Chapter 378

Unlike the tense atmosphere outside the city, the scene inside Zhennan Pass was entirely different.

In the eyes of the Yu Army officers and soldiers rich in combat experience, the feint attack launched by the Annan people was purely a child's game.

Long-term standoff with the enemy and a dull, tedious life were almost driving them mad from idleness.

Every few days they would request battle from Li Mu, clamoring to charge out and teach the enemy a lesson.

At one point, Li Mu considered launching the decisive battle early, but considering the long-term stability of the Annan region, he ultimately abandoned the idea of a quick victory.

Having been separated from the Central Plains dynasties for hundreds of years, the Annan region's sense of identity with the Central Plains dynasties had long since dropped to freezing point.

Destroying the Kingdom of Annan was easy; the difficult part was how to rule the region over the long term.

Relying purely on military force to suppress them might work for now, but an explosion would inevitably occur at some point in the future.

The best choice was to use the war to continuously drain Annan's national strength and manpower, dismantling their will to resist.

Moreover, the influence of the Great Yu court had to be taken into account.

If the enemy army was defeated in one fell swoop and immediately surrendered, upon receiving the submission memorial, Emperor Yongning would most likely issue an edict to stop the war.

The current Great Yu court would find it very difficult to entertain the idea of administering the Jiaozhou Provincial Administration Commissioner's office.

If that were the case, this battle would have been fought in vain.

To succeed in this scheme, it was necessary to make the Emperor and the hundred officials see the danger posed by Annan, while simultaneously making everyone believe that Annan was a quagmire.

"Marquis, news has just arrived: the enemy has split their forces!"

As he spoke, Wu Dage handed the intelligence report into Li Mu's hands.

"Marquis, a strategic opportunity has appeared!"

Li Sanqi, the Guard Commander of the Guilin Left Guard, said with an excited expression.

Zhennan Pass was now nothing more than a fortress of war.

The residents had been evacuated to the rear before the war even broke out, and commerce no longer existed.

Li Mu maintained strict discipline in his army; no one dared to cause trouble under his watchful eye.

Aside from daily training, the group of generals had nothing left to do but conduct tactical wargaming.

Dozens of versions of counterattack plans had been formulated, and everyone was holding in a breath of frustration.

"What is there to panic about!"

"The enemy has only withdrawn twenty thousand troops; there are still eighteen thousand soldiers outside the city."

"If you have the ability to completely annihilate the enemy army, I will immediately authorize you to command the entire force."

"If you cannot do it, then return to your seat and sit down; stop jumping at every shadow."

Hearing Li Mu's rebuke, Li Sanqi instantly deflated.

Defeating the enemy was easy; completely annihilating them was difficult.

Yet, to administer Annan, it was necessary to consume the enemy's effective fighting strength.

"Marquis, the monk may escape, but the temple cannot run away."

"The Kingdom of Annan only has so much land; I do not believe they can fly off into the sky."

"Under Zhennan Pass, this subordinate lacks the ability to completely annihilate the enemy army."

"But if we fight all the way into enemy territory and drive them into a desperate situation, that would be a different matter."

"Since we are fighting a war anyway, does it matter where we fight!"

After hesitating for a moment, Li Sanqi spoke with indignation.

Although his academic performance was not impressive, having followed Li Mu for a long time, he had still learned quite a few military strategies.

He was very unaccustomed to this kind of restricted style of fighting.

"You simpleton, your head is filled with nothing but fighting."

"If we defeat the Annan people so quickly, how do we explain it to the court?"

"Do not forget how this war broke out in the first place."

"No matter how secretly we acted, we still left behind numerous loopholes."

"If we push the Annan people to the brink of desperation, and they directly submit to the court as vassals, can this war continue?"

Li Mu rebuked them with feigned anger.

That his subordinates had their own thoughts did not make him angry; on the contrary, he was pleased.

Being able to propose different opinions meant they were starting to use their brains.

Although their consideration of problems was not comprehensive enough, this was still a significant progress.

As long as they were willing to study diligently, their vision and personal capabilities could be cultivated slowly.

"Marquis, even if the Annan people wish to surrender, it depends on whether we agree."

"As a belligerent state, we have no obligation to guarantee the safety of their diplomatic mission members."

"As long as the envoys of the Kingdom of Annan cannot reach the capital, peace negotiations will be out of the question."

Tan Chenfeng, the Guard Commander of the Guangxi Guard, spoke up with a suggestion.

Great Yu was not Great Song; from the Emperor down to the hundred officials, everyone possessed a backbone of pride.

Under circumstances where they held the advantage on the battlefield, it was impossible to actively send someone to seek peace with Annan.

Against this backdrop, to keep the war going, one only needed to cut off the contact between the Annan people and the court.

With Li Mu's power and influence, intercepting and killing the Annan diplomatic mission halfway would require very little effort.

"That is a line of thought, but it is not perfect enough."

"Intercepting and killing the Annan envoys is easy; the difficult part is leaving no trace."

"From Annan to the capital, there are many routes to choose from."

"This war broke out too suddenly; while we managed to fool the domestic side, the Annan people must surely have suspicions."

"Even if they send a diplomatic mission, they will not enter the capital via the two Guang regions."

"There are so many local officials along the route; no one can guarantee that no one will leak the news to the court."

"Although these issues could be suppressed within the capital, doing so would come at a cost."

"To administer Annan, we will inevitably need the court's support later; we should minimize the use of political resources for now."

Li Mu said, shaking his head.

In fact, he was blowing smoke to his subordinates.

The power of the noble merit group was concentrated mainly within the camp of military generals.

Although there were people they had co-opted among the civil officials, most held positions without real power and had limited influence at court.

During normal times, dealing with such matters was manageable.

If a few Annan people died, no one would make a fuss about it.

But if it coincided with a struggle between civil and military factions, it would become a blade handed to the civil official group.

As long as the court wanted to investigate, many hidden problems would be exposed.

It might not cost him his life, but it could cause his scheme to fail.

"Marquis, to administer Annan, we must first break the enemy's backbone."

"Without killing until rivers of blood flow, it will be very difficult to achieve our strategic objectives."

"If the pirates cannot complete the task, then let the rebel army take over; it would be best if the enemy kills each other."

"This subordinate suggests selecting some prisoners of war with rich experience in rebellion and sending them into Annan territory."

"As for the Annan prisoners captured in this battle, along with their families, they should all be exiled to Liaodong."

Kong Yutang, the Guard Commander of the Guilin Right Guard, stood up and said.

Compared to the Great Yu dynasty, Annan was merely a tiny state.

But for Li Mu's faction, swallowing Annan was by no means an easy task.

The local population numbered five to six million, which was even more than the population of the Guangxi region.

A slight misstep could plunge them into the vast ocean of a people's war.

To achieve long-term stability, besides transporting immigrants to the local area, it was also necessary to reduce the population.

"The method is good, but unfortunately, the court is too poor."

"Sending over a million Annan people to the Liaodong front line would require considerable expenditure; the Ministry of Revenue will not pay for this."

"However, transporting some able-bodied young men there to perform corvée labor should not be a problem."

"Regarding the matter of wreaking havoc in Annan, do you have the confidence to take on this heavy responsibility?"

Li Mu asked with a smile.

Frankly speaking, the two strategies proposed by Kong Yutang were both extremely vicious.

Once adopted, the Kingdom of Annan would see rivers of blood flow.

However, one's status determines one's stance.

Standing from the perspective of Great Yu, to recover the Jiaozhou Provincial Administration Commissioner's office, it was necessary to bring the Kingdom of Annan to its knees.

"This subordinate is willing!"

Kong Yutang immediately declared his stance.

From the very beginning of the Annan war, Li Mu had controlled the overall strategic situation.

According to the current method of fighting, by the time of the great decisive battle, the Annan army would retain at most half of its combat effectiveness.

Winning victory at the smallest cost aligned with the interests of the group, but it was difficult to reflect individual military merit.

Watching the six garrisons of the two Guang regions achieve merit on the front lines, they had long been green with envy; now that an opportunity had finally arrived, everyone wanted to show their worth.

If they did not seek opportunities themselves and relied solely on the Regional Commander to assign tasks, that small amount of merit would hardly be enough to support their further advancement.

After all, they were all grassroots generals; their only connection in the imperial court was Li Mu.

All their competitors were their own people; whether palm or back of the hand, it was all flesh, so naturally, the capable would rise.

"Very well, go to the prisoner-of-war camp and select thirty thousand men, dividing them into ten batches to be sent into Annan territory.

Tell these prisoners that this Marquis will not let them sacrifice their lives in vain.

For the wealth plundered, everyone splits the accounts fifty-fifty.

For every head of an Annan soldier severed, one person's guilt shall be pardoned.

As long as enough enemies are slain, all family members implicated by them can obtain imperial pardon.

Should the number of pardons be exceeded, each head can be exchanged for one mu of tax-exempt farmland, or five taels of silver."

Li Mu immediately painted this picture.

Frankly speaking, the rewards he offered were not particularly high.

They differed from the regular army.

Once these prisoner-soldiers were sent out, they would rely entirely on self-sufficiency to solve logistical issues, requiring no money from him to sustain them.

While harming the people of Annan, there was no need to worry about these men growing too powerful.

If they could not gain momentum rebelling in their homeland, it would be even harder in a foreign land.

If anyone could raise a rebel army in Annan and become a local warlord, Li Mu would be even happier.

Only those who had experienced it knew how great the destructive power of a rebel army could be.

Chengdu Prefecture.

"The imperial court intends to recall this old man to the capital and have Marquis Zhenyuan come here to oversee the overall situation; this old man has agreed.

Once we endure through this period, you will no longer have to live in fear!"

Xu Wenyue said with a slight hint of disappointment.

Having worked so hard, only to finally let the noble faction come in to clean up the mess, was quite a blow to him.

But there was no other way; the patience of the Emperor and the hundred officials had been exhausted by the rebel army.

Everyone now had only one thought: to suppress the rebellion as quickly as possible.

According to his plan, he could likewise grind the rebel army down, but it would require investing massive financial and material resources.

With ready-made troops available, the imperial court clearly would not spend a huge price to let him train another elite force in the Shu region.

To be precise, neither the Emperor nor the hundred officials believed he could train an elite force.

Even the juniors of the Pure Stream faction did not wish to remain stuck on the battlefield indefinitely.

Though recalled to the capital now without distinguished military merit, at least he had not caused any major disasters.

Had the front lines suffered a crushing defeat, he, as the leader of the Pure Stream, would have been ruined.

"Grand Secretary, the situation in the Shu region cannot do without you!"

Lu Junliang said with an excited expression.

To him, Xu Wenyue's departure was tantamount to the sky collapsing.

To suppress the rebel army, they had promised the Tusi chieftains considerable benefits.

With Xu Wenyue serving as Viceroy, even if the imperial court assigned blame, this Grand Councilor would stand in front to bear it.

Once Xu Wenyue left, he, as the Provincial Governor, would become the primary person responsible.

If Marquis Zhenyuan were willing to acknowledge the previous promises and fulfill the conditions Grand Secretary Xu had extended, the imperial court would likely tacitly approve.

But if Marquis Zhenyuan refused to take responsibility and rejected fulfilling the conditions they had previously promised, the trouble would be immense.

The Tusi chieftains had sent troops and shed blood for Great Yu; if they failed to receive what they wanted after the war, they would certainly not let the matter rest.

"What do you mean, 'cannot do without'!"

"This old man oversaw the suppression of the rebellion, yet not only failed to extinguish the rebel army, but allowed them to grow ever stronger.

Marquis Zhenyuan employs troops like a god; in merely a few months, he recovered Huguang for the imperial court.

With him coming to oversee the overall situation of suppressing the rebellion, the Shu region's rebel army will not last long."

Though his words sounded pleasant, deep in his heart, Xu Wenyue was seething with anger.

On the surface, during his tenure overseeing the suppression, the imperial court had spent enormous sums of money and grain; when the noble faction oversaw the suppression, most of the funds were self-raised.

It seemed he had gained a significant advantage, yet he possessed no core troops of his own!

When the noble faction took over the overall situation, a large group of noble scions brought their private armies to join the suppression forces.

Without effort, they raised more than ten divisions.

If he were in that position, wanting the noble group to contribute their old capital was utterly impossible.

Let alone expanding new armies; even obtaining support from old units was fraught with difficulties.

To deploy troops and dispatch generals, one first had to provide departure fees.

Even knowing the commanders below lacked ability, he had no way to replace them; he even had to coax them into working.

Who could fight and who could not required war to test.

Li Mu had brought up a large group of generals for the noble faction, allowing them to choose the best among the excellent; he, however, could only make do with the original generals.

Unequal military resources determined that no matter how hard he tried, he could not catch up on the battlefield.

"Grand Secretary, you cannot speak thus.

While Marquis Zhenyuan is indeed capable in battle, he also benefited from your previous efforts; otherwise, Huguang would absolutely not have been recovered so quickly.

The situation in the Shu region is actually much the same.

Through your efforts, we reorganized the military affairs in Shu and even coaxed the Tusi chieftains into joining the fight, thereby stabilizing the war situation.

We truly cannot do without you!"

Provincial Administration Commissioner Li Yongliang followed up with persuasion.

The pit in the Shu region was too large; a single Provincial Governor could not fill it.

If the imperial court assigned blame, he, as the Provincial Administration Commissioner, would not escape either.

For the sake of their own interests, they also had to keep Xu Wenyue here.

At least until Marquis Zhenyuan arrived to complete the handover.

Only with Grand Secretary Xu standing in front to bear the burden did they have the qualification to negotiate terms with the noble faction; otherwise, they, these unlucky ones with blemishes, would be meat on someone else's chopping block.

"Rest assured, this old man is not an irresponsible person.

Regarding Marquis Zhenyuan, he has likely only received the imperial edict a few days ago.

It is estimated that in another month or two, the war in Jiangnan will end, after which he will dispatch troops to the Shu region.

This old man will wait for him to arrive and complete the transfer of power before leaving the Shu region."

Xu Wenyue said coldly.

The petty calculations of these people before him were crystal clear to him.

Choosing to stay was not because he wanted to clean up the mess; mainly, he simply could not leave right now.

Of the three major gateways in the Shu region, only the northern gateway was under imperial court control.

The journey along this route was far from peaceful.

Many places along the way were focal points of contention between both sides.

Based on his understanding of these colleagues, if he left the mess for them to shoulder the blame, they would dare to leak his whereabouts to the rebel army.

During the process of overseeing the suppression, he had killed so many members of the White Lotus Sect that they long ago regarded him as a thorn in their eye.

"Grand Secretary is wise!"

"Grand Secretary's courage in taking on responsibilities is truly a blessing for the nation and its altars!"

The flattery of the crowd fell into Xu Wenyue's ears, yet it filled him with endless sorrow.

He did not know when the bureaucratic group of the Great Yu Dynasty had degenerated into such a state.

Instead of considering how to suppress the rebel army as quickly as possible, each one was calculating how to avoid being held accountable by the imperial court.

"Enough!"

"This old man has no time to listen to your nonsense here.

Marquis Zhenyuan is bringing troops to provide support; we must still strive to fight the war of suppression.

Although the time for the main decisive battle has not yet arrived, we cannot let the rebel army remain idle.

Transmit orders to all departments to harass the rebel army when opportunities arise, causing them as much trouble as possible.

Regional Commander Zhong, you shall personally be responsible for this matter.

If there are no military achievements, Marquis Zhenyuan will not be as easy to deal with as this old man!"

Xu Wenyue immediately warned.

To Zhong Chenliang's ears, however, it felt like the sky collapsing.

In engagements with the rebel army, he had consistently suffered defeat after defeat; he had long since lost confidence in his own military capabilities.

Ordering him to dispatch troops to seek trouble with the rebel army was completely asking the impossible.

Yet inaction was not an option; he bore direct responsibility for the previous defeats of the government troops.

Xu Wenyue had not dealt with him because the army needed stability.

Beheading him and replacing him with someone else might not yield anyone more capable.

But if Marquis Zhenyuan came over, there would be no such scruples.

He was bringing his own troops; without him, this Regional Commander, the war would still be fought just the same.

……

(End of Chapter)