Chapter 385: Peace Talks

“The encirclement operation failed? Xiao Yunfan died in the chaos of battle?”

Holding the intelligence in his hand, Hu Xinbo’s face instantly turned pale.

The news came as a shocking blow, completely beyond his expectations.

No matter how numerous the pirates, they were merely a rabble—no match for a regular army.

Of Xiao Yunfan’s troops, a quarter were elite soldiers, among the most formidable forces in Dayue.

For such a powerful force to lose to a band of pirates is far more damaging than the earlier annihilation of the navy.

“Your Majesty, please calm down!”

“General Xiao was defeated because the enemy was utterly treacherous.

The Yu army disguised themselves as Bai Lian rebels, infiltrated our territory, and posed as insurgents.

General Xiao, caught off guard, fell into their trap, and thus…”

Chen Chuyang explained nervously.

Losing to rebels is shameful; losing to Bai Lian prisoners is even more shameful—so blame it on the Yu army.

In politics, truth is just a doll that can be dressed up any way needed.

“Worthless!”

“Xiao Yunfan is worthless, and so are all those bastards back home!”

“All my ministers are worthless!”

Hu Xinbo erupted in furious curses.

The idea that the Yu army disguised themselves as Bai Lian prisoners and incited rebellion inside Dayue sounded absurd.

The language barrier alone was a formidable obstacle.

The enemy couldn’t possibly have everyone fluent in both languages; even if they launched a rebellion, they could only conscript able-bodied men by force.

Such a large-scale disturbance could not possibly escape the notice of local authorities.

Among so many local officials, some must have been sharp enough to notice.

Upon detecting the problem, they would normally report it upward.

As a seasoned general, Xiao Yunfan would not have fallen for the trap unless he had been reckless and overconfident.

If none of them noticed the problem, either Dayue is rotten to the core, or the battle reports have been falsified.

Drawing on years of political experience, Hu Xinbo was certain the battle reports sent to him had been altered countless times.

How far they strayed from the original truth was known only to heaven.

Knowing something is one thing; exposing the truth is another.

Even the Emperor must abide by the rules of the political game.

To avoid catastrophic political consequences, he had no choice but to accept the content of the report—his outburst was merely emotional venting.

In essence, these people concealed the truth to minimize the political fallout.

“Your Majesty, please calm down!”

“The damage is done. The priority now is to manage the aftermath.

General Xiao has fallen in battle, his troops slaughtered or wounded in vast numbers—they can no longer repel the invading Yu forces.

The only course now is to withdraw the army and stabilize the domestic situation.”

Chen Chuyang urged urgently.

A few scoldings mean nothing; what matters is solving the problem.

Whether the chaos in Dayue was caused by pirates, Bai Lian prisoners, or the Yu army, they were all enemies.

Their destructive power far exceeds that of the enemy inside Zhennan Pass.

Every day the chaos continues drains Dayue’s national strength.

If the rear is in disarray, the army’s logistics will collapse—northern expedition becomes a farce.

“Withdraw?”

“Easy to say, but can we even withdraw now?”

“I’d bet my life that the moment our army pulls back from Zhennan Pass, the defenders will surge out to harass us.

The enemy doesn’t need to defeat us—just delay our retreat, and that’s enough.”

Hu Xinbo spoke bitterly.

He had long wanted to withdraw—Zhennan Pass was unassailable.

To date, the casualty ratio has reached nearly 20:1—such a staggering disparity would crush any besieger’s morale.

Aside from the initial assaults, the past weeks have been nothing but token efforts.

No one wants to launch another attack—no one wants to throw away their lives.

Over ten thousand men have been lost before Zhennan Pass—nearly ten percent of our total strength.

If we keep grinding on, even if we annihilate our entire force, we won’t break the enemy.

Before the northern expedition began, Hu Xinbo’s goal was to seize Guangdong and Guangxi.

After the war began, the goal was immediately lowered to capturing Guangxi and then withdrawing.

A month into the war, the goal dropped again—to take Zhennan Pass and retreat.

Later still, the strategic objective became nothing more than to withdraw the entire army intact.

Now, he only hoped to retreat with minimal losses.

Ironically, the lower the goal, the faster the situation deteriorated.

The crisis at home robbed him of the capacity for a prolonged war.

It was maddening—after so long, they had never even faced the enemy in open battle.

If they had lost in a fair fight, he would have accepted it.

But now they were defeated in the most humiliating way—manipulated like puppets in the enemy’s palm.

“Your Majesty, Yu is not a monolith—some advocate war, others peace.

According to intelligence, Yu has already crushed the Jiangnan rebels and will soon recover its strength.

The forces we’re fighting now are only from Guangdong and Guangxi.

If Yu sends more reinforcements, the situation will spiral out of control.

Especially in the newly conquered southern territories, the locals have little loyalty to Dayue; if the war drags on, they may break away.

While Yu is in its low point, immediately dispatch an envoy to their capital to persuade their peace faction and end this war swiftly.”

The veteran Shi Yufeng again proposed ending the war—this time, unlike before, he faced no condemnation.

Clearly, this war had made Dayue’s high command realize the gap in strength between them and Yu.

Just the forces of Guangdong and Guangxi had pushed them to the brink.

If the war continued and Yu sent more troops, the situation would only worsen.

No one wants to fight a war they know they will lose.

The ministers’ silent consensus wounded Hu Xinbo deeply.

His first foreign war as ruler had not harmed the enemy—but had already shattered his own country.

Destruction is easy; rebuilding is hard.

Even if this war with Yu ends, the mess at home cannot be cleaned up overnight.

“Didn’t the Yu Emperor execute our previous envoy? What use is sending another now?”

“Besides, the distance from our capital to Yu’s capital is vast.”

“Even if we send someone immediately, it will take months before any result emerges.”

Chen Jingfu immediately countered.

He didn’t truly want to continue the war—he opposed only to spare the Emperor’s face.

In truth, by now, Dayue had no hardline war faction left.

Compromise is the survival Zhidao of small states; the stubborn have long vanished from history.

He needed not fear dissent—his reasons were all practical realities.

The Yongning Emperor was no easygoing man—the letter incident had already enraged him beyond repair.

Out of necessity, he had temporarily restrained himself and refrained from executing the envoy.

But once war broke out, the Yongning Emperor’s fury flared—and he immediately sent the envoy to the execution ground.

One stroke of the blade, and the entire first envoy team was wiped out.

The enemy had made it clear with action: they would fight to the death. Hu Xinbo could not appear weak.

Yu had not sent an envoy; he could not execute anyone—but he had sent no shortage of provocative letters.

Li Mu, as the frontline commander, naturally did not withhold these documents.

He sent them all to the capital, and the entire Yu court erupted in collective outrage.

Even the most anti-war civil officials switched from peace faction to war faction.

You just insulted them to death—and now you want to make peace? How could it be so easy?

Even if someone in court advocated peace, they’d still demand a heavy price.

The tax revenue from the eight southern provinces gave Yu the financial backbone to sustain the war.

Compared to losses from internal rebellion, the cost of this Annan campaign was relatively low for Yu.

The pirates were lured by Li Mu’s empty promises; the Bai Lian prisoners were merely given free passage.

Even the weapons they held were captured during the suppression of rebellions.

So far in the war, the actual Yu army forces engaged, both land and naval, number no more than tens of thousands.

“Regardless of whether it’s useful or not, we must demonstrate our sincerity.

The Yu people value face above all—give them enough face first, then there’s room to negotiate.

Distance is indeed a problem, but it’s one we must confront.

If we wish to end this war through negotiation, we have only two options.

Either negotiate here with the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi, or send envoys to the capital.

According to intelligence gathered, the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi is a military officer who rose through battlefield merit, naturally inclined toward war.

Hoping to end this war through negotiations with him is virtually hopeless.

From the standpoint of that Marquis of Han River, he likely wishes this war to last as long as possible.

After all, since the war began, the enemy has not yet deployed their full strength.

Within Guangdong alone, the enemy has three elite garrisons that have not been committed to this war.

It is said the Yu army is divided into two types: conscripted troops and garrison troops, with only the conscripted troops serving as the main combat force.

The forces currently fighting us are the garrison units from Guangdong and Guangxi.

In the Yu army’s hierarchy, their combat effectiveness ranks at best as second-line troops, possibly even third-line.”

Chen Chuyang vigorously promoted this view.

To end this war as quickly as possible, he had abandoned all concern for face and openly exposed his own weaknesses.

Perhaps he pushed too hard—those who heard this news all turned pale.

“Impossible!”

“The garrison at Zhennan Pass is undoubtedly the most elite force of Great Yu.

Our troops have fought them before—there can be no mistake.

The intelligence must be flawed; those fools in the Tongzheng Office are useless!”

Chen Jingfu quickly rebutted.

Unlike before, when he defended the Emperor’s face, now the honor of the military and his own future were at stake.

Having suffered heavy losses at Zhennan Pass, he needed to portray the enemy as formidable to lessen his own culpability.

No matter what, he could not accept defeat at the hands of second- or third-line enemy troops.

“Your Majesty is right—the garrison at Zhennan Pass still possesses considerable strength and cannot be compared to ordinary Yu troops.

Perhaps the enemy deliberately disguised their elite troops as garrison units to lull us into complacency.

This matter need not be probed further; let us return to discussing peace talks!”

Hu Xinbo, realizing the gravity of the issue, swiftly settled the matter.

Even disregarding other factors, he had to consider his reputation in life and after death.

If he admitted the Zhennan Pass garrison was merely a garrison unit, future histories would record him as a laughingstock for all time.

Similar cautionary tales had appeared in Great Yue’s history.

…

Inside Zhennan Pass.

“My Lord, the enemy camp is stirring—it appears they’re preparing to retreat.”

Feng Jingxing said, his voice filled with excitement.

As Garrison Commander of Zhennan Pass, having been blockaded in his own city for months, he saw this as the greatest humiliation.

But his commander forbade any counterattack; no matter how grievous his grievance, he had to hold it in.

On the battlefield, everyone is a single screw, serving the greater whole.

“Oh?”

“It seems Kong Yutang and the others did well—those Bai Lian rebels turned prisoners have proven useful within Annan.

Issue orders: keep close watch on every movement of the enemy.

When they officially withdraw, give them a grand gift.”

Li Mu smiled as he gave the order.

Holding out for so long had not only frustrated his troops—he himself was equally stifled.

But war cannot be waged on emotion; if victory can be won with minimal cost, soldiers must not be sacrificed needlessly.

Since ancient times, the finest commanders achieve victory without glorious battles.

Victories built on piles of corpses—he would never resort to such a thing unless utterly desperate.

“My Lord, since the Bai Lian prisoners are so useful, recruit more of them.

Don’t have them fight—just assign them to clear the way for our army.

I’ve calculated: eliminating the miasma requires massive manpower and resources.

In the future, we can use Annan prisoners for this, but in the early stages, we still need large numbers of laborers.”

Tan Chenfeng immediately proposed.

After removing the most vicious offenders, the remaining prisoners had mostly been forced into joining the rebels.

If they weren’t just simple farmers, they’d picked up some bad habits while serving the rebels.

After a period of reeducation, most had reverted to their farmer state.

Working in the garrisons was only more exhausting during peak farming season; otherwise, it was much like being a hired laborer.

Hard work had its benefits: the more land reclaimed, the more grain each person received.

Li Mu had always placed great importance on stimulating production incentives.

No matter how small the return, if it was even slightly better than before, the men were satisfied.

They rose with the sun and rested at its setting, rarely causing trouble.

Especially after their families began arriving, these men grew even more obedient and humble.

Their greatest dream now was to receive imperial amnesty, so they could be buried in their ancestral graves after death.

But it was only a dream—not easily realized.

Imperial amnesties always listed ten unforgivable crimes, and rebellion ranked first.

Even if they were merely coerced, they remained prime targets for suppression.

“It’s worth considering. You several discuss it and draft a detailed plan.

How many to recruit, what Daiyu to offer, how to secure logistics—all must be accounted for.”

Li Mu immediately agreed.

He always encouraged his subordinates to take initiative.

As long as their proposals were feasible, he was willing to give them a chance—to cultivate a cohort of officers capable of standing alone.

Once our army enters Annan, the nature of warfare will change.

Large-scale battles like these will become extremely rare; future resistance will mostly be in small to medium-scale engagements.

(End of Chapter)