lady, please calm down

Chapter 376 First Show of Strength

On September 19, a conflict broke out in Qijinjiehe River.

The Jin Kingdom lost ninety-one soldiers and wounded dozens more.

This is the first time in the twelve years since the founding of the Qi State that it has faced off against the State of Shang.

On that day, the Jin army was not ready to force the entire army to cross. After the conflict, they experienced a shooting across the river and returned to their camps.

But both sides know that the matter will not end there.

In the current atmosphere, the voices of the main war factions such as A Lihe and Wang Wenbao immediately became louder, while the peace faction officers Guo An and Han Chang, who originally advocated that the war should not be started lightly, ceased their activities.

The next day, the Jin army's commander Han Qixian ordered the entire army to prepare for war and reported yesterday's events to the Jinting of Huanglong Mansion.

At the same time, he did not forget to send an emissary across the river. The emissary came to express four main meanings. One was to complain that the officials and soldiers of Qi were too reckless, pushing the two countries of Jin and Qi to the dangerous edge of "national war".

Second, it was explained that what happened yesterday was not Han Qixian's intention, and that A Lihe and Wang Wenbao did not obey the commander's orders, so they were forced to cross.

Third, I hope that Qi State can cooperate well with his Han Qixian, try to make up for Jin State, and restore the diplomatic relations between the two countries to the greatest extent.

Fourth, we hope that the business relationship between the Huaibei Department and Nanjing Road will not be affected. If possible, we will continue to promote the establishment of a workshop in Nanjing.

Cai Si met with the emissary on behalf of Chen Chu, but only answered the fourth question, saying that no matter what happened to the two countries, as long as Fucheng was still there, they would continue to implement the trade and construction agreements with Han and Guo.

Judging from the situation Chen Chu has grasped, it will take at least several months for this border conflict to escalate into a large-scale war.

Huanglongfu has high mountains and long roads. It will take ten or twenty days for the military information about the Boundary River to be transmitted. The Jin Kingdom will then recruit grain and grass and recruit sergeants. After a set of procedures, it will be good to arrive before the year.

At this time, the North Bank claimed to have an army of 30,000, but in fact it was less than 20,000. The Han and Bo armies of Han and Guo had other ideas and may not be willing to fight to the death.

There are only three to four thousand people like A Lihe and Wang Wenbao left, and they can't make much noise for the time being.

Even so, Chen Chu still convened an enlarged meeting of the middle and upper-level officers of the Huaibei Army on the night of the 19th.

In the meeting, in addition to pragmatic details such as rush repairs of beacons along the river, garrisoning defense areas, and organizing the people, Chen Chu finally said: "I also know that this is not the best opportunity to start a war, but whether the war will be peaceful or not is not an option for our army. .If the Jin soldiers invade in large numbers, we will have no choice but to fight to the death.

If Hebei is abandoned, Tokyo will be uneasy. If Tokyo is uneasy, Huaibei will be in danger.

During the war, regardless of brotherhood or friends from the same hometown, there was only a difference between superior and inferior. If someone disrespects orders, abandons defense zones without permission, or retreats without orders, don't blame someone for not caring about their feelings.

Behind us are the fathers, mothers, wives and children of all generals. Please do your best to avoid losing the reputation of our army!

On the day of victory, I will personally sweep away the dust and disarm you all! "

"Here!"

The armies will roar in response.

This meeting is to unify everyone's thinking and strengthen their will to resist.

After all, there are quite a few old Yongjing Army and Hebei recruits in the 9th Regiment of the Fourth Brigade. Their fear of the Jin soldiers cannot be eliminated overnight.

Today, the Huaibei Army near Fucheng includes the 1st and 5th Regiments of the 1st Brigade, the 4th and 6th Regiments of the 4th Brigade, the 3rd and 9th Regiments of the 5th Brigade, two battalions of the Artillery Regiment, and Wang Yan from Hebei who is on the way. The only journey.

Not counting the Xiang troops in other counties, Chen Chu controlled a total of more than 24,000 troops.

The military deployment was centered on Wuyi, Fucheng and Jiaohe counties, extending along the river to the east and west wings.

In order not to spread the troops too thin and avoid being divided and annihilated by people sneaking across the border river on the other side, the east and west flanks were mostly small company- and platoon-level security units, responsible for supervising the local troops and organizing the people.

Under such circumstances, a rapid military information transmission system is needed.

Chen Chu still used the methods of his ancestors to build beacons.

A beacon for five miles can be completed in a few days with more than a hundred migrant workers, and the amount of work is not large.

Ordinarily, the border between the two countries should not lack such primary defense facilities, but Qi State deliberately left the border undefended in order to show its loyalty to the Jin State and at the same time to prevent the superior state from becoming suspicious.

In addition to rushing to build beacons, Chen Chu specially promoted Cai Si, the magistrate of Fucheng, to patrol the border and supervise several counties along the river to grow autumn grain, train people and dig tunnels.

While Hebei Road was preparing for the war with all its strength, the Qi State was shocked by the Qi-Jin border incident.

On September 24, when the news came back to Tokyo, many officials were so frightened that they felt like the sky was falling.

That day, there was a quarrel in the court.

Although the officials did not dare to point the finger at the King of Chu, some of the bolder ones demanded severe punishment for the perpetrator, Geng Baoxi, the commander of the ninth regiment of the fourth brigade.

Although the court has gone through two rounds of purges, this rhetoric still has the support of many people.

After all, those who are willing to submit to the King of Chu, in addition to the latter's overwhelming power, also have the intention of following the King of Chu to eat meat and drink soup.

Now it's good, the soup hasn't been drunk yet, but the King of Chu wants to smash the pot!

Is Dajin something we, Qi, can offend?

At the court meeting, Cai Yuan, the Minister of Personnel, Du Zhaoqing, the Minister of Rites, and Lu Qinzai, the new Minister of Hubu who was appointed after the year, still supported all decisions of the King of Chu regardless of right or wrong.

Gong Shaoyi, the imperial censor, led all the officials to attack several people with full force.

Gong Shaoyi and others were not against the King of Chu, but they firmly opposed war with the Kingdom of Jin.

". That Geng Baoxi is a man of his own name. He is reckless and loves great achievements, which affects millions of people in Hebei! His heart is to be punished! Fan Xiang and Zhang Shangshu should go to the road of Hebei to see the King of Chu as soon as possible and ask the King of Chu to kill this son. To put an end to the danger between the two countries!”

"."

Prime Minister Fan Gongzhi and Minister of War Zhang Chunxiao were both silent.

Although they were labeled as members of the King of Chu's lineage, they all had their own interest groups to protect, and going to war with the Kingdom of Jin would indeed be unfavorable and harmful to them.

However, the two of them learned about King Chu's determination through Cai Yuan. Agreeing with Gong Shaoyi's remarks meant opposing King Chu's decision. Agreeing with King Chu was against their own interests, so they had no choice but to remain silent.

In fact, they were not the only ones. In the court, those who did not dare to speak out against King Chu but did not agree with him were the silent majority.

After all, if the Jin Kingdom takes the opportunity to wreak havoc in the Central Plains again, it will be the worst result for both the officials and the people.

Gong Shaoyi's sentence "What a great success" was clearly referring to Geng Baoxi, who was a soldier of the King of Chu, but in fact he was criticizing the King of Chu.

In the current situation, if we don't give in quickly and apologize to the Jin State, there is only one situation that can save the Central Plains, and that is a great victory for the Qi State.

But even the staunchest allies of the Huaibei faction did not believe this result.

"Master Gong, regardless of the rights and wrongs of the border matter, why do you think it was Geng Baoxi's fault? Over the years, the soldiers of the Jin Kingdom have repeatedly caused trouble in our Hebei Province, not just one or two. In the winter of the fifth year of Fuchang, one Shijin soldiers took advantage of the frozen boundary river to cross the border and plundered Wulipu, Xujiagang and other villages, killing nine people and five prostitutes.

In the spring of the seventh year of Fuchang, five Jin soldiers got drunk and caused trouble in Jiaohe. They beat and killed a government official and made a big fuss in Jiaohe County.

Summer of the Eighth Year in Fucheng."

Du Zhaoqing, the Minister of Rites, seemed to have been prepared for it. Over the years, soldiers from the Kingdom of Jin secretly crossed the border river and caused numerous incidents.

Trying to prove that this border disaster may not be caused by the Qi soldiers, but by the Jin soldiers who are provocative as before

But after hearing this, Gong Shaoyi was a little excited and said: "How could I not know what Mr. Du said! But the country's power is not as good as others, how can we act recklessly just by relying on blood and courage? We know that we will lose the battle, but we still fight. This move It’s not bravery, but recklessness! If the Jin Kingdom takes this opportunity to move south this winter, what Master Du just said about the people on Hebei Road will happen in Tokyo and in the Central Plains! By then, will it be up to Master Du to go to Jinying to discuss what is right and wrong? , persuade the Kingdom of Jin to withdraw its troops!"

Du Zhaoqing couldn't help but be silent.

This is what a weak country is like. If there is no strong and powerful army, not only the people will suffer, but also the officials will be weak and aggrieved when facing the opponent.

Who doesn’t want to rely on the power of the military to boss around when going to other countries? But the army is weak and doesn’t give them a chance to show off!

Seeing the embarrassing scene, Zhang Chunxiao, who had witnessed the Huaibei Army from scratch and swept across Huaibei, suddenly said: "Maybe. I said it is maybe. Maybe the Jin army cannot break through our army's boundary river defense line. It's hard to say."

Before Gong Shaoyi could speak, two disdainful chuckles rang out among the officials.

The scene became increasingly embarrassing. Gong Shaoyi turned around and glared at the group of officials, then turned back and cupped her hands towards Zhang Chunxiao, sighing: "Master Zhang, do you believe this?"

Zhang Chunxiao felt embarrassed and explained: "I have already said 'maybe', I am just guessing."

With Cai Yuan, Lu Qinzai, Du Zhaoqing and other staunch Chu faction members, as well as Fan Gongzhi who was wavering and unwilling to express his position, no matter how loud the officials were, they could not change the attitude of the court.

After the court was over, when the worried Gong Shaoyi walked towards the palace gate, he noticed the head of the chamberlain, Eunuch Huang, standing outside the Xuande Hall.

Eunuch Huang was almost inseparable from His Highness Jiarou.

He appeared in the front court today. Could it be that His Highness Jiarou came to Xuande Hall?

After Gong Shaoyi thought for a moment, he turned around and walked towards Xuande Hall.

Although His Highness is a puppet, Gong Shaoyi still hopes that Jiarou can come forward to persuade the King of Chu when the country is about to survive.

As he expected, Jiarou came to Xuande Hall.

After Huang Doudou reported it, Gong Shaoyi also successfully met Jiarou. As soon as they met, Gong Shaoyi couldn't help but be stunned.

For several months, Jiarou stayed in the inner palace and rarely appeared in public.

When Gong Shaoyi thought about it, Her Highness should be in a semi-detained state. Unexpectedly, she was much plumper at this time, and her body lost some of the pure air, but added a bit of softness mixed with perseverance.

After bowing respectfully, before Gong Shaoyi could say anything, he suddenly heard a few babies crying from behind the palace.

Jia Rou quickly glanced at Gong Shaoyi below and said hurriedly: "Is there something wrong, Mr. Gong?"

Gong Shaoyi thought she was hallucinating. In the imperial city, the youngest daughter of the late emperor was five or six years old. How could a baby appear? She hurriedly lowered her head and reported: "Your Highness, the matter of the boundary river"

Gong Shaoyi explained his thoughts in detail. He knew clearly that Huang Doudou standing by was the eyes and ears of the King of Chu, so naturally he did not dare to speak ill of the latter.

Instead, he analyzed it from the perspective of strength, hoping that Jiarou could persuade the King of Chu to show weakness, and then send Du Zhaoqing as an envoy with heavy gifts to compensate the Jin soldiers who died in the battle and eliminate the conflicts between the two countries. Jiarou listened carefully, but did not make any statement. Gong Shaoyi couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed, and felt that the difficulties of Zhou Dynasty that year were probably going to happen again in Tokyo in the near future.

The next day, September 25th.

Early in the morning at Yin hour.

In Jiarou's dormitory, after several loud baby cries, Zhuan Yun, who was sleeping in the palace, quickly rubbed his sleepy eyes and got up, walked to the big bed with bright yellow bed curtains, and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, is the little princess awake? Do you want me to be taken to the wet nurse?"

After a few breaths, Jia Rou's soft voice sounded in the tent, "No need, I can just feed myself."

"Zhuan Yun, help me tie the bed curtains."

About half a quarter of an hour later, Jia Rou spoke, and Zhuan Yun quickly tied the bright yellow curtain on the bedside with the two maids brought over by Caizhou.

Inside, Jiarou was wearing a plain white lining, with a faint wet milk stain on her chest. Jiarou was holding a fleshy and pink baby and rocking it gently, looking at the little guy who had fallen asleep again with a pair of red phoenix eyes. On her pure face, there was a gentle smile that outsiders had never seen before.

Zhuan Yun was in a hurry when she entered the palace as a female official and did not receive any real training in palace etiquette. Therefore, her temperament still retained a lot of the habits of ordinary women.

At this moment, seeing the little princess sucking her thumb and falling asleep, she looked extremely cute, so she couldn't help but lean over and want to touch the little guy's face.

But her move caused Jiarou to retreat suddenly, preventing Zhuan Yun from touching her.

Zhuan Yun's hand froze in mid-air in embarrassment.

Jia Rou immediately realized that she was too nervous, and wanted to resolve it, so she moved the swaddled baby closer, staring at the little guy and whispering: "Zhuan Yun, doesn't it look good?"

"Good-looking! His nose and mouth are like His Highness's, and his eyes are like the prince's." Zhuan Yun leaned over and smiled so hard that he couldn't even see his eyebrows.

Unexpectedly, the phrase 'eyes like the prince' triggered Jiarou's retort, "She didn't even open her eyes, how did you know her eyes looked like him!"

"Haha." Zhuan Yun smiled awkwardly.

After the baby fell asleep, Jiarou carefully placed the baby on the inside of the bed, and suddenly said to Zhuan Yun: "Bring me my palace clothes and phoenix crown."

"what?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

Jia Rou glanced at the startled Zhuan Yun with dissatisfaction, then turned to see that her daughter had not been woken up, and then whispered: "Go quickly, I will go to court today!"

The officials were quite surprised at the court meeting on September 25th.

Just because Jiarou went to court.

It's not that she shouldn't go to court, but it's unexpected that His Highness, who has been living in seclusion for several months, chose this time to go to court.

Cai Yuan and Lu Qinzai, who were standing in front of the official queue, couldn't help but look at each other. They felt that there might be some trouble in today's court meeting.

Nowadays, there are many officials in the court who want the King of Chu to give in quickly. Although the only ones who openly speak out are the officials represented by Gong Shaoyi, most people remain silent due to the power of the King of Chu.

This maintains surface balance.

If His Highness stands up and clearly supports Gong Shaoyi at this time, the balance may be broken now, and the court will form a mainstream opinion against the King of Chu's use of troops.

Even if this power cannot influence the King of Chu's decision, the most important thing to avoid is internal disagreement and mutual restraint in the face of a powerful enemy.

Gong Shaoyi had just met Jia Rou yesterday, and she went to court today. Gong Shaoyi guessed that His Highness must support the views of the Zhuhe faction, so he hurriedly took the initiative and reported: "Your Highness, there are clouds of war in the north of Hebei Road, and the two countries may break out at any time. A war to destroy the country! Whether it is war or peace, please make your decision quickly, Your Highness!"

Although he was obviously a peace advocate, Gong Shaoyi gave Jiarou the two choices of "war and peace" precisely because he was convinced that Jiarou advocated peace.

Jia Rou pondered for a moment, Yanli's face became solemn, but she heard her say: "Although the Kingdom of Jin is a superior country, the Jin soldiers have been harassing our border for a long time! The Hebei frontier army has the responsibility to protect the country and the people. In this conflict, we are responsible for Whether it’s gold or not!”

"Om~"

The officials below were in an uproar. Even in the solemn Daqing Hall, whispers were still heard.

Even Gong Shaoyi, who provoked this topic, was confused by His Highness's words and characterization of the matter. Did he really not know the dangers of national war?

After Cai Yuan made eye contact with Lu Qinzai and Du Zhaoqing, they were equally confused. They didn't understand how Jiarou could clearly support the King of Chu.

"Solemn! Solemn!"

Huang Doudou, who was standing on the side, shouted several times, and the noise in the hall gradually subsided.

Before the officials could figure out what was going on, Jia Rou said again: "Since ancient times, there has been no small matter in the military. The soldiers on the front line have sacrificed their lives. Naturally, the imperial court cannot just watch indifferently! Mr. Lu"

Lu Qinzai was suddenly called by name and hurriedly came out of the queue, "Wei Chen is here."

"The household department will prepare food and grass and send it to Hebei North Road!"

"I accept your order!"

The low-pitched discussions among the officials started again. The Huaibei clan had always raised food and grass by itself during the war, and rarely opened its mouth to the court. The main reason was that the household department had been in trouble for a long time. Even though it had improved in the past two years, it could not provide much food and salary.

But, this is an attitude!

It expresses the attitude of the imperial court and the Huaibei Army to advance and retreat together!

Immediately afterwards, Jiarou called again: "Master Cai"

"I'm here."

This can be regarded as the first time Jiarou gave orders in the court, but Cai Yuannian responded respectfully to others' support for Huaibei.

"By writing a document from the Ministry of Household Affairs, the King of Chu can be promoted to the Marshal of the Army and Horses of Hebei Road, and he can uniformly dispatch all the troops, people, grain, grass, and ordnance on Hebei Road. In wartime, civil and military appointments can be made in the territory, and he can be killed first and then reported!"

The whispers could not be suppressed again in the Daqing Hall.

"I accept your order."

Cai Yuan was not so excited. The so-called power of dispatching soldiers and civilians, appointing and dismissing civil servants, even if there is no official document from the court, doesn't Chen Chu have this power?

This Marshal of Soldiers and Horses seemed to be a powerful favor from the emperor, but in fact it was just a re-announcement of Chen Chu's existing power. This move could even slightly build up Jia Rou's own authority.

Now that he has noticed some of Jia Rou's thoughts, this is a compliment from the court, and Cai Yuan must recognize it.

The Huaibei Department was delighted, but Ke Jiarou immediately said: "Master Gong"

"."

Gong Shaoyi, who was a little distracted, was lightly bumped on the arm by his colleague before he came to his senses and hurriedly stepped out of the queue and said: "I'm here!"

"There is chaos in the border areas, and the important areas in the capital must also be on strict guard. From now on, Zhuqian will recruit and train three thousand new troops near Tokyo to cooperate with the Xiang Army and the Forbidden Army to maintain peace in the capital. Lord Gong, do you dare to take this job?"

In the last sentence, Jiarou tried her best to act calm, but became slightly nervous.

She was afraid that Gong Shaoyi would not dare to take this job. If she refused in person, it would be a serious blow to the little prestige she had just established.

Gong Shaoyi lowered his head, and for a moment, heaven and man were at war in his heart.

He knew very well what it meant to organize a new army.

Nowadays, Tokyo's city defense and palace confinement are all in the hands of the King of Chu. Jiarou's new army has naturally been trained for herself. To put it bluntly, this is her attempt to ask the King of Chu to control it.

After Gong Shaoyi took charge of this matter, he would be at the forefront of the storm.

After thinking for a few moments, Gong Shaoyi resolutely said: "I accept your order!"

Zhang Chunxiao, on the other hand, was a little confused, and his eyes kept switching between Jia Rou and Cai Yuan.

Today, His Highness suddenly came to court. He first gave the Huaibei Clique the support they needed most at the moment, and then used the excuse of creating chaos in the border areas and protecting the capital to organize a new army. The Huaibei Clique had no excuse to stop this.

Cai Yuan nodded slightly towards Zhang Chunxiao, signaling the other party to be calm. It is not that easy to organize and train a new army. Now the Privy Council, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Personnel are all under the control of the Huaibei Department.

Where did you, Jiarou, get the appointment and dismissal of officers, the money and food for military training?

But even so, Cai Yuan still couldn't help but raised his head and took a look at Jia Rou sitting on the royal platform.

Somehow, Cai Yuan suddenly remembered the cold and stern manner in which Jia Rou asked Chen Chu to kill the concubine in the palace during the chaos in Tokyo last year.

At that time, he felt that this little-known princess was not simple. At this time, it seemed that his original judgment was correct.

Today, she chose this opportunity to go to court, which was extremely appropriate.

Taking advantage of the delicate balance in the dispute between the two factions, she, who was originally insignificant, became the role that could influence the tilt of the balance, and initially achieved her own wishes.

However, Cai Yuan was also a little curious that Jiarou suddenly showed her talents today. Could it be that she had something to rely on that the Huaibei clan also needed to be wary of?

(End of this chapter)