Jiuxi

Chapter 129 128 [It's not that I don't report it]

The two generals of Nanya were both from the first rank, were awarded the title of earl, and were awarded the rank of superior guard, which was the same level as the governor of the border army.

Now there is a natural gap, with Li Tianrun and Xiao Wangzhi clearly ahead of them.

Li Jingda was jealous of this but did not dare to say anything. The three Nanya armies under his command did not make much contribution in the northern Xinjiang war. Another point was that Xu Wen, the commander of the Dingwei army, collaborated with the enemy and treason. After investigation, his family was confiscated and his family was exterminated.

Although he was not affected, he could not escape the responsibility for his lax command, so he was very honest during this period.

If we analyze the court structure of Southern Qi from a macro perspective, it can be roughly divided into the Tianjia clan, Nandu dignitaries, Jiangnan aristocratic families, new civil servants and military forces.

The structure of the army was relatively simple, consisting mainly of the two main forces: the Northern Frontier Army, commanded by the two Grand Governors Xiao and Li, and the Beijing Army, commanded by the Privy Council.

The core power level of the military is the privy envoy, the general and the two generals.

Now Guo Congyi clearly opposed the strengthening of the frontier army, and General Wang Yan remained silent as usual. Li Jingda felt that the emperor would not impose force.

When Liu Shouguang's voice sounded nearby, he even thought there was something wrong with his ears. He turned his head in disbelief and saw Liu Shouguang looking straight at the emperor with a calm and determined expression.

Li Daoyan glanced at the Emperor above him lightly. His mood was not heavy, but he was slightly relieved.

Now it seems that Liu Shouguang should be His Majesty's secret hand, coming forward to support his decision at the critical moment.

Liu Shouguang's family background and life quickly came to mind in the old man's mind, and he quickly concluded that the general had no personal relationship with the governor of the border army. It seemed that the emperor had given him some kind of promise, such as promoting him to privy council in the future. This was the only way. Only the temptation made Liu Shouguang take such a firm stand.

The old man would never underestimate the emperor. On the contrary, he knew very well the king's palace and forbearance. He had spent more than ten years hiding in the abyss to accumulate strength, so he would not be alone until now.

Instead of secretly guessing the emperor's methods, it would be better to make it clear now.

He did not immediately stand up to refute Liu Shouguang, but stood calmly without saying a word.

Naturally, Guo Congyi also knew what Li Daoyan could figure out. He turned his head and glanced at Liu Shouguang calmly, and said calmly: "I would like to hear the general's opinion."

"In the presence of the Privy Council, how can the general dare to comment on it with high opinions?"

Liu Shouguang lowered his head slightly, and his tone sounded very respectful, but what he said later was a bit sharp: "What the Privy Council and the Left Prime Minister said just now are reasonable. The difficulties in the court are real, and it is difficult to support the border troops to continue." Carry out a large-scale conquest. However, after repeated consideration, I still feel that passive defense is not a long-term solution, and the Puppet Yan and Jing Dynasty will inevitably make a comeback."

He paused and looked solemn: "My lords, the enemies on the north bank of the Hengjiang River will not give up their attempts to go south. It is just wishful thinking to divide the river and seek peace."

Regarding his straightforward and sincere statement, the ministers in the palace looked thoughtful and mostly disapproved of it.

Whether it is the Pseudo-Yan Dynasty or the Jing Dynasty, various examples in the past 12 years have proven that they cannot capture Huaizhou and Jingzhou.

Since Jiangnan can maintain the peaceful years, why is it necessary to launch a major war and the Northern Expedition?

If the Qi army has the advantage of crushing the enemy, they don't mind waving flags and shouting to become famous ministers in the prosperous times, maybe they can leave their name in history.However, people must know how to recognize their own strength. Can Daqi use all the strength of the country to defeat Heluo City?

If the Qi army was really so powerful, and if the Jing Chao cavalry were really vulnerable, how could the war in the north be so frustrating?

Guo Congyi was keenly aware of the atmosphere in the palace, so he did not immediately refute Liu Shouguang's opinion.

At this time, a civil servant stood up and said: "General Liu, I wonder where the words "draw the river and rule" come from? Your Majesty has mentioned the Northern Expedition, and no one in the DPRK has objected, but we have to take the actual situation into consideration. This The next great victory in Jiangbei required more than 12 soldiers to be compensated and rewarded, and I roughly estimated that at least 300 million taels of silver would be needed. Has the general considered the difficulties faced by the court?"

Liu Shouguang looked up and saw Li Shizhi, the minister of punishment, the eldest son of left prime minister Li Daoyan.

It is not uncommon for fathers and sons to serve as officials in the same dynasty, but it is rare for fathers and sons to hold high positions like the Li family.

Liu Shouguang said calmly: "What Li Shilang said makes sense, but the imperial court's various expenditures always have priorities. In my opinion, the most important thing right now is to strengthen the border army, and other aspects can be temporarily suppressed. .”

There was a commotion among the civil servants.

Qu Fenghua, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, immediately sneered: "General Liu, all expenses of the imperial court are regulated, and now every government office is tightening its belt to live. Take the Ministry of Industry as an example, the official road from the capital to Chengzhou is still there. It has not been completed because there is not enough money. Now the general thinks that the government offices should squeeze in more and use money to strengthen the border army. Why not first reduce the cost of the six armies of the south government under the general and do it for everyone? Can you set an example?"

Liu Shouguang's proposal seemed to have stirred up a hornet's nest. After Qu Fenghua made his clear stance, senior officials from other ministries also spoke out against it.

Of course, the imperial court's money is not arranged randomly. There is a certain plan every year, of which the military must account for a large part. After all, the supplies of hundreds of thousands of troops consume a lot of money.

Although the Jiangbei victory was inspiring, the subsequent expenditures were also a headache.In addition, it is approaching the end of the year, and many yamen are worried about money. They are thinking about whether they can get some money from the treasury, but Liu Shouguang wants to draw chestnuts from the fire. How can he not attract public outrage?
For a time, this first-rank general seemed to be the target of public criticism, and refutations and criticisms of him were rampant.Looking at the turbulent scene in front of her, the anger in Li Bingxue's eyes gradually faded away, turning into heavy disappointment and indifference.

Is this the court where the frontier soldiers sacrificed their lives to serve the court?

She sneered softly and turned to look at Lu Chen, only to find that there was no disappointment on his face, but instead he was thoughtful.

Noticing the stares from the side, Lu Chen moved slightly closer to her and tried his best to lower his voice and said, "I know your Majesty's plan."

Li Bingxue asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"

Lu Chen said softly: "If I guess correctly, Your Majesty is inviting you to enter the urn."

Li Bingxue's eyes flickered and she looked forward with curiosity. She saw the general Liu Shouguang facing the siege of more than ten famous ministers in purple robes, while Yuan Tingyuezhi remained calm and didn't seem to care at all.

Privy Councilor Guo Congyi was originally in a relaxed mood. He thought that Liu Shouguang would have amazing ideas when he came forward. Unexpectedly, he was still repeating the same old tune, expecting the ministries in the court to spend money to support the promotion of the frontier army. This was simply a fantasy. , will naturally be besieged by the ministers.

It stands to reason that this matter should be stopped here. The emperor cannot push forward stubbornly against the ideas of most important ministers. However, Guo Congyi found that Liu Shouguang was standing extremely calmly, and the emperor on the dragon throne did not show any displeasure. At this moment, he He couldn't help but murmur in his heart, and then turned to look at Li Daoyan.

Just at this moment, Li Daoyan looked at him. The two people's eyes met, and they could see the confusion in the other's eyes.

The noise gradually stopped. Faced with the direct and fierce siege of the officials, Liu Shouguang resigned himself to it without any rebuttal from the beginning to the end.

A calm voice sounded at the right time.

"Shilang Qu, I must have heard correctly. Just now you said that the official road from the capital to Chengzhou has not been completed yet?"

Qu Fenghua's heart tightened for some reason. When he looked up, he saw that the speaker was Xue Nanting, the right minister. This middle-aged man with a pale face looked at him with an indifferent expression.

Xue Nanting was born in the Xue family of Qingyuan, a family with extremely powerful clan power in the local area. It has always been as famous as the Jinlin Li family.However, senior officials in the court never considered Xue Nanting to be a representative of the aristocratic family, but instead classified him as a group of newly promoted civil servants.There are many complicated past events involved here, so I won’t go into details here.

Qu Fenghua concentrated his attention and replied cautiously: "Returning to Mr. Xue, only about [-]% of the progress has been completed. The Ministry of Works' savings have been exhausted, so we can only wait until next year to continue construction."

"Oh."

Xue Nanting responded lightly and did not continue to ask.

Qu Fenghua was puzzled and couldn't figure out what the young and powerful prime minister was trying to do with his sudden interjection.

However, Xue Nanting's opening was like a signal, and then another civil servant stood up.

He was about forty years old and had a resolute appearance. He faced the emperor on the dragon throne and said, "Your Majesty, I have the original memorial."

Li Duan nodded slightly and said, "Tell me."

After the civil servant spoke out, the Duancheng Hall immediately fell silent. The civil servants who had besieged Liu Shouguang retreated quietly, obviously not wanting to cause any trouble.

Because this person's name is Xu Zuo, his official position is Zuo Yushi Zhongcheng, and he is the second rank.

In terms of actual power, he is far inferior to the prime minister, privy councilors and even the six ministers, but this Xu Zhongcheng is definitely the most difficult character in the hearts of all officials.

He was not only outspoken and courageous, but also had a good reputation and had considerable influence among the literati in Da Qi.

In the seventh year of Jianwu, if Li Duan had not intervened, Xu Zuo impeached the Minister of Civil Affairs in court and almost caused the other party to commit suicide in the court.

After seeing Xu Zuo's appearance, Qu Fenghua suddenly felt a chill in his heart. He looked up at his mentor and left prime minister Li Daoyan, but he could only see the old man's back.

As the ministers watched nervously, Xu Zuo said in a stern tone: "Your Majesty, I am impeaching Qu Fenghua, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, for corruption, colluding with local merchants, accepting bribes wantonly, and misappropriating the bank deposits of the Ministry of Industry. From the eighth year of Jianwu to this year, Qu Fenghua Clan members from Shilang’s hometown have invested in sixteen businesses, and the Qu family has built seven manors in the area, which are under the names of different clan members, but they are all private property of Shilang Qu.”

There was deathly silence in Duancheng Hall.

Qu Fenghua kept swallowing his saliva, and his body trembled involuntarily.

(End of this chapter)