Fu Shanhe

Chapter 583 Seeking a Way Out

Upon stepping out of the tent, Borta was immediately stunned by what he saw.

The camp, which was originally in good condition, is now in complete chaos.

In the distance, there were still unbridled warhorses running amok.

Several soldiers stepped forward to stop him, but one of them was tripped and fell to his death on the spot.

"Where have all the artillerymen gone?"

"Organize a counterattack!"

"I'm going to..."

The order had only been given halfway when a shell landed three meters in front of him.

Shrapnel flew out in all directions, one of which pierced his chest, causing him to bleed profusely instantly.

Upon hearing that their commander was wounded, nearby Tatar generals rushed to check on him, even neglecting to reassure their troops.

As a result, the already chaotic camp became even more chaotic.

Similar scenes were constantly playing out among the grassland allied forces.

All the troops that camped near the river suffered heavy losses in this round of shelling.

The Tatars, realizing what was happening, immediately organized their artillery to retaliate.

Unfortunately, they were facing ironclad warships. Explosive shells were ineffective against them; only solid shot fired from large-caliber heavy artillery could cause any real danger.

Heavy artillery was too cumbersome to be used in field battles; it was mainly used for defending cities or on warships.

Ironically, neither of these two uses was something the Tatars had previously considered.

With limited resources, it was difficult to even replicate field artillery, so it was impossible to invest heavily in developing large-scale weapons that would not be used.

Even if they occasionally captured them from Yu Jun, the army couldn't carry them all, so they had to be melted down and modified into smaller, lighter artillery pieces.

It wasn't until after the capture of Nanjing that the plan was changed in consideration of the need for river defense.

Unfortunately, before the Great Yu moved south, the imperial court had no need for river defense, and the limited heavy cannons on the city walls were still antiques from two or three hundred years ago.

Because of the White Lotus Rebellion, even these ancient artifacts are now few and far between.

After the Great Yu moved south, the defense of Nanjing gradually received attention, but the bureaucratic group was already corrupt at its core.

After the funds were cut at each level, a large number of substandard cannons were moved to the city walls.

Many artillery pieces look huge, but their actual combat effectiveness is appalling.

The Tatars were as pleased as they were when they attacked the city, and now they were just as frustrated.

"Why is the range of the artillery so short?"

Baturu, who was in charge of the artillery, questioned him sternly.

The heavy cannon, with a caliber exceeding one foot, only managed to fire a little over a hundred paces after being loaded, its range even less than that of a high-quality musket.

Even with his vast experience, he couldn't help but breach the defenses of such a massive artillery piece with such a pathetic range.

"General, we don't know!"

“In the past, when using exploding bullets, we could shoot two or three hundred paces. Perhaps it’s because we switched to solid shot.”

Upon hearing the artillery commander's reply, Baturu was on the verge of collapse.

It turns out these heavy artillery pieces are all for show; they look imposing and powerful, but their actual combat capabilities are terrible.

No wonder the Yu army's artillery did not cause many casualties to the allied forces during the siege.

It turned out that it wasn't the generals of the Yu Dynasty who were incompetent; it was simply that their weapons were utterly worthless.

"Since the artillery is so weak, why did you accept it?"

Baturu questioned him almost roaringly.

It should be noted that half of these cannons were remnants of the Yu army, while the other half were hastily made by the Ministry of Works.

He couldn't solve the historical problems, but the poor quality of the new artillery was unacceptable.

"General, I've been wronged!"

"How could I, a humble general, dare to refuse cannons sent by the imperial court!"

"As for the quality of the artillery, it's either due to insufficient funding or being rushed too much."

These are actually the better ones; there's another type of cannon with fragile armor, which can explode if you're not careful...

The artillery commander standing nearby hurriedly explained.

As a surrendered general of the Yu army, he already held a low position in the army and dared not offend the Tatars.

This whole mess is a complete disaster.

The new dynasty had just been established, and its political system and rules were not yet perfect, so it basically continued to use the previous model.

Although the Ministry of Works was responsible for building these cannons, the Tatar soldiers were in charge of escorting them.

Even if someone arrogantly throws their things on the ground, he can only treat them to the best wine and meat, fearing that he might not be hospitable enough.

Inspection of goods is not permitted.

In any case, as long as the artillery doesn't explode, it's considered an excellent product.

The extent of its power is not their responsibility.

"waste!"

After uttering a curse, Baturu realized the seriousness of the problem and decisively chose to give up.

Since the problem lies with the quality of the artillery itself, it is not his responsibility.

The Great Chanyu was getting old, and his sons had been fighting amongst themselves for the throne.

The Third Prince is now in charge of the Ministry of Works; who knows how many problems are involved behind the scenes?

If he were to proactively expose this secret, and it were to involve the struggle for the throne, it would be beyond his physical capabilities to handle.

Even without the struggle for succession, the Yu Dynasty officials who were able to remain in their posts had all found powerful backers in the court.

Without the protection of powerful figures, even the largest family fortune would be completely wiped out in round after round of grain and salary levies.

If corruption is involved, it is these powerful and wealthy people who take the lion's share.

……

In the palace.

"Great Chanyu, something terrible has happened!"

"Yu's army...Yu's army bombarded...Nanjing, causing heavy losses to our troops stationed along the river..."

"okay!"

"With such a dense barrage of artillery fire, my ears aren't deaf!"

Hugjil scolded him impatiently.

Clearly, he had not yet realized the seriousness of the shelling.

Back when the campaign to cross the Yangtze River was launched, the grassland allied forces had already experienced the firepower of the Jiangnan navy.

Constrained by the imperial court's funding, the establishment of the Jiangnan Navy was rather difficult.

Powerful, only in comparison to forces like the Tatars that lacked a navy.

In terms of actual combat strength, they are not only no match for the current Guangdong and Guangxi navies, but even the Jiangnan navies of three hundred years ago were stronger than the Jiangnan navies they encountered.

If the Jiangnan navy were at its peak, the difficulty of crossing the Yangtze River from Yangzhou would increase by at least tenfold.

If the natural barrier of the Yangtze River could be easily breached, so many separatist regimes would not have emerged in history.

As long as the navy is strong enough and there are no major internal problems, any northern regime that wants to break through the Yangtze River defense line will basically have to first seize the Shu region.

Even now, the Shu region remains in the hands of the Yu Dynasty. The Northern Barbarians and the anti-king alliance were able to break through the Yangtze River defense line mainly due to the power struggle within the Nanjing court.

"Great Chanyu, this time is different; the enemy ships' cannons are too fierce!"

"Even ten miles away, no one could escape the enemy's artillery fire."

The enemy seems to have eyes; they are very familiar with our camp.

The shelling was aimed entirely at our camps and those of the Gui Fang army; the camps of the surrendered Yu soldiers were completely untouched!

The news brought by Erde caused Hugjil's expression to change drastically.

Although the location of the military camp was not a secret, the fact that it was detected so accurately by the enemy clearly indicated that someone inside had tipped them off.

Compared to external threats, internal traitors pose a greater danger.

The fact that the enemy had let the surrendered troops' camp go further fueled suspicion.

"check!"

"At all costs, we must find the traitor!"
No matter who is involved, kill them all without exception!

Hugjil gave the order angrily.

The decision to launch a full-scale attack on the enemy was made just yesterday, and this morning we were bombarded by the enemy navy.

The timing was so coincidental that it's hard to say this wasn't intentional on the part of the enemy. This passive, defensive approach is extremely demoralizing.

If they cannot find the traitor, their subsequent battle plans will be exposed to the enemy.

If the enemy deploys a targeted force, we will suffer heavy losses.

"Rest assured, Great Chanyu, I will find the traitor within five days!"

Erd immediately assured him.

He readily agreed verbally, but deep down he was secretly suffering.

Internal audits are a tough job that can offend people.

Whether they were newly surrendered officials of the Yu Dynasty or remnants of the Yu army that they had incorporated, they could all potentially act as informants for the enemy.

Among the Yu Dynasty generals who joined them in their early years, there may also have been traitors.

Although these people could only be considered third-class citizens in the new dynasty, their sheer size was undeniable.

If a real investigation were to begin, it would take five days, or even five months, to complete a comprehensive internal screening.

After all, no one stipulated that only the people of the Yu Dynasty could be traitors, and that the Tatars and Guifang people were necessarily loyal and righteous.

They can plant spies within Dayu territory, and others can do the opposite.

Among so many people in the clan, there are bound to be a few spineless ones.

It's not surprising that the enemy has exploited their weaknesses and forced them to work for the enemy.

No matter how difficult the task, it must be done.

There are too many people in the city center of Nanjing heading towards Dayu. If we don't take this opportunity to purge some of them, it will be even more difficult to deal with them in the future.

……

Jiujiang Prefecture.

After a series of major battles, the rebel alliance, suffering repeated defeats, had no choice but to abandon the territory it had just seized and withdraw its main force back to Jiujiang Prefecture.

"Brothers, the enemy is coming on strong."

We now face two paths: either hold Jiujiang to the death and wait for the situation to change, or withdraw our army to the north bank.

I'm sure you brothers are aware of the pros and cons of each situation, so I won't say anything more.

For the sake of the rebel army's future, please make your choice carefully!

Gao Yunliang said with a solemn expression.

In the torrent of changing times, individual strength is truly insignificant.

As it turns out, numerical superiority means nothing in the face of absolute strength.

The defeat of the King of Slaughter was just the beginning. The kings of the alliance clashed with the loyalist army one after another, and none of them could laugh after the battle.

It had become commonplace on the battlefield for a single commander to chase after tens of thousands of rebel soldiers.

Even though they spared no effort, depleted the enemy's ammunition, and sought opportunities for close-quarters combat, they were still crushed by the enemy.

Can't beat it, really can't beat it.

In all his years of fighting in the north and south, he had never seen such a fierce enemy army.

Even if the most elite old troops were brought up, it wouldn't change the fate of defeat.

Since the outbreak of the war, the enemy has been overwhelmingly superior in strength, and has not bothered to play games with them at all.

Even if they openly admit their intentions, they are still powerless.

"We are, after all, northerners. When we come to the south, we are not used to the climate and the fighting power is weakened, which is something we can't help."

Since we can't stay in the south, let's take this opportunity to return north!

"The King of Chasing Deer said in a deep voice."

Being unable to adapt to the new environment is both a way to save face and a reality.

Even the most resilient person cannot withstand a one-sided war.

The loyalist army was not without weaknesses, nor was it invincible, but it was definitely not them who could defeat the enemy.

Even if a fight were to break out, the only option would be to retreat to the mountains and use the terrain to weaken the enemy's firepower advantage.

Without a doubt, this kind of war, which involves showcasing skillful maneuvering, is beyond the capabilities of these bandits.

Whenever they encounter a major setback on the battlefield, the soldiers' first reaction is to run away as quickly as possible.

Veterans who survived three years in the rebel army were not necessarily the most capable fighters, but they were certainly the fastest to escape when danger struck.

These rebel kings were among the best of the best.

Many of them started out as insignificant soldiers in the rebel army.

The reason I've managed to get to my current position, besides being smart, is mainly because I'm better at surviving than others.

Those early rebel leaders all perished under the swords of the government troops.

"The battle in Jiangnan has only just begun. It wouldn't be good for us to run away so hastily!"

"Everyone knows what the situation is like in the north; it's simply not enough to support a large army."

If we back down, the league's future is over.

King Tianyun shook his head and said.

Unable to grow stronger, the rebel alliance was destined for annihilation.

If staying here to fight the loyalist army to the death carries the risk of annihilation, then retreating to the north would be a form of slow suicide.

Extending one's head is a sword, and shrinking one's head is also a sword.

"The future of the alliance was destroyed in the war long ago."

We have all witnessed the strength of the loyalist army; we are simply no match for them.

In the upcoming decisive battle against the Northern Barbarians, the Marquis of Hanshui will most likely emerge victorious.

In fact, for the league, who wins or loses has little to do with us.

If the northern barbarians can defeat the loyalist army, they probably wouldn't mind wiping us out as well.

Regardless of who seizes power, they will not allow us to exist.

If you can't defeat either of your two formidable enemies, then take advantage of their current fierce battle and quickly find an opportunity to escape.

When the White Lotus Rebellion failed to seize power, some remnants fled to the Western Regions to establish their own kingdoms and become local emperors.

There are existing examples, so we can follow suit!

They're currently at war with that Khanate, so they probably wouldn't mind having another fresh force like us.

After helping them win the war, we can take a piece of that wretched khanate to use as our foothold; I reckon that shouldn't be a problem."

"The mighty king said casually."

The saying "a person is cheap when away from home" applies to ordinary people, but it's not a problem at all for these wandering bandits who spend their lives on the move.

There are existing examples available, so they can simply copy them.

"King Weiwu is right, a tree dies when it's moved, but a person thrives when they move."

Since they couldn't make it in the Central Plains, going to the Western Regions was also a way out.

If you brothers trust me, the leader of the alliance, then let's all take another big gamble.

"If things go well in Central Asia, maybe one day I can even make a comeback and return to the Central Plains!"

Gao Yunliang then continued the conversation.

Seeing the two performing in perfect harmony, everyone immediately understood that this was pre-arranged.

However, when it comes to life and death, no one cares about such trivial matters.

The current situation is very unfavorable for the anti-king alliance.

Neither the Northern Barbarians nor the Marquis of Hanshui could compare to them.

The enemy hadn't even exerted any effort, and they were already on the verge of collapse!
The so-called tripartite balance of power is purely wishful thinking.

Faced with such an absolute disparity in strength, they didn't even qualify to sit at the table.

If they didn't take advantage of the battle between the Northern Barbarians and the Marquis of Hanshui to escape, it would be difficult for them to leave once the outcome was decided.

The only problem is that the term "Western Regions" is already unfamiliar enough to them, let alone the more distant Central Asia.

Anyone would feel uncertain about venturing into a completely unfamiliar territory to make a name for themselves.

"Leader, how much do you know about the situation in Central Asia?"

The King of Jin asked with concern.

Compared to other rebel kings, he was the most accepting of leaving the Central Plains.

From the very beginning, he never thought he could establish himself in the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)