Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

Jia Cong said: "Foreign religions are prevalent there, and there are many believers, almost everyone believes in them. You can show your skills."

Bai Qiuwei pondered and said, "The Holy Religion has never been spread to the Western Regions, and the language is not accessible. I am afraid it will be difficult to gain people's trust for the time being."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "Mr. Pang has a brilliant plan. What you are going to preach is not the teachings of the White Lotus Sect, but their teachings!"

"Hmm?" Bai Qiuwei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized something, and couldn't help clapping her hands and said, "Mr. Pang is really talented! It really is a good plan!"

Yang Si Niang looked confused, looked at the two of them, and asked, "What did you say?"

Jia Cong smiled and gestured for Bai Qiuwei to explain.

Bai Qiuwei said: "Mr. Pang wants us to pretend to be members of that religion, blend in with them, and fish in troubled waters. With our many years of missionary experience and some tricks, it is enough to fool fools.

Then we can slowly twist their teachings and merge them with our own, and then we can easily attract countless followers."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "That's exactly what I meant! Mr. Pang said that those who believe will be fooled by what they believe. As the ancients said, it's a pity that the seat in front of you is empty in the middle of the night, and you don't ask about the people but about ghosts and gods. Even the emperor can become so stupid, let alone ordinary people?"

Yang Si Niang smiled and said, "It's indeed a good idea."

Bai Qiuwei smiled and rolled her eyes at him, saying, "If you don't believe in anything, won't you be fooled by others?"

Jia Cong laughed and said, "Excuse me, I was just fooled. You women, the prettier you are, the more likely you are to lie. I can't even take a warm bath."

"Who are you talking about?" Yang Si Niang asked curiously.

"Who else could it be? Your sister Chan. She deliberately tricked Miaoyu in and made me so embarrassed." Jia Cong said unhappily.

"Bah, I think this is exactly what you want, right?" Bai Qiuwei spat, "It brings bad luck to us too."

Jia Cong hurriedly asked, "You are slandering me again. Would I resort to such a despicable method?"

Two girls haha.

"If you don't believe me, forget it." Jia Cong changed the subject and slowly grabbed Bai Qiuwei's hand: "Wei'er, we have been honest with each other tonight, can we take it a step further?"

"Bah! Wishful thinking!" Bai Qiuwei blushed, and hurriedly stood up and slapped his hand away, saying, "Why don't you go? I still need to think about who to send to the Western Regions. Don't bother me."

Jia Cong looked at Yang Si Niang again.

Yang Si Niang said hurriedly: "Me too."

"Well, sometimes being too enthusiastic in mass work is not a good thing. Okay, you guys should rest early. I'm leaving." Jia Cong smiled bitterly and retreated.
-
On the third and fifth day of April, two consecutive urgent war reports from 800 miles away completely shocked the officialdom in Shenjing.

The first said that the army's food supplies were burned, and they were defeated without a fight, and all the cities they had previously conquered were lost;

The second letter said that there were heavy casualties. The commander-in-chief, Prince Nannan, was captured alive, Marquis Zhongjing was captured, and the rest of the generals were either dead or captured. Fortunately, the eldest prince Sun Qiu survived and escaped.

Along with the battle report came two "letters from the credible state".

Today, the Yangxin Palace was covered with dark clouds, and the atmosphere was so heavy that water seemed to drip out of it. Even the warm spring light shining through the window lattices seemed to have turned cold.

Emperor Xifeng's face was ashen, as if covered with a layer of frost, and his eyes were so cold that they seemed to be able to freeze everything he saw. Looking at the two "letters from the state" on the imperial desk, veins on his forehead throbbed and his head ached.

"Let's talk about it. What should we do now..."

This is already the third day of discussion, and the only issue they are discussing is whether they still want the Western Region?

This leads to a choice: war or peace?
Regarding the first question, there was almost no objection. Everyone said that the Western Regions could not be abandoned. However, opinions varied greatly on how to preserve the Western Regions.

Jia Cong, Li Meng, Wang Ning and other three major military leaders all advocated war. Their interests were consistent on this point. Only by fighting can the military benefit.

Moreover, the prince's party is now in complete disarray and has lost all its fighting spirit. It can only behave itself in a low profile. It is high time that the Five Military Commandery regains its prestige.

However, the civil officials were very ambiguous. On the one hand, they said that the Celestial Empire's homeland could not be abandoned. On the other hand, they said that they had just suffered a great defeat and it was not advisable to start a war lightly and that they had to take a long-term view. They discussed this for several days but still could not come to a definite answer.

Jia Cong said generously, "Over the past two days, all my colleagues have reached a consensus that the Western Regions must not be abandoned!

Although we have just been defeated, the casualties were all the personal guards of the princes. The elite troops of the imperial court are still strong, and there are many brave generals in the imperial court. Why not send more good generals to defeat them?"

Li Meng and Wang Ning both agreed, "I second your opinion. We should regroup and recover our country. We should not let the barbarians underestimate the Celestial Empire, otherwise there will be trouble in the future."

Emperor Xifeng did not comment, but looked at the military officials and asked, "What do you think?"

Gu Tao said, "I believe that every military action affects the overall situation, so we must not talk about war lightly at the beginning of planning, and we should not talk about peace lightly after the setback.

If we reorganize the army to fight again, where will the military pay come from now when the treasury is empty?

If we borrow troops from the vassal kings again, unexpected dangers may arise. If we use the elite troops of the imperial court, our defense will be left empty-handed. Both are not good strategies.

And how to raise military funds still needs to be considered. Lord Feng, how much money can the Ministry of Revenue take out?"

Feng Yuan said with a bitter face: "The Prince of Nan'an fought a wasteful battle and wasted more than ten million silver coins. Now I can't even get a penny.

To put it bluntly, the defeat in the Western Regions wiped out 200,000 troops from various vassal states. I'm afraid there won't be any vassal state that would not curse.

If the imperial court does not keep some backup plans and forces another fight, victory or defeat is another matter. But if the various vassal states take the opportunity to cause chaos, there will be internal and external troubles, and disaster will arise from within the country.

When the time comes, the army will be on an expedition abroad and the princes will cause chaos within, who will deal with it?"

All the ministers nodded slowly. If this kind of global collapse occurred, I'm afraid the world would change.

Li Meng and Wang Ning looked at each other. What Feng Yuan said was no longer a simple question of war or peace, but a fundamental issue concerning the overall situation. It is easy to start a war, but it is difficult to stabilize the country. They were speechless for a moment and didn't know how to refute.

Wang Ning thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I think what Gu Zhongtang and Feng Shang said makes sense. Although the Western Regions are far away, we must consider the whole region. Although the nine borders are safe, we must consider whether they are safe or not. Only in this way can we be completely safe.

I believe that the cause of King Nannan's defeat was his underestimation of the enemy and his reckless advance, which resulted in his having a large army but failing to see the benefits.

The art of war says that quality is more important than quantity. If we have to fight again, we can send wise and capable generals to lead the elite troops. They don't need to be too many, 70,000 to 80,000 will be enough.

This will save money and the court will not be unable to respond. If we sit back and watch the barbarians rise up, I am afraid that once the Western Regions are lost, the nine borders will also want to imitate them. "

Dong Yi shook his head and said, "General Wang is wrong. The last time we lost an army of 200,000, how can we say that 70,000 or 80,000 men can win? This is the first one.

Second, where would the food and money come from? Would they borrow food from the vassal kings again? This method could only be used once, but not again. If the Ministry of Revenue allocated all the money, how much would it cost to send 70,000 to 80,000 people on an expedition thousands of miles away?
Thirdly, the Western Regions are covered with yellow sand for thousands of miles and are a vast desert. Food is tasteless and the resources are useless. If war breaks out again, the expense will be enormous. One can imagine how the imperial court can bear the burden.
Why should we mobilize all our strength to seize a vast expanse of barren land? What benefit will it bring to the country? This minister does not understand. "

"Prime Minister Dong is right," the civil officials nodded. Li Meng said decisively, "I would never agree with Prime Minister Dong. After the Tang Dynasty, the scholars and officials did not know much about military affairs. When there was no war, they would talk about war. When they were defeated, they would deceive the Confucian scholars and talk about peace. The nonsense and the noise eventually led to the country's downfall.

Before the Han and Tang dynasties, there were wise kings and generals, and there was no fixed form for peace and no fixed pattern for war. In the end, those who were arrogant and only cared about reputation always lost, while those who were perseverant and had many strategies always won: it is enough to know that the key to attracting surprise from the enemy is to remain calm.

Since ancient times, the military situation has never been stable. Does it mean that the previous defeat will lead to the next defeat? Since you said that the Western Regions cannot be abandoned, do you want to defeat the military situation with your pen and tongue? "

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

Jia Cong secretly cheered, Li Meng finally stood up for once. His words were quite impolite and went straight to the heart of the matter. You civil officials all said that the Western Regions cannot be abandoned, but you don’t agree to go to war. Do you want to preserve your ancestors’ kingdom by writing poems?
Huo Peng sneered, "What the Grand Commander said is not a good way to plan for the country. Haven't you heard that the Art of War says that the best way to attack is to attack the enemy's plans, the next best is to attack their alliances, the next best is to attack their troops, and the worst is to attack their cities. Attacking cities is a last resort.

Today, the commander-in-chief has suffered a great defeat due to his lack of strategy, and the court has not thought of any good strategy, but instead talked about fighting in vain. Isn't this an act of recklessly talking about war?
Since ancient times, there has never been a military campaign in which one could win without knowing oneself and the enemy. If one does not fully understand the enemy's strengths and one's own weaknesses, but still wants to show off one's will by making a desperate bet, then isn't that treating state affairs as a joke? "

"Exactly this!"

"Prime Minister Huo is right."

"I second the proposal."

Li Meng saw the civil servants expressing their support, but he had nothing to say. How could he be better than the Grand Secretary in terms of eloquence? He had no choice but to leave with hatred.

The three princes including Prince Beijing looked at each other, shook their heads slightly, and stood with their hands clasped, turning a deaf ear to the dispute in the hall. Prince Nannan had destroyed the army, causing the rise of the Prince Party to be extinguished. How could they dare to express their opinions actively? They just hoped that Emperor Xifeng would forget about them.

Jia Cong had just thought of a speech and said, "Your Majesty, what you said just now is reasonable. I have some superficial opinions. I hope Your Majesty and my colleagues can correct me.

Our army has just been defeated, and the enemy is in full force. Given the current situation, since we say that the Western Regions cannot be abandoned, what can we rely on? Even if we have the strategies of Zhang Yi and Su Qin, can we reverse this trend?
It is true that the best strategy is to attack the enemy with a strong army, but how can there be a good strategy without a strong army? For example, when Qin conquered the six kingdoms and Jin unified the three kingdoms, they had many good strategies, but the root of their good strategies was a strong army.

I have heard that what you cannot get on the battlefield, you cannot get at the negotiation table. On the contrary, if you want to get it at the negotiation table, you must first get it on the battlefield.

Therefore, war is inevitable. We should save money and quell the border troubles for the long term. We must not appease or condone the enemy, which will only make them more arrogant and cause endless disasters. Please make a wise decision, Your Majesty."

Emperor Xifeng looked at Jiang and Guan and asked, "Mr. Jiang, Mr. Guan, do you have any good ideas?"

Jiang Feng didn't want to get involved in such a mess, but when he saw that Emperor Xifeng had called his name, he had to step out and say, "Your Majesty, I am a humble person, and I have just been thinking that the Western Regions are vast and must not be neglected. All of you are dedicated to the public, and although we have some conflicts, we have different focuses.

I thought about it and felt that there were advantages to fighting and advantages to planning. I couldn't make up my mind and couldn't sleep well for the past few days. Later, I thought of something and suddenly felt relieved. "

"What's the matter?" Emperor Xifeng asked.

“I think that although the affairs of the Western Regions are difficult, it is only from the perspective of our ministers. Your Majesty is a man of great talent and strategy, and has already anticipated everything that our ministers can plan. He will make the final decision on how to choose.

All we need to do is to be conscientious and follow your orders, and we will not have to worry about border troubles."

Emperor Xifeng glared at him, this old rascal actually kicked the ball back to me.

Huo Peng, Dong Yi and others were all somewhat disgusted that a dignified university scholar was openly flattering, not expressing his opinion and trying to smooth things over in order to protect himself.

Emperor Xifeng couldn't do anything about Jiang Feng, so he looked at Guan Pu again.

Guan Pu thought about it and decided that he should support Jia Cong at this time. If he lost this strong ally, he would be alone in the court.

He said: "I think that Emperor Taizu pacified the Western Regions and expanded the territory to a circumference of 20,000 miles. At that time, the ministers in the tent were not without suspicion of wasting time on the West. The emperor's will was firm and unshakable. He abandoned the old garrisons in the barren land and established new fertile areas. The border troops remained in the same place and did not increase the salary. The border was increasingly consolidated and the people's hearts were increasingly loyal.

Now the bandits have secretly occupied that place, but they are only showing off their strength for a while. Besides, the kings have already arrived in the capital, and the nine borders have also been weakened. There are no signs of major danger.

If the imperial court showed weakness to the rebels, not only would the nine borders not surrender, but the patriotic people inside and outside the court would also be indignant and resentful. Then what would be lost would not only be the Western Regions, but also the hearts of the people in the world.

Therefore, I think we should use war to stop the war and seek peace, so as to make it clear that the Western Regions are the homeland of the Celestial Empire and that the Imperial Court will never abandon them lightly. As for how much money and grain to mobilize, we can discuss it later. "

Jia Cong thought to himself that scholars are scholars. What he said was both reasonable and pleasing to the ear. Lao Guan was indeed a capable man.

"We second the motion." Several ministers hurriedly echoed their eldest brother.

Emperor Xifeng had always been decisive. He sent out 200,000 troops to expedition to the Western Regions without blinking an eye. But this time he was quite hesitant because he was really scared by the idiot King Nannan.

Two hundred thousand troops were gone in the blink of an eye. How could the imperial court have so much wealth to withstand such a waste?

Now that the treasury was empty, he could not afford to be careless, so he looked at Duan Zhun and asked, "What do you think, Lord Zhun?"

Duan Zhun walked out slowly, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, throughout the ages, the border defenses were mostly in the northwest, where the strength and weakness, and the host and guest situations are all similar.

When I was the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, I lived in the southeast for a long time. I heard and saw with my own eyes that the Western barbarians were trading and preaching with ease, and they were traveling back and forth freely, pretending to be friendly with them, but secretly plotting to swallow them up.

Moreover, they are good at ingenuity and the use of firearms, and are as greedy as jackals. They have already ravaged small countries such as Siam, Luzon, Johor, and Java, and will sooner or later invade the Central Plains.

The greatest threat to our country today is not in the northwest, but in the thousands of miles of sea in the southeast!

The threats from outside are so ever-changing, yet I still want to formulate laws and regulations to deal with them. It's like a doctor treating a disease without asking what the symptoms are and prescribing the same old prescription. I have never seen such an effect.

Things have their priorities, and financial resources are sometimes limited. Now the national treasury is in difficulty, the Nine Feudatories have not been withdrawn, and the chieftains in the southwest are ready to make moves. It is not wise to consider the major dangers at hand, but to worry about the Gobi Desert on the horizon.

The most urgent task is to adopt a delaying tactic to stabilize the Western Regions; at the same time, build a navy, purchase powerful weapons, construct artillery batteries, and consolidate the coastal borders.

After thirty or two years, the benefits of the new law will be apparent, the policy of dismantling the feudal lords will be implemented, the treasury will be full, the soldiers will be well trained and the food will be sufficient. If we then send troops westward, wouldn't it be twice as effective with half the effort?
I humbly hope that the imperial court will be determined to persevere, increase the military and improve preparations, and shoulder the crisis both internally and externally and overcome the difficulties.

Do not let the loss of a corner disrupt your formation, do not let the negligence of a general determine your views, do not let the merits and demerits of border officials be determined by one advance or one retreat, do not let one victory or one defeat be used to predict right and wrong, but hold out for a long time with the enemy and wait for an opportunity. This is the key to victory in border planning. "

"What Yuanfu said is absolutely right. I second your opinion."

Duan Zhun's words were so powerful that they could cut through gold and split rocks. Huo Peng and dozens of other people were greatly encouraged and spoke in unison.

Jiang Feng also nodded slowly, thinking that this statement was profound and could not be refuted.

Guan Pu sighed. With his prestige and royal favor, he was far from being able to compete with Duan Zhun, so he had to shut up.

Prince Beijing's eyes moved slightly, and he suddenly stepped out and said, "I think Yuan Fu's words are far-sighted and thoughtful, and they are true insights. I second the proposal."

"I second the motion." Prince of Dongping and Prince of Xining quickly followed suit.

They already understood what Prince Beijing meant. Now that the Prince's party had suffered a severe setback and lost troops and territory, they could no longer work together with the military. It was a flexible move for them to show goodwill to the new party at this moment.

As long as the New Party is promoted, the Prince Party can quietly lie dormant and recover. (End of this chapter)