"In reply to Duke Yansheng, there are currently 1,149 defenders in Qufu, all of whom are equipped with armor. The 14 months of military pay owed by the court has not yet been paid, and the soldiers are entirely dependent on the money and food provided by Duke Yansheng's mansion to survive." Qufu County Magistrate Kong Hongyi replied.
"What?" Kong Yinzhi's triangular eyes were glared into round ones, "Isn't that right?"
"The fact that the imperial court can exempt the entire country from taxes for a year shows that the imperial court is not short of money!"
"Two months ago, I submitted a petition to Your Majesty, asking the court to reimburse the military pay for the Qufu garrison. Qufu is only a thousand miles away from the capital, and the silver from the capital can be transported here by land or by canal from Jining, which is eighty miles away."
"Where's the silver? Did you embezzle it?" Kong Yinzhi's voice was filled with anger.
If the defenders are few in number, they can still fight back thanks to the strong city.
It’s no good if you don’t owe them wages. Soldiers will fight for kills when the wind is favorable, and surrender directly when the wind is unfavorable!
Kong Hongyi looked aggrieved: "I'm not greedy! Really! When you, Lord Yansheng, submitted a petition to His Majesty, I also wrote a document to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, begging them to make up the military pay."
"But the Ministry of War said that the application for disbursement of military pay needed to be reviewed by the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Revenue said that it needed to be reviewed by the Ministry of War. After both the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War approved it, it was lost after being submitted to the Cabinet."
"Lost? That's impossible..." Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi couldn't believe it.
During the Ming Dynasty, there was an extremely strict process for transmitting official documents between government offices, the purpose of which was to prevent the loss of official documents.
Kong Hongyi nodded quickly: "The cabinet said that it was handed over to the Silijian, and the Silijian said that they didn't receive it, and then they said that they returned it to the cabinet after approving it."
"The final result is that the official document disappeared!"
"I can't afford to offend the Cabinet, and I can't afford to offend the Imperial Household Department even more! I had no choice but to draft another petition and submit it. The official document has now been transferred to the Cabinet, waiting for Lord Li to review it."
Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi first nodded, then shook his head.
Far water cannot quench near thirst. By the time the official document is approved, the Jiannu might have returned to Liaodong!
"Have the military salaries of other counties in Yanzhou Prefecture been reissued?" Kong Yinzhi asked.
Kong Hongyi sighed: "All of them have been issued, except for the overdue military pay for the Qufu garrison!"
Kong Yinzhi had a bad feeling.
If some places in Yanzhou Prefecture reissued military pay but others did not, it meant that the court was too busy with official business to deal with it in time.
Now only the Qufu defenders have not received their military pay, which means that someone in the court is doing bad things.
Who could it be?
Ministry of War? Ministry of Revenue? Cabinet?
Or...the Imperial Household Department?
No, no, no, it must be a misunderstanding!
Kong Yinzhi's body shook uncontrollably and he quickly forgot his previous thoughts.
The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue are all literati. They worship the Confucius Mansion and would never do any harm.
The Imperial Household Department represents imperial power and would not take action against him.
What Kong Yinzhi didn't know was that the person who did bad things to him was none other than Zhu Youjian, the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
He first instructed the Imperial Household Department to deliberately destroy Kong Hongyi's memorial, and then had someone create trouble in the middle to slow down the delivery of Kong Hongyi's second memorial.
Finally, the killer!
When he transferred Gao Jie to the north, he did not let him attack Li Zicheng from the east, but directly transferred him to the north of Damingfu to merge with Huang Degong.
It was precisely because there were no soldiers guarding the east that Li Zicheng was successfully lured to turn his attention to Shandong.
"How about..." Kong Hongyi looked up at Kong Yinzhi, "How about the Duke of Yansheng first take out some silver to make up for the overdue military pay, and then pay it back when the money from the court comes in?"
Kong Yinzhi glared at Kong Hongyi fiercely: "The Yanshenggong Mansion is prosperous, and the daily food and clothing expenses are countless."
"Where is the spare money to pay the soldiers?"
Kong Yinzhi was afraid that he would not be able to get back the money he lent, so he chose to refuse immediately.
"Then, what should I do?" Kong Hongyi was at a loss.
The soldiers had no pay and the people were short of food.
It is probably impossible to defend Qufu County.
Kong Yinzhi thought for a moment and said, "The Jiannu are still in Fei County, 200 miles away, and there is Sishui County in between. Qufu is still safe for now."
"First, you should order the city gates to be opened and allow the people to gather food and supplies. Then, inform the whole city and call on the wealthy families in the city to donate money to pay the soldiers and call on the people to join the army to resist the Jiannu."
"With the unity of the army and the people, we will be able to defend the city."
"What if the rich families in the city don't donate?" Kong Hongyi asked worriedly.
"Not donating?" Kong Yinzhi smiled coldly: "The Duke of Yansheng's Mansion will take the lead in donating money. The Duke of Yansheng's Mansion has donated money, so how dare they not donate?"
Kong Hongyi thought for a moment and understood something: "I understand! After receiving the money, the money from the Duke of Yansheng's Mansion will be returned in full, and the money from the rich households will be divided into 30% and 70%, one part will be used to pay the military pay, and the other part will be used to recruit soldiers to defend the city."
"Well, this young man is teachable!"
"I'll take my leave."
"Wait a minute!" Seeing Kong Hongyi was about to leave, Duke Yansheng Kong Yinzhi spoke out to stop him.
"What else do you have to say, Lord Yansheng?"
"If you are not sure you can defend the city, it is better to surrender early to ensure the safety of the people in the city!" Kong Yinzhi reminded in a very low voice.
"The Jiannu are also human beings, and they also want to rule the Central Plains! If they want to secure their rule in the Central Plains, they need to rely on the power of the Confucius Mansion! Dorgon, Duoduo and others may not understand, but Fan Wencheng certainly does!"
"I don't think they will attack Qufu, and even if they do, they won't attack the Confucius Mansion. Rather than angering them, it's better to surrender to show the Confucius Mansion's attitude."
"But... surrendering is a serious crime! If the court investigates, I will not be able to escape the blame!" Kong Hongyi showed an expression of wanting to refuse but also wanting to accept.
"I will protect you. How dare the imperial court do anything to you? Besides, you are not the only one who surrendered. If they are all fine, you will be fine too."
"Okay, go open the city gate!" Kong Yinzhi didn't give Kong Hongyi a chance to think and urged him to open the city gate.
Kong Hongyi had no choice but to do as he was told.
Hao Yaoqi and others had been waiting outside the north gate of the city and were already impatient. When they saw the gate suddenly open, they were delighted at first, then picked up their shoulder poles and ran into the city.
An hour later, Hao Yaoqi led his men out of the city.
They came to the place where they had hidden their horses before, met their personal soldiers, mounted their horses, and headed north to join the main force.
Hao Yaoqi called all the generals together, and after a brief discussion, they divided the troops into three groups.
The main force continued to stay in place to rest and make clamps.
The second group of soldiers took off their armor and disguised themselves as civilians to sneak into the city.
The last group disguised themselves as the defeated Ming army, went around to the east of Qufu County, and waited for the opportunity.
The agreed time soon arrived.
Hao Yaoqi personally led the main force around to the east of Qufu City, and under the cover of darkness, quietly came to the moat.
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