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

The next day at 3 AM,

Lights began to gradually illuminate the various mansions in the east and west cities of Shenjing City, as the officials of Shenjing City were actively preparing for today's regular court session.

Kong Ying, a senior official in the Ministry of War, was slowly carried out of his residence in his sedan chair. He looked around at the dark roads of the capital city through the curtain of the sedan chair.

However, the street was eerily quiet compared to usual. Although the shouts, banging on doors, and sounds of weapons from the soldiers and imperial guards of the previous night were gone, many mansions were still surrounded by soldiers holding torches.

Some traces of blood could still be seen on the streets, a testament to the unrest in the capital city last night.

"Go and find out what happened last night," Kong Ying ordered the servant outside the sedan chair with a serious expression.

On the square in front of the side hall of the right gate of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, more and more officials came to the morning court. Civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above of the Han Dynasty lined up in groups of three or five, forming a dense crowd that soon filled half of the square.

The faint morning light shone from the east, casting long shadows on the vermilion palace walls, like rows of black and white silhouettes.

Faced with the special court session convened by Emperor Jingsheng today and the chaos in the capital city last night, many officials who were not well-informed were still somewhat confused and stood together whispering among themselves.

At this moment, among the civil officials, Kong Ying, the Vice Minister of War, Xu Sanli, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, Peng Peng, the Academician of the Hanlin Academy, Sun Jiacheng, the Censor, and Xiong Cili, the Grand Secretary, stood together.

Kong Ying asked the cabinet minister Xiong Cilu:

"Your Excellency, what exactly happened last night? It seems the Imperial City Guard is making arrests. What is that bastard Xia Shouzhong up to now? They already arrested so many people last month, why is it starting again on the first day of this month?"

Xia Shouzhong's reputation among civil officials has plummeted due to his cooperation with Zhang Tingyu in instigating the major prison last month, and many people now call him a power-hungry eunuch!

Xiong Cilu, his face grim, took a deep breath, surveyed the surrounding officials, and said angrily:

"Last night, Grand Secretary Zhang and Jia Zijie were attacked one after another. His Majesty was furious and ordered the nine gates to be closed, martial law to be imposed on the capital, and Jia Zijie to take command of the Imperial City Guard and the Five City Garrison to thoroughly investigate the case and pacify the capital."

"At the second quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM), Jia Zijie, citing the involvement of Grand Secretary Fang, the Marquis of Pingyuan's residence, and the Duke of Shanguo's residence in the case, ordered the Imperial City Guard to search and confiscate the Marquis of Pingyuan's residence and the Duke of Shanguo's residence. He himself led men to forcibly search Grand Secretary Fang's residence. Grand Secretary Fang resisted, and his entire family was slaughtered. He himself has also been imprisoned by imperial decree."

"Subsequently, Jia Zijie used the account books he obtained from Grand Secretary Fang's residence to launch a campaign of arrests..."

As a cabinet minister, Xiong Cili had his own sources of information and recounted in detail what had happened that night, expressing considerable resentment and bias towards Jia Jing's actions!

Clearly, as fellow cabinet ministers, seeing Fang Congzhe fall to such a state, he felt a sense of shared sorrow, even though they were not from the same faction.

The residence of a Grand Secretary of the court was forcibly broken into by a group of soldiers who indiscriminately slaughtered people. Is there no law left?

Moreover, Jia Jing is becoming increasingly arrogant and domineering, acting recklessly, disrupting the order of civil and military officials, and wreaking havoc on the court. How can we tolerate him!

"What?! Such a thing has happened?! What right does Jia Jing, a mere military man, have to raid the residence of a Grand Secretary and indiscriminately kill innocent people? What is he trying to do? Does he still have any respect for the court or for the emperor?"

Kong Ying and Jia Jing had a long-standing grudge, and when she heard that it was Jia Jing who had caused such a big incident, she was immediately filled with righteous indignation and shouted angrily.

Xu Sanli's expression was solemn, and he responded in a cold voice:

"That's right! Last month, the Xingda prison and the capital inspection were instigated and provoked by this kid. I didn't expect him to become even more lawless now."

"He seized control of twelve battalions with meager merits, not only advocating for military men, but also daring to persecute even high-ranking cabinet ministers. If this brat continues his rampage, I fear the court will be ruined by such treacherous officials!"

The civil and military regulations concern the interests of every civil official. Seeing that Jia Jing, a military official, was becoming increasingly powerful, almost all the civil officials had long wanted to suppress him.

Xu Sanli was the one who took the lead because his in-laws were imprisoned last month for allegedly forming cliques and have not been released yet.

Of course, it is unknown whether Xu Sanli, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, had any intention of showing off his abilities and taking the opportunity to rise to a higher position after Fang Congzhe, the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, fell from power.

Xiong Cilu said in a deep voice:

"Jia Zijie is a master of flattery. He is obsequious to His Majesty but cruel and merciless to his officials, killing without blinking an eye."

"After returning from the Northwest, he not only persecuted my civil officials, but also killed and beheaded Wu Xun, who was also from the founding lineage. He abused his power and authority, and was a great villain who pretended to be loyal."

Censor Sun Jiacheng, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it any longer and frowned, saying:

"Your Excellency, I am somewhat aware of the details of this matter. Wasn't it said that Jiang Zining of the Marquis of Pingyuan's residence and Shi Guangzhu of the Duke of Shanguo's residence violated military law and discipline by gambling in the camp and openly disobeying orders, and were therefore executed? Perhaps it is because Jia Zijie was strict in disciplining his troops?"

Regardless of the circumstances, many people still acknowledge Jia Jing's military achievements; no matter how much they try to belittle him, they can't simply lie through their teeth!

Xiong Cilu shook his head and said:

"Lord Xi, this is not merely strict military discipline; it is the elimination of dissidents!"

"At present, the military merits of our dynasty are dominated by the founding line. Among the four kings, eight dukes and twelve marquises of the founding line, half are led by Jia Zijie and the other half by the Prince of Nan'an. Jiang and Shi are the two people who are close to the Prince of Nan'an."

"He spared the lives of others, only killing these two, precisely to seize sole command of the twelve battalions. Yet, those unaware of the truth believe he was acting out of righteous indignation, even at the cost of family ties!"

Sun Jiacheng, courtesy name Xigong, also known as Yizhai and Jingxuan, was a native of Linhe Village, Xing County, Shanxi Province.

Sun Jiacheng frowned and said:

"But I heard that he killed more than twenty men from twelve battalions, many of whom were former officers of the Beijing Garrison who followed the Jia family. Xie Jing from the Dingcheng Marquis's residence, who was related to the Jia family by marriage, was also dismissed by him. It wasn't just Shi and Jiang!"

"Even if he wanted to seize military power, with his military achievements, military strategy, authority, and the imperial sword in his hand, could those mediocre people like Shi and Jiang really stop him?"

"No matter what, Jia Jing is too powerful in command of the military. Now he also controls the Imperial City Guard and the Five City Garrison. Apart from the Imperial Guard, hundreds of thousands of troops in and around the capital are under Jia Jing's control. Is this the behavior of a subject?" Hanlin Academician Peng Peng said with a gloomy expression.

Last night he sent his steward out to gather information, but the steward was beaten to death in the street by the Imperial City Guards. How could he not be furious!

Kong Ying, who was standing nearby, chimed in, "Lord Peng and Grand Secretary Xiong are right!"

Xiong Cilu's expression turned worried, and he said:

"This young man's early success will be more of a curse than a blessing for the Han Dynasty!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Jiacheng's expression changed, and he said with surprise and uncertainty:

"Grand Secretary, Jia Zijie... was personally selected by the Emperor from humble beginnings. He has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, saving it from peril. There are few military officials with such merits in the history books."

"I've heard that he is upright and honest, and his steward is strict, never committing any illegal or disorderly conduct, nor deceiving the emperor. His Majesty trusts him implicitly! Is the Grand Secretary perhaps overestimating this?"

Xiong Cilu shook his head and said:

"That's why I say he was a great villain disguised as a loyalist. The Duke of Zhou feared rumors, and Wang Mang was humble before his usurpation. At such a young age, suddenly ascending to a high position, he could still remain so composed—this is a quality few ordinary people possess!"

"While His Majesty is alive, he might still be able to keep him in check, but what if he's no longer here...?"

Your Majesty's perverse actions, implementing new policies and instigating large-scale prisons, may one day anger the heavens and cause you to fall into the water.

Sun Jiacheng remained silent for a moment; he did not want to participate in making irresponsible remarks about the emperor and his father.

Xiong Cilu coldly addressed the crowd around him:

"Regardless, today we must give that brat Jia Jing a good dressing down and curb his momentum!"

People around started to clamor:

"Indeed, the boy is cruel and ruthless at such a young age; he must be impeached!"

"Arresting so many people last night has created widespread panic; it's outrageous!"

"Xing is not a member of the scholar-official class; how can we allow him to act so recklessly!"

"When the retired emperor was in power, he treated us civil officials so well, but now he persecutes us like this, it's truly..."

Besides this circle of people discussing it, another circle of military officers, including the Prince of Nan'an, the Chen family of the Duke of Qi's mansion, the Ma family of the Duke of Zhiguo's mansion, and the Qi family of the Marquis of Xiangyang's mansion, seemed to be whispering and criticizing Jia Jing.

Furthermore, it seems that Prince Zhongshun also had some reservations about Jia Jing.

After a while, almost all the civil and military officials, including those from the six ministries of the cabinet, the five military governorates, the Censorate, the Hanlin Academy, and the Office of Transmission, arrived.

Finally, Jia Jing arrived with the generals of the Twelve Battalions.

Just then, accompanied by three sharp cracks of the whip, the eunuch's high-pitched, drawn-out voice rang out:

"His Majesty has arrived! All civil and military officials are to enter the hall for an audience!"

The officials outside the hall immediately straightened their court robes, took their tablets, and followed closely into the hall.