Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 327 Emperor Anping is about to start

……

In the Lixiang Courtyard.

Aunt Xue's eyes were red from crying, and she kept wiping her tears with a handkerchief in her hand. "I never thought that your aunt would go to this extent for the sake of the Wang family. Hey... I want to go see her."

Baochai hurriedly advised, "It would only add to her sadness if you went to see her now, and besides, your aunt is very ill, and if she goes crazy..."

Aunt Xue shuddered when she heard this. She almost forgot that her sister was now a dangerous person and had strangled two people to death.

Now the entire Jia family is talking about Wang and changing color.

"Then I'll go see her when she gets better," Aunt Xue said with some fear.

Baochai smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother. Aunt is a lucky person and will definitely get better."

"I hope so." Aunt Xue said, and suddenly added: "By the way, I seem to have heard that the old lady is going to take the second wife back to Nanjing to live out her days, and Rong'er is also going to go back to his hometown to accompany the coffin. Do you know about this?"

Baochai: "Well, I know a little."

Aunt Xue asked suspiciously, "Do you think something happened?"

Baochai frowned slightly and thought for a while, then said, "It's hard to guess, my daughter. Maybe the old lady is really old and wants to return to her hometown. As for Rong'er wanting to carry the master's coffin back to his hometown, it's also human nature."

In fact, she knew in her heart that things were not that simple. The Jia family was one of the most powerful families in Daxia, with influence throughout the court and the country. Logically speaking, such a family would not leave the capital easily, because it meant leaving the center of power.

There must be some unknown reasons for doing this, but it is not something the Xue family can care about. They just need to follow obediently.

"Mom, why don't we prepare to go back to Jinling?" Xue Baochai shook the beauty fan in her hand and said thoughtfully. The Jia family returned to Jinling, leaving only an empty shell of Rongguo Mansion. It was meaningless for the Xue family to stay here.

Aunt Xue naturally understood the reason. Her family was an orphan and a widow, and her son was a good-for-nothing. Having millions of wealth would only attract others' attention. The only way to avoid being coveted was to cling to the Ningguo Mansion.

They would follow Ningguo Mansion wherever it went.

"I have wanted to go back to Jinling for a long time. You should start preparing tomorrow," said Aunt Xue.

Baochai smiled and said, "I don't think I need to bring a lot of things back. We have a house and a garden over there. When we go back, we can just live in our own home. It's much more convenient."

Aunt Xue frowned slightly.

This is convenient, but she really hopes that Baochai can live in the Ningguo Mansion, the home of the top nobles in Daxia, so that they can truly rise and fall together.

Baoqin can do it, and my Baochai is no worse than Baoqin, so why can’t she do it?

……

"It's over. My father-in-law has been captured by the Tartars. Can you think of a way to save him?" Xue Pan got the news from somewhere that day and came to Jia Rong with an anxious look on his face to ask for help.

Jia Rong was speechless and said, "Do you think I am the emperor? Can I do anything?"

"Alas, it seems my father-in-law is doomed." Xue Pan heard that Jia Rong had no other options, and slammed the table helplessly: "I only regret that I don't have any soldiers, otherwise I would have headed directly to the northwest and chopped off Yelu Cai's dog head to use as a chamber pot."

"Yes, that's right!" Jia Rong nodded and said, "You are so capable, why don't you go to heaven?"

Xue Pan scratched his head and chuckled, "Can't I say something big or harsh? Oh! Let's not talk about him anymore. When are we going to Southeast Asia?"

Jia Rong: "In a few days."

Xue Pan: "What day is it?"

Jia Rong: "I don't know. I'll wait for Master's reply."

……

Jinling.

Jia Jing frowned slightly as he looked at several letters from the Northwest.

"You guys should take a look too."

Jia Jing gave the letter to the two people below.

"Old man, the situation in the northwest seems a little pessimistic." Nangong Lu looked worried after seeing it.

Zhuge Lan also sighed: "People are still not united. Prime Minister Ye is hiding his incompetence and unwilling to contribute. In addition, the emperor does not trust him and sent the Jinyiwei to monitor him. The emperor and his ministers are calculating and suspicious of each other. How can the soldiers in front win the battle?"

Jia Jing thought for a moment and said, "If I ask the emperor for permission to lead the war in the northwest, what will happen?"

Nangong Lu shook his head and said worriedly: "It is likely to increase the emperor's suspicion."

Zhuge Lan smiled and said, "Your Excellency does not need to ask for permission. If the Emperor can no longer hold on, he will take the initiative to ask you to go back. Then we can better grasp the initiative. Now your main task is to preside over the reform of commercial taxes. Your Excellency also needs your full support to suppress the Japanese invaders in Huaibei and Huaibei."

"Yes." Jia Jing sighed: "Things here are not finished yet, but I am thinking about the northwest. I am a little too ambitious."

Zhuge Lan cupped his hands and smiled, "Your Excellency is concerned about the country and the people. I admire you."

Jia Jing: "Haha, you also know how to flatter."

Zhuge Lan: "Absolutely not. I speak from the bottom of my heart."

Nangong Lu: “…”

awkward.

"By the way, Ruhai said that Rong Ge'er is idle in Kyoto anyway, so he should be taken to fight the Japanese pirates. What do you think?" Jia Jing said with a smile.

Zhuge Lan smiled and said, "What else can it be? My father-in-law wants to train his son-in-law to be both civil and military."

Jia Jing smiled helplessly and said, "I can't bear to part with him, but he has given my eldest grandson some experience."

Nangong Lu said seriously: "With the eldest son's talent, and with the guidance of Lord Pavilion and Lord Lin, he will surely surpass his predecessors in the future."

"Haha."

Jia Jing burst into laughter when he heard this, and was obviously very happy.

Zhuge Lan praised: "Although Brother Nangong's flattery is silent, it is very effective."

Nangong Lu said with a straight face: "I never flatter anyone, I speak from the bottom of my heart."

Zhuge Lan: “…”

……

northwest.

After Yelu Cai led his army to capture Yulin, he did not stay for too long, but continued to move south with the momentum of a great victory, successively breaking through the two towns of Huailin and Anlin in Daxia, and heading straight for Yan'an Prefecture.

There were the original 20,000 defenders here plus the 10,000 defeated soldiers brought by Wang Ziteng. Everyone stayed there trembling for two days. Seeing that the vanguard of the Liao army was about to arrive at the city, they had different thoughts, and some were even ready to open the city and surrender.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, the Vice Minister of War Su Youwu brought 50,000 elite troops from the Beijing Camp. As for the eldest prince, he did not follow them, but stayed in the farther Pingyang Prefecture.

A gentleman does not stand on a dangerous wall, so there is nothing wrong with the eldest prince doing this.

"Everyone, I have signed a military order in front of the emperor. Yan'an Prefecture must be defended. The city will be safe if the people are inside, but it will be destroyed if the people are dead!" Su Youwu said with dignity and decisiveness.

The crowd below quickly echoed: "The city is safe as long as we are here, and if the city is destroyed, we will die. We swear to defend Yan'an Prefecture to the death!"

That night, the Tartars who were at the gates of the city began to attack. Su Youwu, a scholar, personally stood on the top of the city wall to supervise the battle. Other soldiers such as Wang Ziteng also fought bravely and their morale was high. The Tartars who were attacking the city suffered heavy losses in a short time.

The Tartars retreated 20 miles and set up camp. There was no further attack on the city in the next two days. Before everyone could breathe a sigh of relief, a personal soldier suddenly rushed into the tent and said, "Sir, it's bad. Yanqing Prefecture was breached by the Tartars. The commander Zhao Fuli died for his country. The prefect Liu Zhigang and his entire family were captured..."

Everyone was shocked.

The main force of the Tartars actually took a detour to Yanqing Prefecture. After passing Yanqing Prefecture, they could bypass Yan'an Prefecture from the rear and head straight for Pingyang... The eldest prince is still in Pingyang!
How to do? !

At this time, Su Youwu was a little panicked.

To put it bluntly, although he had read a lot of military books and was quite strategic and courageous, this was the first time he actually commanded a large army into battle.

"Sir, I think we should hold on to Yan'an Prefecture. Although the Tartars have captured Qingyang, they will never dare to attack Pingyang alone..."

"shut up!"

Wang Ziteng was interrupted halfway through his words.

The person who interrupted him was Qian Ren, the Jinyiwei military supervisor arranged by Zhao Quan.

That's right. Due to the case of falsely reporting military achievements last year, Emperor Anping lost his trust in the eunuchs who supervised the army. Now the Jinyiwei can be openly arranged into the imperial army as military supervisors, and their power is greater than that of the previous eunuchs who supervised the army.

Qian Ren sneered, "Who will be responsible if Pingyang is lost? Not to mention that the eldest prince is still in Pingyang, the road from Pingyang to Kyoto is flat and there is no place to defend. The Tartar cavalry can reach Kyoto in three to five days... Wang Ziteng, you are a defeated general, what are you thinking!?"

"I……"

Wang Ziteng hesitated and dared not speak. A defeated general had no right to speak, and he was also involved in last year's case of falsely reporting military achievements. His future was really bleak!

Do whatever you want with love!
However, Su Youwu felt that Wang Ziteng's words made a lot of sense. The most important thing was that the military order he had signed in front of Emperor Anping was: to ensure that Yan'an would not be lost.

So he didn't want to take the risk.

As for Yanqing...it's none of my business.

Even if Pingyang is in danger, that is Pingyang's business. I only have so few soldiers under my command, how can I take care of it?
"Ahem, I think what Lord Wang said makes sense. As long as we are in Yan'an Prefecture, the Tartars will not dare to attack the city easily. On the contrary, if we attack rashly, we are likely to fall into a trap."

"What nonsense!"

Qian Ren jumped up and said, "The enemy has 80,000 troops and we have 80,000. As the saying goes, when two brave men meet in a narrow road, the brave will win. I think you are just afraid of the enemy and avoiding fighting!"

"Military Supervisor Qian!"

Su Youwu shouted harshly!
"You are just a military supervisor. Do you dare to question my decision?"

Qian Ren sneered: "I dare not."

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

Although he said he didn't dare, his eyes were looking at the sky with a look of disdain.

Su Youwu didn't want to argue with the Jinyiwei who were in high spirits, so he left the meeting hall with a flick of his sleeves.

Qian Ren was immediately furious.

Now there are still people who dare to show disrespect to the Jinyiwei!
Really looking for death!

After returning, Qian Ren wrote a secret letter with exaggerations to Zhao Quan and sent it urgently over 800 miles.

……

Daming Palace, Hall of Mental Cultivation.

"Clap!"

An imperial purple clay teapot was thrown heavily to the ground, breaking into pieces, and tea foam splashed all over Xia Shouzhong's body.

"We lost Yanqing Prefecture again!"

"Fearing the enemy like a tiger, losing battle after battle!"

"I really misjudged him!"

Emperor Anping was shaking with anger as he held the secret memorial sent by Jinyiwei Zhao Quan.

"Your Majesty, please calm down and take care of your health." Xia Shouzhong didn't care about the tea foam on his body and hurried forward to comfort him.

Emperor Anping pushed him away and said coldly, "Immediately ask the cabinet to draft an order to order Su Youwu to fight the Tartars and take back Yanqing Prefecture!"

"Yes."

Xia Shouzhong hurried down to pass on the message.

Because Jia Jing was in Jinling and Prime Minister Ye was sick at home, the cabinet was full of Emperor Anping's people, so no one opposed his decrees and they were quickly passed down.

Emperor Anping liked the feeling of having great power and having his say. He felt it was time to display his great talent!

……

"Shunzhi, I heard that your family is going back to Jinling together?"

"Yes."

Jia Rong waved his fan and said seriously, "It is not a long-term solution to leave the master's coffin in Tiekan Temple. We should take the opportunity to take the coffin back to the hometown when we have nothing to do. Besides, the old lady in the West Mansion is very old and always wants to return to her hometown, so we just put them together."

Xie Jiwen and Ye Mengshu nodded silently after hearing this.

Filial piety has been the most important virtue since ancient times, and Jia Rong's carrying the coffin back to his hometown was a very correct move.

"It's true that all good things must come to an end. Let's have a good drink today and not leave until we are drunk!" Ye Mengshu pulled the two of them to go have a drink together.

Jia Rong waved his hand and smiled, "I don't drink wine recently, let's drink tea instead."

Ye Mengshu slapped his head and said, "I've been so busy at the Ministry of Revenue recently that my mind became confused and I forgot that you are in mourning and can't drink."

Xie Jiwen laughed: "Now you know how hard it is to be in the Ministry of Revenue, right? I told you long ago that the Ministry of Revenue is very empty. It's better to find a good place to be a county magistrate than to do an internship there. You can still be promoted to Beijing in the future."

Ye Mengshu: "Shunzhi, you talk to him."

Jia Rong said, "I think that Heaven will give great responsibility to this person... Xie Jiwen is just wasting his time in the Censorate and will accomplish nothing in the future."

"Impossible." Xie Jiwen said righteously, "I have been very serious recently and am preparing to collect evidence to impeach someone."

"Who?"

"Jinyiwei Zhao Quan!"

Ye Mengshu shuddered: "Amazing!"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "I advise you to be more cautious."

Xie Jiwen smiled softly: "It's just a joke, don't be afraid, I have nothing better to do than to impeach him."

"I want to impeach his nephew Zhao Futian. It is said that Zhao Futian has been very arrogant recently. It's ok for him to go to the restaurant without paying for meals, but he even doesn't pay for going to the brothel. He is simply inhuman!"

"Good, that's good." Jia Rong clapped his hands and laughed, "This is because he didn't manage the household well. At least he was embarrassed."

Ye Mengshu said: "Just be careful of Zhao Quan's revenge."

"Don't be afraid." Xie Jiwen smiled and waved his hands: "I have Shunzhi. If he dares to mess with me, I will run to Jinling. Shunzhi will not stand by and watch me die, right?"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll treat you to a drink when you come to Jinling. What's the matter with Jinquan and Zhaoquan? When you get to Jinling, I have the final say."

"Haha, so domineering."

"This is what it's like to be a young master from the most aristocratic family in Jinling."

"My younger brother greets Brother Jia."

"Well, no courtesy."

……

After hastily saying goodbye to a few good friends, Jia Rong went to Nan'an Palace again.

Speaking of which, it is a turbulent time for the Nan'an Palace. Today, we received another piece of bad news.

On his way back to Beijing, the Prince of Nan'an was assassinated by the White Lotus Sect. Fortunately, the guards around the prince were prepared and the assassin failed. He left two bodies and ran away.

Why did the White Lotus Sect attack the Nan'an Palace? Many people were puzzled, even the leader of the White Lotus Sect was puzzled.

"Have you found out who did it?"

"Replying to the leader, some people said that it was the Saint who did it, but the Saint said that it was not true. I feel that it is probably someone pretending to be someone else and throwing dirty water on us."

The White Lotus Sect leader nodded silently.

He's gotten used to it over the years.

……

"The Saintess of the White Lotus Sect? Bai Cai'er?"

"you sure?"

Prince Beijing frowned in disbelief.

"I am absolutely sure!"

The guard said in a firm tone.

Prince Beijing fell into deep thought.

It seems that I guessed wrong before, and it was him who had intentions on the Nan'an Palace!

Although it was unexpected, it was also reasonable.

Because Prince Beijing knew very well the true identity of the White Lotus Sect Leader!
……