Fu Shanhe

Chapter 322: Recovering Changsha
The city gate slowly opened, and the prepared government troops rushed into the city as quickly as possible to seize strategic locations.

As more and more government troops entered the city, the defending soldiers, realizing that the situation was not good, abandoned their missions and fled.

The city belongs to the King of Chu, but his life is his own.

Being able to take up arms and join the war is worthy of the five dou of rice treatment. There is no need to risk your life just to defend the city.

"General, something terrible has happened, the city gate has been lost.

enemy……"

The worst thing finally happened.

Jia Xuanfeng, who had just assembled his troops and was preparing to organize a counterattack, suddenly collapsed.

The government troops outside the city only had soldiers from one town, with a total strength of no more than 12,000 people, while the defenders had 20,000 soldiers plus 10,000 civilians, giving them an absolute advantage in terms of military strength.

Unfortunately, the outcome of a war is never determined by the number of people.

Having a large number of troops does not mean strong combat effectiveness.

By defending the city, he still had the confidence to stop the enemy.

Now that the enemy has broken into the city, we must face off in a head-on battle of hard power.

"Pass the order down, each unit will take turns to provide cover and retreat in an orderly manner!"

Jia Xuanfeng gave the order decisively.

Reason told him that if he did not have more than five times the force advantage in a direct battle against Li Mu's army, he would be courting death.

Since we can't win, it's better to preserve our strength.

There are so many people who have been defeated by Li Mu, so adding one more is not a big deal.

When the King of Chu investigates the person responsible, he will give him a lenient sentence.

As the order to retreat was issued, the already panic-stricken defenders quickly fell into chaos.

It was pitch dark, the soldiers didn't know their generals, and the generals didn't know their soldiers.

Everyone was scrambling to escape, with no regard for "order".

When the dawn sunshine shone on the world, the flags on the top of Changsha city had changed color.

……

Under the city of Hengyang, Li Mu, who was leading the siege, was stunned when he saw the victory report in his hand.

The victory came too suddenly, and Changsha City was captured before Hengyang.

"it is good!"

"Tell the Third Town to wipe out the remaining enemies and immediately organize people to reinforce the city defenses and prepare to hold Changsha."

Li Mu gave the order immediately.

Changsha City was captured ahead of schedule, and the situation on the battlefield was completely changed.

With the Xiangjiang River system under control, the government troops could go down the river and fight their way into the Yangtze River basin.

In Dongting Lake, there are still remnants of Yu’s army who are still resisting.

The neighboring Jingzhou Prefecture and Xiangyang Prefecture are still in the hands of the imperial court.

As long as Yuezhou Prefecture was captured, the two sides would be connected and the Huguang rebels would be directly divided into two.

The prefecture west of the Xiangjiang River had an unstable foundation to begin with, and had lost support from the rear. The isolated prefecture could not hold out for long.

By then, the rebels' territory in Huguang would only be limited to five prefectures: Wuchang, Hanyang, Chengtian, De'an, and Huangzhou.

Although it seems to be quite large in area, it was divided between the Wu and Chu countries.

The Wu State was rooted in the Nanzhili region and was not greatly affected, but the Chu State was not so affected.

The fallen state capitals were all their territories.

Is the Chu State still the Chu State without the Chu territory?
They lost half of their territory, which was a major grain-producing area, and were directly paralyzed.

Let alone conquering the world, just feeding the army would be a problem.

Compared with the loss of territory, the blow to people's hearts is the most fatal.

The struggle for supremacy in troubled times is not only a fight for territory, but also a fight for people's hearts and minds.

It is not easy for a rebel army with a religious background to gain the support of scholars.

If they encounter heavy setbacks during their entrepreneurial journey, those who are waiting and watching will abandon them.

Even those who have joined the Chu camp will consider their retreat.

Regardless of whether the rebels are willing or not, if the King of Chu wants to preserve his current foundation, he must come to Huguang to fight a decisive battle with him.

The troops were gathered in Jiangxi, but the main battlefield was in Huguang.

The reallocation of huge amounts of logistical supplies is a laborious and costly task.

No matter how prosperous the area under your rule is, it will be in great trouble after going through all this trouble.

"This battle report is too shocking. Could it be a conspiracy of the enemy?"

After waving his hand to signal others to leave, Li Yuan asked in confusion.

It was really surprising that a strategic location like Changsha was captured so dramatically.

If he hadn't considered Li Mu's face, he would have wanted to say that the people below had made a mistake.

An accident occurred during the intelligence transmission process, resulting in distortion of the intelligence content.

Similar blunders have occurred many times in history.

"Won't!
Our rapid advance to Hengyang was itself a military miracle.

The surprise attack on Changsha was a decision I made on the spur of the moment. No one knew about it beforehand, and it was impossible for the rebels to make arrangements in advance.

Even if the enemy has a conspiracy, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, Changsha Prefecture has fallen into our hands, and the focus from now on is defense.

A new round of war will begin only after Hengyang Prefecture is captured and the Xiangjiang waterway is controlled and the main force has reunited.

As long as the rebels are not stupid, they will try their best to mobilize troops and defend Yuezhou Prefecture.

If nothing unexpected happens, the rebels besieging Jingzhou will immediately retreat to Yuezhou.

Now we just need to pass the message on, and the government troops from all over Huguang will take the initiative to contact us.

If the rebels are slow to act, we will continue to move northward to capture Yuezhou Prefecture, control the Yangtze River waterway, and cut off their connection with the rebels in Shu.

If Wei Ni brings the main force here, then we will wait here for now.

When they are ready, we will turn around and start the Jiangxi Campaign."

After listening to Li Mu's explanation, Li Yuan became more confused.

He could understand these strategic arrangements if he took them apart separately.

Putting them together, I am left confused.

Looking at the map on the wall, he really had no way to connect Li Mu's strategic layout together.

There is a mountain range between Jiangxi and Huguang.

Although the road is not impassable, it is definitely not in good condition.

When attacking Jiangxi from Huguang, the best option is still to capture Yuezhou first and then go south along the Yangtze River.

"There is only one garrison in Guangdong right now. If we want to launch a battle in Jiangxi, I'm afraid we won't be able to meet the challenge, right?"

Li Yuan asked with a frown.

There is no strategic problem in advancing from Guangdong to Jiangxi, but the problem is the lack of troops.

No matter how weak the enemy is internally, it cannot be solved by 10,000 government troops.

"Uncle, you overestimate the rebels.

The enemy has gathered hundreds of thousands of troops in Jiangxi, and the strategic materials they need are not just a little bit.

In addition to conscripting a large number of civilians for transportation, a large amount of supplies must have been stockpiled in Ganzhou Prefecture.

These things cannot be easily transported away with just a strategic transfer.

The Battle of Jiangxi was not about how many cities were captured or how much land was taken.

When necessary, the garrison troops can be ordered to fly the flags of other towns, pretending to be the main force to scare the enemy and mislead the enemy's judgment.

When it comes to logistical security, as long as war breaks out on the Jiangxi front, the enemy commander will inevitably panic.

It's easy to get into trouble if you panic.

We just need to keep putting pressure on the enemy so that they will panic and make more wrong decisions.”

Li Mu explained with a smile.

True and false, false and true.

Before the war was over, even Li Mu himself was not sure what was real and what was fake on the battlefield. The reason why he dared to make such a layout was mainly based on his strength.

No one has stipulated that the troops pretending to be recruited soldiers by the garrison troops cannot have the combat effectiveness of recruited soldiers.

Which of the two battlefields becomes the main battlefield depends entirely on how the situation changes.

When the main force of the rebels was in Jiangxi, Huguang was the main battlefield.

Since the main force of the rebels has arrived in Huguang, Jiangxi will become the main battlefield.

Underestimating the military power at his disposal was the biggest mistake the rebels could make.

But there are some mistakes that cannot be made on the battlefield.

If the rebels simply defended themselves and did not concentrate their forces to fight a decisive battle with him, it would take at least two to three years to recover the lost territory.

If the internal centripetal force is strong, some cities that are easy to defend and difficult to attack may be able to hold out for three to five years.

Wei Ni was willing to sacrifice himself and delayed his progress.

Maybe other rebel forces can really undergo a complete transformation during this period and launch a northern expedition to destroy Dayu.

By then, with the momentum of the world's situation at hand, there will be great hope of unifying the world.

However, this is an idealized state.

The Holy White Lotus Kingdom has not split, and perhaps it is still possible to complete integration.

Since we have split up, we are destined to each take care of our own business.

If you don't stab each other in the back, then you are an excellent ally.

……

Nanchang Mansion.

"impossible!"

"This is impossible!"

"The puppet army has just conquered Yongzhou, and there is still Hengyang Prefecture in between. The enemy army should be worried about attacking Hengyang at this moment.

Even if that villain Li Mu dared to divide his troops, there were 20,000 troops in Changsha City. How could it be lost so quickly?
......"

Looking at the battle report, Wei Jiarui couldn't help but roar.

After so many years of fighting in the south and the north, he is also knowledgeable.

Having experienced all kinds of bizarre battles, his psychological endurance has long been trained.

But the content of the battle report once again refreshed his cognition.

If we calculate the time, Changsha City was lost when the order to rush to Hengyang arrived at the surrounding prefectures.

In less than seven days, the government troops marched all the way from Yongzhou to Changsha and captured the city.

This is not a war, it's clearly an armed march.

Wei Jiarui got furious and all the ministers lowered their heads one after another.

The way the war turned out was beyond everyone's expectations.

“Your Highness, perhaps the battle report was written incorrectly, and the enemy’s attack on Changsha was written as the capture of Changsha.

However, the puppet army was advancing with great force, and Yongzhou and Hengyang were unable to serve as a barrier. The small number of defenders in Changsha were probably also unable to provide sufficient strength.

For the strategic security of Da Chu, we must adjust our strategy in a timely manner to ensure Huguang..."

Halfway through his words, seeing that Wei Jiarui's face was becoming increasingly ugly, Fang Kecheng decisively chose to shut up.

The Minister of War of Chu State held far less power than that of Dayu.

But as the Minister of War, he still needs to take responsibility for the defeat on the front line.

The King of Chu is angry now, so he dare not provoke him.

"Adjusting strategy, you sound easy?"

"For this war, we mobilized the whole country's forces and recruited millions of civilians.

It took a huge amount of manpower, financial resources and material resources to transport the strategic materials to the front line.

As early as five days ago, the army had already set out, and the vanguard troops had even arrived at the Ganzhou front line.

According to the original plan, we will launch an attack on Guangdong tomorrow.

If we suddenly change our strategy now, all our previous efforts will be wasted!"

Wei Jiarui scolded immediately.

The initial investment cost is really too huge.

The sunk costs of suddenly canceling the original plan are really too high.

But the current conditions do not allow for launching an attack.

If we continue to implement the original plan, it would be good if we can successfully take over Guangdong and Guangxi. The worst that can happen is that we will have to move to another place.

It is strategically worthwhile to connect Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangxi and Zhejiang and have a stable rear area.

The fear is that before Guangdong and Guangxi are taken over, Huguang will be lost first.

The puppet dynasty did not expand its military in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian on a large scale. The main problem was money and food.

If you don’t have money, you can still find a way, but if you don’t have food, there is really nothing you can do.

It is a miracle in itself that three provinces that cannot be self-sufficient in food can feed a standing army of 100,000.

No matter how hard we try, this upper limit of military strength cannot be increased until the food problem is solved.

Once the government troops recaptured Huguang, the situation changed.

As long as you have food, you can recruit soldiers even if you have no money.

"Your Majesty, in extraordinary times, extraordinary things should be done.

Even if the pseudo-dynasty conquered Changsha, the next step would inevitably be to attack Yuezhou Prefecture.

There are still remnants of the pseudo-dynasty in Dongting Lake, fighting against the royal army.

In Jingzhou Prefecture, there was even a group of slaughtered troops stationed there.

If the thief Li Mu were allowed to seize Yuezhou, they would be linked up with the remnants of the pseudo-dynasty in Huguang.

By then, our Great Chu will be divided into two by the enemy army, and those remnants of the previous dynasty hiding in the dark will also become active.

All the prefectures west of the Xiang River will become precarious, and half of the country will be at risk!"

Prime Minister Chang Junyi hurriedly persuaded.

When it comes to the safety of half of the country, now is not the time to act on impulse.

The Great Chu was able to support an army of one million, not only because of the wealth of Jiangxi and Zhejiang, but also because of the food provided by Huguang.

With the granary of Huguang, they are the powerful force that has the opportunity to compete for the world.

Once Huguang is lost, at least two-thirds of the current million-strong army will be cut.

The situation in Jiangxi is relatively better, but Zhejiang is a mountainous province, and the price of its prosperous industry and commerce is the lack of food self-sufficiency.

For the newly born State of Chu, what was lost was not Huguang, but the country and the people.

"Humph!"

“Of course, this king knows these issues.

But the army has already headed south. Even if I come down immediately and ask them to turn around, I'm afraid it will be too late.

You have all experienced how quickly that villain Li Mu deploys his troops.

Can the defenders of Yuezhou Prefecture hold out until reinforcements arrive?"

Wei Jiarui said unhappily.

If it were before, he would definitely not have had such worries.

Although the defenders of Yuezhou numbered only 8,000, it was not so easy for the enemy to capture them.

It’s different now. After experiencing the fall of Changsha, his fear of Li Mu has been awakened.

He didn't dare to dream of using 8,000 defenders to stop Li Mu's attack.

"Your Majesty, we can transfer some of the troops stationed in Wuchang to deal with the emergency.

At the same time, he asked the State of Wu for help and asked them to let their troops in Huguang join the war.

I think they should understand the principle of "the lips are cold and the teeth are cold".

We exchanged Wuchang Prefecture from the King of the East at a huge cost, and we must make full use of it.

If the foundation of Huguang is really lost, then we will abandon the cities along the Yangtze River, open up the Yangtze River route, and allow the puppet army to go down the river to take Nanjing!"

……

(End of this chapter)