Fu Shanhe

Chapter 176 Panic
early morning.

The first ray of sunlight spread across the earth, and the bodies of the rebels were thrown into the raging fire one after another.

Driven by the breeze, the aroma of meat filled the air.

After revising the battle report, Li Mu suppressed his nausea and finished his breakfast.

“Master Jia, this is yesterday’s battle report.

According to the prisoners, the rebels this time dispatched an army of 150,000, led by Kong Siliu, the self-proclaimed Marquis of Loyalty and Righteousness of the White Lotus Sect.

However, this traitor was shot to death by arrows in the battle.

Summarizing the battle performance of various units, our army defeated 150,000 rebels yesterday, killed 15,000 enemy soldiers, captured 12,000 heads, and captured 43,000 enemy soldiers.

There are rebel fleeing everywhere outside now. If we have time to pursue them, doubling our victory record will not be a problem.

Unfortunately, the rear front is in danger and we must rush back to provide support as soon as possible. We don’t have time to expand our victory.”

Li Mu said calmly.

The 150,000-strong army was a claim made by the rebels in order to boost their momentum. When interrogating the lower-level soldiers, the number was naturally 150,000.

If you want to know the real number of people, in addition to estimating from the number of tents, you still have to interrogate high-level generals.

However, these guys were killed before they had a chance to speak.

When it comes to military merit, the people below will do their job well on their own initiative without Li Mu's instructions.

Jia Bo did not understand military affairs and could not judge the approximate number of enemy troops at a glance, so he naturally could not question the battle results reported by Li Mu.

No one can tell how many defeated soldiers are fleeing outside, but the heads and prisoners are definitely real.

“It would be such a shame to just let the rebel soldiers go.

If we let the enemy gather together, it will be another problem. Otherwise, let us stay for two more days."

Jia Bo said after thinking for a while.

The current record is already very good.

If it could be doubled, the contribution would be even greater.

As a military supervisor, his career is tied to the army's performance.

The more successfully the Guangxi Campaign is fought, the brighter his future will be.

Based on his current achievements, promotion to a higher level would be a piece of cake.

If his military achievements were more outstanding, it would not be impossible for him to be promoted two or three levels.

"Master Jia, it's too late.

After yesterday's battle, the soldiers need to rest for two days before they can set off again.

If the soldiers are allowed to pursue the rebels with exhausted bodies, then the delay will not only waste time chasing the enemy, but also increase the soldiers' rest time.

After all this trouble, I might have to wait ten days before I can get on the road again.

Lianzhou Prefecture is short of military forces, and if we delay for such a long time, we might lose our base.

Most of our food and supplies are stored in the city, so we must ensure its safety.

As for the remnants of the rebels, we can turn around and deal with them after we have dealt with the two enemy armies!"

Li Mu continued to deceive.

It is not known whether the rebels can capture Lianzhou Prefecture, but if they continue to stay here, the results of the battle will definitely not be doubled.

The enemy had a total of more than 70,000 troops. No matter how hard we tried, it was impossible to defeat more than this number.

Instead of staying here and dealing with those insignificant defeated soldiers, it is better to go back and deal with the other two armies.

There are too many deserters outside, and the news of the enemy's defeat will surely spread.

If the other two rebel forces get scared when they receive the news, they will retreat back to defend the city, and the subsequent battles will be difficult to fight.

"Pity!"

After sighing, Jia Bo stopped talking.

After losing Lianzhou Prefecture, the army became rootless.

The Yangzhou Camp lost its logistical supplies and its combat effectiveness was reduced by only 70% to 80%.

No matter how elite the soldiers are, one death means one less.

The rebels can slowly wear them down with their numerical advantage.

The reason why we are able to defeat the enemy quickly now is, on the one hand, that the rebels have a weak sense of combat effectiveness, and on the other hand, that firearms attacks have a great impact on morale.

We haven't even touched the enemy yet, but we've already suffered a huge loss. No one can bear this.

If they had switched to cold weapons and both sides had to fight in close combat, the rebels would definitely not have been defeated so quickly.

……

As the defeated soldiers fled in all directions, the news of Kong Siliu's death in battle began to spread to the outside world.

"What do you mean the frontline was defeated and the Marquis died in battle?"

Qiao Xiaoer asked in panic.

As the garrison general of Xunzhou, he is now in the stage of making amends for his crime because the vanguard army was attacked by government troops at night in his jurisdiction.

In order to save his life, he gave most of his wealth to Marquis Zhongxiao and asked him to help cover up some of the crimes.

Now that the real owner is dead, the previous promise is naturally invalid.

At this moment, he not only had to worry about the high-level officials of the Holy Kingdom punishing him, but he also had to worry about the main force of the government army coming to kill him and take his head.

"Yes, General.

That's what the fleeing soldiers all said.

No one knows how he died exactly, but the Marquis's head was hung on the city wall by the pseudo-dynasty army.

In order to hide their identities, our people dare not look closer."

Chen Zhishan said in a fearful tone.

The reason he was able to find out the news so quickly was not because he was particularly capable, but simply because he was a member of the imperial court.

He could no longer be an official in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, nor could he return to Yangzhou Prefecture, and his original identity was also revoked.

The new identity is a native of Guangxi.

If you want to regain your foothold in officialdom, you must have merit.

Taking advantage of the founding of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom, he spent money to infiltrate the rebel ranks, but his status was not high.

If he had not come to report the news, a grassroots sergeant like him would not have been qualified to be looked at directly by the Xunzhou garrison commander.

"damn it!"

"The title of Marquis Zhongxiao is so great, but I still regard him as a famous general.

I never expected that he was such a waste!

With so many troops, even if we just stand there and let the enemy hack us down, it will take a while to kill them all.

He was defeated so quickly. What’s the difference between him and those three pieces of trash before?
The great foundation of the Holy Nation was ruined by these rubbish! ..."

Qiao Xiaoer kept cursing.

In his opinion, he was completely brought into trouble.

The defeat of the Holy Kingdom's army was due to the incompetence of the commander-in-chief, and had nothing to do with him as the garrison commander of Xunzhou.

At least before the Holy Kingdom launched the war, he, a small town defender, managed to save Xunzhou Prefecture.

"General, please come up with a plan!
If it’s any later, the government troops might attack us.”

Chen Zhishan urged anxiously.

The government troops didn’t have time to attack for the time being, but Qiao Xiaoer didn’t know that.

As the garrison commander of Xunzhou, he knew how powerful the government troops were.

In previous small-scale frictions, the troops under his command had never won.

We defended Xunzhou Prefecture because the enemy had never seriously attacked Xunzhou.

"I know I need a way. If I had a way, would I still be here to guard Xunzhou?"

Qiao Xiaoer scolded angrily.

In order to launch this war, the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus drew troops from all prefectures in Guangxi.

Xunzhou, located on the front line, was the hardest hit area by the withdrawal of troops.

At his peak, he had more than 10,000 troops under his command, but now there are less than 2,000 left.

Moreover, these people are not regular troops, their main role is to maintain public order in the jurisdiction.

Even if we can gather some defeated soldiers, we still cannot rely on their combat effectiveness.

"General, why don't we ask for help from the Holy Kingdom?

After Marquis Zhongxiao was killed in battle, the encirclement and suppression army on the front line was leaderless and was definitely no match for the official army of the pseudo-dynasty.

Unless the Holy Dynasty sends reinforcements, it will be difficult to defend Xunzhou!"

Master Wang on the side hurriedly spoke to persuade him.

If Xunzhou fell into the hands of the government, other people might be able to survive, but someone like him with honors would definitely die.

While enjoying the privileges, they had to demonstrate their integrity to the emperor to prove that the preferential treatment was not in vain.

If a large number of scholars and officials surrender to the rebels without killing one to warn the rest, the "literary integrity" of the civil servants will be destroyed.

Without the support of justice, the political foundation for the gentry to enjoy privileges would be shaken.

If they meet a powerful emperor one day, he might just abolish their privileges.

After all, the privileges they enjoyed had long exceeded those granted by the imperial court.

Many of these implicit privileges were gradually won over by the civil service group after it grew larger.

"All right!
Master, please draft a memorial for me to ask for help from the Holy Emperor."

Qiao Xiaoer said in a bad state.

No one can handle such a tragic thing.

If the main army wins a great victory, then everyone will just laugh it off when the vanguard troops are attacked.

Anyway, those who died were chieftain soldiers, so the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus won’t take it seriously.

But now the main force has been defeated, and the situation has changed suddenly.

Once the Holy Kingdom investigates the responsibility for the defeat, he will definitely be implicated.

Whether or not he can escape the disaster depends on the operation of the court.

No matter what the final result is, his personal career will definitely not have a bright future.

Chen Zhishan on the side wanted to speak, but swallowed his words back.

Given his status and position, it is not appropriate for him to talk about surrender now.

Only when one is forced into a desperate situation can persuasion for surrender play the greatest role.

……

Late at night, in the palace of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom.

Shi Rongxian had just completed the feat of having sex with two women at night, and his body was a little exhausted.

Privately, he repeatedly warned himself to give up alcohol and women, but wine made people intoxicated and beautiful women were hard to forget.

What's more, these beauties were tributes from the front-line generals, and they had already been accepted before. Now they are suddenly not accepted anymore, and the people below can't work with peace of mind.

"Urgent news from Saint Emperor Xunzhou!"

Hearing the female official's voice, Shi Rongxian frowned.

The Holy Kingdom of White Lotus abolished the eunuch system and adopted the female official system in the palace, with all those in charge of palace affairs being women.

The news came at a bad time. Fortunately, he had just finished his work, otherwise it would have been even more disappointing.

"Just pick the important ones. I don't want to hear any nonsense."

Shi Rongxian said unhappily.

"The encirclement and suppression army failed in its southward march, and the commander, Marquis Zhongxiao, died in battle. The rest of the army..."

Before the female official finished reading, Shi Rongxian became angry.

"waste!"

"They're all trash!"

"I thought that the Marquis of Loyalty and Filial Piety was a pillar of the country, and entrusted him with the great responsibility of the Holy Country. I didn't expect that this is how he repays me!

It’s simply…”

All kinds of unpleasant words kept coming out of Shi Rongxian's mouth, not leaving any face for the deceased Marquis Zhongxiao at all.

No matter what the relationship was like in the past, when conquering the world, incompetence is the biggest sin.

An army of 200,000 surrounded and suppressed 30,000 government troops. Not only did they suffer a defeat, but their commander also died at the hands of the enemy.

Such a record is simply unbearable to watch.

Now that the head coach is dead, one can imagine the subsequent battle.

This was the first time that the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus had suffered a major defeat in such a large-scale battle since its establishment.

As an emperor, Shi Rongxian needs to consider not only military affairs but also political impacts.

Once the news spreads, those people hiding within the Holy Kingdom and who are loyal to Dayu will definitely become active.

The surrender operations at the front line will also be affected.

Those wavering local forces will once again throw themselves into the arms of Dayu.

If we are not careful, the good situation of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom will be ruined.

(End of this chapter)