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

Li Guangdi remained silent for a while, and seeing that he could not refuse, he cupped his hands and revealed his true thoughts:

"Your Majesty! I believe that a peace treaty is not feasible at the moment."

"Grand Secretary Chen just cited the example of the Wei River Alliance of Emperor Taizong of Tang, saying that it stabilized the situation through peace talks and bought time for development."

"However, the reason why Emperor Taizong of Tang was able to successfully negotiate peace was because he first sent the brave general Yuchi Jingde as the commander-in-chief of the Jingzhou Road army to the front line of Jingyang to organize a counterattack and fight a fierce battle with the Turkic army in Jingyang."

"Yuchi Jingde was unstoppable, capturing the enemy general Ashide Wumechuo alive and killing more than a thousand Turkic cavalrymen."

"Then Emperor Taizong personally led six horsemen as a feint, and with ten thousand horsemen in full battle array, he overwhelmed the enemy with his momentum and was able to repel the Turkic troops on the banks of the Wei River."

"But even though the two sides eventually signed the Treaty of Wei River, the Tang Dynasty still lost a lot of money at the time."

"Therefore, without Yuchi Jingde's local military victory over the Turks, and without Emperor Taizong's bravery, strategy, and feint, it would have been very difficult for the Tang Dynasty to negotiate peace with the Turks at that time."

"Now, the pseudo-Qing has secretly allied with the Northern Yuan and the Hunxie, and has amassed a large army. If our dynasty wants to negotiate peace without fighting, it is probably... unlikely."

Li Guangdi actually had something else he didn't dare to say: if they couldn't overwhelm the other side first and wanted to negotiate peace, what price would the Great Han have to pay to get the other side to withdraw its troops?

However, although he didn't say it, Emperor Jingsheng had already figured it out. His face darkened, and his voice turned cold as he said in a deep voice:

"Yes! Is peace talks that easy? The Qing dynasty is still determined to destroy us. The reason they chose to use force at this time is that they don't want to give our Han dynasty time to recuperate."

"Your desire for peace talks is nothing but wishful thinking. Have you even asked them if they're willing to agree?"

"Even if we agree, what price will our dynasty have to pay? Ceding territory or paying reparations? Paying tribute, becoming a vassal state, or a marriage alliance?"

"You may be able to afford to lose face, but I can't! Emperor Taizong of Tang considered the Wei River Alliance a lifelong disgrace, and now you want me to repeat it?"

Emperor Jingsheng's words were stern and harsh, causing the expressions of everyone present to change, and the hall fell silent for a moment.

The saying goes, "A subject should die if his lord is disgraced." If they were to persuade Emperor Jingsheng to accept these humiliating peace terms, then they should die.

Emperor Jingsheng no longer consulted the remaining cabinet ministers, but instead asked Jia Jing directly:

"Jia Qing, what is your opinion?"

At this moment, everyone looked up at the young man in the bullfighting outfit.

They knew in their hearts that Emperor Jingsheng's strong desire to fight was largely due to the confidence this young man gave him.

Jia Jing stood tall and straight like a pine tree, his face calm and composed. He cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty! My opinion is consistent and clear: those who dare to offend our mighty Han, no matter how far away, shall be punished!"

"I believe that peace will survive if we seek it through struggle, but will perish if we seek it through compromise."

"The so-called peace talks in the court and among the people are nothing but ignorant and incompetent words. They are willing to exchange His Majesty's humiliation for a night's rest, disregarding the soldiers' determination to protect the country."

"They always claim to be acting for the court and the people, enduring humiliation and hardship, but in reality, they are acting for their own safety and interests. The court has money to pay reparations and negotiate peace, but surely it has money to fight and defend the country?"

"Especially Wang Shilang's words are absurd and laughable. He said that countless civilians will die in the war. Is this a war that our great Han Dynasty wants to fight?"

"The enemy has intruded on our borders without cause, and our Han people are the victims. We have no choice but to rise up and fight back to protect our country and its people. Is that wrong?"

"Therefore, I believe that anyone who speaks of peace negotiations again is a traitor who betrays the interests of the nation and should be executed immediately!"

boom……

Jia Jing's words caused an uproar in the hall!

Everyone knew that Jia Jing was definitely in favor of war, but no one expected him to be so tough on the issue, even suggesting that the ministers who advocated for peace be executed!

You must know that the person who just proposed peace talks was the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, a Grand Secretary, and the Vice Minister of War—all high-ranking officials in the court. This is outrageous!

Wang Ziteng, in particular, blushed. What did he mean by saying that Vice Minister Wang's words were absurd and laughable?

This illegitimate son of the Jia family actually dared to publicly insult me ​​in front of so many high-ranking officials and His Majesty...

Wang Ziteng glared at Jia Jing and immediately stepped forward, shouting:

"Absurd!"

"Words that will bring ruin to the country!"

"Extremely outrageous!"

Wang Ziteng uttered three words in a row to express his inner resentment!

Xu Qianxue, standing to the side, also looked displeased, clearly showing some anger.

I had long heard that Jia Jing was arrogant and rude, relying on His Majesty's trust and acting recklessly. Today, I have seen that he is indeed the case.

This group of arrogant and fierce soldiers are already so domineering after only winning one small game in Liaodong.

If the Northwest were to be given military power again, or even win another battle, their prestige would be even greater. Who could stop the court from implementing its new policies? Would there be any place for old-fashioned people like myself then?

Thinking about this, Xu Qianxue became even more convinced that the imperial court should negotiate peace instead of continuing the war.

Xu Qianxue stepped out of the classroom;

"Marquis Jingwu! I think you are the treacherous minister who disregards the safety of the court for your own military achievements!"

"Now the enemy has hundreds of thousands of troops on three sides. Is this battle easy to win? If we are defeated, it will be a great upheaval that shakes the very foundation of the country."

"Even if we manage to avoid defeat, prolonged conflict will be extremely detrimental to the strength of our Great Han nation!"

"This dispute could have been resolved simply by negotiating and agreeing to a few harmless demands from Hunxie and Beiyuan!"

"Why must we wage war and endanger the safety of the nation? You have ulterior motives; you only care about personal gain and reward, while disregarding the overall interests of the country!"

Xu Qianxue directly accused Jia Jing of prioritizing his own selfish interests over the overall situation, and even denounced him as a treacherous minister!

Jia Jing's expression hardened slightly, and he retorted without hesitation:

"Does Your Excellency know how to write the character for 'adultery'? It's a combination of the character for 'woman' and the character for 'dry'."

"I, Jia Jing, have not yet married or taken a concubine. Since being selected by His Majesty, I have spent almost two and a half years in the military camp, striving for the strength of our Han Dynasty without daring to slacken my efforts in the slightest."

"Grand Secretary Xu, as far as I know, you just took your sixteenth concubine yesterday. At such a critical moment for the court, you are neglecting national affairs and indulging in pleasure."

"How dare you accuse me of disregarding the bigger picture, distorting the truth, and using empty words? You're utterly shameless!"

"you……"

Xu Qianxue was stunned. He had never expected that Jia Jing would not continue arguing with him about the peace talks, but instead attack his character by accusing him of having a concubine.

The problem was that he couldn't explain it. He couldn't very well say that it was a Yangzhou "slender horse" (a euphemism for a young woman who is thin and delicate) that a local powerful family had given him when he was inspecting Jiangnan!

Zhang Tingyu, Li Guangdi, and the others standing nearby seemed to see again the scene in the Qianqing Palace where the Duke of Zhao was scolded by Jia Jing until he vomited blood.

One by one, they couldn't help but stiffen, secretly wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads with their sleeves.

Jia Jing's words are like knives; will he repeat the same mistakes of the past?