Fu Shanhe

Chapter 270 The appearance of an emperor
It wasn't just the logistics that were holding back; the local governor's offices responsible for raising money and grain were also struggling.

Faced with the additional levies, officials from all over the country complained bitterly. The time given to them by the Governor's Office was too short, and even if they imposed additional taxes temporarily, it would be too late.

Faced with the new tasks, the governor's office adopted the simplest method of allocating tasks layer by layer.

If you can't raise enough money and food, then find a way to pay for it yourself first, and then look for an opportunity to get it back later.

The plan was ideal, but problems arose during its execution.

Local officials come up with all kinds of ways to prove their integrity, and all kinds of farces emerge every day.

It can be seen that everyone is smart and knows that this precedent cannot be set.

It’s okay to make money as an official, but it’s absolutely not okay to lose money.

Especially for officials in Guangdong and Guangxi, due to the influence of the war, the number of people they could exploit was smaller than in normal times.

There are remnants of rebels lurking in the local area, and the Governor's Office and the Provincial Governor's Office are watching them. If you practice excessive taxation and cause trouble, you will lose your head.

Even if you want to collude with local gentry and get rich together, it is difficult to find partners now.

Many gentry were busy observing mourning and refusing visitors, which was the most peaceful time.

It was not easy for officials to make money themselves, let alone raise funds for the court.

If it didn't involve saving the king, I guess no one would be too lazy to do it.

"Humph!"

"Each of the reasons is sufficient!
The court appointed you as officials to help relieve the court's worries. Since you are unable to relieve the court's worries, you should go home and farm as soon as possible.

We in Dayu lack everything except people who want to be officials.

If you fail to complete the fundraising task, I will strip you of your official uniforms.

Don't you all claim to be honest? Then the governor will personally bring people to investigate and see whether you are really honest.

Isn’t it the ancestral rule that we should follow? If someone embezzles sixty taels of silver, he will be skinned alive.

......"

Marquis Wuyang cursed angrily.

It was obvious that he was really irritated by the bureaucrats. Even the punishment of sixty taels of silver and skinning was brought out.

Unfortunately, only a very small number of officials were able to attend the meeting. The majority of officials were still unable to personally feel the murderous intent of Marquis Wuyang.

Li Mu was sure that if the fundraising task was not completed, Wuyang Hou would definitely raise the banner of anti-corruption, confiscate the property of officials, and fill the gap in money and grain.

"Governor, we have tried our best.

In order to raise money and food, everyone tried every possible way. I even went to merchants and gentry to borrow money without hesitation.

Even so, only half of the task was completed. It would take at least two months to raise enough money and food.

It would take at least two months for the government to collect the additional taxes.

Otherwise, the army will set off first, and when we have collected money and food, we will send people to deliver them here."

As soon as the Guangzhou prefect finished speaking, Li Mu wanted to kill him.

He was very familiar with the moral integrity of civil servants.

As long as the army dares to go out, the money and food that will come later will definitely not arrive.

If they lower their posture and negotiate now, it would be like a knife at their necks.

Once Wuyang Hou led his army away, the situation changed. The governor, who was thousands of miles away, had little deterrent power at all.

Believing these bureaucrats' lies is irresponsible to the army. If we really reach the front line and cannot get enough money and food, it will be a big accident.

Before the siege of the capital is lifted, the court will not allow the troops to withdraw, no matter how difficult it is, and all officials in the court will pretend not to see it.

"Prefect Wen, do you know what you are talking about?"

Li Mu asked coldly.

Originally he didn't want to get involved in the affairs of the civil servants, but now that it involves the safety of the army, he has no choice but to intervene.

In any case, enough money and food must be raised before the army sets out.

Only when the goods are in hand, nothing will happen. Otherwise, the best rice will turn into chaff when it is transported to the front line.

"Admiral Li, this government is here to help the country. Do you have any questions?"

Prefect Wen responded coldly.

As a traditional literati, he had long been dissatisfied with the trend of military generals becoming more powerful in Guangdong and Guangxi.

He had been forced to endure it temporarily due to the need of war. Now that Li Mu interrupted his conversation with Marquis Wuyang, this dissatisfaction had accumulated to the extreme.

"Sharing the country's worries?
Which country are you serving?
I know. I know that you, Prefect Wen, are an official of Dayu.

Those who are not aware of the situation, after hearing your proposal, might think that you are an official from the Northern Tartars.

How dare you propose such a policy that will bring disaster to the country and the people!"

Li Mu immediately mocked.

Once he becomes the admiral, whether he likes it or not, he has to take up the banner of the struggle between civil and military affairs.

The current verbal battle can only be regarded as a rehearsal at best, and there will be more difficult problems in the future.

If a prefect is afraid, then just go home and take a shower and sleep.

"you……"

"Bloody mouth!"

"I am the prefect of Guangzhou appointed by the imperial court. How can I allow you, a kid who rose to prominence by relying on the merits of my ancestors, to slander me?

......"

The defense of Magistrate Wen was broken, and he immediately started to speak with his mouth.

Unfortunately, although lies can hurt people, their destructive power is ultimately limited.

To be able to reach this point today, the legacy of our ancestors certainly played a role, but more importantly, it was due to our military achievements.

Otherwise, with so many noble descendants and people of nobler status than him, why should he be the leader of the younger generation?

No matter how Prefect Wen accused him, Li Mu could face it with a clear conscience.

“Jealousy makes a person look unrecognizable!
You are so well-read in the books of sages, but you have lost even the most basic sense of propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame.

Serving in the same court with you is the greatest shame for me.

It is said that in order to corrupt our officials, the northern barbarians specially selected a group of smugglers to cooperate with them, and constantly bribed people who betrayed their ancestors in the court.

During the reign of the previous emperor, a major smuggling case was uncovered. Behind the scenes, there were unscrupulous officials who colluded with the rebels for personal gain.

I remember that Mr. Wen was working in Datong. The late emperor was magnanimous and didn't bother with you, but just reprimanded you.

I didn't expect that after so many years, you still don't repent and continue to work for the Northern Tartars hiding in the dark.

Now that we have sent troops to deal with the Northern Barbarians, Lord Wen can't wait to jump out. Is it possible that your master behind the scenes is afraid?"

Li Mu spoke nonsense.

The major smuggling case of that year did implicate many people, but the prefect Wen was not among them.

The emperor reprimanded him for his inaction, and he turned a blind eye to the smuggling activities of officials and businessmen under his rule.

This kind of thing was very common in the Great Yu Dynasty. Generally speaking, as long as it involved the powerful people in the court, the officials below would provide convenience.

But after Li Mu exaggerated what he said, the way everyone looked at Prefect Wen changed.

It was no secret that the Northern Tartars secretly bribed officials in the court. During the previous emperor's time, more than a dozen people were found out by the Jinyiwei. After entering the Yongning Emperor's time, the factory guards, which had experienced the storm of being abolished, lost their combat effectiveness at their peak. They would only take action when the emperor ordered them to do so, and neglected supervision in this regard.

Considering the behavior of Prefect Wen, it is possible that he was secretly dealing with the Northern Tartars.

In the officialdom, many things do not require evidence. As long as there is suspicion, it is enough to make Marquis Wuyang alert.

"Admiral Li, these are all groundless stories. You can't make irresponsible statements without evidence!"

Guangdong Governor An Qingfeng interrupted hurriedly.

The two could not be allowed to continue arguing, and even the fact that Prefect Wen was reprimanded for a smuggling case when he was working in Datong a few years ago was exposed.

This is enough to prove that Li Mu has a deep understanding of Wen Zhifu's background. On the contrary, Wen Zhifu's reasons for attacking are all forced.

If we continue to tear it apart, who knows how many problems will be revealed.

It doesn't matter if the Guangzhou prefect is finished, but I'm afraid that the Marquis of Wuyang will take advantage of the situation and really accuse him of having secret dealings with the northern barbarians, and then use this as an excuse to continue to implicate him.

If we dig deeper, we will find that there are few clean officials in Guangdong, including the governor, who may also be implicated.

Corruption and abuse of power are minor matters, but the timing is wrong. As long as the emperor and the officials think that they are hindering the army from coming to the king, they will be doomed.

There was no way. Marquis Wuyang himself was the commander-in-chief in this expedition and he would never allow any hidden dangers in the army's food and fodder.

If a civilian governor had been appointed instead and military generals had been dispatched to fight, then the proposal made by the civil governor would have been very constructive.

"Governor, I am responsible for my words.

Lord Wen was indeed reprimanded by the late emperor for colluding with the enemy. The court should have records. If you don’t believe me, you can check it out.”

Li Mu said evasively.

Choosing to jump out is itself a warning to others.

Compared with Guangxi, his say as the governor in Guangdong is much lower.

Many local officials were perfunctory in implementing the decrees issued. Anyway, everyone was determined to separate the civil and military branches, and Li Mu, the governor, had no control over the civil officials.

If you give me face, then cooperate with the execution. If you don’t give me face, then just refute it directly.

They were just some minor issues. If they were made into a big fuss, it would make him seem arrogant and domineering.

In the previous conflict, both sides fought secretly. On the surface, Li Mu did not take any action.

Now that the opportunity had come to him, he simply picked the unlucky Prefect Wen to serve as an example to warn the monkeys.

Since he had taken action, he must be killed. As for the issue of the prefect Wen colluding with the northern barbarians, it was enough to just have suspicion.

As the safety of the capital was at stake, no one dared to place an official suspected of colluding with the enemy in such an important position as the prefect of Guangzhou.

"Lord Wen is not feeling well, so he will temporarily hand over the affairs in his hands to the Guangzhou Tongzhi to handle.

Governor An, you should pay more attention to Guangzhou's affairs in normal times. Now is an extraordinary period, and we must not allow any chaos to occur.

If anyone is found colluding with the Northern Tartars, they will be severely punished!"

Marquis Wuyang took advantage of the situation.

The position of Guangzhou prefect was of great importance, and the appointment and dismissal of such important officials in the court required the approval of the imperial court.

Theoretically, the imperial commissioner has the power to make arbitrary decisions on the spot and can execute civil and military officials below the third rank.

In actual operation, it is only used occasionally in extraordinary times.

In normal times, if you dare to do this, you will be punished later!

The most common practice is to suspend the person from his post and wait for the court to make a decision.

Under normal circumstances, in order to maintain the authority of the governor, the court would approve personnel changes at this level.

The specific handling will be finalized after the court's investigation results are out.

But at this moment, everyone would rather believe it than not.

If you make a mistake, it's nothing more than that Prefect Wen suffered a little injustice. Just think of it as the price he has to pay for his careless words.

If they really did collude with the enemy and were not caught, and the front-line army was defeated, it would be a major political incident.

In fact, the most panicked people at this moment should be the officials in Jin.

It's not like they would defect to the Northern Barbarians. The officials of the Dayu Dynasty were all arrogant and looked down on those foreign races.

The connection was limited to economic interests, because Shanxi merchants were the main smuggling forces, and they were also linked to the Northern Tartars.

If the imperial court conducts a thorough investigation, many people will be implicated.

Fortunately, everyone was busy guarding the capital and no one cared about the problem of smuggling.

Prefect Wen was unlucky because of his bad intentions and he walked into trouble.

……

"Your Majesty, the northern barbarians have besieged the capital of the pseudo-dynasty, and the pseudo-emperor is busy mobilizing troops everywhere.

The Beijing troops that had threatened Anqing and the Shandong troops stationed in the Jiangbei area had both withdrawn.

The opportunity to take over the prefectures in Jiangbei has arrived!
Now we only need to send out a small army, and we can take over all the prefectures in Jiangbei, and we are only one step away from taking over the entire Jiangnan region."

The left prime minister, Yu Ruiyu, proposed with great enthusiasm.

The unexpected surprise came too suddenly. They had originally had to dispatch heavy troops to guard against the threat from government troops in the Jiangbei area, but now that is gone.

The shackles imposed on them by the court suddenly disappeared.

The army swept across the prefectures in northern Jiangsu and captured the last few isolated cities in southern Jiangsu, and they occupied the most important place in the world.

Relying on the wealth of the Jiangnan region, it is enough to arm a million troops and take a solid step towards conquering the world.

"Ha ha……"

"Prime Minister, you are too anxious.

The false emperor was incompetent, allowing the Hu people to besiege the capital. It was indeed a godsend opportunity to seize Jiangnan, but not now.

In the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, there is also a group of elite Dayu troops who are eyeing us covetously.

If this army is not removed, it will always be a threat.

If we sweep all the way across Jiangbei and make a big noise, the false emperor might be cruel and tell that villain Li Mu not to go to the capital, but to lead his troops to attack us instead.

Of course, this opportunity cannot be wasted.

Arrange our people to deliberately open a passage so that the defenders in Nanjing and Hangzhou can receive news from the outside world."

Fu Haoxuan laughed.

At the critical moment of capturing Jiangnan, Dayu was invaded by the northern barbarians, which was an opportunity given to him by God.

Similar scenes have occurred in previous founding monarchs.

In the process of changing dynasties, "the destiny is in your hands" is really not a joke. Those who can finally seize the world are all those who are extremely lucky.

Those who are unlucky will die on the road to entrepreneurship no matter how strong their personal abilities are.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

All the ministers shouted in unison.

Countless princes who fought for the world all lost at the last moment. Being able to restrain desires at the last moment is a necessary factor for achieving great things.

……

(End of this chapter)