Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 154 Granted Land
In the government hall, Zhu Lang sat at the top, and on the left below were civil officials such as Lu Daqi, and on the right were military officers such as Jiao Lian.

The atmosphere in the hall was silent. Zhu Lang ordered Li Chengzhi to go find a group of ministers in the court. But before he left, Lu Daqi had already led Su Guansheng and others to the door.

Zhu Lang looked at the gray-haired Lu Daqi below, and for a moment he could not figure out the purpose of these people's visit, so he remained silent.
Everyone in the hall sat down. Before Zhu Lang could speak, Lu Daqi stood up and saluted. He said

"After six days of defending the city, the casualties were heavy. Today, the Qing invaders attacked the city even more fiercely. Among the five thousand strong men defending the city, more than two thousand were killed or wounded. The arrows were exhausted, eight artillery pieces were damaged, and the imperial guards were almost all killed or wounded."

"I have asked Lord Jiao, the reason why we were able to defend the city today is not only because of the young and strong who risked their lives, but also because of the Imperial Guards who fought to the death. Now there are only dozens of Imperial Guards left. Lord Jiao also said that if the Qing invaders fight to the death tomorrow like they did today, without the Imperial Guards to boost morale, I'm afraid the city will be difficult to defend."

"So, are you still planning to abandon the city?" Zhu Lang said calmly.

Lu Daqi looked at the young man above him with a solemn expression on his face and spoke respectfully

"Your Highness cares about the people and wants to protect the people. We know that Your Highness has personally braved the enemy's attacks and fought hard to defend the city. How dare we abandon you?"

"I, an old minister, would like to ask to guard Guangzhou with Lord Su and Marquis Wu'an to protect the people of Guangzhou on behalf of the imperial court."

"We ministers receive salaries from the court. Now that the country is in tatters and in turmoil, it is time for us to sacrifice ourselves to repay the court's great kindness."

"Even though the court has no ministers, there are still pillars like Qu Ge Lao and Chen Ge Lao who are assisting Your Highness to revive the country. However, Your Highness is of noble status, and only Your Highness is the legitimate heir of the royal family. If Your Highness dies, I don't know where the Ming Dynasty's legal system will be placed."

"I am willing to fight to the death with all the ministers in the city. Your Highness, please think of the country and temporarily stay outside the city to preserve the Ming Dynasty and then try to restore it."

"Your Highness, please consider the country and temporarily stay out of the city, preserve the Ming Dynasty's legal system, and then plan to restore it."

After Lu Daqi finished speaking, he bowed down, and Su Guansheng, Jiao Lian, Gu Yuanjing, Liu Yuansheng and others, whether they were willing or not, all stood up at this time, bowed to the young man above, and asked in unison to play
All the officials bowed their heads, only the young man in the dragon robe sat upright on the throne.
Zhu Lang was slightly surprised. Looking at the gray-haired Lu Daqi below, he had a new understanding of this elder whom he had never taken seriously since the founding of the dynasty.

This proposal must have been initiated by Lu Daqi. If it was Su Guansheng, then the one who just stepped out to make the request would not be Lu Daqi.

This time, Lu Daqi led all the officials to let him evacuate first. It should not be a trick of retreating to advance.

Lu Daqi asked to defend the city to the death, which obviously showed that he was unwilling to give up Guangzhou, so he offered to stay in the city as a condition, hoping that Zhu Lang could leave the city temporarily.
Zhu Lang looked at the ministers bowing their heads below, and his heart was also moved.
It was not until this moment that he felt that his persistence seemed to have some meaning, and that the Ming Dynasty seemed to have some hope.

Zhu Lang was silent for a moment before speaking in a deep voice.

"I know what you all mean, please stand up."

Gu Yuanjing, Liu Yuansheng and others also stood up after hearing this, but they looked up at His Royal Highness the Regent, with complicated expressions on their faces.
In the end, it was the officials who stayed behind to defend the city, while His Highness fled. Even though they knew it was supposed to be like this, everyone still felt a little unfair.
But before they could think any more, His Royal Highness the Regent above continued to speak.

"But since I have dragged you to defend the city until now, how can I leave alone?"

"I have not lost my integrity, and you should also uphold your righteousness. I will not leave."

The ministers below looked at the regent with a firm expression, and were all stunned for a moment. However, Lu Daqi below suddenly changed his expression and was about to speak again to persuade him, but Zhu Lang did not give him a chance to speak.
"Even if you don't come today, I will send someone to look for you."

"News came from outside the city that the reinforcements from Zhaoqing have arrived thirty miles outside Guangzhou. The reinforcements are coming!"

The ministers below were stunned at first, and then their faces were full of joy. But before they could be happy, Zhu Lang continued to speak.

"Although reinforcements are coming, the Qing troops outside the city have already discovered their traces."

"The Qing army has sent people outside the city to the west to Huangding and Shen'an to intercept the reinforcements. I'm afraid we have to hold out for another day before reinforcements arrive." Upon hearing this, the joy that had just appeared on the faces of the ministers froze. The reason they asked His Royal Highness the Regent to flee first was because they knew that they might not be able to hold out tomorrow.

"The Qing invaders saw that the imperial court's reinforcements were coming, but they still had the will to attack Guangzhou despite the risk of being attacked from both sides."

"In that case, let's see who will have the last laugh between the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty!"

"There are only 10,000 Qing troops under the city, but Zhaoqing has 30,000 troops. As long as they can hold out until tomorrow, the imperial army will arrive and the Qing troops under the city will surely die."

Zhu Lang glanced at the ministers below who were looking anxious, and continued to speak.

"You all know the situation in the city. These young men guarding the city were just ordinary people before. Today, there have been heavy casualties in the city. Their morale must be low now."

"The Imperial Army has suffered heavy casualties. Tomorrow we can only rely on these young and strong men to fight hard. Now, in order to restore the morale of the army, we can only offer them a heavy reward."

"I have decided to give land to the young men who defend the city. All the young men who participated in the defense of the city, regardless of whether they have made military achievements or not, regardless of life or death, as long as they can defend Guangzhou, everyone will be given 50 acres of land in the future."

The officials below heard this and subconsciously calculated in their hearts, and their faces changed slightly.

The city has been defending the city until now, and no less than 7,000 young and strong men have been recruited. If the decree of His Highness is followed, the court will probably have to grant 300,000 or 400,000 acres of land after the war. Where can the court find so much unowned land now?

The ministers below were still hesitating, but Zhu Lang no longer cared about what they thought and directly asked Li Chengzhi to take out a copy of the imperial edict.

Zhu Lang took one of the copies and saw that it was already stamped with a seal.

"I have already used my seal to decree the grant of land. All officials above the fourth rank in the hall, whether civil or military, must come forward to use my seal. Later, I will take these memorials to the army to personally announce the decree. I want the soldiers in the army to know that the court will never break its promise on these rewards!"

"Mr. Lu and Mr. Su, you are the ministers, you go first."

Lu Daqi had a hesitant look on his face. He had come tonight to persuade His Highness to evacuate, but His Highness still decided to hold on. This was beyond his expectations.
At this time, His Highness suddenly decided to grant land to boost morale, and the scale was so large that he was a little confused about how to deal with it.

"Lord Su, you go first."

Zhu Lang saw that Lu Daqi was hesitant and did not move, but looked at Su Guansheng below.

When Su Guansheng saw Zhu Lang coming, he gritted his teeth and immediately responded, walked forward, and stamped his official seal behind the seal of His Majesty the Regent.
After Su Guansheng finished his revision, Zhu Lang looked at Jiao Lian again. Seeing Zhu Lang's look, Jiao Lian hesitated for a moment, then stood up and stamped his seal on the memorial.
"Lu Ge Lao"

After the two of them used their seals, Zhu Lang looked at Lu Daqi again, and Lu Daqi, seeing His Highness the Regent staring at him, finally had no choice but to step forward and use his seal.
As Lü Daqi used the seal, the ministers in the hall followed suit, and soon the silk was covered with seals of all sizes.
After the seal was stamped, the ministers felt relieved. They finally understood that His Highness the Regent was going to grant land to encourage the soldiers to hold on and wait for help.

If they can hold on, even though there are hundreds of thousands of acres of land, the court will still have a way to raise money. If they can't hold on, they won't know whether they are alive or dead, and this account will have nothing to do with them.

Zhu Lang was relieved to see all the ministers use the seal. He waved to Li Guoyong, who soon came up with a tray, on which were dozens of identical silk imperial edicts.
"These decrees will be issued to all parts of the city tonight. Please continue to use the seals."

Zhu Lang gave an order, ignoring the stunned faces of the ministers, and looked at Li Chengzhi on the side.

"Have the military envoys and inspectors in the city been summoned?"

"They have all been summoned and are now in the Ideological and Political Hall."

Zhu Lang took the imperial edict on the table, which had been sealed with a big seal, and without waiting for the ministers in the room to say anything, he took Li Chengzhi out of the room.
(End of this chapter)