The infinite heavens start from the red building

Chapter 358 12.8 The imperial court responds to Fengzao's consultation
Chapter 12
12.8 Responses from the court and discussions with Fengzao

Daming Palace, Imperial Study Room, the current atmosphere is more oppressive than funerals, but it is very rare that there are no serious quarrels or quarrels, because everyone understands that if the internal fighting continues, there may be no need to fight one day.

What's more, such a small pilgrimage meeting has been delayed from the beginning of the month to the present. In more than ten days, all the conflicts and disputes have been tossed. Today is the time for the final decision. After the decision is over, it is time to start.

"Dear dears, have we discussed it?" Emperor Yongzheng also lost the mood to get angry, which is also helpless, because he has realized that the current imperial court is no longer completely dictated by the royal family.

He can replace civil servants, he can reprimand generals, he can even abolish or even kill a few when he is unhappy, but these actually have no meaning to the "big things" he wants to do.

As long as the war in the south lasts for a day, he will never really want to control the court. No matter how damned these people are, he can neither kill nor move them now, because the outside affairs cannot be separated from them.

"Your Majesty, the remnants of the imperial court originally deployed in Hankou and Hanyang have been withdrawn to Yu Province, and assembled in Xinyang in front of Wusheng Pass. However, their strength is less than [-] and they need to be replenished urgently. They may not be able to fight again in a short time." Niu Jizong bit the bullet Said.

"Oh?" Shen Yan, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, said with sarcasm, "Wushengguan was the first batch to be lost. It's really surprising that you can still withdraw to Yu Province! I just don't know how much money will be needed this time. Replenish?"

"Let's not talk about the personnel problem now, even the weapons and equipment are seriously insufficient." Although Shen Yan said it harshly, he agreed to supplement it anyway, "The food is now the most abundant, and with the supplement by sea, the food in the capital is now enough to deal with it.

It's easy to recruit personnel on the spot, but weapons are not good. Today's [-] troops can't even have a single weapon, let alone bows or armors. These things are too damaged. "

"So?" Emperor Yongzheng asked with a sullen face.

"Although the Jiangnan Army is deployed in the core area, it is really inappropriate to move lightly, but their armor is known to be sharp all over the world. It is better for the imperial court to pass an order and let them supplement it." This time it was Liu Fang who spoke, just saying Very unashamed.

"I will arrange for the queen to call the family members of Pingyuanhou's mansion into the palace to speak, and test the tone first." Emperor Yongzheng said after a little thought. After all, the friendship between the queen and Shi Xiangyun is well known in the capital, but he did not mention the topic of guarantee, "still Is there any?"

"Now the Yangtze River has been cut off by the Bailian bandit army, and all the river sections above the Jiujiang River have fallen. I beseech you to rebuild the navy. Otherwise, even if you take back Wushengguan or even pacify parts of northern Hunan, you can only look at the river and sigh." Ma Shangshen, the right servant of the Ministry of War Said loudly.

"Where does the money and food come from?" Jiang Xing, Minister of the Ministry of Households, said dissatisfiedly, "The total number of imperial court troops in various places has exceeded 20, and the entire household department has been emptied. How can there be money and food to run a navy?

However, I heard that your lords have done a lot of sea trade business in Tianjinwei and Weihaiwei. How about merging these ships into the navy?I believe His Majesty will never hesitate to reward you. "

"If Mr. Jiang doesn't understand military affairs, don't talk, so as not to be regarded as a fool." Ma Shang smiled coldly, and he was not polite at all, "Let's not talk about the problem that sea-going ships are not suitable for inland rivers, nor that transport ships are not suitable for doing so. Master Jiang couldn't understand the issue of warships anyway.

Today, the grain in the capital mainly comes from two sources, a small part is transported by water, most of it is obtained by sea trade from Japan and Korea, and some is also sent by Lord Wei from the south by sea.

Without these ships, without the current sea trade, I don't know where Mr. Jiang is going to get enough food for 20 troops?How about carrying it from the granary of your adults? "

"That's enough!" Yongzheng's face was almost clouded, "Ma Aiqing, I'm afraid we can only postpone the affairs of the navy, the first priority now is to take back Wushengguan, the gateway to the Central Plains and Central South, from the Bailian rebels! "

"Your Majesty, there are more than [-] defenders arranged by the Bailian bandit army. Wusheng Pass has been easy to defend and difficult to attack since ancient times. There are no more than [-] elite soldiers and the same number of auxiliary soldiers. It is tantamount to nonsense to want to take it back." Niu Jizong said bluntly.

"How is Niu Aiqing planning to mobilize?" No one at the scene refuted this time, because Niu Jizong did not exaggerate. According to the level of the army in the feudal era, this kind of grand pass can only be filled with life, and it may not be possible to win.

Taking Shanhaiguan in real history as an example, even though the situation in various places in the late Ming Dynasty was already in shambles, the so-called "Eight Banners Iron Cavalry" who claimed to be "invincible" did not do much until the end of the Ming Dynasty, and there are still usable artillery after!
"There are already 3 elite soldiers before the pass, and they will be able to restore their combat effectiveness before the end of the year. As the saying goes, the enemy will be lenient. I request to transfer another [-] soldiers from the new Beijing army just in case.

As for the 5 auxiliary soldiers, I will recruit them on the spot. Yu Province is a province with a large population. It is easy to collect [-] soldiers, but it only takes time and needs food and wages. "Niu Jizong's answer was quite satisfactory.

"Yes!" Emperor Yongzheng nodded, "As for Wei Aiqing's armor, I will arrange it as soon as possible."

"If this is the case, plus the additional time for training, I'm afraid we won't be able to attack this year." Liu Fang then reported, "According to the report from the front line of Dudu Chen (Chen Ruiwen), if we want to launch a counterattack, we will have to wait at least next spring."

"Chen Ruiwen lost his teacher and lost his land. I temporarily allow him to take the crime and make meritorious deeds. If he succeeds this time, he will not be held accountable. Otherwise, he will be dealt with together. I don't want to see anyone pleading for mercy!" Yongzheng said fiercely. "Your servants will obey the decree!" Seeing that the discussion was over, the civil and military officials all bowed and saluted. As for the issue of supplementing money and food, since the general direction has been sorted out here, the rest is nothing more than arguing between the two sides.

That night, Fengzao Palace, the back hall bedroom, and the so-called "exploring the tongue" envisioned by Yongzheng in the imperial study naturally did not need to actually call the female family members of the Wei family into the palace. It is more convenient to speak in this way.

"So, you just brought me here just for this matter?" Wei Xu caressed the Queen's cheek angrily and said in a misty breath, "You won't really be addicted to being the Queen, will you?
Don't forget, you are the Holy Maiden of the White Lotus, you were born to rebel, and now His Majesty the Emperor wants to attack my soldiers and horses, and even wants me to ask for weapons and equipment, and even asks you to talk about it, I really want to be blind Heart! "

"Finally stopped pretending?" Zhiqiu, whose head was pressed somewhere and was doing "finishing" work, couldn't help but raise his head, his tone full of sarcasm, "This side pretends to be a loyal minister in the capital, and there arranges wives and concubines to rebel. History too—woo!"

"What do you think?" Wei Xu continued to press a little girl who didn't know the heights of heaven and earth to engage in a "battle of tongues", then turned to ask the queen, "Since you called me over, you must have persuaded me to agree?"

"The Northland is still a bit too stable." The Queen didn't deny it, and directly began to explain the reason, "Especially after the White Lotus Holy Army completely cleaned up the local gentry clans, the imperial government's local policy implementation was unprecedentedly smooth.

Nowadays, the so-called "lack of money and food" in civil servants is actually more of a bargaining chip, because as long as the imperial court is willing to send troops to attack, the gentry families in all parts of the north will basically donate enthusiastically. "

"What do you mean, is to continue the confrontation for a period of time, so that these aristocratic families in the North will also use up their background, so as to reduce resistance when they do a full-scale attack in the future?" Wei Xu thought for a while, and felt that it made sense.

Most of the time in the feudal era, it was never the so-called "royalty" who really controlled the country's resources. In fact, except for a small number of great emperors who have left their names in history, the royal family seldom really "speaks out".

Take the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which was the "highest peak of feudal rule", as an example. Even if the heads of the entire Jiangnan people were killed in the early Qing Dynasty, the blood flowed into rivers, but they were not fully controlled. out of control" is no exaggeration.

Taking taxation as an example, although Emperor Yongzheng came up with the policy of "paying food for officials and gentry together", this policy was only realized for a period of time during the Yongzheng period, and Qianlong could not do it, let alone the late Qing Dynasty and even the end of the Qing Dynasty.

"Nowadays, most of the resources in the entire Northland are in the hands of the local gentry." After following the Wei family for a long time, the Queen's words tend to be "modernized", "They are too rich to just look at them like this!

In the future, you will definitely go north to the Central Plains to rule the world. These people have a lot of resources. If they really support some cats and dogs at that time, even if they can't achieve great things, they will be very disgusting. "

"So, let His Majesty the emperor do bad things, such as squeezing the local area to raise money, and then organizing a large army to quell the chaos." Wei Xu nodded his head to express his understanding, "When we come here."

"These people will definitely 'eat pots of pulp to welcome the master' and save you a lot of trouble." The queen said softly, "Just in this way, the people of the Northland will suffer for a while."

"Moreover, most of the people who control the court now are the officials and gentry forces in the south of the Yangtze River. The northern region has always been inferior to the southern region in terms of imperial examinations. But now the southern region has been substantially lost, and the main forces of the imperial court have been forced back to the northern region.

It won't be long before these northern gentry will reach out to the imperial court for a position. Since you have said so much, you must have heard the wind? "Wei Xu asked with a smile.

"The current minister of the Ministry of War, Han Chu, is a rare representative of the Northland in the imperial court. I received a tip that various families in the Northland frequently entered the Han family for the first time these days. To say that they have no idea is a complete insult to IQ." The queen smiled. Said.

"Very good. In a few days, you can let Yun'er and the others enter the palace to have fun, and give some more royal items and rewards, and treat it as sisters exchanging feelings." Wei Xu said with a smile, "Try to delay it." Time, anyway, such a big matter must be discussed repeatedly.

Also, you also know about allowing concubines in the harem to visit relatives. Yuanchun can take care of them if they can. I will take my family to Rongguo Mansion. Don't blame me for getting angry if it is too ugly. "

"You're a foreigner, what are you doing to welcome the noble concubine to visit relatives?" Zhiqiu, who had finally finished the "cleaning up" work, continued to complain, "Even the men from Jia's mansion, you can't meet casually. Could it be that you still have thoughts about Yuanchun?"

"I'm not very interested in things that other people have used!" Wei Xu angrily hugged her and sat on his body, "Your mother didn't speak, but you are a timid little girl, it seems necessary to let you know Distinguished all at once!"

"Don't - take it easy!"

(End of this chapter)