Chapter 296: Thoughts of Withdrawal

In the commander's camp of the army to rescue the throne, looking at the official document sent by the imperial court, everyone's faces became ugly.

"Nonsense!"

The Marquis of Wuyang couldn't help but curse angrily.

To stabilize the hearts of the people, local areas were strictly sealing off the news of Nanjing's fall.

The effect was very good; at least most people in Jinan City didn't believe Nanjing was lost.

Never did he expect that the task the Northern Barbarian spies couldn't complete was helped to be completed by the imperial court.

Continuing to cover it up had no meaning.

The Ministers of the Six Ministries of Nanjing, the Duke of Chu, and others collectively died for their country; everyone knew Nanjing was lost.

If it were someone else who poked this hole, they could still be held accountable.

Yet this news was an imperial decree issued by the Yongning Emperor to the world, which exposed it.

Even the high-ranking Marquis of Wuyang only dared to complain.

Other officials naturally played dumb, acting as if nothing had happened.

"Marquis, calm your anger.

The matter has already happened; the urgent priority is to handle the aftermath as soon as possible to avoid causing turmoil in the situation.

We can't take care of other places; stabilizing Jinan City is the priority.

I propose to implement comprehensive military control over Jinan City.

Integrate the manpower, financial resources, and material resources in the city to deal with various changes next."

As Li Mu's words fell, the Shandong officials attending the meeting changed their faces one after another.

To pacify prices in the city, in the past few days, they had made quite a few efforts.

Having just finished working, a comprehensive military control came, and the previous efforts were all in vain.

"Inappropriate!"

"Jinan's situation is special and not suitable for military control.

The matter of pacifying the hearts of the people can be completely solved by local government offices, without the need for the army to intervene."

Min Kaifeng opposed immediately.

With the situation developing to this point, the high-level Shandong officials were all in a state of atoning for their crimes.

Fully cooperating with the guest army to defend the city was no problem, but completely transferring administrative power was absolutely impossible.

If all the work was done by the army to rescue the throne, then the credit for defending Jinan would have nothing to do with them.

In the past, whether to share this bit of credit didn't matter, but now they had to fight for it.

With one more credit on their body, it would be convenient for their backers in the court to speak for them.

"Lord Min, if you could do it well, we wouldn't bother to intervene.

The problem is that you aren't doing it well.

The rumors spreading in the city and the soaring prices all prove that Northern Barbarian spies have mixed in.

Yet local government offices have investigated for so long and still haven't found anything.

Being able to have such a situation can only mean that there are people in the office colluding with the Northern Barbarians.

If the black hand isn't pulled out in time, I fear more people will be bought by spies.

After all, the current situation is very unfavorable to the imperial court.

The Bai Lian Sect occupies the southeast, the Northern Barbarians are ravaging the northern land, and it is normal for some people to want to seek a better future elsewhere.

In the previous great battle to encircle and suppress the Bai Lian Sect, there were officials at the provincial governor level who defected to the enemy.

After Nanjing fell, the number of officials who defected to the enemy was also not small.

With lessons from the past, we cannot but guard against it.

Perhaps someone present is in contact with Northern Barbarian spies."

Li Mu's words made a group of local officials furious.

Heaven knows, they at most had a share in the soaring prices; colluding with the Northern Barbarians to betray the Great Dayu was impossible.

The news of Nanjing's fall was only verified today.

In such a short time, even if they had thoughts in their hearts, they couldn't jump ship so quickly.

Everyone was a beneficiary under the Great Dayu system; unless it was the last resort, no one hoped for a change of dynasty.

Moreover, the strength shown by the Northern Barbarians was still a very long distance from seizing the world.

Without seeing certainty, they couldn't bet their family lives on the Northern Barbarians.

Not only were the Northern Barbarians unwelcome, but the Bai Lian Sect rebels who slaughtered the gentry were also unwelcome.

Among the heroes participating in the contention for the world, there was no target that the scholar-officials were satisfied with, so there wouldn't be large-scale defection in the short term.

"Nonsense!"

"Commander Li, you must be responsible for what you say!"

The Surveillance Commissioner Cheng County Magistrate reprimanded sternly.

Having seen people grabbing meat, he had never seen such a ruthless move.

A big hat was put on directly, clearly the rhythm of wanting someone's life.

Since when did a mere military man dare to be so arrogant; it was simply reversing the heavens and the earth.

After someone took the lead, a group of local officials launched a collective counterattack.

Everyone was clear that Li Mu proposing military control was not only to seize power but also aimed at benefits.

In the process of clearing the fields earlier, local government offices collected a lot of grain and supplies.

After being tossed by officials, it had fallen into the hands of corrupt merchants in the city and was sold at high prices to seek huge profits.

After such a long period of harvesting, everyone had made a fortune.

In this process, the army to rescue the throne collectively became onlookers; being jealous was normal.

"Shut up!"

"I summoned you here to discuss matters, not to listen to you arguing.

The situation in Shandong is rotting; the emperor has ordered me to be fully responsible for Shandong affairs, so I must be responsible for Shandong's safety.

No matter whether you are willing or not, from now on, Jinan City enters a state of military control.

Commander Li, send people to keep a closer eye on things.

Anyone with suspicious actions will be arrested.

If there is resistance, kill without mercy!

I have only one requirement: Jinan City is not allowed to be in chaos.

No matter who it is, as long as they dare to collude with the Northern Barbarians and stir up chaos in Jinan City, they are my enemy!"

The Marquis of Wuyang ordered with murderous intent.

This scene had been discussed with Li Mu long ago.

It wasn't that he wanted to manage Shandong's mess, but it was completely stuffed into his hands by his emperor nephew.

With the Northern Barbarians raging, the situation in Shandong was completely rotting.

Expecting these officials in the local area to clean up the mess was purely a dream.

The Yongning Emperor initially wanted to send an imperial envoy, but the officials below didn't cooperate.

No matter who was named, there were a bunch of reasons to push back.

Each and every one of them regarded Shandong as a dragon's den and tiger's lair, and no one was willing to come here to take office at this time.

Under the constant pushing of the ministers, finally, this hot potato fell into the hands of the Marquis of Wuyang.

Having accepted the errand, he certainly couldn't work in vain.

Under Li Mu's instigation, the Marquis of Wuyang also set his sights on the corrupt merchants in the city.

Although doing this would offend people, the situation was special now.

Without cleaning up, Jinan City couldn't be stabilized.

If a riot occurred in the city and coordinated from within and without with the rebels, he, this imperial envoy, would be tragic.

For the sake of his own safety, he had to do it even if it offended people.

"Marquis, rest assured, I will do my best to pull out all the Northern Barbarian spies!"

Li Mu expressed his stance immediately.

At another time, he would absolutely not accept such an offensive errand.

But now it was different; the world was in chaos, which had become an indisputable fact.

The interpersonal relationships that the gentry had always relied on were completely not worth mentioning in the chaotic world.

The long-term policy of governing the military with civil officials was about to face a violent rebound.

Whether it was the out-of-control Liaodong Town or the quietly growing Liangguang faction, they were all products of this process.

Officials whose thinking hadn't changed would inevitably be eliminated in the subsequent power reshuffle.

The powerful figures in Jinan City were the model of not seeing the situation clearly.

If they didn't stir up trouble, everyone was within the rule system, and no one could do anything to them.

But they didn't know how to behave and insisted on taking advantage of the national disaster to make a fortune.

Since people sent the handle over, Li Mu naturally wouldn't be polite.

According to the Great Dayu Law, severely punish the corrupt merchants who hoard and drive up prices, and by the way, make a small fortune to make up for the military expenses of this war to rescue the throne.

If everyone was willing to cooperate, then hitting the merchant level would be the end of the matter.

If they continued to be unable to see the situation clearly, then investigate to the end and pull out the spies colluding with the Northern Barbarians together.

With Liaodong Town out of control, the role of the Liangguang faction to the imperial court became increasingly important.

The imperial court wouldn't reject the face of the army to rescue the throne at this time.

As long as there was evidence in hand, even a Cabinet Minister could be pulled down from his horse.

Having clarified the situation, this action was taken.

"Imperial Envoy, I still hold an opposing opinion.

The army taking over the local area is by no means a blessing for the country.

A slight carelessness will become the beginning of chaos in the world.

By then, you..."

Halfway through Cheng County Magistrate's words, the teacup in the Marquis of Wuyang's hand flew over.

"Northern Barbarian spy, jumping out by himself."

"Where is the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Clearly he was considering the overall situation, yet in the other party's mouth, it became a disaster for the country and the people.

Being so disrespectful, he didn't need to give the other party face.

"Nan Wuzheng, Thousand-Household of the Shandong Thousand-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, respectfully obeys the order of the Imperial Envoy to arrest the rebel!"

After speaking, Nan Wuzheng gave Cheng County Magistrate an arm to the back of his head, directly knocking him unconscious on the spot.

Throughout the whole process, he didn't even leave Cheng County Magistrate a chance to explain.

Such a sloppy handling of the case angered a group of local officials.

Everyone didn't dare to provoke the Marquis of Wuyang, so they directly cast murderous gazes at Nan Wuzheng.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had just restored its establishment, yet dared to be so lawless; it was clearly not putting them in their eyes.

Knowing that he had attracted hatred, Nan Wuzheng was also very helpless.

Now in Jinan City, the Marquis of Wuyang was the boss.

If he didn't execute the order, he wouldn't even think about walking out of the commander's camp today.

By comparison, offending civil officials was more cost-effective; anyway, the identity of the Embroidered Uniform Guard determined that both sides couldn't become friends.

The brief meeting ended, and the situation in Jinan City immediately changed.

With the intervention of the main army, the streets and alleys were filled with a murderous atmosphere.

The first to be unlucky were a group of grain merchants; they didn't know what had happened and were arrested and imprisoned.

The hoarded supplies and looted wealth were all sealed.

Everything came too fast; not a single bit of news had been passed out in advance, stunning many people.

It wasn't that they didn't try to counterattack, but the tricks that had always worked in the past didn't even have a chance to be used now.

The whole city entered a state of military control, and entry and exit were restricted.

Whether it was engaging in collusion or inciting scholars to make trouble, there was no room for play at this moment.

The army to rescue the throne was a guest army and didn't care about any licentiates or jinshi masters.

Daring to violate military orders meant being arrested first; those who dared to make trouble were beaten half to death directly.

The action lasted for three days before the control in the city slowly relaxed, allowing one person from each household to go out to purchase.

Wanting to visit neighbors on a large scale was impossible.

Without the opportunity to collude, the gentry and officials who didn't know what had happened could only temporarily suppress their anger.

"Great Chanyu, the city is under comprehensive martial law; our plan has failed."

Erdun reported in a low voice.

He had thought that the news of Nanjing's fall could shake the enemy's morale.

Never did he expect the defenders to react so quickly, taking action one step ahead without giving them a chance to launch.

Any further action now would be sending heads.

"Hmm!"

"An expected thing.

I have read the Marquis of Wuyang's resume; this person is a formidable enemy.

Back in Yangzhou, he was besieged by hundreds of thousands of rebels, and he led thousands of troops to turn defeat into victory.

There are tens of thousands of elites in the city, and we are mostly cavalry, so naturally, we can't scare him.

From the current situation, wanting to annihilate the army to rescue the throne he leads in Shandong is impossible.

However, what we can't do doesn't mean others can't do it.

Arrange for people to contact the Jin merchants, let them mobilize their relationship network in the court, and be sure to find a way to get rid of this stumbling block.

Even if we can't get rid of the Marquis of Wuyang, we can't let this person continue to lead troops; at the very least, arrange a few army supervisors to cause trouble!"

Hugjile said seriously.

Since he rose up against the Dayu, he had encountered many opponents.

Fortunately, these formidable enemies all fell in the internal strife of the Dayu.

The Marquis of Wuyang's status was special, but he still believed in the combat effectiveness of the Dayu civil officials.

As long as one was willing to spend money, there were no censors who didn't dare to impeach.

Even if they couldn't kill him, being able to ruin his reputation was a good harvest.

"Great Chanyu, plotting against the Marquis of Wuyang through the Dayu imperial court cannot be completed in a day or two.

The main army has been invading south for more than half the time, and now people are thinking of returning home.

What could be looted has been looted, and what remains are all hard bones.

Jinan City cannot be captured in a short time; it is time to consider withdrawing the army!"

Sarina advised.

Destroying the Great Dayu cannot be completed in a day or two.

They had used all kinds of siege tactics, yet they still couldn't shake Jinan City.

Continuing to fight, the surrendered puppet troops would all be left here.

A war destined to have no gains is a losing business.

The Tatar tribe has limited family assets and cannot afford such squandering; they must consider stopping losses in time.

"Your words make sense; we truly cannot keep consuming in Jinan.

However, the Dayu has been beaten so miserably by us, they certainly won't let it go.

Now they don't dare to move, but it doesn't mean they won't dare to move later.

Once the main army enters a state of retreat, countless Dayu troops may pounce on us.

To be foolproof, before the main army retreats, we must clear the field first.

Only by scaring the Dayu troops who came to rescue the throne will our rear be safe!"

Hugjile thought for a moment and said.

In fact, receiving the news that the Bai Lian Sect captured Nanjing, he wanted to lead the main army to retreat.

On one hand, it was because they had looted enough; on the other hand, it was because he didn't want to make wedding clothes for others.

The Bai Lian Sect rebels who could capture Nanjing were no longer simple rebels, but a major force capable of contending for the world.

With a common enemy, in the past, the Tatars and them were allies.

With the rapid decline of the Dayu, the situation gradually changed, and both sides faintly became competitors.

Hugjile hoped the Bai Lian Sect rebels could weaken the Dayu's national strength, but he didn't want to see them replace it.

The delay in retreating was mainly because of face.

The main army marched south with great momentum, yet couldn't capture Jinan City; he, this grassland hegemon, couldn't hang his face.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 297 =====