Fu Shanhe

Chapter 56 Taizhou Rebels
After the military meeting, Li Mu walked out of the government office with mixed feelings.

Everyone knows about military affairs, but it is only theoretical knowledge, and it is the first time for them to lead troops in battle.

The weakest unit, the Beicheng Qianhu Suo, is responsible for the city’s public security and serves as a part-time reserve force.

The other four thousand households are each responsible for a direction. Although there is some consideration in the distribution of troops, war cannot be won by just having soldiers.

Taking Li Mu's Nancheng Qianhu Suo as an example, it was allocated 1,500 local officers and soldiers, as well as 6,000 young and strong men.

The total force is nearly 8,000 people, which is definitely enough in terms of numbers.

The difficulty lies in management.

Among the officers and soldiers in Yangzhou City, there may be people from the salt merchant group, and they cannot be entrusted with important tasks.

For safety reasons, generals must use their own people.

The former centurions were now all doing the work of thousand-householders, and Li Mu still felt that there were not enough officers.

"Everyone, the opportunity to make achievements has come!
Everyone should work harder and train the soldiers before the rebels attack.

The servants under your command should have participated in defending the city. Let them pass on their experience to the newcomers.

The rebels are just a bunch of rabble. As long as we don't let the enemy join forces with us, there won't be any big deal.

We chose to defend the city out of caution. When the Beijing army arrives, we will take the initiative to attack and put down the rebellion in one fell swoop!"

No matter whether others believe it or not, Li Mu's face is full of confidence.

As a recruiting officer, he was the first to bag the best soldiers.

"Sir, other things are easy to deal with, but the soldiers are short of weapons!
Six thousand strong men, more than five thousand of them holding bamboo, would be at a great disadvantage if they went to the battlefield to fight. "

Captain Yun said with an embarrassed look on his face.

Cutting bamboo into spears may sound very beautiful, but it would be a big loss if used on the battlefield.

“Let’s make do with what we have now, the rebels are in a worse situation than we are.

The imperial court regulated ironware, so even if the aristocratic families in Lianghuai hid weapons and armor, they could not hide much.

What's more, we are the ones defending the city, with solid city walls to rely on, and the enemy can't break in at all.

Are we still afraid of being surrounded by rebels and having no reinforcements?"

Li Mu decisively chose to change the topic.

Insufficient weapons is a real problem. Even if measures have been taken before, they will be a drop in the bucket.

What is needed now is to stabilize people's hearts. Only when the generals have the confidence of victory will the soldiers under them have confidence.

The worst possible scenario would be being surrounded by rebels.

Yangzhou has a special geographical location and is one of the most important commodity trading centers in Dayu, with no shortage of grain, cloth, and salt.

Guarding it for a year or two is not a problem at all.

Time is on the side of the defenders. The longer it drags on, the more troops the imperial court will send to quell the rebellion.

……

"Lord, this place is about twenty miles away from Tai'an City. Do you think we should enter the city tonight or tomorrow?"

The middle-aged man stepped forward and asked.

"Xiancai, how many times have I told you?

The situation in Lianghuai is urgent, we need to speed up, why don't you listen to my advice! "

Lord Xu scolded his subordinates in a bad mood.

The army set out one after another and had entered the Huai River and Yangtze River regions for more than ten days, but he, the imperial envoy, was still lingering in Shandong.

Although he said he wanted to speed up, he could not speed up at all even though he traveled every day in a sedan chair carried by eight people.

It wasn't that Xu Wenyue was being pretentious that he put on such a show; it was purely out of political necessity.

The rebellion of the aristocratic families in Lianghuai shattered all the cabinet's plans.

Having been charged with treason, the liquidation of the salt merchant interest group was inevitable.

If I go too early, what will happen if my colleagues from the Qingliu Party who were implicated in the rebellion come to me for help?
To watch someone die without helping would be too inhumane and would seriously affect one's reputation within the Qingliu community.

Reaching out to rescue someone is taboo.

If the eunuch party gets hold of evidence, he, the prime minister, might also be implicated.

"The elder minister is teaching me a lesson, that I was reckless!" He Xiancai immediately admitted his mistake.

As soon as he finished speaking, the cavalrymen next to him immediately galloped away from the team and headed straight for Tai'an.

When the minister went south, the local officials along the way would definitely want to take the opportunity to show off. It was hard to refuse everyone's hospitality, and Xu Wenyue was not an unsympathetic person.

Sending someone to notify in advance is a gesture of goodwill.

Only our own people can enjoy this treatment.

If they were not traveling with each other, no matter how good the arrangements were, Lord Xu would just stay at the post station to show his integrity.

……

Taizhou City.

"General Huang, quickly give the order to restore order in the city!

If the chaos continues, this city will be ruined!"

Zong Guangtai began to persuade.

The army took two days to capture Taizhou, and the looting lasted for two days. The prosperous Taizhou city was directly reduced to a living hell.

Huang Renlong, the commander who was born into a salt smuggler family, turned a blind eye to everything in the city and allowed his soldiers to vent their anger in the city.

"Mr. Zong, our soldiers have no military pay, and all our profits come from looting.

If I give the order to stop it, everyone's source of income will be cut off.

It will be difficult to get everyone to work hard later on!"

Huang Renlong said disdainfully.

The present days are the real life. In the past, he followed the Zong family to sell salt, earning a few hard-earned dollars and suffering bullying every day.

I only regret that I was so ignorant at the beginning and thought that the clan was the only one who mattered.

Now it seems that they are just a group of pedantic scholars who are not decisive in their rebellion.

In the current Taizhou rebel army, the Zong family is only the nominal leader.

The most capable troops are all Huang's troops.

If it weren't for the common enemy, the imperial court, he would have fallen out with the Zong family long ago.

It is really wishful thinking to think that it is still the same as before, and a group of scholars still want to drive him to work hard.

“General Huang, according to the agreement of the previous alliance, after the Taizhou righteous army breaks through Taizhou City, it will immediately march into Yangzhou Prefecture.

We have occupied Taizhou for two days, isn't it time to consider sending troops?"

Zong Guangtai said while suppressing his anger.

Facts have proved that the salt smugglers below are indeed unreliable.

They are all short-sighted. As soon as they have a little power, they become reckless and don't even take their masters seriously.

It was all caused by the flourishing literary style of the Dayu Dynasty. Influenced by the general environment, these children of aristocratic families all studied literature.

When a group of scholars raise the flag of rebellion, their shortcomings become apparent.

There is no problem in giving advice and suggestions, but the fighting and killing work can only be left to outsiders.

The salt smugglers are inherently unruly people. In the past, they had official status, which gave them an advantage and made them obedient.

After the rebellion, the original sense of awe gradually disappeared, and everyone had their own ideas.

There are too few people who are ambitious to fight for the world. Most of them just want to make a fortune and live a worry-free life for the rest of their lives.

During the rebellion, there have been more than one or two private salt dealers who have fled.

Huang Renlong is an ambitious person and is considered one of the best among the rebels.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Zong, this general is not someone who ignores the overall situation.

First take Yangzhou, then take Nanjing, and establish the capital in the southeast.

This general has kept it in mind!"

……

(End of this chapter)