Chapter 188
Recently, while Yao Chunnuan was busy dealing with the flood and receiving millions of disaster victims, she had also been closely monitoring the changing situation in the Central Plains. She was primarily concerned with two areas: the Prince of Nan'an and the situation in Jiaozhou, southern Guizhou. Furthermore, Yao Chunnuan was more concerned with the latter than the former.
Qiannan, located in the southeastern part of Jiaozhou, was plagued by severe flooding and widespread rioting. The area, particularly Qiannan, was devastated. Those who could escape had done so, while those who could not were now suffering. This period coincided with the imperial court's critical military deployments in the southwest, leaving it with no time to attend to the affairs of Jiaozhou. The Nanman seized the opportunity and attacked and captured several counties in Jiaozhou.
Yao Chunnuan always felt depressed when she saw news about Jiaozhou.
In order to boost morale and promote the prestige of Daliang, the imperial court would issue an imperial edict to announce it to the world every time it captured a city.
Yao Chunnuan is so disgusted, Zhang Hongbang issued a notice to the court, what about Jiaozhou? Did the court not care?
Because of the announcement from the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, many people's attention was focused on the Jiaozhou area. This attention was significant. The people in the invaded counties of Jiaozhou were suffering greatly.
The Nanman treated the common people of Daliang in Jiaozhou very cruelly. They enslaved and exploited them as much as possible, and made them do the dirtiest and most tiring work, while giving them the worst food.
After learning about the situation in Jiaozhou, knowledgeable people, both in the government and in the opposition, wrote letters to the court, urging the court to send troops to drive the Nanman out of Daliang and recapture the cities and counties occupied by the Nanman in Jiaozhou. In addition, they condemned the Nanman's evil deeds.
The Third Prince ignored the calls from the Yichun City Lord's Mansion and the appeals from all walks of life. Why would he stir up trouble? Once the King of Annan was eliminated, he would naturally have time to deal with the problems in Jiaozhou.
In response to accusations and insults from all walks of life, the Nanman said that these were learned from Yichun, and that they were inspired by Yichun's treatment of Beidi captives.
Hearing this, Yao Chunnuan felt very uncomfortable. Although she did not agree with the label that the Nanman put on their Yichun people, she could not help but feel that she did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of her.
The shameless accusations against Nanman had everyone in Yichun City Lord's Mansion furious. Nanman's accusations were malicious, clearly an attempt to pin the blame for their atrocities on Yichun!
Qi Yingshan was beside her at the time and noticed that she was in a low mood.
He calmly pointed out, "How can this be compared? Is this the same thing? The Northern Di were invaders heading south. They were defeated and captured, and then they atone for their sins through forced labor. Is there a problem with that?"
"And what about the people of Jiaozhou? As innocent victims of the invasion, if they are guilty, then their only crime is being too weak. Weakness is their original sin! No, their only crime is being citizens of Daliang. That's their only original sin!"
His words awakened Yao Chunnuan from her dream. Yes, Nanman was clearly trying to change the concept!
Yao Chunnuan didn't need to say much. In response to the Nanman's attempt to put the blame on others, the members of the City Lord's Mansion who were good at speaking and writing jointly drafted a notice. After it was reviewed by the City Lord and Yao Chunnuan, it was posted, ruthlessly criticizing the Nanman's attempt to put the blame on others.
Facing the fierce accusations from the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, the Nanman leader, A'geli, was unfazed and even declared that if the Daliang court or any other power felt sorry for the people of Jiaozhou, they would offer a ransom of 100 taels of silver per person. Finally, he boasted that he had a much better conscience than the Yichun City Lord's Mansion.
Yichun City Lord’s Mansion: Shameless!
As soon as the Southern Barbarian leader A'geli finished speaking, all eyes fell on the court. "Crown Prince, speak up! Third Prince, speak up! The court, express your stance!"
However, the imperial court remained silent and continued to attack and seize cities from the King of Annan, and the offensive became more fierce.
But all the common people who had been paying attention to the court's attitude were disappointed. This was not the result they wanted. The court could refuse to redeem the people, but facing such an arrogant southern barbarian, shouldn't they give him a slap in the face? Whether they could do it or not was another matter, but as for the courage to do it, the courage to show bloodiness!
Xuzhou
Prince Ruyin and Sima Xian, their master and his follower, looked like they were watching a fight between two tigers from a mountainside.
Prince Ruyin sighed. "The Yichun City Lord's Mansion's move is truly impressive. They're putting the imperial court on the spot. They know full well that the imperial court is at a critical juncture in its attack on the King of Annan, and there's no way they're going to dispatch troops to attack the Nanman. Furthermore, the imperial treasury is empty, so there's no way they're going to pay for ransoms."
Sima Xian fanned himself and said, "My Lord, you are mistaken. Even if the Daliang treasury had money, the court would not use it to redeem people. In the eyes of the court, the common people are pariahs, like leeks. When one crop dies, another grows. It is not worth spending real money to save them."
Because the imperial court was inaction and was denounced as unjust and brutal by countless people, the ruling Third Prince was also furious. He immediately issued an imperial decree to criticize the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, "You are so powerful, you saved the people from dire straits. The Nanman's tricks were learned from you. In fact, you are the culprits. Shouldn't you bear the due responsibility? Moreover, Ageli said that all the forces in Daliang can use silver to ransom people. This includes you, Youzhou. Why don't you use silver to ransom people!"
The Yichun City Lord's Mansion didn't respond to the Third Prince's call at first, but then they responded at the right time, "Okay, since the imperial court is incompetent, the responsibility of rescuing the people of Jiaozhou will fall on us, the Yichun City Lord's Mansion! Isn't it just silver? We, the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, have plenty of it!"
The response from the Yichun City Lord's Mansion surprised everyone who was following the incident. What did this mean? Was the Yichun City Lord's Mansion really going to pay real money to the Nanman to redeem the person?
The leader of the Southern Barbarians Ageli shouted excitedly, saying that he had about 400,000 to 500,000 Daliang people in his hands, and asked how much silver the Yichun City Lord's Mansion was prepared to prepare to redeem them?
Only Sima Xian was pondering the reply from the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, with a thoughtful look in his eyes. Just because they said there was plenty of silver, it didn't mean they would give you the Nanman.
On this day, the Yichun City Lord's Mansion summoned all civil and military officials to discuss matters.
Yao Chunnuan and Huo Wei are the only two women listed.
Everyone had a vague guess about what would happen next and was secretly looking forward to it.
In the meeting hall, Yao Chunnuan's gaze rested quietly on the map. They occupied Youzhou, the Qing and Xu provinces were held by the Ruyin King, and Daliang controlled Sidi, Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, northern Yizhou, and one-third of Liangzhou.
Their Youzhou is considered to be the most powerful and best managed among the thirteen states and thirty-six counties in Daliang.
We can’t say that everyone is a soldier, but the desire for war is the strongest.
Because they were guided to learn to think, because they knew that they had already stood on the opposite side of Daliang, it was either you die or I die. If they did not attack, did not actively expand their territory, when Daliang recovered, it would definitely attack Youzhou, and then this piece of pure land they had lived in would no longer exist.
Especially the disaster victims from all over the country who later came to Youzhou and Yichun, they eagerly hoped that the Yichun Corps would fight back to their hometowns. They wanted their fellow villagers to live the life they are living now.
Especially the recent verbal battles with the imperial court and the Nanman, which had intensified the fighting spirit of the soldiers and the bloodiness of the common people. Everyone was eager to go on the expedition, expand the territory, and then fight south to drive the Nanman back to their homeland!
In a nutshell, the military morale is high.
When Meng Yi, Zhou Yushu, Xu Chong and others arrived at the conference hall, they found that the city lord, Lord Yao, Chief Steward Wu and Lord Yu were all present, and all of them had serious expressions on their faces. They couldn't help but feel a chill in their hearts.
"Is everyone here?" Xing Changfeng, who had been thinking intently with his hands behind his back, slowly turned around and said, "Well, let me tell you something first."
"The entire Jiaozhou has been occupied by the southern barbarians." Xing Changfeng's voice was very low, but his words were like thunder.
Everyone present held their breath. It seemed that the verbal battles they had been engaged in during this period had not delayed the Southern Barbarians from occupying other counties in Jiaozhou.
Yao Chunnuan added, "In the Jiaozhou area, apart from the majority of the people who fled and those who resisted and were killed during the Nanman invasion, there were 400,000 to 500,000 people enslaved by them."
Upon hearing about the situation in Jiaozhou, all the generals felt heavy-hearted.
Meng Yi was the first to say, "General, let's go to war. I am willing to be the vanguard!" Is there any meaning for such a court to exist?
"Yes, General, send out the troops."
General Zhu, "I agree with sending troops! Damn it!"
Those present expressed their opinions one after another.
At the Yichun City Lord's Mansion, all members unanimously agreed to the decision to send troops to Yichun.
The general saw this and reached out to calm them down. "Everyone, please be patient. We will definitely send troops. But this time, we need to fight on two fronts, or even prepare for a third."
"A war on two fronts?"
Xing Changfeng's baton landed on the map. "First line, march westward through Suihua and Houcheng, and advance toward Guangyang in Jizhou. Second line, mobilize the navy and march toward Jiaozhou!"
"What's the third line?"
"The Huo family army is in the northern border of Liangzhou. They are making a feint attack to the south to help us tie down the Daliang troops." Whether this line is opened or not depends on the situation.
Yao Chunnuan was the first to respond, "I support sending troops to Jiaozhou! I support fighting on two fronts! We must take back Jiaozhou that Daliang lost!" Such a court is really unacceptable.
Their dispatch of troops was also a deterrent! Xing Changfeng said seriously, "If we don't send troops this time and allow the Southern Barbarians to revolt, then the Western Rong, Tatars, and other foreign tribes will also be eager to make a move. These foreign tribes are like packs of hyenas. Even though we were repelled by them last year, if they find an advantage, they will still raise troops to attack."
Yao Chunnuan: "Yes, we want to use this battle to deter foreign tribes. We want to use our strength to tell them that no matter how much civil unrest there is in the Central Plains, they will not be allowed to meddle in the land of China."
Just a few words made the people present excited.
However, despite the excitement, some people remained calm. Xu Chong pointed out, "But Jiaozhou is at the southernmost end of Daliang, and we are at the northernmost end. This battle will not be easy to fight."
"Besides, our navy was just established this year and has only been trained for two or three months. Can it be effective?"
Xing Changfeng said, "Time waits for no one. Even a fledgling eagle needs to try to spread its wings." Even if he couldn't do it, he had to learn. He could only improve through fighting. Furthermore, the Jiaozhou area was mountainous and water-rich. Their battles with the Nanman weren't primarily naval battles; naval battles were primarily used for landings. The main battlefield was still dominated by infantry and heavy infantry.
"And if we don't fight this battle, no one will come to rescue the hundreds of thousands of people in Jiaozhou."
Therefore, it is imperative to send troops to Jiaozhou!
Also, as the saying goes, food and supplies must be sent before troops move.
They are in Youzhou, with new and old soldiers, plus the Huo family army, totaling 500,000 soldiers and horses. Whether they are fighting on two or three fronts, it will be very difficult to get food and grass. Can they, Youzhou, hold on?
In response to these doubts, Yao Chunnuan stated that food and fodder were not a major issue. The summer harvest would be ready in another month, and the food and fodder should be sufficient to sustain the war on both fronts. The Huo family army had their own military settlements and could be partially self-sufficient. Yichun only needed to provide them with some food and fodder. Most importantly, once they reached Jiaozhou, they could seize the Nanman's granaries and use their war to support the war!
In addition, the sweet potato harvest would begin in a month, and this time, according to estimates, they could harvest about 13 million kilograms of sweet potatoes. With another season of sweet potato planting, they would never be short of food again.
Now that these issues have been discussed, there is only one question left: if we fight on two fronts, who will be the head coach for each front?
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