Fu Shanhe

Chapter 358 Political Influence
"Fifth brother, don't hesitate!"

"Qin Tianrui has recaptured Yangzhou City, and all the nobles have taken action to recapture Nanjing in one fell swoop.

Since the outbreak of the war, others have been making great progress, while we have been dawdling here.

As time goes by, I am afraid that those guys in the court will think that our Liaodong Army is just a bunch of good-looking but useless stuff."

Shi Jingzhong said indignantly.

Although they are all from a military family, these nine frontier generals are still far inferior to the children of nobles.

They were fighting on the frontier, and their promotion speed could not keep up with the suppression of rebellion at home.

Because of the failure to capture Xuzhou Prefecture, the outside world now has doubts about the strength of Liaodong Town.

Many civil servants who lacked military knowledge simply measured their strength based on their battle records and believed that their combat effectiveness was inferior to that of the six towns in Guangdong and Guangxi.

If nothing is done, it won't be long before the officials in the court think that their fighting power cannot even catch up with that of the Jiangxi soldiers.

The reasons are ready-made. The number one town in Jiangxi was able to advance deep into the enemy's territory and capture Yangzhou City alone, but they couldn't even deal with the rebels in Xuzhou.

There is no point in explaining. Only those who understand military affairs can understand the difficulty of capturing Xuzhou.

The emperor and his officials only wanted victory; they didn't care how they won.

Once the idea becomes a consensus, the preferential treatment that Liaodong Town enjoys now will disappear in the future.

If you want to negotiate with the court in the future, the difficulty will increase dramatically.

"Old Nine, you are already an old man, why are you still so unstable!"

"We must definitely take part in the recovery of Nanjing.

However, Liaodong Town is not good at naval warfare. Now the naval forces of the southern provinces are all in the hands of the nobles.
If you want to cross the river, you must get their support.

The rebels are on the decline, and it is only a matter of time before the imperial court puts down the rebellion.

The tough battles in the beginning were all fought by the nobles.

Now that it's time to harvest, why should we be allowed to get involved?

Moreover, if we want to participate in the recovery of Nanjing, we must first capture Xuzhou, so that the army can move south with confidence."

Shi Jinglin scolded immediately.

As for military merit, no one thinks it is too much, except for Li Mu, an exception.

The big guys of the nobility have no shortage of military merits, but they are short of followers.

So many sons of noble families were counting on the great achievement of recapturing Nanjing to grant titles to their wives and children.

They joined in purely to share the pie.

Liaodong Town has strong combat effectiveness, but it is only limited to the north.

When we arrived at the water town in the south of the Yangtze River, our combat effectiveness was only five or six points at most.

The Xuzhou Prefecture in front of us is also a stumbling block.

Their plan was to seize the Huai and Yang prefectures as their bases after conquering Xuzhou and make a fortune from the local areas.

However, the rebels knew the importance of Xuzhou and mobilized a large number of troops to defend the city.

In order to capture Xuzhou Prefecture as soon as possible, they did not hesitate to pull in the government troops from Shandong and Henan to attack the city.

After paying a heavy price, they still failed to capture the city.

"Fifth brother, you are too cautious.

Just because Xuzhou was difficult to attack before doesn’t mean Xuzhou is difficult to attack now.

After losing Yangzhou Prefecture, government troops from various provinces in the south landed directly in Lianghuai from the sea.

The rebels were unable to hold any of the prefectures north of the Yangtze River and south of the Huai River.

Without these provincial capitals, Xuzhou would be an isolated city and there would be no point in holding on.

If the nobles are willing to provide supplies to the army, we can bypass Xuzhou City and directly participate in the battle to retake Nanjing!
For the noble faction, it’s just a matter of conditions.

They are all military generals. If they want to fight against the civil service group, they still need our support.

Although I don't think the nobles can suppress the civil officials in the court, it does not prevent me from promising to support them.

It is also a good thing for us that the nobles are at the forefront of the fight against the civil servants.

If the generals can stick together, even if they only have a unified stance on certain issues, they can play an important role. "

Shi Jingzhong said indignantly.

To survive in the Great Yu Dynasty, military generals must also learn to play politics.

In the past, Shi Jingzhong often appeared as a reckless man, but that was for outsiders to see.

The Shi family is the most powerful family in the Liaodong system. If all of them were both civil and military talents, the officials in the court and the emperor would not be able to sleep well.

When it comes to control over the troops, the Liaodong faction is much tighter than the Guangdong and Guangxi faction.

As the most powerful military group in Dayu, the Guangdong and Guangxi faction brought by Li Mu is purely a great alliance of nobles.

Only with the support of the noble group can we grow and develop rapidly.

The reason why so many high-ranking generals were born is because of the power behind them, who are operating on their own.

The role played by Li Mu is more like a teacher leading students, and each goes his own way after graduation.

When it comes to the outside world, it is a single group, but internally it is actually divided into multiple factions.

Almost every old noble family has a small hill of their own.

These hilltops, big and small, can communicate directly with the emperor.

The leaders of the noble families took turns to sit on the throne. Once there were signs that one family was dominating the country, the emperor would arrange a political marriage.

Marry a royal princess and use the excuse that royal family members are not allowed to interfere in government affairs to cut off the official career of the direct heir.

If the family has many outstanding young men, then marry a few more of them.

The emperor’s daughters are not enough, there are also women from the princes and royal families.

Once the marriage is completed, the military power will be voluntarily handed over. This is a tacit understanding reached by both parties.

With the ready-made methods left by ancestors, the emperor was relatively less wary of the nobles.

Most of the noble families had ancestors who had married into the royal family.

It is different in Liaodong Town. The appointment of major generals in the army is all handled by the Shi family.

The high-ranking generals in the military are basically monopolized by them.

It would be hard for the imperial court not to be wary of such a play.

When the Shi family has reached such a level of power, there is an abyss behind them, and they can only move forward courageously.

"That's it!"

“If you want to try, then send someone to contact the nobles to see if they are sincere.

Before that, we must first take over Xuzhou Prefecture and prove our strength.

Pass the order down, at all costs, we must capture Xuzhou City within five days!"

Shi Jinglin said helplessly.

Unless the nobles are stupid, they will not cooperate with them.

Even if they really want to cooperate, they should maintain a tacit understanding with each other instead of direct contact.

It is true that the combat effectiveness of the Jinyiwei and the Eastern Depot has declined, but that does not mean that they are dead and no intelligence is collected.

Once the emperor gets to know that the two major armed groups in the country have joined forces, something big will happen.

Even though he knew there was no chance, he couldn't refuse.

Shi Jingzhong's words represent the thoughts of a considerable number of people in the clan.

Only a very small number of people can see the essence of things.

……

Capital.

"it is good!"

"Qin Tianrui is truly a pillar of the country!
The decree was passed to confer the title of General Dingguo on Qin Tianrui, and to reward him with: a top-quality horse, 100 taels of gold, and 50 pieces of cloth..."

Looking at the good news in his hands, Emperor Yongning was delighted and immediately gave out rewards.

If reason had not prevailed, he would have almost issued an edict to allow Qin Tianrui to inherit the title of Duke of Xingguo.

According to convention, Qin Tianrui is now fully qualified to inherit this ancestral title with his achievements.

However, being qualified does not mean that one can inherit the title.

When a title of Duke is bestowed upon a powerful general, it means the birth of another top noble.

In recent years, the noble faction has been developing rapidly, and he, as an emperor, needs to consider the balance of power. Supporting the nobles to fight against the civil officials may have been a serious matter in the previous emperor's reign, but in the Yongning Emperor's case, it was just a means of intimidating the civil official group.

If he really wanted to prop up the noble group, he would not be able to sleep peacefully because he was suspicious by nature.

If possible, he would rather confer a new title on Qin Tianrui than let him inherit the title of Duke of Xingguo.

There is no doubt that this is impossible.

According to Dayu's current harsh system of conferring titles, Qin Tianrui can only obtain a lifelong title based on his current merits.

Compared with the hereditary founding dukes, there is an unknown amount of difference between them.

Doing so will not only fail to win people's hearts, but will also push them to the opposite side.

Thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor, they are just to fool fools.

After being emperor for several years, he knew very well that the people under him were not saints.

If Qin Tianrui's hope of inheriting the title of Duke of Xingguo was really cut off, this general loyal to Dayu would become an unstable element.

Dayu is facing internal and external troubles, and now is the time to recruit people.

Destroying the Great Wall at this time is not what a wise ruler should do.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, on having a good general!"

"After we recapture Yangzhou, the good days of the rebels will be over.

I think it won’t be long before we hear the good news of retaking Nanjing.

......"

Prime Minister Wan Junhui took the lead in flattering the emperor.

In the past, when something like this happened, the censors would have started to criticize.

Today's situation is special and everyone is in a very good mood.

The rebels suffered a heavy blow, and the precarious Dayu Dynasty suddenly turned from danger to safety.

For everyone, this means that they don't need to consider changing jobs for the time being.

Theoretically, civil servants and gentry can still become officials if they change their masters.

But everyone knows that changing dynasties comes at a heavy price.

Throughout human history, more than 90% of officials from the previous dynasty did not live to see the establishment of a new dynasty.

In addition to placing the wrong bets, more officials were killed before they even had the chance to place their bets again.

The world is undergoing a major change, and what is changed is not only the emperor of the previous dynasty, but also the vested interest groups.

We all risked the execution of our entire clan and joined the rebellion, but it was not in vain.

If we don't get rid of the vested interest groups, how can we reward our meritorious officials?

Although people complained privately, being an official in the Dayu Dynasty was still very comfortable.

"Hahaha……"

“What the Prime Minister said is correct. When Marquis Wuyang delivered the victory report, he also presented the next battle plan.

According to his plan, he would concentrate his forces and make every effort to recapture Nanjing City.

I think it is very good and I can support it.

The only problem was that the ongoing wars put enormous financial pressure on the provinces.

Ministry of Revenue, how much money and grain can you spare to support the recovery of Nanjing?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

The biggest problem of the Dayu Dynasty was finance, and the series of problems that have arisen now all revolve around finance.

If the imperial court had enough money and food, there wouldn't be so many rebels.

“Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue’s finances have been tight.

As soon as the autumn taxes from various places were deposited into the treasury, they were used to fill the holes.

Now the treasury is empty..."

Pang Chengjie instinctively chose to cry poor.

Of course, the Ministry of Revenue was really poor.

The imperial court had a huge pile of bad debts, and it was impossible to fill the hole with just one season of autumn taxes.

Even if we collect taxes for an extra ten years, it will still not be enough to pay off the old debts.

In order to settle the accounts, the Ministry of Revenue had to use treasure notes, which were almost like waste paper, to make up the difference.

However, these waste papers can be used to pay the salaries of officials, royal family members, and nobles, but cannot be used to pay military salaries.

Dayu has been established for so many years, and inflation has increased countless times, but the soldiers' salaries have never increased and are often deducted.

If this last life-saving military pay is all spent on using treasure banknotes.

Then the treasure notes would be distributed in the morning, the troops would mutiniate in the afternoon, and a large banner of "Clear the Imperial Court" would appear on the city walls the next day.

It has nothing to do with loyalty, it's just that soldiers also need to survive.

If you don't leave people a chance to survive, then we will all go to hell together.

"enough!"

"I don't want to hear these old excuses.

If there is no money or food, find ways to raise it.

I have to handle everything, so what are you doing as the Minister of Revenue?
The cabinet also got involved and had to raise some money for the military."

Emperor Yongning said unhappily.

Every time when he is in a good mood, something weird always happens to ruin his good mood.

In suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion, the Dayu Dynasty only provided money, food and troops in the early stages.

As the national treasury was depleted, the inner treasury left by the previous emperor was also sucked dry, and the army that went to suppress the rebellion could only rely on the local government to raise money and food to support itself.

It is true that the southern provinces are rich, but they have been ravaged by the rebels and have suffered heavy losses.

The newly recovered state capitals have not had time to resume production.

In this context, the army that was suppressing the rebellion should at least show some appreciation when asking the court for money.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"It's not that Pang Da is making excuses, the Ministry of Revenue is really in trouble now.

The court owed too much debt, and the creditors were all eyeing the Ministry of Revenue, so there was no money left in the treasury.

......"

Gu Jiaxi hurriedly began to persuade.

As a cabinet minister, he and Pang Chengjie did not have much friendship, and his plea now was entirely out of public interest.

It is easy to replace the Minister of Revenue, but the difficult part is the mess left behind by the Ministry of Revenue, which no one is willing to clean up.

Pang Chengjie was frugal, but he managed to make ends meet.

If a new Minister of Revenue is appointed, and if he does not have the ability to be frugal and manage the household well, the situation will be even worse.

"Your Majesty, what Elder Gu said makes sense. Lord Pang cannot be blamed entirely for this.

The Ministry of Revenue is not having a good time right now, for the sake of…"

Wan Junhui followed and helped explain.

In the past year, he has been under tremendous pressure and his physical fitness has declined sharply.

He had already submitted his resignation letter and was just waiting for the emperor's approval so that he could escape from the center of the storm and return to his hometown to retire.

At this critical juncture, if something went wrong with the Ministry of Revenue, he, as the Prime Minister, would not be able to escape unscathed.

"Humph!"

"Don't complain here. The Ministry of Revenue is responsible for the country's taxes and grain, so it must fulfill its obligations.

I can wait, but the army on the front line cannot.

I will give you another three days. I need to see the results!"

Emperor Yongning gave the order coldly.

The Battle of Nanjing is about to begin, and this is the time when military morale needs to be boosted the most, so the court must certainly provide support.

……

(End of this chapter)