kvmb Chapter 851 Shocking
Chapter 851 Shocking
In short, compared to rebellious forces like the White Lotus Sect and the Yang Family Army, which unified one or even two prefectures, the rebel forces in Yu Prefecture were much weaker.
Furthermore, lacking confidence in the combat effectiveness of the newly rebuilt Beijing Garrison, and with the idea of suppressing bandits while training troops, the emperor and officials in the capital, after half a day of discussion, ultimately chose the relatively weak Yuzhou as the first battleground for the new Beijing Garrison!
Thus, the newly rebuilt 600,000-strong army of the Beijing Garrison was divided into two groups. One group of 200,000 remained in Beijing to protect the city, while the remaining 400,000 were dispatched to join the 500,000 conscripted laborers, forming a million-strong army that advanced on Yuzhou!
As news of the imperial court's dispatch of troops spread, countless people who were loyal to the court were overjoyed, as if they could already see the imperial army quelling the rebellion in Yuzhou and bringing Yuzhou back under the rule of the court!
However, what happened next shocked countless people!
To everyone in Kyushu who knew about the imperial court's deployment of troops to Yuzhou, the court's deployment of a million troops, even if unable to quickly annihilate the rebels in Yuzhou, should at least have been able to recover some lost territory and drive the rebels in Yuzhou into retreat...
however……
The result, however, was beyond everyone's expectations!
Four hundred thousand regular imperial troops, plus five hundred thousand civilian laborers and auxiliary soldiers—such a mighty army was halted in its advance by a group of Yuzhou rebels the moment it entered Yuzhou…
Although that rebel army was one of the larger forces in Yuzhou, with a force of 100,000, the advantage was clearly on the side of the imperial court, with 100,000 against a million!
But no one expected that this rebel force, composed of 100,000 refugees, beggars, and farmers, would possess the strength to fight against the imperial army of a million men, and actually hold back the advance of the imperial army...
This was not the end of it. As the imperial court sent troops to Yuzhou, under the influence of external forces, the several rebel armies in Yuzhou who had been fighting each other to the death immediately put aside their differences and hatred and chose to fight against the imperial army together!
After the first rebel force tied down the imperial army, other rebel groups soon joined the battle, and so...
A war has broken out between the Yuzhou Allied Army and the imperial army of one million!
Under normal circumstances, the imperial army would have a greater advantage when facing peasant armies. Even if all the rebels in Yuzhou united, the imperial army of a million should have been able to defeat them.
However, the imperial court's million-strong army was clearly not normal!
Although it was said to be a million-strong army, this number was somewhat exaggerated. There were only 400,000 actual combat soldiers, and the rest were auxiliary soldiers or farmers with little combat ability.
Of course, even with only 400,000 soldiers, the imperial army should theoretically have a significant advantage against a peasant army that is smaller in number.
But the outcome of the battle between the two sides shocked everyone!
When the two sides first broke out into a major battle, out of fear of the imperial army, the peasant army in Yuzhou mostly fought hesitantly, allowing the imperial army to gain some advantages in the situation!
However, as time went on, the peasant army in Yuzhou soon discovered that the imperial army, which seemed well-equipped and numerous, was only on the surface. In reality, the army's numbers and combat effectiveness were far from what they had imagined!
Realizing this, the Yuzhou peasant army's fighting spirit instantly soared. They abandoned their previous timid tactics and chose to confront the imperial army head-on!
Soon, the imperial army of a million suffered its first defeat. The morale of the peasant army soared, while the morale of the imperial army plummeted!
Then came the second, third, and fourth defeats...
As the number of defeats increased, the army's morale plummeted until, after the fifth defeat, the army finally collapsed!
The million-strong army crumbled instantly, with countless soldiers deserting into the deep mountains and forests. The imperial army of a million vanished in an instant...
When news of the imperial court's crushing defeat spread, countless people were stunned!
Even Chen Dao, when he received this news, had the same expression as an old man looking at his phone on the subway.
Chen Dao had always known that the Xia Kingdom's court was corrupt, but he hadn't realized it could be this corrupt. A regular army with a million weapons, excellent armor, and ample supplies couldn't even defeat a peasant army composed of starving farmers...
Let alone a million soldiers, even if it were a million pigs, it wouldn't be so easy for the peasant army in Yuzhou to deal with them, right?
But the outcome of this battle was so unexpected. The imperial court, which sent a million-strong army to quickly recover Yuzhou, not only failed to recover Yuzhou, but also failed to recover even a single county!
This was undoubtedly astonishing, and many well-informed individuals quickly dispatched their informants to find out the details.
As the investigation deepened, the various reasons for the imperial army's crushing defeat finally came to light.
As is well known, after suffering a major defeat at the hands of Yang Zheng, the imperial court began to rebuild the three major military camps in the capital!
The person in charge of the reconstruction work is the current prime minister, Fan Jiu.
Fan Jiu, who came from the Fan family, was undoubtedly an extremely greedy person. As the person in charge of the reconstruction of the Beijing garrison, he would naturally not miss the opportunity to make a quick buck.
During the reconstruction of the Beijing garrison, at least 30% of all money and grain that came out of the national treasury was embezzled after passing through Fan Jiu's hands!
The reason why only 30% was embezzled was not because Fan Jiu was particularly honest, but because the families below him were not poor either and also needed to be well-fed!
Every unit of grain and salary that came out of the national treasury was embezzled by Fan Jiu, with the remaining 40% going to his subordinates. The actual amount of grain and salary that actually went into use for the reconstruction of the Beijing garrison was less than 30%!
This is the fundamental reason why it took so long to rebuild the Beijing garrison!
With insufficient provisions and pay, reconstruction work was naturally slowed down, and it took a considerable amount of time to recruit enough soldiers and get them into training.
Logically speaking, even if the military pay was embezzled, leaving only 30% of the rations, the rebuilt Beijing garrison, though not an elite force, would still have some fighting power.
After all, compared to the starving and emaciated peasant armies throughout Kyushu, the soldiers of the Beijing garrison, who only received 30% of their usual pay, were considered to be treated quite well.
however……
The greed of the major families in the capital far exceeded people's imagination!
According to the rules established at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Beijing Garrison, which was responsible for guarding the capital, was the elite of the elite, and its treatment was naturally extremely high!
In the early days of the People's Republic of China, the food standard for soldiers in the Beijing Garrison was three meals a day, with plenty of fine grains at every meal, and they could also eat meat once every ten days!
Although three hundred years have passed, this standard has never changed, and no one dares to change it!
But a standard is just a standard; it doesn't mean that the people who implement the standard will follow it!