Dream of the Red Chamber: Start by gaining Zhao Yun's martial prowess, and be ennobled in a sin

The pseudo-Qing dynasty was not the tribal people with only about 100,000 Eight Banner troops when Huang Taiji and Dorgon entered the pass in history.

It was a vast regime that stretched from the Outer Khingan Mountains in the north to the Liao River basin in the south, bordered Mongolia in the west and the Sea of ​​Japan in the east.

Taking advantage of the internal turmoil within the Han Dynasty, the puppet Qing Dynasty vigorously developed for decades, and by the time of Emperor Kangxi, its power had grown considerably.

It not only completely unified the various tribes of the Wild Jurchen and Haixi Jurchen, but also actively promoted policies such as marriage alliances, enfeoffment, and religious exchanges.

The Manchurian community integrated a large number of conquered fishing and hunting peoples, such as the Solon, Daur, and Oroqen.

This increased the population of their core military force from over one million in history to over three million.

It also integrated some of the Western Oirat Mongols and established a more systematic Outer Mongol Banner system, modeled after the Eight Banners system, which allowed it to obtain a large number of cavalry troops from the vast grasslands.

In addition, having operated in the Liaodong region for a longer period, they established a more comprehensive governance system encompassing Manchu, Han, and Mongol peoples.

They incorporated a large number of early Han Chinese generals who had surrendered and Han Chinese civilians from Liaodong, granting them land and status, and also occupied part of the territory of Korea.

A more systematic "human" conscription system was implemented, resulting in a large number of soldiers.

With the reforms to the political and military systems, the territory of the puppet Qing dynasty today is approximately 350 million square kilometers.

If its fighting force were fully mobilized, it could reach more than 500,000, which is the powerful pseudo-Qing that the Han Dynasty is now facing.

As for the northwestern Mongolia, it mainly consisted of the Golden Family of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and the Hunxie Khanate, a variant of the Dzungar Khanate.

The history of the Northern Yuan Dynasty can be traced back to the end of the Song Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty was a major enemy of the Song Dynasty and was eventually defeated by Emperor Taizu of Han. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Shun fled north to the depths of the grasslands.

Its core ethnic groups include the Chahar, Tumed, Yongsheb, and Ordos tribes of Eastern Mongolia, which are entrenched in the Hetao and southern Mongolian regions, and are the symbol of the Mongol overlord.

Their elite cavalry had been raiding the borders for centuries, making them a long-standing enemy of the Han Dynasty in the northwest.

The Hunye Khanate was a variant of the Dzungar Khanate, composed of Mongol-Turkic tribes with Western Mongolia at its core.

This included former Kyrgyz and Uyghur tribes, as well as some Tibetans and Han Chinese who had submitted to the regime.

They practiced Tibetan Buddhism and were a centralized empire that controlled the Western Regions and the western deserts.

Equally ambitious, aiming to establish a nomadic empire, it once allied with the puppet Qing dynasty to invade Han China.

Therefore, the Han Dynasty was indeed beset by internal and external troubles and faced a critical situation, which explains why Emperor Jingsheng was so worried that he fell ill.

Jia Jing pondered for a moment, then said loudly without changing his expression:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured! When I told Your Majesty that we would pacify Liaodong in ten years, I was merely overestimating the enemy's strength."

"Regardless of whether we can win or not, we must not be driven by the desire for a quick victory. Otherwise, impatience and anxiety will easily lead to failure!"

"Given the current domestic situation, even if we win a few battles against the puppet Qing dynasty, it won't be of much use!"

"The most urgent task for the imperial court is to clean up official corruption, implement new policies, replenish the national treasury, and restore people's livelihoods. Otherwise, if we continue to wage war and the people cannot survive, it will only be a case of eliminating one problem only to have another one arise!"

"As for the Northern Yuan Royal Court and the Hunye Khanate of Northwest Mongolia, they are nothing but worthless opportunists. If they dare to come and plunder the might of our Great Han, I will personally lead the cavalry of the Ba Shang camp to wipe out these petty villains, which will serve as a deterrent to those with treacherous intentions!"

"A single punch can ward off a hundred more! I reiterate my point: our Han Dynasty must first resolve its own deep-seated problems, reform and strengthen itself. As for the foreign tribes outside, if they dare to invade, they shall be punished no matter how far away they are!"

Emperor Jingsheng was inspired by Jia Jing's confidence, his expression brightening somewhat, and he smiled:

"You're quite confident! The Northern Yuan and Hunye, with their hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers, are the root of our Han Dynasty's northwestern border troubles, yet they are insignificant in your eyes!"

"War is a matter of vital importance to the state; it is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected!"

Jia Jing said:

"Your Majesty, please rest assured! I dare not speak of other matters, but regarding warfare, as long as Your Majesty trusts and supports me, I will surely bring eternal peace to our Great Han!"

Emperor Jingsheng stared intently at Jia Jing, took a deep breath, gently patted his shoulder, and said with a sigh:

"I am well aware of your abilities, my dear minister! If war breaks out in the Northwest, I will appoint you as commander-in-chief and will fully trust you."

"I will not allow anyone to hinder you, nor will I order you on how to do things, nor will I urge you to advance and win. I only hope that you will do your job diligently and not disappoint my expectations!"

"You are the Marquis of Champion bestowed upon me by Heaven! I entrust the safety of the Han Dynasty to you. If you do not fail me, I will never fail you! Strive! Strive!"

Jia Jing's heart skipped a beat. He looked at Emperor Jingsheng and respectfully bowed, replying:

"Your Majesty, I dare not fail to repay your kindness with my life!"

Jia Jing discovered that ever since he annihilated 150,000 troops of the puppet Qing dynasty in a single battle, Emperor Jingsheng had held high expectations of him.

He even surpassed other important military officials in the court, such as Niu Jizong and Nian Gengyao.

Perhaps it was his great victory against foreign powers during a time of crisis that gave Emperor Jingsheng immense morale and encouragement.

So much so that whenever he encounters a major or difficult situation, he would confide in me and place high hopes on me.

The Han Dynasty has reached this state, and Emperor Jingsheng must have been under a lot of psychological pressure.

As someone he personally promoted, capable and loyal, how could I not trust and rely on him even more?

Emperor Jingsheng was very good at controlling his emotions, and soon his expression returned to normal. Looking at Xia Shouzhong, Niu Jizong, Wang Ziteng, and others who had followed him not far away, he said:

"That's all for today. Don't see me off. Go back to camp and prepare for battle! Take good care of yourself!"

Jia Jing nodded, said nothing more, and after bidding farewell to Emperor Jingsheng and the others, returned to the Ba Shang camp.

…………

A few days later, the end of the year was approaching.

Daiyu's Courtyard.

It was the last quarter of the Chen hour (7-9 AM), and bursts of laughter echoed from the courtyard.

At this moment, in Daiyu's courtyard, the three sisters, Xiangyun, Baochai, Xiangling, Xiaojiao'er, Jia Baoyu, Jia Huan and others are all gathered.

This is because these days, Daiyu has been teaching Xiangling poetry in the courtyard every day. Xiangling is so eager to learn that she would write one or two poems every day to show Daiyu.

Later, other sisters from the Jia family heard about the excitement and would come here to play around when they had nothing to do.

As for Jia Baoyu, he naturally followed wherever his sisters went!

As for Jia Huan

The Jia family's clan school had already been closed for a few days, and Tan Chun had been keeping him by her side these past few days, urging him to do his homework every day!

"Shut up! All you ever think about is playing! You got sixth from last in the school exams, even worse than Lan-ge'er, and you're still thinking about going out to play!"

Inside the room, Tan Chun, with a fierce expression, sternly shouted at Jia Huan, who was sitting at the table beside her.

Jia Huan, his head bowed and eyes drooping, one shoulder higher than the other, trembled at Tan Chun's stern shout and muttered a curse:

"That heartless, wretched boy, Lan-ge'er, a seed of no good fortune, has forgotten his old mother... forgotten all the good I've done for him. After the exam, he even said he didn't do well, but he ended up getting second place in the whole school! He's truly wicked!"