The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 736 The secret of the year

One hundred and twenty steps in front of the retired emperor’s palace, flags were fluttering and armor was bright.

Shi Ding, wearing general's armor, rode out on his horse.

"Qian Yi!"

"Sun Jia!"

"You two bastards! The Emperor treated you well, yet you colluded with the Crown Prince to commit treason!"

"Holding the emperor hostage is a sinister plot!"

"Your Majesty's army has arrived to suppress the rebellion, why don't you come out and die!"

Every word he spoke was filled with indignation, causing tens of thousands of soldiers in front and behind him to look at him in awe.

In front of the palace, Sun Jia, deputy commander of the Cavalry Battalion, was so angry that his beard stood up.

"Shi Ding, you despicable villain, you..."

His extreme indignation caused his speech to be intermittent, and he seemed to lack energy and confidence.

But when Shi Ding heard Sun Jia's words, his old face couldn't help but turn red.

He knew that Emperor Ning Kang just needed him to put on such a show in front of everyone. As for how many people believed him, it didn't matter too much.

The historian would record his words and deeds at this time as important evidence of "history".

As a result, he would become a meritorious minister who exposed the prince's conspiracy and helped Emperor Ning Kang to quell the rebellion and save the emperor.

  Not only will your life and property no longer be in jeopardy, you may even be promoted to a higher position!

Therefore, the guilt only exists for a short moment before it is suppressed by the powerful psychological construction ability.

In order to prevent Sun Jia from doing anything bad, he didn't wait for Sun Jia to finish speaking, and started to curse at Sun Jia in a louder and more righteous voice in front of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Surrounded by the three armies at the back, Emperor Ning Kang only watched the verbal fight for a moment, and when he saw that Shi Ding was not losing, he stopped paying attention.

He turned around and looked at Feng Sheng, Jia Lian and others.

Feng Sheng said: "Your Majesty, the three armies are already in place and can launch a general attack at any time."

Jia Lian also said, "I have already replaced the shrapnel with solid lead bullets as ordered by your majesty. With the simple fortifications of the palace, it will only take three volleys at most to destroy most of them, allowing my army to march straight in to suppress the rebellion."

"it is good!"

It was not until this moment that Emperor Ning Kang finally showed a hint of excitement on his face.

  After many years of long-cherished wish, I can finally fulfill it today!

Just as Emperor Ning Kang and his generals were explaining the final details of the battle, there was a noise of shouting, crying and cursing from the front.

Emperor Ning Kang looked up and saw that Shi Ding had also "returned victoriously". He said to Emperor Ning Kang, "Your Majesty, the princes and dukes in the palace and the ministers in the court want to leave the palace to avoid disaster. The traitor Sun Jia is trying to stop them, but he seems unable to stop them."

Emperor Ning Kang frowned slightly.

Of course he knew that since the chaos on the mountain in the late night of the day before yesterday, many of the "rich and idle people" on the mountain chose to enter the palace of the retired emperor in order to avoid disaster.

In fact, even his palace was almost completely breached last night, but until now, everything was fine inside the palace of the retired emperor.

It's a pity that now that his army is approaching and an armed conflict is about to break out between the two sides, the princes, senior officials and their respective families who cherish their lives are naturally panicked and afraid and want to flee the battlefield.

Although Emperor Ning Kang didn't care much about these people in his heart, he knew that he couldn't let them all die in the chaos.

So he ordered his generals, “If they come over, let them go and don’t cause unnecessary unrest.”

"Yes."

……

In the palace, when Shi Ding's words reached the ears of the retired emperor, he became completely furious.

  Shi Ding was just an ordinary son of the Shi family, neither the eldest nor the last born. He was noticed by him and promoted step by step, which gave him the opportunity to rise to prominence!

Later, because of his modest military achievements, he was made an exception and conferred the title of marquis on him, which was the highest honor.

But, such a person would actually betray him, and he actually dared to betray him!

  Unforgivable, unforgivable!

At this time, the commander of the Cavalry Battalion, Qian Yi, entered the palace to report: "Report to the Supreme Emperor, there is news from the front that the princes and royal family nobles who have been staying in the temporary palace are clamoring to leave the palace..."

"Let them go!"

"Yes." Qian Yi didn't dare to say a word more and left with his head down.

After Qian Yi left, the emperor seemed to be in a state of difficulty, with rapid breathing in and out of his chest. The old eunuch beside him saw this and quickly squatted down to help him breathe.

But after a few moves, he was pushed away by the emperor.

Looking up, the emperor seemed to have calmed down a lot, but his face became even gloomier.

He supported himself with his hands and stood up from the golden chair, saying coldly: "Doesn't he like to act? I want to go and see for myself whether he can still act in front of me."

So, the retired emperor sat in his special four-wheeled wheelchair, pushed by eunuchs, and came to the gate of the palace.

On the periphery, Emperor Ning Kang postponed the attack because he did not want to sacrifice hundreds of noble lives.

But tens of thousands of soldiers were lined up in front of the palace like a mountain and sea, ready to go.

The sudden appearance of the retired emperor's dragon carriage unconsciously reduced the solemn and murderous atmosphere in the venue by seven or eight points.

Everyone held their breath and watched this rare confrontation between the two saints.

The emperor did not ask for any protection, he just came to the open space between the two armies naturally.

He felt a little better when he saw the imperial soldiers in front of him all lowering their heads silently as he glanced at them.

"Sir, come out and see me."

The majestic rebuke sounded a little weak due to his old age.

But the whole place was silent, and the sound, accompanied by the mountain breeze, could actually be heard by many people.

Emperor Ningkang was facing the retired emperor, so he naturally heard it.

The corners of his mouth twitched unconsciously, and he still remembered that he seemed to have said the same sentence not long ago.

At this moment, he suddenly felt that the retired emperor was quite similar to him, and in a trance he recalled his father whom he once respected and admired.

Without any hesitation, he waved his hand to signal the people protecting him to disperse and rode forward.

"Father."

Compared to the retired emperor, Emperor Ning Kang's voice sounded much calmer.

The retired emperor frowned, as if he realized that his temperament was outdone by that of Emperor Ningkang.

"Is this what you want?"

The Emperor asked, his voice sounding calmer than before.

"Father knows what your son wants."

  "Do you know how many innocent people have died because of your selfishness?

The soldiers who died last night were the foundation of the empire. You are destroying the fate of our great Wei."

The emperor stood at the highest moral point and criticized Emperor Ning Kang.

  Emperor Ning Kang finally couldn't control himself anymore: "Father, do you really think that all this is caused by me alone?

Father is really not at fault at all?"

"My mistake was that I shouldn't have handed over my ancestors' country to you!"

The words of the retired emperor made Emperor Ning Kang silent.

He knew that there was no point in saying anything more.

He bowed silently to the retired emperor on his horse, then turned around and returned to the formation without saying a word.

His rude behavior caused the anger that the emperor had suppressed with great difficulty to burst out again.

After all, he did not lose his composure in front of the three armies.

  Just when everyone was wondering what the retired emperor would do after being ignored by Emperor Ning Kang, the retired emperor suddenly called out:

"Jia Lian."

Everyone followed the emperor's gaze and looked at the White Horse General in front of the Musket Army in the southwest.

  Jia Lian was stunned, but he was cursing in his heart. "Your Majesty, if you can't beat me, why don't you just admit defeat? Why do you have to keep staring at me?"

What good would it do you to kill me?

He couldn't help but look at Emperor Ning Kang, but unfortunately Emperor Ning Kang, who was surrounded by his personal army, didn't seem to understand what he meant. He just glanced at him without any other instructions.

In front of tens of thousands of eyes, Jia Lian dared not ignore the emperor. After hesitating for a moment, he rode forward, bowed and said, "Greetings to the emperor."

Because Jia Lian was a little far away, the emperor sitting in a wheelchair didn't have to look up at him.

"So similar... When I see you now, it's like I'm seeing myself back then."

Looking at the handsome, young and heroic Jia Lian, the emperor couldn't help but sigh.

Jia Lian was stunned and speechless, and at the same time, several invisible question marks appeared above his head involuntarily.

He believed that at this moment, many people had the same doubts as him.

Could it be that the Emperor Taizong was so mad at Emperor Ningkang that he was trying to get close to his subjects at this time?

"It is said that children and grandchildren resemble their ancestors. Among all my bloodlines, you are the one who looks the most like me when I was young, both in appearance and demeanor."

Before everyone could speculate too much, the emperor immediately dropped another depth charge, shocking everyone.

Jia Lian was also stunned. He didn't quite understand what the retired emperor meant, but he instinctively realized that the situation was not good.

"I do not understand what the Supreme Emperor means. I was born in the Rongguo Mansion. My father was the late First-Class Divine General Jia She, and my grandfather was the First-Class Duke of Rongguo Jia Daishan."

The emperor smiled, and his old eyes were extremely kind at this moment.

He ignored the three armies and seemed to have only Jia Lian in his eyes.

"You don't have to think too much. You are indeed my bloodline left behind, just like your father."

Jia Lian was shocked.

  Is it really his bloodline, the same as Jia She’s?

Does this mean that Jia She is not Jia Daishan’s son, but the illegitimate son of the retired emperor?

So, he...his predecessor and Jia She are both descendants of the retired emperor?

"I originally wanted to tell you this a long time ago. But your life story involves a secret that happened back then, and it is inconvenient to tell the world, so I have delayed it until now."

Ignoring the shock of Jia Lian and the others, the Emperor said to himself:

"When I was still the King of Dai, I was ordered by my brother to inspect the border. At that time, Jia Daishan was just a captain of the imperial guards, and he was my accompanying general.

It happened that Marquis Anyang rebelled, so I led troops with Jia Daishan to suppress the rebellion. It was at that time that I met your grandmother.

She is the sister of Marquis Anyang. She is gentle, beautiful, well-educated and well-mannered. I fell in love with her at first sight.

However, Taizu had just passed away and the court was in chaos. For some reasons, I could not bring her back to the palace, so I placed her in Rongguo Mansion and asked Jia Daishan to protect her.

But when I have time, I will still visit her often.

Later, your father was born.

Your father is a bastard and I really don't like him.

But I didn't expect that you would appear many years later.

Do you know how happy I was when I heard that you had made great contributions on the border and when I heard that you were both civil and military.

I have been looking forward to the day when I can recognize you..."

  As the retired emperor spoke, a look of reminiscence flashed across his face, and at the very end, he looked at Jia Lian with kindness and warmth, as if it was Jia's mother seeing Jia Baoyu returning from a day away!

Jia Lian said nothing.

His mind was completely absorbed in searching for memories.

He suddenly remembered something.

When Jia She died, a chief eunuch from the high and mighty Chonghua Palace suddenly came to offer condolences.

Although the eunuch came and left quickly, and there was no indication of who had assigned him, everyone at the time speculated that it was the retired emperor who bestowed the honor on his eldest son because of Jia Daishan.

Now it seems...

If this is true, then the fundamental reason for the strange and criticized system of dividing the family property between the first and second wives in Rongguo Mansion over the years seems to have been found.

Also, the emperor clearly treated him well, but he forcibly separated him and...

Taking a deep breath, Jia Lian calmed himself down.

He knew that the real trouble was coming!

Sure enough, when the emperor saw that Jia Lian seemed to have digested the heavy information he had thrown out, he immediately spoke:

"You are my grandson, and you are related to me by blood! In this time of crisis, you should stand with me.

Don't worry, after this matter is over, I will issue an order for you to recognize your ancestors..."

In front of the palace, everyone was shocked. They stared blankly at the old man and the young man who were performing a ceremony for the grandparents and grandchildren to get to know each other.

  No matter how wild their imaginations were, they could never imagine that Jia Lian, the eldest grandson of the Duke of Rong and Marquis of Zhenyuan, who was cultivated by the current emperor, would actually be the bloodline left behind by the retired emperor!

Emperor Ning Kang's face was also full of disbelief.

Like Jia Lian, he immediately remembered some strange things that had puzzled him before.

No wonder the Emperor showed such favor to Jia Lian when he first met him at the birthday banquet last year...

No wonder, when he originally wanted to enthrone Jia as a concubine, the retired emperor who had nothing to do with the matter suddenly asked him to directly enthrone Jia as a noble concubine.

At that time, he couldn't understand it at all, and because he was afraid of the emperor, he secretly had a grudge against Jia Yuanchun...

Now it seems that this is just another compensation from the retired emperor to the Jia family and the Rongguo Mansion.

Before he could list the details of the past, Emperor Ning Kang's expression changed again.

It was easy for him to understand why the emperor chose to recognize Jia Lian at this time!

In the battle last night, he was certainly shocked by the fighting power of the Cavalry Battalion, but he was even more delighted by the might of the Firearms Battalion.

Now such a powerful army is in the hands of Jia Lian...

He subconsciously looked around, and sure enough, some smart people around him also looked thoughtful.

The one among them who was extremely powerful, seeing his gaze, quietly placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist and gave him a questioning look.

Emperor Ning Kang did not make any expression. He did not even move, nor did he have any intention of stopping the retired emperor from launching an emotional offensive against Jia Lian. He just watched quietly.

In the center of the venue, the emperor looked at Jia Lian eagerly.

"I will also give you everything you deserve, and even make you a hereditary prince.

Because in my eyes, you are good enough..."

In fact, the emperor has dozens of children and no one knows how many grandchildren he has.

It stands to reason that no matter how outstanding a blood descendant is, he, who is so high and mighty, would never speak to him in such a "humble" manner.

In fact, he should not have recognized Jia Lian, at least not in public, as this would have undermined his dignity as the emperor.

But he had no choice.

Emperor Ning Kang had pushed him into a desperate situation, and he was unwilling to admit defeat.

He would never resign himself to this. He had easily won the throne amid the fight among his brothers and nephews who were as fierce as wolves and tigers. But in the end, he was defeated by the rebellious son whom he had personally fostered!

Looking at the current situation, he knew that there would be no turning point unless he could win over Jia Lian.

His imperial edict to come to the rescue was sent out as early as yesterday afternoon. Judging from the time, the first wave of reinforcements will surely arrive in half a day at most.

Therefore, as long as Jia Lian can be won over, with the advantage of the firearms battalion in his hands and the remaining troops in his hands, there will definitely be a possibility of maneuvering!

In order to make this possible, he did not hesitate to expose his moral failings in his early years in public.

He believed that if he showed such sincerity and made such a promise, he would definitely be able to win Jia Lian over.

Isn’t it true? The identity of a royal family and the title of an iron-hat king, these are the identities and status that any man dreams of!

Jia Lian is so young, he won't refuse.

……