Fu Shanhe

Chapter 390 Aftermath
After the first phase of the expedition to Annan ended, Li Mu did not rush to enter Thang Long City, but chose to return to Guangzhou.

Annan is not peaceful now, and various forces are mixed together.

Pirates, rebel armies, Yu troops, Yue troops, reorganized vassal armies, and local landlords' armed forces were all intertwined.

If one wants to rule Annan for a long time, cleansing local forces is an essential step.

This process is bound to be filled with blood and killing.

As an official representative, Li Mu has to save face, and the Dayu court also has to save face.

In order to avoid stains, you must stay away from the scene.

When Li Mu enters Thang Long City, the purge will be over.

The next step was to restore local order and preside over post-war reconstruction work.

There are all kinds of birds in the forest, and there is no shortage of fools in the world.

Those murderous rebels and pirates who are used to robbing may not necessarily listen to the governor.

Today's ally may become tomorrow's enemy.

If he handles the matter carelessly, he will be labeled as treacherous, which will seriously affect his personal reputation.

Now he returned to Guangzhou to fulfill his previous promise, issued an amnesty order in the name of the court, and announced to the outside world that the unlimited robbery had ended.

Pirates who have collected enough heads can bring them here in exchange for pardon from the court.

If the number is still not enough, then hurry up and get more people, the time limit is three months.

After this period of time, what happened subsequently would have nothing to do with him, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi.

The Dayu court would not provide political cover for their actions in Annan.

After getting the pardon order, he continued to work as a pirate along the coast of Dayu and was once again wanted by the imperial court.

Or if he fails to redeem the pardon order in time and is wiped out by government troops in the future, he will not be held responsible.

Pirate groups with surplus military merits were willing to accept the imperial court's amnesty and be granted corresponding official positions as promised in advance.

Compared to the elusive pirates, it is easier for the rebels to operate.

After the official confirmation of the head, his family members will be directly pardoned.

If the previous promises were fulfilled, the threats from pirates and rebels in the Annan region would be largely resolved.

If someone has thoughts that they shouldn't have, we will just send troops to eliminate them.

As for the rewards for the soldiers under your command, there is no need to rush for the time being. They can be calculated together after the war.

For most of the soldiers of the Yu army, their journey to achieve success has just begun.

The previous battles were mainly the result of the team's efforts, and the soldiers' individual gains were not much.

The subsequent elimination of the remnants of Annan will be the best opportunity to obtain the heads.

Li Mu had already made up his mind about the reward standards. The officers and soldiers who participated in the war were guaranteed to receive a minimum of 20 acres of military merit land, and the reward could be increased based on their personal performance.

If nothing unexpected happens, the average number of acres of military merit land per capita after the war will not be less than fifty acres.

After pacifying the entire Annan region, the average amount of land per capita for military merit would most likely increase to one hundred acres.

Such a large amount of land is already quite attractive to ordinary soldiers.

More than 20 million mu of land were used to attract more than 100,000 officers and soldiers to settle there, and including their families, the population was almost one million.

In the next three years, if we continue to relocate millions of people there, the foundation of our rule will be secure.

After all, Annan is a very small place, equivalent to just a province in the Dayu Dynasty.

The total population before the war was only several million, and it was considered lucky if half of them were left after the war.

In fact, the government troops did not kill many people. Pirates and local rebels caused greater damage to the local area.

Most of the population losses were caused by people dying of starvation or disease while fleeing from the war.

Among them, the coastal areas have the most serious population loss.

Especially at the landing point of the pirates, nine out of ten houses were basically empty.

The long and narrow national border and the lack of sufficient strategic buffer created opportunities for pirate plunder.

Except for a few provinces in the northwest bordering Myanmar and Yunnan, which have not yet suffered large-scale war, the rest of Annan has suffered serious population losses.

Being temporarily free from war is not luck but a greater disaster.

The King of Annan led his army there, and the Annan dignitaries who escaped the disaster would gather there later.

These people are the foundation of King Annan's rule and must be well taken care of.

It is necessary to ensure the luxurious life of these masters and to support the war with Dayu.

Even if you squeeze the place dry, it will be difficult to complete the task.

……

Hou House.

"My husband, please put the wind down!"

Jing Yaqing persuaded helplessly.

The higher the status of a family, the more importance they attach to etiquette and rules.

Influenced by Confucian culture, Dayu has a tradition of holding grandchildren rather than sons.

If news got out about Li Mu's behavior of holding his son and wandering around the mansion, people would laugh at him for being unruly.

If this kind of behavior happened in the capital, within three days the emperor's files would be filled with the censors' impeachment memorials.

When it comes to low-risk impeachment such as inspecting etiquette, the Dayu Censors are definitely excellent role models, and each of them is "upright and incorruptible."

"Don't worry, I'll just hold you in my house and won't take you out."

Li Mu responded with a smile.

If you can't change the rules, you can only adapt to them.

Feudal dynasties attached great importance to rituals in order to maintain the Confucian patriarchal system.

The higher your status, the greater the constraints you face in this regard.

But these are all on the surface. As long as you are not discovered, you can do whatever you want in secret.

"Husband, you will spoil Feng'er like this!"

Although she was complaining, Jing Yaqing was still very happy in her heart.

It goes without saying how much the husband values ​​his son.

As for etiquette norms, it is not yet time to educate a baby who is only a few months old.

"Ha ha……"

"Don't worry, this kid can only relax now, but he will suffer in a few years when he goes to school."

As if it was a spiritual feeling, as soon as Li Mu finished speaking, the son in his arms burst into tears on the spot.

No matter how hard he tried to comfort her, he just kept crying.

She didn't stop crying until Jing Yaqing took over.

Seeing this scene, Li Mu could only attribute the problem to: the child was shy.

It's all because he's too ambitious.

"My husband, the war in Annan has come to an end. You won't stay for a few days this time, will you leave again?"

Jing Yaqing asked with concern.

The children of noble families have been accustomed to being apart from each other since childhood, but they can't help feeling sad after such a long separation.

It is understandable when you are trying to build your career; this is the price you have to pay.

In this world where the strong prey on the weak, if you lose the spirit of struggle, you will soon be kicked out of the center of power.

It is easy to leave the center of power, but it is extremely difficult to go back.

If it weren't for the White Lotus Rebellion, Li Mu would have been able to rise to the position of general, which would have been the limit of his career.

Serving as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi was a high position that one would never dare to dream of in the past.

“I will stay for a few more months this time, mainly depending on how the situation develops.

The imperial court recovered Hanoi, but the King of Annan still maintained his independence and needed to send troops to encircle and suppress him.

After the situation there stabilizes, your husband will go to Annan on behalf of the court to rebuild the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration.

The northern border region has not been stable recently, with the Guifang and Tatars ready to make moves, and the Wala in the northern desert is also a major threat.

Maybe a fight will break out someday.

If my husband had not been in charge of the Annan war, I would have had to go north to defend the king."

Li Mu replied calmly.

I don’t know which god I offended, but the Dayu Dynasty has been unlucky in recent years, with all kinds of bad things happening all the time.

During the heyday of the dynasty, foreign threats were not completely eliminated, and when the dynasty entered its decline, they all became deadly threats.

From a strategic analysis, the officials who advocated abandoning Annan, Mo Nan, Daning Dusi, the Western Regions and other places are now sinners of Dayu.

Maybe there were various difficulties at that time, but compared to now, it was still much better.

Many times, if you grit your teeth and hold on, things will pass.

If it were not for Dayu's strategic contraction, the Guifang tribe would not have grown and developed, and the Tatars and Oirat would not have risen.

In order to save more than one million taels of silver in annual military expenditure, nearly ten million taels of silver have to be spent every year on the defense of the nine borders.

Spending money is fine, but the worst thing is that even if you spend the money, it may not be secure.

If the Northern Tartars invade once, they may invade a second time.

The biggest gain of the Northern Tartars during their last expedition to the south was not how much wealth they looted, but that they broke the grassland peoples' fear of the Dayu court.

Even with the great victory in Jinan, it was only a slight way to save face. A loss is a loss after all.

If it happens again, the respect that the four vassal states have for Dayu will be gone. From a global perspective, sending troops to destroy Annan is also a way to save Dayu's dominant position.

This war shocked all forces in South Asia. In the next few decades, all vassal states would send people to the capital to pay tribute in an orderly manner.

The immediate benefit in the short term is that foreign trade will become smoother.

In the past, the court of Dayu would not care about overseas trade.

But the situation is different now. Overseas trade can bring huge tariff revenue every year.

There is no need for lobbying by maritime merchants; the government offices with relevant interests will spontaneously maintain the trade routes.

It is no longer possible to create a giant pirate that can monopolize maritime trade.

As soon as there is any sign of rebellion, the imperial court will send troops to encircle and suppress it.

Judging from the current collection situation, the revenue from import and export tariffs is expected to catch up with the salt tax in the next three years.

If nothing unexpected happens, tariffs will soon be raised to a level equal to that of salt taxes.

It was useless for the coastal gentry to oppose, as they could not occupy a dominant position in the court.

For the sake of the overall situation, the emperor and a group of officials from inland provinces would support the imposition of tariffs.

Although the Dayu bureaucracy as a whole was rotten, there was never a lack of knowledgeable people in the court.

With the support of these people, the imperial court will most likely strengthen its naval power in the future.

The only question is whether there is enough money in the Ministry of Revenue to be divided.

Li Mu calculated that after the tax reform in the eight southeastern provinces, the court's fiscal revenue did increase significantly, but there were still many places to spend money.

The tax revenue from Huguang will be used to help quell the rebellion in Shu.

All the tax revenues from Guangdong and Guangxi were spent on the battlefield in Annan.

Only the taxes from Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangnan could provide support to the central government.

After deducting its own financial expenses, it will be able to provide a net income of roughly four million taels next year.

With the economic recovery, this figure is expected to increase to eight million taels in three years.

In addition to these revenues, another incremental source of revenue is the Lianghuai salt tax.

Unlike other taxes, salt tax was collected by a special salt tax office.

Due to the war in the past, the Salt Administration Office was unable to collect taxes, so the collection was temporarily transferred to the local governor's office.

After the war, the Salt Administration Office has always wanted to take back the right to levy taxes.

The matter is currently being debated. No matter who collects the money, it will be deposited into the Ministry of Household Affairs’ account.

Roughly six to eight million taels, and the exact amount that can be collected depends mainly on the officials' execution ability.

Starting next year, the central government’s fiscal revenue will increase by at least 10 million taels.

Theoretically, it could fill the fiscal deficit of the court, but given the bureaucratic style of Dayu, it wouldn't be long before the government would be unable to make ends meet again.

Apart from anything else, the money would be burned up once the northern barbarians invaded.

The large warehouses in the capital are now empty.

The amount of grain stored in government warehouses is almost negligible.

The court's centuries of accumulation had either been emptied out by officials or consumed by the wars of the past few years.

"Don't get involved in the war in the north anymore.

After years of fighting, the soldiers were exhausted.

This expedition to Annan alone has sparked a lot of opposition.

You relied on your prestige to suppress it this time, but you can’t say for sure what will happen next time!”

Jing Yaqing frowned and persuaded.

Even if she was not in the court, she knew everything that was going on there.

The struggle between the nobles and the civil service group is now on the verge of breaking out.

The capital will be the main battlefield for the fight between the two sides.

Among the several bigwigs of the noble family, Li Mu has the least experience.

Once the two sides start fighting, it is easy for them to become the target of each other's attack.

If he wants to return to Beijing to take up a post, then the struggle for discourse power is unavoidable and he can only respond passively.

But Li Mu has now made the decision to stay in the local area for development in the future.

In this context, participating in court struggles becomes meaningless.

In this battle for the right to speak, the noble faction has a lot of chips in its hands, with both the upper and lower limits being very high.

Even if the party is defeated, many of the resources it has obtained cannot be given up.

The imperial court could not disband the trained army.

There are so many generals, deputy generals and lieutenant generals in the local area, all of whom are meritorious officials and it is impossible for them to be dismissed.

Compared with before, the right to speak has definitely increased greatly.

The voices of several noble tycoons in the court were no less than those of the six ministers.

If you win the party struggle, it is not impossible to directly gain the right to speak equal to that of the cabinet.

At that point, civil and military affairs will once again be balanced.

But this is an ideal state.

It’s not that it’s impossible to fight for it, but the main reason is that the reserve forces of the nobles cannot keep up.

Even if you grab the cake, you can't keep it.

The nobles are now speaking with confidence, that is the configuration of the four giants, directly to the maximum level.

Two of them were regents appointed by the previous emperor, one was the emperor's uncle, and the other was the most capable military general.

This kind of high-specification configuration is the first to appear in Dayu's 280-year history.

“Don’t worry, ma’am, I won’t join in the fun this time.

Most of my husband's generals are on the battlefield in Annan, so there is no one left to help the king!"

Li Mu replied with a smile.

These are realistic problems. Among the four giants, except for him who is young, the other three are in their forties or fifties.

Commanding combat is very exhausting, and the lifespan of military commanders is usually not long.

Once the three giants passed away, the subsequent successors to power lacked prestige in the court and could not stand up to the pressure.

By that time, it will be difficult to stand alone. Apart from overturning the table, Li Mu does not think there is any other way to fight against the civil service group.

Since the outcome is determined, it is better to jump out of the chessboard in advance instead of struggling in the game.

……

Capital.

Seeing the good news that was sent over an express route of six hundred miles, Emperor Yongning instantly became more energized.

Because of the issue of tax reform, he and the officials have been in a very tense relationship recently.

No one wants to see a long-term confrontation between the emperor and his subjects.

Both Emperor Yongning and the civil and military officials in the court were losers in this confrontation.

The situation has developed to this point, and everyone needs a way out.

Not only did this victory report come at a timely moment, but the characterization of the war in the report was also very much to Emperor Yongning's liking.

He conquered the rebels, defeated the enemy, recovered the lost territory, and rebuilt the Jiaozhi Provincial Administration.

These are all real martial arts that will go down in history.

In an instant, Emperor Yongning saw the hope of surpassing the previous emperor.

Although he was grateful for his brother's passing on of the throne, he was still heartbroken by the mess left behind by the previous emperor.

When the situation was at its most dangerous, Dayu was on the verge of destruction.

It was all thanks to his diligent work that Dayu was pulled back from the brink of destruction, but the officials' evaluation of him is not as good as that of the late emperor.

Such reputation made Emperor Yongning speechless.

You must know that during the previous dynasty, the emperor was obsessed with pleasure and often ignored state affairs.

He employed eunuchs at will, and the imperial guards ran rampant, causing great trouble to all officials.

There were various major cases in the imperial prison, one after another, and he almost got the title of the leader of the revival.

After he succeeded to the throne, he abolished the factory guards and worked hard to govern the country, but he didn't even get a good review.

The more this happened, the more Emperor Yongning wanted to achieve results.

The White Lotus Rebellion broke out after he ascended the throne and was instigated by his favorite ministers. He cannot get rid of this blame at all.

Suppressing the rebellion was a remedial measure and could not be considered an emperor's political achievement.

If you want to achieve success, you must either win the foreign war or improve your internal governance and achieve success.

The tax reform proposed earlier is the domestic policy he wants to implement, but unfortunately the opposition is too strong and the reform cannot be pushed forward.

In the short term, the only thing that could produce results was the Annan War.

Now that the good news has come, it is time to reap the fruits of victory and we must show them off.

By the way, use the good news of the great victory on the front line to divert the officials' attention away from tax reform.

This would save him from those guys scolding him every day and forcing him to kneel in the Taimiao at every turn.

"Su Haoyu, summon all the officials above the third rank in the court to the Yangxin Palace to discuss matters."

Emperor Yongning gave the order immediately.

(End of this chapter)