Fu Shanhe

Chapter 346: Another Marriage
Chengdu Prefecture.

Days of fighting had exhausted the defending officers and soldiers both physically and mentally.

With no sign of reinforcements, no matter how the officials tried to boost morale, they could not stop it from falling.

“Governor, the rebels’ offensive is becoming more and more fierce.

Yesterday, 386 soldiers of the defending army were killed and more than 200 were wounded.

I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out for long if we continue to fight like this."

General Zhong Chenliang said with a bitter look on his face.

The number of casualties was greater than the number of wounded, mainly due to the backward medical conditions.

Minor injuries can be simply bandaged, but serious injuries cannot be cured at all.

In order to alleviate the pain and obtain a pension, companions usually help to solve the problem.

The loss of 600 soldiers a day may not seem like a large number, but it was not enough to prevent Chengdu from being besieged by the rebels for more than half a year.

If the rebels had not stopped attacking the city due to weather reasons, they would not have been able to hold out until now.

"Where is the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition army at?"

Xu Wenyue asked with a frown.

The power of the Dayu Dynasty declined, and its control over the local areas was gradually weakening.

A few years ago, when he gave an order, troops from all over the country immediately took action.

Now the situation has changed, and the people under him have begun to selectively carry out the orders of the governor.

The local chieftains and their troops in Shu refused to send troops to reinforce Chengdu Prefecture, claiming that the rebels were blocking the road.

The Yunnan-Guizhou Allied Forces accepted the order, but were blocked by rebels during the execution.

After a fierce battle between the two sides, the Yunnan-Guizhou Allied Forces, which suffered a loss, suddenly became sluggish.

It was originally agreed to launch an attack on Chongqing Prefecture, forcing the rebels to send troops to support and lift the siege of Chengdu.

As a result, after several months of hard work, the situation is still getting minor.

"Lord, the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces are still in Luzhou Prefecture and have not launched an attack on Chongqing.

There has been no news from the envoys we sent out.

They seemed to be deliberately avoiding us and did not want to carry out the order to attack Chongqing."

Lu Junliang replied with a gloomy expression.

The location of Chongqing Prefecture is very critical. Only by taking over the eastern gate and opening up the passage to Huguang can we obtain reinforcements.

This is the best route for the imperial court to reinforce Sichuan.

Otherwise, you can only go to Hanzhong and Guizhou instead.

The road to Shu is difficult, harder than climbing to the sky, and this is no joke.

Taking a detour would be fine, the key is that it is impossible to use the Yangtze River route to provide logistical support for the army.

Not only is transportation difficult, but Guizhou and Shaanxi are both poor and suffering from a severe food shortage.

The reason why the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces quickly entered Sichuan was largely because the local government wanted to reduce its own financial burden.

By this point in the war, Shu, with many prefectures lost, was no longer able to provide logistical support for more troops.

"Bastard thing!"

“The world is in ruins because of this bunch of bastards!

......"

Xu Wenyue couldn't help but curse.

Using Chengdu as bait, they lured the main force of the rebels to attack and siege them, thus covering the government troops' recapture of Chongqing.

The plan was well-made, but the teammates below were stupid.

The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces failed to capture Chongqing Prefecture as scheduled, but exposed all of his strategic layout.

Even if the rebels didn't react for a while, they should have come to their senses by now.

Next, the defense of Chongqing will inevitably be strengthened to leave no opportunity for the government troops to take advantage.

We finally reached a deal with the noble group in exchange for their sending troops to reinforce Shu, but now it's all in vain.

They did not reap any of the benefits of the government troops' recovery of Huguang.

"Mr. Ge, calm down!"

"We can't rely on the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces, so we must adjust our plan to defend Chengdu Prefecture.

Without reinforcements, the soldiers and civilians in the city won’t be able to hold out for long.”

The governor Li Yongliang persuaded him tactfully.

The geographical location of Chengdu Prefecture determines that if the city is defended for too long, it will be lost.

There have been countless battles to defend Chengdu in history, and only a handful of cities could hold out for half a year without reinforcements.

They have been holding out for more than half a year. If they continue to hold out, it is only a matter of time before they fall.

“Even if we can’t defend it, we have to defend it.

Just one day to hold on.

I have decided to live and die with the city. If you want to leave, just break out of the city on your own!"

Xu Wenyue refused decisively.

From a rational point of view, the best option is to voluntarily abandon Chengdu Prefecture and retreat to the northwest Sichuan region to continue resistance.

However, such an approach is politically fatal.

Whoever issues the order to retreat will bear enormous political pressure.

The most important thing is that even if we want to withdraw now, we may not be able to withdraw our troops.

If we are not careful, the retreat will turn into a major rout.

Xu Wenyue knew what kind of people the defenders in the city were.

If they maintain strict discipline and can take turns to provide cover for an orderly evacuation, they will be able to defend Chengdu Prefecture.

Retreating at this time has no real significance other than providing the city's powerful and wealthy with a legal opportunity to escape.

"Mr. Ge, calm down!"

"Thanks to your majesty's grace, we are able to govern this area.

Failure to protect the country and the people is already a serious sin.

How can we abandon the city and flee at this critical moment?"

Seeing Xu Wenyue getting angry, everyone hurriedly stated their stance.

To put it nicely, it's "breaking out on one's own", to put it bluntly, it's "deserting".

Dayu never shows mercy to deserters.

Not only will you lose your head, but your family will also be implicated.

Especially in the context of the governor choosing to die for his country, the consequences would be even more serious if they ran away.

The situation in Shu collapsed, and the blame for the fall of Chengdu will most likely be placed on them.

Given Emperor Yongning's style, if they were escorted to the capital, they might be skinned alive.

……

Guangzhou Prefecture.

Since confirming that his wife was pregnant, Li Mu has almost become a full-time caregiver, in addition to taking time out every day to handle government affairs.

Under the pavilion, Li Mu and his wife were enjoying the maid playing the piano.

The melodious and graceful piano sounds float into your ears like the sounds of nature, making your heart rippling and your body and mind relaxed.

"Admiral, the Governor-General is here to visit."

The maid's voice disrupted the atmosphere.

"Please!"

Li Mu said helplessly.

Some things are destined to be unavoidable.

Marquis Wuyang came to him personally, and he couldn't just turn the door away.

"Ma'am, I'm going to go take care of myself first, and I'll be back with you later."

After saying that, Li Mu stood up and went to the reception room.

"Wait, husband, change your clothes first."

Jing Yaqing reminded immediately.

Compared with Li Mu, as a traditional lady, she obviously pays more attention to etiquette.

When meeting with subordinates, it doesn’t matter what you wear, no one will find fault with it.

When dealing with your immediate superior, you cannot be so careless.

"it is good!"

Li Mu said reluctantly.

In feudal dynasties, the word "etiquette" ran through the entire society.

There are etiquette and laws everywhere, including food, clothing, housing and transportation.

……

Entering the reception room, Li Mu discovered that there was a young man beside Marquis Wuyang.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and greet your cousin Mu!"

Li Mu was shocked by Marquis Wuyang’s words.

The Li family is a large family, and there are many cousins ​​of the same generation, but after all, their identities and status are different, and not everyone is qualified to call them brothers right away.

Except for his close blood relatives, everyone else would respectfully address him as "Marquis".

Li Mu had seen all these people before, except for the one in front of him. "Greetings, cousin Mu!"

The young man immediately bowed in greeting.

"Governor, who is this?"

Li Mu asked with a puzzled look on his face.

He didn't find it strange that a distant relative of the same generation showed up, but it was different when the Marquis of Wuyang personally introduced him.

"Ha ha……"

“This is my eldest son.

Recently, the Queen Mother had a sudden impulse and acted as a matchmaker to arrange a marriage between my son and your uncle's eldest daughter. It's not too much to call you my cousin, right?"

Marquis Wuyang replied with a smile.

As a latecomer, if you want to quickly integrate into the noble group, the easiest way is political marriage.

The only question is whether the emperor would agree to this group of top nobles.

After all, the power and political resources held by the current noble group are completely not on the same level as those of the noble group a few years ago.

Considering the matchmaker's special identity, Li Mu quickly put these worries aside.

It involves two top noble families. Without the tacit approval of Emperor Yongning, it would be difficult for the empress dowager to succeed even if she wanted to.

The purpose was very simple, to send a political signal to the outside world that the emperor trusted the nobles.

The war to quell the rebellion has entered a critical moment. From the perspective of Emperor Yongning, chaos will never be allowed to occur.

Sending political signals at this time will be conducive to the subsequent suppression of the rebellion.

"Oh!"

"We are all brothers, there is nothing wrong with that!"

Li Mu responded with a smile.

In this age where parents' orders and matchmaker's words are important, if the elders have agreed, then the marriage is settled.

The marriage of his cousin was arranged by the Marquis of Zhenyuan and his wife, so it was not Li Mu's turn to worry about it.

Marquis Wuyang brought his eldest son to see him only to inform him of the result, not to ask for his opinion.

"Since he is one of our own, I will leave him to you to take care of.

I originally wanted him to grow up slowly, but military merit is too rare. If I miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to get military merit again.

He has never been to the battlefield, so you should be more patient and let him follow you to learn a little and gain some military merit.

The son of a noble family is tough and can take a beating. If he doesn't obey, you can beat him up without giving me face."

Marquis Wuyang said frankly.

The issue of distribution of military merits is a deal that was negotiated in advance and can be carried out according to the agreement.

It was just that he was not asked to be responsible for training the "apprentice" at that time. However, since his old boss, Marquis Wuyang, had personally spoken, Li Mu naturally had to agree.

"This is a simple matter. I have three cousins ​​serving in the General's Camp. If you are willing to come, then come with us!"

Li Mu immediately gave an arrangement plan.

A sheep is driven, and a group of sheep is also driven.

How much knowledge you can learn depends entirely on your own talent.

Compared with the old noble families, the Wuyang Marquisate has just started in accumulating military experience.

It is difficult to train an excellent general without natural talent just by relying on the military books widely circulated on the market.

"Okay, that's settled."

“By the way, you have been resting at home recently and may not have noticed that the situation in Shu has become very dangerous.

The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces failed to complete the important task of recovering the gateway to eastern Sichuan, and Xu Ge Lao's plan to lure the enemy put himself in a desperate situation.

The reinforcements sent by the imperial court were stopped by the rebels in Guanzhong just halfway through their journey, and were unable to provide support to Shu for the time being.

The reinforcements sent by Marquis Zhenyuan from Huguang were also blocked outside Kuimen and could not advance into central Sichuan.

In order to not give the rebels a chance to counterattack, His Majesty sent someone to deliver a secret decree, ordering us to wipe out Fu Ni's rebels as soon as possible."

As he spoke, Marquis Wuyang's expression became solemn.

It was true that he had conflicts with Xu Wenyue, but that was only a temporary dispute of personal feelings.

Even if you want to retaliate against the other party, you cannot sacrifice the entire Shu area.

At this moment, the imperial reinforcements could not enter, and Lord Xu, who was trapped in Chengdu Prefecture, could only rely on himself to find ways to save himself.

If you want the imperial court to provide full support, you have to wait until Fu Ni's rebellion is quelled.

The court's strategic layout of first attacking Jiangnan and then Shu was definitely correct.

But for the trapped Xu Ge Lao and his companions, it seemed a bit cruel, as it was equivalent to being abandoned by the court.

Rubbing his forehead, Li Mu groaned inwardly.

He thought that after defeating the Wei rebels, he could hide away in the rear and fully prepare for the expedition to Annan.

From what Marquis Wuyang said, it was obvious that he hoped he could go to the front line again to command the army so that Fu Ni's rebel army could be wiped out in the shortest possible time.

In this case, the time for attacking Annan will definitely be postponed.

"Governor, once the autumn grain is stored in the warehouse, you can lead your troops to personally fight against Fu Ni!

The government troops launched a full-scale attack on the rebels from three routes: Huguang, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, and the guys in Liaodong would also take advantage of the situation to rob.

With four-pronged siege launched simultaneously, the rebels would certainly not be able to withstand it.

Ignore the enemy's movements, and move forward steadily and gradually to reduce the rebels' strategic space for maneuver."

Li Mu thought for a while and said.

He can come up with ideas and help direct battles, but he really has no interest in the position of head coach.

Sometimes too much credit can also be a problem.

Don't promote a few famous generals and downplay your own presence.

It will be difficult to get the job of Zhen Annan later on!
Reason told him that the feudal dynasty could not survive the Little Ice Age.

No matter how hard the civil and military officials of Dayu tried, they had to accept reality in the end in the face of endless natural and man-made disasters.

If the dynasty wanted to survive, it had to either abandon the north and move south, or open up new granaries.

It seems like there are two choices, but in fact there are none.

The background of the Dayu Dynasty determined that it was not a country that could abandon its responsibilities and live in seclusion in a corner just to continue its rule.

With Dayu's current organizational and mobilization capabilities, it would take too long to build a new granary.

If the granaries are not developed, the country may be dragged down first.

After all, the Dayu bureaucracy was too "clean".

They even dare to cut military expenditures, not to mention administrative expenses.

If 20% to 30% of the funds allocated by the imperial court were finally used for practical purposes, it could be considered that the officials had a conscience.

Sometimes, the funds were even divided up by the higher authorities before they even left the capital.

Li Mu's current plot to take over Annan is just to seize the most essential Red River Plain, and then slowly nibble away at it and annex it.

If you swallow Annan whole in one gulp, you will choke to death.

For a local lord, this foundation is enough to establish his own territory.

If we want to fill the food gap in Dayu, it will be just a drop in the bucket.

It is estimated that only by taking over the entire Indochina Peninsula and developing it can we make up for the harvest failure in the northern provinces.

“You can let me be the head coach, but you have to command the army.

This war is too critical, we can only win and not lose.

The three armies fought together, mobilizing a total of 300,000 troops.

We will send troops from Jiangxi, which is right in the center, and will be responsible for coordinating and organizing the coalition forces on both wings.

I don't think I can do it, and your father-in-law and your uncle are equally unsure.

In the entire Great Yu Dynasty, there are only a few people who have commanded a large army in battle, and you are the only one who has won a great victory."

After Marquis Wuyang finished speaking, Li Mu hadn't reacted yet, but Zheng Jiarong next to him was startled.

I originally thought that my father's claim of lack of military talent was just modesty.

After all, the outside world has praised Marquis Wuyang to the sky, and he has a glorious record of military achievements. No matter how you look at it, he is a famous general of the time.

But the scene before him told him that his father really did not have the ability to command a large army in battle, and even the other two noble leaders were equally unsure.

After a brief moment of distraction, Zheng Jiarong instantly understood why his father sent him here to study.

"All right!"

Li Mu agreed with some hesitation.

After all, there is no way to avoid it. Building a strong camp and fighting a stupid battle also requires testing the military ability of the generals.

When 300,000 troops join forces to fight, if the commander is incompetent, he may not even know where his own troops are.

In fact, the commander who commanded the largest number of troops in the Dayu Dynasty was Xu Wenyue when he served as governor-general of five provinces.

However, his military capabilities were limited, and he often encountered problems in mobilizing troops, and suffered many losses at the hands of the rebels.

Fortunately, the rebels at that time also lacked experience in commanding large-scale military operations, and the rookies on both sides fought against each other, so they avoided a complete defeat.

Later, thanks to Li Mu's stabbing the rebels in the back and recovering a large amount of lost territory, the victory of the battle could be barely announced to the outside world.

Compared to before, the current rebels have been transformed.

The rebels have no shortage of men. Previous large-scale military operations often involved hundreds of thousands of troops.

Even if they are just a motley crowd, being able to mobilize the troops also exercises the commander's command ability.

If someone else were to go up there, they might really suffer a great loss.

(End of this chapter)