The Red Chamber begins with a bastard

Chapter 755 Seeking Peace and Tranquility
Prince Qing and the Donglin Party opposed sending troops to rescue Korea, but the Diecui faction, led by Sun Chengzong, the second vice minister of the cabinet, was a staunch advocate of war.

Just as the motto of Diecui Academy says: "To establish a heart for heaven and earth, to establish a destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to usher in an era of peace for all generations." Officials from the Diecui faction mostly took the world as their responsibility, and were upright and pragmatic, unlike the Donglin Party, which was selfish and self-serving, and whose empty talk led to the downfall of the country.

Sun Chengzong's strategic vision is beyond doubt. The now impregnable "Guan-Ning-Jin Defense Line" was built by him and Jia Huan. With his long-term vision and deep understanding of military affairs, how could he not see through Huang Taiji's intentions?
Last year, Huang Taiji swept through southern Mongolia and, after securing his position as Khan, immediately ascended the throne and changed the country's name to Qing. His wolfish ambitions were already obvious. If he were to successfully take over Korea to the south this time, he would have no more worries about the rear, and in the near future, he would surely turn his sword against the Great Jin.

Rather than passively waiting for the other party to tear up the treaty without taking the initiative, Sun Chengzong stepped forward and said as soon as Zhao Mingcheng finished speaking: "Your Majesty, I cannot agree with what Lord Zhao said!"

Emperor Qiansheng valued Sun Chengzong highly, and upon hearing this, he nodded slightly and said, "Minister Sun, please speak frankly."

Sun Chengzong bowed with his scepter in both hands and said, "As Chief Minister Zhao said, our dynasty has suffered from natural disasters and man-made calamities in recent years, and the national treasury is in dire need of rest and recuperation. However, war is a matter of great importance to the country and cannot be ignored. Huang Taiji has ascended the throne and established the name of the country as Qing. His wolfish ambitions are obvious. The reason he is temporarily negotiating peace with our Great Jin is merely a temporary expedient. If our dynasty sits idly by and allows him to annex Korea, then disaster will not be far away."

Once Huang Taiji has stabilized his rear, he will inevitably use the pretext of breaking the peace treaty to launch an attack on our Great Jin. Rather than passively waiting, it is better to strike first and take advantage of his invasion of Korea to launch a swift and decisive attack to recover Liaodong, thus preventing him from attending to both ends.

Minister of Revenue Zhao Dongxing immediately said with a forced smile, "Lord Sun, you make it sound so easy. It's not that I'm trying to boost the enemy's morale or diminish our own, but the Jurchen army is no pushover. They wiped out the Tartars in southern Mongolia in just over a year. If we rashly send troops to attack Liaodong, it would be great if we won, but what if we lose?"

The civil and military officials present immediately began to whisper among themselves. Yes, what if they lost the battle? They had finally signed a peace treaty with the Jurchens, which brought two years of peace to the northeastern border. If they lost, they didn't know if the Liaoxi defense line could withstand Huang Taiji's army!
Although Jia Huan had achieved a great victory over Nurhaci in the Battle of Ningyuan three years ago, annihilating 80,000 Jurchen troops and recovering all of western Liaoning, the fear of the Jurchen army among the court officials was clearly not completely eliminated, including Emperor Qiansheng himself.

Emperor Qiansheng was initially tempted by Sun Chengzong's words, but after hearing what Zhao Dongxing, the Minister of Revenue, said, he immediately backed down.

Emperor Qiansheng was undoubtedly an extremely intelligent emperor with remarkable imperial skills, but in terms of courage and boldness, he was no match for his father, Emperor Kangping. Four years ago, he dared to personally lead an expedition to Liaodong, but now, that ambition had long since faded away. Therefore, although Emperor Qiansheng thought Sun Chengzong's words made sense, he still wishfully sought peace and security until Huang Taiji took the initiative to break off relations.

Shi Dayong was a master at reading people's expressions. Knowing that Emperor Qiansheng did not want to send troops, he secretly gave a wink to Qian Xiangkun, one of the three Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet.

Qian Xiangkun and Jia Yucun were birds of a feather, both belonging to the eunuch faction of Shi Dayong. After receiving Shi Dayong's signal, they immediately stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this old minister also opposes the use of force. Firstly, the national treasury is already under a heavy burden, and secondly, the risk of going to war with the Jurchens is very high. Peace is hard-won, and there is no need to offend Huang Taiji for the sake of a small country like Korea."

"I second the proposal!"

"I second the proposal!"

Officials from the eunuch faction, including Jia Yucun, stepped forward to second the motion. Sun Chengzong couldn't help but sigh inwardly and silently returned to his original position.

Although Liu Yi, Zhang Zhilong, and other officials of the Diecui faction were unwilling, they were helpless. Their strength was already inferior to that of the Donglin Party, and now that the eunuch party also disagreed with sending troops, they were even less likely to win.

The reason why Emperor Qiansheng supported the eunuch faction was to check and balance the civil official group. With the power of the eunuch faction as a tool, he was very good at playing the game of imperial power, which was also his proudest achievement.

Well, the reason why Emperor Qiansheng never appointed a crown prince was to maintain a balance. He wanted the two factions of officials who supported Prince Qing and Prince Min to fight each other. If one faction was powerful, he would instruct the eunuchs to suppress it; if the other faction was weak, he would support it. This kept the two factions in a state of fighting but not breaking apart, while he himself sat back and easily controlled everything.

For example, at today's grand court assembly, the reason why Emperor Qiansheng had Prince Min, Xu Wenhou, read out the list of rebels was because he saw that Prince Min's side was weak, so he wanted to support them.

Getting back to the main point, after the eunuch faction expressed their opposition to sending troops, the outcome of this court meeting was settled. However, Emperor Qiansheng seemed to want to appease the Diecui faction of Sun Chengzong's group, so he did not immediately announce his decision. Instead, he turned his gaze to Jia Huan and asked, "Minister Jia, do you think I should send troops to rescue Korea?"

Upon hearing this, Prince Qing, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, immediately became anxious again. All eyes in the hall turned to Jia Huan, filled with a variety of emotions, including hope, tension, envy, and jealousy.

Jia Huan is currently a rising star in the court, and his influence is not to be underestimated. Moreover, the Emperor specifically asked him for his opinion, which shows that he values ​​his opinion highly. However, Jia Huan himself sees through the situation perfectly: Emperor Qiansheng has no intention of sending troops. Otherwise, the eunuch faction would not have stood up to oppose it. Since they have opposed it, it represents Emperor Qiansheng's will. So, asking him by name now is really meaningless.

However, as boring as it may be, since the emperor had asked, he still had to answer seriously. So he stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should send troops, whether for moral reasons or strategic needs."

Jia Zheng's heart skipped a beat. This brat still wouldn't listen to him. The emperor clearly didn't want to send troops, but this kid still had to go against the grain. He really deserved a beating!

As expected, Emperor Qiansheng frowned: "Minister Jia is skilled in military strategy. If I decide to send troops, what are the chances of victory?"

Jia Huan shook his head and said, "Military tactics are ever-changing, just as water has no fixed shape. The battlefield is constantly changing, and I dare not make any definitive statements!"

Emperor Qiansheng said calmly, "If I were to appoint Minister Jia as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, what would the odds of victory be?"

"Your subject will do his utmost!" Jia Huan replied ambiguously, determined not to fall into the trap set by Emperor Qiansheng.

Jia Zheng, who was so nervous that his heart was about to jump out of his chest, breathed a long sigh of relief after hearing Jia Huan's words. This wretched child had finally shown some cleverness!
Emperor Qiansheng seemed somewhat disappointed and said indifferently, "Let's stop here for today and discuss it again after the Lantern Festival."

What's the point of discussing the Lantern Festival? By then, Pyongyang will probably have already fallen to the Qing army!

It is clear that although Emperor Qiansheng did not announce it publicly, he had actually made a choice. However, not sending troops would be too cowardly and would damage the face of the superior country. Therefore, he deliberately delayed the announcement. Once Korea was destroyed, there would naturally be no need to send troops to rescue it.

Emperor Qiansheng left the Wude Hall, and the civil and military officials also dispersed one after another. Zhang Zhilong, as always, was outspoken and walked up to Jia Huan, complaining, "Ziming, why didn't you dare to answer the Emperor's question just now? If you had agreed to be the commander-in-chief and lead the troops into battle, the Emperor might have agreed to send troops. You missed such a good opportunity!"

Liu Yi frowned and said, "Ru Gui, stop talking nonsense. How can matters of state be treated like child's play? Going into battle is not something you can do with just a surge of enthusiasm."

Zhang Zhilong said dismissively, "Ziming can even defeat Nurhaci in a rout. If I can beat him, why can't I beat him? I think Ziming has become too powerful and wants to protect himself."

Jia Huan smiled wryly and said, "Ru Gui flatters me. The battle of Ningyuan was won because of the advantage of defending the city. If it were a battle across the river, I might not be a match for Huang Taiji. The outcome would be at most fifty-fifty."

Sun Chengzong nodded and praised, "Ziming has just wiped out hundreds of thousands of rebel troops. It is truly remarkable that he can remain so clear-headed despite the great victory. Compared with the Qing army, the rebel army's fighting strength is simply negligible. If Ziming were to become careless or even arrogant, he would surely suffer a crushing defeat."

Since even Sun Chengzong said so, Zhang Zhilong remained silent.

Sun Chengzong sighed again: "Huang Taiji is a man of great talent and ambition. His ambition is even greater than that of his father Nurhaci. Once he takes over Korea and secures his rear, he will surely break the treaty and march his army straight to our Great Jin."

Zhang Zhilong sneered, "Then let him never return. My great nation is not afraid of the Jurchens."

Jia Huan thought to himself, "The Ming Dynasty of later generations was destroyed by the Jurchens you mentioned. The Jurchens were indeed formidable. Despite having a small population, they conquered the Central Plains twice, once by destroying the Liao and Northern Song dynasties, and once by destroying the Ming Dynasty. Their strength is evident."

(End of this chapter)