Fu Shanhe

Chapter 185: Governor of Guangxi
While Dayu is taking action, the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus will naturally not sit idle.

After learning that the government army was going to launch a summer battle, the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus entered a new round of preparations for war.

All domestic resources were directed toward the war.

Even the action of selecting concubines was stopped by Shi Rongxian.

He can distinguish between momentary happiness and lifetime wealth.

In order to set an example for his subordinates, he even reduced the number of visits to the harem, as if he had returned to the early days of his business overnight.

As a result, the factional strife within the Holy White Lotus Kingdom also eased.

Everyone knows what this battle means.

“Holy Emperor, the Annan people have lifted export restrictions, and the military rations problem can be solved through procurement.

However, after the loss of Siming Prefecture, the Yujiang River Basin was no longer safe and transportation was only possible by land.

If grain is transported from Annan, the losses will be very serious.

At the same time, we also have to worry about the puppet government troops marching westward and cutting off our food supply."

Wu Zekai said with mixed feelings.

It is not easy to be the prime minister of the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus. There are wars every day and food is a big problem.

Due to the impact of the war, production in the areas under their control was severely damaged.

The taxes collected from below were almost negligible, and the main source of income came from house confiscations.

The aristocratic families are not fools. Knowing that the White Lotus Sect is about to attack them, they will rush to transfer their property and food.

Since it really couldn't be transported away, people would rather burn it than leave it to them.

At this point in the war, it has become very difficult to support the war by fighting.

In order to raise more food, they spared no expense to bribe merchants and smuggle supplies from the areas controlled by the imperial court.

However, the government was keeping a close eye on them, and the gentry hated them, so no matter how much smuggling the people did, it was just a drop in the bucket.

“Then we must strengthen the defense along the route and not let the Pseudo-North Korea cut off our lifeline.

Although the Annamites have evil intentions, they are still our allies in the short term.

Take advantage of this opportunity to purchase as many supplies as possible.

If I miss this opportunity, I probably won’t be able to buy anything in the future even if I have money.

The Holy Kingdom has reached its most dangerous time. We must occupy one of Huguang and Jiangxi. These two places are more important to the Holy Kingdom than Guangxi!"

Shi Rongxian made a decision immediately.

Deep down, he had a bad feeling that Guangxi would not be able to be defended.

There have been many rebellions since ancient times, but only a few have been able to unify the north from the south.

There was not even a single person who started out from Lingnan and conquered the world.

Creating history is never easy.

“Holy Emperor, we have contacted the believers in Shandong, Henan and other places.

Since the failure of their last uprising, they have been hit hard by the pseudo-dynasty, and their strength has been severely damaged.

In a short period of time, they were unable to launch another uprising.

But there is also good news. Since the beginning of winter last year, there has been no rain in the Guanzhong region.

The followers there are expanding very quickly. If the drought in Guanzhong continues, there should be good opportunities in the future."

Huang Yuheng, Marquis of Zhongyi, came forward to report.

As a country where politics and religion are integrated, religion has always played a significant role within the Holy White Lotus Kingdom.

Although the top leaders of the Holy Kingdom do not take the Vajra King, the Avici Mother, and Maitreya Buddha seriously, they are still very useful in fooling the lower-class people.

The White Lotus Sect played an important role in the establishment of the Holy White Lotus Kingdom.

Every natural disaster or man-made disaster is an opportunity for the White Lotus Sect to spread.

Guanzhong is now experiencing a severe drought, which is the biggest benefit for the Holy Kingdom of White Lotus.

If there were to be a commotion over there as well, the court's attention would be completely focused on them.

In fact, if they were not lacking in communication, they all wanted to contact the Hu people outside the Great Wall.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and they don't mind doing anything as long as it helps to overthrow Dayu.

"very good!
All the White Lotus sect members in the world are one family. We cannot just shut ourselves off from the world, we must help other members.

Especially the missionary work in Guanzhong area should be taken more seriously.

When necessary, key personnel can be sent over to guide them in launching an uprising.

Contribute to overthrowing the pseudo-dynasty!"

Shi Rongxian said in a good mood.

Finally I received some good news. It was too painful to fight alone.

They thought that if they ignited the spark of uprising, heroes all over the world would follow suit.

However, the people of Dayu have not lost their hearts.

Even when he was old and frail, he was still not something that a child like them could shake.

……

Lianzhou Prefecture.

"Commander Li, the governor is about to arrive. Aren't you going to arrange for someone to greet him?"

Jing Yifeng asked with a smile.

Since the arrival of the military supervisor, the two men addressed each other by their titles.

Although the relationship between the two was no secret among the top leaders, many officials below were still unaware of it.

It’s better to fool as many people as possible. Maybe at the critical moment, you can even kill a few idiots.

"General Jing, the military supervisor will make arrangements for welcoming the governor.

There is no need for us military officers to get involved in the affairs of the civil service group."

Li Mu responded unhappily.

Where there are people, there are disputes, let alone when power is involved.

Theoretically speaking, the governor has a higher rank and should have the final say.

But the military supervisor was sent by Lord Xu and represented the imperial envoy.

When the military inspector and the governor got together, who should they listen to? This became an unsolvable problem.

Based on Li Mu's understanding of Jia Bo, he would never give in at this time.

Don’t be fooled by this military supervisor, who looks gentle and will discuss things with them when they encounter problems, and think he is easy to bully.

To be valued by Lord Xu, he must have his own unique qualities.

Being polite to these military generals means that Jia Bo himself does not know how to command troops.

We can only rely on them for things on the battlefield.

Even if he didn't say it, Li Mu knew that Jia Bo was eyeing the position of Governor of Guangxi.

With their original rank, they naturally had no chance.

But after the victory of the Guangxi Battle, Jia Boy took a step forward and entered the ranks of the fourth rank.

It is still a long way from the position of Governor of Guangxi, but there will be opportunities to make meritorious contributions in the future.

As long as he wins a few more battles on the battlefield, he can expect to be promoted from a fourth-rank military inspector to a full fourth-rank military inspector.

As a close confidant of Lord Xu, he is confident that he can reach the fourth rank in the battle to quell the rebellion.

Beijing officials will be promoted one level when they leave the capital, and it is reasonable for them to be promoted twice if they are transferred to remote areas.

Guangxi, which has suffered from war, should be a place that everyone avoids.

If Lord Xu gave him a push, it would be possible for him to be promoted three levels and become the Governor of Guangxi.

The appearance of Governor Zhang not only divided Jia Bo's power, but also blocked his way forward.

In the officialdom, everyone has his own job, and opportunities like this to rise to the top overnight don't come often.

What's worse is that if he didn't serve as governor, it would be difficult for him to reap the big profits from the subsequent achievements of Guangxi's policy of reforming the native system.

If someone with a more prominent background had been appointed as the Governor of Guangxi, Jia Bo might have tolerated it, but Zhang Sihan was clearly not one of them.

How could Jia Bo be afraid of a minister of the Ministry of Revenue who failed in a power struggle and was demoted to the position of governor of Guangxi?

"Lord Jia usually supports our work. Now is the time when he needs help the most. It would not be good for us to just stand by and watch!"

Jing Yifeng said with a bit of embarrassment. He had met many civil officials, and a military supervisor like Jia Bo who did not embezzle military pay and worked hard to obtain money and food for the army was already a rare good official.

Although he did this with a purpose, everyone has selfish motives.

A gentleman does not care about his heart when discussing his deeds. There is no perfect person in the world when it comes to his heart.

No matter what people's purpose is, what they do is always good.

“It is precisely because Lord Jia is a good official that we should not interfere.

Don't forget that we are the commander-in-chief of the army and Lord Jia is the military supervisor.

Once they are mixed together, what do you think the court will think?"

Li Mu glanced at the sky and said.

Power struggles are the most complicated and any mistake can lead to violations of taboos.

Once the imperial court finds out that the military supervisor and the commander-in-chief are in collusion, someone will definitely be transferred.

Now is a time of war, and it is impossible to touch these military generals, so it will be the turn of the military supervisor to be in trouble.

It was easy for them to help squeeze out the new governor of Guangxi, but after that, Jia Bo's official career would come to an end.

"Sir, the military supervisor is hosting a banquet at Zui Xiang Ju tonight to welcome the governor. Please be sure to attend with General Jing."

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

The news brought by the guard interrupted their conversation.

"Tell the person that General Jing and I will arrive on time tonight."

Li Mu said expressionlessly.

According to normal procedures, they should not be absent from such events as welcoming the governor.

However, the welcoming work was in charge of the military supervisor, and they were not informed in advance of the arrival time of the new Guangxi Governor.

In line with the principle of not getting involved, Li Mu and Jing Yifeng tacitly chose to pretend they didn't know and didn't join in the fun.

"It's too shabby to hold a banquet in Zuixiangju. It's better to hold it in the government office!"

Li Mu simply pretended not to hear Jing Yifeng's complaints.

No matter which world the fighting takes place in, it is always so simple and unpretentious.

A show of force and the Hongmen Banquet are all basic operations.

Although Zui Xiang Ju is of a lower grade, it is the only restaurant in Lianzhou Prefecture, which is in a state of disrepair.

Although he knew he was wronged, Governor Zhang could not say anything.

Fortunately, there are few civil servants in Guangxi, and there are only these two people in office. Otherwise, the scene would be even more lively if gangs and factions started fighting.

……

The official post station in the city.

After seeing off the welcoming officials, Zhang Sihan's face suddenly turned gloomy.

It's so bullying.

It is surprising that when he arrived as the governor of a province, the officials who welcomed him were just low-ranking clerks.

He also said that there was a serious shortage of officials in Guangxi, and that all the backlog of government affairs had to be handled by Lord Jia, so he had no time to come and greet him.

“Sir, the situation in Guangxi is more complicated than we expected.

It is true that Generals Li Mu and Jing Yifeng are capable fighters, and they are also well-known for being arrogant and brave generals.

According to the information we have collected, when he was in Yangzhou, Li Mu forced the Yangzhou government to use land to pay for the subsidy.

Jing Yifeng is also not an easy person to deal with.

When he was in Huai'an Prefecture, a conflict broke out between his soldiers and local gentry, and he sent people to apologize openly.

As a result, less than ten days after the incident, the whole family of that gentleman met with an accident.

The two men have strong backgrounds, and ordinary local officials dare not provoke them.

But they are military generals, no matter how arrogant and domineering they are, they are not our enemies.

The real troublemaker is Jia Bo, the military inspector who is a close confidant of Lord Xu.

Because all the local officials in Guangxi were swept away, all local affairs were handled by this person.

It is equivalent to holding three posts at the same time: governor, provincial governor and censor. It may not be easy to ask him to hand over power.

In addition, the situation in Guangxi is also very complicated.

There were chieftains everywhere, and they refused to submit to the king.

The White Lotus Sect attracted a large number of young and strong people, so that the whole place was filled with the families of the rebels.

In order to stabilize the local area, Li Jing and his companions petitioned the court to pardon the rebels who were forcibly conscripted.

Even so, there were nearly 100,000 family members of the traitors who were arrested.

In addition, there were more than 100,000 prisoners of war captured.

After Guangxi is recovered, the number of prisoners of war and families of traitors will increase dramatically.

Guangxi’s future is destined to be turbulent.

If you want to govern the local area, you must have the full support of the military."

Master Duan said with an embarrassed look on his face.

There were so many difficult problems that he didn't know where to start.

Any problem in any link would be enough to ruin Zhang Sihan's career.

"Let's take one step forward and see what happens!

Now even if I don't want to make any more trouble, people don't want me to stay in Guangxi.

Danger and opportunity often go hand in hand. When we see trouble, others may see opportunity.

There is no need to discuss whether Li Mu and Jing Yifeng are arrogant and domineering, but they are definitely smart people.

Everything they did could be covered by the Jing and Li families.

Even if the news reaches His Majesty's ears, he will just laugh it off.

The best proof is that he refused to stay in Guangdong where conditions were better, and instead took the risk of going on an expedition to Guangxi.

Their plan proved to be successful.

Relying on the victory in the two major wars, the two of them directly jumped from the third rank to the second rank of military generals.

Before he was thirty, he had accomplished what others would have done in their entire lives.

This speed of promotion is rare in the more than 200 years of history of Dayu.

Jia Bo is not a simple person either.

When he was in Beijing, he was not even worthy of carrying my shoes, but now he dares to demonstrate against me.

He would never do this if there is no big enough benefit!"

Zhang Sihan said with a sneer.

Losing in the power struggle in Beijing does not mean that he is incompetent.

The fact that he was able to climb to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is in itself proof of his ability.

He was driven out of the capital at this time because he was too close to the eunuch party.

Zuo Guangen's downfall was so quick that by the time he wanted to jump off the boat and leave, it was already too late.

Even so, he managed to escape political purge.

Compared with his colleagues who were thrown into prison, being demoted out of Beijing was actually a good ending.

It is true that the situation in Guangxi is terrible, but it is precisely because of this that he was able to come here to serve as governor.

If there were no problems, not only would he not be able to get the position of governor, he might not even be able to get the position of a provincial governor at a lower level.

When it comes to government affairs, temporary ups and downs mean nothing.

The one who can emerge unscathed after experiencing the glamour is the real winner.

"Reform the land and return it to the people!"

"It must be the reform of the local people!"

"Jia Bo must be going for the goal of reforming the local people. He not only wants to rise to the top, but also wants to leave his name in history!"

Master Duan said excitedly.

……

(End of this chapter)