Fu Shanhe

Chapter 393 When disaster strikes, we all fly away

Shu land.

"Pass the order down, all the troops pack up and leave this place tomorrow!"

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Fang Yuxuan decisively ordered his troops to leave.

It was not that he was deliberately slacking off. It was mainly because he failed to stop the government troops from joining forces, and the Huguang troops who entered Sichuan broke into Chengdu Prefecture.

If they don't hurry up and escape, they will be attacked from both sides when the Huguang government troops attack them.

"My Lord, if we leave like this, I'm afraid it will be difficult to explain to the King of the East, right?"

Liu Laoxu said with a little embarrassment.

Although there were some conflicts between them privately, King Wei Hao of the East had treated them with the utmost courtesy since they entered Shu.

Eating other people's food, drinking other people's drinks, taking other people's things, and then turning around and running away without getting the job done is not in line with the code of conduct in the underworld.

"There is no other way. The government troops coming from Huguang are all old acquaintances of ours.

Liu Qifeng, Ye Hongchang, and Yun Yufeng are all powerful generals of the pseudo-dynasty. Which one of them is easy to mess with?
If you don't leave now, you won't be able to leave when they attack you!"

Fang Yuxuan explained helplessly.

I can’t beat him, I really can’t beat him.

Although these government troops were newly formed units, they were no match for the powerful generals leading them.

Each of these familiar names is a taboo among the rebels.

In the past few years, it was this group of killing gods that shattered the powerful White Lotus Holy Kingdom.

When their names are mentioned, everyone gets scared before the battle even begins.

The King of the East sent an army of 200,000 to intercept them, thinking that they could stop the enemy's attack, but in the end they couldn't even hold out for half a month.

The fierce battle record once again awakened the fear in Fang Yuxuan's heart.

"But Lord, now that we have left Shu, where can we go?"

Liu Laoxu asked with a frown.

Our own people know our own business. Although they seem to have more than 100,000 soldiers, the ones who can really fight are still those few thousand old soldiers.

There is basically no chance of winning if we confront the main force of the government army head-on, so running away is the best option at the moment.

However, the terrain of Shu makes it difficult to enter Shu, and even more difficult to leave Shu.

The three major gates are all in the hands of the government troops. With their strength, it is almost impossible for them to seize a piece of land and fight their way out.

Apart from these three roads, the rest are all rugged paths.

It was extremely difficult for the army to pass through.

"Take the ancient Tea-Horse Road, enter Tibet, and avoid the enemy's sharp edge.

If the government troops continue to pursue us, we will continue westward along the ancient road.

Li Yuan was the Governor-General of Huguang and Sichuan, not the Commander-in-Chief of the U-Tsang Regional Command, so there was no need for him to fight to the death with us.

As long as we are far enough away from him, we can make him give up by confiscating the money and grain.

Although the imperial court established the U-Tsang Regional Administration, its control over the local areas was not strict and was mainly based on local chieftain autonomy.

The local chieftains are divided by the government and often fight with each other. This is our chance to gain a foothold."

Fang Yuxuan said pretending to be calm.

This escape route was far from as easy as he said.

It is true that they were able to escape the encirclement and suppression by government forces, but the climate in Tibet can also kill people.

Whether he can gain a foothold in the U-Tsang Regional Command is still an unknown.

"My Lord, should we inform the King of the East before we leave?"

The scarred man asked.

Before joining the rebel army, most of them were gangsters.

Even if he holds a high position, some underworld habits have not changed.

We naturally reject betrayal.

Even if I have to do this to survive, I will try my best to remedy the situation.

“The news must be announced.

There is no need to feel psychologically burdened. In fact, the King of the East has also prepared a retreat and he will most likely not fight to the death with the government troops in Shu.

In recent days, the King of the East sent people to deal with the chieftains in Shu, which was actually to clear the obstacles for evacuation.

In addition to U-Tsang Dusi, you can also go to Dogandusi.

If the King of the East is willing, he can even pass through it to the Western Regions.

The Eastern King is very powerful and they have more choices.

There is a chance that we can march along the Southern Silk Road and force our way out of Dayu via Yunnan."

Fang Yuxuan immediately comforted him.

He didn't know whether these evacuation routes were achievable, but they existed in theory anyway.

For the rebel army, since they cannot defeat the government army, the best option is to stay away from it.

Try your best to save your life first, then consider the subsequent issues.

Compared with other peasant uprisings, the leaders of the White Lotus Sect knew more about the outside world because they were located on the border of the empire.

During the uprising, they received support from the Annan people and had long known that the land outside Dayu was not entirely barren.

In fact, when the White Lotus Saint Emperor was driven out of Huguang, some people proposed to withdraw from Yunnan and Guizhou to outside the region.

However, there was an opportunity to enter Shu at that time, and the White Lotus Saint Emperor chose to go all out and devote all his energy to conquering Shu.

Due to the wrong strategic choice, the entire army was wiped out by the government troops.

If we had turned south at that time and disrupted the deployment of the government troops, there was a high probability that we could have escaped from Dayu.

……

"boom!"

Looking at the information in his hand, Wei Hao slammed the table angrily.

The remnants of Wu's army joined in halfway, and have been sticking together and unwilling to integrate, so he naturally would not be unprepared.

As soon as Fang Yuxuan and others took action, he received the news.

Even though he knew these people would not die for him, he never expected that they would run away so fast.

As soon as the news of the failure of the blocking battle spread, they packed up and ran away, not willing to stay even for a moment.

This clearly shows that they have determined that he will fail and have prepared a way out in advance.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

"Fang Yuxuan and the others were originally disloyal, and their departure is just the right time to purify the team.

The most urgent task is to deal with the encirclement and suppression by government troops. As for these traitors, they did not choose a good place.

Although there had been powerful regimes like Tubo in the U-Tsang region in history, that was a special case.

With climate change, the plateau has become dry and water-scarce, and has long lost its former prosperity.

If it was a good place, the pseudo-dynasty would not have given up direct jurisdiction and allowed a group of chieftains to govern themselves. "

Left Prime Minister Xu Yanyu stepped forward to persuade him.

The government troops are advancing with great force, and the rebel army is facing a life-and-death situation. Internal strife must not occur again.

"Humph!"

"I treated them so well, but I never thought I would be betrayed in return."

"it is good!"

"very good!"

"I want to see what will happen to them if they leave me!"

Wei Hao said coldly.

It can be seen that he was really angry.

However, his final bit of rationality made him give up the idea of ​​sending troops to stop them.

The government troops from Huguang have invaded Shu. Sending troops there to deal with these traitors will only allow the enemy to take advantage of the situation.

“Your Majesty, now that those traitors have left, we should also consider our escape route.

The puppet dynasty was powerful, and the official troops in Jiangnan, Fujian, Zhejiang and other places were freed up to go up the Yangtze River at any time to reinforce Li Yuan's troops.

If we continue to stay in Shu and fight the enemy to the death, our chances of winning are very slim.

For the long term, we need to temporarily avoid the enemy's attack."

Seeing that Wei Hao had vented his anger, Right Prime Minister Shi Zicheng immediately gave some advice.

The foundation of a force is established from the very beginning.

Among the three White Lotus kings, they have the strongest bandit mentality.

According to the initial strategic division of labor, Wei Hao's troops were tasked with the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.

At that time, they all reached the city of Xiangyang, just one step away from the Central Plains.

Because of the death of the White Lotus Saint Emperor, the Holy Kingdom split, and the three kings each ruled their own territories.

At the critical moment of fate, they chose the easier western expedition to attack Shu and gave up the opportunity to seize the Central Plains.

The sudden change in strategy caused the rebel army to lose the best opportunity to destroy Dayu, and the White Lotus Rebellion went from prosperity to decline.

Now that the government troops are coming, they are once again standing at the crossroads of fate.

The first thing that comes to mind is still to avoid the enemy's attack, rather than fighting a desperate battle.

"inappropriate!"

"There are Huguang government troops blocking the road to the east and north, and there are also dangerous passes blocking the way, so it is difficult for us to fight our way out.

The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces in the south are defending the pass and refusing to leave, so it will be difficult to open up the passage in a short time.

You can't follow the example of those rebels and run to the remote and poor area of ​​Ü-Tsang Dusi!"

General Deng Er of the Left Capital objected immediately.

Even though they suffered heavy casualties on the battlefield, the rebel army still had hundreds of thousands of troops, and with their families included, the number reached millions.

With so many people, it would not be easy to evacuate even if there were no pursuers.

By entering the wealthy provinces in the Central Plains, they can also support their troops by looting.

If we go to remote areas, even if we rob all the land, we still won't be able to support so many people.

“In addition to U-Tsang Dusi, you can also go to Dogandusi.

It's not a bad idea to run farther, even to the Western Regions."

Xu Yanyu took the opportunity to continue the conversation.

He had planned the escape route countless times in his mind.

However, each route had unacceptable drawbacks, which prevented him from making up his mind.

"Left Prime Minister, these two places are ghost places. Does it matter where we go?"

Deng Er asked with a skeptical look on his face.

In his opinion, these two Dusi are Jedi.

Once the army is trapped there, there is no hope of getting out.

"General Deng, don't worry.

Although both places seem to be endless plateaus, there are actually differences between them.

After entering U-Tsangdusi, we can only head west. It is said that the ancient kingdom of Sindhu exists on the other side.

If you can manage the Ancient Tea-Horse Road well, you can also make considerable profits.

It is unrealistic to advance into the Central Plains, but there is still a chance to establish your own regime like those chieftains.

Dogandusi was geographically closer to the Western Regions and Shaanxidusi.

If you are lucky, when the Central Plains is in chaos, you will have a chance to invade Xining Wei, Suzhou Wei and other places.

If everything goes well, we will have a three-point chance to beat Shaanxi.

At the same time, we will send a division back to Shu to fight back. By then, we will dominate Guanzhong and Shu and restore the momentum of Qin to sweep across the world."

Xu Yanyu explained calmly.

Psychologically, I definitely want to fight back to the Central Plains. Unfortunately, the probability of success is too low.

After entering Dogandusi, they can't afford to support so many troops.

Being able to maintain an army of 20,000 to 30,000 is considered a good management strategy.

And this time is also full of uncertainty.

Maybe in three to five years, there will be chaos in the world, or maybe they will never see chaos in their lifetime.

“In addition to the two routes proposed by the left prime minister, there is also the option of attacking outward along the Southern Silk Road.

Old brothers who came out of Guangxi all know that in addition to Yunnan, Dayu also established three Xuans and six Weis.

The local climate is hot and miasma is rampant, but the resources are relatively abundant, enough to feed an army of more than 100,000.

The imperial court has no troops stationed there, so it is also a good place to stand.

However, to pass through Shu, one has to go through Yunnan, and a war is bound to break out during the journey.

If they want to successfully march south, they have to spend a large sum of money to bribe that villain Li Yuan and ask him to deliberately slow down the march.

The biggest disadvantage is that it is too close to Annan.

It is not yet known to what extent the war between Dayu and Annan has progressed.

But I think that the King of Annan, that rat, is probably no match for the villain Li Mu.

It would be fine if the imperial court withdrew its troops from Annan, but if the imperial court wanted to take control of Annan, it would be embarrassing for us to go to Sanxuan Liuwei. "

The additions made by the Minister of War Jia Simiao made Wei Hao even more distressed.

Suddenly he realized that all his ministers were experts at running away.

In order to evade pursuit by government troops, they found all kinds of unpopular routes.

You can definitely run, it just depends on how many people can run away in the end.

It would be a miracle if one third of the hundreds of thousands of troops under his command could be withdrawn.

There is a greater probability that it will be difficult to evacuate even one-tenth of the people.

For the government troops, the rebel army on the retreat was a military achievement delivered right under their noses.

"To go south, we have to pass through Yunnan. If the local officials are not stupid, they will ask for help from Guangdong and Guangxi.

If the army fails to break through the enemy's defenses in the first place, what awaits us is destruction.

Both U-Tsang Dusi and Dogan Dusi are barren places and cannot support too many soldiers and horses.

Since the rebels went to U-Tsang Dusi, then we will go to Dogandusi.

Arrange someone to contact Li Yuan and tell him that we are willing to pay for his life.

As long as he slows down his march, I am willing to pay him 500,000 taels of silver for every day of delay.

If he persists, I would rather sink all my treasures into the river or bury them underground before I am defeated than let him take advantage of me!"

Wei Hao said with a cruel heart.

He was the first person in history to use the treasure in his hands to threaten others.

"Your Majesty, wise!"

The ministers responded in unison.

As long as he doesn't let everyone fight to the death, he is a good boss.

As for abandoning the business and running away, no one felt any burden at all.

From Guangxi to Shu, they changed places more than once, the only difference was that the place they went to this time was a little poorer.

These are all minor problems. Only those who often hover on the brink of death know how precious life is.

Difficulties are temporary. As long as you are alive, there is hope. Death is the real end.

……

Capital.

As the autumn harvest approaches, the issue of tax distribution is once again on the agenda.

There is no major change in the northern provinces, so they can be allocated according to the usual practice.

Huguang and Guangdong and Guangxi wanted to support the war, but they had no money or grain to hand over to the central government.

The disputes mainly occurred in Fujian, Zhejiang and the Jiangnan region, and these four provinces happen to be major financial and taxation provinces.

The central court was already in an uproar before the local autumn taxes were collected.

However, the main force participating in this war was not the noble group, but the infighting among the civil servants.

Officials from Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangnan hoped to keep more taxes in the local area for post-war reconstruction.

Although they also did not like the noble family to hold local power, they had to admit that the two governors-general of the noble family were really working hard in the local area.

As soon as the war ended, local people started self-help production, and it is expected that the autumn grain harvest will be restored to 70% of the pre-war level.

The roads, bridges, cities and water conservancy projects destroyed in the war are also being rebuilt in an orderly manner.

Having felt the tangible benefits, the local gentry became supporters of the policy, which in turn influenced the political stance of officials of local origin.

Every additional amount of funding we secure will speed up post-war reconstruction.

Local officials have a term of office, and the two governors-general from noble families could not stay in the local area forever.

Once the two men's terms of office end, the temporary position of governor will be abolished, local politics will return to normal, and government efficiency will drop significantly.

Not every provincial governor can suppress local forces and govern according to his own will.

Officials who are slightly softer focus most of their energy on coordinating local relations.

Without the organization and guidance of the imperial court, the recovery had to rely entirely on the people themselves, which would obviously take much longer.

Such a request was met with collective opposition from officials in northern provinces.

Just as all feudal dynasties entered their middle and late stages, Dayu also saw a strange scene of increasing financial and taxation contributions from northern provinces.

Because the southern provinces were far away from the emperor, although they collected more taxes from the people, the amount they paid to the central court continued to decline.

The fiscal and taxation reforms in the eight southeastern provinces have finally arrived, and everyone is waiting for the rice to be cooked, so how can we tolerate large-scale withholding by local government offices?

The two sides engaged in a war of words over the amount of taxes to be paid.

Officials from the south of the Yangtze River attacked officials from the north for ignoring people's livelihood, while officials from the north retorted by accusing them of ignoring the overall situation.

The reason was ready-made: the Jiangnan region needed post-war reconstruction, and the northern provinces were not much better.

It has only been two years since the last invasion by the northern barbarians, and northern Zhili, Shandong, and Henan have not recovered either.

Not to mention Shaanxi and Shanxi, there are still rebel activities in there.

During the period when the White Lotus Rebellion was rampant, it was these war-torn provinces that bore the majority of the Dayu Dynasty's expenses.

The Ministry of Revenue directly made a list and put all the expenses of the court on the table.

"Prime Minister, what do you think?"

Seeing the officials arguing, Emperor Yongning opened his mouth to ask.

“Your Majesty, we must find a way to fill the huge fiscal deficit.

The only region capable of filling the hole now is the Jiangnan region.

First of all, it is customary that the salt tax collected by each province must be submitted to the central court.

Secondly, the newly imposed tariffs must also be included in the central government’s finances.

Other traditional taxes can be distributed according to the original model.

Taking into account the actual situation, the taxes from Guangdong, Guangxi and Huguang need to be used to support the front line and can be temporarily not turned over to the court.

When the three provinces of Jiangxi, Nanzhili, and Zhejiang were hit by war, after deducting their own expenses and subsidies, the local government was allowed to retain 20% for post-war reconstruction, and the rest was turned over to the court.

All the money and food needed for the recruitment of soldiers in each province will be paid by the central government."

Wan Junhui said without changing his expression.

Taking away local financial power is the only way to strengthen central authority.

In the past few years, in order to save expenses, the imperial court expanded the recruitment of soldiers and asked local government offices to provide financial support. However, the number of recruits in the southern provinces was small.

With only a few thousand soldiers and horses, they did not have the capital to fight against the imperial court.

The situation is different now. After the war, the eight southeastern provinces each have recruited tens of thousands of soldiers.

If money and grain are not controlled by the central government, they can easily be used by local forces and become capital to fight against the central court.

According to the cabinet's plan, these troops will be gradually transferred to the north to gradually weaken the military forces of the southern provinces.

"My Lord Prime Minister, this is not in line with convention!

Such a distribution will have a huge impact on Jiangnan..."

"You bastard, we have endured the unfair tax distribution you mentioned for countless years!"

Before Lai Yaohua could finish his speech, officials from northern provinces started criticizing him.

The territorial structure of the Dayu Dynasty, like all previous feudal dynasties, can be divided into three parts: the frontier, the north, and the south.

During the dynasty's heyday, there was no problem in suppressing and fighting against foreign tribes.

In the middle and late period of the dynasty, the southern provinces paid money and the northern provinces risked their lives to fight against foreign tribes on the border.

As the war did not reach their doorsteps, the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River did not feel the pressure and were unwilling to pay for a war thousands of miles away.

Because of the flourishing literary style, in the middle and late period of the dynasty, the southern provinces gradually gained more say in the court.

The money and grain that should have been turned over to the imperial court were divided up by officials and local gentry, and the South reduced its support for the central government's finances.

Through their voice in the court, they gradually transferred the obligations that originally belonged to them to the northern provinces.

The northern provinces, which had originally agreed to sacrifice their lives, now had to sacrifice both their lives and money.

After a long time, the people in the north could not bear it anymore. If they encountered natural disasters again, the people would rise up in rebellion and the dynasty would collapse.

Dayu was an exception. The White Lotus Rebellion, which should have been prevented from spreading beyond the city, spread across half of the country due to officials' dereliction of duty.

After the court realized what was happening, it quickly suppressed the rebellion.

It was this exception that gave Dayu a chance to catch its breath, and the central court once again suppressed the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River.

The current quarrel is actually an attempt to restore the previous political version, in which the southern provinces once again play the role of paying the bills.

"enough!"

"I don't want to hear words that undermine unity anymore!
National affairs are difficult, and we must overcome the difficulties. We must not provoke conflicts between the North and the South for our own selfish interests.

Mr. Lai, I hope this is the first and last time. "

Wan Junhui immediately got angry.

At this moment, all officials felt the Prime Minister's courage.

Perhaps they were frightened by the Prime Minister's warning, or perhaps they realized that the situation was impossible, so a number of officials in the south of the Yangtze River stopped their actions.

"I'll remember this!"

Lai Yaohua replied in panic.

In the Dayu Dynasty, the dispute between the North and the South was a taboo topic. Almost every time it started, it would end with a lot of killing.

As the instigator of the conflict, no matter who wins or loses, it is a dead end.

The emperor would not allow such a person to live, and the cabinet would not allow such a powerful person to exist.

"Ok!"

“In theory, as long as the war in Shu ends, the government’s finances will return to their peak, but in reality, there is still not enough money to spend.

In addition to the gold-eating beast in Liaodong, the newly recovered Jiaozhi Provincial Administration will soon become a new gold-eating beast.

If you want to pacify the two places, you have to use military force all year round.

If this continues, the court's finances will be dragged down.

Your Majesty, I propose to establish a Protectorate in Annan to take charge of the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration, the Three Xuans and Six Weis, and the vassal affairs in the south.

We can refer to the old practice in Yunnan and select a general from among the nobles to guard the border to reduce the financial expenditure of the court. "

As soon as Wan Junhui finished speaking, Emperor Yongning and all the officials were stunned.

They were discussing fiscal and taxation distribution one moment, and the next moment they jumped to the Annan issue.

It seems like a huge jump, but there is a close connection between the two.

Developing new territories requires money, and Dayu happens to be extremely short of money.

……

(End of this chapter)