Fu Shanhe

Chapter 101 The Death of Song Gelao

Time flies, and before you know it, only the tail of autumn is left.

The drop in temperature has brought new troubles.

"Have you prepared the soldiers' winter clothing?"

Li Mu asked with concern.

Although the army provides clothing, it is impossible to distribute expensive resources such as cotton-padded clothes every year.

When the imperial court's finances were good, it was paid out every three to five years.

Once the finances are in trouble, there's no hope.

Even on the Nine Border Front, only the elite border troops can guarantee a cotton coat for every person.

More troops from garrisons and guard posts took turns wearing it when they went out on patrol.

It is common for ordinary families to wear the same cotton-padded jacket for more than ten or twenty years.

Compared with troops in other places, the Wucheng Bingmasi, which is stationed in the capital all year round, is considered a wealthy government office.

The soldiers have a decent income, and if they save a little on a daily basis, they can still afford it.

But it was summer when we came, and no one knew we would stay for so long, so we didn't bring any cotton clothes or quilts.

As a good general, Li Mu must take these issues into consideration.

"Master Qianhu, all the winter supplies have been prepared.

We will provide you with everything you need at a high standard.

But this way, our expenses will exceed the budget, and I am afraid that the days ahead will be difficult."

Lan Linjie reminded gently.

The military budget is limited, and even when going out to fight, the imperial court has clear regulations.

Li Mu's troop of 1,000 households was already overstaffed, and as the chief officer he was not frugal, daily overspending was the norm.

If it weren't for the fact that Marquis Wuyang had advanced one year's budget when he was in charge of Yangzhou, the daily expenses would not have been covered by the normal funds allocated by the court.

“It doesn’t matter, Yangzhou’s business is returning to normal.

We will be able to resume normal business from next month.

Referring to the situation in Beijing, the daily collected fees are sufficient to maintain the expenses of the troops.

The real problem is the refugees outside the city.

The work-for-relief program has come to an end.

The relief grain allocated by the imperial court is now getting less and less.

If they are not persuaded to return home as soon as possible, they will miss the winter ploughing season.

If we send them back now, with the little money in their pockets, most of them won't be able to survive until the spring crops are ripe.

Local officials have been slow to take office, and no one has solved these problems!"

Li Mu said with a depressed look on his face.

Once peace was restored under heaven, the nature of the Dayu bureaucrats began to emerge again.

The person in charge of Yangzhou before was either Marquis Wuyang or Lord Xu.

Faced with the two big bosses, few officials at all levels dare to act recklessly.

Because of the problem of untimely allocation of materials, many officials in the six ministries in Nanjing were dismissed from their posts.

After Li Mu took over, this deterrent effect was obviously reduced.

Supplies are indeed being allocated, but the quantity is significantly reduced.

On the one hand, it was because the imperial court was poor, and on the other hand, some people couldn't help but lend a hand.

"Sir, I'm afraid we can't rely on the local officials.

The Yangzhou Prefecture was badly damaged by the rebels, and the gentry in the prefecture and counties also suffered.

There is almost no possibility of finding a solution locally.

The treasury was empty, taxes could not be collected, and Yangzhou Prefecture had no money.

If local officials want to get things done, they can only seek solutions from above.

The imperial court did gain a huge sum of money from the previous confiscation of property, but there were many places in the world where money was needed.

It is estimated that the moment it was transported to the capital, it had already been divided up by all the government offices in the capital.

If we want to solve the funding problem, I guess we will have to sell land at that time.

However, part of this money will be turned over to the imperial court, and there won’t be much left in the local area.”

Lan Linjie said with experience.

As a member of the gentry group, he was unfamiliar with the ways of officialdom, but was very familiar with the local situation.

The court's sale of land was a way for officials and gentry to divide the spoils.

There are unspoken rules about your identity and how much land you can buy.

No matter how good the land is, it cannot be sold at a high price here.

Only those scraps and rotten lands that are looked down upon by everyone will have the possibility of being sold to wealthy businessmen.

"Draft a memorial for me and urge the Ministry of Personnel.

No matter what we do, refugee resettlement cannot proceed without the cooperation of local officials.

By the way, send someone to inform the Nanzhili Provincial Government and ask for instructions on the resettlement of refugees."

Li Mu said helplessly.

It is possible to be the agent for Yangzhou affairs, but the boundary between civil and military is ultimately an insurmountable gap.

What's more, the prefectures and counties below were also under military control at this time.

There were many officers who stayed behind and those who were of higher rank than him.

Asking others to provide money and food to resettle refugees is pure dreaming.

Compared with his colleagues, Li Mu's situation was relatively good. At least the trade in Yangzhou City recovered quickly after the war.

Even if there is still a long way to go before its peak, it can still provide an income.

The situation is not the same in other places. Except for a few counties and cities along major transportation routes, where the situation is slightly better, the rest of the area is a blank.

They didn't have many refugees, but they still had a group of prisoners of war to support.

The court was slow to come up with a solution, and Li Mu seriously suspected that the civil servants wanted to use this winter to starve or freeze the prisoners to death.

The idea is a bit dark, but it is very realistic. Regardless of whether they participated in the rebellion passively or actively, the families of these people died at the hands of the court.

Leaving these people behind would be a huge hidden danger.

If any of these people rebel again in the future, the officials who made this decision will bear political responsibility.

At the very least, you’ll lose your job, and at worst, you’ll lose your head.

Executing them all is not in line with the Confucian philosophy of benevolent governance.

Ordering exile and military service would inevitably result in heavy casualties, and would also lead to verbal criticism from those moralists.

No matter how you deal with it, it will leave you with huge hidden dangers.

If it were a weak monarch, everyone would simply push the problems onto the emperor and that would be the end of the matter.

When you meet Emperor Tianyuan, you can't push the trouble up to others, so you have to take it on yourself.

The civil servants are unwilling to take responsibility and simply drag their feet.

If an accident happened to someone while they were in a prisoner-of-war camp, it would be the responsibility of the guarding general.

When most of the people have died, they will intervene and deal with the matter, and then find a random excuse to get away with it.

The causes of death of prisoners of war recorded in future history books will be either corruption of military generals or rampant plague.

However, whether the civil servants' plans can come true depends on the game play in the court.

The generals are not fools even though they know they will have to take the blame.

Even Li Mu knows to urge them on, so I guess the other generals will not be idle either.

……

In the palace.

"Your Majesty, Elder Song just left!"

Upon receiving this news, the soup in Emperor Tianyuan's hand spilled all over the floor.

"I'm leaving now!"

In the eyes of many people, Song Haidong, the Prime Minister, is just a good guy and a plasterer.

But to Emperor Tianyuan, this wall plasterer has a more important significance, which is to maintain the balance and stability in the court.

In normal times, Lord Song’s presence is not very strong.

Whenever a major incident occurs, he is always able to step up and quickly stabilize the situation.

The series of reforms implemented by Emperor Tianyuan failed but did not cause any major chaos, and Lord Song played a major role in this.

"Mr. Song has made great contributions to Dayu throughout his life, and his affairs after his death cannot be neglected.

The emperor issued an edict to propose the posthumous title "Wen Ding".

He gave a thousand ounces of silver, a hundred pieces of cloth, and three thousand bushels of grain...

Tell all officials to suspend court for one day.

Guangen, please go on my behalf and offer condolences to Elder Song."

Emperor Tianyuan said with a slightly tired look.

He has always been generous towards the dead.

Regardless of whether they were princes and nobles who had died unexpectedly before, or Lord Song who had suddenly retired from office, he gave them mourning honors.

There may be an element of theatricality, but politics is a big stage.

No one cares whether it is sincere or fake, as long as you can keep acting, the fake can become real.

Now that the Prime Minister has died, the situation in the court, which has finally stabilized, will inevitably change.

Previously, Lord Wang left, and now Lord Song has also left. There are only three ministers left in the cabinet, so it is necessary to bring in new people.

Every fight to enter the cabinet is the peak of the factional struggle in Dayu.

Civil servants who are eligible to participate in the competition will do their best.

Emperor Tianyuan doesn't care who wins or loses.

As an arbitrator, he only needs to maintain balance in the court.

The current situation is very bad. Without Lord Song to mediate, the subsequent party struggles are bound to become more intense.

Unfortunately, the emperor was in poor health and did not have the energy to handle state affairs and balance party struggles.

"According to the order!"

"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself!
Some unimportant matters can be left to the officials to handle!"

Zuo Guangen said worriedly.

The emperor was in poor health, and he could hide it from the officials outside, but he could not hide it from those around him.

Seeing Emperor Tianyuan in unbearable pain, he was really worried.

"Don't worry, I will rest after I have dealt with these troubles."

Emperor Tianyuan said similar words more than once.

Unfortunately, the troubles in the Dayu Dynasty never stopped.

Before we've even dealt with the problem here, a new mess has arisen over there.

The ministers seem to be doing well, but that is based on the premise of checks and balances of power.

Once the balance of power is imbalanced, it is hard to say whether the people below will still be so obedient.

……

Pang Mansion.

"Lord, I just received news that Lord Song has passed away!"

Upon hearing the news, Pang Hengsheng was stunned on the spot.

"What, Song Haidong is dead?"

The mountain pressing down on him suddenly disappeared, and Pang Hengsheng did not feel happy, but instead felt sad.

Compared to the deceased Lord Song, he is not much younger.

The old rival passed away first, which was also telling him that he was old.

"Tell the servants to prepare. I am going to see him off for the last time!"

Pang Hengsheng said with a sigh.

(End of this chapter)