Fu Shanhe

Chapter 221: Catch the ducks and put them on the shelves

Capital.

"Are these people asking for money and food?"

Emperor Yongning asked, pointing at the mountain of memorials in front of him.

After becoming the emperor, he finally understood why his brother loved to make money.

Everyone in the court needs money, and the tax revenue in the national treasury is not enough.

Without money, you can't do anything.

“Your Majesty, these are all urgent.

Some unimportant memorials are still placed at the back."

The eunuch Su Haoyu answered in a low voice.

Since Emperor Yongning ascended the throne, the Dayu Dynasty began to suffer bad luck.

The Northern Barbarian Rebellion in the north had not yet subsided when the White Lotus Rebellion broke out in the south.

During this period, the northwest region also suffered from severe drought.

"Money, money, money. Everyone just wants money from me. Where can I get the money?"

Emperor Yongning couldn't help but complain.

This is the price of personal rule.

In the past, these troubles could be handled by the regent, but now he has to make the decisions himself.

Unfortunately, he lacked experience and did not understand the ins and outs of the matter, so he distributed some money and grain that did not need to be distributed.

This made the already tight finances of the imperial court even more difficult.

It’s not that there were no ministers who advised him, but unfortunately Emperor Yongning simply wouldn’t listen and was determined to be a diligent emperor.

"Your Majesty, calm down!
The difficulties are only temporary, and everything will get better once the war in the southeast ends."

Su Haoyu stepped forward and persuaded.

“The war in the southeast is difficult!
Zhu Jingyi is not capable of doing anything important. Since taking office, he has suffered more defeats than victories and has made the situation a mess.

Although they recovered half of Guangdong, they lost half of Huguang and one-third of Jiangxi.

When the country is in trouble, we need good generals. Do you think we should break the ancestral system and recruit meritorious officials to lead the army?"

Emperor Yongning's words frightened Su Haoyu.

The emperor usually dislikes eunuchs interfering in politics, but now he suddenly asks, who knows if he is testing him.

Even if he asked sincerely, Su Haoyu didn't dare to answer.

Suppressing military generals is a national policy, and employing meritorious officials as commanders is undoubtedly a break from convention.

Once the news gets out, it will definitely cause an uproar in the court.

"Your Majesty, I really don't know about these things.

However, it is not considered a violation of the ancestral system for a noble to be the commander-in-chief.

Our dynasty has not stipulated that nobles cannot be used to command the three armies.

Except for the first hundred years after the founding of the country, the Lianghuai Rebellion during the reign of the previous emperor was suppressed by the nobles. "

Su Haoyu replied nervously.

Serving beside Emperor Yongning, he sincerely hoped that the situation in Dayu would improve.

Otherwise, the emperor would be frowning every day, and the eunuchs would not be able to live a good life.

"Yes, this is indeed not against the ancestral system!"

Emperor Yongning said with satisfaction.

Although he had the idea, he did not implement it immediately.

Unlike the previous emperor’s period, no matter what bad things happened, the eunuchs were always blamed.

Now that he proposed to use nobles to lead the coalition forces of various provinces, the court was in an uproar.

Even if the emperor relied on his authority to force the resolution, he could not stop the people below from dragging their feet.

Not only will the rebellion not be suppressed, but the situation will become worse.

Unless he is willing to grant more authority, such as the power to execute civil servants who do not cooperate.

There is no doubt that this is impossible.

The civilian commanders have these powers because they have no foundation in the military.

Even if one holds great power, that power comes entirely from the imperial authority.

It would be different if it were a nobleman.

Although its influence is not as great as in the early years of the founding of the country, its influence in the military is still considerable.

If you invite the generals below to reminisce about the past, they might become your own people.

This was caused by the hereditary system of military commanders in the Dayu Dynasty.

The ancestors of the military officers in the garrisons in various places mostly followed those noble ancestors.

During this period, these people had no idea how many marriages they had.

If you look up the family tree, you might find that we are relatives.

Thinking of this, Emperor Yongning decisively gave up his previous terrible idea.

The power of the Jing and Li families is already great enough. If the two heads of the family are allowed to command the troops of several provinces, there might even be a scene of wearing the yellow robe.

Even during the previous emperor's reign, only nobles were allowed to command the Beijing troops to go to war, and they were not granted command over local troops.

"Your Majesty, Marquis Wuyang is outside asking for an audience!"

The maid's voice interrupted Emperor Yongning's thoughts.

"Let him in!"

Emperor Yongning smiled slightly.

Just when I was worrying about who to send to the front line to supervise the troops, a suitable person appeared on my doorstep.

Nobles are also divided into different levels.

The Jing and Li families are old-established nobles who hold great power in the court and have great influence in the military. They are in the first tier.

A relative of the emperor who only had the title of nobility was not even considered a member of the noble group.

This prominent position is limited to this generation.

When the next generation becomes estranged from the emperor, new relatives will replace them.

He came from a humble family and had no roots in the court, so he posed no threat to the imperial power.

The most important thing is that Marquis Wuyang has experience in leading troops and has made military achievements in the process of quelling the rebellion in Lianghuai.

Although his command ability may not be outstanding, at least he is more reliable than those civilian officials who have never led troops.

Judging from performance alone, Marquis Wuyang did better than Xu Wenyue when he was in Yangzhou. In the eyes of Emperor Yongning, Xu Wenyue's military ability exceeded Zhu Jingyi, and Marquis Wuyang's military ability was greater than Xu Wenyue's.

Since Xu Wenyue was able to suppress the rebels when he was in charge of suppressing the rebellion, there would naturally be no problem if he was replaced by Marquis Wuyang, who has stronger military capabilities.

"minister……"

"Uncle, we are all family, no need to be polite!"

Emperor Yongning's enthusiasm startled Marquis Wuyang.

It is true that uncles and nephews have a good relationship, but this does not include the emperor.

Now that the nephew has become the emperor, no matter what their relationship was in the past, it is now only that of a monarch and his subject.

"Your Majesty, there is a difference between the ruler and his subjects!"

Marquis Wuyang said hurriedly.

Such performance naturally pleased Emperor Yongning.

The emperor can show closeness, but he must not forget his identity.

No one likes to get along with people who are confused.

"Uncle, you came at the right time.

The war in the southeast has been dragging on and has now spread to the Jiangnan region. I am unable to sleep or eat in peace.

Zhu Jingyi is a waste and has completely betrayed my trust.

Uncle, do you have any advice on how to defeat the bandits?"

After hearing what Emperor Yongning said, Marquis Wuyang felt miserable.

Although he was paying attention to the war in the southeast, it was just a limited concern.

He had never thought about how to use troops or how to eliminate the enemy.

But since the emperor asked, he had to answer.

Having made military achievements in the war to quell the rebellion and having a reputation as a knowledgeable military officer, one must maintain this reputation.

“Your Majesty, the White Lotus rebels have grown so powerful that we can no longer treat them as ordinary rebels.

It will not be possible to quell the rebellion in the southeast overnight.

In my humble opinion, the army to suppress the rebellion should be divided into two routes.

The government troops in Huguang and Jiangxi stood in the front to block the rebels' advance and prevent them from further expansion.

The government troops of the three provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian sent troops to attack the enemy's rear, continuously recovering lost territory and reducing the rebels' space for activities.

The White Lotus Sect's million-strong army consumes a large amount of food and fodder every day.

As long as their space for movement is restricted, it won’t take long before they are trapped and starved to death by the imperial court!”

Marquis Wuyang immediately lied.

I don’t know whether this strategy will be successful, but it sounds feasible.

As long as the government troops on the front line can complete the mission, they can definitely wipe out the rebels.

"it is good!

Uncle, you are such a talent!
Zhu Jingyi is not capable of taking on important tasks, so I have decided to dismiss him immediately and escort him back to Beijing.

Uncle, are you willing to go there and serve as the governor to help suppress the rebellion?"

Faced with Emperor Yongning's expectant eyes, Marquis Wuyang was confused.

It would be too difficult to ask him to go to the front line just because he boasted.

If the rebels were really easy to suppress, he would never have gotten such a good job!

"Your Majesty, this matter should be handled with caution.

There are many talented people in the court, and I am really incapable of using them!"

Marquis Wuyang hurriedly refused.

As early as when he was in Yangzhou, he made up his mind that he would never go to the front line in his life.

The good days didn't last for a few years, and now he is asked to go to the front line again. The emperor must dispel this terrible idea.

“Uncle, don’t be so modest.

Before leaving office, Lord Xu recommended you to me.

'Among all the civil and military officials in the court, the one who can quickly put down the White Lotus Rebellion is none other than Marquis Wuyang!'

I remember his words clearly."

Emperor Yongning's explanation made Marquis Wuyang very angry, and he cursed Xu Wenyue's ancestors in his heart.

Isn't it just some grudges from the past? Is it necessary to torture him to death like this?

Being the governor-general to suppress bandits is not an easy job, and even if one does a good job, it is difficult to improve his status substantially.

If you mess up, the current governor Zhu Jingyi is a role model.

It is unknown whether he can survive after being escorted back for questioning.

Only a fool would want to do such a hard job.

"Your Majesty, our dynasty has always relied on civil officials to control military power, and we have never had a relative serve as governor of several provinces.

The task of suppressing the rebellion is of great importance and we cannot take any risks!"

Marquis Wuyang tried hard to evade the request.

"Uncle, there's no need to refuse, this matter is settled!"

Emperor Yongning expressed his opinion immediately.

In order to quickly quell the White Lotus Rebellion, he no longer cared about so many things.

There are only a few people in the court who are capable of cleaning up the mess.

If we don’t use Marquis Wuyang, we can’t use Duke Chengguo or Marquis Zhenyuan, right?

"Your Majesty, wait!

The two armies to suppress the rebellion were far apart, and it would be impossible for one governor to take care of both.

Due to the obstruction of the enemy army, it took more than ten days for the military order to be spread.

Speed ​​is of the essence on the battlefield. I propose to establish two governors-general to suppress the bandits, one to lead the army into battle.

I would like to volunteer to take charge of the military affairs in Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian!

As for the suppression of the rebellion in Huguang and Jiangxi, I recommend Lord Xu."

Marquis Wuyang stepped forward and said.

Since I can't avoid it, I'll just drag someone else down with me.

At least in the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, he has his old subordinates and they are easy to use.

(End of this chapter)