Fu Shanhe

Chapter 158 Governor of Five Provinces
Guangzhou Prefecture.

"Another county town has been lost. What do you do for a living?"

Guangdong Governor Zou Yunchuan shouted angrily.

I just received news that the court is sending Lord Xu to supervise the war and take charge of the military affairs of the five provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Huguang.

Based on the bad things they had done before, once the imperial envoy found out, it would be unknown whether he could keep his head.

If you want to keep your wealth and glory, you must perform well on the battlefield and let the imperial envoy see your value.

The more you want something, the harder it is to get it.

The three-province coalition force, which had high hopes, not only failed to defeat the rebels, but was instead pinned to the ground by the enemy.

If he loses a city today and a piece of land tomorrow, it won’t be long before he, the governor, becomes a penniless person.

The governor of neighboring Guangxi died for his country, and Zou Yunchuan hasn't lived enough and doesn't want to die so early.

"Governor, please stop just cursing.

When the troops below suffer a defeat, they always ask why they failed.

If I had not made the trip to Lianzhou, I would not have known that the Yangzhou and Huai'an camps had not received a single cent of food and wages.

I think this kind of thing, once it happens, it will not be an isolated case.

It seems that no one has learned the lesson of the defeat in Zhaoqing!"

The words of Censor Ding Chenyang made Governor Zou Yunchuan so angry that he almost fainted and was unable to speak for a long time.

All the officials attending the meeting looked at him in surprise.

It is common for censors to not buy into the governor's ideas, but it is very rare for them to criticize him in such occasions.

"Governor, is what Censor Ding said true?"

Governor Xue Weichen immediately began to question.

Dayu's local power checks and balances system is relatively complete.

Withholding military pay and food is nothing new, and it can even be said to be an unspoken rule.

However, now that the matter has been exposed, we must intervene.

"Nonsense!
When has this governor ever withheld food and wages? The Yangzhou Camp and Huai'an Camp were special cases.

The rebels blocked our way, and the sea was too rough, so for the sake of the food and fodder safety, we are temporarily not sending them out!"

Zou Yunchuan immediately denied it.

The Huai'an Camp and the Yangzhou Camp disobeyed his command and attacked on their own to recapture Lianzhou Prefecture. It was good enough that he did not punish these people, so why would he allocate money and food to them?

However, this kind of thing can only be done secretly and must never be admitted.

The Yangzhou Camp and the Huai'an Camp sent troops to Lianzhou. They were following the orders of the Grand Marshal's Office, which was completely in line with the laws of the imperial court.

It is totally unacceptable to withhold money and food because of personal grudges.

The former prefect of Zhaoqing had withheld food and had just been escorted to Beijing for questioning, and he didn't want to be the second one.

"Governor, please just fool around!
Anyway, when this censor went to Lianzhou, the generals of the two camps were drafting a joint memorial to impeach you for embezzling food and wages. You will explain it to the emperor and the ministers yourself when the time comes!

By the way, they are also organizing the loading of ships to send the captured rebel prisoners and refugees to Guangzhou.

This censor went to count the number of people, and found that there were more than 65,000 rebel prisoners alone, all of them young and strong.

It’s up to you whether you want to distribute food or not.”

Ding Chenyang sneered.

Before running to Lianzhou Prefecture for help, he made a promise in front of all his colleagues.

Although no military order was issued, the subsequent impact was not much smaller.

The failure to seek help was enough to lead to his social demise in the officialdom.

Believing that he was framed by Governor Zou Yunchuan, he simply took the initiative and shifted the blame for the failure to others.

With the incident of withholding money and food as a prelude, it suddenly became reasonable for him not to ask for reinforcements.

"A group of military officers actually dared to impeach me. They are totally disrespectful to their superiors!"

After cursing, Zou Yunchuan was embarrassed to find that everyone looked at him differently.

Such a gaffe is equivalent to publicly admitting that the incident is true.

“Governor, let’s not discuss the issue of respect and inferiority for now.

Let’s first consider the practical issue. Was the food and fodder withheld only from the troops on the expedition to Guangxi, or was it a widespread problem in the military?
Secondly, how are you going to appease the morale of the troops on the front line? You can't really let them send all the refugees and prisoners of war here, right?"

The provincial judge Liang Qixin followed up with another blow.

Alliances in official circles are never reliable.

Realizing that Zou Yunchuan was trapped in the grain draft and would not be able to get out of it for a while, he decisively chose to cut off his involvement.

If Guangzhou is lost, someone will have to take the blame.

Governor Zou, who is in a high position of power, is undoubtedly the best person to take the blame.

The most important thing is that the money and food were withheld and he was not given a share.

"Nonsense!
I have said that I have never withheld any money or food from the army.

If you don't believe me, ask the generals and see who has less food and grass?

As for the Yangzhou Camp and the Huai'an Camp, as long as they are willing to withdraw to Guangzhou, I will immediately make up their money and food!"

Zou Yunchuan said in panic.

God is my witness. Ever since the prefect of Zhaoqing was imprisoned, he has repeatedly urged the governor's office to allocate money and grain on time.

Now he could only collect some empty salaries, but he dared not ask for the soldiers' food and wages.

Facing the governor's gaze, all the generals lowered their heads.

It was impossible for them to come forward and testify, as they dared not get involved in the disputes within the civil service.

Besides, just because the governor doesn’t take it doesn’t mean that the people below him won’t take it either.

When corruption becomes the norm, it is impossible to eradicate the corruption of officials.

Even the clerks in charge of the granary would be skinned.

If the higher-ups had given the warning, the lower-ups would have stopped immediately and not so many officials would have been investigated.

“It would be best if there was no embezzlement of food and fodder.

However, there is one thing that the Governor should pay attention to. According to my observation, most of the soldiers in the military camp are pale and thin.

Even the soldiers guarding the gate looked listless and did not look like people who had eaten a full meal.

I don’t know anything about military affairs, but I know that if people are not well fed, they won’t have the strength to fight.

Allowing the Yangzhou Camp and the Huai'an Camp to withdraw was an even greater military failure.

With them holding back the rebels in the rear, the enemy cannot expand outward with all its strength.

Isn't it ridiculous for us to help the enemy pull out a nail that they couldn't pull out with a 100,000-strong army?

It is said that during the fall of Guangxi, the White Lotus Sect bribed the staff of local officials to facilitate the rebellion. The governor should check himself and do not let these rebels infiltrate your staff. "

Ding Chenyang continued to speak.

Now that we have fallen out, we have no choice but to move on.

The censor's political achievement was to impeach people.

After staying in Guangdong for several years, he also wanted to move up.

If he could overthrow Guangdong Governor Zou Yunchuan, he would surely become famous in the Censorate.

"Asshole!
My loyalty to the court is evident to all..."

……

The meeting ended in a cacophony of noise, but its impact resonated in the hearts of Guangdong officials.

The reason why Ding Chenyang dared to go against Zou Yunchuan was not just because he was provoked, nor was it because of any personal grudge.

These are just inducements, the real core factor is still the general trend.

From the beginning of the Guangxi rebellion until now, few of the things Zou Yunchuan has done are correct.

In the early stage, they allowed the rebels to grow stronger. Even though they had the opportunity to strangle them, they chose to give up because of the interests.

A series of mistakes led to the deterioration of the situation.

It would be fine if he could just clean up the mess, but his abilities are all focused on political struggles.

The military deployment was a mess. It was obvious that the military strength under his command was no weaker than that of the rebels, but they ended up giving away their heads on the battlefield.

Including the current Guangzhou defense war, the troops should have been withdrawn to focus on defense and wait for an opportunity to launch a counterattack.

As a result, Governor Zou insisted that the city should not be abandoned lightly and ordered the troops from all units to garrison all the cities.

The military deployment, which was perfect politically, was a complete mess militarily.

The troops were dispersed, and even if fighter planes were delivered, there would not be enough mobile forces available.

Mistakes made over and over again naturally caused dissatisfaction among many officials.

We are all in the same boat. If we let Zou Yunchuan continue to mess around and lose Guangdong, everyone will be doomed.

Zou Yunchuan, who was good at political struggles, naturally noticed the undercurrents in the officialdom, but he had no choice now.

Losing a city or territory in Dayu was a serious crime, and the loss of Zhaoqing was blamed on Prefect Yang, who was reprimanded by the court.

If he voluntarily gave up large tracts of land, the spit of the imperial censors in the court would be enough to drown him.

Unless he could defeat the rebels in a short period of time, he would be thrown into prison before the strategic counterattack could be launched.

This kind of deployment is indeed very bad from a military perspective, but it cannot withstand political correctness.

Even if cities and territories were lost, it was after a fierce resistance, not because of his order to abandon.

As long as he can hold out until the imperial reinforcements arrive, he will not only be blameless, but will actually be credited.

Under the dominance of political correctness, it is not surprising that the Yangzhou Camp and the Huai'an Camp were asked to withdraw and join the Guangzhou defense battle.

……

On the Grand Canal.

Xu Wenyue, who was forced to leave Beijing, looked at the rolling waves and sighed.

"Lord, it's cold outside, let's go into the cabin and have a rest!"

Hou Huaichang began to persuade.

Unlike previous political struggles, this time it was the emperor who took action against him.

There aren't all those fancy tricks; after a round of flattery, the righteous cause takes over.

It seemed as if he was the only one who could clean up the mess in Guangxi and no one else could handle it.

If he was really a hero, as the regent, he would naturally have a hundred reasons to refuse.

The problem is that Xu Wenyue is not a hero. At most, he can only be considered a powerful minister, a powerful minister loyal to the imperial power.

The emperor lowered his airs and acted like a hooligan, and he had no choice but to accept the offer.

When he was leaving Beijing, the emperor personally brought all the officials to see him off, and they even bowed to him.

"Huaichang, who do you think gave the emperor this idea?"

He had been holding this question in his mind for a long time.

Based on his understanding of the new emperor, he definitely would not have such means.

If he were really that powerful, there wouldn't have been so much trouble before.

"Sir, the most important think tanks for His Majesty right now are Yin and Zuo.

Neither of them is capable of doing things, but they are very good at power struggles.

The matter of leaving the capital was most likely instigated by these two.

However, your majesty's surprising move was probably not their idea.

Perhaps your majesty suddenly had an idea and learned from the methods used by the previous emperor."

As soon as Hou Huaichang reminded him, Xu Wenyue reacted instantly.

This is not reference at all, it is clearly copying.

When Emperor Tianyuan first ascended the throne, he was also unable to control the government.

In order to seize power, Emperor Tianyuan found an opportunity to send several respected officials in the court to local areas.

The methods used at that time were similar to those used now.

They just flatter people and put them on a high pedestal, and then use the name of justice to carry out moral kidnapping.

This operation is very useful for loyal ministers who value their reputation.

Even if you are reluctant, once the atmosphere is right, you have no choice but to accept it.

When he returned to the court after traveling around the local areas, the situation in the court had changed drastically.

"Forget it. If Your Majesty can really learn the skills of the late emperor, it will be a blessing for the country!"

Xu Wenyue said slowly.

Human nature is complex.

When Emperor Tianyuan was alive, he never thought that the emperor was so good, and privately he often complained about the emperor's love of making trouble.

After the new emperor came to power and went through some trouble, he suddenly began to praise the good qualities of the previous emperor.

Even when the previous emperor was in power, he also liked to make trouble, but after ten times of making trouble, there would always be a result.

After the new emperor came to the throne, he also inherited the habit of making trouble, but the problem was that he was just making trouble for nothing.

No results were seen, but a mess was left behind.

As a group of assistant ministers, they spent one-third of their office time cleaning up the messes for the emperor.

(End of this chapter)