Fu Shanhe

Chapter 374 Pirates on the Rampant
"All right!
We’ll talk about money later.

The recapture of Nanjing was good news that the whole world celebrated.

Issue a notice as soon as possible and send the news to every corner of Dayu. I want everyone to know that rebellion will not end well.

Elder Xu should also urge them, the fighting in Shu is really not that good!"

Emperor Yongning's words made the Qingliu Party very embarrassed.

Lord Xu is already one of the few people among the elite who knows a lot about military affairs.

But when it comes to military achievements, the gap is quite large compared with the nobles and relatives of the emperor.

Even if they wanted to blow, they didn't know where to blow.

But the reputation of Lord Xu is an important political resource of the Qingliu Party and cannot be given up.

"I will obey your orders!"

Along with all the other officials who echoed the emperor's words, a group of officials from the Qingliu faction were also worrying about their future.

In the Dayu Dynasty, without factional support, it was difficult to reach a high position through one's own efforts.

Everyone's career path depends half on one's own efforts and half on one's faction.

For the sake of career development, changing camps is normal, but the prerequisite is that you have to be valuable.

Not everyone has the capital to keep jumping sideways.

"Your Majesty, Lord Xu is old and no longer able to lead the battle on the front lines.

Now that the situation has improved, I suggest recalling Lord Xu and selecting another senior official to take charge of the war in Shu."

Left Censor-in-Chief Lai Yaohua stepped forward and said.

If you can't handle it, you can't handle it. Some things can't be forced.

When Xu Wenyue left Beijing, he was forced to do so.

In order to ascend to the throne, Yin and Zuo, two leaders of the Qingliu faction, gave bad advice to Emperor Yongning.

Due to the pressure from the emperor and the backstabbing within the Qingliu group, he was forced to be sent out to serve as governor.

From the perspective of the interests of the group, this is also the growth of the Qingliu faction.

Judging from the situation at the time, it was a sure thing for Yin and Zuo to enter the cabinet after the new emperor took power.

If Xu Wenyue had also stayed in the capital, the power of the Qingliu faction would have been too great and no emperor would have been able to tolerate it.

No one expected that not long after Lord Xu left the capital, Yin and Zuo would reveal their true colors.

He was charged with colluding with the White Lotus Sect, which killed Yin Zuo and two others, and also caused great suffering to the entire Qingliu camp.

All the major factions in the court joined in to add insult to injury, and all the upright young men who studied under the two men were tainted with political stains and their official careers were cut short.

The place where the rebels were wreaking havoc happened to be the base camp of the Qingliu Party, which was another heavy blow.

Until now, it has not recovered.

As the situation has developed to this point, the Qingliu Party in the court has become quite loose.

Everyone has his or her own little calculations, and when faced with a problem, they are unable to reach a unified stance, and they often undermine each other.

Take the suppression of the rebellion as an example. When the proposal to employ meritorious officials was first put forward, the Qingliu Party provided the most support, and the Qingliu Party also provided the most intense opposition.

The factional power is dispersed, so that it is often at a disadvantage in confrontations with other factions.

Despite holding the high position of Left Censor-in-Chief, Lai Yaohua wanted to go further.

The support from the scattered Qingliu Party members is obviously not enough to allow him to enter the cabinet.

The only way to take this step is to bring Xu Wenyue back to the capital to take charge of the situation.

“Your Majesty, Lord Lai is right.

The war in Shu has made no progress. If it continues like this, something unexpected may happen easily.

I suggest that after the war in Jiangnan ends, we should transfer the Marquis of Zhenyuan to lead the Huguang troops to Sichuan to quell the rebellion."

Minister of War Luo Zefeng responded immediately.

The Ministry of War had long been dissatisfied with the war in Shu.

All the governors-general in the south were making great progress, except Lord Xu, who had not achieved any results.

In order to stabilize the situation in Shu, he even made major concessions to a number of chieftains.

If he was not a leader of the Qingliu faction, the censor would have accused him of losing power and humiliating the country long ago.

However, the person in charge of the war in Shu can be replaced, but letting Lord Xu come back is another matter.

Apart from anything else, the ministers in the cabinet would not want to have more ancestors above their heads.

The value of the regent is really too high.

Even if the emperor took charge of the government, he still had a transcendent status in the court.

The two from the noble faction are easier to deal with, as they are military generals and are not on the same track as everyone else.

When it doesn't involve military matters, basically nothing is said.

Xu Wenyue was different. He was a civil official himself and had high prestige in the court and the country.

Once he returns to the imperial court, he can instantly seize control of a faction that even the Prime Minister cannot suppress.

“Your Majesty, the Ministry of War’s opinion is very pertinent.

Huguang is adjacent to Shu, so letting Marquis Zhenyuan send troops to Shu is most suitable for the current situation.

Elder Xu has been traveling outside for so long, it's time for him to return to Beijing."

Wan Junhui added some ingredients.

Others didn't want Xu Wenyue to return to the court, but he was different.

The emperor is too difficult to serve, and this crappy prime minister is busy cleaning up the mess every day.

Whoever wants to do it, let them do it. He doesn't want to do it anyway.

The highly respected Lord Xu returned, and he stepped down to make way for someone more capable.

Not only can you get rid of the trouble, but you can also gain a good reputation.

“Prime Minister, this matter requires long-term consideration.

The war in the south of the Yangtze River has not yet ended. The Huguang troops are one of the main forces in the encirclement and suppression of the rebels, so it is not advisable to act rashly for the time being.

The situation in Shu cannot be separated from Elder Xu, so don't act rashly for the time being!"

Gu Jiaxi immediately retorted.

Although he didn't know what the Prime Minister was thinking, he didn't want to see Xu Wenyue return to the court.

The impact on personal power is one aspect, but the key is that the current court cannot withstand any turmoil.

After Xu Wenyue came back, the Qingliu camp's momentum increased greatly, and they would definitely cause trouble then.

A new round of party struggles has been ignited, and no one can predict what will happen next.

"Lord Gu, the rebels in Huguang area have long been eliminated.

The traitor Fu was driven out of Nanjing, and the rebels in Jiujiang, Nanchang and other places must have been demoralized.

The war south of the Yangtze River will end soon, and it may have ended already.

With luck, the remaining troops of Fu Ni would be directly annihilated on the banks of the Yangtze River.

Even if something unexpected happened and they managed to escape to Jiangbei, the Liaodong cavalry would be waiting for them.

When it comes to hunting down the remnants of the defeated army, cavalry is much more efficient than infantry, and they cannot cause any trouble.

No matter how difficult the situation in Shu is, it is not as difficult as recovering Huguang.

Among the several rebels of the White Lotus Sect, Wei Ni's strength was the weakest.

With Marquis Zhenyuan taking action, I think there shouldn't be any problems.

In order to quell the rebellion, I beg Your Majesty to make a decision as soon as possible!"

Wan Junhui made his position clear.

In order to get himself out of this situation, he no longer cared about his colleagues.

Reason told him that once the situation improved, many people in the court would do something strange.

If you don't escape from the sea of ​​suffering early, it will be difficult to leave with dignity later.

……

"Enemy attack!"

The main force of the navy was concentrated in the north, leaving the central and southern regions empty of troops.

When the Annan soldiers at the dock issued a warning, the pirates disguised as merchant ships had already begun to land.

"kill!"

Following Zhu Zhongxuan's order, a group of pirates began their journey of slaughter.

The government's amnesty order still has great appeal to this group of pirates.

Returning home in glory and wealth is the dream of countless people.

Even if there may be risks, everyone is willing to try hard.

Compared with the main force of Annan, these miscellaneous soldiers left behind are obviously easier to bully.

Some slow-reacting dock workers also unfortunately became victims of the sword. Anyway, the imperial court issued a pardon order, recognizing the heads of the prisoners.

For these pirates, there is no psychological pressure to kill innocent people and take credit.

"Master, something terrible is happening!"

"Pirates... Pirates have landed!"

"So many thieves!"

"There are thousands of ships alone, and I'm afraid there must be tens of thousands of people!"

When the prefect of Yanzhou heard the news brought by the soldiers, he was completely stunned.

Although Yanzhou Prefecture was nice, it lacked the charm to attract tens of thousands of pirates.

With so many people, they can all go and rob Hanoi.

"Are you sure it's pirates, not Yu's army?"

Ruan Baiyi asked with concern.

Although Yanzhou Prefecture was insignificant economically, it had considerable military value. During the Tang Dynasty, it was the location of the Annan Protectorate.

If Yu's army attacked Dai Viet from the sea and chose to land here, it would be entirely possible to split Dai Viet into two.

"Your Excellency the Prefect, I can see clearly that the thieves who landed are definitely pirates.

From the moment they landed, they have been burning, killing and looting all the way. It doesn’t look like they intend to occupy the place for a long time.”

After getting the exact news, Ruan Baiyi became more and more confused.

How could he have deserved so many pirates to have come under his rule?
"Pass the order down, close the city gates immediately, and have the yamen runners recruit young and strong men from the city to defend the city.

Arrange people to ask for help from Shenglong City, and ask the court to send reinforcements as soon as possible! "

Ruan Baiyi gave the order immediately.

No matter what, pirates are easier to deal with than Yu’s army.

He is also well-informed.

The fact that the emperor led an army of hundreds of thousands and gained nothing on the front line was enough to prove that the enemy was no pushover.

If tens of thousands of Yu troops came, this battle would be impossible to fight.

The pirates took advantage of the situation to rob people for money. If they had looted enough outside the city, they would naturally leave.

Although this idea was a bit unscrupulous, it was the only thing he could do at the moment.

The elite troops from all over the country were all transferred to the front line, and most of those left behind were the elderly and weak.

The navy defending the coast also suffered losses in the previous war.

Even if the imperial court wanted to rescue, it was powerless.

Choosing to seek help from above is doing one's best and leaving the rest to fate.

……

On the sea, the skull and crossbones flag fluttered in the wind, and countless pirates were landing in an endless stream.

The once prosperous wharf has been turned into a living hell due to the destruction of pirates.

The ground was dyed red with blood, corpses were scattered all over the streets, and the sound of women crying could be heard from time to time.

As the planner of this operation, Zhu Zhongxuan stood quietly on a high place without saying a word.

He had seen this scene many times.

Pirates themselves represent destruction, and there is no such thing as restraining military discipline.

They were just doing business together, and as the leader, he only had nominal command power and no binding force on other pirates.

If it were a regular army, after a successful landing, they would have fought forward with all their might.

At least we have to take over Yanzhou Prefecture before we can consider looting.

Unfortunately, this team is a pirate coalition, and everyone thinks about profit first.

Robbery and wealth always come first, and the capture of Yanzhou was also for robbery, not the so-called strategic value.

"Boss Zhu, do you think we can lure out the Annan navy by doing this?"

The blue-clothed scholar asked.

Compared with the other pirates, his scholarly attire clearly made him look out of place.

However, his gentle and refined scholar appearance was just a disguise. At sea, he also had a nickname, the Deadly Scholar.

Killing people is easier than slaughtering chickens and ducks.

“Whether we can lure him here or not, we’ll know in a few days.

In order to plunder Annan, the threat of the navy must be resolved.

If the enemy hides in the port and does not come out, then we will keep robbing and killing them.

If the Annan gentry are frightened, they will naturally force the navy to go to war!

By the way, tell the people below to keep their eyes open.

It doesn’t matter how many people from Annan are killed, but if the people from the Yu Dynasty reveal their identities, they cannot be killed indiscriminately.

We still need the court’s help in disposing of our spoils, so please don’t kill anyone from the government by mistake.”

Zhu Zhongxuan said in a feigned indifference.

He dared not take the task assigned by Han Shui Hou lightly.

If the purpose was really just to lure the Annan navy into a decisive battle, there would be better ways and there would be no need to run so far.

Essentially, I came here to help clear the area.

Compared with North Vietnam, South Vietnam was less influenced by the Central Plains culture and needed to be cleaned more thoroughly.

In a sense, Yanzhou Prefecture is the dividing line.

The further south you go, the more they need to be villains to clear obstacles for the court's rule.

Zhu Zhongxuan was not averse to such tasks.

He still has a sense of belonging to the Dayu Dynasty.

His tragic experience was due to poverty, not persecution by the government, and there was no deep hatred between the two sides.

He felt no pressure at all as he could gain fame and fortune by helping the imperial court expand its territory.

The reputation of Han Shui Hou is also well-known at sea.

A small person like him is not worth others breaching the contract.

"Boss Zhu, what benefit did the Marquis of Hanshui promise you that is worth your life?"

The Fatal Scholar asked doubtfully.

Deep down, he was filled with jealousy.

The imperial court intended to recruit him, but did not invite him.

Although the people and ships under his command are only considered above average among all the pirates, he has brains!

In terms of combat performance, they are not much worse than these large pirate groups.

The main purpose of limiting the size of pirates is to avoid attracting attention from the imperial court.

He managed to hide himself, and when the imperial court tried to recruit him, they missed him.

Claiming to be a scholar, his desire for an official post far exceeds that of other pirates.

"Scholar, didn't I tell you everything? There is really nothing.

Apart from the promise of using the heads of Annan soldiers in exchange for pardon from the court, everything else depends on the circumstances.

What official position one can obtain depends mainly on one's performance on the battlefield and how high an official position the court is willing to give.

You definitely can't expect to get a high position with generous salary, most likely you will just be a minor official.

Even if you really promised me a high position, I wouldn't dare to sit there.

"It's a hot butt!"

Zhu Zhongxuan spread his hands and said.

I swear to God, he really didn't lie.

He was not the only one attending the meeting that day.

Hiding the truth and letting others know about it will only ruin one's character.

But this frankness still aroused suspicion among the pirate leaders.

Everyone is worried that they will sell us out for their own benefit.

"Boss Zhu, what you said is true.

If no one trusts you, no one will work with you.

But the imperial court is too stingy and doesn’t take us brothers seriously at all!”

The fatal scholar pretended to be indignant.

(End of this chapter)