Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 354: Your Excellency the Governor, you don’t want anything bad to happen in Yangzhou, do you?
"Your Excellency the Governor, you don't want anything bad to happen in Yangzhou under your jurisdiction, right?"

In Yangzhou Prefecture, a young man who looked like black charcoal was sitting in the guest seat, but he was the host and was threatening the Yangzhou governor who was sitting opposite him with a fake smile.

The governor Li Yifu was known in official circles as a man with a dagger hidden behind a smile.

However, facing this dark-skinned young man who was as aggressive as his evil spirit Aweng, he still felt uneasy in his heart, wiping his sweat repeatedly and saying with a wry smile:

"Hehe... Hehe, Lord Yuchi, please don't joke. Your request... It's difficult for me too."

"Oh? In the eyes of the governor, am I a person who likes to joke?" The dark-skinned little devil - that is, Yuchi Xunyu - slammed the mat suddenly.

There was a dull thud, and Li Yifu was so frightened that he felt as if he had been shot in the buttocks, and his whole body shook.

"No, no, no... You misunderstood. Please calm down..."

His voice was shaking.

"Hey, little black charcoal."

A colleague on the intelligence front who was sitting next to Yuchi Xunyu, the president of the Daming Chamber of Commerce, Zhishi Buzhen, could no longer bear to watch and whispered in his ear:

"Envoy Li also has his own difficulties. As guests, we are here to ask them to change their flags, surrender Yangzhou to the Ming Dynasty, and ask the army to give up resistance... This would be difficult for anyone, right?"

Yuchi Xunyu waved his hand domineeringly:

"It's his business if he's in trouble. We must complete the task that Brother Ming has assigned us, otherwise it will be us who are in trouble."

As he said this, he turned his head, looked directly into Li Yifu's eyes, and said word by word:

"My Governor, you don't want to embarrass the Ming Dynasty, or the great, glorious and correct Emperor Li Ming, right?"

Li Yifu was sweating profusely, and even spoke with a crying tone:
"Don't dare, don't dare..."

The so-called "mission" that Li Ming gave to Yuchi Xunyu and Zhishi Buzhen can be summed up in four words:

Take the South.

This task sounds impossible to accomplish, as if Li Ming is deliberately making things difficult for Xiao Heitan, but it is actually not complicated at all.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, the Yangtze River has been the boundary, with more people dividing and less people gathering in the north and south.

It's called the "Southern and Northern Dynasties", so how can there be more divisions?

In addition, during the interglacial period at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the south was still very hot, and the Han people in the Central Plains were not very willing to migrate south.

This has resulted in a certain gap between the two sides.

The way the Tang Dynasty unified the country invisibly exacerbated this gap.

The area south of the Yangtze River was conquered by Li Jing, which led to the southerners not identifying with Li Shimin as much as the northerners.

And now Li Jing has broken with the Tang Dynasty and become a capable general of the Ming Dynasty.

Doesn’t this give us something to talk about?
"Li Jing, Lord Li Wei, has done you in the south a favor—"

Yuchi Xunyu got stuck halfway through his speech, secretly glanced at the cheat sheet given by Li Ming, and continued reciting:
"When Li Weigong was in the Tang Dynasty, he was suspected by the emperor and had to pretend to be sick for a long time, which was tantamount to house arrest.

"But he still couldn't escape the Tang Emperor's reckoning, and almost died. He went to Ming alone and ran to the free world. What kind of crap is this?"

Li Yifu had received professional training, and he kept a tense face throughout the whole process, pretending that he didn't notice that the other party was looking at the cheat sheet.

This note written by Li Ming himself can also be regarded as the imperial edict of the Ming Emperor.

Anyone with a little political acumen must take this seriously.

Although the form of this "imperial edict" seems a bit casual, if you really take Li Ming's words as a joke, you will end up becoming the joke yourself.

Thinking of this, Li Yifu felt a huge pressure on his shoulders.

"Ahem! So."

Yuchi Xunyu put the imperial edict notes back into his bag.
"The Tang Dynasty was trying to deceive Li Jing, just like they were trying to deceive you in the South.

"My Ming Dynasty is not so petty. We are open to all and broad-minded. Everyone who comes here is one of our own and we will never treat them differently.

"Mr. Li Wei has already defected to the Ming Dynasty, why do you still want to stay in the corrupt Tang Dynasty?"

"Li Weigong does enjoy prestige in the south, but the people respect him for his loyalty to the country, not for abandoning the Tang Dynasty and joining the Ming Dynasty. His defection does not mean that Yangzhou, Jianghuai, and the entire south must flee with him."

Li Yifu, who was born in the north, was completely indifferent to Yuchi Xunyu's first argument.

So do southerners.

Just because your old boss changes jobs doesn't mean that all his subordinates have to follow suit.

We are all adults now, so let’s be honest.

"The Ming Dynasty is the largest buyer of rice, medicinal materials, timber, etc. produced in the southern states, and is also the largest supplier of manufactured products such as farm tools, iron pots, coke, etc. that the southern people need in their daily lives."

Zhi Shi Buzhen took over Xiao Heitan's words:

“Yangzhou is the largest transit port for Ming merchants heading south.

"Once the Ming Dynasty announces the end of all trade with the South... or even simpler, move the distribution port from Yangzhou to Hangzhou or Quanzhou..."

As Li Yifu listened, his expression began to change.

It’s about Huang Cancan’s money, which is the real “real” thing.

"Changing the trading port or something like that will make internal procedures very convenient, and it doesn't require Brother Ming's personal approval, right?" Yuchi Xunyu fanned the flames.

"Why should we alarm His Majesty? There's no need to bother Wei Daijia with such a small matter."

The corners of the mouth are drawn:

"As long as our Chamber of Commerce gives us a piece of 'window guidance', the merchants in the Ming Dynasty will consciously avoid Yangzhou.

"My Lord, you don't want Yangzhou to be blocked from trade and become a poor and isolated island, right?"

Li Yifu's face turned quite ugly.

Most of the wealthy families in Yangzhou were engaged in business and made a lot of money through trade with the Ming Dynasty.

And he, the governor, also took a big sip of the soup.

We are all in the same boat.

In a sense, the Ming Dynasty could even be considered their "parents who provide them with food and clothing."

This is also the reason why the South could always be at odds with the imperial court in Chang'an, pretending to obey but actually disobeying, resisting donations and taxes, and even overtly and covertly making things difficult for the imperial court so that its decrees could not cross the Yangtze River.

Li Jing has been away from here for nearly twenty years. To be honest, how much face is left?

The reason why the southern gentry could "cooperate" with the Ming Dynasty to a certain extent was ultimately due to practical interests.

Anyway, both are "foreign" regimes in the north. One gives money and the other collects money. Isn't it obvious which one to choose?
No matter how dear your father and mother are, they are not as dear as Kaiyuan Tongbao.

"This... this is a serious matter, and I alone cannot make the decision..."

Li Yifu was really hesitant this time.

Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents.

For an outsider like Li Yifu to gain a foothold in Yangzhou, he could not do without the support of local gentry.

Now, he is asked to shark his parents who provided him with food and clothing?
Then his political life and biological life are almost over.

Seeing the other party's wavering look, Yuchi Xunyu and Zhi Shibuzhen looked at each other and smiled.

Brother Ming often said that "the economic base determines the superstructure", which is true.

The Tang Dynasty had disrupted the peach industry, and people in Guanzhong and the Central Plains were starving, but Yangzhou's trade was still prosperous and life was peaceful. Wasn't it all thanks to the Ming Dynasty taking care of the business?

Even the daily food and clothing of Li Yifu, the governor, came indirectly from the Ming Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty has not paid Li Yifu a salary for several months. Li Yifu's food, clothing and other expenses all depend on the profits from trade between Yangzhou and the Ming Dynasty.

"Please allow me to discuss this with His Royal Highness the King of Yue..."

Li Yifu hurriedly stood up and was about to leave.

"Humph!"

Yuchi Xunyu's weather turned from sunny to cloudy on the spot, and he pounded the ground with his fist, knocking back Old Li who was about to retreat.

"Who doesn't know that after the 'Eight Princes Rebellion', the various princes were just a decoration?"

Zhishi Buzhen also frowned and chimed in:
"Li Shijun, we are being polite to you, but you are being dishonest. Who do you want to discuss this with?"

Having been kept in suspense by a child and a barbarian for a long time and having his little trick of stalling for time exposed, Li Yifu, who had been smiling but hiding a dagger in his heart, could not help but break down a little and could no longer hide the dagger in his heart.

He changed his humble attitude and responded rather forcefully:

"You two guests have come from afar, and it seems inappropriate for you to interfere in Yangzhou's internal affairs right after you get off the boat!

"How about we go to the guest room to rest first? We in Yangzhou have our own attendants to 'serve' you two." His words imply that "this is my game, and even if you strong dragons come, you have to play with me."

Oh, let’s use force... Yuchi Xunyu became excited and pointed outside the window.

The provincial capital was built on a high ground on the river bank, close to the Yangtze River, and it was a room with a great river view.

There was a maze of boats and ships on the Yangtze River, and the laborers were carrying goods from the boats like ants.

"We did get off the ship, but it wasn't a merchant ship—"

boom!
A huge machine was pushed off the deck and landed heavily on the river beach with a heavy muffled sound.

Li Yifu felt as if his buttocks were vibrating.

Although he had not seen that instrument very often, he at least recognized it.

That was a catapult, but the style of the Ming Dynasty was slightly different from that of the Tang Dynasty in some details.

To put it bluntly, the Ming Dynasty's is larger, more sophisticated, and the stones it throws are heavier.

Yuchi Xunyu and Zhi Shi Buzhen also brought a lot of such catapults, which were lined up along the river port, looking very majestic.

Yuchi Xunyu smiled and said:
"My Governor, you don't want a huge rock like that to fall on your head, do you?"

Zhi Shi Buzhen continued:
"Our business with Yangzhou has always been very pleasant. If possible, we really don't want to let things get out of control."

Gulp... Li Yifu swallowed his saliva.

A child and a barbarian, both are so straightforward, their threats are naked, rude and arrogant to the extreme, it is indeed ridiculous.

But when there was a powerful dragon lurking behind the opponent, the one who became ridiculous was Li Yifu himself.

Compared with the powerful dragon of Ming Dynasty, what kind of local snake is Yangzhou?

At most, it's just a tiny four-legged snake.

"Yangzhou is the central city of the south, and many forces are involved. How can its affiliation be easily changed with just a few words?
"Apart from anything else, the attitudes of the major families in Yangzhou also need to be taken into consideration."

Li Yifu racked his brains, still trying to think of ways to delay.

He also made clear the attitude of the local forces.

There was an interest in Yangzhou to sit on the mountain and watch the fight between tigers, and to profit from the struggle for supremacy between the Ming and Tang dynasties.

But if you ask them to directly side with the Ming Dynasty, sorry, I'm not interested.

On the one hand, Li Yifu and others were trying to make a living under the control of the Tang Dynasty. Surrendering without any resistance seemed to go against the sage books they had read since childhood.

On the other hand, their vacillation was also to gain more "united front values" for themselves, using this as a basis for bargaining and to get a bigger share in the post-war distribution of benefits.

Yuchi Xunyu sneered:
"Envoy Li is only willing to listen to the opinions of the locals, but not to the opinions of our Ming Dynasty?"

"You two are just lobbyists."

Li Yifu said bluntly:

"What I hope to obtain is the true intention of your Majesty Li Ming."

Although the two lobbyists represented the Ming Dynasty, they were so vulgar that they could not represent Li Ming himself at all.

Negotiating terms with them would be like looking for fish in a tree.

He wanted to talk to Li Ming in person, he wanted to meet the emperor and fight for the greatest benefit for himself.

Yuchi Xunyu and his old friend looked at each other again and shook their heads helplessly:
"I'm afraid your majesty's true intention is not what you want to know."

As he said that, he handed the cheat sheet in his arms directly to Li Yifu.

"Is this your Majesty's handwriting?"

Li Yifu took it doubtfully.

At the beginning is a bloody text -

"If Yangzhou dares not surrender, once our army has wiped out the Tang bandits in Shanxi, we will turn around and deal with them, massacring the city for ten days!"

Yangzhou, massacre, ten days, or a barbarian regime from the northeast...

For some reason, these few words put together made Li Yifu shudder with fear and gave him a very ominous premonition.

Unexpectedly, His Majesty Li Ming's threats were more blatant and merciless than those of the two lobbyists...

"I have conveyed your Majesty's intention as tactfully as possible."

Yuchi Xunyu spread his hands.

"Anyway, this is the situation. Do you want to surrender now, or will His Majesty deal with you after he has dealt with some family affairs?"

Li Yifu sat down dejectedly, as if all the bones in his body had been pulled out.

…………

"Bianzhou fell, Zhengzhou fell...

"Yangzhou surrendered, Hangzhou surrendered, Jiangning Prefecture surrendered..."

Chang'an, Taiji Palace, Taiji Hall.

His Majesty Li Chengqian sat dazedly on the couch, looking at his ministers helplessly.

It’s no wonder that Your Majesty lost his composure like this.

Bad news came like snowflakes, as if the prosperous Tang Dynasty suddenly collapsed overnight.

For a new emperor who has been on the throne for less than a year, this midterm exam is almost turning into his final exam.

"The Central Plains is lost, Jiangnan is lost, the Huaihe River is in danger, Huguang is in danger..."

Li Chengqian's voice was very weak, as if he was talking in his sleep:
“How could the country collapse so easily?
"Isn't the opposing army currently fighting with His Majesty the Emperor in Shanxi?"

All the ministers lowered their heads and dared not look at His Majesty, all in silence.

Everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to speak.

Look at these people, which one is not a loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty, which one is not a pillar of the court. If even they shrink, the Tang Dynasty is likely to be doomed.

In the end, it was the chief civil servant Liu Li who had to play the villain.

"Your Majesty..." Liu Li's tone was not much firmer than the emperor himself.

"Ming Dynasty... The Ming bandits have recruited two new groups of bandits. They are divided into two groups. One group is attacking the Central Plains, and the other group is threatening the South..."

Are the bandits you are talking about "outlaws" who have heavy machinery and giant warships, who can attack and sail across the ocean...

Li Zhi, who was listening, complained fiercely in his heart and took over the conversation:
"The Ming army just took advantage of my unpreparedness and attacked the rear, and succeeded by chance.

"This is just a flash in the pan for these bandits. When my heavenly soldiers return from Shanxi and sweep the world, these rabble will be no match for them."

Everyone knew that Li Zhi was talking nonsense, and Li Zhi also knew that everyone knew he was talking nonsense.

But the butt determines the head.

Sitting in the position of Crown Prince, he had to say some tough words to cheer everyone up and strengthen their will to resist.

If even the people of the Li family have given up, who among the ministers under them will work hard?

"What His Highness said is absolutely true."

Liu Ji tentatively echoed Li Zhi:

"The walls of Luoyang are strong, the defenders are elite, and it is impregnable.

"The bandits are just a mob, they only know how to take advantage of opportunities and have no fighting spirit to attack.

"The city of Luoyang alone can slow down their progress. When His Majesty the Emperor leads his troops to wipe out the rebel Li Jing and returns to the capital, the banditry in the Central Plains and the south can be quelled."

After this round of encouragement, the morale of the court finally returned a little.

False hope is still hope.

"Your Majesty, do you..."

Li Zhi hinted to his brother that they should adjourn the court while the atmosphere was still good.

However, Li Chengqian seemed not to hear and continued to mutter:
“The Tang Dynasty only has one army, and it is already exhausted.

"He has three armies, three armies...

"Wow!"

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

(End of this chapter)