Red Mansion: Incense and God Road, starting from the City God of Shenjing

Chapter 88 Layout, the ultimate goal of the White Lotus!

Chapter 88 Layout, the ultimate goal of the White Lotus!
After saying this, Jia Cong raised his hand and held up the sacred seal.

Dozens of magical weapons used by warriors flew out and formed several rows in the air.

All the generals present had martial arts skills, and two of them were innate martial artists. Their eyes widened when they saw this scene.

Any one of these magical weapons can greatly increase everyone's survivability on the battlefield.

"Ben never says anything false."

"Each of you pick one and I'll borrow it from you temporarily."

"If you make contributions in the future, this will be a reward."

There were thirty-four people in the tent, most of whom had clean family backgrounds.

If each person has one, there are only thirty-four pieces.

According to the practice of the Daqian army, if Jia Cong can make his troops perform meritorious deeds, he will be promoted.

Most of them would serve privately, just like disciples and former officials.

By then, Jia Cong's influence in the Jiangnan camp will be incomparable.

Add to that the terrified Jiangnan gentry who had already been killed.

In Jiangnan, Jia Cong's words are more useful than imperial edicts.

It is enough to become a stable rear base for the development of Shinto.

"This... Marshal... this is too..."

A deputy general below looked hesitant.

The magic weapons used by warriors are not as precious as the literary treasures of great scholars and the magical weapons of Taoism.

But there is a price but no demand for it, and you can’t buy it just by having money.

To these middle and senior generals, it is like a legend.

"No need to say more, just choose."

Jia Cong waved.

With such kindness and severity, the generals dared not say how to be loyal.

But I was convinced and began to return to my roots.

Wait until all the generals have selected their magic weapons according to their personal preferences.

Jia Cong ordered someone to bring paper and pen.

"You all should write down ten names based on your usual performance. We will screen them anonymously."

"The ten people with the highest number of votes will serve as temporary military advisors."

"After the army sets out, the deployment of troops and logistics will be decided by ten staff officers and submitted to me for review."

"If there is a disagreement, the minority shall obey the majority!"

The march of 50,000 troops was not like what was described in Jia Cong's novel in his previous life.

Even a time traveler who has never read any military books can handle it.

The distribution of food and fodder, the marching formations, and the deployment of troops on the battle formation are not simple matters.

Leave professional matters to professionals.

Jia Cong set himself the goal of finding the right moment to kill the masters of the White Lotus Sect.

Without the support of the core members of the White Lotus Sect, the rest are just rioters who can be easily suppressed.

……

"Master Hou!"

After all the generals went down to prepare, Xia Shouzhong came forward and said hesitantly.

"The White Lotus Cult is best at deceiving people. The scale of the civil unrest in Shandong this time is probably not small. With only 50,000 troops..."

"There are still 17 guards stationed in Yingtian Prefecture. I can send a letter to His Majesty."

"Except for the Imperial Mausoleum Guards, do not move lightly. Give me a few days, and I can go to Jinling to raise 20,000 elite troops for the Marquis."

The Seventeen Guards of the Emperor in Jinling City were the escape route left by Emperor Taizong of Daqian for the royal family.

Over the years, the army has never slackened in training, and in terms of combat effectiveness, it is not inferior to the Beijing camp at all.

But Jia Cong raised his hand and refused without even thinking.

He looked down at the map on the table.

"I'm afraid it's too late. The round trip, plus the deployment of troops, will take at least ten days."

"Besides, in this battle, our main opponent is not the Shandong rioters."

"It's the White Lotus masters who are mixed in with the refugees."

"Besides, Shandong also has a large camp, plus garrisons in various places, it is impossible for the entire army to be wiped out."

"Manager Xia, do you remember where the White Lotus Cult's clues led to when His Majesty and I investigated in Shenjing?"

Xia Shouzhong shuddered as if he had thought of something.

"What did the Marquis say?"

"The civil unrest in Shandong could be real or fake. If it's real, it's fine. If it's fake..."

Jia Cong pointed to a point on the map.

Then he asked back.

"Is Chief Steward Xia planning to return to the capital to report next?"

"In reply to the Marquis, His Majesty cannot do without someone by his side, and the Imperial City Department also has a lot of things to do. Originally, I was going to help the Marquis pass on the decree in the camp."

"I will leave for Beijing tomorrow."

"If the Marquis has any instructions, it would be fine to do it for a few days at night." Jia Cong nodded when he heard it.

It was just as he had thought.

Emperor Shunde was not a great ruler, but he was more than capable of being a ruler who maintained the status quo.

As usual, when a large army like this is sent to suppress a rebellion, there must be eunuchs in the army to supervise the troops.

However, when it comes to Jia Cong, Emperor Shunde always shows an attitude of "trust people when employing them, and don't employ people if you don't trust them", and mostly tries to win them over.

Naturally, I won't leave the military supervisor here.

"General Manager Xia, I want you to mobilize 10,000 troops from the 17 imperial guards in Jinling City and 20,000 troops from all the guards in various places within half a month."

"Block the news, hide during the day and come out at night, and wait here!"

"The results will be out in a month and a half at most!"

"My Lord, you mean that the White Lotus's target is..." Xia Shouzhong's face was filled with horror.

"But doing this to them..."

"This time, it may not just be the White Lotus Sect." Jia Cong said softly before Xia Shouzhong finished speaking.

"Yes, I will prepare it overnight!"

……

Early the next morning

Fifty thousand troops set out

The Jiangnan camp was mostly composed of infantry, with few cavalry.

Firearms were also in short supply.

Jia Cong transferred all the cavalry to one place, and only then was the number gathered to 3,700, plus 300 elite soldiers from the Beijing camp.

There were exactly 4,000 cavalrymen, who were led by Ma Ruyue and Hou Jingyun, two of his personal guards.

After marching for several days, they finally entered Shandong Province.

The army was divided into three.

There are 20,000 troops on each side and 10,000 in the center.

They are thirty miles apart and serve as each other's support.

The twelfth lunar month of winter.

Along the way, ragged refugees with numb expressions could be seen everywhere.

They saw the army marching from afar and just hid on the side of the road.

No reaction at all.

Even more were the bodies of civilians who had frozen to death or starved to death.

Even many villages were left with only corpses.

"Cong'er, we only have 50,000 troops. Isn't it inappropriate to deploy the troops like this?"

"What if the White Lotus Demon seizes the opportunity to defeat us one by one..."

Baochai, wearing a black cloak, rode on horseback beside Jia Cong and asked in a low voice.

Originally, there were few soldiers, so we should merge them together, seize opportunities along the way, and gather the remaining soldiers from various garrisons in Shandong to increase our strength.

However, before entering Shandong, Jia Cong made the decision himself.

The troops were divided into three groups.

"Does Sister Bao think so too?"

Jia Cong looked as if he was smiling but not laughing.

"This makes it more certain..."

"Cong'er, what do you mean?"

Baochai seemed to have guessed something.

Without waiting for Jia Cong to reply.

A shadow suddenly emerged from the ground in front of him and turned into a human shape.

They were the ghost soldiers under Jia Cong.

"General, the army on the left has encountered the White Lotus bandits, numbering about 80,000. Please make the decision, General!"

"Sure enough, it's here!"