Fu Shanhe

Chapter 433 The Governor Dies Suddenly
With the war over, domestic affairs suddenly became the primary task.

For the Protectorate General, conquering territory was easy; the difficulty lay in post-war governance.

As the Protectorate General grew and expanded, the military-based governance model became increasingly outdated.

Li Mu needs a stable base camp, not a large military camp.

While militaristic methods of managing local areas do have significant advantages in the early stages, their drawbacks are also very obvious.

The biggest problem is that martial spirit is too strong. Under the lure of land, everyone wants to achieve fame and fortune immediately.

In terms of local militia reserve development, apart from lagging behind in equipment, training is being modeled after that of the regular army.

Without the need for government mobilization, the people spontaneously joined the ranks.

There was no way around it; the southern campaign was progressing too smoothly.

It's effortless to bully the natives.

The intensity of the war was not even comparable to the clan feuds over water in China.

In just six months, the territory of the Protectorate General doubled, and the number of soldiers killed in action was less than four figures.

When it's spread across the entire army, all we see are families where one person has made a contribution or another has been awarded a title.

As for the losses of the auxiliary troops, both the government and the people chose to ignore them.

By taking a trip to the battlefield, one can acquire a large amount of fertile land, which perfectly targets the weaknesses of the Yu people.

Not only were the people in an uproar, but even the high-ranking officials of the Protectorate were affected.

Even the most anti-war civil officials became advocates of war.

The petitions requesting to join the fight piled up on his desk every day.

After regaining his senses, Li Mu suddenly realized that he, who had started the war, had become the biggest anti-war advocate.

In the short term, this mindset of all-out war is conducive to external expansion.

But if the timeframe is extended, it goes to the other extreme.

Once everyone has become accustomed to the benefits of war, it won't be so easy to stop the war machine.

In order to correct the tendency towards war, Li Mu started training classes for officials.

Civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above were required to take turns attending classes, with him personally acting as the teacher.

Middle and senior management need to receive training, not to mention those below them.

Schools sprang up one after another, but due to limited teaching resources, the main focus in rural areas was on literacy education.

Further up the hierarchy, the focus is primarily on training officials.

Developing education remains a long and arduous task.

Theoretically speaking, scholars could be brought in from within China.

However, Li Mu didn't trust them.

I'd rather do it myself, even if it's slower, than hand the next generation over to these people to ruin.

It's better not to train any pedantic scholars than to create a bunch of corrupt officials who bring disaster to the country and its people.

……

"My lord, we have just received news that the governor of Yunnan has died suddenly!"

Lan Linjie said with a solemn expression.

Having followed Li Mu for so many years, his political acumen has also improved accordingly.

The sudden death of the Yunnan governor at this time is too coincidental; the Duke of Qian's mansion is highly suspicious.

Even if it wasn't the Duke of Qian's mansion that did it, the civil officials would insist that it was them.

Of all the local officials in the Great Yu Dynasty, very few died suddenly.

Even if a local official dies in office, there are usually signs beforehand; most of them die slowly from illness.

In the event of a sudden death, the imperial court would certainly dispatch an imperial envoy to investigate.

Many things can't be brought to the forefront.

In Yunnan, the Duke of Qian's mansion was like heaven; the laws of the imperial court were practically meaningless to them.

If the imperial envoy were to investigate thoroughly, he would surely uncover a host of problems.

As an ally, the Marquis of Hanshui might also be affected.

After all, the Duke of Qian's mansion was only breaking the law, while Li Mu was making the laws himself.

The emperor is far away, and it's fine if no one exposes the truth. But once it's brought to the forefront, it can cause quite a bit of trouble.

"Hey!"

"The people from the Duke of Qian's mansion are too hasty; there are some things they shouldn't do."

"Once a precedent is set, the consequences will be endless!"

Li Mu shook his head and said.

He was aware of the power struggle between the Duke of Qian's mansion and the civil officials.

No one could have imagined that an ordinary power struggle would escalate to the point of resorting to underhanded tactics.

Destruction is always easier than construction.

When political struggles involve assassination, it means that all previous political rules have been broken.

Perhaps it was the victory of the noble faction in the court that gave them confidence.

However, the consequences of this must be borne by everyone.

"My lord, the message came from the Duke of Qian's mansion. I reckon they want your help to clean up the mess, but they can't say it outright."

This matter is far too complicated; the Duke of Qian's mansion will never admit to it, no matter what.

It is said that the Duke of Qian's mansion is discussing a marriage alliance with the Marquis of Zhenyuan's mansion. If the two sides reach an agreement, we will have no choice but to help.

Lan Linjie spoke up to remind him.

It was common for noble families to marry each other, and there were only about twenty or thirty such marriages between dukes and marquises in the entire Great Yu Dynasty.

Excluding those who have declined or those who have no children of school age, there are actually not many options left.

In the past, one could consider families with a long history of civil service officials, but that's no longer possible.

When conflicts between civil and military officials escalate, everyone has to take sides, and at such a time, no one should be allowed to play both sides.

"Let's ignore it for now and wait for the results."

After what happened, the Zhenyuan Marquis's residence will probably reconsider this marriage alliance.

Li Mu thought for a moment and then said.

Deep down, he had already made up his mind.

If a political marriage is achieved and everyone becomes one of us, then we should lend a helping hand to the Duke of Qian's family.

If the two parties couldn't reach an agreement, he would pretend not to know.

How the situation develops afterward is entirely up to the Duke of Qian's family.

As for the marriage between the two families, he wouldn't interfere recklessly.

In matters of marriage, the Great Yu Dynasty emphasized the authority of the father, the mother, and the matchmaker.

In any case, it's not his cousin's place to interfere.

……

The Hall of Nourishing Heart.

"Bastard!"

"A governor who has neither suffered any disasters nor illnesses can suddenly die in office; this is tantamount to deceiving Heaven!"

Looking at the memorial in his hand, Emperor Yongning couldn't help but burst into a tirade of curses.

Faced with the enraged emperor, the courtiers in the hall all lowered their heads.

The death of the Yunnan governor was so bizarre that anyone with a discerning eye would immediately notice something was amiss.

Once you reach the position of governor, even if you don't have a famous doctor checking your health every day, you will definitely have to have a check-up every few days.

If there is a problem with the body, it is impossible for a doctor not to notice it.

Sudden death is something that is destined to happen only to ordinary people.

"Your Majesty, it may be the Burmese who are behind this."

The two countries are currently at war, and the Yunnan governor has led his troops into Burma, pushing the Burmese people to their limits.

Knowing they were powerless to resist the might of the emperor, the Burmese people chose to take a desperate gamble.

Your Majesty, I suggest that an imperial envoy be dispatched to thoroughly investigate this case, with particular attention paid to those close to the governor.

Fei Xinyuan, the Minister of Justice, was the first to speak and make the suggestion.

While he appears to be accusing the Burmese of being the murderers, anyone with a discerning eye knows that he is actually making a veiled attack.

As the governor of Yunnan, outsiders had no chance to even get close to him; anyone who could harm him must have been someone close to him.

The only entity with both the capability and the motive to sabotage the Yunnan governor was the Duke of Qian's mansion.

As for the Kingdom of Burma, they probably wish the Yunnan governor would live to be a hundred years old.

It's rare to encounter a military novice as an opponent; who would want to make things more difficult for themselves?

"Cabinet, do you have any dissenting opinions?"

Seeing that no one objected, Emperor Yongning asked.

Given the bloody lessons learned from the past, he has become much more cautious when it comes to conflicts between civil and military officials.

The Minister of Justice's words were clearly aimed at the Duke of Qian's mansion.

Within the system of noble families, the Duke of Qian's mansion, which was permanently stationed in Yunnan, and the Marquis of Hanshui's mansion, which was permanently stationed in Annam, were both special entities.

Once the charges are verified, how the imperial court should handle the matter becomes another thorny problem.

To let it go unchecked is to desecrate the authority of the central government. To hold them strictly accountable is to incite rebellion.

Compared to peasant uprising armies, the deeply entrenched Duke of Qian's government would be far more destructive if it rebelled.

The political impact, in particular, is extremely negative.

"Your Majesty, the Governor of Yunnan died in a foreign land, and the situation on the battlefield is constantly changing. As soon as the army moves, the scene of the death is gone."

The country is rife with miasma, and people in poor health may not be able to withstand it.

Such a thorny case is probably beyond the ability of an ordinary imperial envoy to investigate.

I propose that this matter be handed over to the Imperial Guard for a thorough investigation!

Jing Guoliang answered without changing his expression.

Even when investigating the same case, different people can yield different results.

The nobility had relatively little influence within the Three Departments and were powerless to affect the investigation results.

Although the imperial guards and secret police appeared to be the emperor's confidants, by the Yongning era, they had been thoroughly infiltrated.

Civil officials placed their own people within the ranks, as did nobles.

Nominally, the case was handed over to the Imperial Guard for a thorough investigation, but in reality, it was a struggle for control of the investigation.

Once a case is in the hands of our own people, we can decide what kind of result we want to get.

If the Duke of Qian's mansion is willing to pay the price and pin the blame on the Burmese, it would be a good option for the noble faction.

"Prime Minister, this statement is inappropriate."

The Governor of Yunnan is an official appointed by the imperial court. Any incident should be thoroughly investigated by the Three Departments of Justice. It's best if the Imperial Guards and the Secret Service don't interfere!

Fei Xinyuan immediately tried to persuade him.

When it comes to the authority of the Ministry of Justice, he, as the Minister, absolutely cannot back down.

Once this precedent is set, the Imperial Guards will also get involved in other similar cases in the future.

The era of rampant secret police and imperial guards is still fresh in everyone's minds, and such things must never be allowed.

"Minister Fei, you are overthinking it."

The Prime Minister's suggestion was mainly due to the harsh natural conditions in the Kingdom of Burma, which are generally unsuitable for ordinary people.

If an imperial envoy is sent out, and he falls ill as soon as he arrives at the destination, how can the case be investigated?

Lord Baoling, Zheng Ruibo, immediately betrayed him.

The Ministry of Justice fears the loss of power, but he, as the Left Censor-in-Chief, is not.

As one of the three chief officials, his position as the head of the Censorate was basically just a figurehead.

The censors below didn't listen to him at all.

Since they couldn't control the government offices, the size of those offices' power became irrelevant.

Anyway, he was just a temporary replacement brought in by the emperor to fill a hole and deliberately annoy the censors.

Whether he can make it to the end of his three-year term is still unknown.

"inappropriate!"

"This is precisely the duty of the Three Departments, how could it be..."

……

"Shut up!"

Seeing everyone leaving the arena, Emperor Yongning realized the conflict was escalating and immediately reprimanded them.

"I don't have time to listen to your arguments."

The Three Departments and the Embroidered Uniform Guard simultaneously dispatched personnel to investigate; I need the truth!

The half-hearted handling of the matter greatly dissatisfied the Qingliu Party members.

The involvement of the Embroidered Uniform Guard meant that they could no longer manipulate the investigation results at will.

The Duke of Qian's family isn't stupid; having done something like this, they'll definitely destroy the evidence.

The fact that the crime occurred within the Kingdom of Myanmar further complicated the investigation.

What's even more troublesome is the selection of the imperial envoy to investigate the case.

The "pure stream" camp is full of verbal experts, and criminal investigation, a profession despised by scholars, is not popular among them.

Officials specializing in criminal justice generally held low ranks.

They were not qualified to investigate the Duke of Qian's mansion; it required a high-ranking official from the imperial court to lead the investigation.

The minimum rank is the third grade; if the imperial envoy's rank is too low, he simply cannot command respect.

If the Qingliu Party wants to make a difference with this case, they need to find someone to join forces with.

Unfortunately, the Qingliu Party had poor relations with all other factions, and for some political factions, the Qingliu Party posed a greater threat than the nobility.

Even though the aristocratic faction won in the factional struggle, they only secured two positions in the cabinet and did not expand their influence in the government.

It's not that the noble faction didn't want to, it's just that there weren't enough people.

The elite sons all entered the military, while those who stayed in the court to develop their careers were basically those with limited abilities and little ambition.

Staying in a peripheral position is fine; rashly promoting someone to an important position is more likely to cause trouble.

The biggest beneficiaries were actually the civil officials who were close to the aristocratic faction.

These people also held another identity in the imperial court: a small or medium-sized faction within the civil service.

Whether it was to divide the civil service group or simply to recruit people to work, the two Grand Secretaries from the nobility faction had to win over some civil officials to their side.

The partners cannot be powerful factions like the Qingliu faction; they can only be small or medium-sized factions with a low profile.

When faced with interests, the distinction between civil and military matters is not actually that important.

From a purely factional perspective, the only real loser in this round of political reshuffling is the Qingliu Party.

Other factions within the civil service were not weakened; on the contrary, they were strengthened to some extent.

As a result, in the latter half of the civil-military struggle, the Qingliu Party became a lone force fighting its own battle.

……

The Duke of Qian's Mansion.

"Have you sent the gift yet?"

Meng Lixuan asked with concern.

The political impact of the death of the Yunnan governor was more severe than they had anticipated.

After the incident, civil servants in the province went on strike.

If we can't stop them from seizing power, then we'll simply resort to nonviolent non-cooperation.

Faced with this situation, the Duke of Qian's government, which had taken over military and political power, was at a loss for what to do.

They were all officials appointed by the imperial court; without the emperor's decree, they dared not take any action.

Forced by circumstances, the troops that had entered Myanmar all retreated to Yunnan to garrison their posts.

In order to deal with the imperial court's pursuit of accountability, the Duke of Qian's mansion decisively chose to leverage its connections and maneuver within the court.

"Everyone accepted the gifts and promised to speak up for us."

However, the civil officials did not follow the usual procedure and directly claimed that the suspects were Burmese and that an imperial envoy would be sent to investigate.

A heated argument erupted in the imperial court, and it was ultimately decided that the Three Departments of Justice and the Embroidered Uniform Guard would each send personnel to investigate.

Meng Xiuyi replied, panting.

The ending wasn't too bad, but it wasn't much better either.

Everything should be taken seriously. Once the imperial court investigates thoroughly, many hidden problems will be exposed.

"Prepare to silence them!"

"Arrange a battle so that those who know the truth will die a heroic death."

Some properties within the government should be temporarily put on hold to avoid potential trouble.

"Resolve the messes in each household as soon as possible, before the imperial envoy arrives."

Meng Xiuyuan said with a serious expression.

Reason told him that the Qingliu Party would use them against him.

Killing the Yunnan governor has caused such a huge mess; the imperial envoy must not be harmed.

If the imperial envoy discovers the problem, even if the Duke of Qian's family isn't stripped of their title, they'll still be in deep trouble.

"Second brother, there's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill."

Yunnan is our territory. Even if the imperial envoy can investigate a case, we must cooperate!

Meng Xiuren resolutely refused.

The most important industry of the Duke of Qian's mansion was mining, and more than 90% of the mines were illegally operated.

Once it stops, the daily losses amount to tens of thousands.

"We must cooperate in this matter."

The imperial envoy's mission is not only to investigate the case, but also a test by the court against us.

"It's better to let them uncover a bunch of trivial matters than to directly confront the imperial envoy!"

Meng Xiuyuan said righteously.

The noble faction was willing to help, but that was based on the premise that everyone belonged to the same camp.

Vested interest groups are themselves the maintainers of order.

If the Duke of Qian's mansion wanted to break away from Dayu and establish its own independent territory, the two sides would immediately turn from allies into enemies.

Having reached this point, they needed to prove their loyalty to the court in order to mitigate any negative political consequences.

(End of this chapter)