Chapter 102: Yangzhou Assistant Regional Commander

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, only the tail end of autumn remained.

The drop in temperature brought new troubles.

"Have the winter clothes for the soldiers been prepared?"

Li Mu asked with concern.

Although the army provided uniforms, resources like cotton-padded clothes were expensive, and it was impossible to issue them every year.

When the court's finances were good, they were issued once every three to five years.

Once the finances fell into a predicament, there was no hope at all.

Even on the Nine Borders front line, only the elite border troops could guarantee one cotton-padded garment per person.

In most garrison forts and guard stations, soldiers took turns wearing them when going out on patrol.

For ordinary families, wearing the same cotton-padded garment for ten or twenty years was a common phenomenon.

Compared to troops stationed elsewhere, the Five Cities Military Commission, which was permanently stationed in the capital, was considered a wealthy office.

The soldiers had decent incomes, and if they were a bit frugal, they could still afford to purchase them.

However, they had arrived in the summer, and no one knew they would be staying for such a long time, so no one had brought cotton-padded clothes or quilts.

As a good commander, Li Mu naturally had to take these problems into account.

"My Lord, all winter supplies have been prepared."

"According to your requirements, we have purchased them at a high standard."

"It is just that by doing so, our expenses have exceeded the budget, and the days ahead will likely be difficult."

Lan Linjie reminded him tactfully.

The military budget was limited, and even when fighting away from home, the court had clear regulations.

Li Mu's battalion was already overstaffed, and with him as the commander being anything but frugal, daily overspending was the norm.

If it weren't for the fact that Marquis Wuyang had pre-drawn a year's budget while governing Yangzhou, they would never have been able to maintain daily operations on the funds normally allocated by the court.

"It doesn't matter. The trade in Yangzhou is recovering."

"Starting next month, we will be able to resume normal operations."

"Referring to the situation in the capital, the daily fees collected are enough to maintain the troops' expenses."

"What is truly troublesome are the refugees outside the city."

"Work-for-relief has reached its final stage."

"The relief grain allocated by the court is becoming less and less."

"If we don't persuade them to return as soon as possible, they will miss the winter plowing."

"If we send them away now, with the few coins in their pockets, most won't be able to hold out until the spring harvest."

"With local officials still not in place, these problems are being solved by no one!"

Li Mu said with frustration.

Once the world was at peace, the true nature of Great Dayu's bureaucrats surfaced again.

Previously, the ones sitting in Yangzhou were either Marquis Wuyang or Grand Secretary Xu.

Facing these two big shots, not a single official dared to act recklessly.

Because of the issue of delayed material allocation, several officials in the Nanjing Six Ministries had lost their posts.

After it was replaced by Li Mu, this deterrent effect clearly diminished.

Supplies were indeed being allocated, but the quantity had clearly decreased.

On one hand, the court was poor; on the other, some people couldn't help but reach out their hands.

"My Lord, local officials probably cannot be relied upon."

"Yangzhou Prefecture was severely ravaged by the rebels, and the local gentry also suffered."

"Trying to find a solution from the local level is almost impossible."

"The treasury is empty, and taxes cannot be collected; Yangzhou Prefecture has no money either."

"If local officials want to get things done, they can only look to those above."

"The court confiscated a huge sum of money, but there are too many places in the world that need money."

"I estimate that by the time it reaches the capital, it will have already been carved up by the various offices."

"If we want to solve the funding problem, I estimate that selling land will be inevitable."

"However, a portion of that money must be turned over to the court, and I doubt much will be left for the local level."

Lan Linjie said with experience.

As a member of the gentry group, he wasn't familiar with the ways of the officialdom, but he understood the local situation very well.

The court selling land was just a way for officials and gentry to split the spoils.

Who had what status and how much land they could buy were all governed by unwritten rules.

No matter how good the land was, it wouldn't fetch a high price here.

Only the scraps of bad land that the big shots didn't care for might be sold to wealthy merchants.

"Draft a memorial for me, and urge the Ministry of Personnel again."

"No matter how we do it, without the cooperation of local officials, refugee resettlement cannot proceed."

"Also, send someone to notify the Nanzhili Provincial Administration Commissioner and ask for instructions on the refugee resettlement issue."

Li Mu said helplessly.

Acting as the head of Yangzhou was fine, but the boundary between civil and military officials was ultimately an uncrossable chasm.

Moreover, the counties below were currently under military control.

There were many military officers left behind who were higher in rank than him.

Asking them to pay money and provide grain to resettle refugees was purely a pipe dream.

Compared to his colleagues, Li Mu's situation was still considered good, as the trade in Yangzhou City recovered quickly after the war.

Even if it was still a far cry from its peak, it could still provide some income.

Other places were not so lucky; apart from a few counties on major transportation routes that were slightly better off, the rest were essentially blank slates.

Everyone didn't have many refugees, but they still had a group of prisoners of war to feed.

With the court delaying the handling of the situation, Li Mu strongly suspected that those civil officials wanted to use this winter to starve or freeze those prisoners to death.

The thought was a bit dark, but it was very consistent with reality.

Whether they were passive or active participants in the rebellion, their families had already died at the hands of the court.

Keeping these people was a huge hidden danger.

If someone among them rebelled again in the future, the official who made this decision would have to bear the political responsibility.

At best, they would lose their post; at worst, they would lose their head.

Executing them all didn't fit the Confucian ideology of benevolent governance.

Ordering them to be exiled for military service would inevitably lead to heavy casualties, which would again draw the condemnation of those moralists.

No matter how it was handled, it would leave a huge hidden danger for themselves.

Under a weak monarch, everyone would just push the problem to the Emperor and be done with it.

But facing Emperor Tianyuan, the trouble couldn't be pushed upward, so they had to deal with it themselves.

With civil officials unwilling to bear the responsibility, they just dragged it out.

With people locked in the POW camp, if an accident occurred, it would be the responsibility of the guarding commander.

Once most of them had died, they would intervene to handle it, finding some excuse to muddle through.

The cause of death for the prisoners recorded in future history books would either be military corruption or a plague.

However, whether the civil officials' calculations would succeed depended on the court's power struggle.

Knowing they would be the scapegoats, the military officers weren't fools either.

Even Li Mu knew to urge them, so other commanders wouldn't just sit idle.

In the Imperial Palace.

"Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Song has just passed away!"

Upon receiving this news, the soup in Emperor Tianyuan's hand spilled all over the floor.

"He's gone just like that!"

In the eyes of many, this Grand Secretary Song was just a "good old man" and a "wall-patcher."

But to Emperor Tianyuan, this wall-patcher had a more important significance: maintaining the balance and stability of the court.

In normal times, Grand Secretary Song's presence wasn't high.

But whenever a major change occurred, he would always step up and quickly stabilize the situation.

The series of reforms pushed by Emperor Tianyuan had failed, but they hadn't caused a major chaos, and Grand Secretary Song had played a huge role in that.

"Grand Secretary Song has made great contributions to my Great Dayu throughout his life, so his funeral arrangements must not be sloppy."

"Issue an edict to confer the posthumous title 'Wending'."

"Bestow one thousand taels of silver, one hundred bolts of cloth, three thousand bushels of grain..."

"Tell the officials to suspend court for one day."

"Guang'en, you go on my behalf to offer condolences for Grand Secretary Song."

Emperor Tianyuan said with exhaustion.

He was always generous toward the dead.

Whether it was the nobles who died in accidents or the Grand Secretary who died in office, he gave them all funeral honors.

Perhaps there was an element of acting, but the political arena was always a big stage.

No one cared if it was sincere or fake; as long as it could be acted out, the fake could become real.

The Grand Secretary was dead, and the court situation, which had finally stabilized, was bound to change.

Previously, Grand Secretary Wang had left, and now Grand Secretary Song had also left; the Grand Secretariat only had three cabinet ministers left, so bringing in new people was inevitable.

Every struggle for a cabinet seat was the peak arena for Great Dayu's factional strife.

Every civil official qualified to compete would go all out.

Emperor Tianyuan didn't care who won or lost.

As an arbitrator, he only needed the court to maintain balance.

The current situation was very bad; without Grand Secretary Song to mediate, the factional strife ahead was bound to be even more intense.

But his health as an Emperor was poor, and he didn't have the energy to handle state affairs and balance the factions.

"As you command!"

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

"Some unimportant matters should be left to the officials to handle!"

Zuo Guang'en said with worry.

The Emperor's poor health could be hidden from the officials outside, but not from those of them by his side.

Seeing Emperor Tianyuan in such pain, he was truly worried.

"Rest assured, once these troublesome matters are handled, I will rest."

Emperor Tianyuan had said similar words more than once.

Unfortunately, the troubles of Great Dayu never stopped.

One hadn't been handled well before another new chaos broke out.

The officials looked decent, but that was based on the premise of mutual checks and balances of power.

Once power became unbalanced, it was hard to say if those below would still be so obedient.

Pang Mansion.

"Grand Secretary, I just received news that Lord Song has passed away!"

Upon hearing this news, Pang Hengsheng was stunned.

"What, Song Haidong is dead?"

The mountain that had been pressing on him was suddenly gone, but Pang Hengsheng felt no joy, only a sense of desolation.

Compared to the late Grand Secretary Song, he wasn't much younger.

An old rival leaving first was also a reminder that he himself was old.

"Tell the servants to prepare; I am going to see him off for the last time!"

Pang Hengsheng sighed and said.

(End of chapter)

"In name, this humble official is a Mobile Corps Commander, but I, this Mobile Corps Commander, don't even have a single soldier.

The troops of the Five Cities Military Commission will not be stationed in Yangzhou for a long time, and some generals in the army have already begun to transfer away one after another.

I suppose in another two or three months, they will withdraw from here.

Before these troops withdraw, we must organize the new army to take over the defense they left behind.

The military pay and military equipment promised by the imperial court have not arrived at all.

If something goes wrong, I can't just lead my retainers to charge, right!"

Li Mu said helplessly.

Various factions in the court are fighting endlessly for entering the cabinet and simply cannot take care of this little thing in Yangzhou.

Although he has some human relationship connections, he can't stand the logistics part being held in the hands of civil officials.

"Commander, this student has heard of local coordination pay, but this is the first time I have encountered such a high coordination pay.

Although the Southern Zhili is rich, every income has a corresponding expenditure.

Wanting the Provincial Administration Commissioner to take out such a sum of money every year is afraid that it is a bit difficult.

The situation in Yangzhou Prefecture is even worse, and for a long time in the future, the prefectures and counties below will reach out for money.

Even if the new Prefect is willing to give us coordination pay, I am afraid it is difficult to take out so much money and grain.

Why don't you think of a way from the capital and let the Governor's Office allocate a sum of money?"

Lan Linjie said with a wry smile.

Promotion is a good thing, but never thought that there would be so much trouble after promotion.

"The coordination pay figure is large, that is what this humble official deliberately operated.

Anyway, it's all bargaining; letting the Governor's Office set a big figure is also better to talk about.

If it can really be requested, it will be considered that we earned it.

With the richness of the Southern Zhili, if the Provincial Administration Commissioner's office really wants to give money, it's not impossible to scrape it together.

The situation in Yangzhou Prefecture is similar; agricultural tax is gone, isn't there still commerce?

There are so many merchants coming and going; as long as local officials want to make money, they can certainly raise funds.

The Governor's Office has only that little budget every year, and all the troops are staring at it.

It is not difficult for this humble official to ask for money, but the difficulty is that if I ask for it this year, does it mean I have to continue asking next year?

Think of a way to open up sources!

Sitting on a treasure mountain, this humble official doesn't believe he can still be starved to death!"

Li Mu said heroically.

Changing to serving as a Mobile Corps Commander in other places, it might indeed be troubled by the lack of pay, but this is Yangzhou Prefecture.

As one of the richest places in the Great Yu Dynasty, as long as you are willing to think of ways, you can certainly make money.

"Commander, are you eyeing the ownerless land outside?

This matter is afraid that it is inappropriate.

Noble relatives in the court and Jiangnan gentry are all staring at this fertile soil.

With your status, it is okay to go in and share a portion.

If you want to rely on this land to raise a battalion of soldiers, the impact is too great!"

Lan Linjie said in horror.