Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 57: The Court is Full of Politics

By mid-April, all parties were ready.

News came from the military advisor that the general agreed to let Wang Ziteng serve as the governor of Suzhou.

The plan was finalized.

The seven major salt merchants took the lead in taking action, and local officials in Yangzhou, Hailing and other areas began to submit memorials to Emperor Longqing, implicating the Duke of Shan Guo.

Emperor Longqing then realized that Duke Shanguo still controlled the military power and had absolute power in the Huai River and Yangtze River regions. The General Chen Zheng whom he sent to conquer the south did not play any role at all.

One of the memorials moved Emperor Longqing to tears, and his hatred for Duke Shanguo reached its peak.

The memorial reads:

I, Song Yingge, the magistrate of Fu County, was promoted by Your Majesty in the 12th year of Longqing and passed the imperial examination to serve Fu County. I have worked hard day and night, always cherishing the ambition to serve the country and remembering Your Majesty's great grace.

In the past, when bandits rose up in Huaiyin and captured the county, I led the county residents to fight bravely. The people were grateful for your majesty's grace and their morale was high. With the population of the county, we defended the city for 29 days and killed more than 10,000 bandits. Finally, with the help of your majesty's power, we defeated the bandits at the foot of the city.

However, Fu County was weak and outnumbered, and although it defeated the enemy's advance, it was unable to lift the siege of Yancheng, resulting in the fall of Yancheng. I am deeply saddened by this.

My isolated city was under siege, and the people in the city hoped day and night for the arrival of the heavenly army. However, Duke Shan was afraid of the enemy and did not move forward. He had no intention of serving the country, but instead sat back and watched the bandits run rampant.

He pretended to be injured, disobeyed the emperor's grace, and secretly communicated with General Chen Zhengdu, who was in charge of the Southern Expedition. The two of them colluded with each other and did not dare to attack the bandits. Instead, they secretly colluded with the Huaiyin bandits, smuggled salt to enrich themselves, arbitrarily raised the price of salt, and disturbed the lives of the people.

Worse still, the Duke of Shan allowed his soldiers to commit atrocities, harmed the people, plundered the wealth of the wealthy, killed innocent people to claim credit, had ulterior motives, and plotted evil. He was truly a parasite to the country and an enemy to the people.

Such actions endanger the country and bring disaster to people's livelihood. I implore Your Majesty to see clearly and severely punish traitors such as Duke Shan Guo and Chen Zhengdu to calm the people's hearts and save the subjects from dire straits.

I, Song Yingge, the magistrate of Fu County, respectfully lead all 86,411 people of the county to bow my head and respectfully present this memorial to your ears.

……

April 20th.

Court meeting.

Emperor Longqing went to court.

The censor took the lead in launching the attack:

"Your Majesty, I accuse Duke Shan of holding his own army, disobeying the emperor's orders, and killing innocent people to gain credit..."

The censor stated the crimes of the Duke of Shanguo one by one and made them public in the hall.

Following the censor's attack, officials at all levels in the court responded one after another and jointly reported the matter of repairing the Duke of Guo.

These officials' words are sharper than artillery.

Fang Yong’s artillery could not capture the city where the Duke of Shanguo was stationed, but the impeachment of these officials could easily bring the Duke of Shanguo to ruin.

At this moment, the influence of the eight major salt merchants in the court was clearly visible.

Emperor Longqing sat on the dragon throne, listening to the officials' impeachment of Duke Shanguo, and felt that the court was full of righteous people and a prosperous era was to be expected.

The Minister of Revenue said:
"Your Majesty, the most urgent matter is to issue an order quickly to recall Duke Shan and General Chen Zhengdu, and select other good generals to resolve the situation in Huaizhou."

Emperor Longqing thought this was very reasonable, so he asked:
"According to what you said, who should be sent to quell the Huaiyin bandits?"

The Minister of Revenue said:
"Wang Ziteng, the governor of the capital, is brave and courageous, and has extraordinary strategies. He is a pillar of the country and can shoulder the heavy responsibility!"

Emperor Longqing nodded upon hearing this.

Although Wang Ziteng was previously the emperor's man, he quickly joined him after he came to power and was considered half his man. Therefore, Longqing had no objection to letting Wang Ziteng lead the military.

The only bad thing was that Emperor Longqing actually wanted Wang Ziteng to deal with the more urgent situation in Shanxi rather than the rebellion in the south.

At this time, the Minister of War Guo Bai said:

"Your Majesty, Wang Ziteng is a native of Jinling and is familiar with the terrain and beauty of the mountains and rivers there. If he is ordered to lead the troops to suppress the rebellion, he will surely be able to plan and annihilate the rebels. He is indeed the best choice to suppress the rebellion in Huaizhou.

After hearing this, Emperor Longqing felt a little shaken.

At this time, Wang Ziteng himself also stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, I have been working day and night, worrying about the safety of the country and the survival of the country. The Huai River and Huai River are my hometown. I cannot bear to see the people of my hometown suffer from the war, so I am willing to lead the troops to quell the chaos in Huaizhou."

"I will do my best within one month to achieve results quickly and return peace to the people. I hope Your Majesty will look upon my sincerity and grant my request!" Upon hearing this, Emperor Longqing was finally moved by Wang Ziteng's sincerity and said:

"Since you are so sincere, I will certainly agree to it. I will not force you to quell the rebellion within a month. I only hope that you will not let me down."

Emperor Longqing said this.

Wang Ziteng said excitedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

Yu Lian below became anxious when he saw this scene.

He stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, can the affairs of Huaizhou be summed up in one word?"

"The frequent changes of military commanders are definitely not good for the country, just like the King of Zhao believed in slanderous words, which led to the abandonment of Lian Po and the loss of the opportunity to win the Battle of Changping."

"The situation in Huaizhou is still stable and has not yet reached a state of deterioration. Even if the General Zhengnan is suspected of colluding with the bandits, we should first send an imperial envoy to investigate carefully and wait until the facts are confirmed before making a decision. Only in this way can we convince the people and protect the peace of the country. Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Bai quickly retorted:
"What the Grand Master has said is really the opinion of a corrupt scholar."

"Your Majesty is wise and decisive, a sage king of all ages. How can you be compared with King Xiaocheng of Zhao?"

"The military situation is urgent, how can we afford to delay even a little? If the Duke of Shan Guo and other corrupt officials collude with the rebels, I'm afraid the Huai River region will be in danger. The Grand Tutor is so ignorant of the importance of priorities that he is actually harming the country and the people!"

Yu Lian's beard trembled with anger when he heard this, and he pointed at Guo Bai and said:
"How dare you, a treacherous villain, speak so shamelessly and nonsense..."

"enough!"

Emperor Longqing interrupted Yu Lian.

"My mind has been made up. Do you intend to resist my will, Master?"

Yu Lian trembled and said, "I dare not."

Emperor Longqing then decided on the Huaizhou issue.

He then asked all officials who should be sent to pacify the situation in Shanxi.

Guo Bai recommended: "The Minister of War Dong Chen is a man of both civil and military talents, and can put down the rebellion in Shanxi."

This time Yu Lian did not object.

Yu Lian believed that Dong Chen did have the ability to pacify Shanxi.

But Guo Bai’s idea was not actually like that.

In Guo Bai's mind, Shanxi was a dangerous place, and sending a scholar like Dong Chen there would definitely not be of much use. It would be best if Dong Chen could be killed by the rebels. Even if Dong Chen came back alive, he could be punished for his failure to suppress the rebellion.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longqing looked at Dong Chen, one of the officials, and asked:
"Dong Qing, Zisheng recommended you to go to Shanxi to quell the rebellion. Can you succeed?"

Dong Chen, as his name suggests, is a calm person who usually focuses on his work, is not talkative, and does not form cliques.

"I can."

Dong Chen said this calmly, and then there was no further words.

Emperor Longqing looked at Dong Chen like this and hesitated for a long time, feeling a little worried.

But there was really no one around him who could be used. After thinking for a long time, he finally sent Zhongjing Hou Shi Ding to serve as Dong Chen's deputy.

So, the matter is basically over.

Emperor Longqing issued twelve golden medals that day, forcing Duke Shanguo and Chen Zhengdu to return to the capital.

Wang Ziteng was appointed as the imperial commissioner and governor-general of Suzhou, and led his troops to Lianghuai to replace Shanguo Gong and Chen Zhengdu.

Dong Chen was appointed as the governor of Shanxi, in charge of Shanxi's military affairs.

a few days later.

Yangzhou.

Duke Shanguo couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the twelve gold medals that were delivered to him one after another.

(End of this chapter)