The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 754 Prince Qing's Weakness

The grand court assembly on the first day of the Lunar New Year has ended, and civil and military officials have left in an orderly manner. Most of them continue to go home to enjoy their New Year holiday. However, officials of the fifth rank and above, as well as censors and officials in charge of remonstrance, were left behind to hold an important meeting in the Wude Hall to discuss whether to send troops to rescue Korea.

When Jia Huan arrived outside the Wude Hall, he found that Jia Zheng had not yet gone in and was dawdling there, seemingly waiting for someone. So he simply brushed past him, pretending not to see him, which made Jia Zheng's father almost roll his eyes in anger.

Actually, this can't be entirely blamed on Jia Huan. Jia Zheng always liked to put on the airs of a strict father, especially when attending court. Perhaps to show that he was keeping public and private matters separate, he would not communicate with Jia Huan in his daily life, and would even avoid eye contact, treating him like a stranger. Over time, Jia Huan also became too lazy to greet him.

"Oh dear... cough, young master Jia, please wait!" Seeing that Jia Huan was about to enter the main hall, Jia Zheng had no choice but to put aside his strict fatherly demeanor and call out to Jia Huan.

Jia Huan then turned around and walked back, bowing and saying, "What advice do you have for me, Lord Jia?"

Jia Zheng gave a slight snort and walked to a secluded corner. Jia Huan followed curiously. Jia Zheng warned in a low voice, "The court will definitely discuss sending troops to rescue Korea later. Don't meddle. After you get married, just go back to Shaanxi and take up your post."

Jia Huan felt a warmth in his heart. Although his father, Zheng, was a bit of a hypocrite, beneath his rigid and stern exterior lay a deep affection for his son. He was worried that if he stood out recklessly in the court meeting, he would be sent to Liaodong to fight the Jurchens again!
As the saying goes, "The hearts of parents are full of love and concern for their children." While there may be exceptions, the vast majority of parents love their children!

"Huan'er knows." Jia Huan nodded.

Jia Zheng stroked his beard and admonished, "Don't think that just because you're a higher-ranking official than me now, you still have a lot to learn from your father when it comes to the way of being an official. Sometimes, being too high-profile isn't necessarily a good thing. When you learn the middle way, you'll be able to establish yourself in the officialdom."

Jia Huan wanted to retort that being moderate does not mean being mediocre, much less being a mere figurehead, but considering that Old Man Zheng was acting out of concern for his son, he decided not to argue with him this time and simply hummed in agreement.

However, Jia Zheng was clearly very dissatisfied with Jia Huan's perfunctory attitude and warned in a low voice: "Liaodong has been peaceful for two years, and the Emperor certainly does not want to start another war. As far as I know, Prince Qing and the Donglin faction also oppose sending troops. Only Grand Secretary Sun strongly advocates sending troops. Although he is your mentor, you must not recklessly show off and agree with him."

Jia Huan suddenly realized that his father, Zheng, had heard rumors and was therefore reminding him. It seemed that although his father was not good at being an official, he was quite well-informed.

After giving his warning, Jia Zheng ignored Jia Huan and walked straight into the Wude Hall.

At this moment, Prince Qing, surrounded by a group of Donglin officials, walked towards the Wude Hall. Jia Huan saw him from afar and quickly turned around and entered the hall to avoid having to pay his respects later.

About half an hour later, all the officials had arrived and stood in two groups, civil and military, on both sides of the hall. As always, Jia Zheng was seated at the end of the line, while Jia Huan was assigned to the Censorate's line.

Jia Huan's current position is Governor-General of Shaanxi and concurrently Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, which is the third-ranking official in the Censorate, holding the rank of third grade, equivalent to the vice ministers of the Six Ministries, a truly high-ranking official of the third grade.

Getting back to the main point, after all the officials had arrived, and after about two incense sticks' worth of time, Emperor Qiansheng finally appeared and sat down on his throne in the hall, followed by the kneeling of all the officials.

At this moment, Emperor Qiansheng had already taken off his court robes and changed into casual clothes, wearing a light winged crown. He was visibly tired. After the officials had paid their respects, he got straight to the point: "The Jurchens have invaded Korea and their army is at Pyongyang. The King of Korea has requested our dynasty to send heavenly troops to rescue him. What do you all think?"

Hanlin Compiler Liu Yi immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe we should immediately send troops to rescue Korea; there is no time to lose." "I second that," Zhang Zhilong, a military official from the same Diecui Academy faction, immediately echoed, adding indignantly, "Korea is a vassal state of our Great Jin, like a father and son. How can a father not rescue his son?"

Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, sneered and retorted, "Utterly absurd!"

Jia Huan couldn't help but wonder. When two factions were fighting, they usually sent out minor figures to probe the issue first. Once the debate had gone on for a while, the "big boss" behind the scenes would step in and make the final decision. The debate had only just begun, and Prince Qing had already personally stepped in. At the age of twenty-five or twenty-six, surely he was not lacking in shrewdness?

At this moment, the officials of the Donglin Party faction frowned. Prince Qing's performance today was really below par. Why the rush?
It turns out that Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, had something on Huang Taiji, so it was no wonder he was in a hurry!

When Emperor Qiansheng personally led an expedition to Liaodong, the retired Emperor Kangping seized the opportunity to restore the throne. Emperor Qiansheng had no choice but to rush back to quell the rebellion and ordered Prince Dai and Prince Qing, who had accompanied him on the expedition, to stay at the front to stabilize the morale of the army. However, Jinzhou fell, Prince Dai was killed in battle, and Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, was captured by Nurhaci and taken to Shenyang, where he stayed for two years.

During his two years in Shenyang, Prince Qing suffered little hardship and even married and had children, living a very comfortable life. Now, his wife and children are still in Shenyang. If the Great Jin sends troops to rescue Korea at this time, it will inevitably lead to war with the Manchus, and then Prince Qing's wife and children left in Shenyang will be in danger.

Of course, these are all secondary. He can give up his wife and children, but once this scandal is exposed, Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, can forget about becoming the crown prince. As a prince of the Great Jin, it is undoubtedly extremely shameful for him to marry and have children in an enemy country while he was a prisoner. Such a lack of integrity would bring shame to the entire country, and even the Donglin Party would probably not dare to support his ascension to the throne, and Emperor Qiansheng would not be able to make him the crown prince.

That is why Prince Qing, Xu Wenye, was so eager to object. However, Prince Qing clearly realized that he had acted too hastily, but since he had already spoken, he could only bite the bullet and continue to refute, "Although Korea is a vassal state of our Great Jin, it is inappropriate to compare it to a father-son relationship."

Zhang Zhilong was upright, outspoken, and incorruptible, just as his courtesy name "Rugui" implied, meaning "to return home without fear of death." Therefore, he did not back down in the face of Prince Qing, but instead asked, "The relationship between ruler and subject is that of father and son. The King of Joseon has submitted to our Great Jin and performed the rites of a subject. What is wrong with comparing the relationship between our two countries to that of father and son?"

Prince Qing was speechless for a moment. Fortunately, a Donglin Party official stepped in to save the day, saying, "What Zhang said seems reasonable, but it is actually unreasonable. Although the King of Joseon treats our Emperor with the respect due to a subject, the relationship between the two countries cannot be simply compared to that of father and son. At most, it can only be described as one of dependence and subordination. It is merely the way of survival for a small country, and in the end, it is still about 'profit'."

Prince Qing breathed a sigh of relief and quickly echoed, "That's right, Father. I believe that sending troops to rescue Korea at this time would do far more harm than good, and it is not advisable to start a war rashly."

Emperor Qiansheng asked calmly, "What are the disadvantages? What are the advantages?"

Prince Qing had regained his composure and said eloquently, "Korea is a small country with few people and is a barren land. The annual tribute it pays is negligible, while the gifts from the Great Jin are more than a hundred times greater. As far as the Great Jin is concerned, Korea is dispensable. Why should we destroy our peace treaty with the Qing Dynasty for the sake of a small country?"

At this moment, Grand Secretary Zhao Mingcheng finally spoke up, strongly supporting the idea: "What Prince Qing said is absolutely right. Moreover, our Great Jin has suffered from natural disasters and man-made calamities in recent years, and the national treasury is in dire need. It is really not appropriate to wage war against foreign countries. We urgently need to stop the war and allow the people to recover."

The Donglin Party, led by Zhao Mingcheng, opposed sending troops for two reasons. First, Prince Qing was their preferred candidate for crown prince, and since he opposed the war, they naturally wanted to maintain a united front.

In addition, as mentioned earlier, most of the Donglin Party members were from scholar-official families in the Jiangnan region. They owned many businesses and were representatives of industrial and commercial conglomerates. Making money was their top priority, so they were naturally not interested in fighting. Moreover, if they were to fight the Manchus, they would definitely have to pay more taxes.

The mining supervisors and tax collectors across the country have already given them enough trouble. If they were to impose additional taxes on Liaodong, what would become of them? Therefore, the Donglin Party firmly opposed sending troops to rescue Korea. They believed that it was better to let such a small country be destroyed than to waste money!

(End of this chapter)