Chapter 1001
Meeting in the Palace of Heavenly Purity
Chapter 1001 Meeting in the Palace of Heavenly Purity
Inside the Yangping prefectural government office,
Prefect Li reached an agreement with the junior general in just a few words, and did not ask about the opinion of Governor Wei at all. The other officials remained silent. In today's battle, anyone with a little courage was defeated.
"Major General, there is a grain warehouse at the south gate for the soldiers of the garrison camp. When we leave, we will set it on fire. It will definitely attract the attention of the enemy army. Besides, there are still some people in the city who know about it. Please send more ships. Of course, you also need to escort the silver in the treasury to Jiangnan for temporary storage."
"Please keep it, Major General."
The remaining few people bowed in unison. The silver in the treasury was considered as money to buy their lives. Hearing this, Jiao Ke nodded, his face looked much better, and said;
"My Lords, since you are devoted to the court, I will naturally agree. So, I will ask you to act quickly. The people on the dock should leave first, and the rest of you should wait until it gets dark and leave the North City directly to break out overnight."
"Yes,"
Several officials looked happy, clasped their hands, and then filed out of the government office to make arrangements. Several officials from Runan, as well as Wei Xiangping, remained silent in the inner hall. They had retreated from Runan to Shizhou and then to Yangping. This scene had happened more than once or twice. Because Shizhou had not made plans early, several officials in the government office were caught by the enemy army and finally served the court loyally. Therefore, since they could not win, they would leave if they could.
After Jiao Ke finished his order, he was ready to leave, but just as he took a step, he shrank back, hesitated for a moment, stepped into the inner hall, and saw that Wei Taishou was sitting on the ground. He showed a little courtesy,
"Sir, please make preparations early,"
Wei Xiangping did not say anything extra, but opened his eyes, nodded, and replied;
"Thank you for your kindness, General Jiao. Within a month, I have fled from the south to here. I now know how difficult it is for the court. Now that the enemy army is strong, it is best to avoid their attack and preserve our strength. Since the King of Beijing has already gathered troops in the county city, don't hesitate. However, the general wants to break out at night, but I disagree."
At the end of the conversation, Wei Xiangping shook his head, thinking to himself that he was still too young. Marching at night was a big taboo, not to mention that he wanted to leave the city with so many people. Once the White Lotus Sect reacted and led the army to follow or send troops to intercept them, it would definitely cause chaos, and if things went wrong, the whole army would be routed.
Jiao Ke was startled, frowning as he looked at the Wei governor in front of him. What did this mean? Could it be that the plan to break out in the evening was not feasible? He hesitated, then bowed and said;
"May I ask, Lord Wei, is there something wrong with my plan?"
"General Jiao, don't blame the old man for his harsh words. The plan is right, but the timing is wrong. It's dark at night, and with too many people, it's already chaotic. There are many martial arts masters in the White Lotus Sect. If these people lead the army to block the road at night, then the general will coerce the people and it will inevitably cause chaos. At that time, it will be a taboo for the two armies to fight against each other."
Wei Xiangping pointed directly to the key point. Either the army should withdraw quickly and leave the people behind, or they should fight hard. It is impossible to have both.
Jiao Ke was shocked when he heard this. It seemed that this was the case, but in the evening, the enemy army might be having a meal.
"What the Wei governor said makes sense, but after a day of fighting, the enemy troops must be exhausted. I think it would be faster to pass through quickly while the enemy troops are having a meal and resting."
Suddenly, even he himself found it hard to believe what he said. The White Lotus Rebellion had won victory after victory, so how could they be so ignorant?
"Haha, General Jiao, the battlefield is not a joke. If the White Lotus Sect was so lax, I wouldn't have been defeated again and again. I suggest that you prepare well tonight, gather your troops at three o'clock in the morning, and break out quickly. Don't worry about the people behind you. In one word, hurry. This way, you can retreat to the north before the White Lotus Sect reacts."
Wei Xiangping laughed loudly, his face serious, not joking. Although Jiao Ke was a little hesitant, he also knew that the art of war said that speed is of the essence. If they were stopped in the middle, it would cause a disaster. But those common people, thinking that Wei Taishou had not seen a single common person all the way here,
His heart suddenly jumped, and he realized that he was indeed too soft-hearted, so he clasped his fists and bowed;
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Wei. We will set out on time at three o'clock tomorrow. I hope Lord Wei can prepare in advance."
"Okay, I'll remember it. Please rest assured, Major General."
Wei Xiangping nodded. He had been there so many times and was quite experienced. After the two finished their conversation, Jiao Ke hurriedly led his men out of the government office. Along the way, he specifically instructed Gui Qing to load the silver from the Yangping government treasury onto the ship and transport it back to the Jiangnan camp. All of this was for his uncle to use to make up for the deficit.
In this way, although Yangping seemed to be at a truce, the camps of both sides were busy, especially the Yangping Wharf. Every moment, loaded merchant ships left and headed for the Suzhou Wharf.
Looking back at the capital,
In the Qianqing Palace,
Today, Emperor Wu was here, summoning several cabinet ministers and people from the six ministries to discuss important matters of the court. The sun was shining brightly outside the palace, but inside the Qianqing Palace, it was still dark and gloomy.
The lords stood on both sides, except for the Prime Minister Li, who placed a chair on the western seat. Prime Minister Li was still sitting on the chair, seemingly resting with his eyes closed, while the others were passing around some secret letters. Almost everyone was shocked.
Even so, after everyone had circulated the secret letter, their expressions immediately returned to normal. They waited for Shen Zhongxin, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, to finish reading it and return the secret letter to the eunuch beside him before they turned their eyes to the dragon throne in the main hall.
"Tell me all about it. Marquis Luo Yun went south this time and won three battles in a row. He encountered a battle in Anyang Mountains and relieved Daliang City. Then he took Chenzhou in one day. Now the main force of the court has besieged Linshan County City. I think Marquis Luo Yun should be confident."
After hearing these words, Emperor Wu was full of energy, and all his fatigue from the past few days was gone. As long as the county city was captured and the southern gate to the capital was opened, the battle would be half won.
Everyone in the hall smiled slightly. This was the "good news" that the court had been waiting for for a long time.
Lu Wenshan reacted very quickly, took a step forward and said;
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. Marquis Luo Yun has used his military skills like a god. He has won three battles and three victories, which has greatly weakened the arrogance of the Taiping Sect. I calculated that the main force of the Taiping Sect in the south has been almost completely consumed. If Marquis Luo Yun can encircle and annihilate the county city's bandit army, the remaining bandit army will be invincible. The overall situation of the court is determined."
The clear voice resounded throughout the Qianqing Palace. Many officials nodded and many people whispered.
"Yes, the bandits have lost so many of their best soldiers. Even if the Taiping Cult is good at deceiving people, they will not be able to pose a threat in a short period of time without the advantage of weapons and armor."
"Marquis Luo Yun is too fast. We can't expect it, and those villains from the Taiping Sect can't expect it either."
There was a lot of noise and optimistic words were everywhere.
now,
Shen Zhongxin's face was somewhat solemn, and he also took a step forward and bowed;
"Your Majesty, I think the court should not be careless this time. Although the Taiping Sect has lost its main force, I saw in the secret letter that it only lost its main force of soldiers. None of the Taiping Sect's senior leaders escaped. Moreover, the area south of Beijing is not just the Taiping Sect's rebellious force. The White Lotus Sect is now wreaking havoc in Xihe County and has now broken through Shizhou. The troops are besieging Yangping and approaching the county city. The Taiping Sect is not alone in resisting."
His words were clear and logical, and in an instant, he crushed the complacent people in the hall to the ground, especially many of the newcomers from the six departments, who were stunned and had not yet reacted.
Lu Wenshan glanced at Gu Yichen. This old fox was still behaving like this.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report."
Just as Shen Zhongxin finished speaking, Gu Yichen slowly moved his steps, stood in front of Shen Zhongxin, bowed,
"Oh, my dear, tell me, what's the matter?"
Emperor Wu raised his hand and scanned the entire hall, as if there was another deeper meaning behind it.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. What I want to talk about is the accounts checked by the Ministry of Revenue. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, the average deficit has reached 3 million taels of silver per year, of which half of the debt has been repaid, and there is another deficit of 15 million taels of silver. Even if the previous officials of the Ministry of Revenue, the review officials of the six ministries, and many corrupt officials who were sent out were confiscated, less than 8 million taels of silver were only recovered. Nowadays, wars are frequent, and the government army was almost wiped out this time when it went south. The pension silver is huge, not to mention that although Marquis Luo Yun wins every battle, but."
After a brief pause, he bowed once more to the Martial Emperor on the Dragon Throne and continued;
"But, as the military strategy says, if you kill one thousand enemies, you will lose eight hundred of your own. The casualties of the army under Marquis Luo Yun were staggering. Officers, officers, soldiers, and even lieutenants and commanders were killed or wounded. This shows how brutal the battle was. In addition, the walls of Linshan County are high and strong, and we don't know how many soldiers were killed or wounded. The pensions and rewards must be quite a lot."
At this point, Gu Yichen stopped talking. The biggest problem of the court lies in the tax silver and the local government. If the Ministry of Revenue has no silver, the court will have nothing to do. When this was said, not only was the Emperor Wu depressed, but the entire Qianqing Palace fell silent in an instant. Even Lu Ge Lao, who always said good things, was silent. Yes, the Ministry of Revenue has no silver, but those military families may not be without silver.
When everyone was silent,
Outside the palace, Ma Mengquan, the commander of the Imperial City Sinan Pacification Command, had already arrived outside the palace but was stopped by Eunuch Yun in front of the palace gate.
"Commander Ma, His Majesty is discussing matters with his ministers in the palace. Please wait for a moment,"
Ma Mengquan panted slightly, holding the envelope in his hand, and clasped his fists and said;
"Greetings, Eunuch Yun. I have received a secret report from Marquis Luo Yun's camp and need to report it to His Majesty. Please pass it on."
"Well, all right, I'll go in and pass the message."
Looking at the red envelope in Ma Mengquan's hand, he knew it was an urgent matter. He remembered what His Majesty had said, that all urgent and secret reports from the front line must be reported. Then he turned around, pushed open a corner of the hall door, and walked in.
When he reached the temple, he knelt on the ground and bowed down.
"Report, Your Majesty, the commander of the Imperial City Southern Pacification Division, Ma Mengquan, has a secret report to report."
The shrill voice echoed throughout the hall, and everyone's eyes turned back to Eunuch Yun. Wherever their eyes fell, Little Yunzi's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but lower his body even more.
Upon seeing this, Emperor Wu winked at Dai Quan, who understood and nodded.
"Xuan, the Imperial City Sinan Pacification Sima Mengquan is here to see you,"
"Xuan, the Imperial City Sinan Pacification Sima Mengquan is here to see you,"
The people outside the palace also sang along.
moment,
As the palace door opened a crack, Ma Mengquan, wearing a red official robe and cloud-bottomed boots, walked in quickly and knelt on the ground.
"Your Majesty, I am Ma Mengquan, the governor of the Southern Region of the Imperial City. I kowtow to Your Majesty. Long live the emperor. Long live the emperor. Long, long live the emperor."
"Everyone, please stand up and tell me what's the urgent matter."
Emperor Wu raised his hand and asked the two to stand up. The two then bowed and thanked him.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After getting up,
Ma Mengquan handed the secret letter in his hand to Eunuch Yun beside him and bowed;
"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter from Marquis Luo Yun's southern camp. The Taiping Rebellion has deployed heavy troops in Linshan County City and is defending the city. Marquis Luo Yun has assembled a large army and attacked the city from all sides. The bloody battle lasted a day and lasted until sunset. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and corpses were everywhere. Later, it was reported that in order to boost morale, Marquis Luo Yun made a promise that after taking the county city, he would not stop for three days. He issued an order to massacre the city."
After stumbling over and over, he lowered his head after finishing the last sentence. Everyone in the hall almost gasped, obviously shocked by the arrogant words of the commander of the Imperial City Department. Xiao Yunzi did not dare to delay and quickly presented the secret letter to His Majesty.
Emperor Wu frowned, took the envelope, and touched the seal anxiously. Nothing unusual happened, so he tore open the seal and took out the letter. It was indeed the secret message of the secret guards around the King of Jin. After careful inspection, the reason was that there were many casualties in the siege, with nearly 60,000 casualties.
As if his heart ached, he handed the letter to Dai Quan, indicating that he should give it to Prime Minister Li. Dai Quan nodded, took the letter, walked down the jade steps, came to Prime Minister Li, and handed the letter to him.
Li Chonghou then opened his eyes, took the letter and glanced at it. He knew what Luo Yunhou was planning, so he had no choice but to act accordingly.
In the palace,
After being shocked, everyone started to make a scene, accusing Luo Yunhou of being reckless. Some even criticized him with the words of a saint. Only the ministers at the front remained calm and ignored him.
"quiet!"
It was unknown how long it had been before Dai Quan shouted loudly, and everyone in the hall immediately fell silent.
"My dear ministers, I wonder what the intention of Marquis Luo Yun is. Prime Minister Li, you used to be knowledgeable about military affairs, do you have any opinions?"
The Emperor looked at everyone with a sharp gaze. The officials who were glanced at by the Emperor lowered their heads and avoided his sight.
"Ahem, Your Majesty, I think this move by Marquis Luo Yun is acceptable."
Li Shoufu held onto the stool, coughed a few times, and slowly stood up with the help of Xiao Yunzi. He didn't care what others thought, raised the secret letter in his hand, and shook it.
"Your Majesty, I took a quick look at this secret letter. Marquis Luo Yun besieged the county city for a day and suffered heavy casualties. This indirectly proves that the ambition of the Taiping Cult villains is obvious. They gathered heavy troops here to protect this city. As long as this city is not lost, the imperial army will not feel at ease to go south. This is to buy time for the Taiping Cult. If an old minister leads the troops, I will also use anything that can boost morale, ahem."
He spoke in a hurry, and at the end, there was another cough. Xiao Yunzi hurriedly helped the Prime Minister to sit down. Unexpectedly,
As soon as I sat down,
Minister of Rites Bian Zhengru stood up with an indignant look on his face.
"Your Majesty, I disagree with the Prime Minister's point of view."
"My dear, please speak,"
Emperor Wu touched the jade ring on his hand, not knowing what to think.
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I believe that all land under heaven belongs to the king, and all people are his subjects. Although the county town is occupied by the rebel army, the people in the city are helpless. The way of a sage is to educate people. If we massacre the city to vent our anger and spread the news to the world, it will be detrimental to the court. Wouldn't it be the rumor that the rebels said that the court forced people to rebel?"
Bian Zhengru was filled with righteous indignation and spoke with conviction. Since the founding of the Great Wu Dynasty, there has never been a massacre in the city. If this precedent is set, how can we control those generals in the future?
Bian Zhengru was not the only one who had these thoughts.
Zhao Jingwu, the Minister of War, also stepped forward to make a request.
"Your Majesty, I agree with what the Minister of Rites said. Since the founding of the Great Wu Dynasty, we have always governed the world with benevolence and have never done such evil things. Although Marquis Luo Yun's move boosted morale, he did not mention the people in the county. The military strategy says to surround three sides and leave one side open, but Marquis Luo Yun did the opposite. How can the enemy troops in the city not be determined to fight to the death? In addition, if the massacre of the city sets a precedent, the consequences in the future will be disastrous."
Zhao Jingwu's idea was pure. The battle of siege was extremely difficult. It required both hard fighting and wits. The best way was to surround three sides and leave one side empty.
Emperor Wu also felt that there was some truth in what he said. How could Marquis Luo Yun not know such a simple thing? But why is it still like this? It is hard to understand. Is there something I don't know?
"Li Shoufu, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, I still insist on my own point of view. It is not my place to meddle in other people's affairs. Since Marquis Luo Yun is at the front line, he must have his reasons for issuing this military order. In terms of fighting, I think no one in the entire Dawu can compare to me. The other day I heard that nearly 20,000 Taiping sect prisoners were escorted to the capital, but they were surrounded and killed by the soldiers of the Imperial Army at the South Gate. Think about it, everyone. What's the point of keeping such stubborn villains? It's better to kill them to stop the killing and shock the world."
Li Chonghou opened his eyes, revealing a gleam of tiger-like brilliance, which startled the people around him.
Even several cabinet ministers couldn't help but take a second look at the Prime Minister. It seemed that the Prime Minister had changed just now, but after a closer look, he was still the same as usual.
"Well, that's a good point. Since the rebel army is resisting to the end, it means they are determined to resist the imperial court. What's the point of keeping them? What do you think, Lord Bian?"
Emperor Wu raised his lips and closed the letter in his hand. Since the rebels are so rampant, it is better to cut the grass and root them out to prevent future troubles.
"Your Majesty, the thief deserves death, but this action is against the harmony of heaven and I am afraid it is against the way of the saints."
"Your Majesty, you are pedantic. I think Marquis Luo Yun is right. The Taiping Sect and the White Lotus Sect rebels have no sense of reverence, so they committed such rebellious acts. What's the point of keeping them? If we don't deter them, who knows what other sect might emerge. How can the world be at peace?"
Before Bian Zhengru could finish his words, he was interrupted by Lu Ge Lao. Bian Zhengru was so angry that his face turned red, but he didn't know how to refute. Some people wanted to make a move, but unexpectedly, Emperor Wu raised his hand.
"No matter if it's the way of saints or the way of heaven, there are always human ethics. A traitor is a traitor, and there's nothing wrong with killing him. Prime Minister Li, the cabinet happens to be short of a minister. Your son is very much to my liking, so let's take him!"
finished speaking,
Dai Quan immediately shouted,
"Resign."
(End of this chapter)