Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 125: The war is getting intense, the capital is defending

"There are five heavy artillery pieces in Beijing, standing at Deshengmen, Andingmen, Dongzhimen, Fuchengmen and Zhengyangmen."

Upon hearing this, Liu Li, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, asked in doubt, "Aren't there eight heavy artillery pieces? Why are there only five on the wall?"

Yue Ling nodded, "I have other arrangements for the rest, so I will leave them aside for now. There are still some tasks that need to be done by civil officials, or we need to climb the city wall during wartime. Feng Yu and Feng Tongchen have expressed their desire to serve the country to me before, so they will be responsible for the logistics of the city wall first. The liaison between the various gates, maintaining stability for the people in the city, etc., still need to be done by senior officials to calm the soldiers and not panic. Are you interested?"

Lu Yuan, the head of the Privy Council, replied, "It is not the business of the Privy Council to stand by and watch the war. Since Feng Tongqian has gone to take charge of the baggage transfer, I will be in charge of the communication between the city walls."

Deputy Privy Councilor Chai Pu nodded slightly.

Then the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, Zhang Shilang and Zhao Shilang, responded, "The people gathered in the city will be taken care of by our Ministry of Revenue in cooperation with the military officers who have not climbed the city walls. This is not a problem."

"So best."

Yue Ling nodded, looked around the room, and asked, "Do you have anything else to ask?"

Prince Zhongshun could no longer bear the doubts in his heart and said, "Who will be stationed at Zhengyang Gate, and how many battalions of soldiers will be stationed at each gate? This has not been made clear yet."

"In order to deal with the northern barbarians' formation, the soldiers from each gate have different situations when they go to the city, so they are deployed on a daily basis. As for who will be stationed at Zhengyang Gate, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Majesty have already picked the candidates."

"The prince and His Majesty?"

Everyone was confused by Yue Ling's unreasonable words, so they looked at Dai Quan, who nodded slightly and said, "That's exactly what happened."

After that, he took out a golden-faced letter and read aloud: "Former Beijing Camp Jiedushi Jia Daihua was blinded by profit and caused chaos in the capital. Considering his previous military exploits and his repentance in prison, he really wants to serve the country. Now the capital is in need of people. Jia Daihua is ordered to make up for his crime and guard Zhengyang Gate. The eunuch Dai Quan, the chief eunuch of the inner palace, will assist him. I decree this."

Dai Quan looked around the room and said, "This is the imperial edict from His Majesty. There is no need to say much about General Jia's ability. According to the investigation by the Jinyiwei, he may have been deceived by a traitor. It is not clear who is behind this. The Northern Barbarians seem to know everything about our army. You should be careful and don't let the military secrets leak out easily."

Upon hearing that Jia Daihua had been reinstated as governor, Prince Zhongshun no longer had anything to dispute.

"I don't want to believe that the old general would rebel. Since His Majesty and the Crown Prince have made arrangements, there is nothing much to say. I respect the old general's ability. It is great that he can stand up in the face of battle."

Just at this moment, battle reports came in from outside.

"Grand Commander, urgent news from Liaodong."

Yue Ling frowned, took the envelope, opened it and took a look, his pupils shrank.

"His Royal Highness's old illness relapsed, and he fell off his horse before the battle in front of Guangning City. Now he has been rescued and returned to Ningyuan City. The Liaodong military affairs have been taken care of by Yin Taihe. Did he suffer a setback in the first battle?"

When everyone found out, they were all shocked.

If the war in Liaodong goes against the grain and becomes mired in a quagmire, then the capital will need to be protected by the deployment of border troops. We may even need to make plans to support Liaodong so that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can retreat safely and hold the Shanhaiguan line.

But any movement of the border troops will affect the entire body.

The situation at this time is completely different from before. It is foreseeable that the time required to defend the capital city will be greatly extended.

A war report shook the determination of the civil and military officials to defend the city. Li Qiu, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War, said: "Now that the Crown Prince is in trouble at the border, if there is a mistake in the capital, our Dachang will be shaky. It is better to let Your Majesty, the Crown Princess, and many nobles and ministers go south out of the city to preserve the royal bloodline. The Grand Commander will stay in the capital and wait for the border troops to come to help. It will be safer to cooperate internally and externally. What do you think, Chief Steward Dai?"

Dai Quan turned a deaf ear to him and let Yue Ling answer: "There is no reason to retreat before the war has even started. The people of the capital and surrounding areas have gathered in the city. When the people know that your Majesty and the royal family are no longer in the city, won't they panic? Besides, if we imitate the old ways of the Song Dynasty and stay in a corner, can we easily recover the country?"

General Feng Tang snorted coldly and said, "Whoever proposed this plan deserves death! If there is a northern barbarian spy in the court, I think you, Li Qiu, are one of them!"

Feng Yu, the assistant to the Privy Council, also spoke up, saying, "A few days ago, all the concubines in Lord Li's family took their young children and their wealth south, leaving only his wife to guard the gate. How could it be that Lord Li wanted to leave his wife in the capital and go south himself? Ministers, not all ministers are as spineless as you."

Li Qiu still insisted on his own opinion that everything was for the royal family, and there were people who agreed with him. Everyone asked Dai Quan.

Dai Quan narrowed his eyes and spoke in a colder tone, "Whether it was the order before the Crown Prince left or the order from His Majesty, all the camps in the capital and all the troops at all levels are under the control of Yue Ling. If anyone disobeys, he can do as he pleases. Lord Li should just keep his word and do his work with peace of mind."

Yue Ling then said to the officials who had just advocated moving south, "It was His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who attacked Liaodong. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had never been defeated in any of his frontier expeditions. Is he in danger today because of illness? You are underestimating His Royal Highness the Crown Prince too much. No matter what happens, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not be easily defeated!" The military generals all nodded when they heard this, and even some civil officials agreed with Yue Ling's statement.

General Feng Tang said, "Now the war is urgent, we should discuss the tactics. If the northern barbarians set up camp outside the capital at night on the first day they enter the capital, we should go out of the city to harass and rob their camp, and dampen their spirit first."

Li Qiu seemed to have got the topic, and in revenge for the arrow he had just shot, he said sarcastically, "Oh? General Shenwu thought that we didn't read history books, and that we were going to rob the camp on the first day to imitate the story of Yao Pingzhong in the Jingkang year, who failed to raid the camp and fled south for 700 miles before he could get food?"

"I have never seen a military commander who is not a spineless person."

"you!"

The two were about to start arguing when Yue Ling slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Shut up! This is not the time to argue!"

Then he turned to Feng Tang and said, "Tuji Khan is familiar with the tactics of war and should not be underestimated. Raiding the camp at night on the first day is his usual method. He will not be unprepared. If he encounters an unexpected event, it will further weaken the defense force in the capital."

More or less due to the unfavorable situation in Liaodong, Feng Tang was a little anxious and asked Yue Ling: "But now we can't just defend the city and wait for reinforcements. Relying on the city's defense and attack is the best option."

"I have my own plan for this matter. When we go out of the city to fight, I will send a message to the troops..."

The meeting ended unhappily. Dai Quan put away his pen and ink and comforted Yue Ling beside him: "Life is difficult. The civil and military ministers were not on good terms. Now the situation is serious, and there will still be people who are pulling their feet. Your Majesty, the Crown Prince was able to suppress both sides, and everything in the city is safe. It is all because of your contribution, which is not easy."

Yue Ling shook his head slightly and said to Dai Quan: "Please report to His Majesty as soon as possible, draft an edict, and post a notice in the city to reassure the people."

Dai Quan nodded, "This is what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince meant. We will return to the palace now. Please take care of yourself."

After Dai Quan left, a man gradually came out from behind the door and sat in Dai Quan's seat near Yue Ling. He sighed and said, "These civil officials are still not quiet at this time. They are only causing trouble in the city. They are also fleeing south. The foundation laid by our ancestors will be destroyed by them."

Yue Ling's expression remained unchanged, and he said calmly: "Old General, can you tell who has made unusual moves? Could it be that this Li Qiu is really a spy from the Northern Barbarians? I just think he is a bit foolishly loyal, and a bit stupid."

Jia Daihua nodded and said, "I agree with you."

"What about the Privy Council, Mr. Feng, Mr. Lu, and Mr. Chai? If they want to benefit the Northern Barbarians, they will definitely reveal their true colors as soon as possible. Maybe someone will contact you. Do you know who might be the spy?"

Jia Daihua considered for a moment and said, "In the past, I thought that the Privy Council was composed of people personally selected by the emperor, and there shouldn't be any spies from the northern barbarians, so I didn't think there was anything wrong with it. But now that you've mentioned this, I think they all seem to have problems."

"Feng Yu's reactions are always so exaggerated that they seem to be putting on a show. Lu Yuan talks too much about righteousness, and I have never liked such people. As for Chai Pu, he behaved too calmly, as if he was indifferent and calm. There was no emotion on his face, as if everything was within his expectations."

"If I hadn't been watching from the sidelines, I wouldn't have noticed it. When he heard the news that His Highness was going badly in the war, he didn't show any surprise on his face, but calmly placed the teacup on the table. I thought it was very suspicious."

Yue Ling shook his head. "Maybe he is just calm and composed. Before we have solid evidence, we should not act rashly. We still need to be careful. Old General, you haven't been back home for a while, right? Go back and take a look. We will be out of time soon."

Jia Daihua curled his lips and said, "Those unfilial children and grandchildren, I really want to live in this meeting hall."

Yue Ling said: "Before the battle, we have to go to the ancestral temple to offer sacrifices and burn incense."

Jia Daihua sighed and shook his head, then stood up and slowly walked out the door.

……

On October 21, the King of Qin, relying on his powerful artillery, quickly conquered Ningyuan City and pursued the enemy for fifty miles, beheading more than five hundred Jurchen cavalrymen and capturing tens of thousands of soldiers.

On October 22, the King of Qin rewarded the three armies to boost morale, collected granaries, gathered the surrendered soldiers, and ordered the people to return to the fields so that winter planting would not be wasted. Ningyuan City quickly regained stability.

On October 23, the King of Qin continued to advance the front line with the fortress tactics, standing firm and fighting steadily, and advancing step by step. Ningyuan City is 120 miles away from Guangning City. Forty miles away, two forts were successively built and named Lianshan Fort and Daxing Fort to continue to consolidate the grain route.

On October 24, while the King of Qin was consolidating the front line, the city of Guangning also learned that the King of Qin had the power of artillery, so they stepped up the construction of the city and built fortifications three miles outside the city to slow down the King of Qin's advance.

On October 25, the spies sent out from Guangning City met the spies of the Qin King's army. After learning that the Qin King was building a fort outside the city, they decided not to sit still and wait for death. Instead, they took the initiative to send troops out of the city to harass...

(End of this chapter)