The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 715 Earl of Dingyuan

In early October of the eleventh year of the Qiansheng reign, the Hami region was hit by a heavy snowfall, officially announcing the arrival of harsh winter. The nighttime temperature suddenly dropped below -10 degrees Celsius, and the extreme cold was bone-chilling.

As winter approached, the situation of the Turpan Khanate became increasingly difficult. Amakh suffered a major defeat at Hami, losing almost all of his 10,000 elite troops. Coupled with the earlier loss of 1,500 light cavalry, the already limited cavalry force in Turpan was nearly wiped out, leaving the Khanate in the awkward situation of having no cavalry available.

In addition, due to the Jin army's surprise attack and burning of supplies in Liucheng and Huozhou, there is now a shortage of food and soaring prices in Turpan, which can be described as a boiling resentment and a state of panic among the people.

It is worth mentioning that Turpan's production technology was backward and its handicraft level was extremely low. Many daily necessities had to be imported from the Great Jin Dynasty through Hami. Now that the two countries are at war, this trade route has naturally been blocked. When there is a severe shortage of various goods in the market, the ruling class of Turpan Khanate suddenly realized that their "life's throat" had been strangled.

As a popular internet meme goes: "He rolls his eyes when you choke him, but starts bragging when you let go."

Just then, the Dzungar Khanate, located north of Turpan, took advantage of the situation to plunder. They crossed the Tianshan Mountains from the Urumqi area and ran to the edge of the Turpan Basin to loot wantonly, which undoubtedly made the situation of the Turpan Khanate even worse.

So when this heavy snow fell, the Turpan Khanate was completely unable to withstand it. Khan Sutan Ali took the initiative to send envoys to Hami City to seek peace, claiming that he was willing to become a vassal of the Great Jin and pay tribute. He also presented Jia Huan and Duan Yong with beautiful women, fine horses, jewelry, jade, gold and silver, hoping that the two would be lenient and restore normal trade between the two countries.

With a wave of his hand, Jia Huan accepted all the beauties, fine horses, gold, and silver treasures, and then rewarded the meritorious soldiers. He then presented the Jin Dynasty's peace terms to the Turpan envoy: First, to submit to the Jin Dynasty; second, to compensate the Jin Dynasty for its losses of three million taels of silver; and third, to hand over Amahei.

The first condition was easy to agree to; acknowledging submission was merely a matter of face and would not result in any substantial loss. However, the second and third conditions stumped the Turpan envoy, who hesitated and dared not agree. In the end, he could only say that he needed to go back and consult with his superiors first.

Soon, it was the end of October. The weather was getting colder and colder, and more and more people in Turpan were starving and freezing to death. Sutan Ali finally bowed his head and agreed to compensate 1.5 million taels of silver, of which 500,000 taels would be offset by cattle, sheep and horses.

Jia Huan was always asking for an exorbitant amount, with the mindset of squeezing as much money as possible. Since the other party agreed to compensate him with one million and five hundred thousand taels of silver, he readily agreed.

Half a month later, Sutan Ali indeed sent someone to deliver 100 million taels and 1000 horses, each priced at 100 taels, for a total value of 110 million taels. The remaining 40 taels would be paid off later next year.

Currently, there is a severe food shortage in Turpan, so they are obviously unwilling to send cattle and sheep to offset the price. They can only owe it to them for now. Jia is very "enlightened" and readily agrees. After all, it's better to take things slowly and not push a rabbit too far.

So the two sides signed a peace treaty. Three days later, Sutan Ali sent his son Amahei to Hami to apologize. However, according to the agreement, Jia Huan was not allowed to kill him, but could only put him under house arrest as a hostage.

Although Jia Huan was decisive in killing, he was not bloodthirsty, and he did not necessarily have to kill Amahei. So after taking over, he put Amahei in a prison cart, along with a million taels of silver as compensation, and sent him to the capital to present to Emperor Qiansheng to claim credit. As for the thousand horses, he requested that they be kept for his own use.

…………

In the dead of winter, a super cold wave swept across the land, turning the temperature purple overnight. This was followed by a massive snowstorm that affected the entire country, including Shaanxi and Gansu, Shanxi and Shandong, Henan and Hebei, Hubei and Hunan, Huaihe River Basin, and Guangdong and Guangxi provinces, as well as torrential rain!
Thank goodness, the Central Plains, which had been suffering from a drought for nearly two years, finally got snow. It is said that a timely snowfall is a sign of a bumper harvest, which is a good thing. But it depends on the timing. Some things are clearly good, but if they happen at the wrong time, they can turn into bad things!
North of the Yangtze River, there had been a severe drought for nearly two years. Even the Yellow River was almost dry. The land was barren and the fields were deserted. People were starving and naked. Suddenly, a nationwide blizzard struck, causing unimaginable casualties. People froze and starved to death. Who would farm next spring? How could there be a good harvest? It's heartbreaking!

At this time, Emperor Qiansheng was extremely troubled. After more than half a year of suppression, although rebels in various places were still emerging one after another, the overall trend had weakened. This was obviously because the strategy of combining suppression and appeasement had been effective. For this, the court paid a huge price. Not only did it have to open the granaries to distribute grain to relieve disaster victims, but military expenses were also spent like water, almost emptying the national treasury.

As a result, this sudden and widespread blizzard may wipe out all the results of the year's suppression and pacification efforts, because the common people would rather attack cities and rob wealthy households than freeze or starve to death.

As expected, the blizzard reignited rebellions across the land. The peasants who had previously accepted the court's offer of amnesty rose up in revolt once again, and the situation took a sharp turn for the worse. Urgent petitions from all over the country poured onto Emperor Qiansheng's desk, all requesting the court to send troops to suppress the uprisings.

However, the imperial court was already stretched thin at this time. The capital army was to besiege the capital, so it was impossible to send it out to suppress bandits. The Liaodong region had strong troops, but it was also necessary to guard against the Jurchens, so it could not be easily mobilized.

It is worth mentioning that since Huang Taiji succeeded Nurhaci as Khan, although he abided by the peace treaty signed with the Great Jin, he has not stopped for a year and has repeatedly launched military campaigns against various Mongol tribes. He has now annexed the Khalkha, Khoshut, and Chaohua tribes, and his tentacles have reached the Tumed tribe on the right wing, that is, the Hetao Plain area. The speed of his expansion has made Emperor Qiansheng and the entire court feel uneasy.

Once Huang Taiji completely occupies the entire southern Mongolia, the northern border of the Great Jin will be completely exposed to the Jin army. This also means that the Liaoxi defense line, heavily fortified by the Great Jin, will be greatly weakened, because the Jurchens can completely bypass the Liaoxi defense line and move south from the Mongolian region to directly attack Xuanfu, Datong, or even the capital of the Great Jin.

As a result, Emperor Qiansheng was restless and unable to sleep at night during this period. He had no interest in enjoying himself and his temper became increasingly bad. He would kill people at the drop of a hat. Within a month, he had beaten fifteen people to death, most of whom were palace maids and eunuchs. There were also three unfortunate officials who were beaten to death in court for saying things that were not to their liking. This made the court and the public feel that everyone was in danger.

At this time, Jia Huan's report of victory arrived: a great victory outside Hami City, annihilating 10,000 elite troops from Turpan, a surprise attack from a thousand miles away, burning down Liucheng and Huozhou, forcing the Khan of Turpan to sue for peace and become a vassal, not only paying 1.5 million taels in reparations, but also sending his son Amahei to the Great Jin as a hostage.

After reading the report of victory, Emperor Qiansheng was overjoyed and his face lit up with delight. He laughed heartily in front of all the civil and military officials, and then said angrily, "Look at this! What is a capable minister? Jia Ziming is a capable minister. All of you here, with your high positions and generous salaries, not one of you can share my burdens. You are truly a bunch of good-for-nothings!"

The civil and military officials were blushing with shame, envy, jealousy, and hatred after being scolded. Of course, some admired him, thinking that Jia Huan was indeed amazing, able to accomplish something extraordinary no matter where he went.

Although Emperor Qiansheng had always disliked Jia Huan, how could he not reward him for such outstanding achievements? Moreover, at this time, Emperor Qiansheng also wanted to set an example and boost morale, so he immediately ordered the cabinet ministers to draft an edict to confer upon Jia Huan the title of Earl of Dingyuan, grant him a stipend of 500 shi of grain, and bestow upon him a python robe and jade belt to commend his merits. In addition, Duan Yong, who served as the military supervisor, was granted a flying fish robe and his nephew was granted the position of commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Wow, it's extremely rare for a civil official to be granted a military title. Take Wang Shouren of the Ming Dynasty, for example. He made great contributions and was only granted the title of Earl. Of course, Jia Huan's contributions were also considerable. He expanded the territory and made a Khanate submit. Being granted the title of Earl was more than enough for him. If he had been a military general, it wouldn't have been unreasonable for him to be granted the title of Marquis.

Even so, many ministers still objected, but Emperor Qiansheng ignored them. After the cabinet drafted the imperial edict, he stamped it with his imperial seal, and the matter was settled. The eunuch who delivered the edict braved the severe cold and sped out of the capital the next day, heading straight for the western border.

The news of Jia Huan being granted the title of Earl of Dingyuan reached the Jia family mansion on the same day, and naturally the whole mansion was in an uproar, as lively as if it were celebrating the New Year in advance. A three-day banquet was held, and the over eighty-year-old Old Madam Jia was in high spirits and personally presided over the ancestral worship ceremony.

(End of this chapter)