Chapter 369: Factional Strife Draws Blood

"Your Majesty, the dispute between the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi cannot be distinguished between right and wrong for a while.

It is better to let the Three Judicial Offices investigate first, and it will not be too late to deal with it after clarifying the ins and outs of the matter.

The urgent matter is still the rebel army that has fled to Shanxi."

Yue Mingyu took the lead in stating his position.

Deep in his heart, he was constantly praying not to change people.

Affected by the rebellion, the number of Great Dayu Dynasty officials who fell from power was countless.

So much so that the Ministry of Personnel's reserve of officials appeared insufficient for the first time.

In the past, those officials without connections or background also managed to advance further in this round of major reshuffling.

The drawbacks were also very obvious; many officials had limited ability and were also arranged in important positions.

Many places were made a mess, and administrative efficiency further declined.

Now they were waiting for the emperor to reopen the imperial examination to supplement the court with fresh blood.

"Minister Yue's words are reasonable; at this time, it is indeed not suitable for major movements.

Regarding the dispute between the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi, the Inner Cabinet should urge the Three Judicial Offices to investigate clearly as soon as possible.

Regarding the suppression of the rebellion, do you have any countermeasures, my beloved ministers?"

The Yongning Emperor nodded and said.

Letting the Three Judicial Offices investigate was equivalent to muddling through.

Involving officials from two provinces, the court had to send an investigation team, which would require at least the restoration of peace in both places.

Otherwise, the officials in the capital would not risk their lives to investigate.

If one really wanted to pursue accountability, letting the Embroidered Uniform Guard investigate would be much more efficient than the Three Judicial Offices.

But as an emperor, one needed to consider the problem from the overall situation.

Shaanxi had just experienced the scourge of war and was in a state of waiting for prosperity, so it was not suitable for large-scale personnel adjustments.

Shanxi was experiencing the scourge of war and was also not suitable for adjusting officials.

Even if there were problems, they could only suppress the matter first.

Whether to settle accounts after the autumn, that would depend on the future development of the situation.

Deep in his heart, the Yongning Emperor felt a trace of regret.

If he had known the situation would develop like this, he should not have sent the pillars of the noble system to the front line.

The action to suppress the Bai Lian Sect indeed achieved breakthrough progress, but when he wanted to ask for advice, he could not find anyone!

This group of ministers below had loyalty, but their ability was limited.

Especially when it involved military affairs, it appeared even more inadequate.

The Guanzhong rebel army could flee to Shanxi, which indeed had the reason of local officials derelict in their duties, but it was more of a failure in the court's strategic deployment.

"Your Majesty, the only way is to mobilize a large army for encirclement and suppression."

Luo Zefeng answered uneasily.

He could sit in the position of Minister of War purely because everyone knew this position was hot, and no one competed for it.

Carrying the name of knowing military affairs, he was "the public's choice" in a muddled way.

Originally, he still held a glimmer of fluke, thinking that the Great Dayu's situation was not that bad.

After serving as Minister of War, he discovered that he was too idealistic.

The Great Dayu's true current situation was ten times worse than expected.

The empire's capable troops were limited, and the two most capable armed forces had signs of becoming too big.

The Liaodong Town being unruly was public, and the armed forces of the noble system were also not fuel-efficient lamps.

These troops were still loyal to the court, but not the court controlled by civil officials.

It just so happened that the big shots of the civil official camp placed high hopes on him, hoping that he could control the national army through the Ministry of War.

The previous Minister of War, in order to suppress the rebellion, could only let the noble system grow, was regarded as a traitor by the civil official camp, and could only leave in disgrace.

Changing to him in the position, he also encountered the same trouble at this moment.

"Specifically?"

The Yongning Emperor asked unhappily.

Mobilizing a large army for encirclement and suppression, such a general answer was simply not a solution.

If one wanted to implement it specifically, one had to first determine where to mobilize troops from?

How many troops to mobilize?

Who would be responsible for leading the troops?

How much money and grain were needed?

When to send troops?

……

A series of specific questions were not involved at all, simply not like solving the problem.

Compared to the previous few Ministers of War, Luo Zefeng's ability was obviously inferior.

"Your Majesty, the situation in the south is gradually improving; perhaps we can draw a town from the front line to return for reinforcement.

In addition, draw two regiments from the capital camp, and together with the Shanxi army, form a joint suppression army.

As for the commander, I have three candidates to recommend.

They are the descendants of the Duke of Xing, Qin Tianrui, General of the First Town of Jiangxi.

Descendants of the Marquis of Nanyang, Liu Qifeng, General of the First Town of Huguang.

Descendants of the Marquis of Pingyuan, Ye Hongchang, General of the Second Town of Huguang.

All three have the talent of a great general and are enough to take on this important task!"

Luo Zefeng answered with a stiff head.

It was not that he wanted to reuse the noble system generals, purely out of necessity.

Recommending generals required taking responsibility; if the commander pushed up suffered a major defeat on the front line, he, this Minister of War, would also follow suit.

To reduce risk, those generals without illustrious battle records were directly excluded.

The remaining generals with illustrious battle records were either from the Nine Borders or from the noble system.

The troops of the Nine Borders had been drawn several times, and the remaining ones had important tasks, so they were not suitable for large-scale mobilization.

Those with surplus troops were the Liaodong Town.

However, the Liaodong Town's situation was special; the court was too late to suppress it, so it was impossible to vigorously promote generals of their line.

After a series of exclusions, the generals most suitable for serving as Regional Commander were all noble descendants.

Recommending these three was because all three families behind them were wiped out in the capital's major explosion, and the remaining were all collateral branches.

Being able to mix into their current positions had already exhausted the family's legacy.

This favor sent by someone, for the three, belonged to sending charcoal in the snow.

If they were promising and returned to the peak of the nobility, this political investment would be a bloody profit.

"Minister Luo, the war on the southern line is at a critical moment, so it is not suitable for troop mobilization.

If, because of drawing troops, the battle line appears to have a gap, allowing the traitor Fu to rush out of the encirclement, then all previous efforts will be wasted.

For the sake of the overall situation, the Ministry of War should choose another worthy person!"

Left Ding Yushi-in-Chief Lai Yaohua immediately opposed.

The military power in the capital and the southern provinces had mostly fallen into the hands of the noble system; if they let their people serve as Regional Commander, then the Shanxi army would also be labeled with the noble system.

In the past, they despised noble descendants for eating and waiting for death; now that this group of guys suddenly struggled, it made them even more troublesome.

Unlike children from poor families, these guys did not have to take the imperial examination route to become officials in the court.

The unspoken rules that originally imprisoned noble descendants were also broken one after another in the suppression war.

There were only so many official hats in the court; if the noble system took more, it would inevitably crowd out the opportunities for officials from orthodox imperial examinations.

For them, the civil official families who held the imperial examination, the noble group had become the biggest competitor.

"Shi Jingming, General of the Second Town of Liaodong.

Shi Jinglin, General of the Third Town of Liaodong.

Yun Yufeng, General of the Third Town of Huguang.

Su Zhiyong, General of the Fourth Town of Huguang.

Xie Zhiyuan, General of the Second Town of Jiangxi.

……"

Luo Zefeng reported a string of names helplessly; they were either generals of the noble system or generals of the Liaodong line.

Seeing this scene, Lai Yaohua, who had just raised an objection, was suddenly put on the shelf.

Unlike the previous three, the subsequent group of guys had families behind them that were still in their heyday.

Supporting them to rise to power would cause even more serious consequences.

"Besides them, is there no one in my Great Dayu Dynasty!"

Lai Yaohua could not help but question.

If the occasion was not wrong, he really wanted to ask Luo Zefeng well, where his butt was sitting.

Knowing that the Qingliu group wanted to suppress the Liaodong line and the noble system, he still recommended people from both sides.

"Official Lai, if there is a more suitable candidate, why not propose it."

Luo Zefeng said unhappily.

At this moment, he suddenly understood the bitterness of the previous Minister of War.

Following a group of pig teammates, only thinking about interests, without considering the actual situation at all.

If one compromised, it would inevitably lead to further collapse of the situation, and finally be punished and imprisoned by the emperor.

Choosing to adhere to principles would offend the Qingliu group.

Within the civil official camp, other interest groups would consider the consequences cautiously, only the Qingliu group acted most radically.

The bad start opened by Yin Zuo did not end because of the death of the two, but instead allowed unlimited factional strife to continue.

Although everyone despised this behavior, they had to admit that this way of playing was most effective in power struggles.

Under the rule system, whoever had a lower bottom line had a better chance of occupying the upper hand.

"Selecting generals is the responsibility of your Ministry of War.

Not being able to select a suitable general is your dereliction of duty as Minister of War!"

Lai Yaohua immediately scolded angrily.

After sending the signal, a group of Censors followed up and impeached Luo Zefeng for dereliction of duty.

In the blink of an eye, the court became lively.

A few days ago, everyone was their own people; because of political differences, they became enemies in the blink of an eye.

Deep in his heart, Lai Yaohua also knew that doing so was a bit unrighteous.

But there was no way; factional strife could not tolerate the slightest tenderness.

Recommending a general without battle records indeed existed a certain risk, but in order to suppress the increasingly growing noble system, these risks had to be taken.

Once the scolding war started, it often could not be stopped.

After an incense stick of time, major factions were involved in the battle, and the hall became a mess.

Don't know who started the bad head, civil fighting directly evolved into martial fighting.

Looking at a group of officials fighting together, the Yongning Emperor did not stop it for the first time.

He had long been unhappy with this group of ministers, but was forced by the game rules and could do nothing about this group of people.

Now watching the hundred officials fighting below, he instead gave birth to a trace of pleasure.

"Stop!"

"Embroidered Uniform Guard, hurry up and pull the lords apart!"

Seeing the situation out of control, Wan Junhui immediately ordered to pull the fight.

However, the tragedy still happened; the group of officials who participated in the war, many had bruised noses and swollen faces.

Lai Yaohua, who first started the war, became a tragedy, directly paralyzed on the ground unable to get up, and kept spitting blood in his mouth.

It was very clear that in the chaotic battle just now, someone had dealt him a black hand.

Not only was Lai Yaohua seriously injured, but a group of Qingliu officials were also not lightly injured.

The root cause of their beating was naturally the civil-military struggle.

Don't look at the few military generals in the court, but people had received battlefield killing training since childhood, and fighting alone against a few scholars was no pressure.

If it were not for the eyes of the public, it was not convenient to kill, it was estimated that a few would have hung up today.

"Pass the imperial physician to treat the lords."

The Yongning Emperor's indifferent voice pulled the intelligence of the group of ministers back.

Especially the group of Qingliu officials who were beaten, they were even more secretly regretful.

Gentlemen move their mouths but not their hands; why couldn't they hold back just now and take action.

The military generals in the court were mostly people of the noble system.

The naked targeting earlier had offended people.

Provoking a full-scale martial arts fight was undoubtedly creating an opportunity for the other party to retaliate.

The emperor and the Inner Cabinet did not come forward to stop it for the first time, which was obviously that their dissatisfaction with them had accumulated to a certain extent, deliberately watching them get beaten on the side.

"Your Majesty, please..."

Before the complaint was finished, Lai Yaohua fainted on the spot.

The leading Qingliu big shot lay down, and the group of Qingliu officials who restored rationality stopped one after another.

The dispute just now, they were not in the right in the first place, and continuing to make trouble would only make the emperor more disgusted.

"Minister Lai, concerned about the country's affairs, does not want us to delay because of this matter.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard will carry the wounded down, let the imperial physician treat them, and the rest will continue to discuss matters.

Just now we talked about the commander candidate, everyone will pick a suitable one from the generals nominated by the Ministry of War!"

The Yongning Emperor's words made the group of Qingliu officials angry to death.

Feeling that their fight today, not only was it beaten in vain, but even the position of the suppression commander was not grabbed.

It happened that the one who spoke was the emperor, which did not allow them to refuse.

This was the benefit of multi-factional checks and balances; the emperor could stand in the position of adjudicator and make decisions according to his own will.

"Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, just let General Qin serve as Regional Commander.

It just so happens that the First Town of Jiangxi is now stationed in the Yangzhou region, and it is also convenient to mobilize back to encircle and suppress the rebel army that fled into Shanxi."

Wan Junhui took the lead in stating his position.

When it came to carrying things, it did not allow him, this Chief Assistant, to retreat.

Civil-military struggle was certainly important, but encircling and suppressing the rebel army was the most important.

Qingliu could make trouble, that was because they were not in the position, and mouth-spraying did not need to be responsible.

If the Inner Cabinet also followed along to make trouble, the country and society would be in danger.

The Jiangbei region was successively recovered by the imperial army, and the traitor Fu's troops were compressed in a corner.

Even if breaking through, they would not choose Yangzhou as a breakthrough point.

It was not a question of whether it could be fought down, but that the Jiangbei region simply had no place for them to stand.

Really wanting to run away, they should run to the Central Plains region.

Henan had a large number of starving people, which could quickly expand the insurgent army's team and restore the strength in their hands as soon as possible.

Carrying a million-strong army to fight a desperate battle, uniting with the Guanzhong insurgent army that fled to Shanxi, and attacking the capital together was the way to break the situation.

At worst, they could also enter Shu from the west, join hands with the Shu insurgent army, and divide the Bashu land.

"Then let it be him!"

"By the way, send someone to urge my few Viceroys to suppress the traitor Fu's remnants as soon as possible and return peace to the world."

The Yongning Emperor thought and said.

The Bai Lian Sect chaos lasted too long, especially after the fall of Nanjing, which brought him huge political pressure.

Now that victory was in sight, he did not want to wait for a moment.

If it were not for the few Viceroys below, who were surprisingly consistent in their strategy on the issue of suppressing the traitor Fu, he would have long ago issued a decree to interfere.

Specific command at the front line, he was beyond reach, but issuing a decree to urge a decisive battle was still possible.

The longer the time dragged, the more unfavorable the situation would be for the Great Dayu.

……

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 370 =====