Chapter 826 A Dream of Youth 358
As a member of the Great Zhou, and a general of considerable rank, he was acutely aware of the corruption within the Great Zhou's military and knew exactly how to dismantle the Great Zhou as quickly as possible.
Yan Xi nodded heavily. Yu Tong's crimes were enough to warrant his death a thousand times over, which was why he left with so many soldiers. "Before, things were in chaos here, and it was difficult to get the news out. We could only deal with him after things were settled here. Of course, before that, I had already ordered messengers to inform all the prefectures to issue arrest warrants for Yu Tong."
However, what they didn't know was that Yu Tongxin knew he couldn't escape death, so he harbored rebellious intentions. He led his troops south, taking advantage of the delayed news from the southern prefectures to resupply. Then, he took the opportunity to pretend to be a court-sent force to suppress the rebel army in Luzhou, conspired with the rebels, killed the prefect of Luzhou, and successfully occupied Luzhou.
This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Not to mention that the Great Zhou is currently in disarray, the Northern Jin has probably already conquered the capital. Even if the Great Zhou survives, it will definitely be severely weakened. At that time, even if the court sends people to quell the rebellion, he will not be afraid.
Moreover, he could take the opportunity to unite with the Nanzhao Kingdom and tear a piece of flesh from the Great Zhou.
Although Xie Ning felt that Yu Tong was a major threat, the current crisis had not yet been resolved, so she could only put Yu Tong's matter aside.
While Xie Ning was pondering this, Wang Yang, the Deputy Privy Councilor, submitted a memorial suggesting that since the Northern Jin army's defeat was inevitable, why not press their advantage and trap them completely in the heart of the Central Plains?
Liu Yuanchang shook his head in disagreement, "Vice Envoy Wang is unaware that the scouts have reported that reinforcements from Northern Jin will arrive soon. With our current strength and resources, we simply cannot afford to expend them."
Even if war breaks out, the Great Zhou will definitely not come out on top. Don't be fooled by the victory yesterday; it was only because the enemy was caught off guard.
He advocates peace, but he can't say it outright yet. He'd rather wait for others to speak first so he can avoid being criticized, since he's not exactly a smooth talker yet.
As expected, after he finished speaking, the two factions, those advocating peace and those advocating war, started arguing in the court.
Xie Ning did not participate in the debate, only taking it seriously when the Minister of Revenue stood up to criticize others, because she needed to use this data to make estimations.
In the end, the peace faction prevailed slightly.
Because the national treasury is out of money.
After all, the Great Zhou had just finished fighting the Western Kingdom and was severely weakened. Where would it get the money to fight the Northern Jin?
So many soldiers, but none of them produce any food. The Minister of Revenue would be dizzy just looking at the amount of grain they consume in a day. When he reaches the age, he will definitely have to resign!
Although he was in charge of money along with the other three departments, he had the hardest time. Everyone who needed money would ask him for it, which was extremely difficult!
Even if they advocate for peace, they cannot take the initiative to seek peace. They must wait for the other party to take the initiative, and then they will hold back for a while before moving on to the next stage of bargaining.
Therefore, the battles that need to be fought in the next few days still need to be fought.
After discussing the specifics, it was time to reward those who had contributed. Although the reward wouldn't be much money, there were still plenty of treasures in the treasury. The most important thing was to get promoted.
Xie Ning resigned from his position as a physician and transferred to the Three Departments to oversee military equipment, as this was the most important matter at the moment.
No one else had any objections, because even if Xie Ning went to the Three Departments, he wouldn't be in charge of power, but rather would be in charge of technology, responsible for things like gunpowder and military equipment.
They had all witnessed the power of Xie Ning's semi-automatic catapult and various new types of gunpowder, and dared not object, after all, he relied on his true skills.
In addition to Xie Ning's change of official position, Xu Hongying and others were also granted official titles. Some ministers felt that this was inappropriate, asking how a female general could be granted such a title.
However, before he could even utter a few words of complaint, Xie Ning launched a scathing attack, his erudite and quoting insults infuriating the ministers who were trying to refute him, but they were no match for Xie Ning in their verbal sparring.
I couldn't win an argument before, and I still can't win one now; my tongue is just too sharp.
"...Does Xu Hongying lack ability and achievements? She fought her way up from the battlefield step by step, protecting the Great Zhou, protecting the people, and protecting you cowardly nobles who only know how to cower in fear!"
Lord Lin, I heard your youngest son recently chartered a pleasure boat for a lake cruise, indulging in revelry every night. Lord Qin, was the Hu Ji dance beautiful? Lord Feng, the winter banquet was truly lively, with a feast of delicacies and charcoal-warmed rooms… Lord Liu…
When it's time to have fun, you have everything, but when the court asks for grain donations, you all cry poverty. Do you think that if the Great Zhou Dynasty is destroyed, you will all survive?
"You can see just a wall separating us, where snow buries our bones, and the ground is littered with the corpses of soldiers under a hail of arrows and cannon fire. Can you bear to look at them with such peace of mind?"
Xie Ning took a breath and became less aggressive, even bowing respectfully, "I just lost my composure, please forgive me, sirs."
However, having traveled all the way from Hedong, I have witnessed too many horrific scenes caused by the looting of the Northern Jin army... People are all self-interested, which is understandable, after all, it is their own money, and who would be willing to give it away for free?
Moreover, with the Northern Jin army besieging the city, no one knew how long they would hold out. Protecting oneself before helping others was not wrong.
It's only natural to be unwilling.
It is precisely because of this that I am even more impressed by the selflessness of Yu Xiang, Elder Zu, Elder Shi, Imperial Censor Qiu, and others.
Perhaps for people like us, a peck of rice and a warm coat are nothing, but for those who are besieged and on the verge of death, they are lifesavers.
Whether they are impoverished civilians or soldiers defending the city, they all need this portion of food, which we don't even care about.
The officials who spoke blushed deeply, feeling extremely ashamed, because that was exactly what they were thinking: why should they give away their own things to others?
What do other people have to do with me?
Xie Ning said he understood them, but that's precisely why they were angry and ashamed, because they really didn't need that little bit of food.
Yan Xi blinked, waiting for Xie Ning to continue. At first, when she proposed donating grain, her grandmother refused because it was inappropriate.
Who forces a subject to demand grain?
As for Yan Xi, she might as well just take the cases of a few people directly. The ones Xie Ning just pointed out were quite good; they were on the list of corrupt officials.
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