pdf-ebookys Chapter 1073 One Year Later
Chapter 1073 One Year Later
Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Many things have happened in these three years. Zhou Pu did not take the small-scale unrest in the southeast too seriously, thinking that it could be suppressed quickly.
Even Zhang Ping'an thought so in his heart. Although he was worried, he felt that it was unlikely to cause too much turmoil. After all, although the court was unstable at present, the foundation was there. Unless Yang Chun really had the guts to rebel directly, that would be another story.
Otherwise, this unrest would surely be suppressed. Even a broken ship has 3000 nails, let alone a border area with garrison troops. Small-scale unrest is unlikely to gain momentum.
However, to everyone's surprise, this small group of rebels grew bigger and bigger like a snowball. Before Yang Chun could suppress them, he was suddenly assassinated. His death caused another wave of turmoil, leading not only to mutual suspicion between the emperor and his ministers, but also to a great deal of wariness among the ministers themselves.
Suddenly, the southeastern region became the focus of the imperial court.
Meanwhile, Yang Chun's subordinates were all busy vying for power. With the situation unclear, no one was willing or dared to relinquish power, which further led to the disarray of the southeastern border army and the failure to contain the unrest in time.
This force has now become a more troublesome presence in the southeast than the Japanese pirates.
However, after a long investigation, the real culprit in Yang Chun's case was never found, and the case was eventually left unsolved, becoming an unsolved mystery.
This incident made generals in other regions even more wary and less willing to relinquish their military power and be transferred to other places.
They've been using the pretext of border unrest to drag things out until now, showing a clear tendency to act independently and obey orders but not directives.
One person makes a tree, two people make a forest. Everyone was determined to oppose the imperial court and disobey orders. In addition, foreign tribes were watching from the sidelines and frequently testing the waters. Zhou Pu was helpless for the time being.
People's lives were difficult, and poverty breeds change. As a result, the number of bandits robbing people on the road gradually increased, and public security was much worse than in previous years.
Seeing that the world was in bad shape, traveling merchants were no longer willing to travel far to trade. Instead, they stayed in their hometowns, holding onto their money tightly and living frugally.
If merchants do not move, the economy will not function, and within just three years, towns and cities across the country will visibly become desolate.
At this time, land became highly sought after. It had no impact on high-ranking officials and nobles, but it made ordinary people suffer. The trend of land annexation intensified, and people with a little background and power in various places were trying to squeeze the little bit of land that ordinary people had to make a living from.
This vicious cycle made life even harder for ordinary people, leading more and more people to take risks and become bandits, making banditry even more rampant, reducing the number of merchants, and increasing the number of vagrants.
Eventually, robbing wealthy households became a trend.
In order to cope with this turmoil, powerful families and wealthy households in various places began to privately raise their own armies and increase their guards. For a time, it was common to see people recruiting soldiers in private.
At first, the government could manage and punish those responsible, but later they could no longer control the situation, and a situation gradually formed where officials would not investigate unless the people complained.
The treatment of private soldiers was much better than that of enlisting in the army, which made it difficult for the imperial court to recruit soldiers.
If the soldiers can't even get enough to eat, how can they train or fight?
Every day, the capital city received reports from all over the country urging for grain and military pay, some even being urgent dispatches from 300 li away.
However, in recent years, natural disasters and man-made calamities have been frequent, coupled with the current unrest in various places and the serious trend of land annexation. Tax revenue is far lower than in previous years, and the country is relying entirely on its reserves. Maintaining an army is expensive, and the national treasury is gradually becoming empty. Giving the country to the east and south is not acceptable, and giving it to the north and west is not acceptable either. It is really difficult to make a choice.
At this moment, Zhou Pu once again realized that he was different from the late emperor, and he also knew his own limitations. He regretted stirring up this hornet's nest in the first place.
They even blamed the instigators, the Choi siblings, especially Choi Hyuk, who only made things worse and dragged things down, directly leading to the current situation.
But now, the Cui family has become his most loyal, capable, and useful force. Even if he wanted to send his brother-in-law far away, he couldn't, and it would be of no use.
We can only turn a blind eye to one thing.
For those military officers who obey orders but not orders, the most direct measure now is to reduce their food and supplies and give priority to those who are more obedient to the court.
They even planned to cut off the food supplies to certain areas.
Su Zheng had opposed this plan. He was now one of Zhou Pu's more capable advisors and was highly regarded. He had helped Zhou Pu solve many problems, otherwise the court's situation would be even more passive now.
But even a skilled cook can't cook without rice, and his words weren't always reliable; many of his suggestions were directly rejected.
With the addition of the two emperors, who were both capricious, even when he submitted a memorial, he had to carefully consider it before putting pen to paper.
These days are much harder to endure than when he was in the Hanlin Academy.
After the morning court session, Su Zheng hesitated for a moment before going to Yangning Hall to request an audience with His Majesty, hoping to make one last effort.
"Your Majesty, I still believe that directly cutting off the supply of weapons and provisions is absolutely unacceptable. There are precedents for this in previous dynasties. The border troops in various regions number in the hundreds of thousands, which is a huge number. Their daily consumption of food and provisions is staggering. If the court does not allocate food and military pay to them, what will they do? I'm afraid they will not sit idly by and wait for their doom. Sooner or later, they will cause unrest!"
One thing that wasn't mentioned is that food supplies in various regions have already been compressed to the extreme, and soldiers are struggling to even get enough to eat. If the supply is cut off directly, they might really rebel.
After finishing the morning court session, Zhou Pu had a splitting headache and was in a bad mood. He held his forehead and remained silent for a long time before finally looking up and saying, "What can we do? The national treasury is only spending money and not taking in any every day, and it's almost empty. These people are like plague gods; we can't get rid of them, and I have to spend rice and grain to support and provide for them. Is this reasonable?"
Su Zheng was somewhat anxious. "Your Majesty, let's put things one thing at a time. At least these people are still respectful to Your Majesty on the surface, and we can maintain a semblance of peace for now. If we completely cut off their supplies, I'm afraid even this semblance of peace will be lost, and the border will be in danger! The safety of the border is related to the safety of the country. I hope Your Majesty will think it over carefully!"
"I see you're just like them, all talk and no action. This won't work, that won't work. Then come up with a feasible solution!" Zhou Pu's eyes widened in anger as he spoke, slamming his hand heavily on the armrest of the dragon throne, revealing his fury.
This wasn't the first time Su Zheng had seen Zhou Pu in such a violent state. He had long understood that Zhou Pu was not a wise ruler, but considering that Zhou Pu's words concerned the safety of the people, he couldn't just sit idly by and do nothing like his other colleagues, lining their own pockets for personal gain.
After a moment of contemplation, Su Zheng bowed and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the matter of military pay should not be taken lightly. The current situation is that the powerful families are enriching themselves while the national treasury is emptying. Therefore, we must not sit idly by in the face of the trend of land annexation. The major powerful families must also pay some price, otherwise the Great Zhou Dynasty will be in grave danger!"
"Insolence!" Zhou Pu couldn't stand hearing such things and roared, "Are you implying that I am destined to be a ruler who brings about the downfall of his kingdom?"
"Your subject dares not!" Su Zheng said calmly, lifting his robes and kneeling down to kowtow deeply. He had already prepared himself to risk his life to offer his advice when he said these words today.
“Even if Your Majesty intends to punish me, I must still speak these words. If Your Majesty continues to be so indecisive and hesitant, the Great Zhou Dynasty will be in grave danger! I am not afraid of being a minister who brings about the downfall of a nation; at worst, I will smash my head against the palace gate and die. But I fear that Your Majesty will become a ruler who brings about the downfall of a nation, and after death, you will have no face to face the late Emperor and all the founding heroes!”