Fu Shanhe

Chapter 409: Central Plains War Smoke
“My Lord, the Yellow River burst its banks, and it’s not just Nanzhili that’s affected.

Once we start providing disaster relief, if there is no movement elsewhere, the victims will flock to us.

When millions of disaster victims gather, it will be a huge problem!"

Dong Zian reminded carefully.

He opposed spending money on disaster relief not because he lacked a sense of the overall situation, but mainly because he knew his colleagues too well.

Everyone claims to be wholeheartedly serving the country and the people, but when it comes to taking responsibility, each one hides farther away than the other.

Disaster relief requires not only money, food and supplies, but also strong execution.

Even if some officials still have a conscience and want to do something, they will be dragged down by their stupid teammates.

Henan, which became the hardest-hit area, was simply unable to raise enough money, food and supplies to provide relief to the victims in the province.

In order to reduce trouble, local governments would even artificially drive away disaster victims within their territory.

At this time, whoever opens the warehouse first to release grain will immediately attract a large number of disaster victims.

Although Nanzhili was rich, it would still be beyond their limit if they were asked to bear all the disaster relief expenses.

"If you open the warehouses and release the grain directly, the victims will definitely receive more relief!"

“The victims will be displaced and will definitely go to unaffected areas to seek a living, so that local government offices can collect the victims.

You should do the work of the maritime merchants, lease their fleets, and have the government pay them rent.

Han Shuihou is short of people, so ask them to help transport the victims over.

I will order the Jiangnan Navy to help transport the victims.

Master, draft an official document and send it to the Governor's Office of Fujian and Zhejiang and the Governor's Office of Guangdong and Guangxi, asking the navy of the two places to come together to help transport the victims. "

Marquis Wuyang shook his head and said.

If the victims stay where they are, they will become a powder keg that could explode at any time.

Whether or not there is disaster relief, it is likely to cause chaos.

But once the people were sent to the Annan Protectorate, the burden turned into wealth.

As for the imperial court, as long as it does not trigger civil unrest, it will be a great achievement.

By the time the imperial court made a decision and started disaster relief work, the ground was already filled with famine victims.

“My Lord, the number of disaster victims in Nanzhili is not just tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands, or even millions.

If so many people are sent to Annan, I am afraid that Hanshuihou will not be able to handle it."

Dong Zian reminded gently.

The relationship between the bigwigs of the noble family is known to everyone in the court and the country.

He strongly suspected that if the Hanshui Marquis could not afford the cost of resettling the victims, the governor's office would be forced to pay money and grain.

Although local government revenue has increased significantly after the tax reform, no one wants to spend the money once it’s in their pocket.

"Don't worry, there is plenty of land in Annan.

If it really is impossible to settle them down, Marquis of Hanshui will find a way to solve it.

Lord Dong is well-versed in history books and should know what the Protectorate did throughout the dynasties.

The victims will not starve until those southern barbarians die of starvation."

Marquis Wuyang said calmly.

He was completely confident in Li Mu's abilities.

The Kingdom of Annan, with an army of 300,000, did not even last a year and became part of Dayu.

The other small barbarian countries in the south are even easier to deal with.

There was no further outward expansion in order to digest the fruits of war.

If there really is a shortage of land or food due to a large influx of immigrants, the army will not just sit there and do nothing.

He remembered that a few years ago, when Dayu was most short of food, it had to purchase millions of grains from Southeast Asia every year.

It was precisely because of these grains that the Yu army was able to launch continuous attacks on the rebels and pull Dayu back from the brink of death.

"My Lord is wise, but I am shortsighted!"

As he spoke, Dong Zian secretly took a deep breath in his heart.

The hands of these warriors are so damn dark.

No wonder Han Shui Hou had no complaints when he arrived in Annan, such a remote and poor place.

It turned out that they had made up their mind early on. If they had no money or food, they would go out and rob. They were just a replica of the Northern Barbarians.

It looks like the neighbors of Annan Protectorate will soon be in trouble.

After sighing, he quickly returned to normal.

The life or death of the Nanman had nothing to do with him. The key was to solve the problem of the disaster victims.

……

Faced with the hateful gazes of the victims, King Taiping cursed in his heart.

I don't know who spread the rumor, but they insisted that it was he who led people to dig up the Yellow River.

As a result, when various rebel forces entered Henan in large numbers and recruited soldiers, his development suffered a major setback.

"My lord, Henan is a land that is incompatible with ours. I think we should go back to Shaanxi!"

Yue Laosan stepped forward and persuaded.

The common people regard them as their mortal enemies, and recruiting such men into the army would be irresponsible for their own safety.

You never know when you'll be stabbed in the back by your little brothers.

There is no point in explaining. Everyone has preconceived ideas and believes that they did it.

Unless the real murderer is found and cleared of suspicion, he will have to bear the blame forever.

“Going back to Shaanxi, you sound so easy.

Yansui Town, Ningxia Town, Guyuan Town, Gansu Town, four of the nine border towns of the Dayu Dynasty were in Shaanxi Dusi.

The millions of volunteers in front were defeated by them and fled in disarray.

Now I only have tens of thousands of people left. If I fight back, I will just be sending them heads!"

King Taiping flatly refused.

Of course he would be willing to go back to his hometown.

Unfortunately, their strength was limited and they were no match for the border troops.

Even though the four border troops were weakened and none of them was fully staffed, they were still not something he could challenge.

"My lord, if you don't go back to Shaanxi, then I will have to inconvenience you.

Someone has framed and deliberately defamed the king, but the people are ignorant and cannot tell the truth from the false, and I am not able to explain each one of them.

In that case, you might as well change your royal title.

In order to reduce the impact, we can also spread rumors and say that it was done by other forces.

Arrange all the Yu troops and the various rebel kings to muddy the waters first!"

Military advisor Su Qianqing stepped forward and gave advice.

Rumors always make things worse the more they are spread.

The government has issued a wanted notice, and anyone who captures the King of Taiping alive will be promoted five levels and rewarded with 50,000 taels of silver.

As one of the rebel kings, even if he could prove his innocence, King Taiping would not be able to explain to the court.

Regardless of whether he dug the Yellow River or not, he was a wanted criminal by the court. The only difference now was that the reward was higher.

"Okay, let's do it!"

King Taiping slapped his thigh and said.

Everybody is rebelling against Dayu, why is he the only one taking the blame?

Even though digging the Yellow River gave the rebels a chance to catch their breath, that is not a reason for him to take the blame.

If he knew who did it, he would tear the enemy into pieces.

“Your Majesty, since we don’t need the title of King of Taiping, why not call him Holy King of White Lotus instead?

The White Lotus Sect caused a lot of trouble before, and no matter how hard the government troops tried to suppress it, there were always some that slipped through the net.

Under the banner of the White Lotus Sect, we can also attract the remaining members of the White Lotus Holy Nation to join us!"

As soon as Yue Laosan finished speaking, he was immediately greeted with applause.

Although the White Lotus Rebellion failed, they fought all the way from Guangxi to Nanjing and almost took over the Central Plains.

Although the Guanzhong rebels had made quite a stir, they were not on the same level as the White Lotus rebels. If they could make as much noise as the White Lotus rebels, it was unknown whether they could seize the world, but the Great Yu Dynasty would definitely be taken away.

"inappropriate!"

“Your Highness, if the title of King of Taiping makes the people of Henan hate you, then the title of Holy King of White Lotus makes the gentry of the world hate you.

The biggest reason for the failure of the White Lotus Rebellion was that it offended the gentry all over the world and was jointly suppressed by gentry from all over the country.

If it weren't for the efforts of the gentry, it would have been very difficult for the Great Yu Dynasty to reorganize the army! "

Su Qianqing hurriedly persuaded.

Shoot the first bird.

White Lotus Holy King, this was the title of the White Lotus Holy Emperor before he became emperor.

I don’t know whether raising this banner can attract the remnants of the White Lotus Sect to join, but at least all the government troops will be attracted.

The imperial court will do its utmost to eliminate them first to prevent the White Lotus Sect from reviving.

The gentry from all over the country will also fully support the court's military operations.

After all, when the White Lotus rebelled, they killed so many gentry in the southeast that they cried for their parents.

Although the White Lotus rebels did not occupy Henan, the Henan gentry, as bystanders, were also frightened.

When they were asked to provide food for disaster relief, no one responded.

But when they heard that "the White Lotus rebels have revived", they would definitely cooperate with the government troops.

“The military advisor is right, the title of White Lotus Saint King is unlucky.

The last guy who was called the White Lotus Holy King didn’t live more than two years and died on the battlefield.

If that short-lived guy hadn't died so early, the White Lotus Sect wouldn't have split, and maybe there would have been a new dynasty by now.

This king started his army in Shaanxi, and now he has conquered the Central Plains, so he might as well be called the King of Zhulu! "

When King Taiping became King Zhulu, all his younger brothers cheered, except for Military Advisor Su Qianqing, who was secretly shaking his head.

This was due to lack of education. Both the King Taiping and the King Zhulu were self-proclaimed kings who were not of high caliber.

Anyone who reads more books would not take such a lowly title of king.

There were so many royal titles in ancient times, and any one of them would be more meaningful than this one.

How great it would be to raise an army from Guanzhong and call yourself the King of Qin!

Even if he lowers his status and calls himself King Su, he is still better than these self-proclaimed kings.

Although he knew it, Su Qianqing had no intention of correcting it.

Although the king's title is not mainstream, it also has its advantages.

All the rebel kings have this kind of titles, so suddenly a king title with connotations and meanings appears, which is also very eye-catching.

If the imperial court noticed it and cracked down on it, we would suffer a huge loss.

……

"My Lord, you are truly amazing.

In less than a month, our military strength has recovered to its peak.

It is pointless to just attack the county town, and the food we snatched back will not last long.

There are so many prefectures in Henan, why don't we pick an important city and make a big move!"

Cui Laoliu said excitedly.

Compared to the tragic King Taiping, the mighty King who actually dug up the Yellow River has been doing very well recently.

After the flood, the starving people everywhere provided sufficient troops for the rebel army.

Based on the principle of accepting all comers, the army under the mighty king expanded dozens of times in a short period of time.

As the number of rebel troops increased, food consumption also increased.

In the beginning, taking over a county town would provide enough food for everyone for a long time.

At this point in time, attacking small towns alone is no longer enough to satisfy their appetite.

After all, the rebel army is increasing every day, and no one knows where the limit is.

"Among the eight prefectures in Henan, Kaifeng is the closest to us. Are you planning to open Kaifeng?"

The mighty king scolded with a smile.

It can be seen that he admires Cui Laoliu very much.

"My Lord, this is a rare opportunity!"

"The Yellow River's water level can surge in the middle of winter, which is a sign of disaster.

Spies brought news that river water had backflowed into Kaifeng City and many city walls had collapsed.

Now that the flood has just receded, Kaifeng City’s defense is at its weakest.

If we launch an attack at this time and seize Kaifeng City, it will surely shock the world and trigger a second wave of anti-Yu movement!"

Cui Laoliu said with a solemn vow.

Before making the suggestion, he visited the military advisor and the two had a long communication.

Finally, the two of them unanimously decided to attack Kaifeng Prefecture in order to shock the world.

“It sounds good, but Kaifeng is a big city. Even if the city wall is damaged, it won’t be so easy to take.

The rebel army seems to have a lot of troops, but the only ones who can really fight hard battles are the people in the old camp."

The mighty king said with a little hesitation.

Seizing Kaifeng Prefecture was also a huge temptation for him.

Not only can you obtain a large amount of supplies, but you can also gain huge reputation.

There are so many righteous armies in the world. If you want to attract heroes to join you, you must have a resounding name.

Of course, the bad reputation of digging the Yellow River does not count. If it gets out, they will not be able to gain a foothold in the Central Plains.

King Taiping, who was originally the most famous figure among the rebels, fell behind in this round of expansion because of his bad reputation.

"My Lord, there are enough troops.

The government troops in Henan had been severely damaged by the northern barbarians before, and were then hit hard by the White Lotus rebel army.

Later, they relied on the Liaodong soldiers to help them stabilize their position.

Now the Liaodong soldiers are not in Kaifeng. There are only a few thousand garrison troops left in Kaifeng, and their combat effectiveness is not much stronger than ours.

We have just encountered a flood and people's morale is low, so the chances of success if we take action now are very high.

Even if the siege fails, the worst that can happen is the loss of some troops.

There are disaster victims all over the world now, and we can have as many soldiers as we want."

Liu Nian'an spoke seductively.

If you want to embark on the road of rebellion and stand in the sun, you must overthrow the rule of Dayu.

Conquering Kaifeng Prefecture is undoubtedly the best way at the moment.

As the capital of Henan, Kaifeng's political status is self-evident.

If we take over this place, the other states will be leaderless and will have to fight on their own.

Without his command, the various rebel forces would spontaneously participate in looting.

It won’t be long before Henan is filled with smoke of war.

Since ancient times, whoever controls the Central Plains controls the world.

With the fall of the Central Plains, anti-Yu forces throughout the world will become active again.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the world, they can quickly expand their troops along the floodplain of the Yellow River.

Whether going south to capture Nanzhili or going east to seize Qi and Lu, it is a good choice.

“There’s an old saying that goes, ‘What you take from heaven, you get back.

Anyway, I have made up my mind, so I will open it!"

The mighty king said with a little embarrassment.

I wanted to quote an ancient saying, but unfortunately my cultural level is limited and I forgot the words at the critical moment.

However, most of the people in the tent were a bunch of rough guys and they didn't notice the problem at all.

As the only educated person, Liu Nian'an lowered his head to hide his smile.

……

(End of this chapter)