Fu Shanhe

Chapter 226 Natural and man-made disasters
After the celebration banquet, a group of civil servants left in a depressed mood.

They were unlucky enough to have to deal with a governor who forced them to do the job.

It is difficult to cause trouble, because the most powerful troops are now in the hands of the former subordinates of Marquis Wuyang.

If they really come into direct confrontation, those guys would dare to kill people at the governor's command.

Although the imperial court carried out a large-scale purge of local officials during the reign of the previous emperor, it does not mean that it will not happen now.

“Looking at their appearance, I’m afraid they won’t be that honest.

In the days to come, please keep an eye on it for me.

If anyone is secretly doing something, report it to me immediately."

Marquis Wuyang said with a smile.

The dozens of generals left now are all generals with a rank of thousand households or above, and all of them came from the Five Cities Military Department.

In the officialdom, these are considered his direct descendants and his younger brothers.

However, Marquis Wuyang had no impression of most people.

The person who could be remembered by him had to be at least a general of the rank of a hundred households or above.

Most of these people in front of us were low-ranking officers such as small flags and general flags three years ago, and some were even privates.

The reason why we were able to rise so quickly was entirely due to catching up with the opportunities of the times.

First, he reaped the benefits of establishing the Yangzhou Camp, and then he caught up with the battle to quell the rebellion.

Taking advantage of the opportunity of the annihilation of local military officers, Li Mu promoted his confidants to positions, and those with a little ability were promoted out of turn.

Among the generals present, 80% of them followed Li Mu and were quickly promoted.

The remaining generals, whose terms of office at the Wucheng Bingmasi had expired, were assigned to local posts one after another.

With so many trusted brothers in the army, Marquis Wuyang, the governor of three provinces, dared to force tasks on the bureaucrats below right from the start.

"Don't worry, my Lord. We will act carefully and not give the rebels any chance to take advantage of us!"

Li Mu's statement directly escalated the incident.

Anyone who was passive and slack in work and failed to complete the task would be labeled a traitor, which stunned some generals who were not familiar with him.

I've seen frame-ups, but I've never seen one so cruel.

If an official commits dereliction of duty or disobeys orders, evidence must be found and handed over to the court before he can be convicted.

But once it involves treason, just having a list is enough.

"it is good!"

"You have all heard that the rebels are hiding deep inside, and we must not give these rebels a chance to take advantage of us.

This Lord, no matter who they are, if they dare to collude with the rebels, they will be killed without mercy! "

Marquis Wuyang said along the way.

After everyone sang in unison, all the generals present understood instantly.

Today's performance was deliberately performed for them to see.

Not only show it to them, but also pass the message on through their mouths.

Let the local bureaucrats know who is the boss among the three provinces.

It is completely understandable that the two famous people Yin and Zuo could collude with rebels and there were rebels lurking among the officials and gentry.

"Don't worry, my Lord. We will never coexist with the rebels!"

All the generals expressed their opinions in unison.

He is an old subordinate of Marquis Wuyang, so at this time, he naturally has to follow the boss.

As for the current local relationships, let’s put them aside for now.

After all, Marquis Wuyang is the one who can decide their future and destiny now.

……

Guangdong Governor's Office.

"General Jing, send someone to negotiate with Guangxi and Fujian to hand over the recovered prefecture from them as soon as possible."

Looking at the dilapidated government office that was mostly burned down by the war, An Qingfeng said to Jing Yifeng.

If you want to collect taxes, you cannot do so without territory.

The government troops recovered most of Guangdong, but the only territories they actually controlled were Qiongzhou Prefecture and half of Huizhou Prefecture.

If there are not enough officials at hand, then he can only let the soldiers under his command take over.

"Governor, there is no rush to take over the local area. The most urgent task is to solve the problem of food and wages for the army.

Since being transferred to Guangdong, the officers and soldiers under my command have never seen what military pay looks like.

It was originally agreed that after Guangzhou was recovered, their military pay would be paid.

Now that Guangzhou has been successfully recovered, you should find a way to redeem the promised money and grain first!"

Jing Yifeng said with a depressed look on his face.

Just thinking about it made him so angry. He had never suffered such injustice when he was working in Guangxi before.

Everything has been different since I was transferred to Guangdong to work on my own.

The Guangdong Governor's Office, which is nominally richer, is now in the same situation as the Guangxi Governor's Office, and its financial expenditures are entirely dependent on appropriations from the imperial court.

The governor was in a weak position and did not dare to argue with Governor Zhu.

With limited financial resources, it is difficult to even solve the problem of food for the soldiers.

Don’t even think about getting military pay.

Under such circumstances, the morale of the elite troops under his command inevitably declined.

The poor performance in previous battles was largely caused by the court's failure to pay military salaries.

"General Jing, if the governor's office has money, can I not give it to you?
The problem now is that the government office has no money. I want to fulfill my promise, but I can’t come up with any money in the short term.

You heard what the Governor said.

Once we collect the taxes, we will naturally make up the wages owed to your department as soon as possible.

Now that the army has gathered together, and since we have no money or food, we will go to Fujian to beg for alms.

We are all colleagues, they can’t just watch you starve!”

An Qingfeng replied helplessly.

Although he had embezzled money and grain many times, this time it really had nothing to do with him.

After Governor Zhu took office, he adopted a policy of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, and significantly reduced funding to various regions.

Fujian was less affected by the war, local fiscal revenue was not affected, and the governor's office was still able to provide money and grain.

Although Guangxi’s reward silver was withheld because of its outstanding military achievements, its daily military ration supply was still given priority.

The situation in Guangdong was tragic. Before Jing Yifeng's troops were transferred here, there was no decent army at all.

Since they could not play a role in the war to quell the rebellion, the stingy Governor Zhu would naturally not allocate funds to them.

This unfortunate governor An Qingfeng had to pay for all his expenses after taking office with his own money.

Just supporting the servants and guards around him was painful enough for him, and it was impossible for him to advance the military pay.

“As far as I know, Marquis Wuyang brought one million taels of silver with him this time.

There are many of his old subordinates in the army now, and they are also seriously owed wages. You should go and ask for their wages quickly.

If you go too late, you will lose everything!"

Jing Yifeng hurriedly urged.

One million taels may sound like a large sum, but in times of war, it is really not enough to spend.

Many times, the cost of a major battle would be as high as one million taels.

As the first major victory after taking office, Marquis Wuyang must reward the Guangxi army.

Based on his understanding of Li Mu, he would definitely demand the payment of the unpaid wages this time.

Considering the relationship between the two, Marquis Wuyang will definitely make some statement.

If they don't act quickly, the Guangdong Governor's Office will only get some leftovers this time.

What's even more tragic is that they can't make any noise yet, because the Guangxi soldiers led by Li Mu are helping them to regain lost territory.

"You have a good relationship with Commander Li, why don't you go and do some favors?"

An Qingfeng said slightly embarrassedly.

As the governor, he did not receive any information about this important news in advance.

Those who are politically sensitive know that when information becomes blocked, it means danger is approaching.

"Mr. Governor, you are making things difficult for me!

There was only so much money in total, not enough to share. There would be a big battle later, and I guess even Guangxi alone might not have enough.

Speaking up at this time is like snatching something from someone else, and I can't afford to lose face anyway!"

Jing Yifeng refused decisively.

The public should return to the public, and the private should return to the private.

Especially when it comes to interests, the distinction between public and private matters must be made. If you use your personal connections, you will owe them favors.

In fact, there were also former subordinates of Marquis Wuyang in the Huai'an Camp. However, these people were too arrogant when they were in the Wucheng Military Department and looked down on Marquis Wuyang, who was born as a relative of the emperor.

If he followed the trend and got close to him now, he would be a marginal figure and could not become a confidant. As a member of the Jing family, it was not difficult to establish a relationship with Marquis Wuyang. But if he did so, it would involve a debt of favor.

It would be fine if it was just to ask for money for his own troops, but the money had to go through the governor's office first before it could be allocated.

The fall of Guangdong did not mean that the army of Guangdong Province was completely annihilated. Many troops also retreated to Qiongzhou, Fujian and other areas.

These troops are all in arrears with their wages and are all starving for food.

The funds allocated from above passed through the governor's office, and he was considered lucky if he could get one third of it.

If everyone shares the money together and he goes out alone to run things and owes favors to others, he will really be the one being taken advantage of.

"General Jing, don't be angry. There is nothing we can do about it!

Among the three provinces' coalition forces, Guangxi soldiers are the most capable, Fujian provides the most financial support, but we have nothing now.

In this context, my words have no weight at all. Please wait for a moment while I go visit those sea merchants and tea merchants...

I can’t guarantee anything else, but at least I can solve this number for you.”

As he spoke, An Qingfeng stretched out three fingers.

"Three hundred thousand taels?"

Jing Yifeng's words scared An Qingfeng, and he immediately spoke unhappily.

“You are dreaming!

Now we are asking for money everywhere. I will give you 300,000 taels. What about the other troops?
The business of those merchants was severely affected during the war. No matter how rich they were, they were not as rich as before.

I went there to beg for alms, not to raid people's houses!"

In fact, even if we searched the house at this moment, we wouldn't be able to find much cash.

We have just been harassed by the rebels, and now everyone is on high alert. Even if they have money, they will not keep all of it at home.

……

Capital.

Upon receiving the news of the collapse of the Huguang front, Emperor Yongning was furious.

If Zhu Jingyi had not been lucky, he would have died on the battlefield when the army was defeated, and one more person would have been executed by slow slicing in Caishikou.

"waste!
It's all trash!
......"

For a young emperor, the current situation brings too much pressure on him.

Although he was only in his twenties, Emperor Yongning already had many white hairs on his head.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

The ministers hurriedly persuaded him.

Faced with an emperor who could not control his emotions, the officials felt helpless.

The current emperor clearly lacks the education of an emperor, and the political tactics he displays are often so naive that they are terrifying.

When the world is at peace, meeting such an emperor would definitely be a good thing that would bring happiness to both the emperor and his subjects.

Unfortunately, Emperor Yongning was unlucky. When he ascended the throne, the Dayu Dynasty had accumulated a large number of social contradictions, which had reached the critical point of explosion.

The reform of the previous emperor had just taken the difficult first step. Because of the death of Emperor Tianyuan, the reform came to nothing.

Emperor Yongning, who did not understand the situation, overturned many reforms of the previous emperor as soon as he came to power, making the situation worse.

Due to factional strife, the imperial court missed the best opportunity to encircle and suppress the White Lotus Sect.

The wrong use of personnel made the rebels stronger.

"Humph!"

"You all asked me to calm down, but Zhu Jingyi, that bastard, betrayed my trust and ruined the good situation in Huguang.

Now not only has Wuchang been lost, but the Jiangnan and Central Plains regions have also become dangerous.

If no measures are taken, the century-old foundation of Dayu will be ruined!"

Emperor Yongning's angry rebuke did not cause any ripples.

Officials who are able to stand in the court have all gone through thousands of trials and tribulations, and each one is thicker-skinned than the other.

I just got scolded a few times, I didn't feel anything at all.

“Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to mobilize troops and organize a new round of encirclement and suppression.

Marquis Wuyang has arrived at the front line, integrated the troops from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian, and has now recaptured Guangzhou.

I think it won’t be long before we can recapture the entire Guangdong province and threaten the rebels from behind.

Xu Ge Lao also accepted the offer and is currently leading the defense of Xiangyang. If we just send a few elite troops over, we will be able to stabilize the situation.

The Jiujiang Defense War is currently underway on the Jiangxi front line, and the court also needs to increase its troops.

In order to prevent the situation from getting worse, the court should quickly dispatch troops!"

Jing Guoliang spoke first.

According to convention, civil officials would perform first on such occasions.

However, the situation deteriorated too quickly, and if we put our hopes on these colleagues who knew nothing about military affairs, there would only be endless quarrels.

By the time everyone has come to an agreement, Xiangyang and Jiujiang might be lost as well.

The nobles are too deeply bound to the empire, and even if he has some grievances against Emperor Yongning, he must now help to clean up the mess.

"Duke Cheng is right. What we need most right now is to send troops to reinforce Xiangyang and Jiujiang. We can talk about other issues later!"

Li Yuan followed suit.

"Ok!"

“You two are right. We should dispatch troops to reinforce the front line first.

Ministry of War, what troops are available now?"

Emperor Yongning asked, suppressing his anger.

“Your Majesty, the court has sent out reinforcements many times. If we want to quickly reinforce the front line, we can only draw troops from Guanzhong, Central Plains, Qi and Lu.

I propose to draw two regiments of troops from the Beijing camp, together with the Qin and Henan troops, to reinforce the Xiangyang front and do our utmost to protect the Central Plains.

The troops of Shandong, Zhejiang, and Southern Zhili were dispatched to quickly reinforce Jiujiang. To ensure that nothing could go wrong, two regiments were dispatched from the Beijing camp to the south.

As for the Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian fronts, the imperial court has already grasped the strategic initiative, so there is no need to send reinforcements for the time being."

Minister of War Yi Chuanliang replied hurriedly.

The Ministry of War had been planning this plan for a long time. It was originally intended to suppress the rebels, but it has now become an emergency measure.

As the war progressed, the Dayu Dynasty had suffered severe damage in terms of politics, economy, and military strength.

If the downward trend cannot be reversed quickly, those suppressed ambitious people will probably be unable to hold back.

Fortunately, the White Lotus rebels turned their butcher knives on the gentry group, otherwise some aristocratic families would have to consider making separate bets.

"My dear ministers, do you have any other opinions?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

It can be seen that he is not satisfied with this plan to increase troops.

When it came to suppressing the White Lotus rebels, the imperial court adopted a tactic of adding fuel to the fire, rather than being as decisive as an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

The reason for all this can all be attributed to one word: "money".

The more troops were dispatched, the more money and food would be consumed. The treasury was empty and unable to bear the huge expenditure, so the only thing to do was to control the number of troops dispatched.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Astronomical Observatory reported a few days ago that the climate in many places has changed this year, and there is a fear of disasters.

The initial signs of natural disasters have appeared in various places, especially in the northwest region. Since the beginning of spring, no rain has fallen, and autumn crops will definitely be affected.

The Central Plains of Qi and Lu also showed signs of drought. It can be predicted that the grain output of northern provinces will drop sharply this year.

At present, the two major grain producing areas of Huguang and Jiangnan have encountered war. The only solution now is to transfer grain from Shu to maintain the stability of grain prices. "

Lu Shoutong made the memorial nervously.

The combination of natural disasters and man-made disasters is a typical sign of a country's demise.

It sounds easy to transfer grain from Shu, but it is difficult to do it in practice.

Part of the Yangtze River route fell into the hands of the rebels, making water transportation completely impossible and the cost of land transportation unimaginably high.

It is a joke to stabilize the grain price. Just by amortizing the transportation cost, the price of grain transported from Shu cannot be low.

What is more terrifying than the rising food prices is that there is no food to sell.

“Oh, how difficult life is!”

“Permission granted!
Pass down the decree, from today on, the palace will start to save money. My daily share will be reduced by 30%, and the share for concubines and above will be reduced by 10%.

All officials should set an example by not hosting banquets for guests during weddings or funerals, and prohibit all extravagant and wasteful behavior."

After sighing, Emperor Yongning spoke slowly.

The destructive power caused by natural disasters and man-made disasters is enormous.

The White Lotus Rebellion hit Dayu's weak spot. If the rebellion could not be quelled as soon as possible, the price of grain would soar to the sky.

By then, those who will rebel will probably not only be the White Lotus Sect, but also countless starving people.

Everyone knows the dangers, but the high-ranking officials in the court are helpless in doing anything about it.

No matter what measures are taken, they seem futile against the backdrop of simultaneous declines in grain production in the north and south.

……

(End of this chapter)