Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 978: Chapter 689: Annihilating Calamity (Part 3)

Yang Chengye looked at the reaction of the audience and asked, “What are your thoughts, esteemed ministers?”

Li Wenchun, Zheng Yulin, and Qin Jing directly looked towards Lu Wenquan in the front, without any intention to speak.

Da’an’s Cabinet was still quite harmonious, with no drama of conflict, because no one was qualified to contend with Lu Wenquan.

In terms of ability and experience, Lu Wenquan was enough to convince everyone, and in terms of status, Lu Wenquan was Yang Zhenshan’s nephew and Yang Chengye’s cousin.

As long as Lin Zhan does not contend with Lu Wenquan, no one in Da’an’s court can shake Lu Wenquan’s position.

Obviously, the most important factor is that Yang Chengye relies heavily on Lu Wenquan, and with Yang Chengye’s reliance, Lu Wenquan is virtually invincible; even Lin Zhan must step aside.

“This old minister has no opinions,” Lu Wenquan had to speak up.

“Hmm!” Yang Chengye looked at Lu Wenquan doubtfully, “Shouldn’t we seize the opportunity to campaign against Chen Hengchang?”

Lu Wenquan shook his head, “Your Majesty, now is not the time for a southern expedition!”

“The new dynasty is newly established, everything is renewed, all industries await development; the court is currently powerless to support a southern expedition!”

“At least we need a year to prepare for the southern expedition!”

“Furthermore, the Wuliang Royal Court in the north has completed its unification, and they may soon invade the Northern Border of our Da’an, and there’s the Da Yue Dynasty in the west; their vanguard forces have already entered Chongshan Town.”

“Nowadays, Da’an is surrounded by enemies on all sides; the priority is not to launch a southern expedition, but to recuperate, stabilize the current situation; regardless of what happens in Jiangnan, we must not take the initiative to attack!”

Yang Chengye heard this and frowned, “Won’t this be too passive!”

He considered it a good opportunity, as Jiangnan was currently chaotic, and missing it would be a pity.

Moreover, as time goes on, the Divine Sun Sect’s frantic power would likely become increasingly formidable.

Lu Wenquan rubbed his brow and said, “There is no other way! Your Majesty, compared to a southern expedition, what’s more pressing for us now is to resume the imperial examinations!”

He also knew it was a good opportunity, but the conditions simply did not allow it.

Chongshan Town dispatched troops last April, and now it’s only August, meaning it has only been a year and four months since the deployment.

In this year and four months, they traveled thousands of miles, destroyed Da Liang, occupied two-thirds of Da Rong’s territory, and established a new dynasty.

The foundation of the Yang family is deep; many nobles and officials pledged allegiance to the Yang family, yet the new dynasty remains a tangled mess, with many issues awaiting resolution.

The foremost issue is a shortage of officials.

Many former officials of Da Rong cannot be employed, and the officials from Liaodong and Chongshan Town cannot fill this gap.

As a result, many government offices in various prefectures only have a principal official, without even a deputy.

Perhaps it’s easy to conquer Jiangnan, but the problem is even if Jiangnan is conquered now, the court has insufficient officials to govern Jiangnan.

Moreover, Chen Hengchang occupies not only Jiangnan but also Fuhai and Yun Gui; it would be unreasonable to conquer it and leave it unmanaged.

Yang Chengye also knew Lu Wenquan was speaking the truth; he thought for a moment and ultimately abandoned the idea of a southern expedition.

“Then we shall forget about it; let’s mend our internal affairs and then think of unifying the world!”

The new dynasty faces issues beyond a scarcity of officials, including a lack of money and grain, as well as insufficient military strength.

The domain is too vast, and issues abound everywhere.

To make all regions of Da’an prosperous will take at least ten to eight years.