Fu Shanhe

Chapter 157: Grain Request
"General, the envoy sent by the Governor of Guangdong requests to see you."

Hearing the news, Li Mu smiled.

Compared with the previous direct orders, the treatment of envoys sent now has increased a lot.

There is no doubt that this treatment was earned on the battlefield.

The final achievement of the Battle of Lianzhou was to defeat 100,000 rebels, capture 65,000 enemies, kill 12,000 enemies, and recover the entire territory of Lianzhou.

Looking at the entire army that was suppressing the rebellion, this was extremely explosive data.

If other troops were half as capable as this, the White Lotus Rebellion would have been quelled long ago.

Relying on their battle record, they successfully upgraded this detachment to become the fourth army to suppress the rebellion.

The status gained through hard work is the most likely to gain respect.

No matter how dissatisfied the Guangdong Governor was with them, he had to lower his proud head at this moment when he needed help.

"Uncle Qi, you have nothing to do anyway, so you should deal with the envoy from the Guangdong Governor!"

Li Mu said casually.

Although he was in Guangxi, he still knew something about the war in Guangdong.

After the defeat in Zhaoqing, the morale of the coalition forces from the three provinces gathered in Guangdong was greatly reduced.

At this moment, the enemy troops are invading Guangzhou with heavy forces, and this is the time when we need someone to help share the pressure.

If nothing unexpected happens, Yunnan, Guizhou, Huguang and others will definitely send people to ask for help.

He would definitely help. As an official of the Dayu Dynasty, Li Mu had a broad perspective.

But before taking action, the terms must be negotiated first.

When dealing with these old officials, you will do as much work as they are given in return for the benefits.

These guys have very low moral standards. Don't expect them to behave well just because you help them.

When given the chance to stab someone, these guys are quicker than anyone else to take advantage of the situation.

A transaction with a clear price is the best option.

"You just know how to order people around.

"Okay, it's just a messenger, I'll send him away!"

Jing Yifeng said proudly.

After spending a long time in the army, he was gradually affected and started to swear more and more.

"General, you don't have to make another trip. I'm already here!"

The real boss arrived so quickly that Jing Yifeng glared at the messenger fiercely.

Although this is not an important military camp, we cannot bring people here casually.

The soldier who delivered the message felt very aggrieved, because the person who came was a censor sent by the imperial court to the local area.

In addition to being an envoy, he also carries the emperor's orders and represents the imperial power.

According to the laws of Dayu, anyone who intercepts the Censor-in-Chief during his inspection tour will be beheaded!

"Seventh-rank Supervisory Censor Ding Chenyang greets Lieutenant General Li and Jing!"

Ding Chenyang bowed to the two of them and said.

After learning the identity of the visitor, Jing Yifeng's anger disappeared in an instant.

When encountering a creature like the Censor, no one in the officialdom is not afraid of him.

Although he seems to be only a seventh-rank official, he can actually monitor and impeach all local officials, from inspectors to governors.

For officials, once bitten by the censor, they would be skinned alive if not killed.

"Imperial Censor Ding, what brings you here?"

Li Mu asked.

Now that the people are here, there is no point in arguing about who is responsible for sending them away.

The Guangdong Governor was able to trick this man over, obviously because he was sure of the Censor's identity and knew that he would have a deterrent effect on them.

"I came here mainly for the people of Guangdong. I hope the two lieutenant generals can return to Guangzhou immediately to provide assistance."

Ding Chenyang said confidently.

It was as if he had already defeated the two of them and would definitely give him this face.

"Master Ding, I'm afraid you've made this trip in vain.

Lianzhou is in the enemy's hinterland and has to face the rebels' counterattacks at any time. We are currently short of manpower.

Not to mention returning to Guangzhou for assistance, we also want to seek support from Guangdong!"

Li Mu said calmly.

Regardless of whether the visitor believes it or not, Lianzhou is currently short of military force.

He was not very clear about the actual number of troops in Guangdong, but there were still more than 100,000 or 200,000 troops on the list.

Even if they wanted to settle accounts, local officials dared not do it too quickly.

If the Battle of Zhaoqing was reported, with the loss of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and generals, the responsibility would not be something a prefect could bear.

The Governor of Guangdong could be dismissed from his post at the very least, or even beheaded at the worst.

In comparison, Lianzhou Prefecture only has more than 10,000 soldiers.

There is nothing wrong with saying that the military force is tight.

"Admiral Li, Admiral Jing, this is truly a critical moment for our survival, we should put the overall situation first!"

Ding Chenyang said with a gloomy expression.

Normally, if a general showed such disrespect to him, he would have walked away long ago.

If he doesn't submit a memorial to impeach him, he would not be a qualified censor.

The current situation is special and Guangdong needs reinforcements.

The two lieutenant generals in front of him have important backgrounds, and it would be bad for no one if they fell out.

"Master Ding has said it!

It is for the sake of the overall situation that we sent troops to recapture Lianzhou.

If we had not used our small force to hold back the enemy's hundreds of thousands of troops in the rear, Guangzhou would have fallen by now.

Even Huguang, Yunnan and Guizhou are now in a dangerous situation.”

Jing Yifeng followed and said.

It is entirely up to them to decide how many rebels they can contain.

After the Jinyiwei was abolished, the imperial court had no reliable source of intelligence even if it wanted to verify.

Judging from the map, the recovery of Lianzhou was definitely a strategic victory.

It is equivalent to inserting a sharp blade into the enemy's heart.

The defeat of 100,000 rebels is the best evidence.

If it wasn't crucial, the enemy wouldn't have gathered so many troops.

“No matter how important Lianzhou Prefecture is, it cannot compare to Guangzhou Prefecture.

Once Guangzhou falls, the White Lotus Sect members hiding in Guangdong will inevitably respond in unison.

If Guangdong is lost, the whole of South China will fall into the hands of the rebels.

By then, the southeast will be shaken and the entire south will be plunged into war.

If we are not careful, it will lead to the downfall of the country!"

Ding Chenyang said with a serious expression.

When he came here, he promised that he could get reinforcements.

Now it seems that the two people in front of him don’t take him, the censor, seriously at all.

If he couldn't convince the two with his eloquence, his trip would be in vain.

"Sir Ding, since you know the importance of Guangzhou Prefecture, you should know the importance of Huguang, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangdong.

We are holding the enemy back here; half of their main force remains in their lair and they dare not act rashly.

If there was no such nail, and the rebels' strength doubled, how would Guangzhou be able to defend itself?
What guarantees the security of Huguang, Yunnan and Guizhou?

Knowing the importance of Lianzhou Prefecture, he still asked us to abandon Lianzhou. Could it be that Lord Ding is a rebel hidden in the court by the White Lotus Sect? "

As soon as Li Mu finished speaking, Ding Chenyang was furious.

Coming here as a lobbyist, he has become a rebel himself.

This ability to make up stories is even better than his. Who is the Censor?

"Nonsense!"

"Disgraceful to politeness!"

"I want to..."

As Ding Chenyang kept cursing, he became so angry that he couldn't speak.

Not to mention the White Lotus Sect, if they were even slightly involved, their entire family would be killed. The imperial court was never lenient towards traitors.

"Master Ding, calm down first, no one says you are a traitor.

But what you are doing now makes it hard not to make people suspicious.

After all, you have to help the rebels accomplish what they couldn’t do even with hundreds of thousands of troops.

Knowing the strategic significance of Lianzhou Prefecture, you deliberately let us give it up. This is really wrong!"

Jing Yifeng followed up with the finishing blow.

On the issue of Lianzhou, he and Li Mu had long been tied together, and the Jing and Li families were political allies.

Since I have offended the Censor Ding in front of me, I might as well offend him more severely.

Sometimes showing strength can actually make the other party more cautious.

"you……"

Ding Chenyang fainted halfway through his words while pointing at the two of them.

With years of experience, Li Mu can be sure that this guy is pretending to be unconscious.

The main reason was that the tone was set too high, so he didn't dare to continue.

In essence, he is just a scholar and knows nothing about military affairs.

Li Mu and Jing Yifeng's trick scared him half to death.

If Lianzhou Prefecture is really as important as they boast, then anyone who advocates giving up this place is either stupid or evil.

Although he was not clear about the strategic level of the nobles, he knew that most of the civil servants, like him, knew nothing about military affairs.

It is useless to be familiar with military books. The military books circulating on the market have been deleted and revised countless times.

The true inheritance of military tactics has always been passed down within the military family and never shown to the outside world.

"Uncle Qi, no wonder Guangxi fell so quickly, it turns out that rebels have infiltrated the officialdom.

You and I must report this to the court together and ask the emperor to send people to investigate the Guangdong officialdom, otherwise the past events in Guangxi will repeat themselves!"

Li Mu said deliberately.

The White Lotus Sect was indeed widely spread, but it did not yet have the ability to recruit officials into its ranks.

Unless there is chaos in the world, the gentry will not take a fancy to the White Lotus Sect.

In particular, the Holy Emperor White Lotus issued the Equal Land Distribution Order, which forced the gentry to the opposite side.

“Not so good!
We just have a suspicion that if this memorial is submitted, Lord Ding will be dead.

He can never clear himself of the suspicion of aiding the enemy.

Once the imperial envoy arrives, the first thing they will do is to raid his house, and if things go wrong they might even exterminate his entire family.

In my opinion, he probably offended someone and was deceived by him.

When the war in Guangzhou became intense, we contacted various encirclement and suppression armies to relieve their military pressure. We would never give up a strategic location.

The biggest problem in my Dayu is the infighting in the officialdom.

Some time ago, the prefect Yang withheld food and fodder from the army for his own selfish reasons, leading to the defeat in Zhaoqing.

I didn't expect that there are still people who dare to mess around now. They really think the mess is not big enough!"

Jing Yifeng said in cooperation.

“You and I are both knowledgeable about military affairs, so we naturally know the seriousness of the problem, but some people don’t understand military affairs at all.

I guess in their eyes, the White Lotus rebels were just a group of rioters.

Little do people know that the main force of the current White Lotus rebels is the former Guangxi border army.

Zhaoqing was defeated, the imperial court suffered heavy casualties, but the White Lotus Sect gained a group of elite soldiers and generals.

At the imperial court, they are not well fed and clothed, and their fighting capacity is only two or three points out of ten.

They suddenly turned into a rebel army, with plenty of food and wine, and their fighting capacity was increasing rapidly.

Unfortunately, the officials in Guangdong are all a bunch of idiots.

Even at this point, he is still trying to make money and cheat people.

For the sake of the overall situation, I'm afraid we can only sacrifice Lord Ding!"

After hearing what Li Mu said, Ding Chenyang, who was originally unconscious, suddenly got up.

"Don't!"

“I, the censor, will report these issues to the court, so you guys should stay out of it.

As for the issue of food and fodder, I will urge Guangdong to deliver them to you when I return.

The court is busy, please don't submit memorials without authorization!"

Ding Chenyang said in panic.

It was difficult for other military generals to submit memorials to the emperor, but these two memorials would definitely be delivered.

Once the issue was brought to the court for discussion, he couldn't explain it clearly at all.

"Master Ding, we have more than 100,000 people here, waiting for the imperial court to distribute food!"

Jing Yifeng spoke up to remind him.

If a lever is delivered to your door, you'd be in vain if you don't take advantage of it.

It was all because of this Censor Ding, who lacked military knowledge, that they were able to find fault with him during the conversation!
"what?"

"Hundreds of thousands of people!"

"Don't your two battalions combined only have over 10,000 soldiers?"

Ding Chenyang exclaimed.

He could still think of a way to provide food and fodder for more than 10,000 soldiers.

With hundreds of thousands of mouths to feed, forget it.

Even the Governor of Guangdong would have a headache if faced with this problem.

In fact, the food and wages of the Yangzhou Camp and the Huai'an Camp now mainly consist of three parts.

Part of it was paid by Nanzhili, part of it was allocated by the imperial court, and part of it was provided by Guangdong.

The court mainly allocated money, and the grain was basically provided by Nanzhili.

Due to poor relations in Guangdong, there has been no movement.

Li Mu had made sufficient preparations in advance, so even without the reinforcements from Guangdong, there was still sufficient food and grass.

The real trouble was the captives and refugees. The expenses of these people were not enough to rely solely on the court's funding.

“Prisoners and refugees need to eat too!

Lord Ding, please tell the governor for us.

If we don't see any more food and supplies, we will load all the prisoners and refugees onto the ship and send them to Guangzhou.

We have also written a memorial to impeach him for corruption of grain and fodder, and are waiting to send it to the capital."

Li Mu pretended to be angry and said.

This kind of threat is considered as insubordination and is a big taboo in official circles.

However, they were foreign troops and had no affiliation with the Governor of Guangdong. They were merely collecting military pay.

At most, he would be registered with the Ministry of War and labeled as restless.

It is hard to say whether the impeached governor of Guangdong can escape this disaster.

After all, the emperor cannot tolerate any grain of sand in his eyes.

Knowing that the Governor of Guangdong did not provide food to the troops on the front line, he must have been furious.

"Rest assured, my two lieutenants, I will definitely convey these words to you.

If the governor still refuses to distribute food and fodder, I, the censor, will join you in filing a petition to impeach him!"

Ding Chenyang immediately expressed his opinion.

It can be seen that he was suspicious of the Governor of Guangdong.

After all, as a censor, it is impossible not to offend people.

In the past years, he had also impeached the Governor of Guangdong.

However, this kind of impeachment is mostly routine and only picks out minor faults.

Perhaps it was because his writing skills were so good that after the impeachment memorial was submitted, the Governor of Guangdong was reprimanded by the late emperor.

Considering the governor's age, there is basically no possibility of promotion, so it doesn't matter if he has an additional political stain.

He originally thought that the matter was over long ago, but now that he thought about it carefully, he suddenly felt that things were not that simple.

Otherwise, how come the difficult task of forcibly requesting reinforcements fell on him?

……

(End of this chapter)