Fu Shanhe

Chapter 536 Becoming an Outlaw
With the war now at this stage, post-war work must be put on the agenda.

Compared to ordinary generals, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, Li Mu had to consider issues from a holistic perspective.

The Great Yu Dynasty can decay and continue to decline, but it must not be destroyed under his rule.

How the situation develops in the future is not important, but in the short term, it must be full of vitality.

He needed to create the illusion that the situation had improved so that he could legitimately withdraw.

Against this backdrop, the Beijing Garrison and the Border Army had to be established.

Those intellectuals can't discern the true combat effectiveness of the troops, but everyone can understand their battle records.

Killing the rebel leader and recapturing the capital are achievements that would be impressive no matter the time of year.

……

Nanjing City.

"The situation at the front has been stabilized. The Marquis of Hanshui has sent an official document instructing us to prepare to return to the capital."

They also urged us to appoint a new ruler as soon as possible to reassure the people.

"Gentlemen, what are your thoughts?"

Second Grand Secretary Wan Huaijin looked at everyone and asked.

The Great Yu Dynasty established a backup court in Nanjing, but the political center remained in Beijing.

Even if everyone wanted to move the capital to Nanjing, it would have to be done after a new emperor was enthroned and the emperor issued an edict to move the capital.

Prior to this, Beijing was the sole political center of the Great Yu Empire.

As the Grand Secretary of the Empire, Li Mu issued an official document requiring all departments in Nanjing to prepare for their return to the capital, which was politically impeccable.

"Your Excellency's document is mature and prudent; we should adopt it."

However, the north is not peaceful right now, and the capital is still in the hands of the rebels. It would be too early to prepare to move back.

"It would be better to first determine the new emperor's successor, and then discuss the matter of relocation after the new emperor has ascended the throne."

He Zhengze was the first to state his position.

Denying the relocation back to the capital would involve too much political risk, one that even these cabinet ministers couldn't bear.

Once the news gets out, it could easily be interpreted by outsiders as the imperial court wanting to abandon the northern provinces.

Even if they didn't want to take on the mess in the north, they had no choice but to bite the bullet and accept it for political reasons.

The idea of ​​moving the capital to Nanjing is best kept to oneself; if one dares to bring it up in court, one can expect the censors to send their entire family a message.

Moreover, many members of the cabinet are from the north, and from a personal perspective, they would not allow the court to abandon the north.

"Ok!"

“The second son of the King of Changsha is intelligent from a young age and is capable of undertaking this great task.”

Wan Huaijin then presented his choice.

Unlike the princes supported in the past, this candidate was drawn by the cabinet yesterday.

No one knows what his abilities, moral character, and conduct are like, especially since he is only six years old.

Being young means having high potential for development, and it also means that these cabinet members can hold their positions and govern for at least ten years.

After Emperor Yongning's squandering of wealth, people had lost all expectations for the emperor's personal abilities.

Rather than supporting a prince who lacks imperial education to ascend the throne, it would be better to select a young ruler and nurture him slowly.

All the candidates were children aged five to eight, and the second son of the King of Changsha was purely lucky to stand out.

In addition to these advantages, the second son of the King of Changsha had another advantage: the King of Changsha's entire lineage was almost wiped out.

This kind of ascension of a lonely member of the imperial family to power would not bring a whole host of people with them to the throne, thus not increasing the financial burden on the court.

Even if someone dies prematurely, another person can be selected from the imperial clan, and they will not be constrained by etiquette and laws.

"Your Excellency, I remember that the second son of the Prince of Changsha is only six years old."

How can someone so young shoulder the responsibility of governing the country?

Provincial Governor Zheng Zonghan couldn't help but object.

In times of chaos, a nation relies on a wise and virtuous ruler.

Enthroning a young emperor can easily lead to a situation where powerful ministers become arrogant and domineering.

A slight misstep could even overthrow the nation.

Unfortunately, his opposition stemmed from public interest, and the cabinet's selection of personnel was also a last resort.

The infighting among various factions in the court over the selection of a new emperor has severely impacted the operation of the court.

Although the second son of the Prince of Changsha was young, he was a candidate acceptable to all parties.

If an older emperor were chosen, people would fight tooth and nail for the credit of supporting the emperor's rise to power.

"Lord Zheng, the new emperor must first and foremost possess both virtue and talent."

You've probably heard the rumors circulating among the public. The cabinet has investigated them, and about 80% of the content is true.

In this context, which other older feudal lord do you think is capable of undertaking this important task?

An Jingzhi retorted irritably.

Whether they had the ability or not is unknown, but in the previous infighting, the dark history of a group of vassal kings was dug up.

Even if many things were done by subordinates under the banner of the vassal king, the blame should still be placed on the vassal king.

Putting aside other issues, on the land issue, all the vassal kings of the Great Yu Dynasty failed miserably.

It wasn't that they seized land by force, but rather that the people under the Prince's residence were using the Prince's name to acquire land on a large scale and register it as their fiefdom.

Once someone is labeled a vassal king, local government offices dare not go there to collect taxes.

What may seem like trivial matters can be labeled as misconduct once they are brought to the forefront.

No amount of explanation will help; if you can't even control your own servants, how can you govern a country?

As for further charges, the cabinet dared not delve deeper.

If all the taboo things were really exposed, at least half of the vassal kings would be punished.

Dealing with so many vassal kings while the emperor's position is vacant would likely trigger a political crisis.

"This……"

Just as Zheng Zonghan was about to defend himself, he noticed the sharp gazes of the cabinet ministers and promptly swallowed back the words he was about to say.

It wasn't a discussion with them at all; it was clearly pre-arranged from above that the second son of the Prince of Changsha would be enthroned.

Although we don't know what happened that prompted the cabinet to make this decision, jumping out to oppose it when the outcome is already predetermined would be asking for trouble.

"Since no one has any objections, then it's settled."

The Ministry of Rites should arrange for a suitable candidate to escort the second son of the Prince of Changsha to Nanjing to ascend the throne.

All departments cooperated in the entire etiquette process to try to complete it as quickly as possible.

After the new emperor ascends the throne, there will be a huge mess in the north that we'll have to clean up.

Wan Huaijin immediately made the decision.

Nominally, he was the second-in-command, but when Li Mu led troops on a distant expedition, he was forced to become the person with the highest status in the court.

At critical moments, it is natural to demonstrate one's sense of responsibility to one's ministers.

Despite his high position and great power, Wan Huaijin was not happy.

The war to defend the emperor is about to come to an end, and the northern problem will soon be something we have to face.

Based on his understanding of Li Mu, he would leave after the battle to defend the emperor and would not care about the affairs of the court at all.

When the second-ranking minister is promoted to prime minister, the hot potato that is the north will also fall into his hands.

Based on the principle of equal rights and responsibilities, no matter how thorny the problems in the north are, he has no choice but to bite the bullet and deal with them.

Abandoning the northern provinces is politically unacceptable.

After Li Mu recovered Jiaozhi, the civil officials who had advocated abandoning Jiaozhi were nailed to the pillar of historical shame.

From a renowned minister to a universally condemned figure, less than two hundred years have passed.

While it may seem to stem from political struggles, it is essentially the pride ingrained in the Chinese nation, which refuses to allow the imperial court to lose cities and territories.

If even the remote Jiaozhi region could have such a significant impact, how much more so would the Central Plains?

Anyone who dares to suggest abandoning the North will instantly be labeled a "traitor." No matter how difficult it is, once the military has reclaimed the territory, governing it becomes their responsibility and obligation.

……

After fleeing all the way, they finally found a ferry upstream and successfully crossed the Yellow River.

Looking back at the ceaselessly flowing river and then at the group following beside him, Shi Jingfeng's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

After so many years of fighting in the north and south, I thought my heart was strong enough to face the bleakness of life.

I never imagined that the strength I envisioned was simply a result of not having suffered enough misery in my life.

He led an army of over 500,000 south, but returned with only about 200 men.

Looking back over China's five thousand years of history, this record is truly astounding.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will be remembered as a villain in history books, forever infamous.

He could disregard his posthumous reputation and abandon his ambition to conquer the world, but the life and death of the Shi family had to be taken into consideration.

The loyalist army has won a great victory on the battlefield. The next step will definitely be to press the victory and carry out a political purge of the Liaodong army.

Every single one of the mid- to high-ranking generals who didn't defect in time will pay a bloody price.

Even the lowest-ranking soldiers could not escape the fate of their entire families being exiled.

"We can't go on like this!"

"Our outfits are too conspicuous; we can't hide our identities at all."

Next, they must abandon their warhorses, remove their armor, and disguise themselves as ordinary refugees to have any chance of survival.

Shi Jingfeng said in a deep voice.

For a general, his warhorse is his closest companion, and he will not abandon it unless absolutely necessary.

At this juncture, however, it is something we have no choice but to do.

While escaping on a warhorse is certainly faster, warhorses need to be fed.

Without logistical support, the dry rations they carried were not even enough to sustain their warhorses for two days.

If they had tens of thousands of troops with them, they could also gather some provisions along the way.

Even if there are no wealthy households to rob, they can still rob the rebel army.

That won't work now. With only one or two hundred remnants, they have very little fighting power.

Encountering a small peasant army is fine, but encountering a large enemy force would be dangerous.

Even though the peasant army is easy to bully, the pursuers are not to be trifled with.

Even if the local bullies couldn't defeat them in a direct confrontation, they could still report them to the imperial court.

At that time, the capital garrison, the border troops, and the loyalist army will all rush up and slaughter them all.

"Brother, given the ways of that scoundrel Marquis of Hanshui, he must have anticipated that we would cross the river from upstream."

The road back home from here will most likely not be peaceful.

If they continue to retreat, they will most likely fall into the enemy's trap.

Since we can't leave, let's just let them play the game of hiding in the dark.

The northern lands have no shortage of peasant armies; we can easily conceal our identities and infiltrate the rebel ranks.

The tentacles of the puppet regime can't reach out anytime soon, and those bumpkin peasant soldiers don't even know us.

Once the situation stabilizes, we can completely turn the tables and seize control of the peasant army.

If you're lucky, you might even be able to carve out your own territory and experience the life of a king or general.

Even if they fail, they can emulate the White Lotus Rebellion and flee all the way to the Western Regions.

Shi Jinglin had a sudden inspiration and made a suggestion.

Don't be fooled by their insignificance in front of the loyalist army; once they join the peasant army, they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Once we establish a firm foothold and seize control of the small rebel groups, there will be no military problems.

"If we infiltrate the peasant army and become mountain bandits in Shanxi, what will happen to the capital and Liaodong?"

"Without their leader, they probably won't last long!"

Shi Jingzhong asked, frowning.

The Shi family's gamble failed, and the Liaodong military families who followed them were now alienated.

On the way to evacuate, these people took the initiative to separate from them, euphemistically calling it a breakout by dispersing.

This southern expedition has left the Shi family destitute, and they are now on the verge of life and death.

"I can't care about that anymore!"

"If we evacuate according to the original plan, we will not be able to return to Liaodong alive, and we will be unable to help even if we want to."

They can only rely on themselves for both the capital and their hometown in Liaodong.

"Without us attracting attention, it shouldn't be difficult to hand over all the passes in Liaodong to the Tatars in exchange for their protection."

Shi Jinglin said with a cold expression.

It wasn't that he was heartless; the situation was simply too perilous.

The fully-equipped Liaodong army wanted to defect to the Tatar Kingdom, but the Tatars dared not accept them.

On the one hand, they can't afford to support so many people, and on the other hand, they're worried that the problem will become too big to handle.

The situation was completely different for the weakened Liaodong army.

With a series of strategic passes as bargaining chips, the Tatars had no reason to refuse.

If the Tatar Kingdom wanted to march south and seize the Central Plains, it had to treat those who first came to it well, in order to send a message to the outside world that "we are willing to spend a fortune to save lives".

"Just do it!"

"Afterwards, each of us will think of an alias and go into complete silence."

Do not provoke the local peasant army for now; seize a mountain stronghold as a base first.

Even if the enemy racked their brains, they would never have predicted that we would become outlaws!

Shi Jingfeng made a decisive decision.

Everything else is meaningless; only survival is real.

The best option to evade the imperial court's pursuit was to hide deep in the mountains and forests.

Once the storm has passed, the pressure will be greatly reduced.

……

"waste!"

"They're all trash!"

"We've even found the enemy's crossing point, but how come we still haven't found a few remnants of their army after all this time!"

Li Bo reprimanded him angrily.

The temptation of being promoted five levels in a row is simply too great.

As a second-rank official, the commander of the Beijing Garrison could not be promoted five ranks in a row, but the imperial court could grant him a noble title!

Even if he can't be made a marquis, he'll at least be made an earl.

Apart from the early years of the founding of the dynasty, very few generals in the Great Yu Dynasty were able to obtain noble titles.

Even if he couldn't capture the enemy commander, capturing a few leaders of the Shi family would be fine; he would be very envious of being promoted three ranks in that way.

Unfortunately, despite the long search, the enemy still slipped away right under their noses.

"Admiral, the main reason we failed to capture the enemy leader is that we encountered obstacles during the search."

The rebels active in the north suddenly engaged us in battle, delaying our best opportunity to pursue them.

Commander-in-Chief Liu Taiyu began to explain.

When credit is practically handed to you, only to be snatched away unexpectedly, no one would be happy.

But one must accept reality; if the person wasn't caught, then they weren't caught.

(End of this chapter)