Chapter 267: Barbarian Invasion

"What did Bai Yifeng do to offend you?"

Sending away the crowd, the Marquis of Wuyang asked suspiciously.

In his cognition, Li Mu never did such things that harmed others without benefiting himself.

"Marquis, I don't know Bai Yifeng at all; where would there be any grudge!"

Li Mu denied it flatly.

The decision just now was just pushing the boat with the current.

Adhering to the principle of holding big meetings for small things and small meetings for big things, if the Marquis of Wuyang really wanted to send troops to rescue Nanjing, he wouldn't have called so many people together.

Since it was a matter discussed by everyone, then it was likely not an important matter.

Even if the process had to be followed, it was communicated privately first, and then said on the table.

Without any communication beforehand, suddenly calling an emergency meeting, either something big really happened, or it was just going through the motions.

Such a big thing as "rescuing Nanjing," regardless of whether it could be done or not, the appearance had to be sufficient.

At the very least, on the surface, one couldn't let people pick faults.

Regardless of what was said, since the Jiangnan side bowed their heads to ask for help, they couldn't have no expression.

Either send tens of thousands of cannon fodder to deal with it, or pick an unlucky one to top it.

Bai Yifeng's reputation was bad, and the militia under his command was not a regular troop, so they were naturally sold by everyone.

"Thinking about it, it's right; if that kid offended you, he wouldn't have lived until now."

Hearing the Marquis of Wuyang's answer, Li Mu was tearful.

Since when did his image in the outside world become a ruthless master.

Explaining had no meaning; once people determined things, it was difficult to reverse them.

"Marquis, what conditions did that Viceroy Pei offer to make you so displeased?"

To avoid embarrassment, Li Mu fruitlessly changed the topic.

"Pei Yunxuan, that kid, is a beast!

Actually wanting to make a deal with me using the positions of civil and military officials in the Jiangnan region.

He is tired of living, and I haven't lived enough yet!"

The Marquis of Wuyang scolded unceremoniously.

Such political transactions were always carried out under the table.

For safety's sake, both sides would not leave traces.

But Pei Yunxuan was different, directly sending a secretary over to discuss.

The secret between the two people suddenly had a third person who knew.

If he had discussed with other aides before making this decision, then there would be even more people who knew.

The more people who knew, the greater the probability of leaking secrets.

Sitting in his position, he didn't know how many pairs of eyes were staring at him.

Usually, he tried his best to be low-key, but his brain entered water, and he would talk about transactions openly.

Once a subordinate betrayed one day and poked the matter out, that would be a fatal black material.

No Emperor could tolerate people below cultivating confidants and forming cliques.

Even if everyone knew about such things, it existed universally in officialdom, but one had to pretend to be confused.

Especially cultivating civil and military together, that was even more life-threatening.

Once the Emperor developed suspicion, his identity as a royal relative lost its value.

"Marquis, Viceroy Pei is also a frontier official; he wouldn't be so rough in doing things, right!

Even if he really wanted to make a deal with you, just send someone to hint that he was lacking manpower.

When you recommend a few people, he expresses agreement, and the matter is over.

Even if someone wants to investigate in the future, they won't find evidence.

Why send someone directly to talk about a deal?

Even if Viceroy Pei was under too much pressure and lost his sense of proportion for a moment, the people around him should have reminded him!"

Li Mu shook his head and said.

He didn't believe that Pei Yunxuan, who could sit in the position of Viceroy, would still leave such obvious flaws when operating these things.

"It is estimated that he is anxious.

The situation in the Jiangnan region, whoever is Viceroy will feel pressure.

If he doesn't hurry to make some achievements, once Nanjing is really lost, whether the head on Pei Yunxuan's neck can be kept is an unknown number."

The Marquis of Wuyang shook his head and said.

Pei Yunxuan was forced to be in a mess, half because of the situation, and the other half because of his Emperor nephew.

When trusting someone, the Yongning Emperor supported with all his might.

Once the result didn't meet expectations, turning his face, he was also merciless.

In less than three years of taking office, the number of Rank Three officials executed reached over forty.

Although more than half were because they were involved in the Yan Party case, the means were still too intense.

"Punishment does not reach the scholar-official," this is the hidden rule of the feudal dynasty.

Undoubtedly, it didn't work that well when it reached the Yongning Emperor.

If treated equally, then it was nothing.

Unfortunately, the Emperor's sentencing standard was too influenced by the outside world.

The most wronged was Liaodong Governor Bao Zhiyong, who worked well, but because he was a neutral faction and unwilling to lean towards Qingliu, he was executed on the charge of being a Yan Party remnant.

The one who started the party struggle was Qingliu, but the one who ordered the killing was the Emperor.

If there was substantial criminal evidence, killing according to Dayu Law was nothing, but the biggest charge was being a Yan Party remnant.

Other things like colluding with the Northern Barbarians and plotting rebellion were all nonsense.

The essential reason for the tragedy was that Bao Zhiyong strictly investigated smuggling in Liaodong, wanting to drag down the Northern Barbarians.

The strategic plan was completely correct, but unfortunately, it cut off the financial path of the Shanxi merchants.

As one of the main sponsors of several major academies in the world, the Shanxi merchants had no small connections in the court.

The second unlucky one was naturally the former Huguang Viceroy Lü Jingxuan.

He didn't offend anyone's interests in office, nor was he involved in party struggles, purely because the former Viceroy Zhu was too pit-like.

That guy led the army to fight the rebel army and was defeated, leading to the fall of Huguang, but the "crime of losing the clan vassal" fell on Lü Jingxuan

There is no other reason; it is purely because he is alive, and the imperial court needs someone to take the blame.

Local high-ranking officials are miserable, but the infighting in the imperial court is even more treacherous.

Because of the factional strife in the court, a regent minister could not bear the humiliation and hanged himself at home.

Being too far from the capital, some matters are inconvenient to discuss in letters, and Li Mu does not know the truth either.

In any case, the factional strife in the Yongning dynasty is unusually intense.

If the Qingliu faction hadn't gone too far and pushed everyone to the edge, the various parties would not have allowed Jiangnan to fall into the flames of war just to strike at them.

"The Hu Ren are invading! Light the wolf smoke!"

Seeing the large cavalry force pressing in, the on-duty squad leader hurriedly gave the order.

In the blink of an eye, wolf smoke rose from the beacon tower.

Immediately after, the beacon tower five miles away also raised wolf smoke.

One after another, the rising wolf smoke was passed from the edge of the Great Wall all the way to the center of power of Great Dayu.

"Urgent military intelligence! Open the palace gates quickly!"

The news reached the capital by dusk.

At this time, the government offices had already closed, and the nightlife belonging to the officials had just begun, only to be declared over prematurely.

High-ranking officials of Rank Three and above in the court rushed to the imperial palace at top speed to discuss major military affairs.

"Your Majesty, the news came from Xuanfu; it is most likely that a tribe of the Guifang is invading south due to a lack of grain.

Our dynasty has heavy troops stationed in Xuanfu, and the Grand Coordinator of Xuan-Da, Li Zhihong, has always had a reputation for military knowledge; I believe dealing with this invasion will not be a problem."

Seeing the Emperor's grim expression, the newly appointed Senior Grand Secretary Wan Junhui stepped forward to comfort him.

A few individual grassland tribes invading is undoubtedly the best outcome.

Generally speaking, these fellows will leave after looting the border and will not stay for long.

The damage caused is relatively limited and will not endanger the rule of Great Dayu.

It is just that judging from the wolf smoke, it is clearly not that simple.

If it were an enemy that could be handled, the border army would have already charged up to fight.

Don't look at Great Dayu's crushing defeat in Liaodong; in other places, they are still able to suppress various alien tribes.

In situations where provisions are insufficient, the various garrisons of the Nine Borders will occasionally penetrate deep into the grassland to plunder a few unlucky tribes.

"Are you sure it is only a few Guifang tribes invading?"

"Life on the side of the Northern Barbarians is not easy right now, is it?

If they don't invade south to plunder, how will they get through this winter?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a cold laugh.

Although there are various problems, it does not mean he is a fool.

The north is dry with little rain, and the disaster on the grassland is much more severe than in Great Dayu.

Compared to the grassland peoples who rely entirely on the heavens for food, Great Dayu's ability to resist risks is still higher.

The water conservancy projects built in the early and mid-stages of the empire still play an important role today.

As long as it is not a persistent drought, these projects can sustain agriculture.

Reduced production is unavoidable, but it is better than a total harvest failure.

Having had his window paper poked through by the Emperor, Wan Junhui was very embarrassed.

He just saw that the Emperor was in a bad mood and spoke to comfort him; how could he dare to make any guarantees!

In recent years, the ones who have invaded south to plunder most frequently are the Northern Barbarians.

Not only are they simply plundering the common people, but they have also forcibly occupied many cities in Liaodong.

"Your Majesty, ever since the Guifang royal court was defeated by the Northern Barbarians, many Guifang tribes have attached themselves to the Northern Barbarians.

This invasion is very likely orchestrated by the Northern Barbarians behind the scenes.

They want to take advantage of the empire's internal chaos to provoke a major war at the border, leaving us unable to attend to both ends.

We cannot rule out the suspicion of collusion between the Northern Barbarians and the White Lotus Sect."

Jing Guoliang analyzed.

As the head of the nobility, he must state his position on sensitive matters like alien invasions.

Regardless of whether there is a connection between the White Lotus Sect and the Northern Barbarians, they are now substantive allies.

Whichever side makes a big scene can reduce the pressure on the other side.

At this time, Great Dayu does not have the ability to support multi-line warfare and must have strategic priorities.

"Hmm!"

With a simple word, it can be seen that Emperor Yongning is truly in a difficult position now.

Once war breaks out, it costs ten thousand taels of gold.

In order to suppress the White Lotus Sect rebellion, the Great Dayu dynasty has already spent a massive amount of financial and material resources.

If fighting breaks out in the north as well, the financial pressure will become increasingly heavy.

Yet, not fighting is not an option; the enemies have already killed their way here, and one cannot just let the Hu Ren plunder the local areas.

"Ministry of War, come up with a battle plan as soon as possible.

That is all for today; everyone may disperse!"

Seeing that no one brought forward a plan, Emperor Yongning said with annoyance.

However, this really cannot be blamed on everyone; the news of the Hu Ren invasion was received by everyone almost at the same time.

The specific battle reports have not yet been sent back, and everyone is completely in the dark about who the invading enemies are and how many troops they have.

In the absence of data support, no one has any confidence in coming up with a solution on the spot.

Changde Prefecture.

Looking at the military order in his hand, Bai Yifeng felt completely numb.

Asking him to lead the regiment down the river to lift the siege of Nanjing is really overestimating him too much.

If he truly had that ability, he wouldn't be holed up in Changde Prefecture; he would have already sent troops to recover the entire Huguang.

"Everyone, this is the Governor's military order; what do you think?"

Bai Yifeng asked with a grave expression.

Although they are not an official establishment of the imperial court and have not received a single cent of military pay from the Great Dayu court, military orders must still be obeyed.

Having gone to such great lengths to set up this operation, he is essentially doing it to become an official.

Entering officialdom through the imperial examination is too difficult, and with his family's connections, it is not enough to secure the title of an imperial graduate.

Entering officialdom as a provincial graduate not only has a low starting point, but future development will also be limited.

In order to realize his political ambitions, Bai Yifeng seized the opportunity to suppress the rebellion and became a powerful figure in the land of Huguang.

It is a pity that while Minister of Militia Training sounds impressive, there is actually no official rank or establishment.

Despite holding great power, some of the county magistrates and assistant magistrates below dare not give him any face.

If he suffers a grievance, he has to swallow it himself.

Even if he really wants revenge, he can only do it privately; on the surface, any official can point fingers at him.

In order to obtain an official establishment from the court, he also made many efforts and almost succeeded.

However, the discipline of the regiment was too poor, and they offended too many people locally.

Ordinary commoners cannot afford to provoke them, but the gentry and powerful clans are different.

After suffering a loss, they will find opportunities to retaliate.

These people are incapable of accomplishing anything, but they are more than capable of causing trouble.

Every time he finds someone in the court to lobby for him, a group of censors immediately jumps out to impeach him.

Coupled with the fact that the Ministry of Revenue does not want to spend money, the issue of the regiment's establishment has been delayed.

"Big Brother, this is simply bullying people too much!

The court hasn't given a single cent of money or grain, and all the dirty and tiring work is ours; it is clearly..."

Before his younger brother could finish speaking, Bai Yifeng hurriedly interrupted.

"Shut up!

Does the imperial court deserve to be discussed by you and me? From now on, keep such words in your stomach.

Not only can you not say them, you can't even think them!"

The grievance is real, but saying they are made to do dirty and tiring work is not really true.

Since the regiment was formed, they have been playing their own game.

This is the first time they have received an official military order from the Governor's office.

Previous battles were either because they wanted to show off or because they were invited by local officials.

Pushing these problems onto the imperial court is going too far.

Freedom of speech is not popular in the Great Dayu dynasty; speaking recklessly will lead to major trouble.

If high-ranking generals complain, and it spreads all the way down, who knows how many wild and dangerous words will be produced.

"My Lord, please calm your anger; the Second General just spoke out of turn.

However, the meaning the Second General wants to express is correct.

Going to reinforce Nanjing now is indeed full of danger.

The most elite troops among the White Lotus Sect rebels are mostly outside Nanjing city, and even the Capital Garrison can only look at them from across the river.

All the excuses about lacking naval escort and being unable to cross the river are just pretexts they have found.

Originally, the one most capable of supporting Nanjing now should be the Guangxi Garrison.

It is a pity that some people in the court have such ugly table manners; as soon as they finished suppressing the pseudo-emperor, they couldn't wait to dismantle the Guangxi Garrison.

They are the direct descendants of the nobility, and even they have to suffer such treatment, let alone people like us."

The scholar in green robes on the side spoke up.

Complaining on behalf of the Guangxi Garrison is fake; worrying about his own future is real.

In the eyes of those who do not know the truth, dismantling the Guangxi Garrison is the court burning bridges after crossing the river.

The outside world does not believe at all that Li Mu of the Guangxi Garrison dismantled it voluntarily.

Including many high-ranking officials in the court, they all suspect that Li Mu received the Emperor's hint and was forced to dismantle the Guangxi Garrison.

Emperor Yongning is destined to carry this blame.

No matter how it is explained, it cannot change everyone's preconceived notions.

The civil officials didn't have much of a reaction, other than thinking the Emperor was a bit too impatient and could have waited until the rebels were completely suppressed before taking action.

The reaction of the military generals was different; they all viewed this incident as the court's suppression of military generals.

"Mr. Duan, at a time like this, it is not something that can be shirked with just a word of 'danger'.

Grand Secretary Xu's military order is written very clearly, requiring us to march within five days; we cannot delay even if we want to.

If we disobey the military order and the court holds us accountable, none of us can bear it!"

The middle-aged general on the left shook his head and said.

Military orders are like mountains; that is not a joke.

Their own situation is already awkward; if they resist orders, they will really be treated as a regional power base by the court.

Don't look at the rebels having the upper hand in the Jiangnan battlefield; on the Huguang battlefield, the imperial army has already gained the absolute upper hand.

To deal with their regiment, the court wouldn't need much effort.

They wouldn't even need to send troops; a single imperial decree would be enough to make the gentry supporting the regiment behind the scenes abandon them.

"Refusing to execute the military order head-on is certainly not possible, but there are exceptions to everything.

If we encounter the rebel army on the way and break out into a major battle with them, delaying the rescue time, I think Grand Secretary Xu can understand.

Although the Chu Party was also a Qingliu faction before, now the two sides have drifted further and further apart, parting ways with the Jiangnan faction.

Since Grand Secretary Xu chose to send us to rescue Nanjing, it proves that this rescue mission is not that important.

Otherwise, the ones appearing on the road to reinforce Nanjing should be the elite of the Capital Garrison!"

Mr. Duan said with a smile.

The chaotic situation in the court provided them with an opportunity to exploit loopholes.

All parties are dragging their feet; there is no reason for Grand Secretary Xu to fully support Nanjing.

(End of chapter)