Chapter 156

Yangxindian.

The victory report and the bad news arrived almost simultaneously, making Ji Zhao Shun furious.

"Issue an imperial decree to have that bastard in Guangdong who withheld the military grain escorted to the capital; I want to have him skinned alive!"

Facts proved that the child who cries gets the milk.

Relying on the series of struggles earlier, Ji Zhao Shun had also obtained some power from the hands of the various auxiliary ministers.

Regarding matters like dealing with criminal officials, everyone would not refute the Emperor's face.

Anyone knowledgeable about military affairs knew that the reasons for the great defeat at Zhaoqing were multifaceted.

Among the many troops in Guangdong, the proportion of local government troops from Zhaoqing was not high.

In the entire campaign, they played a marginal role.

Prefect Yang was just unlucky to have happened to be at the critical moment when the soldiers mutinied over grain.

Bearing full responsibility was indeed a bit excessive.

However, it was not at all unjust for him to be cut into a thousand pieces.

Withholding grain from soldiers and triggering a mutiny was a capital offense.

As a local official with the duty to guard the territory, losing Zhaoqing Prefecture was also a capital offense that would cost him his head.

"Mr. Yin, Mr. Zuo, regarding the current situation, how do you think I should respond?"

Ji Zhao Shun asked.

Deep down, he had also expressed doubts about the abilities of these two.

But what other methods were there? He was a feudal prince who suddenly ascended to the throne, and he did not have that many talented people around him.

Among his trusted aides, Yin Yin Zhiming and Zuo Zuo Hongjiang were the ones who had served as high-ranking officials in the court and were most familiar with the rules of the Great Great Dayu officialdom.

"Your Majesty, the Among Guangxi rebels are not worth worrying about.

The Yangzhou Camp and the Two Huai'an Camp have recovered Lianzhou Prefecture; the rebels will inevitably have to withdraw troops from the front line to reinforce, and the crisis in Guangdong will be easily resolved.

What you need to consider now is the court.

According to the rules, you should be married and take personal control of the government next year.

This subordinate is not trying to sow discord between you and the several auxiliary ministers, but merely using history as a mirror.

Since ancient times, when a monarch takes personal control of the government, it is rare for power to be transferred smoothly.

Of course, the various auxiliary ministers were all carefully selected by the late Emperor and are certainly not treacherous officials.

But in their eyes, Your Majesty, you are still a child who has not grown up.

For the sake of the country, I am afraid..."

Yin Yin Zhiming took the opportunity to sow discord.

The chaos in Among Guangxi was the result of his own failure, but such things certainly could not be admitted.

In order to hide the secret, those involved in this matter were all ruthlessly silenced by him.

Having reached this point, the scapegoat for the collapse of the situation in Among Guangxi must be pinned on the various auxiliary ministers.

This was what the Emperor wanted, and it was also what he himself needed.

"Hmph!"

"I am a child, so they can continue to control the government, right!"

Ji Zhao Shun said with a cold laugh.

No monarch likes powerful ministers, even powerful ministers who have controlled the government for less than a year.

Although dissatisfied in his heart, Ji Zhao Shun could only hold it in.

In the game with the various auxiliary ministers, he had never gained any advantage.

If he were to turn against them directly, whether he could sit firmly on the throne would be an unknown.

"Your Majesty, the late Emperor established so many auxiliary ministers actually to balance power.

The current predicament is mainly because the various auxiliary ministers gather together every day and have gradually shown a trend of forming cliques.

If they could be separated, it would surely disintegrate the auxiliary ministers' clique.

The trouble with Your Majesty taking personal control of the government next year would also be easily resolved."

Zuo Zuo Hongjiang immediately proposed.

Going against the seven great auxiliary ministers, the pressure was truly too great.

In recent days, their students and former subordinates had been successively squeezed out of the center of power.

Some who were active were even thrown directly into prison.

Those who were lucky enough to escape were also distancing themselves from the two.

Their clansmen, thousands of miles away, were also hit.

Yin Yin Zhiming's son was exiled for forcibly seizing a woman, and Zuo Zuo Hongjiang's younger brother was beheaded for beating someone to death.

The officials handling the cases did not give them any face at all.

Compared to the boundless glory just after toppling the eunuch faction, the current situation of the two was completely at the opposite extreme.

If this continued, I am afraid they would be raided and wiped out before the Emperor could take personal control of the government.

Hearing "separate them," Ji Zhao Shun hesitated immediately.

The seven great auxiliary ministers were all high-ranking officials in the capital; if he wanted to separate them, he had to send some of them to serve in the provinces.

"It's difficult!"

Ji Zhao Shun shook his head and said.

The status of the various auxiliary ministers was there; the provincial Governors and Regional Commanders were several ranks below them.

Proposing that these people go down to serve was clearly a demotion.

As an Emperor without real power, it was not that easy to demote an auxiliary minister.

If he were not careful, it would trigger even more intense political confrontation.

For Ji Zhao Shun, in the current situation, it is better to remain still than to move.

By waiting until the day of taking personal control of the government, no matter how reluctant the auxiliary ministers were, they would have to transfer more power to him.

It was just that the speed of power transfer might be slower.

At his age, there was absolutely no pressure to outlive those old guys.

"Your Majesty, the Among Guangxi rebellion is the best opportunity.

To organize a coalition of multiple provinces to suppress it, ordinary ministers cannot deter the officials of each province; one must send heavyweight officials.

Send an auxiliary minister to supervise in Among Guangxi, and one can also send one to inspect in Liaodong.

The southeastern provinces need to raise grain and pay for the army, and one can also send an auxiliary minister to urge them.

In this way, three of the seven auxiliary ministers will be gone.

The wars in the two places will certainly not be quelled in a day or two; by the time you take personal control of the government next year, you will only have to face four auxiliary ministers."

Zuo Zuo Hongjiang explained with a smile.

Behind the seven auxiliary ministers represented a large group of people; they worked together to control the government, and the Emperor had no say at all.

If it changed from seven to four, the situation would be different.

Even if it was just a short departure from the capital, it was still leaving the center of power.

With such a great distance, the decision-making power for major court affairs would fall to the other four.

Once it involved the distribution of benefits, the three who did not participate personally would certainly be dissatisfied with the results.

Once or twice would not matter, but once the time was long, contradictions would arise.

"Mr.'s plan is wonderful!

However, regarding this matter, it is not convenient for me to propose it personally; can the two gentlemen do it on my behalf?"

Ji Zhao Shun's words scared Yin and Zuo half to death.

Such work that offends people, they could incite it in secret.

But to go to the court to propose it, that would be fatal.

"Your Majesty, the two of us are just holding nominal positions, and our words in the court do not carry enough weight!"

Yin Yin Zhiming hurriedly refused.

Currently, the only one targeting the two of them was Grand Secretary Pang.

If they stirred up trouble and offended three more auxiliary ministers to death, their enemies would be four auxiliary ministers who would not rest until they were dead.

Then there is no need to say anything else; just prepare the coffins directly.

"Forget it, I will arrange for others to implement it."

Ji Zhao Shun said with a hint of disappointment.

In his view, these two gentlemen had talent, but they were too timid when doing things.

Every time they encountered a major event, they had to hide behind.

……

Lianzhou Prefecture.

Without time to pay attention to the disturbances in the outside world, after wiping out the remnants of the rebels in Lianzhou, Li Mu immediately set about restoring agricultural production.

Compared to the fertile Yangzhou, Lianzhou was certainly far inferior.

But looking at the mountainous Among Guangxi, Lianzhou Prefecture still had relatively good conditions.

It had a port by the sea, the terrain was relatively flat, and there was sufficient rainfall suitable for agricultural production.

"That's enough!

These are all tasks for civil officials; no matter how well they are done, we won't get a commendation.

With this effort, it would be better to send troops to recover a few more cities, which would also allow us to report a victory to the court."

Watching Li Mu busy running around, Jing Jing Yifeng advised.

In order to suppress military officers, the Great Great Dayu prohibited them from participating in local governance.

Newly recovered areas like Lianzhou, although not restricted, should not be expected to earn any credit.

Doing more now is just making wedding clothes for others.

Jing Jing Yifeng had absolutely no interest in such thankless tasks.

"Seventh Uncle, do you think I want to waste time here instead of going to build a career?

Capturing over sixty thousand prisoners added over sixty thousand mouths to feed.

There are also refugees gathering here who need us to provide grain for relief.

The court is slow to send civil officials to take over this mess, so the pressure is all on us unlucky ones.

If we continue to send troops to recover more prefectures, the mess we have to take over will be even bigger.

The grain and fodder allocated by the court are insufficient to feed so many people, and they will rebel again later.

I see that many famous generals of the past who killed prisoners were all forced into it.

There are two paths before us now.

Either organize them to sow seeds immediately and strive to harvest a wave of spring grain to alleviate the grain pressure.

Or kill them all directly, and from then on, you and I will bear the name of butchers and be cursed by history books for thousands of years!"

Li Mu retorted unhappily.

These days, he had been busy running around.

Seeing Jing Jing Yifeng idle, he had long been unbalanced deep down.

He had wanted to ask Jing Jing Yifeng for help several times, but considering the insufficient execution power of the Two Huai'an Camp, he was forced to give up.

"Haha..."

"Don't include me in the matter of killing prisoners.

I certainly cannot do such things.

As for arranging for people to farm, even if I wanted to help, I wouldn't know how.

At worst, I will submit a few more memorials to urge the court to allocate more grain and fodder.

However, don't hold too much hope for such things.

Even daily military pay is withheld; in the eyes of those civil officials, prisoners of war and refugees don't count as people at all.

You'd better organize them to be self-reliant!"

While speaking, Jing Jing Yifeng looked at Li Mu with sympathy.

It is not easy to be a Regional Commander!

Besides managing the fighting, one also has to consider the aftermath.

If he had known it was so troublesome, he wouldn't have come over to babble.

If Li Mu were to quit, he would feel a headache just thinking about the extra tens of thousands of mouths to feed.

No wonder the court was slow to decide on candidates for officials in Lianzhou Prefecture; I guess no one wanted to come here at all.

Coming here to be an official now means getting no benefits and having to pay out of one's own pocket.

Don't even think about credit; if you're not careful, you might even have your head cut off by refugees starving to death.

"Alright, go do whatever you need to do, don't be an eyesore here!"

Li Mu said, pretending to be disgusted.

Organizing prisoners of war and refugees to restore production is a bitter task, but it also comes with huge benefits.

The registered land in Lianzhou Prefecture is only so much, and the rest was hidden by the gentry.

After being tossed around by the rebels, the local gentry suffered heavy casualties.

Even if a few lucky ones survived, it would be good enough if they could barely maintain their family business; they had no ability to continue occupying these hidden lands.

If one stays in Among Guangxi to serve, then these ownerless lands can legally become military fields.

If asked, they are military fields of the guard station!

Measuring them is impossible.

No minor official would dare to run into the military camp to measure land.

Anyway, civil officials who can be sent to serve in poor places like Among Guangxi are also marginal people in the court.

Anyone with a little background would not come to take over this mess.

Li Mu calculated that as long as it is managed for a year or two, the initial investment can be fully recovered.

Moreover, the court bears the brunt of this expenditure.

Added to the supplement of captured spoils, what he really needs to bear is not much.

(End of chapter)