Iron Dynasty

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The weather grew colder day by day, and the dew on the plants gradually turned into white frost. It was clear that the long winter was approaching.

The battle report from Chang’an reached Qingzhou via courier station yesterday, and the news of Prince Zhao’s capture immediately stirred up a thousand waves.

The common people cheered, not only to celebrate the victory of the war but also to look forward to their sons and husbands returning from afar.

The officials naturally thought much more than the common people. With Prince Zhao captured, the fragmented Great Yu Empire was reunited once again. Essentially, the Great Yu Empire had achieved superficial unification.

This form of unification was even stronger than when Xiao Wenxuan was in power. After all, the Princes of Wei, Yan, and Liang were all dead, and Prince Zhao would ultimately not escape death either.

As a result, the remaining feudal lords were only the Princes of Chu, Huainan, Yong, Ruyang, and Shu.

In the eyes of the officials, among these feudal lords, only the Prince of Chu could be considered a threat; the other feudal lords were no longer a concern.

“Your Majesty, the army outside has consumed a great deal. Now that the war is progressing smoothly, only Luo Hong’s troops need to remain to attack the Zhao territory. The remaining armies should return to their respective garrisons as soon as possible,” Pang Yukun said loudly in the political deliberation hall.

Xiao Ming nodded. The army fighting in the west during this period had almost emptied the imperial treasury. Now, Xiao Ming truly understood that so-called war was indeed about spending money.

In addition, in this war, he had conscripted three hundred and ninety thousand strong men to transport grain, fodder, and ammunition, and these strong men also needed food and supplies.

Because of their involvement in the war, the grain production in various prefectures this year was also somewhat affected.

Without strong men at home, many common people could only reduce the land they cultivated, and some common people’s families even had to abandon their land.

However, this was only one of the negative effects brought by this northern war. What gave Xiao Ming the biggest headache were the former Yan territories, Liang territories, and the royal lands west of Yunzhou.

These conquered cities not only failed to bring him any taxes, but the looting and warfare by the three princes caused the common people in these areas to become displaced. The prefectural governors serving in various prefectures and counties, on the contrary, submitted memorials to him, requesting funds and provisions to relieve the disaster victims.

Previously, the Qingzhou imperial treasury was relatively rich, but now that the scope of rule had expanded to the entire north, it was indeed like water flowing into the sea.

“Approved!” Xiao Ming uttered two words. “Besides Niu Ben, let the armies of the Prince of Huainan and the Prince of Yong also return to their respective feudal states, otherwise my imperial treasury will be drained by them.”

All the officials showed helpless smiles upon hearing this. This time, the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Huainan had been very active in the war, which greatly satisfied the imperial court.

However, the imperial court bore the cost of the grain and fodder for these two armies on this distant expedition. The Prince of Yong, needless to say, his territory was now dirt poor, and without money and provisions, his soldiers would probably have mutinied long ago.

The Prince of Huainan did pay for his own grain and fodder when attacking Yingzhou, but after advancing towards Chang’an, he requested the imperial court to provide grain and fodder.

The Prince of Huainan was not extorting them on purpose. The Huainan state was originally a second-class feudal state with limited talent and financial resources. Yingzhou was very close to the Prince of Huainan, so grain and fodder could be supplied, but he could not continuously maintain the supply of grain and fodder for the distant expedition to Chang’an.

Overall, he was self-sufficient in the first half of the war, but after the Battle of Juyong Pass, he started relying on the imperial court.

Suddenly having nearly two hundred thousand more troops to feed naturally put heavy pressure on the Qingzhou imperial treasury. After all, he had also spent a lot of silver to purchase various mineral resources to manufacture firearms and ammunition.

At the same time, the north was devastated, and the business chain in the north was broken, which greatly reduced the profits of the Chamber of Commerce.

Currently, the maintenance of the Chamber of Commerce’s profits largely relied on trade with the Prince of Chu and the Dutch.

After discussing the withdrawal of the army, Pang Yukun continued, “Your Majesty, General Niu’s army has been unstoppable this time. They have captured seven superior prefectures, fifteen medium prefectures, thirty-six inferior prefectures, and a total of one hundred and sixty-three counties under those prefectures. The number of large and small officials needed for so many prefectures and counties is enormous, and Qingzhou currently does not have enough officials to send to these places.”

As the saying goes, it is easier to conquer a country than to govern it. Xiao Ming’s army had conquered so much land, and then faced the problem of governance.

He said, “As Senior Grand Secretary Pang said, Qingzhou indeed does not have so many officials right now. There is an urgent need for a group of experienced officials to manage these places for me and restore the people’s livelihoods. Moreover, I have received news that the barbarians have withdrawn their troops from Goryeo. Next, the barbarians will definitely launch attacks on the passes along the Great Wall. If the border defense army cannot receive supplies in time due to a lack of officials, it will be a disaster for the Great Yu Empire. Currently, the Great Yu Empire has sufficient defense but insufficient offense, and needs a period of recuperation.”

“Your Majesty, it’s actually very simple to solve this problem. There are quite a few officials in Chang’an City, and when General Niu attacked various prefectures and counties, there were also many local powerful families assisting him. Among these powerful families, there were often clan members who held positions in the prefectures and counties. As long as Your Majesty can appoint them, the management of these prefectures and counties will not be a problem.”

“I have naturally thought about this issue, but can these officials and powerful families be trusted?” He had been pondering this question when he received the battle report and realized that appointing the old officials from various prefectures and counties was the only way.

Now he finally understood why, during the Three Kingdoms period, when Cao Cao attacked Eastern Wu, those strategists all shouted for surrender.

Because they knew very well that if they changed masters, this master would still need their help to manage the conquered lands.

However, even so, these officials must be selected and chosen, trying to keep the excellent officials and send the corrupt ones home.

“Your Majesty, when I was in Chang’an, I had some understanding of the officials in various parts of the Great Yu Empire. I am willing to take on this responsibility to select capable officials for Your Majesty,” Fei Ji said actively.

Pang Yukun saw this and suddenly smiled, “Elder Fei has always been uninvolved, so why are you so concerned about the appointment of officials now?”

“Senior Grand Secretary Pang, you are mistaken. It is a minister’s duty to share the Emperor’s worries,” Fei Ji said with a smile.

Pang Yukun was wary in his heart. The appointment of officials was an extremely sensitive matter. If Fei Ji were given sole power, he feared that Fei Ji would once again gather a large number of officials for himself.

Now that the conservatives’ influence in the imperial court was visibly growing, he became increasingly uneasy, so he said to Xiao Ming, “Your Majesty, Elder Fei is old, and some matters might be beyond his capabilities. I am willing to share this burden with Elder Fei.”

Xiao Ming’s eyes swept back and forth between the two of them. He said, “Since that is the case, the matter of selecting and appointing officials will be jointly drafted by you both, and then submitted to me for review after it is finalized.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” they both said in unison.

After a pause, Xiao Ming continued, “Feeling the impact of this rebellion by the feudal lords, I have decided to learn from the reforms of the powerful Qin to strengthen the country, and officials are the most crucial part of implementing new policies. I thought about it all night yesterday and am preparing to split Bowen Academy.”

TN: Fiji=Fei Ji