Fu Shanhe

Chapter 569 The Battle of Nanjing

"My lord, the contents of the official document have been verified and are correct!"

After a while, Lan Linjie stepped forward and said.

The Northern Expedition was already inevitable, and the imperial decree to mobilize troops would only make this military action more legitimate.

"Ok!"

"Issue my order to have the logistics department prepare all necessary provisions and supplies. The army will set off in three days."

The generals in Yong'an were notified that after the mobilization rally, they should proceed to the Marquis's residence to discuss the deployment route.

Li Mu decisively gave the order.

Troops will definitely be deployed.

However, how to proceed specifically and what route to take requires comprehensive consideration.

……

Wenyuan Pavilion in Nanjing.

"When will the reinforcements from the various provinces arrive?"

Wan Huaijin asked anxiously.

I don't know when it started, but the court assemblies of the Great Yu Empire have changed. Everyone is only responsible for venting their emotions, not for solving problems.

The fate of the empire was truly determined by the closed-door cabinet meetings. Even expanded meetings were only open to powerful officials of the third rank or above in the capital.

Compared to the infighting in the imperial court, things are much more harmonious here, with everyone only discussing how to solve problems.

Offering differing opinions is acceptable, but a better solution must be presented. Simply spouting off will be seen by the emperor as lacking a strategic perspective, and will result in being removed from the decision-making body.

The young emperor was unable to govern, but the rules were still preserved.

The civil and military officials attending the meeting sat quietly in their seats, drinking tea.

In such places, ordinary officials of the third rank were only qualified to listen in. Only the cabinet ministers, the six ministers, and the left and right governors-general were allowed to speak freely.

Anyone else who wants to speak is considered to be "breaking the rules" unless asked by the meeting moderator.

After all, in the past, such meetings were always presided over by the emperor himself.

"The reinforcements from Zhejiang will arrive within the month; the reinforcements from Fujian and Yunnan-Guizhou are expected to arrive next month."

There's no point in expecting reinforcements from Jiangxi, Huguang, and Sichuan.

A rebellion by the White Lotus sect broke out in Sichuan, and the rebels had already occupied Chongqing Prefecture, Shunqing Prefecture, and Kuizhou Prefecture. It is said that the rebels who had fled to Tibet also took the opportunity to return.

The situation in Sichuan is precarious; without reinforcements, it will be difficult to stabilize the situation.

With the Central Plains rebels advancing south, both Jiangxi and Huguang provinces are now engulfed in war. It would be good enough if they could even hold off the Central Plains rebels; don't expect them to have the resources to support us.

In the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, since the Marquis of Hanshui's administrative center is located in Yong'an Prefecture, which is the farthest from the imperial court, the official document requesting the troop mobilization has probably just been sent there.

Optimistically speaking, reinforcements should arrive in three months.

The reinforcements from Shandong refused the imperial court's request for troops because the road in between was blocked by the northern barbarians.

However, they promised to seize the opportunity to send troops to harass the Xuzhou area, relieving pressure on Nanjing.

After Shi Qingchen finished speaking, everyone turned their attention to the noble camp.

In order to secure reinforcements to lift the siege of Nanjing, the civil service paid a heavy price. Even though not all of the noble faction's demands were met, it was still a painful sacrifice.

Despite paying such a high price, when it came time to deploy troops, the noble generals still refused to cooperate.

Leaving aside the reinforcements from Guangdong and Guangxi, the official document for troop deployment was sent too late, and no accurate response has been received yet.

However, the reply from the government troops in Shandong was quite a slap in the face. In all the years since the establishment of the Great Yu Empire, there have been very few instances where the imperial court dared to explicitly refuse to send troops.

The reason given—that the roads were blocked by the northern barbarians—is utterly insulting to intelligence.

Even if land transportation is blocked, there is still the sea route. No matter how much the Great Yu Empire declines, it shouldn't be so weak that it can't even muster a fleet of ships to transport troops.

"Don't look at us like that. There are real problems with the reinforcements from Shandong not being able to come."

Leaving them behind to harass the Xuzhou line can tie down a large number of enemy troops.

If all the troops were concentrated in Nanjing, Shandong would also fall. At that time, there wouldn't be a single safe haven in the entire northern lands.

If the imperial court wants to launch a northern expedition to recover the Central Plains in the future, it will inevitably have to pay a much higher price!

The Duke of Chu made up a story in a serious tone.

In theory, they held the highest titles and important positions in the court, serving as the representatives of the nobility in the government.

Unfortunately, their current status is solely due to the fact that a group of powerful figures from the nobility have all perished in Beijing. At this time, their families are in mourning and they are unable to enter officialdom.

According to the rules of the Great Yu Dynasty, all the sons of noble families in the army should have resigned and returned home to observe mourning. However, during Li Mu's tenure as Grand Secretary, he used the pretext of the tense situation at the front lines to force them to resign and observe mourning.

A series of unforeseen events caused the powerful figures from the nobility faction who were nominally in charge of the court to drift further and further away from the front-line generals in the army.

When there is no conflict of interest, everyone can unite to face the pressure from the civil service.

Once a conflict of interest arises, the lower-ranking officers will not cooperate.

According to the negotiation results of the two camps, after the civil officials made concessions, the biggest beneficiaries were the nobles in the court. However, the price paid for this political deal had to be borne by the front-line generals at the cost of their lives.

When the benefits are disproportionate to the efforts, orders naturally cannot be implemented.

Realizing the situation was dire, the nobles in the court could do nothing but try their best to mediate and secretly promise high-ranking positions and generous salaries to the front-line generals.

Unfortunately, in the past, we've encountered too many empty promises, and everyone has become one of those who won't act until they see results; empty promises are simply ineffective.

"Humph!"

"Lord Duke, that's not what you said before. Now you've suddenly changed your mind, so what about your previous promises?"

Left Censor-in-Chief Shu Jinglun questioned him sternly.

In officialdom, political credibility is of paramount importance. Unless absolutely necessary, no one will abandon their credibility.

Generally, agreements reached by the various factions are fulfilled as agreed.

"You have a good memory!"

"Stop shifting the blame so easily. The fact that the situation has deteriorated to this point is entirely your fault, you bunch of 'pure stream party' members!"

The Duke of Wei, who was standing nearby, seized the opportunity to criticize.

They couldn't keep their promises, and they lost all face. Since they'd already lost face, they might as well just give up and do whatever they want.

In order to alleviate the pressure, he decisively chose to drag the Qingliu Party members into the fray and disrupt the situation.

"You worthless scoundrels..."

He had only uttered half of his curse when several teacups flew over, leaving Shu Jinglun in a very awkward situation.

Just as he was about to launch a counterattack, he suddenly realized that he was not in the imperial court.

The number of Qingliu Party members attending the meeting was limited, lacking the advantage of numbers and being unskilled in physical combat. Escalating the verbal sparring into actual fighting would be a major disadvantage.

"Your Excellency, these uncouth brutes are lawless and dare to do even in the Wenyuan Pavilion..."

Since we can't beat them, we'll just complain.

With everyone present watching, he was the one in the right, despite his sharp words.

"enough!"

"This is the Wenyuan Pavilion, not a place for you to quarrel and fight. Anyone who makes a move will be fined three years' salary."

Any repeat offender will be dismissed and punished!

Wan Huaijin, his face ashen, presented the punishment plan.

This half-hearted approach clearly exposes the cabinet's lack of confidence.

But with the situation deteriorating to this point, he was unable to hold those responsible accountable.

Even though they knew that these few representatives of the noble faction in the court could no longer control their subordinates, they still represented the face of the noble faction.

The court was still waiting for reinforcements from the Marquis of Hanshui to save its life. At this time, it was clearly not the wise thing to do to take advantage of the situation and attack the court's nobles.

Besides, this is a time when we need capable people. No matter how much skill these nobles have, they are at least knowledgeable about military affairs.

Some members of the clan are serving in the army, and these people will be needed to take the lead in the upcoming defense of Nanjing.

Having learned from the lessons of the annihilation of the new army, he no longer held any hope for the "commanders" within the civil service.

Wan Huaijin deeply abhorred the Qingliu Party members who stirred up the controversy.

There are some things you can think about, but you can't say them out loud!

Revealing the truth will only exacerbate the conflict and solve nothing.

Since the nobility did not fulfill the agreement, they are not obligated to honor their promises.

At worst, we can wait for the Marquis of Hanshui to arrive and then renegotiate.

Given this mess, even the Grand Secretary wouldn't mind stepping down and making way for a more capable person, so why is the Left Censor-in-Chief so eager to jump out?

"Since no one has any other opinions, let the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office come up with a plan for defending the city, and let everyone act according to the plan."

Seeing the hall fall into dead silence, the Second Grand Secretary He Zhengze took over the conversation.

Having learned his lesson, he had no desire to listen to his colleagues' lofty pronouncements again.

The greatest drawback of the emperor's inability to hold power has now been exposed.

When the cabinet acts as the de facto ruler, it inevitably becomes hesitant and timid in dealing with officials. This is manageable with lower-ranking officials, but when it comes to high-ranking officials, they simply cannot handle the situation without sufficient justification.

If they are dealt with too harshly, public opinion, both within and outside the government, will drown them in a torrent of criticism.

For the sake of one's reputation, one can only prioritize leniency.

"After several consultations, the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office finally decided to concentrate all available troops in the vicinity into the city."

It is estimated that an army of 50,000 can be assembled, and another 100,000 young men will be recruited to participate in the defense of the city.

These troops will be under the unified command of the Duke of Chu, with the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Chang serving as deputy commanders, and I myself serving as the military supervisor.

In order to slow down the enemy's advance, the Ministry of War suggested that a scorched-earth policy be implemented within a hundred li radius of Chengdu.

All the collected supplies were transported into the city.

The Ministry of Revenue not only had to prepare enough money and provisions for the 150,000-strong army for a year, but also had to stockpile enough food, firewood, salt, and other basic supplies to feed the entire city's military and civilian population for a year.

The Ministry of Works needs to prepare munitions for the defense of the city…

Although Shi Qingchen did not give specific figures, everyone gasped just from hearing the description.

Although Nanjing had experienced a war a few years earlier, its population grew rapidly as it once again became the capital of the Great Yu Dynasty.

Now, the total population has probably exceeded one million.

The amount of living supplies for so many people over a year is not a small number.

Even if the city's residents had some reserves, the lower classes could only store enough supplies for one or two months at most, as they couldn't afford to store any more.

Although the amount of daily necessities is enormous, this is the most prosperous Jiangnan region in the Great Yu Empire, so there is no shortage of supplies.

Even more challenging is the supply of strategic materials needed to defend the city.

In previous years, the imperial court invested most of its resources in the new army, but with the recent defeats, all of that was wasted.

The strategic material reserves in Nanjing were extremely limited.

"It's difficult!"

"To raise so many supplies, it would be impossible without tens of millions of taels of silver."

Money is a problem, but we can find a way to solve it.

But some things can't be bought with money!

Wan Huaijin shook his head and said.

Since the outbreak of the war, the imperial court has been spending money like water.

In particular, several defense lines in the north were breached one after another, and behind the fall of each line was a large amount of money and grain that went down the drain.

No matter how difficult it is, it must be solved!

Shi Qingchen said expressionlessly.

His fighting strength suddenly increased because he had emptied the national treasury, but he no longer cared.

He had already submitted his resignation, and if the nobility hadn't failed to keep their promise, he would be in a semi-retired state right now.

Remaining in office was entirely out of necessity.

From the moment he submitted his resignation, his ambition for a career in government died.

The only goal now is to prevent Nanjing from falling under his rule; all other issues are for the next administration.

"it is good!"

"From now on, all brothels and entertainment venues in the city will be closed, and all banquet invitations will be suspended."

Before the war ended, the salaries of all members of the royal family, nobles, and officials were suspended.

During the defense of the city, the imperial court cracked down on all hoarding and speculation activities.

No matter who is involved, kill them all without exception.

I will personally lead the way in frugality. If we don't have enough supplies to defend the city, we'll demolish the houses.

Let's begin with my residence, then with everyone present, and finally with the royal family, princes, and nobles...

In short, we must spare no effort to prepare for the defense of Nanjing!

Wan Huaijin hardened his heart and said.

He no longer cares about offending people.

Deep down, he had already made up his mind to finish this battle and then leave the mess to the next leader.

Whoever wants to come can come; being the chief minister of the Great Yu Empire is simply inhuman.

The position of Grand Secretary, who also served as Minister of Revenue, was particularly hellish.

……

Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

In summer, the Jiangnan region is like a giant steamer.

The locals were complaining bitterly, let alone the outsiders from the Grassland Alliance.

The non-combat casualties caused by heatstroke are almost catching up with the losses from the siege.

The army's fighting capacity was reduced by 30% due to the weather.

"Is a small city like Zhenjiang really that difficult to conquer?"

Hugjil asked with a displeased look.

The army had always been victorious in its southward march, but unexpectedly, even after crossing the Yangtze River, it was still able to be slowed down.

Unfortunately, Zhenjiang's location is crucial. If we attack Nanjing rashly without taking this bridgehead, it would be easy for Yu's army to cut off our retreat.

"The Great Chanyu, Yun Xiangwen, the Yu army general guarding Zhenjiang City, is a representative figure of the nobility faction."

This man has followed that scoundrel Li Mu in his campaigns across the north and south for many years, and his troops are all elite Yu soldiers. It is not surprising that he has been able to hold out until now.

However, the number of troops defending the city is limited. As long as the offensive is intensified, Zhenjiang City will be captured sooner or later.

Shi Shichang began to explain.

Deep down, he couldn't help but curse.

The main force attacking Zhenjiang consisted entirely of auxiliary troops, including his own troops.

In the past twenty-odd days of siege, they have already suffered heavy losses.

On the battlefield, you suffer heavy losses, and then you're blamed for failing to capture the city. It's incredibly frustrating to even think about.

"No matter who the defending general is, we must seize the time to attack the city."

I just received intelligence that that scoundrel Li Mu swore an oath in Yong'an to launch his campaign. It is said that his total force is as high as 300,000. I estimate that his troops will soon enter the territory of Guangdong and Guangxi.

The Shangyu Army in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions still has more than 200,000 registered troops, and even if that number is halved, it would still be more than 100,000 troops.

The number of troops directly mobilized by the Marquis of Hanshui alone will approach 500,000.

If troops from various provinces along the way are then gathered, the total force will likely be as many as seven or eight hundred thousand by the time they reach Southern Zhili.

If we cannot capture Nanjing before Li Mu's bandits arrive, the subsequent battles will be much more difficult.

The White Lotus Rebellion of the past swept across half of the Great Yu, and it was only after that traitor Li Mu led his troops to suppress it in Jiangnan. We must heed this lesson.

The intelligence brought by Erdős caused the expressions of the generals present to change drastically.

Even though they haven't fought each other for so many years, everyone still feels lingering fear when they hear the name "Li Mu".

If it were just him who could fight, the others wouldn't be so afraid.

Human resources are ultimately limited; no matter how capable a person is, there will always be areas they cannot cover.

However, Li Mu's fighting prowess could be replicated in the Yu army.

The generals he led have caused the grassland coalition a lot of trouble in recent years.

The forces guarding Zhenjiang City and blocking their path were also Li Mu's former subordinates.

If Li Mu's generals maintain their previous level of competence, then there will be big trouble.

Large-scale decisive battles not only test the commander-in-chief's command ability, but also the initiative of the generals under his command.

The Tatar Kingdom's southward expedition nominally boasted a million troops, but in reality, its total strength was only around 600,000.

In addition to the 100,000 elite troops, there were 300,000 Guifang troops and 200,000 auxiliary troops.

The core troops remained intact, with losses along the way not exceeding three thousand.

The 300,000-strong Guifang army was nominally an army, but in reality, it consisted of 300,000 young and strong Guifang men, with less than 20% being a true standing army.

At this stage of the war, the number of troops lost has approached 30,000.

The 200,000-strong auxiliary army was a mixed bag, with most of them being recruited along the way after entering the Great Yu.

Of the 30,000 Goguryeo soldiers in the auxiliary army, less than 10,000 remain at this time.

The Yu soldiers suffered the heaviest losses, but because they were replenished along the way, their total strength continued to increase.

This troop structure is fine when bullying newbies, but it will cause big trouble when encountering strong enemies.

To win, we must first destroy the Great Yu and shake the enemy's morale.

(End of this chapter)