Chapter 415: Your Excellency's Contribution
Will Last Forever The whereabouts of Takehiko Ishimoto's Japanese troops can be traced back to their defeat and retreat from Runzhou.
When they were frightened and retreating, they encountered a strong wind at sea. They were busy escaping and had no time to care about too much, so they fled to the southwest sea along the north wind.
After the defeated army of Runzhou retreated, Chang Suining ordered people to investigate their whereabouts, but they only found that they had returned to Japan. As for why the whereabouts of Ishimoto Takehiko were missed, it could not be blamed on the incompetence of Chang Suining's subordinates and the naval forces of the southwestern coastal states.
It should be noted that since the spring, after Chang Suining took over the post of Grand Marshal of the Anti-Japanese War, he immediately united with the coastal states to strengthen the coastal defense and conduct military exercises. However, when heading southwest, this matter encountered obstacles in Yuezhou.
Yuezhou was unwilling to follow Chang Suining's arrangements, and made excuses several times, and never opened Yuezhou waters to Chang Suining.
Firstly, they believed that the Japanese army intended to target Jiangdu, which was weakened after the war, and could not reach Yuezhou, which was not rich at all, so there was no need for Yuezhou to get involved in this matter.
Secondly, King Li Su of Yue obviously had his own calculations. He followed the arrangements of his advisers and ignored Chang Suining's suggestion. Instead, he recruited soldiers and horses in the name of resisting Japanese pirates, thereby building up momentum and recruiting talents.
Unfortunately, when Ishimoto Takehiko led the remaining troops to escape with the wind, they entered the East China Sea and soon set their sights on Yuezhou.
The Suzhou Navy, which was not far from Yuezhou, received warnings from Runzhou and Chang Suining's subordinates. When they were searching for the traces of the Japanese army at sea, they repeatedly asked Yuezhou about this matter, but Yuezhou still did not take it seriously and only claimed that they had not seen any traces of the Japanese army.
The Yuezhou navy looked at the calm ocean and sneered. They heard that Chang Suining had used some means to defeat the Japanese army in Jiangdu. How could these Japanese be able to come to Yuezhou at this time when they were busy with their own affairs? At this moment, their lord Li Su was busy conspiring with more than a hundred counselors he had gathered to rebel.
From this we can see that Li Su was fully devoted to his own cause and did not spend much time on maritime affairs.
Therefore, Ishimoto Takehiko soon discovered to his pleasant surprise that the weakness of Yuezhou's coastal defense was quite gratifying.
At that time, Ishimoto Takehiko had lost contact with the rear, and news from the sea was delayed. He was not yet aware of the news that Fujiwara no Maro had been defeated and retreated in Jiangdu.
He and Fujiwara no Maro did not get along well, but in his heart, to a certain extent, he recognized Fujiwara no Maro's abilities.
Fujiwara no Maro led an army of 70,000 to attack Jiangdu. How could he not be able to capture it?
On the contrary, he was forced to obey Fujiwara no Maro's arrangement and attack Runzhou. He was already full of anger, and then he encountered the Taihu Navy pretending to be Xuan Ce's army. Now that he came to his senses, he felt really unlucky.
He absolutely could not go back in disgrace and meet Fujiwara no Maro with the reputation of having suffered a defeat.
He came here with the wind, it must be the guidance and gift from God!
Therefore, Ishimoto Takehiko planned to secretly capture Yuezhou, regain his face and surprise everyone.
He had carefully calculated that when he took Yuezhou, Fujiwara no Maru would have landed in Jiangdu, and the coastal states of Dasheng would be in chaos... Brave soldiers, enjoy the fruits of victory first! On a windless night, Ishimoto Takehiko suddenly launched a surprise attack.
The Yuezhou navy was unprepared and had almost no ability to resist.
No one expected that the Japanese army would land in Yuezhou.
King Li Su of Yue was greatly alarmed and immediately used all his military force to resist - he could never have imagined that the troops prepared for rebellion would be used at this time!
However, many of his soldiers were newly recruited and had only a short period of training. Although they had a great advantage in numbers, they were still frightened and thrown into disarray by the arrogant attitude of the Japanese army.
In the end, the Taihu navy, located between Runzhou and Yuezhou, rushed to the scene after hearing the news and basically stabilized the situation.
At this time, Ishimoto Takehiko finally learned the news of Fujiwara no Maro's defeat.
Afterwards, Liu Yang, the governor of the eastern route of Jiangnan, led his troops to Yuezhou to encircle and suppress the Japanese army together.
The chaotic Japanese army began to flee everywhere, and Qiantang, which borders Yuezhou, was also affected.
The Emperor Shengce was furious and severely reprimanded King Li Su of Yue for his arrogance and unwillingness to work with other states to strengthen the coastal defense, which almost led to the loss of Yuezhou.
The empress would not be unaware of the King of Yue's disloyalty, and the King of Yue's behavior was tantamount to a handle delivered to her door.
The King of Yue, who was hesitant and easily influenced by others, was unwilling to surrender before his great cause began. So he decided to rebel as soon as possible before the emperor could make his decision.
But the timing he was forced to choose was obviously wrong, even bad. Liu Yang, the governor of the East Road of Jiangnan, came prepared and in just four days, he suppressed his troops which had just been disrupted by the Japanese army.
But the King of Yue, under the desperate protection of a team of trusted guards, escaped during the chaos and his whereabouts are still unknown.
From the Japanese army's invasion of Yuezhou to the failure of the Yue King's rebellion, everything came and went in a hurry.
This happened ten days ago. Chang Suining was near Xingzhou at the time, so he only knew the whole story today.
However, the Jiangdu Governor's Mansion was well aware of all of this. At this moment, upon hearing about the capital's treatment of the Prince of Yue's Mansion, Wang Yue was terrified of what would happen next, and his phantom death syndrome broke out completely.
If he had really followed King Li Su of Yue, who knows how he would have died now.
Moreover, this Li Su is really not a good person. He rebelled and he hasn't even left Yuezhou... It's like he hasn't even left the house. As soon as he stood up, he was caught. It is rare in the world for a battle to be decided so quickly.
This was probably the most efficient thing Li Su had ever done in his life.
But it didn't matter that he himself failed to accomplish his task. Instead, he implicated the people of Yuezhou and Qiantang, and gave the Japanese pirates an opportunity to take advantage. Now the imperial court is still searching for the remnants of the Japanese army in Yuezhou and Qiantang.
Wang Yue was from Qiantang. While he was feeling fortunate that his family had moved to Jiangdu early, he couldn't help but curse Li Su in his heart.
Recalling the day when he first met his master, when the master had already asserted that the King of Yue would not be able to accomplish anything, Wang Yue could not help but sigh: "Your Excellency is really as wise as a torch and as good as a god..."
He also expressed his gratitude to his friend beside him: "It was Guanlin who saved my life."
At this moment, it was already dark, the lights were on in the outer study, Yao Ran and the others had left, and Wang Yue had also finished his work, so he had time to talk to Luo Guanlin about these "personal words": "... Guanlin not only saved me, but also introduced such a lord to me. He is truly the noble man in my life."
Luo Guanlin was sorting out the official business at hand and occasionally made a perfunctory response.
Until I heard Wang Yue say with regret: "It's a pity that you are not interested in this. You and I are destined not to be together for long. We will be separated in three years..."
Wang Yue paused as he spoke, looked at his friend, and said thoughtfully, "You should have joined the Lord's army this spring, right? And now the New Year is approaching..."
Wang Yue suddenly felt even more regretful: "In that case, doesn't that mean there are only two years and one month left?"
Luo Guanlin was also inexplicably shocked - how could it be so fast? Wang Yue sighed a few times, and felt that the time to part with his good friend was not far away. It seemed that he had to hurry up to take advantage of his good friend.
Wang Yue liked discussing official business with Luo Guanlin, and his desire to learn was written on his face every day.
On the way out of the outer study, Wang Yue asked Luo Guanlin about his views on the Mohe affairs.
About twenty days ago, the Mohe people in the northeasternmost part of Dasheng suddenly rose up in rebellion.
The motives of the Mohe uprising were somewhat similar to Ishimoto Takehiko's attack on Yuezhou.
The leader of the Mohe Heishui tribe heard that the new king of Dongluo, Kim Heon-yeong, was planning to send troops to attack Sheng.
The Suomote tribe of the Mohe was separated from the border of the Eastern Luo Kingdom only by the Andong Protectorate, which was bordered by the Yalu River.
The Mohe people made their living by fishing, hunting and nomadism. They also had a small amount of arable land, but they lived in a cold and harsh place. Like most ethnic minorities, they also yearned for the vast and fertile inland territory and had repeatedly invaded and trespassed over the years.
While all the troops in the northeast of Dasheng were used to guard against Dongluo, the leaders of the various Mohe tribes gathered their forces, crossed the Liao River, and captured Yingzhou in one fell swoop with an extremely fierce attitude.
The Andong Protectorate allocated half of its troops to suppress it, but was repeatedly defeated to no avail.
The Mohe occupied Xiayingzhou and did not rush to advance, but waited for news of the Eastern Luo raising an army.
But instead of receiving the news of raising troops, we heard that Dong Luo submitted a letter of apology to the Emperor of Da Sheng!
Mohe leaders: …? ?
Damn Dong Luo! The owner changed at this time!
They took action before Dong Luo in order to gain the upper hand, so that Dong Luo would not get all the benefits and they could only pick up the leftovers behind... But who would have thought that Dong Luo would simply not follow them!
Soon, they learned the news of the Japanese army's disastrous defeat.
At this point, the Mohe should have been completely panicked, and since the Eastern Luo had been defeated without a fight, the Andong Protectorate could finally safely mobilize all its reserve troops to deal with the Mohe and take back Yingzhou.
But who would have thought that at this moment, the Pinglu Jiedushi rebelled.
The Pinglu Jiedushi was stationed in an important town in the northeast to control the northeastern Shiwei and Mohe tribes. He was one of the ten Jiedushi established by the Dasheng Dynasty and his influence should not be underestimated.
It is not known whether it was Pinglu Jiedushi Kangdingshan who approached the Mohe, or the Mohe who secretly contacted this person. Although it is unclear who was the active party, and it is not known what conditions and agreements were reached, the two sides did collude.
Kang Dingshan had 37,000 elite soldiers under his command, and more than 50,000 Mohe cavalry. They colluded with both internal and external forces, and had become a serious threat.
Kangdingshan has been stationed here for many years, and the Andong Protectorate was originally under his jurisdiction. It was only because the imperial court recently sent additional troops here to defend against Dong Luo, otherwise the consequences would be even more disastrous.
However, the 50,000 additional troops sent by the court were not enough to compete with Kangdingshan, who was familiar with the local terrain and combat methods.
Urgent reports were sent back to the capital.
At this moment, Kangdingshan was advancing with great momentum and was on his way to attack Jizhou.
"General Cui has led his army to rush to the rescue..." Luo Guanlin said to Wang Yue at this moment: "From Anbei Protectorate to Jizhou, it is a thousand miles away. Calculating the days, General Cui should have traveled half the distance."
"I hope we can make it in time." Wang Yue sighed, "Although Jizhou is in danger, Youzhou must not be lost."
Kangding Mountain is obviously heading towards Youzhou.
Once Youzhou is broken, the situation inside the pass will be in complete chaos.
Therefore, even though guarding the northern border was of vital importance, Cui Jing had to lead his troops there - this was the news about Cui Jing that Chang Suining learned.
"Youzhou still has the Fanyang Jiedushi in it, who can at least hold out a bit. As for the details, we can only wait for news from Grand Commander Cui's arrival..." Luo Guanlin said, "Fortunately, the Eastern Luo was defeated without a fight, otherwise the northeastern part would have been completely in chaos by now."
This is a blessing in disguise.
Speaking of Dongluo, Wang Yue couldn't help but say: "The changes in Dongluo's internal affairs are really strange... Why did the new King of Dongluo suddenly think of submitting a letter of request for aid to our Lord?"
Luo Guanlin: "I can only say that this new king is a wise man."
"I always feel that it's not that simple..." Wang Yue pondered and whispered, "Do you think that before submitting the letter of request for assistance, could the Lord have secretly interacted with the new King of Dongluo?"
For example, was it his master who secretly manipulated the succession of the throne of Dong Luo, and Dong Luo's request for assistance was just a superficial procedure? Luo Guanlin turned his head and glanced at Wang Yue: "...You are now considering her as an omnipotent person."
Wang Yue smiled reservedly, and said with his hands behind his back: "No matter what, it was your Excellency who sent troops in time to stabilize the civil strife in Dong Luo without fighting. This is a great achievement."
"We avoided fighting the Eastern Luo and defeated the Japanese army... After your victory, the entire eastern sea area has been stabilized. There will be no more disturbances for at least several decades." Wang Yue still finds it incredible when he talks about it today: "Guan Lin, how do you think you did it?"
Luo Guanlin was too lazy to pay attention to him: "When he comes back, go ask him in person."
"Like the common people of Jiangdu, I am looking forward to your triumphant return." Wang Yue looked towards the Yellow Sea through the night sky. "It's so cold on the sea, I wonder how you are doing now. By the way... the seventh victory report should have come back by now, right?"
These days, they have been delivering good news to the capital, and their hands are sore from doing so.
But there is no way, because their lord is so good at fighting.
Wang Yue was still in a good mood. No matter how chaotic the outside world was, at least Jiangdu was becoming increasingly stable. He was a rookie with limited abilities, and the overall situation in the world was beyond his control. For the time being, he just wanted to take care of his own business.
The next day after this was said, Jiangdu welcomed the first snow of this winter.
Along with it came Chang Suining’s seventh letter of good news.
Unlike the previous six letters, this victory report was the last one, heralding the complete victory of the war.
"...The lord's letter said that she took Fujiwara no Maro's head to Japan to get a peace letter!" Wang Yue was very excited.
Yao Ran was a little stunned for a moment. What kind of peace letter does it require adults to go and get it in person? This shows that the weight of this peace letter must be very special, right?
"And when you go to Japan this time and inspect the sea area with the momentum of a great victory, spread the news, it will surely deter the overseas countries!" Luo Ze is still young, and at this moment, he is so excited that his fair face is flushed: "Let the countries around the world take a good look. Even if Dasheng has temporary troubles, it is definitely not a weak country that they can covet and bully!"
Although the young man's words contained too many personal emotions, Wang Changshi nodded in approval.
At this turbulent time, the significance of your victory at sea, which is rare and complete, is particularly profound and long-lasting.
"Your Excellency and every soldier should be recorded in history books." Wang Changshi sighed, "Your Excellency's contribution to this battle will be remembered for thousands of years."
Wang Changshi suddenly remembered that in the letter that Master Chu had sent him, he had mentioned, "The sage does not want to use the Xuan Ce army to help them. This battle is difficult. You still need to worry more about the girl."
And now, My Lady has proved that even without Xuan Ce's army, she can still win the most beautiful victory at sea.
With the battle over, the lord has truly cleared his name. From now on, no one can say that the lord's defeat of Xu Zhengye was only due to luck and cunning tactics.
Those who are waiting to kick someone when they are down should swallow back their mocking words word for word.
Luo Guanlin didn't say much, but his heart was filled with excitement, and he even felt refreshed and full of energy.
Although he did not show it very obviously, he immediately urged: "Hurry up and spread the news of this great victory to the people of Jiangdu!"
"Quickly prepare a report and send it to the capital by express horse—"
Then he said, "Also, we should send someone to pass the message to General Chang as soon as possible!"
4300 words update delivered, good night~ (End of this chapter)
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