Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 263 Who came up with this idea?
Min Zishun also knew that if he didn't tell him anything, it would be difficult to gain Li Huafu's trust and get him to accomplish this task, so he could only say it.

"I can't tell you too much detail, but I can reveal a little to you, Brother Li. We have received reliable news that the Yuan court's central army will march south in September, and Prime Minister Tuotuo will lead the army in person. This is not a good thing for the rebel army, so we plan to use this memorial to delay Tuotuo in Dadu for a few months to half a year, so that our rebel army can make more preparations. This is a delaying tactic. Brother Li, do you understand?"

Li Huafu looked at the draft memorial again. It said that Tuotuo should start farming now and plant late rice this year. Grain would be received by the end of September, which could solve the urgent food shortage in Dadu. Tuotuo would also need a lot of food and fodder to raise a large army. This move could also provide a lot of food and fodder for the army. If it was too late to plant late rice, winter wheat could be planted, which would be ripe in May or June next year. It was better to have some food than nothing, and better than waiting for food from Jiangnan.

If Tuotuo had really listened to the advice in this memorial, the matter could indeed have been delayed for a few months, if not more, at least two months.

The more Li Huafu thought about it, the more he felt that the contents of the memorial made sense. He couldn't help but look up to the Luzhou Red Scarf. Who on earth came up with this idea to use this thing as a delaying tactic?
But he still had some doubts, "If we send this thing up, will Tuotuo stay and farm? It's just farming, can't he find someone else to do it? Can't he still lead the troops south?"

Min Zishun explained immediately, "No, Tuotuo is a powerful official, and a powerful official naturally wants to hold all power in his own hands. Moreover, the farming is a great achievement, so why would he give this achievement to others? Now that he is the prime minister, he also holds the position of the Grand Tutor and the position of Minister of Agriculture, I think it is possible."

Li Huafu nodded secretly when he heard this. The other party's analysis was well-reasoned and even Tuotuo's personality and reaction were taken into consideration. It was a thorough consideration. If this thing could really be sent up, maybe their plan would really succeed. However
"Brother Min, what you said makes sense, but why should I risk my life to help your rebels? I am an official appointed by the imperial court. What benefit will I get from helping you?"

Min Zishun immediately laughed and said, "An official appointed by the imperial court? I'm afraid the imperial court of the Yuan Dynasty won't be able to hold out for three years. Besides, Brother Li was born a rebel. I don't believe you value a mere position of a state judge so much.

"Besides, as for being an official, it doesn't matter who you are. The Yuan Dynasty is about to fall. Brother Li, do you still want to be buried with the Yuan court? Why don't you surrender early and think more about the future.

"My commander-in-chief has promised that if Brother Li can help us accomplish this, it will be a great achievement. The commander-in-chief can directly confer an official title on Brother Li. If Brother Li wants to pursue a career in civil affairs, he can start as a prefect of the fourth rank. If he wants to pursue a career in military affairs, he can directly start as a third rank general commanding 10,000 soldiers. It's up to Brother Li to choose. If he pursues military affairs, he may be conferred a title if he makes military achievements in the future."

Li Huafu couldn't help but be moved when he heard this. This condition was really not low, which really made him very tempted. He was originally a rebel who was recruited to become a state judge. He had no psychological burden at all about rebelling against the Yuan court again. However, after all, it was his first time meeting Min Zishun, and he didn't dare to agree immediately.

However, at this moment, Min Zishun actually added another sentence.

“I have heard that Brother Li is a man of great loyalty and righteousness. To repay the kindness of the past, he was willing to lead an army to break into the prison to rescue Brother Wang, but in the end he failed to rescue him. My commander has also heard about Brother Li and Brother Wang’s deeds, and often calls Brother Wang a righteous man and Brother Li a loyal and brave man who knows how to repay kindness.

"The commander knows that Brother Li felt guilty for not being able to rescue Wang Kerou, so to make up for Brother Li's regret, my commander said that if this matter is accomplished, useful talents can be selected from the Wang family to be trained and given official positions. First, it will complete Brother Wang's unfinished business, second, it will also allow Brother Wang's clansmen to have a place to stay in the future, and third, it is also to make up for Brother Li's regret. From now on, it can be regarded as Brother Li repaying Brother Wang's past kindness. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Li Huafu immediately looked up at Min Zishun, slapped his thigh and said, "Damn it, your Marshal is really loyal. I'm doing him a favor, and he's even helping to take care of the prince's family and descendants. He's a real man, I'll do this for you.

"Although I know the Gaoyou prefect Li Qi, I was only recruited by him and we didn't have much interaction. I'm not familiar with him, so why would I ask him to help me submit a petition?"

Seeing that he had agreed, Min Zishun said immediately, "This is easy to do. We have already thought of a reason for Brother Li. We will say that Brother Li has been recruited and finally knows the benefits of being an official. However, the position of Taizhou Magistrate is still too low. Brother Li wants to be promoted. Since it was Li Qi who recruited you, why not go to his door again instead of bothering two masters for the same thing?

"Li Qi will certainly not agree easily. Then you can tell him about the farming strategy and ask him to submit a petition to Tuotuo. This way he can get a great credit from the prime minister. When he becomes successful in the future, ask him to guide you more. Then it will be natural for you to submit the farming strategy."

Li Huafu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and then he couldn't help but complain, "You scholars are still cunning. Who on earth came up with this trick? Don't tell me, even a greedy villain like Li Qi would really help to submit a petition."

So, two days later, Li Huafu took the silver and the excuses that Min Zishun had taught him personally and went to Gaoyou. He found Li Qi's mansion and asked him for help in getting promoted.

Li Qi had no good feelings towards this rebel judge who was recruited, but since he was willing to give him money, he didn't mind receiving him. But when he heard that Li Huafu was looking for his help in getting promoted, Li Qi couldn't help but complain.

"Li Huafu, Li Huafu, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but I myself want to be promoted but can't, so how can I help you?"

Li Huafu stepped forward and said with a flattering smile, "It's not easy to get promoted, but it's different if you have connections. If you want to get promoted, you must have connections. I don't know anyone else, and the only connection is with the prefect. Since the prefect was able to recruit me to be a judge, then I can naturally go one step further.

"I have a connection. As for the second option, there are only two options. Either you have merit or you have money. I naturally have no merit, so I can only use money to honor the prefect."

Li Qi looked at the ten silver ingots on the table and couldn't help laughing when he heard that. "Haha, I haven't seen you for more than half a year. I didn't expect you to be more smooth than before."

Li Huafu quickly smiled and said, "This is all because I didn't know the real deal before, and I had never seen the world. I didn't know how good it was to be an official. If it weren't for the support of the prefect, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"Haha." Li Qi laughed again, but still touched the silver ingots and said, "Although I like these yellow and white things, I'm afraid I can't help you with this favor. After all, I'm just a prefect. You still want to be promoted, but I can't make you a county magistrate. I don't have the right to do that. You want to be promoted, and I want to be promoted too."

Li Huafu hurriedly laughed twice and came closer to him, saying, "You are joking, Mr. Prefect. I just said that to get promoted, you need connections, and if you have connections, you need money and merit. I only have one connection, which is the prefect. But the prefect is different. The prefect can directly submit a memorial to the prime minister."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Li Qi asked with a frown.

Li Huafu quickly added, "If you want to get promoted, you can't just give money to the Prime Minister. How can the Prime Minister look down on our small money? You still need to have merit. In today's world, what kind of merit is the easiest to get and what kind of merit is most valued by His Majesty and the Prime Minister? Naturally, it is the merit related to the Red Turban rebels."

Li Qi frowned again, "Why, you have information about the Red Turban rebels to tell us so that we can easily gain merit?"

Li Huafu shook his head like a rattle, "No, I'm just a judge, a judge in Taizhou at that. I'm eight hundred miles away from the rebels, how would I know anything about the Red Turban rebels?" "Then what use is this?" Li Qi said impatiently.

Li Huafu said, "Although I don't know anything about the rebels, I have been an official for more than half a year and have gained some superficial knowledge. What does the court need most now? Food and fodder.

"Since the Red Turban Rebellion, Xuzhou has been occupied by the bandit chieftain Zhima Li, who has cut off the grain transport. The sea transport has also been cut off by Fang Guozhen of eastern Zhejiang. Now both grain transport and sea transport have stopped. Since Zhima Li occupied Xuzhou in August last year, the court has not sent a large army to suppress him. Is it because the court does not want to come? No, I think it is because the court has difficulty in raising troops.

"Your Excellency the Prefect, you need food to support a large army. Now the capital has been out of food for nearly a year. I'm afraid that even the people can't afford to support the people, let alone the army. Without the army, how can we suppress the bandits?

"So, whoever can solve the food shortage in Dadu will be rewarded with great achievements, right or wrong?"

Li Qi couldn't help but turn his head and look at him. "It's easy for you to say that. I also know that as long as I send food, I can achieve great success. The problem is where can I get food? Even the prime minister can't do anything about it, so what can I do? Isn't what you said just nonsense?"

Li Huafu could only say, "No, I think the court has reached a dead end and is obsessed with a dead end. Where does the grain come from? It grows from the ground. There is no need to transport grain from the south of the Yangtze River to the north. I have had a doubt since I was a child, and now that I have become an official, I am even more confused.

“Then why is there so much land around Dadu left uncultivated, and why is grain transported north from the south every year?
"Let's take the present as an example. If we cultivate land around Dadu now, we can still grow late rice, which will be ripe by the end of September at the latest. Isn't this faster than transporting grain from Jiangnan? If we can't grow late rice, we can grow winter wheat, which will be ripe in May next year. It's better than waiting for food from Jiangnan and starving to death if we can't get it.

"Besides, even if the imperial court sends a large army, how long can they fight without military rations? Don't let them suffer another great defeat, or it would be better not to fight, as it would only increase the morale of the rebels. If it takes three months to open up the canal transportation in Xuzhou, it would be better to start farming in Dadu first.

"What's more, the canal is thousands of miles long. If it is cut off at one point, the grain will not be able to go north. The Red Turbans have always been the most difficult to quell. The Yellow Turbans at the end of the Han Dynasty and Huang Chao at the end of the Tang Dynasty both caused trouble for several years. Even if the court destroyed Zhima Li in Xuzhou, as long as Dadu did not grow grain itself, any remnant of the Red Turbans could find a place to cut off the canal again, and Dadu would still starve, right?

"If the famine continues for a few years, I think the people in Dadu will almost starve to death, let alone raise a large army."

Li Qi thought about it after hearing this and said, "Hey, what you said really makes sense, did you come up with all this?"

"Hehe, I'm just thinking about it and chatting with my colleagues in the yamen. Besides, a scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days of absence. The prefect doesn't allow me to make progress?" Li Huafu said with a smile.

"Well, I have to take a new look at you." The more Li Qi thought about it, the more he felt that what Li Huafu said just now was reliable, so he took the initiative to ask, "So you want me to write a letter to the court, asking the court to set up military farms around Dadu, and after solving Dadu's urgent needs, collect enough military rations, and then lead the army south to quell the rebellion?
"But farming requires a large number of people. Where can we find so many farmers in Dadu?"

Li Huafu slapped his thigh with a slap, which startled Li Qi. Li Huafu said angrily, "Speaking of this, I have to say that the court officials are brainless. No one is cultivating the land, but they let so many refugees from the Central Plains become rebels. If the court had captured these refugees and sent them to Dadu to cultivate the land earlier, there wouldn't be so many red scarves.

"Now these refugees from the Central Plains are right between the rebels and the imperial court. If the imperial court doesn't use them, the rebels will take them away. If the imperial court takes more of them away, the rebels will be a little weaker. This is such a simple truth, but there is so many people in the imperial court and no one has done it. It's really, really."

Li Huafu was cursing angrily when he suddenly noticed Li Qi staring at him from the side.

Li Qi slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, you are right. Taking all the refugees from the Central Plains to Dadu to cultivate the land can not only solve the problem of no one to cultivate the land, but also reduce the Red Turbans' military resources. It can be said to kill two birds with one stone. It is indeed a good idea."

"Hehe, you see, I told you that I had a good idea. When the prefect submitted a memorial to the prime minister and put forward this idea, shouldn't he be credited with a great merit for giving advice? When the prefect becomes successful, don't forget to help me." Li Huafu hurriedly talked about his promotion again, fearing that it would arouse Li Qi's suspicion.

Li Qi looked him up and down and said, "Good boy, it is true that a man should be looked at with new eyes after three days of absence. I didn't expect that you, Li Huafu, have such insight now. Hurry up and write down what you just said. The master needs it."

"Ah? I write? Forget it. My handwriting is very ugly and I can't write an article. It's okay for you to ask me to read, but how can I write a memorial?" Li Huafu declined quickly.

Li Qi shook his head after hearing this. "Forget it. Your idea is wasted. I'll write it myself. With your stupidity of not being able to write a memorial, you can only be a county magistrate at best."

"That's right, otherwise how could you become the prefect?" Li Huafu said with a smile.

So Li Qi began to draft the memorial on the spot, and asked Li Huafu to supplement it. After writing one copy, he polished it again. After the revisions were correct, he copied it again. He immediately asked someone to deliver the memorial to Dadu as soon as possible. Li Qi even generously rewarded the messenger with two ingots of silver.

Li Qi also explained to Li Huafu, "Such memorials must be submitted quickly. If someone comes up with the same idea as us, the merit of offering advice and suggestions will be lost."

"Yes, yes, yes, the prefect is really thoughtful and careful. I don't understand these things."

"Hehe, you still have a lot to learn." Li Qi said proudly.

"That villain's Taizhou County Magistrate?"

"Go back and wait first. My merits and rewards have not yet arrived. Why are you in such a hurry?"

(End of this chapter)