Chapter 159 Rumors and Bloody Fingerprints
Fu Chenan lived in the prefectural government office.

The first thing he did when he returned to the yamen was to write a memorial reporting today's battle situation and apply for military pay for the Fu family army.

The Fu family army chased all the way, and their food on the road depended entirely on the grain they snatched back from the Tatars when they recaptured those cities. In the final analysis, it was not legitimate.

If the imperial court could allocate military pay, they would have a bright future.

Early the next morning, the memorial was handed to the emperor.

The emperor looked at the memorial and became angry: "You have no order to leave the station, and you have 30,000 troops only a hundred miles away from the capital, yet you dare to ask me for food and money?!"

Lu Daban stood nearby with his head lowered respectfully, not responding, but he was very confused in his heart.

The emperor knew yesterday that the Fu family army was coming, why did he say this today?
In the final analysis, it's just that they don't want to provide food and wages.

Is the situation like that year going to happen again?

Sure enough, the emperor threw the memorial to the ground and said, "This memorial is rejected and I reprimand you!"

"Yes." Lu Daban bowed and agreed, picked up the memorial and prepared to hand it to the ministers to write a memorial to reject and reprimand.

The emperor looked at Lu Daban's hurried back and felt something was wrong for a moment.

At such a critical moment, why didn't he persuade himself? !
Isn’t he afraid that the Fu family army will quit and the Tatar cavalry will really invade the capital?

When Lu Daban came back, the emperor stared at him with a dark face.

Lu Daban was frightened by being stared at, and he quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, what did I do wrong?"

"Why don't you persuade me to approve food and wages for the Fu family army?" The emperor's voice was very gloomy.

Lu Daban kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor. Your Majesty's words are golden and jade, and what you say is what it is."

"How dare I, a rootless person, comment on military and national affairs?"

"Even if I had ten courages, I wouldn't dare to do that!"

The emperor's expression improved a little: That's true...

"Rumors" soon spread throughout the capital.

The emperor was planning to use the people of Jeju as cannon fodder, but it was General Fu Chenan who went to the battlefield despite being ill and turned the tide, saving the entire population of Jeju!
The Fu family army pursued the Tatar cavalry for thousands of miles, and together with the White Tiger Army led by General Fu from the suburban camp of Beijing, they attacked from the front and back, successfully blocking the Tatar cavalry outside Jeju City!
The emperor sent someone to reprimand the Fu family army, saying that the Fu family army left the station without being summoned, and refused to pay them food and wages...

The people who chose to stay in the capital were dumbfounded: They came to fight the Tatar cavalry, and they thought they were making a mistake?

Not only is it bad enough not to reward him with military merit, but he is also being reprimanded?

No food yet?
If it were normal, it would be fine, but the emperor is far away.

But now they are really scared!
They were afraid that the emperor would treat the Fu family army like this, so the Fu family army would just slap their butts and return to their base, no longer caring about the Tatar cavalry!

There are a total of 100,000 troops stationed in and around the capital, but they have never fought a war. What should they do if they cannot withstand 50,000 Tatar cavalry?
The scholars were the first to get restless and wrote a petition on behalf of the Fu family army, inviting the common people to put their blood fingerprints on it and prepare to present it to the emperor, requesting fair treatment for the Fu family army.

Some scholars also began to form teams to sit in silence at the palace gate to fight for food and money for the Fu family army.

In the Drunken Red Mansion, Mei Niang leaned on the couch, the corner of her mouth raised sarcastically: "Want to let the tragedy of that year happen again? I won't agree!"

"Even if the Fu family army does not get the treatment they deserve, I want to let the world know that it is not the Fu family army that has failed the court or the emperor."

"It is the Emperor who failed the Fu family army!"

Water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it.

Only when the emperor is despised by the people of the world and replaced, will the people of the world feel that "this is what it should be"!
By the time the rumor reached the emperor's ears, thirty or forty scholars had quickly gathered at the palace gate!
They didn't make any noise, just sat there, holding in their hands the petitions they had collected, with a few short sentences on them.

The Fu family army risked their lives to protect their country. Please, Your Majesty, give them food and wages! Every petition was filled with bloody fingerprints, which was shocking.

The emperor was furious and ordered that all the scholars be dragged out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded.

Now even the civil servants could no longer play dumb: "Your Majesty, this cannot be done..."

If the scholars were suppressed, and the emperor really stopped allocating money to the Fu family army, and the Fu family army really returned to their base, what would happen to the capital?
What will happen to the family business they have worked hard to build over the years?
The imperial court was overthrown. What would happen to their official positions? What would happen to their entire families?
Isn’t it just military pay?

How can military pay be more important than life? !

You give it to me!

The civil servants tried their best to persuade the emperor to provide military pay.

The emperor's face turned white and then red, and then red and then black, just like a dye shop.

Finally, he looked towards the position of the Minister of Revenue with embarrassment: "Hasn't the military pay for the Fu family army been allocated?"

The Minister of Revenue stepped forward and reported truthfully: "The treasury is empty, and the Fu family army's August salary has not yet been paid."

It's already the end of September.

The court officials looked at each other, not knowing how to persuade him.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor held a lavish banquet to entertain his ministers, and various exquisite lanterns and fireworks decorated the capital beautifully...

Were these expenditures caused by intercepting the food and wages of the Fu family army?
The emperor threw an inkstone at the Minister of Revenue: "No matter how difficult it is, we must first ensure the military pay! What do you do as a Minister of Revenue?"

The Minister of Revenue was hit on the shoulder and immediately knelt down to plead guilty, saying "I am guilty" with his mouth but "I am innocent" in his heart!
It was the emperor who told him personally that it didn't matter if the Fu family army's salary was paid later. The empress dowager in the palace liked to have a lively time, so she asked the Ministry of Revenue to arrange a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet first...

The emperor showed filial piety, but he took the blame... The Minister of Revenue expressed that he felt aggrieved.

Finally, the emperor was forced to allocate half a month's food and wages to the Fu family army, and the scholars dispersed.

But in this way, the treasury is basically empty.

The salaries of civil and military officials could not be paid.

Those who have connections to make money don't care, but those who work in low-paying government offices and have no money to make money just look at each other in bewilderment.

How do we live like this?
I worked so hard to study and become an official, but now I can’t even get my salary…

An atmosphere of sorrow and desolation spread throughout the capital.

The emperor had a solution: increase the autumn harvest tax in all regions by another 20%!
The original tax rate was 30%, and now it has been increased by 20%, making it 50%!

As soon as the news came out, the common people and the wealthy landlords were filled with grief: this was forcing them to bleed!
In just one day, the tense atmosphere spread from the capital to all parts of the country.

Especially the towns that had just been attacked by the Tatar cavalry. They had already suffered from the war. Now the court did not talk about disaster relief, but simply increased taxes...

This is forcing people to die!

On that day, some people hanged themselves out of despair.

It was already the evening of the next day when Fu Chenan heard the news. He looked at the news and could only sneer.

What is there about such a court and such an emperor that makes them worthy of the people's love and support?
Public resentment has arisen. What will you do next, Your Majesty, to resolve the situation?
Sitting on the deserted city wall, looking at the valley in the distance gradually shrouded in darkness, listening to the voices coming from the walkie-talkie from time to time.

"General Fu, General Fu, the Tatar cavalry has begun to gather. They seem to be preparing to attack..."

(End of this chapter)