Fu Shanhe

Chapter 116: Chanyu's Distress

The higher-ups knew about his actions in Yangzhou but did not intervene to stop it, clearly choosing to acquiesce.

This kind of indulgence is definitely not directed at a certain individual, but at the entire group of military generals.

Li Mu understood the implication of Marquis Wuyang's words. The court was encouraging military generals to expand military power.

In order to raise military funds, we may cross the line occasionally, and everyone can pretend not to notice.

"My Lord, has the plan to send troops to Liaodong been finalized?"

Li Mu asked tentatively.

According to the practice of the Dayu Dynasty, military expenditure has always grown passively.

Because of the war, this year's military expenditure is much higher than normal years.

If military spending continues to increase on a high base, there is only one possibility - the imperial court will have to use foreign troops.

Even if there is no war next year, there will be a war the year after.

Otherwise, long-term high military expenditures would overwhelm Dayu’s finances.

"If the imperial court wants to use foreign troops, the Five Military Commands Office must be involved.

Your uncle is the right general and your father-in-law is the left general, how could they not tell you?

Why are you asking these questions?
Could it be that the Yangzhou Camp has been trained, and you want to go to the Liaodong battlefield to test your skills?"

Marquis Wuyang said half-jokingly.

Once the imperial court sent troops to Liaodong, the number of troops would be at least hundreds of thousands, and at most two or three hundred thousand.

In a battle of this scale, a battalion of troops on the battlefield can only go with the flow.

Based on his understanding of Li Mu, he would definitely avoid such a battle full of uncertainty.

"My Lord, I'm not even engaged yet, and the news has spread so quickly!"

Li Mu complained with a depressed look on his face.

There is a complicated process for such a major event as a marriage between two families, and it is usually not made public until the third step, Najib.

Although the result of this divination is predetermined, the process is still necessary.

"Of course the news has not spread, but I am the matchmaker appointed by the emperor himself. Are you a little flattered?"

Li Mu was shocked when he heard the news.

Although he had known that the marriage between the two powerful families in the noble camp would have a great political impact, he had not expected that Emperor Tianyuan would get involved.

After a moment of distraction, Li Mu reacted quickly.

It was not without precedent in the Dayu Dynasty for top nobles to marry each other and for the emperor to grant the marriage.

Especially after the noble group declined in power, this practice of arranged marriages became more and more frequent.

After the explosion in the capital, the noble group became increasingly powerless in the court, and the external relatives had even less presence.

If no changes are made, these two groups will be squeezed out of the court within a few years.

The nobles and the relatives by marriage are the foundation of the imperial power and are the force used to overturn the table at critical moments.

The emperor may not use this power to break the rules, but he cannot do without it.

Appointing Marquis Wuyang as the matchmaker was undoubtedly intended to facilitate an alliance among the three families in order to maintain the balance in the court.

In a sense, the alliance between the three companies is also trying to throw sand in the alliance between Jing and Li.

The emperor is a suspicious creature. If the most powerful factions among the nobles get together, Emperor Tianyuan will not feel at ease unless he sends someone to watch over them.

The three companies now seem to be equally powerful, but the actual strength behind them is very different.

As veteran nobles, the Jing and Li families had great influence in the military, which was beyond the reach of Marquis Wuyang.

If Emperor Tianyuan hadn't asked, he would never have brought this nouveau riche outdoor relative to play.

It's not that I look down on people, it's simply that the political lifespan of Dayu's in-laws is too short.

Especially when the emperor is in poor health, if the younger brother succeeds the elder brother, Marquis Wuyang can once again experience the pleasure of being a foreign relative.

If Emperor Tianyuan adopted a son from the royal family, the empress dowager would become the grand empress dowager, with an empress dowager in between.

For the sake of the new emperor's authority, the Empress Dowager would not be allowed to attend court.

When it came to the era of regents, all that remained was a famous title.

If you know what's good for you, you should back off quickly. If you slow down, it will be difficult to get out safely.

This is the fault of Emperor Taizu. In order to limit the power of external relatives, he stipulated that the concubines must come from the common people.

Without sufficient talent reserves, even if the emperor wanted to support his relatives, it would be difficult to do so.

In fact, the decline of the noble group was also the fault of Emperor Taizu.

Not only did he establish a strict system of inheritance of titles, but he also broke the tradition of nobles guarding the border.

Even more ruthless was the introduction of two measures: "banning military officials from interfering in civil affairs" and "commanding the military with civil officials."

It seems that all threatening political forces have been restricted.

So after the rise of the civil service group, the emperor lacked the power to compete with them and could only support the eunuchs to charge into battle.

Pushing the three families to form an alliance at this time might even be supported by the Queen Mother.

In the face of uncertainty in the future, we must always leave a way out for our mother clan.

If the speculation is correct, the three companies will continue to form alliances to strengthen their ties.

Both sides get what they need.

The nobles needed the political influence of their maternal relatives to ensure their voice in the court.

The relatives by marriage need the military support of the nobles to make the empty shell look powerful.

The three companies have formed an alliance, so even if they encounter changes in the future, they will still have cards to play.

In other historical periods, this combination would be a thorn in the emperor's side and could affect the succession of imperial power to a certain extent. In extreme cases, it is not impossible to play with the dethronement of the monarch.

However, the national conditions of Dayu are different. The strongest military force is in the hands of the nine border generals.

The nobles have too many shackles on their bodies. Although they seem to have considerable influence in the army, they are unable to extend their tentacles to the nine borders.

He is the type who has force in his hands, but his force is not strong enough.

The influence of a single noble family in the army is concentrated in a certain area and cannot radiate across the country at all.

Only when nobles stick together can they be considered a political force; if any of them are taken out individually, they will only be bullied by civil servants.

From the founding of Dayu to the present day, there have been cases of civil officials holding sway over the government, and there have also been cases of eunuchs holding sway over the government, but there has never been a case of nobles and relatives of the emperor holding sway over the government.

From the emperor's point of view, if the war goes well, he will adopt a descendant of the royal family to inherit the throne.

The regent, eunuchs and the cabinet alone are not stable enough, so this is a ready-made third-party force that can form a three-way balance of power in the court.

If the battlefield situation is unfavorable and the conditions for supporting a young ruler are not met, this combination will be the key to ensuring Prince Fu's smooth ascension to the throne.

After leaving Wuyang Marquis Mansion, Li Mu's head was still buzzing.

The amount of information in the previous conversation was too much, and he needed to digest it carefully.

Logically speaking, such major matters involving the three major families should be taken care of by the elders.

Unfortunately for him, a junior without decision-making power, he figured it out during an inadvertent conversation.

The more you know, the more troubles you have.

It's impossible to find someone to talk to. There are too many pros and cons to weigh in a political alliance, and it's impossible to decide in one word.

At present, there are at most some signs, and it is possible that the three companies have not yet made any formal contact.

Li Mu only analyzed the benefits of a successful alliance. If the alliance failed, all three parties might be in trouble.

In politics, many times, once you take a step forward, you can never take it back.

After shaking his head, Li Mu finally came to the conclusion: all his troubles were due to the lack of power in his hands.

If he were like the nine frontier generals, he would have tens of thousands of elite soldiers guarding one side.

There is no need to worry about the ups and downs in the court.

Relatively speaking, the political struggle in Dayu was relatively harmonious.

Basically, it's just a matter of time. As long as you don't seek death, you won't die.

Most officials who failed in political struggles were demoted or returned home to farm.

Those who had their property confiscated and were exiled were all those who had behaved in a corrupt manner and were found guilty of this.

……

Liaodong.

"Great Chanyu, we have received news from Yudi that the enemy is preparing for war.

Not only did it make up for the losses in the previous Liaodong battle, but it also formed five additional battalions.

It is said that Emperor Tianyuan has health problems and is trying to start a war again in his dying moments!
The intelligence collected from the Guifang people can also indirectly confirm this point.

In the past three months alone, the people of the Yu Dynasty have purchased at least 30,000 war horses from the various Guifang tribes."

Erde reported with a serious look.

To the Tatars, Dayu was a behemoth.

Even though they had just won the previous Liaodong battle, they still had to be careful when facing this giant.

"Erd, how is this possible?

The people of Dayu just suffered a great defeat in Liaodong, directly burying a hundred thousand troops. How dare they start another war so soon! "

Nichileg immediately retorted.

An army of one hundred thousand was the limit of what the Tatars, whose population was less than three hundred thousand, could imagine.

When the Liaodong War just ended, they thought they had destroyed the elite troops of Dayu and planned a great strategy to destroy Dayu.

The result was that he hit his head and bled under the city wall, and then obediently returned to his nest.

"Nizhleg, be quiet!
Don't look at Dayu with your narrow vision.

They are ten, a hundred, or even more times stronger than all the enemies we have ever encountered combined.

If the giant wasn't sick now, they could crush us to death with just one finger.

There are so many books seized from the Yu people. You can go and read and study them when you have nothing to do.

Only by understanding the enemy can we better defeat him."

The Great Chanyu Huugjile scolded immediately.

The Tatars' rise was too short, and their internal political structure still remained in the primitive era.

Influenced by their living environment, the strategic vision of the tribal leaders has always been limited to their own small piece of land.

He had no intention of opening his eyes to see the world, which made Huugjile very distressed.

All of his younger brothers were brave generals, and they defeated the surrounding alien tribes and made them flee in fear.

There are not many people who have brains, so once the game starts to turn into strategy, you have to do it yourself.

The last great victory in Liaodong was largely due to luck.

No one can guarantee how long this blessing from heaven can last.

Even if Dayu was defeated ten or twenty times on the battlefield, they could always make a comeback, but they could not afford to be defeated even once.

……

(End of this chapter)