Chapter 641 Exchange Again
Chapter 641 Exchange Again
Chen Ling's defeat shocked the court and the country. Emperor Yang Guang was extremely angry. He publicly denounced Chen Ling's incompetence and issued an edict to remove Chen Ling from his posts as the Jianghuai Rebellion Suppression Envoy and the Liangjun Governor, and demoted him to the General of the Left Tunwei.
In the Council of State, Yu Shiji summoned Fan Zigai, Yin Shishi and Wang Long to urgently discuss the issue of suppressing bandits. The four of them were called the New Four Nobles and were all given the title of Prime Minister, which was actually the left and right prime ministers and two deputy prime ministers.
Yu Shiji said to the three people, "Everyone, we all know that the real reason for Chen Leng's defeat was that we underestimated the enemy. We thought that Chen Leng's 50,000 troops were invincible and could sweep away all the bandits. But in fact, the strength of the bandits has been greatly enhanced, so we have to cheer up and fight the bandits seriously. Do you have any good plans?"
Fan Zigai was the left prime minister. He nodded and said, "Prime Minister Yu is right. We did underestimate the enemy. The current bandits are supported by local tyrants. They are no longer the mountain bandits they once were. They have become separatist forces. We must not be careless or rush for success. We must do things according to the rules. First, we must establish a foundation, one in the Central Plains and one in Hebei. After we have a firm foothold, we must proceed steadily and steadily, step by step to retake the counties and eliminate the separatist forces."
Wang Long also said: "I fully agree with the two prime ministers' ideas. I suggest that the Central Plains base be set up in Liang County and the Hebei base be set up in Wei County. As for who to send out to fight, it will be decided by the emperor."
Yin Shishi finally said: "One of the important reasons for Chen Leng's failure this time is that he indulged in military discipline. The officers and soldiers raped and looted along the way, which was worse than the bandits. They caused the people to lose their hearts. No matter whether they were ordinary people or officials of the nobles, they did not tell him any intelligence. He did not know that Li Zitong and Du Fuwei had joined forces. He attacked rashly, which led to being caught in a pincer attack by the two armies and finally his entire army was destroyed. The next step in suppressing bandits is to enforce military discipline. Otherwise, the more bandits are suppressed, the more they will be suppressed, and the suppression will fail in the end."
Yin Shishi's suggestion was also recognized by the other three people. The four of them gathered their opinions and formed a resolution of the Political Affairs Hall, which was submitted to the emperor for review.
In the imperial study, Yang Guang had another sulky day. He had no intention to deal with the daily affairs of state, and basically left them to Yu Shiji. He came to the imperial study every day without knowing what he was doing. Although the Bashu and Western Sui were not dead, they were like a poisonous thorn in his back, making him want to get rid of them as soon as possible.
Bandits were rampant in Hebei Province of the Central Plains and were supported by local tyrants. Yang Guang had not taken them seriously before, always thinking that they were just a mob and would surely be defeated in one battle as long as he sent out his troops. Unexpectedly, Chen Leng's 50,000-strong army was completely wiped out. This made Emperor Yang Guang realize that something was wrong. If these rebels were not eliminated in time, they would sooner or later become a serious threat.
Jiangnan also has an unruly son who controls most of the south. Fortunately, this son is relatively well-behaved and has no excuse to suppress bandits and seize the land north of the Huai River.
In fact, what Yang Guang hated the most was the Western Sui forces in Bashu. If he didn't completely eradicate them, he would not be able to sleep or eat in peace.
At this time, the eunuch reported at the door, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Yu is here!"
"Let him in!"
Soon, Yu Shiji walked quickly into the imperial study and bowed, "Your Majesty!"
"Are you bringing me good news, Lord Yu?"
Yu Shiji presented the memorial to the emperor, "This is a plan to quell the rebellion that the Council of State has considered. Your Majesty, please review it!"
Yang Guang took the memorial, opened it and looked at it carefully. After a moment, he asked, "It's just about suppressing the bandits. Is there no plan to eliminate the rebels in Shu?"
"Your Majesty, we have to proceed step by step. Suppressing the bandits is the first step. After we have quelled the bandit problem in Hebei Province, we will have no more worries. Then we can concentrate our forces to march into Shu and wipe out the remnants of the Western Sui Dynasty. Finally, we can negotiate with His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin to hand over power. The order cannot be messed up."
Yang Guang did not say anything and continued to review the detailed plan in the memorial. He frowned and said, "Why only build two bandit suppression bases in Liang County and Wei County? I was considering three bandit suppression bases before, and there was also a Qi County. Qi County was to deal with Meng Haigong and Xu Yuanlang. Isn't it difficult to take care of all the aspects with only Liang County?"
Yu Shiji bowed and said, "It would be better if we added another Qi County, but Qi County is currently controlled by the King of Jin. Your Majesty promised him to station troops on the Shandong Peninsula, so there is no reason for him to withdraw."
Yang Guang was a little annoyed and said, "I only agreed to take Donglai County, but that was to attack Goguryeo. Now that the war with Goguryeo has stopped, it is unreasonable for him to continue to occupy Donglai County. How can he stretch his arms to control Shandong Peninsula? Let him withdraw his troops and leave." Yu Shiji smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, we maintain a balance with the King of Jin, and both sides abide by the rules. If Your Majesty goes back on his word and breaks the rules by taking back Shandong Peninsula, then there will be no way to restrain the King of Jin. Unless he completely turns against you, he will definitely expand to the Central Plains."
"What should we do? He has occupied the Shandong Peninsula, which seriously endangers our rule. Prime Minister Yu, think of a way to make him give up the Shandong Peninsula."
"Your Majesty, the only option is to exchange Xiangyang County for the four counties on the Shandong Peninsula."
Yang Guang could accept this plan. He hesitated for a moment and said, "One county for four counties, is he willing?"
"Your Majesty, the King of Jin controls the four counties of Shandong Peninsula, but he only has garrisons, not actual control. At least the power of officials and finances are in the hands of the court, so it is still relatively equal. Your Majesty can send someone to discuss it in detail."
Yang Guang nodded, "I can consider it!"
He then asked, "Who should be sent as the general to suppress the bandits?"
"It's up to your majesty to decide!"
Yang Guang pondered for a moment and said, "Hebei is handed over to Yang Yichen, who is ordered to lead 100,000 troops to station in Weijun. Liangjun is handed over to Zhang Xutuo, who is also ordered to send 100,000 troops to station in Liangjun. As for Qijun, after the King of Jin withdraws his troops, Tu Wanxu will lead 50,000 troops to station there."
Yang Guang immediately issued an edict and sent Yin Shishi to Jiangdu to negotiate with the King of Jin to exchange Xiangyang County for the four counties of Shandong Peninsula!
At the Danyang County Iron Mine, Xiao Xia, accompanied by a dozen officials, climbed a hill. From the hill, they could clearly see the miners mining iron ore. A ridge had been dug up, revealing a large hematite vein. The vein was five meters wide and hundreds of meters long. The stonemasons first chiseled a deep hole in the vein and then stuffed a large iron fire mine into it. Although military restrictions had begun to be imposed, iron fire mines were more often used in civilian applications, such as mining, digging rivers, etc.
"It's going to fire, back off!"
The miners retreated one after another. A firearms soldier lit the fuse. With a muffled sound, ore splashed everywhere and large pieces of ore fell off. The miners stepped forward and used iron bars to pry off large pieces of loose ore. They put them in bamboo baskets and carried them down the mountain. There was a small river at the foot of the mountain with a row of small boats parked on the river. The miners poured the ore directly onto the small boats.
Xiao Xia could see clearly from the top of the mountain that the most troublesome part was carrying the ore down the mountain, either by carrying it in a basket or on one's back. If the slope was a little gentler, it might be possible to carry it down on a donkey, but the efficiency was too low.
Xiao Xia shook his head and said to a group of officials: "You have all seen irrigation carts, right? They use water power to transport ore from the mountains."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, not knowing what the hydraulic drive that His Royal Highness Prince Jin was talking about was.
Xiao Xia helplessly said to the mine manager: "There is a hydraulic factory by the Yangtze River in Jingkou City. The owner is Cao Yousi. I will invite him to the mine to see how to use water power to automatically transport ore from the mountain."
(End of this chapter)