Chapter 159 Rumors and Bloody Fingerprints
Fu Chenan lives in the prefect’s Yamen.
The first thing he did when he returned to the Yamen was to write a note to report on today's battle situation, and at the same time apply for military pay for Fu Jiajun.
The Fu family's army pursued them all the way, and their food on the road depended entirely on the food they snatched from the Tatars when they recaptured those cities.
If the imperial court could allocate military pay, they would be on the right track.
Early the next morning, the zhezi was handed to the emperor.
The emperor looked at the Zhezi and became angry: "You left the station without orders, and there are still 30,000 troops, only a hundred miles away from the capital. How dare you ask me for food and wages?!"
Lu Daban stood aside with his head lowered and respectfully refused to answer, but he was very confused in his heart.
The emperor knew that Fu Jiajun was coming yesterday, why did he say this today?
In the end, it’s just that I don’t want to pay them.
Will the situation like that happen again?
Sure enough, the emperor threw the zhezi to the ground: "This zhezi is rejected, please give me a warning!"
"Yes." Lu Daban bowed and agreed, picking up the paper and preparing to hand it over to the ministers to write down the paper's rejection and remonstrance.
The emperor looked at Lu Daban's hurried away figure and felt for a moment that something was wrong.
Why didn't he persuade himself at such a critical moment? !
Isn't he afraid that the Fu family army will give up and the Tatar cavalry will really invade the capital?
When Lu Daban came back, the emperor stared at Lu Daban with a dark face.
Lu Daban was so panicked by the stares that he hurriedly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, what did I do wrong?"
"Why don't you persuade me to approve food and salary for the Fu family's army?" The emperor's voice was extremely gloomy.
Lu Daban kowtowed: "Your Majesty is the True Dragon Emperor, and your Majesty speaks with eloquent words, and whatever he says is whatever he says."
"How dare you, a slave with no roots, say anything about military and national affairs?"
"I borrow ten courages from you, but I don't even dare!"
The emperor's expression improved slightly: That's right...
"Rumors" soon spread across the capital.
The emperor was prepared to use the people of Jeju as cannon fodder. It was General Fu Chenan who went to war despite being ill, turned the tide and saved the people of Jeju!
Fu’s army pursued the Tatar cavalry for thousands of miles, and attacked with the White Tiger Army in the suburbs of Beijing led by General Fu, and successfully stopped the Tatar cavalry outside Jeju City!
The emperor sent someone to warn Fu Jiajun, saying that Fu Jiajun left the station without being summoned and would not be given food and salary...
The people who chose to stay in the capital were dumbfounded: They came to fight the Tatar cavalry, but they made the wrong mistake?
It’s enough not to give military merit, but also to issue orders?
No food yet?
If it’s normal, that’s it. The sky is high and the emperor is far away.
But now they are really scared!
They were afraid that the emperor would do this to Fu Jiajun. Fu Jiajun would slap his butt and return to the station, leaving the Tatar cavalry alone!
There are a total of 100,000 troops stationed in and around the outskirts of Beijing, but they have never fought a war. What should they do if they cannot withstand 50,000 Tatar cavalry?
The scholars were the first to sit still and wrote a petition for Fu Jiajun, inviting the common people to press their bloody fingerprints and prepare to submit it to the emperor, asking for fair treatment for Fu Jiajun.
Some scholars began to form groups to sit in at the gate of the palace to fight for food and wages for the Fu family army.
In the drunken red building, Mei Niang was leaning on the couch, with the corners of her mouth raised sarcastically: "You want the tragedy of that year to happen again? I won't agree!"
"Even if the Fu Jiajun does not get the treatment he deserves, I will let the world know that it was not the Fu Jiajun who failed the court and the emperor."
"It was the emperor who betrayed the Fu family army!"
Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it.
Only when the emperor is despised by the people of the world and he is replaced, will the people of the world feel that "this is what it should be"!
By the time the rumor reached the emperor's ears, the scholars had quickly gathered thirty or forty people at the palace gate!
They didn't make any fuss, they just sat there, holding the collected petitions with a few short sentences in their hands.
The Fu Jiajun sacrificed their lives to protect their country. I beg your Majesty to provide food and salary to the Fu Jiajun! Each petition was filled with bloody fingerprints, which was shocking.
The emperor was furious and ordered all the scholars to be dragged out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded.
Now even the civil servants could no longer pretend to be stupid: "Your Majesty, you can't do that..."
If the scholars are suppressed, the emperor really does not allocate money to the Fu Jiajun, and the Fu Jiajun really returns to their base, what will happen to the capital?
What should they do with the family fortune they have saved over the years?
The imperial court has been overthrown, what will happen to their official positions? What will happen to the whole family in the future?
Isn’t it just military pay?
Why is military pay so important? !
You do give it!
The civil servants tried their best to persuade the emperor to pay the soldiers.
The emperor's face turned white and red, then red and black, as if he had opened a dye shop.
Finally, he looked at the position of the Minister of Household Affairs in embarrassment: "Hasn't the military salary of the Fu family army been allocated?"
The Minister of Household Affairs stood up and reported truthfully: "The national treasury is empty, and the Fu family army's military pay for August has not been paid yet."
It's the end of September.
The courtiers looked at each other and didn't know how to persuade him.
Even at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the emperor held an extravagant banquet to entertain the ministers, and various exquisite lanterns and fireworks decorated the capital beautifully...
Are these expenditures made by withholding the Fu Jiajun's food and salary?
The emperor threw an inkstone at the Minister of the Ministry of Finance: "No matter how difficult it is, we must first ensure the military pay! What do you, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, do for a living?"
The Minister of the Ministry of Finance was hit on the shoulder, and he immediately knelt down to plead guilty. He said "I am guilty" and said "I am wronged" in his heart!
It was obviously the emperor who told him personally that it would be okay if the Fu family army’s military pay was delayed. The Queen Mother in the palace liked the excitement, so she asked the Ministry of Household Affairs to organize the Mid-Autumn Festival Night Banquet...
The emperor had fulfilled his filial piety and took the blame... The Minister of the Ministry of Finance expressed his aggrievement.
In the end, the emperor was forced to allocate the Fu Jiajun's food and salary for the past half month, and the scholars dispersed.
But as a result, the treasury will be basically empty.
The ministers of civil and military affairs can no longer pay their salaries.
Those who have ways to make money don't care, but those in Qingshui Yamen who have no money at all look at each other.
How do you spend your day?
At first I sharpened my head to study and become an official, but now I’m fine, I can’t even pay out my salary...
An atmosphere of sadness and desolation spread throughout the capital.
The emperor has a solution: the autumn harvest taxes in various places will be increased by another 20%!
Originally, you had to pay 30% tax, but now it increases by another 20%, making it 50%!
As soon as the news came out, the common people, landowners and wealthy households were in mourning: This was forcing them to bleed!
In just one day, the tense atmosphere began to spread from the capital to various places.
Especially the towns that had just been attacked by the Tatar cavalry were already suffering from military disasters. Now, instead of providing disaster relief, the court simply wants to increase taxes...
This is forcing people to die!
On that day, some people hanged themselves in despair.
When Fu Chenan heard the news, it was already the evening of the next day. He only sneered when he saw the news.
What is it about such a court and such an emperor that deserves the love and support of the people?
Public dissatisfaction has arisen. Next, Your Majesty, how should you resolve the situation?
Sitting on the deserted city wall, looking at the valley in the distance that is gradually shrouded in darkness, listening to the voices coming from the intercom from time to time.
"General Fu, General Fu, the Tatar cavalry have begun to gather. They seem to be preparing to attack..."
(End of chapter)