Fu Shanhe

Chapter 96: The Big Explosion in the Capital

When I stepped into Yangzhou City again, I saw a completely different scene. The once bustling streets had become empty.

In Yangzhou, which was ravaged by the plague, merchants and travelers had long disappeared, and residents in the city no longer went out.

Except for a few merchants selling grain, oil and daily necessities, who were ordered by the government to stay open, there was no business on the streets.

Bringing soldiers into the city, Li Mu skillfully took over the defense of Yangzhou and presided over the epidemic prevention work.

The soldiers below were all familiar faces, and many of them were recruited by him.

Those who dared to disobey were all sent to be cannon fodder, and now their graves are covered with grass.

The local gentry in the city were also very considerate and did not jump out to cause trouble.

The same epidemic prevention order was instantly enforced with greater force after the person in charge was changed.

The officials in Yangzhou Prefecture felt very jealous when seeing this.

"Sir, the people below only know about the Wucheng Military Command, but not the Yangzhou Government Office.

If this continues, it will lead to disaster!"

Ren Renming said with a frown.

As the prefect of Yangzhou, he was very disgusted with the Wucheng Bingmasi's attempt to seize power.

The envisioned epidemic prevention was that the soldiers of the Wucheng Bingmasi would obey his command and carry out epidemic prevention measures.

But it's not like now. All the affairs in the city, big and small, have been taken over by that bunch of soldiers, making him, the prefect, a decoration.

"What disaster could there be?
The Wucheng Bingmasi is the garrison of the capital. They can handle the daily affairs of the capital, but they cannot take charge of the affairs of Yangzhou!"

Xu Wenyue said unhappily.

Looking at the acting prefect appointed by the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel in front of him, he was filled with anger.

If this guy hadn't been incompetent, causing the plague to rage in the city, he wouldn't have had to bow to Marquis Wuyang.

According to convention, the army was not allowed to interfere in local government affairs, but the Wucheng Bingmasi was not an ordinary army.

This is the kind of work I do in the capital, so it’s no big deal to go back to my old job in the countryside.

As for exceeding his authority and removing the governor of Yangzhou from office, it was just his bad luck, after all, the Wucheng Bingmasi was responsible to the emperor.

Xu Wenyue didn't think he had the dignity to force others to obey the orders of a local prefect.

"My Lord, that's not what I meant.

You are the imperial envoy, yet they made the decision on their own without even asking for your permission.

Such arrogance and domineering, obviously he has his own troops..."

Before Ren Renming could finish his words, Xu Wenyue threw the teacup in his hand at him.

After a loud bang, the splashing water soaked him to the bone.

Not caring about the blood on his forehead, Ren Renming knew that he had completely offended Lord Xu, otherwise he would never have been treated like this.

"Please forgive me, sir!"

"Please forgive me, sir!"

……

Ren Renming quickly knelt down and begged for mercy.

All the officials present were terrified and no one dared to step forward to help.

Smart people know that Ren Renming has violated a taboo.

In order to vent his anger, he used the trick of sowing discord on his boss.

It's fine to use it covertly, but this guy doesn't know the difference between life and death and keeps doing it again and again.

"roll!"

"Don't let me see you again!"

Xu Wenyue said indifferently.

He hasn't shown his power for a while, so the people below him dare to treat him as a fool.

This trip to the South is to achieve results and pave the way for further progress, not to compete with others.

The conflict between us and Marquis Wuyang can just be pretended for the emperor to see.

It would do him no good to fight on with all his might.

To the prefect of Yangzhou, the whole world was Yangzhou, but in the eyes of him as a cabinet minister, he was thinking about the whole world.

Local gains and losses are nothing at all.

Deep down in his heart, Xu Wenyue's dissatisfaction with the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel reached its peak.

Ask them to send people over to help, not to stir up trouble.

Not only does Ren Renming have limited abilities, but he also lacks good eyesight.

Arranging this kind of person here is just to seduce him!

If he hadn't reacted quickly enough and seen through this guy's true nature in time, and kept him by his side and made use of him, he would have gotten into big trouble sooner or later.

Having had a bad impression, Xu Wenyue no longer wanted to use other officials sent by the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel.

The biggest reason why the Qingliu Party lost in the political struggle was that there were too few people willing to do practical work.

It’s not because of incompetence, it’s just that whenever you do something, you will make mistakes.

A group of colleagues do not focus on the achievements, but instead pick on the mistakes of others and take advantage of their misfortunes.

Internal strife has seriously affected everyone's enthusiasm for work.

As a result, many officials do nothing but rely on saying nonsense that everyone likes to hear to gain a good reputation and stay in high positions.

This kind of tactics worked fine when dealing with incompetent rulers, but it no longer worked after Emperor Tianyuan ascended the throne.

The emperor liked officials who were pragmatic, and those below him were forced to follow suit.

Those retired guys in the six departments of Nanjing obviously haven't seen the situation clearly and are still using the same old tricks.

After sending everyone away, Xu Wenyue began to have a headache.

The situation in Yangzhou was tricky, and whoever became the prefect would have to clean up a mess. Frankly speaking, he really didn't want to put his confidant in such a tricky position, as the probability of a crash in the future was too high.

But now it seems that we have to rely on our own people.

Those recommended by others were simply unable to understand his intentions and follow his footsteps in governing.

"Huaichang drafted the official document for me, recommending Hanlin scholar Gu Youwen as the prefect of Yangzhou, and recommending the deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue Ma Cunzhong as the magistrate of Yangzhou..."

Xu Wenyue named a string of official titles in one breath, which scared Hou Huaichang.

"Lord, this may be inappropriate!"

Hou Huaichang hurriedly persuaded.

It’s not that there is anything wrong with the people recommended. On the contrary, they all have good abilities.

If you don't have any outstanding qualities, you won't be able to catch the eyes of Lord Xu.

The trouble is that these people are all Xu Wenyue's disciples and former officials.

Putting all of them in Yangzhou Prefecture would be too obvious an act of nepotism and easily lead to criticism.

"Don't worry, the current Yangzhou Prefecture is not the same as before.

Except for the city of Yangzhou, the three states and seven counties below were all captured by the rebels, leaving behind a huge mess to be cleaned up.

None of the factions would place officials with potential in these hot positions.

I took the initiative to recommend people here to help relieve the court's worries.

Well, my status as a minister really does not allow me to recommend them.

Send a message to Marquis Wuyang, I want to invite him to a banquet!"

In the end, reason prevailed and Xu Wenyue gave up the idea of ​​recommending it personally.

But the person still has to be brought here, otherwise the aftermath and finishing work cannot be done, and he, as the cabinet minister, will have no chance of getting away.

“Sir, Marquis Wuyang is also an imperial envoy, so it would be appropriate to ask him to recommend officials for vacant positions in Yangzhou.

But he doesn't get along with you, and if there's not enough reward, I'm afraid he won't agree easily."

Hou Huaichang stepped forward and reminded.

Political deals are nothing new in official circles.

Even old rivals can still cooperate when necessary.

The fear is that Xu Wenyue needs it unilaterally, and Marquis Wuyang has no demand for the transaction, so the price to be paid will be high.

"Don't worry, the needs of those relatives are different from ours.

Marquis Wuyang did not stay in the capital to seek blessings, but traveled thousands of miles to Yangzhou, all for the sake of a family business that could be passed down.

There are so many salt fields in the Lianghuai region. If the government directly manages them, all of them will be in the red in a few years.

Rather than leaving it to the eunuchs to cause harm, it is better to sell it to private operation.

As Marquis of Wuyang, it would not be excessive for him to get one or two of them.

Besides, this old man needs someone to come and clean up the mess in Yangzhou, doesn't he have any confidants to arrange?"

Xu Wenyue said disdainfully.

If there is no demand, then create it.

The nobles, relatives of the emperor and the eunuchs joined forces, not only to push the emperor behind the scenes, but also to get a share of the salt industry.

The imperial court was in financial difficulty and needed more tax revenue.

Either they plunder the people, or they plunder the merchants, or they plunder the officials.

The former has reached its limit. If further levies are imposed, the cost of governance will rise sharply.

The emperor didn't dare to try it easily, so he could only settle for the next best thing.

The Dayu Dynasty was a typical combination of officials and businessmen. If the emperor wanted to make money, he could only choose to support one faction and attack another.

This is true above and below is no exception.

If Xu Wenyue wanted to achieve political achievements in the salt administration reform, he also needed to win over more allies.

If he doesn't break up the alliance between the eunuch party and the foreign relatives and nobles, who would buy his position as an imperial envoy with no real title?

……

"Boom!"

A loud bang broke the silence of the night sky and shook the entire capital.

Under the huge shock wave, countless houses were reduced to ruins and raging fire illuminated the entire capital.

The earthquake caused by the explosion spread from the capital to Hebei, and the surrounding prefectures all felt the ground shaking.

In the palace.

Emperor Tianyuan, who was busy creating a human being, was blown off the bed by the huge aftermath, and his head hit the ground heavily.

"what!"

"Send the message to the imperial doctor quickly!"

……

The emperor was injured and unconscious. After receiving the bad news, the empress and the queen mother also fainted.

The concubines in the harem were so frightened that they were trembling with fear and were completely unable to take charge of the situation.

The leaderless palace fell into chaos, with only a group of eunuchs left to run the work.

……

Emperor Tianyuan was not the only unlucky one. Under the violent shock wave, many mansions of the powerful and wealthy near the center of the explosion were all reduced to ruins.

The Mansion of Duke Xingguo, the Mansion of Marquis Nanyang, the Mansion of Marquis Pingyuan...

All the prominent nobles became history with the big explosion.

Only the blazing fire proves that they once existed.

(End of this chapter)