In response to Huang Qiong's rhetorical question, Fu Yuanshan bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the East and West Roads of Guangnan have rebelled against the royal family for more than a hundred years. Especially the West Road of Guangnan, for more than a hundred years, the local people and tribes have always been the only We know that there is the Guilin County Prince's Palace, but we don't know that there is a court. Ever since Cao Rui entered Guangnan East Road and Guo Chen entered Guangnan West Road, it seems that the progress has been smooth, but that is just the surface."
"In fact, there are obstacles everywhere. The local people even regard the government troops as invaders. Some of the barbarian tribes also cooperate with the rebels to fight against the court. Whether it is Cao Rui's army or Guo Chen's army, they can be said to be step by step Bu was attacked. In addition to the lack of cooperation of the local people and the continuous sneak attacks by the Yi tribe, a series of problems such as climate and supplies also caused the morale of the officers and soldiers to continue to decline.
"Even the Fourth Battalion, which has always been a strong military force with strict military disciplines, actually robbed people of food and raped local women. And similar incidents are still increasing. Although Cao Rui severely punished a group of violations Soldiers must maintain military discipline, but these things are increasing every day. Now in the midst of the war, no matter how strict Cao Rui is in maintaining military discipline, he cannot follow the usual requirements."
"Especially under the current situation, he must try his best to maintain the morale of the troops. If he only relies on killing people to maintain military discipline, not only will he not be able to solve the problem, but it will make it easier for the superiors and subordinates to become disloyal. But there are some things that are not there The solution is put on the table. He knows that he should not bring up the issue of rewarding the armed forces. But the current situation is that he is also in a dilemma."
"That's why he wrote this letter to me in private at the same time as the eight-hundred-mile expedited memorial. His idea was that if he allowed his subordinates to cause harm to the local area, he would plunder people's wealth. , civilian women, can naturally restore the morale of all armies in a short period of time. However, this will not only create a very bad start for the armies in the future, but will even harm the future of the armies of Qi."
"He knows that once this kind of thing starts, it will probably be difficult to correct it in the future. Moreover, if he sends troops to cause harm to the place, if he is held accountable afterwards, he himself will not be able to escape the blame, and the guilt will be even more difficult to escape. It will also bring disaster to the future. The aftermath of the East-West Second Road in Guangnan has brought about impacts and consequences that will be difficult to eliminate for decades. But he couldn’t think of any other way at the moment, so he could only think of ways to use money to boost morale.”
"This time Cao Rui intercepted the property being transferred by the rebels, and he turned his attention to the property. Your Majesty, Cao Rui is actually quite a decent person. If it had been for other generals, I'm afraid this property would have been lost at all. I won’t report it. Either I divided it privately, or I ate it alone. Even if I didn’t take the property privately, in the face of the current situation, I would have launched an army to plunder it.”
"This kind of thing is not uncommon in this dynasty. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, due to insufficient food and pay, when the armies were pacifying the south of the Yangtze River, in order to boost morale and raise food and grass, they launched many large-scale plunderings. They pacified the east and west sides of Guangnan. They even snatched them all the way. After the Ping of Shu, in order to raise military salaries, they extorted money from Chengdu Prefecture, the capital of the two Sichuan provinces, which eventually triggered a civil uprising."
"Except for the army that entered Shu and participated in the war in Guilin, which was transferred out in advance by Emperor Taizu, the 30,000 troops who stayed in central Sichuan lost 60% in that civil uprising. This was the result of all our previous attacks on the north. The Liao and Uighurs, including the use of troops against the Tubo tribes, also relied on looting and supplies along the way. This was basically the case in all dynasties, whether they were fighting internal rebellions or conducting external campaigns."
"Morale is related to combat effectiveness. If the morale of the troops going south really drops to this low, I'm afraid it will be difficult to fight the next battle. Indeed, the elite soldiers of the four major battalions are all northerners. When they go south to enter the east-west route of Guangnan, they will fight , it is indeed difficult to adapt to this weather in a short period of time. Coupled with the poisonous snakes and beasts and the miasma, the morale will definitely decline to a certain extent in a short period of time. "
"Cao Rui is considered an honest man in this regard, and he has considered everything comprehensively. If he had been replaced by another general, he would have gone too far. Your Majesty, in my opinion, this money should be approved. Part of it. First take out one hundred thousand taels and give them to the soldiers of the Southern Expedition as a reward. After all, this is an internal counterinsurgency within the imperial court, not an external campaign. If something really happens because of military discipline."
"I'm afraid that the aftermath will take a lot of effort in the future. Especially Guangnan West Road, which is located in a place where hundreds of barbarians are mixed. Once military discipline is loosened, the price of pacifying those barbarian tribes in the future will only be greater. What's more, , after the Jingjiang Mansion is captured in the future, there may not be much property captured in the treasury. The traitor to the Prince's Mansion is the richest in the world, and even the children in this dynasty know it."
"At that time, once the armies lose control and do something, it will be difficult to deal with it. Even if this incident causes the armies to make great achievements or plunder everywhere, or there is internal discord among the generals, I am afraid it will Those who rebelled against the king entered. On the one hand, the imperial court has given the rewards that should be given, and on the other hand, it must also impose strict requirements on military discipline. If the rewards continue to be distributed, if you are not honest, don't blame the imperial court for punishing you. "
Regarding Fu Yuanshan's words, Huang Qiong smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Prime Minister Fu, I still don't understand those military attachés. When I was suppressing the rebellion in Ningxia Mansion, those people looked down on me and dared to hide the property that was seized privately. . Do you really think that the trophies reported by Cao Rui are all real? Let me tell you, he may not dare to hide the weapons, but this property belongs to him and the generals at all levels."
"I'm afraid that every official will have made at least a small fortune. Guangnan's East and West Road is where the rebel family has been for hundreds of years, and it can be said to be rich. Those guys, I'm afraid their hands are not clean. Look at it. On the list of those whose homes were confiscated? Those rebellious officials, as long as they were not dead, were indeed escorted to the capital, but what about the property in the officials' homes? How many filthy items were escorted to the capital together? "
"If you say that all the rebellious officials are as honest as water, I'm afraid they themselves don't believe it. In this rebellion, how many rebellious civil and military officials were there on Jiangnan West Road and Huguang South Road? In order to win over the rebel king over the years, How much money did those officials spend on those officials? Especially the military attachés in the south of the Yangtze River. Without a large sum of money to bribe them, who would be willing to follow him in rebellion? "
"Although he rebelled against the king, he was indeed handsome and handsome, but those officials who followed him in rebellion were all attracted to his appearance, so was it possible to follow him in rebellion? He is just a person, not the Jade Emperor, so what kind of power can he bring to the world? Bow down? If among those rebellious officials, there are those who hope that the rebellion against the king will succeed and they can become a new rich man with a wife and a cute son, I believe this."
"It's not that there are no such things, but the number may not be that large. I'm afraid most of them accepted his money and were dragged into the pirate ship by him and couldn't get off. Those bastards who don't know how much money they received from the traitor king , even if there are people who jump into wells holding gold ingots, what about other people? How come the average property of the houses of rebellious officials who were raided by the armies in the south is less than one thousand taels of silver? "
"Fu Xiang, there may be the reasons you mentioned, but they may not all be because of those reasons. I am afraid that more of them are because Cao Rui is worried that he will not be able to control the military discipline after entering Jingjiang Mansion, so he You are grinding your teeth with me in advance. On the other hand, you are also trying to find excuses for me after the next capture of Jingjiang Mansion and the disappearance of some of the property belonging to the Rebel Prince Mansion."
At this point, Huang Qiong stopped talking. He stood up and walked to the gate of Wende Palace. He looked at the setting sun outside the door like blood. After a long time, he said: "However, what Mr. Fu said is not unreasonable. Choose the lesser of two evils. Now that you have decided to give it, don't do it." Those who seize the money should be more generous. Eight hundred miles will be sent to Cao Rui immediately, so that he can allocate 200,000 taels from the captured silver on the spot to the troops as a favor."
"The rest of the gold and other property will be escorted to the capital immediately. But if his subordinates cause trouble to the local area on the East and West Second Road in Guangnan. Don't blame me then. Old accounts and new accounts will be with you. Let him calculate it together. Also, after the capture of Jingjiang Mansion, all the family members of the rebel king must be escorted to the capital by me. Let him weigh and handle the confiscated property of the rebel king's mansion."
"In addition to the imperial edict for Cao Rui, Fu Xiang is drafting an imperial edict for Lu Mengzheng. Tell Lao Lu to pay attention to his body and bones and not to be in such a hurry. The war on the east-west road of Guangnan has just begun, and there is nothing yet. He needs to rush over to deal with the aftermath. Let him rest in Jiangning Mansion for a few days before continuing south. As long as Cao Rui captures Guangzhou Mansion, he can get to the east-west road of Guangnan."
After hearing Huang Qiong's last two opinions, Fu Yuanshan, who was drafting the imperial edict, was stunned. It's easy to say that Cao Rui didn't have the courage to actually massacre the captured family members of the traitorous king. But the problem is that for Cao Rui to consider what to do with the confiscated property, wouldn't it mean that by the time Lu Mengzheng goes to deal with the aftermath, there will be nothing left? Now is the time to urge Lu Meng to hurry up, why are you still slowing down?
Looking at Fu Yuanshan who was writing in a daze after hearing his two opinions, Huang Qiong smiled lightly and said: "Cao Rui is a shrewd person, and for those so-called smart people, there are some things that don't need to be said too much. Too straightforward. I am telling him that there are some things that I don’t know, nor can I tolerate. But the premise is that he, the person leading the troops in front, should not go too far. "
"After receiving this imperial edict from me, he knew what he should do next. As for asking Lao Lu to slow down a little, I was worried that he would be involved, and I was even more worried that it would be difficult for him to rush to the front now. If so, The army really plundered the rebel prince's palace, did he take care of it or didn't care? No matter, he obviously failed in his duty. And those properties are what the currently empty household department needs most urgently. "
"Guan, as an unarmed civil servant, can he really control those Qiu Ba? What can't those guys who have seen life and death on the battlefield do? Guan is so anxious that he might bring some danger to Lao Lu. No matter , when the time comes, some people in the court will not hesitate to accuse him of neglecting his duties. With Lao Lu’s temper, there is nothing wrong with being angry. This is why I asked him to slow down."
"I don't want him to get involved in this matter. Whether actively or passively, I don't want him to get involved. Cao Rui is a smart man. I think he should know what he should do next. We did it. However, judging from the situation reported by Cao Rui, a large amount of property has been transferred from the rebel palace. Even if we attack the rebel palace, we probably won’t be able to collect too much property."
"I and Prime Minister Fu want to make up for the counter-insurgency war that has gone on for more than two years by seizing the treasury of the rebel prince's palace. But now that the treasury is empty, it may be difficult to realize it. Damn Nanzhen Fusi , As long as they can play some role, the imperial court will not be so passive. They have already reached the core of the rebels, but they still let people quietly transfer large amounts of property away. "
"I am afraid that the properties intercepted by luck this time cannot even reach 10% of the original inventory of the rebel prince's palace, but they are still there complacently, thinking about those who want to make a living in it. I really don't know who gave them the face and I mentioned this matter. Just write the two imperial edicts like this. After writing them, I will rush them 800 miles away and send them out."
