Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

In the study room of King Liao's palace, King Liao was like a mountain of flesh, leaning on the Arhat bed, holding a piece of paper in his hand.

"Who sent it?"

Chang Shi said: "When I came here this morning, I saw this letter sitting neatly on the desk. I don't know who sent it."

The King of Liao's sinister eyes fell on the paper and saw that it read: Jia Cong has secretly gone to Liaodong to capture Wang Peifan.

Just such a sentence, with neither a title nor a signature.

King Liao asked: "Is there any news along the way?"

Chang Shi hurriedly said: "It's winter now. There are only people going south and almost no people going north. There are no unusual movements found in the passes."

The King of Liao pondered: "What do you think of this matter?"

Chang Shi said: "Your Majesty thinks this matter is quite strange. My previous son, the Crown Prince, was killed in the capital. Now someone has secretly brought this news. It may not be out of good intentions. Could it be that he wants to provoke the prince to launch an army?"

The King of Liao nodded slowly and said: "The letters sent home by the princes are invited to return to the capital. It is very unusual. I am afraid that there is indeed an intention to cut down the vassal, but I don't dare to do it lightly.

If we take action first, the imperial court will have a good reputation, and the intentions of the other vassals will not be clear, so it is not appropriate to act rashly at this time. "

"Your Majesty, I am pleased to see you, and I will bow to you. Then I received the request that Your Majesty return to the capital to temporarily take over Da Zongzheng... How to respond?"

The King of Liao sneered: "If I return to the capital, I will be in trouble. It is easy to go back, but it is difficult to leave. This vassal is not cutting but cutting, and I am not that stupid."

As mentioned above, the military affairs at the border are heavy, and Beidi seems to want to seize the border, so I dare not leave lightly. As for the case of the crown prince, I would like to ask the court to send another honest and upright person to preside over it. I have no objection at all. "

Changshi nodded and said: "In this way, the prince took advantage of the truth and defeated the imperial army. The noble son of the vassal prince was murdered in the capital. If the imperial court does not give an explanation, how can the kings be angry?"

The King of Liao sneered and said: "My previous invitation to us to return to the capital to settle down was very revealing. Today, I have been summoned to return to the capital to take up a post based on the crown prince's case. My intention of reducing the feudal vassal has already been revealed."

He quickly sent people to contact the kings and said that the imperial court wanted to reduce the vassal state and see what they had in mind. I have strong soldiers and horses, and I am dominating Liaodong. Let’s see what the imperial court can do to me. "

"Yes." Chang Shi bowed and said, "Then just ignore this secret report that has no beginning and no end. Please give me your instructions."

The King of Liao thought for a while and said: "The imperial court has been making frequent moves recently, and has transferred away the deputy commander-in-chief Gao Li and several familiar generals. Although they were promoted, it is always uneasy.

This kid Jia Cong has always been very brave. If he secretly came north to take the life of an orphan, he might really have the courage.

I would rather believe that there is something than trust that there is nothing, so I ordered the guards in the city to be on guard, and the number of defenders in the palace was also increased, and the soldiers and horses in Beizhen were also on strict guard. "

"Yes, I will take care of it now."

According to the system, the vassal king can equip three personal guard battalions, with more than 5000 people in each battalion.

The Prince of Liao's palace was wealthy and powerful. Although it was still composed of three battalions, its military strength had expanded several times to more than twenty battalions. It controlled two of the three core cities in Liaodong, Beizhen and Liaoyang City.

Liaoyang City is the administrative center of Liaodong Town and sits at the center of the town. The North Town governs seven or eight acropolis and dozens of forts and passes to protect its left wing. Fengtian guards the northern front line, which is as stable as Mount Tai.

Hum, Jia Cong, if you dare to come, I will make sure you never come back! King Liao snorted coldly, his eyes flashing sharply.

Suddenly the housekeeper came to report that the princess had fainted from crying again.

The King of Liao sighed and returned to the inner room. He saw that the princess had faintly woken up and several girls were carefully serving her.

"Don't be too sad about Huan'er. The court will give us an explanation. It's important to take care of yourself." King Liao said.

The princess was nearly fifty years old, her temples were gray, and she was no longer as beautiful as she had been in the past. She had suffered the sudden loss of her son these days, and she had become even more haggard and thinner. When she heard this, she sobbed: "Your Majesty, I have worked hard for half my life, and now I am such an evil obstacle." , now that it’s gone, how can I not be sad?”

The King of Liao said: "People can't be resurrected after death. Please be more open-minded. Don't we still have more than a dozen sons?"

After hearing this, the princess smiled coldly: "I'm afraid these sons of the prince are celebrating each other right now. Brother Huan is gone and they all want to be the heir apparent. I think Brother Huan may not have been harmed by them!"

The King of Liao was quite self-aware. It was true that his other sons were ambitious, but they did not have the courage and means. He waved his hand and said, "Don't think about it. This matter is not that simple. The limelight is not right now, and there must be no chaos in the family."

The princess slapped the table and said angrily: "Don't you, the prince, check at home? What is the purpose of an outsider's attack?"
Brother Huan has never had any grudges with anyone, so he might be regarded as a thorn in his side, not as an outsider but as a brother! "

The King of Liao was inconvenient to talk to her about the matter of cutting off the vassal in detail. He knew that she was eager for revenge and confused, so he could only comfort her: "Okay, of course I want to investigate. Let's start from our house and investigate one by one. How about you first?" It is right to nourish one’s body.”

The princess then calmed down a bit and said in a cold voice: "Your Majesty, whoever wants to take Huan'er's position must get my nod, otherwise I will never support him."

"Okay, okay, I will support you."

He was also a concubine who inherited the royal title. Thanks to the efforts of his wife's mother's family, he was always somewhat grateful to her and never disobeyed her wishes.

Seeing her whimpering and crying again, King Liao had no choice but to comfort her patiently, and it took him more than half an hour to finally comfort her.

"Your Majesty, General Yang is here to visit." Suddenly a girl came in to report.

The King of Liao was shocked. Why did Yang Xiong suddenly come here without saying hello or thinking about it carefully?

After saying that, he hurriedly changed his clothes and came out. As soon as he arrived in front of the main hall, he met the housekeeper leading Yang Xiong and a group of soldiers in.

"General Yang, there are very few visitors. Do you have anything to do when you come to my humble residence? I didn't even say a word in advance, so I might as well prepare some wine." King Liao stood on the steps, cupped his hands and smiled.

Yang Xiong hurriedly received the courtesy and said: "I have come to discuss some urgent military matters with the prince. If I don't inform you in advance, please don't blame me for being rude."

The King of Liao waved his hand and said: "This is a public statement. You and I have been guarding Liaodong for decades, and you still pay attention to these false etiquette? Please come in."

Jia Cong, Wang Jin and others, as well as Liu Xianglian and other experts, pretended to be soldiers and followed Yang Xiong in. Seeing that the King of Liao looked as usual and showed no sadness, he secretly thought that he was indeed a hero. His son died without blinking, and he tightened his grip on the gun. , I wanted to rush up to it and dig a hole in it.

Seeing that he was ready to attack, everyone concentrated their attention and prepared for the attack. They only waited for Jia Cong to make the first move before they all took action.

Suddenly he heard the sound of heavy footsteps and armor leaves coming from behind. Jia Cong was startled and suddenly looked back. He saw a large group of sergeants wearing helmets and carrying armor trotting in. There were over a thousand people, with three steps to one post and five steps to one sentry. , and surrounded everything tightly.

Yang Xiong said curiously: "Your Majesty, this is..."

The King of Liao sighed: "General Yang should know that Quan Zi was killed in the capital. I sent the white-haired man to the black-haired man. I am afraid that the enemy has something behind him and I have to guard against it."

Yang Xiong nodded and said: "My lord, I express my condolences. The court will definitely investigate this matter and get to the bottom of it, and then the thief will be cut into pieces.

Strengthening the defense of the mansion now is also a prudent move, which shows that the prince has achieved great things and has not lost an inch despite major changes. "

The King of Liao waved his hand and said: "General Yang is wrong about the reward. It's just that the older you get, the less courageous you are. Please."

Jia Cong frowned slightly. Now that he had killed the King of Liao, no one could run away. This deal was not worthwhile. He had to find another opportunity, so he slowly took back the half-step he took.

"You guys stand guard outside while I talk to the prince." Yang Xiong turned around and gave Jia Cong a look to postpone his action.

"I obey my orders." Jia Cong nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Everyone was slightly relieved when they saw that he had given up this action. Since the King of Liao was on guard, it would be difficult to achieve full success by force. This operation is not only to capture and kill the King of Liao, but also to subdue his guard camp and prevent mutiny. This is the key.

The personal guards of the royal palace are similar to soldiers, with sufficient food and salary on weekdays and high loyalty. If they and the King of Liao die together, the next step will definitely be the result of a mutiny.

After waiting for more than half an hour, King Liao sent Yang Xiong out.

"My lord, please stay and I will take my leave."

"Commander, go slowly, I won't send you far."

Yang Xionggong handed over his hands and left with Jia Cong and others.

Everyone followed Yang Xiong back to the inn, changed their clothes again, and gathered together again to discuss.

Yang Xiong said: "The King of Liao has been prepared and the palace is heavily guarded. This 'decapitation operation' is a bit troublesome. The palace in the city is very powerful. Even if I mobilize the defenders to attack, it will not help. On the contrary, it will be self-defeating."

Jia Cong nodded and said: "What Shibo said is true. It was with this in mind that I held back. Now the time is not good enough."

Yang Xiong said: "I can't stay here for a long time, for fear of arousing the suspicion of the King of Liao."

Jia Cong said: "Shibo can stay in the city for a few days on the grounds of inspection of military equipment, and then I will find another way."

"Okay, you must be quick, otherwise the night will be long and you will have many dreams." Yang Xiong said.

"This is natural. Everyone, please go back and rest and recharge your batteries."

Jia Cong waved his hand, turned around and went back to his room, leaning on the recliner with his eyes closed and meditating on how to break the situation.

This time, the right time, place, and people are not on his side, so it is really difficult to defeat a vassal without losing any blood.

In terms of weather, the longer time delays on the King of Liao's side, the greater the possibility that the kings will join forces to make peace, and the case in Beijing cannot be delayed for too long.

In terms of geographical advantages, Liaoyang City is the territory of the King of Liao. Several generations of people have worked hard for it for nearly a hundred years. If a single blow is missed, I am afraid that I will have to fill in all my people.

In terms of human relations, except for the 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and horses of Yang Xiong and the general military yamen in the city, the rest of the imperial troops and horses were scattered in the guard cities and fortresses. However, the tens of thousands of soldiers of the King of Liao were in the city, giving them an absolute advantage.

If the spies of the Jinyi Guards are ordered to poison or assassinate, not to mention that the probability of killing the King of Liao and all the princes at the same time is close to 0, and the palace of the King of Liao is now heavily guarded, but any abnormal behavior will be discovered immediately.

If a few scoundrels are left behind, the story of Yuan Shao will inevitably repeat itself, and this mess will be difficult to clean up.

What's more, I don't have Guo Jialai's "legendary plan to determine Liaodong". Even if I have a clever plan, what can I do with these few people?
When Liaodong becomes a pot of porridge, the barbarians in the north take the opportunity to cause chaos, and the kings rebel again, then things will become serious.

Jia Cong thought about it over and over, but could never think of a safe and quick way, and couldn't help frowning.

Bai Qiuwei saw this and said, "But the action is not smooth?"

Jia Cong turned over and sat up, told what happened today, and said bitterly: "The old dog King of Liao is so alert, as if he knows that I am coming to kill him. Now he is in some trouble."

Bai Qiuwei thought for a while and said: "It is not impossible to capture and kill the whole family of King Liao with lightning speed."

Jia Cong was overjoyed when he heard this. He rushed over to hug her and said with a smile: "Good Holy Mother, why did I forget that you are a female Zhuge? You almost saw through my tricks in Shandong. Please teach me."

Bai Qiuwei turned around deftly and got out of his arms. She blushed and spat: "You have to follow the wind. Haven't you always looked down on us? Why are you begging me now?"

Jia Cong said hurriedly: "How can this happen? I am the Holy King of our religion, how can I look down on myself? This is unreasonable."

Bai Qiuwei had a rare opportunity to touch him, so she put her hands behind her hands and said with a smile, "If it happens, how can you thank me?"

"Promise me with my body." Jia Cong blurted out.

"Bah, who cares?"

"Be a cow or a horse."

"I have cattle and horses."

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and said, "Qiu Wei, just say whatever you want."

Bai Qiuwei said: "I want you to promise not to attack our religion for the rest of your life."

Jia Cong frowned and said, "As the Duke of the country, don't I care if you rebel?"

Bai Qiuwei said: "I naturally restrain them from killing officials and rebelling."

She knew that with Jia Cong's tiger and wolf nature, cooperating with the White Lotus Sect at this time was just for each other's needs. When it was no longer needed, the White Lotus Sect would be eaten away without any bones.

Jia Cong pondered for a moment and said, "Okay. As long as you don't rebel, I will turn a blind eye for your sake. But..."

"But what?" Bai Qiuwei asked hurriedly.

"If Qiuwei finds a better buyer someday, switches to another company, and sells me, I won't be able to do anything to you?" Jia Cong said calmly.

Bai Qiuwei sneered and said: "In your mind, am I such a person who breaks promises and gets rich, and is a treacherous person?"

Jia Cong said: "Qiu Wei, you are naturally brilliant, I know that. But holding a high position is different from being a wanderer in the world. There are always times when we have no choice. People can't help themselves in the world. You should understand this."

Bai Qiuwei was silent for a moment and said, "Then how can I make you believe that I won't betray you?"

Jia Cong smiled and said, "I will believe you if you treat my child as your mother."

"You! Bastard! You're talking about this again. Haven't you seen a woman in eight lifetimes? Aren't the many girls in your family enough to cause trouble for you?" Bai Qiuwei's pretty face turned red and she cursed.

Jia Cong hurriedly defended: "You have wronged me. Marriage has been the most common means of establishing mutual trust since ancient times. We have become a good thing. You believe in me and I believe in you. Isn't this great?"

Bai Qiuwei rolled her eyes at him and spat: "Are you just fine?"

"It's good for me and good for you." Jia Cong smiled.

Bai Qiuwei said: "You are cruel as a wolf at one moment, cunning as a fox at the other, and slippery-tongued. If you can believe half of ten sentences, I won't marry you."

Jia Cong said hurriedly: "I can swear to heaven that I will never lie to you."

"Bah, you just lied to me."

"..." Jia Cong said coquettishly: "You are so smart, how can you teach others how to live?"

Seeing his helpless look, Bai Qiuwei laughed, turning her head away and ignoring him arrogantly. (End of chapter)