Chapter 326: Get to Long and Watch Shu
Under the city of Wuchang.

“Half a year had passed since the imperial court announced the personnel appointments before I came to take up my post.

I am an incompetent governor!”

Hearing Li Yuan’s sigh, a group of Huguang officials immediately performed Sichuan Opera face-changing.

Being able to recapture Wuchang in such a short time shows that he is a pillar of the country no matter how you look at it.

Although the war was not commanded by Li Yuan, in the eyes of outsiders, it made no difference who commanded the war between the uncle and the nephew.

The Governor mocked himself as incompetent, which hurt everyone.

When the rebels were raging in Huguang, they chose to temporarily hide from the attack for the sake of their lives.

In the Confucian moral system, this practice of evading responsibility is the most despicable.

According to Dayu law, most of the officials present would be imprisoned and questioned.

There was no immediate liquidation, mainly because too many officials were implicated. If they were all dealt with at once, there would be no one to do the work.

Affected by the war, Huguang is no longer a popular place in the eyes of officials.

If we expect the court to send someone to take over, it will take at least one or two years to fill the vacancy.

You should know that Guangxi’s civil service system currently still has half of its vacancies.

Huguang fell twice, and in the minds of officials, this place was almost like a grave.

Before the situation becomes clear, this place is a dangerous place for officials.

For Governor Li Yuan, what Huguang needs most right now is stability.

The bureaucrats of Dayu are all of the same kind, and the newly appointed officials of the court may not be as useful as these people.

After forcibly apportioning a sum of Huguang public debt, everyone was given a chance to redeem themselves by making meritorious contributions.

Right now this is just a routine warning before the appointment, but everyone present dares not take it lightly.

With the boss holding the evidence, everyone felt insecure.

“Uncle, let’s go into the city first!

We have successfully recaptured Wuchang. Today is a happy day and there is no need to be nitpicking.

Your Majesty is wise and powerful. The situation in Huguang is special. I think you can understand the suffering of the adults. “

Li Mu’s rescue made everyone even more nervous.

Emperor Yongning did not leave a good impression on everyone.

Looking back over the past few years, there have been quite a few officials who have been dismissed or punished by the imperial court and have been harshly criticized.

Especially in the first year of Yongning, the struggle between the emperor and his ministers was the most criticized.

Once the bad things they did were exposed to the emperor, they would be sent to prison.

“My Lords, let’s go into the city together!”

Li Yuan said to everyone with a smile.

Beat a stick and give a sweet date.

This is the most traditional way of controlling subordinates and also the most effective way.

The warning has achieved its effect, so there is no need to keep a stern face.

As the governor, he has no time to pursue the past, but he must take care of future matters.

“Governor, please go first!”

Everyone responded hastily.

It was a rare sight to see their governor’s smiling face, so they dared not to flatter him.

Compared with the literary governor like Xu Wenyue, Li Yuan, who came from the military, is obviously more decisive and ruthless.

If you anger Governor Xu, the worst that can happen is that you’ll lose your job.

But if you offend the person in front of you, you may lose your life.

We are not from the same circle, and the teacher-student relationship that is popular among the civil service has no effect here.

Without further hesitation, Li Yuan walked at the front of the team.

The government army’s recapture of Wuchang was also a highlight in the life of him, the Governor of Huguang.

If Dayu could revive, based on his current achievements, he would surely be evaluated in history as a famous minister of revival.

The good news was sent to the capital as soon as Wuchang City was broken.

The battle record is still as impressive as ever. The rebel heads are worthless, so it is inevitable to falsely report some battle records.

With the merit of recovering the lost territory, there is no need to worry about the Ministry of War’s verification.

The question is: the body was washed away by the river.

The imperial court needed victory, and this certain great victory must be publicized vigorously.

No one would go against the court and get entangled in details.

However, it is highly likely that you cannot expect rewards from the imperial court.

The Ministry of Revenue was extremely poor, and the financial and tax revenues provided by several northern provinces were enough to support the border troops and the central court.

This was not because the imperial court deliberately discriminated against them. It was mainly because the southern provinces had better economic conditions and could find ways to raise their own military pay.

The nine border areas are all remote and poor, and the local gentry and wealthy families fled countless years ago.

The remaining border residents are a bunch of poor people.

Having suffered from the northern barbarians for many years, it is difficult to feed ourselves.

Giving border troops the power to raise funds is equivalent to lifting the embargo on supplies and encouraging everyone to engage in smuggling.

The material embargo policy failed to block the northern barbarians, but it did raise prices on the grassland.

The wealth that the Northern Tartars robbed from Dayu would soon be passively returned.

Once the purchase restrictions are lifted, the purchasing power of the wealth in the hands of the Northern Tartars will increase greatly.

With sufficient supplies, the enemy’s strength will be greatly improved in a short period of time.

The worst thing is that while aiding the enemy, the little profit the border troops can get from it is far from enough to cover the military expenditure.

In essence, Shanxi merchants were able to get rich by relying on the huge profits brought by monopoly.

Once the monopoly is lost, the huge profits will be gone.

The wealth on the grassland mainly comes from looting Dayu.

The income generated by the herders’ own grazing is barely enough to fill their stomachs, so they cannot contribute much purchasing power.

Although the Shanxi merchants engaged in monopoly business, the richest people in the Dayu Dynasty were never those from Shanxi.

Before the rise of maritime trade, the richest people were salt merchants.

After the rise of maritime trade, the wealth controlled by the maritime merchant group was the largest in the world. However, these people usually acted more low-key and were not as eye-catching as the Shanxi merchants and salt merchants.

The group walked into the city and went straight to the Huguang Governor’s Office, which made things difficult for those pampered civil servants.

Normally, when going out, one would either ride in a sedan chair or a horse-drawn carriage. He had never walked such a long distance.

Unfortunately, there was no other way. The Governor was leading the way in front, and no matter how hard it was, we had to grit our teeth and follow.

Mingling in the crowd, Li Mu forced himself to suppress his laughter as he watched an official gritting his teeth and persevering.

There is no doubt that entering the city on foot was also part of Li Yuan’s plan to show his power.

It would be difficult to make these officials who are ignorant of the world understand the sufferings of the people below without taking them to experience it personally.

It’s not an extravagant expectation that they become saints.

As long as you don’t cause any trouble during your term of office and stabilize the newly recovered land as soon as possible, that will be enough.

Li Mu had no idea whether his uncle’s efforts would be effective.

But his mind was opened.

Since these civil servants are physically exhausted, this defect must be magnified.

When you get tired of these guys in the future, you can invite them to inspect the military camp.

Walking around the camp a few times provides just as much exercise intensity as walking the distance ahead.

The most important thing is that no one can find fault with this method.

……

The capital, the Palace of Mental Cultivation.

Since the personnel adjustments were completed, good news from the front line continued to come, and Emperor Yongning’s mood also improved.

“We have recaptured Wuchang, great!”

Even though he was a novice in military affairs, he knew the strategic significance of Wuchang Prefecture.

After taking over this transportation hub, the northern and southern provinces of Dayu were connected again, completing the strategic encirclement of the rebels.

“Congratulations, Your Majesty!”

“Now that Wuchang Prefecture has returned to the hands of the imperial court, I think it won’t take long to recover the entire Huguang region.

The Wei rebels suffered heavy casualties and their territory was reduced by half. They were already like a grasshopper in autumn.

If the Wei rebels are dealt with, the Fu rebels will be unable to hold on alone.

……”

Xu Zhongen immediately began to flatter the emperor.

Eunuchs do this kind of work.

There’s nothing wrong with providing emotional value to the emperor.

“Ha ha……”

“You old fellow, you just know how to talk!

However, these governors of mine are indeed the pillars of the country.

The Huguang battlefield successively conquered Yongzhou, Hengyang, Changsha, Yuezhou, and Wuchang, and the Nanzhili battlefield also captured Songjiang Prefecture.

Now it is equivalent to the east and west fronts, strategically encircling the rebels.

I guess those rebels don’t know what strategy is, and they don’t know that their death is approaching.

Unfortunately, after those bastards in Liaodong Town defeated the rebels’ Northern Expedition troops, they just stayed in Henan and did nothing.

Those who say that cavalry are not good at water battles are just fooling people!

When will I let them have a water fight?

We don’t expect them to recapture Nanjing, but they can definitely take over Xuzhou, Fengyang, Huai’an, Yangzhou and other places!

If we work harder and recapture Anqing Prefecture as well, then this war to quell the rebellion will be a sure win.”

By the time he got to the end, Emperor Yongning’s good mood had almost disappeared.

Liaodong Town really made him love and hate it.

These elite cavalrymen are indeed capable of fighting.

Unfortunately, it just doesn’t listen to orders.

In order to get these guys to go to the battlefield, the imperial court had to “cajole” them.

If these troops had been as obedient as the six garrisons in Guangdong and Guangxi, the rebels would have been driven across the Yangtze River long ago.

“Your Majesty, cavalry is not only not good at naval battles, but also not suitable for sieges.

Liaodong Town is not capable of such tasks as conquering cities.

The current situation on the battlefield has become clearer, and the government troops are gradually taking control of the overall situation.

Just wait to hear the good news!”

Xu Zhongen persuaded tactfully.

The imperial court paid a heavy price to pacify Liaodong Town.

Regardless of whether they are obedient or not, they are ultimately one of the most important armed forces of the Dayu Dynasty.

If the relationship between the two parties is strained again due to momentary anger, the consequences will be serious.

The military leaders in Liaodong banded together to bargain with the imperial court, mainly because they had done too many bad things and were worried about being held accountable later.

This is due to a lack of security. Essentially, these people have no ambition to rebel.

The goal is to divide and disintegrate this alliance through political means. There is no need to make things so complicated.

If one year doesn’t work, try two years. If two years doesn’t work, try three to five years. As long as you work hard, the problem will be solved sooner or later.

“That’s it!”

“I will not bother with this group of warriors.

Ask the Hanlin Academy to copy several copies of the victory reports from the front and distribute them to all officials in the court.”

Emperor Yongning waved his hand and said.

The Dayu Dynasty had already mastered movable type printing, and generally, official documents with high demand were printed directly.

Although the quality is not as good as handwriting, it does not affect the viewing experience.

However, since the emperor has spoken, the officials of the Hanlin Academy will have to work overtime.

This is the price of talking nonsense, and not everyone can be a troll.

Just because a crime cannot be punished doesn’t mean there is nothing that can be done about it.

(End of this chapter)