Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 112: Turmoil in the South

The situation in Shandong is serious, and we request support from the court.

But at present, the court is facing a shortage of soldiers and food, and an empty treasury.

In terms of military forces, only the troops under Wang Ziteng were still usable, but Wang Ziteng would be responsible for recovering the lost territory in Shanxi that was previously occupied by the Jin bandits, and had no time to support the situation in Shandong.

The border garrison troops in the north reported unusual movements on the grasslands, and it seemed that a large number of war horses were being recruited with the intention of moving south. Faced with this situation, Emperor Longqing did not dare to move the border troops at all.

In terms of finance, in order to support Wang Ziteng's campaign to eliminate the Jin bandits, Emperor Longqing had exhausted both the national treasury and his private treasury. Now even the rewards for the three armies had to be delayed, not to mention using money and grain to support the situation in Shandong.

Therefore, the current situation in the south became a major problem for the court, which was completely unable to solve.

Emperor Longqing called several of his trusted ministers, including Guo Bai, Cheng Fan, Cui Shu and others, and asked them if they had any good strategies to fight against the Huaiyin bandits.

Several people looked at each other and talked about some insignificant strategies. Emperor Longqing looked disappointed.

At the court meeting the next day, Emperor Longqing prepared to solicit opinions from all officials.

Officials from some powerful forces had naturally gotten wind of the situation long ago and had made adequate preparations.

What was somewhat surprising was that Prince Zhongshun actually attended the court meeting today. No one knows why.

In the current Daxi, princes generally have little real power.

During the reign of Emperor Kangning, the position of the crown prince was established early, and the other princes were directly established as kings when they came of age, leaving them no chance. Emperor Longqing was one of them.

Since there was no opportunity, the princes were quite harmonious with each other, and the relationship between Emperor Longqing and Prince Zhongshun was quite good at that time.

Later, Emperor Longqing unexpectedly came to power. Since he had no strong supporters under him, he relied more on his elder brother, Prince Zhongshun.

Prince Zhongshun recommended many officials to Emperor Longqing, many of whom now hold high positions in the Censorate, the Imperial Household Department and other places.

These people gave Prince Zhongshun considerable say in the court.

However, under normal circumstances, in order to avoid attracting attention, Prince Zhongshun seldom attended court meetings, so as not to arouse the suspicion of Emperor Longqing.

I don't know what Prince Zhongshun's purpose is in making an exception and attending the court meeting today.

The ministers were whispering among themselves.

After a while, Emperor Longqing walked into the court.

All the ministers bowed.

Emperor Longqing was troubled by the situation in Shandong, so he discussed it with his ministers.

In fact, there was nothing to discuss. Regarding the situation in Shandong, many officials off the field had more accurate information than Emperor Longqing.

They had already secretly colluded with each other, and during this discussion, the court was directly divided into three factions with clear positions.

One faction is the war faction.

One faction is the peace faction.

One school is the Confucian school.

The pro-war faction was led by Yu Lian, who advocated mobilizing the entire country to destroy the Huaiyin bandits.

Yu Lian burst into tears in the court and said:
"Your Majesty, the bandits in Huaiyin surrendered and then rebelled again. They are indeed a stubborn disease. If they are not wiped out with the force of thunder and lightning, they will become a great trouble in the future. Although the national treasury is in deficit, to treat a serious illness, strong medicine must be used; to endure a minor pain, a serious disease can be cured."

"Your Majesty should call on the people of the world to save money and food to help with military supplies; merchants should donate money and property to help the country; the salaries of all officials should also be reduced to help with military pay. As for the construction of the imperial mausoleum, all of them can be suspended to save money and food and fight the bandits with all our strength. In this way, your Majesty's determination will be demonstrated and the people of the world will be moved!"

After Yu Lian finished speaking, the court fell into silence.

Emperor Longqing was still thinking about Yu Lian's words and felt that they seemed to make some sense.

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard a cry of "shameless old thief", which seemed to have opened the prelude to the war. In an instant, all the officials spoke out in unison and began to criticize Lian verbally and in writing.

Every official quoted from classics and criticized Yu Lian harshly.

Someone said: "A country may be great, but it will perish if it loves war!"

This person was a famous scholar named Meng Shen. He quoted from classics and spoke very logically. In a trance, Yu Lian felt that he was right.

Some people accused Yu Lian of having poor personal morals. His son had passed away, but Yu Lian often went to his daughter-in-law's house, intending to commit evil and commit adultery.

Yu Lian was so angry at this insult that her face turned red and she was speechless.

Some people even went so far as to directly frame Yu Lian for colluding with foreign races, saying that they did so in order to divert the Daxi army and allow the foreign races on the grassland to take advantage of the situation.

This directly touched Yu Lian's bottom line. Yu Lian cursed and almost got into a fight with the man.

"enough!"

Emperor Longqing slammed the imperial desk.

"You have been disrespectful in front of the palace. Each of you will be fined half a year's salary. Leave!"

The emperor had already spoken, so the two men had no choice but to glare at each other, accept the emperor's grace, and stop this farce.

Emperor Longqing is very distressed now.

He had originally thought that what Yu Lian said made some sense, but after hearing all the arguments from the court officials, he was no longer sure.

Emperor Longqing then sought opinions from other officials.

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel advocated peace, saying that Daxi was rich and had a vast territory, so there was no need to rush. They should temporarily stabilize the Huaiyin bandits, order both sides to cease fighting, recuperate, and wait until the national treasury was full and the army was strong, then they could march south to wipe out the Huaiyin bandits in one fell swoop.

In fact, although these officials speak nicely, they are actually mainly considering their own interests.

The national treasury has been depleted, and they will not be able to make much money from another war. More importantly, if Emperor Longqing chooses to save money in order to raise military funds, how are they going to fill the holes they have made before?

Take the mausoleum under construction for example. The accounts of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works are different. Once the construction is stopped...

After listening to the opinions of the Lord and the officials, Emperor Longqing felt that there was some truth in them.

But if he actively seeks peace, then his reputation...

While they were thinking, another group of officials stood up.

These were officials from the Confucius faction, mainly from the Ministry of Rites. Guo Bai was also unexpectedly mixed in among them. They advocated war, but were not completely in favor of it.

These officials proposed that the court support the situation in Shandong, but without sending troops. Instead, the court only needed to provide some military funds and allow Shandong officials to recruit soldiers on their own to resist the Huaiyin bandits.

After hearing this suggestion, Emperor Longqing's eyes lit up and he thought it was feasible.

This suggestion would not require a lot of expenditure and would not require him to bear any responsibility. It is simply the best of both worlds.

Emperor Longqing was about to agree when suddenly a man stood up and shouted loudly.

"You bold and treacherous people, how absurd! It has been said since ancient times that reputation and position cannot be lent to others, don't you know that?"

It turned out to be King Zhongshun!
All the officials were very surprised.

After Prince Zhongshun refuted the official, he immediately put forward his own suggestion to Emperor Longqing. He actually supported Yu Lian and requested the court to send troops to attack the Huaiyin bandits with all their strength!

This statement is truly shocking.

Even Yu Lian did not expect that King Zhongshun, who was usually absurd and greedy for pleasure, would have such foresight on major issues.

Prince Zhongshun still held an important position in the heart of Emperor Longqing, and there were many of Prince Zhongshun's confidants in the court, who all echoed his opinion. For a moment, Emperor Longqing was unsure again.

When the officials of the Kong faction saw that the matter was about to be accomplished and that Prince Zhongshun had the audacity to cause trouble, they could no longer sit still.

An official from the Kong faction came forward to report directly, saying that King Zhongshun advocated war, and his intention was not to serve the country, but to interfere in the army!

Emperor Longqing was shocked. It was a big taboo for a prince to interfere in the military.

Prince Zhongshun's face immediately turned dark.

He glanced at the official coldly and said:
"Your Majesty, I heard that there are thieves in Hefei. Is this true?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the heart of the official from the Ministry of Rites immediately rose to his throat.

He knows everything!!
Emperor Longqing was stunned.

"Hefei? There has been no report yet. How did my brother know about it?"

Prince Zhongshun narrowed his eyes and chuckled.

"It's better if there is none. When you are drinking, you can't take what the merchants say seriously."

Emperor Longqing breathed a sigh of relief and blamed:

"So it was the merchant who was drinking and talking nonsense. The state is in a difficult situation right now, and my brother should focus on state affairs and stop hanging around in those places of entertainment."

King Zhongshun naturally agreed...

(End of this chapter)