AWB Chapter 931 Xue Baochai's Thoughts
Chapter 931 Xue Baochai's Thoughts
At night, at the headquarters of Xuanwu Hall in Kyoto City.
"Boss, the eight million taels of silver from the Prince of Nan'an's Mansion have been delivered to Leizhou Prefecture, and the Suzaku Army has also completed the handover."
Lu Cheng nodded: "Let the Suzaku Army guard Gaozhou Prefecture, and don't rush to expand outward this year. The 100,000 troops must also intensify their training. Once the firearms are fully equipped, we can mobilize the troops next year. By the way, do you have the latest intelligence from Liaodong?"
"Reporting to the leader, according to the news just sent back from Liaodong, the Jiannu have been harassing Liaodong frequently recently, looting the people, and have had many conflicts with the Liaodong army. It seems that they are testing the strength of the Liaodong army."
"Keep a close eye on the developments over there. If there is a major battle, keep me informed."
"Yes, Gang Leader."
Since the beginning of this spring, the Ming Dynasty has been in civil strife for more than half a year. Even the Prince of Nan'an was defeated by the rebels and captured alive by them.
This also made the Jiannu in Liaodong further realize that the Ming Dynasty was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. They were no longer satisfied with their existing territory and power and wanted to invade the Ming Dynasty.
Several Ming Dynasty defenders in Liaodong always held the idea of "nurturing the enemy to protect themselves" and let the Jiannu in Liaodong do whatever they wanted. They even took the initiative to do business with them and concealed some intelligence.
Now, with the growing strength of the Jiannu, the Liaodong defenders are almost unable to control the situation.
The Ming Dynasty was now in a state of terminal decline from the inside out. The local garrisons were in disarray, with less than 40% of their soldiers, most of whom were old and weak. Even in the important towns of the nine frontiers, the garrison soldiers were in the same situation.
As for the local officials, most of them were seriously corrupt and colluded with ministers in the court, forming a huge network of interests.
Factional struggles never ceased in the court, with officials from all over the country forming cliques and colluding with each other to fight for power and gain. The military heroes were even more greedy for pleasure, having long lost the spirit of their ancestors.
Even the high and mighty Emperor Changtai was caught between civil officials and military heroes, and with the retired emperor holding him back, even if he wanted to do something, most of his energy was consumed, and he could not achieve any results.
Not long ago, after confiscating tens of millions of taels of silver, Emperor Changtai wanted to train a new army, but the civil and military officials in the court opposed it. In addition, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War all asked for money, and the newly filled treasury was also rapidly depleted.
The Ministry of War asked the court for a large amount of silver, saying that it was to pay the soldiers on the frontiers their overdue salaries, but there were too many people to share the silver.
The Ministry of War had a Shangshu and left and right assistant ministers. The Five Military Commandery had left and right commanders and deputy commanders. The various guards under it had guard commanders, thousand households, and generals, deputy generals, guerrilla generals, and so on at all levels.
After being exploited by officials at every level, ordinary soldiers at the bottom don’t even know how many coppers are left.
The salaries of the border troops had been reduced again and again, and coupled with serious wage arrears, a large number of deserters appeared.
As for the generals of the border towns, they would only use the pay on their own soldiers and would not care about the lives of the lower-level soldiers at all.
For such a great Ming Dynasty, its fall was only a matter of years.
Lu Cheng returned home only after arranging all matters in the south.
The next day happened to be the fifteenth day of the lunar month. The first and fifteenth day of every month were statutory holidays in the Ming Dynasty, so Lu Cheng did not have to go to work at the Ministry of War.
After getting up in the morning, doing some exercise and playing with the two little girls at home, Lu Cheng was just about to go out for a walk when he received an invitation from the Xue family.
With nothing to do, Lu Cheng came to Lixiang Garden in the Rongguo Mansion.
"Brother Cheng, it's all thanks to you that we were able to help you last time. Let my brother have a few drinks with you today as a token of our gratitude."
"Okay, okay. We are not strangers, so there is no need to be so polite."
Xue Pan also smiled: "Brother Cheng, I heard from my sister. This time it is really thanks to you, otherwise, I would still be in prison. If nothing else, eat and drink well today, I will accompany you at the risk of my life. Please."
"please."
After a few drinks, Xue Pan completely relaxed: "Brother Cheng, I never thought that a scholar like you could drink so much. I am a rough man and I don't know much. I seldom interacted with Brother Cheng before. I only heard from my sister how great Brother Cheng was.
I didn't believe it before, but after this incident, I realized what Brother Cheng can do. Come, I'll toast you another glass."
Baochai, who was sitting in the inner room, was a little embarrassed and annoyed when she heard her brother outside talking about her: "Brother, you are really something. Why do you say everything outside?"
"Your brother is like this. He can't control his mouth when he drinks too much. You know that."
As she was talking, Aunt Xue suddenly noticed that her daughter had a strange expression. After observing for a while, she couldn't help but ask, "Daughter, are you attracted to that Cheng brother?"
"Mom, what are you talking about? How could my daughter..."
"You still say no, you are a piece of flesh that fell from my body, how can I not know what you are thinking? However, that Cheng brother is engaged. You...you should give up this idea as soon as possible.
In fact, Baoyu is a good kid. Although he is not that ambitious, he will definitely have a share of the Jia family's property in the future due to the old lady's love for him. If you two..."
"Mother, please stop talking. Brother Bao is good, but he is still a little immature. He may not be able to...Look at it now. So many things have happened in the Jia Mansion, but Brother Bao has been hiding in the backyard, hanging out with the maids all day long, and never caring about his career or the economy. My daughter...even if she doesn't get married, she won't consider him."
"You, you, are just...ah, it's because your father passed away early. You are a person with your own ideas, and mom can't make decisions for you. Your brother...ah, why do the three of us have such a miserable life?"
"Mom, don't think about it. Your daughter has her own plans."
As they were talking, Ying'er came in from outside: "Madam, Miss, the young master is drunk."
"Mom, I'll go out and take a look first."
"Oh, well, this Pan'er is really a worry for me."
As they were talking, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai walked to the outer hall and saw Xue Pan staggering with the wine pot, still refusing to admit defeat: "Cheng... Brother Cheng, let's drink some more. I can still drink."
Seeing this, Xue Baochai quickly asked the servants to help Xue Pan down to rest, and then she apologized to Lu Cheng: "Brother Cheng, my brother was rude, I apologize to you."
"It's okay. We are at home anyway, so just be casual. Let him have a good rest. I'll take my leave now."
"I'll see Brother Cheng off."
The two walked out of the house one after the other. Xue Baochai saw that Lu Cheng walked steadily and was not drunk at all, and she couldn't help but be a little surprised. Her brother was a drunkard and his drinking capacity was not small on weekdays. Unexpectedly, a scholar like Brother Cheng could drink so well...