Fu Shanhe

Chapter 360 Goodbye State Letter
Guangxi Governor's Office.

"This is a letter from the Annanites. Let's take a look!"

Zhang Sihan said with a frown.

He also heard that the Annan delegation had been detained.

The King of Annan dared to call himself the Great Viet Empire and was not dragged out for torture. The court had already given him enough face.

I never expected that the King of Annan would not appreciate it at all and even dare to cause trouble.

"That's unreasonable!"

"The Annamites are bullying us, as we have no one in Dayu!"

"I will report this to the imperial court and dispatch troops to punish the rebels!"

The governor Jia Bo immediately scolded angrily.

The contents of the letter were too explosive. Not only did it claim to be the Emperor of Dai Viet and demand that Dai Viet release the members of the delegation, it also demanded that Emperor Yongning personally go to Thang Long City to apologize.

If you don't do as you're told, I'll have to lead 500,000 troops to bring charges against Dayu.

Although it is unknown where the King of Annan got the confidence to threaten Dayu, it did not affect his position.

"Master Jia is right. The King of Annan is guilty of treason and deserves death.

My fellow officers, let us jointly submit a petition to ask Your Majesty to send troops to conquer Annan!"

Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhou Zhenbang followed closely behind.

Because he offended people in the early stage, his days in office have been difficult and he has basically been sidelined.

The reason he was not kicked out was that everyone gave him face out of his background.

When faced with such sensitive political issues, we naturally have to take an active role.

"Master Zhou, please calm down first. This letter came from a very strange place.

The King of Annan has just ascended the throne and has not yet sorted out his internal problems. Under normal circumstances, he should not provoke our Dayu.

Send someone to verify it first. Maybe someone is forging the data in an attempt to start a war between us and Annan."

Zhang Sihan hurriedly dissuaded him.

The previous diplomatic mission case was outrageous enough, and the current letter of credence is even more outrageous.

He knew that the Annan people were ambitious, but ambition did not mean strength.

In recent years, the King of Annan has conquered many places and expanded his territory.

The country has not yet fully digested the situation, and provoking Dayu at this time will do them no good.

The imperial court kept the diplomatic mission case under wraps because it saw the problems involved and did not want to make a big deal out of it.

"Governor, I am not making a fuss about nothing.

The people of Annan were arrogant and never took the imperial court seriously.

Internally, the King of Annan always called himself the Emperor of Dai Viet, and this was public information.

Just ask a few Annanites and they can all confirm that the King of Annan was extremely rebellious.

A rebellious person could do anything bizarre.

If we don't report this to the court quickly and prepare to meet the enemy in advance, we will be in big trouble when the enemy attacks us!"

Zhou Zhenbang immediately put pressure on.

He didn't care whether the letter was real or fake.

Even if someone carved a carrot seal and stamped it on him, he would treat it as the real thing.

The bigger the situation gets, the greater the chance of disrupting the current power structure.

Anyway, he has been sidelined, so no matter how the situation develops, it will not be worse than it is now.

Deep down, he had already made up his mind. If everyone was unwilling to sign the petition, he would report it himself.

If you don’t have an advantage in ability, then prove yourself in loyalty.

For an official in the Dayu Dynasty, personal image was more important than political achievements.

“The imperial court will definitely report this, but the authenticity of the letter still needs to be verified.

To ensure that everything goes well, we have sent someone to deliver the letter to the capital in the name of the governor's office, asking Your Majesty to make a decision."

Zhang Sihan said with a frown.

His term as governor is about to end.

With the merits in reforming the aboriginal system, promotion is a sure thing.

After enduring these last two months, he would either return to Beijing to take up his post or be appointed governor of a wealthy province.

Some people in the court wanted to push him to be the governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi.

For someone like Marquis Wuyang to hold two positions as governor-general is a special case during wartime and cannot become the norm.

Once the rebellion is quelled, a position will definitely be vacated.

Even if they are all governors, there are different ranks.

Although there is no specific ranking, everyone still assumes that the Governor-General of Jiangnan ranks first.

Considering Marquis Wuyang's achievements, the only person who could step down was the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

Of course, it is also possible that they will resign completely and be transferred directly back to the capital to take up their posts.

In any case, the position of Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi will definitely be vacant.

Privately, Zhang Sihan had begun planning early on that if he could serve as governor for one term and then be transferred back to Beijing to serve, his chances of entering the cabinet would greatly increase.

For civil servants, entering the cabinet is the highest pursuit.

If a war broke out at this time, he, as the Governor of Guangxi, would be the highest person in charge on the front line and it would be impossible for him to be transferred.

The Annanites are quite strong, and Guangxi's main force is on the front line suppressing the rebellion. It would be easy to suffer losses if the conflict is intensified at this time.

If we lose the battle, he will be the first person responsible.

By then, let alone promotion, I'm afraid I won't even be able to keep my current position.

But the provocation of the Annan people could not be ignored.

The letter was sent through official channels. Even if it was an internal problem of Annan, it was the fault of the King of Annan.

According to past practice, for the sake of Dayu's reputation, the King of Annan must be deposed at the very least.

The King of Annan is not stupid and he will definitely not sit there and wait for death.

If we take this matter seriously, there will inevitably be a fight between the two sides.

After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to throw the problem to the emperor.

From a global perspective, the Dayu Dynasty should not start a war in the south at this time.

If the emperor himself suppressed the letter, then it had nothing to do with him.

As for the threat in the letter, it will not happen in the short term.

In the agricultural era, troops were dispatched after spring ploughing was completed.

By then he should have been transferred, and the follow-up trouble would be for the new governor.

……

Outside the city of Hangzhou, after a month of struggle, the official armies of Guangdong and Guangxi and the official armies of Fujian and Zhejiang successfully joined forces.

While they were exchanging pleasantries, the news brought by the messenger interrupted their conversation.

"Governor, good news!"

"General Jing has sent a victory message. The army has successfully captured Suzhou City and gained..."

No one cared about the specific results at this time. Everyone only remembered that Suzhou City was captured.

With the control of Yangzhou and Suzhou prefectures, the lower reaches of the Yangtze River fell into the hands of the imperial court.

All the conditions for retaking Nanjing are ripe, and we can now formally launch the Battle of Nanjing.

However, the atmosphere in the room was a little awkward.

Conquering Suzhou was a good thing, but the timing of the good news was too sensitive.

There has always been a dispute over the route on the issue of recovering Nanjing.

Marquis Wuyang advocated using Yangzhou as a fulcrum to launch a crossing-the-river campaign to seize Nanjing.

Duke Chengguo advocated intervening from Suzhou and directly pushing forward on land.

Both sides' opinions are feasible in militarily, and it is difficult to tell which one is better.

The two people's endless quarrel was mainly due to interests.

No matter whether it is Marquis Wuyang or Duke Chengguo, each of them has a group of younger brothers behind them, and everyone wants to achieve the great feat of retaking Nanjing.

Whoever seizes the right to speak will have more initiative in the subsequent battle.

The good news of regaining Suzhou at this time seemed more like a demonstration.

Mature politicians will not resort to such low-level tactics.

Faced with the behemoth of the civil service group, the noble group must stick together to have the capital to compete with it.

Compared with the competition for military merits, the competition for the right to speak in the court is everyone's core interest.

In this context, the noble faction must maintain "fighting without breaking up".

Any practice that exacerbates conflicts is not allowed.

“As soon as I arrived in Hangzhou, I received the news of the victory of recovering Suzhou. It seems that the rebels are about to be killed.

Lord, when are you going to take over Hangzhou City?"

Marquis Wuyang asked with a smile.

The implication is very obvious.

Regardless of whether the attack was launched from Suzhou or Yangzhou, the battle was fought in Southern Zhili.

As the Governor-General of Jiangnan, it was legitimate for him to initiate wars within his jurisdiction and serve as the commander-in-chief.

If they really want to seize the initiative, they can just push forward from Zhejiang, and the commander-in-chief of the army will naturally be the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang.

"My Lord, Hangzhou is not an easy place to fight. The rebels there are all tough and ruthless.

It will probably take some time to take over Hangzhou.

Now that a new battlefield has been opened up, there is no need to waste time in Hangzhou City.

After taking Nanjing, the rebels’ morale will collapse, and it won’t be too late to turn around and retake Hangzhou, Nanchang, Jiujiang and other places.”

Jing Guoliang responded without changing his expression.

The cost of siege is much higher than normal combat. If too many troops are lost here in advance, they can only play supporting roles in the subsequent wars.

"We are all exhausted after the long journey. Let's discuss military affairs tomorrow."

Seeing that the atmosphere was getting tense, Li Mu hurried out to stop it.

Deep down, he had already started cursing.

If I had known that this would happen, I should have rejected Marquis Wuyang’s invitation to stay two days ago and returned directly to Guangdong and Guangxi.

At this time, the government troops had an absolute strategic advantage, and there was no way for the rebels to turn the situation around unless they could cheat.

The ending was destined, and the final result would be the same whether he was involved or not.

The main reason I came here was because of the door. It would be unreasonable not to visit my father-in-law.

Even though you have the favor, you still become a sandwich.

In this regard, we should learn from Marquis Zhenyuan and stay away in advance.

"Okay, that's all for today.

Tomorrow, this gentleman will represent the officials of Fujian and Zhejiang to welcome you all!

Wenzhu will arrange for someone to take you all to rest."

Jing Guoliang nodded and said.

Choosing to put the issue on hold was both to give face to his son-in-law and to make up for the good news just now.

With his current status and position, there is no possibility of further advancement.

Military merit and the like are completely dispensable.

Fighting for the right to speak is to fight for the interests of the subordinates.

The fiercer the quarrel and the bigger the commotion, the more it proves that he is a good boss.

Let the Embroidered Uniform Guard see it and pass the news back to the capital, which will also reassure the emperor and officials.

However, in this kind of competition, one must strike a balance.

If they really want to fight for dominance, then the conflict will not break out in public.

Usually when something important happens, it is decided in a small meeting.

Mature politicians know that anything that can be brought to the table for discussion is not that important, at least not extremely urgent.

……

The party ended in a bad mood, but Li Mu, the son-in-law, stayed.

"Are you really determined to run Annan?"

Jing Guoliang asked with a frown.

As a father-in-law, he doesn't care if his son-in-law goes to work in a poor and remote place, but he feels uncomfortable if he wants to take his precious daughter with him.

If he had not taken into account that the Li family had two marquises and that Li Mu's influence in the army was too great, which would have impacted the status of the Jing family, he would have stood up to oppose it long ago.

"Father-in-law, my son-in-law is too young, and staying in the court will make many people uncomfortable.

You know the emperor's temper.

What if one day, she suddenly becomes displeased with her son-in-law because of something, the consequences would be disastrous.

In order to eliminate hidden dangers, it is a better choice to take a step back. "

Li Mu said frankly.

Being young is an advantage, but also a disadvantage.

When emperors were young, few would regard meritorious officials as threats.

Especially those who have made contributions by themselves in promoting others will be regarded as confidants.

What Li Mu enjoys now is the treatment of a confidant.

From the time he entered the officialdom until now, he has been rising rapidly.

When it came time for promotion, he was never blocked and was even promoted out of turn many times.

Things would change once the emperor reached old age.

Most of the suspicion between the emperor and his subjects occurred when the emperor was in poor health.

Of course, these are just the superficial reasons. What really made Li Mu decide to leave was that he was not optimistic about the future situation.

Dayu had already accumulated a lot of internal problems.

Coupled with the natural disasters of the Little Ice Age, even if the Qin Emperor, Han Emperor Wu, or Emperor Yongning were in the same position, they would be equally powerless.

If he continues to stay in the court, in the future he will either be sending troops to suppress the rebellion or on his way to suppress the rebels.

Working hard and desperately on the front lines, the army's money and food were often in arrears, and they were also subject to the emperor's suspicion and the oppression of officials.

The ready-made scripts have all appeared in history.

"Since you have made up your mind to live a hard life, I will not stop you.

However, before pacifying Annan, you cannot bring your family with you.

If the plan succeeds and Annan can be conquered forever, the base must be chosen in a place with a good climate.

Don't blame me, your father-in-law, for being nosy. Yaqing has never suffered hardship and cannot adapt to the harsh climate.

What's more, she has a baby in her belly, so she can't stand the torture."

Jing Guoliang said seriously.

For the benefit of the Jing family, he naturally supported Li Mu's decision to leave.

But beyond clan interests, he is also a father.

I didn't feel it when you were by my side, but once you went to Annan, it would be difficult to see you again.

“Father-in-law, Annan is actually not as bad as you expected.

After so many years of development, it is no longer the barren land full of miasma.

In terms of natural conditions, it is even better than Guangxi.”

Li Mu's explanation was doomed to be in vain. In Jing Guoliang's eyes, Guangxi was still a poor and remote place, and even Guangdong was not in his eyes.

In the mainstream concept of Dayu, Guangdong and Guangxi have always been places where criminals were exiled, and they are privately called Lingnan.

Going to Guangdong in person and witnessing the prosperity of Guangzhou only slightly reversed my impression.

In the Guangdong and Guangxi regions today, apart from Guangzhou, there is really no other big city worth mentioning.

Even Guangzhou Prefecture is inferior to Nanjing compared to the capital.

"Ok!"

"As long as you have an idea."

“Whether it’s the generals under my command or the generals under Marquis Wuyang, they are almost all your old subordinates. It’s inappropriate to support either of them.

You found an excuse to avoid attending tomorrow's welcoming banquet.

The subsequent war will be fought on two fronts, and everyone will have a chance.

How much military merit they can obtain depends entirely on their own abilities.

I heard that the Annan people in the south are causing trouble again. You should return to Guangdong and Guangxi to take charge of the situation and don't get involved in the subsequent troubles."

Jing Guoliang thought for a moment and said.

As the head of the old nobles, even if he was willing to be inferior to others, the founding nobles would not agree.

The Marquis of Wuyang, who had made great military achievements, was also unable to give in now.

Without external intervention, the fight for the head coach position is doomed to have no results.

Under this background, the best option is to command a large army separately.

By acting separately, Li Mu's value was revealed.

Wherever he helps command, the probability of gaining military merit will greatly increase.

We are all family, and we all belong to the same family. It would be inappropriate to help anyone.

“Don’t worry, father-in-law, I have received secret information that the Annan people are about to invade Guangxi.

The letter for help from the Guangxi Governor's Office will reach the front line soon.

When the time comes, my son-in-law will take this opportunity to go back and take charge of the situation."

Li Mu replied with a smile.

According to the time, the latest letter from the Annan people is already on the way to the capital.

In the eyes of traditional scholars, such provocative language is a war ultimatum.

There is only one spark left before the war breaks out.

If news of the invasion of the Annan army spreads again, the imperial court will have no choice but to fight this war.

"Do the cleanup work steadily and don't leave any loopholes."

Jing Guoliang couldn't help but admonish.

If you are not aware of the situation, just judging from what is happening now, the King of Annan is ambitious and wants to challenge the hegemony of Dayu.

But to those in the know, the Annan people's actions were full of flaws.

Talking big and actually sending troops to invade are two completely different concepts.

In the past, the people of Annan were restless and limited themselves to colluding with the chieftains of Guangxi.

When the White Lotus Rebellion broke out, they did not send troops despite such a good opportunity.

How could they jump out and cause trouble when the rebels are about to be wiped out?

If we really want to cause trouble, we will send troops directly and attack Dayu by surprise.

He made provocations again and again, fearing that Dayu was unprepared and it seemed too trifling.

In fact, Li Mu also wanted to do it perfectly, but he could not command the Annan army.

The current conflict is nothing more than him arranging for someone to replace the credentials.

The specific operations were all completed in Dayu.

With his power, there are many people willing to risk their lives for him.

It wouldn't work if it happened to Annan, as people there wouldn't buy into his account as the Marquis of Hanshui.

Those spies planted there may be good at collecting intelligence, but it is impossible for them to become officials.

They are not a rebel group that is short of talent and will accept anyone.

(End of this chapter)