Fu Shanhe

Chapter 556 Strategic Contingency Plan
Nanjing City.

The urgent dispatch, delivered over 600 li, once again sped through the city.

Scholars dissatisfied with the current situation, who were still busy plotting to overthrow the cabinet, have now had their attention drawn to something else.

"Brother Wang, is there going to be another war?"

Inside the teahouse, the scholar in blue robes frowned and complained.

For ordinary official document delivery, 300 li is considered fast, and 200 li is the norm.

The use of the 600-li express courier service was only for sudden and urgent emergencies.

"Either the rebels crossed the Yangtze River, or the northern barbarians invaded."

These are the only two forces capable of wreaking havoc on the world.

The scholar surnamed Wang answered with certainty.

The Great Yu Empire has only so many enemies.

There used to be an option of regional military governors rebelling, but with the suppression of the Liaodong rebellion, this potential threat was removed.

As for natural disasters and man-made calamities, officials are the type to report good news and not bad news; even if a natural disaster really occurs, they will cover it up first.

According to the performance evaluation criteria for officials, local officials are held accountable if natural disasters or man-made calamities occur in their jurisdiction.

It is their duty to handle the aftermath well.

If any oversight occurs, it will be a political incident.

To protect their official positions, the best option is to conceal the truth.

Unless their career prospects were hopeless or the disaster was too severe, they would not take the initiative to expose the problem and ask the court for disaster relief funds.

With most of the northern regions falling, the impact of natural disasters on the Great Yu Dynasty has weakened considerably.

The imperial court only needs to hold a few strategic locations to besiege the rebels in the Central Plains.

In recent years, natural disasters have decreased. Theoretically, as long as the rebels can focus on developing agricultural production, they have a chance to become self-sufficient.

Unfortunately, the rebels, accustomed to plundering, could no longer settle down to farm.

Even if a rebel king decides to establish a base for long-term development, he may be forced to abandon it due to internal problems.

"It's most likely an invasion by northern barbarians!"

"Although the rebels were rampant, they did not actually have the upper hand on the battlefield."

If it weren't for the corrupt officials in power, the imperial army would have long since swept across the north and ended this chaotic era!

The young man in white standing nearby then shared his opinion.

The Nanjing court was heavily criticized, mainly due to internal inequality in the distribution of benefits and its failure to send troops to suppress the rebels in the Central Plains.

From a purely military perspective, the Great Yu Dynasty was fully capable of sweeping away the northern rebels and ending the current chaos.

The delay in taking action is due to the cabinet's consideration of the overall situation.

Defeating the rebels is easy, but eradicating them is difficult.

The rebels' influence spanned across Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and parts of Beizhili.

Even the distant Western Regions and Tibet fell under the control of the rebels.

If a swift victory cannot be achieved, the imperial court's finances could easily be crippled.

The huge deficit left from the last campaign against the Liaodong rebels has yet to be filled.

For economic reasons, the cabinet had no choice but to take a break and recuperate.

These practical difficulties may be understood by the older generation of bureaucrats, but that doesn't mean the younger generation can accept them.

With the encouragement of certain individuals, everyone unanimously attributed the problem to treacherous officials in the imperial court.

Similar incidents occurred more than once during the Great Yu Dynasty.

If the actions of the imperial court fail to satisfy the scholar-officials, it must be because the court has treacherous officials.

If the young emperor weren't so young that he wouldn't be a target of criticism, another charge of "the emperor being incompetent" would have been added.

……

The news sparked widespread discussion among the people, and also caused an uproar in the imperial court.

When the urgent report reached the palace, the officials were holding a court assembly.

"The northern barbarians have invaded again, and the border war is critical. Do any of you gentlemen have a brilliant strategy to defeat the enemy?"

Wan Huaijin asked with a solemn expression.

After finally enjoying a few days of peace, the northern barbarians jumped out to cause trouble again, which was undoubtedly disastrous for the Nanjing court.

With the loss of the Shanhaiguan defense line, the Northern Barbarians expanded their sphere of influence into the Great Wall, putting the Great Yu Dynasty at a strategic disadvantage.

The border troops' defensive line in the Tongzhou area of ​​the capital had more political significance than military significance.

Holding off the enemy is no easy task.

If there are no reinforcements, the best option is to hold the city and wait for the enemy to plunder it before withdrawing.

"Prime Minister, the enemy is coming on strong, and we were not prepared at all."

The only course of action now is to strictly order the border troops to defend the city and ensure that this strategic location is not lost.

Anyway, the north is exhausted right now, so they don't have much to rob.

If they gain nothing for a long time, they will naturally withdraw their troops!

The first suggestion came from Gu Tianyou, the Vice Minister of War.

Since we can't win, we might as well just give up.

Based on past experience, the Northern barbarians would retreat on their own after launching a raid.

With the north in ruins, no matter how much the enemy wreaks havoc on the region, the Great Yu will not suffer much loss.

The spoils of the enemy's loot might not even cover the military expenses for sending troops.

After several attempts, the enemy realized they couldn't plunder any wealth and naturally gave up.

"inappropriate!"

"Lord Gu, you're oversimplifying the problem."

The northern barbarians had known for a long time that the north was exhausted.

Since the enemy has launched an attack at this time, they must have taken these issues into consideration.

The enemy will not withdraw without sufficient gains.

If they can't seize Beizhili, they will continue south to Shandong and advance on the Nanxu-Yang region.

If the imperial court doesn't make preparations and allows the enemy army to advance all the way to the Yangtze River, our losses will be enormous!

Zhuang Yuanjia was the first to object.

As the imperial court moved south, his political status as the governor of Southern Zhili also rose accordingly.

Despite his obstructed path to the cabinet, he became the top governor-general in the country.

Having lost the defensive line painstakingly built over hundreds of years, the border troops lacked the confidence to stop the northern barbarians from advancing south. If left unchecked, the flames of war would sooner or later reach Southern Zhili.

If the prefectures north of the Yangtze River fall, he, as the governor, will be passively held responsible.

Let alone joining the cabinet, he'll have a hard time even keeping his current position.

"Lord Zhuang, preparations are definitely necessary."

But given the current situation, can we really hold off the enemy?
Don't forget that a major war has also broken out in the southern borderlands. Marquis Hanshui is leading his troops in a bloody battle against Burma, India, and other countries, and cannot advance north in the short term.

Gu Tianyou immediately retorted.

It's good to prepare actively, but not to fight a decisive battle.

In recent years, the war between the Great Yu and the Northern Barbarians has seemed to have been a close contest, but overall the Great Yu has been at a disadvantage.

The enemy army flees after a defeat, but the Yu army suffers heavy losses after a defeat.

With the Great Wall defense line lost, the enemy can easily advance unimpeded, and the border troops will find it difficult to intercept them in time.

Blindly venturing out of the city to seek a decisive battle with the enemy makes it easy to fall into their trap.

As things stand, the Great Yu Dynasty has only its last remaining elite forces, which cannot withstand any further setbacks.

If we suffer further losses, the empire will be finished.

“Da Yu has more than just the Marquis of Hanshui as a general. If he can’t come, there will naturally be other generals to take his place!”
We have ordered all provinces to send reinforcements, assembling troops from across the country to the Xuzhou line. If the northern barbarians dare to advance south, we will engage them in a decisive battle at Xuzhou and resolve the northern border threat in one fell swoop.

......"

Provincial Governor Zheng Zonghan then presented his plan.

Whether it's reliable or not is unknown, but at least deploying a large number of troops in Xuzhou can bring people a sense of security.

As for the areas further north, it wasn't that the imperial court was unwilling to send reinforcements, but rather that there wasn't enough time.

With the northern barbarian army approaching the city, sending infantry to reinforce them would only result in an encounter in the open field, which would be nothing short of suicide.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen officials joined the argument, and the officials began to whisper among themselves.

The originally solemn court assembly suddenly descended into chaos.

"enough!"

"If this argument continues, the enemy will be able to reach Nanjing."

The Ministry of Revenue is responsible for procuring provisions; the Ministry of War and the Military Governor's Office shall promptly devise a battle plan. Court is adjourned!

Seeing that the situation was getting out of control, Wan Huaijin decisively chose to end the court session.

He chose to ignore the opinions of the officials.

It's not that he's acting arbitrarily; it's just that these guys are all armchair strategists.

They talk a big game, but when it comes to actual military campaigns, they're all worse than Ma Su.

……

Yongning Prefecture.

News of the northern barbarians' invasion reached the Marquis's residence immediately.

"During their time at the front, the Anti-Yu Alliance delegation traveled from Japan to the Goguryeo Kingdom. The Tatars have moved south so quickly; it seems their diplomacy has been quite successful!"

Li Mu joked with a smile.

Countries in East Asia rarely engage in diplomacy, not because they don't want to, but simply because the Great Yu Empire is too powerful.

The regional rules in the past were all established by the Great Yu Dynasty.

This suzerain state has always been very lenient towards its vassal state and has spontaneously maintained regional order.

Even when wars break out between countries, they are mostly infighting among inexperienced nations, with the conflict confined to a small area.

The vassal states had no common enemies and lacked common interests; their core diplomatic objective was to unite the Great Yu.

It was nominally diplomacy, but in reality, it was using tribute to exchange for the security and protection of the suzerain state.

This is the first time that a military alliance has been formed across thousands of miles.

Without the Westerners' hands-on instruction, the Burmese probably wouldn't have sought help from the Tatars after the war ended.

Unfortunately, the Westerners underestimated the vast territory of the Great Yu Empire in their scheme.

The Tatars, along with their vassal Guifang, marched south to invade Dayu, which would only cause a shock to the Dayu court.

No matter how they fight in the north, the Annam Protectorate feels no pressure.

"My lord, the King of Burma has lost his mind."

Instead of thinking about how to escape in this critical moment, they ran to join forces with the Tatars, as if they were afraid that we would not wipe them out completely.

They were most likely deceived by Westerners; otherwise, even if they were seeking allies, they would have turned to their neighbor, the Mughal Empire, for help.

News from the front lines indicates that Mughal reinforcements have arrived on the battlefield, and it is estimated that the two sides have already clashed.

I reckon it won't be long before I receive good news.

Lan Linjie said with high spirits.

You won't know how strong you are until you fight the enemy.

Originally, seeing that the Kingdom of Burma had hundreds of thousands of troops and was supported by Westerners, I thought it would be a tough battle.

The Annam Protectorate was prepared for a protracted war, but they never expected that the war would turn out to be so one-sided.

Despite its seemingly powerful military, the Myanmar army is filled with conscripts from all over the country, and its weapons and equipment are also outwardly impressive.

As soon as the fighting began, the Burmese soldiers displayed the expected professionalism.

In the defense of the city, they can still hold out for a while.

In open field encounters, they were completely routed at the first contact.

Some troops collapsed on their own just from hearing the sound of artillery fire, even before they had a chance to get to the battlefield.

The lack of sufficient military training is one aspect, but the bigger problem lies within the Kingdom of Myanmar.

Feudal dynasties had limited productivity, and those who could assemble armies of hundreds of thousands were powerful overlords who dominated their regions.

The Kingdom of Burma's resources are still somewhat limited, and it cannot withstand a war of aggression.

The sudden mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops has created serious financial problems, forcing the Burmese leadership to cut back on spending on supplies and resources.

When there are benefits, ordinary soldiers get nothing; but when expenses are cut, they become the biggest victims.

Everyone was eating coarse food and wild vegetables, so it didn't matter.

The problem was that after the European mercenaries arrived, the Burmese court treated them to good food and drink.

To the Burmese soldiers, this differential treatment was like a series of sharp swords piercing their hearts.

"Is there any movement from the Shogunate?"

Li Mu continued to inquire.

The morale on the other side has collapsed; it's only a matter of time before the Burmese kingdom is destroyed.

More than the situation on the battlefield, he wanted to know how many enemies he could lure out this time.

"There's been no change for now; they're probably just observing the situation."

If the anti-Yu alliance gains the upper hand on other battlefields, they might also take advantage of the situation.

Lan Linjie thought for a moment and then answered.

Our lord has an extraordinary interest in Japan.

Under normal circumstances, such a small country is not even worth considering.

If we really want to talk about what makes Japan different from other neighboring countries, it's probably that decades ago, Japan stirred up the Wokou (Japanese pirate) riots along the southeastern coast.

However, this is only on the surface. In essence, they were just scapegoats for the chaos caused by the Japanese pirates.

The powerful clans that dominated the southeastern coast were the real culprits behind the Japanese invasion.

At that time, all the notorious pirate leaders were secretly supported by powerful and influential families.

On the eve of the outbreak of the Wokou (Japanese pirate) raids, the imperial court was embroiled in the most intense debate over the issue of opening up the seas.

After the Japanese pirate raids were quelled, the imperial court fully implemented a maritime ban policy.

From a perspective of interests, in that round of competition, the imperial court gained face, while the coastal aristocratic families gained substance.

For many years afterward, they monopolized foreign trade and reaped huge profits.

It was only when the White Lotus Rebellion swept across the southern lands that their foundation was shaken.

The subsequent imposition of tariffs upon opening the seas came after the power of aristocratic families had been severely weakened.

"Since the shogunate hasn't made any move, let's leave them alone for now."

Have the Northern Fleet keep an eye on the changes in the Goguryeo Kingdom.

We have blocked the Tatars' trade routes, and they will certainly look for new channels to obtain strategic resources. The Goguryeo Kingdom is undoubtedly a good transit point.

If any merchant ships are found transporting strategic materials there, they will be seized and the identities of the ship owners behind them will be investigated.

I've sent someone to spread the word; I don't want anyone to betray me and aid the enemy.

If anyone defies the rules and commits a crime, all participants will be prosecuted for treason.

The military has developed a contingency plan to launch a landing operation directly on the Goguryeo Peninsula if necessary.

Strategically, this would create a siege against the Tatar Kingdom!

Li Mu said expressionlessly.

If it weren't for the emergence of the anti-Yu alliance, he would have almost forgotten about the Goguryeo Kingdom, which could provide strategic resources to the Tatars.

(End of this chapter)