Fu Shanhe

Chapter 372 The Tiger Falls in Pingyang
“The battle was well fought!

After some slight embellishment, he reported the victory to Marquis Wuyang and the imperial court, and sought credit for the naval officers and soldiers.

The results of the battle were doubled, annihilating an enemy naval battalion and severely damaging the main force of the Annan navy.

In the battle reports submitted to the imperial court, the casualties were exaggerated to make it look like a tragic victory, so as to obtain military funds later.

In their propaganda to the civilian population, they only picked out the battle achievements and deliberately downplayed the war losses.

It is unnecessary to make it too obvious that the Guangxi Governor's Office is responsible for this matter.

Zhang Sihan is a smart man, he knows what to do. "

Li Mu gave the order without changing his expression.

Compared to when he first entered the officialdom, he now has no pressure in editing battle reports.

When naval forces fought, the losers were thrown into the sea to feed the fish. It was impossible to verify military achievements by taking their heads.

The number of enemy warships sunk is usually used as the standard, while the number of enemy soldiers killed can only be roughly calculated as a fictitious number.

The ministers in the imperial court were also confused about the size of the Annan navy.

In the past, the Jinyiwei also provided intelligence, but unfortunately, after the last disbanding of the factory guards, they lost contact with Annan’s spies.

It is impossible to continue because the Guangxi Jinyiwei was responsible for this task in the past.

These people either died in the White Lotus Rebellion or joined the rebels and became part of the rebellion.

The lack of information gave Li Mu an opportunity to operate.

With this good start, it is probably time for the pirates roaming around to take action.

The Annamites could not abandon the long coastline.

Once the enemy navy takes action, it will inevitably have to fight with pirates.

War is not simply a numbers game.

The impact of losing a quarter of the strength on combat effectiveness is definitely not just a quarter.

Military morale will also affect the navy's combat effectiveness.

There are many things that need to be taken into account, but the number of warships is insufficient. Unreasonable scheduling will also affect combat effectiveness.

Even if they take their time, those pirates can still inflict heavy damage on the Annan navy.

If the benefits are great enough, it is not impossible to directly annihilate the main force of the Annan Navy.

It’s ridiculous to think about it. Ever since Dayu gave up his martial arts and burned the treasure ship, the most powerful force in the entire Pacific Ocean turned out to be pirates.

The pirates who were fooled by Li Mu were only a part of them, but they still outnumbered the Annan navy.

"Students, do it now!"

Lan Linjie replied immediately.

The naval victory was a turning point in the Annan War, marking the transition of Dayu from a defensive to an offensive position.

Although the pirates were the first to launch the attack, they could not take credit from the emperor, and the credit would ultimately go to them.

At most, the post-war victory report mentioned that pirates took advantage of the situation and plundered the coast of Annan.

The emperor won't care, and neither will the officials in the court.

As long as we defeat the Kingdom of Annan, our evaluation of it in history books will be raised to a higher level.

The Han and Tang dynasties are the most highly regarded in history. In addition to their glory in the early and middle periods, another important reason is that they were able to defeat foreign races when the princes were divided in the late years of the dynasty.

If Dayu had been able to destroy foreign enemies such as Annan and the Northern Tartar before its fall, its historical evaluation would not be low either.

……

Vietnamese army camp.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Hu Xinbo almost vomited blood in anger.

"Huang Jinchuan is a waste, Ruan Yufeng is a pig, I want to kill him..."

Halfway through his words, Hu Xinbo suddenly got stuck.

There was no way, the Nguyen family was a big family in Annan, and Nguyen Yufeng also came from a prominent family.

They wanted to kill all nine generations of his clan, and as soon as the imperial edict was issued, chaos broke out among the people.

If the Nguyen clan is forced into a corner, they will collude with Dayu and the whole of Annan will have to change hands.

Throughout history, Huang Chao was the only one who dared to slaughter noble families without restraint.

It’s not that the others don’t have the courage, but they are killed before they can complete their plans.

It has been only a few hundred years since Annan broke away from the Central Plains dynasty, but such a ruthless person has not yet emerged.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

“Victory and defeat are common in war.

It was really unexpected that the Yu Dynasty navy disguised as pirates, so it was understandable that Lieutenant General Ruan fell into the trap.

Your Majesty, please show leniency to these people in consideration of the sacrifice made by Lieutenant General Ruan for his country.

As for Admiral Huang, there was nothing wrong with him sending troops to rescue in a timely manner in this battle.

I suggest that we just reprimand them.

At this time, the court should not start a war!"

Chen Chuyang hurriedly persuaded.

The emperor led the army in person, and all the officials stayed behind to command the troops. The highest-ranking civil servant who followed him was the Minister of War.

When faced with something like this, he had no choice but to step forward.

It is easy to deal with the persons responsible, but the problem is how to fight the battle after accountability.

Not everyone can serve as a naval admiral.

Judging from past battle records, the deceased Ruan Yufeng was the best successor to the admiral.

Of course, when the imperial court appointed military generals, it not only looked at their military achievements, but also considered their political influence.

The Nguyen clan had too much influence in the court. They occupied two seats among the six ministers of the ministries alone, and there were countless other important officials.

The in-laws involved are almost everywhere in the court.

If they really want to exterminate all nine generations of your clan, then stop fighting and go back to focus on party struggles.

In essence, the Kingdom of Annan was a country where the royal family and aristocratic families ruled the world together.

To kill the aristocratic families is tantamount to betraying the foundation of rule.

"Humph!"

"I am willing to give them another chance, but I am afraid that some people may not be able to seize it.

The navy has lost a battalion of main forces. Are they confident of defeating the Yu Dynasty navy in the future?"

Hu Xinbo asked, suppressing his anger.

Even if the battle reports had been artistically processed, he knew that in this naval battle, the Yu Dynasty at most dispatched the navy of Guangdong and Guangxi.

If they came out in full force, it would be impossible for them to just wipe out one battalion of their navy and give up.

The Dai Viet Dynasty was already at a disadvantage in terms of the number of naval forces, and after the defeat the gap between the two sides would only widen.

If the navy cannot guarantee coastal security, it means that the enemy can launch attacks from the sea.

More than two hundred years ago, when the Yu Dynasty army attacked, they launched an attack from the sea.

With previous experience in mind, he had to be on guard.

"Your Majesty, defeating the Yu Dynasty navy will be quite difficult.

However, Admiral Huang is a brave warrior who should be able to defend the coastal areas and ensure that important ports are not lost."

Chen Chuyang replied nervously.

He had no idea whether he could defeat Yu's army.

From the outbreak of the war to now, none of the intelligence they had about the Yu army was accurate.

Whether it was the navy or the land force, the Yu army was much stronger than expected.

Ding Weiqi, the former envoy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs who was responsible for collecting intelligence, had been ordered to be executed by the emperor for this reason.

All kinds of dirty laundry about the Tongzhengsi Yamen were dug out one after another.

It's all due to corruption. After peeling off layers of evidence, it was found that the intelligence personnel at the lower levels simply did not have enough funding.

The person in charge of gathering intelligence in Dayu has been working in Thang Long City, and more than 90% of his subordinate intelligence personnel are vacancies.

A few of them were actually appointed to work within the Dai Viet Dynasty.

The reported information was mainly obtained from merchants, shop assistants and sailors traveling to Dayu.

How far you are from the truth is all up to luck.

If he couldn't collect any intelligence, he would just write it himself, writing whatever the emperor and the officials liked to read.

Influenced by the court’s political propaganda, in the minds of the younger generation of officials, the Dayu Dynasty was a big fat sheep.

As a result, the top leaders saw Dayu weakened countless times. After seeing so much, they gradually stopped taking the warnings left by their ancestors seriously.

Wrong perception is the key to triggering this war.

"I don't want to hear this kind of ambiguous nonsense. Tell Huang Jinchuan to protect the coastline of Dayue for me.

To ensure that nothing goes wrong, the Ministry of War should come up with a feasible plan as soon as possible to prevent the enemy from launching an attack from the sea."

Hu Xinbo gave the order coldly.

His intuition told him that the Yu army would definitely launch an attack from the sea.

But knowing is one thing, and wanting to prevent it is another.

The main forces of the Dai Viet Dynasty are all on the front lines, and the number of troops left behind in the country is limited.

Even if we send the army back immediately, it will probably not be in time.

What's more, dividing the troops is a high-risk task, and the enemy will take advantage of you if you are not careful.

He would not take risks unless it was absolutely necessary.

"The minister obeys the order!"

After receiving the imperial edict, Chen Chuyang felt numb all over.

The coastline of Dai Viet is extremely long, and it would require too many troops to prevent the enemy from launching an attack from the sea.

When the Yu army invaded, they landed directly in North Vietnam and launched an attack on Hanoi, which was an area that had not been developed in other places.

After more than two hundred years of efforts, although North Vietnam is still the center, many areas in central and southern Vietnam have also been developed.

If the enemy wishes, they can launch an attack from any port.

The long and narrow national border meant that if the Yu army wanted to, they would only need a small amount of troops to split them in half.

Anyone with a little military knowledge knows what it means for a country to be cut in half.

By then, if Dayu gives a little encouragement, who knows how many ambitious people will take advantage of the situation.

The Minister of War groaned, and all the military generals felt their scalps tingling as well.

The tunnel-digging method of attacking the city is not as useful as expected.

If you encounter huge rocks along the way, you can only take a detour, and you will get lost if you are not careful.

The first tunnel dug, due to lack of relevant experience and poor depth control, directly penetrated the moat.

All the previous efforts were in vain.

After learning from their failure, they deliberately increased the depth of the tunnel, at the cost of extremely slow progress.

The slow progress is fine, but the key is that no one can tell exactly where the excavation has reached.

Even if we were lucky enough to dig under the enemy's wall and were not discovered by the enemy, it would still be unknown whether we could blow up the wall.

But no one could say these words to the emperor.

After all, it is easier to raise objections than to come up with solutions.

No matter how unreliable the tactics are, they are better than having no tactics and directly attacking the city.

Throughout history, with the exception of the weak Song Dynasty which ceded territory after winning the battle, they rarely gained any advantage over the Central Plains dynasties.

……

After taking a lingering look at the palace, Fu Haoxuan suppressed his grief and mounted his warhorse.

"burn!"

If you can't get it yourself, you can't let the enemy get it either.

Those who can survive in troubled times are definitely not merciful.

In order to hasten the journey, all the concubines, including their newborn children, were executed.

Not only the emperor, but all the ministers also dealt with their families.

I don’t know whether there is any hidden tricks in secret, but on the surface, the top leaders of Da Wu have demonstrated their determination through practical actions.

The fire was blazing and the whole of Nanjing was crying.

Under the illumination of the flames, Wu's army marched out of Nanjing City in a mighty force and began a strategic shift.

In the evening, Wu army camp.

"Your Majesty, please eat something!"

Seeing that the emperor looked unwell, Yang Jingren couldn't help but persuade him.

Since leaving Nanjing, Fu Haoxuan became taciturn and did not drink or drink a drop of water for the entire day.

"I can't eat!"

Fu Haoxuan said slowly.

It can be seen that giving up Nanjing was a huge blow to him.

The gap from being the king of a country to being a stray dog ​​is not something that ordinary people can bear.

"Your Majesty, no matter what, you can't not eat!"

“If you don’t eat, the soldiers won’t be able to eat either.

There are still tough battles ahead. If things continue like this, the morale of the army will be broken!"

Yu Ruiyu followed up and persuaded.

For hundreds of thousands of Wu army soldiers, Fu Haoxuan himself is the biggest backbone.

The emperor is in this state now, which has a huge impact on the people around him.

Some speculators who defected to the State of Wu now realized that they had made the wrong bet and have secretly begun planning to change jobs.

"You think too much, they probably want me to die.

Especially those soldiers whose families are in Yingtian Prefecture, who just launched a coup the day before yesterday.

If I hadn't suppressed it in time, I, the emperor, would have become a prisoner."

Fu Haoxuan said in a low voice.

Originally he thought he was strong enough to face any situation calmly.

As it turned out, he overestimated himself.

The loss of cities and territories, the murder of his wife and children, the mutiny of soldiers, a series of events combined together finally brought him to the brink of collapse.

“Your Majesty, they represent nothing.

If you choose to fight for the world, you must be prepared to face all kinds of difficulties.

A temporary setback does not mean permanent failure.

Emperor Gaozu of Han and Emperor Taizu of Yu are the best examples. In the process of conquering the world, they were also chased all over the world. "

Yang Jingren hurriedly persuaded.

He saw the situation in Wu State and was worried about it.

The choice of strategic shift was completely forced.

Whether you can break out depends 30% on your strength and 70% on luck.

If the emperor cannot cheer himself up, then this war will be impossible to fight.

"Don't worry, I won't be defeated that easily.

For a commoner like me, being able to sit on the throne for so long is already a blessing.

When we first started the uprising in Guangxi, we never thought that one day we would be able to capture Nanjing.

Even if I didn't keep it, I have sat on the throne, so my life was worth it!

The Pseudo Dynasty wants to kill me. Even if I die, I will make them lose their teeth!

Ask the servants to bring in a roast chicken. I want to eat."

Fu Haoxuan slapped his thigh and said.

After a brief period of confusion, he found himself again, the person who was willing to sacrifice his life to bring down the emperor.

“Your Majesty, I’m afraid it’s a bit difficult to roast the chicken.

In order to travel as quickly as possible, you had previously ordered that all unnecessary things be discarded and only carry some dry food.

Otherwise, I will arrange for someone to go..."

Before Yan Ruiyu could finish speaking, Fu Haoxuan interrupted him with a wave of his hand.

"Forget it, we are just running for our lives now, there is no need to be particular.

Roast chicken, it’s not too late to eat it after we cross the Yangtze River!”

……

(End of this chapter)