Chapter 310

After some pleasantries, they learned that the Emperor was hosting a banquet in the palace.

After a long journey, it was time to rest, and it was not suitable to attend a banquet, but they couldn't help it since it was a banquet hosted by the Emperor.

Without the slightest hesitation, the team was split into two.

Li Mu and the Marquis Marquis Wuyang took a few guards to enter the palace for the banquet with the hundred officials, while the others returned to their respective residences.

The mighty team lined up in a long dragon, the scene grand yet not lacking in majesty.

It could be seen that the court had put a lot of thought into welcoming them.

The more this was the case, the less bottom Li Mu had in his heart.

Intuition told him that for the court to treat them with such courtesy, something major must have happened.

Combined with the current situation, it could basically be determined that the court was truly out of money.

Otherwise, at the same time they received the official document to go to the capital to report on their duties, the court should have produced money and grain to reward the three armies to stabilize morale.

When it came to rewarding merits, they didn't reward the three armies immediately, yet they treated the high-ranking officials of the King-Protecting Army with high standards.

It was clearly preparing to spend a little money to handle a big matter.

The victory banquet proceeded very smoothly, and everyone gave the Emperor a lot of face.

Even the censors who often looked for trouble didn't make any fuss.

Clearly, those who mix in officialdom are not truly stupid.

……

Leaving the palace, it was already evening.

"Uncle, whose bad idea was this for His Majesty?"

On the way back, Li Mu asked.

Courting a few generals is indeed cheaper than courting a hundred thousand troops.

But some money, the court cannot save.

It's one thing to owe military pay normally, but not issuing rewards after winning a battle is unjustifiable.

If the court doesn't solve it, then the generals have to think of ways to solve it themselves.

With a little guidance, the officers and soldiers below will become alienated from the court.

"Except for those grandsons in the Ministry of Revenue, who else would be the villain!"

"Now is an extraordinary time; the court has already decided to grant you the title of Marquis of Marquis Hanshui, so nothing can go wrong at this juncture.

Even if we have to pay out of our own pockets, the King-Protecting Army must be stabilized!"

Li Yuan said seriously.

With two marquises in one family about to push the Li family to a new height, nothing must go wrong.

As for the problem of the officers and soldiers below becoming alienated from the court, he couldn't care about that either.

The national treasury is truly out of money now; even if the Emperor is willing to pay, the Ministry of Revenue cannot conjure up money and grain.

If you can't solve the problem, then think of a way to solve the person who created the problem.

In the King-Protecting War, the Guangdong-Among Guangxi King-Protecting Army had the most illustrious achievements.

Once they were appeased, the task would be half completed.

"Uncle, rest assured, nephew knows what is important.

According to the Great Great Dayu law, soldiers who capture enemy heads can choose to be promoted, receive reward silver, or a compromise of both.

Now that the court is in financial difficulty and cannot produce money and grain for a while, then compensate with official titles and ranks.

If there are not enough real positions, then give honorary ones.

As long as face is saved and everyone feels the court's importance, the King-Protecting Army will not have problems."

Li Mu guaranteed immediately.

Compared to other King-Protecting Armies, the Guangdong-Among Guangxi troops are considered wealthy.

Whether it is confiscation and detention, or snatching the Northern Barbarians' spoils of war, there have been many gains.

Issuing military pay and reward silver to the soldiers normally is not a problem.

Compared to gold and silver rewards, everyone needs progress in official titles and ranks more.

The southern provinces have suffered from war, and it is precisely the time when officials are needed.

Li Mu and the Marquis Marquis Wuyang have discussed that in order to cope with the need to suppress the rebellion, the Guangdong-Among Guangxi Garrison will expand next.

In the future, if they enter the capital to serve, then continue to maintain the status quo.

If the two separate to serve in local areas, then each will take half of the troops to ensure their status.

In addition to preparing for "splitting the family," they must also consider the transfer of generals in the army.

Everyone has been colleagues, so they must help each other.

As before, when the generals leave, they will take their own retainers and personal guards.

One or two generals leaving is not conspicuous, but when the number of generals transferred out is large, the troops taken away are not a small number.

"It's good that you can understand.

You are still very young; as long as the general direction is okay, there is no need to haggle over money and grain.

If the court doesn't issue pay, then think of a way to raise it locally.

When our ancestors followed Emperor Emperor Gaozu to conquer the world, let alone logistical support for money and grain, even..."

Halfway through, Li Yuan took it back.

The awesomeness of the ancestors is indeed worth bragging about.

But in the process of conquering the world, there was no lack of dark history.

Many of these things also involved Emperor Emperor Gaozu and could not be brought to the table at all.

"Uncle, the King-Protecting Army side is easy to talk about; the key lies in the court.

Judging from the current situation, the Great Great Dayu is already very dangerous.

Most of the imperial army that can fight in the south is in the hands of our nobility faction.

To reverse the situation, I fear that you and my father-in-law will have to be sent out to preside over the rebellion suppression work.

Everyone will be serving in local areas, which will inevitably affect our speaking power in the court."

Li Mu reminded him.

Some things are not something you can avoid just because you want to.

The lineage of the Marquis of Zhenyuan has followed the dynasty and enjoyed wealth for more than two hundred years.

Now that the time has come to pay for the court, as long as the Emperor issues an imperial edict, it is impossible for Li Yuan to shirk it.

Theoretically, the imperial army in the south is mostly in the hands of the nobility faction, but the elite that can truly fight is only a few tens of thousands.

These troops are basically concentrated in Li Mu's hands.

The military generals who were split off, although their abilities are not bad, are restricted by logistics, and their subsequent development has not been smooth.

The appearance of this situation is half the fault of the Great Great Dayu court and half the fault of Li Mu.

The court's treasury is lacking, and it needs the generals below to find ways to get money themselves.

These people only learned to lead troops to fight when they were under Li Mu's command.

He didn't teach them how to accumulate wealth or raise military pay.

So much so that many generals could have impressive achievements when serving under him.

Not long after leaving, they encountered trouble.

If the problem of money and grain cannot be solved, they simply cannot train strong troops.

No matter who serves as Governor-General in a local area, the first problem they need to face is the lack of finance.

Even the once wealthiest Nanzhili, after suffering the flames of war, could not produce money from the local government offices.

The Guangdong-Among Guangxi King-Protecting Army could fight because it was supported by the strength of three provinces, which created it.

It is by no means an easy task for Li Yuan and Jing Jing Guoliang to solve the financial source problem when they arrive in local areas.

"Sigh!"

"Regarding the matter of being sent out, your father-in-law and I have also discussed it, and it is indeed unavoidable.

Actually, His Majesty has already talked to us long ago; if it weren't for the fact that the Northern Barbarians haven't completely withdrawn, the personnel appointments would have already been released.

Now, in the entire southern land, the only relatively peaceful places are Yunnan-Guizhou, Guangdong-Among Guangxi, and Fujian.

The other provinces are all suffering from the ravages of war.

Relatively speaking, the days of the Sichuan Governor-General and the Fujian-Zhejiang Governor-General are slightly better.

However, they are also threatened by the rebel army.

The Huguang Governor-General and the Jiangnan Governor-General are hot potatoes.

Most of their jurisdictions have fallen, and now they have neither money nor troops.

According to His Majesty's intention, he is prepared to let the Marquis Marquis Wuyang step down as Fujian-Zhejiang Governor-General and instead serve as Guangdong-Among Guangxi Governor-General and Jiangnan Governor-General.

With the help of the Guangdong-Among Guangxi troops, suppress the rebellion in the Jiangnan region.

Your father-in-law and I will likely take over as Huguang Governor-General, Fujian-Zhejiang Governor-General, or Sichuan Governor-General.

Choosing two out of three, none of them are good jobs!"

Li Yuan couldn't help but complain.

According to such personnel appointments, the task of suppressing the White Lotus Sect rebellion is equivalent to being entirely pressed onto the nobility faction.

If they succeed, everyone is happy; if they fail, the nobility faction is finished.

Of course, while the nobility faction is finished, it will also drag the Great Great Dayu dynasty down with it.

With the situation developing to this point, the army controlled by the nobility faction has become the last pillar of the Great Great Dayu dynasty.

Once this pillar falls, there will be no way to save the situation.

"Uncle, suppressing the White Lotus Sect rebellion is actually not difficult militarily.

If money and grain can keep up, we can recover Nanjing and restore most of the prefectures in the south within the year.

The real difficulty lies in the aftermath."

Li Mu reminded him cryptically.

The rebel army could grow because of many reasons.

The main factor is that the world has suffered under the Great Great Dayu for too long!

Land annexation, superimposed on the heavy taxes and levies under the corruption of the bureaucratic system, led to the continuous deterioration of the situation.

Suppressing the rebellion can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause.

Many prefectures were recovered by the imperial army, only to fall into the hands of the rebel army again; the biggest problem was that the government was doing too poorly.

The officials who arrived hadn't even sat warmly in their seats before they were trying every possible way to make money.

The people couldn't bear the exploitation, so they could only follow the rebel army.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

The turmoil in the south is just a microcosm of the decay of the empire; the northern provinces are also powder kegs, which could be ignited at any time.

"Let's think of a way to suppress the rebellion first!

I guess we won't be able to worry about the aftermath.

His Majesty won't let us serve in local areas for a long time; as soon as the war on the front line ends, we will be transferred back to the capital.

Don't forget, besides the White Lotus Sect rebel army, the empire's hidden dangers also include the Northern Barbarians and the feudal lords!"

Speaking to the end, Li Yuan specifically emphasized his tone.

At the same time Li Mu and the Marquis Marquis Wuyang went to the capital to report on their duties, the people of the Liaodong Garrison also entered the capital.

The court cannot afford to be tossed about now; even knowing that the Liaodong Garrison has become a new feudal lord, it does not have the confidence to solve them.

Except for a few officials with zero military sense who proposed cutting off their grain and pay to trap and starve the Liaodong Garrison to death, more officials advocated adopting appeasement measures.

It's not that everyone's bones are soft, but the court truly doesn't have the ability to open another battlefield.

The Liaodong Garrison is not stupid; they cannot sit and wait for death, and once they fall out, they will definitely meet with weapons.

It might even lead to merging with the Northern Barbarians and invading south together.

At that time, the northern border defense line will inevitably collapse, and a Shanhai Pass cannot block their military edge.

……

In the imperial palace.

"Emperor, you chat slowly; the Empress Dowager will go to rest first."

The Empress Dowager said with a smile.

With her maiden family being promising, she, as the Empress Dowager, also lives comfortably.

From relatives of the Emperor to hereditary nobles, the family's status and position have been raised by more than one grade.

In the future, there is no need to worry about the future of the maiden family; as long as the descendants don't make trouble, they can enjoy wealth for many years by guarding the hereditary title.

Being able to fight her way out of the harem, she naturally wouldn't be a political novice.

After a simple reminiscing, she deliberately created an opportunity for her own brother and son to be alone.

"Respectfully send off the Empress Dowager!"

"Respectfully send off the Empress Dowager!"

……

"State affairs are difficult; does Uncle have any strategy to teach me?"

Emperor Emperor Yongning asked with concern.

A few years ago, he would absolutely not have consulted the Marquis Marquis Wuyang on state affairs.

Influenced by Yin Zuo and the other, he had long had no good impression of the group of relatives of the Emperor.

Of course, this was mainly aimed at other relatives; his relationship with the Marquis Marquis Wuyang was still not bad.

However, this was limited to personal relationships and did not include letting the Marquis Marquis Wuyang participate in politics.

It wasn't until after the rebellion of the Lianghuai gentry that his inherent impression changed slightly.

The real reversal happened after the explosion of the Yin Zuo and the other's treason case, which impacted his inherent cognition.

Realizing that civil officials were unreliable, Emperor Emperor Yongning also developed a trace of doubt about what the two had taught him before.

Subsequently, several high-ranking civil officials made a mess of things, throwing the world into chaos, while the Marquis Marquis Wuyang performed brilliantly in suppressing the rebellion.

After having a comparison, Emperor Emperor Yongning's standard for employing people also changed accordingly.

"Your Majesty, in the humble opinion of this minister, the most urgent task is to suppress the rebellion.

Other problems can be temporarily shelved; everything takes the suppression of the rebellion as the priority.

After annihilating the White Lotus Sect, it will not be too late to turn back and deal with other problems."

The Marquis Marquis Wuyang said with a headache.

The Emperor's question was too broad, and he could only choose a conservative answer.

After all, the ills of the Great Great Dayu dynasty could not be counted in three days and three nights.

Wanting to solve these historical legacy problems is by no means something that can be completed in a few words.

More often than not, one problem involves a series of problems behind it, making it very thorny to handle.

A slight carelessness would lead to a major disaster.

During the late Emperor's era, daring to initiate reform was because the world situation was stable at that time.

As long as the court was determined to solve the problem, even a strong interest group like the salt merchants would be wiped out in a flash of laughter.

The situation is different now; any major change could cause the situation to spiral out of control.

"Prioritizing the suppression of the rebellion is indeed a way.

However, in the past few years, in order to suppress the rebellion, the court has repeatedly delegated power to local areas.

Other regions are fine, but Liaodong has had trouble.

The current Liaodong Garrison often acts in defiance of the court's orders.

Shi Chen Jingfeng went to the capital to report on his duties and actually dared to set conditions with me, requesting to be appointed as Liaodong Governor-General!"

Emperor Emperor Yongning said with worry.

The Liaodong Garrison is a microcosm of the empire's decline.

With the court's continuous delegation of power, the power of local government offices has expanded rapidly.

The previous checks and balances have gradually lost their effectiveness by now.

Once a Governor-General in charge of military and political power in a local area has two hearts, it is easy for another Liaodong Garrison to appear.

To solve this problem, Emperor Emperor Yongning's idea is to send eunuchs to act as army supervisors.

However, the eunuch group is weak right now, and once a proposal is made in the court, it will immediately attract endless scolding.

The entire court of civil and military officials might oppose it, and Emperor Emperor Yongning is not sure if he can withstand the pressure.

"Your Majesty, this matter needs long-term consideration.

The problem of feudal lords has left enough experience and lessons in history.

Right now, the court is both employing feudal lords and guarding against them becoming too powerful; how to control the degree is very important.

When the world is at peace, that is the time to weaken the feudal lords."

The Marquis Marquis Wuyang reminded him cryptically.

The Emperor wanting to check and balance is not a problem; the only problem is that the timing is wrong now.

This also involves the old affair of using civil officials to control the military.

In the early years, the role played by local governors was that of army supervisors.

With the growth of the civil official group, the power of the army supervisors was continuously amplified, gradually becoming the direct leadership of local troops.

The reputation of eunuchs is too foul, and no one can guarantee whether the eunuch army supervisors sent out will mess things up when they arrive in local areas.

For the current Great Great Dayu dynasty, any institution that drags its feet and affects the combat effectiveness of the army is a burden.

If you want to check and balance local forces from becoming too powerful, you must first suppress the White Lotus Sect rebellion.

Setting restrictions in advance to trap the hands and feet of the front-line Regional Commander is self-destruction.

"Does Uncle mean to agree to the Liaodong Garrison's conditions first and then settle accounts with them in the future?"

Emperor Emperor Yongning asked with a frown.

Making concessions to the Liaodong Garrison not only loses face but also loses the majesty of the Great Great Dayu dynasty.

Having set this precedent, I don't know how many people will follow suit later.

"Your Majesty, since it is a negotiation, we must talk first.

They dare to ask for a sky-high price, and the court can pay back on the ground.

Shi Chen Jingfeng proposing to serve as Liaodong Governor-General is likely a test of the court.

If he were truly allowed to serve as Liaodong Governor-General, with his ability, he might not be able to do it.

The Liaodong Garrison seems unruly, but in reality, they are also afraid of falling out with the court in their hearts.

Relying entirely on the court for money and grain, and being caught between the court and the Northern Barbarians, it is very difficult for them to grow further."

The Marquis Marquis Wuyang said without changing his expression.

Suppressing the Liaodong Garrison is possible, but it must be based on political means.

……

(End of Chapter)