Fu Shanhe

Chapter 183 Gifts
“No matter how difficult it is, we must fight!

The state affairs are difficult, and the cabinet is under great pressure. Initiating the summer campaign is also a last resort.

His Majesty and the officials in the court were very dissatisfied with the high military expenditure. The cabinet ministers could not stand the pressure and had to change the situation as soon as possible.

According to past experience, the grassland people will invade again after the autumn harvest.

If we can’t defeat the rebels quickly, the court’s resources won’t be able to be concentrated in the southeast!”

Jabo said firmly.

As the military supervisor, he must implement the will of Lord Xu.

The victory of the Guangxi Campaign was certainly due to the officers and soldiers’ ability to fight, but it was also inseparable from the financial and food support from above.

Given Li Mu and Jing Yifeng's background, they were certainly not afraid of offending Lord Xu, but the money and food needed for the army was controlled by Lord Xu.

Not to mention deliberately making things difficult, even the slightest delay would be very uncomfortable.

“Military orders must be carried out.

However, how to implement it specifically requires long-term consideration.

The army is resting and we currently do not have the capability to launch a full-scale counterattack.

If we have to send troops, we can only show our strength on the local battlefield.

If we win big on other fronts and shake the morale of the rebels, we can expand the war later."

Li Mu declined politely.

There are policies and measures to counter.

It is better to execute orders with some compromise than not to execute them.

As for Lord Xu, whether he can fool people depends mainly on how the situation on the battlefield develops.

If the friendly forces perform well, it is a sin.

If the teammates generally perform poorly and the victory is slow, it is still a rare achievement.

"Commander Li, you don't think this counterattack will be successful?"

Jabo asked in surprise.

The imperial court assembled 100,000 elite troops to besiege the rebels, which was a sure win no matter how you looked at it.

The Yangzhou Camp and the Huai'an Camp alone were able to suppress hundreds of thousands of rebels. This time, with the addition of many elite troops, there was no reason for them to fail.

"Lord Jia has misunderstood. The battle organized by the elder will naturally be victorious.

The main reason was that the garrison troops in Guangxi were no longer sufficient, and the Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp had received a large number of new recruits, so their combat effectiveness had not yet recovered to its peak.

As the area of ​​lost territory recovered increased, the defensive pressure we faced became more severe.

This involves the strategic situation in Guangdong and Guangxi, so we have to be cautious now.

I would rather fail to make a contribution once, but I must keep the fruits of my efforts now."

Li Mu quickly retorted.

There are some things you can think about, but you must never say them out loud.

The key to victory in the encirclement and suppression war lies not in whether the army is elite, but in how deeply civilians are involved.

The several armies were already far apart from each other, and now they were under remote control.

It is not easy to be able to play 5 or 6 points out of a ten-point combat effectiveness.

What's more, Dayu has a tradition of collecting empty salaries. Nominally, there are 100,000 elite troops and hundreds of thousands of garrison soldiers, but the actual strength can be cut in half.

The elite ones have less water content, but generally it does not exceed 70%.

A portion of the military funds allocated by the imperial court would be disbursed, and being able to get 70% to 80% of the military pay was already the limit.

The generals would naturally not pay money to make up for the resulting gap in money and food, so reducing the number of troops became the best option.

If the commander-in-chief knows his troops well and makes strategic deployments based on the actual strength of each unit, then there will not be too many problems.

The only thing we are afraid of is that Lord Xu will take charge and make strategic deployments based directly on paper strength.

The tasks of other troops were unclear. Anyway, the combat missions assigned to the Guangxi Front Army assumed that the troops under his command were all elite.

If we really had an army of 40,000 elite soldiers, retaking Guangxi would be a piece of cake.

The problem is that he doesn’t have it!
"Just do your best!"

Jabo said with a disappointed look on his face.

If possible, he really wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to perform well in front of Lord Xu.

But the generals under his command did not support him, and he, as the military supervisor, was powerless to do anything.

Forcing the commander to send troops will come at a price.

Based on his understanding of Li Mu and Jing Yifeng, neither of them would compromise easily.

As a military supervisor, he alone could not suppress the two of them. Even with the order from Lord Xu, it was of little use.

Having just won the Guangxi Battle, both of them were heroes of the country, and they also had the support of two assistant ministers in the capital.

One should not give face to the monk, but to the Buddha. Even Lord Xu could not target the two of them openly.

……

Holy Land of White Lotus.

"The Pseudo-Dynasty has mobilized its troops on a large scale, attempting to overthrow the Holy Nation with its evil ambitions, written directly on its face.

I believe that these traitors must not be forgiven lightly.

My dear ministers, do you have any countermeasures?"

Shi Rongxuan asked calmly.

Although he said it with ease, he was not at peace at all deep down.

The failure of the Guangxi Campaign told him that Dayu was not entirely composed of drunkards, but also contained some brave men.

This cannot be changed by simply labeling it a pseudo-dynasty.

Among the troops newly sent by the enemy to reinforce the battlefield, there are many elite troops.

If a fight really breaks out, it is still unknown who will win and who will lose.

“Your Majesty, although the Holy Kingdom has defeated the Pseudo Dynasty many times, the gap in strength between the enemy and us is still very large.

However, the strategic deployment of the Pseudo-Dynasty also had serious shortcomings. A large number of elite troops were deployed on various battlefields, which gave us the opportunity to defeat them one by one.

In my opinion, it is better to concentrate the elite troops of the Holy Nation to defeat the pseudo-dynastic troops first, and then free up our hands to deal with other enemies!"

King Wei Hao of Dongping was the first to speak and make a proposal.

They had experienced the power of the tactic of defeating the enemy one by one in the just-concluded Guangxi Campaign.

After suffering a loss, it is natural to learn from the failure.

"Prince Dongping, you think too simply.

The tactics of defeating the enemies one by one had just been used by the puppet government troops.

Since the enemy dared to divide its forces to attack, they must have made preparations in advance.

Simply following and imitating others will only lead you into the enemy's trap."

Prince Pingnan Fu Haoxuan immediately objected.

The new regime also has disputes over its policy direction.

Before capturing Guangdong, the Eastern Expedition was naturally the first strategy.

With the end of the Guangdong Campaign, the strategic focus of the Holy Kingdom gradually shifted to the Huguang region.

As for Fujian, which is adjacent to Guangdong, it is a place that is not contested by military strategists. In the early stages of conquering the world, it is not worth spending a lot of energy to send troops to occupy it.

Concentrate troops to attack one route, and give priority to the Huguang battlefield. It is inevitable that elite troops will be drawn from other battlefields and deployed to the Huguang front line.

From a factional standpoint, he would naturally jump out to oppose.

In Fu Haoxuan's opinion, the pseudo-dynasty official army is best at intrigue and can defeat the enemy without concentrating its forces.

“Saint Emperor, King Pingnan’s words make sense.

The Pseudo-Dynasty clearly knows the disadvantages of dividing the troops, but still dares to do so. Perhaps they are targeting us specifically."

King Wei Jiarui of Zhenxi echoed.

As the commander-in-chief of a large army, no one wants the troops under his command to be diluted, let alone the elite troops are being drawn out.

Once it is given out, it will be like throwing meat buns at a dog.

If it weren't for the need for war, the Holy Emperor White Lotus would have taken action long ago to reduce the strength of these kings of different surnames.

The three kings of different surnames took opposing positions, causing the court to be in turmoil. Supporters and opponents were arguing fiercely.

"enough!"

"If you like to quarrel, then go home and quarrel slowly.

This is the court, not a place for you to quarrel!"

Shi Rongxuan scolded harshly.

He was already very angry because he failed to achieve his goal of reducing the power of the feudal lords. The quarrel in the court became the critical point for his explosion.

In fact, countless contradictions have accumulated since the establishment of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

The power and influence of soldiers and soldiers of different surnames is just one of the stubborn problems.

The internal organizational structure was in chaos. The Equal Field System offended the gentry and scholars were unwilling to work for them.

Many policies remain at the policy level, and when it comes to implementation, they become a mess.

If you can conquer the world, you can naturally use time to slowly resolve conflicts.

The boycott of scholars is temporary.

The political stance of the gentry has always been flexible. When a knife is placed on their necks, they will quickly recognize reality.

The internal organizational structure can be gradually refined.

The threat from kings of different surnames has never been worth mentioning in front of the founding monarch.

The prerequisite for solving all problems is to conquer the world.

The Holy Kingdom of White Lotus is now in its start-up phase, so it must face these problems squarely and not allow conflicts to escalate.

No matter how much they argued, the situation was not determined by individual will. The encirclement and suppression army organized by the government troops attacked them again.

Wuchang Mansion.

While Xu Wenyue was busy writing wedding congratulations to the emperor, he was also anxiously coordinating various armies to prepare for the upcoming summer battle.

"Lord, His Majesty's wedding is approaching, and all places are preparing gifts for the occasion. You..."

Before Hou Huaichang could finish speaking, Xu Wenyue interrupted him.

“Others are others, we just need to do our best.

Your Majesty is a student of Yi and Zuo, so you must value righteousness over profit. My congratulations are enough, and you will not like those vulgar things.

What's more, it's war time now, and all the areas under my jurisdiction as the governor of five provinces are in a state of war.

The limited funds must be invested in the military. If they are wasted on other things, it will only make His Majesty dislike us.”

When saying this, Xu Wenyue was full of confidence.

The label of valuing righteousness over profit was given to him by Emperor Yongding himself, and he had shown it many times in the court.

As a good subject, one naturally has to cooperate with the emperor.

Based on his understanding of Emperor Yongning, any minister who presented all kinds of rare treasures at the wedding would definitely be reprimanded afterwards.

If you really want to flatter someone, even creating some illusory auspicious signs is better than giving a bunch of vulgar things.

It was useless to understand the situation, as the several provinces under his rule were all at war. Offering auspicious signs at this time would not be congratulations, but ridicule.

"Lord, even if His Majesty doesn't value it, there is still the Queen!
At least the Queen Mother’s share cannot be missing.”

Hou Huaichang then added.

Just because the emperor cares about his reputation doesn't mean that other people do the same. Sometimes, a roundabout approach will produce better results.

"Um!

You really can't save on these gifts, so you should quickly arrange someone to buy them.

Remember to keep it simple and practical, buy more local specialties, and avoid being too extravagant. "

Xu Wenyue immediately instructed.

(End of this chapter)