Zhu Yijun didn't think that his mother had left Xiao Ruxun's matter at the end because of her bad memory. As a political animal, his mother's level of playing with power wasn't low. She had also picked up some of the unique habits of a political animal. For example, she would only say half a sentence, or express her meaning in a roundabout way. In short, she didn't speak properly, but the words that came out of her mouth often contained a lot of information.
Xiao Ruxun would not come back in the future without a suitable reason and a suitable opportunity. Zhu Yijun was very clear that Empress Dowager Li had read all his letters. Perhaps only she had read all of them. Wang Xijue should also be the one who knew about it. These two people knew about his hasty coup plan, such as letting Xiao Ruxun lead the army into the capital, take control of the capital, and then behead those shameless people one by one.
Although it was satisfying, if all the ministers were killed, who would rule the country? Wouldn't the ministers fight back and clear the emperor's side? Fortunately, this plan was not carried out. Otherwise, Zhu Yijun would have to worry about his life and the position of the emperor.
However, Xiao Ruxun was always a very important part of his plan. Not to mention other things, just talking about his powerful fighting strength, it was something that ordinary generals did not have. One Xiao Ruxun was equivalent to the whole capital's wine and rice bags. This was Zhu Yijun's own estimation. If he was given tens of thousands of troops, he would definitely be able to control the Beijing and Tianjin regions. Then, he would control Shanhai Pass and Ji Town, seize the troops, control Hebei, and then expand to other places …
At that time, Zhu Yijun only thought so much. Now that he thought about it, there were still many unexpected factors. For example, Xiao Ruxun's prestige and appeal in the local army was very likely to make some troops change sides. Therefore, no matter how the plan was modified and perfected, the elite troops in his hands were indispensable. And Xiao Ruxun was the key to controlling the troops. He was a general that he had personally promoted.
But now, the Great General was sent to the South, a place where birds don't shit and chickens don't lay eggs. Nominally, he was a warlord of Myanmar, but everyone knew that there weren't even any Hans in that godforsaken place. Clearly, it was a disguised form of exile. That place was handed over to you to do whatever you wanted, and you didn't have to come back. That was the meaning. Was there any other meaning?
A meritorious minister, a Marquis Zhennan, a Burmese general, was pinned down in the south, unable to escape. Instead of fighting the Jurchens or the Mongols, he was actually thrown to the south to defend against the Frangians? This was a problem that could be solved by an Imperial Inspector, yet a talented marshal had spent his entire life there! More importantly, this directly isolated Zhu Yijun himself. His communication with the army was completely cut off. Other than the Imperial Bodyguard, he did not have direct control over any military forces. All the military forces were in the hands of the Ministry of War.
Zhu Yijun was filled with hatred!
Wang Xijue felt relieved!
Now that the most troublesome matter had been solved, Wang Xijue could start making arrangements for his funeral. First, there was the problem of Xiao Ruxun's status and power. Even a fool could see that this was a disguised form of exile. Therefore, in order to appease the meritorious minister, Wang Xijue gave him some consideration in terms of power. He ordered the Yunnan Inspector to exempt the citizens of Myanmar from taxes for three years. After three years, he was not to interfere with the internal affairs of Myanmar except for tax issues. He was to treat that place as Myanmar's private territory. The imperial court would give him the title of King and let him do whatever he wanted.
Then, there was Xiao Ruxun's request to keep 30,000 soldiers. The reason was that the poison had not been cleared and the place was unstable. He was worried that Dongwu Country would rise again. Other than the 5,000 soldiers from Ningxia, there was also a request from the southern, Guangdong, and Sichuan soldiers to stay. He requested that all the families of these local soldiers be moved to Myanmar Town, and then their families would be moved to Myanmar Town.
Regarding this request, the cabinet studied it carefully and felt that it was inappropriate. Firstly, the workload was too heavy. Secondly, they felt that Xiao Ruxun had experienced hundreds of battles and were very elite. It was already a pity for him to stay there, and it would be even more of a pity if he stayed with the army. Therefore, the cabinet's opinion was to recall all the troops except for the 5,000 Firearms Battalion from Ningxia. However, they were allowed to live in Myanmar Town in the future to train new troops. The quota was 30,000 to guard the southern border with Xiao Ruxun.
This was clearly a trap. Based on the current level of production, it would be difficult to choose one out of ten people to be a soldier. When would a place like Myanmar have 300,000 residents for Xiao Ruxun to recruit 30,000 soldiers for himself?
After Shi Xing tried to persuade Xiao Ruxun to return to the capital but to no avail, he could only settle for the next best thing. He felt that there was really no need for the experienced soldiers to stay in such a place. To put it bluntly, if it was not for the sake of settling Xiao Ruxun, it was not a pity to lose a place like Myanmar. Keeping him and the 5,000 soldiers was considered a consolation. If you can recruit 30,000 soldiers, that's up to you. If you can't, don't blame us.
There was no need to say anything about allocating the soldiers' salaries and food from Yunnan every year. It was better to satisfy the Yunnan Inspector's request. Otherwise, who knew what kind of mood he would throw?
The main force of the navy was recalled. They were allowed to leave 100 ships as the navy of Myanmar Town. They would set off to the designated location to transport the refugees to Myanmar Town. How these people were to be arranged after entering Myanmar Town was up to Xiao Ruxun himself.
The imperial court did not send officials to establish provinces and counties. Military administration was implemented in Myanmar Town. All the military and political affairs were arranged by Marquis Zhennan's Xiao family. However, any development required Marquis Zhennan himself to open up a source of income and reduce expenditure. The imperial court was really short of money and had no spare capacity. They could only replace it with a three-year tax exemption. Then, the imperial court would reward Marquis Zhennan with some property and land.
Wang Xijue was very pleased with himself. He would just let Xiao Ruxun struggle there. He would not have the time to help the Emperor with a coup. After a long time, his spirit would be lost and the Emperor would forget all about it. At that time, Daming would truly be stable. Moreover, he would let Xiao Ruxun stay in the south. The whole south would be safe. If anything happened, he could just let him solve it. He could fight anyway.
Zhang Wei and Yang Junmin were also very pleased with themselves, especially Yang Junmin. He had finally gotten rid of the huge burden of the refugees. Therefore, he immediately sent letters to the provinces and counties that were hit by the disaster. He asked them to organize the refugees to gather at the port by the sea and wait to go to Myanmar Town. That way, he would be able to get rid of these burdens. The local county magistrate heaved a sigh of relief. He used unimaginably high efficiency to publicize and organize the refugees.
I'm really sorry to all of you, but there's really no other way. We don't have any surplus food for you to eat. If we keep you here, everyone will starve to death. No one will survive. However, the imperial court will not give up on everyone. They have pointed out a way for everyone to survive. In the south of Yunnan, the famous General Marquis Zhennan, Xiao Ruxun, has just conquered the Dongwu Country. It's a huge piece of land without an owner. As long as you go there, you will immediately be given farmlands and will be exempted from taxes for three years. Then, you will be able to eat and live!
Anyway, that's what it means. There's no food here. If you continue to stay here, you will only be expelled, starved to death, or killed. However, if you want to live, that's fine. The imperial court is not willing to see you starve to death or rebel. The imperial court will give you a way to live. You can go to Myanmar, where there's no owner there. Every family there will get ten times the amount of fertile land, and you will be able to live!
Such a propaganda offensive went on wave after wave. As the propaganda went on, the porridge in the porridge stall became less and less. An urgent problem lay in front of all the refugees — Should they starve to death here or rise up in rebellion on the spot, or should they leave their homes and seek a way to survive in the so-called Myanmar that they had never heard of?
Many of the refugees believed that this was a scam by the imperial court and that there was no such thing as Myanmar Town. The imperial court only wanted to drive them away and let them starve to death on the road. In order to deal with such rumors, Yang Junmin ordered the provinces and counties to distribute dry rations to the victims to the designated port. He told them that as long as they went there, the provinces and counties along the way would provide them with rations for a few days. If the imperial court wanted to kill them, they could do so now or on the spot. Why would they want them to go all the way to the port to kill them? Wasn't there something wrong with that?
The refugees thought it made sense. If the imperial court wanted to kill them, they would have done so a long time ago. There was no need for them to make up such a nonsensical lie. According to the moral values of the imperial court, the more nonsensical and illusory a lie was, the more feasible it would be. As for the beautiful life that was close at hand, it was definitely a lie. The imperial court looked very confident this time, and it did not seem like a lie at all.
Then, the rations were in their hands, and there was no market for the rumors.
Would everyone stay here and wait to starve to death, or would they risk their lives to beg for a bowl of rice to eat? Everyone knew the name of Xiao Ruxun. The news that Xiao Ruxun had gone south to fight in Nanyang had also been widely publicized by the imperial court. Would everyone believe it or not? Would they starve to death on the streets or risk their lives?
No one knew who took the lead, but groups of refugees took over the rations and staggered toward the Zhejiang port designated by the imperial court.
The local government let out a long sigh of relief. A great crisis that was about to break out had been eliminated just like that.
Meanwhile, far away in Ningxia, the families of Ningxia's military families were mobilized by the imperial court. They took the route from Sichuan to Yunnan and went directly to Myanmar to meet their families. From then on, they no longer belonged to Ningxia, but to the military families of Myanmar.
The news also quickly spread to Nanjing. The news that Xiao Ruxun had become the Marquis Zhennan and the Shi Town of Myanmar also reached the ears of Ye Mengxiong and Yang Caiyun. Ye Mengxiong knew that Xiao Ruxun's goal had been achieved, so he quickly arranged for ships and escorts to escort Xiao Ruxun's family to Myanmar to reunite with them.
The news that the impoverished Myanmar Town had become a military town spread throughout Daming. Other than the Mu family of Yunnan, there was another local family of generals in Daming. However, no one envied it, and no one found it strange. Some people were secretly happy, some felt sorry, some mocked, and some looked on coldly.
What kind of place was Myanmar? It was a barren and barren land. The most famous general of the imperial court in recent years, Xiao Ruxun, was arranged to be stationed in Myanmar Town. Was this a reward or a disguised exile? Was this a reward or a hidden bow after all the birds had flown away?
There was a scale in everyone's heart, weighing the gains and losses of this matter.
The knowledgeable people sighed endlessly. They sighed that the imperial court was narrow-minded and could not tolerate a talented commander. They sighed that the imperial court had lost the great opportunity to pacify Beijiang and had to continue the decadent state of Beijiang for an unknown period of time. They sighed that the fate of Daming was full of difficulties.
However, no matter how much they sighed, the established facts would not change. Everything was moving forward steadily.
In late October, Xiao Ruxun received a reward envoy from the sea. He learned that he had been conferred the title of Marquis Zhennan, the Chief Military Officer of Myanmar Town, and the Shi Town of Myanmar Town. He was also given an iron certificate to show his honor.
He also learned that his request to station troops had basically been rejected. Except for the 5,000 troops in Ningxia, the rest of the troops had to be withdrawn. Then, Xiao Ruxun was allowed to choose suitable people from the Myanmar town to train the new army. The quota was 30,000.
The first batch of refugees was already waiting at the port. The imperial court ordered Xiao Ruxun to immediately arrange for the navy to go north to welcome them. After the navy went north, they were allowed to leave 100 warships in Myanmar Town as the navy. The rest of the warships were to return to the various ports to guard.
The imperial court awarded Xiao Ruxun 5,000 gold, 30,000 silver, and 10,000 acres of land. He could choose any fertile land in Myanmar Town and grant it to him.
In short, other than the five thousand taels of gold and thirty thousand taels of silver that the imperial court paid, everything else was in vain. Even the ten thousand mu of fertile land had to be casually marked out by Xiao Ruxun herself in Myanmar, and that would be her own fief.
Even though she was mentally prepared, Xiao Ruxun still couldn't help but feel a burst of depression and anger — these guys' table manners were too unsightly, and they were being ridiculed by the world for nothing. I've already taken the initiative to ask to stay here, can't you guys eat a little better?
The reward envoy was a civil official who admired Xiao Ruxun and sympathized with Xiao Ruxun. He told Xiao Ruxun about the storm caused by the imperial court's announcement. A group of insightful people could not stand the behavior of Wang Xijue and Zhang Wei. They took the initiative to write a letter to speak for Xiao Ruxun. They accused the imperial court of being unsightly and treating the meritorious officials harshly. Not only would the officials be disappointed, but also the insightful people in the world would be disappointed.
They had fought for the imperial court to expand the territory and killed hundreds of thousands of people. In the end, they were given a barren land and were not even allowed to return to the Central Plains. How could the imperial court treat the meritorious officials so poorly?
The imperial censors who were not satisfied with Wang Xijue began to use this as a pretext to attack Wang Xijue. Some people even aimed their fire at Zhang Wei. Because the rumor was that Zhang Wei was the first to suggest this, some imperial censors scolded him for being short-sighted and narrow-minded. Some people even revealed that Yang Junmin fully supported this matter. This was like poking a hornet's nest. New hatred and old hatred came together. The imperial censors' impeachment of Yang Junmin's malfeasance immediately became politically correct.
Zhang Wei stayed in the cabinet duty room for several days and did not show his face. Yang Junmin simply did not even dare to leave his house.
Then, news of Zhao Zhigao and Shi Xing's efforts to recall Xiao Ruxun to no avail, and that they almost staged a martial battle in the cabinet, enraged the officials. They accused Wang Xijue of harming the country and scolded Zhang Wei for being short-sighted. In the end, Wang Xijue was forced to submit his resignation to the emperor. After a few exchanges, it was approved. Wang Xijue abdicated. Zhao Zhigao was promoted to the position of First Minister of Daming's cabinet, and Zhang Wei was promoted to Second Minister of Cabinet.
However, because of the previous incident, Zhang Wei's promotion to Second Minister of Cabinet was criticized by many people. In addition, there were not enough people in the cabinet, making it difficult for them to handle the heavy government affairs. Therefore, Zhao Zhigao decided to hold a court election to elect famous and powerful officials to enter the cabinet to fill the vacancy. This matter was approved by the emperor.
The Minister of War, Shi Xing, became a popular candidate.
Then, the capital's headlines became speculations about who would eventually enter the cabinet. No one paid attention to Xiao Ruxun's matter anymore.
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