Chapter 306: Victory Report

The Capital.

The Jinan battle was still continuing, and a political liquidation movement regarding the Tatar invasion kicked off in this ancient city.

The Three Xuan-Da Viceroy Li Li Zhihong, who bore the brunt, had already died in prison and could no longer continue to attract firepower.

The Liaodong Regional Commander Zhong Jingming, who also bore responsibility, suddenly became the primary responsible person, attracting the firepower of the hundred officials.

The first to open fire on him were officials from Shanxi, Shandong, and the Capital, followed by the enthusiastic response of officials from various Jiangnan provinces.

Everyone calculated the account of the deteriorating situation and the damage to their hometowns on his head.

At this moment, regardless of faction, everyone wanted to tear him into ten thousand pieces.

The Qingliu faction members who had supported Zhong Jingming in the past became the main force in liquidating him.

With the high call for liquidation, Emperor Emperor Yongning, who already had opinions about Zhong Jingming, directly sentenced him to death by a thousand cuts.

In the environment where generals and ministers should not be insulted, the number of officials who could enjoy this treatment in the entire history could be counted on one's fingers.

In the past, when such things happened, the hundred officials would open their mouths to plead for mercy, persuading the Emperor to deal with it lightly.

But this time was an exception; from the common people to the imperial court, everyone collectively shouted to fight and kill, which was the first time in the Great Great Dayu Dynasty.

Xisi Archway, the sky had just brightened, and a large crowd of onlookers gathered.

Today was the day Zhong Jingming was to be executed by a thousand cuts, and everyone didn't want to miss this scene.

The prisoner cart moved forward with difficulty; Zhong Jingming had attracted too much hatred, and countless common people wanted to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

If not for the obstruction of the soldiers, he wouldn't have reached the execution ground.

Compared to other prisoners, Zhong Jingming was undoubtedly much cleaner, and it could be seen that he hadn't been tortured in prison.

There was no need to try such a certain-death case.

With his level, he must have mastered a large amount of black material about the officialdom.

If he were really interrogated, the information he confessed could turn the court upside down.

The current Embroidered Uniform Guard was not as good as before and couldn't withstand the pressure of the hundred officials in the court, so they didn't have the intention to start a big case.

"I'm wronged!"

On the execution ground, Zhong Jingming couldn't help but cry out.

The situation rotting wasn't his fault alone.

The main reason was the court's strategic misjudgment, thinking that the Tatars were just grabbing a wave at the border and would automatically withdraw.

They didn't take active response measures in the first place.

By the time the situation got out of control later, they issued an edict to relieve the King, giving the enemy army an opportunity.

The Liaodong Garrison growing strong was entirely to facilitate smuggling trade.

Many officials in the court had received benefits from it; why only punish him alone?

But someone always had to take the blame.

The Shandong gentry case earlier implicated a portion of officials, including many high-ranking officials in the court, but that was far from enough.

As the Liaodong Regional Commander, letting the Tatars who occupied Liaodong invade was in itself hard to shirk responsibility.

Against the backdrop of the court strictly prohibiting smuggling, he, as the Liaodong Regional Commander, in order to provide convenience for smugglers, did not hesitate to borrow a knife to kill and eliminate dissidents.

No matter from which angle you look at it, it was not unjust at all for him to be punished by the court.

His former partners cut ties with him even earlier.

Accompanied by the start of the execution, a burst of cheers erupted in the crowd.

It could be seen that the people in the capital hated him to the bone.

Clearing out the corrupt officials didn't stabilize the situation in the court; instead, because of Zhong Jingming's death, the struggle became even more white-hot.

The first to be affected was Minister of War Wan Wan Yuxuan.

The Great Dayu army fought so poorly on the battlefield, and the Ministry of War could not shirk responsibility, and the Metropolitan Command also shared the blame.

However, against the backdrop of their peers, the nobility faction became one of the few bright spots on the battlefield, pulling back a point for the Metropolitan Command.

The Ministry of War was in trouble; the troops under their command were either beaten to disability or wouldn't listen to orders.

Although the previous decisions were made by everyone together, when it came to accountability, the Ministry of War still had to carry it.

Wanting to throw the blame was impossible; the final decision-maker was Emperor Emperor Yongning.

In normal times, yin-yang a few sentences in the memorial, or directly spraying the Emperor in the court, was no problem.

But throwing such a big pot at the Emperor was overstepping the duty of a minister.

The most critical thing was that the final ruling power was in the hands of the Emperor, not that the people below said the Emperor had responsibility, and the matter ended.

The feudal system had developed to this point, and imperial power had extended infinitely.

Angering the Emperor would only lead to more serious consequences.

Earlier, Wan Wan Yuxuan proposed letting the nobility faction big shots go to the local area to preside over the suppression of the rebellion, which was an active self-rescue action.

Having adjusted the Metropolitan Command, they couldn't move the Ministry of War again.

The Great Great Dayu Dynasty's highest decision-making level had only these two government offices in charge of military affairs; carrying out personnel adjustments at the same time was very dangerous.

Not being liquidated in the short term gave them a chance to save the situation later.

The Ministry of War was linked to war; as long as they fought well on the battlefield, the previous problems wouldn't be problems.

Unfortunately, the military generals collectively opposed it, and the nobles worried that the civil officials had a conspiracy and didn't want to give up their say in the court, making his plan end in nothing.

With the escalation of factional strife, the Ministry of War was immediately involved.

Not only was Wan Wan Yuxuan impeached, but many cabinet members also became targets of the censors.

"I won't read the memorials impeaching people."

Looking at the mountain of memorials, Emperor Emperor Yongning, who was usually diligent, had to choose to lie flat.

He couldn't approve them; he really couldn't approve them.

There were so many people in the court, but he was the only Emperor.

Just the quantity of daily official memorials was huge; adding hundreds of impeachment memorials made it even more life-threatening.

"This servant will have people withdraw the impeachment memorials."

While speaking, two clever eunuchs immediately stepped forward, and just as they were about to move, Emperor Emperor Yongning interrupted again:

"Forget it!"

"I'd better take a look, so as not to miss anything."

Mood was bad, but work still had to be done.

Determined to compare himself to the Taizu Emperor, he wouldn't allow himself to be slack.

However, this spirit didn't last long before Emperor Emperor Yongning was defeated by various strange impeachments.

According to the content of the memorials, none of the high-ranking officials in the court were clean, and all could be taken out and beheaded.

Regardless of whether the content was true or false, he couldn't take down so many officials all at once.

"You few, help me deliberate on how to deal with the current situation in the court?"

Emperor Emperor Yongning asked with slight helplessness.

Having read the sage books, he originally hated eunuchs interfering in politics the most and couldn't understand at all why the late Emperor wanted to reuse eunuchs.

After a few years of imperial career, Emperor Emperor Yongning's concepts also changed unknowingly.

From despising the late Emperor to understanding the late Emperor, now he wanted to become the late Emperor the most.

Regardless of how bad the reputation of eunuchs was in the late Emperor's reign, those people were doing things according to the Emperor's will and could implement the Emperor's policies in a timely manner.

With a group of eunuchs stirring things up, the enthusiasm of the hundred officials for doing things was also much higher than now.

After the Yin Zuo incident, Emperor Emperor Yongning's trust in civil officials was not what it used to be.

The multiple civil official high-ranking officials appointed later all made a mess of things, further aggravating this distrust.

The Shandong gentry case and the Liaodong smuggling case pushed this distrust to a new height.

He didn't trust civil officials, and he didn't dare to use nobles.

Compared to the decline of the nobility before, the nobility group in the Emperor Yongning reign had once again mastered local armed forces.

And the nobility faction's armed forces had become the court's main force for suppressing the rebellion and would continue to be strengthened in the future.

Against this backdrop, he certainly couldn't let the nobles interfere in government affairs anymore, otherwise, power would be unbalanced.

For an emperor, consolidating imperial power is always the first priority.

Having no choice, he could only turn to eunuchs for consultation on government affairs.

"Your Majesty, according to ancestral rules, eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in politics!"

Xu Xu Zhongen responded first.

As the Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, he wasn't sure if Emperor Emperor Yongning was asking sincerely or testing him.

For the sake of safety, he decisively chose a conservative answer.

Bringing out ancestral rules proved that he was law-abiding and certainly wouldn't be wrong.

The rest of the eunuchs also followed suit.

Regardless of what thoughts they had in their hearts, everyone didn't want the Emperor to feel that they were ambitious people.

For eunuchs, personal ability is secondary; the key is that loyalty must be guaranteed.

"I am asking you to speak; as for the rules left by the ancestors, they were broken as early as the late Emperor's reign."

"Times are different; I feel the late Emperor was right; there is no ancestral rule that is immutable."

Emperor Emperor Yongning waved his hand and said.

Ancestral rules had always been the tight hoop curse used by the hundred officials to restrict the Emperor. Wanting to overstep ancestral rules would immediately attract a chorus of curses from the court and the public.

An emperor who could withstand the pressure of the hundred officials and change ancestral rules was not an ordinary person.

In order to reduce political pressure, Emperor Emperor Yongning decisively chose to push the late Emperor to take the blame.

Anyway, the late Emperor Tianyuan did many things that destroyed ancestral rules, and the hundred officials' tolerance had been exercised.

Not to mention eunuchs interfering in politics, he directly appointed eunuchs as auxiliary ministers, and the hundred officials still accepted it.

Compared to that, he was just privately consulting eunuchs on government affairs, which was completely incomparable.

"Your Majesty, this servant feels that the court should prioritize stability."

"The Tatars are in the process of withdrawing; no one can guarantee whether they will kill their way back."

"The Bai Lian rebel army in the south has now become a climate, and suppressing the rebellion will become the court's important task next."

"Before the situation stabilizes, the court should not move recklessly."

Xu Xu Zhongen said with a solemn expression.

These were all sincere words; the current Great Great Dayu Dynasty couldn't afford to be tossed around.

Perhaps there were various problems with the high-level officials in the court, but no one could guarantee that if they were kicked out and replaced, the newcomers could do better.

This point was repeatedly verified in the previous personnel adjustments.

The current cabinet team, whether in prestige or personal ability, was far inferior to the auxiliary team left by the late Emperor.

Just because it involved imperial power, everyone tacitly forgot this problem.

With the situation deteriorating to this point, even if Emperor Emperor Yongning wanted to invite back the auxiliary team left by the late Emperor, it was too late in terms of time.

Because of the previous political liquidation, several auxiliary ministers who suffered great psychological pressure had successively gone to see the late Emperor.

There were only three alive now, two of whom were military generals.

"If no adjustments are made, can they clean up the current mess?"

Emperor Emperor Yongning asked with a frown.

This sensitive topic was something none of the eunuchs dared to pick up.

Whether they could turn the tide and save the Great Great Dayu Dynasty, no one knew.

The only thing that could be determined was that the replacement speed of cabinet ministers in the Emperor Yongning reign was fast, and the officials of the Six Ministries were like a revolving lantern.

Some officials had just arrived at their posts and hadn't even figured out the situation in the government office before welcoming another personnel adjustment.

The Emperor urgently wanted to change the status quo, and the pressure was passed directly to the cabinet.

In order to cater to the holy will, everyone had to make changes.

Officials added layers of weight, and many good policies became bad policies in the final implementation.

"Your Majesty, the problem the court needs to solve most now is suppressing the rebellion, followed by the Tatars."

"These two problems, in the final analysis, are still military."

"The person with the strongest military ability in the court is Marquis Marquis Wuyang, followed by Duke Cheng and Marquis Zhenyuan, and only then the border generals in various places."

"Wanting to achieve a breakthrough in military affairs as soon as possible, the only way now is to break the convention and enable those with strong military ability."

"If you want to balance, you might as well send an army supervisor."

Wang Jing Yifeng changed the subject and said.

As the factory head of the Eastern Depot, compared to a group of predecessors, he was low-key to the point of being unbelievable.

It wasn't that he was born low-key; it was purely that the current factory guards simply couldn't be arrogant.

All the civil and military officials in the court were joining forces to suppress them.

When handling cases, not only did the government offices at all levels not cooperate, but they also set up multiple thresholds, making it difficult to do anything.

Wanting to open up the situation, they must first divide the suppression of them by the civil and military officials in the court.

The best choice was naturally to send the big shots of the nobility faction to the local area to take office.

Going down is easy, but wanting to come back is hard.

In the eyes of civil officials, Duke Cheng and Marquis Zhenyuan were eyesores, seriously affecting their control over the court.

It was just that both were auxiliary ministers appointed by the late Emperor and had great influence in the army, so they couldn't be moved just because they wanted to.

If they took office in the local area, it would be easy to operate.

The war wasn't so easy to finish; even if the internal rebellion was suppressed, there was still a pile of external enemies to clean up.

Making a few small moves could keep them in the local area forever.

After a few years, eliminating the influence of the auxiliary ministers, even if the two returned to the court, they wouldn't have the same say as now.

"Hmm!"

"This is indeed a way; with Duke Cheng and Marquis Zhenyuan helping, it can indeed speed up the progress of Uncle suppressing the Bai Lian Sect rebellion."

The speaker had no intention, but the listener did.

This "Uncle" fell into the ears of the eunuchs, immediately having an unusual meaning.

In the past, Emperor Emperor Yongning always called Marquis Marquis Wuyang directly; "Uncle" was the address in front of the Empress Dowager.

However, everyone could understand that Marquis Marquis Wuyang's performance on the battlefield did indeed win face for Emperor Emperor Yongning.

Proving to the outside world that he, the Emperor, was not blind and that the officials he appointed were not all trash.

Jinan City.

Two days had passed since the great battle outside the city, and they were busy cleaning up the enemy remnants.

Because the three major tribes fled in different directions, the Ghost Fang cavalry who went out to plunder were fighting on their own and were no longer able to pose a threat to the government army.

The current encirclement and interception were more aimed at the enemy's loot.

Li Mu couldn't take care of the chaotic army that abandoned the loot and fled in a panic for the time being.

There was no other reason; the loot was simply too much.

The Ghost Fang had shallow eyelids; after losing restraint, they wanted to grab everything back.

Besides gold, silver, cloth, grain, salt, and tea, they didn't let go of iron pots, tableware, or clothes.

Looking at the mountain of loot, Li Mu also secretly worried.

It wasn't that these things had no value; it was mainly that the quantity was too large.

Transporting them all back was troublesome, and processing them on the spot didn't have such a large market, so they couldn't be sold for a good price.

At the very least, that pile of clothes of unknown origin, suspected to have been stripped from dead people, was very troublesome to process.

The most critical thing was that they couldn't drag it out; they must handle these things properly before the Ministry of War officials verified the battle results.

If it was later, with the support of civil officials, the local gentry who were robbed might come to ask for the lost property.

Returning it was impossible; even if Li Mu was high-minded, the current situation couldn't determine the owner.

Compared to the losses of the gentry, the captured loot was only a part of it.

If they really returned it to this family and not that family, they would only offend more people.

It was better to process the things early, directly decorate the battle report, and just leave some loot to deal with the court.

The court still owed the King-Relieving Army military pay; as long as the amount wasn't large, they would choose to offset the military pay.

"Marquis, this is the battle report compiled."

"As of now, our army has cumulatively defeated 60,000 enemy troops, beheaded over 20,000 enemy troops, including 13,000 true Tatar heads, and captured 4,300 enemy troops..."

As the words fell, a battle report full of artistic color appeared directly in front of Marquis Marquis Wuyang.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 307 =====