Red Mansion, Ningfu Scholarly Family

Chapter 347 Jia Jing: I heard that Her Royal Highness the Princess is very beautiful?
……

"Return to Beijing immediately, without any mistakes!"

The eldest prince trembled as he held the imperial edict in his hand.

He didn't expect that Kyoto was actually defended, and not only that, the Tartar army was actually wiped out.

As for his self-respect for the army...

"Your Highness, don't worry!" Mr. Li said with a smile, "The Emperor Retired has gone to the harem to recuperate, and the Fourth Prince is the regent... This is obviously something that Jia Jing and Ye Xiang did. They are trying to support a puppet and usurp the throne!"

"Your Highness should now raise the banner of fighting against the traitors and clearing the court of the emperor, charge into Kyoto, and rescue the Emperor from his clutches!"

"Then you can follow the logic..."

It sounds exciting, but...

The eldest prince shuddered.

Jia Jing was a ruthless man who annihilated all the Tartars in one go. How could he, with just his remnant troops, succeed?
As if he could see the eldest prince's worry, Mr. Li smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness. You just need to shout out the slogan, and then the heroes of the world will naturally respond in droves, and great things will be accomplished!"

Wang Ziteng added fuel to the fire and said, "Mr. Li is right. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

He absolutely cannot go back, otherwise Jia Jing will not forgive him!
"Your Highness, don't worry about the traitor Jia Jing. Just give me 50,000 soldiers and I will take his head!" Wang Ziteng vowed.

The eldest prince was finally moved and said, "Where should we go now? It might be difficult to get to Jinling. What if we run into the Jia Mansion's navy and those cannons..."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "We don't need to go to Jinling. Let's go to Xi'an, which is the birthplace of the dragon. Your Highness only needs to occupy Xi'an, and great things will be accomplished!"

The eldest prince was overjoyed: "I have you, sir, just like a fish taking to water..." As he spoke, he threw the imperial edict on the ground and said: "Come here, chop off the head of the traitor who read the imperial edict and sacrifice it to the flag!"

……

Northwest frontier.

The frail and sickly old emperor of the Liao Dynasty had three sons and three daughters.

The eldest son, Yelu Cai, was intelligent since childhood, and was both civil and military, and good at fighting. Over the years, he gradually unified the various tribes outside the western Great Wall, making the Liao Kingdom increasingly powerful.

The other two sons have lived under the shadow of their eldest brother since childhood and have not been outstanding in any aspect.

When they heard the news that Yelu Cai's army was wiped out and he committed suicide after defeat, the two were very happy for a while.

"Now that my eldest brother is gone, the throne should belong to my second brother. I'd like to offer a toast to my second brother." Yelu Chu, the third prince of Liao, raised his glass and complimented with a smile on his face.

The second prince of Liao, Yelushan, took a sip of wine and said with a smile: "Third brother, you are too polite. We are a family and should help each other. The Han people have a saying, 'Brothers work together and their strength can break iron'. Therefore, as long as we brothers work together, Daxia will sooner or later be in the pocket of our Liao Dynasty!"

"Second brother is right. I will give you another toast."

After drinking two glasses of wine in a row, Yelu Shan felt a little dizzy, but he didn't care. He shook his head and said, "Excuse me, Third Brother. I can't handle the alcohol today..."

"Haha, it looks like the second brother is drunk."

"Someone, send my second brother back home."

"Yes!"

Several personal soldiers stepped forward and carried Yelu Shan back to his own residence, but when they returned, Yelu Shan was already dead.

……

In the first month of the ninth year of Anping, he returned to the capital.

After a joyous and peaceful Spring Festival, Daxia received good news. The Liao Kingdom, which had always been hostile to Daxia, sent envoys to return the captured Daxia generals and soldiers, and expressed its willingness to be a vassal of Daxia. The two countries opened border trade.

King Ning Jia Jing agreed to the request of the Liao envoy, but put forward a small condition.

"I heard that Yelu Chu succeeded to the throne last winter. He has a younger sister who is extremely beautiful, so beautiful that she could captivate the fishes and geese."

"Ah... yes."

The Liao envoy was somewhat confused and could only say awkwardly: "Princess Mingzhu is the third daughter of the late emperor. She just came of age this year..."

Jia Jing twirled his beard and smiled, "This king admires you very much."

Liao envoy: "..."

"This, this, I will go back and explain this to His Majesty..."

"Well, let's go."

Jia Jing waved his hand.

The Liao envoy had a sad face and said carefully: "This year, there was a heavy snow in the northwest. Many cattle and sheep starved to death or froze to death. Our Liao emperor hopes that Daxia can lend a helping hand..."

"No problem. One hundred thousand dan of rice is my personal betrothal gift. I'll have someone send it to you now." Jia Jing said generously.

Due to the massive influx of rice from Southeast Asia, food became very cheap in Daxia, with one tael of silver buying three shi.

One hundred thousand dan of rice is just over thirty thousand taels of silver, which is a drop in the bucket for the Jia family.

The messenger wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

He no longer knew what to say.

When did the great Liao become so aggrieved?

But now I can only feel so frustrated.

……

"What? One hundred thousand dan of grain as a betrothal gift?"

Yelu Chu was only surprised for a moment and then he laughed happily.

"well!"

"Hurry up and open the city gate to welcome them!"

"No, I will go to welcome the envoys from Daxia in person."

"elder brother!"

Yelu Mingzhu stood up and said angrily: "Brother, you, you want me to marry an old man?"

"What a rotten old man!" Yelu Chu said solemnly with a straight face, "He is the regent of Daxia. The emperor of Daxia has to listen to him. If you go there, even if you are not a princess, you will be a concubine. You will enjoy endless wealth and glory."

"Besides, haven't you always been thinking about the story of the talented scholar and the beautiful lady in Daxia? I have checked it out. Jia Jing is a Jinshi. Needless to say, he is talented and elegant. Besides, old men are the most gentle and considerate. You won't suffer if you marry him."

Yelu Mingzhu: “…”

"But……"

"No buts!"

Yelu Chu said seriously, "The situation of our Great Liao is very dangerous now. My brother's army was annihilated in the south, the powerful Jin Kingdom is eyeing us in the east, and the extremely powerful Wild Bear Kingdom is in the north. We must make peace with Great Xia and get its help to overcome the difficulties!"

"Otherwise, the country will be destroyed!"

"Brother, I understand!"

For the sake of the Liao Dynasty, Yelu Mingzhu resolutely embarked on the journey to Daxia for marriage.

……

Kyoto, Zhou Mansion.

Zhou Zhengguan is very distressed now!

Marrying off a daughter would mean submitting to Jia Jingyin's power, and from then on she would be branded as a sycophant and would never be able to hold her head up.

If you don’t marry… the consequences are unpredictable.

He might be exiled to Yunnan, or he might find an excuse to put himself in jail.

After hesitating for several days, Zhou Zhengguan still couldn't make up his mind, so he had to find his daughter and said helplessly: "It's up to you to decide whether to marry or not. Dad supports you!"

Zhou Yaqin had been repeatedly taught a lesson by her two brothers these days, so she was no longer so resistant at this time. She blushed and said shyly, "Dad, you decide."

Zhou Zhengguan was very surprised to see his daughter's shy and timid look. You know, she was crying and wailing a while ago. "You...you agree?"

Zhou Zhengguan was somewhat surprised.

Zhou Yaqin said shyly, "My daughter heard that His Royal Highness Prince Ning was a Jinshi. He is not only talented in writing, but also good at fighting. He defeated the Tartars and defended the capital. He is a hero who can govern the country with both literature and martial arts. Although he is a little old, it is not wrong for my daughter to marry such a hero."

Zhou Zhengguan was silent for a while, then sighed softly: "That's fine."

"You should prepare to get married. I have accepted the betrothal gift sent by King Ning."

Let him be cursed.

For the sake of my daughter, what does a little bit of bad reputation matter?
But... I wonder if Jia Jing still keeps his word? Can he be promoted to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites?

……

Jia Mansion.

Grandmother Jia has been in high spirits lately as she is happy about the good things that have happened.

Now in the whole of Shenjing City, who dares not to respect the Jia family? Don't you see that the emperor of Daming Palace has to act according to Jing Ge'er's mood?

As Jia Jing's status rose, her status naturally rose even higher. Now, most of the old ladies and ancestors of the marquis's mansions came to pay their respects to her and sit at her head.

In addition, the Princess of Dongping and the Concubine Dowager of Xining came to chat and the three of them were on equal terms.

With days like this, Grandmother Jia felt that she could live for another 20 or 30 years without any problems.

The only thing that made Lady Jia regretful was that the Nan'an Concubine, who had once been superior to her, and the Princess Beijing, had fled with their entire family because something had happened in their family.

“Life is so lonely.”

"Old friend, I wonder if we will meet again?"

"Grandpa, the old friends are gone, but there are new friends coming, right? Master Jing has married, and the new princess will come to offer you tea." Sister Feng said with a laugh.

Grandmother Jia also smiled happily.

Not bad!

The princess would serve her tea.

What kind of decency is this?
The Empress Dowager in the palace is no more than this!
"I just don't know when my granddaughters will come back. They've been gone for more than half a year, and I miss them so much."

"Don't worry, old ancestor. Didn't you say a few days ago that Rong'er was coming back? Of course, he would bring his good aunts back with him." Li Wan pursed her lips and said with a smile.

"Rong'er is coming back? How come I didn't know?" Sister Feng looked at Li Wan suspiciously.

Li Wan said seriously, "You are too busy, so you don't know. I heard it from Lan Ge'er."

Sister Feng asked again: "Does Brother Lan know?"

Li Wan smiled and said, "Brother Lang received a letter from Brother Huan, and this is what he wrote."

Fengjie wanted to ask another question, but seeing Li Wan's half-smile, she immediately complained, "Look, Grandma, the eldest sister-in-law clearly has news, but she didn't tell us. She was just secretly happy there!"

Grandmother Jia laughed out loud: "Daughter-in-law Zhu, please stop keeping us in suspense. When will Brother Lian come back?"

Li Wan smiled helplessly and said, "I really don't know about that. The letter contained articles that the uncle and nephew discussed, as well as the customs and practices of Southeast Asia. There was only a few words about returning home, and no news about Second Master Lian."

"Hahaha." Sister Feng laughed nonchalantly, "It would be better if he didn't come back. He can stay in Nanyang and live with his foreign horse. I want to live with my ancestors."

Grandmother Jia said with a stern face: "Lian'er is too rude. Our family doesn't lack an official in Southeast Asia now. You should go home to accompany your wife and leave a descendant. What are you doing there... living with horses? Feng girl, what horses did you just say?"

Li Wan smiled and said, "It's a foreign horse."

"Oh, yes!" Grandmother Jia nodded, and then asked with a puzzled smile: "What kind of horse is a big foreign horse? Can it live?"

"Grandfather." Sister Feng smiled and said, "The big foreign horse is the nickname that the bad guy Rong Ge'er gave to Western women. The full name seems to be 'Flirtatious big foreign horse'. It is said that she is very seductive."

Jia Mu: "..."

Li Wan: "..."

Rong Ge'er is not serious either. Like grandfather, like grandson.

At this time, a little girl came in and said, "Prince Ning asked the old lady and the second grandmother to come over, saying that they were going to prepare to go to Zhou's house to welcome the bride."

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "You are already old, and I still have to worry about this matter. Well, Feng'er, let's go and take a look."

Sister Feng sneered and said, "The ancestors are the elders, so they should worry about the younger generation."

Grandmother Jia became even happier when she heard this.

That’s right, she is Aunt Jia Jing, an elder!
Soon, they arrived at Ningguo Mansion.

Grandmother Jia hurriedly smiled and half-bent over and said attentively, "Jing'er, just wait at home without worry. We will definitely make the wedding ceremony beautiful for you."

Fengjie stood behind Lady Jia, bowed respectfully, and dared not say a word.

Jia Jing smiled as he sipped his tea, "Then I'll trouble you, old lady. And Feng girl, just take whatever you need from the storehouse."

"Yes Yes."

Fengjie nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"Oh, right." Jia Jing turned to Jia's mother and said, "In a few days I will marry a princess from Liao as my concubine. Thank you for your concern."

Grandmother Jia was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said: "Jing'er, you dare to be a princess of Liao..."

Jia Jing stood up from his chair and glanced at Grandmother Jia: "I have now obtained the greatest wealth and honor in the world, above all others, and even the emperor is at my feet. What's wrong with marrying a princess from Liao? If I want a queen, he must give her to me!"

Jia Mu: "..."

"I know you are capable, but... you are already old. Can your body handle taking on so many women?" asked Lady Jia worriedly.

The current situation of the Jia family seems to be prosperous, but if anything happens to Jia Jing, I am afraid they will be doomed.

Jia Jing twirled his beard and smiled, "Don't worry, old lady. You can live another 20 to 30 years without any problem."

Jia Mu: "..."

Amitabha!
If you live another twenty or thirty years, the Great Xia court will treat you like a fool!
……

Deep inside the palace.

The Supreme Emperor and Emperor Anping sat facing each other in a small Buddhist temple.

There was a small round table between the two of them, on which stood a worn-out teapot and two chipped teacups.

"Father, do you have any other solution?" Emperor Anping took a sip of the hard-to-swallow tea and asked with hope in his eyes.

The emperor sneered, "Don't worry, Jia Jing is plotting to usurp the throne, but he won't be able to hold on for long. When my people leave the capital and announce his crimes to the world, everyone will spurn him and rebel against him!"

"Besides, the boss has an army of 100,000. As long as he makes a call, the people will follow his will. Who in the world would dare not obey?"

Emperor Anping was overjoyed. His father indeed had a backup plan. He had even arranged for his own people to quietly leave the palace. How could Jia Jing not be disgraced by then?
……

Xi'an Mansion.

Things became very difficult after the eldest prince led his troops here.

Because they have no money.

How could an army of one hundred thousand men succeed when the food and fodder they consume every day amounted to thousands of tons and they had no support from the imperial court?
If things go on like this, not to mention recruiting soldiers, he can't even support his own soldiers. The eldest prince has no choice but to follow Mr. Li's advice and borrow good men from the wealthy merchants in the city.

But those damned wealthy merchants cried and cried about being poor, and after borrowing for half a day, they barely managed to scrape together 500 taels...

"Your Highness, this won't work!"

"The soldiers' wages have been in arrears for three months. If they continue to be in arrears, it may cause..."

Before he finished speaking, a personal soldier suddenly ran in, gasping for breath and said, "It's bad. Captain Li Mingyuan led his men to riot for pay and fought with Commander Liu's personal soldiers. Commander Liu accidentally killed them, and Li Mingyuan fled for fear of punishment..."

……

(End of this chapter)