NCCnovel Chapter 925 Working together
Chapter 925 Working together
In the past, the officials present would have certainly fought for the position of commander for their own people, since it was a lucrative post that allowed them to earn merit and profit from the soldiers' blood.
But now that Yang Zheng has a knife to his throat, the officials present have surprisingly put aside their personal interests and are seriously discussing who is most suitable to lead the troops.
After half an hour of discussion, the final choice was made: Cui Wu, the Marquis of Guanwu, who had made great military achievements in his youth and had been retired for many years, would lead the troops to resist the offensive of the Yang family army and preserve the little territory left of the imperial court.
After selecting a leader, Xia Yuanyao was finally relieved, ended the meeting, and returned to the inner palace.
only……
Upon returning to the inner palace, Xia Yuanyao did not, as usual, summon his concubines for debauchery; instead, he was filled with worry.
Yang Zheng's threat loomed large, and even if he were incompetent, he knew that the Xia Kingdom was at a critical juncture of life and death...
How could he possibly be happy under such circumstances?
…………
…………
Because the offensive was launched suddenly and the imperial army was weak and ineffective, the Yang family army's initial offensive went very smoothly. The two armies captured several cities in a few days and continued to penetrate deeper into the heart of Jingzhou.
But soon, the situation changed.
The deeper they went into Jingzhou and the closer they got to the capital, the stronger the resistance the two armies of the Yang family encountered became.
The reason is simple: the closer a city is to the capital, the stronger the control the powerful families of Jingzhou have over it. Under the instruction of the powerful families of Jingzhou, the officials in the city chose to hold their ground and defend the city to the death, which undoubtedly greatly slowed down the progress of the Yang family army.
This was not the end of it. After the Xia Dynasty court realized what was happening, it quickly dispatched Guan Wuhou to lead troops to support the city that was under attack by the Yang family army.
Although the army led by Guan Wuhou was small in number, it was extremely powerful, with individual soldiers even stronger than those of the Yang family army.
The arrival of this reinforcement made it extremely difficult for the Yang family army to advance. Although they still had an advantage over the imperial court's defensive forces, Yang Zheng's idea of quickly reaching the capital and destroying the Xia Kingdom's court was undoubtedly shattered.
In addition, the White Lotus Sect and the Yuzhou rebels launched attacks on Yang Zheng's territory at the same time, so that Yang Zheng suddenly faced a situation of fighting on three fronts and being an enemy of the world.
This undoubtedly inspired many who were loyal to the imperial court.
"Yang the traitor is besieged on three sides and will surely be unable to continue! The crisis of the court will surely be resolved within three months."
"Hmph! Yang, with such arrogance, is courting death!"
"With enemies on three sides, the traitor Yang is doomed to perish!"
"..."
Many voices have emerged in Kyushu predicting Yang Zheng's downfall.
However, these voices had no effect on the Yang family army. From top to bottom, the Yang family army firmly believed that the King of Liang would surely destroy the Xia Dynasty and establish a new country!
For no other reason than that the King of Liang brought them and their families a happy and stable life, and because now the rich wheat has blossomed all over the King of Liang's territory. The massive amount of grain produced by the high-yield rich wheat allows the Yang family army to fight a long-term war of attrition against any opponent!
In fact, the idea of quickly destroying the Xia Kingdom's court was just Yang Zheng's wishful thinking. Both the civil and military officials of the Liang King's Mansion knew very well that it was basically impossible to quickly destroy the Xia Kingdom's court, since the Liang King had not accepted the powerful families in the capital who had secretly surrendered.
This meant that the King of Liang would face fierce resistance from these powerful families when he attacked the capital.
Yang Zheng and his civil and military officials had anticipated this, so when the battle went against them, they were not discouraged at all. Instead, they were full of confidence and performed their duties to the best of their ability, contributing their strength to the Battle of Jingzhou.
Civil officials govern the people's livelihood and ensure logistical support.
Military generals lead troops into battle, bravely fighting the enemy.
The Yang family army, united as one, each member did their best to help the King of Liang overthrow the corrupt court.
…………
…………
Three months have passed quietly.
During these three months, although the Yang family army failed to quickly take over the entire Jingzhou, the two armies still made successive victories and occupied one city after another, thanks to their superior troop strength, and their advance drew ever closer to the capital city where the Xia Kingdom's central government was located.
Of course, the Yang family army also paid a heavy price during this period. Since ancient times, it has often taken a huge number of casualties to conquer a city. The battles fought by the Yang family army in Jingzhou were almost all sieges, so the losses were certainly not small.
In three months, the Yang family army had suffered more than 10 casualties, which caused Yang Zheng great distress. As a result, every time he captured a manor of a noble family in Jingzhou, he would launch a massacre to vent his anger.
Of course, Yang Zheng hadn't lost his mind. The people he slaughtered were all members of powerful families who usually bullied the common people. As for ordinary people... Yang Zheng still didn't harm them at all.
Meanwhile, on the battlefields of Qingzhou and Mingzhou, the Yang family army also suffered considerable losses. The White Lotus Sect and the Yuzhou rebels seemed determined to make Yang Zheng unable to defend himself on both sides, constantly increasing their troop deployments in an attempt to break through the Yang family army's defenses.
But this was obviously impossible. Both Bai Yong, who was stationed on the border of Mingzhou, and Zhou Yingjie, who was stationed on the border of Qingzhou, were generals with extremely rich combat experience. The two of them led 100,000 troops to firmly block the offensive of the Yuzhou rebels and the White Lotus Sect, giving the enemy no chance to take advantage.
However, during the three-month battle, the troops led by Bai Yong and Zhou Yingjie also suffered considerable losses.
Of course, the White Lotus Sect and the Yuzhou rebels suffered even greater losses.
It's important to understand that on the battlefields of Qingzhou and Mingzhou, they were the attackers, while the Yang family army was the defenders. Their soldiers were not as elite as the Yang family army, and they also faced disadvantages in terrain, resulting in far greater losses than the Yang family army.
However, neither the White Lotus Sect nor the rebel army valued the lives of ordinary soldiers. Therefore, even though they suffered heavy losses, they continued to launch attacks on Qingzhou and Mingzhou in order to delay Yang Zheng's advance to seize the capital.
However, their hopes were destined to be dashed!
July arrived in the blink of an eye. While war raged across the Nine Provinces, the four provinces ruled by Yang Zheng were peaceful and tranquil. The people who had planted the rich wheat undoubtedly reaped a bumper harvest. They happily harvested the wheat in their fields and then willingly handed over their grain taxes to the government.
As grain taxes were gradually paid, Wei Zijie, acting on Yang Zheng's instructions, launched a large-scale conscription in Youzhou and Liangzhou.
Unlike the White Lotus Sect, the Yang Family Army did not need to forcibly recruit soldiers. Wei Zijie simply released the news, and a large number of good men from good families went to the recruitment offices in various places to join the army!