Fu Shanhe

Chapter 549 War breaks out
Kingdom of Myanmar.

"Is this the kind of war you've been fighting?"

Looking at the battle report in his hand, the Burmese king couldn't help but question it sternly.

The long-planned war between Myanmar and Burma officially began after the start of spring.

The two sides had just clashed when the result was completely unexpected.

The defenses of the Kingdom of Burma are as flimsy as paper.

Despite having a five-fold numerical advantage, the Yu army routed them in less than three days.

The Kingdom of Myanmar has clashed with Yu's army before. A few years ago, due to border conflicts, they even fought a battle with Yu's army stationed in Yunnan.

In the last war, the two sides were evenly matched, with one side even having the upper hand at one point.

However, at that time, the Annam Protectorate had already swept across the Indochina Peninsula, posing a serious threat to them on their flanks.

Fearing that they would be unable to withstand the escalation of the conflict, the Kingdom of Burma, which had temporarily gained the upper hand, chose to withdraw while they were ahead.

The same Yu army, which could fight the enemy to a standstill a few years ago, now can't even put up a fight.

It should be noted that in order to block the advance of the Annam Protectorate, the Kingdom of Burma deployed heavily armed firearms units in the border region.

Judging solely from the outcome, this strategic investment was undoubtedly a failure.

"Your Majesty, the enemy is far too fierce."

Compared to the guns and cannons in Yu Jun's hands, the things we have are more like fire pokers.

"It must be those Westerners, deliberately selling us defective products to make exorbitant profits!"

Min Aung Lai said indignantly.

The defeat on the battlefield was caused by many factors, but as the head of the government office in charge of the army, he certainly couldn't say that his troops were poorly trained or that his generals were incompetent.

Using guns and cannons as a pretext and blaming the Westerners is undoubtedly the best option.

It's not exactly a lie; there is indeed a significant gap between the two sides in terms of weaponry and equipment.

It wasn't that Westerners deliberately cheated them; it was mainly because the colonies themselves didn't have many good products.

In order to assemble the weapons in a short time and complete the deal, the arms dealers even found new suppliers in Dayu.

It's normal for there to be performance differences since it's essentially a repackaged product.

Moreover, this gap is relative.

Apart from the Yu army of Annam Protectorate, the weapons and equipment of Yu armies in other regions may not be as good as these outdated items.

The colonies' weaponry, and only some of their weapons, was slightly better than these.

"Humph!"

"General Min Aung Hlaing, do you even believe such nonsense yourself?"

"Even without guns and cannons, if they had just used swords and spears to defend the city, it wouldn't have collapsed so quickly!"

O'Sullivan immediately retorted sarcastically.

It's understandable to shirk responsibility after a defeat.

While shifting the blame to the Westerners, Kemin Aung Lai also dragged him into it.

After all, he was in charge of the entire process of purchasing guns and cannons from Westerners.

If the purchased goods are a bunch of defective products, the person in charge will also be held responsible.

For his own benefit, he had no choice but to stand up and refute it.

"Prime Minister, I understand your feelings."

But to make such unfounded accusations against the brave Burmese soldiers is going too far.

The enemy forces on the other side were personally led by the Marquis of Hanshui, the number one general of the Yu Dynasty.

They have dominated the battlefield for over a decade, always invincible, and defeating opponents many times their size is the norm for them.

If you haven't heard of him, I can copy down his record and send it to you later!

Min Aung Rae retorted without changing her expression.

In East Asia, losing to the top general of the Great Yu Empire is not a shameful thing.

Learning from history, over the past few hundred years, the troublesome neighbors around us have all been beaten up by the Yu Dynasty people.

If the previous dynasty hadn't foolishly invaded Dayu and been decimated, there wouldn't be the present Kingdom of Myanmar.

Given this historical context, the fact that they lost to the better-equipped Yu army on the battlefield does not prove that their troops were incompetent.

At the very least, after their defeat, they successfully withdrew half of their forces.

Although Li Mu never appeared on the front lines, that didn't stop him from being used as a shield.

……

"enough!"

"You are ministers of the kingdom, not commoners from outside. If you want to argue, go outside and argue!"

Seeing that the two were arguing endlessly and were about to fight each other in court, the Burmese king was also furious.

They were in complete chaos on the battlefield, and they were also restless in the imperial court.

After suffering defeats at the front, instead of thinking about how to salvage the situation, they just blamed and shirked responsibility.

With such a troublesome bunch of underlings, how can we possibly fight against the Great Yu Empire?

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

Upon seeing the Burmese king's outburst, the courtiers spoke in unison.

Where there are people, there is conflict, and the Kingdom of Myanmar is no exception to party strife.

There were many people in the country who opposed the war against Yu.

After all, they have lived in the shadow of the Great Yu Dynasty since birth.

They might make a few boastful remarks normally, but when it comes to actually starting a war with the Great Yu, everyone is really unsure.

The last war with the Yu Dynasty was just a small-scale border conflict, which was secretly instigated by the Duke of Qian's mansion in order to seize power.

Neither side exerted their full strength on the battlefield.

Now we are facing the Marquis of Hanshui, whose life story is one of the many states he destroyed.

Once you've gotten involved, there's no going back.

Those who earned their titles through military exploits on the battlefield possessed combat prowess far superior to that of established nobles who inherited their titles.

Unfortunately, their own king was a troublemaker. Before the peace faction could even make their move, he had already made contact with the Westerners, preparing to join forces to give the Great Yu a severe beating.

In order to cut off the path to peace talks, they even ordered the execution of Yu Dynasty merchants and blocked trade routes between the two countries.

In the past, during the Great Yu Dynasty, the death of a few merchants and the closure of border trade would not have been a big deal.

The situation was completely different when Li Mu led the Annam Protectorate.

As things stand now, customs duties have become the most important source of revenue for the Protectorate Government, almost on par with salt tax.

Driven by interests, the Protectorate General's office attached great importance to maintaining smooth trade routes and protecting the personal safety of legitimate merchants.

The Burmese king's actions have touched two major minefields.

Shortly after the incident, the two sides entered a state of full-scale war, leaving no room for maneuver.

Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, the peace faction could only mutter curses and prepare for war.

"Humph!"

"The enemy has come knocking on our door, and you're still busy fighting amongst yourselves."

Do you expect to understand the bigger picture only when the enemy forces reach the capital?

The King of Burma immediately reprimanded him.

The defeat on the battlefield put him under immense pressure.

Despite the seemingly overwhelming force of the Yu army, the Annam Protectorate has only deployed tens of thousands of troops so far.

Compared to the enemy's hundreds of thousands of standing troops, the current combat force is only one-tenth of that.

If they can't even stop these enemies, the consequences will only be more serious once the Annam Protectorate sends reinforcements.

Despite the promises from the Westerners that they would find a way to tie down half of the Annam Protectorate's forces in Southeast Asia.

The Burmese king did not believe a single word of their promises.

Boasting is easy, but the problem is, what will you use to restrain them?

The Southeast Asian region is full of islands, and even when Westerners personally went to war with the Annam Protectorate, it was mainly a naval battle.

Landing is impossible. If a war really breaks out, the Westerners' small force in Southeast Asia wouldn't even be enough to fill the enemy's teeth.

"Your Majesty, the Westerners are exaggerating the capabilities of their army."

Since they themselves boast that they can defeat an enemy force ten times their size on the battlefield, let's give them a chance.

We also invited representatives from various countries to the front lines to watch the battle.

In addition, we also need to urge the Mughal Empire.

The fighting at the front is intense, and we urgently need reinforcements.

Min Aung Lai immediately made the suggestion.

It's not enough for our own people to suffer losses; we must involve our allies as well.

If the Westerners were truly as formidable as they boasted, and had defeated Yu's army on the main battlefield, then everyone would be happy.

If these Western soldiers also suffered losses against Yu's army, then there would be a scapegoat for the previous defeats.

Although trying to shift blame during a crisis may seem disregard the bigger picture, politics can be ruthless.

Between considering the overall situation and protecting himself, he had to protect himself first.

"it is good!"

There's an old saying among the people of Yu: "Whether it's a mule or a horse, take it out for a spin."

The kingdom has exhausted all its resources for this war; now it is time for its allies to lend a hand!

The King of Burma decisively gave the order.

The Eastern world doesn't have mercenaries, so it's likely that the people of the Yu Dynasty couldn't distinguish between the two.

As long as Western soldiers appear on the battlefield, there is a chance that the enemy will mistakenly believe that European countries are participating in the war.

With the pride of the Great Yu Empire, it would never easily back down just because the enemy outnumbered it.

If they had known that European countries were involved in the war, they might very well have attacked them all together.

Dragging allies into the mess may be somewhat unethical, but it's undeniably practical.

With more teammates sharing the enemy's firepower, the Kingdom of Myanmar had a chance to win this war against a vastly unequal power.

……

Nanjing City.

"Bastard!"

"Outrageous!"

"The imperial court has actually issued such an outrageous edict; it is simply an insult to civilization!"

……

Full of anger, when it finally reached their lips, everyone embarrassingly realized that they only knew a few swear words.

Such a polite greeting clearly failed to convey his anger.

But a great scholar is still a great scholar; he needs to pay attention to etiquette and cannot act like a shrew who curses in the street.

Judging from the content of the imperial edict, it was clear that the emperor was entrusting the emperor with an important mission.

They were not only authorized to go south to help the Annam Protectorate establish a sound civil service examination system, but they were also allowed to participate in the construction of local government offices of the Annam Protectorate.

Nominally, they were all imperial envoys wielding great power, representing the court to regulate the political system of the Annam Protectorate.

To legitimize their status, the imperial court bestowed upon them a host of titles, granting them considerable power and influence.

Concerned that they were getting old, the court thoughtfully reassigned their students who were serving in the court to work under its command.

Everything seemed perfect, but the problem was that the Annam Protectorate was a special case, not an ordinary local government office in the Great Yu Dynasty.

All military and political power was concentrated in the hands of the Marquis of Hanshui, and there was no one to check or balance him.

If the other party is willing to cooperate, they will be high-ranking imperial envoys who can wield great power and influence in the local area.

Conversely, if people don't accept it, these imperial envoys won't even be able to issue orders beyond their ranks.

The officials and common people of Annam Protectorate did not recognize these scholars at all, let alone respect them.

In those days, news traveled slowly, and the reputation of great scholars was limited to circles of intellectuals, not yet known to ordinary people.

Within the territory of the Annam Protectorate, apart from a few civil officials who had heard of them, everyone else was completely clueless.

If you go and talk to those demobilized military officials about reputation, they'll just slap you across the face.

They didn't care whether they were great Confucian scholars or not, nor whether they were imperial envoys or not.

Within the territory of the Annam Protectorate, officials who were not appointed by the Marquis of Hanshui had no legal authority.

"Gentlemen, let's save our energy!"

"Swearing won't solve the problem. The imperial court has cornered us this time."

There are notices everywhere now, and it won't be long before the whole world knows that we are heading south to regulate the civil service examination system of the Annam Protectorate.

If we refuse the court's appointment, leading to the completion of the Annam Protectorate's civil service examination reforms, scholars from all over the country will be able to dig up our ancestral graves!

Meng Jun'an said with a solemn expression.

The cabinet used an open strategy to put these people in a difficult position.

Taking on this hot potato and heading south, the probability of persuading the Marquis of Hanshui is extremely low.

If he refused to accept the imperial decree, the scholars of the land would not agree.

These great Confucian scholars made their living based on their reputation.

Once they lose their reputation, everything they have now will slip away.

"Those guys in the cabinet really went all out!"

"It seems that our actions have frightened them, and they are determined to subdue us at all costs."

Kong Songlin couldn't help but sigh.

The renowned scholars from all over the country gathered in Nanjing, ostensibly to prevent anyone from sabotaging the imperial examinations, but that was just a ruse to fool ordinary people.

Only a fool would be so proactive if it weren't for sufficient self-interest, but purely out of a sense of justice.

What really drew everyone here was the appalling behavior of those guys inside, who didn't even give them a chance to get a share of the profits.

"Having mastered both literary and martial arts, one can then sell one's skills to the emperor."

What renowned scholar like them doesn't have some political ambitions?
Despite the considerable gap between personal ability and ideals, no one would be content without trying.

Becoming the young emperor's teacher is undoubtedly the fastest shortcut.

When the emperor assumes full power, they will become the emperor's loyalists and will be able to obtain a large amount of political resources.

Even if he is too old to govern, he can still obtain the title of Grand Tutor and return to his hometown in glory, paving a path to success for his descendants.

If one is lucky enough to raise a great ruler, one can leave a significant mark on history.

Unfortunately, the hope was extinguished by the cabinet as soon as it appeared, and they offended all the great Confucian scholars in various regions.

They couldn't fight city hall; despite their frustration, these outlaws could do nothing but curse in private.

Unfortunately, this cabinet has offended many people, including local governors and viceroys who are also dissatisfied with them.

Based on the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my ally, the two sides quickly established an alliance.

The civil service examination reforms implemented by the Annam Protectorate created opportunities for them.

It was only with the covert support of governors and viceroys in various regions that a group of great Confucian scholars were able to enter the capital.

"Humph!"

"They're oversimplifying things!"

"Going south may seem dangerous, but it's actually not that dangerous."

We oppose the reform of the imperial examination system, but we are not against the Marquis of Hanshui.

As long as the right balance is struck, it is not impossible to persuade the Marquis of Hanshui.

Even if we can't gain his support, keeping him neutral is still a victory.

Qi Lanxing said with a serious expression.

As great Confucian scholars, they were used to being flattered and had long since developed a strong sense of arrogance.

It was difficult to persuade the Marquis of Hanshui, but it was precisely because of the difficulty that their success highlighted their prowess.

After all, the Annam Protectorate has only said that it will reform the civil service examination system, but it hasn't said how exactly it will be reformed yet!

As long as it doesn't involve core issues, minor adjustments are negotiable.

(End of this chapter)