Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 115 - 110: Analysis of Historical Materials

Chapter 115: Chapter 110: Analysis of Historical Materials

After half an hour or so, Chu Ge and Li Hongyun had each looked through some historical materials, ready to hash it out and discuss once more.

Li Hongyun looked at the dense notes he had written down in his notebook and felt somewhat emotional; he had never been this serious even during class.

"The poem ’To be ennobled was not of my intent’ was penned by General Deng Yuanjing," Li Hongyun said. "Coupled with the name ’Campaign Against the Southern Bandits,’ it’s almost certain that the goal of this trial instance is to eradicate the threat of bandits and conquer Puning Port."

"In the first stage of the soldier line, the scenario is General Deng Yuanjing’s first time leading troops against the bandits. Historical accounts state that although he led a Great Sheng force numerously superior to the enemy’s, they crumbled at first contact, only saved by his shooting of three chieftains with three arrows, which turned the tide of battle."

"The historical account stating ’From atop a high rock, he shot at the bandits, hitting three chieftains with three arrows, unifying the troops, which then caused the bandits to retreat’ matches well with that."

"However, in the second stage, the prolonged siege on Puning Port reached a deadlock. If we go by historical records, Puning Port was taken by General Deng Yuanjing after training a new army and equipping new weapons, so to break through this stage, we definitely need to procure enough military supplies."

"Beyond that, Mr. Wang, whom you also researched... if I remember correctly, his name was Wang Zongchang; he was a participant in the government at the time, holding the joint position of a Lord Governor. However, there really isn’t much recorded about him in historical texts."

"From the situation in the instance, his relationship with Governor Lin doesn’t seem that close, and so far there’s no sign of his utility."

"As for the strategist line, it’s known from fragments of General Deng’s memory that Governor Lin courted Chief Minister Yan and often presented gifts. While there’s no concrete evidence, the credibility seems rather high."

"The secret letter from Chief Minister Yan instructed Governor Lin to breach the dyke to flood the bandits, which I presume was unsuccessful, considering there’s no mention of it in history."

"If they truly had breached the dyke to flood the bandits, the consequences would be unimaginable; countless fertile fields would become marshland, and an untold number of common people would be displaced. Such a significant event would surely cause turmoil across the entire government and affect the campaign, so it couldn’t have failed to appear in the historical records."

"But the current problem is, how do we acquire the necessary military funds without breaching the dyke?"

Chu Ge nodded, adding a few details, but the information was largely in line with what Li Hongyun had found.

After all, both were promising students of history; the facts laid out in historical texts were clear, and the information they found wouldn’t vary too much.

The key was to analyze these histories and find a way to break the impasse.

After a moment of contemplation, Chu Ge said, "I believe the key to solving this lies in Chief Minister Yan’s true intentions."

"From a military point of view, breaching the dyke to flood the bandits is clearly a disastrous move. No one in their right mind would do such a thing."

"Yan Maoqing has been Grand Secretary for so many years; his prolonged tenure can’t just be explained by sheer evil. He must be exceedingly clever."

"Therefore, the decision to flood the bandits probably wasn’t made for military reasons, but rather for some other considerations. This action, if carried out, would undoubtedly be greatly beneficial to him."

"Yan Maoqing, the man’s primary concern is one thing, and one thing only: money."

Li Hongyun thought for a moment and added, "And his status. Money is important, but so is his position as Grand Secretary."

Chu Ge nodded, "They’re one and the same."

"The reason he’s sitting in the position of Grand Secretary isn’t that he’s more capable or knowledgeable about state governance than Gu Qingzhang, another prominent minister, but simply because he’s better at making money for the emperor."

"Therefore, as long as he can make money, he remains the Grand Secretary. If he can’t, he would immediately be ousted, perhaps even having his family’s assets confiscated by the emperor."

Li Hongyun nodded slightly.

Gu Qingzhang was another Elder Minister, second only to Yan Maoqing in status among the senior officials. Should Yan Maoqing fall, Gu Qingzhang would be his likely successor.

Li Hongyun pondered, "So you mean to say, breaching the dyke to flood the bandits is money-related? But how does that make money? Once rivers burst their banks and fertile fields are flooded, wouldn’t the state treasury have to provide relief funds? Doesn’t that mean spending even more money?"

Chu Ge shook his head slightly, "Not necessarily."

"Do you remember the saying ’To save the people, save the officials first’ mentioned in the literary trial by the powerful minister Wang Chong? It’s obviously a flawed argument, but it’s also the operational principle of power-mongers and corrupt officials like Wang Chong and Yan Maoqing."

"The so-called Wang Faction, Yan Faction, are actually groups of corrupt officials who form a community of shared interests. Figures like Wang Chong or Yan Maoqing might seem like absolute leaders, but in fact, they have to share the spoils of corruption at every level. They only follow you if you lead them to amass wealth."

"In the same vein, if you want them to relinquish some of their gains, you must promise them even greater benefits."

"This is what they call ’save the officials before the people,’" he said. "In their eyes, you have to fill the greedy officials’ bellies first before anything can be done. Otherwise, your subordinates will constantly hinder you and make sure you can’t accomplish anything. Even if they are powerful courtiers, it’s the same."

Li Hongyun pondered, "So, are you saying that when rivers burst their banks and good farmland gets flooded, it benefits these corrupt officials?

"Pocketing the disaster relief funds?

"But that’s still adding a burden to the national treasury, isn’t it? Where do they expect to cough up the money?"

Chuge replied, "It’s not just disaster relief funds.

"Chief Minister Yan’s goal is to make money for the emperor so that his position can be secured. He has been Grand Secretary for many years, and the emperor has long wanted to replace him. At this point, he needs to continue proving his ability to make a lot of money for the emperor and to make the emperor feel he cannot do without him, only then can he keep his seat firm.

"So, he has to find ways to make the national treasury flush, even if it means borrowing from future provisions, at least during these two years it appears that the treasury is prosperous, and at a minimum, his position as Grand Secretary must be secured. Otherwise, never mind what comes after, he’d be finished right now.

"He can’t worry about the future.

"Disaster relief funds, they can be reduced, they can go undelivered. If a flood drowns some of the peasants, as long as the victims can’t make it to the capital, it’s all irrelevant. As the Grand Secretary, he can sleep soundly knowing that someone else will take the blame. The key point is how to quickly accumulate wealth.

"The timing back then coincided with the collection of the salt tax. The salt tax was the largest source of fiscal revenue for the court at the time.

"But how much salt tax is collected isn’t decided by one person alone. The officials below aren’t necessarily willing to hand over all that money—they can manipulate the books, and as long as they’re not too excessive, it’s difficult to detect, especially in ancient times when information didn’t flow easily.

"So, the amount of salt tax collected actually depends on whether the person sent to collect it has enough prestige or can make enough deals with these officials for mutual benefit.

"Chief Minister Yan is the leader of the Yan Faction; naturally, the person he sends would have enough prestige. But it’s the same old story, even if you are the leader of the Yan Faction, you still need to distribute enough benefits to everyone, otherwise why should they listen to you? When the benefits are sufficient, then more salt tax can be collected, and the officials below are willing to scrape together the money they were keeping for themselves and hand it over to you.

"Think about it, what is something very valuable, yet can quickly liquidate like ’eating next year’s food this year’?"

Li Hongyun quickly realized, "Land!

"After a dyke is breached and a bandit flood occurs, a large amount of good farmland will be submerged, and once submerged, the value of these fields drops drastically. Then, the officials can collude with local tyrants and wealthy merchants, forcing the farmers to sell at very low prices.

"In this way, by exploiting a natural disaster, these farmers are essentially subjected to a large-scale plunder.

"With the help of Yan Maoqing, these corrupt officials, local tyrants, and wealthy merchants acquired the land, taking such a huge advantage; naturally, they also need to express their gratitude somehow, thinking of every possible way to raise silver and hand over all the salt tax they were originally hoarding!

"As a result, Chief Minister Yan successfully collects a large sum of salt tax, enriches the national treasury, making the emperor overjoyed, and his position as Grand Secretary is secured..."

At this point, Li Hongyun couldn’t help but shiver down his spine.

For all the talk, it boiled down to two words: cannibalism!

Chief Minister Yan needed money, but where would it come from? His faction members were untouchable, so the only solution was to squeeze money out of the common people. The common people had no money but did have land, yet they were unwilling to sell their fields cheaply.

So, just flood their lands, force them to sell cheaply to the wealthy, and after this round of transactions, wouldn’t money be generated?

But immediately, Li Hongyun thought of a new problem.

"But destroying a dyke is a serious crime; isn’t he afraid that the emperor, in a fit of anger, would have him executed?"

Chuge shook his head slightly, "Why do you think the emperor would know about this?

"At that time, it was the rainy season, and water levels could surge alarmingly, posing a risk of breaching the banks anyway. As long as no one notices anything unusual or no one is able to report to the emperor, it would not be attributed to human disaster, but instead a natural calamity. Who could blame that on Yan Maoqing?

"Even if we back up ten thousand steps, even if the matter is exposed and the emperor finds out, do you think the one bearing the blame will be Chief Minister Yan? Will it be Governor Lin?

"Why do you think Chief Minister Yan sent a secret letter instead of giving direct orders? Do you think Governor Lin would be foolish enough to personally handle this matter?

"For people of their status, finding a scapegoat is all too easy.

"When the time comes, they just need to push the blame onto someone with a higher position as a sacrificial lamb, and that will be that.

"Chief Minister Yan had just collected so much salt tax for the emperor, earning such great merit and demonstrating such strong ability to handle affairs. Furthermore, the ranks of the Yan Faction were riddled with corruption and united in their cause. Do you think, under these circumstances, even if the emperor suspects something fishy, he would be able to investigate it? Would he dare probe into Elder Yan without fearing the moral outrage of all the officials?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.