Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 112 Overt and covert fighting
"It's just this one thing, Zheng Aiqing, please be careful."

The Minister of the Honglu Temple bowed and said, "I understand."

"Okay, Mr. Zheng Aiqing, please go back first."

He then realized that he was only left as a foil, and the key point was to question the young man in front of him. The Minister of the Ministry of Rites bowed, nodded when passing by Yue Ling, and then walked out of the palace.

The palace door closed, and only the most familiar pair of monarch and minister were left in the palace. The King of Qin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "General Manager Dai, give him a seat."

Dai Quan took a nanmu embroidered footshoe with cloud patterns inlaid with gold thread from the side and handed it to Yue Ling.

Yue Ling thanked him and took it.

After returning to the King of Qin, Dai Quan took out the incense burner and lit the agarwood. Wisps of green smoke rose straight up, and the fragrance spread, making the King of Qin more peaceful.

Before he could finish, the King of Qin slowly said, "Yue Ling, do you know why I want to establish this Grand Commandery?"

Yue Ling thought for a moment, "Because Your Highness doesn't trust the Privy Council or the Ministry of War, and is worried that they will not be able to fight well, he decided to start a new organization to deal with this sudden war."

The King of Qin smiled and nodded, "There is no need for me to test you."

After taking another sip of tea to moisten his throat, the King of Qin continued, "Although the Privy Council and the Ministry of War have separated the power to command and mobilize troops, their responsibilities are still too complicated, and it is indeed not conducive to unified deployment during wartime, and there is really no efficiency to speak of."

"I will take this opportunity to gradually separate the Privy Council and transfer some of its powers to the Governor's Office. After that, the local governors will also be under the jurisdiction of the Governor's Office, which will further stabilize the frontier troops."

Yue Ling thought for a moment and said, "If such a government office is established, it will only be at the disposal of His Highness. The people who are the governors should be the most important."

"exactly."

King Qin nodded, raised his hand and pointed at Yue Ling, saying: "So, I plan to let you be the Grand Commander first."

Yue Ling also pointed at himself and asked in surprise: "Me?"

"Your Highness, are you not going to take me with you to the Shanhaiguan front?"

The King of Qin shook his head and said, "Shanhai Pass is certainly important, but there must be reliable people in the capital. Apart from you, I can't find a more suitable candidate in the capital."

Yue Ling really had nothing to be afraid of when it came to leading troops into battle as a commander, and he also needed this opportunity.

But as the governor-general in charge of all important matters in the capital during war, it is not as simple as just fighting.

War is often not as simple as deploying troops. Logistics, food supplies, people's livelihood in the war zone, and court politics all need to be taken into consideration in order to stabilize the situation. Yue Ling is well aware of his current shortcomings and believes that he is not yet competent.

Compared with those arrogant and brave generals, he lacked the achievements in battle and was difficult to convince the public. He also had no foundation among the civil officials and it was difficult for him to get all parties to cooperate with him.

Seeing Yue Ling frowning and thinking, the King of Qin smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry, I will ask General Dai to cooperate with you in the court. You don't need to worry about anything else, as long as you don't get defeated by the Northern Barbarians. The Northern Barbarians are preparing for war, so it is impossible for them not to invade. I even think that the recent frequent activities of the Jurchens at the border may also be related to the Northern Barbarians."

"If not, the Haixi Jurchens had not been completely wiped out, and the Jurchen tribes had not yet been unified, why would the Jianzhou Jurchens have come south to attack the pass first?"

Sighing, the King of Qin continued, "Tuji Khan is now the leader of the northern barbarians. All parties have made all kinds of plans to take advantage of the Jurchens before they rise completely. No matter how the Jurchens fight with us, it is a consumption of each other. If it goes as I expected, after I meet the Jurchens at Shanhaiguan, there will definitely be some movement from Tuji Khan."

"So, I have high hopes for you. My wife and children are all in the city, and there are hundreds of thousands of people in the capital. Please do your best."

Dai Quan also bowed to Yue Ling, his heart already filled with great turmoil.

The way this pair of monarchs and ministers get along can be described as intimate. The prince is not on guard against Yue Ling, and Yue Ling speaks directly about important matters in the court. The prince even wants to entrust such an important official position and such important matters in the capital to Yue Ling, and let himself assist him. Yue Ling is just a teenager who has just made his mark in the court.

Dai Quan didn't know whether he was envious or had some other emotion. He had lost his parents at an early age, so he had to enter the palace to survive. He was initially a eunuch of Emperor Yuan Qing, and worked there for more than 20 years. After entering the palace with Emperor Yuan Qing, he worked there for several decades more. Only when he held the power of the Jinyiwei did he dare to speak in front of the emperor.

"Yue Ling should be just over 18 years old. The Jinyiwei once tried his skills and lost. They said that he could not get close to seven or eight people. There is nothing to say about his martial arts. As for commanding troops, I also saw it with my own eyes that night at Xuanwu Gate. He must be the best choice for the general."

"It makes sense that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would choose him to be the Grand Commander. He is just worried that he is too immature and would be hindered by these old foxes in the capital."

Dai Quan's psychological activities were very interesting, but his face remained calm as he continued to listen to the conversation between the emperor and his ministers in the palace.

"Yue Ling, do you have anything else to say?"

Yue Ling thought for a moment and said, "For the time being, I don't think it will be perfect. But the firearms and heavy artillery still need to be moved into the city as soon as possible."

The King of Qin nodded, "Okay, I understand. It's getting late, you should leave the palace too."

During the autumnal equinox, the autumn rain continues.

A chilly wind blew, and raindrops hit the window, making a crisp sound.

The King of Qin looked out at the sky and ordered, "General Manager Dai, find him a raincoat to protect him from the rain."

"As ordered."

Dai Quan went outside the hall and soon brought back a straw raincoat and handed it to Yue Ling.

"Take it, Mr. Yue."

Yue Ling nodded and took it back, then bowed to the King of Qin and said, "Thank you, Your Highness. I will take my leave."

The King of Qin nodded, and after Yue Ling left, he picked up the pen on the imperial desk and saw a large patch of vermilion ink on the letter sent from Jiangnan. He dipped the pen in ink again and wrote on the side, "This was stained by my mistake, please don't worry too much."

Not long after, Xia Shouzhong came in from the back hall and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, why are you mobilizing so many troops? But if the northern barbarians really returned north and did not go south, what should we do?"

The King of Qin sighed, "That's even better. The capital is safe, and my army can reach the Jianzhou Jurchens' lair. However, it is impossible for the northern barbarians not to move south. Moreover, I cannot bet that the northern barbarians will not move south. If I don't take precautions early, it will really lead to the destruction of the country."

Xia Shouzhong added: "Tuji Khan defeated our army at the border and his army is at its peak. Can Yue Ling really hold on? He has only a few soldiers and generals under his command."

The King of Qin nodded, "It is indeed difficult, but I believe in him. Of course, I have to find a few helpers for him. I can't expect him to change his fate in everything..."

Dai Quan escorted Yue Ling out of the palace. As they walked along the corridor, he took the initiative to talk to him, saying, "In the future, I hope the Grand Commander will tolerate you."

Yue Ling smiled awkwardly and said, "It hasn't happened yet, but Chief Steward Dai is already complimenting me. Chief Steward Dai is worthy of being an internal minister in the court, so I hope Chief Steward Dai can tolerate me more."

Dai Quan was startled when he heard this, and then pointed at Yue Ling and couldn't help but laugh: "Yue boy, do you want me to die without a complete body? And I am still the internal minister, can I still cover the sky with one hand?"

Yue Ling also smiled and changed his words, cupping his hands and saying, "Then I hope Chief Steward Dai will forgive me."

Dai Quan nodded, standing under the eaves, watching Yue Ling shake his raincoat and walk away, thinking in his heart: "We were worried that he was too immature and would be troubled by the old fox. He is a complete little fox. If anyone underestimates him, they will suffer a great loss at his hands."

Sighing, Dai Quan complained in his heart, "It's really not easy to be the internal minister in the palace. If you take a wrong step, you will fall off a cliff."

……

On the way home, Yue Ling never returned to the Privy Council. Today, he received a lot of shocking news. In addition to the tense war in Liaodong, the King of Qin planned to make him the first governor of the Grand Commandery. Although the authority may only be in wartime and may be taken back after the war, it is still stressful enough.

Faced with external pressure from the northern barbarians, and with spies hiding in the dark within, if the war spreads to the capital, with millions of civilians involved, it will not be an easy task.

According to what Yue Ling said about Wang Ziteng in the past, when one's ability is not enough to hold an official position, promotion may not necessarily be a good thing.

However, since the King of Qin trusts me and can mobilize many parties to cooperate with me, there is no reason for me to refuse.

Thinking of Erniu's mother, he did have a blood feud to avenge with the Northern Barbarians.

"If they invade, I will punish them."

Thinking of this, Yue Ling couldn't help but clench his fists.

The autumn rain is like silk, dripping on the bluestone paved streets.

There were few pedestrians on the street, and there were no more peddlers on both sides, and even many shops were closed. However, there were lights on in every house, and smoke from cooking in the distance, which was also a scene of family happiness.

But what if war comes?

The raindrops fell faster, and Yue Ling's pace unconsciously quickened a little.

"Master, you are back."

Ruizhu, who was waiting at the door, welcomed Yue Ling in, helped him take off his hat, and wiped Yue Ling's hair with a dry cotton towel.

"Why are you the only one in the room? Where is Keqing?"

Ruizhu answered truthfully, "Auntie...Sister has gone to the back room and hasn't come back yet. Baozhu followed her there. She must have been stopped by the rain. I was in the room doing things for Miss Lin."

Yue Ling nodded, "It's okay, the rain won't last too long."

Seeing Yue Ling taking off his boots by himself, Ruizhu hurriedly imitated Qin Keqing's usual behavior, poured hot water into a wooden bucket, and brought it over to wash Yue Ling's feet.

Squatting aside, Ruizhu carefully untied Yue Ling's leggings, tested the water temperature and found it was just right, then lifted Yue Ling's feet and put them into the wooden barrel.

Ruizhu had been taking care of people for a long time, and her movements were more skillful than Qin Keqing's, but her body seemed to be trembling slightly.

"Ruizhu, you've been in the room for a month now, right? Are you used to it?"

Seeing that the little girl was still a little reserved, Yue Ling took the initiative to talk to her.

Ruizhu looked up and nodded, "It's been a month. The house is very good. There's nothing to get used to."

Yue Ling asked with concern: "What about the whip wounds on your body? Are there any scars left?"

Ruizhu's eyes darkened, and her hands stopped moving. She sighed and said, "I left a little."

At the age of fifteen or sixteen, Ruizhu naturally loves beauty. Even as a maid, this is the nature of a girl. Ruizhu naturally cares a lot about the scars on her body.

"I heard that there is an ointment in the palace called Yurongsan, which is used by concubines in the palace to beautify their skin and has the effect of removing scars."

Hearing this, Ruizhu looked up with hope in her eyes, but after a moment, her face turned red and she lowered her head.

"What, you don't want it?"

Ruizhu bit her lip and said, "It would be a lie to say I don't want it, but I'm just a maid, how can I use the things in the palace?"

Yue Ling thought about it and said, "It's not that hard to come by. I'll ask you for a box when I have a chance in the future."

Ruizhu showed surprise on her face and asked anxiously, "Is what the master said true?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, "Of course I can't lie to you."

After saying this, Yue Ling couldn't help but frown.

Every day when he returned home, he was surrounded by a group of maids. He felt like he had become a bit of a scumbag, making promises everywhere. He hadn't gotten the indenture he promised to Zijuan before, and now he had promised Ruizhu the Yurong powder. He really made a lot of promises.

However, Ruizhu did not think much about it. She looked down at Yue Ling's feet soaking in the water. She wanted to wipe them with a cotton towel, but on second thought, she threw away the cotton towel and rubbed Yue Ling's feet like Qin Keqing did.

The little girl's strength was just right, so Yue Ling leaned back on the bench, closed his eyes and enjoyed the momentary peace.

Not long after, Qin Keqing and Baozhu returned from outside. As soon as they entered the door, they found that their old "privileges" had been taken away by others.

Qin Keqing placed the cotton towel on Baozhu's head, and without having time to wipe the raindrops, she hurried to Yue Ling.

"Master, I was blocked outside by the rain just now, and I didn't expect you to come back early. Ruizhu didn't treat you well, so let me come."

Seeing that Qin Keqing's hair was still wet, Yue Ling waved his hand and said, "No need. Go to your room and warm yourself up. Don't get caught a cold by the cold wind. Ruizhu did a good job. There's nothing wrong with that."

Qin Keqing narrowed her eyes at Ruizhu.

Ruizhu caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of her eye and her body trembled, as if she had done something shameful and was caught, and she couldn't help feeling guilty.

But on second thought, she felt even more guilty because of the master's concern for her and the special care he wanted to give her and asking for imperial items from the palace. That was something shameful to do.

After looking at the little girl, Qin Keqing said, "Well, I'll go back to my room and change my clothes first."

"Well, go ahead. Then take a hot bath to warm yourself up, that will be better."

After giving the instructions, Yue Ling looked at Ruizhu again and saw that she was shaking again. He couldn't help but ask in confusion: "Ruizhu, what's wrong with you? Is the room cold?"

Ruizhu said hurriedly: "No, no, Master, I'm fine."

As he spoke, he put some more strength into his hands.

Baozhu looked at Qin Keqing and then at Ruizhu. She felt as if the two of them were secretly having some disagreement, which was really strange.

"Baozhu, go get some cakes. I'm a little hungry."

Baozhu was delighted when she heard the master's order, and she thought to herself, "Sister Xueyan taught me that going to the kitchen is the best job."

"All right, sir, I'll go right away."

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(End of this chapter)