Fu Shanhe

Chapter 484 A Powerful Punch in Chaotic Times

The capital city, Wenyuan Pavilion.

The joint memorial submitted by the six ministries in Nanjing tore away the last fig leaf covering the situation in Jiangnan.

For the Great Yu Dynasty, at this stage of the situation, right and wrong are no longer important; the key is to quickly clean up the mess.

"Gentlemen, it's time to make a decision!"

"Grand Secretary Jiang Shuhan said with a solemn expression."

The taxes collected in the Jiangnan region are crucial to the survival of the Great Yu Dynasty.

If the problem is not resolved quickly, it will inevitably affect the subsequent transport of grain, and everyone will go hungry.

"Grand Secretary, the chaos in the Jiangnan region is due to the incompetence of Imperial Commissioner Wan Huaijin and the arrogance of General Yun Xiangwen."

Sending troops south would inevitably escalate tensions and endanger the nation!

Minister of Revenue Lü Lingfeng was the first to object.

We finally managed to get rid of those plague-ridden nobles and enjoy a few days of peace; how could we let them come back?

Given the behavior of those brutes, if they were to return to Jiangnan, bloodshed would be inevitable.

The imperial court has collected its taxes, but the Qingliu Group is in dire straits.

Based on previous cases, once a clan is purged, the sons of officials in the court will also perish.

It's not that everyone is heartless; it's mainly for the sake of the stability of the country and the nation, the imperial court must eliminate unstable elements.

In any case, the Great Yu Dynasty lacked everything except people who wanted to become officials.

If there aren't enough officials, we can simply hold a special imperial examination and recruit another batch of successful candidates.

"Minister Lü, according to your logic, the tax resistance movement in the Jiangnan region is entirely the responsibility of the imperial court!"

The Marquis of Zhendong immediately mocked.

Despite his opposition to the younger generation's plans, the situation had developed to this point, leaving the nobility with no way out.

Civil officials can freely spout nonsense and act arrogantly towards Wen, but he, as the head of the noble faction, must protect his own subordinates.

Normally, if such a matter were brought to the imperial court, the emperor would order punishment, and he could simply plead for leniency and that would be the end of it.

But now the emperor is young, and the affairs of state are handled by these ministers, which means there are two separate lines of communication: civil and military.

When a civil official commits a crime, the matter is handed over to the Three Departments for handling.

If a military officer committed a crime, the matter would be handed over to the Ministry of War or the Five Military Commissions for handling.

Without a doubt, the Five Military Commissions must seize control of the handling of the noble generals.

However, before dealing with his underlings, he would definitely try to mitigate the guilt of his own family members.

Murder with a cause and murder without cause are completely different concepts.

"My lord, that's sophistry!"

"The court instructed Wan Huaijin to collect taxes, but not to escalate the conflict."

According to the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty, unless specially authorized by the imperial court, the mobilization of recruited soldiers in various regions must be accompanied by a tiger tally and the emperor's imperial edict.

Without seeing anything, Yun Xiangwen has arbitrarily mobilized troops, and his crime deserves death!
Their mistakes do not represent the imperial court.

With his opening remarks, Fei Xinyuan, the Minister of Justice, put the nobility in a difficult position.

Putting aside the case of the unauthorized killing of gentry, the focus shifted directly to the more serious matter of unauthorized troop deployment.

A decade or so ago, if a military general dared to do this, headhunting would be a basic operation.

In serious cases, the entire family will be executed.

"Minister Fei, please refrain from spreading alarmist rumors."

There was no unauthorized troop deployment; the recruited soldiers from Southern Zhili had always stayed in the main camp.

Yun Xiangwen only brought a few servants to help maintain order, but accidentally caused a death.

The deceased was Yin Ni's close friend, and his entire family should have been implicated and punished, but the emperor spared him out of kindness.

They should have turned over a new leaf, but they dared to organize a tax resistance movement; they deserve to die a thousand deaths.

General Yun killed him purely out of righteous indignation; there's no need to make a mountain out of a molehill.

The situation in Jiangnan is currently chaotic, and it is not advisable to change generals at the last minute.

After the matter is over, the Five Military Commissions will handle it as appropriate.

The topic we're discussing now concerns the fate of the Great Yu Dynasty, so let's not stray from it."

Marquis Weiyuan smiled and accepted the topic.

It's impossible for him to mobilize troops without authorization. Once he admits to this crime, Yun Xiangwen will surely die.

In comparison, the use of servants is a much less serious offense; it's merely a matter of arrogance and domineering behavior.

There are many military generals who have been criticized for being arrogant and domineering, so they don't care about Yun Xiangwen being one of them.

As long as the power of disposal is seized into the hands of the nobility, a few subsequent arrangements for them to redeem themselves through meritorious service can turn a major incident into a minor one and a minor one into nothing.

"Humph!"

After expressing his dissatisfaction with a cold shout, Fei Xinyuan did not continue to dwell on the matter.

The deceased's identity is sensitive; if people were to link the tax resistance incident with previous cases of tax evasion, the consequences could be severe.

Times have changed. Without the tacit approval of the nobility, it would be very difficult for the court to deal with a noble general.

Even though the imperial court convicted Yun Xiangwen, the Ministry of Justice was powerless to arrest him in the military camp.

If things turn out ridiculous, the only one who will be embarrassed is the imperial court.

The best option is to first reach an understanding with the noble faction before taking any action.

"It's not a solution for everyone to just stay here."

If no one is willing to speak up, then let's just have an anonymous vote!
Each of the six ministers has one vote, each member of the cabinet has two votes, and the Grand Secretary has three votes, for a total of seventeen votes.

If you agree to send troops, put a checkmark on the slip of paper; if you disagree, put an X on it.

The decision with the most votes will be final!

Bai Jilin made the suggestion.

Time was of the essence, and the court's dire financial situation meant they couldn't afford to procrastinate.

If we want efficiency, we can't keep arguing and debating.

Allocating votes directly according to each person's right to speak is undoubtedly the best way to efficiently resolve the issue.

"inappropriate!"

"When it comes to the fate of the nation, how can we be so hasty?"

Even if a vote is to be held, all officials should participate.

The members of the Qingliu faction hurriedly retorted.

The vote distribution seemed very reasonable, with six of the eleven people present coming from the southern provinces.

The problem is that, of the five Grand Secretaries, only the Grand Secretary was from Zhejiang; the others were all from the north.

At other times, northern civil officials might crack down on the nobility, but on the issue of finance and taxation, their interests are aligned.

The four Grand Secretaries directly occupied eight votes, and together with the Minister of Rites, who was also from the north, they occupied exactly nine votes.

Even if all six people in the south oppose it, the decision to mobilize troops will eventually be passed.

"It takes time to mobilize troops, and it also takes time to collect taxes."

When all the officials participated in the decision-making process, the court went bankrupt before any results were reached.

Are you all willing to destroy the land and state of my Great Yu for your own selfish gain?

Bai Jilin immediately lost his temper.

The atmosphere in Wenyuan Pavilion instantly became heavy.

Everyone turned their attention to Jiang Shuhan; at this critical moment, it was time for the prime minister to make a statement.

"Let's do as the Vice Minister suggests!"

"Since we are in charge of the Great Yu Dynasty, we must be responsible for the people of the world."

At a time like this, we can't just think about our own little schemes.

If the country and its people suffer problems, we will all be sinners in the eyes of history.

Jiang Shuhan said with a solemn expression.

Being the chief minister of the Great Yu Dynasty is not easy; even without the emperor's authority, one still has to bear immense pressure.

To outsiders, he was a powerful and influential figure, but in reality, he had unspeakable grievances.

With various factions in the court constantly fighting each other, he was completely unable to control the court.

Every major resolution required compromise with other factions to pass. Seeing that the tide had turned against them, the Qingliu Party members also fell silent.

They had done everything they could, so failure was to be expected.

There was no way around it; the gentry of Jiangnan were demanding too much, and the Great Yu Dynasty simply couldn't afford it.

The days when making a fuss always brought benefits are long gone.

If an empire on the brink of collapse continues to distribute resources based on who makes the most noise, it will lose its rule and its stability.

The ideal model pursued by Confucianism is that the emperor is young and the ministers hold power in the court.

Despite the various factions' disputes and infighting, their stance on safeguarding the country and its people remains the same.

The gentry below were unaware of how dangerous the situation in Da Yu was, but those in power were very clear about it.

The tax resistance movement of the gentry in Jiangnan has now jeopardized the imperial rule.

If the court continues to back down, it will not only fail to solve the problem, but will also accelerate the collapse of the empire.

……

Nanjing City.

After putting down the letter, Yun Xiangwen's good mood vanished instantly.

In his letter, Li Mu berated him mercilessly.

All the previously boasted actions were refuted as utterly worthless.

There was no way to explain himself; he had clearly chosen a better option, but he insisted on using the worst one.

For example, when leading troops to arrest gentry, he could have his soldiers impersonate constables and act under the guise of an imperial envoy.

The charge of unauthorized troop deployment was dropped, and the responsibility was also passed on.

Even if he killed someone to establish his authority, Wan Huaijin would be the one to take the blame and incite hatred.

For example, the subsequent strike by merchants was the responsibility of the local government.

Even if they want to get a share of the pie, they should do it under the guise of the governor's office.

No matter how ruthless the killing, it is still in accordance with the laws of the imperial court.

A series of blunders made him infamous in the Jiangnan region.

Regardless of the final outcome, this "butcher" general is the biggest loser in this round of conflict.

"Mr. Lan, does the Marquis have any other instructions?"

Yun Xiangwen asked with concern.

Being scolded by his former boss means that there is still room for him to be redeemed.

Some things are inconvenient to say in letters and can only be conveyed orally.

"The Marquis asked me to tell the General that some things should either not be done at all, or they should be done to the extreme."

Trouble is trouble because the people who create it exist.

"By the way, the Marquis has been reading history books recently and is deeply concerned about the harm caused by powerful clans."

These people are most fond of forming societies and banding together to control the government, monopolize the path to officialdom, and evade taxes.

Hatred cannot be eradicated completely!

Lan Linjie's answer plunged Yun Xiangwen into deep thought.

The first sentence is very easy to understand: to do things to the extreme means to make him eliminate evil completely.

It doesn't matter if you have many enemies, as long as they are all dead, it's as if you have no enemies at all.

He always felt that the "aristocratic families" mentioned later were referring to the gentry of Jiangnan.

After all, the Great Yu Dynasty had been suppressing powerful clans since its inception.

Those who showed even the slightest sign of potential were eliminated by the emperor in the early years of the dynasty.

"Mr. Lan, does the Marquis mean to take this opportunity to wipe out all the gentry in Jiangnan?"

Yun Xiangwen asked with a solemn expression.

He felt no pressure killing a few gentry.

However, wiping out the gentry in the Jiangnan region would be beyond our capabilities.

They're all hiding in their strongholds now, with thick walls that won't be easy to breach.

If they were to carry out a large-scale massacre, their militia wouldn't be to be trifled with.

If we are not careful, the entire Jiangnan region will be engulfed in flames of war.

If the Jiangnan region is thrown into chaos, and without the replenishment of funds and provisions from Jiangnan, the Great Yu Dynasty is doomed.

Judging from the current situation, if the world descends into chaos, the biggest beneficiary will undoubtedly be...

The matter involved was too big for Yun Xiangwen to bear.

"General Yun, you can't say things like that."

"When did Your Excellency order you to take action against the gentry of Jiangnan?!"

Lan Linjie scolded him impatiently.

To wipe out all the gentry of Jiangnan—that's truly audacious!

It should be noted that he himself was also a member of the gentry in Jiangnan.

He didn't join the gentry in making trouble in Jiangnan for two reasons. Firstly, Li Mu had offered him a better future, so there was no need to risk it for a pittance.

On the other hand, he belonged to the lower class of the Jiangnan gentry. Apart from his own academic degree, his clan did not even meet the threshold of becoming a prominent family.

They weren't even in the same circle to begin with; forcibly joining them would simply add another person to the scholar cannon fodder group.

"Please enlighten me, Mr. Lan!"

Yun Xiangwen bowed and said.

Knowing that my brain isn't that good, I simply don't bother to use it.

Lan Linjie was Li Mu's advisor; he had been working under him since Li Mu was a chiliarch.

Such a close advisor was sent here, surely not to play games with him.

"The anti-tax movement in the Jiangnan region was initiated by local powerful families, but after so long, all those who died were from poor families."

Land annexation in the Jiangnan region has long passed its initial stage; now it's time for the big fish to eat the small fish.

The more poor people die, the more beneficial it will be for their subsequent industrial expansion.

In this game, the noble faction became their weapon.

Such actions by the gentry of Jiangnan have seriously threatened the stability of the Great Yu dynasty.

The Marquis did not want to give in to their wishes, so the direction of the attack had to be changed.

The academy, this place where elites from gentry and noble families gather, must be eliminated!

Lan Linjie answered with a serious expression.

His mother was seriously ill, and he was returning to his hometown to visit relatives when he happened to arrive during the tax resistance movement of the gentry in Jiangnan.

Then a new task fell into his lap.

Although Li Mu only asked him to deliver a message and did not involve him in the process.

As a subordinate, you can't just wait for your boss to tell you what to do.

Since he overheard the conversation between the Marquis and his wife while passing by, he must carry it out according to his will.

Besides, the pie is only so big. If the powerful families in Jiangnan aren't suppressed, how can the Lan family develop?

Whether it was to expand his family's living space or for the sake of the country, he was determined to eliminate traitors for the nation.

"Don't worry, Mr. Lan, I'll arrange for someone to burn Jiangnan Academy down as soon as possible!"

Yun Xiangwen immediately expressed his opinion.

He had already offended the gentry of Jiangnan, so he didn't care about adding another enemy to their hatred.

"General Yun, whether the academy is burned down or not is not important; the key is the people inside."

The remnants of the White Lotus Rebellion, seeking revenge against the imperial court, stormed into the Jiangnan Academy and slaughtered thousands of teachers and students. This seems quite plausible!

Lan Linjie said calmly.

Suppressing powerful clans is not something that can be accomplished overnight, but the most effective method is undoubtedly direct physical elimination.

Those who could study at Jiangnan Academy were all elite children from various families.

Taking out these people was more valuable than killing those old guys.

(End of this chapter)