Fu Shanhe

Chapter 72 Taking the blame
Yangzhou City.

Since defeating the rebels, this ancient city has become bustling again.

Apart from the lack of lavish spending by salt merchants, everything else remained unchanged.

The Yangzhou gentry who had successfully chosen sides were all congratulating themselves on their cleverness.

The panic dissipated and the flow of people on the street suddenly returned to normal.

The arrival of the Five Cities Army did not make this ancient city better, nor did it worsen the situation in the city.

Compared with the almost intact city, the impact below was greater.

Several county towns under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Prefecture are still in the hands of the rebels.

The impact on the civilian population was even greater. Countless villages were reduced to ruins and a large number of refugees gathered outside the city.

……

"The number of refugees outside the city continues to increase. Do you have any solution?"

Marquis Wuyang's questions clearly hit upon everyone's weaknesses.

The separation of civil and military administration in the Dayu Dynasty was strictly enforced. With the exception of a few border areas, no military generals had ever held important local administrative positions in other regions.

The noble group would naturally not challenge the taboos that the emperor forbids.

In their family education, they were taught how to lead troops in battle and how to use political tactics, but they were never taught how to govern the place.

"Commander-in-chief, local governance is the job of civil officials.

As military generals, we defeated the rebels and let the civil officials take over the subsequent affairs.

You can send someone to notify the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel and ask them to send someone over immediately to deal with the refugee issue."

It's a standard proposal, without any highlights, but it doesn't require any risks.

Military generals avoid state affairs, and no one can find fault with them.

"Captain Zhao, you think too simply.

This Marquis has already written to the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel, but those old-timers in the officialdom who are content to eat and wait for death only agreed verbally but did nothing practical.

I think everyone has experienced their efficiency.

Of the weapons and equipment promised previously, less than one-tenth has been delivered so far.

According to the normal official selection procedures, it would take three to five months, which is the basic operation.

The most hateful thing is that group of idiots actually asked me to release the officials of Yangzhou Prefecture and give them a chance to redeem themselves for their crimes!"

As soon as Marquis Wuyang gave his explanation, everyone instantly became united in their hatred of the enemy.

Investigating and punishing a group of officials in Yangzhou Prefecture was one of their group’s achievements.

To give these people a chance to redeem themselves from their crimes, the previous case files must be overturned.

In the officialdom, slapping yourself in the face will affect your career.

"Commander-in-chief, this matter cannot be agreed to.

Those who plot treason are unforgivable.

The officials of Yangzhou Prefecture are in collusion with the rebels. Letting them out would be endangering the country.

The person who made this suggestion must have evil intentions.

I suggest that this person be investigated strictly!"

Tang Jincheng's murderous proposal represented the voice of all the generals present.

Having been cheated by the Nanjing Ministry of War before, now the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel is causing trouble again. No one can stand this.

As an imperial envoy, the power in the hands of Marquis Wuyang can be interpreted in infinite ways.

If evidence could be found, officials from the six ministries in Nanjing could also be brought down.

“This imperial envoy will not let this matter go, but that is a follow-up matter. The most urgent issue that needs to be dealt with right now is the refugee issue.

Yangzhou Prefecture can still cope with the refugees outside the city alone.

The tricky thing is that the number of refugees is constantly increasing, and relying solely on the government treasury for relief will inevitably cost a lot.

Next we have to recover the lost territory, and a large number of refugees will come out.

Without proper handling, trouble can easily arise.”

Marquis Wuyang said with a frown.

He thought he had done a very good job in dealing with the refugee issue. He ordered the opening of warehouses to release food early on and sent people to build temporary settlements.

However, as the number of refugees continued to increase, the camp soon exceeded its capacity and all kinds of chaos emerged.

"Commander-in-chief, opening the granaries and releasing grain can only solve the immediate problem.

The gathering of a large number of refugees will inevitably lead to problems.

The only solution now is to adopt work-for-relief policy, so that everyone can have a livelihood and people's hearts can be stabilized.

It just so happens that the moat needs to be dredged to accommodate a large number of manpower.

However, this will inevitably increase expenses.

According to the Dayu Law, large-scale work-for-relief had to be reported to the imperial court for approval and then jointly implemented by multiple government offices who would supervise each other.

The six ministries in Nanjing are all a bunch of rats and they will definitely not take responsibility for this issue.

The capital is too far away, and distant water cannot quench nearby thirst.

However, the eunuch Zuo who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department and the cabinet minister Xu are both in the Lianghuai region.

Ask them to send someone to supervise the implementation of work-for-relief, and the court can also be explained to it. "

Li Mu suggested cautiously.

Behind every strange law, there is a strange story.

The Dayu Dynasty was very strict about work-for-relief, purely because it was forced by the bureaucrats below.

A good policy becomes a means of making money when it reaches the local level.

These alone are nothing. The key point is that decades ago, there was a case of imperial robe being put on the throne due to work-for-relief.

In order to nip the problem in the bud, the imperial court directly patched it.

Officials' attitude towards work-for-relief also underwent a U-turn.

Including opening warehouses to release grain, everyone's management of refugees was also very loose.

They would rather have public security in chaos than allow the censors to impeach them for plotting evil.

“Work-for-relief is very tricky!”

Marquis Wuyang said with a frown.

If we can organize the refugees to carry out construction, we can also organize the refugees to rebel.

In the eyes of those censors, whenever something like this happened, it was a conspiracy to rebellion.

Most of the time, the emperor did not believe the impeachment of the censor.

But there are exceptions.

If the emperor thought about it too much, it would be disastrous for the officials who were carrying out the execution.

Multiple government offices jointly supervise and implement the policy, which seems to be a restraining system, but in fact it is also a way to avoid responsibility.

Marquis Wuyang has a special status, so when he encounters such taboos, he needs to think twice before acting.

Including Li Mu, who made the suggestion, also advocated bringing more people over to take the blame.

Only when the Qingliu, the eunuch party, the external relatives, and the nobles are all involved, will the censors dare not make irresponsible remarks.

"Commander, we can try another approach.

Didn’t Nanjing send people over to arrest the person directly?

Implement work-for-relief in the name of the six ministries, and select a few deputy envoys from the government offices to assist. "

After listening to Captain Su's suggestion, Li Mu suddenly realized that his skills were still not enough.

They only thought about solving the problem through legitimate means, and did not think of finding someone to take the blame and isolating themselves from risks.

Even if problems arise later, everyone has plenty of excuses to shirk responsibility.

“That’s right, local governance should be the responsibility of civil servants, and we can just assist them.

This matter has been settled. Those officials in the government office can’t just collect salaries without doing anything. Just give them a title!”

Marquis Wuyang made the decision on the spot.

With someone taking the blame, he is happy to contribute to the country.

……

(End of this chapter)