lovenovelstory Chapter 082 Mao Sui Recommends Himself
Chapter 082 Mao Sui Recommends Himself
Holding the military report in his hand, Yang He looked worried.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside. Yang He looked up and saw a man rushing in; it was his subordinate, Councilor Hong Chengchou.
"My lord!" Upon entering, Hong Chengchou first bowed to Yang He, then said with a grave expression, "A major incident has occurred!"
Yang He's eyelids twitched involuntarily, and he asked anxiously, "What is it?"
"We've just received news that Wang Jiayin's troops have captured the cities of Anding and Qingjian, and their advance is heading straight for Yan'an Prefecture!"
"What!" Yang He was immediately shocked, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets: "Is the news accurate?"
"Indeed!" Hong Chengchou nodded and handed over a military report he had just received.
Yang He snatched it away and looked down to examine it closely.
After glancing at it twice, he could no longer suppress his anger. He slammed his hand on the table and roared, "Du Wenhuan and Ai Mu are incompetent! What is Zhang Nian good for? How could he let the rebel army take two cities so easily?"
Du Wenhuan was a guerrilla general, and Ai Mu was the garrison commander of Yan'an Prefecture. Their two forces had long since merged, possessing a military strength of over four thousand men.
While Yang He was still on his way to his new post, Du Wenhuan and Ai Mu led their troops north and successively recovered Anding and Qingjian counties, which had been occupied by Gao Yingxiang, stabilizing the region. Not long ago, they continued their northward advance, intending to join forces with Mai Danian and Lu Jinchun's troops in the north to launch a pincer attack and annihilate the rebel army.
But how long has it been? Not only has their northward advance made no progress, but they have also been driven back by Wang Jiayin, who has moved south. Not only that, even the two counties of Anding and Qingjian, which they had just recovered, have fallen into Wang Jiayin's hands.
Riding the wave of their great victory, Wang Jiayin's troops are now divided into three routes: the main force is heading straight for Yan'an Prefecture, while the detachments are attacking Yanchuan and Hancheng. On the other hand, the government troops, led by Du Wenhuan and Ai Mu, have retreated directly to Yan'an Prefecture. The Yan'an Prefect, Zhang Nian, is frantic, like an ant on a hot pan, and urgently sends messengers to Yang He for reinforcements.
Yang He subconsciously stood up and paced anxiously around the room, his face full of unease.
He had just taken office and hadn't even fully grasped the situation in Shaanxi or made the necessary arrangements when such bad news came. How could he not be anxious?
Yan'an Prefecture is a crucial location in Shaanxi, the most important prefecture city in northeastern Shaanxi. Losing Yan'an Prefecture would mean losing control of a quarter of Shaanxi. Add to that Gao Yingxiang's forces in the northeast and several newly emerging rebel groups in the southeast, and half of Shaanxi would be completely devastated, the situation becoming unmanageable.
"My lord, it's not really Zhang Lian's fault," Hong Chengchou explained, seeing Yang He's anxiety. "The situation was originally under our control. According to the previous plan, Mai Danian and Lu Jinchun were in the north, and Du Wenhuan and Ai Mu were in the south. The two forces were to advance steadily, pressing the enemy step by step, relying on the city walls and terrain to besiege the rebel army. As long as nothing went wrong, even if we couldn't wipe out the rebel army temporarily, we could still keep the situation under control."
He paused, then sighed, "Who could have predicted that Mai Danian and Lu Jinchun, eager for glory, would underestimate the enemy and act rashly? Their troops were annihilated at Gaohanling, and even Mai Danian and Lu Jinchun died in the battle. As a result, the north lost its restraint. Not only did Gao Yingxiang easily take back Fugu, but the original plan also completely failed."
"When the news of Mai Danian and Lu Jinchun's defeat arrived, Du Wenhuan and Ai Mu were left isolated and helpless. How could they not be worried in their panic? Now that the northern forces have been freed from their constraints, Wang Jiayin and his troops have no more worries about their rear and can directly march south. With only less than five thousand troops from Du and Ai's forces, it is unrealistic to defend all the cities. Under these circumstances, it is appropriate from a tactical point of view to take the initiative to abandon Qingjian and Anding and retreat the main force to Yan'an Prefecture."
He paused, then continued, "The most important thing right now isn't how to wipe out the rebels, but how to ensure that Yan'an Prefecture, Yanchuan, and Hancheng are not breached by the rebel army. Only by holding this line and curbing the rebels' momentum can we free up resources to deploy troops and plan our next move at a more measured pace!"
"Mai Danian and Lu Jinchun deserve to die!" Upon hearing these two names, Yang He felt a surge of anger.
As Hong Chengchou said, the situation in Shaanxi was originally under control. As long as the northern and southern armies acted cautiously and steadily, even if they could not annihilate the rebel army temporarily, they could contain the situation within a certain range.
But now, with the Battle of Gaohanling and the complete annihilation of Mai Danian and Lu Jinchun's troops in the north, the situation has changed dramatically. Gao Yingxiang, riding the wave of his great victory, has reclaimed Fugu and taken control of the surrounding area; while Wang Jiayin's troops, no longer threatened from the rear, are leading their army south without any scruples. Relying on their superior numbers, they are simply no match for the Du and Ai troops.
If Du Wenhuan and Ai Mu continue to resist in Qingjian and Anding, not only will they have to divide their troops to defend these cities, but these two cities have only recently been recaptured, and the able-bodied men in the cities are simply not up to the task. In addition, there are many local people among the rebels, and if they were to cooperate from within, they would not only lose the cities, but also lose their already insufficient troops.
If that were to happen, without sufficient troops, Yan'an Prefecture would certainly fall. And once Yan'an Prefecture fell, a large part of Shaanxi would be completely devastated, and the situation would become even more uncontrollable.
The situation is already bad enough. Although it hasn't reached the point of complete decay, a single misstep could still lead to disastrous consequences.
For a moment, Yang He was extremely nervous. On his way to Shaanxi, he had studied the Shaanxi map meticulously every day, and was practically intimately familiar with the terrain. But knowing was one thing; the crucial problem was that Yang He currently had no troops at his disposal!
He knew perfectly well that the best way to deal with this situation was to immediately send reinforcements, station a large force in the Yanchuan and Hancheng areas, and at the same time strengthen the defense of Yan'an Prefecture to stabilize the situation.
As long as we can hold off Wang Jiayin's forces and halt their momentum, preventing the rebel army from breaking through the government troops' defenses and advancing south smoothly, the entire situation can be stabilized. Once the situation is stable, we can then proceed with our plans gradually, whether it's dividing and disintegrating these rebel forces or annihilating them in a more deliberate manner.
Unfortunately, although Yang He was the Governor-General of the Three Border Regions, he had limited military strength at his disposal. Had it not been for the disastrous defeat at Gaohanling, Yang He might have been able to make a significant impact. However, after this defeat, the imperial court's military strength in northeastern Shaanxi was severely insufficient. The armies of Du and Ai could barely secure Yan'an Prefecture at present, leaving them with no capacity to attend to other matters.
At this point, some people may ask: Since Yang He is the governor-general of the three border regions, why can't he transfer troops from other places or even the border troops?
It sounds like it's possible to do that. But given the current situation in Shaanxi, Yang He simply can't do it.
First, the border troops were stationed by Mongols from the grasslands.
It's winter now, and spring will arrive in just over a month. Shaanxi has suffered a severe drought for the past two years, resulting in almost no harvest. And the situation isn't much better on the Mongolian grasslands, just across the Great Wall.
The drought also affected Mongolia. Moreover, the Mongols were herders, unlike the Ming people who were an agricultural people, and therefore were not as resilient to disasters.
Every year as winter turned to spring, the Mongols, having barely survived the winter, would inevitably migrate south to plunder supplies in order to survive; this had almost become a regular occurrence. If the border troops were to be withdrawn at this time, resulting in a breach in the Great Wall defenses, and Mongol cavalry were to break through the Great Wall and storm into Shaanxi, the consequences would be unbearable for anyone.
Furthermore, due to the uprisings of Wang Jiayin, Gao Yingxiang, and others, numerous rebel groups of varying sizes have emerged in other parts of Shaanxi over the past six months. In order to stabilize the region, local garrison troops have been dispatched to quell the rebellions and suppress the uprisings.
If these troops are also transferred out, wouldn't that be like pressing down one gourd only to have another float up? Putting aside whether we can completely wipe out Wang Jiayin and Gao Yingxiang's forces, if the time drags on and the rebels in other places become more and more rampant, then it won't just be a problem in northeastern Shaanxi now, but a major problem that will directly involve the entire Shaanxi province!
The more Yang He calculated, the more desperate he became.
As the governor-general of the three border regions, he currently has less than two thousand troops at his disposal, half of which are the Beijing garrison troops he brought from the capital.
Two thousand men—let alone besieging Wang Jiayin and Gao Yingxiang's forces, even maintaining a defensive line would be extremely difficult. Besides, Yang He couldn't possibly send out all his troops, could he? Xi'an is the provincial capital of Shaanxi, the site of thirteen dynasties. If Xi'an were to lose its military presence, what would Yang He use to suppress and resist any rebellions that might break out in the surrounding areas?
"My lord! The most important thing right now is to stabilize the defenses and hold off the rebels. As for the rest, we can figure it out later." Seeing Yang He's dilemma, Hong Chengchou suggested from the side.
"Hengjiu, how could I not know?" Yang He sighed. "You're right. But we don't have many troops available right now, especially since it's winter. Even if I order some troops from Ningxia and Gansu to come and reinforce us, it will take them at least two months to get to Xi'an, let alone reach the Yan'an area."
He shook his head, his face full of bitterness: "The rebels won't give me that much time. Since Wang Jiayin and the others have already divided their forces to attack, it seems the battle is about to begin. What do you suggest we do?"
Hong Chengchou frowned. Yang He was right; time was of the essence. If troops were to be transferred from Ningxia and Gansu, by the time they arrived, it would be too late. With a major battle imminent, they simply didn't have that much time. Moreover, it was a fact that Yang He didn't have any troops at his disposal, so while his suggestion was good, implementing it would be extremely difficult.
Hong Chengchou pondered deeply. After a while, he made his decision. He looked up at Yang He and said, "My lord, I volunteer to go to the front lines!"
"What did you say? You're going?" Yang He was taken aback and asked in surprise.
Hong Chengchou nodded, his expression serious: "The situation is critical now. If we can't stop the rebels from advancing south, half of Shaanxi will be ruined. The only thing we can do right now is to stop the rebels, prevent the situation from deteriorating further, and buy time for subsequent arrangements."
"Although I am a civil official, I have the ambition to serve my country. As the Governor-General of the Three Borders, it is inconvenient for you to go to the front lines. Moreover, you are needed to oversee things in Xi'an. The subsequent supply of provisions and troop deployment will all depend on your command. After much consideration, it is most appropriate for me to go there myself."