Fu Shanhe

Chapter 340: The Aftermath
When the good news came, the whole capital was in an uproar.

The government troops recovered the entire Huguang territory, hundreds of thousands of rebels were annihilated, and the rebel king Wei Jiarui was captured.

The White Lotus Rebellion, which had plagued the Dayu Dynasty for three and a half years, once again showed signs of being put down.

Having learned the lesson from the last time, Emperor Yongning was filled with joy but also worry when he received the news.

They were afraid that the northern barbarians would invade again and disrupt the process of suppressing the rebellion.

"Your Majesty, don't worry!
After the last invasion to the south, conflicts arose within the Northern Tartars due to uneven distribution of the spoils.

The Tatars took the opportunity to provoke a civil war within the Guifang tribe. The grassland was flooded with blood and the fighting could not be stopped for a while.

Just coming out of the cold winter, the horses are at their thinnest and are not suitable for an expedition.

Even if they invade the south again, that will be in the autumn.

There will be no major changes in the north for at least half a year."

Prime Minister Wan Junhui said in a good mood.

The good news from the south not only saved Dayu from decline, but also saved his political career.

After Emperor Yongning ascended the throne, high-ranking officials in the court were replaced like a revolving lantern.

A term of office of more than one year is considered long.

The main reason why he has been able to remain as the Prime Minister until now is that the mess he left behind was too big.

No matter who comes to power, the first task they have to face is to clean up this mess.

From south to north, there were starving people everywhere and smoke of war was rising everywhere, but the court was still extremely poor, it was completely a scene of the end of a dynasty.

In addition to fighting for power and profit, officials also have to consider their lives before and after death.

Seeing that the dynasty was about to collapse, no one wanted to take power and become the final scapegoat.

As the situation gradually stabilized, everyone began to fight for power again, and Wan Junhui's position as prime minister became precarious.

Fortunately, the Battle of Wuchang was a great victory, and the cabinet got a share of the profits, which was considered a meritorious service.

"Ok!"

“We still cannot let our guard down in the northern border, especially in the Xuanda area, where we must remain on high alert.

All provincial governments must be prepared at all times and must not allow the northern barbarians to advance directly.

The next step is the critical moment to quell the White Lotus Rebellion. All departments of the court must fully cooperate and strive to quell the rebellion within this year!"

As soon as Emperor Yongning finished speaking, the smiles on the faces of his ministers suddenly disappeared.

With the defeat of the Wei rebels, there is indeed some hope of recovering Jiangxi and Zhejiang within the year.

It is not so easy to completely suppress the rebellion.

The Fu rebel entrenched in Southern Zhili and the Wei rebel who ruled Shu were not easy to deal with.

If we want to pacify them all, we will need two more victories on the level of the Battle of Wuchang.

There is no doubt that this is impossible.

Wars are fought with money and food, and the war funds for the Battle of Wuchang were contributed by the Shandong families.

Without the major fighting in Shandong, there would be no Battle of Wuchang.

The companies that were confiscated were asking for trouble. They did business with the northern barbarians without keeping it a secret and were charged with treason.

The world of Dayu was the world of feudal scholars and officials.

All the officials present were representatives of the world's literati.

The same operation is never allowed to occur a second time.

In fact, even if you want to search the house, there is nothing to search.

Several provinces in the south were destroyed, the wealthy families were looted by the rebels, and a large amount of wealth was distributed among the rebel soldiers.

In the process of government troops suppressing the rebels, wealth was also being transferred.

Although the spoils captured were not much, the officers and soldiers who participated in the battle did receive a large sum of money.

These were obtained by people at great cost on the battlefield, and the imperial court could not possibly confiscate them.

“Your Majesty, the memorials from the front, in addition to reporting victory, are also asking for money from the court.

Huguang was devastated by the war and it was impossible to collect taxes in a short period of time.

However, the meritorious officials who participated in the war need to be rewarded, the soldiers who died in battle need to be compensated, and the post-war reconstruction of the newly recovered prefectures requires money.

In total, there was a shortfall of about five million taels.

Together with the military expenses in arrears in the previous period, the materials and food wages owed by the court amounted to more than 10 million taels of silver.

Several governors have been working hard to raise money, but it is still a drop in the bucket.

If the money and food problem cannot be solved, the subsequent progress of suppressing the rebellion in the southeast will have to be slowed down.

The situation in Shu was even worse. A large number of prefectures fell into the hands of the rebels, and even Chengdu was besieged.

Elder Xu petitioned the court for help and was originally planning to send Qin troops into Shu, but unfortunately Guanzhong has not been peaceful recently and the army dared not move rashly.

Minister of War Wan Yuxuan immediately raised a difficult question.

When it comes to quelling the riot, he can proudly say that he has absolutely no selfish motives.

The worsening situation made the Ministry of War feel like every day was a year.

Seventy percent of the previous cold and generous tributes have now disappeared.

The local generals were busy fighting and had no time to report to the capital, so naturally they would not pay any tribute.

The court's finances deteriorated, and military expenditures allocated to various places were also decreasing.

Although they increased their commission, the total amount was decreasing at a faster rate, and the income from passing on profits could only be reduced passively.

It seemed that during the war, the power of the Ministry of War increased, but in fact everyone's income decreased instead of increased.

It would be fine if they just lost money, but the key is that they are also responsible for the failure of the war.

The regulatory responsibility is not great, but we always lose on the battlefield.

The Minister of War is often reprimanded, and his subordinates don't have an easy life either.

Although he did not achieve any political achievements, he did receive a lot of scolding from the emperor and reprimands from the cabinet.

These are political stains and should be taken into consideration when promoting and appointing people, as they will seriously affect one's career.

"Why are there so many?"

Emperor Yongning was horrified.

He knew that war cost money, but spending so much at once was beyond his expectations.

During the heyday of the Dayu Dynasty, fiscal revenue converted into silver taels was only about 20 to 30 million taels.

Due to the impact of the war, the total amount of money, grain and cloth that the imperial court received into the treasury last year was only more than 10 million taels.

This also includes the increase in book revenue brought about by rising food prices.

“Your Majesty, there shouldn’t be any major problems with the accounts. Even if there are problems with the details, the error will not exceed 100,000 taels.

There are data available for all the money and grain owed by the imperial court.

The rewards for meritorious officials and pensions for those killed in battle reported below were also implemented in accordance with the standards stipulated in the Dayu Law.

In order to cut expenses, many officers and soldiers who originally wanted to receive rewards were also persuaded to accept promotions.

There are not so many positions in the army, and they are all given honorary titles.

Even if the Ministry of Revenue bargained further, it would at least have to pay the Guangdong and Guangxi military eight million taels of silver.

Huguang, Fujian and Zhejiang needed to pay a total of more than one million taels.

The huge burden was all placed on them, and the governors were indeed unable to launch a major war."

Minister of Revenue Pang Chengjie said with a nervous look on his face.

As a government office that owes debts, he doesn't want to say these words.

But there was no way. When the emperor asked about the accounts, he could not answer that he didn't know.

Either there is something wrong with the report from below, or they really owe that much.

As a smart man, he knew very well that he should not be too serious about the bill.

There is no point in sending out an investigation team except to offend people.

The fact that the Ministry of War did not verify the heads and directly confirmed the military merits is enough to explain many problems.

It seems to be giving face to the noble group, but in fact it is a political statement of trust.

No matter what you think in your heart, if you want to use them to quell the rebellion, you have to show trust.

After all, compared to the previous few, the nobles in the group are indeed much more capable. All fronts are advancing triumphantly.

What the court needs most is to appease them first and wipe out the rebels as soon as possible.

The rest are minor details that can be solved later.

Not to mention 10 million taels, even if it was discounted to 20 million, he would still dare to accept it.

Anyway, no matter how much is owed, the Ministry of Revenue is unable to pay it.

If we can allocate 10% or 20%, that means we have done our best, and the rest we can only owe.

If you wait a few years, the new debt will become old debt.

By that time, he had moved to another position, and the problem would be what the next Minister of Revenue would need to consider.

Fiscal deficit is a long-term problem. Except for a rebound during the previous emperor's reign, Dayu's financial problems have plagued the imperial court for hundreds of years.

Everyone is just getting by, so there's no need for him to step out and cause trouble.

"Ministry of Revenue, how much money and grain can you give?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

He was confident in the Minister of Revenue. After Pang Chengjie took office, he really broke a copper coin into two halves.

As for various expenses, try to save as much as possible.

Even as an emperor, he often got discounts when asking for money.

The Ministry of Revenue found problems with the palace's sky-high purchasing accounts, and palace expenses dropped significantly.

“Your Majesty, the court has many places to spend money, and the defense of the northern border must be given priority.

The Ministry of Revenue can now withdraw less than 500,000 taels of silver in cash, and if it squeezes, it can allocate at most 800,000 taels.

Food and cloth cannot be moved. This is the key to stabilizing the situation in the north.

Without the tribute grain from Huguang, the price of grain in Beijing has doubled compared to five years ago.

Let the local governments raise the military rations themselves!"

Pang Chengjie gave an answer quickly.

If there was no other way, he would not want to pay the 800,000 taels.

After the imperial court decentralized power, local governors had the power to levy taxes, and raising money and grain was much easier for them than for him as the Minister of Revenue.

It is true that local government offices are facing difficulties, but that does not mean there are no solutions.

"Why is it so little? I remember that the income from donating officials alone contributed 5 million taels.

Did you spend all the money so quickly? "

Emperor Yongning asked with a frown.

He could understand that the Ministry of Revenue wanted to bargain, but it was still a bit unexpected that they would bargain so drastically.

The officers and soldiers on the front line have made great contributions, and the court must show its appreciation in some way. They cannot just give away a few trivial things.

If we do this, the war to quell the rebellion will really be delayed.

“Your Majesty, the court is in such a huge deficit that the Ministry of Revenue can’t keep any money.

After the proceeds from donating officials were deposited into the treasury, they were first used to pay part of the unpaid wages of officials and royal family members, and then a large sum was used to rebuild Xuanda’s military.

If I hadn’t been so frugal, I wouldn’t have been able to keep even these hundreds of thousands of taels.”

Pang Chengjie replied without changing his expression.

The deficit accumulated over the years by the Dayu Dynasty could be swallowed up in an instant, let alone five million taels, even fifty million taels.

"not enough!"

"The war to suppress the rebellion cannot stop, and the problem of money and food must be solved. Does Lord Pang have any countermeasures?"

Emperor Yongning asked expectantly.

The White Lotus Rebellion caused too much damage to Dayu and had to be suppressed as soon as possible.

Having finally seen a glimmer of hope, he did not want the rebellion to fail due to a lack of money and food.

Although he did not receive a complete imperial education, he had read history books.

All dynasties in history, as long as they encountered large-scale rebellions and failed to suppress them in time, their national power inevitably declined.

The longer you delay, the harder it will be to salvage the situation.

"Your Majesty, if you can't give me cash, then just give me an official position!
The last time the court paid donations, it did not cover the south, so this was a good opportunity to cover it.

A number of empty positions were taken out, and the imperial court set a base price. It was up to them to decide how much they could be sold for.

Jiangnan is a prosperous place, and perhaps the final donation amount is enough to cover the military pay for subsequent wars.

If someone offers a high price, some remote county posts can actually be considered for appointment.”

Pang Chengjie replied calmly.

Once selling official positions starts, there is no going back.

Just by giving out a bunch of empty titles, you can get a lot of money in exchange, who wouldn't be tempted!

However, this kind of official position, which only has an honorary title but no real power, is less attractive.

After replacing it with a real one, the price can be even higher.

There has been a long-term shortage of officials in remote counties and prefectures, and no one wants to go there.

Many times, as soon as the appointment was made, the person resigned, leaving the Ministry of Personnel in a state of disgrace.

Being able to sell it for money does not harm everyone's interests.

After all, outsiders may dislike it, but locals won’t.

No matter how poor a place is, there will always be a few wealthy families who can afford to pay this money.

"Okay, let's do it!
The cabinet will work out the plan today and issue the official document tomorrow morning.

Notify the authorities along the way and cooperate fully in escorting the rebel king Wei Jiarui to Beijing.

I will remove anyone whose jurisdiction is flawed."

Emperor Yongning made the decision quickly, giving officials no chance to object.

Experience has taught him that once a solution is available, it is time to cut the Gordian knot.

Even if the matter is left to the discussion of all officials, they may not reach any conclusion even after arguing for a year or two.

As for the aftereffects of being an official locally, it would not be too late to deal with them after the rebellion is quelled.

The imperial court did not promise that officials could not transfer their positions after purchasing the positions.

At the end of a term, a major adjustment can be made and most of the problems will be solved.

……

Looking at the magnificent city walls, the Annan envoy team exclaimed in amazement again.

Since they received the mission and headed north, they have been amazed countless times along the way, but none of them was as shocking as the one brought by the capital.

“The capital is an important place, different from other places, envoys please abide by the rules.

The specific rules will be taught to you by local officials when you arrive."

After verifying the identity, the officer guarding the city immediately gave instructions.

It can be seen that they are already very experienced in dealing with vassal states sending envoys to the court.

"Thank you for the reminder, General."

As he spoke, the old man handed over the wallet he had prepared.

"Okay, okay!

Zhang Zongqi, you take a team of soldiers to escort the envoys to report to the Honglu Temple."

For the sake of money, the middle-aged officer quickly changed his expression.

"Zhao Er, go inform the Hanshui Marquisate and tell them that the Annan delegation has arrived in Beijing."

After watching the delegation leave, the middle-aged general immediately gave instructions to his personal soldiers.

As a thousand-household official, he did not have to guard the city gate himself.

It was just that I was assigned the task by my superiors, and in order to avoid any mistakes, I came here to keep watch in person.

The effort was not in vain, and the Annan delegation arrived as scheduled.

What the people above are going to do is not his concern.

(End of this chapter)