vrcanaries Chapter 272 The Decision: War!
Chapter 272 The Decision: War!
Although the rumors were suppressed, the actual problem remained unresolved, since the large army assembled by the Quanrong was not fake.
Regardless of who killed Tosai, he died in the Jin Dynasty while on a diplomatic mission.
The Quanrong king was demanding an explanation; more precisely, he was using war to force the Great Jin to cede territory and pay reparations.
My son is dead, and I want to avenge him. If you don't want to fight, then give me money, food, and land to soothe my wounded heart.
If you don't take it, then we'll fight. In that case, the people will suffer and the country will be in a terrible state, and the Jin Dynasty will be in the wrong.
An army driven by desperation is bound to win; our warriors, driven by righteous indignation, are filled with fervor and burning passion as they seek revenge for their prince.
The Quanrong king had been in power for many years and was quite prestigious. Moreover, his prince had indeed died, so the Quanrong court and the people inside and outside the court were all united and waiting for the war to begin.
However, the ministers in the Great Jin court were arguing endlessly about this matter.
Some advocated compromise to avoid the enormous losses caused by war, since they were in the wrong.
They lost a prince, so it's only right that they compensate them with money and grain.
Some, however, were staunch advocates of war, believing that the Great Jin Dynasty should not bow down to the barbarians.
Who knows if Tosai's death was staged by them?
The Quanrong king has no shortage of sons. What if it's a ruse where he sacrifices a son just to swindle their money and grain?
The Great Jin's revenue this year was already poor. If the Quanrong take another bite out of it, wouldn't the country's strength be even weaker?
The Quanrong are wolves; they become ferocious when you are weak.
If you ignore him, he might not dare to fight you, but if your country is weak, he will definitely attack you.
Feeding your own food to the enemy not only fosters their ambitions but also strengthens their army.
Even a fool wouldn't do something so stupid.
Those who advocate paying reparations to the Quanrong are traitors; they've probably received a lot of benefits from the Quanrong.
The pro-war faction's arguments were reasonable and well-founded, while the pro-peace faction was not to be underestimated.
They listed numerous drawbacks of going to war with the Quanrong, each one presented in a selfless manner.
Everything else is fine, but the saying "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits" is something even the pro-war faction can't refute.
A war between the Jin Dynasty and the Quanrong would inevitably result in mutual destruction; even the victorious side would suffer casualties.
If the Northern Frontier and the Eastern Barbarians were to get involved at this time, it would indeed be very dangerous, after all, such things have happened before.
In the end, it was Jin Zekang who stopped the conflict, using war to force peace!
Not all the Quanrong are idiots. Didn't the Great Jin know that a mutually destructive conflict would give others an opportunity to exploit?
Those people are gambling, betting that the other side will have reservations and won't dare to fight.
If they really send someone to negotiate, it would be tantamount to telling the Quanrong that they are afraid, and the other side will definitely make exorbitant demands.
Therefore, this attitude must be firm.
Didn't you gather a large army and plan to start a war?
Then let the war begin!
Not only will we not send envoys to you, but even if you send envoys, we will not receive them.
In such situations, the more assertive you are, the less likely the other party will dare to act rashly; they might even back down first.
Even if we have to fight, it doesn't matter. They have two great generals here. As long as they send out one of them, there's no reason for them to lose.
If they win the war and then negotiate peace, it will be the Quanrong's turn to cede territory and pay reparations. If the scene is grand enough, it can also deter the surrounding villains.
Jin Zekang thought of the yard full of human heads, and he felt that such a disgusting thing shouldn't be seen by him alone.
Such a powerful weapon should be shown off occasionally, lest any Tom, Dick, or Harry dare to provoke the Great Jin.
When the regent made the decision, some ministers wanted to persuade him further, but Jin Zekang shut them down with the words, "I will send my sworn sister to the battlefield."
your sister!
That's fine.
If we really send that older woman over, we're guaranteed to win!
In terms of numbers and weaponry, the Jin Dynasty was far superior to the Quanrong. Their biggest weakness was the lack of quality in their generals.
At this time, warfare is about soldiers against soldiers and generals against generals. The two sides confront each other, first they hurl insults, then they fight each other, and then the victorious side raises his arm and the two armies charge into battle.
The Quanrong people were generally tall and incredibly strong, some even taller and twice as strong as their generals.
When the two sides were fighting, and several of their own generals were killed in succession, how could their morale be maintained?
In the end, the only way to defend the city was through surprise attacks and fire attacks.
If the Regent's adopted sister were willing to go to the border, that would be wonderful. With her around, at least they would never lose a duel.
She can lift a stone lock weighing over 100 pounds with one hand as easily as lifting a piece of cotton. If she were given a Green Dragon Crescent Blade, she could probably cut the enemy general and his warhorse in half.
Since there were no objections, the matter was settled.
In a short time, armies from all over the Great Jin Dynasty gathered, and grain and supplies were continuously transported to the border.
At the border, the garrison commanders also received orders to train their soldiers day and night, reinforce the city walls, and stand ready for battle.
Lady Wang wrote a letter to both the Qian family and her own family, asking them to unite with the gentry and merchants of Jiangnan to donate grain.
Ever since Old Master Qian's grandson-in-law became the Marquis of Zhenguo, all the major merchants in Jiangnan have been on good terms with his family.
As long as Xiao Yuan remains in power, many people will still be willing to heed the words of the Qian family patriarch.
Xiao Yuan and Jin Zekang also took stock of the national treasury and the old emperor's private treasury, which gave them more confidence in this war.
The Great Jin Dynasty did indeed suffer a disaster, but the disaster relief funds raised by Xiao Yuan were more than sufficient.
The problem was solved by the grain and medicine donated by the merchants who bought the calligraphy and paintings; the silver notes and the like were basically untouched.
In addition, the old emperor's private treasury was quite full, and the homes of Zhang Zhongyi and others were confiscated, so their national treasury was richer than in previous years during this year of disaster.
The Quanrong people mistakenly believed that the flood had depleted their treasury and were completely wrong.
Grain production has indeed decreased, but besides the Jin Dynasty and the Quanrong, aren't there other countries as well?
They had the money to organize caravans to buy grain from other countries.
It's not like there's a severe drought that leaves the land parched and barren; why would someone holding gold starve to death?
With the issues of money and provisions resolved, the next priority was weapons and medicine.
They had the upper hand in this respect, and Jin Zekang didn't even care who the fisherman hiding behind them was.
Who says that when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman always benefits?
What if the snipe's iron beak pecked the clam to death and then blinded the fisherman?
The penicillin developed by Jiang Xinyu played a significant role during the floods.
She didn't keep it a secret either; she had already taught this technique to the Imperial Medical Academy.
Even doctors in the capital city have learned how to use the finished product.
This thing is easy to use, but the troublesome part is the manufacturing process.
She dared not teach it to folk doctors because she was afraid they would not strictly follow the procedures and introduce other bacteria, causing poisoning.
Since the harem was empty and there were too many idle rooms and palace maids and eunuchs, they simply made use of them to create a Penicillium culture room.
The emperor died, and the young emperor was still a child.
The concubines who had not given birth were all released from the palace, and those with grown children went to live with their sons.
The entire harem was deserted and quiet, and a rough count revealed that there were over a thousand idle palace maids and eunuchs.
Originally, palace maids could only leave the palace at the age of 25.
Jiang Xinyu and Xiao Ling discussed it and released all those who were 18 years old and older and wanted to leave the palace.
As for the older nannies and those who didn't want to leave the palace, they could naturally stay, and everyone was happy for a time.
Being a palace maid is easy; once she leaves the palace, she can get married and no one will discriminate against her.
Eunuchs were pitiful; unless they were very wealthy enough to own property outside the palace, they wouldn't even have a place to stay once they left.