The Soldier of the Red Mansion

Chapter 318 Lucky Star
"Have you received Wang Xin's reply?"

Putting down the official document in his hand, Zhou Daofeng asked Zhang Jifu beside him.

Zhou Daofeng no longer attends court, but the retired emperor still keeps him in the capital and does not allow him to return to his hometown. The reason given in the dialogue is that the emperor is reluctant to part with Zhou Daofeng and that the world is in a difficult state, so he hopes that the old minister will take care of him.

But no one can see the truth or the Emperor Emeritus's true intentions.

After stepping down, Zhou Daofeng secluded himself at home and refused to see anyone except a handful of people.

Zhang Jifu would report on the affairs of the court to his mentor Zhou Daofeng every few days, and Zhou Daofeng would also give him heartfelt guidance. The relationship between the two master and disciple was even deeper than that between father and son.

"not yet."

Zhang Jifu shook his head.

Autumn has arrived in the blink of an eye.

As people get older, they become more sensitive to the cold. Zhou Daofeng lay on a rocking chair covered with a thick mattress and a blanket.

Zhang Jifu sat to one side, with a small charcoal stove not far away.

Watching his disciple personally use the fire tongs to stir the coal in the stove so that it could burn brighter, Zhou Daofeng couldn't help but sigh, "Since coming to the capital, you have changed a lot. I've really put you through a lot."

"Living in Beijing is not easy."

Putting down the fire tongs, Zhang Jifu clapped his hands, his expression more down-to-earth than the refined style he had worn in Nanjing.

"It's really not easy to do things."

“My teacher is right.”

Zhang Jifu smiled and said, "Wang Xin is a man of action. In order to get things done, he has lived a simple life for many years. He is a rare talent."

People become better with age.

Zhou Daofeng has already celebrated his 80th birthday.

There aren't many elderly people like him in the entire capital, such as Grandmother Jia of the Jia family.

A person who lives a long life has enough seniority to back them up, and everyone will give them face. However, compared to the advantages of being old, Zhou Daofeng preferred the energy of younger people.

Opening his cloudy eyes, Zhou Daofeng thought about Wang Xin.

Indeed, as the disciple said.

The pursuit of official positions, even across vast distances, is solely for personal gain; this is a truth that no one can change.

Studying hard is not for the purpose of changing one's life or bringing glory to one's ancestors. Is becoming an official something to suffer?
If being an official were so difficult, people all over the world would be desperate to become one.

Shameless, a wife-betrayer, a daughter-selling for personal gain.
They can do anything.

But Wang Xin was indeed an oddball. He lived off his salary, and even when he did business, he only received a subsidy.

An ordinary three-courtyard house, with several farmhands recruited from among the refugees.

How can such a family business be passed down through generations?
Not to mention tens of thousands of acres, we need to acquire several thousand or even several hundred acres of land so that the next generation can settle down and make a living. Otherwise, if we only rely on one house, what will the next generation eat and drink?

The salary of a deputy commander is two hundred and forty taels of silver per year.

In normal years, land is not as cheap as it was at the beginning of the Great Zhou Dynasty. A mu of land used to cost anywhere from a few taels to tens of taels of silver. On average, a mu of land costs twelve or thirteen taels of silver.

Buying 100 acres would take five whole years, even without eating or drinking.

How many years would it take to save enough money to buy a hundred acres of farmland by relying solely on the small amount of silver saved each year?

One hundred acres of land is enough to make a modest living, but who would complain about having more land?

Having a hundred acres, one will only want more.

Without amassing a fortune of tens of thousands of acres, how can one live up to the official robes and maintain normal social interactions?

"This person is straightforward and can be used, but we also need to be wary of him."

After a moment's thought, Zhou Daofeng reached another conclusion.

Zhang Jifu did not object.

This person is so useful, otherwise I wouldn't have supported him.

Using him requires no effort, yet he can help you solve big problems; compared to giving to this person, you can gain much more.

Zhang Jifu viewed Wang Xin's three-year campaign to quell the Hu rebellion and his promotion of the northern expedition of Datong Army as extremely reckless actions, and it was easy to guess Wang Xin's intentions.

Yes.

Judging from Wang Xin's actions since joining the army, although he has made military achievements, his repeated behavior shows that he is a person who cherishes the people very much.

Zhang Jifu couldn't help but sigh, "A warrior with such benevolence and kindness is truly a good person."

Zhou Daofeng frowned.

He trusted his disciple's judgment, and he himself thought it was roughly the same.

Such womanly compassion!

Elite soldiers are hard to come by.

Such a lack of care is like killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own; it's truly foolish.

No wonder the Ningguo Mansion, Prince Teng, and Jia She, among others, had many complaints about this.

It takes a lot of effort for a talented person to emerge from a circle, but instead of giving back to the circle, they squander their resources. Isn't that the behavior of a spendthrift?

Wang Ziteng jumped around.

Jia Zhen and Jia She fueled the flames.

However, Wu Wenhua, Lin Ruhai, Jia Zheng, and others supported Wang Xin.

"A mere brigade commander has become a troublemaker between two factions of the four major families. Do you think it was Lin Ruhai's doing or Wu Wenhua's doing?"

"what?"

Zhang Jifu was stunned.

The four major players want to bet on both sides, which is only natural. Others may envy them, but they lack the necessary resources.

Eggs are not put in one basket.

The prerequisite is that there are many eggs.

Ordinary people don't even have eggs, so how can they talk about avoiding risks?

Only aristocratic families possess this kind of background; ordinary officials are not qualified.

After Zhou Daofeng's guidance, Zhang Jifu suddenly understood.

"In the past two years, Jia She and his associates have become arrogant and domineering, using the emperor to elevate their own status. In the end, they still supported the retired emperor, who was too lazy to bother with them. In the end, it was Jia Zheng who was unintentionally harmed."

Zhang Jifu slowly analyzed, "I heard that the emperor is extremely disgusted with the daughters of the Jia family. Although it is not nice to take his anger out on them, it also proves that the emperor is indeed very dissatisfied with Jia Zheng."

The emperor didn't have many bargaining chips to begin with, and marriage alliances were the only substantial ones he could offer.

After much deliberation, the Jia family became one of the choices.

As a result, the Jia family treated it as a rare commodity, raised their own status, and trampled on the emperor's head. How could the emperor tolerate this?
Although it wasn't Jia Zheng who did it, we all share the same surname, so no one should pretend to be blind.

Including Wang Xin.

Even if Wang Xin and Wang Ziteng had a falling out, the four major families would still have to contribute their efforts. It's just that some people would stand by and others would take action. The only way to unify the political power of the four major families would be if the old Duke were still alive.

Now that Wang Xin has stepped into the limelight, he has not only seized military power but has also thoroughly offended Wang Ziteng and his group.

So what did the emperor think when he saw it?
Jia Zheng and his men are still working hard, and they do have considerable resources.

After thinking it through, Zhang Jifu was somewhat surprised and doubtful. "If that's the case, won't the Emperor Emeritus be dissatisfied if I support Wang Xin?"

Upon hearing his disciple's words, Zhou Daofeng smiled.

"What you and I can think of, how could the Emperor Emeritus not have thought of? The fact that the Sage remains silent means that he does not intend to oppose it."

Zhang Jifu frowned even more deeply.

"Ugh."

Seeing that his disciple had not figured it out, Zhou Daofeng sighed.

Children don't understand the worries of adults.

Young people don't understand the worries of the elderly.

Many things can only be understood when you get older.

"It's not fair to blame the disciple for not being smart," Zhou Daofeng sighed. "Even an emperor-eminent ruler has to think about the fate of the nation."

Zhang Jifu understood immediately.

"Then what do we do?"

"Let's do it your way."

"But the Emperor Emeritus?" Zhang Jifu's face was filled with resentment, as if he had been betrayed by his teammates.

Seeing his disciple's expression, Zhou Daofeng looked at him as if he were his own junior angry about something. His face was full of peace and patience. "You have to understand the old man. No matter how shrewd a person is, when they get old, they will inevitably become a little anxious and subconsciously value the younger generation."

Zhang Jifu couldn't understand why his mentor didn't care about something so important.

Zhou Daofeng closed his eyes again to rest.

"Compared to the Emperor Emeritus, you should pay more attention to Wang Xin right now and get military power as soon as possible. That's what you should really be worried about. You've already wasted a lot of time."

No one knows how long the retired emperor's body can hold out.

Zhang Jifu tried to grasp everything, but ended up grasping nothing.

All the heroes of the land are gathered in the imperial court; how could the affairs of the court be simple? Although the capital and Jinling are not merely different places, the difference between them is as clear as day.

"Yes."

Zhang Jifu cupped his hands in greeting.

This is something he has recently regretted.

This was also the fundamental reason why he agreed to support Wang Xin's northern expedition to Datong.

I stayed in Nanjing for too long.

They thought other places were like Nanjing, but they didn't know that Nanjing was the richest region in the world.

In many places, people only eat three meals a day.

And around the Great Zhou.

For example, some tribes in northern Mongolia not only have ethical vices, but also the custom of eating the elderly, and there is a custom of elderly people committing suicide in Japan.
The only problem is that the Nanjing army cannot be defeated.

The wealthier a place is, the less effective its army is at fighting, especially in places with extreme wealth disparities, such as the Beijing Garrison.

On the contrary, in impoverished areas, everyone is equally poor, so there aren't many thoughts or conflicts. The only conflict is getting enough to eat, unlike in wealthy areas where there are all sorts of conflicts.

Therefore, many troops are still capable of fighting in the Nine Garrisons.

They're just short of money.

As long as the military budget is sufficient to ensure the soldiers are well-fed, they will still fight without regard for their lives.

It was this misconception that caused Zhang Jifu to stumble.

They underestimated the military leaders from various regions.

Zhang Jifu needs a troublemaker.

Wang Xin happened to be one of them.

They were obedient and capable, but the pay was low, and they even had to bring their own food to work.

Anyone who dares to disobey will have Wang Xin transferred over to do the work, and then replaced with their own people, leaving those military leaders with no way to complain.

With a solution in hand, Zhang Jifu became much more confident. "Li Chengxian, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, also supports it. As for Zhang Wenjin, he personally wrote a letter, which I showed to my disciple."

Zhou Daofeng nodded without opening his eyes.

"Actually, you have made great progress in the past few years. You are a completely different person from when you were in Jinling. In my opinion, you are ready to come out of seclusion and take charge of the cabinet. However, the current situation of our Great Zhou is extremely complicated."

A century of peace followed by deeply entrenched problems is a major disaster for any dynasty. Moreover, this dynasty has two rulers; as long as one of them lives, there will be no peace.

Zhang Jifu was startled.

Subconsciously looking around, afraid that someone might be listening.

As if sensing his disciple's actions, Zhou Daofeng smiled and said, "What you want to do is much bigger than what I'm talking about."

Zhang Jifu lowered his head.

To control the military with civil means.

Furthermore, it is necessary to control imperial power; all matters should be managed by the cabinet.

Imperial power is too harmful, bringing nothing but harm to the country and its people.

"Keep a close eye on Wang Xin's side."

"I heard that he is engaged to Jia Zheng's illegitimate daughter. Jia Zheng's eldest daughter is a concubine, and she could become empress. It's fine for you to use Wang Xin, but remember not to overstep your bounds."

"Rest assured, Master, I will only use Wang Xin's talent, but not his person."

What I fear is that you will use his talent.

Zhou Daofeng couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Many things are easy to start but difficult to finish.

If you find Wang Xin useful today and can't resist using him, the same problem will arise the next day: you'll just have to keep using Wang Xin.

“Once Wang Xin succeeds in pacifying the Hu, I will immediately transfer him back to the capital garrison. Once he leaves the Datong Western Army, there will be no worry about not being able to control it,” Zhang Jifu said confidently.

That made sense, and Zhou Daofeng had nothing to say, but he was still a little uneasy.

Zhang Wenjin had tried to win him over before.

However, Zhou Daofeng was not very familiar with this matter.

Seeing his disciple's confident expression, Zhou Daofeng didn't say much. The old man's words often backfired. He decided to take it one step at a time and keep it in mind.

As for the engagement between the Jia family and Wang Xin, not many people knew about it.

Wang Xin didn't mention it outside, and Jia Zheng didn't publicize it either.

The northern expedition of Datong Military Garrison was a major event, attracting much attention from the imperial court, but not to the point of being a matter of national concern; ultimately, it was only a local affair.

As for the military operations involving the mobilization of grain and fodder, they could not be kept secret. Zhang Wenjin was a member of the Censorate, and Wang Xin was a member of the Four Great Families, but it was Zhang Jifu who promoted Wang Xin. This was the reason that many people were racking their brains over.

In the small town of Datong, the situation was as complex as that in the imperial court.

How did the people from the four major families get mixed up with Zhang Jifu? And why are the people from the Censorate also advocating war, especially since it's a civil official-led group?

The Tumu Crisis in the Ming Dynasty led to the downfall of the country, so there was no time for civil officials to take charge of military operations.

Since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, initially the nobles led the troops in battle. However, when the retired emperor suppressed the nobles, the generals in the army below got the opportunity to rise to prominence. Now, Zhang Wenjin has been appointed as the governor-general in charge of pacifying the Hu.

Will it be like this in the future?
Jia Zheng arrived at a Buddhist temple.

Wu Wenhua lived in a room in this monastery, which had a separate courtyard, with a Buddhist temple in the distance and woods all around, a rare and quiet place in the capital.

Jia Zheng informed Wu Wenhua of the letter that Wang Xin had sent back.

"Zhang Wenjin is getting anxious."

Wu Wenhua smiled as he poured tea for Jia Zheng.

Jia Zheng couldn't stop smiling. The key figure in this northern expedition was Zhang Wenjin.

"The Tiancheng Army and the Western Army have both made contributions, but the Yongxing Army has yet to achieve any merit. If neither of them had made any contributions, that would be fine, but now that they haven't made any contributions, how dare they lead their army back empty-handed?"

The appointment of a civil official as governor-general to lead a large army was a first for the imperial court.

Regardless of faction.

People actually support it.

Wu Wenhua also supports it.

It wasn't just because of Jia Zheng's influence; the victory in this northern expedition, led by civil officials, was a victory for the entire civil service.

Wu Wenhua now can't tell whether the plan is good or bad.

"I just hope Zhang Wenjin won't be impatient."

"He still knows what's important and called on Wang Xin. With Wang Xin's Western Army by his side, even if they can't win a great victory, at least they won't suffer a great defeat. This time, not losing is a victory."

Jia Zheng smiled.

Wu Wenhua wholeheartedly agreed and waved his hand happily, "When Wang Xin returns victorious, I will personally act as his matchmaker."

Jia Zheng was initially surprised, then overjoyed.

Lin Ruhai is my brother-in-law; we're family, so let's not be formal.

Although Wu Wenhua was in their circle, their relationship was not exactly close. Now that he had come to their home to act as a matchmaker for Wang Xin, it was as if he owed them a great favor, and their relationship had taken another step forward.

Ever since Wang Xin came to the Jia family, good things have been happening to him one after another.

Jia Zheng felt that he had been busy with many things, so he believed that his achievements were the result of his own hard work.

Yet, I also feel like I haven't done anything, just lying at home enjoying good fortune, which gives me a complicated feeling of effortless success.

She vaguely felt that Wang Xin was her lucky star.

Just like Lin Ruhai back then.

(End of this chapter)