Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The progress at Dongjiao University was going smoothly, without any unexpected troubles.

Fang Zheng Yi happily acted as a hands-off manager.

Anyway, the county had already developed a streamlined process over the years, and he delegated whatever he could.

After all, he had his own proper duties, and he still had to be on duty when required.

The early morning court session proceeded as usual.

Fang Zheng Yi remained as drowsy as ever, ignoring everything unless it directly concerned him.

This was the self-cultivation of an old loafer.

However, this time, the situation was somewhat unexpected.

"Say that again?"

Fang Zheng Yi, who had been half-closing his eyes, was jolted awake by Jingdi's angry voice.

He looked up and saw the Minister of War, Feng Jie, making a memorial to the throne.

Feng Jie said nervously, "The native rebels of Yishun have attacked Shanwei City, killing 2,700 officers and soldiers... After looting, they returned to their stockade."

"However, local reports indicate that reinforcements have been dispatched nearby."

"Is the Divine Machine Camp ready for deployment?"

"It is still being reorganized and is not yet ready..."

The anger on Jingdi's face hadn't subsided, but he nodded helplessly, "Send Cui Jun, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, to Yishun with the title of Provincial Governor to oversee the army. Suppress the rebellion and then pacify the area. Remember to report back promptly."

Feng Jie nodded in agreement and then retreated.

Having only heard half of it, Fang Zheng Yi was confused.

However, he still began to pay attention... Local conflicts and battles, large and small, had never actually stopped.

But there were no major wars; it was always a matter of a few or a few dozen deaths. Now, 2,700 people had died in one go, the first time he had experienced such a thing since joining the court.

But then he thought again, it was happening thousands of miles away... it had nothing to do with him.

He continued to slack off.

Until the court session ended, Li Yuan Zhao mysteriously approached him: "Lao Fang, there's a war in Yishun, did you hear?"

"What does it have to do with me?"

"You're not even interested in this? Are you even a man! Let's go, let's go, come with me to the East Palace to talk."

Inside the East Palace, Li Yuan Zhao eagerly pulled out an old, tattered map from who knows where and hung it on the wall.

Fang Zheng Yi stood below, acting like an elementary school student listening to a lecture.

Holding a sword, Li Yuan Zhao pointed to a spot on the map and said, "This is Yishun, the old territory of the Qian Kingdom. The barbarians gather here. Later, they submitted to our Great Jing. The imperial court has been sending money and food to this place for many years, but the barbarians are unteachable and disputes are constant."

"This time, the conflict erupted because the local officials violated their customs again. Those native barbarians have a lot of problems. I don't know which god they offended this time, but it's a common occurrence. I didn't expect things to escalate so much this time."

"The Emperor has already sent people to fight them, so what's the point of talking about this?"

Li Yuan Zhao licked his lips and said, "I guess we won't win... At best, it'll be a draw. Either way, we'll lose."

"If we could conquer it, Father would have sent people to attack long ago. Yishun is mostly mountainous, with dense forests and miasmic air, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Muskets are not as convenient as bows and arrows, and cannons are heavy and cannonballs cannot be accurately aimed. The local natives are far more familiar with the environment than our soldiers. This time, the most we can do is suppress and appease the conflict. It is impossible to make them completely submit."

"This battle, whether we win or lose, is actually a loss for us. With just this one defeat, the imperial court will have lost its prestige. The natives were already rebellious, and there are other tribes watching with covetous eyes. If we can't subdue them in one go, I'm afraid there will be endless troubles!"

"Fortunately, this time it's just Yishun," Li Yuan Zhao said, taking out a smaller map and hanging it up.

Pointing to a small house-like pattern on it, he said, "This is the main stockade of Yishun, where many tribes gather. I heard they also worship some beliefs."

"If I were to lead the troops...."

"Wait a minute!" Fang Zheng Yi looked at Li Yuan Zhao suspiciously, "From what I hear, Your Highness... wants to go to war?"

Li Yuan Zhao twitched his lips, coughed twice, and continued to point at the map.

"Listen to me, if I were to lead the troops, I would first send a large army to pressure the border... and advance in three routes, forcing the natives into the stockade."

"Based on past experience, the natives will definitely retreat and defend the stockade. Our people cannot survive outside the stockade for long, and they will automatically withdraw within a few days."

"However, as long as we dispatch two hundred elite soldiers to attack the stockade at night, and then use gunpowder to break open the gate, the army can drive straight in...."

Fang Zheng Yi nodded repeatedly: "Yes, and then?"

"Then, you lend me the two hundred elite soldiers from Taoyuan County, and I will personally go and subdue those natives."

"......"

Fang Zheng Yi's mouth instantly drooped: "Don't even think about it!"

"Your Highness, are you crazy? Running off to fight a war from so far away, and you want to borrow my men? His Majesty would have me executed first if he found out."

"Besides, why do you want to borrow my men? And why should I send them to the battlefield?"

Li Yuan Zhao sighed, looking up: "Lao Fang, I'm already this old, and I feel like I have no hope of going to the battlefield again in this lifetime. This is my only wish, really!"

"To break open the gate in a night attack, ordinary soldiers are not suitable. Those people in your Taoyuan County are not only burly and strong, but also familiar with gunpowder... there is no one more suitable than them."

"The local generals lack courage! They also don't know the power of gunpowder. The supervisor Cui Jun sent by Father is just a civil official, what does he know! What if he interferes with military affairs and sends people to attack head-on, who knows how many casualties there will be!"

This shameless thing was actually eyeing his elite soldiers, he wouldn't agree!

Fang Zheng Yi's face was long and he shook his head vigorously.

"They are doing well in the capital, this kind of thing is too dangerous, I won't lend them, and you can't go either."

Li Yuan Zhao said excitedly: "I will take the lead at that time, and if I succeed in one battle, I don't know how many lives I will save. Lao Fang, when did you become so timid?"

Fang Zheng Yi helplessly persuaded: "Your Highness, even if everything goes smoothly, it will take a lot of time to go back and forth. Don't you want to see your child born with your own eyes?"

"What's more, how can you be sure that the imperial court will definitely lose the battle? Maybe in a few months when you come back, it will be a great victory. His Majesty's use of troops is like a god, he won't be wrong."

Thinking that he had a child, Li Yuan Zhao was dejected.

He sat down next to Fang Zheng Yi and sighed, "What you said makes sense, I thought you would support me. But believe me, the outcome of this battle will not be good. In the end, both sides will only compromise with each other, and I won't be wrong about that. If Yishun could be won with conventional tactics, it should have been taken down by the Qian Kingdom's army long ago."

Seeing that he had given up, Fang Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief, staring at the map thoughtfully: "If we force people into the stockade, and then drop fire oil from the sky, wouldn't that be a victory in one battle? What do you think?"

"Heh heh, that would be great, of course! But I think it's better to perform a ritual and have divine thunder strike the enemies to death, that would be more convenient," Li Yuan Zhao mocked.

Fang Zheng Yi shrugged, noncommittal.

He was too lazy to say more about things outside his field of expertise.

The hot air balloon was still far from being a reality, could the imperial court not be able to defeat a mere native rebel with its heavy troops in a fit of rage?

......