other side is too tight; they have to take action tonight, giving him absolutely no time to weigh the pros and cons.

Either become one of their own, or be an enemy; a limit of two choices.

……

Outside Yangzhou City, the imperial soldiers were busy setting up camp, without the slightest tension of an impending great battle.

"General, the news has been sent back, and most of the families have given positive feedback.

However, there are two families that did not reply."

Hearing the news brought by the Assistant Regional Commander, Qin Tianrui frowned.

Not getting a reply means either the situation in the city is tense and they happened to be watched, making it impossible to pass the news out in time.

Or they feel that mixing with the rebel army is quite good and are not prepared to wade into this muddy water.

Or they think their backing is strong enough and are not worried about the court settling accounts after the autumn.

Fortunately, he had guarded against it in advance; the action times agreed upon with each family were all different.

Even if someone defected halfway and really joined the rebel army, they could only leak their own action time.

Compared to the noble families of Jiangnan, the scholar-official families of Jiangbei are lucky.

When Fu Haoxuan seized Yangzhou, he had already established the prototype of the Great Wu regime.

In order to win the support of scholars, he changed the wanton slaughter of the past and turned to political wooing.

As long as they were willing to defect to the righteous army, none were slaughtered.

However, the luck of scholar-official families often also means that someone is going to be tragic.

No matter how they are wooed, they can only play a role when they are strong.

The imperial army pressing on the city walls silently announced to everyone that the Wu State's rule was not stable.

Involving the survival of the family, everyone can only choose to support the winner.

The original lone army deep in enemy territory was directly mistaken by everyone as the main force fighting back because of the information asymmetry.

After all, at this time, the flames of war were not only burning in Yangzhou; the neighboring Suzhou Prefecture and Xuzhou Prefecture were both fighting fiercely.

"Act according to the original plan and seize Yangzhou City tonight."

Qin Tianrui made a decisive decision and issued the order.

The arrow is on the string and must be fired.

Besides contacting the great clans in the city, the Yangzhou Camp had many other arrangements.

It is a pity these dark hands were not handed over to him.

The raid on Yangzhou Prefecture was his temporary idea, and he had not reported it to Li Mu in advance.

The two sides did not have time to communicate, and these hidden means could not be utilized at all.

Fortunately, Yangzhou is far from the front line, and the rebel army's focus on this place is mainly due to greed for wealth and taxes.

The main force is all fighting on the front line, and the garrison troops in the city are mostly second- and third-rate troops and civilian laborers.

……

Time passed minute by minute, and looking at the Great Dayu army camp outside the city, the expressions of the Wu State officials were all ugly.

"The puppet court is attacking in a big way; it looks like they want to seize Yangzhou Prefecture in one fell swoop.

Everyone, if you have any countermeasures, bring them out as soon as possible!

If the time drags on, it will be too late to take action."

As soon as the garrison general Liu Laoxu finished speaking, the scene suddenly became noisy.

In twos and threes, they whispered and discussed.

"Big Brother, the enemy troops came too fast; we simply didn't have time to strengthen the walls and clear the fields.

The young and strong outside the city also didn't have time to be conscripted.

If these people fall into the hands of the enemy, it is also a not-small danger.

For the current plan, I fear we can only conscript civilian laborers from within the city to defend the city, while reporting to the court to ask for reinforcements."

Liu Laoming said with a grave expression.

They knew nothing about how the imperial army killed their way to the foot of the city.

Before today, the news they received was still that the situation was excellent.

Under the excellent situation, the imperial army suddenly killed their way to the door; no one could stand it.

If they hadn't reacted quickly and closed the city gates in time, Yangzhou might have changed hands by now.

Although they didn't say it, deep in their hearts, everyone had an ominous premonition.

The Wu army's "invincible and ever-victorious" claim touted by the court now looks like a joke.

If they were really that formidable, how could they let the imperial army kill their way into the heartland?

"Hmm!"

"Pass the order down: strengthen the alert throughout the city and do not give the enemy any opportunity.

At the same time, ask the court for reinforcements and explain the predicament we have encountered.

The Prefect's office is responsible for conscripting the young and strong and pacifying the hearts of the people in the city."

Hearing Liu Laoxu's order, the Yangzhou Prefect on the side was so angry he wanted to curse.

Conscripting the young and strong and pacifying the hearts of the people seems very simple, but it actually tests execution ability.

If one is not careful, the orders from above will change flavor by the time they reach below.

Letting the yamen runners implement it—let alone pacifying the hearts of the people, not causing public grievances to boil over would be considered excellent.

……

At midnight.

Qin Tianrui raised his farewell wine and was busy with the final morale mobilization.

"Raising an army for a thousand days, using it for a moment."

"Since ancient times, for men of our generation, fame and merit are taken on horseback.

Now the opportunity has come!

The military strength in Yangzhou City is empty; this is the best time for us to recover lost territory.

……

Drink this bowl of wine, and we will meet again in Yangzhou City!"

The sentimental speech allowed the atmosphere at the scene to be sublimated.

In the eyes of countless soldiers, they were filled with a desire for military merit.

Under the Great Dayu system, this is the last opportunity for ordinary people to turn their lives around.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 358 =====