Chapter 228

Affected by the Bai Lian Sect rebellion, sea merchants in the Guangdong and Among Guangxi regions moved to Fujian one after another, and Quanzhou Prefecture, this trading city, became increasingly prosperous.

However, the sea merchants, who were seen as throwing money around like dirt in the eyes of the outside world, were currently panicking.

After the news that the court intended to lift the sea ban spread, the sky fell for the sea merchants.

In any business, monopoly is the most profitable.

The reason why overseas trade was so lucrative was primarily due to the "sea ban."

Official policy suppression made maritime trade the exclusive domain of a few.

Daring to engage in overseas trade unscrupulously while the court banned the sea naturally meant there was no lack of protection from powerful clans behind the scenes.

This protection was not free.

While receiving support, they also had to return a large portion of their profits to the proprietors behind the scenes.

Once the court lifted the sea ban, the number of merchants pouring into overseas trade would inevitably increase significantly.

By then, the huge profits of monopoly trade would cease to exist, and the earnings of these sea merchants would also shrink significantly.

Regardless of how profits changed, the share of interests for the powerful clans behind them had to be guaranteed.

The grease for local government offices also could not be reduced.

The relationship networks established in the past still needed to be maintained.

Besides this, the number of henchmen they kept also had to increase.

Maritime trade was never peaceful, and there were many competitors, so the probability of accidents at sea would be higher.

For the sake of a legalized name, throwing away the huge profits in hand was something any merchant would find hard to accept.

"Clan leader, please think of a way quickly.

Once the court lifts the sea ban and we take action again, it will be too late!"

Bao Bao Yuntao said in a panic.

As a collateral descendant of the Bao clan, he was a wealthy merchant who threw money around outside, but back in the clan, he became a money bag.

He contributed nearly eighty percent of the family's income, yet his status and position were very ordinary.

At the very least, in front of the scholars and Tong Jinshi in the clan, he was nothing.

"What are you panicking about?

The sky isn't falling yet!

What Marquis Marquis Wuyang wants is military funding; he himself doesn't care that much about whether the sea ban is lifted or not.

The greatest pressure currently faced by officials at all levels in the localities is also raising military funds for the great army.

As long as the fiscal deficit can be plugged, they won't care who the money comes from."

The old man's words immediately pointed out the essence of the problem.

Marquis Marquis Wuyang proposed lifting the sea ban to levy taxes and raise money, not to promote reform.

The current situation of the Great Dayu Dynasty was also not suitable for major changes.

If money could be raised elsewhere, then persuading Marquis Marquis Wuyang to abandon the plan would not be a difficult task.

"Clan leader, the logic is correct.

But the court has no money now and wants the three provinces of Guangdong, Among Guangxi, and Fujian to raise their own military funds.

Even the tax revenue before the rebellion broke out wouldn't fill this hole, let alone at a time like this!"

Bao Bao Yuntao said with a bitter face.

Like all feudal dynasties, the Great Dayu Dynasty, passed down to the present, had seen private wealth become unprecedentedly concentrated.

Seventy percent of the wealth was in the hands of the gentry group, twenty percent in the hands of the nobility and imperial relatives, and only the last ten percent was in the hands of the general public.

The Bai Lian Sect rebellion was still ongoing, and increasing the exploitation of the people at this time carried the risk of overturning at any moment.

Moreover, Guangdong and Among Guangxi had just been looted by the rebels, and there was simply not much fat left to squeeze.

Even if the bones of the people in Fujian province alone were squeezed dry, they wouldn't fill this hole.

Marquis Marquis Wuyang himself was a member of the nobility and imperial relatives and could not betray his own class.

Of course, even if he could betray his class, it would be useless.

The nobility and imperial relatives in Fujian province also couldn't come up with this money.

The only ones holding large amounts of silver were the merchants attached to the gentry group.

Now that Marquis Marquis Wuyang wanted to raise funds, sea merchants, salt merchants, cloth merchants, grain merchants, tea merchants... were all big spenders.

Because sea merchants were mainly concentrated in the Guangdong and Fujian areas, they would naturally be the focus of attention.

"What you say is not wrong; this hole is indeed hard to fill.

It's just that the Bai Lian Sect rebels are rampant; once they are allowed to grow, that is digging up the roots of Confucianism.

The military funding for the imperial army to suppress the rebellion must be raised, but this money cannot come from us.

Arrange for people to incite the scholars in various places; now is the time for them to step forward.

Remember to do it subtly and arrange for some scapegoats to be at the front.

Once the matter blows up, we will communicate with the government offices and find a way to shift the burden."

The old man replied calmly.

The Bai Lian Sect rebels touched the core interests of the gentry group, and there was no possibility of any easing between the two sides.

On the issue of suppressing the rebellion, the stance of the Great Dayu gentry was unified.

Supporting the court to suppress the rebellion was no problem, but asking everyone to pay money required careful consideration.

If paying a sum of money could solve this trouble, he wouldn't mind paying temporarily.

But how long the pacification war would last and how much funding would be needed, no one could say for sure.

Against this backdrop, one naturally couldn't easily pay up.

Otherwise, after setting this precedent, if the court thought of them whenever it had no money, that would be a big problem.

If one didn't want to pay, one could only let others pay more.

Land annexation had progressed to the present, and self-cultivating farmers were already few and far between.

To continue annexing, one could only target small and medium landlords who were also in the gentry camp.

In normal times, for the sake of reputation, it was hard for everyone to take action.

Now was the best opportunity; taking advantage of the opportunity to raise funds, one could shift the burden to small and medium landlord merchants as much as possible.

Not only did this reduce one's own burden, but it also weakened the financial power of small and medium landlords, laying the foundation for subsequent annexation.

At the Viceroy's office, looking at the news gathered from various places, Marquis Marquis Wuyang's face showed no smile.

Previously, the imperial army recaptured lost territory mainly by recovering important cities.

The vast countryside and some remote county towns were still under rebel control.

If these rebel remnants were not cleared out, once the enemy fought back, these inconspicuous rebel remnants would immediately become a major threat.

In recent days, the main combat mission of the imperial army was to purge the rebel remnants in the localities.

In order to restore local order as soon as possible, even the combat plan to recapture Shaozhou Prefecture was postponed.

The military operation to encircle and suppress the rebel remnants lasted for two months, but only managed to wipe out the rebels entrenched at the county level.

In some remote areas, a large number of rebel remnants still remained.

When the imperial army came to encircle them, these people would drill into the mountains; as soon as the imperial army left, they would immediately come out to rob and plunder.

The Guangdong Provincial Governor's office, anxious to take over the localities, paid a heavy price for this.

Within a short month, two county magistrates, three assistant county magistrates, and five jail wardens were killed.

The number of officials lost was countless.

Facing the rebel remnants who had turned into mountain bandits, the temporarily organized Guangdong local army performed very poorly on the battlefield.

They didn't wipe out many enemies, but instead suffered heavy losses themselves.

In order to wipe out the rebel remnants as soon as possible, An Meng Qingfeng could only seek help from Marquis Marquis Wuyang.

"Didn't you say that the discipline of the guest troops was poor, and letting them go to wipe out the rebel remnants was bringing disaster to all sides?

How is it that only two months have passed, and you've suddenly changed your mind?"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang asked with annoyance.

In order to take over the localities as soon as possible, there had been quite a bit of conflict between the three-province allied forces earlier.

In the end, Marquis Marquis Wuyang made the final decision, ordering the armies of Among Guangxi and Fujian to transfer local jurisdiction to the Guangdong Provincial Governor's office.

In order to strengthen local management, An Meng Qingfeng submitted a memorial to the court, requesting the Ministry of Personnel to send officials as soon as possible.

Compared to the neglected Among Guangxi, the situation in Guangdong was much better.

Except for particularly remote places, the court soon filled the personnel establishment.

After the personnel were equipped, the three parties completed the transfer of jurisdiction a month ago.

Then began the nightmare.

With the remaining Guangdong forces as the core, the temporarily organized guard armies failed to meet An Meng Qingfeng's expectations.

The only recruitable troops capable of fighting were also at odds with the Provincial Governor's office due to military pay issues.

If they wanted them to send troops to suppress the rebellion, they first had to make up the military pay.

An Meng Qingfeng, who was dirt poor, naturally had no ability to solve the military pay problem, and the direct consequence was that the recruited troops engaged in passive sabotage.

For all military orders from the Provincial Governor's office, Jing Jing Yifeng chose to execute them selectively.

"My Lord, it was my incompetence; I underestimated the strength of these rebel remnants.

These rebel remnants are mostly in dangerous places in the mountains.

With only the troops of Guangdong province, it is difficult to wipe them out completely in a short time.

According to the combat plan, next month we are to recapture Shaozhou Prefecture and restore the entire Guangdong province.

By then, the rebels in Yongzhou will inevitably react, and perhaps another great battle will break out.

If the internal hidden dangers are not cleared out, these rebel remnants are very likely to affect our decisive battle with the rebels."

An Meng Qingfeng explained, biting the bullet.

With no money in his pocket, he couldn't speak with confidence.

He tried to seek help from the merchants in the province, but didn't meet a single one.

Nominally, the masters were out avoiding the war and hadn't returned yet, but in reality, they just didn't want to see him.

After all, everyone had just lost a large sum of money in the war and didn't know where to make it up.

Now, having to pay protection money to the new Provincial Governor immediately—no one could stand it.

Even if they were to grease the wheels, it would have to be after business recovered.

Guangdong was currently waiting to be rebuilt, and even if they wanted to restore trade, they had to let local order recover first.

Under the combined effect of multiple factors, encircling and suppressing the rebel remnants became the top priority of the Provincial Governor's office.

Only when local order was restored could the court's rule in the localities be re-established.

Only after the bureaucratic system was established could he, as Provincial Governor, truly live up to his name.

"Enough, I know the abacus in your heart very well.

It's not that Guangdong has no troops to suppress the rebellion; it's mainly that you, the Provincial Governor, have no money or grain to suppress the rebellion.

On the issue of fundraising, among the three provinces, yours has the lowest efficiency.

Even the poorest Among Guangxi can collect twenty or thirty thousand taels of transit tax every month.

If things continue at the current pace, what do you plan to use to complete this year's fundraising task?"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang questioned coldly.

To be in the position is to handle the affairs.

He had given all the policies he could give.

If problems arose during the execution, that was the responsibility of the officials in charge of execution.

"My Lord, the situation in Guangdong is special.

Local order has not been restored, and to raise funds at this time—I truly have the heart but lack the strength!"

An Meng Qingfeng replied, suppressing his displeasure.

Forcibly apportioning amounts was truly too treacherous; it was clearly intentional torment.

Deep down, he didn't believe that the three provinces of Guangdong, Among Guangxi, and Fujian could complete their respective fundraising tasks.

If all three parties failed to complete the task, even if the Viceroy wanted to hold them accountable, everyone would share the burden.

No matter how strong Marquis Marquis Wuyang was, he couldn't replace all the officials in the three provinces.

Dragging the matter out, perhaps the task wouldn't need to be completed.

In officialdom, there were plenty of similar things.

One couldn't directly refuse the tasks assigned from above, so using the "drag" tactic was never wrong.

As long as one's attitude was correct, whether the task could be completed was secondary.

"Hmph!"

"Is it that you can't do it, or that you don't want to do it!

The situation in Guangdong is special; was the situation Among Guangxi faced initially any better than this?"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang immediately mocked.

He naturally knew there were difficulties.

But if there were no difficulties, what were these officials for?

The predicament currently faced by the Guangdong Provincial Governor's office seemed riddled with trouble, but the actual difficulty was not great.

In the final analysis, it was nothing more than—execution.

A similar operation had already occurred once in Among Guangxi.

First use the military control system to stabilize the locality, and after wiping out the rebel remnants, gradually take back local management rights.

As for how to persuade the military to cooperate and how much price to pay, that was the Guangdong Provincial Governor's business.

Anyway, since it could succeed in Among Guangxi, it proved that the path was viable.

As Viceroy of the three provinces, Marquis Marquis Wuyang only needed the result; he didn't care about the process at all.

Even if there were certain hidden dangers, that was a matter for the future; the most important thing right now was suppressing the rebellion.

The Great Dayu Dynasty had accumulated plenty of internal hidden dangers, so it didn't care about adding one more.

"My Lord, I would like to learn from Among Guangxi, but the troops below won't listen to orders!

Every time an order is issued, they come to demand money and grain.

..."

Before An Meng Qingfeng could finish explaining, Marquis Marquis Wuyang waved his hand to interrupt.

"We are all sensible people; stop playing dumb here.

All the difficulties are just excuses; it's nothing more than you not wanting to take responsibility.

If you really want to solve the problem, the foundation of Guangdong is much thicker than Among Guangxi's; it's not hard to conjure up money!

I don't want to hear your nonsense; I'll give you three more days.

If you still can't come up with a solution, you can go back to the capital and plead guilty yourself.

Alright, I'm tired today; you can get out now!"

Marquis Marquis Wuyang's words gave An Meng Qingfeng a fright.

This was for real.

The current Emperor didn't have a good temper; even though the unlucky Viceroy Zhu died on the battlefield, his relatives still suffered the confiscation of their property and exile.

At a time like this, going back with the charge of inaction might well lead to losing his head.

With the case of his neighbor, it was hard to even argue.

After leaving the Viceroy's office in a daze, and returning to the Provincial Governor's office with a belly full of grievances, An Meng Qingfeng immediately convened a military meeting.

"I have gathered you all here today to discuss a major matter.

Military land has always been a stubborn disease plaguing the combat effectiveness of the guard armies, and now there is an opportunity to solve it.

As long as the guard garrisons in various places can quell the rebel remnants as soon as possible and restore local order within a month.

I will take the lead and allocate a portion of land from ownerless land to make up for the shortage of military land.

General Jing, although your troops are recruited, they can also share in the proceeds of the military land."

An Meng Qingfeng immediately started painting a big picture.

Unfortunately, the reaction on the scene was not as enthusiastic as he had expected.

"Provincial Governor, these are all future matters; for now, let's solve the army's eating problem first.

If the Provincial Governor's office cannot come up with money and grain, then in the next battle, my unit will act together with the Among Guangxi troops to recapture Shaozhou Prefecture.

As for encircling the rebel remnants, I'll leave it to you colleagues!"

Jing Jing Yifeng dismantled his platform on the spot.

The bullshit about sharing the proceeds of military land was purely nonsense.

He had eaten a similar big picture once when he was in Among Guangxi.

As a result, he didn't see the output of the military land before he was transferred to Guangdong.

He thought the conditions here were better and he could make a fortune, but the Provincial Governor in front of him was simply not on the right track.

A few days ago, he proposed contracting the official mines in the Guangdong area, but was decisively rejected.

Money and grain weren't being issued, and when he wanted to make money himself, he wasn't given the opportunity.

Now that he was needed, he brought out a big picture to fool him.

Jing Jing Yifeng, who was full of anger, didn't care whether he was the Provincial Governor or not.

If he offended him, so be it; at worst, he would find an opportunity to transfer later.

"General Jing, don't forget you are the Guangdong Regional Commander!"

An Meng Qingfeng immediately reprimanded.

Marquis Marquis Wuyang gave him grief, but he was a superior, so he could only endure it for now.

Since when had the military generals below become so arrogant?

"Regardless of what kind of Regional Commander, the soldiers below all need to eat.

Provincial Governor, aren't you curious why the rebel remnants are being wiped out but keep increasing?"

Jing Jing Yifeng asked back with annoyance.

If there was a choice, no one wanted to live under someone else's roof.

But there was no other way; the money and grain currently issued were simply not enough for the soldiers to eat.

To avoid the soldiers going hungry, he could only choose to act together with the Among Guangxi troops and take his troops to find Li Mu for a free meal.

"What do you mean by this?"

An Meng Qingfeng asked angrily.

Deep down, he also realized something was wrong.

In the situation where all cities were lost, the fact that rebel remnants were being wiped out but increasing was inherently problematic.

It was just that he had subconsciously been unwilling to think about it before.

"Provincial Governor, why ask when you know the answer!

You ask everyone to go out and wipe out the rebels, but you are unwilling to issue sufficient money and grain.

The soldiers don't want to starve to death, so naturally, they can only find a way themselves.

According to what I know, the money and grain allocated by the court, after entering the Guangdong Provincial Governor's office, have been skimmed quite a bit.

The neighboring Among Guangxi Provincial Governor's office, however, hasn't deducted a single cent!"

Having torn off the mask, Jing Jing Yifeng couldn't be bothered to save face.

Originally, the money and grain given from above were not enough, and as a result, when they reached the locality, they had to be skimmed once more.

Although this was the convention, it couldn't stand the fact that there were those who didn't skim.

However, the bureaucrats in Among Guangxi would certainly cry injustice at this question.

They also wanted to skim, but the money and grain allocated by the court to Among Guangxi now didn't pass through their hands at all.

Every time money and grain were transported over, they were directly taken away by people arranged by Li Mu.

Even wanting to block the procedure was impossible; they had the slips approved by Marquis Marquis Wuyang in their hands, directly connecting to the Viceroy's office.

Since they couldn't get their hands on it, they could only be passively honest.

"General Jing, stop talking nonsense here!

The money and military supplies allocated by the court—I haven't touched a single cent!"

An Meng Qingfeng said with a depressed face.

If it had really gone into his own pocket, being scolded would be one thing, but the problem was he really hadn't made money on military supplies.

Skimming money and grain did exist, but that was the operating budget of the Provincial Governor's office.

(End of chapter)