Chapter 379: The End of a Warlord

"Rumble, rumble..."

The roar of artillery ground hope to dust; the painstakingly planned secret crossing had ultimately been leaked.

The Yu Army navy, rushing upon hearing the news, defeated the rebel fleet and then split the Wu Army, which was mid-crossing, cleanly in two.

"Your Majesty, we must leave immediately!"

Dou Ruiyu dragged Fu Haoxuan, urging him.

No one wished to suffer such losses of soldiers and generals.

Yet the fact remained: the Wu Army had been severed in two.

The navy was a technical branch; their hastily assembled force was no match for the Yu Army's seasoned fleet.

"No!"

"I must wait for the follow-up troops to arrive!"

"The enemy has just attacked; the Yangtze is vast. They lack the capacity to blockade every ferry crossing."

"..."

Fu Haoxuan declared, his face flushed with agitation.

To achieve a successful river crossing, the entire Wu Army had paid a tremendous price.

They had sacrificed hundreds of thousands of troops as bait, all to preserve the twenty thousand elite soldiers in hand.

Never did they expect that after paying such a heavy price, problems would still arise at the critical moment of crossing.

The forces that successfully crossed numbered less than ten thousand.

With such meager strength, holding their own was difficult, let alone launching a northern expedition into the Central Plains.

"Your Majesty, there is no time left!"

"The imperial army has discovered us; pursuers will be here soon."

"If we do not leave immediately, we will never escape!"

Dou Ruiyu urged hastily.

No one felt comfortable transitioning from a regional warlord regime to a bandit horde.

Yet no matter how painful it was, life had to go on.

The war had progressed to a point where the Wu Army stood on the brink of collapse.

Unless they hurried to break through the Yu Army's encirclement and pursuit, their annihilation was merely a matter of time.

"Do not worry; I have already ordered the abandonment of Nanchang, Jiujiang, Anqing, and other places. It will not be long before they march to join us."

"Troops from other regions still have some distance to cover, but Anqing is right on our doorstep."

"By my calculations, Fang Mochuan's contingent should be arriving to rendezvous soon!"

Fu Haoxuan said, forcing a calm demeanor.

He would not feel pain over the loss of ordinary soldiers, no matter how many perished.

From their uprising in Guangxi to the present, they had long accumulated a set of experiences for raising armies.

As long as the core backbone remained, restoring their military strength had never been difficult.

But now was different; the foundation he had painstakingly built had largely been lost as well.

Without these assets, even if they broke into the Central Plains, it would be hard to gain a foothold.

"Your Majesty, we are afraid we cannot count on reinforcements."

"The Yu Army knows our crossing location; they could not have made no preparations."

"Striking us mid-crossing was merely the enemy's first wave of attack; greater troubles await us next."

"It is likely that General Fang's forces met with disaster the moment they left Anqing City."

"Just as we did when we evacuated Nanjing!"

Hu Yuzhe said anxiously.

When a regime reaches its end, betrayal is inevitable.

For a cobbled-together separatist regime like the Wu Army, the cohesion among officials was even weaker.

As soon as the main force left Nanjing City, they faced a series of encirclements and pursuits.

After being battered all along the way, the Wu Army's morale plummeted, forcing them to reluctantly cut off limbs to save the body.

They had hoped to save the Wu State, only to be precisely harvested by the enemy; there must have been a traitor behind the scenes leaking information.

Knowing clearly that someone within their ranks was compromised, Hu Yuzhe, a surrendered official, could only urge the Emperor to flee.

At such a time, once a loyalty screening began, he himself would be the prime suspect.

In chaotic times, many things require no evidence.

The mere possibility of suspicion was enough to stir thoughts of killing in Fu Haoxuan.

"It may not be an ambush; it could be outright betrayal."

"Since we evacuated Nanjing, the number of units choosing to surrender to the Yu Army has surged dramatically."

"Many scattered units, whenever they find themselves at a disadvantage on the battlefield, choose to surrender to the enemy."

Right Prime Minister Yang Jingren tore through the veil directly, extinguishing Fu Haoxuan's last shred of illusion.

In chaotic times, nothing withstands the test of loyalty less.

"Retreat!"

Barely had Fu Haoxuan issued the order when a force bearing Wu Army banners appeared in the distance, their command flag embroidered with the character 'Fang'.

There was no time for celebration; this sudden reinforcement immediately launched an attack against the Wu Army.

"Damn that Fang Mochuan! I trusted him so deeply, yet he has betrayed me!"

"Pass down the order: the entire army is to break out northward immediately; do not get entangled with the enemy."

Fu Haoxuan said through gritted teeth.

Traitors are more detestable than enemies; were the situation appropriate, he would have purged the house first.

Everyone found Fang Mochuan's betrayal inconceivable.

Yet the facts were plain to see; had they not encountered familiar faces, the Wu Army soldiers would never have allowed them to approach.

"..."

On the north bank of the Yangtze, the two Wu Army forces engaged in fierce slaughter.

Watching his subordinates turn their butcher knives against former comrades to offer a token of allegiance, Fang Mochuan felt as if his heart were being sliced.

Sadly, all this was beyond his control.

As the commander, he was unwilling to stab his former masters in the back for fame and fortune, but his underlings felt no such pressure.

From the moment he accepted amnesty, he had lost control over his troops.

Having accepted the court's amnesty, everyone had transformed overnight into Yu Army generals; it was only reasonable for their superiors to order them to suppress the rebels.

Without offering this token of allegiance, they could never be regarded as one of their own.

If they could not become insiders, their official caps would never be secure.

Even if they were not held accountable now, they would be purged after the war.

For the sake of their own interests, the underlings chose to betray their old master one after another, leaving Fang Mochuan alone in his sorrow.

"General, it is not too late to join the battle with your personal guards!"

A middle-aged private secretary nearby spoke up to remind him.

Having served together, he had traded the Anqing garrison for a step up in rank.

He still retained a measure of affection for this former master.

His urging at this moment was entirely sincere.

A man of loyalty and righteousness is certainly admirable.

But if he stands in an opposing camp, it is better that he dies.

If he does not politically sever ties with the rebels in time, Fang Mochuan will inevitably be convicted for some reason at some future point.

"There is no need!"

"At my position, no matter what I do, I cannot escape suspicion."

"Rather than wait for the court to settle accounts later, it is better to take the initiative and depart first, so as not to soil the hands of the Duke of Cheng."

"Mr. Wang, I know your background is not simple and that you have many connections within the court."

"The wealth in these chests is what I accumulated over half my life and several years; I now entrust it all to you."

"Whether you use it yourself or bribe superior officials, I only ask that after my death, the court does not purge my family or former subordinates."

Having spoken, Fang Mochuan began to sob, foam starting to spill from the corners of his mouth.

Witnessing this scene, Secretary Wang was horrified.

He had considered every possibility, but never expected Fang Mochuan to be so fierce and unyielding.

"Quick, fetch a physician!"

In his panic, Secretary Wang hurriedly shouted to the personal guards.

"Do not bother; I have already dismissed them all!"

"If they wish to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, they need to prove their loyalty to the court."

"They followed me fighting north and south for so many years without achieving much fame; in these final moments, I cannot burden them again."

"Rest assured, Mr. Wang; I have arranged everything in advance."

"Before setting out on the expedition, I gave them a brocade pouch containing my handwritten letter, which detailed my final arrangements."

"Here is another handwritten letter from me; if anyone causes trouble, you can produce it to calm the army."

"Perhaps I worried too much; maybe none of this will be needed!"

Having expended his last strength to speak his final words, Fang Mochuan closed his eyes, a faint smile of relief still lingering on the corners of his mouth.

At the brink of death, he finally saw through human nature.

Had this been during the peak of the Wu Kingdom, his subordinates would certainly not have lacked loyal and righteous men.

But now, at the end of their rope, even Emperor Fu Haoxuan could breathe his last at any moment.

When disaster strikes, each flies off in their own direction.

Since his subordinates could betray Fu Haoxuan for the court's amnesty, they could equally abandon him, their commanding general.

In the face of profit, only a very few truly cared whether he lived or died.

Many might even be secretly rejoicing.

With him, their leader, dead, the surrendering soldiers below would act independently, never able to gather again.

With the threat to the court gone, there would be no more suspicion, and everyone could sleep soundly.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

After a volley of arrows, the force surrounding Fu Haoxuan shrank by another dozen men.

Gazing at the Yu Army cavalry drawn up in strict formation before them, the Wu Army high command wore expressions of utter despair.

Just stabbed in the back by their own people, their morale was at its lowest, and now enemy cavalry had fixed their sights on them.

"Form ranks! Fight them to the death!"

Fu Haoxuan ordered coldly.

At this life-or-death moment, he had no other thoughts; he only wished to stake his life against the enemy.

Kill one, and it counts; kill two, and it's a profit.

"Whoever captures the false emperor alive shall be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver and promoted three ranks!"

Shi Jinglin ordered, his face alight with excitement.

He had missed the great merit of retaking Nanjingcheng.

He had thought that in this rebellion-suppression war, he would merely play a minor role and be done with it.

Never did he expect that at the final hour, Fu Haoxuan would lead a ragtag band of defeated soldiers straight into his defensive sector.

To refuse what Heaven offers is to invite blame; to miss the timely moment is to invite disaster.

With such great merit delivered to his doorstep, there was absolutely no reason to miss it.

If Fu Haoxuan managed to escape under these circumstances, he might as well resign as Regional Commander.

Tempted by the high bounty, the officers and soldiers of the Liaodong Force grew excited.

In their eyes, the rebels before them had all transformed into stepping stones for promotion and wealth.

Besides the high reward for the false emperor, the court had also offered varying bounties for other rebel high commanders.

Capturing any one of them at random would allow a man to leap across social strata.

At this life-or-death moment, the Wu Army displayed the quality of elite troops, forming a square formation with utmost speed.

Facing the spear formation, the Liaodong cavalry felt not a shred of fear, immediately bringing out their muskets for a coordinated volley.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Times had changed; military formations once used against cavalry, with the replacement of weapons, could no longer keep pace with the era.

Lacking shield protection, the Wu Army soldiers could only use their flesh and blood to block the fired projectiles.

In an instant, the front rank of Wu Army soldiers fell dead and wounded in great numbers.

The once impregnable square formation soon developed gaps.

Sensing the opportunity without a moment's hesitation, the Liaodong Iron Cavalry immediately launched an attack.

Once a breach was torn open, the formation they had pinned their hopes on was quickly shattered by the cavalry charge.

With the quality of these Wu Army elites, they could have launched a counterattack, but alas, they had lost too much weaponry and equipment during their flight.

Blunt weapons specially designed to pierce armor, and horse-chopping blades for dealing with cavalry, were all nowhere to be found.

Even so, the Wu Army soldiers continued to fight back with all their might.

Apart from a few heavily armored cavalry, the Liaodong Iron Cavalry consisted mostly of light cavalry, whose protective capabilities were not particularly strong.

Though infantry fighting cavalry was inherently disadvantaged, if one was willing to stake one's life, gains could always be made.

Groups of three to five Wu Army soldiers grabbed long spears and thrust at individual enemy cavalrymen; at this moment, life and death were cast aside.

In an instant, one man was pierced by an enemy spear tip, and several others were sent flying by warhorses.

At a terrible cost, finally one comrade's long spear pierced the enemy's armor, successfully knocking the foe off his horse.

Without a moment's hesitation, nearby Wu Army soldiers immediately seized their weapons and attacked the fallen enemy soldier.

As the most elite force of the Wu Kingdom, they enjoyed the best treatment and possessed the highest sense of identity with Wu.

With their nation broken and homes destroyed, whether they lived or died no longer mattered; the key was to kill the enemy outright.

This ferocity truly shocked the Liaodong faction generals observing the battle.

"The enemy is fighting like a trapped beast! Order all units to increase their distance and resolve the battle using muskets and bows and arrows as much as possible!"

Shi Jinglin decisively issued the command.

Deep in his heart, he felt as though he were bleeding.

In the brief engagement just now, over a hundred cavalrymen had fallen; these were the very foundation of the Shi family's standing in Great Yu.

The enemy wanted to trade lives, but he could not bear to sacrifice his precious Liaodong Iron Cavalry to exchange lives with these rebels.

"Fifth Brother, these rebels are more troublesome than expected."

"That the Noble Faction managed to drive them to this point suggests we significantly underestimated their strength."

Shi Jingzhong said in a lowered voice.

Before this battle, his ingrained belief had always been that the Tatar cavalry possessed the number one combat power under heaven, their Liaodong Army ranked second, and all other forces were mere dogs of clay and tiles.

Even the renowned Two Guangs Six Forces, in his eyes, were on par with other border armies, still a considerable distance from their level.

Through comparison with the rebels in combat, his understanding suffered a violent shock.

A ragtag band of defeated soldiers, which should have collapsed at the first touch, had actually inflicted significant casualties on the Liaodong Iron Cavalry.

Had they encountered this force at its peak, the price they would have paid would have been even greater.

"Mm!"

"A general's family with centuries of heritage, even if declined, still commands strength that cannot be underestimated."

"Through this rebellion-suppression war, the Noble Faction has cultivated many talented generals, completing a rebirth from the ashes."

"However, there is no need for excessive worry; the civil official faction will not allow them to continue growing powerful."

"A new round of struggle between civil and military factions will erupt in the imperial court in the near future."

"We need only sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, seizing the opportunity to reap benefits."

"I imagine those noble scions look down upon our desolate and cold lands in Liaodong."

Though his words sounded easy, a trace of apprehension still showed between Shi Jinglin's brows.

Compared to the Noble Faction, the foundations of the Liaodong faction were still too shallow.

In the imperial court, they could only attach themselves to the civil officials.

Though they seemed to hold great titles within the military, their substantive influence was confined to the Liaodong region.

When noble scions achieved merit, they could serve as officials in various provinces of Great Yu, yet Liaodong scions were imprisoned within Liaodong.

This was partly due to the court's deliberate suppression, and partly because the Liaodong general families, to safeguard their own status, denied them opportunities for transfer elsewhere.

As the sun set in the west, the bloody battle gradually drew to a close.

The number of Wu Army soldiers able to stand grew fewer and fewer, until finally only the dozen or so men surrounding Fu Haoxuan remained.

Surviving until the end was not due to their exceptional bravery, nor was it because their luck had exploded; it was purely because the government troops wanted to capture them alive.

For the Great Yu court, capturing Fu Haoxuan alive held extraordinary political significance.

"Rebel Fu, surrender immediately!"

"Heaven has a virtue of cherishing life; if you are willing to surrender, this general does not mind speaking well of you before His Majesty!"

Sweeping his gaze across the battlefield, Shi Jinglin spoke, urging surrender.

(End of Chapter)