Chen Yongfu sat in the corner and watched coldly. He knew that such an argument would be fruitless. Not to mention that he had already argued about this matter several times, and every time it was "postponed!". Just talk.
The peasant army has already arrived at the city, and the officials in the city can still spend such a long time and energy arguing without solving any practical problems. This shows how "not doing their jobs properly" those officials are.
Fortunately, unlike other vassal kings in the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen was a vassal king who was willing to spend money on food and cooperate with the government to suppress thieves. Several times when Kaifeng City was in crisis, Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhao always used the money and food from the palace.
Come and pay military pay and rewards.
Although the main purpose of King Zhou's doing this was to protect his own wealth and life, his "generosity" allowed Chen Yongfu's army to have basic food and wages. In addition, the unemployed refugees living in the city could also contribute to the defense of the city.
For the labor, they received food and a certain amount of remuneration paid by the Zhou Palace. Therefore, the Zhou Palace did feed a large number of people in the city and played an indispensable role in stabilizing Kaifeng City.
But in this way, it encouraged the inaction of the officials in the city. Because they relied on the big tree of Prince Zhou's Mansion to enjoy the shade, the officials in Kaifeng City happened to be quiet. Those officials who did not do anything but did not do bad things were considered good, and they were most afraid
The kind of officials who don't do anything but want to show their presence in everything. There are many such officials, no! In the conference hall, such officials were divided into two groups and started to quarrel.
…
"Now that the price of rice in the city has risen to one tael per dou of rice, where does the surplus wealth come from and where does it come from? What Mr. Wang said is nothing more than a castle in the air!"
"The prefect's Yamen has also issued an order a long time ago to let the rice shops in the city sell rice at a fixed price. The price of rice mentioned by Mr. Li was set by unscrupulous profiteers on the black market. Now it is time to make the government use its orders to arrest people day and night. This is
The right path, how can there be a right path without going astray?”
"Right way? Wrong way? Does Mr. Wang want to say: Why not eat rice? Although the government has set the price of rice, the rice shops in the city do not sell it at all, so where can the people get the rice? Shouldn't they spend huge sums of money to buy it from the black market? And
Behind those rice shops and black markets are the figures of big families in the city. If you don’t get food and wages from them, where else should you get it from?”
"Did Mr. Li mean to rob a wealthy family? What's the difference between that and thieves outside the city?"
"Don't talk nonsense. Now that we are discussing the real situation in the city, you come here to confuse the public with your lies. You really have ulterior motives."
…
Seeing that the anger in the meeting hall was getting bigger and bigger, an official finally stepped forward and said, "Take it easy, you two. However, I have a question: since there are still two months of food in the city, then there are two months."
time, and during this period of time, the surrounding officers and soldiers have already arrived for reinforcements. As long as Kaifeng City is defended, the crisis of besieging the city will be over. Why do you two adults have to quarrel?"
Upon hearing this, even Chen Yongfu, who was sitting in the corner and preparing to be the "husband-in-law", couldn't help but frown. That official had no common sense. If the people in Kaifeng knew that there was a shortage of food in the city, they would definitely hoard it at home.
And as soon as there is hoarding, there will be enough. If the government did not force the concentration of food and distribute it in quotas, the city would never survive for a month. Even now, some poor families in the city are actually experiencing food shortages.
And it can be heard from the words of this official that he does not understand the situation of the imperial court and the peasant army at all. Now the army of the Superintendent Ding Qirui has been completely wiped out. In Beizhili, only the troops from the Beijing Camp can
However, due to the annihilation of Hong Chengchou's troops in Liaodong, the Beijing camp troops still have to repair the Shanhaiguan defense line, which is riddled with holes in the Northern Great Wall. Where can they mobilize excess troops to cross the Yellow River to aid Kaifeng?
Liu Zeqing's Lu army in the east had no hope. After the last disastrous defeat caused by camping on the banks of the Yellow River, Liu Zeqing just couldn't get out of his cave. As for Sun Chuanting's Qin army in the west, the journey was far away and it was difficult to arrive in time.
There are only Zuo Liangyu's troops in the south and Wu Shigong's Runing army.
But will these two people come? Chen Yongfu is discouraged just thinking about it. Relatively speaking, Chen Yongfu knows more about the surrounding friendly forces than the civilian officials. He also understands very well: Even if Zuo Liangyu is willing to come, his troops are also a mob.
, it is completely vulnerable and cannot save Kaifeng City.
The closest to Kaifeng City is Wu Shigong's Runing Army. But if the Runing Army wanted to save, they would have sent troops long ago. They would not wait until now, when the peasant army outside Kaifeng City had made arrangements before coming to rescue. So
Chen Yongfu's attitude towards whether the Runing Army will send troops? That is quite pessimistic.
"General Chen! Mr. Chen!"
The calls woke Chen Yongfu out of his daze. He looked up and saw that it was the governor Gao Mingheng speaking to him, so he immediately clasped his fists and bowed: "The general is here!"
"General Chen! Do you think Kaifeng City can be defended until reinforcements arrive?" Gao Mingheng asked.
"The city is presided over by His Royal Highness the King of Zhou and all the adults. It should be impregnable. And the only possible reinforcement is Wu Runing. The general will send a dog to take ten warriors to swim out of the city tonight, and then ask for help from Wu Runing. I also hope that His Highness and
All the adults sent a letter together, asking Wu Runing to take care of the people in the city and send troops to help as soon as possible." Chen Yongfu replied.
"It's no problem if you write a letter!" As Gao Mingheng spoke, he squinted at Guan Kesong who was sitting here.
Guan Kesong realized that all the officials present were staring at him, and he was complaining in his heart. So could Wu Runing be controlled by himself? He had no influence at all in front of him.
But at this time, it was impossible for Guan Kesong to back down. So he agreed in a bachelor's manner: "I will write a letter to you. First, go to the prison to find a prisoner on death row, and use his blood to write a blood letter."
Come on! But you can’t do things without proof. Last time Wu Runing came to help, we still held them tens of thousands of taels. Whether he comes to help this time, I will let you know..."
As soon as Guan Kesong said this, the officials looked unnatural. What they did last time was indeed unreasonable. If the default behavior at the beginning was to drag Yao Liang's troops into Kaifeng City, then they should also be punished afterwards.
The remaining tens of thousands of taels of silver were sent to Runing. But at that time, they felt that the danger had been resolved, so Kaifeng City did not pay. Instead, they floated all the silver, and the officials present all got a share of the profits afterwards.
But after so many years of practicing in officialdom, how come the shameless skills here are not up to par? After only a short moment of embarrassment, Henan Supervisor Xiao Yuegui said: "The Za family also has some old friendship with Wu Runing, so let's write letters together!"
Gao Mingheng coughed a few times and said: "I will also write a letter. Anyone here who has an old relationship with Wu Runing, please write one! Your Highness! Do you think...?"
Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhen quickly echoed: "I can also write it." Then he looked at Chen Yongfu and said, "Tell your son what Wu Runing wants, and I agreed to it all, so that he must fight for it day and night and arrive in Kaifeng as soon as possible.
Why--!"
No one here feels more aggrieved than Zhou Wang Zhu Gongzhao. He is the highest in name, but he gets no actual benefits at all. The soldiers he recruits cannot be commanded by him, but the food and wages are his.
He took the lead, and now the bounty for Runing Army seems to have fallen on his head. What a good prince who only gives and does not ask for anything!
"But what if Wu Runing doesn't come?" Finally, an official couldn't hold it in anymore and expressed his worries.
After hearing this, all the officials present looked at each other, and they were not willing to be the crow's mouth and tell the worst part.
But suddenly, there was a burst of shouting at the door of the meeting hall. It was none other than Huang Peng, the official of Kaifeng Prefecture. Huang Peng yelled with eyes cracked with anger: "If something cannot be done, then I will lead the dead to dig up the dam of the Yellow River."
, flooded the civilian thieves and flooded the seven armies."
The officials in the meeting hall immediately looked at Huang Peng in shock. After a while, an official murmured back: "But if this happens, Kaifeng City cannot be saved."
"At that time, is there any other way to think about it? The only option is to die together!!!"
Seeing Huang Peng's crazy expression, the officials in the meeting hall were speechless.
…
Kaifeng City is going crazy, and Jinling City is also going crazy.
"I am recruiting troops and paying them according to the imperial decree. The recruitment of troops will be handled by me. I plan to recruit 20,000 troops first. And the food and salary matter will depend on everyone. First, we need one hundred thousand taels of silver and thirty thousand dan of grain." Yu Zilian said loudly.
After receiving the imperial edict from the imperial court, Yu Zilian took action at the first moment. Today, under his initiative, Nanjing's eunuch Lu Jiude, Nanjing's six ministers and above, Wei Guogong Xu Hongji and other Nanjing dignitaries gathered together
Let's discuss the specific implementation of the imperial edict to recruit soldiers and pay.
"But for the disaster relief work a few days ago, there was no money or food left in the Nanjing warehouse. The most I could squeeze out was 5,000 silver and 1,500 shi of food for Mr. Yu. No matter how much more there is, it is really gone." Nanjing's Minister of Household Affairs said quickly.
"I also know that the imperial treasury is very tight, and I will not embarrass the chief treasurer." Yu Zilian said, while saluting the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, "But the matter of raising funds cannot be delayed undecided, so I will prepare it in the future."
It will be resolved within one month.”
"One month!?" The officials present immediately became commotion, and one official raised a question: "Master Yu! Military and national affairs are not a piece of cake. You have to complete the fundraising within a month. Go to the nearby prefectures and counties.
It’s too late! It’s better not to lie.”
Because Yu Zilian's qualifications are very low, and because Yu Zilian's position as Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing is an additional title, not an actual professor, few of the officials here take Yu Zilian's words seriously. Therefore, what this official said is also very unfair.
Save face for Yu Zilian.
Unexpectedly, Yu Zilian's next words struck me like a thunderbolt from the clear sky: "I want to recruit all the food and salary in Jinling City. The recruitment in the various prefectures and counties in the south of the Yangtze River will be discussed later."