Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

The capital, the palace of the Great Zhou, the Meridian Gate.

In the early morning, the east was just getting light, but the magnificent capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty had not yet fully awakened from the long night.

Only a few shops were open on the streets and there were very few pedestrians on the road.

Suddenly, there was a sound of hurried horse hooves in the distance. At first it sounded like muffled thunder, but as the sound got closer, it became like a violent storm and the sound like beating drums.

On Hongming Street leading to the Meridian Gate, the shop owners and clerks in the shops on both sides looked in surprise as they saw five or six fast horses galloping across the street.

A strong wind blew up a cloud of dust and smoke, and the flags and shop signs hanging on both sides of the street were fluttered in the wind.

If it weren't for the fact that it is just dawn and there are few people on the road, even the imperial guards would not dare to gallop so fast in the city.

The knights on horseback were all sweating profusely, their galloping horses were panting, and a layer of sweat was oozing from their necks.

These knights seemed to have been on a long journey; they were all out of breath and had reached the point of exhaustion.

But they still didn't dare to relax at all, as if every step the horses took was a final sprint.

When the team of knights was about to approach the Meridian Gate, they saw that it was bustling with people, with many officials waiting to enter the palace for the morning court.

The imperial guards who were guarding the palace had been there for a long time. When they saw several riders galloping towards them, they immediately lined up and stepped forward to guard and stop them.

A young man leading these knights took out a gilded token on his horse.

He shouted, "I have the military banner of the Marquis of Weiyuan. I have been ordered by the Marquis to report an urgent memorial from Nanjing to the Empress Dowager. Please pass it on!"

The leading captain of the imperial guards was shocked when he heard this. The name of Weiyuan Marquis Jia Cong was known to everyone in the capital, and he was on business in Nanjing at that time.

More importantly, there are only a handful of officials below the fourth rank in the court who can be granted the power to make direct reports by the emperor.

Each of them is a person trusted by Your Majesty, and Weiyuan Earl Jia Cong is one of them.

The captain of the imperial guards checked the military flags and found them to be correct. He did not dare to delay and hurried into the palace to deliver the message.

This move attracted the attention of many officials waiting for the morning court at the Meridian Gate.

Jiang Liu's words just now were heard by many people, and there was a slight commotion among the crowd.

The young man from the Jia family had caused quite a few disturbances in the capital and had always attracted much attention. However, he was ordered to go south recently and has been silent for quite a while.

Now he has even sent his trusted people to rush to the Meridian Gate on horseback to report the urgent news directly to Nanjing. Could it be that he has caused some accident again?
……

Although Jiang Liu has revealed his identity and the captain of the imperial guards has gone to the palace to convey the message, he needs a reply before he can send the report to the palace.

According to the current time, we still need to wait at the Meridian Gate for a while.

Because Emperor Jiazhao was very diligent in his work, he got up at dawn every day and attended court early every day, rain or shine. Except for the routine rest days in the court, there were few days when he stopped for decades.

It is now the time for morning court session. Even if there are urgent memorials from other places to be submitted to the palace, they will be postponed until after the morning court session.

Jiang Liu and others waited at the Meridian Gate until 2:15 pm when a palace maid from the Imperial Household Department came to take the memorial and present it to the Qianyang Palace.

Jiang Liu watched the eunuch holding Jia Cong's report and quickly walking into the palace. He did not breathe a sigh of relief until the figure gradually disappeared.

Following Jia Cong's instructions, he was cautious along the way, traveling day and night, not daring to slack off for even a moment.

Finally, it only took four days to rush from Jinling to Shenjing and deliver the memorial to the palace.

The five firearms soldiers who accompanied him were all elite soldiers in the army. After such a long and rapid journey, they were all exhausted. In just a few days, they, like Jiang Liu, had lost a lot of weight.

Fortunately, I have accomplished my mission.

The great thing was accomplished, and as his spirit relaxed, a deep fatigue filled Jiang Liu's whole body.

He climbed onto the horse rather slowly, turned the horse's head sharply, and said, "Let's go to Lord Gu's house to deliver the letter!"

……

The Great Zhou Palace, Chonghua Palace
This is the most heavily guarded place in the palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, because it is the sleeping palace of Emperor Yong'an, the retired emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In the imperial study of the palace, an old man in a green nine-dragon robe was sipping tea from a teacup. He had a gaunt face but was in high spirits, and every move he made was majestic.

Sitting at the head of the table was an old lady with silver hair, dressed in expensive and elaborate phoenix-colored gown. She looked clear-headed and had a dignified manner. She was none other than Empress Dowager Yi Zhang.

Empress Dowager Yizhang personally filled Emperor Yong'an's teacup and said, "Your Majesty, yesterday I went to Qinghe Palace to pay my respects to the old concubine, and she also told me about Fang Qing and Jia Cong.

She wants to bring these two people together.

Although Fang Qing is not a royal descendant, she grew up in the palace. She is a talented and beautiful girl, and I have always liked her very much.

Although I have never seen the Weiyuan Earl of the Rongguo Jia family, but now the whole capital is full of rumors about him. He is a young man of outstanding talent, both in literature and martial arts, with a unique demeanor and unparalleled.

Such a person would be a perfect match for Fang Qing. The Concubine said she had mentioned this to Your Majesty. What does Your Majesty think? "

Emperor Yong'an took a sip from his teacup and said thoughtfully, "If we just look at their personalities and looks, these two are a good match.

However, Jia Cong was born into the Jia family of Rongguo, the son of four kings and eight dukes, and now he is highly regarded by the emperor.

Fang Qing is the legitimate daughter of the Zhen family in Jinling. Not only does she have a relationship with the old empress dowager, but her cousin is also the Princess of Beijing.

The family backgrounds and connections of these two people are extraordinary, and marriage is not just about love and harmony, but involves many things.

The Zhen family sent a letter to the old empress dowager, specifically to discuss this matter. I'm afraid their thoughts are not simple.

It is simple for me to grant them marriage, just an imperial decree, but if Jia Cong marries Fang Qing, I am afraid his career will be ruined from now on."

Emperor Yong'an put down the teacup in his hand and sighed, "The Queen also said that this young man is a man of both civil and military talents, unrivaled.

It is a pity that such an outstanding person, at such a young age, is left idle. After all, talents are hard to come by. Anyway, the old concubine has given me a difficult problem. "

……

After hearing what Emperor Yong'an said, Empress Dowager Yizhang couldn't help but feel troubled.

After all, she was a member of the harem, and she mostly considered issues from the perspective of love affairs. Although she also thought about the family backgrounds of these two people, her thoughts were not as deep as those of Emperor Yong'an.

Emperor Yong'an only said half of what he said, and did not say the whole thing. That was because he was the retired emperor in Rongyang Palace and no longer the emperor who ruled the world, so he had to be restrained in his words.

But Empress Dowager Yizhang had been immersed in the harem for decades. As a woman in the harem, there were some things she might not have thought of for the time being, but that did not mean she did not have enough vision and knowledge.

Therefore, she understood the profound meaning of Emperor Yong'an's words after only listening to them for a moment.

The eldest daughter of the Zhen family is the Princess of Beijing, and Prince of Beijing Shui Rong is quite famous among the four kings and eight dukes.

The old Concubine Dowager of the Zhen family is your Majesty’s adoptive mother, and the relationship between them is very deep.

Any outsider could see the connection between the Jinling Zhen family and the four kings and eight dukes, not to mention the obscure connection between the Zhen family and the late emperor.

When the emperor first ascended the throne, in order to secure his throne, he spared no effort to suppress and weaken the four kings and eight dukes. Although the former emperor was dissatisfied, he could only ignore it for the sake of country stability.

This is a heart disease between father and son.

The young man from the Jia family was conferred the hereditary title of Earl by the emperor. Everyone could see that the emperor valued this young man very much and that he was a trusted and capable minister deliberately cultivated by the emperor.

The old concubine only wanted to find a suitable husband for her beloved descendant, she never thought so deeply.

Moreover, the Zhen family and the old concubine instigated this matter. As Your Majesty said, their thoughts and intentions may not be simple...

If Your Majesty really grants the marriage to these two people and disrupts the Emperor's plan, it will be a shame for both father and son.

Given the emperor's cunning mind, he would definitely isolate the young man from his royal favor and keep him estranged from him from then on.

……

This marriage only has these hidden concerns, and at worst the marriage won't be granted, although it would be a bit troublesome to explain it to the old concubine.

But what made Empress Dowager Yizhang even more shocked and puzzled was another matter.

When the former emperor mentioned this marriage just now, he did not mention the emperor at all, but said that Jia Cong was a man of both civil and military talents, and was extremely talented. If he married Fang Qing, his career prospects would definitely end here.

The former emperor was worried that once the marriage was completed, the emperor would become estranged from Jia Cong and would no longer use this young man, causing him to become idle and waste his life.

Empress Dowager Yizhang and Emperor Yong'an had been husband and wife for their entire lives, and she knew his personality and words very well.

The words that Emperor Yong'an just said were full of emotion, and he had an indescribable concern for this young man whom he had never met.

How could Empress Dowager Yizhang not be surprised? The late emperor had seen so many talented young men in his life, why did he have a special liking for this young man?

But she thought about it again, recalled many past events, and probably guessed the emperor's thoughts. The emperor was at the peak of his military prowess, fought wars in the south and the north, expanded the territory, and almost caught up with Taizu's achievements in founding the country.

If it weren't for such amazing military strategies, how could the four kings and eight dukes and other military figures be so famous in the army and so loyal to him.

Among the emperor's sons at that time, only the Prince of Wu was the most like his father. He was both civil and military, with outstanding talents and strategies, and was the best among all the princes.

The King of Wu had the highest reputation among all the officials in the court, and was especially respected by the Four Kings and Eight Dukes.

He was also the most beloved by the late emperor. Although according to the ancestral system, the ceremony of enthroning him as the crown prince had not been carried out, he was the one who the late emperor believed would inherit the throne.

But such a talented prince was killed by the emperor himself during the royal upheaval fifteen years ago.

The former emperor became disheartened and gave up the throne, retreating into the deep palace, imprisoning himself. This was a tragedy in human relations, and it shows how deep the trauma was.

The former emperor grew up in the army when he was young, and he always had a preference for young talents with outstanding literary and martial arts. Many outstanding children among the four kings and eight dukes were promoted because of this.

Over the past decade, the former emperor abdicated and lived in seclusion in the palace, but this preference does not seem to have changed.

Perhaps the young man from the Jia family was too outstanding in both literature and martial arts. He could win the first prize in literature and defeat bandits in martial arts, and his name was known throughout the world.

Wasn't that person so dazzling back then?

The emperor probably saw something familiar in him...

Empress Dowager Yizhang accidentally turned her head and saw a piece of calligraphy hanging on the wall. It was ancient, elegant, lively, full of spirit, and dazzling.

That was the Linjiangxian poem written by Jia Cong himself. This calligraphy and the Heart Sutra scroll were both the emperor's favorites.

Empress Dowager Yizhang was certain that her guess was correct and she couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

……

The palace city of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qianyang Palace.

Although it was late summer, the heat in the capital had not yet dissipated, and the huge palace seemed a bit stuffy.

Guo Lin calculated the time when Emperor Jiazhao would retire from court and placed several ice jars in the hall in advance.

The bronze crane tripods of Fu Shou on both sides of the imperial desk flashed a heavy, dark yellow light, and from their sharp beaks came out milky white ambergris smoke, which was refreshing and lingering.

As soon as Emperor Jia Zhao retired from court and entered the main hall, Guo Lin presented the memorial that Jia Cong had urgently sent to the capital.

He said, "Your Majesty, Jia Cong has sent a memorial from Nanjing to the capital. The messenger was waiting at the Meridian Gate before the morning court today, saying that the memorial is an urgent matter."

It has been a while since Jia Cong went to Jinling, but there has been no new progress on the matter of Zhou Zhengyang in Jinling.

Emperor Jia Zhao was somewhat disappointed. Jia Cong, who had always been successful in everything he did, seemed to be having a hard time this time. The situation in Nanjing was so tricky.

Unexpectedly, just after the morning court today, Jia Cong's report was urgently sent to the palace, which gave him somewhat unexpected joy.

Because of Jia Cong's usual style of doing things, his sudden delivery of a report from thousands of miles away must mean that there has been a major breakthrough in the affairs of Jinling.

Emperor Jia Zhao was slightly cheered up and immediately opened the report and read it carefully. However, after reading only a few lines, his expression gradually became gloomy and solemn.

Guo Lin had served Emperor Jiazhao for many years and naturally understood his temperament very well. As soon as he saw the emperor's expression, he knew that what Jia Cong said in the memorial would definitely make the emperor very unhappy.

His heart suddenly rose in his chest, and his back, which was already hunched over, bent even more involuntarily.

The hall, which was originally a little dull in late summer, suddenly became chilly and the cicadas seemed to be unable to stop chirping.

The solemn voice of Emperor Jiazhao suddenly sounded from behind the imperial desk, swirling and surging in the hall, full of anger and cruelty.

"The commander of Suzhou Guard actually shielded and hid the wanted criminal of the imperial court. This is truly lawless!"

"Two of the five major police stations under the Jinling Command are involved in major cases involving the Water Supervision Bureau. Are they planning to rebel?"

"Commander-in-chief Du Hengxin has failed to lead the army properly and has failed the emperor's grace. He should be executed!"

When Guo Lin heard Du Hengxin's name, his heart skipped a beat. He was the chief officer of the Southern Zhili Guards and a second-rank officer. In the emperor's words, he was guilty and deserved death. This meant that something big was going to happen.

……

Emperor Jia Zhao suppressed his anger and read Jia Cong's report carefully. The last part of the report described in detail the investigation of Du Hengxin by the Ministry of Rides.

Emperor Jiazhao soon noticed an unusual name: Zhen Yingquan.

He read the content related to Zhen Yingquan and Du Hengxin over and over again. The veins on his forehead bulged slightly and his hands trembled slightly with anger.

"What a Jinling merchant, what a plot! He actually has the ability to manipulate and support the court officials. He is imitating Lü Buwei's strategy of making the most of rare goods. It's incredible!"

"Guo Lin, you little dog slave, I let you control the Imperial Vehicle Department. Why has the Imperial Vehicle Department never reported these merchants' activities of secretly interfering in government affairs and selling official positions and titles?"

When Guo Lin heard the angry voice of Emperor Jia Zhao, he trembled with fear, but he really didn't know what was going on. He asked tremblingly: "I am stupid, Your Majesty, please explain clearly."

With a "pop" sound, Emperor Jiazhao threw Jia Cong's memorial in front of Guo Lin.

Guo Lin knelt down with a plop, crawled a few steps on his knees, picked up the memorial, and read it quickly.

The inside story of Du Hengxin's affairs reported by Jia Cong was obtained by Xu Qinniang of the Imperial Chariot Division through secret investigation.

In fact, Jia Cong reported the memorial to the capital, and Xu Qinniang almost simultaneously sent the inside story of Du Hengxin's secret investigation to the general file through the Zhongchesi channel.

However, Jia Cong was worried that the longer the night, the more trouble he would cause, so he specifically instructed Jiang Liu to travel day and night and deliver the memorial to the capital within four days. This was an efficiency that broke the ordinary speed.

Therefore, Jia Cong's memorial arrived at the Imperial Palace before the secret report from the Imperial Chariot Service.

Therefore, Guo Lin didn't know at the moment that this information was originally obtained by the secret investigation of the Jinling Central Vehicle Division.

When he saw the Jinling maritime merchant Zhen Yingquan, he worked hard for Du Hengxin, the captain of the Jinling Guards at that time, and even used his connections in the Prince of Beijing's Palace to get him promoted to the captain of the Water Supervision Bureau.

Guo Lin was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. This incident not only involved the secret rise of a high-ranking military officer of the second rank, but the hidden context behind it was also extraordinary.

Jinling Zhen Family! Beijing Prince's Palace!
He had served Emperor Jiazhao for many years, so he naturally knew these two words and the implications and taboos hidden behind them.

Guo Lin kowtowed and said, “Your Majesty, Du Hengxin was only a centurion back then, and being promoted from a centurion to a thousand-householder is a low-level promotion in the military.

Since these official positions are of low status, they can be promoted with the approval of the Five Military Governors' Office. The Ministry of War will only file the application and will not usually interfere.

Every year there are vacancies for middle and lower-ranking officers in the army due to annual examinations, demobilization, etc. There are frequent appointments and transfers of middle and lower-ranking officers, which is a common occurrence in the military.

Du Hengxin was promoted from a hundred households to a thousand households. This was the situation on the surface. Therefore, the Central Vehicle Division was negligent. I failed to supervise my work and deserve death. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

After listening to Guo Lin's words, Emperor Jiazhao suppressed his anger slightly.

Military officers in the army were promoted from centurions to thousandaires. There was no telling how many such promotions of middle and low ranks occurred every year. It was indeed impossible for the Ministry of Vehicles to secretly detect and record every single event.

As long as there is no suspicion on the surface, it will not attract the attention of CRRC Corporation Limited.

Moreover, not long after Du Hengxin was promoted to the rank of Captain of the Water Conservancy Bureau, he won a great victory in suppressing pirates along the coast of Songjiang. That battle was the greatest victory that the Great Zhou had ever won against the Japanese pirates.

The dazzling light of the battle record perfectly covered up the obscure darkness when Du Hengxin was promoted to a thousand households.

Who would have suspected at that time that a captain of the Water Conservancy Department with great military achievements could have had flaws in his position?

Thinking of this, Emperor Jiazhao's mood suddenly became gloomy. All this seemed too coincidental and too perfect, as if it had been arranged in advance...

But upon closer inspection, there is no trace.

……

After the incident of the Du family in Nanjing fifteen years ago, the reason why Emperor Jiazhao made such a fuss and transferred Du Hengxin to Shenjing was indeed a sinister meaning.

In fact, it is to show the world who informed on the downfall of the Du family and the evil deeds of the hidden family, which are hated by all.

Afterwards, Du Hengxin was skipped and promoted twice, which only further confirmed the matter and made him bear the crime of betrayal for the destruction of the Jinling Du family. The King of Qi, who was in charge, was only enforcing the national law to eliminate traitors.

Du Hengxin was just one of the causes of this major event, an ugly footnote that was clearly visible when future generations looked back on it.

The events in Shenjing that were triggered by the fall of the Du family were nothing more than the law of nature, which is clear and unavoidable, and not something that could be deliberately defied by human power.

And in the end, Emperor Jiazhao ascended to the throne at a rare opportunity. That was truly justified and the will of heaven!
The emperor's mind does not care about good or evil, but only considers the merits and demerits.

Du Hengxin sold out his relatives in exchange for his future. To Emperor Jiazhao, such a person could be used but would not be reused.

Therefore, after the big incident was settled, Du Hengxin was immediately transferred back to Nanjing, and no one cared about him for a full ten years.

During these ten years, Emperor Jia Zhao ignored him, but he also never made things difficult for him, because Du Hengxin was more useful alive than dead, at least he could serve as a kind of whitewash and target. (End of this chapter)