Fu Shanhe

Chapter 413: Serving the King
"Your Majesty, there is nothing serious. You will wake up after a short rest."

The imperial physician's words made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

Both eunuchs and the Embroidered Uniform Guards depended on the imperial power for survival, and their fate was tied to that of Emperor Yongning.

As long as Emperor Yongning is alive, everyone will be rich and prosperous.

When Emperor Yongning met with an accident, their political lives came to an end.

If you are lucky, you can even live in a cold government office in your old age, but if you are unlucky, you can't even save your life.

"Thank you for troubling Imperial Doctor Liu. Please go to the back hall and rest for a while."

Xu Zhongen said with a smile.

Leaving, it is impossible to leave.

Before the emperor woke up, no one was allowed to enter or leave the Yangxin Palace.

Otherwise, once the news of the emperor's coma was known to all officials, who knows how much trouble it would cause.

In order to keep the secret, they even hid it from the harem.

"Water... water..."

A faint voice was heard, and Su Haoyu, who was serving on the side, hurried forward to help Emperor Yongning up, and Xu Zhongen even took the chicken soup and went forward to feed him personally.

The whole process was completed in one go, and the imperial physician Liu, who was originally closest to the place, was pushed aside.

After drinking a bowl of chicken soup, Emperor Yongning's spirits improved slightly.

"Send an order to summon the six ministers and four elders to the palace immediately to discuss state affairs."

When the words fell, everyone was shocked.

Even with such a poor health, he still forces himself to handle government affairs. This is a bit too much diligence.

“Your Majesty, your health is important.

It is better to leave the affairs of state to the cabinet!"

Xu Zhongen tried to persuade him.

The inner court and the outer court restrain each other and are an important part of the power balance in Dayu.

It was just that Emperor Yongning was too diligent in his work, and all the work in the inner court was taken away by the emperor.

Although he, the eunuch who holds the seal, seems to be in a high position and has great power, in fact, there are not many things he can decide.

Especially when it came to major events concerning the fate of the empire, the emperor would consult with senior officials in the court, and the inner court did not even have a say.

Under normal circumstances, he should take the opportunity to show off his abilities.

However, Xu Zhongen knew Emperor Yongning very well and knew that the emperor was greatly influenced by scholars and had been taught since childhood that eunuchs' interference in politics would bring disaster to the country and the people.

In this context, when it came to military and national affairs, he never said anything unless the emperor asked.

"If I am not watching, they will blame each other and the northern barbarians will come to the capital without any result.

However, my current state is not suitable for meeting them.

There is a curtain between us. You guys are in the front, urging them to come up with a plan as soon as possible, and I am listening from behind."

Emperor Yongning waved his hand and said.

Having suffered too many losses from mistakes in employing people, he naturally became skeptical of all officials.

The corruption of the Central Plains battlefield became a foregone conclusion.

The northern barbarians are coming again with great force. If we cannot stop the enemy's attack, the tragedy of the capital being besieged last time will be repeated.

The first time could be considered an accident, but the second time it was inexplicable.

What was lost was not only face, but also the ruling foundation of the Dayu Dynasty.

"According to the order!"

……

Xu Mansion.

"Eunuch, His Majesty is anxious for us to enter the palace, but what has happened?"

Xu Wenyue asked doubtfully.

Everyone has been busy with disaster relief recently. The biggest problem facing the court is nothing more than the millions of starving people.

The resurgence of the rebels in the Central Plains was ignored by him.

Having witnessed the White Lotus rebels wreaking havoc across half of the country, the few rebels now active in the Central Plains were nothing to him.

The imperial court was on high alert, nominally to contain the rebels, but in reality to prevent the spread of the disaster victims.

Life was difficult in the northern provinces. During the lean years, it was common for people to survive by eating grass roots and tree bark.

If more victims pour in, the fragile local ecology will be disrupted, creating more victims.

Everyone in the court and the country knew that Marquis Wuyang was sending disaster victims to Annan.

There was also an impeachment by the censor, but it was ignored by the imperial high-ranking officials.

It is better to send people out than to keep them where they are and cause chaos.

For the gentry group, the displacement of these disaster victims from their hometowns freed up their land, making it easier for them to merge with them.

In fact, as Dayu has developed, land annexation has become increasingly difficult.

If we are not careful, it will trigger civil unrest.

The greatest impact of the White Lotus Rebellion was that it awakened the people's consciousness of resistance.

"Lord, you will know after you enter the palace.

I don't know the specific details.

Today, the palace was under martial law, and the Yangxin Palace was even more restricted to people entering but not leaving. The ban was not lifted until I left the palace."

For the sake of the banknotes, the middle-aged eunuch reminded gently.

What can be said and what cannot be said is a compulsory course for those working in the inner court.

We have to give face to the elder minister, but the real master is still the one in the palace.

"Thank you for your guidance, father-in-law!"

Xu Wenyue said politely.

These hints are enough to prove that something big has happened in the palace.

What exactly happened is not something that outsiders should be aware of.

However, since the emperor was so anxious to summon them into the palace, it was most likely related to state affairs.

When it comes to purely harem affairs, even if the emperor wants to consult someone, he would consult the empress and the queen mother.

Even Zong Zheng has more say than them.

Similar scenes continued to be played out in the homes of the summoned ministers, and everyone was secretly guessing what had happened.

In the evening, everyone's official sedan chairs appeared in the palace one after another.

After looking at each other, they were led into the Hall of Mental Cultivation by the eunuch without exchanging a single word throughout the whole process.

“My Lords, the Imperial Guards just reported two pieces of bad news.

A few days ago, Kaifeng fell and the northern barbarians crossed the Great Wall defense line.

The smoke signals we saw five days ago marked the beginning of the northern barbarians’ invasion and the beginning of the enemy’s breakthrough.”

As soon as Xu Zhongen finished speaking, the faces of the ministers changed drastically.

Receiving two pieces of bad news in one day was like a bolt from the blue for the Dayu Dynasty.

"Eunuch Xu, could the Jinyiwei have made a mistake?"

"Kaifeng was hit by a flood, and it is indeed possible that the rebels could break through the city defenses.

However, the imperial court spent a huge amount of money to build the Great Wall defense line, and the northern barbarians were not good at attacking cities.

The border troops’ fighting power is obvious to all, and at the very least they can hold out for a month or two.”

Minister of War Luo Zefeng was the first to question.

In recent years, the imperial court has spent a total of 600 million taels of silver just on the construction of city walls.

The court's military expenditure at the border last year exceeded 16 million taels of silver.

No one can accept that after investing so much money, they get such a result.

"Lord Luo, this information was sent back by the Jinyiwei at the risk of their lives, so it cannot be false.

If nothing unexpected happens, the local government will send a letter asking for help in a day or two.

Whether you are willing to believe it or not, the Northern Tartars did break through the Great Wall defense line in one day.

The defense line collapsed quickly. On the one hand, the city wall was built for show. The bricks were not fired according to the court regulations, but were directly rammed earth.

On the other hand, there was heavy snow at the border, and the supplies for the soldiers stationed on the front line were not delivered on time.

When the Jinyiwei passed by Shunxiang Fort, they found that all the 17 soldiers stationed in the fort had frozen to death in the house.

According to the court regulations, the garrison in the fort should be 100 people."

Zheng Yingyi coldly broke the window paper.

In the past, he could pretend not to see it.

But it’s not possible now. If the Great Wall defense line is breached one day, there will definitely be accountability.

If he continues to cover up the matter, he will have no more work to do as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Ministry of War, Ministry of Works, what do you think about this?"

Emperor Yongning couldn't help but question.

He could never understand why the Great Wall defense line, which was built at great expense, was as thin as paper.

Now after listening to the words of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it all suddenly made sense.

The shoddy construction, coupled with the lack of employees working without working, and the untimely delivery of supplies, will make it difficult to hold the defense line.

Since there was a Shunxiangbao tragedy, there will be countless Shunxiangbao.

It is these large and small fortresses that together form the Great Wall defense line. If these fortresses are rotten, then the entire defense line will be rotten.

Without these people's timely warning, the garrison troops would not be able to receive the news in the first time, and by the time they discovered the enemy, the enemy had already attacked.

After all, for the Northern Tartars, no matter how long the Great Wall defense line is, a breakthrough only requires one point.

Once one cut is made, countless cuts will soon appear.

It is not easy to blow up a shoddy city wall.

"Your Majesty, I will thoroughly investigate this matter when I return and will find out the criminals!"

Luo Zefeng and Shen Qiyuan answered in unison.

Corruption is a long-standing problem in Dayu. Although they promised to do so readily, they have no idea how to thoroughly investigate it.

As the top of the entire interest chain, it is impossible for the younger brothers below to let the boss starve even though they can drink and eat meat.

The annual tribute of ice and charcoal is not received in vain.

As usual, when something like this happens, they should find a way to protect their younger brothers, or at least help them reduce their punishment.

But the situation this time was different. No one expected the people below to be so bold.

Even the Great Wall defense line, which was related to the fate of the empire, was a shoddy project.

Compared with the Minister of Works, the Minister of War Luo Zefeng was more panicked.

If it is a shoddy project, the worst that can happen is that the officials who presided over the construction will be fired and used as scapegoats.

The Ministry of War’s troubles were not only the loss of its defense line, but also the need to find a way to resist the invasion from the northern barbarians.

If the northern barbarians approach the city again, he, as the Minister of War, will inevitably have to go to the imperial prison.

It was impossible to pass the buck. The Dayu army was nominally united, but in reality it was divided into two waves.

The troops in the southern provinces all obey the command of the Governor's Office and selectively execute the orders of the Ministry of War.

The situation of the troops in the northern provinces was just the opposite. They all obeyed the Ministry of War and pretended to obey the military orders of the Governor's Office.

It was in the emperor's interest to split the imperial army into two and check and balance each other, but Emperor Yongning chose to pretend not to see it.

After a few years of adjustment, it gradually became an unspoken rule.

In the allocation of military expenditures, the northern provinces took away most of the court's resources because they had to defend against the northern barbarians.

Although the southern provinces could not obtain full support from the imperial court, several governors and governors-general were bigwigs from the noble families and they could obtain financial support from the local governments.

Although the imperial court wanted to bring all financial power back to the central government, it still encountered obstacles in the implementation process.

All military expenditures were directly allocated by the local governor's office, and the money and grain were not first transported to the Ministry of Revenue.

The reasons are ready-made: to reduce fire consumption during transportation.

The officials of Dayu practiced the policy of "plucking feathers from passing geese", and local taxes were turned over to the Ministry of Revenue, with the fire consumption usually being around 20%.

The funds allocated by the Ministry of Revenue were even more seriously embezzled.

After all the in and out trouble, at least half of the money and grain were swallowed up by the bureaucratic system.

The money and grain were allocated locally and did not even go to the Ministry of Revenue, let alone the Ministry of War.

If you can’t control the logistics, you will naturally lose the right to speak.

It just so happens that the strongest troops of the Dayu Dynasty are distributed in the southern provinces.

There are nominally many troops in the north, but not many of them are really capable of fighting.

Seeing how badly the Great Wall's defenses were destroyed, we know that the few border towns that were rebuilt were most likely fake.

The only one that can really fight is Liaodong Town.

If these people are willing to fight to the death, they can still scare the Northern Tartars.

The Tatars would definitely not be able to bear the loss of tens of thousands of their elite troops.

Unfortunately, Liaodong has already established its own system. We can follow it for a while, but it is impossible to fight hard.

"You're only investigating now, what were you doing before?"

"The northern barbarians have already charged in. Even if you stand on the city gate tower at this late hour, you can still see the enemy!"

Emperor Yongning couldn't help but scold.

It was originally agreed that he would listen behind the curtain while the inner and outer courts discussed countermeasures.

When the time came, he couldn't help but intervene.

"Your Majesty, calm down!"

All the ministers advised in unison.

Everyone is confused by the current situation.

Although I knew that the bureaucracy was corrupt, I never imagined it could be corrupt to this extent.

The decline of the Great Yu Dynasty was due to its poor governance of officials.

If the bureaucrats continue to play their games, they will hollow out this empire sooner or later.

"Your Majesty, now there are two important matters that should be handled separately.

Since Kaifeng Prefecture was captured by the rebels, even if troops were sent immediately to quell the rebellion, it would not change the deteriorating situation in the Central Plains.

Now that the victims have rebelled, disaster relief is no longer a necessary option.

Directly order Marquis Wuyang to lead his troops north to quell the rebellion. I think we will receive good news soon.

The real problem is the invasion from the north.

The Great Wall's defenses are made of paper, and most of the border troops in the north are also useless.

The issue of accountability will not be addressed even after the war.

The most urgent task is to quickly mobilize troops and keep the Northern Tartars out of Shuntian Prefecture. The tragedy of the capital being besieged must never happen again.

I implore Your Majesty to order the Duke of Chengguo, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, and the Marquis of Hanshui to raise troops to support the king.

Together with the Liaodong garrison and the Beijing camp, we will gather 400,000 troops to encircle and annihilate the Northern Tartars in Hebei!"

Gu Jiaxi stepped forward and gave advice.

The current situation is catastrophic for the Dayu Dynasty.

But for him personally, the current situation is a great savior.

It turned out that delaying disaster relief was the right decision.

The situation in Henan had completely deteriorated before anyone left the capital, and disaster relief, which had been the top priority, became suppressing the rebellion.

As the situation changed, he, the imperial envoy for disaster relief, became useless.

When it comes to leading troops in battle, you can do it if you know how, and you can’t if you don’t.

Even the highly respected Lord Xu could only barely hold on when he arrived at the local level.

If a minister like him who had never led troops was to take charge of the situation, the emperor would not feel at ease even if he was willing to volunteer.

In order to avoid danger, he simply took the initiative and threw the difficult task to Marquis Wuyang.

By the way, a solution to the northern crisis was also given. Although it is a little less feasible, it is still a solution.

"Master Gu, I'm afraid distant water cannot quench immediate thirst!"

"It would take at least 18 days for the imperial edict to be delivered to the Governor-General's Office of Fujian and Zhejiang.

It would take at least twenty-five days to send it to Shu.

It would take more than forty days to deliver it to the Annan Protectorate.

It will take another two months to raise strategic materials.

It will probably take half a year for the army to gather to support the king."

Xu Wenyue shook his head and said.

Theoretically, the fastest communication speed of the imperial court could reach 600 miles a day, but it was only in the plains.

In actual operation, the average distance is two to three hundred miles, which is considered good.

The more winding the road is, the slower the communication speed.

Generally speaking, the speed of military intelligence transmission in the North is faster than that in the South.

Although the South can use ships, the wind and waves at sea are unknown and it is impossible for everyone to gamble on the probability.

"Why does it take so long to gather the army to support the king?"

Gu Jiaxi asked in pretended surprise.

In order to show the emperor that he knew nothing about military affairs, he tried his best.

With the example of being forced to provide disaster relief, he was really afraid that one day he would be pushed out to lead troops.

“The actual situation will only be worse.

The official road from Annan to the capital is about 7,000 miles long. Assuming a daily march of 40 miles, it would take at least six months.

If you go by sea, the speed will be faster, but the wind and waves on the sea are uncontrollable.

If we are lucky, we can reach Tianjin in two months or so. If we are unlucky, the ship will be destroyed and everyone will die."

Xu Wenyue said unhappily.

In his opinion, the so-called encirclement and annihilation plan is a bunch of shit.

The troops of the Marquis of Hanshui, who were the farthest away, were unable to arrive at the battlefield in time, and it was unknown whether the other government troops could defeat the enemy.

Among all the civil and military officials in the court, Li Mu was the only one who had defeated the Northern Tartars head-on in a large-scale military battle.

If we want to fight a decisive battle that will determine the fate of the empire, the empire's top general must not be absent.

"Lord Xu is right. Lord Gu's plan is good, but it is too difficult to implement.

My dear ministers, do you have a better strategy?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a frown.

(End of this chapter)