readbooksol Chapter 2331 Disappointment
Chapter 2331 Disappointment
The angels were welcomed, the new governor was paid homage, and the anti-Japanese riot rally was held. The matter in Yingtian was temporarily concluded, and Zhu Ping'an prepared to set off to return to Zhejiang.
However, before he could even set off, he received a notice from the new governor, Yang Yi, ordering Zhu Ping'an to attend a meeting at the governor's office.
Hu Zongxian also received it.
I asked the messenger, and it turned out that the governors of all provinces, as well as the provincial treasurers in provinces without governors, had all received Governor Yang's notification.
Zhu Pingan and Hu Zongxian traveled together, but didn't talk much along the way. When they arrived at the Governor's Office, an official led them to the main hall, where some governors and provincial treasurers were already there. They exchanged a few simple pleasantries and waited for Yang Yi to arrive.
After everyone had arrived, and after about an incense stick's time had passed, Governor Yang finally arrived late.
Without Zhao Wenhua present, Yang Yi would definitely be a qualified governor, of course, referring to his pomp and circumstance.
"Let's cut to the chase. You're all busy with your own affairs, so let's get straight to the point. Yesterday, I proposed transferring the Shandong archers, the Henan soldiers, the Sichuan soldiers, and the canal transport soldiers, and you all supported it wholeheartedly. No one raised any objections. Now, I'd like to ask for your opinions again. Please don't hold it against me. Although I am the governor-general, I am not a saint, and not everything I say is correct. If you have any opinions on my troop deployment plan, just say so. I will absolutely not hold any grudges or make things difficult for you."
Yang Yi addressed the crowd in the main hall, appearing quite enlightened, and once again sought their opinions on the strategy of transferring foreign troops.
His face was full of sincerity.
The audience was silent. Everyone there had been in the officialdom for so long; they were all cunning old foxes.
When the new governor-general Yang Yi took office, his first major initiative was the strategy to suppress the Japanese pirates, and the core of his strategy was the deployment of foreign troops. Anyone who objected to the deployment of foreign troops was essentially objecting to Yang Yi's overall strategy for suppressing the Japanese pirates, and wouldn't that be asking for trouble.
Therefore, everyone in the audience remained silent, and no one voiced any objections.
"Master Huang?"
"Lord Zhu?"
"Master Hu?"
That wasn't all. In the main hall, Yang Yi called out Zhu Ping'an and the others one by one, asking them if they had any objections.
Zhu Pingan and the others unanimously answered "no objection," and no one wanted to invite trouble or get themselves into trouble.
Yang Yi nodded in satisfaction and said to everyone, "Alright, since no one has any objections, I will have the troop mobilization order issued immediately, and the guest troops will be brought here as quickly as possible."
"The Governor-General is wise!" Hu Zongxian clapped his hands and cheered, and everyone else echoed his praise.
Yang Yi was slightly surprised, not expecting Hu Zongxian to be so cooperative. Hu Zongxian was Zhao Wenhua's lackey, and Hu Zongxian's cooperation showed Zhao Wenhua's attitude. Not bad, it was worth it for her to flatter him.
Zhu Ping'an knew what was going on. Hu Zongxian was eager for Yang Yi to send reinforcements as soon as possible, and couldn't wait to see them cause trouble.
Therefore, Yang Yi, who was expected by everyone, summoned his subordinates and ordered them to affix their official seal to the draft troop deployment order and issue it immediately.
After his subordinates left with the troop mobilization order, Yang Yifu looked at everyone and said slowly, "I am very pleased that everyone agrees with this troop mobilization order. With our united will, how can we not destroy the Japanese pirates?"
The people below naturally echoed this.
"Since everyone agrees to deploy troops, I have one more thing that I need everyone's assistance with," Yang Yi said, looking at the crowd.
Zhu Pingan narrowed his eyes. He seemed to know what Yang Yi was going to say, and he also understood why Yang Yi had called on everyone one by one to ask if they had any objections.
Sure enough, the next second Yang Yi continued, “Guerrilla soldiers are not gods; they are human beings. Humans need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves, and they need provisions and pay. Currently, the court's finances are tight, and the national treasury is empty. We cannot expect the court to squeeze provisions and pay from its already meager resources; we need to solve this ourselves. When I took office as governor, I took stock of the situation, and there is no silver left in the accounts. The wolf soldiers are already two months behind on their provisions and pay. All the governors and provincial treasurers support the policy of sending guerrilla soldiers to exterminate the Japanese pirates. Now we need your assistance in providing relief and pay.”
Relief and assistance?!
The true intentions have been revealed!
Is this a scheme to impose grain and salary levies on each province?!
Everyone present understood Yang Yi's plan: to provide relief and assistance, and to have everyone share the burden of the guest soldiers' food and supplies.
"Based on the situation in each province, we will divide it into two levels: 50,000 taels of silver for ordinary provinces and 60,000 taels of silver for major provinces. I will read out the list of major provinces: Zhejiang and Fujian." Yang Yi's voice rang out in the silent hall.
Zhu Ping'an frowned. Yang Yi had designated Zhejiang as a major province and demanded a tribute of 60,000 taels of silver.
“Your Excellency, it’s not that I’m unwilling to cooperate, but I’m truly at a loss. The Governor’s treasury is empty, and my office only has less than ten thousand taels of silver left. This silver has many uses: salaries for officials and servants, disaster relief for the people, repairs to the government office, writing materials, manpower and vehicles, maintenance of the post stations, and hospitality for guests, and so on. Where am I supposed to get another fifty thousand taels of silver? Rather than failing to complete the task of delivering the silver, I would like to humbly request Your Excellency to rescind your order.”
Lou Cheng, the governor of Jiangxi, rose and bowed to Yang Yi, requesting that Yang Yi rescind his order.
"Lord Lou, I just asked you for your opinion on transferring the foreign troops, and you personally answered that you had no objection. How come now you're asking me to withdraw my order after requesting the transfer of silver from Jiangxi?!" Yang Yi looked at Lou Cheng, the governor of Jiangxi, with displeasure.
"Your Excellency, I support sending reinforcements to suppress the Japanese pirates, but Jiangxi is a poor and remote place, and sending 50,000 taels of silver is simply too much. I cannot do it."
Lou Cheng, the governor of Jiangxi, looked troubled.
"Yes, Your Excellency, even if we emptied our treasury, we still couldn't raise that much silver," many governors and provincial treasurers chimed in.
Yang Yi slowly raised his arm, making a gesture of cessation. The crowd quieted down. After looking around at everyone, Yang Yi slowly said, "I know that your treasuries don't have that much silver. Let's increase taxes. We are suppressing the Japanese pirates for the sake of the people. So let's make the people suffer temporarily. The money comes from the people, and we are taking from the people and using it for the people. Please explain to the people patiently. I believe the people will understand our good intentions."
"What?! Increased taxes?"
"Imposing taxes at this time?!"
Another round of discussion broke out in the audience.
Zhu Ping'an frowned. Why choose to increase taxes on the common people? They had just suffered the ravages of the Japanese pirates, and the blood from their wounds hadn't even been wiped clean yet. How could he possibly ask them to pay more taxes?
When people are suffering from disasters, there is no time to exempt them from taxes and allow them to rest. How can you increase taxes on the people who are suffering from disasters?
Zhu Pingan was deeply disappointed in Yang Yi. (End of Chapter)