Chapter 259

After tentatively drafting the personnel list, Li Mu continued to immerse himself in his busy work.

Having been away on campaigns for so long, a large amount of government affairs had piled up, waiting for him to handle.

The over ten million mu of military fields must be carefully planned.

The previous extensive farming method had far too low a yield.

The Guangxi region is mostly mountainous, and not all land is suitable for growing grain.

This requires in-depth research to select suitable crops for planting according to local conditions.

In this era where people cannot get enough to eat, grain remains the top priority.

However, other industries can also be appropriately developed.

Fisheries go without saying; marine fishing has always been the main source of meat for the Guangxi Army.

Animal husbandry does not have the conditions for large-scale operations for the time being and can only be done through free-range farming.

It is difficult for every household to raise cattle and sheep, not to mention that there aren't that many young ones available for a while.

Breeding costs are also an issue.

However, having everyone raise poultry is still feasible.

Compared to later generations, the current Guangxi is typically sparsely populated; theoretically, it is entirely feasible for a family to raise two or three chickens or ducks.

They don't consume much grain, and the eggs produced by the chickens and ducks are enough to cover the costs.

Promoting this outside is difficult, but it's different in the guard stations.

With one order, it can be spread rapidly.

Whether keeping them for their own consumption or taking them out to exchange for money, it is a good choice.

With a stable supply of poultry and eggs, the army's diet can also be enriched, saving them from getting tired of eating fish all the time.

Cash crops must be planted as soon as possible.

Especially "oil pressing" and "sugar making," which must be listed as key projects.

In this day and age, everyone has a big appetite, and the main reason is the lack of oil and fat in their stomachs.

If this problem can be solved, the grain crisis will be solved instantly.

Sugar goes without saying; it is definitely a strategic material.

Every time the army goes on an expedition, he has to spend a lot of money to purchase it, and many times he can't buy goods even with money.

With a plan in mind, the next step is specific planning.

Frankly speaking, the implementation difficulty is very high.

It is mainly due to a lack of talent.

The scholars of the Great Dayu Dynasty cannot be said to be ignorant of the five grains, but they truly don't know much about agriculture and animal husbandry.

The hollow Four Books and Five Classics have long since detached them from the reality of life.

Even these unqualified scholars are not numerous under Li Mu's command.

To engage in production, one can only rely on the grassroots officers of the guard stations.

One certainly cannot count on the knowledge level of this group of people.

The only advantage is that they themselves come from farming and hunting backgrounds.

These people still have basic agricultural common sense and experience, so they won't make big jokes.

If these people can be trained to act as executors of orders, the problem shouldn't be too big.

After a slight hesitation, Li Mu decided to promote the planting of cash crops first and then engage in other things after seeing results.

The cash crops used for oil pressing in the Great Dayu Dynasty are mainly soybeans, sesame, rapeseed, and other crops.

Sugar making is mainly based on sugarcane and sugar beets; the common people already plant them, so everyone won't be resistant.

There is no technical difficulty; as long as seeds and land are provided, it can be promoted rapidly.

The refining process has been around for thousands of years, and there are no technical barriers.

He doesn't expect to sell them externally to make a profit, as long as they can supply what the army needs.

The guard station system itself is an enlarged version of manor economy, playing on self-sufficiency.

……

Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Looking at the long list of promotions, Emperor Yongning fell into deep thought.

The adjusted generals all came from the Guangxi Army.

During the rest period of an army, transferring so many generals out clearly exceeded normal personnel adjustments.

"Did the Ministry of War and the Chief Military Commission find any problems during their review?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a frown.

General transfers are fine, but affecting the army's combat effectiveness is not; this is a critical moment for suppressing the rebellion.

If the Guangxi Army loses its combat effectiveness because of personnel adjustments, outsiders will think that he, the Emperor, is deliberately suppressing the Guangxi Army.

Although suspicion is an emperor's instinct, he really isn't suspicious of Li Mu right now.

The Guangxi Army's influence is indeed a bit large, but this unit was developed after he ascended the throne, relying on the court's support.

Being active on the battlefield of suppressing rebellions for a long time, it can be considered dutiful, far from the point of separatist warlordism.

Even if he really wanted to suppress them, he would first target that bunch of troublesome guys in Liaodong.

"Your Majesty, the aforementioned generals were all promoted due to military merit, and there is no sign of nepotism.

To ensure nothing goes wrong, we also reviewed their household registration and clans, and they are all people with clean backgrounds.

The only controversial point is the appointment of Li Mu as the Guangxi Regional Military Commissioner.

Marquis Wuyang strongly recommended him to be the Regional Commander of Military Affairs for the two Guang provinces, but the position of Regional Commander is a special position from the early years of the founding of the dynasty when the world was being conquered.

The few times it has appeared since then, it has been held by civil officials.

Now, suddenly granting this position to a military general will likely cause waves in the imperial court."

The newly appointed Minister of War, Wan Yuxuan, stepped forward to reply.

He naturally knew the Emperor's meaning just now, but he still chose to play dumb.

Splitting up strong military towns and preventing warlords from becoming too powerful is a common means used by the Yu Dynasty.

At this point in time, playing it is a bit rushed.

After all, the Guangxi Army has just suffered heavy losses, and the court's approach looks a bit ugly.

Originally, he wanted to wait until the White Lotus Sect rebellion was quelled before finding an opportunity to take action against the Guangxi Army.

As a result, he doesn't know what kind of madness the nobility had, but they split up the Guangxi Army in advance.

Wan Yuxuan couldn't decide for the time being whether there was imperial instruction behind this.

"Humph!"

"The issue of Regional Commissioner Li can be discussed later; I am asking about the personnel adjustments!

With so many core generals transferred away at once, the number of combat troops in the Guangxi Garrison has been directly reduced by half, and I'm afraid less than thirty percent of its combat effectiveness remains.

The subsequent great battle to suppress the rebellion still requires the Guangxi Garrison to contribute."

Emperor Yongning said with displeasure.

He hates these old foxes who deliberately play dumb the most, yet the imperial court is full of old foxes.

They clearly know everything, but they just pretend not to understand.

According to his experience, the strength of an army's combat effectiveness mainly depends on the number of retainers the military general has, followed by the soldiers' training.

The departure of a large number of military generals means the court doesn't have that many suitable replacements in the short term, which will inevitably cause a significant weakening of the Guangxi Garrison's military strength.

They were already in a rest period, and the court still owed the Guangxi Garrison a large sum of military pay, and now they've played this trick.

Emperor Yongning feels embarrassed to send them to the front line to risk their lives again; the way it looks is too ugly.

If not handled well, this will make all the generals participating in the suppression of the rebellion feel insecure.

They will fear that if they fight too well on the battlefield, they will attract the court's suspicion and suppression.

In fact, Emperor Yongning can accept these small problems.

What worries him most is the battlefield situation.

Without the Guangxi Garrison joining, no one can guarantee whether the imperial army in other places can successfully suppress the rebels.

The White Lotus Sect rebellion is making too much of a scene; if they are not suppressed, the nation will be in danger.

"Your Majesty, although the Guangxi Garrison has been hollowed out, the imperial army in other places has been strengthened.

If everything goes smoothly, the situation in the Zhejiang region is expected to see a turning point in the second half of the year.

The strength of the imperial army in Huguang and Jiangxi provinces has also been strengthened to a certain extent.

Not to mention Guangdong and Fujian; it was precisely because of the lack of strong generals that their military strength was weak.

Once integration is completed, the combat effectiveness that can be unleashed later will definitely be stronger.

Looking at the overall situation, these forces are enough to compensate for the adverse effects brought about by the weakening of the Guangxi Garrison."

Wan Yuxuan explained, biting the bullet.

Whether it can bring about an increase in military strength will only be known after experiencing the test of actual combat.

But the weakening of the Guangxi Garrison is visible to the naked eye.

According to the tradition of controlling the military with civil officials, the Ministry of War should have directly vetoed Li Mu's appointment as Regional Commander.

It was only out of consideration for political influence that the court had to appease them, so he didn't directly veto it but sent the list to the Emperor's hands intact.

"Duke of Cheng, what is your opinion?"

Emperor Yongning asked.

Since he ascended the throne, the nobility group has been very worry-free and hasn't caused any trouble.

The two auxiliary ministers from the nobility also don't have a high presence in the imperial court.

As long as it doesn't involve the interests of the nobility, they remain neutral most of the time.

This cautious approach successfully avoided direct conflict with imperial power.

So much so that amidst the background of auxiliary ministers being kicked out of the court one after another, they were not directly impacted.

"Your Majesty, this subject needs to avoid suspicion!"

Jing Guoliang replied solemnly.

Just looking at his expression, one knows that it's impossible to get useful information from him.

The weakening of the Guangxi Garrison reduced the military power in the hands of the nobility group but expanded their influence.

If these transferred generals can gain a firm foothold locally, the military strength controlled by the nobility group will surely usher in an explosive growth.

In the imperial court, strength is speaking power.

"Approved!"

While speaking, Emperor Yongning drew a circle on the memorial.

Dealing with ten thousand tasks every day, there are too many things to consider, and it's impossible to spend a large amount of time on one issue.

Since everyone says it's okay, let's try it first.

If problems are discovered, they can be corrected slowly according to the actual situation later.

It has a bit of a makeshift team feel, but this is reality.

The scene before him made Wan Yuxuan very annoyed.

Originally, he wanted to bring Li Mu's personnel appointment to the imperial court for discussion and borrow the mouths of the hundred officials to veto the appointment.

Then, he would take the opportunity to propose granting an honorary title.

Then pick a wealthy place and transfer the person there, which would also be considered completing the reward for merit.

Unfortunately, the Emperor approved it, and according to the Great Dayu Law, Li Mu's personnel appointment has passed.

Raising objections at this time would not only lose Emperor Yongning's face but also deeply offend the Duke of Cheng and the Marquis of Zhenyuan.

After hesitating for a while, Wan Yuxuan finally chose to shut up.

At worst, he'll be scolded by the hundred officials later; anyway, the person was recommended by Marquis Wuyang, and the appointment was approved by the Emperor.

As the Minister of War caught in the middle, he can't afford to offend either side.

If someone asks, it's for the sake of splitting up the military towns.

The data reported from below shows that the Guangxi Garrison had sixty thousand combat troops at its peak, which is simply a replica of the Liaodong Garrison.

For the sake of the nation, splitting up this giant is definitely not a problem.

To appease the military leaders, high positions and generous salaries certainly cannot be lacking.

Regardless of whether others believe it or not, he believes it himself first.

Fool one if you can; as long as someone can understand his painstaking efforts and he isn't scolded as a traitor by all the civil officials together, it'll be fine.

……

Yangzhou Prefecture.

Pei Yunxuan, who had just finished attending the welcome banquet, received bad news as soon as he returned home.

The Yangzhou Battalion and the Huai'an Battalion, on which he had pinned high hopes, could not return at all.

"Bastards!"

"The Yangzhou Battalion is gone, and the Huai'an Battalion has less than one in ten left; are you trying to fool ghosts!"

As he spoke, Pei Yunxuan threw the letter in his hand directly to the ground.

"Viceroy, calm your anger!"

"The Yangzhou Battalion must exist; previously, a group of officials in Yangzhou Prefecture even saw the Yangzhou Battalion evacuating.

They even tried to block them, but unfortunately, those soldiers were unreasonable and directly drew their knives, so Yangzhou Prefecture could only be forced to let them leave.

According to the intelligence collected by this student, there were at least a thousand Yangzhou Battalion soldiers who evacuated that day.

The family members who evacuated one after another reached as many as tens of thousands.

If the Yangzhou Battalion was really wiped out, why would they take so many family members over there!"

Private Secretary Liu said affirmatively.

Since he chose to target the Yangzhou Battalion, he naturally had to understand the situation.

He didn't know until he checked, and he was truly shocked after checking.

Unlike other regions where the army is dirt poor, the Yangzhou Battalion was a big player locally.

Land, fields, mines, shops, and even the transportation industry within Yangzhou were controlled by these guys.

Possessing so many industries, yet failing to keep the people, truly exceeded his expectations.

"It's useless!

Marquis Wuyang explained in the letter that the court is about to carry out a personnel adjustment, and the transferred generals are all key officers of the Yangzhou Battalion.

Several thousand-household commanders of the original Yangzhou Battalion have all been promoted to Deputy Commanders.

Some hundred-household commanders have also been promoted to the position of Assistant Regional Commander.

These guys took away their own retainers and confidants, and the Yangzhou Battalion was directly hollowed out.

If the news is true, the current Yangzhou Battalion is indeed an empty shell.

The situation of the Huai'an Battalion is slightly better, but because there has been no replenishment of troops for a long time and generals are constantly being transferred away.

The remaining soldiers now total only a few hundred people.

They are either wounded or old and weak.

Even if the people are asked back, it will only increase the burden.

It seems they all think I am easy to bully and are playing games in every possible way!"

Pei Yunxuan said angrily.

Knowing clearly that this is the other party's little trick, he has no way to deal with it.

These general transfers must go through the Ministry of War, and senior generals are appointed by the Emperor himself.

As for the transfer orders signed by the court, he, as Viceroy, certainly cannot say no!

Moreover, most of these personnel appointments happened earlier, already creating a fait accompli.

If one is to blame, blame the Nanzhili Provincial Governor for being incompetent, failing to discover that two battalions within his jurisdiction were being hollowed out by others in every possible way.

"Viceroy, since the matter has happened, we must find a way to get back at them.

Simple impeachment won't have much effect.

We need to unite more officials and jointly submit a memorial to the court about this matter; the bigger the scene, the better.

We cannot overturn the court's personnel appointments, nor is it appropriate to make an issue out of this.

There is no need to directly impeach anyone; this time, just play the victim to the court.

If possible, it would be best to link the deterioration of the Jiangnan situation with the transferred Yangzhou Battalion and Huai'an Battalion."

Private Secretary Liu said with full confidence.

He cannot conjure up an army, but he has ways to ask for reinforcements.

Making a big scene will let the outside world know that they have suffered losses and grievances.

There are quite a few officials from the Jiangnan region; if everyone makes a scene together, the court will definitely appease them.

Only the crying child gets milk.

The split-up Yangzhou Battalion and Huai'an Battalion cannot be restored for a while, so the court must find a way to replenish them with two more main battalions.

……

(End of chapter)