Chapter 326: Huguang Public Debt

Yuezhou City.

Ever since the failure to meet the Wuchang reinforcements, the city had been shrouded in panic.

"Reinforcements can't be counted on.

There are three thousand imperial troops blocking the gate outside the city, and the garrison in several nearby prefectures is not large, so they don't dare to come over at all.

Grain and grass in the city are sufficient, plus the gathered defeated troops, the garrison in the city has exceeded ten thousand.

As long as we work together, we will definitely be able to persist until reinforcements arrive."

Xiao Laosi said with insufficient confidence.

In meeting the Wuchang reinforcements, the troops they lost were not many.

Because of gathering the remnants, the number of garrison troops in the city increased instead of decreasing.

Regrettably, it only increased the number, but did not increase combat power.

Sitting on ten thousand troops, being blocked in the city by three thousand imperial troops, was enough to explain many problems.

The imperial army taking Yongzhou, Hengyang, and Changsha were all just rumors to them, which was completely different from witnessing it with their own eyes.

The Yuezhou garrison didn't fight with the Third Garrison, but the Wuchang defeated troops he gathered witnessed the enemy's strength with their own eyes.

Receiving more than three thousand defeated troops successfully passed the panic to every garrison soldier.

As a grassroots general, Xiao Laosi didn't understand at all how terrible the transmission of panic was.

From beginning to end, he didn't take any measures.

After the panic spread, he, this defending general, was also affected.

"General Xiao, there are still twenty thousand civilian recruits in the city; hand them over to you for training as well.

Taking advantage of the fact that the imperial army hasn't attacked the city, hurry and use the last time to restore the army's morale.

Thirty thousand troops defending for a month should not be a problem.

The imperial army outside the city is too arrogant; a mere three thousand people dare to come and block the gate.

Our troop strength is ten times theirs; why not annihilate them first to dampen the enemy's spirit!"

Prefect Ding's suggestion made Xiao Laosi half-dead with anger.

What bullshit thirty thousand troops; there were clearly only ten thousand, and the other twenty thousand civilian recruits hadn't even been trained yet!

Even if they had military training, there weren't that many weapons in the city for them to use.

Even if it was just one bamboo spear per person, the garrison couldn't do it now.

What's the difference between soldiers with empty hands and giving it away?

Leading a unit with no morale, most of whom didn't even have weapons, and running out of the city to fight the imperial army.

That wasn't dampening the enemy's spirit; it was clearly sending battle achievements to others.

The enemy army outside the city was the most fierce unit he had encountered among the imperial troops.

That murderous aura could be felt from far away.

The Li-character flag hanging there was regarded as a life-taking talisman by countless rebel armies.

Once there was no protection from the city walls, he didn't doubt at all that the enemy army only needed one charge to defeat the troops under his command.

Facts proved that Confucian scholars couldn't be relied upon in fighting wars.

The more Confucian scholars who were well-versed in military books, the easier it was to be led astray by theory, often ignoring the actual situation of both sides.

"Prefect Ding, you'd better not worry about fighting wars.

As long as you stabilize the people's hearts in the city, that's a great merit, and I will speak well of you to the King."

Xiao Laosi said unpleasantly.

He was already annoyed, and after this discussion, he became even more irritable.

Yuezhou Prefecture was not only the barrier of Wuchang but also the last passage connecting to the western prefectures.

Losing Yuezhou City, Great Chu would be split into two by the imperial army, and by then, the Chu King would definitely not spare him.

He didn't know how Changsha City fell, but since it fell so quickly, there must have been the merit of insiders.

In an instant, his view of the several civil officials present changed.

These people had all defected in the last few months.

Before defecting to the rebel army, they were all gentry in Huguang, and some had even served as officials in Great Great Dayu.

Having been loyal officials of Great Great Dayu for most of their lives, they had only been mixing with the Chu King for a few months.

Having not shared adversity with Great Chu, who knew what their loyalty was?

If the imperial army planted spies in the city, these people were all suspects.

"General, rest assured, this subordinate will definitely appease the people's hearts!"

Sensing that Xiao Laosi's face was wrong, Prefect Ding guaranteed immediately.

The remaining civil officials were even more frightened and trembling.

Chu State was ruled by military men; being an official here was truly too difficult.

If something wasn't handled well, they would be scolded by the military men.

Arguing a few words, they might even get beaten.

Complaining to those above had no effect.

Those who dared to take action against them were all the Chu King's confidants.

Even if their official rank wasn't high, their face in front of the Chu King wasn't something these "disloyal officials" could compare with.

After defecting to the Chu King, while obtaining high official positions and generous salaries, they were also guarded against.

Even if they submitted a letter of surrender, they were still lower than others.

"Report!"

"General, something is wrong; many new imperial troops have arrived outside the city.

The enemy army has also pushed out artillery; it looks like they are preparing to attack the city!"

The bad news brought by the personal guard captain broke the awkwardness in the room.

The enemy army was pressing on the city walls; now was not the time for intrigue.

Once the imperial army broke through the city, the most miserable ones were not the rebel army generals, but these civil officials who betrayed Great Great Dayu.

Some aristocratic family sons were already secretly planning a way out; the imperial army quickly recovering lost territory proved that Great Great Dayu's country had not yet reached the end of its life.

Referring to historical experience, after a unified dynasty declines, it doesn't die immediately.

Before the dynasty perishes, there is never a lack of loyal people going against the current, trying to turn the tide and continue the national destiny.

Perhaps the content of the letter needed to be reconsidered.

Unfortunately, that bastard Li Mu was too capable of fighting, making the court extinguish the idea of recruitment, and they didn't even have the capital to negotiate.

Now returning to the Great Great Dayu camp required paying a painful price.

The newly appointed Governor of Huguang was a bloodsucker, and the conditions for making meritorious service were completely wanting to squeeze people dry.

This huge sum of life-buying money, they certainly couldn't afford it themselves, so they could only let the family behind them think of a way to solve it.

After all, rebelling is a crime that implicates nine generations.

Once investigated deeply, the whole clan would be finished together.

However, these people were just distant branches of the clan; letting the family take out a huge sum of money, the days after returning certainly wouldn't be good.

Hesitation, hesitation, anxiety, fear, a series of complex emotions constantly played out in everyone's hearts.

"Pass the order down, the whole city is under martial law.

From now on, no one is allowed to walk on the street; those who disobey will be killed without mercy!"

Xiao Laosi decisively issued the order.

Unable to care about the thoughts of the crowd, he only knew that Yuezhou Prefecture could not be lost.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to mix in the Chu King's side and could only go to defect to other rebel armies.

Changing jobs is not a good job; wanting to obtain trust again after changing masters is ten times harder than now.

"General Xiao, directly putting the whole city under martial law, what about the people's livelihood in the city?

If the people run out of grain at home, there will be a big chaos!"

Assistant Prefect Zhang hurriedly persuaded.

If the whole city was truly under martial law, it would be difficult for them to do small movements, which was equivalent to cutting off their own way out.

However, this reason couldn't be brought out for discussion and could only use the people as an excuse.

"Then distribute grain and firewood by household to ensure..."

Halfway through the words, Xiao Laosi immediately realized where the problem was.

He himself walked out from the very bottom and knew the style of the government very well.

Chu State might be slightly better than Great Great Dayu, but this goodness was also quite limited.

Adopting a rationing system, the specific officials responsible for execution would inevitably take benefits from it.

By then, it was very likely that some families would have grain and firewood piled up like mountains, while more people who truly needed it would be hungry at home.

That little loyalty to the Chu King was clearly not enough to make the people starve to death in return.

With family members all hungry, the conscripted young men also became unstable elements.

As long as the imperial army's spies incited them, a great chaos would break out in the city immediately.

"What do you say we should do?"

Xiao Laosi turned to ask.

"General, the young men in the city have all been conscripted by us, and the rest are some old and weak, who can't stir up any chaos at all.

If the people's livelihood is affected, then distribute some money and grain to the conscripted young men to support their wives, children, and parents to stabilize people's hearts.

Let the commerce in the city operate normally to ensure the people's daily life.

Usually, just strengthen patrols, and there won't be any problems."

After Assistant Prefect Zhang spoke, a group of gentry officials spoke one after another to agree.

Disaster is imminent; one must consider for oneself.

"Good, the matters in the city will be left to you.

However, this general will send people to watch; whoever dares to make small movements, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

While accepting the suggestion, Xiao Laosi also issued a warning.

Clearly, he didn't trust these officials that much.

It's just that the Chu State was established for too short a time and didn't have its own talent cultivation system, so it had to rely on these old bureaucrats.

Changsha City.

With the increase in troops in his hands, Li Mu began to gradually delegate power.

Except for the big strategic layout, which he had to do personally, he rarely intervened in specific battlefield command.

The front-line imperial army surrounded Yuezhou and killed their way into Wuchang Prefecture, but his command post didn't follow.

Anyway, the rebel army's troop strength was only that much, and they definitely couldn't hold the city; it was just a question of how long they could persist.

A destined victory didn't need to spend too much energy.

"The news has been released; how many gentry do you think are willing to accept this Governor's kindness?"

Li Yuan asked after pacing a few steps.

As a noble, he had no good feelings for the gentry group.

But Huguang had suffered too much damage from the flames of war and was unable to provide tax revenue to the Governor's Yamen in a short time.

The imperial army was advancing all the way on the battlefield; these military victories were all piled up with countless money and grain.

The Governor's Yamen had no money, so a series of subsequent problems couldn't be solved.

The Marquis of Marquis Wuyang held the position of Governor of Jiangnan, and the subsequent strategy was definitely to prioritize Jiangnan.

After recovering Wuchang Prefecture, the troops in Guangdong and Among Guangxi would turn to recover Jiangnan.

The remaining prefectures in Huguang would have to be recovered by him, this Governor, thinking of his own way.

Military problems were easy to solve.

There were still some usable people in the local army in Huguang, plus the people dug from his nephew's side, which was enough to complete subsequent tasks.

The tricky part was money and grain.

We are all on the same side; when we conduct joint operations, it won't be a big problem to sponge off some supplies from the Liangguang side.

Once acting separately, one had to think of one's own way.

The spoils of war captured by the imperial army, Li Mu also left a share for his uncle, but it was still a drop in the bucket. 【326-1

"Uncle, there is no need to worry about this problem; smart people will make the right choice.

The main issue right now is that the time is too short, and those descendants of theirs serving in the imperial court have not yet received the news.

After a few days pass, they will naturally send people over to make contact.

Especially those high-ranking officials in key positions; they are loath to part with their current wealth and status.

Even if their clans don't have money, these officials currently in office will find ways to raise it.

Of course, it is also possible that they will use other resources to trade with you.

For example: other provinces providing military funds to Huguang, or the Ministry of Revenue directly allocating funds to you.

Or arranging for certain merchants to pay this sum on their behalf.

If you are not afraid of trouble, you can issue bearer Huguang public bonds and let them bring money and grain to purchase them."

Li Mu said with a smile.

It is the imperial court that lacks money, not the officials.

With great power in their hands, they will never be short of money.

Including Li Yuan, this Viceroy of Huguang, if he wanted to line his own pockets, there would be people taking the initiative to deliver wealth to his door.

But now that the Viceroy's Yamen is short of money, that is awkward.

The atmosphere in the Great Yu Dynasty has long been corrupted.

Merchants would rather send huge wealth to individual officials than cough up a single copper coin for the Yamen.

Local gentry also prefer to cooperate with individual officials; after a local official arrives at their post, they will all have a generous gift delivered.

If the Yamen wants money, there is absolutely no chance.

The reason for all this is the "society of human favors."

Giving bribes to individuals can build connections; once everyone becomes "one of our own," one can gain many conveniences.

Paying money to the Yamen is just asking for trouble.

Not only can you not gain benefits, but you also have to leave a trail, making it easy to be targeted by the imperial court like a fat sheep.

"Borrowing money, however, must be repaid!"

Li Yuan said with a frown.

He is not a pedantic scholar; he does not feel that the Yamen borrowing money from the private sector is a disgrace to his status.

Issuing bearer public bonds is indeed easier to get everyone to cough up money.

But the "life-saving money" that was agreed upon suddenly turning into debt becomes a burden on the local Yamen.

It is easy to borrow, but difficult to repay.

Unless the imperial court allows Huguang to withhold tax revenue for a long time, the repayment of the debt will be indefinitely delayed.

"Uncle, you, as the Viceroy of Huguang, are destined not to hold this post for long.

I reckon that once the White Lotus Sect rebellion is quelled, all three Viceroys will have to return to the capital to take up posts.

As for the debt problem, leave that for the civil officials who succeed you to worry about!

If you are worried about being scolded, just let that Provincial Governor in the capital take the blame.

Issue the public bonds directly in the name of the Huguang Provincial Governor's Yamen to the outside world.

In essence, it is just a fig leaf.

With this operation of yours, you have also taken care of their face; those involved in the case might even thank you."

Li Mu gave a devious idea without changing his expression.

With an extra layer of cover, the gentry involved in the case had no pressure to pay.

But at the same time, it left a debt for the Great Yu imperial court.

When the Marquis of Zhenyuan was in office, he held leverage over them, so naturally, no one dared to come and ask for money.

Once the imperial court changed personnel, the situation changed.

Other officials did not have leverage over them, so everyone could safely and boldly come to collect the debt.

If the successor official does not fulfill the debt, it damages the credibility of the Great Yu imperial court.

If they want to fulfill the debt, where the money comes from is another new difficult problem.

In a sense, this is planting a landmine for the next successor.

Yet this mine is planted openly and aboveboard; raising military funds to suppress the rebellion is something no one can find fault with.

If problems arise after the personnel change, in the eyes of Emperor Emperor Yongning, it will only be seen as the incompetence of the successor.

(End of chapter)