Fu Shanhe

Chapter 286 Governor of Liaodong
"Sir, the whereabouts of Duke Yansheng is unknown, where should we go to pick him up?

Besides, we don’t know Yan Shenggong, we can’t just ask anyone we catch!”

Shu Zhongyi asked doubtfully.

When he received the task, he was confused.

He is familiar with killing enemies on the battlefield, but it would be difficult for him to rescue people on the battlefield.

The special identity of Duke Yansheng meant that he was destined to be hunted down by the enemy.

If he had not fallen into the hands of the Northern Tartars, he would have abandoned the team and blended into the refugee group.

It is not an easy task to rescue Duke Yansheng before the main force of the enemy arrives.

“Yes, just ask everyone you meet.

It would be best to let everyone know that we are looking for Yanshenggong.

As for whether you can find someone, just do your best and leave the rest to fate.

This time, we can't delay too long.

Regardless of whether you find the person or not, you must come back within seven days.

Don't put too much pressure on yourself. With Duke Yansheng's strong character, he would certainly not be able to bear the humiliation and would most likely have died a martyr for his country by now.

If we can find a few descendants of the saints, it will be a great achievement."

Shu Zhongyi was shocked when he understood Li Mu's hint.

Under the banner of saving people, they say that people died for their country.

After all this time, the admiral had no intention of letting Duke Yansheng come back alive.

“My lord, please rest assured!
I will do my best to complete the task."

Shu Zhongyi immediately made his position clear.

The probability of the two sides meeting is not high, so he probably doesn't need to do it himself.

Even if they really encountered them, the ones they would kill would be the Northern Tartar spies.

In such a chaotic time, the death of a Duke Yansheng is no big deal.

Anyway, the northern barbarians will take the blame, and the court will not suspect the army coming to support the emperor at all.

Li Mu wanted to kill Duke Yansheng. Personal grudges were secondary. The main purpose was to strike back at the Northern Tartars.

If Duke Yansheng is alive, he is a parasite to the country; if he is dead, he can become a sharp sword to pierce the northern barbarians.

Duke Yansheng himself is nothing, but he represents the face of Confucianism.

The northern barbarians dared to easily kill the descendants of the saint, which was considered by scholars to be a thousand times worse than slaughtering the common people.

After this happened, those gentry who missed the Yuan Dynasty did not dare to collude with the northern barbarians easily.

To a certain extent, it can curb the influx of talent into the Northern Tartars.

Of course, these are long-term considerations. The greatest benefit in the short term is to strengthen the court's determination to fight against the northern barbarians.

"Commander Shu, it's good to have confidence.

Speed ​​is of the essence on the battlefield. You go down and prepare first, then gather a thousand soldiers and go into battle.

Our battle is to save lives, so try not to get entangled with the enemy.

The Northern Tartars are unrivaled in land warfare, but naval warfare is their weakness.

If something unexpected happens on the way and you are unable to return to Jinan Prefecture in time, then you can go directly to the ferry and board a ship to avoid the enemy for a while."

Li Mu warned worriedly.

There are too many unexpected events on the battlefield.

Just like he was not planning to send troops at first, but for the sake of interests, he still let the team go out for a walk.

……

Qufu, Confucius Mansion.

Looking at the luxurious courtyard, Erdun was completely stunned.

His living environment limited his imagination. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that life could be like this.

Compared with the Confucius Mansion, the royal palace of his own Khanate is not so impressive.

Compared to the luxurious decorations, the spoils from the looting were even more terrifying.

The gold ingots moved out of the cellar soon piled up into a small hill.

"Don't worry, everyone has a share of this wealth, and the most important thing now is to transport it back.

Quickly prepare boxes and load them for transportation.

......"

Noticing the soldiers' burning gazes, Erdun hurriedly gave orders.

Since ancient times, money has moved people's hearts. The small number of troops under his command alone cannot intimidate the Guifang people.

If the situation is not handled properly, the people he leads might be killed in battle along the way.

On the grassland, there are too many cases of people falling out over interests.

The harvests in front of us are only part of this looting.

Compared with the gold ingots left behind, the treasures carried by the Confucius family when they fled were more valuable.

Thinking of this, Erdun hurriedly arranged for his confidants to ask for help from the Great Chanyu.

Reason told him that he was not qualified to keep such a huge fortune all to himself.

The Kong family has a lot of wealth, not just from the main vein.

The collateral relatives who were dependent on Duke Yansheng, as well as the slaves under him, all possessed a great deal of wealth.

Unfortunately, they were outsiders and could only take away these floating assets.

For them, most real estate is just for visual enjoyment.

After a brief moment of unconsciousness, Erdun quickly regained his composure.

By offering this huge fortune, he atones for his sins and his life is saved.

"Wan Hu, the people of the Yu Dynasty had the custom of lavish burials. You see..."

Captain Zigwa asked tentatively.

There is never too much treasure.

The legacy of a thousand-year-old family is definitely more than what is visible on the surface.

“The Great Chanyu values ​​scholars, so we can’t go too far.

Let the Guifang people do such immoral things.

Remember to be more secretive and don't let anyone know it was us who ordered it."

Erdun thought for a moment and said.

The fattest meat was eaten by them.

We can’t let the Guifang, our partner, work in vain.

It would be too painful for him to share the profits he had obtained, so the only option was to find them another way to make money.

As for offending the Kong family, he didn't take it to heart at all.

If he was a descendant of a saint with no guilt, he would never have cared about it, but the Kong family was too wealthy.

Compared with the cities that were conquered before, the gains in no other place could compare with those in Qufu.

Even the royal family princes who are known to be the richest in the world are nothing compared to the thousand-year-old aristocratic families.

“Don’t worry, the wealth of the Kong family is known to everyone in the world.

As long as they are ordered to move freely, those Guifang people will take action on their own.

You just need to pretend you don't know, and the Great Chanyu can explain it."

Zigvar assured immediately.

The Tatar people are also not a monolithic group.

Some people have great ambitions and want to accomplish great things, so they advocate winning over scholars.

But more people just want to go south and grab some money.

There is no doubt that those who have a far-sighted strategic vision are ultimately only a very small minority.

Including Huugjile Chanyu himself, he just wanted to annex the Liaodong region and establish his own regime as a vassal lord.

At most, we will annex some areas in the north of Dayu.

To plot to rule the world was just a political slogan to attract scholars to join.

With just the small population of the Tatars, it would be difficult for them to rule the Liaodong region.

If we enter the country to fight for the world, the risk of failure is too great.

Dayu has not yet collapsed, and the military strength of the imperial court is no weaker than theirs.

The Tatar high-level officials have not yet considered conquering the world as a strategic goal.

……

"Erdun led his troops to capture Qufu, and the silver they seized alone amounted to millions of taels, and all kinds of supplies were countless.

At the moment, his army had suffered heavy losses and was unable to transport so many supplies, so he asked the Khanate for help.

Nichileg, you will lead the troops this time!"

Huugjile Chanyu immediately gave the order.

There was so much spoils of war that the Khanate needed to send troops to help transport them.

He wouldn't mind receiving a few more letters like this asking for help.

If it wasn't more important to annihilate Wuyang Marquis's troops, he would have wanted to lead the troops himself. According to the letter, the Kong family was rich enough to rival a country.

The profit from completing this task will be higher than that from conquering several big cities.

What's more, in the territory of Yanzhou, besides the Kong family, there is also the famous King Lu.

With these two at the forefront, there are a bunch of younger brothers following them.

If you take it, it will be another considerable profit.

The boss eats meat, and the younger brothers can drink soup, and everyone has a bright future.

"Great Chanyu, the status of Yanshenggong is special, and the title of the descendant of the saint is useful to us.

The people below don't know the seriousness of the situation. If they accidentally kill someone, that would be terrible.

I think it would be better to write a letter to tell Erdun the seriousness of the matter to avoid any accidents.

Not only Duke Yansheng, but also other high-ranking officials and royal family members should be captured alive if possible.

During the retreat, these people of noble status can make the enemy fearful of taking any action.

If the operation is done properly, the Emperor of the Yu Dynasty will have to pay a ransom for these people!"

Sarina suggested hastily.

In order to govern Liaodong, they have just formulated a strategy to recruit scholars from Dayu.

If you turn around and kill Duke Yansheng, you're asking for trouble.

They came here this time to seek wealth, not to eliminate harm for Dayu.

From the Tatars' point of view, the more parasites there are in Dayu, the better.

"Just do as the Minister wishes!

Nichileg, I leave this matter to you.

After leading the troops to Qufu, if convenient, we will join forces with the Guifang army to capture Yanzhou.

If the Yu army resists fiercely, then we will abandon the Yanzhou city.

Just take the spoils and retreat to the rear.

We have spent too long in Dayu.

With every day of delay, the probability of something happening on the grassland increases.

The Yu Dynasty army is also gathering here, it's time to withdraw!"

Huugjile said with a serious expression.

The outside world only saw the grassland coalition forces marching across the territory of Dayu, and no one could know the pressure that he, the Chanyu, had to bear.

In essence, this military operation is a strategic adventure.

No matter whether it was the Dayu Dynasty or the hostile forces on the grassland, any one of them could inflict heavy losses on them if they seized the opportunity.

Judging from the current situation, they have won the bet for the time being.

But opportunities and risks coexist, and if you delay for too long, unexpected events may still occur.

Once the enemy reacts and realizes that they are weak internally, the remaining troops will not be able to protect the many tribesmen.

If Marquis Wuyang's troops were not in too great danger, he would not have taken the main force to Jinan.

……

Capital.

"Send a message to Liaodong Town. I want them to immediately attack the remaining enemy troops and drive them out of the capital!"

Emperor Yongning gave the order coldly.

The long siege by the enemy brought shame to him as an emperor.

After the great victory in Jinan, the main force of the Northern Tartars moved south, but a large army still remained outside the city.

Thirty thousand grassland cavalrymen managed to pin down the army of more than one hundred thousand in the capital, preventing it from moving.

Now that the troops to support the emperor have arrived one after another, Emperor Yongning is gradually gaining confidence.

However, only Liaodong Town can take on the task of confronting the Northern Tartar cavalry head-on.

The rest of the army that came to support the king were mostly just there to make up the numbers.

They came to serve the king, and their political significance was greater than their military significance.

The only troops that were worth looking at were those from the Beijing Camp.

Unfortunately, this force had previously been divided into two groups and marched south to quell a rebellion. On the way back to the capital, it was attacked by the enemy and suffered heavy losses.

The morale of the Beijing troops was seriously affected by the continuous defeats at the hands of the northern barbarians.

Now that they are facing the Northern Tartar cavalry, the morale of the officers and soldiers is lowered.

It's OK for defending a city, but if infantry and cavalry meet in a field battle, they will suffer a great loss due to low morale.

"Your Majesty, the Liaodong garrison has just arrived in the capital, and the troops are exhausted.

If we engage the enemy at this time, I'm afraid we have no chance of winning."

The Minister of War Wan Yuxuan began to evade.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this reason lacks persuasiveness.

It took Liaodong Town several months from the time it sent out its troops to now.

It would be more accurate to say that they were on a picnic rather than coming to support the king.

When they encountered the grassland cavalry, the two sides did not interfere with each other.

At most, there was a confrontation between the two sides, and there was no real battle.

If he could command the troops, Wan Yuxuan would also like to station Liaodong Town and fight a battle with the Northern Tartars.

We don't ask for many military achievements, but at least we need to prove that their Ministry of War is no pushover.

Allowing the noble group to always take the lead will affect the emperor's judgment.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, he could still feel that Emperor Yongning intended to strengthen the power of the Governor's Office.

In a government office with dual leadership, if the power of one increases, it will inevitably squeeze out the power of the other.

As the Minister of War, Wan Yuxuan naturally could not tolerate power falling into the hands of others.

Unfortunately, Liaodong Town had too big an appetite, and the imperial court was unable to satisfy the demands of these warlords, so they were unwilling to fight for their lives.

The Ministry of War was unable to control the troops below it, so naturally he could not bring up such an embarrassing matter in the court.

Once it is brought to the table, not only will his position as the Liaodong commander-in-chief be over, but he, the Minister of War, will also be finished.

Even the situation where civil servants were the only dominant force was inevitably impacted.

When the threat of local military governors emerged, Emperor Yongning had no choice but to recruit a large number of nobles in order to consolidate his imperial power.

Although most of the sons of noble families are good-for-nothings, the base number is there, and there are still some average-looking people among them.

There is no need to produce many famous generals. As long as you can fight the battles step by step, you will surpass many generals in the army.

"Oh!

It took them nearly half a year to get from Liaodong to the capital, and it was really hard.

Minister Wan, how long do you plan to let Liaodong Town rest and recuperate?"

Emperor Yongning said sarcastically.

Although he didn't know what was going on below, the performance of Liaodong Town really did not satisfy him.

If not for the huge amount of resources invested in the early stages and the high sunk costs, he would have wanted to start over and train a new elite force.

"Your Majesty, this is something you'll have to ask Lord Zhong."

I would rather die than let my friend die. Knowing that the emperor was angry, Wan Yuxuan decisively chose to pass the blame.

The first person responsible for the loss of control of Liaodong Town is undoubtedly the Liaodong Governor.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

“Three days at most, not two days!
In just two days, Liaodong Town will launch an attack on the enemy..."

Zhong Jingming assured him while pretending to be calm.

Deep down, he was extremely panicked.

The reason he was able to take the position of the Liaodong governor was partly due to his own bragging and partly due to the financial support from his sponsors.

The previous great victories were deliberately fabricated in order to whitewash the situation.

They have been hiding in the city, and their only means of counterattack is to use artillery to shoot at the enemy.

Even the heads that were captured were purchased from the northern barbarians through the mediation of Shanxi merchants.

After all, there is also killing on the grassland, and the northern barbarians also have to suppress the opposition forces that do not submit to them.

Naturally, they would not refuse a completely useless head if it could be exchanged for money.

The reason why Liaodong Town was able to grow so big was mainly because these people were obedient and actively participated in the smuggling trade.

Most of the other troops sent to garrison in Liaodong were close confidants of the former Liaodong governor. Their political proposition was to crack down on smuggling trade and trap the northern barbarians.

For the sake of interests, everyone even framed the former Liaodong governor, and naturally would not let go of the troops under his command.

After Zhong Jingming took office, he used his power to quickly send these troops to the battlefield as cannon fodder.

Without the stumbling block, everyone made a fortune from smuggling trade.

In this chain of interests, everyone is a beneficiary, except for the Dayu court, which is the biggest loser.

There is a limit to cheating after all.

With the invasion of the northern barbarians, many problems that had been hidden suddenly surfaced.

(End of this chapter)