Fu Shanhe

Chapter 276: Unexpected Enemy
Jinan City.

Jia Xiaochen, who had just returned to the governor's office, received an official document from Marquis Wuyang.

The good mood disappeared in an instant.

His experience in officialdom told him that when things are out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on.

Marquis Wuyang was plotted against by them and forced to stay on the battlefield in Shandong, but it was not without cost.

After suffering such a huge loss, any normal person would feel resentful.

Deep down in his heart, he was mentally prepared for the troops under Marquis Wuyang to work but not put in any effort on the battlefield.

As long as we can keep a few important cities in the territory, if the northern barbarians want to rob other areas, let them do so!
Anyway, since the invasion of the northern barbarians, the imperial court has lost more than one or two states and cities.

“Something is wrong!
I remember when I asked for help earlier, Marquis Wuyang was evasive, why did he suddenly change his attitude now?"

Jia Xiaochen complained with a puzzled look on his face.

“Sir Governor, it was Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng who offended Marquis Wuyang, and we did not intervene.

Even if he was unhappy, it was probably directed at the two of them.

The Prince of Lu's fief was in Yanzhou, and the Duke of Yansheng's residence happened to be in Yanzhou as well.

Now the grassland cavalry is attacking in large numbers, and both Jinan Prefecture and Yanzhou Prefecture are threatened.

Even if Marquis Wuyang was unhappy, he had to at least send troops to rescue one of the places, otherwise he would not be able to explain to the imperial court.

In this context, it is not surprising that he chose to reinforce Jinan."

Master Xu on the side said with a smile.

The plan went better than expected.

Their plan was to encourage Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng to take the lead and force Marquis Wuyang to stay.

Most people have to consider the identities of Prince Lu and Duke Yansheng, and cannot afford the political consequences if anything happens to them, so they can only do their best to rescue them, but Marquis Wuyang is different.

Given his relationship with the emperor, unless he personally did it, the matter would be suppressed.

He led troops to defend Jinan Prefecture. What does the accident in Yanzhou have to do with him?

You can't just watch someone die without helping him. You can't make irresponsible remarks about things without any evidence.

As an accomplished relative of the emperor, it was impossible for him to have a good reputation among the literati.

Being able to hold great power is not achieved by relying on the position held by the civil service group.

The holy land of Confucianism has fallen, so scholars can curse as much as they want.

No matter how harsh and vicious the scolding was, he couldn't hear it.

In a sense, the harsher the scholar cursed, the more the emperor would trust him.

“Master, what you said makes sense. Marquis Wuyang is indeed a narrow-minded person.

When I was in Beijing, I heard that this person liked to take revenge.

Anyone who offends him will be punished.

It was normal for him to come directly to participate in the defense of Jinan out of spite instead of going to Yanzhou.

However, if this happens, how to keep Yanzhou Prefecture becomes a thorny problem.

Whether it is the loss of the vassal state or the loss of Qufu, it is a serious crime that will cost you your head!"

Jia Xiaochen said with an embarrassed look on his face.

There were many vassal kings in the Dayu Dynasty, but only a few princes, and the Confucian holy land was even more unique.

If an ordinary prince had an accident, the local officials would still be punished, but most of them would be demoted.

After all, the northern barbarians were coming with such force that it was simply beyond the reach of local officials.

Even if the imperial court were to hold someone accountable, the main responsibility would be placed on those who allowed the grassland cavalry to enter the country.

If the local government can protect important cities and stabilize the local situation, it will be a great achievement.

If something happened between the prince and the holy land of Confucianism, it would be a fatal matter.

The emperor needs to give an explanation to the royal family, and all officials need to give an explanation to the scholars of the world.

Even if the local officials don't take the blame, we can't let the emperor take the blame!
Especially if something happened to the latter, not only would he, the governor, be in trouble, but even those in the cabinet would be implicated.

"Sir, there is more than one army in Shandong.

Since Marquis Wuyang's troops have arrived at Jinan Prefecture, then we should send other troops to guard Yanzhou Prefecture.

As long as the city is strictly guarded, the probability of the enemy breaking through the city is actually not high.

Qufu is even simpler.

Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty promoted Confucianism as the only doctrine, who, when arriving in Qufu, would not first pay homage to the holy temple?

Although the Northern Tartar cavalry is barbaric, their leaders are not stupid and would never dare to touch the saint's tomb.

Just let the garrison guard Qufu strictly and protect Duke Yansheng's family!"

Master Xu said calmly.

In his opinion, the grassland coalition forces were greedy but not fools.

There is indeed money to be made by robbing the family of Duke Yansheng.

Everyone who has been around Shandong knows that the Kong family, which has been passed down for thousands of years, is truly wealthy enough to rival a country.

There is no need to dig up Confucius' tomb.

When Confucius died, Confucianism was not as prosperous as it is now, and the Kong family was just an ordinary noble family.

No matter how lavish the burial was, given the productivity at the time, there were not enough burial objects.

Without sufficient benefits, who would do such a thankless job?

"That's it!"

"Send someone to inform Marquis Wuyang and do as he asks."

Jia Xiaochen said after sighing.

As the governor of Shandong, he could give orders to military generals, but he could not command a governor.

Only when the two sides reach an agreement can they fight together.

If they fall out, and the other side pretends to obey but actually disobeys on the battlefield, resulting in the loss of cities and territories, they will be the ones who suffer.

Since the army sent to support the king was defeated, even if the court punished them, the severity of the punishment would be reduced.

……

Early in the morning, at the expeditionary camp.

"Report!"

"Admiral, we have found traces of enemy cavalry fifty miles ahead."

Upon receiving this news, Li Mu frowned slightly.

After changing to the water route, the army's advance speed was much faster.

In less than three days, Dengzhou Prefecture entered Jinan Prefecture.

In order to make the play more realistic, after landing on the bank of the Yellow River, the army immediately looked for a place to set up camp.

Then he sent people everywhere to ask doctors to buy medicine, and deliberately released news to the outside world to let everyone know that the officers and soldiers of the King's Army had suffered from severe acclimatization.

Li Mu was not lying. There were indeed many soldiers in the army who had adverse reactions.

But the real situation is not as bad as what is said outside.

Most soldiers recovered to normal after a few days of rest.

Only a very small number of soldiers need medical treatment.

These soldiers who needed medical treatment were diagnosed by several doctors.

Through the mouths of these people, a situation of serious non-combat casualties was created.

It was originally performed for the imperial court in order to prove their loyalty to the emperor and pave the way for the subsequent development of the situation.

With this piece of news as a prelude, they could easily shirk responsibility if an accident occurred in Qufu later.

They never expected that while fooling the imperial court, they also attracted the enemy.

The distance of fifty miles can be reached in less than an hour for a grassland cavalryman with more than one horse.

Although in terms of distance, this place is only a few dozen miles away from Jinan city.

But Li Mu was sure that if a fight really broke out between the two sides, the officers and soldiers in the city would definitely not dare to come out to help.

“Keep sending people to monitor and don’t let the enemy out of sight.

Pass the order down, asking all units to step up their vigilance and guard against sneak attacks by the enemy.

Notify all military officers above the fourth rank to go to the governor's tent for a meeting."

Li Mu gave the order without changing his expression.

There were too many people who knew the situation, and he had no time to figure out who told the enemy the army's location.

Since the incident had happened, we had to face it positively. Without even taking time to eat, Li Mu strode out of the tent after giving the order.

Such a major event must be notified to the head coach immediately.

……

"what?"

"You said you found traces of a large group of enemy cavalry nearby?"

Marquis Wuyang asked in surprise.

According to news from Shandong, the Northern Tartar cavalry mainly looted in Daming Prefecture, Shunde Prefecture, and Hejian Prefecture, and only a small number of enemy troops crossed the Grand Canal.

In the blink of an eye, the grassland cavalry arrived at the city of Jinan.

If the news is true, it means that he has been cheated again by those bastards in the Shandong Governor's Office.

If they had known that the grassland cavalry was coming to attack, they would not have put on a show outside the city, but would have moved into Jinan Prefecture in advance.

Anyone with a little military knowledge knows how difficult it is for infantry to fight cavalry.

To put it bluntly, as long as the enemy wants to leave, they can come and go freely at any time.

Whether to fight or not, and when to fight, is up to others.

The previous plan was based on the fact that the enemy had looted a large amount of spoils and could not easily abandon them.

Now the grassland cavalry has just arrived, and they have nothing except the dry food they carry every day.

You can get involved with them without any scruples.

The enemy cavalry can make countless mistakes, and if they make one mistake, it will cause heavy losses to the army.

"My Lord, no one dares to lie about such a life-threatening military situation.

Although it was unknown what the Shandong local officials were doing, the grassland cavalry had indeed penetrated deep into Jinan Prefecture.

We have to make adjustments to our previous plans.”

Li Mu said seriously.

He was not so afraid of the grassland cavalry.

With the development of firearms technology, the horse archery that the grassland cavalry once took pride in was completely insignificant compared to the musket.

It takes at least several years to train a soldier who is skilled in archery and horse riding, and it also tests one's talent.

In comparison, the training threshold and time required to train a musketeer are much lower.

Moreover, to deal with cavalry, the Dayu army also developed special weapons that were far more powerful than muskets.

When the Shenjiying went on an expedition, the tribes of all the grasslands were killed and blood flowed like a river, forcing all the tribes of the grasslands to migrate westward.

Those who were able to stay were the tribes that had behaved submissively in the past.

Even now, the nomadic peoples on the grasslands are in the most decadent period in history.

If Dayu had not declined, the Tatars, who were good at fishing and hunting, would have risen and broken the myth of the Dayu army.

The Hu people who had suffered severe beatings from Dayu would never dare to invade the border.

"You decide on the arrangements!
I don't care how to fight, as long as I can win."

Marquis Wuyang waved his hand and said.

Bullying a small group of rebels is a good way to show off your skills.

He doesn't want to challenge the difficult operation of confronting the grassland cavalry head-on for the time being.

As the commander-in-chief of the army to support the king, he knew his own family background best.

Nominally he had an army of 100,000, but in reality, the only ones who could really fight were from Guangxi Town and Guangdong Town.

“Don’t worry, my Lord, there are many conflicts among the various tribes on the grassland.

Even among different tribes of the same race, there was frequent fighting.

Including the powerful Northern Tartar, there are also considerable internal risks.

What’s more, the enemy attacked from all sides and heavily surrounded the capital.

The grassland cavalry that appeared in Jinan Prefecture was only a part of them.

In my humble opinion, the real Northern Tartars only had one or two Wan Hu at most, and most of them were Guifang cavalry.

As long as we seize the opportunity, we will be able to defeat them one by one.

Even if the enemy is united, the worst that can happen is that we hold the camp and keep the enemy here.

Time is on the side of the court. The longer it drags on, the better it will be for us.

......"

During the conversation between the two men, a group of generals entered the camp one after another.

Unlike other Dayu troops, which were terrified at the mention of the Northern Tartars, the generals in front of them were all ready to fight.

Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers.

As children of noble families, they grew up under the glory of their ancestors.

The ancestors of many people made great military achievements during their expeditions to the grasslands.

With their ancestors as role models, they also wanted to satisfy their desire to conquer the Wolf and the Wolf.

The Northern Barbarians were very famous and they followed Li Mu in his campaigns and were equally powerful.

An army that has never been defeated never knows what fear is.

After taking a quick glance at everyone, Li Mu felt relieved.

War is fought with morale, and morale is especially tested when facing grassland cavalry.

If the generals are ready to fight, the soldiers under them will be stable.

"My Lord, these are the new replacement generals.

As no suitable candidates have been found yet, the positions of the military commanders of Guangdong Town and Guangxi Town are temporarily vacant and will be acted by me personally.

They are Qin Tianrui, the lieutenant general from the Duke of Xingguo’s Mansion, Liu Qifeng, the lieutenant general from the Marquis of Nanyang’s Mansion, and Ye Hongchang, the lieutenant general from the Marquis of Pingyuan’s Mansion…”

Li Mu introduced himself on the spot.

All these generals were promoted as exceptions before the army set out to support the king.

Before this, these people did not have high status in the army and were not worthy of being noticed by Marquis Wuyang.

The family's own power also suffered a devastating blow in the previous explosion in the capital.

These survivors are all collateral descendants of each family, some of them are even five generations away.

Especially the first few families, because there was no one to inherit, even their titles were taken back by the imperial court.

Having enjoyed wealth and glory, one naturally does not want to be content with a dull life.

Without the protection of the main branch, these side branches also had a hard time and were subject to prying eyes from all sides.

In order to return to the center of power, he immediately mobilized his connections shortly after the bombing and sought opportunities while the news was still hot.

In order to smoothly take over these political legacies, the Jing and Li families, who were in charge of the noble group, naturally had to appease them.

Capable young men from every family were recruited as officials, but most of them were middle and low-level military generals.

Some of the lucky ones came under Li Mu's command.

It just so happened that a large number of generals were promoted and left, leaving vacancies under their command.

Considering these people, they have no one to rely on in the court and can only rely on themselves.

In addition, Li Mu wanted to expand his influence in the noble group, so he also gave it a push.

He mixed some capable people with his own close confidants and recommended them all together.

The result was not surprising. These sons of nobles were promoted out of turn, while his direct descendants could only be promoted according to convention.

Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, these people are also his direct confidants.

He has been labeled as such since he started his career and was promoted by him. According to official rules, he is a trusted and direct descendant of his.

This is also what these people themselves think.

The only difference is that these people have illustrious ancestors and a large group of clansmen behind them.

Although he is politically dependent on him, there are too many things to consider and it is uncertain how loyal he is.

As a general who came from a pure grassroots background, his entire family, young and old, followed Li Mu for a living, and their interests were more closely tied together.

"General, Qin Tianrui greets the Governor!"

"General, Liu Qifeng greets the Governor!"

"General, Ye Hongchang greets the Governor!"

……

(End of this chapter)