Fu Shanhe

Chapter 565 Struggle Under Despair
"The rebels crossed the Yangtze River so quickly, what were the officials in the court doing?"
Even if you put a pig in command, the battle lines wouldn't collapse this quickly!

Jing Yaqing couldn't help but complain.

She was aware of Yu Jun's combat capabilities.

If the imperial court hadn't had problems, the war would never have been fought so badly.

As she spoke, she cast a suspicious glance at Li Mu.

Aside from the incompetent commands of the civil officials, the only one capable of causing the Yu army's battle lines to collapse so quickly was her own husband.

"Don't look at me like that. I didn't hold them back at all. I was just observing from the sidelines!"

Li Mu immediately denied it.

The government troops stationed in Anqing were actually a newly formed army trained by civil officials.

In order to get rid of the influence of the noble aristocracy, the sons of noble aristocrats were excluded from the military from the very beginning of its formation.

As the head of the military, Li Mu did promote many generals in the army, but most of the grassroots generals followed him to the Annam Protectorate, while those who remained in Dayu territory were mostly sons of nobles.

"Husband, what are you thinking about?"

"How could I possibly doubt you!"

"However, the fact that the Yangtze River defense line was breached so quickly is indeed a big problem."

Neither the northern barbarians nor the rebels had a navy.

The imperial court only needs to hold a few strategic locations to use the navy to blockade the Yangtze River and keep the enemy at bay on the north bank.

Such a simple principle couldn't possibly have gone unnoticed by so many people in the court.

Even if they've all become bookworms, they should still learn from the numerous examples of separatist regimes in the southeast that appear in history books.

Jing Yaqing commented in a very serious tone.

However, after this analysis, Li Mu found that he was even more suspicious.

I wanted to explain, but I didn't know where to begin.

According to normal human thinking, it's impossible for the rebels to cross the Yangtze River so quickly.

If external forces intervene and cause trouble internally, everything becomes reasonable.

"The Nanjing court dispatched that idiot Du Yuhan to serve as the Jiangbei military commander, in charge of the defense of the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River."

As a result, after taking office, that guy embezzled military funds on a large scale to support his own extravagant and dissolute lifestyle, causing widespread resentment among the troops.

It is said that in less than half a year, he took eight concubines and spent his days indulging in brothels and wine shops.

It's one thing to indulge in one's own pleasures, but this person lacks self-awareness.

Despite lacking military capabilities, they frequently interfere in military affairs.

Anqing fell so quickly because of his reckless interference in the city's defenses, which allowed the enemy to discover a weakness.

Li Mu explained with a helpless expression.

Considering his high position in the government, he didn't take eight concubines. Du Yuhan is truly a remarkable person.

Not only did they cause a mess, but when they finally fled, they didn't even take their army with them, only their concubines.

If they retreat with a large army, even if they lose Anqing, the imperial court can still find a way to take it back.

As a result of this guy's escape, morale plummeted, and the new army painstakingly trained by the civilian officials was completely wiped out on the north bank.

However, Du Yuhan's incompetence was merely the trigger for the collapse of the Yangtze River defense line; the real reason behind it was the factional struggles within the imperial court.

Internal power struggles led to the rise of many officials like Du Yuhan, plunging the government into chaos.

The lessons learned from the fall of the North were completely forgotten by these people.

Even with the enemy forces at their doorstep, the various factions in the court were still busy fighting amongst themselves.

According to the intelligence gathered, the Qingliu Party had united with a number of parties that were dissatisfied with the distribution of power, and were preparing to take advantage of the fall of Anqing to bring down the Grand Secretary.

Several other members of the cabinet also behaved very strangely on this issue.

On the surface, they all support the Grand Secretary, but in practice, they do not stop the actions of the Qingliu faction.

"If such a good-for-nothing can hold such a high position, it seems that the fate of the Great Yu Dynasty has truly run its course!"

"My lord, now that the court is beyond saving, are you planning to launch a decisive northern expedition to decide the fate of the nation, or will you proceed cautiously and steadily, advancing step by step?"

Jing Yaqing asked with concern.

She wasn't worried about military matters; countless previous battles had already proven Li Mu's military command capabilities.

With the resources of the Annam Protectorate, it was only a matter of time before they swept across the country; the only difference was the method by which they would achieve unification.

"Ha ha……"

"At a time like this, even if I wanted to proceed cautiously, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the chance."

Many of the soldiers in the southern provinces were his former subordinates. If this Northern Expedition could sweep across the land, they would actively respond.

It is estimated that half of the southeastern provinces can be pacified by issuing a proclamation.

If all goes well, the south can be pacified in one or two years.

The northern provinces were already exhausted, and were inherently destined to be unable to give rise to powerful local separatist forces.

Subsequent northern expeditions would only require dispatching a few generals to quell the various warlords.

Li Mu said with a heroic air.

Compared to the founding monarchs of history, his model was completely simplistic.

By attaching themselves to the Dayu system, they accumulated enough power to sweep across the world.

The various government troops who had been reduced to warlords should have become regional lords in the chaotic world, participating in the struggle for supremacy.

Unfortunately, his old boss left too much of a shadow on everyone.

Many people have ideas, but they don't dare to take action.

"My lord, one must always be wary of people's true intentions."

"Even if they are your former subordinates, after so many years away, who knows what they have become now?"

Overt hostility is not scary; what is most frightening is lurking in the shadows, secretly plotting.

The Great Yu dynasty has been passed down for so many years, it's impossible that it doesn't have any die-hard loyalists.

When the Liaodong garrison rebelled, so many loyal and righteous men sacrificed their lives for their country.

They wouldn't stand by and watch the Great Yu Dynasty perish. For the sake of their ideals and beliefs, some of them would definitely choose to do what they knew was impossible.

This Northern Expedition must be approached with utmost caution.

Jing Yaqing reminded him with a serious expression.

In chaotic times, anything can happen.

The old moral principles and social rules were all inapplicable during this period.

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid."

Even if they wanted to seize power from the Great Yu, they would do so in accordance with the prevailing circumstances.

Li Mu said with a smile.

To dismantle an empire, external forces alone are not enough.

No matter how much the Great Yu Empire declined, it still had many supporters in the local areas.

If you want to take over, the best option is to first undermine people's morale.

……

Beneath the walls of Yangzhou, at the Tatar royal court.

"That Gao Chuangwang, how dare he make a fool of us!"

"Send an order to Shi Shichang, instructing him to immediately advance his troops into Anqing."

If the rebel alliance dares to betray their promise, then send them to hell!

Hugjil gave the order indignantly.

He's always been the one to break his promises, and now someone's playing the same trick on him.

Before the rebel alliance could dismantle the bridge, they first had to ask his troops if they would agree.

"Great Chanyu, please calm your anger!"

"The rebel alliance is a bunch of scoundrels, there's no need to take them too seriously."

Their crossing of the Yangtze River is also a good thing for us.

After we delivered the message to Yangzhou, the morale of the officers and soldiers in the city was clearly affected.

I reckon the city will fall in the next few days.

The fact that the Yu Dynasty's energy was diverted to the rebel alliance is exactly what makes it easier for us to cross the river.

"Once we've destroyed the Great Yu Empire, we can deal with the rebel alliance later. There's no need for you to bother with a bunch of dead men."

Sarina hurriedly tried to persuade her.

Regardless of whether the rebel alliance has betrayed its promises, they now share a common enemy.

Before the destruction of the Great Yu, any war between the two sides for any reason would be a losing proposition.

"Humph!"

"Enough! I, the Chanyu, am magnanimous and will not bother with these dying men!" "Send an order to Shi Shichang to bring his troops back."

After giving a cold shout, Hugjil seized the opportunity to back down.

It was obvious that his outburst of anger just now was deliberately feigned.

While seemingly criticizing the rebel alliance, he was actually subtly warning the Gui Fang people not to try anything funny with him.

In this southern campaign, the total number of troops mobilized by the various Gui Fang tribes was greater than that of the Tatar Kingdom.

If it weren't for political means to divide and weaken the various Gui Fang tribes, they would have been overtaken by others.

In fact, he didn't want to bring so many Guifang people to the battlefield.

But there was no other way; if they didn't bring all the able-bodied men from the various Gui Fang tribes, their stronghold in the rear would be in danger.

Although nominally allies, the two groups have fought many wars over the years.

The hatred that had accumulated over the years was no less intense than the hatred between the Tatars and the Yu Dynasty.

With so many Guifang tribes, no one can guarantee that a powerful figure like a tyrant might emerge from among them.

If a powerful warlord were to emerge from a large tribe and seize the opportunity of their southward expansion to destroy the Tatar Kingdom's stronghold, that would be the end of them.

For any race, the younger generation is their future.

Without its younger generation, the Tatar Kingdom, no matter how powerful, could not escape its fate of destruction.

Even if revenge is achieved afterward, the dead will not come back to life.

……

Late at night, in Yangzhou.

"Your Excellency, it's time to rest."

Master Zhuang stepped forward to offer a reminder.

"I know, but I can't sleep!"

The successive defeats at the front lines kept Liang Yining, who was in charge of the Jianghuai defense line, from sleeping and eating.

As early as when Xuzhou fell, voices in the court had already emerged calling for him to be punished.

Fortunately, the cabinet wasn't really stupid; they knew the consequences of changing leaders at the last minute, which helped to quell the turmoil.

Subsequent defeats forced the defeated army to retreat from the Huai River line to the Yangtze River.

The situation had deteriorated to this point, and it was no longer a matter of the court holding people accountable, but rather how to save Yangzhou and avoid becoming a sinner in history.

The fall of Anqing Prefecture was the last straw.

With the city in turmoil, Governor Liang Yining was under immense pressure.

"Your Excellency, it is precisely at times like these that you need to rest well."

"If your health fails, what will happen to the soldiers and civilians of Yangzhou!"

Zhuang Yuanfeng offered his advice in a tactful manner.

Ironically, the government troops guarding Yangzhou were neither the elite of the Nine Garrisons nor the newly trained elite army of the imperial court.

Liu Conghan, the general of Yangzhou, defected from the Liaodong army, while Cao Zirui, the general of Xuzhou, was a rebel who had been granted amnesty by the imperial court.

"Ok!"

What is the situation in the city?

Having verbally agreed, Liang Yining then turned her attention to the situation in the city.

Asking him to lead troops into battle would definitely be putting him in a difficult position.

However, compared to other officials in the court, his greatest advantage was his incorruptibility.

During his tenure, he not only refrained from embezzling military funds, but also strictly prohibited his subordinates from giving him gifts.

Originally just adhering to his duty, he became a breath of fresh air in Dayu, a place rife with corruption.

With this move, Liang Yining won over many hearts and gained the support of the officers and soldiers.

It was precisely because of his prestige that he was able to rebuild the Jianghuai defense line after the fall of Xuzhou.

Unfortunately, a lack of military talent cannot be compensated for by hard work.

The newly built defensive line was breached by the enemy once again after only a few days.

He retreated with the remnants of his army to Yangzhou, thus involuntarily initiating the Battle of Yangzhou.

"The situation is generally stable, but the news of the rebels crossing the river has spread throughout the city, which has affected the morale of the troops."

If the imperial court doesn't send reinforcements soon, Yangzhou may not be able to hold out for long!

Zhuang Yuanfeng said with a worried expression.

War is a contest of strength. It is unreliable to rely on a few thousand remnants of the army and tens of thousands of civilians to stop the attack of hundreds of thousands of enemy troops.

The main reason Yangzhou has been able to hold out until now is that the enemy is unwilling to commit their elite troops to attack the city.

Even though the enemy did not launch a full-scale attack on the city, the defending troops were still unable to withstand the onslaught.

In order to defend the city, the people in the city were also mobilized.

"It's difficult!"

"The factional strife in the court was incessant, with the debate over whether to summon the Marquis of Hanshui to defend the emperor lasting for months."

Even if we don't send the Marquis of Hanshui to come and defend the emperor, surely the troops entrenched in Shandong should be mobilized!
It's laughable to think about it. The war has reached the brink of national annihilation, and the most elite troops of my Great Yu are just watching the show!

Liang Yining said indignantly.

From the outside perspective, the collapse of the situation on the battlefield was due to the insufficient combat effectiveness of the Yu army.

As a key minister of the Great Yu Empire, he was well aware that the essence of the collapse of the situation stemmed from the infighting between the civil official group and the noble group.

After Li Mu stepped down as Grand Secretary, the civil service group failed to replace three nobles in the cabinet as agreed, which aroused dissatisfaction among the nobles.

Without the full support of the military, the imperial court was unable to suppress local governors and viceroys, which at one point triggered factional strife.

Subsequently, in order to break the monopoly of the military by the nobility, the civilian group invested a lot of manpower, financial resources and materials to train a new army, which further intensified the conflict between the civilian group and the nobility group.

The fact that the Northern barbarians were able to advance so rapidly after their invasion was partly due to the fact that the noble generals were defying the imperial court.

After a symbolic battle with the enemy, the border troops stationed in the capital fled directly to Shandong in order to preserve their strength, thus opening the way for a southward advance.

The nobles are betting that the civil service will back down, while the civil service is betting that the noble faction will act for the greater good.

No one expected that this bet would fall apart.

The civil service group did not bow down, nor did the nobility faction consider the overall situation.

As a result, the most capable troops of the Great Yu Dynasty were completely incompetent throughout the war, allowing the enemy to advance all the way to the walls of Yangzhou.

Given the current situation, even if the civil and military sides reconcile immediately, they will still have to ask Li Mu to come and clean up the mess.

"Your Excellency, please watch your words!"

Zhuang Yuanfeng reminded him in a panic.

The debate between civil and military officials is now a taboo topic.

It may seem like the cabinet messed things up, but in reality, all of them were involved.

The cabinet was originally prepared to fulfill the agreement, but Li Mu left too quickly and did not directly determine the cabinet members, which led everyone to have unwarranted thoughts.

Seeing the opposition from various factions in the court, the cabinet went along with it and shelved the matter of appointing meritorious nobles to the cabinet.

A moment of greed led the empire to its demise.

Summoning Li Mu to serve the emperor at this time is essentially a way of bowing down to the nobility.

There was widespread opposition in the court, mainly because the appetite of the nobility had grown even larger.

They not only demanded half of the cabinet seats, but also required the civil service to relinquish the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works.

They couldn't reach an agreement; they simply couldn't reach one.

If they were to agree to this, it would truly mean a country ruled by military men, making it difficult to maintain any checks and balances.

"Don't worry, things are different now."

Even if these words of mine get out, they won't have the energy to cause me any trouble.

Liang Yining said with a calm expression.

At this point, the question of right or wrong no longer applies.

Deep down, he knew very well that the Great Yu Dynasty was beyond saving.

Even if the Marquis of Hanshui were immediately summoned to defend the emperor and the enemy army was defeated on the battlefield, it would not prevent the empire from collapsing.

History teaches us that no dynasty has ever survived after the conflict between its civil and military officials had become so intense.

The rise of military leaders is only the first step; the next step is for powerful ministers to gain influence, followed by a change of dynasty.

Even though the scripts may differ, the general development path remains the same.

Summoning Li Mu to lead troops to defend the emperor was merely a way to postpone the empire's demise for a while.

To still hope to take this step is essentially self-deception.

Anyway, he's already quite old. As long as the empire doesn't collapse during his lifetime, he can pretend not to see any other problems.

(End of this chapter)