Fu Shanhe

Chapter 247 Buying Life
Tongren Prefecture.

"My dear colleagues, the news has been confirmed, the fake emperor is on his way to us.

Marquis Wuyang sent us an official document, requesting that we intercept the rebels for a month to buy time for their complete annihilation.

Everyone knows how much importance the imperial court attaches to the false emperor.

If you do it well, it's a great achievement. If you mess it up, we will all go to prison together."

Wu Yuchen used the calmest tone and uttered the harshest words.

As the governor of Guizhou, he could completely ignore the official documents from Marquis Wuyang.

However, the rebels were heading for Guizhou this time, and if he did not make every effort to intercept them, the blame for letting the false emperor escape would fall on him.

What's more, the rebels like to massacre the gentry, killing them as they go.

If anything goes wrong, the responsibility still lies with this governor.

If the imperial court holds you accountable, you might even lose your head.

“Governor, it is too difficult to hold back the rebels for a month.

The enemy's legs are on his body, and we have no say in where he runs.

If the rebels attack the city, we can still rely on the city’s defense and it will not be difficult to delay them for a month.

The fear is that the enemy is only interested in escaping and does not even bother to attack the city.

When we encounter the rebels in a field battle, our small number of soldiers is not enough to defeat them!"

General Xiao Xianrong immediately complained.

Among the many provinces of Dayu, Guizhou is always at the bottom.

The local government has no money and Guizhou is not a strategic location, so its military strength is also at the bottom.

Even compared with our neighbor Yunnan, there is still a big gap.

The previous defeat of the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition was largely due to their drag.

As a result, the Yunnan army later refused to play with them.

"Governor, what General Xiao said makes sense.

All our elite troops were killed in the last defeat and have yet to recover.

The rebels claimed to have 500,000 troops. Even if their number was cut in half, they would still have an army of over 100,000.

These rebels who followed the false emperor were the elite of the White Lotus Sect.

Previously, the Yunnan-Guizhou Allied Forces suffered a great loss at their hands.

The coalition forces of the three provinces were chasing closely, and they were not far away from the rebels. If they sped up their progress, they might be able to capture the false emperor alive before the rebels entered Guizhou.

See if you can coordinate with them and let them deal with the rebels in Huguang.

At worst, we can just bite the bullet and give them some money, and think of it as buying peace of mind."

Governor Zou Qiming thought for a moment and said.

It's clear that he really doesn't want to fight.

As a governor, he is mainly responsible for the administrative affairs of a province.

Once the war breaks out, everything must give way to the military, and all power will be in the hands of the governor.

It would be fine if it were just these, but the key is that after the power in one's hands is taken away, the responsibility one needs to bear will not be reduced at all.

In his opinion, it would be better to spend money to buy peace than to take the risk of fighting the rebels.

"Sir Zou, if things were that simple, there would be no need for me to worry.

The forces now pursuing the rebels are nominally the coalition forces of three provinces, but in reality they are just soldiers from Guangxi.

That group of arrogant and powerful soldiers cannot be fed with just a few tens of thousands of taels of silver.

The little money in the treasury is not even enough to fill other people's teeth.

What's more, letting the rebels enter Guizhou will be beneficial to them.

The rebels robbed the gentry in front, and they followed behind to rob the rebels.

The money and food distributed by the imperial court was insufficient, so the spoils of war on the battlefield became an important source of military expenditure.

Even if we put aside the interests, there are risks in accelerating the march and engaging in a decisive battle with the rebels.

According to the information received, the army led by Li Mu had less than 30,000 people.

It is already very difficult to suppress the rebels, and there are risks in hastily speeding up the pace of the decisive battle.

The Guangdong soldiers following behind had the main task of transporting food and fodder and guarding prisoners of war."

Wu Yuchen shook his head and said.

Smart people who are familiar with the officialdom know that these are the apparent reasons, and there is a more important factor hidden in secret - merit.

If it weren't for the rebels' special escape route, he had no doubt that this chase game could span several provinces.

Even if there is a chance to annihilate the rebels, the government troops will deliberately create loopholes to allow them to escape.

If he were in Li Mu's position, he would also plan a thousand-mile chase and put it on display for the emperor to see.

Although everyone knew it, no one dared to break the news.

It’s not that they are afraid of offending Li Mu, but mainly because doing so will make them appear even more incompetent.

A group of rebels fleeing everywhere, none of them have the ability to stay, but instead blame others.

In the eyes of outsiders, this is a manifestation of jealousy and envy.

If one really has the ability, he could easily intercept it halfway and grab this huge wealth.

“If that’s the case, then we can only fight hard.

General Xiao, Guizhou is mountainous, and there are many places suitable for ambushes.

You might as well set up more traps along the way and try to slow down the rebels' advance.

We will communicate with the friendly forces and they will take the overall situation into consideration.

If nothing unexpected happens, Loushan Pass will be the final bottom line.

Once the rebels captured Loushan Pass and marched into Shu, no one would be able to bear the consequences.

Therefore, our last line of defense must be set up at Loushan Pass, and we must never allow the rebels to cross the border.

We can't do this kind of work alone.

While the rebels are still on the way, we should seize the time and contact the Sichuan Governor's Office.

If they can gather their troops at Loushan Pass, it will be more stable!"

Zou Qiming said with a serious face.

We have no choice but to place our hopes on our colleagues.

It is too risky to stop the rebels on the front battlefield.

The only thing they can do now is to slow down the rebels and ensure that Loushan Pass is not lost.

I just hope Li Mu can consider the overall situation and not play too big for the sake of credit.

……

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The dense sound of gunfire announced the outbreak of war.

No matter how the rebels struggled, the number of refugees they carried was always limited. After being sent to prisoner-of-war camps and clearing the obstacles, the two sides inevitably encountered war.

As soon as the two armies started fighting, Shi Qichuan, who was in charge of the rear guard, began to complain inwardly.

The government troops' firearms were still as sharp as ever, and were completely different from the muskets they had captured.

The brief battle resulted in hundreds of casualties.

It was not a big deal for the entire rebel army, but it was a heavy pressure for the rear guard troops.

"Pass the order down, have the troops retreat to the hillsides on both sides and lie in ambush. I want to see if the government troops dare to chase us!"

Shi Qichuan gave the order angrily.

As the rear guard, no one cares how he fights now, and even winning or losing is not important.

What the Holy Kingdom needs is time. As long as enough time can be gained, everything else will not be a problem.

……

"Report!"

“Your Majesty, Marquis Gui has sent a message that they have already engaged in a firefight with the government troops.

It can be confirmed with absolute certainty that the government troops pursuing us are none other than the main force under Li Mu.

Gui Hou believes that it is very difficult to stop the enemy now, and I hope that Saint Emperor can make a decision soon!"

The news brought by the messenger made Shi Rongxian frown.

The speed at which the government troops pursued was much faster than expected.

Even if hundreds of thousands of refugees were thrown out, the enemy would accept them all.

Without the butcher knife, there would naturally be no resistance to the death.

After learning that the government troops would provide them with food, a large number of refugees obediently went into the prisoner-of-war camps, waiting to be identified by the imperial court.

Many White Lotus followers who wanted to cause trouble were killed on the spot.

The few who acted cautiously were now trembling in the prisoner-of-war camps, fearing that their identities would be exposed.

The plan to sneak behind enemy lines and create chaos failed before it could be implemented.

"Tell Gui Hou that I know!"

He agreed easily, but he was completely unsure in his heart.

There are enemy troops blocking you in front and pursuers coming from behind. It's definitely a copy of hell.

If they wanted to evacuate quickly, they had to abandon a large amount of baggage and their families.

There is no doubt that this decision is difficult to make.

If the baggage is lost, the army will have problems getting food.

Abandoning family members would cause even greater chaos.

In addition to the families of the accompanying civil and military officials, many generals fighting on the front lines also had their families in his care.

It was because he controlled these people that he was able to secure his position as the White Lotus Saint Emperor.

Once he leaves these families to the government troops, not only will the generals on the front line rebel, but the civil and military officials accompanying him will also seek revenge on him.

"Prime Minister, do you have any countermeasures?"

After hesitating for a moment, Shi Rongxian asked.

"Saint Emperor, the only solution now is to spend money to avoid disaster.

The officials of the pseudo-dynasty were the most greedy, and the selling of official positions and titles was an endless stream.

There is a saying circulating in the officialdom of Dayu: as long as the price is high enough, there is nothing that cannot be done.

The thief Li Mu was chasing us so closely, probably because he had his eyes on the gold, silver and jewelry in the treasury.

Without our cooperation, it would not be easy for him to get it, so there is room for a transaction.

Send a man who is good at speaking to the enemy camp and negotiate with Li Mu privately. Maybe he can buy a chance of survival with money!"

Wu Zekai thought for a moment and said.

There was no mention of bribing Guizhou officials. On the one hand, they were not worthy of it, and on the other hand, the Guizhou officials could not give in.

Li Mu did not catch up with them, so he went back and made up a few excuses to deal with it.

If the officials in Guizhou allowed them to enter Shu, they would all be beheaded if the imperial court held them accountable.

The most important thing is that if they open the road, the team from the Holy White Lotus Kingdom will not be able to pass smoothly.

"Prime Minister, I'll leave this matter to you.

As long as that thief Li Mu is willing to slow down his pursuit, any price can be negotiated.

If he could stop the army from pursuing us, that would be even better!"

Shi Rongxian made a prompt decision.

Having been used to living a life of extravagance, he no longer values ​​money as much as before.

In the face of life, no matter how much wealth you have, it is nothing.

“Saint Emperor, this matter has to be handled by Prime Minister Fu.

Prime Minister Fu has dealt with Li Mu the most and knows his style of doing things best."

Hearing Wu Zekai's recommendation, Fu Sanqi just wanted to cry.

Is that a trade of words? He was simply being beaten up by others!
The only difference is that other generals who fought against Li Mu basically died on the battlefield, but he escaped every time.

"Prime Minister Fu, the fate of the Holy Kingdom is in your hands!
To show your sincerity, you first select ten beauties from the Holy Kingdom and then bring two boxes of jewelry.

Even if we can't reach an agreement, Li Mu will not kill you for the sake of these treasures.

As long as he could successfully infiltrate the enemy camp, he could find a way to bribe the people around Li Mu and ask them to help lobby that villain Li Mu.

As long as he is willing to give us a chance to live, as long as it belongs to the Holy Kingdom, he can set any price."

Shi Rongxian expressed his true feelings.

In the past, when Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, was besieged by the Huns, he was able to escape the siege of Baideng by using money to pave the way.

Over the next few decades, the Han Dynasty worked hard to govern the country and finally succeeded in defeating the Xiongnu, thus washing away the shame of that day.

Even Emperor Gaozu of Han could endure his anger for a while, so he could endure it as well.

"I will do my best!"

Fu Sanqi agreed reluctantly.

If the situation was not critical, he would have suspected that Wu Zekai was colluding with the Holy Emperor to kill someone with a borrowed knife.

It is not easy to enter or leave the devil Li Mu's territory.

It would be fine if the talks could be concluded, but if not, his Prime Minister of the Holy Kingdom would have to visit the capital.

Of course, you can also surrender to the court.

However, his name was too famous and he offended too many noble families.

Even if you surrender, you will inevitably be liquidated in the future.

The Holy Emperor has said so much, he has no choice but to take the risk no matter how great it is.

Now he can only hope that the officials of Dayu are greedy and lustful people, otherwise he will be in trouble.

(End of this chapter)