Fu Shanhe

Chapter 215: Minister of Militia
"My Lord, something terrible is happening!

The rebels have entered the inner city!"

The housekeeper said in panic.

The Changsha Defense Battle was fought for the sixth time, and the government troops withstood the rebels' offensive in the first few times.

I thought we could escape danger this time, but I never expected that the enemy would break into the inner city so quickly.

"Where are Shen Yunqi and Han Song? What do they do for a living?"

The King of Changsha asked angrily.

The two of them gave a guarantee before he paid the money to reward the three armies.

As a result, the rebels broke into the inner city in a blink of an eye, and his money was wasted.

“Your Majesty, there is chaos outside, who knows where they went.

Maybe he is commanding his troops in battle, or maybe he has already fled, it is hard to say."

Butler Liu replied helplessly.

When disaster strikes, we all fly away.

Now that the city has been breached, who would care about a vassal king?

Since the outbreak of the White Lotus Rebellion, as many as three princes of Dayu have died.

Adding one more person to the list of casualties wouldn't be that noticeable.

In a sense, the deaths of many princes and relatives of the vassal kings also reduced the financial burden on the court.

“Two bastards!

If they had known they couldn't hold Changsha, they should have run away at the beginning.

This is my money!"

King Changsha couldn't help but wail.

According to the laws of Dayu, vassal kings could not leave their fiefdoms without permission.

If you want to visit relatives in other places, you must get the emperor's approval.

However, these regulations cannot be violated in principle.

If you really encounter danger, you can still run away.

If the emperor wanted to hold someone accountable, he couldn't just kill all of these relatives for such a small matter.

It was nothing more than a symbolic punishment, a fine of several years' salary. Anyway, it was normal for the court to delay paying salaries, and he had long since given up relying on salaries to make a living.

The main reason why he did not leave Changsha with the gentry was that the civil servants did not allow him to leave.

After all, the prince is a benchmark.

If he left early, the morale of the officers and soldiers would collapse.

"Your Majesty, before the rebels come to kill you, take the princess and the prince away immediately.

Those thieves are evil and murderous people. If we are late, we won’t be able to escape!"

The butler urged anxiously.

These are all from the bottom of my heart. We can escape now because the tactic adopted by the rebels is to surround the enemy on three sides and leave one side open. They deliberately left an escape route in order to undermine the morale of the defenders.

At this moment, the enemy had already killed the inner city, and the defenders had been defeated. It was meaningless to surround three sides and leave one side open, as the enemy could fill the gap at any time.

"If we just run away like this, what will happen to the property in the mansion?"

King Changsha asked with concern.

From the moment the rebels broke through the inner city, he secretly prepared for his escape.

However, this day came a little too early, as there was still a large amount of property in the palace that had not been transferred in time.

There was no chance to deal with the real estate, shops and land under the name of the palace.

If the palace escapes from Changsha City at this moment, it will suffer heavy losses.

"Your Majesty, it's already this late, and you're still thinking about these mundane things.

Saving your life is the most important thing. As long as you are alive, you can get these things back sooner or later."

The butler said with a look of despair.

Seeing that the rebels were coming, the prince was still concerned about the wealth of the palace, which was really frustrating.

"no!
Hurry up and ask someone to pack up the gold, silver and valuables, and give all the things that can be taken away to me.

If I don't have money, how am I going to support the hundreds of people in the palace?
Besides, there are members of the royal family who have escaped and need my help. Money is needed everywhere!"

King Changsha shook his head and said.

Just escape, or you will starve to death if you don’t tell others, but your future life will definitely be difficult.

The salaries paid by the court alone could not support so many people.

This can be seen from the descendants of the royal family from Guangdong and Guangxi. Each of them is like a refugee, looking for help from their own clan.

"My Lord, please leave immediately!

If we really take a large amount of money with us, even if we can successfully leave the city, we will not be able to escape to a safe area.

In addition to the rebels, those fleeing defeated soldiers and bandits along the way may attack us!"

The housekeeper hurriedly persuaded.

He also likes money and is no less protective of food than the King of Changsha, but he has rich life experience and knows what to pay attention to when fleeing.

A down-and-out prince with a lot of money is no longer a high and mighty prince in the war, but a big fat sheep.

After a lot of extreme tug-of-war, the King of Changsha was finally convinced. However, the shouts of killing had also reached the doorstep. The wealth of the Changsha Palace was well-known far and wide, and everyone envied it in peacetime, and it also attracted much attention during wartime.

When the escape turned into a breakout, the outcome was already determined.

……

Wuchang Mansion.

Zhu Jingyi was stunned when the bad news of Changsha's fall came. The rebels attacked the city too quickly, leaving him no chance to rescue.

First, the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition army was severely damaged, and now the Huguang defense line was broken. All of this happened during his term as governor, and he had no chance to pass the buck.

Looking at the personnel appointment edict in his hand, he found it ridiculous. The court had just announced the number of cabinet ministers, and he was on the list.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will become the cabinet minister with the shortest term in the Dayu Dynasty.

The day when the bad news reached the capital was the end of his career as a cabinet minister.

He rose to the top because of his hard work, and also fell because of his hard work.

"Lord, the situation is critical now, you must cheer up!"

The middle-aged aide on the side began to persuade.

It’s so miserable just thinking about it. He became famous at a young age but failed repeatedly in the imperial examinations. He wasted half his life and achieved nothing.

After much difficulty, he became a disciple of Master Zhu under the introduction of a friend. However, he didn't have the chance to do anything because his master was about to fall.

When all the staff were silent, Bai Yifeng felt that he needed to struggle and make a last attempt.

Anyway, the situation has deteriorated completely and there is almost no room for decline. No matter how much trouble you take, it won't get worse.

"Mr. Bai, do you have any countermeasures to deal with the current situation?"

Zhu Jingyi asked expectantly.

Although I don't think I can turn things around, but since someone has suggested it, I might as well give it a try.

"Sir, it is almost impossible to defeat the rebels in a short period of time.

However, in the long run, the imperial court still has the advantage. As long as we get through the current hurdle, and when the imperial court reacts, everything will be very different.

Your Majesty has already issued an edict to open up civilian militia, so why don't we go a step further and allow the gentry to raise their own food and wages locally to use for the military expenses of setting up militia.

Huguang and Jiangxi are both rich provinces with sufficient financial resources to invest in the military. As long as the court relaxes policy restrictions, it will be able to train an elite army quickly.

The imperial court only needed to appoint a reliable militia minister to be in charge of militia affairs and ensure control over the militia.

As long as the militias in various places are mobilized, the rebels' offensive will inevitably be delayed. After a year or so, when the main force of the imperial court marches south, the rebellion will be suppressed in one fell swoop! "

Bai Yifeng suggested immediately.

No one can tell whether the official militia training will be effective. Anyway, in the current situation, there is no better choice.

At the very least, it is certain that establishing a militia can reduce the court's military expenditure.

If he succeeds, Zhu Jingyi will make up for his crime with meritorious service and reduce his guilt; if he fails, the outcome will remain unchanged and he will have to wait for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest him and put him in prison.

"Official militia training is indeed a way, but will it be possible in time?"

Zhu Jingyi asked uncertainly.

The White Lotus sect was a rebellious group that inherently stood in opposition to the gentry, and the doctrines they believed in had a huge impact on Confucian culture.

To scholars all over the world, this is a heresy and they must never be allowed to take over the world.

When it comes to their own interests, the gentry have the foundation to set up militias. The trouble is that it is a little late to relax the policy now.

"Lord, although the Huguang army was defeated, they are not completely powerless.

The two elite troops of Hubei and Hunan are still there, and they can still defend their positions and slow down the rebels' attack speed.

After the rebels occupied Changsha, they would definitely attack Wuchang next. Start preparing now, as the battle to defend Wuchang is still to come.

With a little more time to buffer, we will be able to gather our forces. By then, the rebels' advantage in numbers will no longer exist.

Focus on elite troops and supplement with militia, and then fight a decisive battle with the enemy.

If the Lord is interested, I am willing to serve you!"

Bai Yifeng tried hard to deceive.

Regardless of whether the plan succeeds or not, this is his chance. If he doesn't persuade Zhu Jingyi while he is mentally traumatized, no one will support him to organize a group training at another time.

After all, he was not born into a noble family and did not have that many resources available.

He was not wealthy enough, with only a few thousand acres of land at home, making him inconspicuous among the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River.

If one wanted to start a business by training militia, the only way was to rely on the name of the imperial court to attract gentry and merchants from all over the country to invest.

"it is good!

For the sake of the people of the world, I will take the initiative to allow the government-run militia to raise funds from the public.

Mr. Bai, this cabinet now appoints you as the Minister of Hunan Tuanlian, responsible for presiding over the Tuanlian work in the area south of Dongting Lake!"

Zhu Jingyi immediately gave the order.

However, this order still has some reservations.

Many prefectures south of Dongting Lake fell into the hands of the rebels. The prefectures still under the control of the imperial court were also constantly threatened by the rebels.

Once a team is formed, it is easy to be attacked by rebels. It is difficult to expand with the help of militia.

Zhu Jingyi made these calculations not because he didn't trust Bai Yifeng, it was purely a subconscious behavior.

The lesson of the disaster of the feudal lords in the late Tang Dynasty was deeply rooted in everyone's bones. When formulating policies, the first thing that came to mind was checks and balances.

……

(End of this chapter)