Chapter 312

The conferring ceremony began, and Li Mu felt like a puppet. He followed the procedures step-by-step, fearing any mistakes that would make him the laughingstock of everyone's tea-time conversations.

Although no military Marquis in the Great Dayu Dynasty has ever been held accountable by the court for mistakes during the conferring ceremony, historians must record such major events.

If there are no problems, it's just a matter of one sentence.

"On such and such day of such and such month of such and such year, so-and-so was conferred a Marquis title for military merit."

For those with great influence, their achievements will be noted later, but the content won't be much; a page is enough.

If a scandal occurs, it will be described in great detail to warn future generations.

Theoretically, history books can be modified. However, to modify them, either the Emperor must intervene personally, or the powerful clans controlling the narrative need to hide the historical truth.

Generally speaking, at the same time history books are tampered with, a bunch of unofficial histories will pop up.

It's hard to distinguish truth from falsehood, but the content is definitely explosive. There's nothing they wouldn't dare to write.

It's mainly because they are bored; apart from a few busy officials, the workload of most officials in the Great Dayu Dynasty is generally low, and there are no entertainment activities.

Recording daily observations became a part of many people's lives. Usually, at such times, they would bring in their own stance and include a lot of private information.

After the conferral was completed, there were various sacrificial activities. First, the Emperor led the officials to sacrifice at the Taimiao, offering sacrificial texts to recount achievements and comfort the ancestors, hoping for their protection.

Then everyone went back to sacrifice to their own ancestors; the clan ancestral halls, which are not opened except for major festivals, were also busy.

The clansmen who could make it over all gathered in the ancestral hall.

First, the ancestral tablets of Li Mu's lineage were invited in by the clan elders, followed by various sacrificial texts.

The content was all about the same, recounting achievements and praying for the ancestors' protection.

After all the procedures were finished, they still had to drag their exhausted bodies to the imperial palace to attend the conferring banquet.

Undoubtedly, so many cumbersome rituals were deliberately performed by the imperial court for the world to see.

In recent years, the Great Dayu has had bad luck, with more defeats than victories on the battlefield. The siege of the capital by the northern barbarians and the fall of Nanjing brought about huge political disasters.

To stabilize the hearts of the people, both Emperor Yongning and the officials in the court attached great importance to this conferring ceremony.

The intention was to tell the world through this ceremony: the Great Dayu Dynasty has not yet reached the point of collapse and still has capable elite troops and generals.

In the imperial palace.

Once again in close contact with Emperor Yongning, Li Mu couldn't believe his eyes. The high-spirited young man of the past was long gone.

Judging purely from his face, Emperor Yongning looked at least ten years older than his actual age.

Even with a smile on his face, the hidden sorrow between his brows added a touch of twilight.

It could be seen that the Emperor's life was not easy.

As the protagonist, Li Mu's position this time was very far forward, sitting on both sides of the Emperor along with the Marquis of Wuyang.

The dishes had no new ideas, all being seasonal vegetables and meat. The Emperor advocated frugality, so the banquet was naturally not extravagant.

Being able to come to attend the banquet was in itself a symbol of glory. As for what to eat, no one cared.

After a brief word of encouragement, the topic inevitably turned to state affairs.

However, most of the time, Li Mu was just a listener.

Although he had the right to speak on state affairs, as a rising star, it was not appropriate for him to spout off in such a special occasion.

Unless the Emperor specifically asked, basically only the Marquis of Wuyang answered questions.

A group of cabinet ministers and noble bigwigs also participated in the discussion. However, everyone was very restrained, tacitly leaving the main stage to the two protagonists.

After the conferring banquet ended, a group of important officials, including Li Mu, were kept behind by Emperor Yongning.

"My dear officials, there were many things inconvenient to say in the previous occasion."

"Now that there are no outsiders, feel free to speak your minds."

"I intend to recover Nanjing within the year and restore the Huguang and Jiangnan regions; I hope all of you will give your full support!"

Emperor Yongning's words seemed to be spoken to the officials, but in reality, he wanted the group of high-ranking regional officials to give an accurate answer.

Just one day before the grand ceremony, the imperial court carried out a major personnel adjustment.

The former Viceroy of Huguang, Xu Wenyue, was transferred to Viceroy of Sichuan.

The position of Viceroy of Minzhe held by the Marquis of Wuyang was revoked, and he was transferred to Viceroy of Jiangnan, while also serving as Viceroy of Liangguang.

The former Viceroy of Jiangnan, Pei Yunxuan, was dismissed on the spot, escorted back to the capital by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and awaited further disposal by the imperial court.

Jing Guoliang, the Regional Military Commissioner of the Left, was appointed as Viceroy of Minzhe.

Li Yuan, the Regional Military Commissioner of the Right, was appointed as Viceroy of Huguang.

The entire southern battlefield entered the era of the nobles.

In addition to sending eunuchs to supervise the army, the power in the hands of the various viceroys was significantly enhanced.

Including: the power to recruit troops freely, the power to adjust taxes within their jurisdiction, and the expansion of personnel power, having the power to dispose of and appoint military officers below Rank Three and civil officials below Rank Five.

It can be seen that Emperor Yongning had high hopes for them and gave them maximum delegation of power.

The power of local viceroys increased significantly; if they had ulterior motives, it would be easy to become new regional warlords.

Against such moves, voices of opposition in the court had never ceased.

However, the main officials in the court mostly supported it.

There was no other way; the imperial court's finances were severely in deficit and it was simply unable to pay the high military expenses.

Since the imperial court couldn't come up with money and grain, if they wanted to suppress the rebels, they could only delegate power to the viceroys on the front line.

"Your Majesty, recovering Jiangnan and Huguang within the year is simply too difficult."

"The rebels have grown strong and are no longer the ragtag group they were back then."

"The situation of the imperial army is the opposite; the most combat-effective Liangguang imperial army suffered heavy losses in the battle to save the capital."

"They urgently need to be replenished before they can be put into new major battles, and it will be difficult for them to play a role in the short term."

The situation of the imperial army in other regions is even worse.

The Jiangnan region has now almost completely fallen, and the remaining imperial army has no morale.

Huguang only has the last three prefectures left, still struggling to hold on.

In the short term, not only do we have no troops to use, but we also lack money and grain.

In the next six months, the first thing we need to solve is the problem of money and grain, and only then can we train troops and suppress the rebellion.

Out of political considerations, we should prioritize recovering Nanjing to stabilize the hearts of the people."

"If everything goes smoothly, the imperial court will suppress the White Lotus rebels within the next two years."

Jing Guoliang spoke up first.

As the Regional Military Commissioner of the Left and Viceroy of Minzhe, the de facto head of the military officers, he had to come out and pour cold water on Emperor Yongning.

There was no other way; the Emperor's requirements were simply too high and completely detached from reality.

Even if the army to save the capital hadn't been damaged, it would be impossible to recover four provinces in just half a year.

Considering the reality, it would take time for them to rush to their posts, and it would also take time to sort out the bureaucratic system.

The time actually available for suppressing the rebellion would be no more than three months at most.

To recover Nanjing within the year, all parties must cooperate with all their might.

Trying to solve all the rebels at once would lead to choking.

Hasty troop deployment would only lead to losses and make the situation worse.

"Two years is simply too long; the imperial court cannot afford to drag it out!"

"Official Jing, can't it be faster?"

Emperor Yongning asked with a frown.

He himself knew that solving the rebels within half a year was unrealistic.

Putting forward this requirement was mainly to exert pressure on everyone.

But the two-year cycle truly exceeded his psychological bottom line.

It has been more than three years since the White Lotus rebellion, and adding two more years would make it over five years.

It's not just the long time; the key is that the Great Dayu's financial situation is extremely bad.

Having lost the southeastern provinces, which were important sources of wealth, the imperial court faces a huge financial deficit every year.

A penny can stump a hero.

The imperial court needs money everywhere, and its rule is maintained entirely by robbing Peter to pay Paul.

This situation is clearly unsustainable.

The longer the war drags on, the more problems the Great Dayu will face.

Shifting all financial problems to the northern provinces might lead to the rebels in the south not being suppressed, while the north falls into chaos.

"Your Majesty, it really can't be faster!"

"If we had taken the correct response measures earlier, the imperial court might have had a chance to suppress the rebels quickly."

"But the situation is different now; the rebels have grown strong, while the imperial court's strength has been greatly damaged."

With one increasing and the other decreasing, the difficulty of suppressing the rebellion has increased significantly.

Two years is actually an optimistic estimate.

If the enemy resists stubbornly, the suppression cycle might even be lengthened!"

Jing Guoliang answered, biting the bullet.

Having learned from the lessons of the previous group of unlucky ones, he would rather butt heads with the Emperor than draw empty cakes.

Stating the difficulties in advance means that if the task isn't completed on time, one can still find excuses to push the blame.

Raising the Emperor's expectations in advance and drawing cakes in front of the officials is equivalent to signing a military order.

Failing to complete the task is deceiving the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Cheng is right; we cannot be anxious at this time."

"The imperial court cannot afford to be tossed about; the top priority is to seek stability."

"Better not to launch a major war than to suffer a crushing defeat while fighting the rebels."

Launching the Battle of Nanjing within the year is full of risks.

If we want to bloom on all sides, I'm afraid..."

The Marquis of Wuyang followed up with advice.

As the Viceroy of Jiangnan, he faces the biggest troubles.

Just recovering Nanjing is not an easy task.

On the surface, the army to save the capital suffered heavy losses.

Even for political needs, he must make a show of resting and replenishing troops before he can launch the Battle of Nanjing.

Privately, he and Li Mu discussed that after returning, they would first expand the combat troops from two garrisons to five.

During the expansion of the army, it is not suitable to launch large-scale battles.

If everything goes smoothly, they can launch the Battle of Nanjing at the end of the year.

Fighting is just an explanation to the imperial court; when Nanjing can be recovered still depends on the rebels' performance.

"Sigh!"

"State affairs are difficult!"

Seeing that his own people were all opposed, Emperor Yongning couldn't help but sigh.

Experience tells him that things everyone opposes definitely won't work.

"Your Majesty, referring to historical experience."

"Religious rebel groups like the White Lotus, once they gain an advantage, their high-level leadership will quickly degenerate."

"The longer it drags on, the more favorable it is for the imperial court."

"Even if the rebel leader has great ambitions, he cannot guarantee that those under him all have the same ambitions."

"The world of earthly pleasures in Nanjing is the easiest to erode people's fighting spirit."

"Just let the rebel generals enjoy themselves for a few months; by then, their combat effectiveness will at most be four or five out of ten."

Wan Junhui spoke up to comfort him.

It can be seen that he has put his heart into reading history books.

He even found this inconspicuous, unpopular rule.

Nanjing is indeed easy to corrupt people's hearts; historically, no dynasty that made Nanjing its capital lasted long.

But saying it now is just to soothe people's hearts.

The speed of corruption is fast, but it also takes time. It won't destroy a regime from within in just a few months.

In times of war, speed is of the essence.

Three days after the conferring ceremony, Li Mu led his team on the journey home.

Compared to when they came, they were traveling together, and there were also his uncle and father-in-law.

Everyone's posts were in the south, so they happened to be on the same route.

Fortunately, he resisted the temptation and was not corrupted by beauty. If he had really taken a few concubines and brought them south, the scene would be unimaginable.

The weather in June is like a hellish dungeon. Not only is it as hot as a big furnace, but the wind and waves at sea are also high.

The cowardly Li Mu decisively ordered to sail along the coast, not rushing to save that bit of time.

Upon discovering that the weather was wrong, they immediately docked to avoid the wind and waves, focusing on being steady.

"Marquis, in recent days, military officers have been visiting frequently..."

Before Wu Dage could finish, Li Mu waved his hand to interrupt: "I know about this, just let them be!"

Going south to suppress the rebellion, one cannot be without a military foundation.

The troops of the Capital Garrison suffered heavy losses earlier and were unable to participate in the southern campaign.

The Duke of Cheng and the Marquis of Zhenyuan went south to take up their posts, but they only brought some private family troops. That bit of power was naturally far from enough.

The combat effectiveness of the local imperial army couldn't be relied upon, so in a desperate situation, they could only wave their hoes at Li Mu's troops.

Li Mu didn't care about the movement of the noble-affiliated officers.

When communicating in advance, he promised to support each with 5,000 elite troops. The current poaching action was part of the agreed content.

He naturally wouldn't be angry about things he had agreed to. If someone left voluntarily, it was just right to clear out the unstable elements.

The camp is made of iron, but the soldiers are flowing water.

The Great Dayu Dynasty is not short of people; just have someone fill the vacancies.

New recruits train in the camp for a few months, go to the battlefield to fight a few times, and those who survive become veterans.

Telling the truth is indeed a bit cruel, but this is reality.

(End of chapter)