Chapter 361: Piercing the Window Paper

Time flew by, and another month passed in the blink of an eye.

For the Wu state, the past month had been like enduring years.

The political fallout from the loss of Yangzhou was even worse than anticipated.

On the external battlefield, grim news arrived constantly from the front lines.

It wasn’t that the imperial troops had broken through their defensive lines, but that the enemy refused to play by the rules.

While feigning an intent to break through from Yangzhou and Suzhou to seize Nanjing, they also split their forces to strike in all directions, targeting the lower-level prefectures and counties.

Even though they understood the enemy’s plan, the Wu state remained powerless to respond.

The enemy could afford to divert troops, but they could not.

Sending troops to reinforce meant turning siege warfare into open-field combat.

The gap between both sides was comprehensive.

From daily training and weaponry to the overall competence of officers, the Wu army was thoroughly outclassed.

Even with numerical superiority, once the two armies met on open ground, the battle would still be one-sided.

Due to knowledge monopolization, Wu army commanders could still command reasonably well when facing familiar battles.

But when confronted with unfamiliar battlefield conditions, their knowledge proved insufficient, often leading them to make foolish decisions they believed were correct.

The imperial troops now hunting them were entirely different from those they had faced before.

The days when simply killing a few men would cause imperial troops to collapse without a fight were long gone.

On the Wu side, once casualties exceeded ten percent, the troops risked collapsing.

Only a few elite units could withstand casualties above twenty percent.

The garrison forces on the three fronts were especially fragile, often breaking at the first touch.

The bloody truth told the Wu high command: troops must be refined, not numerous; commanders must be strategic, not merely brave.

In this round of conflict, the Wu army did not lose any major cities, but the counties near the front lines fell one after another.

Looking solely at the map, Nanchang was now an isolated city, Jiujiang was an isolated city, Xuzhou was an isolated city, and Hangzhou was an isolated city too.

Suzhou was about to become isolated; prefectures and counties in Luzhou, Fengyang, Huai’an, and elsewhere were falling in rapid succession.

Without suffering any major defeats, the Wu state had already lost over two hundred thousand troops.

The loss of manpower was secondary; the critical issue was that their strategic space had been drastically compressed.

The territory capable of supplying the Wu state with grain, taxes, and labor was shrinking, and they now relied entirely on their dwindling reserves.

If this continued, even without a decisive battle, they would be worn down to death.

The Wu high command knew full well that rigid defensive tactics could no longer adapt to the current situation, yet they were powerless to change.

Adjusting tactics sounded simple; the difficulty lay in implementation.

The more complex the tactics, the higher the demands on the commanders’ abilities.

The imperial troops employed more flexible tactics, not only because their mid- and high-ranking officers possessed higher levels of knowledge, but also because Li Mu’s basic officer training system had played a crucial role.

“The so-called false dynasty is concentrating heavy forces toward Suzhou and Yangzhou. My ministers, do you have any countermeasures?”

Fu Haoxuan asked, his face weary.

Since rising in rebellion from Guangxi, he had waged countless campaigns east and west, defeating innumerable enemies.

He had faced adversity before; at the most perilous moments, he had even taken up a spear and fought on the battlefield himself.

Yet all the troubles he had encountered before combined were nothing compared to the confusion this crisis had caused.

The enemy seemed to have done much, yet also done nothing at all—and yet had pushed the Wu state to the brink of survival.

“Your Majesty, this situation stems from the incompetence of the Ministry of War, which failed to detect the enemy’s plot in time.

As a result, after the war erupted, our forces on every front were left in a reactive position.

I humbly beg Your Majesty to punish me!”

When the situation deteriorates, someone must be held responsible.

Minister of War Fan Xiwen stepped forward voluntarily and took the blame.

“Enough!”

“I need solutions, not blame assignment.

Since you know the deployment was flawed, the Ministry of War must feel shame and rise to the challenge—to wash away the disgrace of past failures!”

Fu Haoxuan scolded sharply.

It was good that his subordinate willingly took the blame, but what was needed now was solving the problem, not assigning blame.

He himself had personally approved the strategic layout; the main commanders on the battlefield had been appointed by him as emperor.

The Ministry of War’s primary duty was to provide logistical support to the army.

This campaign had largely been defensive, with supplies pre-stocked—logistics had not failed.

Punishing the Ministry of War would only demoralize the troops and serve no purpose.

“Thank Your Majesty for the instruction!

The entire Ministry of War will learn from this lesson and wash away past disgrace in the coming battles.”

Fan Xiwen declared with feigned fervor, as if the front-line failures were entirely the Ministry’s fault.

Seeing this, the ministers cast him scornful glances.

“Your Majesty, the false dynasty has shifted its offensive direction, aiming to use Suzhou and Yangzhou as springboards to attack Nanjing.

The Eastern King is embroiled in fighting with the tribal forces in Sichuan, and the Shaanxi rebels are also in trouble—our allies are temporarily unreachable.

Right now, we face only two choices.

Either concentrate our forces and fight a decisive battle with the enemy at Nanjing.

Or hold Nanjing and seek breakthroughs on other fronts.”

Yang Jingren glared at Fan Xiwen and said.

The Minister of War was busy flattering the emperor, yet the strategic planning had to come from him, the Right Chancellor—it was utterly backwards.

But now was not the time for petty grievances.

The Da Yu dynasty’s resources were far more substantial than they had assumed.

Chengdu Prefecture, which should have fallen, had barely held out because tribal forces had launched a surprise attack on the Eastern King’s troops.

The Shaanxi rebels had started strong but collapsed badly—hundreds of thousands of rebels had been crushed by just over ten thousand imperial troops, losing vast territories.

If they could not turn defeat into victory, they would have to flee next.

Thinking of this, Yang Jingren felt a quiet sense of relief.

Fortunately, at the start of their rebellion, the military readiness of the southern provinces had been severely neglected.

Had they faced strong enemies from the outset, the rebels likely would have been crushed before even leaving Guangxi.

“Both options have advantages and disadvantages—I find it truly difficult to decide. My ministers, share your thoughts!”

Fu Haoxuan said slowly.

Having grown accustomed to Nanjing’s luxurious lifestyle, he had subtly changed.

Before becoming emperor, faced with such a situation, he would have had no hesitation—he would have immediately gathered troops and fought the enemy.

In a chaotic age, there is no room for indecision.

Past failures had confirmed the ancient saying: “Hold too long, and you will lose.”

To vie for the empire, one must stake everything on a gamble.

If the imperial troops are defeated, all lost territory can be reclaimed.

But if they lose this decisive battle, no matter how long they hold out, it will be meaningless.

“Your Majesty, concentrate our forces and fight a decisive battle with the enemy!”

Qiu Ruiyu said firmly.

Reasons were unnecessary.

At this point, if they did not concentrate their forces and fight the enemy now, they would have no chance to fight later.

Since the war began, the Wu state had been led by the nose by the enemy.

Many of their strategic deployments had been rendered useless before they could even be activated.

Every enemy strike hit the Wu state’s vital points, leaving them exhausted and reactive.

……

“Hurry up—try to reach the next relay station before nightfall.”

The Marquis of Wuyang urged impatiently.

As the strategic focus shifted, the command headquarters had also moved.

The column had now entered Zhejiang and would reach the docks in three days, where they would board ships to travel to Nanzhili to oversee the army.

The delay en route was mainly because, during troop transfers, they had taken the opportunity to relieve pressure on the rebels by retaking some lost territory.

By now, the imperial troops had seized the initiative.

They could either break through from Suzhou and Yangzhou, or push straight through Huizhou and Ningguo Prefectures all the way to Nanjing’s gates.

On the march, even a simple imperial strike could terrify the rebels into near panic.

Even so, the Marquis of Wuyang still felt uneasy.

It wasn’t fear of the rebels—he was mainly afraid that if he arrived too late, other imperial forces would recapture Nanjing first.

As Viceroy of Jiangnan, failing to participate in the recapture of Nanjing would make him a laughingstock.

Given the nature of civil officials, they would surely mock him mercilessly.

“Your Excellency, you need not worry too much.

The military forces of Fujian and Zhejiang provinces are insufficient; even with the addition of the First Regiment of Jiangxi, it would be hard to capture Nanjing in the short term.

Knowing the Marquis of Wuyang was in a foul mood, no one dared speak, so Li Mu had to break the silence.

“If we add the troops of Liaodong Garrison, the situation would be different.”

Xuzhou City is now an isolated stronghold.

I suspect this is a bargaining chip deliberately left behind by those fellows in Liaodong.

Once they reach an agreement with the Duke of Cheng, they will immediately seize Xuzhou and swiftly march south.”

After speaking, the Marquis of Wuyang felt a pang of regret.

These words should not have been spoken in front of Li Mu.

After the Li family gave up the glory of recapturing Nanjing, he and the Duke of Cheng became rivals.

It wasn’t that the two of them sought credit; rather, the many subordinates under their command needed the great merit of recapturing Nanjing.

Most crucially, the Emperor did not want to see a monolithic bloc of noble elites.

Even if there were no real conflicts between them, they had to create visible tensions to reassure the Emperor.

Under these circumstances, Li Mu’s position became awkward.

On one side was his father-in-law; on the other, his patron in officialdom—supporting either side would be inappropriate.

“Viceroy, your mind is unsettled.”

“Deploying the Liaodong troops south to join the battle is indeed possible, but it is certainly not the preferred option.”

“The rebel forces are not paper tigers, and Nanjing has been fortified by the traitor Fu as his stronghold—it won’t fall easily.”

Li Mu said calmly.

Now that the veil had been lifted, his status made it improper for him to continue offering strategy.

Had it not been so late, he would have sought an excuse to take his leave and avoid the coming turmoil.

A sudden idea struck him—he found a way out, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

He had previously tricked the Annan envoy delegation, but that alone was not enough to spark war between the two nations; now it was time to escalate.

As for the coming battle for Nanjing, whoever wants military merit can take their troops and fight— he had no obligation to act as a babysitter.

“Enough!”

“If I gain it, it is my fortune; if I lose it, it is my fate.”

“We all serve the court—there’s no need to fight bitterly over a little military glory!”

The Marquis of Wuyang said, somewhat helplessly.

(End of Chapter)