Fu Shanhe

Chapter 440 Governor-General of Xuanda
As a man of action, once he had an idea, Li Mu immediately arranged for people to refine the plan.

He wasn't the first to relocate local powerful families.

Our ancestors practiced this thousands of years ago.

The effects were very noticeable within a certain period.

It curbed land annexation, suppressed the growth of local power, and consolidated the central imperial power.

The policy was not continued because it affected too many interest groups, and it could not be implemented in the later stages of the dynasty.

However, these problems can be completely ignored within the Protectorate General's office.

The remnants of the old era have no political voice.

Apart from the ten stable state capitals where population migration is somewhat difficult, the newly occupied territories can be forcibly occupied.

The policy to win over the people is still being implemented, and the local people have not yet received their land.

Yu Jun has only occupied major cities so far and has not yet established substantial control over the countryside.

They need to wait until the troops are in place and they start cracking down on local unstable elements before they can begin to win over the people.

This is undoubtedly the best time to relocate people.

After all, the local land has owners, and land redistribution would inevitably involve unclaimed land.

After the people were reassigned, the landlords and gentry who lost their influence over the local area also lost their reason for existence.

While dealing with them, we can also take advantage of the situation and eliminate religious forces that have lost their popular support.

However, this matter must be kept secret. Before the plan is completed, these vested interests must be appeased.

As for county governments that have already stabilized, adjusting their population structure can only be done gradually.

Peaceful times are periods of explosive population growth, especially since the Protectorate also allocated arable land, which made people's lives more prosperous and further accelerated the local population growth.

However, while the population can grow indefinitely, land is finite.

The land in the village has already been distributed, and if newborns want to obtain farmland for food, they have no choice but to move their entire families to other places.

Influenced by their attachment to their hometown, people are certainly unwilling to make a fuss if they can make a living at home.

However, as the number of children in the family increases, the limited farmland can no longer support the entire family, so he will sign up himself.

The five mu of farmland for food production was carefully calculated.

Without oxen for plowing, after deducting the cost of sowing seeds, the net grain yield per acre is only two or three shi (a unit of dry measure).

There are slightly more in plains areas and fewer in mountainous areas.

Minor adjustments were also made when allocating farmland for staple food crops.

Residential land in mountainous areas is not included in the area calculation, while land in plains areas is deducted from it.

However, an annual income of more than ten shi (a unit of dry measure) per person was definitely considered a good life in those days.

They sold one-third of their grain to buy farm tools, salt, and other necessities, leaving them with a small surplus after filling their stomachs.

This situation will gradually change as the number of newborns increases.

With no change in land ownership and a continuously increasing family size, per capita income will soon be dragged down.

From frugality to luxury is easy, from luxury to frugality.

Having grown accustomed to a life of plenty, no one could bear to go back to going hungry.

We'll arrange for someone to guide them, and we won't have to worry about a lack of applicants.

Don't worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality.

For the sake of village unity, the vacant land should not be distributed, but used to resettle new immigrants.

If the policy is consistently implemented, all the problems will be solved in a few decades.

……

Hall of Supreme Harmony.

"Your Majesty, news of a great victory has arrived from Henan. The imperial army has decisively defeated the rebel alliance."

They killed seven rebel kings, annihilated 80,000 rebel soldiers, and captured more than 300,000 rebel soldiers.

Most of the rebels active in the Central Plains were annihilated, with only a small number of remnants hiding in the mountains.

......"

Upon hearing Jing Guoliang's report, Emperor Yongning's face revealed a long-lost smile.

The rebels who had plagued the Great Yu for many years were finally suppressed.

He had waited eight long years for peace and tranquility to return to the world.

Emperor Yongning's good mood didn't last long, and his brows furrowed again.

Such important news was not reported to the emperor first, but was said directly by the chief minister in court.

It was obvious that they were subordinates and didn't take him seriously.

The power of the nobility was so great that it made the emperor uneasy, unable to eat or sleep.

Unfortunately, the Great Yu Dynasty now needs these people to risk their lives.

Deep down, Emperor Yongning's resentment towards civil officials intensified.

If these guys hadn't been so incompetent, he wouldn't have had to elevate the nobles.

To his utter surprise, the nobles he considered corrupt and decadent actually possessed so many talented individuals.

"The Ministry of War should verify the battle results as soon as possible, and the Cabinet should come up with a reward plan to commend the meritorious officials."

Emperor Yongning suppressed his emotions and said.

Regardless of the circumstances, the court had to show its appreciation for the victory.

The powerful aristocratic faction posed a threat to imperial power.

Especially during such special times, we must be even more cautious.

With so many noble generals, they inevitably had their own agendas, and it was entirely possible to divide them from within.

The only problem is that the chief minister and the second chief minister in the court are too much of an eyesore.

Without the restraint of these two old men, the rest of the people lacked sufficient prestige, and with a little manipulation, the aristocratic faction would fall apart.

Unfortunately, those two old guys were oblivious to the situation.

He had hinted several times that they should resign and get out of here, but nothing happened.

The two regents held onto their positions, making it difficult for the emperor to act freely.

Unlike the other civil officials who served as assistants, these two held both military and political power.

To put it bluntly, even the emperor's edict might not be as effective as the words of the two Grand Secretaries.

If a direct conflict were to break out, it would most likely be the emperor who would suffer the loss.

"I will obey your orders!"

The officials who were named answered in unison.

What seemed like an ordinary reply was extremely jarring to the sensitive Emperor Yongning.

The people below banded together.

The civil and military officials, who should have been checking and balancing each other, have now reached a tacit agreement, making them nothing more than traitors and rebels.

After his anger subsided, he forced himself to calm down.

Try your best to convince yourself that it's all a coincidence, and that there aren't that many treacherous officials in the court.

However, once the seeds of suspicion are sown, they cannot be driven away by reason alone.

"Your Majesty, this is the list of generals stationed in the northern frontier, drafted by the cabinet. Please review it!"

As they spoke, Jing Guoliang handed the prepared list to the emperor.

"Oh!

All of them are descendants of loyal and virtuous officials; it seems the cabinet has put its heart into it.

"But why hasn't the candidate for Governor-General of Xuanda been decided yet?" Emperor Yongning asked with a puzzled look after quickly flipping through the document.

There was little controversy regarding the selection of the border general.

At this critical juncture, there is no better candidate in the court than to appoint a general from the nobility faction.

It wasn't that the Great Yu Dynasty lacked talent; the main problem was that the powerful aristocratic faction had become too resource-intensive, leaving the court with no resources to cultivate more capable generals.

Aside from the noble faction, the only remaining generals with impressive battle records were the commanders of the various garrisons along the nine borders.

Unfortunately, of the nine important border towns, Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi have all been destroyed.

The Jizhou and Liaodong garrisons colluded to form a de facto regional warlord regime.

The four garrisons of Yansui, Ningxia, Guyuan, and Gansu had received too few resources in the past, and there was a serious problem of empty salaries within the garrisons. Their combined military strength was less than 20,000 men.

According to the imperial court's military reorganization plan, the army is still being expanded and has not yet formed combat capability.

Their current military strength is roughly equivalent to a fully-staffed town belonging to the nobility; they can't be helped even if they wanted to.

In this context, even if the list is rejected, other noble generals will take its place.

Of course, the continuous expansion of the noble faction was not without its drawbacks.

The most direct impact is on the combat effectiveness of the newly formed troops, which has declined significantly compared to the previous ones.

Adjusting high-ranking generals is easy; a brigadier general can be promoted to a deputy general, and a deputy general can be promoted to a general.

With military merits in hand, promotion is a natural progression.

The real problem is the shortage of middle and lower-ranking officers, especially qualified junior officers, of whom less than half can be recruited.

The traditional model of training reserve officers from household guards is no longer sufficient to meet the needs of the large-scale military expansion.

Apart from Li Mu's troops, the Great Yu Dynasty lacked a well-developed system for training junior officers.

Whether they are noble families or military families from the nine border regions, they are all beneficiaries of the current system.

Unless absolutely necessary, people won't risk their livelihoods.

They wanted to reform, but couldn't get it to work.

"Your Majesty, the geographical location of Xuanda is far too important."

The two previous invasions by the northern barbarians both occurred within the jurisdiction of the Governor-General of Xuanda.

Sending a governor who knows nothing about military affairs would not only fail to integrate the troops below, but would also hinder the work of rebuilding the Great Wall defense line.

A suitable candidate cannot be found in the short term, therefore the position remains vacant for the time being.

Jing Guoliang immediately explained.

The vacancy for the position of Governor-General of Xuanda was not due to his personal motives, but because he genuinely could not find a suitable candidate.

Few civil officials knew anything about military affairs, and even the very few who had experience leading troops had very mediocre battle records.

There are many capable generals among the noble faction, but only Li Mu is capable of commanding large-scale battles.

The others are still lacking in both ability and prestige within the military.

Forcibly promoting one person to a higher position will not convince the other generals.

Don't worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality.

The same applies in officialdom.

According to the planned career path, potential generals in the aristocratic faction must first gain experience as generals for several years before being promoted to provincial governors.

Once he has made enough outstanding contributions, he will be promoted to the position of Governor-General of Xuanda, and everything will fall into place naturally.

"The chief minister should recommend virtuous and capable officials without regard to personal relationships."

I remember that when we were suppressing the White Lotus Rebellion, there was a famous general who was on par with the Marquis of Hanshui.

Since the position of Governor-General of Xuanfu and Datong is vacant, let's simply transfer Jing Yifeng, the Commander-in-Chief of Southern Zhili, to take charge of the overall situation.

Emperor Yongning said with a smile.

Against the backdrop of his colleagues suffering defeats every day, his ability to go against the tide and recover Guangxi was hard not to leave an impression.

Jing Yifeng's subsequent performance was relatively mediocre, but that depends on who he was compared to.

Mediocre is only relative to Li Mu; compared to other generals of the Great Yu, he is still an outstanding student.

In order to counterbalance the powerful noble faction, he should have promoted people from other factions to serve as governors-general of Xuanfu and Datong.

However, the strategic importance of Xuanda was too great, and the northern barbarians particularly liked to invade from this direction.

For civil officials, this is a hot potato that everyone avoids like the plague.

After the signal was sent out, the candidates recommended by everyone were basically from the opposing political factions.

No matter how easily he was fooled, Emperor Yongning knew that the candidates recommended by the opposing faction were mostly harboring malicious intentions.

Realizing he had no one available and not wanting the capital to be besieged by the northern barbarians for the third time, he had no choice but to select people from among the noble families.

The reason for choosing Jing Yifeng was not only because of the deep impression he left on the public, but also because it freed the Qingliu Party members from their constraints.

The Qingliu Party members, who had always enjoyed stirring up trouble, suddenly became well-behaved after the aristocratic faction came to power, which was not what he wanted to see.

After analyzing the reasons with a group of eunuchs, they finally concluded that the noble faction had a knife to the necks of the Qingliu Party.

There are many officials who are not afraid of death, but there are very few who disregard even their own family and relatives.

In the past, upright officials dared to speak frankly and directly to the emperor, mainly because the emperor valued his reputation.

At worst, they'd get a beating, but exchanging that beating for prestige in the community and paving the way for future generations was considered worthwhile.

The situation is different now; the military men of the noble lineage are not so particular.

If you anger these guys, they can impersonate rebels and go directly to wipe out the whole family.

Although Jing and Li never did it, Li Mu and the Marquis of Wuyang did quite a bit back then.

The soldiers they trained had extensive experience in this area.

At the height of the civil-military rivalry, many southern officials received similar warnings of "extermination of the entire family."

During this period, several unfortunate gentry families were wiped out by the remnants of the rebels.

Not long after, the families of the high-ranking officials who led the army that came to the aid of the emperor also frequently encountered various accidents.

Whether it was a coincidence or not, many people were frightened.

Most officials chose to compromise without compromising their core interests.

Even when they initiate factional struggles, their methods are much more disciplined.

Impeachments against the nobility were mostly directed at lower-ranking military officers, rather than directly targeting the two Grand Secretaries in the central government.

Among the cabinet ministers appointed by Emperor Yongning, Jing and Li were the two who suffered the fewest impeachments.

"Your Majesty, it's not that I'm avoiding kinship, but mainly that my seventh brother lacks experience in commanding large-scale operations and still needs more training."

It wouldn't be too late to promote him to a higher position after he has gained experience in the position of Governor-General of Southern Zhili for a few years.

Jing Guoliang resolutely refused.

Pie won't fall from the sky.

Taking a high position without sufficient ability is definitely not a good thing.

The Governor-General of Xuanda may seem more prestigious than the Governor-General of Southern Zhili, but the benefits he could bring to the Jing family were far less than those of the Governor-General of Southern Zhili.

Only when he held the knife in his hand to intimidate the Qingliu Party could he live a comfortable life as the Grand Secretary.

The position of admiral is a non-permanent one, and it will be canceled once Jing Yifeng steps down.

The aristocratic faction had already lost the position of Governor-General of Jiangnan, and if they lost the position of Commander-in-Chief in charge of military affairs in the entire province, then the highest military and political official in Southern Zhili would become the Governor.

With the Nanjing Six Ministries under reconstruction, it was only a matter of time before the situation in Jiangnan broke free from the control of the nobility.

After all, expecting the generals below to rise up against the governor without a leader is extremely difficult.

Once the sword hanging over their heads is gone, the imperial court's dream of collecting huge amounts of tax revenue from the south is just that—a dream.

If it had been a member of the Qingliu Party who made the suggestion, he would have refuted them until they were speechless. But it was Emperor Yongning who made the suggestion.

(End of this chapter)