Fu Shanhe

Chapter 199: Group Training
Wuchang Mansion.

Looking at the letter for help in his hand, Xu Wenyue's good mood disappeared in an instant.

Just when Guangxi had achieved a breakthrough on the front line, problems arose again in Yunnan, which really made him angry.

No matter how angry you are, you can only think of ways to deal with the aftermath at this moment.

Kunming cannot be lost, this is a matter of principle.

Otherwise, he, the governor of five provinces, would become a joke.

But how to rescue Kunming is another thorny problem.

If we are not careful, the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces may be destroyed, and the situation in the southwest will be completely out of control.

"Lord, the only solution now is to have Guangxi attack Guilin by force, and act like a siege on Wei to save Zhao!"

The Huguang Governor, Lu Jingxuan, made a suggestion.

The governors of various provinces were supervising the troops at the front line, but he chose to stay in the rear and control remotely.

In view of his previous "excellent" record, after comparing the free play of the generals, Xu Wenyue chose to default.

People have different talents, and they don’t necessarily have to be demonstrated on the front lines.

There are also many things to do staying in the rear. Except for his poor military command, Lu Jingxuan performed well in other aspects.

Whether it was managing logistics or raising money and food from local areas, good results were achieved.

“If we forcefully attack Guilin now, Guangxi will face great pressure.

The lack of troops is secondary; the key issue is the food shortage in Guangxi.

When the rebels withdrew, they concentrated on burning the people's food, and hundreds of thousands of people faced a food crisis.

Official documents from Guangxi urging for grain can be seen almost every day.

There was no unrest, all thanks to the army suppressing the local situation.

Once they are allowed to send troops, there is a high possibility that rebellion will break out again in these newly recovered areas.

Don’t fail to save Yunnan and instead ruin Guangxi’s good situation!”

Xu Wenyue shook his head and said.

Status is earned through fighting.

In the early stages of the rebellion suppression war, the Guangxi Front Army was a detachment and ranked last among the various rebellion suppression armies.

Up to this point in the war, the Guangxi Front Army, which had the smallest number of troops, had made a comeback and become the main force in suppressing the rebellion with its outstanding record.

The importance of this person in Xu Wenyue's heart also changed from being dispensable at the beginning to being something that is highly expected.

He also had to weigh the consequences of failure if he let the Guangxi Front Army risk annihilation and attack Guilin to rescue Yunnan.

"Sir, Kunming is in crisis right now.

If Kunming is lost, Yunnan will be in danger.

Once Yunnan falls, the situation in the southwest will collapse.

The war will spread from present-day Yunnan and Guizhou all the way to Sichuan.

......"

Dou Yutang hurriedly stated the pros and cons.

As the military governor of Yunnan, he was under tremendous pressure.

His colleagues in the province had high hopes for him, and if he failed to get reinforcements, the consequences would be disastrous.

"Why panic!"

"The imperial court intends to relax militia training, and Yunnan is a good place to start as a pilot.

Tell Zhong Zhenyu to issue a decree to encourage local gentry to form militia.

The rebels that entered Yunnan were only a small force, and they were a group of stray dogs that had suffered a defeat in Guangxi, so their combat effectiveness was not strong.

As long as the Yunnan gentry work together, they will be able to defend Kunming.

Once the imperial court defeats the main force of the rebels, Yunnan's crisis will be resolved!"

Xu Wenyue scolded immediately.

Deep down, he didn't know whether it was right or wrong to allow the gentry to organize militia.

But there is no better choice now. If we want to keep Kunming, starting a militia is the only option.

Even if these civilian militias are no match for the rebels, they can at least slow down the enemy's attack speed.

Right now, the Guangxi Front Army needs time, and the imperial court also needs time.

First, transport a batch of grain to Guangxi to solve the people's food problem and then liberate the Guangxi Front Army from the local area.

Only when the local situation stabilizes can the next combat plan be initiated.

Deep down, he had already figured it out.

After the Guangxi Front Army recaptures Guilin, we will let them march eastward to recapture Guangdong.

After taking back the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, the rebels became rootless and their destruction was inevitable.

Such a strategic layout undoubtedly allows the Guangxi Front Army to play the leading role, while the other armies all become supporting roles.

Once it is said, it will definitely be opposed by the provinces.

Everyone wants to save face, and no one is willing to play a supporting role.

But Xu Wenyue didn't care.

As long as the rebellion can be quelled, it doesn't matter to him who takes action to suppress the rebels.

While other armies were not making progress smoothly, the Guangxi Front Army was advancing at a rapid pace. It would be foolish not to make use of the Guangxi Front Army.

"Lord, opening up the militia will easily lead to disasters for the feudal lords!"

Lu Jingxuan began to persuade.

Although he is a member of the gentry group, it does not mean that he hopes that the power of the gentry will continue to grow indefinitely.

In fact, knowledgeable people in the officialdom of Dayu had long realized the dangers of the growing gentry group.

But everyone is a member of a group, and apart from a few words, there is no concrete action.

It is really difficult to cut your own meat.

Even if someone comes up with a reform plan, it cannot be implemented.

The current gentry group has become a chronic disease in Dayu. If the gentry group is allowed to control the army, the consequences will be unimaginable.

If it really comes to that, the imperial court's control over the local areas will inevitably decline further.

Perhaps in the future it will not be that the imperial power does not extend to the countryside, but that the imperial power does not extend below the counties or prefectures, or even that the imperial power does not leave the capital.

“I am naturally aware of the consequences, but don’t I have no choice now?
The White Lotus Rebellion had dragged on for too long. If it continued like this, the court's finances would be ruined.

If nothing unexpected happens, the northern barbarians will invade again soon.

The state of affairs is difficult!"

Xu Wenyue said with an embarrassed look on his face.

He knew very well what this order meant.

It is easy to open up militia training, but difficult to cancel it.

And as long as there is a precedent, gentry from all over the country will surely follow suit.

Since Yunnan has started militia training, it is only a matter of time before Guizhou does the same.

The gentry in Huguang, Jiangxi and Fujian, who were soon caught up in the war, would also follow suit.

It’s not that they are ambitious and want to rebel, but they simply lack a sense of security in the face of the threat from the rebels.

The expansion of the feudal lords was the result of a series of transformations.

In the early days of militia training, the main purpose was to protect the country and the people and safeguard the interests of the landlord groups.

……

Guilin Prefecture.

Ever since the fall of Liuzhou, the atmosphere in the capital of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom has become tense.

According to the prior plan, even if the situation in Guangxi deteriorated, it would only happen after a series of hard battles.

Unfortunately, the enemy did not play by the rules, so their plan ended prematurely before it even began.

What's worse is that the Northern Expedition and the Eastern Expedition failed to complete the strategic plans they had formulated.

Not only did they fail to annihilate the main force of the government troops as they wished, but they suffered a considerable loss after encountering the main force of the government troops.

The Western Expedition Corps, which performed best, gained the upper hand in the early battles.

The government troops behind them became cautious, and it turned into a showdown of strength.

After a cold shout, Shi Rongxian threw away all the battle reports in his hand.

Facing Dayu who had reacted, the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus no longer had the rapid progress it had in the early days.

Especially those elite government troops, who often overwhelmed the Holy Kingdom’s troops that were several times their size on the battlefield.

"What kind of battles are they fighting?

If they continue to fight like this, it won’t be long before the Holy Nation’s foundation is completely destroyed!”

Shi Rongxian couldn't help but scolded.

Now he doesn't need to attack the three kings of different surnames, as the government troops have already helped him attack this group of arrogant and powerful generals.

Faced with the elite troops that Dayu had invested heavily in, this makeshift team felt heavy pressure.

“Saint Emperor, the setbacks on the front lines were mainly due to the sharpness of the government troops’ armor.

There are very few armored soldiers in the Holy Kingdom's army, and it is inevitable that they will suffer losses when encountering the fully armed government troops.

Once the soldiers have adapted to the enemy's combat mode, they will definitely find a way to crack it!"

Wu Zekai stepped forward and tried to persuade him.

During the rainy season, I don’t feel much.

When the weather is clear and cool in autumn, the elite combat effectiveness of the government troops is suddenly revealed.

Especially the enemy's heavy infantry, once they arrived on the battlefield, they completely massacred the Holy Kingdom soldiers who lacked armor.

On the front battlefield, once the two armies meet on the front battlefield, the enemy can easily kill through their formations.

Despite the huge gap in equipment, the troops on the front line were able to form a stalemate with the enemy, which was enough to prove the military talents of the kings of different surnames.

“If the method to crack it was so easy to find, the armor would have been eliminated long ago.

If you are no match for the enemy in a head-on fight, can't you use tactics?

When we first started our army, in every major battle we fought, the enemy was strong and we were weak.

But we still won!

I think they fought too smoothly in the beginning and their heads became rigid, so they foolishly ran to confront the government troops head-on.

Convey my will and tell the soldiers on the front line that war is a treacherous art! "

Shi Rongxian said unhappily.

He also doesn't have the ability to reverse the situation in the short term.

All we can count on now is the independent performance of the generals on the front line.

"Sir, obey the order!"

“Holy Emperor, I just received the news.

The troops retreating from Zhen'an Prefecture, led by Prime Minister Fu, entered Yunnan and were now heading towards Kunming.

If all goes well, the situation in the southwest will usher in a new chapter!"

Wu Zekai continued to report.

Report bad news first, then good news. This is the experience he summed up as an official.

Generally speaking, by doing this, no matter how angry the superiors are, they can calm down a little bit.

"It's a pity that the breakthrough was made in Yunnan. If we could make a breakthrough in Huguang and Jiangxi, everything would be very different!"

Shi Rongxian said with a look of regret.

Advancing into the Southwest is usually the last link in the war of unification.

If you enter the southwest region for development in the early stages of your business, the best outcome would be to establish your own territory.

Usually, the lifespan of such separatist regimes will not be too long.

But being able to make a breakthrough is definitely better than having no results at all.

Only by defeating the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces first can they free up more troops to be deployed to other battlefields.

Especially when the situation in Guangxi has worsened and Guilin could become a battlefield at any time, the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus needs good news to boost morale.

……

Time flies, and it is already the golden autumn of October.

The joy of harvest has nothing to do with Liuzhou.

The White Lotus Sect was not cut out for production, and more than half of the land in Liuzhou was abandoned.

Of the few lands that were still under cultivation, many were destroyed due to the war.

This autumn, the amount of food that can be harvested is limited.

As the main force of the army moved forward, Liuzhou Prefecture, near Guilin, suddenly became the headquarters of the Guangxi Front Army.

The governor, the military inspector, the commander-in-chief and the general, this special four-member group is still the most powerful institution in Guangxi.

Compared with the previous governor-general without any officials, the imperial court sent many more officials here.

As the military supervisor, Jia Bo also served as the governor of Guangxi, and his power increased rapidly.

If we say that he had previously been competing with the governor of Guangxi and had taken advantage of the first-mover advantage of entering Guangxi earlier, then now it is a true balance of power.

As the other Censor of the Big Three, his life was extremely miserable.

Guangxi is under martial law, and civil servants from all over the country have not had time to perform their duties.

None of the four core powers in his hands, namely, criminal impeachment, supervision of corruption, management of post stations, and assessment of foreign officials, could be used.

He wanted to join the decision-making team, but was collectively resisted by four people.

There is no room for tenderness in the struggle for power, and no one will easily give up the power in their hands.

"Commander Li, the local area has been under military control for such a long time, it's time to return to normalcy."

Censor Zhou Zhenbang said indignantly.

For an official, life is very difficult when he is sidelined for a long time.

"Master Zhou, we can restore the place to normal, but the problem is that someone needs to take over!

Taking a county as an example, there must be at least one official such as the county magistrate, county magistrate, chief clerk, and registrar.

The three shifts of yamen runners and six rooms of clerks must be fully staffed.

Now that we don’t have these people, who will be responsible for maintaining stability in the region after we lift martial law?”

Li Mu replied with a smile.

He has no ambition for local administrative power.

Local government offices today have no money to make and instead have to face various emergencies.

If he could hand these matters over to other people, he would be able to free up a large number of generals and devote more energy to military affairs.

"You didn't add more staff to the government office?"

Zhou Zhenbang asked in disbelief.

Although we knew the situation in Guangxi was terrible, we never expected that the government offices in various places would be cleared out by the rebels.

In this context, replenishing staff is not something that can be done overnight.

The officials who followed him and wanted to force the emperor to abdicate were also dumbfounded at this moment.

There is nothing in the yamen, so how can these masters exercise their power?

As soon as the officers and soldiers withdraw, the rebels hiding among the people may jump out and kill them.

"Master Zhou, Guangxi has just been hit by a war, and there are still a large number of remnants of rebels hiding among the people.

Who would dare to easily recruit someone whose loyalty cannot be confirmed into the government?

Even if we want to recruit, we may not be able to gather enough people.

The literary culture in Guangxi was not strong to begin with, and after being ravaged by the rebels, it became difficult to find a few literate people.

Since Lord Zhou proposed lifting martial law, I think he should have a proper response plan!"

Zhang Sihan replied unhappily.

Zhou Zhenbang seemed to be questioning Li Mu, but in fact he was targeting him as the governor.

According to the rules of the Dayu Dynasty, local affairs should be under the full responsibility of him as the governor.

As the governor, he cannot escape blame for not replenishing the civil service establishment in a timely manner.

Zhang Sihan would definitely not take the blame for this unforeseen incident, and he turned the tables with just a few words.

(End of this chapter)