Chapter 255: Killing Without Burying

Capital.

After receiving the news of Anqing's fall, Emperor Yongning felt terrible.

Before he succeeded to the throne, except for the border trouble in Liaodong, Great Dayu was generally a peaceful and prosperous age, and the "Tianyuan Prosperity" was shouted out.

If it weren't for the fact that Emperor Tianyuan employed eunuchs and offended too many interest groups, the "Tianyuan Prosperity" would have been solid, and the historical evaluation could definitely be several grades higher.

After he succeeded to the throne, the situation immediately took a turn for the worse. But the problem was that he clearly didn't do anything, and even corrected the drawbacks of the late Emperor's period, and the whole court and public supported it unanimously.

After a brief moment of distraction, Emperor Yongning again recorded the account on "Yin Zuo" and the other.

The White Lotus Sect rebellion was stirred up by them, so they should be responsible for the current situation. Unfortunately, people have already been smashed to bones and ashes, and cannot die again.

"Anqing has fallen; what do you ministers have to say?"

Emperor Yongning asked expectantly.

The reality was very cruel; everyone knew how serious the consequences of Anqing's fall were, and no one was willing to poke the last window paper.

After all, discovering a problem is not equal to being able to solve it.

In Great Dayu's officialdom, there has always been a tradition that whoever raises a problem must find a way to be responsible for solving it.

Raising the matter of Anqing's fall at this time is just looking for trouble for oneself.

"Minister Pei, you are the Governor of Jiangnan, and Anqing is your jurisdiction.

Now that Anqing has unfortunately fallen, do you have nothing to say?"

Hearing the Emperor name him, Pei Yunxuan's face was so ugly that he was about to cry.

If it were another time, the Governor of Jiangnan would definitely be a top-notch fat job. But now the situation is different, and Jiangnan is full of smoke and fire.

He, this tragic governor, hadn't even had time to take office before he was burdened with the pot of Anqing's fall.

If it cannot be recovered as soon as possible, when historians record this period of history in the future, there will be less whipping of his corpse.

If Great Dayu collapses because of this, he is also the main person responsible.

No matter how terrified he was, the Emperor had already spoken, and the question must be answered.

"Your Majesty, the reason why Anqing fell is mainly because the Anqing Prefect did not act, and the military generals from all walks of life competed for command.

The Nanjing Six Ministries clearly had the opportunity to interfere, but sat and watched them fight. As a result, the imperial troops fought on their own in the great battle and did not cooperate in time, leading to this great defeat.

The rebel army captured Anqing, and the next target must be Nanjing Prefecture. The court has already lost Anqing Prefecture and absolutely cannot lose Nanjing again.

The top priority is to let the Nanjing Ministry of War take responsibility and prepare for the defense of Nanjing Prefecture.

At the same time, order the Beijing Camp and Lu Army entering the Lianghuai area to rush to Nanjing for reinforcements immediately, and absolutely must not let the tragedy of Anqing's fall happen again."

Pei Yunxuan's words seemed fair and objective, but in reality, there was only one theme from beginning to end—passing the buck.

He, this Governor of Jiangnan, had not yet taken office, but the responsibility for Anqing's fall had to be borne by someone.

He didn't want to carry the pot, so he could only let others carry the pot.

The Anqing Prefect's weight was not enough, and he was now in an unknown state of life or death, so he definitely couldn't carry such a big thunder.

He was not familiar with the military generals below and didn't know which unlucky ones to pick, so he simply listed them all as responsible persons.

Considering the upcoming battle, these people still need to sell their lives, so it is not appropriate to deal with them.

After turning around like this, the most suitable to bear the responsibility is the Nanjing Six Ministries, specifically the Nanjing Ministry of War.

After all, they have jurisdiction over the various armies gathered in Anqing.

When there were contradictions and disputes below, they were the most suitable to come forward to mediate.

Not taking action in time is a manifestation of inaction.

Out of political considerations, while passing the buck, he also reached out to pull his colleagues in the Nanjing Ministry of War, proposing to let them preside over the Nanjing Prefecture defense battle to make amends for their crimes.

However, this help was definitely not wanted by the officials of the Nanjing Ministry of War.

The responsibility for Anqing's fall, shared all the way, everyone shares the responsibility of inaction, which is nothing more than losing their official positions.

Being dismissed by the court at this time is just right to be transferred out of this storm-swirling place of Jiangnan.

Staying to preside over the Nanjing Prefecture defense battle to make amends for their crimes, doing it well is their duty, but messing it up will cost them their lives.

For the officials of the Nanjing Ministry of War who are used to fishing in troubled waters, the benefits and risks are seriously disproportionate, which is a losing business.

Except for individual official fans, no one wants to stay in Nanjing to clean up the mess.

"Hmm!"

"Minister Pei's words are reasonable, and I will give them another chance.

However, the Nanjing Six Ministries are used to being lazy, and letting them preside over the overall situation of suppressing the rebellion will inevitably lead to shirking and buck-passing.

Speed is precious in war, Minister Pei, I order you to set off south immediately to preside over the overall situation, no matter what, you must keep Nanjing Prefecture.

Jiangnan affairs, I leave it to Minister Pei!"

During the conversation, Emperor Yongning actually bowed to Pei Yunxuan, directly blocking all the words of refusal.

In fact, Emperor Yongning doing this also had a component of sulking.

The power of the governor on the front line was too great, and Xu Wenyue took the initiative to propose decentralization, which just happened to be what he wanted.

In order to quickly suppress the rebellion, this time the personnel appointment did not listen to the cabinet's opinions, and the ones promoted were all the pillars of the country in his mind.

With the successful case of the Marquis of Wuyang, Emperor Yongning believed that the difficulty of state affairs was the result of officials forming cliques for private interests, and he wanted to break this pattern.

Regardless of seniority, as long as the official had ability, he dared to promote and employ them out of turn.

Whether these practices were right or wrong, there was no way to evaluate them for a while. But in terms of power struggle, Emperor Yongning was undoubtedly successful.

Relying on a series of political means, the auxiliary ministers left by Emperor Tianyuan died, were dismissed, or were sent out, and those remaining in the court began to pretend to be deaf and dumb.

Auxiliary minister, now more like an honorary title.

In fact, Emperor Yongning's power-seizing plan went so smoothly, which was also the result of the auxiliary ministers' intentional cooperation.

The auxiliary ministers selected by Emperor Tianyuan were not ambitious people to begin with. They were restrained by each other, and no one had the opportunity to monopolize power.

There are too many lessons in history; the Emperor comes of age to take power, and active cooperation still has decency. Continuing to hold power and not letting go is a life-and-death political struggle.

Someone took the lead in letting go, and others chose to rot. The Emperor successfully monopolized power, and the auxiliary ministers also successfully retired.

Without the constraints of auxiliary ministers, Emperor Yongning could finally let go in the court, but he also had to bear the pressure alone.

"Your Majesty, a 600-li urgent message came from Guangdong.

The three-province coalition army and the Guizhou side wiped out the fake Emperor Shi Rongxuan's unit in Tongren Prefecture, capturing more than 100,000 rebels.

The Marquis of Wuyang requested the court to reward the meritorious officials."

Listening to the eunuch's words, Emperor Yongning's gloomy face showed a long-lost smile.

The good news came too timely; I thought the situation in Jiangnan would rot, but now a turning point suddenly appeared.

The great victory in Tongren Prefecture, hitting the rebel central government, is crucial to the great cause of suppressing the rebellion.

Next, as long as Nanjing Prefecture can hold on for a period of time, the armies of the southern provinces can rush over to reinforce.

By then, with the combined efforts of many parties, wiping out the rebel army entrenched in Jiangnan is not a difficult task.

"Reward!"

"Must be heavily rewarded!"

"The Ministry of War and the Metropolitan Commandery must immediately send people to verify the war report and draft a reward plan.

Pass the decree to the Marquis of Wuyang, let him sweep away the rebel remnants and immediately lead his troops to Jiangnan to suppress the rebellion."

Emperor Yongning said excitedly.

During the conversation, he did not forget to grab the memorial and check the detailed content on the war report.

Soon the smile on his face converged.

Successfully wiped out the rebel central government, and the suppression army also paid a painful price.

The number of deaths in the three-province coalition army exceeded 40,000, and the number of wounded was even more.

According to the content described above, the suppression army is now seriously injured, and the troops urgently need to rest.

What's worse is that the fake Emperor Shi Rongxuan's life or death is unknown, only suspected to have died on the battlefield, and his body was not found.

"Forget it, no need to issue a decree to the Marquis of Wuyang, let the suppression army rest for a few months and replenish the personnel establishment.

The Ministry of Revenue should raise a sum of money as soon as possible to be used for the pensions of the fallen soldiers and to reward the meritorious officials.

The court is now short of funds; when the Ministry of War drafts the rewards, give more honorary titles, and issue fewer material rewards!"

Emperor Yongning sighed and said.

He did not doubt the truth of the losses in the war report at all.

Where the rebel central government is located, it is clearly a hard bone, and it will inevitably pay a painful price to chew it down.

If it was a great victory without damage, it would be strange.

The length of the war report was limited, and it could not be described in detail, but he still saw the tragedy of the war.

After all, the suppression armies from all walks of life suffered heavy losses, so there is no reason for the Guangxi troops to be an exception.

"The minister obeys the decree!"

The Minister of War agreed readily.

This suffered the Minister of Revenue, who had just raised a sum of suppression funds, and now had to pay pensions and reward silver for the court.

It is precisely at this time that there is no way to refuse.

No matter what, a sum of money must be taken out to deal with the matter.

Judging from the current situation, the subsequent Jiangnan battlefield still has to rely on this army to sell their lives.

If, because the Ministry of Revenue did not give money, the army did not restore its combat effectiveness in time, affecting the war in the Jiangnan region.

The saliva of the hometown elders could drown him.

……

Guangzhou, Governor's office.

"Marquis, don't panic!

With the current situation, the sky of Great Dayu won't collapse!"

Looking at the Marquis of Wuyang with dark circles, Li Mu opened his mouth to persuade.

The army withdrew to Guangxi to rest, and he brought a battalion of soldiers alone to rush to Guangzhou to attend the military meeting.

The result was different from what was expected; the Marquis of Wuyang did not summon officials from all over the place at all.

It was clear that he realized that war could not be solved by having more people.

"You lad speaks easily, but do you know how much pressure the old man is under?

Not long ago, the Emperor issued a decree to establish the Huguang Governor, Yunnan-Guizhou Governor, Liangguang Governor, Minzhe Governor, and Jiangnan Governor.

Because there was no suitable candidate, the old man is now the Liangguang Governor concurrently serving as the Minzhe Governor.

Now Zhejiang has fallen into the flames of war, and the court hopes that the old man can recover the lost territory as soon as possible and support Nanjing Prefecture."

The Marquis of Wuyang said angrily.

He was not born to enjoy happiness; he hadn't lived a good life for a few days before trouble found him.

Adding a province's jurisdiction seems to have made his power heavier, but the trouble has also become more.

Unlike the Liangguang region after being ravaged by the rebel army, the situation in Zhejiang is the most complicated.

There are scholar families everywhere in the province, and there are too many people serving as officials in the court.

The court's appointment just came down, and the gentry in Zhejiang took action, hoping that he could come up with a strategy to suppress the rebellion as soon as possible.

Looking at that series of name cards, even this imperial relative felt tricky.

"Marquis, stabilize first!

It is better not to send troops than to lose a battle.

The battle to wipe out the fake Emperor caused heavy losses to all parties, and the soldiers are already tired.

Wait for the court to determine the rewards and stabilize the morale of the army before sending troops is not too late."

Li Mu said with a solemn expression.

The limelight is too big, so we must find a way to avoid it.

In order not to arouse the jealousy of the Emperor and the ministers, Li Mu and a group of generals decided to falsely report the war damage after discussion.

Being in a hurry to let the troops return to Guangxi to rest was also partly to fabricate the list of deaths.

Fortunately, when setting out for the expedition before, in order to bluff, the 40,000-strong army claimed to be 60,000.

After a battle, the war damage exceeded 40%, which was a serious injury.

The original great victory thus became a difficult and tragic victory.

Against the backdrop of colleagues in various places, in the eyes of the Emperor and the ministers, he was still an excellent general of Great Dayu, but not too dazzling.

A victory that conforms to everyone's cognition is a real victory.

If there are no accidents, the court will inevitably appease them next, hoping that they can restore their combat effectiveness as soon as possible.

"Rest assured, the old man is not prepared to let you send troops immediately.

Calling you over is mainly because that group of idiots in Zhejiang don't know how to fight at all.

There are many generals under your command who can fight; can you send a few over to teach them how to fight?"

The Marquis of Wuyang said in a tone of discussion.

Preparing for war is easy to say, but if you really operate it, you will face various troubles.

Not familiar with the situation in Zhejiang, he, the governor, rashly intervened, and might not necessarily get good results.

The best choice is to replace a group of officials and let his own people take charge.

Among the three provinces, his old subordinates seem to be quite a few, but those who can fight are mostly under Li Mu.

Other generals who arrived locally performed only mediocrely and could not take on great responsibilities.

"Marquis, it is their honor that you can look up to them.

However, the generals under my command are mostly noble children, and many families have arrangements.

It is estimated that after the White Lotus Sect rebellion is suppressed, they will go their separate ways.

Now letting them go to Zhejiang to wade into that muddy water, I'm afraid it's not easy."

Li Mu answered with a frown.

If it were the Zhejiang before the war, it is estimated that everyone would fight to take office, but the situation is different now.

If you are not careful and lose a battle, you will lose your life.

If Li Mu opens this mouth, everyone will give face, but the premise is that he must cover the bottom if he encounters trouble.

There are all kinds of accidents on the battlefield, and Li Mu dare not make such a promise.

"These problems, the old man has already considered.

According to the normal promotion sequence, the garrison commander who has made meritorious service will be transferred to serve as an assistant regional commander.

If it is a noble child, they may be directly promoted to Assistant Regional Commander, or serve as a regional military commissioner.

There is only one position for a regional military commissioner, but there can be multiple positions for deputy generals.

As long as they are willing to go, the old man will recommend them to serve as deputy generals.

For lower-level officers, the old man can also recommend them to serve as assistant regional commanders."

The Marquis of Wuyang promised immediately.

If you want people to do things, it is impossible not to give some benefits.

In the Great Dayu Dynasty, Assistant Regional Commander and deputy regional commander can be seen as the same position, with the same rank and authority.

If it is the deputy of the regional commander, it is called deputy regional commander, and leading troops alone is called Assistant Regional Commander.

The people sent over now certainly cannot be sent to be assistants to others, otherwise it would be in vain.

"Marquis, are you trying to set up an assistant regional commander and Assistant Regional Commander in every prefecture?"

Li Mu asked in surprise.

I have seen people pulling people, but I have never seen such pulling.

Sending a group of people over at once, Zhejiang will be full of deputy generals and assistant regional commanders.

"If you can let go and allow them to take away some soldiers, this is not impossible!"

The Marquis of Wuyang said boldly.

Now he just wants to suppress the rebellion as soon as possible and stabilize the situation in Zhejiang; as for the problem of over-staffing officials, that is a matter for the future.

After the war ends, he will retire with merit and return to the capital to enjoy happiness.

Great Dayu is so vast, there is always a place to settle.

If it really can't be settled, that is a problem for the next governor or governor to worry about.

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 256 =====