After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

At that time, the Northern Dynasty's navy, sailing upstream, joined forces with the navy sailing south from Yangzhou to besiege the Daliang navy in the Zhenjiang area.

The artillery of the Russians, Dutch, and Portuguese was extremely powerful.

Their ability to maneuver warships was superior to that of the Liang navy, so the naval commander quickly ordered the warships to retreat and move ashore to engage in a standoff with the artillery.

Five thousand Green Standard Army soldiers from the Northern Dynasty, along with most of the Rakshasa people, landed on the shore. Zhenjiang was no match for them, so the cabinet ordered the Yongwei Battalion to go east and quickly come to their aid.

Fan Shiwei personally led the Yongwei Battalion to defeat 5,000 Green Standard Army soldiers and Rakshasa people, and temporarily recaptured Zhenjiang. However, the enemy's navy was extremely powerful and had already blockaded the river. Yue Zhongqi, under the cover of warships, led his army across the river.

The Yongwei Battalion attempted to attack while the enemy was crossing the river, but Yue Zhongqi first ordered his army to bring mountain cannons and elite Eight Banner soldiers across the river, along with the advantage of warships along the coast.

The Yongwei Battalion suffered heavy casualties.

Knowing that the Yongwei Battalion could not afford to lose, Fan Shiwei quickly ordered the battalion to withdraw the remaining artillery along the river and return to Nanjing.

The imperial court also ordered the Zhenjiang naval force to withdraw from Zhenjiang and return to Nanjing.

The cabinet issued a death order, commanding all counties in the Zhenjiang area to quickly fortify their defenses and clear the fields, and to move all the grain south.

The troops stationed in Changzhou by Zhang Gu, the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commissions, also moved forward to organize a scorched-earth policy, burning all the grain that could not be transported.

"Leave not a single grain of millet for the Northern Dynasty."

…………

Riding a lithe black horse, Luan Zongyuan went west from Yaofang Gate on the east side, bypassed Zijin Mountain, crossed the outer city wall, and entered the inner city through Taiping Gate, heading straight for the imperial city.

The imperial city was now on high alert.

Even when Grand Secretary Luan was in person, the general guarding the imperial city had to verify Grand Secretary Luan's golden talisman before allowing him to pass.

Upon entering the imperial city, we arrived at the East Pavilion, the government office where the cabinet was located.

The four cabinet ministers, Qin, Gao, Li, and Liu, are currently holding a military meeting.

"The Third Battalion of Yunhu has arrived in Sushui County," Li Xiangsong said.

"Not enough," Gao Congzhe said, pressing the map. "We need to send their forwards to Jurong."

"The three battalions are not in complete order right now. General Yang Ye personally led the Yunhu Battalion, while the other two battalions were led by his deputy generals." Li Xiangsong rubbed his forehead. "Originally, General Yang Ye was in charge of all the affairs, but the Chizhou Battalion has drawn the most elite troops, eight thousand of them. The Chizhou Battalion is making a fuss, saying that 'Yang Ye will send them to their deaths,' and they want to go back. Yang Ye and the deputy general of the Chizhou Battalion want to request their pay from the court first, otherwise the soldiers won't fight to the death."

"Isn't it just about asking for a reward?!" *Bang!* Gao Congzhe slammed his fist on the table. "What the hell is going on?! Still asking for rewards! No money, no war!"

Liu Zhenxi sighed: "Not to mention the Chizhou Army, Minister Fang said that even the Five Armies Camp and the Brave Guard Camp have received a lot of rewards these days. The national treasury is almost empty, and now they are relying on His Majesty's private funds to provide them with money."

At times like this, not giving rewards is not an option. If they are not given rewards, the enemy will take advantage of the chaos to demand them from the common people. If the suppression is too heavy, a single misstep could cause a mutiny in the army.

During the Former Liang Dynasty, there was an incident where a general submitted a memorial to the court, saying that his subordinates wanted to kidnap him and "take him to the capital to demand payment."

Gao Congzhe suppressed his anger: "Tell Yang Ye that the reward will be given for killing a Northern Dynasty soldier..."

Li Xiangsong quickly pressed his hand down, saying, "Don't let these soldiers kill innocent people and claim credit for it."

With bloodshot eyes, Grand Secretary Li sighed:

"Give Yang Ye a salary and elevate his rank, so that he can keep the others in check. Then order them to quickly dispatch vanguards to defend Jurong and, together with the Jurong magistrate, implement a scorched-earth policy. If they can just hold Jurong, it will be a great achievement! At least a viscount, no, an earl... His Majesty can afford that!"

Fortunately, although the national treasury of Daliang has not been abundant in recent years, the amount owed to the army for wages has not been much, so the lower-ranking soldiers are unlikely to actually engage in "demanding wages and striking."

Even if there were arrears in pay, it was because of layers of exploitation within the army, with the pay being embezzled by superiors and never reaching the hands of the lower-ranking soldiers.

This kind of thing is investigated and dealt with every year, but it can never be eradicated.

Gao Congzhe sighed and agreed with Li Xiangsong's opinion. Rewarding the generals is worse than rewarding the soldiers. Only by telling these soldiers that they can get titles for winning battles can they reduce the amount of blood and sweat they take from the lower-ranking soldiers and focus on winning the battle first.

Luan Zongyuan stepped into the East Pavilion.

"Grand Secretary Gao," he also advised the other party, "since ancient times, when soldiers went to war, did they ever go without pay? Don't lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains."

Yoo Jin-hee smiled wryly:

"His Majesty's private treasury is still thanks to the Emperor Emeritus's prudent management of the household, plus the profit sharing from the Baiyu Workshop, and the previous reforms of the weapons manufacturing in the three bureaus. In order to obtain some new weapons, each army has taken out some of their own resources in addition to the money from the Ministry of Revenue given by His Majesty. But if they continue like this, His Majesty's private treasury will not be able to withstand it."

These words immediately sent a chill down everyone's spine.

Qin, the chief minister, raised his eyelids and looked at Luan Zongyuan.

"It's alright."

Luan Zongyuan didn't think too much, as if this idea had been churning in his mind for a long time, and simply nodded:

"At that time,"

His already deep-set eyes looked even more eerie at this moment.

"I will certainly not allow Your Majesty to revive the old ways of Emperor Kaizong of the Ming Dynasty... I will simply obtain the silver."

The others immediately turned to look at Luan Zongyuan, their pupils slightly contracting.

Luan Zongyuan said, "I come from a humble background, unlike you all, who are burdened by the reputation of your families."

His expression gradually turned fierce:

"At that time, I only ask that you all refrain from interfering with my 'extortion'."

Everyone's expression froze.

Gao Congzhe gritted his teeth and looked at Prime Minister Qin:

"Lord Qin... if things do not go smoothly, I will trouble you to escort His Majesty on his southern hunt... to Fuzhou..."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Qin Yuanzhang closed his eyelids and fell silent.

After a few breaths, he slowly opened his eyes and said in a hoarse voice:

"Let's wait a little longer... let's wait for Prince Gui..."

Li Xiangsong shook his head and said:

"King Gui is afraid; he probably won't send those five thousand troops to defend the king."

"His not rebelling," Gao Congzhe said with a cold laugh, pressing his finger on the map of Yunnan. "That's already doing His Majesty a favor. We don't need to trouble him!"

After Gao Congzhe said this, the cabinet fell silent for a moment.

By the end of March, they had already ordered the two princes, Tang and Gui, to go north to defend the emperor.

The Tang king immediately selected warships to sail north, and the Gui king also dispatched 5,000 elite troops to Nanjing.

However, after the Gui King's army reached the Yongzhou area, the general in charge said that the soldiers were suffering from acclimatization problems. After leaving most of the grain, weapons, and armor he had brought to the Huguang army, he hurriedly ran back to Yunnan.

The Prince of Gui immediately wrote a letter, saying that he had beheaded the traitor and would immediately send elite troops north again.

This delay has now lasted for more than a month.

The cabinet ordered the Tang emperor's warships to remain in the Zhoushan area for later use.

If it weren't for the fact that the Gui King's army had at least left behind their supplies, they might have already concluded that the Gui King had betrayed them and could not be trusted.

Even so, they had already issued military orders, instructing the prefects of all prefectures in Yunnan to take strict precautions.

…………

Fan Shiwei led his Yongwei Battalion eastward at noon on July 5th and engaged in battle with Yue Zhongqi's vanguard battalion, defeating it.

The soldiers and civilians of Nanjing were overjoyed.

Luan Zongyuan led the Yongwei Battalion to ambush and kill the vanguard battalion in the Zhenjiang area.

This bought the counties five days of time for scorched earth measures.

The vanguard of the Yunhu Third Battalion arrived in Jurong County on July 11.

The magistrate of Jurong County was a capable official.

Not only did they fortify the surrounding area and clear out the fields, but they also organized local militia to defend the city and trained local braves. Based on the local garrison troops, they barely managed to assemble a force of three thousand men, which could be considered one of the loyalist forces.

The imperial court dispatched Dong Yunzhuo, a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Rites, to Jurong. He was appointed as an imperial censor and military supervisor, and together with the vanguard of the Yunhu Three Battalions and the magistrate of Jurong County, he was tasked with containing the Northern Dynasty army in Jurong.

On July 14, Fan Shiwei led the Yongwei Battalion back to the capital.

On July 22, Yue Zhongqi's main force crossed the river and set up camp in Zhenjiang.

Li Wei, the governor-general of Jiangnan of the Northern Dynasty, arrived in Yangzhou and ordered the preparation of the supply lines for Yue Zhongqi's camp to ensure that Yue Zhongqi had sufficient food and military supplies before capturing Nanjing.

On July 23, Yue Zhongqi, who valued speed in warfare, led his troops forward and launched a direct attack on Changzhou!

Zhang Gu defended Changzhou to the death.

Fan Shiwei led the elite troops of the Yongwei Battalion eastward to attack the Zhenjiang camp.

The three battalions of Yunhu marched east from Jurong to support Changzhou.

Yue Zhongqi suffered a setback in Changzhou and returned to Zhenjiang.

The Yongwei Battalion withdrew to Nanjing the day before Yue Zhongqi returned to Zhenjiang.

July 29th.

Yue Zhongqi abandoned the idea of ​​attacking other places in Jiangnan first, and only plundered more than 10,000 laborers in the vicinity.

The next day.

Yue Zhongqi led an army of 100,000 westward into Nanjing.

The sixth day of the eighth lunar month.

Yue Zhongqi's elite troops have officially begun to besiege Nanjing!

…………

Ten days after Yue Zhongqi's army besieged Nanjing.

Inside the Qianqing Palace,

Doctor Jiang Sixue, Madam Ning, whom the Empress called "Mother", Madam Jia of the Zhenguo Marquis's Mansion, Madam Xiao of the Jingbei Marquis, Ning Beizhi, the only daughter of the Jingbei Marquis... were standing outside the brightly lit East Warm Pavilion.

I could hear the heart-wrenching cries coming from inside.

Waiting for Her Majesty the Empress inside... to give birth to a son...