Fu Shanhe

Chapter 86 Running away
Taizhou City.

Looking down at the government troops approaching outside the city, Huang Renlong's face was terribly gloomy.

It’s not because the enemy is too strong, on the contrary, it’s because the enemy is too weak.

If the enemy army is powerful and obviously an elite force, then his defeat last time was not unfair.

The group of government troops before him had neither a uniform military appearance nor a strong physique.

They walked in a relaxed and undisciplined manner, looking dusty and dirty, and the whole army was filled with a decadent atmosphere.

Judging from the scene before us, it is difficult to compare this rabble with the elite enemy troops that defeated them.

If it was this group of guys who defeated them last time, the fighting effectiveness of the rebels would have been really disastrous.

"Have you confirmed that this enemy army is really from Yangzhou City?"

Huang Renlong asked uncertainly.

The government troops in other regions were at this level, which he could totally accept.

During his previous four salt trades, he had also dealt with garrisons in various places.

Due to lack of training, the soldiers in the garrison generally behaved in a lax manner.

Their combat awareness is almost zero, and just throwing a few pieces of silver on the road can stop these inexperienced guys.

But the last attack on Yangzhou was different. The quality displayed by the defenders was far beyond what the soldiers in front of them could compare to.

“Brother, there is no doubt that these people are indeed from Yangzhou City.

There are some old acquaintances in there, and I arranged for someone to inquire about them at a cost.

It is said that there was a conflict within the Wucheng Bingmasi. The generals with real power looked down on those who were just figureheads and were just passing the time, and the two groups had a fierce quarrel.

Perhaps it has something to do with Lord Xu who is in charge of Yangzhou. One city cannot accommodate two imperial envoys.

When he first arrived, no one in Yangzhou went to welcome him.

People in government offices are best at infighting. In order to fight for power, Lord Xu must have had a conflict with Marquis Wuyang.

No one knew what happened afterwards, but the Wucheng Bingmasi suddenly split into two groups and marched towards the north and south at the same time.

Previously, we encountered regular troops, most of whom were servants of the generals, so their fighting power was naturally strong.

The team in front of us is led by a general named Rong.

It is said that he is from Concubine Rong's family and is a complete playboy.

Those who followed him were all famous playboys in the capital.

Apart from these guys' thugs, the rest are local soldiers from Yangzhou, and they don't have much fighting power."

Huang Renliang explained.

Adversity is the easiest way for people to grow.

In the past, he was used to listening to his elder brother and basically didn't need to use his brain.

Recently, Huang Renlong has suddenly become decadent and has been living a life of debauchery and luxury, and many military affairs have fallen on him.

After dealing with it head on, I became a completely changed person.

Things that I never thought about before, I now pay more attention to.

"If that's the case, then this battle will be easy to fight.

Send someone out to verify and confirm whether the other troops from the Wucheng Bingmasi have entered Xinghua.

Wuyang Hou is not a fool. Under normal circumstances, he would not send these people to die. I am worried that this is a conspiracy of the enemy!"

Huang Renlong nodded and said.

It is not surprising that there are infightings in the officialdom, but the identities of these people under the city are special.

They are either from relatives of the emperor's wife or from noble families, and each one has a more prominent background than the other.

In the past, if any of these guys died in their jurisdiction, the local officials would be so anxious that they would jump into the river.

Sending so many people out as cannon fodder at once seems like a conspiracy no matter how you look at it.

……

"Siege!"

Seeing that the enemy was not moving, Commander Rong immediately gave the order.

However, given that he had issued too many strange orders in the past, everyone suffered a lot along the way, and the generals around him did not take immediate action.

"Commander-in-chief, we don't have any siege equipment!

The military books say that siege weapons are needed to attack a city.

The last time the rebels attacked Yangzhou City, they used a lot of weapons."

Shi Haifu began to persuade.

As a playboy in the capital, he still feels superior to Commander Rong, a complete military novice.

As the son of a noble family, although he was not a promising person, he was forced to read several military books when he was a child.

Most of the content has been returned, but I still understand some basic knowledge.

Deep down, he has always had a dream.

That is, one day, he will lead his troops to the battle and seal the Wolf's Lair and carve a stone at Yanran, letting those who look down on him know who is the best in the family.

But since it is a dream, it only occurs when we are sleeping.

After waking up, it’s time to eat and drink.

The ministers in the court are not fools. Although it cannot be said that there are many famous generals in the Dayu army, there are still some generals who are above the passing line. No one will hand over the army to an incompetent playboy to lead.

His dream of sealing the Wolf's Lair was shattered. When the defense of Yangzhou began, he went to offer advice to Marquis Wuyang, but was also coldly received.

Compared to this notorious playboy, people are more willing to trust the generals who hold important positions in the army.

After a period of indignation, he finally got his chance.

Compared to Marquis Wuyang, Commander Rong in front of him didn't look very smart and was obviously much easier to fool.

"The rebels had siege equipment, but they still failed to break through Yangzhou City.

It turns out that the presence or absence of siege equipment is not the key to conquering a city.

But we have come a long way and the soldiers are tired, so let's rest for two days first.

Remember to send someone to deliver a letter to the city to persuade them to surrender. The highest realm for a general is to defeat the enemy without fighting!"

Commander Rong said while trying to save face.

Although Taizhou is not as big as Yangzhou, its city walls cannot be climbed with bare hands.

Forgetting the siege equipment was his mistake, and it was also the mistake of many of his generals.

Such a big thing, but no one told him in advance. It was obvious that they just wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

They are all in the same circle, so he knows what kind of people they are.

There are no good people in the playboy circle, and good people cannot be playboys.

There are so many people who are jealous of him being the head coach, and he doesn't believe that these guys will work hard.

Just like when Marquis Wuyang was the commander-in-chief before, he himself caused a lot of trouble.

……

Letters of persuasion to surrender flew into the city, but they failed to produce any effect. Instead, they triggered a round of curses from the soldiers guarding the city.

Ever since they fell out with the aristocratic families, the rebel soldiers have transformed into a peasant army, with 99% of their members being illiterate.

Writing a letter to persuade a group of illiterate people to surrender is more like insulting their illiteracy.

Most people are illiterate, but there are some who can read. "The opportunity to defeat the enemy has come. I plan to arrange for someone to pretend to surrender and lure the enemy into the city.

If the enemy refuses to enter the city, then use negotiation as an excuse to get close to the commander-in-chief and wait for an opportunity to control him.

There are many important figures in the enemy army outside the city, so everyone should try to capture them alive.

These people behind us are very useful. Maybe we can use them to deceive other cities when we attack them!"

Huang Renlong said with high spirits.

The opportunity to turn things around has come, and we can’t miss it this time.

By defeating this government army in front of us, we can make up for the prestige we lost before.

Only when the morale of the army is restored can we consider the next plan.

Reason told him that Taizhou was not a place to stay for long, and there was no place for him to stay even in the entire Yangzhou Prefecture.

If you don't want to die at the hands of the imperial court, you must get out of the Yangzhou circle as soon as possible to have a chance of survival.

……

Gaoyou Prefecture.

Under the fierce attack of the Beijing army, the Baoying defenders suffered heavy casualties and finally collapsed.

When the bad news came, Wen Feiyang was stunned.

The fall of Xinghua can be said to be an accident, but the loss of Baoying was caused by the enemy's strong attack.

According to the original plan, the rebel army's deployment in Baoying could last at least a month.

Overnight, the Wen family army, which had occupied one state and two counties, was left with only an isolated city.

To hold on to Gaoyou was to wait for death. With the manpower and resources at the disposal of the imperial court, it was entirely possible to place them under siege for a long time.

Leaving Gaoyou City and encountering the enemy in the wild will only lead to faster death.

It's death all around, there's no way out.

Both the mainstream faction of seeking amnesty and the unconventional faction of the Northern Expedition have lost their former arrogance.

"General, the imperial army has encircled us from both sides. Strategically, we have failed.

Gaoyou is no longer a place to stay for long, we must leave as soon as possible.

The Dayu Dynasty has been passed down for more than two hundred years, and it is time for a change of dynasty.

We are just unlucky and started the rebellion a little early, but the final outcome is unchanged, Dayu will eventually be destroyed.

Without the constraints of a foundation, we have many options.

You can go into the mountains to temporarily avoid the attack of the government troops, and then fight your way out when the right time comes.

You can also choose to become a bandit and disrupt the country of Dayu.

As long as we run fast enough, the imperial army won't be able to catch up with us!"

After hearing Wen Feiyun's words, everyone rolled their eyes.

The momentum was so high that I thought there was some good idea, but I didn't expect it to be summed up in one word - run!

But this is indeed a method. If you can't win, run away. This is a common strategy.

As children of aristocratic families, they have read history books.

Throughout history, no matter which rebel army it was, when faced with heavy encirclement and suppression by the imperial court, most of the time they were on the run.

Even if we defeated the government troops, it was achieved while running away.

Rebellion is never smooth sailing.

There is no such thing as someone who can defeat the government army right from the start, sweep across the country, and unify the world by pushing down the princes.

"It's easy to say that we can run away, but without our foundation in Gaoyou Prefecture, what will all of us eat?
You have all read history books, and you should know that it is not easy to be a bandit.

None of the tribesmen have ever experienced the hardship of displacement. If we abandon our family business, I’m afraid we won’t be able to bear it!”

An old man retorted.

It's hard to leave home, especially for old guys like them.

Leaving hometown at this time will most likely be a farewell forever.

Fighting for the world is purely a pie in the sky, meant to rally people's hearts and fool the soldiers below.

As planners, they themselves did not believe that they could conquer the Central Plains.

There is no other reason, I just read too many books.

Since ancient times, those who first rebelled were always pioneers for the king.

I have searched through all the history books but have not found a single successful case.

“Elder, we must endure this hardship.

If you are willing to join us in conquering the world, then follow the army.

If you don't want to take the risk, send the person away as soon as possible while the family still has some ability.

In fact, apart from us, the other families chose to arrange for their children to leave secretly.

Some of them went into exile overseas, some became bandits in the mountains, or some changed their appearance and reappeared with a new identity.

All under heaven belongs to the king, where else can you run to?

Even if he escapes temporarily, he will still be liquidated by the court once his identity is exposed in the future.

What's more, we are famous and everyone in the world knows that we are the richest salt merchants in the world.

In the eyes of outsiders, each of us is a gold mine.

Even if it's for money, there will be many people who will secretly track it down."

Wen Feiyun said helplessly.

Since ancient times, money has moved people's hearts, and their names are really too famous.

Even if the properties in various places were seized by the imperial court, the outside world would not believe it.

According to the tradition of large families, for the sake of future generations, every family would have a few secret treasure houses!
“If there is no better way, then we should follow Feiyun’s suggestion and give up Gaoyou Prefecture.

In order to avoid being wiped out by the enemy, I decided to divide the rebel army into three parts during this evacuation, and break out in the south, north and west directions respectively.

Including Jianping who has already set out, there are actually four armies, with each of the four branches of the clan leading an army.

For those tribesmen who are unwilling to follow the rebel army, I will arrange for someone to send them away secretly after giving them some money.

From now on, unless the Wen family conquers the world, the scattered branches will never contact each other again!"

Wen Feiyang made the decision with a heavy heart.

The rebels' strength is already weak, and dispersing their forces will only further weaken their power.

But there is no way, I have to run away now.

The strength of the rebel army is secondary; the key is to preserve the family bloodline.

If we don't evacuate in a dispersed manner, once we are blocked by the enemy, we will be wiped out.

"You young men, go away!

The government troops are coming in full force, and someone is needed to stay behind to cover their retreat and buy time for the main force to evacuate.

We are all old people, and it is a good opportunity for us to contribute to the family one last time!"

The old man who chose to stay behind to cover the retreat was the tribesman who had just opposed the evacuation.

……

(End of this chapter)