The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 57 Shen Yuan wins the title of Wushu champion

One minister was suspicious and retorted: "Isn't it too alarmist? The Jianlu now have thousands of miles of territory, so why would they concentrate all their forces in Liaodong? Aren't they worried that the Mongols in the west will take the opportunity to attack?"

Shen Yuan nodded and said in a clear voice: "What the lord said makes sense, but the situation in the Great Zhou is dire now, and we cannot afford to take another big risk."

Nan'an County Prince Zheng Chong, who had been silent until now, saw that Shen Yuan was just a teenager, but he was talking about military affairs in front of the ministers. He was disdainful and said, "Such a major national event, how can you give up the opportunity to recover Liaodong just because of your shallow view?"

"Who is this lord?"

Soon, someone introduced him to Shen Yuan.

Upon learning of this man's identity, Shen Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. In his impression, this Prince of Nan'an, one of the Four Princes, was ambitious but incompetent, and narrow-minded.

He collected his thoughts and said calmly, "May I ask what your opinion is, Prince?"

"My king."

Zheng Chong was suddenly asked, but he didn't know how to answer. He refuted because he simply couldn't stand Shen Yuan.

He originally supported sending troops out of Shanhaiguan to retake Liaodong, but with Shen Yuan's warning just now, he did not want to bear the responsibility for a reckless advance and a disastrous defeat.

Even so, Zheng Chong still pretended to be powerful and said, "There is no perfect solution in the world. If you want to gain something, you can't avoid risks."

Shen Yuan no longer paid attention to this person, and said thoughtfully: "As the previous lord said, Jianlu will also be concerned about the Mongols in the west. No matter how powerful they are, they cannot cope with attacks from three sides at the same time."

"what do you mean?"

Shen Yuan said: "We can invite Mongolia to attack Jianlu together to test their strength.

If the Jianlu deployed a large number of troops in Liaodong, the Mongols could lead their troops eastward and encroach on the Jianlu territory;
If the Jianlu divide their forces to defend against Mongolia, our army can take the opportunity to attack Liaodong."

No matter how powerful the Jurchens were, they could not sustain a three-front war without being defeated. Shen Yuan's strategy was based on this logic.

Let Mongolia contain and test the Jurchens, who will be caught in a dilemma. That will be the real opportunity for the Great Zhou.

The strong rise of the Jianlu in recent years has actually made the relationship between the Great Zhou and the Mongolian tribes much friendlier. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. As long as the distribution of interests is negotiated, it is entirely feasible for the two sides to reach a joint attack alliance.

Upon hearing this, all the generals nodded in agreement and had a higher opinion of Shen Yuan. Compared with the previous strategy of sending troops directly, this strategy was much safer.

But Shen Yuan didn't finish his words and continued, "There is one more thing that needs some preparation.

If the Koreans were defeated quickly before the three-front war was formed, then the Great Zhou and Mongolia would have lost their advantages;

In order to prepare for the worst, the Great Zhou could send a navy of thousands of people to take over the Korean navy in the name of assisting the suzerain state in the war.

Even if we cannot take control of the Korean navy, we can destroy it unexpectedly at a critical moment. We must not let the Korean navy fall into the hands of the Jianlu. "

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire court fell into silence, and everyone looked at Shen Yuan with surprise.

This boy seems to be less than twenty years old. How can he have such knowledge at such a young age?
"Incredible! He has the courage of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and the talent of Kong Ming!"

Prince Beijing Shui Rong looked at Shen Yuan with eyes full of admiration, and was happy that the Great Zhou could have such a talented person.

In any case, based on what Shen Yuan just said, no one here can be more thorough than he is.

The expression of Zheng Chong, Prince of Nan'an, was as if he had eaten a fly, his throat was congested and he felt extremely uncomfortable.

He was one of the four kings of military merit and also served as the commander-in-chief of the right army, but he was ignored by a young boy.

Emperor Yuanzhen suddenly realized something and stroked the table, saying, "This is a very good plan!"

"deliver an imperial order!"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers fell silent.

"Select personnel from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, and the Honglu Temple to form an envoy to go to Mongolia as soon as possible to negotiate the treaty. Minister Zhou will be in charge of this matter."

"I obey your order." Minister of Rites Zhou Xian accepted the order.

"Tell the Ministry of War to draft a transfer order and send it to Jizhou to move troops to Shanhaiguan for preparation for war. I, your Excellency, will take care of this matter."

"I obey your order." Yu Qian, the Minister of War, accepted the order.

"Shui Rong, you should go to Dengzhou as soon as possible, mobilize the Shandong navy, reorganize three thousand elite troops, and rush to Korea." "I obey your order." King Beijing accepted the order.

"."

Many ministers were shocked when they saw this scene. His Majesty actually adopted the suggestion of a candidate directly in the palace examination!

Of course, Shen Yuan was not an ordinary scholar.

Without any surprise, Emperor Yuanzhen personally selected the top rankings as Shen Yuan, the new top martial arts scholar, Feng Ziying, the second place, and Jiang Fan, the third place.

There was another incident that shocked the ministers even more.

Upon learning that Shen Yuan's parents had passed away, Emperor Yuanzhen suddenly decided to give him the name Huai Zhong, Shen Huai Zhong.

The emperor bestowed a name on someone in front of him. What kind of favor was this?
They could imagine that, if nothing unexpected happened, this young man in blue would surely rise to a high position.

Moreover, the two words "huaizhong" contain your majesty's great expectations.

These two words alone destined Shen Yuan to become a sharp weapon in the emperor's hands and he would no longer be won over by the civil and military factions.

Shen Yuan was not opposed to this. When one is in the officialdom, one will experience ups and downs, and when one first enters the officialdom, one must have someone to rely on.

If the emperor does not betray him, he will not betray the emperor either. If the emperor betrays him,
When everything was settled, Emperor Yuanzhen summoned all the new scholars to encourage them. After the names were called out, the Ministry of War began to announce the results.

Outside the martial arts garden.

The tens of thousands of people who were watching finally saw the long-awaited red list.

"Don't squeeze!"

"let me see."

"The top scorer in martial arts is Shen Yuan, the second place is Feng Ziying, and the third place is Jiang Fan."

Many people quietly read out the names on the list, without much surprise.

"Hahaha, I guessed it all!"

"Brother, do you really need to guess? Hanmozhai has already predicted it."

"I heard from the examinee who came out that Shen Yuan was given a courtesy name by the emperor. It seems to be Huaizhong."

"The Emperor bestowed a name? Is that true or false?"

"How could it be false? Who would dare to make up such a thing?"

"I remember that Shen Zhuangyuan is not yet twenty years old, right?"

"So what? Nowadays, choosing a name in advance is not a new thing, not to mention that the emperor personally gave the name, what an honor it is!"

"Shen Zhuangyuan is now a fourth-rank military officer of the Great Zhou Dynasty, right? I wonder what official position he will be given?"

"The emperor values ​​him so much, it must be a high-ranking position, either to the Beijing Camp or the Imperial Guards Palace."

"."

In the crowd, Jiang Qiuer listened to the discussions of people around her, and felt happy for Shen Lang, and a little proud in her heart.

The maid Hongyao also said excitedly: "Miss, if the master knew that the young master passed the exam and won the third place in martial arts, I wonder how happy he would be?"

"Ah? Well, brother is also a martial arts scholar."

Hongyao: “.”

The girl's heart is now full of Master Shen, and she even forgot about her own brother.
Rongguo Mansion, Lixiangyuan.

Ying'er and Cuilu returned to the mansion together. As soon as one of them stepped into the courtyard, she couldn't help shouting, "The martial arts champion, Master Shen, has won the championship. He has become the martial arts champion!"

This cheer, like the chirping of an oriole, reached the ears of Baochai and the other girls.

It also reached Aunt Xue's ears in the side room.
(End of this chapter)