Fu Shanhe

Chapter 281 Good news arrives in Beijing
After exchanging glances, Li Mu instantly knew how to write the battle report.

Defeating 10,000 enemy troops would have too low propaganda value. At least 30,000 to 40,000 enemy troops must be defeated to create a shock.

The Guifang cavalry appeared at the edge of the battlefield at the last moment, so it was reasonable to add them.

After all, the enemy is cavalry, and they can always run away if they can't win.

Everyone likes to pick the soft persimmons.

The elite northern barbarians were defeated. They knew that the army coming to support the king was not easy to deal with, so the Guifang troops that came rushing over would most likely change the direction of their attack.

Since the enemy has retreated, that is their record.

With thousands of real enemy heads, no one can deny this military achievement.

Compared with defeating 10,000 enemy troops and annihilating more than 9,000 people, it is obviously more convincing to defeat 40,000 enemy troops and behead 9,000 people.

When infantry fights cavalry, it is acceptable if the casualties are slightly higher.

However, considering the issue of military achievements, Li Mu did not exaggerate too much.

The number of casualties was equal to the battle record, with an additional 10,000 wounded, the main purpose of which was to highlight the tragic victory of the army supporting the king.

There is no need to worry about being exposed. In the eyes of the officials in the capital, it is normal to suffer heavy losses when encountering a powerful enemy like the Northern Tartars.

If the casualties were only a few hundred, people would doubt the authenticity of the battle report.

It is consistent with everyone's understanding that when the Ministry of War verifies military merits, it will focus on the heads of the Northern Tartars.

The local government in Shandong is just a bunch of fools.

They didn't know the enemy was coming until they were at the gates of the city. They couldn't even figure out how many soldiers were involved in the battle on each side.

At worst, we can send people to purchase more medicinal materials in the near future to send a signal to the outside world and let everyone know that there are many wounded soldiers in the army sent to support the king.

The military camp is a restricted area and outsiders cannot enter. As long as you don't enter the camp at the first time, you can find an excuse to deal with it later.

In order to mitigate their guilt after suffering such a shameful defeat, the Northern Tartar generals certainly could not say that they were completely defeated, so embellishing their battle record was necessary.

If nothing unexpected happens, the emperor can also obtain a copy of the battle record reported by the Northern Tartars from the Imperial Household Department to indirectly verify the authenticity of the battle report.

Now that we have the battle records and reports, it will be easy to capture the spoils. The weapons left by the enemy are all ready-made and not much different from the equipment of the Yu army.

All the broken weapons were counted as seized. When the Ministry of War came to check, they were just a pile of scrap metal.

The harvested war horses must not be reported truthfully. Even if the court does not take them away, it will affect the subsequent allocation of resources.

There is never too much of this kind of strategic resource. Let the court think that the army is short of it, so that they can continue to ask for resources later.

……

Jinan City.

"Last night, the King's army defeated 40,000 Northern Tartar cavalry.

How can this be? "

Jia Xiaochen asked in disbelief.

He didn't know how many enemy troops were outside the city, but judging from the tents, there couldn't be 40,000 cavalry.

"Governor, the news was released by the Royalist Army and is now spreading everywhere.

We all know that a great battle broke out outside the city last night. This morning when I went up to the top of the city wall to check on the defenses, I saw the King's Army cleaning up the battlefield.

It took an entire convoy to transport the enemy heads alone.

In order to determine the authenticity, I sent a coroner out of the city to help them pickle the head.

All of them are real heads of the enemy, at least several thousand. The King’s army has defeated the northern enemy, the news must be true.”

Cheng Junfeng replied with a smile.

As the prefect of Jinan, he didn't care whether the battle records announced by the army supporting the king were exaggerated or not. Anyway, the siege of Jinan was lifted.

How to deal with the relationship between the two parties in the future is the business of the governor's office. He has no conflicts with Marquis Wuyang, so there is no need to cause trouble for himself.

"What do the soldiers guarding the city eat?
Such important news, why didn't you report it to me immediately? "

Jia Xiaochen asked angrily.

If he knew that the army was fighting so smoothly, he would definitely send troops out of the city to share in the military merits.

He did not expect to behead thousands of people, but as long as he could harvest a hundred or eighty heads, he would consider it a great victory under his command.

Now that he has not participated in the whole process, he would feel embarrassed to go over and take credit for the military achievements.

The most important thing is that Marquis Wuyang is not someone who is easy to mess with. If you run over to grab the credit now, you will only bring shame upon yourself.

Being questioned, the Shandong general standing by felt very aggrieved. The war had just begun, and he had sent someone to report to the governor.

As a result, not only was their proposal to send troops rejected, but the general who went to report the news was also beaten with a military stick.

With such a precedent, no one dared to disturb the governor's sweet dreams. Even after dawn, the defenders remained as still as a mountain.

If the prefect of Jinan had not gone out to inspect the city's defenses, the news that the loyalist army had defeated the enemy would have continued to be concealed.

"Governor, there is a serious lack of order in the army and the soldiers are rebellious.

When something happens, it is not reported in time.

......"

The Shandong general replied while suppressing his dissatisfaction.

It was clearly not their responsibility, but he had to take the blame.

Even during wartime, military salaries could not be paid in full. Going hungry and cold was the norm, and the army had long been complaining.

If there is no comparison, then so be it.

The problem is that the army coming to support the king is coming.

It is not known whether the other party can get the full military pay, but the defending soldiers can see with their naked eyes the new cotton-padded jackets on them.

Judging from the soldiers' complexion, you can tell that their food is good.

Ordinary soldiers don’t have so many thoughts. They all serve in the army and get food, and the standards set by the court are the same.

If you don't have what others have, it means that the officials have embezzled it.

This simple logic made the generals in the army secretly groan.

There was definitely some embezzlement of military supplies, but they just took a bite of the pie, and the bulk of the profits went to the civil servants.

When food and wages were allocated, they were first given a 50% discount and were often in arrears.

Even if they want to make more money, their room for maneuver is limited.

Fine grains become coarse grains, and coarse grains become chaff. This is normal.

"enough!"

"I don't want to hear you complain!"

“As soldiers guarding the city, we should report any situation in a timely manner.

This is a matter of principle and there are no conditions to discuss.

Do you think you are the only ones suffering and everyone else is having an easy time?
The court is facing financial difficulties now and everyone has to tighten their belts and live a frugal life.

As the commander-in-chief of a town, you are also a high-ranking general of the court. You should understand the difficulties of the court..."

After a lot of ideological education, Jia Xiaochen successfully changed the topic.

The responsibility that originally belonged to him suddenly became the fault of the defending general.

"Governor, Marquis Wuyang has defeated the enemy, and we have to express our gratitude.

If possible, it would be best to transfer a few heads over.

We don't expect any military merit, but at least we have to show the court that we are actively resisting the invasion of the northern barbarians!"

Governor Min Kaifeng reminded gently.

I have seen people who try to pass the buck, but it is rare to see someone as greedy as our own governor.

Fortunately, the army came to support the king and lifted the siege of Jinan.

Otherwise, if this continues, the defending officers and soldiers will definitely mutiny.

Even if you want to suppress military generals, it will take time.

The world is already in chaos, and if we continue to treat military generals as we did in the past, something terrible will happen.

"This is a simple matter. The governor's office will take out 10,000 taels from the military funds raised.

Buy three hundred fat pigs, two hundred sheep, and some wine and food, and send them over together.

Prefect Cheng, the task of entertaining the troops is now left to you.

We must take this opportunity to find out their true achievements, otherwise we will not be able to explain when the court asks about it later."

Jia Xiaochen said with a painful look on his face.

During the war, prices soared.

Just one visit to the troops costs a lot of money.

There was not much difference between the money in the governor's office and his own money.

Just change the name and it will slowly become your own.

The only exception is for entertaining the troops, the recorded data and the materials sent must correspond.

Once a gap appears, Marquis Wuyang will have no way to explain it.

There was already a gap between the two sides, and now the army will have to fight for the king's support.

If there is any trouble, it will be a big disaster.

……

Only after evacuating all the way to Daming Prefecture and joining up with the Guifang army did Erdun breathe a sigh of relief.

After counting the gathered defeated soldiers, his good mood disappeared in an instant.

An army of 10,000 set out on the expedition, but the number of soldiers gathered now is less than 1,000.

If you don't follow, you will naturally become a dead person.

Even if he is not dead now, he will soon become dead.

He was defeated so miserably that he didn't know how to report it to the Chanyu. "Revenge!"

Once this thought came into my mind, I could never get rid of it.

Defeat can only be washed away with blood, and only by cutting off the enemy's head can one atone for one's sins.

After taking a look at the generals in the camp, Erdun gave up the idea of ​​sending troops for revenge immediately.

The Guifang army nominally obeys his command, but the prerequisite is that there is money to be made before everyone will carry out his orders.

It's fine to take them to plunder everywhere, but asking them to fight with the army coming to support the king is out of the question.

Weakening Dayu's military power was a major plan made by the Tatars and had nothing to do with the Guifang.

This time they came here simply to make a fortune.

"Wan Hu, the Yu army is still the same as always, each cleaning up the snow in front of their own door.

We have almost conquered Daming Prefecture, so I think we should go and conquer the neighboring Yanzhou Prefecture.

It is said that half of the wealth in Shandong is concentrated there.

After we have taken over Yanzhou Prefecture, the fighting on other battlefields should also be over. Then we can settle accounts with Marquis Wuyang’s army.”

Ugus suggested with a smile.

It went smoothly all the way and he has fallen in love with this feeling.

Oghuz did not take the defeat of the Tatar army under the city of Jinan seriously at all.

In his opinion, Erdun was simply seeking death.

Knowing that there were 100,000 troops in Jinan to support the king, he still went alone and set up camp in front of them.

In comparison, the Daming Prefecture he chose was much safer.

There are only some local soldiers in the territory, which are not elite at all.

The army captured the state capital effortlessly and made a fortune.

The garrison in Yanzhou is larger than that in Damingfu.

However, they were all local Shandong troops, among which only a small number of recruits were recruited, and their combat effectiveness was very average.

It is much more comfortable to bully such a weakling than to confront him head-on in Jinan.

There is no need to be afraid even if there is danger. The enemy is mainly infantry, and as long as we keep a sufficient distance, the army will be safe.

“Go if you want to!”

Erdun said expressionlessly.

The rule on the grassland is that the strong are respected.

Among the grassland coalition forces in Daming Prefecture, the Grale tribe is the strongest and naturally has the most say.

He, the Wanhu, is only the boss in name only.

Once your path to wealth is blocked, no one will buy it.

The various Guifang tribes were forced to submit to the Tatars.

Just two years ago, the two sides were enemies and fought each other frequently.

It takes time for hatred to fade away, and the alliance between the two sides is not stable in the short term.

The reason why Huugjile Chanyu chose to bring the Guifang people with him to plunder was essentially for the sake of profit.

The number of Guifang people is much larger than that of Tatars.

The risk of backlash from simply using force is too great.

What's more, with the powerful enemy Dayu at their side, the Tatars dare not take it lightly.

They were afraid that one day the Gui faction would be won over by Dayu and the two sides would join forces to deal with them.

For the sake of strategic security, the Guifang must be tied to one's own chariot.

Only by making Guifang's hands stained with the blood of the Yu people and cutting off the possibility of Guifang turning to Dayu can the alliance be stable.

……

Capital.

"Your Majesty, good news!"

"Good news came from Shandong. Marquis Wuyang led the army to defeat the Northern Tartar coalition three days ago.

They defeated 40,000 enemy troops and killed more than 9,000 of them, with their heads alone piling up into a small hill.

......"

Xu Zhongen, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, said with great joy.

Dayu really needs good news.

Ever since the northern barbarians began besieging the city, people in the capital have been in panic.

Even though Emperor Yongning issued edicts many times to appease the people, the enemy troops outside the city still brought heavy pressure to the officials and civilians in the city.

Everyone, including the emperor himself, has been having nightmares recently.

Emperor Yongning, who is in his twenties, looks like a man in his forties.

"Oh!"

"Have you verified the battle report?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

There has been good news in recent days.

Unfortunately, most of the false war reports were deliberately made up by the subordinates in order to cover up the truth.

They clearly lost cities and territories, but they exaggerated it as inflicting heavy losses on the enemy and achieving countless victories.

At the beginning, Emperor Yongning really believed it.

However, battle reports can be falsified, but the battle lines cannot be deceived.

Since the enemy was defeated, we should not lose cities or territories. There is an obvious contradiction between the two.

After the forgery was exposed, Emperor Yongning lost face in front of all the officials.

So much so that later on, all good news had to be verified before being officially released to the public.

“Your Majesty, this victory report was written by Marquis Wuyang himself, and there are also a large number of Northern Tartar heads as evidence, so it cannot be fake.

The Governor of Shandong also sent a document reporting victory, but it did not contain detailed information about the results of the battle.

It is certain that the army led by Marquis Wuyang won a great victory outside the city of Jinan!"

Xu Zhongen said with a smile.

The previous war reports were mostly fabricated by officials who were forced into desperate situations and wanted to escape punishment from the court.

As a guest army, Marquis Wuyang had no pressure to defend the territory, so there was no need for him to risk ruining his reputation by committing fraud.

"Ok!"

"I will issue an imperial decree to commend all the meritorious officials. The specific rewards will be verified by the Ministry of War, and then all officials will be summoned to jointly formulate them.

Send someone to tell Marquis Wuyang to keep up the good work and send troops to lift the siege of the capital immediately!"

Emperor Yongning said happily.

If it is true that 40,000 enemy troops were defeated, then the war would be over soon.

The population of the Northern Tartars is so small that the damage they can sustain from war is limited.

Nine thousand casualties have already seriously damaged the army.

If the fighting continues, the Dayu Dynasty can afford it, but the Northern Tartars cannot.

“Your Majesty, although Marquis Wuyang defeated the enemy, the army that came to support the king also suffered heavy losses.

The number of casualties alone was almost the same as that of the enemy, and there were more than 10,000 wounded.

Judging from the content of the battle report, the victory of Jinan was extremely tragic.

The army paid a heavy price before achieving the final victory.

The army is now in a rest period and may not be able to fight again in the short term."

Xu Zhongen hurriedly explained.

"The army supporting the king has 100,000 people. Does it mean that they have lost their fighting power if they lose 20,000 people?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a hint of dissatisfaction.

He had no doubt about the losses of the army.

It is impossible to win easily when facing a strong enemy like the Northern Tartars.

The Marquis of Wuyang was able to capture thousands of heads, which was the greatest victory of Dayu over the northern nomadic peoples in the past thirty years.

But he could not tolerate the army stopping.

The capital is under siege by the enemy. Even if the army wants to rest, it should be done after the siege of the capital is lifted.

"Your Majesty, it is true that the army supporting the king has a force of 100,000, but it does not have 100,000 combat soldiers.

The truly elite troops capable of fighting are only from Guangdong Town and Guangxi Town, and the rest are mostly auxiliary troops.

After this battle, a large number of soldiers were killed and their actual combat effectiveness was less than half of that at its peak.
What's more, most of them were soldiers from the south, and a group of them fell ill as soon as they landed in Shandong.

It is not easy to achieve such a record. If we don’t rest, problems will easily arise.”

Xu Zhongen continued to explain.

He was not speaking for Marquis Wuyang; it was purely a matter of military common sense.

Falsifying military strength was an open secret in the Dayu Dynasty.

The army that came to support the king claimed to have 100,000 soldiers, but no one knew how many people actually came, except the main generals in the army.

The only thing that is certain is that there is definitely not an army of 100,000, otherwise they would have claimed to have an army of 200,000.

If we continue to force Marquis Wuyang to fight, the consequences will be disastrous if we suffer a defeat on the front line.

(End of this chapter)