Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 111: The Grand Governor of the Capital

Today, September 20th, is the Autumnal Equinox.

If we talk about pleasant days in autumn, apart from the Mid-Autumn Festival which just passed, the Autumnal Equinox would rank second.

Autumn is the season of harvest, and the autumnal equinox is when people harvest in the south and plant in the north.

While the south harvests rice and stores it in warehouses, the north can plant another crop of cold-resistant crops, maximizing the benefits of the year.

Such a day should be very important for the emperor.

"Accumulating wealth is the destiny of the world. If there are plenty of grains and surplus wealth, what can't be accomplished?"

Only with this year's grain reserves could the King of Qin continue to use his troops and achieve the state of "conquer by attacking, consolidate by defending, and win by fighting."

Flipping through the memorials from grain delivery departments across the country and looking at the preparations being made in various places, the King of Qin in the palace could not help but look delighted.

However, at this moment, a person walked in quickly from outside.

The King of Qin looked up and saw that it was Xia Shouzhong. He asked in confusion, "What happened?"

Xia Shouzhong calmed down and said, "Your Highness, Geng Bingwen has rebelled."

The King of Qin was so shocked that the pen fell out of his hand and fell on the table, leaving a large stain of ink.

"What? Geng Bingwen rebelled?"

Xia Shouzhong choked up and said, "That's right. He killed the messenger and only one of his personal guards escaped with serious injuries. He is now unconscious and the Imperial Hospital is treating him."

Hearing this, the King of Qin took a deep breath and ordered: "Send the Jinyiwei to Shanhaiguan to investigate first. If there is nothing wrong, remind the Shanhaiguan guards to be strict and be on guard."

"Yes." Xia Shouzhong quickly responded to King Qin's words.

His eyes fixed, the King of Qin said, "Send the governors of the two governments, six ministries, the Censorate, the Honglu Temple, and the governor of the Beijing camp to the court to meet with the emperor."

……

Led by Dai Quan, many ministers of the court came to the hall together and stood in rows.

The King of Qin sat at his desk with a solemn and murderous look on his face.

When everyone was about to salute, the King of Qin raised his hand and said, "No need to be polite, let's discuss business first."

The King of Qin continued, "Today we received news that the Liaodong Governor Geng Bingwen killed the imperial messenger and showed rebellious intentions. What do you think should be done?"

These words were like thunderclaps in the hall, and the ministers looked at each other in bewilderment.

If Liaodong, an important city, were to maintain its own military presence outside the Great Wall or collude with the Jurchens and march southward, it would be a more serious threat than the northern barbarians, and a sword pointing directly at Dachang's chest.

Someone immediately asked, "Your Highness, is the news reliable? Even if Geng Bingwen wanted to rebel, he wouldn't do such a reckless thing as killing the messenger. If he let the messenger return safely, wouldn't he be able to secretly accumulate strength?"

"Unless the messenger saw something secret, I can't think of any reason why Geng Bingwen killed the messenger."

The King of Qin nodded and said, "Your Majesty, what you said is very true. I also had my doubts. But according to the guards who escaped back, they were ambushed on the way from Guangning to Liaodong Town. They should not have seen anything hidden."

Upon hearing this, all the ministers sighed again. Other things were hard to confirm, but the whereabouts of the messenger had been exposed, and the commander of Guangning City would most likely find it difficult to clear himself of suspicion.

At the right time, Dongfang Zhi, the then Minister of the Secretariat, said, "Your Highness, this move may be related to the Jurchens. The Jianzhou Jurchens have recently deployed troops at the border and have long intended to go south to plunder. However, if they do not take down several important towns in Liaodong, they will never be able to approach Shanhaiguan. If they do not enter the pass, they will gain little. It is better to fight the Haixi Jurchens again."

"Killing the messenger should be to force Geng Bingwen to rebel, and now Geng Bingwen has no choice but to rebel. The Jurchens alienated the emperor and his subjects, and it is difficult for Your Highness and Geng Bingwen to have another chance to clarify things and have a heart-to-heart talk in person."

Upon hearing this, all the ministers nodded in agreement, thinking that Dongfang Zhi's words made sense.

The King of Qin considered and said, "That's true. Since the Jurchens are involved, we must be more vigilant. The Jurchens are originally hunters and fishermen, and they are brave and good at fighting. In recent years, led by the Jianye Jurchens, there is a tendency to unify the three major Jurchen tribes."

"If you don't hurt them once, there's no way you can sit down and talk with them."

After hearing this, all the officials who wanted to persuade the King of Qin not to start another war kept their mouths shut and swallowed the words that were about to come out of their mouths.

The King of Qin has already determined the nature of this matter. If the Jurchens invade, he must send troops to fight them.

As a result, the dynasty had to fight a two-front war against the northern barbarians and the Jurchens. Even though the Dachang Dynasty had abundant resources and a full treasury, it could not withstand the multilateral wars and fell into the quagmire of war.

If the border war cannot be resolved as soon as possible, the harm to the country will be unimaginable. Therefore, if a war is to be fought, it must be resolved quickly.

"If I get news that the Jianye Jurchens and Geng Bingwen are attacking the pass, I will personally lead the troops to garrison Shanhaiguan to repel the enemy."

The King of Qin's next words shocked the old ministers below so much that they saw stars and their minds went blank.

Left Prime Minister An Jingzhong had no choice but to speak, and hurriedly stepped forward to advise: "Your Highness, you are now the crown prince, not a prince holding a whip on horseback. Now your position in the court is not stable, and the northern barbarians outside the border are eyeing you covetously. If Your Highness leaves the capital to meet the enemy now, what will happen to the capital?"

"If, I mean if, the war at the border goes badly, what should we do?"

The King of Qin shook his head and tried to comfort An Jingzhong instead.

"If we start a war at Shanhaiguan, it will be a battle of national destiny. If we lose, there will be the disaster of the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China. I am the crown prince of a fallen country, how can I be careless? If I don't supervise the troops on the battlefield, how can I boost morale and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop? I am afraid that no one can do it." "I am the commander-in-chief, and there are benefits."

Turning to the ministers of war, finance, and industry, the King of Qin said, "If I hold the whip, please stop making a joke of distributing military pay, with only 20% or 30% of the pay going to the soldiers. I don't care what the convention is. Once there is a shortage of soldiers, pay, and food, you should just hope that I die at the border."

The ministers of the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works all knelt on the ground and said hurriedly, "We dare not."

The King of Qin said, "Move the troops from Shandong and Zhejiang to gather at Shanhaiguan to defend against the invaders. Open the arsenal and equip the whole army. Just in case, if a war breaks out at Shanhaiguan, draw thousands of households from the counties and prefectures surrounding the capital to come to the capital to defend it."

"The Ministry of Revenue will transfer grain, and the Ministry of Works will manufacture armor. We must accumulate the most strength in the shortest possible time."

Seeing that the King of Qin was determined to fight to the death, the ministers had nothing more to say.

The ministers thought that the matter was settled, but they were shocked twice. The old ministers had weak hearts, and only after they had recovered did they hear the King of Qin say words that shocked the world and made the gods and ghosts cry.

"I want to establish a Grand Commander's Office, without rank or title, to take charge of the overall situation and coordinate deployment during wartime, and all departments must obey my arrangements. If everything goes well, then I have done nothing. Once the northern barbarians invade, the Grand Commander will have the responsibility to defend the territory and will be the head of all officials at the appropriate time. Everything will be based on the war situation."

The civil officials were all nervous.

What is the Grand Military Governor's Office? It has no rank or title. It coordinates the six ministries during wartime, and the two governments give way to it. But once the war is over, will the Grand Military Governor's Office be completely abolished?

If we lose the war, there is nothing to say, but if we win, the merit will be determined, and the regulations will gradually take shape. By then, there will be several grades, and it will not be low. This adds an authority department out of thin air. Whose power is divided?

All the ministers looked at the Deputy Privy Councilor Chai Pu with horror, and seeing that Chai Pu's brows were still furrowed, they all sighed secretly.

The King of Qin could not hide their actions, so he called out by name, "Lord Chai, what do you think?"

Chai Pu seemed as if he didn't hear anything until someone next to him poked him and he came to his senses.

"Um, Your Highness, what did you just say?"

The King of Qin frowned slightly, "What are you thinking about, my dear?"

Chai Pu said, "I was thinking about what Your Highness said just now. If we defend against the enemy at Shanhaiguan, the narrowest part of the Liaoxi Corridor is only more than ten miles, which is a terrain that is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If the Liaodong Governor Geng Bingwen and the Jurchens invade the border together, it is not impossible to defend. But if we attack, it will be a bit difficult."

The King of Qin had no choice but to repeat what he had just said, "I have my own considerations for the Battle of Shanhaiguan. What do you think of setting up the Grand Military Governor's Office?"

Chai Pu answered frankly, "Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Even if the Privy Council and the Ministry of War were in charge of the troops, the procedures before the war would be cumbersome and serious, and it might delay the opportunity to fight. If there was an office to coordinate temporarily, it would be most beneficial in the war."

The King of Qin smiled and nodded.

Yin Taihe, the governor of the Beijing camp, also laughed, and many officials nodded to him as if to congratulate him.

Whether in Yin Taihe's own eyes or in the eyes of these ministers, he is the best candidate for the position of Grand Commander.

"The Grand Commander of the Capital, this name sounds impressive. Even if he has no rank or title, so what? Having power is enough."

Thinking in his heart, Yin Taihe looked at Yue Ling behind him, as if the matter had nothing to do with him. He was looking at the bookcase on the side, and couldn't help but complain in his heart: "You boy, are you and the idiot together? I really don't understand why His Highness called him here."

Yue Ling looked at the exquisitely carved sandalwood bookcase next to him and thought to himself, "Should I buy some books for Sister Lin? I remember the last time I bought some for her was last time..."

……

After the small court meeting, like the court meeting, the King of Qin would keep a few people to question them.

Yin Taihe was just looking up and waiting for the King of Qin to discuss the war, when he heard the King of Qin say, "Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Yue Ling will stay, and the rest of you can go back first."

Hearing this, Yin Taihe was startled. He waited until everyone left the door before he even raised his foot.

After the King of Qin drank a sip of tea, he looked up and asked in confusion: "General Yin, do you have anything else to say?"

Yin Taihe was stunned and asked, "Your Highness, don't you want to discuss the war with me?"

The King of Qin nodded and said, "I want to go north to Shanhaiguan with you and half of the Beijing troops. You should go back and train the troops urgently. I will come back to find you another day."

Yin Taihe looked at Yue Ling in disbelief, his legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and he moved towards the door.

"No, Your Highness can find such a young boy to take up such an important position. It would probably be more reasonable for Deputy Envoy Chai to take on the position concurrently."

Only after he made up his mind did Yin Taihe step out of the door.

After everyone had left, the King of Qin gave another order: "My dear Zheng, can the Korean envoys return to the capital now?"

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites nodded and said, "Still at the post house."

The King of Qin nodded and said, "I will write him a letter and send someone to escort him back to the country. Please inform him."

"Yes."

　The eighth day of Japan!

　　I am so durable!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)