The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 547 Farewell
The hot summer sun was blazing, and the cicadas on the old locust tree outside the window of Hongyan Tower were screaming in groups, which was really annoying. Feng Ziying picked up a stool and rushed to the window, and threw it towards the old locust tree. There was a loud bang, and hundreds of cicadas scattered in panic, and the urine they spilled seemed like a light rain, and their ears were instantly quiet.

Feng Ziying clapped his hands, walked back to the table and sat down, saying with a smile: "Damn it, I finally feel better, let's continue drinking."

Jia Huan joked, "Brother Feng is now a high-ranking official, and his temper is also bad. Any dog ​​that passes by will be slapped by him."

Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but burst out laughing. Feng Ziying chuckled and said, "No, no, it's just that the weather is too hot. Living in the military camp and doing drills every day, it's natural that I'm irritable. After drinking this wine, I'll go to the brothel and order ten or eight prostitutes to relieve myself."

"Damn it!" Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng said in unison.

Feng Ziying smiled and said, "I'm just kidding. I have some at home. Uncle Feng doesn't look down on the dirty stuff outside. But if Brother Huan and Brother Jiandou are interested, I can risk my life to accompany you."

"He deserves to die even more." Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng cursed with laughter.

Two days ago, Lu Xiangsheng had already received the appointment documents and would set off for Mizhi County, Yulin, Shaanxi to take up his post. When Feng Ziying learned about this, he specially ordered a table of wine in the elegant seats on the second floor of Hongyan Tower and invited Jia Huan to come, specifically to see Lu Xiangsheng off.

The three of them had fought pirates together in the south, protected the Salt Inspector Lin Ruhai, and cracked down on private salt gangs. They could be said to be brothers who had shared life and death and hardships. Now that Lu Xiangsheng was going west and heading to a distant border town, it was unknown when they would meet again.

Feng Ziying held the wine jar and generously filled the three people's bowls with wine. Then he lifted up the bowl and said loudly: "I, Feng Ziying, am a warrior, a rough man, and I can't say any fancy words. Anyway, friendship is all in the wine, drink up!"

Jia Huan and Lu Xiangsheng also stood up with their wine in hand, and everyone raised their heads and drank it all in one gulp. Feng Ziying laughed and said, "It's great, another bowl!"

The three of them drank three bowls of rice in a row before sitting down to chat. Feng Ziying grabbed a handful of fried beans and threw them into his mouth, chewing as he spoke, "Mizhi County is a poor place, full of thugs and bandits. But with Brother Jiandou's ability, maybe he will thrive there, and who knows if he will accomplish something great in the future."

"That's inevitable." Jia Huan said with a smile, his tone firm.

Feng Ziying's eyes flashed with a strange look, and he smiled and said, "I was just trying to comfort Lu Jiandou, it was just a polite remark, why is Brother Huan so sure?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Because I have confidence in Jian Dou, unlike you, Old Feng, who are not sincere enough!"

Feng Ziying laughed and said, "Bullshit, if I wasn't sincere I wouldn't have said it directly."

Jia Huan said with a smile: "That can only mean that you don't have enough confidence in Jiandou. To be honest, since the first day I met Jiandou, I predicted that he would become famous and famous in the world in the future."

Lu Xiangsheng had not expected Jia Huan to speak so highly of him. He was excited and a little embarrassed. He coughed and said, "Ziming is exaggerating."

Feng Ziying looked Lu Xiangsheng up and down and said with a smile, "How did Brother Huan see that? Can you tell it by fortune-telling?"

Jia Huan smiled mysteriously and said, "Brother Feng, just treat me as someone who can tell the future. You all should remember what I say today and see if it comes true in a few years."

Lu Xiangsheng was a famous loyal and brave general in the late Ming Dynasty. The Tianxiong Army he formed was extremely famous. In the end, he was surrounded by the Qing army and fought hard for his country. The entire army refused to surrender until death. He was one of the most loyal and brave generals with integrity in the late Ming Dynasty. He was admired by later generations. After his death, he was posthumously named Prince Grand Tutor and Minister of War by Emperor Chongzhen.

Of course, the Great Jin Dynasty is not the late Ming Dynasty, and Lu Xiangsheng’s final fate is still unknown. However, judging from his behavior, he must be a loyal, filial, and righteous person.

Feng Ziying rolled his eyes and puffed out his chest and said, "Since Brother Huan has this ability, why not calculate it for Brother Feng as well? What will happen in the future?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "Not really."

Feng Ziying frowned and said, "Why? Could it be that Brother Huan looks down on me, Old Feng?"

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Of course not. If I looked down on Brother Feng, I wouldn't even come to drink this wine today."

"Why doesn't it count?"

"Because Brother Feng's fate is too precious, I can't calculate it, and I dare not calculate it!"

"Fuck you!" Feng Ziying scolded with a smile, "Don't think you can get away with it by saying something nice. Pay it back right now, or I'll end our friendship."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "Well, I'll do the math for you. Brother Feng is accompanying the emperor on this expedition, so I'm afraid..."

Feng Ziying's heart tightened and he asked, "What are you afraid of?"

Lu Xiangsheng also said, "Ziming, stop keeping us in suspense."

Jia Huan said with a smile: "Do you really think I am the immortal Jia Banxian who can predict anything?" Feng Ziying and Lu Xiangsheng couldn't help but smile. Jia Huan said seriously: "Although I can't calculate it, I still want to remind Brother Feng that the Jurchen cavalry is not easy to deal with. Don't be careless."

From the timeline, we are now in the late Ming Dynasty, and there is a figure like Nurhaci. As we all know, the founding emperors of all dynasties are all peerless warriors, and all kinds of incredible coincidences have enabled them to overcome all difficulties and finally achieve great success, just like being assisted by God. No wonder there is a saying of "the true son of heaven". Therefore, Jia Huan is not optimistic about Emperor Qiansheng's personal expedition this time, and if things go wrong, he will end up like Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty.

Feng Ziying looked at Jia Huan deeply, nodded and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Brother Huan. I will be careful. By the way, I also want to remind Brother Huan that after the emperor goes on the eastern expedition, the prince will stay behind to supervise the country. You must be cautious in your actions in the court."

Feng Ziying also knew about the account book. He had advised Jia Huan to pretend that he was unaware of the prince's involvement in smuggling salt for profit and to hand the account book directly to Yi Hong, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. But some things, even if you pretend not to know, are obvious to others and you cannot escape them in the end.

Jia Huan smiled bitterly and said, "If trouble is coming, it will be useless even if we are more cautious."

Feng Ziying was stunned for a moment, turned around and left the table, closed the window and door, then sat back behind Jia Huan and whispered, "But the prince is causing you trouble?"

Jia Huan nodded and briefly told the story of the hunting trip to the Western Hills that day. Feng Ziying and Lu Xiangsheng both looked solemn upon hearing this. This was a serious matter. The prince was the heir to the throne. It would undoubtedly be extremely terrible if the future emperor bore a grudge against him.

Feng Ziying pondered for a moment and said, "How about I think of another way to take you, brother Huan, with me to accompany me to the battle?"

Jia Huan felt a little warm in his heart, and shook his head, saying, "You can't avoid it on the fifteenth day, and you will have to face it sooner or later. Don't worry, he doesn't dare to attack the ministers openly, and now he can only adapt to the situation."

Feng Ziying sighed. He didn't have any better solution, so he could only comfort him, "Brother Huan has always had good luck. I believe you will be able to successfully overcome this hurdle in the end."

Jia Huan smiled and said, "I hope so. Let's not talk about this. Let's drink!"

The three continued drinking and did not leave until late at night.

On the second day, Lu Xiangsheng left for his new post. Jia Huan, Liu Yi, Zhang Zhilong, Huang Cong, Li Baidu and other classmates from Diecui Academy came to see him off and accompanied him all the way to the Ten-Li Pavilion in the west of the city, where they said goodbye reluctantly.

……

On May 19, the eighth year of Qiansheng's reign, the day before the emperor's personal expedition, Emperor Qiansheng came to the Jingxinzhai in the Western Garden, and the eunuch An Gonggong, the chief eunuch of the Western Garden, stood aside with his head bowed, looking respectful and cautious.

Emperor Qiansheng glanced at the retired emperor Kangping lying on the bed, only to see that he still had a crooked mouth and squinting eyes, his right hand was shaped like a chicken claw, he could not speak, and could only utter vague syllables.

Emperor Qiansheng asked a few questions about the old man's recent diet, then sent Eunuch An out, walked to the bed, reached out and held the retired emperor's right hand, which was as stiff as a chicken claw, trying to straighten it out, but unfortunately failed.

"Father's hand is useless!" Emperor Qiansheng put down the hand of the retired emperor and said calmly, "By the way, I will personally lead the expedition to Liaodong tomorrow. If father is still healthy, I would like to take you with me. Unfortunately, you need someone to serve you even when you eat, drink, defecate and urinate, so naturally you can't ride a horse."

"Woo woo woo!" Emperor Kangping uttered a series of sticky syllables, and his eyes tried hard to look at Emperor Qiansheng, which showed that he was conscious and could understand what Emperor Qiansheng said.

Emperor Qiansheng said with a smile: "You are against me personally leading the army? Why? Haven't you always thought that I am too weak and value civil arts over military skills? Now that I am pursuing military achievements, you are against it?"

"Woo woo woo!" Emperor Kangping uttered a series of incomprehensible syllables, his eyes seemed a little anxious.

Emperor Qiansheng's face darkened and he sneered, "My Great Jin has well-trained soldiers, sufficient food supplies, and powerful firearms. I will surely win this battle. Just wait for my triumphant return. Father, don't worry about it. The most important thing is to take good care of your illness." After saying that, he turned around and walked out of Jingxinzhai.

On May 20th of the eighth year of Qiansheng's reign, Emperor Qiansheng, dressed in military uniform, swore an oath to lead his troops into battle in person outside Chaoyang Gate. All the princes and all the civil and military officials in the court went out of Chaoyang Gate to kowtow and see him off, and Jia Huan naturally joined in.

The grand scene of the oath-taking ceremony will not be described in detail. It is worth mentioning here that Emperor Qiansheng took away almost all the elite troops of the three major camps of the Beijing Army, a total of 100,000 people. Together with the 200,000 troops on the Liaodong front, the total force reached 300,000, which was announced to the outside world as a million.

Zhao Mingcheng, the Grand Secretary of Huagai Palace, Zhang Heming, the Minister of War, and other ministers accompanied the emperor on the expedition. In addition, Emperor Qiansheng also brought two princes, Prince Qing and Prince Dai, with the intention of training them. Crown Prince Xu Wenhong was in charge of staying in the capital, and Li Biao, the chief minister of the cabinet, led two other cabinet ministers to assist the crown prince in supervising the country.

With three cannon shots, the army set off. The Shenji Camp, the Sanqian Camp, and the Wujun Camp, totaling more than 100,000 elite soldiers, broke camp and marched in a mighty and murderous manner, heading straight for Shanhaiguan.

Crown Prince Xu Wenhong escorted his ministers for fifty miles before leading them back to the city. He felt excited but also a little uneasy.

What made him excited was that he would be the prime minister for a long period of time and could experience the life of an emperor in advance. But what made him uneasy was that the emperor kept Prince Qing and Prince Dai by his side.

Prince Qing and Prince Dai are the Crown Prince's two half-brothers and the two most outstanding ones. They pose a threat to the Crown Prince's position. If they return with great merit when accompanying the Emperor on this expedition, the threat will be even greater. Crown Prince Xu Wenhong is naturally worried.

(End of this chapter)