Fu Shanhe

Chapter 100 Yangzhou Lieutenant General
Yangzhou Prefecture.

"What do you do for food?"

"Why did you let the thief slip away right under your nose when you were fully prepared?"

Li Mu scolded angrily.

We finally found the enemy's hideout, but when we finally took action, the rebels escaped.

If such a result were to be spread out, it would make all colleagues laugh their heads off.

"Sir, all the thieves are proficient in water.

As soon as we started, they jumped into the lake.

......"

Captain Deng's explanation did not satisfy Li Mu.

It was completely predictable that the thieves were proficient in water.

If one is not a good swimmer, he or she will not hide in the lake.

After this battle, the bandits were alerted and no matter how bold they were, they would not stay there.

Maybe they have already left Yangzhou Prefecture.

The world is so big, and it is not an easy task to pick out the Huang brothers from the vast crowd.

The escape of the bandit leader was not a big deal; the key was the performance of his subordinates, which made Li Mu very dissatisfied.

Even the tasks he had repeatedly instructed could go wrong.

It is obvious that these officers are busy planning for promotions and their minds are no longer on their work.

“No need to waste time talking nonsense. No matter how good the excuses were, the thief still ran away.

There are more than one or two rebels who have escaped the net.

Next, we will set up control at the main traffic arteries. I don’t want to hear about thieves breaking through the checkpoints again!”

Li Mu said angrily.

People's hearts are broken and it's hard to lead the team.

At times like this, the importance of confidants is reflected.

No wonder officials like to promote their own people. When encountering difficult situations, only their own people will step up.

Everyone knew that when an arrest mission like this failed, Li Mu could only cover it up.

Otherwise, if the matter gets out of hand, the executors will certainly be punished.

As the chief officer, you also need to take responsibility.

"What the lord has taught us is that after we go down, we must go all out and not let any rebel escape!"

Seeing Li Mu getting angry, Captain Deng immediately made a promise.

We will go our separate ways, but we haven't left yet after all.

It is not a good option to annoy your boss at this time.

If there are some twists and turns that affect your promotion, it will be too late to cry.

"You guys go down!"

After knocking, Li Mu immediately waved his hand and said.

It is better to be still than to move. This applies not only to the people below him, but also to himself.

There were simply too many rebels in the Huai River and Liang Huai regions, and the number of rebel leaders on the imperial court’s wanted list was as high as three digits.

Scarcity makes things valuable. Once the quantity of anything increases, it will become worthless.

Arresting rebels is a great achievement for low-level officers and soldiers, but it is dispensable for military generals.

The purpose of doing everything we can to catch the rebels is not to gain merit, but a political necessity.

The size of the results is not important. The key is to let the court see that they are devoting themselves to Dayu.

……

"Master, a letter has been sent from the capital."

He took the letter from Wu Da's hand and was shocked when he opened it.

I didn't know anything, but I was notified that I was engaged.

I have heard about the feudal system of monopoly for a long time, and this time I have experienced it firsthand.

There is no such thing as rejection. It is the normal process of marriage negotiation, based on the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words.

Since the parents are no longer around, the uncles and aunts stepped in to make arrangements, which is completely in line with the etiquette process.

Even if Marquis Zhenyuan does not make arrangements, other elders in the family will come forward to make it happen.

As the person involved, Li Mu has the lowest right to speak.

If it weren't for the mourning period, he would have been engaged long ago.

According to the customs of Dayu, the marriage age for men is basically between 16 and 20 years old.

Women get married at a younger age, mostly between 15 and 18 years old.

Unless there are special circumstances such as the mourning period or national mourning, it will generally not exceed the limit.

Early marriage and early childbearing are completely out of necessity.

In this era where the average life expectancy is only in the forties, if you don't reproduce quickly, family inheritance will easily be problematic.

There is nothing wrong with political marriage, the problem lies in the identity of the other party.

If a pie falls from the sky, it can kill you.

If the explanation had not been given in the letter, Li Mu would have suspected that there was something wrong with the young lady of the Duke's Mansion.

But her status is there, so even if there are really problems, she won't have trouble finding a husband.

After a brief hesitation, Li Mu still gritted his teeth and wrote a reply.

Things have come to this point, so he would accept it even if he encountered a dinosaur.

Beautiful women have never been a scarce resource in high society.

If he had not been self-disciplined enough, the government office would have been filled with the world-famous skinny horses from Yangzhou.

The last prefect who was investigated, Hao, had eighteen concubines, which was a serious violation of the Dayu law.

However, the regulations regarding the concubine system have long been in name only.

From kings and nobles to wealthy businessmen and clerks, few people abide by it.

To put it another way, as long as you don't go through the process of taking a concubine, it is not illegal.

The only people who are truly subject to restrictions are the common people.

Of course, for them, it makes no difference whether there are regulations or not.

It's hard enough for him to survive, so he has to try his best to find a wife, so it's impossible for him to take a concubine.

……

The capital, Wenyuan Pavilion.

"Everyone, I just received news that Elder Song fainted on his way here and cannot attend today's meeting.

If everyone has no objection, I will preside over the next meeting."

Pang Hengsheng said while suppressing his inner excitement.

Although there seems to be only one step between the second assistant and the first assistant, the power of the two is vastly different.

After being in the cabinet for many years, he has always been suppressed by Song Haidong, and he has been feeling very aggrieved.

After enduring till now, that guy has finally run out of energy.

According to convention, after the Prime Minister leaves office, the Second Prime Minister will directly take his place.

Once Song Haidong passes away, the cabinet will enter his era.

"Everyone understands the court's system. Master Pang, please quickly preside over the meeting. Everyone is busy!"

Zuo Guangen, who was listening in, said unhappily.

According to convention, he, the chief eunuch, had no part in cabinet meetings.

However, today's topic is special, and as one of the parties involved, he must attend.

"Eunuch Zuo, since you are so anxious, let's get started!

The first topic: salt administration.

The rebellion of the seven major families in Lianghuai was quelled, and the local area was in a state of reconstruction.

For the sake of people's livelihood and stability, we must restore local order as soon as possible.

Let's discuss the vacant positions first. Does anyone have any recommendations?"

After Pang Hengsheng finished speaking, everyone was shocked. The imperial court had taken ruthless measures in this Lianghuai Rebellion.

All local officials of high rank were caught in one fell swoop.

Yangzhou Prefecture and Huai'an Prefecture are both among the richest places in the world, and have always been places of contention among various factions in the court.

"Mr. Pang, haven't we all submitted memorials to the emperor before?

In my opinion, it is enough to just select the suitable one from the candidates.

There's no need to start over again and waste everyone's time!"

Zuo Guangen said with a smile.

From the perspective of the eunuch party, if they want to continue to maintain their current political advantage, they must prevent the Qingliu party from becoming the prime minister.

But the court has a system that, according to the normal promotion order, Pang Hengsheng is the first candidate for the prime minister.

The reason he chose to find fault at this time was to make things difficult for Pang Hengsheng.

“Eunuch Zuo, you are still so anxious.

Now that you’ve said that, choose from the candidates!

If you have new candidates, you can also propose them now.

Let’s start with the Yangzhou prefect. The candidates recommended by everyone include Hanlin scholar Gu Youwen, Ministry of Revenue Minister Yan Bao, Ministry of War Minister Qu Zongmin…”

Pang Hengsheng spoke slowly, as if he didn't take Zuo Guangen's provocation to heart at all.

He used practical actions to tell everyone that he was a tolerant prime minister and was not willing to bother with a eunuch.

"Hanlin scholar Gu Youwen was a Jinshi in the first year of Tianyuan.

It has been some years since I entered the Hanlin Academy, and now it is time to be sent out.

I think it would be just right to send him to Yangzhou Prefecture for training!"

Xu Wenyue was the first to speak up and fight for it.

From a purely profit perspective, after the Yangzhou trip ended early, competing for the position of Yangzhou prefect would be far less valuable to him than before.

A reduction in benefits for the boss does not mean that the benefits for the younger brothers will also shrink.

Demoted from the Hanlin Academy to the prefect of Yangzhou, this position was extremely powerful and it not only improved one's rank but also his political future.

It is true that the Hanlin Academy is noble, but that only belongs to the young Hanlin scholars.

If you can't jump out in time, you will be a noble scholar for the rest of your life.

The seed players trained by the major factions will be arranged to gain experience in local areas at the appropriate time, and then return to Beijing for development after they have achieved political achievements.

There are big troubles in Yangzhou Prefecture, but there are also big opportunities.

If the world is peaceful, there will be no problems and no political achievements.

An official who lacks political achievements will not be convincing even if he holds a high position.

“Gu Youwen is indeed a candidate, but I think the Minister of Revenue Yan Bao is more suitable.

Yangzhou Prefecture had just encountered war and was at a critical juncture where everything needed to be rebuilt, and the requirements for the chief officer were very high.

Minister Yan stayed in the Ministry of Revenue all year round, dealing with money every day, and was best at financial management.

If he could serve as the prefect of Yangzhou, it would be a good opportunity to bring out his strengths and rebuild Yangzhou at the lowest cost."

Elder Lu on the side immediately pushed out his younger brother.

After the two started, all parties put forward their own candidates, competing fiercely.

The deadlock over the selection process led to the cabinet meeting ending in a sour mood.

No conclusion was reached during the discussion, and no one showed a trace of panic on their faces.

According to Dayu’s practice, any problem that cannot be resolved openly can be negotiated behind the scenes.

The quarrels between the bigwigs were all for the emperor and his subordinates to see.

If there is no political deal behind the scenes, any personnel appointment can cause controversy until the end of time.

This is a political balance, a price that must be paid.

……

Cheng Guogongfu.

"Brother Jing, have you made up your mind?"

Zhenyuan Hou Li Yuan asked with concern.

Since the two families got married, the relationship between the two, who were already old friends, has become even closer.

"Brother Li, to be honest with you, I have no idea what's going on right now.

Theoretically speaking, we two have the highest prestige among the nobles now, so it is only natural for us to serve as the left and right commanders.

But the emperor has been slow to express his attitude, and no one knows what he is thinking.

If he decides to do so, it is possible that he could promote someone from the frontier army."

Jing Guoliang said with an embarrassed look on his face.

With the rise of the civil service group, most of the power of the Grand Marshal's Office was taken away by the military.

However, this organization still controls the Beijing camp and has a say in the appointment and removal of local generals, and is nominally the highest military organization.

In theory, the Grand Council and the Cabinet are parallel institutions.

As the right commander-in-chief of the Grand Commandery, he had long been second only to the emperor in the Dayu military.

Now that the Left General in front is dead, it is his turn to take his place as per convention.

Unlike the fiercely competitive cabinet, there is no competition in the Grand Council's Office this time.

Except for these two lucky ones, all the other candidates who were eligible to compete had met the King of Hell.

"Brother Jing, you are totally overthinking it, this situation will never happen!
Since the founding of Dayu, have the people selected from the local areas to serve as the left and right governors ever been given real power?"

After listening to Li Yuan's words, Jing Guoliang fell into deep thought.

For the emperor, when selecting people for such a key department, ability is secondary and the key is to ensure loyalty.

The reason for transferring the generals from the nine frontiers to the capital was not because of trust, but a means to avoid them becoming too successful and thus endangering the emperor.

He already has doubts in his heart, so it is natural that he will not be given real power.

It's just an empty title, which is almost the same as a nominal position. The actual role is just that of a consultant.

When he needed advice, the emperor would summon him to his side and ask him questions. When he didn't need advice, he would just keep him in good health.

“Brother Li is right, I really think too much.

However, we should not be too proactive in this kind of thing. Let's just wait and see!
Although the powers of the Grand Marshal's Office are not as great as they were in the past, there are still many government affairs that need to be handled, and it is impossible for them to remain untouched.

If it drags on for too long and the Ministry of War has more ideas, I don't think Your Majesty will be willing to do that.

The current emperor is best at balancing power and will not allow a single dominant power to emerge.

However, the personnel appointments of other people can be determined as soon as possible.

The noble group suffered heavy losses this time. We must train reserve forces as soon as possible to make up for previous losses.

In order to strengthen control over the Huai River and Huai River regions, it is necessary to establish a conscripted army to deter the southeast.”

Jing Guoliang said slowly.

After seeing through the fog, Duke Chengguo suddenly regained his former wisdom.

“Brother Jing’s idea is to establish a lieutenant general in Yangzhou.

We will deploy our people there to monitor the Huai River and Huai River regions and radiate to the entire southeast.

Although Mu'er was in Yangzhou, his position was still too low.

Even if one has made military achievements before, it is not easy to be promoted all at once.

I wonder if Brother Jing has any candidate?"

After hearing what Li Yuan said, Jing Guoliang rolled his eyes on the spot.

It seemed like he was asking, but it was clear that he had already recommended a candidate.

“It’s not easy to be promoted all at once” does not mean that it is impossible to be promoted. It’s just a matter of the price you have to pay.

This time they went south, they were all winners and successfully got a share of the Lianghuai salt industry.

But this kind of benefit is not stable. If no one watches over it for a long time, it will be hollowed out in a short time.

Both companies need to put down a foothold in the Lianghuai region.

Li Mu is Li Yuan's nephew and also his son-in-law, which is a good choice for both families.

Lack of qualifications has never been a problem for big shots.

Bringing this up at this time was obviously intended to allow him to finalize the candidate before the news of the marriage was announced to the public.

(End of this chapter)