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

None of the noble families in Beijing are entirely clean; most have some issues to varying degrees.

Whether it's abusing power, interfering in litigation, or embezzling public funds and breaking the law...

This was the norm in feudal society. As a military officer, are you really that clean?

The emperor, on the contrary, would not trust you and would not dare to let such a clean person hold military power.

On the contrary, if you have some weaknesses, the emperor can trust you to use.

Therefore, the Jia family's minor flaws were not enough to lead to their eventual downfall and the confiscation of their property.

Only by choosing the wrong side in the political struggle for imperial power could a top noble family like the Jia family, which held the titles of Duke of two states and shared the fate of the nation, end up in such a miserable state.

This is also reflected in the deaths and exiles of Jia Yuanchun and Wang Ziteng, the leading figures of the four great families.

This is how the two men's failure in the political game affected their families.

In the past two years, Jia Jing has developed a certain degree of self-protection ability and has come to realize the power of the Jia family while serving in the army.

Many of the founding lineage's military merits in Liaodong had taken care of him and never tried to steal or conceal his military achievements. He no longer had the same idea of ​​breaking away from the Jia family that he once had.

He realized that as long as he served as an official in the Han Dynasty, it would be impossible to completely sever ties with the Jia family unless he resigned and went into seclusion in the mountains.

After all, his relationship with the Jia family was too close.

He was not from a collateral branch, nor a relative of the Jia family, but a legitimate grandson of the Duke of Rongguo and the son of Jia She—a blood relationship that could not be erased.

It's not enough to simply sever ties with the family or remove someone from the genealogy to avoid being implicated.

To put it bluntly, if Jia She were to rebel, he would be the first to be implicated and purged.

Therefore, as long as he remained in officialdom, he could not completely sever ties with the Jia family.

Therefore, he had to consider how to avoid the fate of the Jia family confiscating his property if he wanted to stay in the Jia family.

The first rule is to become the head of the Jia family and the representative of the Jia family in dealings with various political forces.

They even became the leading figures of the four major families, gaining the power of discourse and dominance.

Only in this way can he avoid choosing the wrong side, rectify the Jia clan, and even make the Jia clan an important supporting force behind him.

He originally planned to deal with this matter after returning to the capital, but who knew that Jia She would give him a "fatal blow" at this time.

Jia Jing would never support the retired emperor.

Not to mention that he was originally a minister promoted and trusted by Emperor Jingsheng, and was naturally on Emperor Jingsheng's side.

Given the Emperor Emeritus's mindless actions—annihilating 300,000 elite Han troops, becoming a "gate-calling emperor," and nearly destroying the fate of the Han dynasty—Jia Jing would never support such a person's restoration and rule.

Not to mention, the Embroidered Uniform Guard inadvertently collected evidence of the Emperor Emeritus's secret dealings with the Manchus in Liaodong, demonstrating their despicable and unscrupulous methods.

Such a person is a traitor, yet he still dreams of restoring himself to the throne. Isn't that ridiculous?

Jia She's current actions have crossed Jia Jing's bottom line.

"Then arrange for people to act in the name of the White Lotus Sect..."

Suzaku asked quietly, while making a "decapitation" gesture with his hand.

He was Jia Jing's confidant and understood Jia Jing's thoughts.

"Hmm, don't kill him. Just leave him half-dead, barely breathing, so he can't cause any more trouble."

"After all, I don't have time to rush back for the funeral anytime soon! With a major battle against the Qing army imminent, I can't let him ruin my plans!"

"Be careful in your actions, don't let the Imperial City Guard or the secret police find any trace of you!" Jia Jing thought for a moment and then gave him a word of advice.

"General, rest assured, when it comes to intelligence gathering and assassination, our Embroidered Uniform Guard is their ancestor! We won't leave them with the slightest trouble..."

Suzaku said confidently.

Jia Jing believed in Zhuque's abilities. He thought that the Imperial City Guard and the secret guards of the current dynasty had become corrupt over the years and would not be a match for the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

"Rumble..."

"kill……"

Just as the two were talking, a commotion suddenly broke out outside.

"Report! The Qing army has started attacking the city again. Deputy Lieutenant Feng and Deputy Lieutenant Han in the south city can no longer hold them off. Enemy troops have already entered the city..." A soldier rushed into the hall to report.

"What are Feng Ziying and Han Qi good for? Two thousand men can't even hold a city gate!" Zhuque roared angrily upon hearing this.

"No wonder! The southern city has been under the most intense attack in recent days, and their two thousand men haven't been relieved for two consecutive days."

"The Qing army was well-rested and had more than five times the strength of the enemy, so a breakthrough was inevitable."

"It's actually beyond my expectations that they've managed to hold out for so long!" Jia Jing said calmly, offering a light explanation with a chuckle.

Feng Ziying and Han Qi were both old friends of the Jia family. Feng Ziying was the eldest son of General Feng Tang, while Han Qi was the eldest son of Marquis Jinxiang.

Since Jia Jing made a name for himself on the battlefield, he was promoted and awarded several times, setting a good example among the military merits of the founding generation.

The direct descendants of the founding line number at least a hundred.

Of course, not all of them were spoiled brats like Jia Baoyu. Ambitious individuals such as Feng Ziying and Han Qi also came to Liaodong to join the army and serve.

Among them, Feng Ziying and Han Qi were skilled in martial arts and had close ties with the Jia family.

Therefore, he was assigned to Jia Jing's command, and after a year of hard work, he has now become a sixth-rank official.

This time, Jia Jing assigned the two to defend the south gate.

The south gate was the most heavily attacked defensive line by the enemy.

The reason Jia Jing assigned only two people to defend the city and only allocated two thousand men to the defense was because...

Firstly, it was to train the two of them.

Secondly, it was to give the Qing army a taste of victory, making them believe that the city was about to fall and that their attention would be entirely focused on the siege, thus facilitating the Xuanjia Army's stealthy appearance behind enemy lines.

Of course, this scale is very difficult to grasp.

If Jia Jing hadn't had people constantly monitoring the situation at the south gate and hadn't ambushed two thousand elite troops below the city, he wouldn't have dared to act rashly.

After all, if the Qing army were to actually breach the city, it would be a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead!

"Zhuque, guard the city well and don't let any Qing spies infiltrate. I'll handle the south side of the city, don't worry about it!"

Jia Jing didn't dare delay, and after giving an order,

He immediately grabbed the Dragon Gallant Silver Spear beside him and hurriedly headed towards the South City.

When Jia Jing arrived at the door, his personal guards had already brought his white horse.

He strode forward, pulled on the reins, and with a slight effort, mounted his warhorse, his legs gripping the horse's flanks.

A surge of invincible pride welled up within him, a reward for his two years on the battlefield.

Zhao Yun's martial arts skills have been perfected through actual combat. As long as he has a spear in hand and a white horse by his side, there is no enemy in the world that he cannot defeat!

With a spur of the reins, shrouded in mist, Jia Jing sped toward the south gate like a ghost.

Beneath the south gate, Feng Ziying and Han Qi stood with grim faces, their armor tattered and stained with old blood, now stained with fresh, hot blood—some their own, some of the enemy's.

Qing soldiers kept pouring onto the city walls, their shouts of battle deafening, but the two fought to the death and refused to retreat.

Blood-soaked corpses from both sides were constantly being thrown from the city walls, landing on the streets inside the city.

The Han army's flags on the city walls were tattered and worn, but the Han soldiers defending the city had a fierce look in their eyes, as if they had survived a hundred battles.

"Hold these damned Tartars off! Today we face certain death, let's fight those damned Tartars to the death..."