Chapter 389: Struggle

On the battlefield, the collapse of an army often happens in an instant.

The supervision team did not play a role at the first opportunity, instantly triggering countless followers, and in the blink of an eye, it evolved into a great rout.

The city gate guarded by heavy troops was directly handed over by the garrison, and countless Great Dayu troops took the opportunity to kill their way into the city.

"You can take action now."

"Remember this: the court wants to recover Annan and doesn't want to leave hidden dangers."

"Anyone who might threaten the court's rule must disappear."

"If you handle this matter well, not only can you obtain amnesty, but there will also be a share of the fertile land outside for you."

Seeing the city was about to be taken, Zhang Ning instructed seriously.

Before entering Annan, he had always held an opposing opinion toward Li Mu's planning for Annan.

But after witnessing the vast fertile land along the Jiulong River, his stance instantly changed from opposition to support.

So much fertile land, placed in the hands of barbarians, was truly too wasteful.

It wasn't just Zhang Ning whose stance was affected; the troops participating in the expedition mostly became strategic supporters.

There was no other reason; Li Mu had made a promise beforehand to take out these fertile lands and share them with everyone.

The soldiers in the army were mostly from peasant backgrounds, and their longing for land had long been deep in their bones.

Compared to the two Guang provinces dominated by mountains and hills, the Red River Plain was truly too fertile.

To obtain this piece of land, one must first kill the land's original owner.

These dirty jobs were not suitable for the government troops to do personally.

Changing to righteous troops didn't matter; their mask was the Annan Uprising Army, determined to overthrow the Annan King's rule.

The news received by the court would only be that the Annan King acted perversely, forcing the people to rebel.

As for what the righteous troops did, that was the internal contradiction of the Annan country and had nothing to do with the Great Dayu army.

The Great Dayu army marching south was to suppress the disobedient and mourn the people and punish the guilty.

"Regional Commander, rest assured, we guarantee to handle the matter beautifully."

"If there are any fish that slipped through the net, we are responsible for the aftermath!"

The bearded man patted his chest and guaranteed immediately.

Doing dirty and tiring jobs didn't matter; the court letting them do work meant they had value.

In troubled times, people with value could live comfortably.

As for the excessive slaughter, these were done by the Annan rebels; what did it have to do with them, these Great Dayu commoners.

Those who come out to mix, who doesn't prepare a few more masks!

"The city is broken!"

When the bad news reached the Prime Minister's Mansion, Cui Ziyan fainted directly.

Defeat like a mountain collapsing became the true portrayal of the Shenglong garrison.

Everyone was busy running for their lives, and no one stopped the enemy troops from entering the city.

Cui Ziyan's fainting left the city without a leader.

When disaster strikes, everyone flies in their own direction.

At the moment of life and death, human nature is the least able to withstand testing.

One by one, they shouted about being loyal to the Great Yue Imperial Dynasty, but when the city broke, they ran faster than anyone else.

Besides a very small number of people who chose to die for the country, most of the nobles took their valuables and embarked on the road of flight.

Unfortunately, it was all too late; the righteous troops entering the city were aiming at them.

Even setting aside the court's promise, the treasures they carried with them were worth taking action for.

Yue army camp.

"Shi Yufeng, what are you doing?"

"He is still a veteran minister of three dynasties, a veteran general of our Great Yue, actually failing to do the mission of blocking the enemy troops."

"I was pitted miserably by this old bastard!"

"..."

Facing the Emperor's incessant scolding, everyone in the camp had long been accustomed to it.

From the moment the main army withdrew, the Emperor's temper suddenly became irritable.

Encountering any little thing, he would beat or scold his subordinates.

Making the group of ministers terrified, fearing they would become the Emperor's punching bag.

Having just received the bad news, the enemy bit the rear army, posing a serious danger to the Yue army's safety, once again igniting Hu Xinbo's anger.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

The group shouted in unison.

Regardless of whether they could persuade the Emperor, the necessary process could not be less.

"Hmph!"

"It's already this time, and you all still tell me to calm my anger; if we continue to calm down, the Great Yue Imperial Dynasty will be gone!"

"Could it be that you all will only know the severity of the problem when the enemy troops break through Shenglong City?"

Hu Xinbo's outburst made the group of ministers very embarrassed.

The rear army being bitten by the enemy, they were also worried.

But some things could not be solved just by being anxious.

Leading troops back to rescue was equivalent to a decisive battle with the enemy's main force.

Being able to win was fine, but if they accidentally lost, the Great Yue Imperial Dynasty would directly cool down.

Regardless of whether they could drive away the Great Dayu army in the future, the country would change hands.

If they didn't go to rescue, the rear army would inevitably suffer heavy losses.

The war had been going on until now, and Great Yue had always been cut by a dull knife; after suffering more losses, the days ahead would be impossible to live.

"Your Majesty, the Art of War says, do not mobilize an army out of anger!"

"The enemy troops are indeed hateful, but the top priority is to withdraw the troops and return to the capital, first preserving the foundation of Hanoi."

"If we stop and entangle with the Great Dayu army, it will just fall into the enemy's trick."

"They entangle us and won't let go, just to delay time and strive for time for those Great Dayu troops impersonating rebels."

Chen Chuyang stepped forward to advise.

The strategic planning of both sides was placed on the table.

Knowing it was a trap set by the enemy, they could only follow the script and jump into the pit voluntarily.

Liangshan was poor and couldn't support over a hundred thousand main army.

Losing the Hanoi region, even if they defeated the pursuing troops behind, they would be trapped and starved to death here.

"Pass the decree to let the rear army act as rear-guard troops, and be sure to block the enemy troops for seven days."

After looking at the group, Hu Xinbo hardened his heart and said.

Unable to change the strategic plan, they could only reduce losses as much as possible.

The rear army was bitten by the enemy; without reinforcements, it was difficult to shake off the enemy's pursuit.

Destined not to be preserved, then just make these sacrifices more valuable.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, from the rear came... urgent... military intelligence."

"Sheng... long... city..."

Before finishing, the messenger fainted to the ground.

Unable to care about saving the person, Hu Xinbo snatched the military report, and after opening it, his body instantly trembled.

"Impossible!"

"This is impossible!"

Shenglong City was the capital of the Great Yue Imperial Dynasty, with sturdy city walls and sufficient grain and fodder; under normal circumstances, even defending for a year or two would not be a problem.

Rushing to bring the main army back was not because he was worried about the enemy troops breaking through Shenglong City, but because he was afraid that the rebels would cause massive destruction in Hanoi.

Seeing the Emperor lose his composure, the group of ministers also became terrified.

A sense of ominous foreboding rose in everyone's hearts.

"Everyone don't think too much; Shenglong City is fine; I just lost my composure because the Prime Minister passed away."

"Prime Minister Cui was a veteran minister of three dynasties; passing away suddenly at this time, I have lost a pillar!"

After slightly recovering a trace of rationality, Hu Xinbo hurriedly explained.

Unfortunately, everyone present was a smart person; the more he covered up, the more everyone was certain that something happened to Shenglong City.

If only the Prime Minister died, no matter how sad the Emperor was, he wouldn't reveal a terrified expression.

According to the normal rhythm, after the Prime Minister died, the top priority was to select an official to continue presiding over the domestic situation.

"Your Majesty, please restrain your grief!"

The group of ministers shouted in unison.

Seeing through without saying it—this was the way of being an official.

With their power, no matter how the Emperor blocked the news, they would figure out the ins and outs in a few days.

These things, Hu Xinbo was naturally also clear.

Blocking the news at this time was mainly to stabilize military morale and think about what to do next.

Losing Shenglong City, the fall of the Hanoi region was only a matter of time.

Losing the foundation, the eating, drinking, and defecating of these tens of thousands of troops was a huge problem.

In the past, when encountering attacks from Central Plains dynasties, they all withdrew to the south.

Now the situation was special; the Great Yue Imperial Dynasty had long been chopped in half, and rebels and pirates were everywhere.

Having been harmed by these guys once, even if he led the troops over, he was afraid he could only eat dirt.

Rebels and pirates might not be able to win against regular troops, but the destruction caused to the people was countless times that of regular troops.

Especially those newly attached territories, which were still filled with a large number of remnants of the previous dynasty; he reckoned they had already broken away from Great Yue's rule at this moment.

"Fine, let's stop here today; everyone go down and rest!"

Hu Xinbo suppressed his anger and ordered.

The matters discussed next involved too much sensitive content and were only suitable for confidants to participate.

For the sake of rear stability, this time he brought the heads of the forces in the court who didn't believe in him together.

He wanted to use battle achievements to establish prestige and deter these guys.

Never did he expect that the situation developed in the opposite direction.

The failure on the battlefield made his status in the hearts of the group of ministers greatly decrease.

Especially that bunch of guys who didn't obey him, they didn't do less to mock him in private.

Given the current terrible situation, Hu Xinbo was very worried that these guys would sell him out at a critical moment.

Great Yue Imperial Dynasty had always been co-governed by the Emperor and aristocratic families, and class solidification was more serious than Great Dayu.

The local resources were rich, plus the continuous victories in foreign wars, which covered up internal contradictions.

According to the normal rhythm, after a disastrous defeat in a foreign war, internal contradictions would intensify.

The endless rebels in the country were the manifestation of intensified internal contradictions.

If local people hadn't joined, relying only on those foreign prisoner troops, it would be impossible to scatter the sparks of rebellion across the country in a short time.

Just the common people at the bottom rebelling turned the Great Yue Imperial Dynasty upside down.

If the aristocratic families who opposed him came again, the situation would be completely beyond salvation.

In fact, Hu Xinbo had always been unable to understand why the Great Dayu army only attacked fiercely militarily and didn't engage in political persuasion to surrender.

For aristocratic families, as long as the Great Dayu people were willing to stop, whether it was ceding land and paying compensation, or changing him, this Emperor, could be discussed.

The enemy didn't make an offer, which made these people stand with him.

Once the enemy changed strategy, his rule could collapse at any time.

Under the tribute system, an imperial edict from the Great Dayu Emperor dismissing a vassal state king was not fresh news.

Having a sense of crisis in his heart, Hu Xinbo had been living in panic these days.

To stabilize his position, he had to remain strong at all times.

In the eyes of outsiders, he was prone to anger when encountering things, but in reality, it was all to cover up the fear in his heart.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The dense musket fire made the rear-guard Yue army miserable.

Especially the musket soldiers, who were the most miserable; the ammunition carried on their bodies had long been exhausted, and the weapons in their hands directly became fire sticks.

On the battlefield, one inch long is one inch strong; to adapt to the new battle, they could only temporarily make a batch of bamboo spears to make do.

Weapons were a small problem; the most headache-inducing thing was that the Great Dayu army didn't talk about martial arts.

Clearly they could engage in close combat, but the enemy always liked to use muskets and artillery.

They lined up several times, wanting to have a decisive battle with the enemy troops, but in the end, they were all bombed until they had no temper.

"Send people to urge the Ministry of War; hurry and send the ammunition to us!"

Watching the troops collapse all the way, Pu Yufeng couldn't help but order.

However, these efforts were destined to be futile.

The main army was retreating all the way; who would send military supplies here!

Moreover, even if the Ministry of War wanted to send them, the rear had to be able to send material supplies.

"Marquis, it's not enough to just have weapons and ammunition; let them send another batch of grain and fodder."

"Our supplies were mostly lost in the previous battles, and some units are about to run out of food."

The middle-aged Assistant Regional Commander added hurriedly.

The blocking battle of retreating step by step, the main army not collapsing all at once, was the embodiment of strong combat effectiveness.

If it were at another time, the two armies lined up to collide, they absolutely wouldn't have lost so stiflingly.

"Tell His Majesty that my unit is out of ammunition and food."

"Let the units in front leave a batch of supplies for us to cope with during the withdrawal."

"Pass down the order for each unit to contribute the grain in their hands, and everyone cook together."

"His Majesty's decree to us is to drag the enemy troops for seven days; persist for a while, and it will soon pass."

Pu Yufeng nodded and said.

At this moment, he experienced Shi Yufeng's bitterness.

With that pig teammate in the Ministry of War, strategic materials could not be delivered in time, and the army's ten percent combat effectiveness could at most exert three or four percent.

If such a bit of combat effectiveness could defeat the enemy troops, then at Zhennan Pass, the two sides would have already decided the winner.

"Marquis, just forage on the spot!"

"No matter how poor the Liangshan region is, supplying us with a few days of grain can still be collected."

"The grain and fodder for the main army's withdrawal should have been their responsibility to provide; now that the army is short of grain, they have a share of the responsibility."

The middle-aged Assistant Regional Commander said righteously.

Although the Liangshan region had an important strategic position, limited by its geographical location, its own development was very limited.

Nominally a provincial capital, in reality, it was not as good as some large county towns.

Since Great Dayu gave up Jiaozhi, it hadn't had any ideas about this place, and the local area had been peaceful for more than a hundred years.

If the war hadn't broken out, the Great Yue high command wouldn't have thought of this place, and resource investment naturally didn't exist.

At this moment, the gentry in the city had long disappeared, and even the officials of the local government office chose to run away at the first opportunity after receiving the news of the main army's withdrawal.

Without local snakes cooperating, the best choice to quickly collect a batch of grain was to plunder grain by leading troops.

To be precise, it was in the name of collecting grain, but acting as robbery.

After all, the Liangshan region was about to fall into the enemy's hands, and the probability of Great Yue taking back the lost territory was zero.

At this time, grabbing it was earning it; there was no need to worry about the court's liquidation.

"Hmm!"

"I heard that there are rebels causing trouble nearby; be careful when going out to collect grain."

"The spoils of war captured, besides ours, leave a share to handle relationships."

"Tell the soldiers blocking the enemy troops to withdraw back until nightfall; we will directly defend Liangshan City and not fight field battles with the enemy troops."

Pu Yufeng made a decisive decision.

There were many ways to boost military morale, and the simplest operation was to plunder grain by leading troops.

Everyone got rich together, and morale recovered.

Long-term defense of Liangshan was unrealistic, but holding on for a few days was still achievable.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 390 =====