Chapter 212

Wuchang Prefecture.

"Lord Zhu, these are the organized documents and account books.

Please check them, and once you confirm there are no errors, we will have completed the handover."

Xu Wenyue said urgently.

He did not want to work another day in this wretched position of Viceroy of the Five Provinces.

Since someone had finally come to fill the vacancy, he naturally wanted to complete the handover as quickly as possible.

During his tenure as Viceroy of the Five Provinces, although he had lost half of Guangdong, he had also recovered most of Guangxi and driven the rebel army out of Yunnan and Guizhou.

Looking at the map, the rebel army's area of operation had been severely compressed, and the situation was developing in a direction favorable to the imperial court.

The problem was that these victories were all piled up with money and grain.

In just over a month since the start of the year, a quarter of the annual military budget had already been spent.

At this rate of fighting, the entire year's funding would be exhausted by the first half of the year.

If the rebellion could be quelled within half a year, then everything would be fine.

If the situation were to change and the war dragged on, funding would become the biggest problem.

The imperial court was not wealthy, and there were many places where money needed to be spent.

In the newly recovered lands of Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou, there were still a large number of refugees waiting for the imperial court to allocate funds for relief.

The rebel army's methods were extremely vicious; every time the imperial court recovered a place, it was equivalent to taking over a mess.

If the supply of money and grain could not keep up, even if the military had the spare capacity, they would not dare to continue recovering lost territory.

Unless someone dared to defy the world and order the slaughter of refugees, this was an unsolvable problem.

It was precisely because he saw through all of this that Xu Wenyue took the initiative to submit his resignation, without maneuvering to retain his post through a special imperial decree.

"Grand Secretary, the war at the front is urgent, and everyone cannot do without you right now..."

Before Zhu Jingyi could finish his words of persuasion, Xu Wenyue interrupted him.

"Lord Zhu, there is no need to say more. I am currently filled with immense grief and truly have no heart to consider anything else.

As for military matters, you can discuss them with the other ministers.

I will say no more; this unfilial son must return home to mourn."

After speaking, Xu Wenyue pushed the official seal toward Zhu Jingyi and stood up to leave directly.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Jingyi was speechless for a moment.

This was far too urgent; even for mourning, there was no need to be in such a rush.

The world would keep turning without anyone, and Xu Wenyue's departure would not affect the continuation of the military conference.

During wartime, everything was simplified; from the moment he took over the official seal, Zhu Jingyi became the new Viceroy of the Five Provinces.

"Minister, a report of victory has arrived from the Guangxi front; the imperial army has successfully recovered Guilin Prefecture.

They routed 100,000 rebels, beheaded 10,000 traitors, captured 3,000 enemy troops, and rescued over 200,000 people harmed by the rebel army.

We hope the imperial court can allocate money and grain to provide relief to the disaster victims and reward the meritorious officials."

Guangxi Military Defense Commissioner Lu Lingchuan stepped forward to report.

The victory report had arrived a day ago, but he had deliberately delayed it until now to wait for the new Viceroy to take office.

"Oh!

Has the battle record been verified?"

Zhu Jingyi asked, looking slightly pleased.

The imperial army's recovery of Guilin Prefecture meant that the war in Guangxi was about to come to an end.

Receiving this good news just after taking office was undoubtedly a great omen.

However, Zhu Jingyi still felt a bit uneasy; in Great Dayu, it was common practice to falsely report military achievements to curry favor with superiors.

"My Lord, rest assured, the battle report has been verified by multiple parties and can withstand scrutiny.

No one would dare to fake such a major event as the recovery of Guilin!"

Lu Lingchuan guaranteed immediately.

The battle results might contain some exaggeration, but the front line was definitely real.

If Guilin had not been recovered, no one would dare to release such big news.

"Good!

Allocate 100,000 taels of silver to Guangxi to provide relief to the disaster victims and reward the three armies."

Zhu Jingyi said with satisfaction.

The end of the Guangxi war meant that he now had tens of thousands of mobile troops at his disposal, which could be deployed to other battlefields.

Whether it was moving east to recover Guangdong or moving north to pincer the enemy's Northern Expedition Army, both were good choices.

If everything went smoothly, he might even be able to achieve another great victory.

"Minister, 100,000 taels is likely not enough.

Just the expense of settling the disaster victims alone cannot be covered by 100,000 taels.

Moreover, the soldiers at the front have just made great contributions and need to be rewarded.

The Guangxi Provincial Governor, the Regional Military Commissioner, and the Army Supervisor have jointly submitted a memorial, hoping the imperial court can allocate 400,000 taels of silver, 500,000 shi of rice, 30,000 bolts of cloth..."

Before Lu Lingchuan could finish speaking, Zhu Jingyi's expression changed drastically.

Guangxi was asking for far too much; at this rate of consumption, the funding provided by the imperial court would not be enough for him at all.

He had done his homework before coming.

During the period when Xu Wenyue presided over the suppression of the rebellion, although he achieved significant results, he also consumed a massive amount of money and grain.

The imperial court's decision to change commanders, besides Emperor Yongning wanting to reduce the influence of the auxiliary ministers, was also significantly due to the high costs at the front.

He was not an auxiliary minister and did not have enough prestige to make the imperial court provide unlimited money and grain support.

To complete the task of suppressing the rebellion, it was inevitable to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

Increasing revenue meant imposing taxes and levies on the people, but the rebel army had already reached their doorstep, so imposing taxes on the people near the front line was definitely not a good choice.

Since the path of increasing revenue was not easy to follow, only reducing expenditure remained.

From the start of the suppression war until now, the units in Guangxi had the highest per capita military expenditure.

For an official sensitive to numbers, there must be room for cost-cutting where expenditures exceeded the average.

"Then add another 100,000 taels of silver, 200,000 shi of rice, and 8,000 bolts of cloth; except for the full replenishment of military equipment, all other supplies will be halved.

Tell Zhang Sihan that the imperial court is not wealthy, so let them bear with it a little more."

Zhu Jingyi thought for a moment and said.

If it weren't for the victory report, he wouldn't even want to give these supplies.

There was no other reason than the fact that the Guangxi Field Army had already received too much money and grain.

Even Huguang, which had twice their troop strength, had not received as many supplies from the imperial court as Guangxi.

"Minister, such a small amount of supplies is likely not enough!

Guangxi's production has been severely damaged, local government fiscal revenue is almost zero, and all necessary expenses rely on allocations from the imperial court.

If the supply of materials cannot keep up, there will be a major disaster!"

Lu Lingchuan said in a panic.

The supplies given by the Viceroy were far from expectations, and he had no way to go back and report.

Deep down, he was full of doubts.

It seemed that none of the main officials in Guangxi had offended Zhu Jingyi.

On the day the Viceroy took office, they even sent a victory report, releasing enough goodwill.

Even if it were to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, one should distinguish between friend and foe.

Cutting the money and grain allocated to Guangxi right from the start was clearly unreasonable.

"That's enough, this is all there is.

The money and grain allocated by the imperial court are limited, and I think you all know how much money and grain is in the Viceroy's office.

If you don't save, you won't be able to last until the end of the war.

Next, everyone must increase revenue and reduce expenditure to share the worries of the imperial court.

If you want more money and grain, then go get it on the battlefield.

The Guangxi Field Army has performed well and can indeed get more money and grain, but this recovery of Guilin was not perfect.

If the deployment had been more cautious and the rebel leader had been captured alive, I would be willing to give even more money and grain!"

Zhu Jingyi said to appease them.

But his words did not make people feel at ease; instead, they made the officials restless.

Everyone present knew that the money and grain allocated by the imperial court were insufficient.

In the past, it was Xu Wenyue who tried every possible way to ask the imperial court for money and ask the various provinces for money.

Most of the Viceroy's business revolved around the issue of money and grain.

Undoubtedly, facing a money-devouring beast like war, the fiscal deficit would only grow larger.

Even an auxiliary minister like Xu Wenyue couldn't handle it and wanted to escape the sea of bitterness, so Zhu Jingyi had even less of a way.

If there wasn't enough money and grain in hand, he could only let everyone tighten their belts and live a hard life together.

Even though he knew that doing so would make the people below dissatisfied, he had no better choice.

Yongzhou Prefecture.

Having escaped the pursuit of the imperial army and arrived in the safe zone, Shi Rongxuan had no smile on his face at all.

The three kings of different surnames all claimed that the war at the front was urgent and did not come to welcome him, the Holy Emperor, merely sending representatives instead.

Anyone could see that with the series of defeats in Guangxi, the authority of him, the Holy Emperor, had been severely weakened.

The three kings of different surnames who were partners had now developed different thoughts.

It wasn't that the three wanted to rebel and take the throne; their indifferent attitude was mainly because of military power.

In the past, the Holy Emperor sat in the rear, and all military and political power at the front was in their hands.

Now that Shi Rongxuan had arrived at the front, the situation had changed.

With the constraints of the righteousness of monarch and subject, Shi Rongxuan's intervention in the military and political affairs at the front was completely justified.

For the three kings of different surnames who were accustomed to holding great power, this was undoubtedly unacceptable.

Not knowing how to refuse, they simply avoided meeting him and shelved the problem.

If Shi Rongxuan had ordered the protection of everyone's rights, it would likely have been a different situation.

"Human hearts are always insatiable!"

After sighing, Shi Rongxuan cast his gaze outside the window.

Facing the probing of the three kings of different surnames, whether to compromise was a distressing problem.

If he continued to delegate power, the influence of the three kings of different surnames in the Holy Kingdom would continue to expand and grow.

Taking measures to centralize power could trigger internal strife.

The Bai Lian Holy Kingdom had not yet escaped danger, and if internal strife occurred at this time, it would be self-destruction.

"Issue an imperial decree: promote Prince Dongping Wei Hao to Eastern King, Prince Pingnan Fu Haoxuan to Southern King, and Prince Zhenxi Wang Weijiarui to Western King.

Order the three of them to combine their armies and take Changsha at all costs!"

Shi Rongxuan ordered, suppressing his dissatisfaction.

Now was not the time to fall out; for the sake of the big picture, he had to compromise.

Once the uprising failed, everyone else would have a chance at survival, but only he, the Bai Lian Holy Emperor, would die without a burial place.

Hiding in the deep mountains to become a bandit was just an unrealistic fantasy.

As long as the government offered a high enough reward, traitors would eventually appear.

As long as the imperial court was determined, even if he fled to the ends of the earth, he would not escape the fate of being liquidated.

"Holy Emperor, after promoting the three kings, it will be difficult to coordinate them in the future."

Wu Zekai reminded him tactfully.

Having no more titles to confer has always been a taboo in the relationship between monarch and subject.

As long as one reaches this step, the ending is usually not very good.

"No matter!

One-character kings are the highest reward; those are all traditional bad habits.

My Holy Kingdom intends to change the mandate of heaven, so naturally, we cannot follow these remnants of the previous dynasty's rules.

If the three royal brothers can make more military contributions, it would not be impossible for everyone to share the world together!"

Saying it lightly, deep down, Shi Rongxuan was equally confused.

Relying on compromise and concession to temporarily integrate the power of the Holy Kingdom, no one could say for sure how long this situation could last.

Even he himself wouldn't believe the nonsense about sharing the world.

Throughout history, countless monarchs have promised to share the world with their subjects, but not a single one has truly fulfilled the promise.

Those who could distribute a few shares and allow subordinates to participate in governing the world were few and far between.

More often, it was the birds being hidden away once the bow was no longer needed, and the hounds being cooked once the hares were caught.

With so many historical lessons, the three kings of different surnames below would definitely be on guard against him, the Holy Emperor.

If the forces of all parties were balanced, Shi Rongxuan, the Holy Emperor, could still play the role of an arbiter.

If the balance in the court were broken and a situation where one side dominated appeared, a coup and internal strife would be almost inevitable.

In an instant, Shi Rongxuan made a decision to cultivate more of his own direct armed forces.

Guilin Prefecture.

Looking at the dilapidated city, the expressions of the officials entering the city were not very good.

The good mood of recovering lost territory disappeared without a trace at this moment, leaving only endless melancholy.

"Provincial Governor, Guilin Prefecture is finished!

The farmland outside has been destroyed by the rebel army, the cities everywhere have been reduced to ruins, and now even the prefectural city has not been preserved.

To rebuild Guilin, I'm afraid it will be difficult to see results without decades of work."

Chai Jingcheng said with deep worry.

It wasn't that he was pessimistic; it was truly that he couldn't see any hope.

Compared to the prefectures recovered earlier, Guilin was the most thoroughly destroyed by the enemy.

As the Prefect of Guilin, Chai Jingcheng had already anticipated his future miserable life.

Let alone "three years as a clean prefect, one hundred thousand taels of silver," it would be good enough to just cover daily expenses.

If one wanted to engage in corruption, there had to be silver to corrupt.

The current Guilin Prefecture was just a large-scale demolition site.

Those villagers who survived could barely even feed themselves.

"Eating the monarch's salary, sharing the monarch's worries.

No matter how difficult it is, we must do it.

Lord Chai, I will have to trouble you to put in more effort for Guilin Prefecture.

You don't need to worry about the lack of population; I still have hundreds of thousands of refugees in my hands, and they can all be left to you."

Hearing Zhang Sihan's words, Chai Jingcheng was so angry he couldn't speak.

He was complaining at this time to ask the Provincial Governor's office for money so that post-war reconstruction work could be carried out as soon as possible.

However, he didn't get the money, but was sent trouble instead.

It was true that Guilin Prefecture lacked people, but he had to be able to afford them.

He had neither money nor grain in his hands.

If he accepted these refugees, I'm afraid it wouldn't take three days before the flames of war would rise again within the territory.

"Provincial Governor, Guilin has been destroyed by the rebel army and is now a blank slate.

Although this subordinate is willing to take over and settle the refugees, I lack money and grain in my hands and am truly powerless despite my willingness."

Chai Jingcheng hurriedly refused.

Involving his personal career, he didn't want to challenge the hell mode.

The Provincial Governor's office was already breathless from the pressure of the refugees, and Guilin Prefecture couldn't take on this burden either.

Subsequent development required population, but that was a matter for the future; in any case, he was currently unable to settle these refugees.

"In any case, some must be settled.

Especially this new batch of refugees, they are basically locals of Guilin Prefecture, and you, the parent official, cannot just ignore them.

For the problem of money and grain, you can apply to the imperial court for an allocation.

Not only Guilin Prefecture, but all other prefectures must also bear a portion of the refugee settlement work.

The funding allocated by the imperial court is insufficient, so you must find your own ways to solve the shortfall.

I don't care how you solve it, but you must not cause a major disaster."

Zhang Sihan said seriously.

The new Viceroy was very stingy with money and grain, and even the military expenses that should have been allocated were slashed heavily.

Although they were suspected of false reporting, Great Dayu also had a tradition of embezzlement; reporting two or three percent more, the money and grain received in the end would be just enough.

In a situation where money and grain were insufficient, the supply of the army must be prioritized, and the refugees suddenly became a thorny problem.

"The mines in various places have gradually resumed production, and it is precisely the time when labor is lacking.

We can select some young and strong people from the refugees to go there and earn wages to support their families.

Everything is difficult at the beginning; as long as a portion of the people resume normal life, the others will quickly walk out of the shadows."

Jia Bo said to comfort them.

As the Provincial Administration Commissioner, in charge of provincial finance and subordinate officials of various prefectures, settling disaster victims was also part of his duty.

At a critical moment, he had to state his position.

"Everyone, stop complaining.

It's not just you who have insufficient funding; the situation in the army is even more miserable.

The new Viceroy believes that our troops are mostly garrison soldiers and have an obligation to fight for the imperial court for free.

When distributing money and grain, he directly cut their money and grain.

My command sits on 50,000 to 60,000 troops, but fewer than 10,000 can receive military pay.

I don't know how to fill such a big hole."

Complaining fiercely on the surface, Li Mu didn't take it to heart deep down.

Garrison soldiers not having military pay is an old tradition of Great Dayu.

Being able to receive allocations from the imperial court earlier was due to the special situation in Guangxi.

In the current Guangxi, only the last Wuzhou Prefecture remained in the hands of the rebel army, and the military pressure had been greatly reduced.

In a situation where military expenses were insufficient, cutting the money and grain allocated to garrison soldiers was completely normal operation.

As early as the moment he took office as Regional Military Commissioner, Li Mu had anticipated the current situation.

While recovering lost territory, he was also constantly organizing manpower to resume farming the military fields he had snatched back.

After harvesting for several consecutive seasons, he had already achieved self-sufficiency in grain.

But one still had to cry about being poor.

To support an army, just letting the soldiers eat their fill was not enough; other expenses generated by daily training were also not small.

To cover all the expenses of the army, unless all the garrison's military fields were restored to farming, this was not something that could be completed in a short time.

One shouldn't refuse the imperial court's supplies.

In any case, under Great Dayu's system, no matter how much money and grain were in the national treasury, they would slowly be swallowed by the bureaucratic group.

(End of chapter)