The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 562 Returning to Suppress the Rebellion
The rainstorm gradually stopped, the dark clouds dissipated, the sun reappeared, and a gorgeous rainbow spanned the sky. Jia Huan and others walked down the mountain carefully. The mountain stream had almost returned to its normal water level and was flowing gently. If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, it would have been hard to imagine that such a small stream could be so terrible when it became violent.

All the way down, there were traces of raging mountain torrents along the way. Occasionally, one or two bodies could be seen stuck between the rocks. Judging from their clothes, they were the rebels. One of them had a dented head, and his hands and feet were twisted like pretzels, and it seemed that all his bones were broken. It was obvious how terrible the impact of the mountain torrent was, and everyone couldn't help but be awed.

The palace guards led by Xu Sheng looked at Jia Huan with a hint of awe in their eyes. Mountain floods were certainly terrible, but this man's ability to adapt to changing circumstances was even more terrible. In the blink of an eye, he wiped out a group of hundreds of elite Yulin Guards.

At this time, Jia Huan suddenly stopped and stopped beside a corpse. It was none other than Wei Ruolan. There was an arrow stuck in her left leg, and her right leg was stuck in the gap between two stones in the stream. Her body kept floating up and down with the water.

Jia Huan and Wei Ruolan had only met a few times, so they were not familiar with each other, let alone had any friendship, so he did not feel much about his death. However, this man was Shi Xiangyun's fiancé. Thinking of this, Jia Huan couldn't help but think of Shi Xiangyun's cute and lovely smile.

Jia Huan pondered for a moment, and finally ordered to fish out Wei Ruolan's body, and buried it in a nearby place. He also broke off three dry branches and inserted them in front of the grave as incense, and said calmly: "You and I could have been friends, but unfortunately we have different ideals and cannot make plans together. We have to pursue our own futures, and it is only one of us who will live or die."

Jia Huan raised the golden Qilin in his hand and continued, "I will return this Qilin to Sister Yun for you if I have the chance."

This golden unicorn was taken from Wei Ruolan's waist when he buried her. Jia Huan remembered that Shi Xiangyun also had one, which was exactly the same as this one. Perhaps it was a token of the engagement between the two families. It was also mentioned in the original version of Dream of Red Mansions, but it was not explained how it came about. In fact, the first eighty chapters of Dream of Red Mansions only mentioned that Shi Xiangyun was engaged, but it did not say who the man was. It was only inferred that the man was Wei Ruolan based on Zhi Yanzhai's comments. In short, from the title of the 31st chapter of the original version: Because of the unicorn, the white-haired twins were subdued, it can be confirmed that Shi Xiangyun's final destination must be related to this golden unicorn.

"Uncle Huan, it's getting late." Just as Jia Huan was pondering, Jia Qiang beside him reminded him softly.

Jia Huan put away the golden unicorn and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go."

They went down the mountain and returned to the village, where they easily dealt with the three rebel soldiers who stayed behind to guard the horses. In order to avoid causing trouble to the village, they cleaned up all traces, then said goodbye to Liu Laolao's family, mounted their horses and galloped towards Shanhaiguan.

…………

In western Beijing, the Diecui Academy was engulfed in a raging fire. Zhang Zhilong, Li Baidu and other students of the Diecui Academy knelt down in front of the gate, holding their heads and crying.

It turned out that just half a day ago, Crown Prince Xu Wenhong personally rushed to the academy and invited the old principal Ye Gao and the principal Sun Chengzong to resume their important positions, and participated in the drafting of the "clearing the court" edict to call on the world.

The old mountain chief Ye Gao is eighty years old. He is a veteran of four dynasties and is highly respected. He has great appeal both in the literary world and in official circles. If he can come out of retirement to support the emperor, it will undoubtedly play a big role and further demonstrate the justice of the emperor's return to "clear the court."

As for Sun Chengzong, he was originally an assistant minister of the Eastern Palace, serving as the Junior Chancellor of the Chancellery. He also taught Crown Prince Xu Wenhong, which was equivalent to the crown prince's teacher. However, Emperor Qiansheng dismissed all the assistant ministers of the Eastern Palace some time ago, so Sun Chengzong resigned in anger and became the principal of Diecui Academy to teach and educate people.

Therefore, Crown Prince Xu Wenhong thought that if he came in person to invite Sun Chengzong, Sun Chengzong would definitely be happy to come out of seclusion to assist him. However, unexpectedly, not only did the old headmaster Ye Gao reject him, but even his former teacher Sun Chengzong flatly rejected him, pointing at his nose and scolding him, calling him a "traitor, disloyal and unfilial, and a traitor."

Crown Prince Xu Wenhong was scolded so much that his face turned red and he became furious. Not only did he order the arrest of Ye Gao and Sun Chengzong and imprisonment, he also burned down the centuries-old academy.

Zhang Zhilong and other students of the academy cried bitterly, but it was of no avail. They could only watch the academy reduced to ashes in the fire.

The retired emperor Kangping was naturally very angry that Ye Gao refused to come out of retirement, but since he could still slaughter the New Year pig without Zhang the butcher, the retired emperor asked three cabinet ministers headed by Li Biao to draft an imperial edict, and the three had no choice but to do it in order to save their lives.

On June 20th of the eighth year of Qiansheng's reign, which was just one month after Emperor Qiansheng led the army in person, Emperor Kangping, the retired emperor, officially issued an edict, listing the ten major crimes of the Donglin Party headed by Zhao Mingcheng, announcing the dispatch of troops to purge the court, and sending 30,000 troops directly to Shanhaiguan.

Jia Huan and others left the small mountain village of Granny Liu and escorted Prince Min Xu Wenhou to Shanhaiguan. At this time, the one who was responsible for guarding Shanhaiguan was Prince Nan'an, the only one of the four founding princes who did not participate in the rebellion, while Prince Beijing, Prince Dongping and Prince Xining had all surrendered to the emperor.

In addition, in order to gain sufficient support, the retired emperor restored the titles of all nobles who had been convicted of reselling salt permits, returned all the stolen money and redemption silver, and reinstated all the officials who had been excluded and overthrown by the Donglin Party.

When the Prince of Nan'an met Xu Wenhou and Jia Huan, he learned that the retired emperor had returned and controlled the capital. He was so frightened that he sent people to report out of the border while strengthening the guard.

At this moment, Emperor Qiansheng had already arrived in Jinzhou City, which was only two hundred miles away from the front-line Guangning City. When he heard that the retired emperor had restored the throne and had his house robbed, he was shocked and angry. It is said that he vomited blood and fainted, which scared the ministers who accompanied him.

The rescued Emperor Qiansheng was surprisingly calm. He did not retreat in a big way. Instead, he took an offensive gesture and sent Prince Qing and Prince Dai to garrison Yizhou and Shisanshan respectively. He also ordered all the officials of Xiong Ting to resume their posts and garrison Jinzhou to stabilize the morale of the army. Then he led the three camps of the Beijing Army to retreat quietly at night.

Although Emperor Qiansheng appeared calm, he was actually extremely anxious. He led 100,000 elite troops from the capital to march day and night, and finally arrived outside Shanhaiguan on June 23. "Father, the emperor and the crown prince have rebelled!" Xu Wenhou met them outside Shanhaiguan, knelt down in the dust, and burst into tears.

Emperor Qiansheng jumped off his horse and looked at his fat, useless son whom he despised the most. A feeling of warmth and pity rose in his heart. He picked him up, touched his face and said with red eyes: "Seventh son, you have lost weight!"

Xu Wenhou had indeed lost some weight. He had suffered a huge change and had been worried for days, but this was more effective than any weight-loss medicine.

"Father, what should we do now?" Xu Wenhou asked crying.

Emperor Qiansheng's eyes turned cold and he said, "Of course, we will wipe out all the rebels. Old Seven, you must remember that the blade is the most persuasive. There is no problem that it cannot solve."

Xu Wenhou nodded solemnly. Emperor Qiansheng patted him on the back and said approvingly, "You did a good job. You didn't disappoint me." He then looked at Jia Huan and others who were kneeling behind Xu Wenhou and said calmly, "Jia Huan, you are also very good. You are all good."

"If it is beneficial to the country, we should not avoid it because of misfortune or fortune. This is what a minister should do." Jia Huan said with emotion.

Emperor Qiansheng nodded and said loudly: "Good, it's a good idea to sacrifice one's life for the country. If everyone is as loyal and selfless as you, Jia Ziming, there is no need to worry about the prosperity of our Great Jin. Get up!"

Jia Huan and others hurriedly stood up to express their gratitude.

Zhao Mingcheng and other ministers accompanying the emperor undoubtedly had complicated feelings when they looked at the imposing young man in front of them. This kid was extraordinary. If the emperor succeeded in suppressing the rebellion, this kid would surely rise to a high position.

At this time, Emperor Qiansheng waved his hand and said murderously: "Enter the pass!"

One hundred thousand elite troops from the capital marched into Shanhaiguan in a mighty force. Everyone, including Emperor Qiansheng himself, breathed a sigh of relief after entering the pass.

The Emperor Tai suddenly launched an attack. Fortunately, Jia Huan escorted Prince Min to escape and report the news in time. If it was a few days later, Shanhaiguan would have been blocked, and the hundreds of thousands of troops outside the pass would have been attacked from all sides, cut off from food and ammunition. There was no need to fight at all, and they would have collapsed in ten days or so. By then, Emperor Qiansheng, the Son of Heaven, would probably have become a dead emperor.

Therefore, Jia Huan’s contribution this time was not as simple as saving King Min. In a broader sense, he saved Emperor Qiansheng and hundreds of thousands of soldiers outside the Great Wall, and temporarily saved Emperor Qiansheng’s kingdom.

Of course, whether the country can be completely preserved depends on whether Emperor Qiansheng can successfully suppress the rebellion and retake the capital controlled by the retired emperor.

In fact, shortly after Emperor Qiansheng entered the pass, the 30,000 troops sent by the retired emperor to capture Shanhaiguan also arrived, but unfortunately they were one step too late.

The one in charge of leading the army was Prince Beijing Shui Rong. Upon learning that Emperor Qiansheng had already entered the pass, he was so frightened that he quickly retreated to Yongping City and urgently asked for help from the retired Emperor Kangping.

The retired emperor obviously did not expect that Emperor Qiansheng would return to Shanhaiguan so quickly, and he hurriedly dispatched another 20,000 troops to Yongping for support. A civil war was about to break out.

Shanhaiguan.

Emperor Qiansheng's face turned extremely pale as he held the newly received "Purge the Court" edict. This edict not only listed the ten major crimes of the Donglin Party, but also showed everywhere how incompetent Emperor Qiansheng was.

squeak...

Emperor Qiansheng tore the notice into pieces and threw it into the brazier, shouting, "Pass on my order, order the Prince of Nan'an to capture Yongping within one day, otherwise you will be beheaded."

After receiving the imperial edict, the Prince of Nan'an naturally did not dare to neglect it. He immediately led the elite troops of the capital to attack Yongping County and launched a fierce attack.

The three camps of the Beijing Army had the strongest combat power and equipment. Although the heavy equipment was left behind at the front line due to the rapid march, the firepower of the Shenji Camp was still quite fierce. After half a day of fierce fighting, they broke through Yongping County. Prince Beijing led the defeated troops to retreat to Kaiping City in a hurry, and then retreated to Yutian, only then did they stabilize their position.

(End of this chapter)