PNB Chapter 144 Xia Xia and Mo Ye set out again
Chapter 144 Xia Xia and Mo Ye set out again
"Yin Ruoshui?" Xia Qin turned to look at Mo Ye, her face full of suspicion, "Did he really rebel?"
Mo Ye smiled slightly, with a hint of admiration in his tone: "Yin Ruoshui has a very high prestige in the Yuelan army and the court. If he rebels himself, it would seem that the gains do not outweigh the losses. He is too lazy to bear the reputation of treason and usurpation of the throne, but wants to ascend the throne legitimately."
Xia Qin frowned, thinking back to that scheming, sinister and cunning man, and couldn't help but feel that he was indeed capable of doing anything.
"Forcing their emperor to abdicate?" Xia Qin couldn't help but ask, "Isn't that still usurping the throne?"
Mo Ye chuckled, a sly look flashed in his eyes, and said, "Perhaps there is no need to force them. Their emperor may willingly pass the throne to Yin Ruoshui! After all, most people in Yuelan Country should be happy to see such a result."
"What do you mean?" Xia Qin became more and more confused.
Mo Ye explained, "Last month, the situation in Yuelan Kingdom began to become unstable. Two major border armies had rebelled and were rapidly approaching the capital of Yuelan Kingdom. Their demand was for the Emperor of Yuelan Kingdom to abdicate, but Yin Ruoshui unexpectedly stood on the side of the Emperor and helped him resist these rebellious border armies."
Xia Qin didn't even have to think about it. The border troops of Yuelan Kingdom were able to attack near the royal city so quickly. Of course, this was inseparable from the advanced engineering equipment and black gunpowder that he invented.
"Yin Ruoshui," Xia Qin raised her eyebrows slightly, with a complicated look in her eyes, "She really lives up to her name, but their emperor is probably not a fool, he should be able to see through this little trick, right?"
Mo Ye shook his head: "What does it matter if I know? Over the years, Yin Ruoshui's influence in the entire Yuelan Kingdom, especially in the military, is enormous, no less than the Qin family's influence in Daxia. What's more, he is a member of the royal family and has special advantages."
Xia Qin curled her lips and said in confusion: "This emperor is too frustrated. If this is the case, he might as well abdicate early."
If it were her, she would have probably retired to the mountains and stayed away from all these trivial matters in the court.
Mo Ye stared at the slowly flowing river quietly, his heart filled with emotion: "Once a person has power, how can he let it go easily? Moreover, that is not ordinary power, but the supreme throne, holding the power of life and death of the entire country, and can decide the life and death of others with just a word or a look."
Xia Qin looked at Mo Ye's profile silently. She knew that what he said made sense.
She also understood that for some people, power meant more than just wealth and status, but was also a tool to satisfy their inner desires. The greed and selfishness of these people made it impossible for them to give up the power in their hands, even at the cost of paying a price.
"Do you think so too?" Xia Qin asked softly, with a hint of expectation in her voice, hoping to get some comfort from Mo Ye.
After a moment of silence, Mo Ye replied in a low but firm voice: "For so many years, I have valued the lives of the members of Genya and Yeling more than my own. They are all my family. Besides, I am not interested in controlling the fate of others. I only want to control my own destiny."
His words flowed into Xia Qin's heart like a clear spring. The person you like is always different.
"Mo Ye, you are a unique person." Xia Qin looked at Mo Ye with a gleam in her eyes.
For some reason, she always had a special feeling towards Mo Ye, maybe because of trust, maybe because of dependence. In short, she felt that Mo Ye was too perfect, whether it was his mind, skills, thoughts or personality, there seemed to be nothing wrong with him, except that he was a little greasy occasionally.
Mo Ye smiled slightly. He felt Xia Qin's gaze, but didn't say anything. He knew that his presence gave Xia Qin a sense of security, which made him feel comforted.
The two of them stood quietly by the river, enjoying the tranquility and harmony. Their figures were reflected in the river, like a beautiful painting.
"Everyone is different," Mo Ye reminded as he watched the sun rise higher and higher, "It's almost time to go back to the state government office."
Everything went as planned. In the lobby of the provincial government, every official had written several full pages of papers.
Over the years, under the influence of Yuan Tan, these provincial officials have hardly done any proper work. They have been huddled in the remaining territory of Yangzhou, thinking about how to squeeze the people's wealth.
Only Quan Meng, the assistant county clerk in charge of county documents, had never done anything against the law because he had little power, a low position, and a strong character.
"Gongsun Xin, Haifeng, and other subordinates who colluded with the Japanese will be executed directly, and the rest will be dealt with according to the laws of Daxia."
Xia Qin was too lazy to waste time on these subordinates and directly asked Gongsun Xin to deal with it.
After taking the other officials away, Xia Qin looked at the somewhat dark and thin Quan Meng and said with a little relief: "Quan Shuzuo, you should continue to work in the prefecture, or be the Dian County Shuzuo, responsible for the delivery of documents."
When Quan Meng heard Xia Qin's arrangement, he immediately replied excitedly: "Thank you, Mr. Shi! I am willing to serve you at your service."
"Well, first of all, you should inform the 5,000 provincial troops to arrive here tomorrow. Second, tell the governors of Lujiang and Danyang counties that the Yangzhou government office will be located in Jinghai County in the future. Ask them to come here tomorrow to report on their duties."
"Yes, Mr. Shi, I will do it right away!"
Now that he was the governor of Yangzhou, Xia Qin paid more attention to the two counties in Yangzhou that were still in the hands of the Japanese pirates.
"Brother Huo, how is my brother's war going in the southern counties of Kuaiji and Yuzhang?"
Huo Jinying was now in charge of conscription and food supply. He replied to Xia Qin, "Miss, General Mu ordered Wei Jun, Cheng Jinzhong, and Han Qi, three former generals of the Western Route Army, to lead an army of 10,000 to attack the Japanese pirates in Yuzhang County, and ordered Wu Baipeng, Wang Rulong, and Tang Kekuan to lead an army of 15,000 to attack Kuaiji County. He personally led 15,000 troops, and the battle went smoothly. However, the combined area of these two counties is half the size of the four northern counties, and the Japanese pirates are roaming everywhere, so it is impossible to completely wipe them out for the time being."
Mo Ye sighed and said, "Indeed, these Japanese pirates have occupied the two southern counties for four years. Compared to Brother Jin Yu, they have the advantage of location."
Xia Qin understood that the current number of troops was still too small and they needed to change their thinking.
"Brother Huo, how is the recent conscription going?"
"Miss, everything went well. There are already 5,000 new soldiers in training, and they will be able to set out in a few days to support General Mu."
"Add the 5,000 provincial troops that will arrive tomorrow, that's 10,000 in total," Xia Qin thought for a moment and said, "Let Gongsun Xin and Sima Zhiru handle the affairs of this provincial government first. Mo Ye, I will personally lead the army to help my brother and pacify the entire Yangzhou as soon as possible!"
"Let's listen to Xia Xia. We'll set off in three days." Mo Ye naturally supported Xia Qin's decision.
Huo Jinying also said: "These days, we have been constantly purchasing food and grass from nearby states and counties, and forging weapons day and night. Everything is fine!"
"That's good!" Xia Qin looked at Gongsun Xin and said a little embarrassedly, "I have to trouble Brother Gongsun again."
Gongsun Xin was very grateful for Xia Qin's trust. He immediately expressed his opinion: "Don't worry, Mr. Shi. The talents selected through the examination a few days ago are already in place. I am ready to fully implement Mr. Shi's official system and tax system reforms in the four northern counties."
"With you around, I feel at ease." Xia Qin smiled, and her heart had already flown back to the battlefield.
Compared to the extremely trivial state military affairs, the battlefield seems to be more in line with her personality and makes her more relaxed.
Over the next three days, Xia Qin and Mo Ye personally trained five thousand new recruits and five thousand new troops, a total of ten thousand people.
Since these people had never been on the battlefield, Mo Ye had no choice but to arrange for several members of the Night Spirit Organization to temporarily serve as lieutenants and military marquises in the army.
At the same time, Xia Qin ordered people to find some people who had fled from Yuzhang and Kuaiji counties and were familiar with the conditions in the two places to serve as guides for the army.
Before setting off, Xia Qin and Mo Ye summoned all the captains and marquises in the army to discuss how to quickly pacify the Japanese pirates in the two counties and leave enough time to stabilize the situation in Yangzhou as a whole.
"My brother is constantly defeating the Japanese pirates on the front line. Now the number of Japanese pirates is not large. They are just scattered in various counties to avoid the main force of our army," Xia Qin looked at the sand table in front of him, "My idea is to go straight to the southernmost tip of Yangzhou, directly capture Nanye City and Longyan City, completely block their retreat, and my brother and I will join forces to defeat them!"