nucmednet Chapter 562 Military Remonstrance
Chapter 562 Military Remonstrance
After assigning the task of collecting grain, the officials were about to leave with sighs of despair when Liu Ye called them back.
"Gentlemen, please wait a moment. There is another matter that we should address at the same time," Liu Ye said leisurely, glancing around at everyone. "After much thought, I believe that compensating the people with silver after requisitioning the grain is the simplest and most practical solution. You are all compassionate officials who care for the people and surely cannot bear to see them without rice to cook or grain to pay taxes. However, Inspector Zhang has stated that the treasury is empty and there is no silver available. How about we have you all contribute to raise this sum?"
Upon hearing that not only did they have to contribute their labor, but they also had to pay money, the officials were all heartbroken. If it weren't for Zhang Bin's example and the menacing presence of heavily armed soldiers outside the door, they would have already erupted in protest.
Seeing the state of the crowd, Lin Tianming coughed and said, "The Earl of Pingnan is right. In order to drive out the Tartars and appease the people, I will first donate five hundred taels."
The moment he spoke, the officials who had been whispering and complaining fell silent. The governor had already spent five hundred taels; how could they pretend to be stupid? Weren't they afraid of being retaliated against later? This father-in-law and son-in-law, one a scholar and the other a warrior, were working in tandem. One was the highest-ranking official in Dengzhou and Laizhou, and the other had troops under his command and acted unpredictably. With them doing this, they had no choice but to let them do as they pleased, or they would suffer the same fate as Zhang Bin.
Having grasped this point, the officials gritted their teeth and declared, "The governor is absolutely right. We are willing to follow the governor, donate silver, and do our utmost to drive out the Tartars and pacify the people..."
Liu Ye clapped his hands and exclaimed, "You gentlemen are indeed good officials who are loyal to the country and care for the people. Governor, I suggest that you write down your official titles, names and the amount of your donations. After the Tartars leave, erect a monument at the gate of Dengzhou for the people to admire, so that this good deed can be widely spread by the people."
Lin Tianming's eyes lit up. This son-in-law really had a lot of tricks up his sleeve, but this idea was indeed quite good, as he had a good grasp of the officials' desire for fame and reputation. He then ordered paper and pen to be brought up, and wrote down the official title, name, and donation amount of each official.
This tactic truly struck a chord with everyone. The officials, who had been frowning, brightened up. They figured they couldn't escape the donation anyway; they had to donate whether they wanted to or not. Spending a few hundred taels of silver to buy a good reputation seemed like a good deal. So, the officials changed their passive attitude and eagerly reported their official positions and the amount of money they were willing to donate, keeping the clerks busy recording everything.
"Guo Bingkun, Prefect of Dengzhou, pledges a donation of four hundred and fifty taels!"
"Wang Yan, the military supervisor of Liaohai, pledges four hundred taels!"
"Fu Datong, the military commissioner of Dengzhou and Laizhou, pledges four hundred taels of silver!"
……
It must be said that the officials were quite adept at making money. Under the current dynasty's low salary system, the officials present easily pooled together nearly ten thousand taels of silver. Liu Ye estimated that this should be enough to compensate the farmers in the dozens of miles around Dengzhou who had been requisitioned grain.
After the donations were made, the officials took the orders stamped with the governor's seal and, with their entourages, went to various places to collect grain.
Back in the back office, Lin Tianming sighed, "My dear son-in-law, before you came, Dengzhou was in complete chaos, and people were filled with fear. Now it's all right. Your move to cut off the enemy's supply line is truly brilliant. It will definitely drive away the Tartars and restore peace to Dengzhou and Laizhou."
Liu Ye laughed, "If the main force hadn't arrived yet, I wouldn't be dawdling like this. I'd just go straight for them. Right now, we don't have enough troops to fight them head-on, so we have to outsmart them." To be honest, he actually hoped Abatai would stay a few more days until the main force of the Qionghai Army arrived, so they could have a real battle, test the strength of the Later Jin army, and also examine their own weaknesses. But he couldn't say this to Lin Tianming; his father-in-law definitely wanted the Tartars to leave as quickly as possible.
Outside Dengzhou city, on the outskirts of the fortress.
Abatai, who had held out for six days, appeared calm on the surface, but was inwardly anxious. He had initially thought the garrison inside the fortress would only have enough food for two or three days, but six days had passed without any movement from within, and they seemed quite at ease. On the other hand, his own troops were running out of food. According to Gartu's report, the villages within a ten-mile radius had already been looted, and now they had to go even further to plunder for food. Every day, they had to send out more than a dozen small detachments to collect grain, setting off in the morning and returning only in the evening, with no certainty of bringing back much food. The effort was disproportionate to the reward.
Abatai was beginning to waver. Arslen, whose fate was unknown inside the fortress, had once said something quite true: this force, mainly composed of the Plain Blue Banner troops, was merely a detachment, sent to assist Ajige's Bordered White Banner in plundering people and wealth in northern Zhili. Besieging this small fortress with only ten or twenty thousand troops was pointless. It seemed that attacking was impossible, and besieging offered no hope—perhaps because their own food supplies were collapsing first, not the defenders'. Given this, should they abandon the attack on the stone fortress? But if they left, wouldn't their fate be even worse?
Just as he was struggling with this dilemma, Gartu came to report bad news: "Your Highness, it's terrible! The Ming dogs have sent officials to raid the villages around us, saying they're going to transport the grain to the nearby prefectures and cities. They're talking about a scorched-earth policy, leaving us to starve to death here."
Abatai was startled and asked, "Did they stop them?"
"Our men killed an official and intercepted a shipment of grain destined for Pingdu, but we heard they sent a dozen or twenty such men. We don't have enough manpower to stop so many!"
"Ming dogs are truly cunning!" Abatai gritted his teeth and said, "Send more men out and stop all of them!"
Instead of following orders to make arrangements as usual, Gartu simply stood there watching him.
"Why aren't you going? You dog of a servant, are you trying to disobey orders?" Abatai's face turned ugly as he reached for his riding whip.
"Your Highness, I have something to say. After I finish, you can punish me however you like," Gartu said calmly. "We entered the pass only for the sake of people and money, and we entered Shandong for the same purpose. Now, for a random stone fortress, we have wasted nearly half a month, lost two Niru, and killed more than two thousand Han soldiers, yet we have achieved nothing. When we return, we will have to accept punishment for disobeying military orders. Is it worth it?"
Abatai's hand touched the riding whip, but after hearing Gartu's words, he withdrew it. He noticed that several Niru Zhangjing and some Bayara also slowly approached and stood behind Gartu, seemingly expressing silent support.
He sneered and shouted angrily, "Are you trying to rebel against your superiors and stage a military coup like the Han people?"
More and more Bayaras surrounded him, their gleaming armor flashing in the sun, almost blinding Abatai. He calmly reached for his sword hilt, bracing himself for the worst.