The drought in Longyou is much worse than that in Shaanxi Road. Even though the imperial court had allocated a lot of grain last year to fill the empty official warehouse of Longyou, Longyou could not support it at all and mobilized troops into Longyou to quell the rebellion. What's more, they dared to steal 30% of the grain allocated to Shaanxi. Who knows whether the grain allocated to Longyou will also be tampered with by them?
Thinking of this, Huang Qiong looked at the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance who was kneeling on the ground, begging for mercy, and suddenly found that he didn't even have the strength to get angry. Huang Qiong did not speak for a long time. Even when Lu Shangshu thought that he could not save his head, he heard Huang Qiong's cold voice: "Shaanxi Road will first provide 30,000 shi of food for emergency, and the rest will be sent by me." Urging the court."
"Even these 30,000 shi of grain can be regarded as something the imperial court owes you. After the autumn tax comes up, it will be repaid within the shortest possible time. However, these 30,000 shi of grain must be transported to Longyou within three days at the latest. If it is delayed again. Don’t blame me for being ruthless if you are still. As for you, please go back now. I am really tired after traveling through the starry night. Let’s wait until tomorrow to talk about other things.”
Huang Qiong served tea to see off the guests. Several civil servants looked at the King of England with a somewhat downcast expression and did not dare to say anything. He carefully stepped backwards and exited the Si Yamen in front of the palace. It's just that these guys, after leaving the yamen in front of the palace, accidentally touched the cold sweat on their foreheads. As for the official uniform that was soaked with sweat, he really couldn't care less about it.
Thinking of the air-conditioning that had just hit the King of England, the Minister of Household Affairs in Xijing, who was trembling with cold even in this very hot summer, and the comfort envoy and chief envoy on Shaanxi Road, could only smile bitterly at each other. Several people knew clearly that they had indeed neglected their duties in this matter. The Ministry of Household Affairs in the capital was so bold that they withheld 30% of the food supply, but he didn't even dare to fart.
In the past year, I haven't even mentioned a single note. This is a serious dereliction of duty. What's more, even though I didn't take any money from here, I just turned a blind eye to the matter and concealed it for the capital. At least I can't get away with the crime of neglecting the investigation. It is said that the King of England does not rub sand in his eyes and always deals with delinquent officials very harshly.
Maybe, my official robe will be worn all the way. Thinking of this, several officials sighed helplessly, secretly cursing the household department for not being an ordinary deceiver. They have reaped the benefits themselves, but they still have to add to the pitfalls. Although it is not necessary to lose your head this time, who can really be willing to lose the official position that everyone has worked hard for for more than ten years?
Several people turned around and looked at the majestic Yamen Gate of Xijing Palace. As well as the three hundred soldiers of the King of England who were lined up in the shape of wild goose wings in front of the door and stood in an unusually standard manner, they couldn't help but sigh helplessly. Now that things have come to this, even if we dig up the ancestral graves of those dirty officials in the Ministry of Revenue, what will it do? The only thing he can do now is to go back and quickly collect food according to the King of England's requirements.
In order to atone for his sins, even if he cannot keep his official position, he will not be treated too harshly by the King of England. After leaving the Dianqian Division, several people returned to their respective yamen, thinking about how to make up for their previous mistakes. And the Minister of Household Affairs in Xijing did not dare to fish. After returning to his yamen, he hesitated for a long time before writing a letter of apology and sent it to the front office of the palace.
In fact, the few people who were frightened and frightened didn't know that Huang Qiong didn't pay attention to them at all. After several civil servants left, the Sima Infantry Commander in front of the Xijing Palace, Yingcheng Bo Ouyang Jie, coughed violently for a while and then said softly: "Your Majesty, please don't make things difficult for them. How many of them are there?" In these days, I have actually done very well.”
"They all just took office after the Guancang case last year. Some things they explained too clearly were also a bit too hard for others. The yamen in Xijing themselves are idle officials, and among the four departments, the household department has some real power. But the real The power is still in the hands of the Ministry of Household Affairs in the capital. The drought in Shaanxi this year has not been completely alleviated yet, and a large number of refugees from Longyou have poured in."
"The food in the official warehouse cannot be moved. In order to relieve the victims, he has done a lot of efforts. There are no victims in Shaanxi who have gone out to become refugees. The reason why there is no starvation and death everywhere. It all depends on the efforts of a few of them after they took office. He has been raising food supplies everywhere to provide disaster relief, and he has barely managed to survive until now. He only has a little real power in his hands, and the areas under his jurisdiction are all places with severe droughts."
"They not only have to deal with the drought in Shaanxi, but also provide relief to the influx of refugees from Longyou, where the disaster is more severe. They have done their best. To relieve the victims, they need a large amount of food. And where can they get such food? More grain? In addition to Shaanxi Road itself being able to raise part of it from places where the disaster is less severe, the Ministry of Household Affairs also needs to coordinate grain transfers from other provinces."
"At this time, how could he, a minister with little real power, dare to offend the household minister in the capital? Even if he took the head of the minister of household affairs, the ministers, chief ministers, and foreign ministers below would not let him live. It's better. Your Majesty, you can replace a minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, but you can replace all the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs? The handle of the knife is in someone else's hands, what can they do?"
"In comparison, a few of them have done a very good job. Although in this matter, they finally chose to be wise and protect themselves, but it was also for the millions of people in Shaanxi. With the predecessor, he first concealed the disaster and did not report it, and then Compared with the pacifiers who are taking advantage of the general situation to make money, they have done a good job in ensuring that a large number of victims do not starve to death in this disaster year."
"My lord, you know the truth about darkness under the lamp. Some things can be said, but cannot be investigated. Thirty percent of hundreds of thousands of grains, this matter cannot be accomplished by an official from the Ministry of Household Affairs alone. . I’m afraid everyone from the Ministry of Revenue is involved, and even some local officials. With such a huge network of connections, even the emperor has to be wary."
"What's more, the war in Longyou is now urgent. The drought in Shaanxi and Longyou has just begun to ease. The food and wages required for the army's campaign still need to be raised by the Ministry of Household Affairs. This is not the time to pursue this matter. If the King of England is really If you can't swallow this breath, you can wait until the situation in Longyou is settled and His Royal Highness returns to the capital before pursuing this matter. Otherwise, these people may not really have any scruples in their actions."
"King of England, it doesn't matter that you are actually in the position of prince now. But once these people are forced into a hurry, they really dare to do something behind your back. If nothing else, the food and grass that should be given to you will drag you down half the time. Within a few months, we might be able to drag this tens of thousands of troops to death. This is an eternal truth that the army goes ahead without using food and grass. My lord, some people may not take the interests of this world in their eyes."
At this point, the Yingcheng uncle coughed violently again and said in a deep voice: "What's more, although the military rations allocated now are not enough to support the army for a long time. Even if Mr. Zheng embezzles part of it, it can only supply the army for a month. It is enough to be used within the palace. The reason why the army has not moved yet is due to the order given by the commander-in-chief of the palace, the old minister. The lack of food and grass is just an excuse."
Huang Qiong was slightly startled by the words of Uncle Ying Cheng. After saying these words, Huang Qiong was a little annoyed. The military situation in Longyou was raging, but the dignified Yingcheng Bo, who held all the elite Imperial Palace commanders in the northwest, found various excuses to stand still. He just sent several thousand men and horses to Qingyang, the important town in Longyou, to deal with errands. It would be an understatement to say that he had evil intentions.
Just looking at the old earl who was almost half lying down, Huang Qiong barely suppressed the anger in his heart, and almost gritted his teeth and said: "Old earl, you are an earl who retired from the country. I know that you are not You are the kind of person who refuses to save anything, and I know that you are not the kind of person who ignores the interests of the imperial court. But I hope you can give me a reason to convince me."
Regarding the anger in Huang Qiong's tone, Uncle Ying Cheng did not answer him immediately. Instead, he raised his head and looked at the roof of the house, coughing and sighing. After a long time, he let out a long sigh and said: "The reason why I did not obey the imperial edict and the King's decree and stood still was because I did not want the 20,000 troops to become a piece of meat dumped by the court. "
"The Emperor has high regard for me. In the ninth year of Mingde's reign, I took over as the commander of the Xijing Liudian Palace and the Ma Bu Army. I have been living with these brothers day and night for ten years now. It can be said that this veteran of the Xijing camp, The old minister can call out their names with his eyes closed. It is precisely because of this that the old minister does not want these brothers who used to get along day and night to be buried in a foreign country because of random orders."
"Your Majesty, your original intention is actually correct. Before the imperial army arrives, the Dangxiang rebels must seal him in Ningxia Mansion. Once he becomes a rogue, it will be extremely harmful to the entire northwest. Especially Long. There are currently more than 100,000 war horses in the major horse farms in the You. If they are allowed to flow into the hinterland of Longyou and seize these horses, it will be too harmful to the imperial court."
"At that time, if the imperial court wants to annihilate it, the money and food it will consume will probably be beyond the affordability of the imperial court at the moment. But it is easy to send out troops, but what about the generals? According to the imperial court's regulations, before the general appointed by the imperial court arrives, Longyou should Jiedushi is responsible for the war. But the veteran Li Jiedu of Longyou is well aware of his talent. He has a high vision but a low hand, so he only has the ability to talk big."
"As for the real ability, if you say that one general is incompetent and exhausts the entire army, then you are looking down on him. After he was transferred to Longyou Jiedushi, he focused more on making money and asked him to command. I am afraid that these two Even an army of ten thousand might not be able to hold on until you, the ambassador of establishment, arrive, or they might be destroyed by him. Your Majesty, I cannot possibly waste the lives of twenty thousand brothers on an incompetent person."
"As the saying goes, a soldier is the courage of a general and the soul of a general. Things that determine life and death on the battlefield cannot tolerate any mistakes. Whether the soldiers can follow a reliable person on the battlefield is a matter of trust. The top priority is the morale of the army. These 50,000 elite soldiers in the Xijing camp are the imperial court's anchor in the northwest. The emperor handed them over to the veteran, which shows his absolute trust in the veteran."
"Since I have received divine grace, how can I leave this 50,000-strong army to be commanded by a fool who has never been on the battlefield in his life? That Li Jiedu, who can't hold up a wall with mud, can make a mess with a good hand of cards." . The veteran would never dare to leave the 20,000 troops to him to squander and waste at will. The veteran will not take risks easily, and the imperial court cannot afford to waste so many elite soldiers."
"If the old minister is in better health, he can lead the troops to go on an expedition. Even if the victory cannot be determined in one fell swoop and the rebels are wiped out, it is still possible to hold on to the city until the general appointed by the imperial court arrives. But look at my weak body, and now I can't even mount a horse. If you can't ride anymore, how can you lead them on an expedition? The reason why I stood still is also a loveless choice."
