Fu Shanhe

Chapter 201 Preparing for war
Guilin Prefecture.

"Does the puppet Guangxi Army intend to attack Guangzhou?"

Looking at the information that the believers risked their lives to send him, Shi Rongxian fell into deep thought.

The government troops are not playing by the rules. How can they recover the territory of their neighbor before recovering their own territory?

The new governor of Guangdong has not even left the capital yet, so even if he offers to help, the other party will not appreciate it.

If I really want to do you a favor, I will do it after we get to the front line.

“Holy Emperor, we have verified the news.

The pseudo-Kingdom officials in Guangxi had a fierce argument over whether to send troops to Guangdong, and neither faction was able to convince the other.

No one can guarantee whether they will send troops to Guangdong next."

Wu Zekai began to explain.

The unknown is often what is difficult.

If it is confirmed that the Guangxi government troops will send troops to Guangdong, then we can directly strengthen the defense of Guangdong's coastal areas.

What they were afraid of was that the enemy would make a big fuss, and by the time they had completed their troop deployment, the enemy would suddenly change its target of attack.

Judging from the areas controlled by both sides, the Guangxi government troops had three attack directions in total.

Either march westward to Yunnan, march northward to Guilin, or march eastward to Guangdong.

Compared with the previous two options, the direction of the Eastern Expedition to Guangdong offers too many attack points to choose from.

It can be either attacking Wuzhou from the direction of Xunzhou, attacking Gaozhou Prefecture and Guanghaiwei from land, or attacking many coastal prefectures from the sea.

There are so many places to defend that it’s impossible to take care of them all.

If there really were enough troops to cover all regions, it would be better to organize another Guangxi campaign.

"Find out the true goal of the government army as soon as possible. I don't believe that those corrupt officials in Dayu will change so quickly!"

Shi Rongxian frowned and gave the order.

The White Lotus Holy Kingdom was able to make rapid progress in the early stages, largely because they grasped the movements of the government troops in advance and made targeted arrangements.

The most important reason for the successive defeats on the Guangxi battlefield was the failure of intelligence advantage.

Before launching a major war, Li Mu never discussed the specific battle plan.

Even if the attack targets are determined in advance, they will often change when the war breaks out.

The believers risked their lives to collect a bunch of useless intelligence, and to some extent misled the front-line generals.

This time the enemy went a step further, and information full of uncertainty appeared directly in front of the White Lotus Saint Emperor.

At this time, any strategic misjudgment will have disastrous consequences.

……

Wuchang Mansion.

The Guangxi side failed to reach an agreement on the direction of the troops, and finally the ball was kicked to Xu Wenyue.

He was in a dilemma whether to attack Guilin first or to take Guangzhou first.

Both cities have very important strategic significance.

No matter which city is recaptured, it will have extraordinary significance for the cause of suppressing the rebellion.

"Sir, the endless disputes in Guangxi may affect the subsequent operations.

We can’t let them continue to make trouble.”

Lu Jingxuan persuaded tactfully.

These are all experiences as an official.

Usually when two parties are arguing, the disadvantaged party will try every means to prevent the other party from doing what they want.

Only when the other party fails can you prove that your point of view is correct.

From local to central levels, the officialdom struggles throughout the Dayu Empire were all like this.

If we do this peacefully at the end of the year, there won't be any major problems.

The two factions supervise and stab each other, which can to a certain extent avoid excessive concentration of power and is conducive to safeguarding the status of imperial power.

But now is war time, and falling behind is likely to lead to a major defeat on the front line.

Such consequences were undoubtedly something Xu Wenyue could not tolerate.

He had high hopes for the Guangxi Front Army and would never allow anyone to sabotage it.

"Ok!"

“Pass on my order, and let the officials in Guangxi do their respective duties, and don’t think of interfering in everything.

Send someone to warn Guangxi Governor Zhang Sihan, and tell him that if he can't manage his subordinates well, he should take off his official hat and go home to farm!"

Xu Wenyue gave the order coldly.

It is very common that governors are unable to manage their subordinates.

The principle of Dayu was that the governor, provincial governor, and provincial judge should check and balance each other. Usually, local civil servants would be divided into several factions around these three people.

Each of them is in charge of a different task, and no one can dominate the business alone.

It’s just that the governor Jia Bo is a close confidant of Lord Xu, and the provincial judge Zhou Zhenbang has just taken office, so it is estimated that they don’t even have a clear understanding of the specific situation.

If Zhang Sihan is hit with the stick, he deserves to be in trouble.

As a demoted official, any mistakes he made would be artificially magnified.

"Sir, please give us a decision on where the Guangxi Front Army should attack.
Otherwise, those guys below will continue to make trouble.

Governor Zhang’s prestige is not enough, and he may not be able to control the ministers! "

Yang Yan suggested.

As the military governor of Fujian, he was responsible for the situation in Fujian.

Once the Guangxi Front Army entered Guangdong, the Fujian Front Army, which was suppressed by the rebels, would have its place to use its strength.

If the two companies work together, it is very likely that they will be able to recover the entire Guangdong.

As the military governor of Fujian, he could also get a share of the profits from such a great achievement.

With this resume, his future career will become bright.

“Let them discuss it. If you don’t know how to choose, ask the generals for their opinions.

Commander Li and General Jing have a family background in military studies, and are both rare talents in our dynasty. They know how to seize opportunities in battle!"

Xu Wenyue said unhappily.

As a civil servant, he naturally did not want military generals to dominate.

However, if the people below are not competent and do not delegate power to the generals, they will suffer defeat.

Due to the reality, he could only acquiesce to General Wu's command. However, he could not give orders directly for such matters, and could only let his subordinates understand by hinting.

Judging from the situation on various battlefields, it is basically certain that the civil officials in each province have delegated power to the military generals.

The only difference is the size of the permissions released.

……

True and false, false and true.

By the time Lord Xu's order was passed back, it was already the end of the first year of Yongning.

News about sending troops to retake Guangdong was spreading everywhere.

As the proposer of the strategic plan, Li Mu still has not come up with a specific combat plan, as if he has turned a deaf ear to the calls from the outside world.

"Commander-in-chief, news has come from Guangdong that the rebels have sent 5,000 more troops to Guangzhou City.

Other coastal states also received a small number of additional troops."

After hearing the news brought by Xiang Xinghan, Li Mu smiled slightly.

The plan to release false information to mobilize the rebels was undoubtedly successful.

It may seem that the number of rebel reinforcements is not large, but military calculations are not just about the number of troops.

The rebels' decision to increase their troops at this time is undoubtedly a contingency measure taken by the top leaders who could not bear the pressure.

For every extra resource invested in Guangdong, the rebels will have fewer resources to invest in other areas.

The most crucial thing is that relying on a series of misleading information, the rebels did not immediately organize a large army to counterattack Guangxi.

With more than two months of buffer time, the situation in Guangxi has become drastically different.

On the basis of the original six guards, Li Mu added three more guards.

It is already very close to the organization of ten guards and twenty-two thousand households during its peak period.

The direct troops under his command have now expanded to more than 50,000 people.

Although the troops added later have not yet completed military training and their combat effectiveness is worrying, quantitative changes will eventually lead to qualitative changes.

With the addition of the 10,000 recruits in Jing Yifeng's hands, the number of troops in Guangxi region suddenly exceeded 60,000.

The most direct benefit of having so many troops is that the newly recovered territories can be quickly stabilized.

Many hidden White Lotus believers were also dug out one after another.

In the minds of the people, the former Dayu has returned.

After the people's hearts are settled, the manpower and material resources invested in maintaining public order are greatly reduced.

At this point, the Holy White Lotus Kingdom had lost its best chance for counterattack.

If we want to fight back later, the manpower, material resources and financial resources required will increase several times.

There are naturally pros and cons.

Due to the rapid expansion of the army, Li Mu's trusted men were no longer enough.

Not only did the group of servants who followed him become grassroots military officers one by one.

Even the servants of his generals became officers in local garrisons.

Even so, there are still not enough people.

In fact, we had no choice but to stop attacking the rebels.

Such a rapid expansion of the army will inevitably affect combat effectiveness.

When the battle is going well, you won't feel anything.

Once encountering a strong enemy, the disadvantage of insufficient number of veteran soldiers will be exposed.

In this context, the best option is to disrupt the enemy's judgment and buy time for military training.

In order to fool the rebels, he had to deceive his own people as well.

"Annan people, haven't you made any moves recently?"

Li Mu asked with concern.

In a game like rebellion, once you make a strategic mistake, there will be no second chance.

The Holy Kingdom of White Lotus gave him time to reorganize his army and appease the people, which sowed the seeds of defeat.

When the next war breaks out, the number of troops Guangxi can mobilize will not be 20,000, but double that.

Once the rebels were wiped out, the biggest enemy became the Annamites.

Although the enemy has not yet attacked, the King of Annan dares to secretly support the rebels, so he cannot be allowed to stay.

"The Annan people are preparing for war. Earlier this month, the King of Annan proposed expanding the army by 150,000 at a court meeting.

Once the military expansion plan is completed, the total military strength of Annan will reach 450,000.

The plan is still under discussion, and the civil officials are very opposed to it. One censor even made a bloody protest in court, but was stopped by the guards. "

Xiang Xinghan's answer did not surprise Li Mu.

The Kingdom of Annan was deeply influenced by the Dayu culture, and naturally learned the customs of officialdom.

In the middle and late stages of the dynasty, if the monarch wanted to expand the military and prepare for war, he would inevitably be resisted by the civil service group.

The reason why Annan was able to rival the enemy in Indochina was not because they were too strong, but because their enemies were too weak.

Many areas further south are still in the tribal era.

The several regimes that emerged were mostly tribal alliances.

Whether in terms of productivity or military strength, it cannot compare with Annan.

In terms of the intensity of the war, it is not as strong as Dayu's rebellion war.

Of course, after a series of victories, the military strength of the Annan people has achieved significant growth.

Continuously bullying rookies can also help new recruits transform into veterans.

After winning a few more times, the morale of the troops suddenly boosted.

If the King of Annan did not have some financial resources, he would not have dared to set his sights on Dayu.

“We must continue to infiltrate the Annan authorities, especially in the border areas, and we must have our people.

The position does not have to be too high. Sometimes, the lower-level officials can also play an important role at the critical moment. "

Li Mu gave the order immediately.

Deep down, he had already made up his mind to arrange for people to promote the Annan threat theory.

We don't expect the imperial court to make up its mind to launch an expedition, but at least we have to scare the civil servants in Guangxi.

Only when there are external enemies nearby will they not try their best to suppress the generals.

(End of this chapter)