Fu Shanhe

Chapter 250: Endless Bloody Battle

"It seems that we have lightened the burden for the rebels in last night's battle!"

Looking at the prisoner squatting on the ground, Li Mu teased with a smile.

Compared with the soldiers, the speed of their family members' movements is obviously much slower.

Most of the prisoners captured by the government troops were family members.

To a certain extent, it did relieve the pressure on the rebels.

However, the distance between the two sides was too close at this moment, and even if the rebels wanted to evacuate, they had lost the best time.

Unless the enemy can abandon all their baggage and burdens and run away regardless of the consequences.

Just think about it. Even if the false emperor is cruel enough, he still has to consider the consequences.

The provincial capitals along the way had already started to clear the countryside early on.

Without baggage and supplies, the hundreds of thousands of troops entering the mountains of Guizhou would probably have nothing to do but eat dirt.

Within ten days of such hard life, everyone ran away.

“Sir, we will not lose anything if we arrest these people.

Most of those who followed the army were family members of high-ranking rebels, and each of them was wealthy.

We seized three camps last night and seized goods worth millions.

It's a pity that so many valuables were destroyed in the fire in the chaos, otherwise the harvest would have been even greater!"

Yun Yufeng said cheerfully.

The rebels had plundered several provinces, and these gains were completely expected.

If we could seize all the property from the rebels, the final spoils would be even more astonishing.

"Um!

Tell the soldiers that the opportunity to get promoted and make money has come.

Those who kill the false emperor will be promoted three levels, and those who capture the false emperor alive will be promoted five levels, and will be rewarded with 10,000 taels of silver and 1,000 acres of land. "

Li Mu calmly offered a reward.

The hatred for the false emperor was so great that the court had already offered a huge reward.

In the past, everyone could only think about it, but now there is a real chance to capture the false emperor alive.

Of course, promotion to "third level" or "fifth level" is only limited to ordinary soldiers and grassroots officers.

Even if mid- and high-level generals got the credit, they couldn't be promoted five levels at once.

The normal practice is to be promoted one or two levels in position and then obtain a nominal title.

In terms of honorary positions, the Dayu Dynasty was quite lenient, and the emperor was willing to give them to those who had made great contributions.

However, the honorary title was only used to highlight the political status, and the salary was long gone.

"As ordered!"

……

With the command from the head coach, the full-scale offensive officially began.

Obviously the government troops were at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, but relying on the overwhelming morale of the troops, the 30,000-man army managed to exert the momentum of an army of 300,000.

No matter how hard the generals tried, it was of no use. The rebel soldiers, who had been tormented all night, were all in low spirits.

Faced with the government troops charging forward, they almost collapsed at the first blow.

Even though a few soldiers fought bravely, they could not save the situation.

“Holy Emperor, the government army’s offensive is too fierce, we can’t resist it at all.

Before the enemy completes the encirclement, you should order a retreat!"

Shi Qichuan hurriedly began to persuade.

Being chased by the enemy all the way, the morale of the army had long been exhausted.

Last night's battle was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

As the situation has developed to this point, the soldiers no longer want to continue this war.

The family members who originally needed to be taken care of either died in the war or were captured by the government troops.

"If we leave like this, what will happen to our food and supplies?"

Shi Rongxuan asked with a frown.

If it weren't for practical considerations, he would have ordered a retreat long ago.

Running away is something that, once you start, you'll become addicted.

This was not the first time that he was hunted by government troops. The emperor had already lost face while fleeing.

He could abandon the stolen treasures, but the problem of food for the soldiers must be solved.

"Saint Emperor, if it is a team of 300,000 people, food and fodder will naturally be an unsolvable problem.

But in the current situation, we were able to safely evacuate 50,000 to 60,000 people, and that was all thanks to the blessing of the Virgin Mary.

Even if Guizhou is very poor, it is still possible to feed tens of thousands of troops at the hands of the enemy."

Prime Minister Wu Zekai opened his mouth to answer.

In fact, it is also difficult to solve the supply problem of tens of thousands of troops.

But the situation is special now. We cannot defeat the enemy on the frontal battlefield, so we must escape as soon as possible.

We will talk about the following questions later.

If they were caught by the government troops, none of these rebel leaders would survive.

"Pass the order down and evacuate with a small group of people.

Except for tents, weapons and dry food, everything else was thrown away!"

Shi Rongxian gave the order with difficulty.

If you lose your treasure, you can steal it again; if you lose your woman, you can find her again; if you lose your child, you can have another one.

If you lose your life, you lose everything.

Once you embark on the path of rebellion, you are destined to learn to ignore your relatives.

"Holy Emperor, there is a group of government cavalry blocking our way ahead!"

Upon receiving this news, Shi Rongxian's face darkened.

Whatever you are afraid of will come to you.

The decision to retreat was just made, but the road ahead was blocked just as the army set out.

Once they get entangled with the government cavalry, this will be their burial place.

"The enemy is blocking our way, so quickly change the route. Are you going to use infantry to attack cavalry?"

Shi Rongxian scolded angrily.

The cavalry of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom had been almost completely wiped out in the previous battle in Guangxi.

After retreating to Yongzhou, they didn't even have a large-scale horse farm, let alone reorganize the cavalry.

Frankly speaking, Guizhou's terrain is not suitable for cavalry to perform, but that does not mean that cavalry has lost its effectiveness.

Now the government troops have sent cavalry to block the road, which makes them very uncomfortable.

Using infantry to attack cavalry is only theoretical.

Only elite heavy infantry with full armor can contend with cavalry in a head-on collision.

There are very few heavy infantrymen in Dayu.

Except for the Beijing Army and the Nine Frontiers, there was no heavy infantry organization in the armies of other regions.

There is no government army, let alone an insurgent army that relies on captured government army weapons.

"Holy Emperor, the enemy has blocked our path.

If you want to take a detour, you can only take the forest path.

Not only is the journey long, but accidents are also prone to happen.

......"

"waste!
Since there is no other way, just rush forward.

I don't believe that a group of cavalry can stop us!"

Before the young general could finish his words, Shi Rongxian couldn't help but curse.

As the imperial edict was issued, rows of Holy Kingdom soldiers picked up spears and held shields and began to advance.

"Rumble..."

The sound of cavalry-only artillery rang out, and the Holy Kingdom soldiers at the front were killed or wounded in an instant.

Seeing the formation destroyed, the cavalry general immediately gave orders.

"attack!"

In a flash, countless cavalrymen launched a charge.

Countless rebel soldiers were knocked away by the impact of their horses before they could figure out the situation.

The knights brandished their lances and reaped the fruits of their labor on the battlefield. The rebel soldiers, lacking the protection of armor, became lambs to be slaughtered, and the slaughter officially began.

Upon seeing the bloody scene, countless White Lotus Holy Nation high-ranking officials turned pale in an instant.

I have long heard that cavalry massacred infantry, and now that I have seen it with my own eyes, I know that the rumors are true.

“Holy Emperor, there are already a large number of deserters in the army ahead.

If this continues, the army will be overwhelmed.

The only solution now is to send the Guards to fight and see if they can carve out a bloody path!"

Prime Minister Wu Zekai stepped forward and spoke.

Ordinary infantry were simply offering their heads in front of the government cavalry.

If you want to fight your way out, you must send in the elite troops.

Among the many accompanying troops, the White Lotus Saint Emperor's guards were the most powerful.

In the early days of the uprising, this army captured cities and made great contributions to the Holy Kingdom.

In the following days, although I didn't go to the battlefield much, all the treatment I received was top-notch.

"it is good!

Pass the order down, have the troops in front clear the way, and let the guards go up."

Shi Rongxian nodded and said.

At this moment, he had no time to conserve his strength.

Raise an army for a thousand days, use it for a while.

Whether we can escape today depends on the performance of the Guards.

……

Xiangyang City.

"Lord, good news!"

"The rebels have retreated, and the siege of Xiangyang is over!"

The Xiangyang prefect said excitedly.

"really?"

Xu Wenyue asked in disbelief.

"really!"

The Xiangyang prefect answered affirmatively.

Since the siege of Xiangyang began, I have been unable to sleep peacefully for countless days and nights.

During this period, I felt hope again and again, and fell into despair again and again. Now it is finally over.

Defending the city of Xiangyang and keeping the rebels out of the Central Plains was of great significance to the Dayu Dynasty.

"it is good!"

"Now I can finally sleep peacefully!"

"By the way, where did the rebels go after they evacuated Xiangyang?"

After regaining his composure, Xu Wenyue asked with concern.

As the governor-general of the bandit-suppression camp, he needs to pay attention to more than just the Xiangyang battlefield.

Lifting the siege of Xiangyang was just the beginning, and there were more challenges waiting for him.

What he hopes most now is that the court will agree to his request and appoint a few more governors to share the pressure.

He was not optimistic at all about the situation in the Jiangnan region.

Not only is the rebel offensive fierce, the bigger problem is the refugees.

Because of the war, a large number of refugees emerged in Guangdong, Guangxi, Huguang and other places, most of whom poured into the Jiangnan region.

Now there are millions of refugees in both Nanzhili and Zhejiang.

Among those who fled, not all were wealthy; most of them were ordinary people.

When you arrive in an unfamiliar place without any means of making a living, trouble is bound to arise once your savings are exhausted.

There are rebels attacking outside and starving people everywhere inside. It's definitely a sinkhole.

However, local officials did not make any effort to provide disaster relief, but were busy whitewashing the situation.

Even though he, the governor, gave orders again and again, the people below only did so perfunctorily.

"Sir, the rebels have retreated to Wuchang by boat.

Next, we could go south to Anqing or attack Nanchang. Both are possible."

Brigadier General Liu on the side answered.

The rebels were leaving, and they were 100% welcoming them, with no intention of keeping them.

Even if there was an opportunity to cause sabotage, he ordered his generals to defend the city and never allow them to go out to provoke.

There was no way, he was really scared of being beaten.

If the rebels came back again, he was very worried whether he would have the courage to continue defending the city.

“Anqing, Nanchang, this is impossible!

The false emperor was good at playing a balancing act. The relationship between the three kings of different surnames in the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus was very bad, and they often clashed in private.

Wei Ni is too proud to join forces with them."

Xu Wenyue denied it immediately.

He has average military ability, but is a strong man in politics.

Xu Wenyue was well aware of the internal power structure of the White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

If Xiangyang is captured successfully, Wei Hao may indeed join forces with the other two.

But it is not possible now. The battle of Xiangyang did not go as expected, and cooperation at this time would undoubtedly be inferior.

Even if Wei Hao didn't mind, his subordinates could not tolerate their own prince bowing to the other two.

When it comes to factional power struggles, he has to hold on no matter how bad the situation is.

"Lord, if Wei Ni does not go to Anqing and Nanchang, then their best option is to march west to Sichuan.

Shu is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and as it is a land of abundance, it is the most suitable place to establish a separatist regime.

The battle for the Central Plains failed, and Jiangnan and Huguang were divided up by the other two kings. If he wanted to break the impasse, he had to enter Shu. "

Hou Huaichang spoke up to remind him.

Before the world was in chaos, Shu was in chaos first; after the world was at peace, Shu was not at peace yet.

Whenever there is troubled times, there will always be people who want to seize control of Shu.

The current situation is very unfavorable to Wei Hao.

With the arrival of reinforcements, competing for the Central Plains became a pipe dream.

If he doesn't find a way out, it will be difficult for him to feed his troops with the few prefectures he controls.

“After entering Shu, it seems that there are also experts among the enemy troops.

He immediately sent a letter to the Sichuan governor, informing him of the news that Wei Ni intended to enter Shu and asking him to stop the rebels at all costs.

If Sichuan can keep the rebels out of Qutang Pass, we will have a chance to wipe out Wei Ni in Huguang."

Xu Wenyue thought for a moment and said.

The sadness between his brows directly exposed the pessimism deep in his heart.

Because of the false emperor, Sichuan had long since placed its strategic focus on Loushan Pass.

Everyone was ready to fight, waiting for Li Mu to defeat the rebels and then rush forward to take advantage of the situation.

Although Qutang Pass was also heavily garrisoned, those troops existed mostly on paper.

Once they encounter an attack from Wei, no one knows whether they can stop it.

Just as he was about to send reinforcements, Xu Wenyue stopped.

Wei Ni's entry into Shu was a disaster for the Yu Dynasty, but an opportunity for him personally.

The false emperor was about to be overthrown, and Wei Ni fled again. The original four rebel armies were now reduced to only two.

This will undoubtedly greatly reduce the pressure on subsequent counterinsurgency wars.

As long as the Anqing defenders can hold out for another two months, he can join forces with Marquis Wuyang to recapture all the prefectures in Huguang.

Then he assembled multiple armies to encircle and suppress the rebels in the Jiangnan region.

Even if Anqing could not be defended, they could join forces with Marquis Wuyang to attack the rebels from both sides and stabilize the situation in the south.

As for the situation in Shu, he sent someone to remind the Sichuan governor and fulfilled his obligations.

It was not his responsibility if he could not defend the gateway to eastern Sichuan.

……

(End of this chapter)