Fu Shanhe

Chapter 52 Rebels Attack
In August in the south of the Yangtze River, the scorching sun is burning the earth.

The continued high temperatures, coupled with the impact of the plum rain season, make the Lianghuai region like a big steamer.

The bad weather brought a lot of trouble to the army that was suppressing the rebellion.

"Set up camp!"

Seeing the soldiers sweating profusely, Jing Guoliang gave the order helplessly.

Marching twenty miles a day, a snail-like pace, would make people laugh if the news got out.

But there was no way, as too many soldiers suffered from heatstroke along the way.

If we forcibly maintain high-intensity marches, the number of non-combat casualties will reach a terrifying level.

In this military operation, the imperial court took everything into consideration except the fact that the northern soldiers were not adapted to the climate of the Yangtze and Huaihe River regions.

“Brother Jing, the situation is not good.

Zuo Guangen has sent someone to urge us again. The rebels are besieging Huai'an Prefecture, and our internal minister can no longer sit still!"

Zhenyuan Hou Li Yuan joked with a smile.

Although he said the situation was not good, there was no trace of panic on his face.

In this world of competition, it doesn’t matter how strong you are, as long as your opponent is bad enough.

The rebels seemed to be powerful, but in fact they were fighting each other.

The Jianghuai family only ignited the fire of rebellion, but did not exercise strict control over the people below.

After taking control of the army, the salt-keeping chieftains who were dependent on them were no longer as obedient as before.

"My dear brother, your mouth is still so sharp.

When did this internal minister offend you? Why don't I remember it?"

Duke Chengguo Jing Guoliang responded with a smile.

It has never been a secret that the noble group looked down on the eunuch party.

In the past years, they have seen too many favored eunuchs, but few of them had a good ending.

The title of "Inner Prime Minister" is not an easy one to get. The fate of the previous prime minister in the Dayu Dynasty was that his entire family was executed.

In the eyes of the old nobles, the famous Zuo Guangen was already a dead man with one foot half in the coffin.

Contempt is contempt, but envy and jealousy are also inevitable.

They are obviously the original shareholders, but their voice in politics is not as strong as that of a group of eunuchs.

"Brother Jing, why do you have to ask when you already know the answer?

This internal minister has indeed not offended me, but he has never fulfilled the conditions he promised us!

He holds great power, but he always says that the conditions are not ripe.

Such obvious nonsense, I don't believe that Brother Jing has no ideas!"

Seeing that Li Yuan had brought up the topic, Duke Chengguo Jing Guoliang's face suddenly turned gloomy.

It is impossible not to have resentment. The eunuch party tricked the nobles, but it slapped him hard in the face.

In order to ensure his son's smooth development after entering the Ministry of War, he carried out professional skills training in advance some time ago.

Everything was ready, but the position in the Ministry of War was suddenly gone.

To a certain extent, the reason he chose to lead his troops south this time was because he had lost face in front of his family and could not save his face.

“What can we do if we have ideas? The civil service group strongly opposes our involvement in the six ministries.

Apart from the eunuch party, we can find no collaborators on this issue.

Now the eunuch party is dragging their feet and we can’t force them.

Are you planning to use this opportunity to suppress the rebellion to put pressure on Zuo Guangen?"

Jing Guoliang asked in a panic.

When engaging in political games, we must also consider the overall situation.

If the noble group delays a little in suppressing the rebellion, it may indeed bring disaster to the eunuch party, but they will also suffer heavy losses themselves.

They have paid a lot for the Lianghuai salt industry.

Although those who were sacrificed were an eyesore, they were still our own people.

"Where did Brother Jing go? How can we do such a thing?
It is understandable that the eunuch party dragged their feet on matters concerning the Ministry of War.

The civil service group strongly opposed it, and Zuo Guangen also had to consider the opinions of his subordinates.

What I mean is to use the opportunity of suppressing the rebellion to expand our political influence.

Lianghuai is a good place. After this turmoil, many places will inevitably be vacant.

We don’t care about the civil service positions, but we must find a way to get the military positions that are lacking.”

Li Yuan said calmly. Affected by the hereditary system of military commanders, the actual vacancies of military commanders were quite limited, and most of them were on the front lines of the Nine Frontiers.

The nobles today are no longer as prosperous as they were in the early years of the founding of the country. They have lived a life of luxury for so many years. It would be too difficult to let them go to the border areas and eat dirt.

The Lianghuai region is different. Although the climate may be a little uncomfortable, the place is prosperous.

"Brother, you are right. We really can't give in this time!"

Jing Guoliang said with a serious look.

This time, the noble group is here for the interests of the salt industry. If there is no one watching over them, the people below will definitely not be honest.

The salt tax of the imperial court will be slowly eroded, and their share will naturally be coveted.

……

Yangzhou City.

"The rebels are heading south to Yangzhou?"

Marquis Wuyang asked in a slightly flustered tone.

In recent days, he had made a lot of profits from the salt merchants and was preparing to make further progress, but he did not expect to receive this bad news.

"Commander-in-chief, the news came from the Imperial Guards, so it shouldn't be false.

The imperial army is approaching Huai'an, and the rebels' plan to cut off the grain transport in Huai'an can no longer be completed.

If you don't want to be surrounded and annihilated, you must find a way to break the situation.

Yangzhou overlooks the Yangtze River and Jingkou, is bordered by the vast sea in the south and the Changhuai River in the north.

It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

Judging from the rebels' intentions, they should want to attack Yangzhou and Nanjing in the south, so as to shake up the southeast half of the country!"

Li Mu analyzed seriously.

It is not clear whether the rebels have such a grand strategic plan, but he needs everyone to think that they do.

It is not easy to be a middleman. Simply relying on spending money to smooth relationships does not reflect his importance at all.

"The rebels are coming. What are your plans for dealing with them?"

Marquis Wuyang asked everyone anxiously.

He is just a relative by marriage, and he makes money by playing tricks on people, maybe he is a professional.

This is the first time I lead troops into battle.

The Wucheng Bingmasi is nominally a military unit, but its actual work is mainly focused on maintaining public order and cracking down on organized crime.

He had no idea about his actual combat capabilities.

"The rebels are coming with great force. We should immediately recruit young and strong men to defend the city and send people to ask for help from the Beijing camp."

Zhao Yawei, the captain of the East City, spoke first.

This proposal is quite standard, with no highlights but also nothing to fault with.

Compared with the Lianghuai rebels, the Wucheng Bingmasi were complete outsiders.

It is not easy to gain a foothold, and leaving the city to quell the rebellion is obviously not an option.

"Captain Zhao is right. This is a matter of national security, so we should act prudently!"

The West City Captain immediately followed suit.

The army heading south nominally numbered 5,000, but the only ones who were truly combat-ready were the servants brought along by the sons of noble families.

It accounts for less than half of the total force, two-thirds of which are under the command of these two people.

Strength determines the right to speak, and the opinions of the two of them also represent the mainstream in the military.

"Commander-in-chief, what the two captains said makes sense.

But in addition to seeking help and holding on, we also need to appease the people.

The rebels were able to quickly sweep across the Huai River and Huai River regions largely because they had coerced the local gentry.

In the past days, this group of rebels established connections with many gentry through marriage, teacher-student relationships, and sponsorship of scholars.

Now that they have rebelled, the gentry everywhere are afraid of being purged and have fallen into panic.

If we want to defend Yangzhou City, we must not let the rebels take the gentry over.

I propose that the commander-in-chief, in his capacity as the imperial envoy, issue a notice to reassure the people.

Promise that as long as they draw a clear line between themselves and the rebels and help the army defend Yangzhou City, their crimes will be pardoned!"

Li Mu suggested.

(End of this chapter)