Chapter 207: After a defeat at the front, who wouldn't stand in the court?
Anyone who can sit in the court is a shrewd person. Of course, they would not believe that Tsewang Arabtan would truly repent. But whether to believe it or not is one thing, and how to deal with it is another.
Therefore, under the strong persuasion of his ministers, Kangxi ordered the guard Seleng to lead his troops from Qinghai into Tibet to expel Tsewang Arabtan's troops. As for the former troops of Fu Ning'an and Lu Zhenyang, they were all stationed in place and on standby.
The front line is very far away. Although military orders are sent urgently within 800 miles, it still takes a long time for the front-line generals to receive the orders. At present, all the court can do is to ensure a continuous supply of food and fodder.
Perhaps it was Tsewang Arabtan's memorial that reminded Kangxi that there were still some villains who had not been dealt with, and his illness got better day by day. When the weather gradually turned cooler, Yinzhen, who had entered the palace to take care of the sick, came back.
The couple had been separated for such a long time before. In his early years, when Yinzhen was away on business, he was away for more than half a year. But for some reason, Qi Buchen just felt that he missed him especially this time.
Even when the children were there, she couldn't control her gaze, which was entangled with Yinzhen like candied honey.
How could Yinzhen not feel anything? He sent the younger generation away as quickly as possible, and smiled at the person who was hanging on him as soon as they left: "Aren't you afraid of losing face in front of your daughter-in-law?"
Qi Buchen groaned: "It's embarrassing."
"You're so old, yet you're still so spoiled." Yinzhen pinched the soft flesh on her cheek, frowned slightly, and said in a somewhat reproachful tone, "Why are you getting thinner?"
Qi Buchen puffed up his cheeks and said, "All year round, only in the summer can you have a smaller appetite and lose some weight. So don't tell me."
"Hey, you think I'm nagging you?" Yinzhen pinched her cheeks, squeezing them into a goldfish-like mouth. "You have no conscience."
The two of them were like a newlywed couple who had been separated for a long time. They were in love with each other for a long time until the servants came to ask if they wanted to serve the meal.
The children also came to eat. Qi Buchen could clearly see that Fan Zhengya was trying hard to hide a hint of shame. She could only say that the little girl was still too young and not thick-skinned enough.
After the meal, the whole family sat together and started talking about business.
Honghui asked, "Father, will you enter the court later?"
Yinzhen nodded and said, "Go to the Ministry of Revenue and take charge of the procurement of food and fodder."
Qi Buchen frowned slightly. She had expected Yinzhen to come out to do his job again, but she originally thought that he might be sent by Kangxi to clean up the mess left by Yinsi. Unexpectedly, he would start a new business and be in charge of food and fodder.
This... Fan Shichong and Honghui are in the Ministry of War, and Yinzhen is in the Ministry of Revenue to be in charge of food and fodder. What is Mr. Kang thinking?
Honghui had obviously thought of this as well, and asked with some concern, "Isn't the Minister of Revenue in charge of grain and grass?"
Yinzhen said, "The court has already allocated additional cavalry to Fu Ning'an and is preparing to allocate funds for the Ministry of Revenue to purchase horses and camels. The Minister of Revenue needs to go there in person."
Honghui frowned slightly, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Yinzhen stopped there and said, "Alright, just listen to these things. The Military Palace Examination will be held in October. You should do your job now, so make sure you don't make any mistakes. Consult your father-in-law more often."
Honghui agreed: "Yes."
After the father and son finished their business, Yinzhen tested the triplets' academic performance and was quite satisfied with the results.
After that, the scene turned into a relaxing and leisurely family chat time.
Qi Buchen looked at Hongyu, who seemed to have a thorn under his buttocks, and said, "What are you twisting?"
Hongyu chuckled and said, "Mother, well, Father is back, can we go out now?"
Fifteen years old is the age when children are full of energy. He has been stuck in the house for more than two months without going out. He really can't hold it back any longer.
Not to mention him, Hongyun and Hongshi were all full of anticipation after hearing this, even Fan Zhengya had a hint of yearning.
Honghui was fine, after all, he had to go to the yamen every day.
Qi Buchen glared at him unhappily and looked at Yinzhen.
Yinzhen: "If you want to go, go."
Hongyu almost jumped up: "Thank you, Father!"
Qi Buchen looked at the triplets who seemed ready to be released from their cage and shouted, "Go away, get out of here!"
After they left, Yinzhen looked at Fu Jin with some pity: "You are too cautious. How can you not leave the house? Have you been feeling depressed for a long time?"
He knew Fu Jin well. Even though she lived in the Old Summer Palace, she would still ride her bicycle out for a few laps from time to time, saying that she wanted to breathe the fresh air outside. The Prince Yong's Mansion was not as big as the Old Summer Palace, and it was mostly made up of buildings, yet she could live there for two months without going out.
Although Qi Buchen was touched by his kindness, he was not as upset as he thought: "What are you thinking about? It was so hot a few days ago. I ran out because I was sick. Even using a fan to blow the ice basin in the house was not enough."
Fans have actually existed for a long time, but early mechanical fans had disadvantages such as being too large, requiring too much manpower, and having low speed, making them lacking in practicality. It was only in recent years that Qi Buchen guided his craftsmen to improve them, and now they have become a must-have item in every household.
Yinzhen patted her, his brows furrowing involuntarily. "The weather is indeed a bit too hot this year. I wonder how many places will be hit by drought again."
The drought reduced grain production. Not only was it difficult for him to raise food and fodder, but he also didn't know where the relief grain would come from.
Qi Buchen was also worried: "The ships that went out to sea are almost back. If I had known that war would break out again, I should have ordered them to buy more food from Southeast Asia."
"Not everything can go as planned. Besides, even if we can buy, how much can we buy? If we can successfully expel Tsewang Arabtan this time, we won't need all yours. If not, the ones we buy outside will be just a drop in the bucket." Yinzhen was aware of the cargo capacity of Fu Jin's fleet. Due to the court's restrictions on ship size, the fleet tried to carry high-value and high-profit goods every time it went out to sea. Half of the food would be consumed on the way, which was not worth the loss.
Qi Buchen certainly knew his own situation: "Hey, I just thought that even if it's not much, I can lower the purchase price when the time comes."
Of course, raising food and fodder is not simply about transferring grain reserves from various places. That would not be enough. Therefore, in many cases, the court had to spend money to buy it from grain merchants. There was a lot of room for manipulation here, and the officials in charge of procurement and grain merchants would collude to defraud the court.
Yinzhen knew that she was worried about her job, so he patted her back comfortingly: "Don't worry, I won't be fooled by those things."
Although it was just a simple sentence, Qi Buchen felt inexplicably relieved.
But it turned out that she was too relieved too early.
The front line was defeated!
Over 4,000 men led by Erlunte and Seleng were caught off guard by Tsewang Arabtan's surprise ambush and annihilated! Furthermore, Kangtai, the former Sichuan governor, who had been demoted due to a mutiny, and his 2,000 men were lured and murdered by the Black Hat Lama!
In just a few months, the Qing army had lost over 6,000 men! And the enemy's losses? No one knew at all!
Why?
Subsequent news came in continuously, and the court finally knew the details of the battle.
The food supply was cut off!
Se Leng led his subordinates and held out for more than a month under siege. What is shocking is that during this period of more than a month, none of the Qing soldiers stationed in various places came to support them!
No news? How is that possible!
Putting aside other things, if the food and fodder being delivered to the front lines were cut off, wouldn't the people responsible for transporting it have noticed something was wrong? Wouldn't they have sent people to report it to various places? After these troops received the news, they should have sent people to investigate the situation, right?
But no, not a single one! In a month, thousands of people were surrounded and killed.
Kangxi was no longer simply furious. Upon receiving the detailed military report, the Imperial Study urgently summoned the Imperial Hospital Director. Half a day later, waves of ministers were called to the palace, and they came out with pale faces.
Yinzhen was no exception and was severely criticized by his father. He was asked how he, the person in charge of food supplies, could do his job and why he could allow the soldiers on the front line to not receive food for a month.
To be honest, Yinzhen was really angered this time. He was in Beijing and the front line was far away in Tibet. With the current speed of information transmission, how could he know what problems would occur on the front line? He could only let the front-line quartermaster make the decision on the battlefield.
But he could only bear it and continue to raise food and supplies after being scolded.
——His royal father was so angry that even his health, which had finally recovered, had problems again. How could he let Tsewang Arabtan, who had fooled him, go easily? He must kill him.
However, the ministers in the court strongly opposed sending troops again. Their reasons were justified. First, it was confirmed that many places had suffered from drought this year, with reduced or even total harvests. These places had to rely on the court for disaster relief grain, not to mention collecting taxes and paying grain. However, a lot of reserve grain had been consumed in the past two years because of Tsewang Arabtan. If they sent troops again, they would really be short of food.
Secondly, the officials in the court also had doubts about the troops far away on the front line. The Seleng tribe had been besieged for a month without anyone to rescue them! What were Fu Ning'an, Lu Zhenyang, and the Ningxia governor doing?
Are they… up to something? Are they still… loyal to the court?
If we forcefully send out troops at this time, will it... irritate these people and cause the situation to get out of control?
Everyone is worried about this, but no one dares to say it out loud.
Kangxi also had such doubts in his mind. He immediately sent the imperial edict of reprimand and reprimand to all the military units. At the same time, he also ordered the Ministry of War to mobilize troops from several surrounding provinces to prepare for the expedition to Tibet.
But just a few days after the imperial edict was sent out, letters of apology from Fu Ning'an, Lu Zhenyang and others arrived first.
"It seems that as soon as he learned about the specific circumstances of the defeat at the front line, he started writing a letter of apology." Yinzhen's face has not been in a good mood these days. No one would be in a good mood knowing such a devastating defeat.
Qi Buchen was also concerned about this matter: "What does the memorial say?"
Yinzhen frowned. "Lu Zhenyang and the Ningxia governor said they hadn't received any news. They had no idea what was happening on the front lines, not even about the food shortage. Fu Ning'an did receive a call for help, but his base was too far from the battlefield, so the battle was over before he even arrived."
Qi Buchen was surprised when he heard this. "No news at all? How is that possible? Even if Tsewang Arabtan could intercept Seleng and his men, he couldn't possibly stop the people transporting the grain."
How could Yinzhen not have thought of this?
“So, there’s a big problem here.”
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