The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 841 Asking for a Fight
Ten days later, at the Rongguo Mansion.

Sister Feng hurriedly entered Madam Wang's room.

"It's terrible, Madam! My second uncle just sent a letter saying that Master has been impeached."

"what?"

Madam Wang, who was striking the wooden fish, suddenly changed her expression.

Her second brother is now a high-ranking official of the first rank. For him to send a message specifically for her, it must mean that the problem is quite serious.

Lady Wang then glared coldly at Jia Huan, who was copying books in the room, and said, "Get out."

Jia Huan, who had been hunched over with a shifty look, ready to listen to the news, suddenly shuddered, jumped off the low kang (heated brick bed), and ran away.

At this moment, Sister Feng also walked up to Madam Wang and heard her press for answers: "What exactly happened?"

"The specifics are still unclear, but it seems that the master colluded with his subordinates to extort students while in office, and also condoned his servants to injure people, causing an uproar among the local scholars."

The imperial court has now dispatched people to investigate, and they should arrive in Guangzhou Prefecture soon.

"What should we do? What should we do!" Madam Wang paced anxiously in circles.

“You know your uncle’s character; he is an upright official and would never do something so outrageous that would anger both heaven and man…”

Wang Xifeng quickly reassured him, "Don't worry, Madam. We all know how good Master is as an official. Perhaps the court has made a mistake, or perhaps it was all done behind Master's back, and Master is unaware of it..."

"That may be true, but the imperial court is treacherous. Besides, Guangzhou is thousands of miles from the capital..."

At this point, Madam Wang suddenly thought of the all-powerful Jia Lian and immediately asked, "By the way, where is Lian'er? Does he know about this?"

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "I don't know about that. But don't worry, Madam. I received a message from him this morning saying that he has already set off from Tianjin and will probably be back in the capital this afternoon."

"That's good..."

Madam Wang seemed much more at ease, which made Wang Xifeng secretly smile.

I don't know when it started, but whenever any problem arises in the family, the first person they think of is the man in his family!

Despite her complaints, Sister Feng wasn't offended at all. On the contrary, she loved the feeling that others couldn't live without her.

Madam Wang noticed Feng Jie's smugness, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she asked, "It's only been a few days, why is Lian'er suddenly coming back? Is it because of the matter with Prince Bei Jing?"

Sister Feng said, "He didn't say what the reason was, but it's probably pretty much the same. I heard there's a lot of trouble in Liaodong now. Apparently, Prince Bei Jing is trapped in Liaocheng by the Jurchens, and the court is in an uproar over it. I guess there's going to be another war..."

Sister Feng suddenly became somewhat worried as she spoke.

She remembered that her husband seemed to be a warmonger, and if war really broke out again, she was afraid that her husband would have to leave the capital for a distant expedition again.

Madam Wang didn't think too much about it; she just felt that everything made sense.

As long as Jia Lian returns to the mansion, with Jia Lian in charge at home and her second brother watching over things in the court, it's likely that Bao Yu's father won't encounter any major trouble.

……

Daming Palace, Southern Study.

Emperor Ningkang was discussing important matters with several trusted ministers.

"In your opinion, how many troops should we send this time?"

"Your Majesty, the court is now in a state of relative stability and there are many matters to attend to. We simply cannot spare enough money, grain, and manpower to support the army's expedition."

Moreover, we must guard against the Tatars in the north taking the opportunity to invade the Central Plains.

Your humble servant believes that it is sufficient to have the General Who Guards the Nation lead an army of ten thousand.

"Ten thousand is far too little!"

"Your Excellency is mistaken. Ten thousand troops were merely drawn from the capital. If the General of the State is capable, he can draw troops from all sides outside the pass for his own use after leaving the pass."

If the General Who Guards the Nation is incompetent, even commanding a larger army will be of no use.

The debate continues.

Seeing this, Emperor Ningkang coughed. After things quieted down, he looked at Prince Teng and said, "Minister Wang, you have led troops to quell border troubles before. In your opinion, how many troops should we send now?"

Prince Teng replied, "Your Majesty, I also feel that ten thousand is too few. How about giving General Zhenguo twenty thousand troops and replenishing all the logistics and supplies? As Lord Zhao suggested, General Zhenguo can replenish the rest himself after arriving at the border."

Surely, with the General's loyalty to the Emperor and the country, he will understand the court's predicament.

Emperor Ningkang waved his hand and said, "Very well, we will do as Minister Wang says."

Seeing this, the others all looked at Wang Ziteng with strange eyes.

Unexpectedly, this newly appointed cabinet minister is so highly regarded by His Majesty that he listens to him without question.

Only Wang Ziteng smiled bitterly to himself.

Emperor Ningkang was not blindly following his advice; rather, the compromise he offered, based on the current situation of the court and Emperor Ningkang's expressed attitude, just happened to suit Emperor Ningkang's wishes.

Next, Emperor Ningkang and his court officials discussed the specific details of the expedition.

Suddenly a eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Rongguo is requesting an audience outside the palace."

Emperor Ningkang was taken aback: "Jia Lian? Didn't he go to Tianjin?"

Seeing this, the other ministers also stopped talking.

One of them laughed and said, "Although Duke Rong is young, he is a skilled warrior who has made great contributions to the court on several occasions."

"It must be because he heard that war had broken out again in Liaodong that the Duke of Rong could no longer stay in Tianjin."

Another person added, "I've often heard people say that Prince Bei Jing and Duke Rong are the two most outstanding talents in our dynasty. I've also heard that they have a very deep friendship in private."

"With Prince Bei Jing trapped in Liaocheng, Duke Rong must be extremely anxious, and this trip must be for that reason."

Hearing the ministers' repeated praise of Jia Lian, Emperor Ningkang remained noncommittal, simply telling the eunuch, "Let him in."

A moment later, when Jia Lian stepped into the South Study and saw the assembled high-ranking officials, he was also taken aback.

However, he did not show it and greeted the emperor very promptly.

Emperor Ningkang said displeasedly, "Why didn't you focus on building ships in Tianjin? What are you doing back here?"

"Your Majesty, the situation in Tianjin is not something that can be handled by sitting in the government office and having me keep an eye on things every day."

The naval port there has long been completed, and the shipyard is being expanded in an orderly manner. All the samples and blueprints of the warships have been completed. I only need to delegate the task, and the people below will naturally be able to handle it.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, the three hundred new warships you requested will definitely be delivered within the stipulated time."

Many ministers who were meeting Jia Lian for the first time were somewhat surprised to see him speaking so eloquently in front of Emperor Ningkang.

I don't understand why Jia Lian dares to be so casual in front of Emperor Ningkang.

It seems the emperor must have sent him to Tianjin to build ships, but he ran back to the capital without an imperial decree. To most people, that would be considered dereliction of duty.

But for Jia Lian, this seemed to be the most normal thing in the world.

Moreover, Emperor Ningkang seemed to have no intention of pursuing the matter. This left many officials, who were diligent in their duties and deeply felt that serving the emperor was like walking on thin ice, feeling quite uncomfortable.

Let alone those who were meeting him for the first time, even those ministers who already knew that Emperor Ningkang doted on Jia Lian like a son felt that people cannot be compared.

Little did these people know that Emperor Ningkang, finding Jia Lian's ventures in Tianjin too expensive, had already repeatedly cut Jia Lian's funding.

Although he had already discussed this with Jia Lianming, seeing that Jia Lianming showed no sign of complaint upon meeting him and even confidently promised to complete the task on time, he felt somewhat embarrassed and naturally wouldn't pursue Jia Lianming's minor mistakes.

As a result, Emperor Ningkang even abandoned his court officials and began to pay attention to the affairs of Tianjin.

"I heard that you were encouraging private shipyards to be built in Tianjin, and even sharing the relevant technology and blueprints with merchants and clans free of charge?"

"Your Majesty, this is indeed true."

Upon hearing this, many ministers became restless.

"How can this be done? How can the imperial shipbuilding technology be made public to merchants and the common people? Isn't this absurd!"

"Exactly. The common people are ignorant, and merchants are driven by profit. How can you guarantee they won't leak the technology?"
If the enemy learns our true strength, and this causes losses in the future, who can bear the responsibility?

Faced with the crowd's agitation, Jia Lian scoffed: "Gentlemen, you are far too short-sighted. It's just some shipbuilding techniques; what damage could it possibly cause?"
Have you not heard that the strength of one person is ultimately limited, but the fire of many hands makes the flame burn brighter?

Although the imperial court is large and powerful, it also has many other matters to attend to and cannot devote too much energy and money to maritime affairs.

At least not for now.

Therefore, the only way to quickly improve our dynasty's control over the sea is to mobilize the power of the people.

If I give them the technology and provide them with certain policy support, there will surely be some insightful people who will invest manpower and money in the shipbuilding industry.

When the imperial court gradually lifts the sea ban in the future, this situation will surely continue to unfold one after another!

In this way, without spending too much of the imperial court's annual revenue, large and small ships along the coast of our dynasty can spring up like mushrooms after rain.

If there is no war at that time, these ships will naturally become fishing boats or merchant ships.

Once our dynasty goes to war with foreign forces, such as conquering the Japanese pirate stronghold of East Japan that has repeatedly invaded our coast, these ships can be transformed into our dynasty's troop transport ships and even warships in an instant!

This is a crucial plan concerning whether our dynasty can dominate the seas and deter foreign enemies. If you do not understand it, then do not speak in vain.

Jia Lian's words made the mouths of everyone in the hall twitch.

Most of the people standing there were over fifty years old. Now, being told by a junior that they were short-sighted, one can imagine how they felt.

Of course, many people are focusing on one word.

Lift the maritime ban.

The maritime ban had been in effect for decades. Although there were often merchants along the coast who secretly traded with foreigners in Southeast Asia and even the West, many of these businesses were even family businesses of high-ranking officials in the imperial court.

But these are all secrets known to everyone in the shadows, and the imperial court has always turned a blind eye to them.

Now, Jia Lian actually dares to say in front of the emperor that he wants to lift the sea ban in the future?

The key point is that Emperor Ningkang did not refute it?
Intelligent people have already begun to think about things in the long term.

Perhaps it was precisely because everyone in the hall had different ideas that no one immediately jumped out to oppose Jia Lian, and the hall was unusually quiet.

Emperor Ningkang had long heard Jia Lian talk about the benefits and necessity of opening up the sea, and he was persuaded by Jia Lian's words.

Judging from the reactions of the ministers in the palace, it seemed that they did not have much of an opinion on opening the sea. He was surprised and made up his mind.

After the internal problems of the court are resolved, he must send more people to Southeast Asia and the West to see if those barbarian countries are as powerful as Jia Lian said!
Therefore, before the ministers could launch an attack on Jia Lian, Emperor Ningkang spoke first: "Even if what you say makes sense, you cannot arbitrarily disclose those key blueprints and technologies to the public."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I naturally understand. What I have revealed are some techniques on how to build larger and stronger ships. As for more advanced techniques, such as how to mount the Zhenyuan cannons onto warships and how to use cannons in naval battles, I will naturally keep those to myself."

Emperor Ningkang nodded and said, "You've come back at just the right time. I happen to have something to tell you."

I have decided to select a group of mid- to high-ranking naval commanders from Zhejiang and Fujian to Tianjin to learn how to reform a modern navy and new naval tactics.

This matter concerns the entire reform of the Great Wei Navy. I entrust you with full responsibility; you must do a good job.

"This, this..."

Seeing Jia Lian hesitate, Emperor Ningkang said with displeasure, "What, you don't want to teach?"

Jia Lian quickly replied, "Your Majesty, it's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that..."

"Just say what you have to say, why are you stammering!"

"Your Majesty, I have heard that the Jurchens of Liaodong have invaded. Is this true?"

"It's true... What do you want?"

"Your Majesty, your subject Jia Lian requests permission to fight!"

Everyone was surprised that Jia Lian refused the task assigned by Emperor Ningkang, but they never expected him to suddenly kneel down and volunteer for the mission.

While it is common for military men to be warlike, it is somewhat surprising that Jia Lian, at such a young age and already holding the position of Duke, is still so belligerent.

As the saying goes, "A clay pot is bound to break at the well, and a general is bound to die on the battlefield."

Even the bravest general can stumble.

With such status and identity, why should Jia Lian seek fame and fortune like others?
Is it really just a burning passion to serve one's country?

Emperor Ningkang was also surprised, but he quickly said coldly, "I have already discussed this battle with you all. The General Zhenguo will lead the troops into battle. Don't even think about it."

"The General Who Guards the Nation? Which General Who Guards the Nation?"

Wang Ziteng explained, "The Nan'an Prince's Mansion, the son of the previous Nan'an Prince, General Huo Zhao."

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, this is unacceptable. If Huo Zhao is appointed as commander, we fear he will be ill-equipped for this battle!"

"presumptuous!"

Emperor Ningkang was angry.

The others frowned as well.

To say such detrimental things before the battle is worthy of being accused of sowing discord among the troops.

Wang Ziteng and others who were on good terms with Jia Lian also quickly gave Jia Lian meaningful glances.

"I will consider your youth and your eagerness to serve the country, and thus I will not pursue the matter of your slip of the tongue."

"Very well, I have important matters to discuss with you gentlemen. You may leave now."

Jia Lian's expression shifted, perhaps realizing that Emperor Ningkang had made up his mind and brooked no argument, so he could only dejectedly reply, "Yes..."

……

PS: In the original novel, there was confusion about how many of the four non-royal princely families still had princes. This book adopts the setting that "only the Prince of Bei Jing had high merit in those days, and his descendants still inherit the title of prince today." Apart from the Prince of Bei Jing's family, the heirs of the other three families have all been demoted.

(End of this chapter)