As soon as the words fell, the entire courtyard fell into silence. In this delicate atmosphere, these generals all chose to remain silent collectively.
Xiong Tingbi also observed them thoughtfully and found that they were all staring at each other. Obviously no one wanted to be the one who stood out.
How could Xiong Tingbi not know the details of these generals in Liaodong? Everyone knew that they were living on empty wages, embezzling military expenditures, and supporting their own families. Who didn't know about the ministers in the capital?
It's just that their choice is to go along with the trend. For them, Liaodong is a fixed money bag, and they only need to pay dividends regularly.
These are all trivial matters. The main purpose of their conspiracy is smuggling. This is the big deal. Regardless of whether they are outside the customs or inside the customs, gentry or officials, who has the connections to not get a share of the pie?
Not to mention those businessmen and local military generals, they only have interests in their eyes, and this is what they started.
It was they who gave Jianzhou the capital to rebel. They personally pushed the Ming Dynasty and themselves into the abyss step by step.
The interest group in Liaodong, which colludes with the generals and officers to protect each other, is more terrifying than Jiangnan. Those in Jiangnan are just talkers and are not difficult to deal with.
But Liaodong is different. None of these local generals have a background of dozens or hundreds of years. They have held military power for generations. This has pushed them into a hurry. Liaodong may no longer be owned by the imperial court overnight.
This is what Xiong Tingbi is worried about. He does not yet have the confidence to ignore the entire Liaodong, so he can only boil the frog in warm water. Today, he will do a small test.
After a period of silence, Fu Guo, the governor's doctor, was the first to speak up:
"Taitai, didn't we just check it once at the beginning of last year? The roster of the Liaoyang garrison is clearly recorded!"
Xiong Tingbi did check it once last year, not long after he took office as Liaodong Manager, and he wanted to briefly understand the specific facts.
Although before that, he had stayed in Liaodong for ten years as a patrol officer.
"This time is no different than before. The imperial court and His Majesty are waiting for my report. I will give you the details today, so I won't talk about it anymore. Let's have a drink!"
Xiong Tingbi turned over it lightly, but these Liaoyang civil and military generals were extremely uneasy.
It would be okay if it were someone else, but Xiong Tingbi is not so easy to deal with. Since he took office, he has severely cracked down on smuggling and empty-handed people.
Even more so, he refused to take hard or soft advice. Although he had been a manager in the past, it was not that he had never done this kind of thing, but he was not the one who had the final say before. There was also the governor of Liaodong.
The situation now is not comparable to before. He has the final say in the military and political affairs of Liaodong. Thinking of this, everyone is uneasy, but they can only dare to be angry and dare not speak out.
This Fengfeng Banquet made them feel frightened. They all had their own agendas, and they were afraid that their lives would be difficult in the future.
Xiong Tingbi is reorganizing the army in full swing, which is not good news for Nuerhaci in Hetuala.
"The spies have come to report that Xiong Manzi has gone to Liaoyang. What do you think should be done?"
Nuerhachi, who was sitting in the upper seat, looked down at the people below and asked. Mang Gurtai, one of the four Baylors, stepped forward and said:
"Father Khan, this is a God-given opportunity. While Xiong Manzi is away, we should immediately send troops to seize Shenyang!"
Daishan, the leader of the four Baylors, immediately objected:
"Father Khan, I think this is not possible. Although Xiong Manzi has temporarily left Shenyang, he has been reorganizing the city defense army in the past few months. Shenyang now is no longer what it used to be."
Mang Gurtai couldn't help it when he heard this. He was originally a grumpy person. Even if the other party was Daishan, he said angrily:
"What are you talking about? I, the Great Golden Bingfeng, are invincible. How can I still be afraid of those despicable Ming dogs?"
But Daishan didn't respond to him at all. Anyway, he said his thing and ignored Mang Gurtai.
When others saw the tit-for-tat confrontation between the two Baylors, no one dared to speak out.
Because the two of them represent two methods, whether you support fighting or not, you will definitely offend the other one, and they don't want to do that.
The superior Nurhachi looked at Sibeile Huang Taiji and asked:
"Huang Taiji, tell me what you think!"
Huang Taiji, who is good at keeping a low profile and biding his time, does not like to be in the limelight. He is very clear about the principle of taking the lead with a gun. He did not directly say whether to fight or not, but analyzed the situation and said:
"Father Khan, Shenyang is completely different now. All our spies have been eliminated by the Xiong Manzi. There are many military forts outside the city, and our spies can no longer conduct random investigations like before."
"Coupled with the Ming army's strategy of fortifying the walls and clearing the country, even the military fortresses that were a little further away were directly destroyed and abandoned. It is now difficult for us to obtain information about the Ming army."
"According to the intelligence from some time ago, that Xiong Manzi conducted a comprehensive inventory in Shenyang, laid off tens of thousands of troops, and laid off all those with empty pay and the old, weak, sick and disabled."
"He went to Liaoyang this time, presumably to rectify things. This is the first time he has made such a big move in Liaodong for more than two years. It must be the little emperor who just ascended the throne in the Ming Dynasty who gave him enough support!"
Nuerhaci also believed that since the new little emperor came to the throne, the situation in Liaodong has changed drastically.
Even the governor Yuan Yingtai took over without hesitation. So far there is no news of sending someone to take over. All power has been handed over to Xiong Manzi. He is really generous.
After Huang Taiji finished speaking, Fan Wencheng understood what he meant. Huang Taiji did not support attacking Shenyang now, so he followed closely and said:
"Great Khan, I think it is not appropriate to send troops to Shenyang in a hurry now."
"Oh, then you should tell me something!"
Nuerhaci deeply hated the Han people and wished he could kill all the Han people in the world, but he still paid more attention to Fan Wencheng. He was a rare and good slave.
Fan Wencheng knelt on the ground and said:
"I believe that the Great Khan has just returned from the southern expedition. It is not appropriate to use weapons at this time. We should temporarily rest and recuperate and wait and see what happens. Liaoyang is not as good as Shenyang. The Great Khan can use this time to strengthen his troops."
"Now that Shenyang has been greatly renovated, it is now a fortified city that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Although our Dajin Warriors are invincible, even if we can capture it, we will inevitably suffer heavy losses."
"I suggest that the Great Khan should start the affairs of Liaoyang now, and if there are any changes, he can quickly send troops!"
Li Yongfang, who considered himself the leader of the Han officials, was of course dissatisfied with being robbed of the limelight. He knelt down and said:
"Great Khan, I also think so. I know those generals very well. Each of them cannot stand the investigation at all. They will not be captured without mercy. They will definitely resist Xiong Tingbi."
"The Great Khan can send people to contact those who are dissatisfied, and promise them prosperity and wealth. When the time comes, cooperate with me, Dajin, inside and outside, and Liaoyang will be at your fingertips!"
Nuerhaci felt that this plan was feasible and adopted it directly. He immediately started arranging the matter with Li Yongfang as the leader and Fan Wencheng as the deputy.
Huang Taiji and Fan Wencheng also exchanged glances inadvertently.
