Chapter 983
: Lack of Money Everywhere
Chapter 983: Lack of Money Everywhere
In the imperial study room of the Yangxin Palace,
The sandalwood in the incense burner slowly rises along the cracks of the copper burner, and emits a light purple smoke along the morning sun outside the window.
Emperor Wu had his meal early, and sat at his desk, refreshed, reviewing memorials. Dai Quan accompanied him, constantly pouring tea and water for his majesty.
The eunuchs who were serving around had long been driven away. It was unknown since when that no one was left serving in the Imperial Study. Only Dai Quan was left in the room, and it had almost become a routine.
Perhaps because he was in a good mood, Emperor Wu took the secret note sent that day from the right side of the imperial desk and flipped through it again, and suddenly asked;
"Where are Wang Ziteng and the others?"
"Your Majesty, General Wang Jie led the palace army to join the grain transport team of the Beijing Camp and returned to the capital together. Now I think they should have reached Tongzhou. The secret guards reported that this time, after General Changning of the Beijing Camp transported the grain, he was ordered to escort about 20,000 Taiping Sect captives back to the capital. Your Highness, the Prince of Jin and Marquis Luo Yun won a great victory in this battle, which must have shocked the court and the public."
Dai Quan leaned over to refill the tea bowl on the imperial desk with tea, and respectfully explained to the side, which made Emperor Wu feel emotional. He was reluctant to put down the secret letter in his hand. Yes, it would definitely shock the court and the public, but how should Wang Ziteng and the others be dealt with?
"Dai Quan, I suddenly remembered a Tang Dynasty poem. How about you guess who I'm talking about?"
Hearing the words of Emperor Wu, Dai Quan was suddenly stunned. Your Majesty, this, he quickly replied;
"Your Majesty is well versed in history and the present, and I only know a few words. Your Majesty, please don't make it too difficult."
Dai Quan put down the teapot in his hand, pushed the full tea bowl forward, stepped back two steps, and stood there, listening attentively.
"Just listen to me, the moon shines brightly in the Qin Dynasty and the fortresses are built in the Han Dynasty. The people have not returned from the long march of thousands of miles. As long as the flying general is in Longcheng, the Hu horse will not be allowed to cross the Yinshan Mountains."
The poem was just a few words long, but the Emperor Wu was reciting it with great gravity, while Dai Quan was completely unmoved. This poem was written by Wang Changling of the Tang Dynasty. Because it was a frontier poem, it was well-known to all the nobles and sons, but the inner meaning was not so simple. The Emperor was in a dilemma.
"Your Majesty, you underestimate me. This poem was written by Wang something from the Tang Dynasty, and it's about Li Guang."
"Humph, that's all you know. Anyone would know that it's written for Li Guang. Do you need to guess who Li Guang is?"
The Emperor finally put the secret letter back in his hand and gently closed the secret door. Dai Quan met the Emperor's gaze and whispered;
"Master, are you thinking of Wang Ziteng?"
Among all the civil officials and nobles in the court, it was quite a privilege to have a Prince Teng.
"Alas, the civil officials are fine, but there is no one who is willing to do well in the military affairs. They are either too old or too selfish. Finally, there are one or two people who know military affairs, but their qualifications are not enough. I wanted to promote Wang Ziteng and those generals of the imperial army, but who knew that they were defeated so quickly and miserably. If you say it is a bitter victory, even if the imperial army was wiped out, I will accept it. Unfortunately, the court, I, and they did not estimate the true strength of the Taiping Sect."
Thinking about the secret letter written by Marquis Luo Yun, the main general was injured, and more than a hundred lieutenants and captains were killed, not to mention the heavy casualties of his own soldiers. Such a battle situation was only experienced by the retired emperor at that time. Fortunately, Marquis Luo Yun was brave and was able to kill the enemy army and disperse it. If it weren't for Marquis Luo Yun, after Wang Ziteng was defeated, who would I send to fight?
The Duke of Zhenguo is not an option, as he is too old. The Marquis of Yining, the Marquis of Dongchuan, and the Marquis of Huaiyuan are not suitable candidates. In the end, the only candidate is the Marquis of Baoning. What if he fails as well?
After careful consideration, he was horrified. The court could not do without Marquis Luo Yun, and the capital could not do without Marquis Bao Ning to support it. Outside, if there were strong enemies, Marquis Luo Yun would deal with them, and if they were slightly weaker, Wang Ziteng would add to the ranks. These three people were indispensable. Perhaps thinking of these, he understood a lot of the subsequent events.
"Wang Ziteng has not achieved anything yet, and he still says that he does not have enough troops. This time, if Marquis Luo Yun can quickly wipe out the bandit army when he goes south, he may be able to save the court millions of taels of silver. The cabinet's plan for Jiangnan may be able to find another way. Jiangnan's tea, silk, porcelain, and brocade could have been sold to the entire interior of the country a long time ago. Although the trade routes to the Western Regions are blocked, the profits from smuggling are not small, and the Xiwang Palace family is also sensible."
In the final analysis, it is still the court and the palace that are short of money. The Western King has recently opened up the smuggling trade route in the Western Regions. Although the profit is not much, it is considerable. The fact that he is thinking about the Ministry of Internal Affairs shows that the Western King still cares about the court. Langyun in the south is still confronting the three countries of Yeguo. Blocking the trade route is also a headache.
The Emperor Wu became more and more excited as he spoke, and suddenly he said something shocking,
"I am thinking that when peace is restored inside the Great Wall and the border is secure, I will select a crown prince to govern the country. I will also practice Taoism with the emperor. When the time is right, I will not linger here and let the crown prince succeed me. I will also practice Taoism. Tell me, among the civil and military officials in the court and the frontier officials, who can assist the crown prince? Among the three princes, who is the most suitable to be the crown prince?"
Such shocking words came out of Emperor Wu's mouth. Dai Quan's face changed instantly. His mouth trembled and he showed an ugly smile. He replied;
"Master, you are in your prime, how can you think about these things? Besides, how dare I answer you!"
"I dare not answer!"
Fearing that the Emperor would ask again, Dai Quan repeated his words. Seeing that Dai Quan was nervous and uneasy, the Emperor smiled.
"You old bastard, I don't blame you, just answer truthfully."
Emperor Wu picked up the tea bowl, took a sip of tea, and continued to ask questions. Dai Quan's face was pale and sweat appeared on his forehead. He didn't know why the emperor said these words today, so he just shook his head.
"Master, I really don't know. It's not that I'm afraid of being blamed by you."
"Ahaha, yes, you are right not to dare to answer. Even I am hesitant to make up my mind, how can you understand? My Great Wu Dynasty has so many civil officials and military heroes, but how many can I trust, and how many can I leave for the Crown Prince? The military heroes are still good now, but those princes, my good brothers, and those civil officials who talk about benevolence and morality are now submitting petitions under the pretext of the Crown Prince's vacant position. We must be on guard against such people, just look at them!"
Emperor Wu pulled out a memorial from a pile of documents and slammed it down on the imperial desk with murderous intent in his eyes. Dai Quan was close by and carefully took the memorial in his hand. He opened it and saw that it was from Yu Wenxuan, the doctor of the Ministry of Rites. How could it be him?
"Master, it turned out to be the memorial from the Minister of Rites Yu. Logically speaking, this matter is not his responsibility."
After a pause, Dai Quan suddenly remembered that Yu Wenxuan was the eldest son of Yu Da Ren, the governor of Jingnan. This was too much of a coincidence.
"Haha, you've thought of that. Send someone to investigate, to find out who the Yu family has sided with. Also, have Marquis Baoning arrange for the surrender of prisoners. Have the imperial guards parade the rebels through the streets of the capital, and then take them directly to the Meridian Gate, the Caishikou of the four cities, and execute them on the spot to deter the scoundrels."
With murderous intent in his eyes, Emperor Wu spoke coldly. Dai Quan trembled, bowed, and replied,
"Yes, Master, I understand!"
Right in the imperial study, he wrote a secret letter on the spot, sealed it with lacquer, and went out to ask Xiao Yunzi to arrange for someone to deliver the letter. After the arrangements were made, he returned and stood there with his head lowered.
After waiting for a long time,
Emperor Wu remained silent, holding the red brush in his hand for a long time. He was still thinking about Wang Ziteng and the government troops. He didn't know how much money would be needed to provide pensions for the hundreds of thousands of government troops.
"You old fellow, do the math first. If the government troops need compensation silver, including the war damage sent by the Beijing camp, how much silver will be needed to solve it?"
According to Marquis Luo Yun, the casualties of the Beijing Camp and the Imperial Guards were more than 100,000. These are all silver. Dai Quan nodded and thought about it. The secret report from the secret guards was checked. The generals were killed one after another, and the number of casualties in the battle exceeded 150,000.
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has a regulation that the pension for the death of the Beijing camp is thirty taels per person, and for minor injuries, one month's salary will be added, and for serious injuries, three months' salary will be added. In total, it will cost nearly four million taels of silver, not counting the officers in the camp."
Dai Quan replied silently, these are too few, soldiers can receive different treatment according to their ranks, so if you calculate it this way, four million taels of silver may not be enough, if you use the revenue of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the emperor's treasury will not have much more silver this year.
After hearing this, Emperor Wu no longer felt relaxed. Where would so much money come from? The Ministry of Internal Affairs had already paid a lot of money, and the money in the treasury could not be touched. The only thing left was the Ministry of Revenue. After thinking for a while, he said;
"Send a verbal order to the Cabinet to immediately calculate all the expenses of the Beijing Camp Army before and after the expedition. The Ministry of Revenue will arrange for the payment of silver. There must be no mistakes in the pension silver. This matter is of great importance. The Ministry of Internal Affairs must also send people to supervise. The distribution of the pension silver will be done by the Imperial Guards, led by the Marquis of Baoning. After Wang Ziteng returns to the capital, let him reflect on himself behind closed doors. The generals of the Imperial Army will print the merit book, and he can go back to rest after receiving the silver."
The war is intense now, so it is not advisable to make too many moves. In addition, Wang Ziteng's matter needs to be put aside for now. There are still many things in the capital that need him to do. It is good for him to come back, but before he is appointed, he still needs to be persuaded. After all, the princes from all over the country will soon enter the capital.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey your order."
North Shore of Qing Lake,
The lake was dark and phosphorescent, like a fairyland. Princess Zhou Xiangxue, dressed in white and wearing a green veil, sat by the window of the attic on the shore, sipping tea and admiring the ripples of the lake. She felt very comfortable.
In front of him was a sandalwood table with the "Beiyuan" guqin from the Ming Dynasty on it. With the movement of his snow-white fingertips, the guqin emitted a clear and long sound, the lingering sound lingering in his ears.
Attic stairs,
Madam Liu Yue brought her maids and went up to the attic with tea and snacks. She placed a lot of tea and snacks on the table beside His Highness. After placing them, Liu Yue waved her hand, and the maids bowed and slowly retreated.
After a while,
Only the master and the servant were left in the attic.
"Tell me, the imperial court's troops marched south, and I heard that they were led by Marquis Luo Yun and won a victory, and rescued Wang Ziteng?" The eldest princess looked calm, as if she was talking about something irrelevant. Her hands were still on the guqin, and although she didn't pluck the strings, she didn't let go either.
Liu Yue bowed slightly and replied;
"Your Highness is wise. My spies have sent me news that Marquis Luo Yun led the vanguard southward and happened to encounter the main force of the Taiping Sect heading north, just north of Daliang City. The two sides set up their battle formations and fought for a whole day. The Taiping Sect was defeated and fled. I heard that this time the two sides fought, one was defeated miserably, and the other won miserably. The news has spread throughout the court. I don't know how many officers and soldiers died in the battle, and even the main generals were injured.
Afterwards, Marquis Luo Yun continued to lead his troops southward and lifted the siege of Daliang City. Wang Ziteng led the government troops back northward, and Marquis Luo Yun continued to march southward. I think he should have reached the border of Linshan County City by now."
Almost blurting out, he described Luo Yunhou's journey southward. His mind was shaken. He didn't know how brutal the fighting was at that time. It was extremely rare for the commander to be injured.
"Den."
suddenly,
The sound of a zither came from the attic. The eldest princess's hands moved unconsciously. When the sound of the zither stopped, she carefully put down the zither. She felt a little bitter. If she had met this boy earlier, she might have been able to use him for her own benefit. Now that he is fully grown, he is just icing on the cake. Thinking of the way Luo Yunhou looked at her, she felt hot all over.
"Where is Wei Shuyun?"
The sudden question made Liu Yue feel a little unnatural. How could she talk about her?
"My Lord, she took people to the outer part of the South City and said that the Imperial City Division had wiped out the Taiping Sect that had infiltrated the capital and rebelled. We want to check whether this is true or not."
Zhou Xiangxue frowned, this girl likes these, and ordered;
"Let her come back. It can't be true if it's true, and it can't be false if it's false. If it's false, someone has changed her appearance and killed her cruelly. How could the poor man Jinxianghou be so honest after knowing it? He would have reported it to the palace long ago. So it must be true. Jinxianghou can't do anything about it. Ma Mengquan, the commander of the Southern Pacification Office, is not a mediocre person. It is reasonable for him to wipe out the traitors."
"Yes, Master. As soon as I came back, I sent someone to pass on a message to Shuyun. Master also told me a few days ago to keep an eye on Rongguo Mansion. Today, I discovered something. Someone from Rongguo Mansion actually went to the Red Mansion. The person I sent to keep an eye on them said that Rongguo Mansion wanted to marry into the Meng family, but it seems that the Meng family has not yet given a definite reply."
This was also encountered unintentionally, so the people sent out followed along and only then did they discover the mystery.
"Oh, the Jia family is really anxious. The Meng family is a new civil servant, a disciple of Lu Wenshan. The old lady is really insightful. It's strange to say that the Jia family's East and West Mansions have always been rich in the East and West, but now I don't know why Ningguo Mansion has declined so quickly, but the West Mansion has intercepted its fortune."
She didn't believe these things at first, but then the Jia family in the capital city made a fuss, and the head of the Ningguo Mansion, Jia Zhen, even intercepted yang energy in the name of practicing Taoism, which led to all these troubles. But when she thought about it carefully, she wondered if the Ningguo Mansion's actions were taken over by the old lady of the West Mansion, which led to the current situation. The saying of luck has disappeared without a trace.
"What the master said may not be without reason. Many people in the capital are also talking about this. I heard that the Ningguo Mansion now has only a title. The family property has long been divided up by several people of the direct lineage, leaving only a family property farm outside the capital and a farm outside the border that cannot be sold. The rest of the farm does not even have a shop. This time, when building the palace for visiting relatives, I heard that half of the house in the Ningguo Mansion was occupied. I don't know if it's true or not."
Speaking of this, Liu Yue couldn't help but sigh. The two Dukes' Mansions of the Jia family were so glorious in the past, but now the Ningguo Mansion is in decline.
"Alright, just keep an eye on this matter, don't say too much. I kind of miss that guy. He's really good at fighting. You think it won't take much time to pacify Jingnan at this rate? Will he be able to come back in time for the emperor's birthday banquet?"
Zhou Xiangxue stretched lazily, revealing her slender waist, and her fullness was even more eye-catching. Even Liu Yue couldn't help blushing when she saw it. His Highness was still so bold.
"Master, that's not necessarily true. Even if the Taiping Sect retreats, there's still the White Lotus Sect. Besides, the Taiping Sect still occupies the county town. The city walls are strong, so it's not that easy to defeat them."
"Yes, the world is in chaos, and we need to seize the opportunity. I won't say more. Let's go back and eat. I am a little hungry."
"Yes, Master,"
After the master and servant finished their conversation, they went down the attic and returned to the inner house.
Jingnan Camp,
His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin has been sleeping for a whole day and night. He woke up only once, drank some water, and continued to sleep until now. He has not woken up until noon.
Many generals in the camp knew the news and gathered outside the tent waiting for the news. They all had anxious expressions on their faces. Right Guard General Song Jin whispered;
"Brother Ma, His Highness was fine during the meeting last night, why is he sick today?"
Almost everyone was confused. Fortunately, the Marquis brought a doctor with him. However, the prince was unconscious, which frightened everyone. If anything happened to the prince, the court would not let them off, not to mention their military achievements.
"Brother Song, how can you say such nonsense? During the meeting last night, His Highness was very excited and thin. It was obvious that he was not used to the climate and the fatigue from the journey. Maybe he couldn't bear it."
Central Guard General Ma Cheng quickly opened his mouth to give orders. Song Jin was good in everything except that he couldn't speak. There were some questions he could ask, but there were some things he couldn't say. Perhaps he understood what Brother Ma meant, Song Jin was so scared that his face turned pale and he bowed.
"Brother Ma, I just said something wrong. Thank you, Brother Ma."
After thanking them, the two kept silent. After waiting for a while, General Ning came out of the big tent and waved his hand.
"Generals, the Marquis has ordered that a thousand cavalrymen be dispatched immediately to surround the county city for reconnaissance and confuse the enemy army, but they must not engage in battle privately."
"Yes, I will obey the order."
Ma Cheng and his men immediately clasped their fists in response and left in a hurry.
inside the account,
Zhang Jinyu sat in front of the bed of His Royal Highness Prince Jin, staring at Gu Yunshi's hand that was feeling the pulse, and asked;
"Yunshi, how is His Highness?"
There was a hint of anxiety in his voice. This was not like the later times, where a few injections would be enough. From last night till now, he had slept all day. Anyone would be worried.
Gu Yunshi took the patient's pulse and then took out a silver needle to prepare for acupuncture.
"Don't worry, Your Highness is much better than yesterday. I will give you acupuncture to strengthen your body and he will be well in three days."
Seeing that Gu Yunshi's expression remained unchanged, Zhang Jinyu felt relieved. He didn't understand what it meant to strengthen the body and nourish the essence, but why did His Highness sleep for so long?
"Then why did Your Highness sleep so long?"
(End of this chapter)