Fu Shanhe

Chapter 308 Power Struggle
After a round of greetings, I learned that the emperor was holding a banquet in the palace.

After a long journey, he needed to rest and was not suitable to attend the banquet, but this was a banquet hosted by the emperor.

Without any hesitation, the team split into two.

Li Mu and Marquis Wuyang brought a small number of guards and followed the officials into the palace for the banquet, while the others returned to their homes.

The huge team formed a long dragon, the scene was grand yet majestic.

It can be seen that the imperial court put a lot of thought into welcoming them.

The more this happened, the more uncertain Li Mu felt.

His intuition told him that since the court treated them with such courtesy, something big must be happening.

Considering the current situation, it can be basically confirmed that the imperial court is really out of money.

Otherwise, when they received the official documents reporting to the capital, the court should have provided money and food to reward the three armies in order to stabilize the morale of the troops.

When it came time to reward people for their merits, he did not reward the three armies first, but instead treated the high-ranking officials of the army that came to support the king with high standards of courtesy.

Obviously prepared to spend little money to accomplish great things.

The celebration banquet went very smoothly and everyone gave the emperor a lot of face.

Even the censor who often found fault did not cause any trouble.

It is obvious that no one in the officialdom is a real fool.

……

It was already evening when we left the palace.

"Uncle, who gave His Majesty this bad idea?"

On the way back, Li Mu asked.

It is indeed cheaper to win over a few generals than to win over an army of 100,000.

But there are some money that the court cannot save.

It's fine to delay paying military salaries on a normal basis, but it's unacceptable not even paying rewards after a victory.

If the imperial court does not solve the problem, then the generals will have to find a way to solve it themselves.

With a little guidance, the officers and soldiers below will become alienated from the court.

"Who else would be such a bad guy except those bastards from the Ministry of Revenue?"

"This is an extraordinary period. The court has decided to confer upon you the title of Marquis of Hanshui. We cannot allow anything to happen at this critical moment.

Even if I have to pay for it myself, the army that supports the king must be safe!"

Li Yuan said seriously.

The family is about to have two marquises and will push the Li family to a new height, so there must be no mistakes.

As for the problem of the officers and soldiers below being alienated from the court, he could no longer take care of it.

The national treasury is really out of money now. Even if the emperor is willing to pay, the Ministry of Revenue cannot produce money and grain.

If you can't solve the problem, then find a way to solve the person who created the problem.

In the battle to support the king, the Guangdong and Guangxi army had the most outstanding performance.

If we appease them, the mission is half done.

"Don't worry, uncle. I know what's important.

According to the laws of Dayu, if a soldier captured the head of an enemy soldier, he could choose to be promoted, receive a reward, or compromise and have both.

The court is in financial difficulty now and cannot provide money and grain at the moment, so the solution is to compensate with official titles.

If there are not enough real vacancies, then give honorary titles.

As long as we can save face and let everyone feel the importance of the court, there will be no problems with the army supporting the king."

Li Mu immediately assured.

Compared with other armies that came to support the king, the soldiers from Guangdong and Guangxi were considered wealthy.

Whether it was confiscating and detaining or snatching spoils from the Northern Tartars, there were quite a few gains.

It is not difficult to pay the soldiers their salaries and rewards normally.

Compared with rewards of gold and silver, everyone needs advancement in official rank more.

The southern provinces were experiencing war and were in need of officials.

Li Mu and Marquis Wuyang have discussed that in order to meet the needs of suppressing the rebellion, the Liangguang Town will be expanded.

If I am assigned to work in Beijing in the future, I will continue to maintain the status quo.

If the two men were to serve in local areas separately, they would each take away half of the troops to ensure their positions.

In addition to preparing for the "separation", we must also consider the transfer of military generals.

We are colleagues, so we must help each other.

As before, when the generals left, they would take their servants and personal soldiers with them.

The departure of one or two generals is not a big deal, but the number of generals transferred to other places is increasing, and the troops they take with them are not small either.

“It’s good to be able to figure it out.

You are still young. As long as the general situation is going well, there is no need to worry about money and food.

If the imperial court does not provide salaries, then we have to find ways to raise funds locally.

When our ancestors followed Emperor Gaozu to conquer the world, not to mention the money and food logistics, even..."

Li Yuan stopped talking halfway through.

The awesomeness of our ancestors is indeed worth bragging about.

But in the process of conquering the world, there is also no shortage of dark history.

Many of these things involved Emperor Gaozu and could not be discussed openly.

"Uncle, the army to support the king is easy to deal with, the key lies in the court.

Judging from the current situation, Dayu is already in great danger.

Most of the most capable government troops in the South are in the hands of our noble faction.

If you want to turn the situation around, I'm afraid you and your father-in-law will have to be sent out to lead the work of suppressing the rebellion.

Everyone has taken up a post in a local government, which will inevitably affect their voice in the court.”

Li Mu opened his mouth to remind.

Some things cannot be avoided even if you want to.

The lineage of Marquis Zhenyuan followed the imperial court and enjoyed wealth and prosperity for more than two hundred years.

Now the time has come for him to make contributions to the court. As long as the emperor issues an edict, Li Yuan will not be able to refuse.

In theory, most of the government troops in the South are in the hands of the nobility, but there are only tens of thousands of elite troops who can really fight.

These troops are basically concentrated in Li Mu's hands.

Although the generals who were separated had good abilities, they were restricted by logistics and their subsequent development was not smooth.

This situation was half the fault of the Dayu court and half the fault of Li Mu.

The imperial court was short of finances, and the generals below needed to find ways to make money on their own.

When these people were under Li Mu's command, they only learned how to lead troops and fight.

He never taught anyone how to make money or raise military funds.

As a result, many generals were able to achieve impressive results when serving under him.

Not long after leaving, I ran into trouble.

If the problem of money and food is not solved, it is impossible to train a strong army.

No matter who becomes governor in a local area, the first problem he faces is financial shortage.

Even in Nanzhili, which was once the richest, the local government was unable to come up with money after the war.

The ability of the Guangdong and Guangxi troops to fight was actually due to the concentrated efforts of three provinces.

When Li Yuan and Jing Guoliang arrived at the local area, it was not easy to solve the problem of financial resources.

"Hey!"

“I have discussed the matter of exile with your father-in-law, and it is indeed unavoidable.

In fact, His Majesty has already talked to us about this. If the Northern Tartars had not yet completely evacuated, the personnel appointments would have been announced long ago.

Now the entire southern land is relatively peaceful, with only Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian being the only areas that are relatively peaceful.

The rest of the provinces were devastated by war.

Relatively speaking, the Governor of Sichuan and the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang had a slightly better life.

However, it was also threatened by the rebels.

The Governor-General of Huguang and the Governor-General of Jiangnan are both hot potatoes.

Most of the jurisdiction has been occupied, and now there is neither money nor soldiers.

According to Your Majesty's wishes, Marquis Wuyang will resign as Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang and take up the post of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and Governor-General of Jiangnan.

With the help of troops from Guangdong and Guangxi, the rebellion in the Jiangnan region was quelled.

Your father-in-law and I will most likely take over as Governor-General of Huguang, Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang, or Governor-General of Sichuan.

Choosing two out of three is not an easy life! "

Li Yuan couldn't help but complain.

According to such personnel appointments, the task of suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion was entirely placed on the shoulders of the noble family.

If it succeeds, everyone will be happy; if it fails, the nobles will be doomed.

Of course, when the noble family is destroyed, the Dayu Dynasty will also be destroyed along with it.

As the situation has developed to this point, the army controlled by the nobles has become the last pillar of the Dayu Dynasty.

Once this pillar falls, there will be no way to save the situation. "Uncle, suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion is not difficult from a military perspective.

If the money and grain can keep up, we will be able to recover Nanjing and most of the southern provinces within this year.

The real challenge is to deal with the aftermath.”

Li Mu reminded implicitly.

The rebels were able to grow so powerful due to many factors.

The most important factor is that the world has suffered from Dayu for a long time!
Land annexation, coupled with heavy taxes and levies imposed by a corrupt bureaucratic system, has led to a continuous deterioration of the situation.

Suppressing rebellion can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

After many state capitals were recaptured by government troops, they soon fell into the hands of rebels again. The biggest problem was that the government did a terrible job.

As soon as the officials took office, they started trying to make money by all means.

The people cannot bear the exploitation, so they can only follow the rebels.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

The unrest in the south is just a microcosm of the empire's corruption. The northern provinces are also powder kegs that may explode at any time.

"Let's find a way to quell the rebellion first!

I guess it’s not our turn to worry about the aftermath.

Your Majesty will not let us serve in local positions for a long time. Once the war on the front line is over, we will be transferred back to the capital.

Don't forget, in addition to the White Lotus Rebellion, the empire's hidden dangers also include the Northern Tartars and the vassal states!"

At the end, Li Yuan deliberately emphasized his tone.

At the same time that Li Mu and Marquis Wuyang went to the capital to report on their work, people from Liaodong Town also went to the capital.

The imperial court can no longer afford to be harassed. Even though it knows that Liaodong Town has become a new vassal state, it does not have the confidence to deal with them.

Except for a few officials whose military power was at zero, who proposed cutting off their food and wages and causing the Liaodong Town to be trapped and starved to death, most officials advocated the use of conciliatory tactics.

It's not that everyone is spineless, it's just that the court doesn't have the ability to open up another battlefield.

The Liaodong Town is not a fool. They will not sit there and wait for death. Once a falling out occurs, they will definitely go to war.

They might even join forces with the northern barbarians and invade the south together.

By then, the northern border defense line will inevitably collapse, and Shanhaiguan alone will not be able to stop their offensive.

……

In the palace.

"Emperor, you guys take your time chatting. I'm going to rest first."

The Queen Mother said with a smile.

As her family members did a good job, the empress dowager lived a comfortable life.

From being an in-law to a hereditary aristocracy, the family's status and position were raised by more than one level.

From now on, you don’t have to worry about the future of your mother’s family. As long as your children don’t do anything stupid, they can enjoy wealth and prosperity for many years by keeping the hereditary title.

Anyone who can fight his way out of the harem is certainly not a political novice.

After a brief reminisce, she deliberately created opportunities for her brother and son to be alone.

"Farewell, Mother!"

"Congratulations to the Queen Mother!"

……

"The state affairs are difficult, uncle, do you have any strategies to teach me?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

A few years ago, he would never have consulted Marquis Wuyang on state affairs.

Influenced by Yin and Zuo, he had never had a good impression of the group of foreign relatives for a long time.

Of course, this is mainly aimed at other relatives by marriage. The relationship with Marquis Wuyang is still good.

However, this only applies to personal relationships and does not include allowing Marquis Wuyang to participate in politics.

It was not until the rebellion of the Lianghuai aristocratic families that the inherent impression changed slightly.

The real reversal occurred after the conspiracy of Yin and Zuo broke out, which challenged his inherent cognition.

Realizing that civil servants were unreliable, Emperor Yongning began to have some doubts about what the two had previously taught.

Afterwards, several civil officials made troubles in succession, causing chaos in the country. On the contrary, Marquis Wuyang performed brilliantly in suppressing the rebellion.

After the comparison, Emperor Yongning's standards for employing people also changed.

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, the most urgent task is to suppress the rebellion.

Other issues can be put aside temporarily, and everything must be done with the priority of suppressing the rebellion.

Once the White Lotus Sect is wiped out, it won’t be too late to deal with other issues later.”

Marquis Wuyang said with a headache.

The emperor's question was too broad, so he could only choose to answer conservatively.

After all, the problems of the Dayu Dynasty could not be listed in three days and three nights.

Solving these historical problems is not something that can be accomplished with just a few words.

More often than not, it is just one problem, which involves a series of problems and is very difficult to deal with.

If you are not careful, you will cause a big mess.

During the time of the previous emperor, he dared to initiate reforms because the situation in the world was stable.

As long as the imperial court was determined to solve the problem, even a powerful interest group like the salt merchants could be destroyed in the blink of an eye.

The situation is different now. Any major changes may cause the situation to get out of control.

“Prioritizing suppressing the insurgency is indeed one approach.

However, in recent years, in order to suppress rebellions, the imperial court has delegated power to local governments many times.

Other areas were fine, but there was trouble in Liaodong.

The current Liaodong Town often pretends to obey the imperial court's orders but actually disobeys them.

Shi Jingfeng came to Beijing to report on his work, and he actually dared to put forward conditions to me, asking me to appoint him as the governor of Liaodong!"

Emperor Yongning said worriedly.

Liaodong Town is a microcosm of the decline of the empire.

As the imperial court continued to delegate power, the power of local government offices expanded rapidly.

The checks and balances of the past have gradually lost their effectiveness.

Once the local governor who is in charge of military and political power develops second thoughts, it is easy for another Liaodong Town to appear.

In order to solve this problem, Emperor Yongning's idea was to send eunuchs to serve as military supervisors.

However, the eunuch group is currently weak, and once they propose a proposal in the court, they will immediately be subject to endless infamy.

All the civil and military officials in the court might oppose it, and Emperor Yongning was not sure whether he could withstand the pressure.

"Your Majesty, this matter requires long-term consideration.

History has left us with enough lessons on the issue of feudal lords.

At present, the imperial court has to employ local military governors but also guard against their becoming too powerful. It is very important to strike a balance between the two.

When the world is at peace, it will be time to reduce the power of the feudal lords."

Marquis Wuyang gave a subtle reminder.

There is nothing wrong with the emperor wanting to exercise checks and balances, the only problem is that the timing is wrong.

This also involves the old story of using culture to control military power.

In the early years, the role played by local governors was that of military supervisors.

As the civil service group grew stronger, the power of the military supervisors was continuously expanded, and they gradually became the direct leaders of the local army.

Eunuchs have a very bad reputation, and no one can guarantee that the eunuchs sent out to supervise the army will not cause trouble when they arrive at the local area.

For the current Dayu Dynasty, any organization that lags behind and affects the combat effectiveness of the army is a burden.

If you want to check the growth of local forces, you must first put down the White Lotus Rebellion.

Setting restrictions in advance and tying the hands of the front-line coach is courting self-destruction.

"Uncle, do you mean to agree to Liaodong Town's conditions first, and then settle accounts with them in the future?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a frown.

Compromising with Liaodong Town would not only be a loss of face, but would also cost the dignity of the Dayu Dynasty.

Having set this precedent, I don’t know how many people followed suit.

“Your Majesty, since this is a negotiation, we must talk first.

If they dare to ask for an exorbitant price, the imperial court will pay them back.

Shi Jingfeng's proposal to serve as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong was most likely a test of the imperial court.

Even if he were really appointed as the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, he might not be able to do it given his abilities.

The Liaodong Town seemed unruly, but in fact they were afraid of falling out with the imperial court.

Their money and food are all supplied by the imperial court, and they are sandwiched between the imperial court and the northern barbarians. It is very difficult for them to expand further. "

Marquis Wuyang said without changing his expression.

It is possible to suppress Liaodong Town, but it must be done mainly through political means.

……

(End of this chapter)