Chapter 285

Having discussed the countermeasures, the relief army fell silent.

Except for sending people to urge Jinan Prefecture to strengthen defenses and clear the fields, Li Mu was too lazy to deal with the local yamens in normal times.

Having suffered such a big loss before, the Northern Barbarians will definitely retaliate.

It is possible that at this moment, they have already taken action.

Strategically speaking, this is definitely a good thing.

Once the main force of the Northern Barbarians moves south, the siege of the capital will be solved.

Lifting the siege of the capital has great political significance.

The various relief armies that were originally watching will inevitably gather toward the capital.

The Northern Barbarian army moving south may be flanked by the imperial army at any time and cannot stay in Jinan Prefecture for long.

As long as they hold out through the enemy's first wave of offensive, the relief army will be safe.

With the strategic direction determined, Li Mu had no interest in bickering with the Shandong local officials.

If they want to rescue Yanzhou, then abandon Jinan; one can only choose one of the two.

The relief army "suffered heavy losses" and was unable to divide troops to fight on two fronts.

In fact, rushing to Yanzhou at this moment is also an encounter battle.

The grassland coalition has already captured several county towns and completed the siege of the prefecture city.

It is impossible for reinforcements to enter the city to hold it.

The Shandong Provincial Governor ordering the various prefectures to reinforce Yanzhou is essentially of greater political significance than military significance.

Unable to rely on the advantage of the city walls, a group of rabble going over is just sending achievements to the enemy.

As long as the generals below don't have water in their brains, they all know how to deal with it.

……

Qufu, Kong Mansion.

"Where have the various reinforcements reached?"

Kong Yinzhi asked with concern.

Great Dayu has not yet reached the time of collapse, and as the contemporary Duke Yansheng, he has no plans to jump ship for the time being.

It has nothing to do with loyalty; it is mainly that it is difficult to have the current treatment if he changes to another employer.

In the early Song Dynasty, the official rank they enjoyed was only Rank Eight; now it is Rank One treatment, ranking at the head of civil officials.

The many privileges they possess far exceed those of previous dynasties.

However, the Northern Barbarians fighting all the way to the Shandong border still had a huge impact on him.

Internally, there is the White Lotus Sect rebellion; externally, there is the Northern Barbarian rampage.

Looking at the whole history, these are signs of the dynasty's decline.

If they cannot push back, the Great Dayu Dynasty will be in danger.

Fortunately, the relief army led by the Marquis of Wuyang was promising, winning the great victory at Jinan and encouraging everyone's determination to resist.

"Duke, because of the lack of grain and pay, the various reinforcements have not yet taken any action.

However, the officials of the various prefectures are working hard to raise funds, and I think they should be able to gather the departure silver in a few days……"

Before the Qufu County Magistrate could finish speaking, Kong Yinzhi was furious.

It is simply bullying people too much; they dare to be so perfunctory in rescuing the Confucian holy land.

The lack of money and grain is just to fool ordinary people.

As far as he knows, in order to deal with the Northern Barbarian invasion, the Shandong yamens have been raising military funds since the end of last year.

The people have been taxed more than once or twice; how could they not even be able to take out the departure silver from the money and grain raised, which has not yet had any major expenses?

"What about the Marquis of Wuyang's forces?"

Kong Yinzhi asked, suppressing his anger.

Local official corruption is a stubborn historical disease.

As a vested interest in the bureaucratic system, he cannot lift this lid.

If it weren't for the greed of local officials, their Kong family would not have been able to accumulate their current family business.

Other reinforcements can not come, but the most capable relief army must come.

This army has been verified by the Northern Barbarians and is indeed a first-class elite force.

Moreover, he also contributed a lot to the Marquis of Wuyang's forces being able to stay in Shandong.

Without the shameless performance at the pier, they would have headed straight for the capital and would not have stayed in Shandong at all.

"Duke, among the reinforcements notified by the Provincial Governor's Yamen, the Marquis of Wuyang's forces are not included.

Perhaps they suffered heavy losses in the previous battles and are now resting."

The Qufu County Magistrate said uneasily.

Serving at the gate of the Kong Mansion is the worst luck in eight lifetimes.

Over eighty percent of the land in all of Qufu is in the hands of the Kong family, and collecting taxes every year is a difficult task.

The Duke Yansheng certainly won't pay taxes, and he doesn't dare to go to the door to urge collection.

For the sake of his own assessment, he can only shift the taxes that originally belonged to the Kong family onto ordinary people.

So much so that his reputation in Qufu stinks for ten miles against the wind.

Tax exploitation is secondary; he can only pretend to be blind to the various illegal activities of the Kong Mansion.

Not only can he not manage it, but he must also help clean up the mess.

Once a mess is made, he doesn't know if the Duke Yansheng will be unlucky, but his head as a county magistrate will definitely fall.

Anyone with a little connection will take the initiative to avoid the Qufu County Magistrate, this hot potato of a job.

If he had a choice, he would rather serve in a poor and remote place than be the Qufu County Magistrate.

In fact, most of the time, the position of Qufu County Magistrate is hereditary to the Kong family.

Because there were too many illegal things, which often caused public grievances, it was abolished.

Except for the early founding years, when imperial power was at its peak, could they exercise their functions.

In the later time, the Qufu County Magistrate had to look at the Kong family's face.

"Trash!"

"You believe whatever people say; where is your brain?

You can't even invite reinforcements; what use are you!"

Kong Yinzhi reprimanded immediately.

The scolded Qufu County Magistrate could only lower his head.

Whether it is the Provincial Governor's Yamen or the Duke Yansheng in front of him, neither is someone he can offend.

The Marquis of Wuyang's forces refusing to come is either because they are truly severely injured or because of high-level maneuvering.

Regardless of the situation, it is not something a small county magistrate can get involved in.

It is estimated that even the Shandong Provincial Governor has very limited say in it.

"Your subordinate is incompetent and truly difficult to shoulder the heavy responsibility.

The Duke is of high virtue and prestige and is the only candidate to turn the tide.

For the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people in Qufu, please come out and preside over the overall situation to save……"

Before the Qufu County Magistrate could finish speaking, Kong Yinzhi kicked him.

It has always been him shifting responsibility to others; now someone is shifting responsibility to him, which is simply reversing heaven and earth.

The Northern Barbarians are coming aggressively, and reinforcements are late to arrive.

Relying solely on the garrison in the city, they are not enough to be beaten with one hand.

Whoever takes the lead in organizing the city's defense must be responsible for Qufu's safety.

There is no shortage of officials in the court who look at the Kong family with displeasure.

It is only because of the need for interests that everyone pushed Confucius to the altar, and the Kong family followed suit and prospered.

The Duke Yansheng is unique, but the candidate to serve as Duke Yansheng is not unique.

Once a big mess is made, the Imperial Court will change people just the same.

Once it reaches that step, not only will he be unlucky, but even his own lineage will follow and be finished.

Inherited to the present, the Kong clan has long since degenerated.

Internal struggles are also very intense.

There are not one or two people in the clan who covet his Duke Yansheng position and want to take his place.

……

The Capital.

The news of the great victory at Jinan is still fermenting.

Since Emperor Yongning ascended the throne, the credibility of the Great Dayu Dynasty has declined sharply.

The public does not fully believe in official propaganda.

Many people think that the great victory at Jinan was deliberately concocted by the Imperial Court to soothe the people.

There is no way; this is the sequelae of the Imperial Court bragging.

The battle report of beheading nine thousand Northern Barbarians basically matches the results, but when the Imperial Court released the news, it increased directly to thirty thousand.

Don't look at the grassland coalition coming aggressively; there are only sixty or seventy thousand true Tatar cavalry.

After all, looting also requires leaving people to watch the house.

If half of the enemy troops were beheaded in one battle, there would be no need to fight subsequent battles.

The remaining Tatar cavalry would be unable to suppress the Guifang army.

If problems arise within the grassland coalition, and they don't hurry to retreat, they won't be able to leave.

Invading from Xuan-Da is essentially borrowing the way from the Guifang people's territory.

It doesn't matter when the Tatar tribe is strong, but if they fall into decline, then a large amount of spoils of war will be their death warrant.

As long as the interests are in place, betraying allies is the norm on the grasslands.

"Your Majesty, good news!"

"The enemy troops outside the city have begun to retreat!

The number of camps is half less than yesterday.

……"

Jing Guoliang reported with joy.

As the Regional Commander of the capital's defense, he has been under too much pressure in recent days.

Military problems are actually nothing.

What is truly tricky is the empty treasury and the empty granaries.

Looking at the accounts alone, the Imperial Court has hoarded a large amount of strategic materials in the capital.

Enough for the garrison to use for three years; no matter how the Northern Barbarians besiege, Great Dayu can hold out.

Unfortunately, reality is cruel; all the official granaries in the capital are nine empty out of ten.

Most of the warehouses with goods are also leased to merchants.

A huge pit is placed in front of him.

In order to stabilize people's hearts, he must pretend to be confused and cannot break it.

It is easy to fake the accounts, but the money and grain that need to be distributed every day must be real.

After struggling to persist until now, he finally saw the dawn.

"Have the Northern Barbarians retreated outside the pass?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

He no longer holds hope for keeping the enemy troops within the borders.

Among the various relief armies, except for the Liaozhen which is primarily cavalry, the other reinforcements are infantry.

If the Northern Barbarians want to retreat, everyone cannot stop them.

"No!"

"Judging from the direction of the Northern Barbarian army's movement, they seem to be heading toward Shandong.

The Northern Barbarians suffered a big loss in Jinan Prefecture earlier, and the enemy is now mostly wanting to retaliate."

Jing Guoliang answered honestly.

When it comes to major state affairs, no faking is allowed.

With the release of the great victory at Jinan, the Marquis of Wuyang joining the noble camp has almost become a foregone conclusion.

After civil officials grew large, military officers rarely could be ennobled by military merit.

For a closed group without fresh blood injected, decline is inevitable.

Even though they hold great power now, in reality, it is just a flash in the pan.

If it weren't for being forced, they wouldn't spend a high price to cultivate the younger generation.

Even if the nobles spent their blood, the talents cultivated are mostly collateral descendants.

The direct descendants of nobles are used to being pampered and find it hard to eat the bitterness in the army again.

Meat rotting in the pot is indeed better than throwing it outside.

But these collateral descendants have no titles to support them, and they are naturally a notch lower when facing civil officials.

The upper limit of development is also relatively lower.

When they are in local areas, the problem is not too big.

Once they enter the central Imperial Court, no one can determine if they can compete with the civil official group.

Having the Marquis of Wuyang with a special status join is definitely more beneficial than harmful to the noble group as a whole.

Of course, for individuals, there are both benefits and harms.

The Marquis of Wuyang returning to the court in the future can indeed increase the speaking power of the noble faction, but it will also divide part of the power in his hands.

However, this is secondary.

Wealth and glory have reached the top; what is being planned now is not for a moment, but for the long-term future.

"The enemy wants Shandong; do you ministers have any countermeasures?"

Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

He has complex feelings about his uncle, the Marquis of Wuyang.

But overall, he still trusts him.

Especially since the other party lifted the siege of the capital, it makes Emperor Yongning feel gratified.

Although the way it unfolded was different from what was expected, the final result is always good.

The Northern Barbarians launching a large-scale retaliation south, his heart is also bottomless.

In the last great victory, the relief army paid a not-so-small price.

Fighting the enemy again, no one can say for sure if they can defeat the enemy.

If the Marquis of Wuyang's forces suffer a crushing defeat, he doesn't know who else he can count on next.

"Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to gather the various relief armies to the capital, form a counter-offensive army, and form a strategic deterrent against the enemy.

As for Shandong, the Imperial Court should inform them and grant the Marquis of Wuyang the power to act on his own.

We must ensure……"

Before the Minister of War could finish speaking, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, Li Yuan, interrupted from the side.

"Lord Wan, the Marquis of Wuyang's forces suffered heavy losses in the previous great battle and are now in a period of rest.

The Northern Barbarian army is heading for them, so there is no need to assign them tasks for the time being, lest they be used by the enemy."

The relief army led by the Marquis of Wuyang is both the Marquis of Wuyang's direct force and the Li family's direct force.

In the past, the influence of the Marquis of Zhenyuan's lineage in the army was mainly concentrated in the Guanzhong region.

With the help of the rebellion suppression war, they finally infiltrated the two Guangs and occupied a dominant position; it cannot be allowed to be tossed away.

Standing from his own standpoint, he would rather the relief army make no achievements than suffer losses.

Last autumn, his wife added a little son to him.

Deep down, he was planning to throw his three illegitimate sons over to gain experience.

After all, his nephew not only knows how to lead troops but also knows how to lead people.

The noble generals who have risen in the last year or two all came out from under Li Mu's command.

After being transferred to new positions, they could also quickly become competent in their work and did not make any trouble.

Being able to cultivate the ability to lead troops is much more important than simply arranging for them to be gilded.

"Marquis, that statement is wrong!"

"With great power comes great responsibility.

The Marquis of Wuyang's forces are the elite of our dynasty.

In this time of national crisis, they must shoulder heavy responsibilities and set an example for the world!"

Wan Yuxuan retorted immediately.

The Great Dayu army accepts the dual leadership of the Governor's Office and the Ministry of War; now that civil officials are strong, most of the real power is concentrated in the Ministry of War.

The Marquis of Wuyang's forces have many noble descendants as generals.

When the orders of the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office conflict, they all execute according to the orders of the Governor's Office, which makes the Ministry of War very annoyed.

They can't even put on small shoes, and now the army's military funds are mostly raised by local yamens.

Although they still have personnel power and can restrict the generals below, they can't stand the serious overlap of power.

Many times, even if they don't agree, the Governor's Office can still submit the list to the Emperor.

"If that's the case, then Lord Wan should hurry and get the Liaozhen moving!

As the most elite military garrison of our Great Dayu, they consume the most grain and pay every year, so they can't just keep watching like this."

Duke of Chengguo Jing Guoliang added a knife.

If the Marquis of Wuyang's forces are the direct armed forces of the noble camp, then the Liaodong military gate group is the direct force supported by the civil official camp.

It's just that influenced by the idea of civil nobility and military lowliness, although civil officials supported this army, their actual control was not strong.

The Emperor's imperial edicts have to be executed selectively.

The official documents of the Ministry of War are often bargained over.

In normal times, the distance is far, and everyone cannot feel this unruliness.

The Northern Barbarians besieged the capital, and the Emperor ordered the relief of the capital, and various problems were exposed to the sun.

The great army of the two Guangs rushed over, and the reinforcements of the Liaodong Town were still lingering on the road.

It was not until after the great victory at Jinan that the marching speed was slightly accelerated.

If there are no accidents, this unit is still the earliest to rush to the capital.

But whether it is to relieve the capital or to mix in the days, no one knows.

Anyway, since the Liaodong Town sent troops, they have not fought a single battle with the Northern Barbarian army.

Even if the two armies met in the wild, it ended with the retreat of the Liaozhen.

Such a practice has long made all parties dissatisfied.

The relief armies in other regions, regardless of their combat effectiveness, will go up to fight when they encounter the Northern Barbarians.

(End of chapter)