Fu Shanhe

Chapter 259: Bone scraping to cure poison
Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"I impeach the Governor-General of Jiangnan..."

"I impeach..."

……

As soon as he entered court early in the morning, Emperor Yongning was filled with a barrage of impeachments, most of which were directed at the Governor-General of Jiangnan.

The reason was very simple. After Pei Yunxuan arrived in Yangzhou after a long time, he just stayed there and didn't move.

It was not as everyone expected that a large army was immediately organized to rescue Nanjing.

The few support troops sent by the imperial court all stayed in Jiangbei and did not cross the river to join the war.

It is understandable that the military generals kept their troops on hold. Now that the Governor has taken office, he must obey orders.

Without an order from above, no one would take the initiative to cause trouble. Otherwise, even if the battle was won, there would be no money or food.

"enough!"

“Pei Aiqing has just arrived and is unfamiliar with the situation in Jiangnan. It is understandable that he needs time to understand the situation.

Everyone needs to be more patient and not get too excited, lest it affect the decision-making of the commander-in-chief at the front line."

Emperor Yongning made an excuse.

The more he looked at the censors, the more he disliked them.

If he had not wanted to maintain his reputation as a humble person who was willing to accept advice, he would have followed the example of the previous emperor and dealt with these annoying guys long ago.

They impeach this person today and that person tomorrow, as if there were no qualified officials in the court except themselves.

According to the information sent back by the escorting Jinyiwei, Pei Yunxuan was very considerate of his subordinates along the way. After arriving in Yangzhou, he was also actively coordinating relations between all parties.

There is a bit of a lack in military affairs. These are not new talents who have just taken office, and we need to give them time to prepare for the war.

Most of those who came out to fire the cannons were officials from various prefectures south of the Yangtze River. It was normal for them to be anxious when their hometown was being ravaged by war.

However, it would be wrong to rush to use impeachment to put pressure on the governor at the front line.

If he hadn't seen through the essence of the problem at a glance and really believed the lies of these people and replaced the Governor of Jiangnan, things would have been really bad!
Frequent changes of commanders are a taboo in military strategy.

As the White Lotus Rebellion progressed to this point, Emperor Yongning no longer had any hope of suppressing it immediately.

If we proceed step by step, we will be able to clean up this mess in the next one or two years.

If we send out troops hastily and suffer a major defeat, Yingtian Prefecture will surely be destroyed.

“Your Majesty, the issue of the Governor-General of Jiangnan can be put on hold for now.

However, promoting Guangxi Commander Li Mu to serve as the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi is not in accordance with the ancestral system. Please withdraw your order!"

Inspector Du Liangcai then opened fire.

It can be seen that the Censorate wants to make a big move.

The previous impeachment of the Governor of Jiangnan was just a cover. Everyone knew that the court could not replace the Governor so quickly.

The real goal is still personnel appointment.

The tradition of using civil officials to control military power was not allowed to be broken. Even when Marquis Wuyang went south to serve as governor, he did so as a civil official.

Although Marquis Wuyang did not pass the imperial examinations, he had a good nephew, so the late emperor directly granted the status of Jinshi to his uncle who had failed in the imperial examinations many times.

Although he was a little bit weak, he was a Jinshi after all. For the emperor's sake, he could barely be considered a civil servant.

Li Mu was different. He was the son of a noble family with a good family background. He had no achievements at all and he was a military general when he entered the government.

In recognition of his military achievements, Li Mu was promoted to the high position of commander-in-chief, and no one stopped him, but he was not allowed to be the admiral.

Usually during wartime, the title of governor would be followed by the title of admiral, which represented the authority to manage the military affairs of a province.

Once Li Mu is appointed as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, he will only be responsible to Guangdong and Guangxi at the local level.

The control over him by the governor of the same level was equivalent to being reduced to zero.

It goes without saying that who will command the generals in Guangdong and Guangxi in the future.

It can almost be declared that the Governors of Guangdong and Guangxi have lost their military power in their provinces.

Once this precedent was set, it was equivalent to opening a gap in the long-term suppression of military generals by civil officials.

Since Li Mu was able to get it today, other generals will also have a chance to get it tomorrow. With this thought, everyone will work hard to get it.

"Master Du is right. Commander Li has served in Guangxi for a long time and is not suitable for direct promotion to the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.

I propose that Commander Li be promoted to the position of Admiral of Jiangnan to assist the Governor-General of Jiangnan in suppressing the rebellion!"

Dali Temple Minister Ding Mingyu stepped forward and said.

The first sentence sounded normal to everyone, but the second sentence caused an uproar in the court.

We all agreed to oppose Li Mu's promotion to the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, but you really only opposed him being the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, and turned around and nominated him to be the Governor of Jiangnan.

There were more than one person who was backstabbed. As soon as Ding Mingyu finished speaking, Li Mu was nominated as the Governor of Sichuan, the Governor of Huguang, and the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang.

All of them were nominated by officials in the place of residence. It was important to control the military with civil power, but the threat from the rebels was more painful.

There is still a long way to go before a general can become powerful, but the threat of the White Lotus rebels is already imminent.

When military generals become powerful, it will affect the power in their hands. When rebels become powerful, it will directly take their lives.

Although he was safe in the capital, the Great Yu Dynasty was a clan society. Behind every official in the court, there was a large group of relatives.

Putting aside family ties, most of the money they made in officialdom was transported back to their hometowns for storage.

When the rebels arrived at the local area, they caused chaos and all the accumulation of half a lifetime was wiped out.

Thinking about the losses they would have to bear, everyone suddenly felt that the impact of promoting Li Mu to the position of admiral was not that terrible.

At the beginning, the civil service group worked together, which really frightened Emperor Yongning. Then the civil service group fell into chaos, which gave him another good show.

It was the fierce competition among the civil servants that made Emperor Yongning realize the importance of Li Mu in the war to quell the rebellion.

If we count the previous great victories won by the government army, it seems that they were all achieved under the command of Li Mu. He is definitely a talented general.

After thinking it all through, Emperor Yongning made up his mind not to change the personnel appointments.

The emperor also has to save face. How could he change his orders every day just because of some ideas of his ministers?

As for suppressing the rebels, Wuyang Hou had done a good job before. It was estimated that Zhejiang would stabilize soon.

After stabilizing the four southeastern provinces, it would be a natural thing to do to send troops to recover Huguang, Jiangxi and other areas.

Wuyang Hou even made a specific battle schedule. As long as Sichuan and Jiangnan could hold out, the White Lotus Rebellion would soon be quelled.

……

Li Mu was completely unaware of the struggle in the court. At the moment, he was busy reminiscing about the past with his wife.

It's not easy!

Soon after his wedding, he led his troops to war. In later times, after such a long separation, I wonder what color his hat has become.

The feudal dynasty had many shortcomings, but it did well in this aspect.

Anyone who dares to mess around will be put in a pig cage.

The rules of the aristocratic families are even stricter. They are always followed by maids and old women, and there is no chance for them to meet men from other families alone.

In his previous life, Li Mu could not understand why there were so many rules. Only after being in one of them did he understand the importance of avoiding suspicion. Marriage is not just a matter between two people, it also represents the friendship between two families. Once a problem occurs, it will inevitably affect the political alliance between the two families.

The cost is too high and no one can afford such a loss. The best option is to rely on rules and regulations to eliminate risks at the source.

If the rules cannot be maintained, it means that the family is declining and will not be far from destruction.

"Husband, are you really not going back to Yangzhou?"

Seeing that Li Mu was indifferent to the conditions offered by Yangzhou Prefecture, Jing Yaqing asked with concern.

Compared to the strict rules of the government office in the capital, the days she spent in Yangzhou were the happiest for her.

She is the master of her own house, can sleep until she wakes up naturally every day, and does not need to learn any housework. In the social activities among the ladies, she is also flattered by others.

"Can not go back!"

"The situation in Jiangnan is chaotic, but it's actually not that difficult. If you really want to put down the rebellion, it won't take much effort.

The key point is that there are endless struggles in the court, Jiangnan is too close to the center of power, and my husband is too young.

Let's settle down in Guangdong and Guangxi for 10 to 20 years first, and then it won't be too late to go to Nanzhili or the capital to take up a post."

Li Mu said with a little sadness.

In fact, the noble group did not care at all about the White Lotus Sect's devastation in the south of the Yangtze River. They were more of a watch-the-fun group.

The performance of the Beijing Army in the war to suppress the rebellion was a typical case of working without putting in any effort. After such a long time in the south, there was no record of any noteworthy battle.

He had acted quickly to kill the false emperor in order to stabilize people's hearts. Now that the overall situation has been stabilized, it is time to watch the fun.

Having been suppressed by the civil service group for hundreds of years, the nobles were filled with anger.

In the past, there was no way to deal with these literati families. Now the rebels are helping everyone to take revenge, and the nobles are overjoyed.

Not only the nobles, but also the nine frontier generals held the same attitude. When it came to suppressing the rebels, no one was so active.

The gentry in the northern provinces also held a wait-and-see attitude. The bureaucratic group in the south of the Yangtze River controlled the government, and they also had resentment in their hearts.

Originally there were also North and South lists, but unfortunately, as the Jiangnan bureaucratic group grew larger, loopholes gradually appeared.

The children of officials in Beijing could also participate in the northern examination. Suddenly, a large number of competitors crowded in, squeezing out the quota for northern scholars.

There's no point in being resentful. You really can't beat these guys in the imperial examination.

Now that the opportunity has come, everyone has the same goal, which is to use the rebels to weaken the Jiangnan gentry group.

From Guangxi all the way to Nanjing, it seemed that the rebels fought their way there, but in fact they were also driven there by the government troops.

Although the parties did not collude with each other, their actions were surprisingly consistent and they were all fueling the flames from behind.

The rebels were addicted to looting, and were using the family tree to cleanse the family. Except for a few who ran fast and managed to escape, the rest either surrendered or enjoyed the clan elimination game.

Judging from the results, the aristocratic families in Guangdong, Guangxi, Huguang and Jiangxi have now suffered severe losses one after another.

The aristocratic families in Zhejiang and Nanzhili are on the brink of danger.

All the smart people started to run away, but the aristocratic families had too many assets and could not transfer them at all.

Even if they fled, they only sent their direct descendants away. More people stayed where they were, hoping that the government troops could defeat the rebels.

It's not that they don't have the courage, but there are too many people in the aristocratic families. There are hundreds or thousands of people who can be recorded in the family tree. If they really want to migrate, the cost will be too high.

The household registration alone is a big problem. The local officials also want these big families to contribute to defending the city, so they will not let them leave easily.

Once a big family flees, the people in the territory will lose their morale and the common people will follow them, and the last hope of defending the city will be gone.

If a city or territory is lost, the local officials will lose their heads. When it comes to their own lives, no one cares about face.

Even if one could deal with the government, without the clan's property, it would be very difficult to support thousands or even tens of thousands of people.

People are humble when they leave their hometown.

When they were in their hometown, they were the local tyrants. Not only did they own a large amount of land, they also monopolized multiple industries.

Once you change the place, it becomes someone else's home turf. It is almost impossible to snatch food from the tiger's mouth.

There is a high probability that they will be visited by bandits during migration.

They have used similar tactics themselves before and are so familiar with them.

Theoretically, under this background, they should contribute money and manpower to organize militia to resist the invasion of rebels.

Unfortunately, most of these guys were just hoping for the best. Only a few were willing to spend money to gather troops and resist the rebels.

Even in the eyes of many people, those who spend all their wealth are fools.

Without paying money and food, perhaps the government troops could stop the rebels. But if they paid money and food, all their money would be wasted.

If the government troops had failed to stop the rebels, their fate would have been even more miserable.

The rebels had threatened that anyone who provided money and food to support the government army would be punished along with his entire clan, and they fulfilled their promise.

On the contrary, if we do not provide money and food to support the government troops, there is still a glimmer of hope.

Most of the gentry were gambling on that glimmer of hope.

It was after seeing the true faces of these people that Li Mu was certain that the gentry in Jiangnan were rotten to the core, and he decisively chose to give up Yangzhou.

Since everyone is so good at playing, let’s just go for the big one.

Just like what my uncle said in the letter: All their actions now are to scrape the bone and cure the poison for Dayu.

The damage caused by the rebels is only temporary. It is the pain of the healing process and a price that must be paid.

From Li Mu's perspective, if the plan succeeds, the Dayu Dynasty can survive another hundred years.

This was equivalent to completing a regional change of dynasty within the empire. A large amount of private debt was passively cleared, and social conflicts were greatly reduced.

After the war, the lands and minerals hidden by the gentry will surface again. As long as the court can survive the next few years, its fiscal revenue will increase significantly.

"Oh!"

Jing Yaqing said with a little disappointment.

Li Mu's statement almost determined the future fate of the Jiangnan region.

She has friends in Yangzhou area. When the nest is destroyed, no one will be left unscathed. The future fate of these people is probably not going to be very good.

There were many factors involved, and knowing that things were not as simple as they seemed, she decisively gave up the idea of ​​persuasion.

“Guangxi is actually not as bad as the legend says. After so many years of development, it is no longer the barren land it once was.

Although the economy is not as good as that of the capital, you can buy almost everything you need here.

Some scarce items can also be purchased from Guangzhou. Because it is located on the coast, overseas trade is well developed and there are many Western gadgets here.

Looking at the entire Dayu, Guangzhou is also ranked among the most prosperous.

Compared to the capital, the climate here is more comfortable. Especially in winter, the feeling will be more obvious. "

Seeing that his wife was not in high spirits, Li Mu immediately changed the subject.

From the prosperous Yangzhou to the Guangxi where everything is in ruins, the gap between the two places is too great, and a psychological gap is inevitable.

……

(End of this chapter)