Fu Shanhe

Chapter 184 Pressure
Thang Long Prefecture.

“Your Majesty, after the Yu Dynasty won the battle in Guangxi, they quickly recovered one-third of Guangxi’s territory.

The White Lotus rebels were not as strong as expected, and there was probably not much hope of expecting them to overthrow the rule of Dayu.

The strategy we formulated previously was too optimistic and needs to be adjusted significantly.”

Prime Minister Cui Ziyan said with a serious expression.

According to their plan, they would take advantage of the White Lotus Rebellion to stir up civil strife in Dayu and plunge the world into a melee among the princes.

Then they gradually encroached on the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, then swallowed up the Huguang region, and finally seized the vast mountains and rivers of Dayu.

The plan faced the risk of failure just as it took its first step.

The religious rebels are extremely powerful in the early stages, but once they suffer a major defeat, their performance will gradually decline.

The peak period of the White Lotus Sect was too short to shake the rule of Dayu.

“We have invested so many resources in the early stage and have not seen any returns yet. We cannot let the White Lotus Sect collapse so quickly!

Compared to Dayu, our Great Yue Kingdom is still too small. If we can't take advantage of their weakness and go against the trend, once they catch their breath, we will be in big trouble.

During the reign of Emperor Tianyuan, he wanted to rebuild Jiaozhi. If he had not died early, the Dai Viet Dynasty might have been plunged into war.

Emperor Yongning is his younger brother and will definitely inherit his elder brother's legacy."

There was a hint of panic in the firm tone of Emperor Hu Ruiyang of Vietnam.

Being neighbors with Dayu is not a good thing. In the past years, the Dai Viet Dynasty has always been walking on thin ice.

They were afraid that the people of the Yu Dynasty would keep an eye on them and turn them into the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration again.

In order to change all this, Hu Ruiyang began to prepare for war and continuously develop the military strength of the Dai Viet Dynasty after he ascended the throne.

After more than 20 years, it finally annexed several regimes in the south and occupied most of the Indochina Peninsula.

Even so, he still didn't have the confidence to stand up straight when facing the behemoth that is Dayu.

The only means of resistance is to not pay tribute.

Unfortunately, their weight was not enough, and the loss of a vassal state paying tribute did not affect the power of the Dayu Empire at all.

"Your Majesty, the Great Yu Empire is still strong, and the time for its rule to collapse has not yet come.

If we directly intervene in the civil strife in Dayu, they will definitely send troops to retaliate.

Just because our ancestors were able to preserve their ancestral heritage by bribing the civil servants of the Yu Dynasty two hundred years ago doesn’t mean they can do the same now.

So many years have passed, I don't mind putting up with them for a few more years.

Don't be impulsive! "

Cui Ziyan hurriedly persuaded.

The strategic adjustment he proposed was to temporarily abandon the unrealistic strategic plan of annexing Dayu, but not to go to war with Dayu.

In the past years, countries that were hostile to the Central Plains dynasties gradually disappeared in the long river of history.

The reason why the Dai Viet Dynasty was able to survive was not because of their strong military power or the harsh climate of the Indochina Peninsula.

The reason why the people of the Yu Dynasty were willing to give up Jiaozhi Provincial Administration was mainly due to the internal struggle between the civil and military officials. In order to suppress the military generals, the civil official group was unwilling to waste money and grain on the remote Jiaozhi Provincial Administration.

After so many years of development, the development of Indochina Peninsula has become much more mature than before. Especially Hanoi area, it is a rare rich place.

Once the people of the Yu Dynasty discovered that the once boring Jiaozhi Provincial Administration was hiding a large amount of fertile land, there was hope that it would become the second Jiangnan.

It aroused the Yu people's deep-seated desire for land, and the conservative scholar-officials could also become radical war advocates.

There is no shortage of precedents in history of using external expansion to divert accumulated internal social contradictions.

"That's it!"

"Let's let the Yu Dynasty people go for now, and when the time is right, we can settle the score with them.

However, the support for the White Lotus Sect needs to be further increased. Didn't they want to buy food and artillery a few days ago? Sell them all to them.

From now on, no matter what they want to buy, as long as we have it, we will sell it to them!"

Hu Ruiyang said with an unwilling look on his face.

Originally these were the means to control the White Lotus Sect, but now I suddenly find that my teammates are not strong enough, so I must heal them well to make all these means invalid.

There is no need for the Holy White Lotus Kingdom to come and offer better conditions. They will take the initiative to sell artillery and food.

Although the economy was still profitable, the political value had shrunk significantly. There was no hope of forcing the White Lotus Sect to cede land.

It’s not that the White Lotus Sect is so tough on the outside world, it’s just that the promises they made will not be recognized by the Dayu court.

……

Li Mu had seen the changes in Annan. The Jinyiwei warriors who had defected had already handed over intelligence about the Annan people doing business with the rebels.

After a slight hesitation, Li Mu chose to suppress the news.

The emperor's wedding is coming up, and everyone is busy congratulating him. It would be very tactless to submit this kind of news to the emperor and cause him trouble.

Even if Emperor Yongning knew that the Annan people were colluding with the rebels, at most he would issue an imperial decree to reprimand them, which would not solve the problem at all.

Before suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion, the imperial court had no energy to seek trouble with the Annan people.

……

"Commander Li, the gift you prepared for His Majesty's wedding is too simple, isn't it?"

After looking through the gift list, Jia Bo asked with a puzzled look on his face.

The emperor's wedding is a major event. Even if Emperor Yongning ordered everything to be kept simple, the ministers still wanted to express their feelings.

There is no regulation on the value of the gift, but it must be given; it is a matter of attitude.

In fact, being qualified to give gifts to the emperor is also a reflection of one's status.

Even if ordinary people want to give it as a gift, they don’t have the qualifications.

Jia Bo, who had just stepped into this threshold and lacked experience, wanted to learn from Li Mu's experience, but he was stunned when he saw the gift list.

All of them are local specialties from Guangxi. Apart from the large quantity, none of them are valuable. The total value does not exceed fifty taels.

It took a lot of effort to send these things to Beijing, but the value of the goods themselves was not enough to cover the shipping costs.

"Master Jia, is there any problem with this?

On the day of His Majesty's wedding, all officials will present gifts, and at that time there will surely be rare treasures from all over the world competing for splendor.

I am busy with the war and have no time to look for rare treasures, so I can only offer you some local specialties."

After hearing Li Mu's explanation, Jia Bo was speechless for a moment.

It was clearly a perfunctory response, but he still managed to say a lot of profound truths.

However, he understood one thing clearly: the gift he presented could not stand out from those of the other ministers, so he should just be mediocre.

Being unoriginal also means not making mistakes.

With so many people giving gifts, the emperor couldn't remember the rest except for a few outstanding ones.

"Thank you for the reminder, Commander Li. I'm grateful for your advice!"

Jabo said calmly.

There are too many people who want to flatter the emperor. At a time like this, it is better not to stand out.

If you really become the most eye-catching kid, you will become the target of public criticism.

He is just a close confidant of Lord Xu, not Lord Xu's son.

Now that he has gotten into trouble, the backstage will not save him unconditionally.

……

Time flies, and with the completion of the emperor's wedding, Dayu began to enter a new era.

According to convention, assistant ministers gradually transferred power to the emperor.

However, the power of ministers and the power of the emperor are inherently confusing. In name, the emperor is supreme, but in practice, the power of ministers is not small at all.

Because all the ministers under the cabinet had served as regents, the power of the cabinet was unrivaled for a time. Even after Emperor Yongning completed his personal rule, the cabinet still had a very strong say in handling state affairs.

He tried to take charge several times, but was rejected every time.

When it comes to playing politics, Emperor Yongning is no match at all.

The power struggle in the court had nothing to do with Xu Wenyue for the time being, as he was busy implementing the summer campaign.

They combined the strength of many provinces and mobilized a total force of nearly one million, which was divided into six groups based on provinces to besiege the rebels.

Even among the famous generals in ancient times, few could handle such complex military deployments.

For Xu Wenyue, who came from a clean family, it was even more of a challenge.

In order to carry out his will, he sent military supervisors to each army and unified the dispatch of the six armies.

Without any surprise, the trouble still happened.

On the issue of suppressing the rebellion, the positions of the six provinces of Huguang, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Fujian and Jiangxi were not exactly the same.

The resources everyone invested in this battle were also different.

Huguang, where Xu Wenyue personally supervised the battle, was naturally the most active and was the first to complete preparations for war.

The situation in other provinces is more complicated.

In addition to encircling and suppressing the rebels, Guangxi also had to face the threat from Annan.

Although they actively participated in preparations for war, the number of troops that could be deployed in the war was limited.

Due to insufficient local financial resources, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces had difficulty in raising military rations, which directly affected the progress of war preparations.

Because of its geographical location, Fujian is a place that is not contested by military strategists, so the threat from rebels is not serious and the enthusiasm for joining the war is not strong.

The jurisdiction of Xu Wenyue, the governor-general of five provinces, did not include Fujian.

If it weren't for the face of his cabinet ministers, Fujian might not have sent troops.

After all, they had settled the accounts in the last operation to encircle and suppress the rebels.

The benefits of participating in the war at this time are limited, but the risks are unlimited.

If they suffer another defeat and the province's military forces are severely damaged, the rebels would not mind taking them in.

The situation in Jiangxi was slightly better, as the local finances were abundant and capable of supporting the war.

But the province lacks elite troops.

The Jiangnan region not only has fertile land, but also a relatively developed local economy, giving people more choices.

Unfortunately, the treatment of the Dayu army was poor, and it was difficult to recruit enough high-quality soldiers.

Coupled with the corruption of the bureaucratic system and the perfunctory training in daily life, the combat effectiveness of the Gan Army was directly affected.

The preparations for war went smoothly, but when it came time to go to the battlefield, no one wanted to lead the troops.

Looking at the news gathered from all over the place, Xu Wenyue almost vomited blood in anger.

The time for launching the summer campaign was approaching and everyone was complaining, which made him very angry.

"Old man, no matter how many reasons you have, the summer battle must be launched on time.

The summer battle is the key to encircling and suppressing the rebels. We can only win this battle and not lose!

Which army is holding me back? I will first ask the governor to punish me."

Xu Wenyue gave the order coldly.

The potential of bureaucrats is forced out.

If you don't give a strict order, there will always be various excuses.

If you are unable to solve the problems one by one, you can only let the people below solve them on their own.

If the problem cannot be solved, then replace it with someone who can solve it.

At this moment, he had made up his mind that even if he had committed many crimes, he would still carry out the mission.

As the imperial commissioner, he only needed to put pressure on the governors of various provinces.

When it comes to the local level, the governor will naturally put pressure on the lower levels.

There are certainly difficulties, but since they involve official positions, I think they can still be overcome.

Apart from "winning but not losing", it is a bit difficult.

Other tasks can be solved as long as officials exercise their subjective initiative.

"Lord, the battlefield is ever-changing. Who can guarantee that..."

Without waiting for Yu Xiuwen to finish speaking, Xu Wenyue threw the documents over.

“Even if we can’t guarantee it, we have to find a way to guarantee it.

The court supports you so that you can solve problems!

You don’t have to ask me everything. If I have done everything, what else do I need you for?
The same thing happened to others, who took my words verbatim to the provincial governors.

If anyone messes up the job, I guarantee that when the court comes to question him, his head will be chopped off!"

The governor of Guangxi standing by was very embarrassed. He was in danger of losing his head before he even took office as governor.

He wanted to explain, but he was so intimidated by Lord Xu's majesty that he swallowed his words back.

It is not easy to be the governor of Guangxi. The bureaucratic system is in a state of shutdown, and he is left alone as the governor.

The personnel of the few garrisons that had just been restored were all drawn from the Yangzhou Camp.

The reorganized Gui army recruited soldiers from the Huai'an Camp.

They are all direct subordinates of Li Jing and Li Jing, and there is no room for him to interfere.

If you rashly rush over and take up the position, you will just be living under someone else's roof.

For Zhang Sihan, it was undoubtedly unacceptable that the governor of a province had to act according to the wishes of a military general.

The reason I chose to come to Wuchang Prefecture first was to seek support.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get any support, but instead I got into a huge trouble.

Other governors can delegate the task to lower levels, but he doesn't even have any subordinates in the governor's office, so he doesn't know who to delegate to if he wants to.

"Governor Zhang, do you have a different opinion?"

Unable to bear Xu Wenyue's sharp gaze, Zhang Sihan replied hurriedly.

"No!
The elder has made all the arrangements, and I will do my best to complete them!"

Regardless of whether he could complete it or not, he had no choice but to agree to it.

At this time, he was transferred from the position of Minister to the position of Governor of Guangxi, which clearly showed that he had failed in this round of power struggle.

As a loser, he was not qualified to say "no" to Xu Wenyue.

"Ok!"

"Don't worry, if things go wrong there will be punishment, and if things go well there will naturally be rewards.

No matter who it is, as long as they have made contributions in the war to quell the rebellion, I will report to the emperor and reward them handsomely.

Lieutenant General Li of the Yangzhou Camp and Lieutenant General Jing of the Huai'an Camp were recommended to the Emperor by this Imperial Envoy for their meritorious service in encircling and suppressing the rebels, and were promoted to the positions of Commander-in-Chief and Chief Officer.

Jia Bo, who served as the military supervisor, was also promoted one level.

As long as everyone works hard for the court, this cabinet will definitely not be stingy with rewards!"

Xu Wenyue immediately started to make a big promise.

Setting an example in the past is for now.

He wanted everyone to know that if they worked hard for him, Xu Wenyue, they would be handsomely rewarded.

(End of this chapter)