Whale Falls and Becomes a God

Chapter 76 Jiangdu Sui Dynasty
In the next few days, everything in Jiangdu went on in an orderly manner.

The streets, residential areas and other places are obviously much more lively and prosperous, and there are obviously more laughter and joy.

The scars of the Jiangdu Rebellion seemed to have healed, and Jiangdu became prosperous again.

As Empress Xiao and Xiao Ying had anticipated, the people's livelihoods became increasingly vulnerable. Although Xiao Ying and the rebels had plundered vast quantities of food and supplies, the situation in Jiangdu was only tense for a few days before stability was quickly restored thanks to the combined efforts of land and water transport.

This is the biggest advantage of Jiangdu as the hub of Jiangnan. It is the intersection center of water and land transportation, with convenient transportation. Many forces have plenty of ways to transport supplies.

If the situation is stable and public security is guaranteed, the transportation will be even more frenzied. As soon as they heard that Jiangdu was short of food and supplies, many forces would flock there.

Of course, such a huge advantage will also bring about great security and military pressure. This is also one of the main reasons why Xiao Ying would "crazily" recruit soldiers and focus on military affairs!

The most obvious changes in the past few days have been in the military.

The Sui army deployed nine locations near the gate of Jiangdu City, operating simultaneously, accommodating unlimited numbers of refugees and displaced persons, and recruiting troops.

The waves of refugees and displaced persons that had originally gathered like a sea outside Jiangdu City have disappeared and have basically been taken in.

In just a few days, a total of 150,000 soldiers were recruited from nine places and assigned to the eight major military camps in the city, where they were undergoing intensive training day and night.

The Sui army within Jiangdu City now numbered a massive 700,000. Although most were new troops, they were equipped with weapons and armor, sufficient to eliminate the danger of the rebellion.

The three major rebel kings near Jiangdu each claimed to have an army of one million. Among them, the strongest Jianghuai Army had two kings and was said to have an army of several million.

However, the last-ranked Shangliang Prince Shen Faxing had an estimated army of around one million, with little variation. How could he possibly capture the capital Jiangdu, which was guarded by an army of 700,000?!

……

On this day, in the Forbidden Palace, the Golden Throne Hall.

Although Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty had passed away, the empress was still alive. After officials of all levels and departments were replenished, court meetings were naturally resumed.

Today's Jiangdu is a complete small court, still continuing the system of three provinces and six ministries. Empress Xiao is in charge of everything and is in charge of government affairs. Prince Jingwu Xiao Ying assists her and is the head of all officials, but is in charge of military affairs.

Xiao Ying secretly rejoiced countless times that it was because of Empress Xiao who was in charge of government affairs that Jiangdu was able to stabilize so quickly and even the "small court" was able to operate completely so quickly.

If Xiao Ying were to take charge of military and political affairs himself, he would not be able to cope with it in such a short period of time, even if he had sufficient theoretical knowledge.

Having said that, even before the Jiangdu Rebellion, when Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty was still alive, he had long stopped attending court, and it was not much different from now.

The only difference in the court meeting nowadays is that there is one more person, Jingwu King Xiao Ying, and all the civil and military officials are basically replaced by new faces!

"Your Majesty! According to intelligence, the Shangliang rebels are nearby. Their army has split into two groups. The southern group has already reached the banks of the Yangtze River, while the eastern group has just captured Hailing City. They will be at the gates of the city tomorrow, or within three to five days at the latest!"

After the usual military and political reports and discussions, Mrs. Ronghua Cai Shuilan, who was temporarily serving as the Minister of War, stepped out and bowed to report.

That's right!

The current Sui Dynasty Minister of War is none other than Lady Ronghua, one of the four former Sui consorts and one of the thirty important civil and military officials who achieved a fusion of star souls. Lady Ronghua is a military general. This suggests that while Jiangdu still upholds the Sui Dynasty banner and honors Empress Xiao, little has changed since before the Jiangdu rebellion.

However, nowadays, important ministers of the three provinces and six ministries, important officials in key positions among the civil and military officials, who recognize and support and will eventually be loyal to King Jingwu Xiao Ying as time goes by... that is, the Star Soul Fused, there are as many as thirty of them, and there will be more and more in the future.

This is also one of the main reasons why "the court was able to stabilize so quickly, and King Jingwu Xiao Ying became the head of all officials and gained recognition and support so quickly"!

To put it bluntly, even in the Sui Dynasty today, all officials are united and working hard. There is not much intrigue or conspiracy, so the situation is naturally stable and prosperous!
"..."

Compared to the panic of the previous few days, now that they finally heard that the rebel army was about to arrive at the city, the expressions of the civil and military officials in the palace changed a little, and there were some whispers, but there was no great panic, worry or fear.

This is the confidence and sense of security brought by military power.

The Ministry of War has just reported the current situation of the Sui army (only within the city of Jiangdu). The number has reached 700,000, and the basic equipment is complete. In addition, the city walls of Jiangdu are high and thick, so what is there to worry about in the rebellion?
What's more, King Shangliang is the weakest of the three rebel kings. He needs to be taken seriously, but there is no need to be overly afraid or worried.

"How dare such a small bandit army split into two groups? Have you figured out how many troops they have?"

Empress Xiao sat high on the imperial throne, remained silent and looked at Xiao Ying. Xiao Ying was not polite and asked directly.

This was obviously an overstepping of authority and disrespectful, but it was clearly done intentionally by Empress Xiao. Now, civil and military officials have become accustomed to it and have gradually accepted it, and many ministers even think it is natural.

Madam Ronghua responded quickly, having already prepared a plan: "Your Highness! According to intelligence, the southern rebel army numbers approximately 400,000; and the eastern rebel army is also estimated to number around 400,000. It will not exceed 500,000, and is less than 300,000!"

"So that's a total of 800,000 troops? Isn't King Shangliang the weakest of the three nearby rebel kings? How could he actually send out such a large army?"

Xiao Ying frowned in surprise and asked in confusion.

You know, according to what Xiao Ying knew before, the King of Shangliang claimed to have an army of one million, but in reality it was estimated that there were only 700,000 or 800,000 soldiers, or even less.

Even if King Shangliang really has an army of one million, the territory also needs an army to guard and maintain it. The number of troops that can actually be sent out is only half of them, which is equivalent to a full-scale attack!
Now, look what happened. He directly sent out an army of 800,000 and even dared to divide it into two groups. So how many troops does King Shangliang have in total?

This was far beyond Xiao Ying's knowledge and expectations!
"It seems... while we're frantically developing and recruiting, our opponents can't just sit there and do nothing. They might even be even more frantic than us, perhaps recruiting much faster than we are. We must keep this in mind and not blindly trust existing rumors and intelligence!"

"This is the importance of intelligence, and even more important is to keep it updated..."

While asking, Xiao Ying was thinking secretly in his heart.

No matter how rich your theoretical knowledge is, it is not as good as personal practice.

"Report to the prince! Prince Shangliang took advantage of the chaos in Jiangdu to sweep across the southeast of Jiangdu, capturing dozens of cities large and small, and his power and strength increased greatly..."

Madam Ronghua responded without hesitation, paused, and added, "At least half of these 800,000 troops, like us, belong to the new army!"

After that, he added: "Of course, their training speed, efficiency, and combat effectiveness, especially in terms of armaments, are definitely not as good as ours!"

(End of this chapter)