Chapter 374: The Tiger Fallen from the Plain

You fought well!

Tweak the report slightly, send word of victory to Marquis WuYang and the court, and recommend rewards for the naval officers and soldiers.

Double the claimed results: instead of annihilating one enemy naval company, report that you severely damaged the core of Annan’s naval forces.

Inflate the losses in the official report to the court—make it look like a pyrrhic victory, so you can later demand more military funding.

For public propaganda, highlight only the victories and deliberately downplay the losses.

Have the Guangxi Provincial Governor’s office handle this—don’t make it too obvious.

Zhang Sihan is a smart man; he knows what to do.

Li Mu gave the order without changing expression.

Compared to when he first entered officialdom, he now felt no pressure at all altering battle reports.

In naval battles, the defeated sink into the sea and feed the fish—there’s no way to verify battlefield kills by severed heads.

Typically, victory is measured by the number of enemy ships sunk; the number of enemy soldiers killed can only be estimated as a rough figure.

The court ministers had no idea how large the Annan navy actually was.

In the past, the Embroidered Uniform Guard provided intelligence, but after the last purge of the factories and guards, contact with their moles in Annan was severed.

They couldn’t even reestablish it, because the Guangxi Embroidered Uniform Guard had handled this task.

Those people either died in the Bai Lian rebellion or joined the rebels and became insurgents.

This information blackout gave Li Mu room to maneuver.

With this strong start, the pirates patrolling offshore should be ready to strike soon.

The long coastline cannot be abandoned by the Annan people.

Once the enemy navy takes action, they’ll inevitably clash with the pirates.

War isn’t just a numbers game.

Losing a quarter of your strength affects combat capability far more than a simple 25% reduction.

Morale and troop spirit also directly impact naval combat effectiveness.

With so many areas to defend and too few warships, poor deployment will further degrade combat power.

Even slowly wearing them down, the pirates can inflict heavy damage on the Annan navy.

If the stakes are high enough, outright annihilating the Annan navy’s core force isn’t impossible.

It’s almost laughable: since Great Yu destroyed its treasure ships and crippled its own navy, the strongest naval power across the Pacific is now the pirates.

The pirates Li Mu tricked are only part of them—but even so, they outnumber the Annan navy.

Your student will handle it immediately!

Lan Linjie replied at once.

The naval victory is the turning point of the Annan war, marking Great Yu’s shift from defense to offense.

Though the pirates will strike first, they cannot claim credit from the emperor—the glory will still fall to them.

At most, the victory report will mention in passing that pirates took advantage of the chaos to plunder Annan’s coastlines.

The emperor won’t care; the court ministers won’t care either.

As long as they crush Annan, everyone’s historical reputation will rise a notch.

The Han and Tang dynasties received the highest historical evaluations—not only because of their early glory, but also because even in their final years, when warlords divided the realm, they still crushed foreign tribes.

If Great Yu could destroy Annan, the Northern Barbarians, and other external enemies before its fall, its historical evaluation wouldn’t be low either.

…

Annan camp.

Holding the battle report, Hu Xinbo nearly spat blood from rage.

“Huang Jinchuan is useless, Ruan Yufeng is a pig—I’ll exterminate his nine clans—”

He suddenly choked on his words.

He couldn’t say it: the Ruan clan was a major Annan surname, and Ruan Yufeng came from a prestigious family.

If he ordered the extermination of Ruan’s nine clans, the imperial decree would barely be issued before chaos erupted below.

If the Ruan clan were pushed too far, they’d ally with Great Yu—and Annan would change hands entirely.

Throughout history, the only man who dared slaughter aristocratic clans without restraint was Huang Chao.

Others weren’t lacking courage—they simply never finished their plans before they themselves were killed.

Annan had broken from the Central Plains for only a few centuries; no such ruthless figure had yet emerged.

“Your Majesty, calm yourself!”

“Defeat and victory are common in warfare.

The Yu navy disguised itself as pirates—this was utterly unexpected; it’s understandable that Assistant Regional Commander Ruan fell for the trap.

Please, Your Majesty, consider Ruan’s martyrdom and show leniency to those involved.

As for Director Huang, he dispatched reinforcements promptly during this battle—there was nothing amiss.

I propose merely reprimanding them.

At this moment, the court must avoid internal turmoil!”

Chen Chuyang hurriedly urged.

The emperor was personally leading the campaign; all officials remained behind to hold the rear, and Chen Chuyang, as Minister of War, was the highest-ranking civil official beside him.

When such a crisis arose, he couldn’t avoid stepping forward.

Punishing those responsible was simple—the problem was: how to fight the war afterward?

Not just anyone could serve as Naval Commander.

Judging from past battle records, the deceased Ruan Yufeng was the best candidate to succeed as commander.

Of course, the court appointed military officers not just by battlefield record, but also by political impact.

The Ruan clan wielded enormous influence at court: they held two seats among the Six Ministries’ ministers, and countless other key posts.

Their marital ties stretched across nearly the entire bureaucracy.

If you exterminated the nine clans, you might as well stop fighting and focus entirely on factional strife.

Fundamentally, Annan was a realm jointly ruled by the imperial family and aristocratic clans.

Attacking the clans with lethal force meant betraying the very foundation of rule.

“Hmph!”

“I’m willing to give them another chance—but I fear some won’t seize it.

The navy has lost one core unit—can you still defeat the Yu navy afterward?”

Hu Xinbo forced down his anger and asked.

Even with the report’s embellishments, he knew the Yu navy had deployed at most the Guangdong and Guangxi fleets.

If they’d committed their full strength, they wouldn’t have stopped after destroying just one company.

The Great Yue Dynasty already had fewer warships; after defeat, the gap would widen further.

If the navy can’t secure the coast, the enemy can launch attacks from the sea.

More than two hundred years ago, when the Yu army invaded, they came from the sea.

With that precedent, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

“Your Majesty, defeating the Yu navy will be extremely difficult.

But Director Huang is brave and capable; he should be able to defend the coast and protect key ports.”

Chen Chuyang answered nervously.

He had no idea whether they could win against the Yu army.

Since the war began, not a single piece of intelligence they had on the Yu army had been accurate.

Whether naval or land forces, the Yu army was far stronger than expected.

Ding Weiqi, the former Tongzheng Office official responsible for intelligence, had already been ordered executed by the emperor.

All sorts of corruption within the Tongzheng Office had been exposed.

It was all due to corruption: after layer upon layer of graft, the intelligence operatives below had no sufficient funding.

The head sent to gather intelligence in Great Yu had remained stationed in Thang Long City, and over 90% of his subordinate agents were phantom positions.

The few real agents also stayed within Great Yue’s borders.

The reports submitted were mostly based on rumors from merchants, clerks, and sailors traveling to and from Great Yu.

How far they were from the truth depended entirely on luck.

When they couldn’t gather real intelligence, they simply fabricated it—writing whatever the emperor and ministers wanted to hear.

Influenced by court propaganda, the younger generation of officials saw Great Yu as a fat, easy target.

As a result, the high command viewed Great Yu as a version of itself weakened by countless times.

The more they heard this, the more they ignored the warnings left by their ancestors.

It was this mistaken perception that triggered the war.

“I don’t want vague, evasive nonsense. Tell Huang Jinchuan: hold the Annan coastline at all costs.

To ensure absolute security, the Ministry of War must quickly draft a viable plan to defend against enemy attacks from the sea.”

Hu Xinbo issued the order coldly.

His instincts told him the Yu army would strike from the sea.

But knowing it was one thing—preventing it was another.

The Great Yue Dynasty’s main forces were all on the front lines; the troops left behind in the interior were limited.

Even if we immediately recall the main army, it’s unlikely we’ll make it in time.

Besides, splitting forces is extremely risky; one misstep invites the enemy to strike.

Unless absolutely desperate, he would never take such a risk.

“Your servant obeys the imperial decree!”

After receiving the decree, Chen Chuyang felt numb all over.

The coastline of Great Yue is far from short; defending against naval attacks requires far too many troops.

When the Yu army invaded, they landed directly in Northern Yue and attacked Hanoi, because other regions had yet to be developed.

After two centuries of effort, although Northern Yue remains the center, many areas in the central and southern regions have now been developed.

If the enemy wishes, they can launch an attack from any port.

The elongated border means that if the Yu army chooses, they can split our nation in half with minimal forces.

Anyone with basic military knowledge knows what it means when a country is cut in half.

At that moment, a single push from Great Yu could ignite countless ambitious warlords.

The Minister of War groaned in despair, and all the generals felt their scalps tighten.

The tactic of tunneling to breach city walls simply isn’t as effective as imagined.

When encountering massive boulders mid-tunnel, they must detour, and even a moment’s inattention leads to getting lost.

The earliest tunnels, dug without proper experience, were dug too shallow and accidentally broke into the moat.

All prior efforts became utterly useless.

After learning from failure, they deliberately increased tunnel depth—at the cost of extremely slow progress.

Slow progress was bad enough, but worse still, no one knew exactly where the tunnels had reached.

Even if they somehow reached beneath the enemy’s walls and weren’t discovered, whether they could blow them open remains uncertain.

Yet none of these truths could be spoken to the Emperor.

It’s easy to oppose a plan; it’s hard to offer a solution.

Even the most flawed tactic is better than having no tactic at all and launching a direct assault.

Throughout history, except for the weak Song—who won yet still ceded land—they’ve rarely gained any advantage against Central Plain dynasties.

…

With one last lingering glance at the imperial palace, Fu Haoxuan forced back his grief and mounted his warhorse.

“Burn it!”

If I can’t have it, neither will the enemy.

Those who survive in chaotic times are never soft-hearted.

To move faster, all the imperial consorts—including newborn infants—were executed.

Not only the Emperor did this; all ministers likewise disposed of their families.

Whether hidden conspiracies existed beneath the surface, no one knew—but publicly, Wu’s high command had demonstrated their resolve through action.

Flames roared high, and all of Nanjing wept.

Under the glow of fire, the Wu army marched out of Nanjing in vast numbers, beginning their strategic withdrawal.

At dusk, the Wu army’s encampment.

“Your Majesty, please eat something!”

Seeing the Emperor’s pallor, Yang Jingren couldn’t help but urge him.

Since leaving Nanjing, Fu Haoxuan had grown silent and withdrawn, consuming not a drop of water for a full day.

“I… cannot eat.”

Fu Haoxuan said slowly.

It was clear that abandoning Nanjing had shattered him.

The fall from sovereign to a homeless fugitive was a burden few could bear.

“Your Majesty, no matter what, you must eat!”

“If you don’t eat, the soldiers won’t either.

Worse battles lie ahead—if this continues, morale will collapse!”

Xie Ruiyu added his plea.

For the hundreds of thousands of Wu soldiers, Fu Haoxuan himself was their greatest anchor.

Now that the Emperor was in this state, it deeply affected everyone around him.

Some opportunists who had defected to Wu now realized they’d backed the wrong side and were secretly planning to switch allegiances.

“You’re overthinking it—they’d probably wish me dead.

Especially the soldiers from Ying Prefecture—didn't they just stage a mutiny two days ago?

Had we not crushed it swiftly, I’d already be a prisoner.”

Fu Haoxuan spoke in a low tone.

He had once believed himself strong enough to face any situation calmly.

Reality proved he had overestimated himself.

Losing cities and lands, killing his wife and sons, soldiers mutinying—all these events piled together finally pushed him to the brink of collapse.

“Your Majesty, they don’t represent anything.

If you choose to fight for the throne, you must be ready for every hardship.

Temporary setbacks don’t mean permanent defeat.

Emperor Gaozu of Han and the Yu Emperor Taizu are the best examples—they were chased across the land during their rise.”

Yang Jingren hurriedly urged.

He saw Wu’s dire situation clearly—and it pained him.

Choosing strategic withdrawal was entirely out of necessity.

Success in breaking out depended three parts on strength, seven parts on luck.

If the Emperor couldn’t rally himself, this battle was already lost.

“Don’t worry—I won’t break so easily.

I was just a commoner, yet I sat on the dragon throne this long—I’ve already gained more than I deserved.

When I raised my banner in Guangxi, I never imagined I’d one day capture Nanjing.

Even if I lost it, I’ve still sat on the dragon throne—my life is complete!

The false dynasty wants my life? Even in death, I’ll make them lose teeth!”

“Send a roasted chicken in—time for my meal.”

Fu Haoxuan slammed his thigh hard.

After a brief moment of confusion, he reclaimed the man he once was—the one who dared risk everything to overthrow an emperor.

“Your Majesty, roasted chicken may be difficult.

To move faster, you ordered us to abandon all nonessential items, keeping only dried rations.

Perhaps I could arrange for someone to…”

Before Xie Ruiyu finished, Fu Haoxuan waved him off.

“Forget it—we’re fleeing now; no need for luxury.

Roasted chicken? We’ll eat it after crossing the Yangtze!”

…

(End of Chapter)