Fu Shanhe

Chapter 224 Boomerang

At the dock, a group of civil and military officials from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian stood on both sides, quietly looking at the fleet that was about to dock in the distance.

You can vaguely see everyone's dissatisfaction from their frowning brows.

Many people thought it was sheer nonsense to let a relative of the emperor serve as the imperial commissioner and governor-general of three provinces.

But no matter what they thought, no one wanted to confront Wuyang Hou. Early in the morning, everyone put down their work and waited at the dock.

Among the many officials, Li Mu arrived the latest.

It's not that he's a spendthrift, it's mainly because he was commanding the war and wasted time.

Giving a gift when meeting someone also requires skill.

The time for attacking a city is agreed upon in advance and cannot be changed without authorization. However, the time for occupying a city can be controlled remotely.

In a big city like Guangzhou, it is reasonable for the rebels to put up fierce resistance and engage in street fighting for a period of time.

Under Li Mu's deliberate manipulation, the rebels in the city were suppressed in a corner in the south of the city, waiting for the arrival of Marquis Wuyang to launch the final offensive.

The biggest victim of this operation was naturally Zhu Jingyi, who was escorted to Beijing.

In the early days, he could make up for his crime by conquering the city. In the later days, it was also acceptable.

Only this kind of blocking point siege became a sharp blade stabbing Zhu Jingyi.

Officials from the three provinces had previously impeached him for embezzling military supplies, giving reckless orders, and deliberately sabotaging the cause of suppressing the rebellion.

As soon as he was convicted by the imperial court and a new person was appointed as governor, the government army immediately recaptured Guangzhou, which became the best evidence that Zhu Jingyi was sabotaging the cause of suppressing the rebellion.

It was impossible to complain, as Zhu Jingyi's series of actions had severely offended the civil and military officials of the three provinces.

Even though his efforts to increase revenue and reduce expenditure did not affect the interests of civil servants, they also increased everyone's income.

However, under the command of Governor Zhu, the government troops suffered continuous defeats.

The only troop that had not been defeated was the one that disobeyed orders.

If he continued to follow Governor Zhu, not only would his career prospects be bleak, but he might also lose his life at any time.

In the face of huge risks, the money that was lost is nothing.

Especially for the officials who are on the front line and face the rebels, they would rather not spend a penny and wipe out the rebels as soon as possible.

As long as you are in position, there are plenty of opportunities to make money. But if the rebels attack, your heads will be hung on the city wall.

For their own interests, everyone tacitly chose to get rid of Governor Zhu.

The fleet slowly approached the shore, and a group of officials quickly came to greet them. Li Mu took the lead in the line of military officers.

Compared to the game between civil officials, the internal ranking of military generals is much simpler. Whoever has the bigger fist has more say.

After a brief greeting, Marquis Wuyang, surrounded by everyone, went straight to the central military camp to rest.

Li Mu was not in a hurry to approach and talk to the officials. He knew how hard it was to drift on the sea.

The Marquis of Wuyang was already exhausted. If he approached him now, he would only be asking for trouble.

No matter how enthusiastic the welcoming officials were, the smile on Marquis Wuyang's face was very forced. He had no interest in any welcoming banquet.

……

"what?
You have conquered Guangzhou and are now launching the final assault on the rebels. So what are you still doing here? Go and command the war!"

Marquis Wuyang couldn't help but exclaimed.

When he came, he deceived Emperor Yongning that the most important part of his plan was to capture Guangzhou City and then recover Guangdong Province.

He had just arrived at the place and had already completed half of the task. This was enough to prove that his strategic plan was completely feasible.

As long as he recovered Guangdong, he would be able to give an explanation to the court even if he did not do anything bigger afterwards.

"Master Hou..."

"Commander Li, please tell us about the battle."

As soon as Governor Zhang opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Marquis Wuyang.

Experience told him that if he wanted to understand the most realistic war situation, he should not listen to the bragging of civil servants.

He had always paid close attention to the massive White Lotus Rebellion and was familiar with all the victories, both large and small, won by the government troops.

Li Mu's shadow could be seen in almost all of the biggest victories. Although many names were added to the credit book, he still knew exactly who commanded the battles.

The civil servants may have played a role in this process, but Marquis Wuyang believed that they were mostly just trying to take credit for it.

There was no other reason, it was purely because of familiarity. All his military merits were earned in this way.

The main reason he chose to work here, besides having his own people, was that he knew Li Mu was a good fighter.

“My Lord, in order to recapture Guangzhou as soon as possible, we have contacted the loyal and righteous people lurking within the rebels.

Two nights ago, they opened the city gates and let the army into the city.

......"

The plain and simple confession, without any embellishment, sounded like the sound of nature to Marquis Wuyang.

It turns out that victory can cure fatigue.

After gaining a preliminary understanding of the siege, Marquis Wuyang, who was originally exhausted, was suddenly revived to full health.

He knew that the rebels were resisting stubbornly, which was all nonsense. It was obvious that the old subordinates were deliberately controlling the progress of the siege, waiting for him, the commander, to come. Although the performance was not very good, it did not affect his share of military merit.

He understood the implication that when Guangzhou City would be completely occupied would be decided by him, the imperial envoy.

"it is good!"

"it is good!"

"it is good!"

"General Li is truly a famous general of our dynasty!"

"My Lords, you are all the pillars of our Great Yu!"

"As for the loyal men who infiltrated the rebel army, I will also reward them handsomely!"

In a few words, Marquis Wuyang praised everyone. It can be seen that he is in a very good mood.

The officials who were brought along also smiled at this moment. Since the imperial envoy was satisfied, the old account was probably over.

Compared to Governor Zhu, the Marquis Wuyang in front of him is obviously much more difficult to deal with.

It’s not that they are afraid of his political schemes, but mainly because they can’t figure out how deep his relationship with the emperor is.

In the officialdom of Dayu, the shadow of the royal family is rarely seen. It is not that the emperor does not use relatives outside the emperor's family, but it is simply that these people cannot be helped.

Marquis Wuyang is a complete exception. Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for talented people to emerge among the relatives of the emperor's wife.

When the emperor was selecting concubines, officials would screen out potential candidates in advance. Not only would they select women from small families, but they would also require their brothers to be mediocre in ability.

Those who performed even slightly well were eliminated in the first round. Subsequent selections also had to be screened, cutting off the possibility of the expansion of foreign relatives from the source.

As a result, there were no political strongmen in the Dayu foreign relatives group, but there were a lot of political idiots, who often got into trouble and made the emperor responsible for cleaning up the mess.

If she doesn't mess around in official circles, she is a qualified relative by marriage. If she doesn't bully men or women, she is an excellent relative by marriage.

Under such a strict system, the birth of a foreign relative like Marquis Wuyang was completely beyond the expectations of many people.

Fortunately, there is only one such relative, and the other relatives are still at a normal level, either getting into trouble or on the way to getting into trouble.

……

While the government troops were recaptured Guangzhou, something unexpected happened again on the Huguang battlefield.

Zhu Jingyi, knowing that he was about to be questioned, decided to give it a try at the last minute. Before the imperial edict arrived, he ordered the army to leave the city and fight the rebels.

As a result, they accidentally fell into an ambush by the rebels, resulting in heavy losses for the two recruited troops in Huguang, causing the already dangerous Huguang battlefield to completely collapse.

The originally strong Wuchang was captured by the rebels in one battle. A large amount of strategic materials stored in the city fell into the hands of the rebels.

The situation collapsed too quickly, and many gentry had not yet reacted before the rebels' butcher knives fell on their heads.

The rebels, who had received a large amount of supplies, did not stop after conquering Wuchang Prefecture.

On the one hand, he led his troops to the north, heading straight for the Heluo area; on the other hand, he went south along the Yangtze River and joined forces with the army that had previously entered Jiangxi, aiming at Jiujiang.

The rapidly deteriorating situation made Xu Wenyue, who received the imperial edict, furious.

The hot potato that he had finally thrown away was back in his hands so soon.

Without any hesitation, he naturally rejected the emperor's edict.

It’s not that he is unwilling to serve the country, it’s simply that the emperor is too unreliable.

Even if we want to replace someone, we have to wait until the new imperial commissioner arrives and takes over power before we can punish anyone!
Such an important personnel appointment was actually discussed in the court. Before the imperial edict was issued, the news was received first.

Few people who hold great power would be willing to be killed. It is completely understandable that Zhu Jingyi, who does not want to die, chooses to give it a try.

Relatively speaking, Governor Zhu was relatively good. Even if he gave it his all, he led a large army to fight the rebels, and did not raise the banner of "clearing the court of evil officials".

If it were a commander who had deep roots in the army, the other side might directly raise the flag of rebellion, and the consequences would be even more terrible.

Xu Wenyue could do nothing but curse the emperor in his heart for causing such trouble.

“Master, the rebels have already marched north, and Xiangyang Prefecture will soon become a battlefield.

The people in the city are in a panic. The King of Xiangyang has brought the city's officials and gentry here. Please come out and take charge of the situation!"

The old butler's words made Xu Wenyue's eyes go dark.

It's all over. I can't get rid of this hot potato.

In a blink of an eye, the rebels were about to attack his hometown. He was in mourning and had no way to escape.

There were only two choices before him: either accept the emperor's favor and resume his post as governor-general to suppress the rebels; or wait at home for the rebels to attack and the whole family to gamble their lives together.

Xu Wenyue is not optimistic about either option.

The rebels killed people without blinking an eye, especially the gentry. Even if you surrender voluntarily, you may not be able to save your life.

It was useless to accept the love-stealing. Zhu Jingyi had squandered all his family wealth. Now that he was the governor-general of the bandit-suppression army, he had too few resources to use.

The gentry of Xiangyang placed their hopes on him. The problem was that the elite troops of Huguang were all lost, and it was too difficult to defeat the rebels with only a few remnants.

The only advantage is that accepting the seizure of his love now is truly accepting a mission in a time of crisis, and no one will criticize him for observing mourning.

"Tell them I'll be there shortly!"

……

(End of this chapter)