Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 365, The Old Dragon Returns to the Sea
However, Li Jia's journey to Shu was not as smooth as he had imagined.

Li Jia had no trusted confidants, only a few subordinates.

These people have been following him for some time and are somewhat useful, but they are not his die-hard loyalists, and their abilities are not particularly outstanding.

Bringing these people into Sichuan, not to mention what would happen after entering Sichuan, just the mountain bandits, robbers, wolves, insects, tigers and leopards along the way would be a major problem before entering Sichuan.

Li Jia plunged headlong into the deep mountains and forests, but the Huaiyin army, who were secretly following him, were instead tasked with eliminating any potential dangers along the way.

Yes, the Huaiyin army had been following Li Jia since early morning.

The root of the problem lies with Gong Qi.

Gong Qiming openly harbored deep hatred for the Huaiyin Army.

In reality, Gong Qi's elder brother, Gong Zhao, had close ties with the Huaiyin Army.

Gong Zhao was once the prefect of Hefei.

Because he dared not fight against Fang Yong's army, he surrendered the city and then returned to his hometown of Changsha under the escort of He Ai.

At that time, Fang Yong's power was not as great as it is now. The Gong family was hedging their bets between the imperial court and the Huaiyin bandits. Gong Zhao secretly colluded with the Huaiyin bandits, while Gong Qi outwardly severed ties with Gong Zhao, making it appear as if they were irreconcilable enemies of the Huaiyin bandits.

This is a common tactic used by aristocratic families. Back in the late Han Dynasty, the Zhuge family of Langya split into three branches and joined the three kingdoms of Wei, Shu, and Wu, all of which achieved high positions for this reason.

The so-called severing of ties means that if Fang Yong and the imperial court were evenly matched and divided the world in two, the two brothers would naturally serve their own masters and never see each other again.

But now Fang Yong is powerful and the court is about to fall. The two brothers are as close as blood, and even if their bones are broken, their tendons are still connected.

The claim that they were irreconcilably opposed to the bandits of Huaiyin was merely a cover-up for the sake of the King of Wu's grand ambitions, a tactic to conceal their presence in the enemy camp.

Li Jia and Gong Qi's discussion about welcoming the King of Shu could not be kept secret from He Ai.

After learning of Gong Qi's entire plan, He Ai decided to use it against him, intending to capture the rebel king Liu Xiang through Li Jia's hands, or at the very least severely damage him.

As for the Qian family...

After Li Jia left, He Ai told Qian Yi about Li Jia's plan to lure Liu Xiang into the city. Qian Yi was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and dared not make any more demands. He immediately expressed his willingness to give up Changsha and donate his family property.

To put it bluntly, the Qian family only had the guts to sell at a high price, but not the guts to rebel.

Zhang Haicheng at least has tens of thousands of troops under his control, but what does the Qian family have?
Even if you gave Qian Yi a thousand times the courage, he wouldn't dare to actually rebel!
He Ai was not in a hurry to reclaim the city, but instead ordered the Qian family to cooperate with his actions.

Beijing.

News of the pacification of Hubei was reported in newspapers.

The people mostly cheered; the stronger Fang Yong became, the more secure they felt.

The gentry, on the other hand, were somewhat helpless, as the current momentum suggested that the King of Wu's unification of the world was not far off.

To be honest, if they had a choice, they wouldn't want to make Fang Yong the ruler of the world.

Unfortunately, Liu Xiang of Sichuan and Chu Yuqi of Liaodong were no match for Fang Yong, and the Longqing Emperor had no chance of winning. They could only submit to Fang Yong's rule.

The only consolation was that Fang Yong was relatively lenient with them and did not exterminate them. Although life was not as carefree as it was during the reign of Emperor Longqing, it was still passable.

In the early days of a dynasty, when the emperor's authority was absolute, life was always more difficult for aristocratic families.

Just be patient; things will probably be much better when the second or third monarch takes over.

The aristocratic families thought so.

A court assembly was held today.

The reason is that Meng Liang, who killed the Marquis of Jiangling due to a personal grudge, was escorted back to the capital today.

In the imperial court, the officials pleaded for Meng Liang's life.

Some people mentioned Meng Liang's past merits, his tireless efforts for the court, his numerous missions to defend against the Tartars and pacify Jingchu, and his outstanding achievements, suggesting that he should be treated leniently.

Meanwhile, some people have accused Zhang Haicheng, the Marquis of Jiangling, of crimes such as abandoning his first wife and marrying another; associating with officials outside the capital and plotting rebellion; plundering and killing people to amass wealth; disobeying orders and usurping power, killing innocent people and claiming credit for their crimes, etc.

Abandoning his wife was indeed Zhang Haicheng's problem. He already had a wife in Beijing, yet he married another woman from the Kuai family in Jingzhou. Zhang Haicheng's plan was sound; he initially intended to leverage the Kuai family's influence in Jingzhou to advance his own interests. If negotiations with Fang Yong broke down, he would simply abandon his wife and children and not return to Beijing, without considering his wife there at all.

If the peace talks had succeeded, he would have divorced Kuai before returning to the capital, thus establishing himself as someone who would never abandon his wife. Either way, he would have been at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, he was killed by Meng Liang before he could do any of this.

However, although Zhang Haicheng is guilty, he doesn't deserve so many mistakes.

Many of the charges against Zhang Haicheng were fabricated because he had offended too many powerful families.

Now that Zhang Haicheng is dead and can't speak, he can say whatever he wants.

Even Zhang Haicheng's son voluntarily stepped forward to express that his father was deeply sinful and was willing to forgive Lord Meng on his behalf.

This scene of uproarious laughter made Fang Yong realize the power of aristocratic families.

Ultimately, Meng Liang was not only found innocent, but was also promoted and ennobled.

Fang Yong directly stopped him, saying that no matter what, Zhang Haicheng's contribution to pacifying Hubei could not be erased. Killing Zhang Haicheng was acceptable, but his contributions could not be erased, as that would deal a blow to the entire military merit system and have a very bad impact.

The incident was ultimately classified as a personal vendetta.

Although Meng Liang killed Zhang Haicheng, it was Zhang Haicheng who had a wife and then married another woman, and who had instigated Zhang Haicheng with his wife's advances. Such immoral behavior was extremely heinous in this era. Furthermore, Zhang Haicheng's son forgave Meng Liang, so Meng Liang's death sentence was commuted.

In the end, Meng Liang was dismissed from his post and was flogged in court.

Although Zhang Haicheng was guilty, Fang Yong stated that the dead should not be punished, and that Zhang Haicheng had rendered meritorious service to the court and should be given a proper burial.

The Longqing Emperor also fully approved of it and did not utter a single word of objection.

Ultimately, Zhang Haicheng was buried with the honors due to a prince in his hometown of Hongze, and his son inherited the title, with the special privilege that his descendants would not be demoted.

Zhang Haicheng's son was overjoyed.

Because it was his first time attending court, he was nervous and excited, and inadvertently misspoke. He kowtowed in the court and said:
"Thank you, Your Majesty King Wu!"

The scene was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The Longqing Emperor gripped the dragon throne tightly, as if he wanted to deform the gold on it.

Guo Bai, that treacherous minister, reacted quickly and promptly replied:

"Yes, thank you, King Wu and Your Majesty!"

The ministers also realized what was happening and echoed:
"Thank you, King Wu and Your Majesty!"

Fang Yong remained calm and composed.

Emperor Longqing returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation with a sullen face, and immediately there was a scene of smashing and looting. Song Yun, who was usually loved day and night, was kicked for no reason today and groaned on the ground while rubbing her stomach.

The retired emperor asked him the reason.

The Longqing Emperor described the current situation, saying that if they waited any longer, the country would surely be seized by the traitors.

The retired emperor sighed helplessly. He was powerless to do anything about it. Now, every move he made was under the control of the other party, and even external communication was a problem. What could he do?
We can only be patient and wait for the right opportunity.

Otherwise, acting rashly will only result in the needless loss of one's life.

However, the Longqing Emperor could not wait.

"Wait, wait, how much longer do we have to wait?"

Emperor Longqing said irritably.

The retired emperor offered his advice:

"As the ancients said: No..."

He had just uttered one word when the remaining half-word got stuck in the Emperor Emeritus's throat, and he couldn't utter it no matter what he did.

The retired emperor collapsed onto the soft couch, his mouth agape, unable to speak. He was conscious, but his body was unresponsive.

(End of this chapter)