Fu Shanhe

Chapter 187 Discounted Military Plans

"it is good!"

Zhang Sihan agreed reluctantly.

In the officialdom, compromise is an art.

If we don't make concessions at this time, we will be stuck in a difficult situation.

The grain stored in the treasury can't last more than a month.

In such a short time, he simply couldn't get enough food from the outside world.

Once the food supply was cut off, even if the refugees and prisoners of war did not eat him alive, the political disaster of rebellion would be something he could not afford.

It is acceptable to give up some interests for the sake of one's own life and career.

Anyway, if those lands were left behind, they would not be able to provide the court with tax revenue for more than a few days and would be swallowed up by the gentry.

Now that it has been designated as military land, the meat is rotting in the pot.

Raising a strong army is also a great help to the imperial court.

The future "reform of the native system" cannot be achieved without the support of the military, and good relations need to be established in advance.

"Congratulations, Governor, you have finally gotten rid of your worry!"

Jia Bo suppressed his dissatisfaction and gave his blessing.

Witnessing the insider trading, he was devastated.

But after all, he has seen big scenes and can control his emotions.

The interests involved are millions or even tens of millions of acres of land, which cannot be compared with the friendship of the past.

If we jump out to disrupt the deal at this time, we will offend both the governor and the military.

If he is not careful, he himself may contract a serious illness and die.

Since you can't stop it, instead of roaring helplessly, you might as well show your magnanimity.

"Ha ha……"

"Everything is as it should be when working for the court!"

Zhang Sihan laughed.

Although it came at a considerable cost, we ultimately won the first round of this political struggle.

In a place like Guangxi, there are too many accidents.

The deal was done, which meant his personal safety was guaranteed.

After all, only a living Governor of Guangxi could fulfill his promise.

……

Wuchang Mansion.

Through strong pressure, the provinces finally reported their respective troop deployment plans.

"Guangxi is a newly recovered land, so it's understandable that the number of troops that can be mobilized is small, but why is Fujian's military force also so small?"

Xu Wenyue asked dissatisfiedly.

According to his plan, Huguang and Jiangxi would each send 250,000 troops, Yunnan, Guizhou and Fujian would each send 150,000 troops, plus Guangxi's 50,000 troops, totaling exactly one million.

As a result, Guangxi first stated that 50,000 troops were too many and they could only send 20,000 at most.

Considering the actual situation, he agreed.

After all, the troops from Guangxi are capable of fighting, but they lack numbers to make up for the combat effectiveness.

But Fujian also lagged behind, which made him very dissatisfied.

You should know that in addition to its own troops, Fujian also received 50,000 reinforcements from neighboring provinces.

The situation in other provinces was similar. Except for Guangxi, which had not received reinforcements for the time being, all provinces received support from the court.

"Sir, the Fujian army lost 50,000 men in Guangdong, and they have not yet completed their replenishment.

The reinforcements from Zhejiang nominally numbered 50,000 troops, but the actual number was only 5,000.

With such a huge disparity, even if we can barely get the right number of people, the new recruits won't have much combat effectiveness!"

Yang Yan, the military governor of Fujian, immediately complained.

When they supported Guangdong previously, they falsely reported their staffing in order to better balance their accounts.

I never expected that the backlash would fall on me so soon.

Zhejiang, which came to reinforce Fujian, was even better than its predecessor and directly used 5,000 people to impersonate an army of 50,000.

If reinforcements are urgently needed, then this loss will be borne.

The problem is that the situation in Fujian is special and the rebels have no interest in them at all.

After the enemy conquered Guangdong, they turned their attention to Huguang and Jiangxi.

There was no pressure to survive in the first place, and the 5,000 reinforcements from Zhejiang were of minimal help to Fujian.

However, the extra 45,000 officers and soldiers killed were enough to make the Governor of Fujian a negative example in military history.

The Governor of Fujian, who did not want to bear the blame, decisively chose to break the window paper.

"Bastard!"

After cursing angrily, Xu Wenyue's face turned red with anger.

The problem of collecting empty salaries was common in the Dayu army.

Using war to settle accounts is also a common practice.

But this was the first time he had encountered someone playing something so extreme.

But he had no right to interfere.

With Emperor Yongning taking power, the era of regency came to an end. His current status was that of a cabinet minister and concurrently the governor-general of five provinces.

The jurisdiction of the Governor-General of the Five Provinces was limited to Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi and Huguang, and did not include Fujian and Zhejiang.

It was only because of the face given to him by the senior minister that he participated in this encirclement and suppression operation.

If they don't buy it, just go back and play by yourself. He can't do anything about them.

Not to mention the time issue of reporting to the court, even if the problem was laid out on the table, it might not be possible to do anything to the other party.

If there is no one in the court, he cannot be appointed as a provincial governor.

"Master, calm down!
Don’t get sick from anger!
Since Fujian is facing difficulties, let’s reduce the number of troops!”

Lu Jingxuan hurriedly spoke to persuade him.

The problem of empty salaries is widespread, and Huguang is no exception.

Nominally, Huguang's military strength exceeded 300,000, but the actual strength was at least 40% less.

And even after the discount, there is still moisture.

Not only horses were counted as human heads, but even transport vehicles were converted into troops based on the number of wheels.

Among the encirclement and suppression armies of various provinces, only the data from Guangxi is relatively reliable.

The main culprit behind all this is actually corruption.

The system of embezzlement and deduction created by the civil officials of Dayu resulted in money and grain being withheld at every level, and by the time it reached the lower levels, it was simply not enough to support so many soldiers.

"Humph!"

“You all tell me the truth, how many troops have been mobilized now?

Don't try to fool me, today's statistics need to be recorded.

If the false reporting of military strength misleads our cabinet into making wrong strategic deployment, resulting in the failure of the encirclement and suppression operation.

Even if I chop off your heads, you still cannot bear this responsibility!"

Xu Wenyue warned sternly.

The Fujian side lifted the lid, making him realize that the situation of people drawing salaries without working was more serious than he had expected.

And the performance of each unit in this regard is also different.

Originally, he looked down upon the children of nobles, thinking that they were trash and were just living off the wealth left by their ancestors.

But after a careful comparison, he helplessly discovered that there is no worst, only worse.

At least the servants around those noble sons are still capable of fighting.

With servants as the backbone and recruiting some young and strong men, fighting power can be formed quickly.

As long as there are outstanding talents among the children, they will soon stand out.

This is how the Guangxi Front Army, which performed most brilliantly in the war to quell the rebellion, was born.

The organizational structure of the border troops is similar, except that the core is the Nine Border Generals, who are rising stars among the military commanders.

Because of years of fighting with foreign races, more elite troops have been honed.

"Sir, the total military strength of Fujian Province does not exceed 60,000, and the mobile forces that can be mobilized do not exceed 40,000."

Yang Yan spoke first.

He was the one who broke the window paper, which caused hatred.

At this moment, he must show his ability and do his best to calm the resentment of his colleagues.

"Yeah!" The expected scolding did not happen, Xu Wenyue simply nodded.

Since you choose to know the truth, you must accept reality.

The problem of drawing a salary without working is not caused by just one person. If you vent your anger on others now, you will never hear the truth.

“Guizhou’s financial resources are scarce, so the situation is even worse.

After the war broke out, each unit urgently replenished a batch of troops, and the total strength was about 60,000.

Including the reinforcements from Shu, there are about 50,000 troops that can be mobilized."

Pang Zhenghao followed up with his answer.

Compared with the number requested by Lord Xu, the actual number of troops was reduced by two-thirds.

But this is the normal data. If they really had 150,000 mobile troops, they would not be bullied by the rebels.

The White Lotus rebels were mostly a motley crowd, with only a few elite wolf soldiers who had decent combat effectiveness.

However, the Wolf Soldiers have a great reputation in Dayu, but the number of this army is limited, and it did not exceed 10,000 at its peak.

After the rebellion broke out, this force was also divided into two waves.

Some people supported the imperial court, while others supported the White Lotus Sect, and there was a fierce fight between the two sides.

Later, he was taken into the hands of the White Lotus Sect, divided into various tribes, and became the backbone of the rebellion.

“Yunnan is also short of financial resources, but only slightly better than Guizhou.

After the war broke out, the governor's office issued strict orders to all departments to replenish their troops, with a total force of about 80,000.

Including the reinforcements from Shu, there are about 70,000 troops that can be mobilized."

Dou Yutang followed up immediately.

Compared with Guizhou, Yunnan has rich copper and silver resources and is slightly better economically.

It is obviously a highly profitable industry, but because it is government-run, it is basically in a loss-making state.

Whenever the imperial court conducted an investigation, the company would only be able to make a short-term profit, but after a few years, it would fall into losses again.

Private mines do make money, but unfortunately it cannot be converted into tax revenue.

It is okay to raise donations temporarily during wartime, but it is impossible to turn it into local fiscal revenue to support the army in the long term.

"Jiangxi lost 50,000 troops in Guangxi before, but after the war we actively strengthened our military preparations, and now our total strength is around 150,000.

With the reinforcements from the imperial court, it shouldn't be a problem to mobilize 130,000 troops to participate in the encirclement and suppression operation."

Yu Xiuwen said calmly.

Originally, he was worried that his own military force was seriously short and there might be a big chaos.

Now after hearing the data from his colleagues, he suddenly gained confidence.

No matter what, the number of troops in their province alone exceeds the total number of troops in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces.

This is the confidence that comes from strong financial resources.

As an important part of Jiangnan, Jiangxi has always been a symbol of wealth in the agricultural era.

Among the many provinces in Dayu, Jiangxi's fiscal revenue has always ranked among the top three.

“Huguang has been in a state of war. Although we are continuously replenishing our troops, the losses have been great.

The total number of troops in the province is about 160,000 to 170,000. With the reinforcements sent by the court, the number of troops that can be mobilized should be 140,000."

Lu Jingxuan answered with gritted teeth.

Unlike other provinces, Huguang is under the nose of Lord Xu.

Exposing the problem at this time is equivalent to being caught red-handed.

At this time, Xu Wenyue had no time to get angry, his mind was full of settling accounts.

40,000 + 50,000 + 70,000 + 130,000 + 140,000 + 20,000, the theoretical total force is 450,000.

Compared with the planned million-strong army, it was a 40% to 50% reduction.

However, this is just the beginning. Based on his understanding of these officials, there will definitely be some water in the reported data.

It would be good if half of the 450,000-strong army could be combat soldiers.

The most capable of fighting among them consisted of less than 100,000 recruits, and the rest of the troops were just there to make up the numbers.

“Okay, I have figured it out.

You can make your own adjustments as to how each province will fight.

On the 15th of next month, all provinces will act together to launch a summer battle against the rebels.

My request is very simple. Before September, each province must recover at least two prefectures.

Tell your governor that if he fails to complete the task, he should apologize to His Majesty himself!"

Xu Wenyue gave the order coldly.

Compared to the initial attempt to suppress the rebellion in one fell swoop, he now clearly lowered his expectations.

Originally, he was thinking of issuing a mission to kill the enemy, but he was worried that his subordinates would kill innocent people to take credit, so he temporarily changed it to recovering lost territory.

After all, battle reports can be forged, heads can be forged, but the recovered lost territory cannot be faked.

"Lord, we need to recover the two prefectures in such a short time..."

Before Pang Zhenghao could finish, Xu Wenyue interrupted:
"Don't give me excuses!

You are in trouble, but can it be as difficult as Guangxi?

Even if they go deep into the rebel's lair alone, they can still turn the situation around.

You have so many better conditions, yet you are still negotiating here. If this gets out, people will laugh at you!"

The task was set purely because of Jia Bo's letter.

In the letter, he stated that Guangxi’s military strength was short and it was unable to recover the entire province of Guangxi, and could only recover two or three prefectures.

Judging from the data on paper, the situation in Guangxi is undoubtedly the worst.

Not only are their manpower limited, but the rear is also unable to provide them with timely support.

If we can continue to recover lost territory under such dire circumstances, there is no reason why other provinces cannot do the same.

Failure to complete the task is incompetence.

In order to prevent someone from shirking responsibility, Xu Wenyue even delegated power to the provinces and allowed everyone to exercise free will.

It is not easy for a civil servant with a strong desire for control to do this.

“Master Pang, you don’t have to worry too much.

You can ask the generals below about what is happening on the battlefield."

Lu Jingxuan reminded gently.

These are the lessons he gradually learned after experiencing a series of failures.

As long as he, the governor of Huguang, does not interfere in the specific military command, the generals under him will be able to fight the rebels back and forth.

After realizing this, I have been delegating power for several months.

The rookie generals on both sides fought each other, and although no great victory was achieved, the government troops were making progress and gradually recovered several county towns.

The troops fighting in the front are still Dayu’s second and third line troops.

Now it is very likely that the main force will return to help recapture the two prefectures.

"Thank you, Lord Lu, for your guidance!"

Pang Zhenghao said with pretended gratitude.

Deep down, he was thinking something completely different.

Our ancestors have left us countless experiences, but the problem is that we are unwilling to learn from them.

He was just a small military officer, and he went to teach the governor how to fight a war. I'm afraid he was not prepared to work in the officialdom.

Unless Lord Xu personally orders the command of the front line to be handed over to a military general.

But doing so could make things worse.

There are too many people holding Dayu back.

Ordinary military generals are simply unable to sort out the complex relationships within the province.

Not all officials know how to consider the overall situation.

Many times, the governor personally gave orders, but when it came to specific implementation, there would be discounts.

If a military general were to coordinate, the problem of money and food might drag down the army.

……

There are no secrets in Dayu’s officialdom.

With the end of the Wuchang Military Conference, the battle plan for the summer offensive soon appeared in the hands of the White Lotus Saint Emperor.

Fortunately, Xu Wenyue knew that his micro-control ability was not good enough, so he did not resort to remote control command.

Otherwise, it would be funny if the rebels received the message before the combat order was on the way.

"With an army of 450,000, Dayu is truly a wealthy and powerful country!"

(End of this chapter)