Chapter 140 The Western Expedition Returns, and the Whole World Rejoices

Zhao Kui's proposal was immediately rejected by Wu Sanjia.

He knew very well that Zhao Kui's suggestion to let his troops plunder grain definitely did not mean plundering the remaining fourteen prefectures of Youyun controlled by the Longcheng rebels.

Therefore, the only option is to seize Ying and Mo prefectures, which are controlled by the imperial court and the Tiger Army.

Such practices are tantamount to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs or draining the pond to catch all the fish.

In the short term, this is indeed one of the ways to quickly solve the problem of food and supplies for the army.

But doing so would mean that the Great Xin Dynasty and the Tiger Army would completely lose the support of the people in the northern region.

By then, forget about the Northern Expedition to quell the rebellion; it's questionable whether the Tiger Army can even hold its ground in the north.

And the titles of General of Might and Commander-in-Chief bestowed upon him by the imperial court, and everything he had finally obtained after enduring humiliation and hardship for thirty years as a son of a concubine.

All of this will vanish like smoke with the failure of the Tiger Army's Northern Expedition, turning into a fleeting dream.

Ying and Mo prefectures are not only the main base of the Tiger Legion, but also Wu Sanjia's last resort in the Great Xin Dynasty. He cannot afford to make any mistakes.

Wu Sanjia said, "General Zhao, your words have reminded me that Ying and Mo are the main bases of the Tiger Army's northern expedition, and we must not allow any mishaps."

"Immediately issue an order to send an urgent messenger to Ying and Mo prefectures, instructing the garrison commanders stationed in the two cities to strictly order their soldiers to obey orders and not to disturb the people's livelihood."

"Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed without mercy!"

After thinking for a moment, he continued, "In addition, the one million taels of silver allocated by the imperial court will be used entirely for the distribution of pensions to the soldiers who died in the Battle of Mozhou."

"These funds are for designated purposes only; no one may misappropriate even a single tael of silver!"

"Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed without mercy!"

"General—"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kui immediately became anxious and said, "General, I understand that you will not allow the soldiers guarding Ying and Mo prefectures to disturb the people's livelihood;"

"But, if the one million taels of silver allocated by the imperial court were all used to pay the pensions to the fallen soldiers, what will happen to the 270,000 Tiger Warriors who are still alive?"

"General, if the military rewards for the Battle of Mozhou and the wages owed by the court for half a year are not paid on time, it will cause unrest or even mutiny among the troops at the front!"

Zhao Kui earnestly advised, "General, in my opinion, the compensation for the fallen soldiers can be postponed."

"Right now, let's focus on ensuring the pay and rewards for the 100,000 elite Tiger Warriors outside Zhuozhou City!"

"No!"

Wu Sanjia once again rejected Zhao Kui's proposal, stating bluntly, "Most of the widows of these fallen soldiers live in Mozhou City and are from poor families."

“When the men in the family die in battle, the whole family loses its source of income. If the compensation for the dead is repeatedly delayed, these elderly, weak, women and children will not even be able to guarantee their basic livelihood.”

"Either your whole family begs, or you starve to death!"

At this point, Wu Sanjia's eyes reddened, and he continued, "Before the Battle of Mozhou, I promised them that as long as I was still in office, I would take good care of the widows of the fallen soldiers!"

"The bodies of the fallen soldiers outside Mozhou City are still warm. How can I, as a general, commit such a treacherous act!"

"General Zhao, this matter is settled!"

With that, Wu Sanjia waved his hand and ordered, "As for the army's pay and rewards, I will find a way to solve that myself!"

"However, during this period, you, General Zhao, must assist me in stabilizing the morale and fighting spirit of the soldiers at the front. We must not allow the Longcheng rebels in Zhuozhou to notice anything amiss."

"Did you understand?"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Go!

Soon, Deputy General Zhao Kui took his orders and left.

Inside the vast central command tent, only Wu Sanjia remained.

After pondering for a moment, he finally decided to personally write a letter and present it to Qin Ruhui, the prime minister of the court.

Wu Sanjia hunched over his desk, writing furiously: "To Prime Minister Qin, this letter is as if we were face to face..."

......

At the same time.

Inside Zhuozhou City, at the Longcheng military camp.

Inside the central command tent, Chang Yuchun, the deputy marshal of the army, wearing armor and carrying a sword, stared thoughtfully at the simple war sand table in front of him.

Today marks the tenth day of the imperial army's siege of the city.

Seven or eight tenths of the troops Chang Yuchun mobilized from various prefectures in Youyun have already arrived in Longcheng.

Currently, 300,000 Longcheng soldiers have gathered in Zhuozhou City.

Once all the reinforcements have arrived, Chang Yuchun will be able to mobilize a massive 350,000 troops from Longcheng.

While waiting for reinforcements, Chang Yuchun ordered the defending soldiers not to leave the city to fight, but to defend the city.

Clearly, the disastrous defeat at Mozhou City had made Chang Yuchun wary of the Imperial Tiger Army outside the city and its commander, Wu Sanjia.

In particular, Wu Sanjia also commands a force of 3,000 Ironclad Heavy Cavalry.

This made Chang Yuchun, who lacked effective strategies to defeat the enemy, hesitant to leave the city to fight, fearing the consequences.

His plan was to wait for reinforcements to arrive, then launch a full-scale attack to achieve victory in one battle.

Outside Zhuozhou City, they devoured Wu Sanjia's Tiger Army in one gulp.

"Report—"

"Reporting to the Vice Marshal, it is a decree from His Highness Prince Jin!"

At this moment, a messenger from the army rushed in with a letter in his hand, written by Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.

Chang Yuchun immediately took the letter and read it word by word.

The letter was sent by Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin ten days ago, after he received news of the first defeat of the Longcheng army in its southern expedition. The letter was sent by express courier from the capital of the Uyghur Khanate, Harabalqas.

In the letter, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin severely criticized the military action of Deputy Marshal Chang Yuchun, who was too eager for quick success and which led to the disastrous defeat of the southern expeditionary army at Mozhou.

Furthermore, he informed Chang Yuchun that the Longcheng army had quelled the rebellion in the Western Regions.

Another expeditionary force led by Deputy Marshal Chen Qingzhi had also driven the Tibetan barbarian troops out of Anxi and brought the flames of war to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; their advance was aimed directly at the Tibetan capital.

Finally, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin warned Chang Yuchun that unless he was absolutely certain of victory, he should never rashly leave the city to fight against the Iron Pagoda of the Imperial Tiger Army. He should simply hold the city of Zhuozhou.

When Chen Huai'an returns from his western expedition, he will personally lead the Iron Pagoda Cavalry and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on a southern expedition to fight against the imperial Tiger Army.

After reading the letter, Chang Yuchun felt very uneasy.

Both western expeditionary forces achieved great victories, but his own southern expeditionary force suffered a crushing defeat.

This made Chang Yuchun, who was always proud and arrogant, feel extremely frustrated.

Chang Yuchun muttered to himself, "Judging from the time it took His Highness Prince Jin to send out the urgent message, the western expeditionary army that returned to Jin must have already passed Yumen Pass, right?"

"So be it. We've already lost the battle of Mozhou, whether we were going to win or not, we've already lost face!"

"Let's just wait until His Highness Prince Jin leads the Iron Pagoda and Tiger Leopard Cavalry on their southern expedition, and then have a decisive battle with Wu Sanjia!"

With that, Chang Yuchun said sternly, "Guards, pass down the order—"