The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 727 Choice

In the wilderness, somewhere far away outside Tiewang Mountain, a horseman was fleeing madly, and behind him, several cavalrymen were chasing him closely.

"boom!"

"Bang! Bang bang bang!"

Accompanied by a series of sparse and irregular gunshots, the man fell off his horse.

"Sir, please look!"

Jia Yu rode his horse over and took a letter that his subordinates had searched for.

Seeing that it had not been sealed and there was no indication on the surface to whom it was delivered, Jia Yu took out the letter from inside.

After just one glance, his expression changed. When he looked at the last vermilion seal of "Grand Emperor Seal", he could no longer conceal his shock.

"grown ups……?"

"Bring this man back. I want to see the Marquis right away!"

……

Jia Yu is a distant cousin of Jia Lian. After being transferred to the capital by Jia Lian, he served as the commander of the Firearms Battalion of the Imperial Guard.

In terms of authority, he is already the third person in the entire firearms battalion.

Today, I was just inspecting a few defense lines as usual, and I encountered a few horsemen coming at me aggressively, shouting at me to open the checkpoint and let them pass.

However, Jia Yu and others had already received Jia Lian's orders. This time they were following the imperial decree to set up defenses, and no one could be allowed to pass without his orders.

The two sides failed to reach an agreement, so they resorted to violent arrest.

  But he could never have imagined that the result of his arrest would be like this!

Isn’t the emperor retired in Tiewang Mountain?

  Not only him, but also His Majesty, and countless royal family members and court dignitaries, aren't they all participating in the royal family's annual hunting event at Tiewang Mountain?

How come someone wants to mobilize troops in the capital area under the pretext of the emperor's order?

Thinking carefully about the countless possibilities here, Jia Yu found it difficult to calm down.

He rode alone at full speed to the firearm camp.

It was quiet inside and outside the camp, with no trace of the busy scenes of soldiers and training as in the past.

Jia Yu knew that this was because the Firearms Battalion had received an order to set up a checkpoint and garrison.

But Jia Yu knew even better that in this defense deployment, not even half of the troops in the Firearms Battalion had been dispatched.

After all, there are only a few paths between Tiewang Mountain and the capital, so there is no need to mobilize thousands of troops.

Previously, Jia Lian thought that it only involved the safety of the two saints and many important figures, so he did not dare to slack off.

Now that I think about it, I am afraid that my cousin and eldest brother might have known something...

Jia Lian was naturally not idle in the residence.

His eyes were always fixed on Tiewang Mountain and the capital city.

It’s easy in Beijing.

The two western gates of the capital were controlled by the Xicheng Bingmasi under his jurisdiction.

Although the West City Military Command had been asked to change guards by the Imperial Guards last night, their number of people was only enough to guard the two city gates. The walls of the capital were high and deep, and most of the wall sections were still in the hands of the Military Command, so it would not affect Jia Lian's reception of news from the city.

Jia Lian did not feel that Emperor Ningkang did not trust him because of the Jinyiwei's seizure of power. After all, everything he said was just speculation, and he himself did not participate in Emperor Ningkang's plan.

And according to the information he received, several other senior executives of the Bingmasi experienced a bloody storm last night.

In comparison, his Xicheng Bingmasi was already quite good, at least there was no violent conflict. This also shows that the Jinyiwei's actions were indeed the intention of Emperor Ning Kang, so they were more lenient towards the Xicheng Bingmasi.

After all, everyone in the world knows that the Jinyiwei are a group of "hawks and dogs" who will bite whoever they catch.

Of course, Jia Lian also paid some attention to the capital to make sure there were no major problems. His main focus was naturally on Tiewang Mountain.

Early in the morning he received news of the riot at Tiewang Mountain, saying that the crown prince, under the banner of the retired emperor, had raised troops to surround the mountain in an effort to launch a military remonstrance against Emperor Ning Kang.

At first he was really scared, thinking that Emperor Ningkang's conspiracy had been exposed, and that the retired emperor and the crown prince had joined forces to take action against Emperor Ningkang in advance.

But he thought something was wrong, until the news from the capital came, and combined the two, Jia Lian realized that the prince's rebellion was just a trick of Emperor Ning Kang.

Moreover, the more he thought about it, the more he was amazed by Emperor Ning Kang's move.

What a great way to kill several birds with one stone. It's amazing how he could have come up with this idea.

With such a wise and resourceful Emperor Ning Kang, it is not difficult to understand why he was able to easily seize power from the retired emperor in the original novel without even causing much trouble. At least the large number of people from the four major families fell into the hands of Emperor Ning Kang without knowing anything.

Thinking of this, Jia Lian felt fortunate for his own wisdom, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

Fortunately, he had firmly clung to Emperor Ning Kang's support. It can be imagined that from now on, the entire empire would probably be ruled by Emperor Ning Kang.

His natural worry is that under such an emperor, he will have to be more cautious in the future.

Yes, after Jia Lian understood Emperor Ning Kang's strategy of forcing the emperor to abdicate and the current situation, he felt that the overall situation had been decided.

Until Jia Yu arrived.

Inside the commander's barracks, Jia Lian read the secret letter sent by Jia Yu, and then listened to his explanation of the situation at that time. His brows, which had remained unchanged even after he heard the news of the incident this morning, frowned for the first time.

  After all, according to the information and speculation he had received, Emperor Ning Kang's troops had surrounded Tiewang Mountain, and the emperor was already trapped in a jar. How could he still send out so many "messengers"?

The key point is that these messengers were able to head towards the capital city openly without being intercepted or hunted down at all?

Forgery? A sleight of hand? The key point is that Emperor Ning Kang had no reason to do such a thing.

However, the letter clearly stated, "I am in danger, and I hope that you, my dear ministers, will lead your troops to rescue me..."

  If these secret letters were to get out, it would be extremely disadvantageous to Emperor Ning Kang!

"Did you catch him alive?" "Yes, the one I caught personally is still alive!"

"Bring it here right away... Never mind, I'll go over."

……

  The messenger was taken away, and Jia Lian could still hear the other party's shouting:

"When the Emperor has put down the rebellion, I will make sure that you traitors and rebels die miserably..."

Jia Lian's heart was really a little confused.

The messenger was quite tough, and he couldn't completely pry open the other person's mouth in a short time.

But one thing can probably be confirmed.

The other party did come down from Tiewang Mountain, and was indeed the emperor's man.

Although he didn't know why this happened, it was obvious that there were new changes on Tiewang Mountain that he didn't know about.

  The key point is that he is out of the game now, so even if he wants to do something, he can't do it!

Although he had troops at his command, he dared not act rashly at this time.

Sometimes, if you are careful and cautious for ninety-nine steps, but if you take a wrong step in the last step, everything will be wrong!

"My Lord, what should we do now?"

The artillery battalion commander Jie Jun stepped forward and asked carefully.

As the military officer who first defected to Jia Lian, he has done a lot for Jia Lian over the years and can be regarded as his confidant.

It can even be said that in many cases, Xie Jun was more valued by Jia Lian than Jia Yu.

Jie Jun had been helping Jia Lian to gather information from the very beginning, so he knew the most.

He knew that his master was a staunch supporter of the emperor's party. For the sake of his master and his own future, he was of course concerned about what choice Jia Lian would make now.

Soldiers, they have.

The weapons are even more sophisticated.

The key is that they are still very close to the Two Saints of Tiewang Mountain.

Being in such a position, their every move will naturally become sensitive.

Jia Lian himself was also thinking over and over what he should do to be the safest, but facing the eager and slightly agitated gazes of Jie Jun, Jia Yu and others, he finally calmed down and said calmly: "The dispute between the saints is not something that ministers like us can interfere in.

Right now, you and I just need to do our own job, and don't ask about the rest, and we can't ask about it."

"Yes!"

Jia Yu and others naturally had no objection.

Not to mention that the Firearm Battalion was founded by Jia Lian, in terms of talent and insight, they all blindly trusted Jia Lian.

"Jia Yu stays."

“Because someone forged the Holy Order and broke into the checkpoint, for the safety of the two saints of Iron Net Mountain, I think we should set up a few more lines of defense to prevent the villains from causing trouble.

Jia Dusi, please arrange some more manpower to set up two lines of defense."

"May I ask, sir, where is it located?"

“Well, since we are considering the safety of the two saints, we should be as close to Iron Net Mountain as possible.

Take Wuli as the boundary and add two more lines of defense to the north. Okay, you go and do it. "

Xie Jun and Jia Yu looked at each other, both realizing that their master was not doing nothing, but was not daring to act rashly before clarifying the situation.

After everyone left, Jia Lian sat alone in the barracks and laughed at himself.

In the end, he became a person who was caught in two minds.

That’s right, Jia Lian did realize that Emperor Ning Kang’s plan to force the emperor to abdicate had obviously had a real flaw.

He didn't know whether this was supposed to happen or because he flapped his little wings too vigorously, causing the original historical trajectory to deviate.

However, in this unclear situation, he really couldn't just rush forward!

Emperor Ningkang treated him well, but the retired emperor didn't seem to treat him badly either. It seemed that the retired emperor, apart from being a little unreasonable, was quite kind to him as an old friend.

After all, he is not a loyal and courageous minister.

He cannot be like Yue Fei, who dares to sacrifice his life for the king.

In fact, no matter who wins or loses between Emperor Ningkang and the retired emperor, it doesn’t make much difference to him.

It would be better if Emperor Ning Kang won.

The victory of the emperor emeritus did not seem to be too far off, provided that he really did not participate in the "rebellion".

If you lead troops to help Emperor Ning Kang at this time, it would be great if you win the bet, but if you lose, you will have to start over.

As I said before, he is no longer the unfilial son of Dongkuayuan who had nothing.

He now has fame, a beautiful wife and concubines, and the favor of Baoyu and Daiyu. He has so many things, so naturally he has to consider more things.

……