Fu Shanhe

Chapter 216 Financial Dilemma
The sudden change in the situation frightened many people.

Upon learning that Changsha had fallen, Li Mu immediately launched an attack on Gaozhou Prefecture and Leizhou Prefecture.

There is no other reason for choosing this strategy, simply because the two places are far enough away from the main force of the rebels.

No matter what tactics or strategies you adopt, the first thing you need to consider is self-protection.

The rebels first defeated the Yunnan-Guizhou coalition forces, and then captured Changsha. This was the time when their military strength was at its peak.

With ten points of fighting power, one can achieve a twelve-point result.

Smart people will choose to temporarily avoid the enemy and launch a full-scale attack after the enemy's momentum has been exhausted.

"Commander Li, Lord Zhu has sent us a new order, asking us to send troops to Huguang immediately.
At the same time, it is required that local militias be established to assist the army in combat.”

Zhang Sihan said helplessly.

He was also very helpless when he met a general like Li Mu who was flexible in executing military orders.

The superiors requested that troops be dispatched from Guilin Prefecture to directly attack Yongzhou Prefecture.

When it came to the actual execution, Li Mu chose to send troops from the farthest Leizhou Prefecture.

Theoretically speaking, as long as we keep fighting, we will reach Yongzhou Prefecture sooner or later.

But no one knows exactly when the call will be made and how long it will take.

After all, the enemy defenders in Guangdong are not fools and they are also organizing resistance.

Moving forward step by step is steady enough, but the time period is a bit long.

"Governor, you can just write back to the governor and tell him that we have already sent troops.

The enemy forces in Yongzhou were powerful and we were no match for them. We had no choice but to attack from Leizhou where the enemy forces were weak.

As for mobilizing the gentry to form a militia, I think we should just forget it!

The gentry in Guangxi have all been harmed by the rebels, so how can they have the energy to support the court in forming a militia? "

Li Mu said angrily.

No matter what form the militia is in, they are all destabilizing factors.

As the commander-in-chief of Guangxi, he doesn't want anyone to erode his power.

Fortunately, the rebels had cultivated the local area, and even if the remaining gentry wanted to set up a militia, their financial resources did not allow it.

If the money and grain problem cannot be solved, even if Lord Zhu comes to supervise in person, he will not be able to set up a militia.

It was pure dreaming for the governor's office to get rid of him and take control of its own armed forces.

"Commander Li, stop joking.

Such a reply would definitely make Lord Zhu furious.

Due to the continuous defeats on the front line, Lord Zhu's position is already in jeopardy, and this is also the most dangerous time.

If we go against him, he might drag us down with him before the court calls us to account.

I think you know how much power an imperial envoy who is also a minister of the Ministry of War and a governor-general has in his hands! "

Zhang Sihan said with a hint of dissatisfaction.

He just used Lord Zhu's order to test him, but Li Mu dug a sinkhole for him.

If he had not been cautious enough and had foolishly chosen to do things perfunctorily, he would have definitely been finished before Lord Zhu fell.

Zhu Jingyi, who is about to be held accountable, is the one you should never mess with.

The previous official rules are no longer applicable at this time.

In order to reduce his own guilt, no one knows what Zhu Jingyi can do.

The only thing that is certain is that whoever causes trouble at this moment will become his first target.

"The power is so great that if Lord Zhu wants to do something, he can even kill you and me.

However, these are only theoretical rights. If he really does this, the court will not forgive him.

The defeat on the front line was due to a problem of command ability.

If one abuses power unscrupulously, it means he is ambitious and wants to be the modern Sima Yi.

Zhu Ge Lao is not alone, he has a big family behind him, he won't go to extremes."

Li Mu replied calmly.

He had no idea what Lord Zhu would do.

Anyway, in recent days, the governors and provincial governors were the ones who welcomed the imperial envoys, and he had been staying in the camp.

Even if he was really crazy, it was impossible for him to attack him in the military camp.

Now that your own safety is guaranteed, other issues can be analyzed rationally.

Now he was not the only one who disobeyed military orders. The troops in Fujian and Jiangxi all retreated, and no one took Lord Zhu's orders seriously.

Zhang Sihan was afraid of Lord Zhu because he was in a bad situation in the court.

If Zhu Jingyi drags someone else to take the blame before his downfall, he would most likely be implicated.

Officialdom struggles are never black and white. Even if everyone knows that someone is being wronged, the struggle will still go on.

"Or let's attack Guangzhou!
The court could not explain the continuous failures.

The presence of Leizhou Prefecture and Gaozhou Prefecture is too low, and they have almost no presence in the court or the country.

Guangzhou is different. It is one of the largest cities in the world and the capital of Guangdong Province.

Retaking Guangzhou would be enough to have an impact on the world situation.

With this great achievement in hand, even if someone attacks you, it won’t do anything.”

Seeing that the two disagreed, Jia Bo proposed a compromise.

Sending troops to retake Guangzhou was originally a plan, but it was canceled due to changes in the situation.

"Can!
After we recover Gao and Lei states, we will pass through Guanghaiwei and fight our way to Guangzhou to join forces with General Jing."

Li Mu's answer made Governor Zhang Sihan very helpless.

It seems that concessions have been made, but in fact the tactic of paddling has continued.

However, it is more reliable to fight all the way to Guangzhou than to kill all the way to Yongzhou.

Now there is only Guanghaiwei in the middle, so there is not much pressure on Guangxi.

As for the matter of militia training, everyone tacitly chose not to mention it.

Without money in your pocket, everything is difficult.

……

Capital.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Emperor Yongning was furious.

Just a moment ago, he was still praising Zhu Jingyi for his ability, but in the blink of an eye, he had caused a big mess. The Yunnan-Guizhou coalition suffered heavy losses, Changsha fell, and the bad news came one after another, leaving him no buffer time.

Nowadays, there is a saying among the people: "Yongning, Yongning, the world will not be at peace..."

When he thought of this, he gnashed his teeth in hatred towards Yin Zuo and the other two.

But he was the one who chose the person, so he could only swallow his anger.

"The front line has suffered a series of defeats. Do you have any countermeasures?"

Emperor Yongning asked, suppressing his anger.

"Your Majesty, I impeach Zhu Jingyi for wantonly abusing his power, causing loss of troops and humiliation of the country..."

Emperor Yongning interrupted the censor before he could finish.

"enough!"

"Let's talk about the impeachment later.

Let's discuss the aftermath first. I don't want to hear anything irrelevant to the topic."

After being emperor for more than a year, he also learned a lot of knowledge.

I have long lost my initial patience with creatures like the Censor.

Apart from being good at finding faults, these guys don't do anything concrete.

Zhu Jingyi, who suffered a defeat, will definitely be held accountable.

But before prosecuting, someone must be arranged to take over the military command of the southeastern provinces.

If these problems are not dealt with properly, Zhu Jingyi will be arrested first, which will cause a big chaos.

"I will obey your orders!"

All the ministers answered in unison.

Although they agreed verbally, the reprimanded censors did not let it go.

From the look in their eyes, you can tell that these people are planning something big.

The Censorate has work to do, and it would be too offensive to monitor colleagues during normal times.

In comparison, it is more cost-effective to add insult to injury.

“Your Majesty, the situation on the battlefield is unpredictable, and it is difficult for us to make accurate judgments from thousands of miles away.

It would be a good idea to let Lord Zhu make a report, detailing the course of the defeat, and then decide whether to pursue accountability.

The most urgent task is to send reinforcements as soon as possible.

Changsha has been lost, the next target of the rebels is likely to be Wuchang, no matter what we must do our best to protect Wuchang! "

Prime Minister Lu Shoutong made the suggestion.

As soon as Zhu Jingyi entered the cabinet, he began to question people, and the cabinet became a joke.

Officials work hard all their lives to get into the cabinet, not to become a laughing stock.

Whether for the stability of the court or for the face of the cabinet, he had to lend a hand to Zhu Jingyi at this time.

Even if they are to be held accountable, it must be delayed for a few months until the storm has passed.

During this period, if Zhu Jingyi can save himself, he will also have a chance to turn things around.

This is the treatment that cabinet ministers deserve.

"Duke Cheng, which troops can be mobilized now?"

Emperor Yongning asked.

The multiple management systems adopted by the Dayu Dynasty avoided a single dominant player, but also inevitably sacrificed efficiency.

Compared with the frequent transfers of civil servants in the Ministry of War, the personnel structure of the Governor-General's Office is much more stable, and they can basically work until retirement.

When it comes to understanding the national army, the nobles are still better.

“Your Majesty, if you want to reinforce Huguang, I suggest you transfer troops from Sichuan, Henan, Shandong, Shaanxi and other places.

Nanzhili and Zhejiang were too close to the rebels to be easily mobilized, and the two provinces might even be ordered to strengthen their armaments to prevent any unexpected events.

If the court's finances allow, the Beijing Army can expand to six more garrisons to deal with various unexpected events in the future."

Jing Guoliang replied immediately.

The problem of Dayu was not that it had no soldiers, but that the court had no money.

If the empire had enough money and food, it could easily raise an army of one million.

"Don't look at me, everyone needs money now, and the court only has so much revenue each year.

Expenses are higher than income, the fiscal deficit is serious, and I can’t make any money.”

Pang Chengjie said unhappily.

It is not easy to be the Minister of Revenue. In the past two years, the imperial court has replaced three Ministers of Revenue in succession.

From Wan Henian to Shangguan Yu, and then to the current Pang Chengjie, no matter who came to power, they have not been able to solve the dilemma of the court's insufficient income.

Unlike other officials, once one takes the position of Minister of Revenue, there is no one who does not want to change positions.

It is true that being in a high position means having great power, but it also comes with a lot of troubles.

Whenever the imperial court was short of money, officials would turn to the Ministry of Revenue.

But the Minister of Revenue is also a human being and cannot create money and grain out of thin air.

The aftereffects of the abolition of the factory guards gradually began to emerge.

Without those eunuchs making money locally, the court's fiscal revenue declined further.

Not only is mining tax collection failing, even the salt tax, which was reformed with great difficulty during the reign of Emperor Tianyuan, is now falling sharply.

The excuses are ready - the impact of the war.

The real reason is very simple. In the absence of supervision, the dragon slayer who once promoted reform has become the new evil dragon.

The salt fields changed owners, the salt business changed people, and the new interest groups couldn't help but expand their own profits.

However, it is now in the trial stage. If the emperor does not take coercive measures, the salt tax may fall again.

All officials knew about these problems, but no one dared to remind Emperor Yongning.

"The cabinet must find a way to raise the military funds no matter what.

I don't care how difficult it is for you, Wuchang must be saved!"

Emperor Yongning decisively chose to shift the pressure.

……

(End of this chapter)