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

The fact that Mu Chen, the heir of the Prince of Dongping, was able to come and deliver the message naturally meant that he was also a member of the Prince of Nan'an's faction!

Or rather, of the four princes who were the founders of the dynasty, except for Prince Bei Jing, Shui Rong, the others were no longer very close to the Jia family.

This can also be gleaned from the original text.

At Qin Keqing's funeral, only Prince Shui Rong of Beijing attended in person to pay his respects among the four princes. Princes of Dongping, Nan'an, and Xining only sent their subordinates or descendants to set up tents on their behalf, and none of their heads attended in person.

Compared to the personal presence of Prince Bei Jing, the other three princes' practice of "setting up a sacrificial ceremony according to custom" undoubtedly appeared to be extremely formal and merely a perfunctory formality!

Even for such a major event as Grandmother Jia's 80th birthday, the original text only records that the Princess of Beijing and the Dowager Princess of Nan'an attended, but does not mention the families of the Prince of Dongping and the Prince of Xining, which speaks volumes!

At this moment, the Prince of Nan'an raised an eyebrow slightly, turned around, looked at Mu Chen, and asked in a gentle voice:

"What insightful opinion does my nephew have?"

The Prince of Nan'an still values ​​Mu Chen very much. After all, the old Prince of Dongping is on his deathbed, and Mu Chen is the head of the Prince's Mansion who will soon inherit the title of Prince!

"The strategies of the elders are naturally the best!" Mu Chen spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice not loud, but each word clear, like chess pieces falling on a chessboard:

"But I think that relying solely on delaying tactics, impeachment, and burning the fish-scale registers is ultimately too passive."

"In the current situation, Jia Jing is in the open, while we are in the shadows, but the reins are ultimately in his hands. We can stall for time, but not forever. Rather than waiting, we should... strike first."

Mu Chen slammed his teacup on the table, leaned forward, and spoke in a low, slow voice, each word like honey laced with poison:

"The examples of the Duke of Shanguo's mansion and the Marquis of Pingyuan's mansion are not far off. With irrefutable evidence, they were ordered to be exterminated along with their entire families."

"Among all of us here, who is truly cleaner than those two families? Who can withstand close scrutiny?"

"As long as the imperial court remains determined to reorganize the army, and as long as Jia Zijie remains on our side, even if we can get away with the investigation into the military farms now, we'll inevitably face trouble over other matters sooner or later! That's for sure!"

The hall fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Mu Chen's gaze swept across everyone's faces, finally settling on the old locust tree outside the window, rustling in the wind. The sound was faint, as if drifting from a great distance:

"And if we want to fundamentally change this passive and defensive situation, there is only one way besides launching a rebellion to purge the court of corrupt officials!"

"...That means His Majesty should no longer trust Jia Zijie, should no longer allow him to head the General Military Affairs Office, and even should no longer allow him to command the Twelve Battalions!"

"But once Jia Zijie falls, who else besides Uncle Nan'an is qualified to lead the General Affairs Office? At that time, we will not only be less passive than we are now, but we will also rise in status along with Uncle Nan'an!"

Mu Chen's words carried a hint of encouragement, causing everyone present to fall into deep thought!

After a long silence, Xie Jing frowned first and asked with some doubt:

"It's probably impossible for the Emperor to lose trust in Jia Zijie, isn't it? I think the Emperor trusts him even more than his own son right now!"

The others nodded in agreement. Who didn't know that Jia Jing was currently the most favored person in the court?

Mu Chen smiled slightly, as if he had everything under control, and slowly said:

"Throughout history, no emperor has been without suspicion, especially when it comes to imperial power."

"Your Majesty trusts Jia Zijie now because you think he has made great contributions and is a loyal minister whom you have personally promoted."

"Using ordinary methods would naturally not be enough to shake His Majesty's trust in him, but what if... someone were to spread a prophecy among the people at this time? Just one sentence, short and easy to remember. For example..."

He paused, his expression solemn, and read it out word by word:

"The emperor marched out of Jinzhou, and the capital region became the battlefield!"

The ten words landed like ten nails driven into a coffin lid, each one carrying a dull echo.

"Think about it, everyone. If this prophecy reaches the palace, even if His Majesty trusts Jia Zijie completely, won't he start to have doubts?"

"No matter how good Jia Zijie is at fighting or handling affairs, as long as these ten words take root in His Majesty's mind, everything he does will be wrong."

"Investigating the military farms has become an excuse to buy off the soldiers. Strengthening the army has become an excuse to amass power. Dealing with us has become an excuse to eliminate dissidents."

Prince Mu Chen, the heir apparent of the Prince of Dongping, leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and a sinister composure shone through his smile.

"By then, we won't even need to lift a finger; the palace will naturally start to oppose him. What do you uncles think?"

Chen Ruiwen's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he suddenly slapped his thigh:

"The Emperor has marched out of Jinzhou City, and the battlefield is now in the capital! Brilliant plan! Brilliant indeed! This cross formation is a deadly, bloodless attack!"

The meaning of these ten characters is obvious: "The emperor will emerge from Jinzhou City" implies that a new emperor will be born or rise to power in Jinzhou City, and the old emperor will be replaced!

"The capital region is the battlefield" means that someone wants to start a war in the capital region, a vital area of ​​the Han Dynasty, and seize the throne!

Although these two sentences do not name names, they undoubtedly point precisely to Jia Jing becoming the new emperor, which makes it impossible for the emperor not to be suspicious!

Qi Jianhui nodded repeatedly, his anxiety vanishing and replaced by an expression of deep agreement:

"Many people believe in prophecies and apocryphal texts, and besides, Jia Jing is too powerful; he is not fit to be a subject."

"Just compose a few nursery rhymes, have beggars and thugs sing them all over town, and in less than half a month, the whole town will be in an uproar!"

A rare smile appeared on Ma Shang's long, thin face as he slowly stroked his goatee and said:

"It won't just be the whole city. Once this prophecy spreads, those many civil officials who were offended by that brat Jia Jing will surely seize the opportunity to make a fuss. The number of impeachments will probably be even greater than the factionalism case last month."

"At that time, Jia Jing will be too busy taking care of himself to manage the army and clear the land. To silence public opinion, he will probably have no choice but to resign and await further investigation!"

Xie Jing chuckled twice, but there was an indescribable meaning hidden in his smile. His eyes flickered, his lips moved slightly, and he uttered a word of praise:

"Your Highness, you are truly a man of great talent!"

The Prince of Nan'an did not immediately express his opinion. He stood by the window, his back motionless.

After a long while, he slowly turned around and sat down again.

He picked up the teacup and gently stirred the foam with the lid again. This was his tea-drinking habit; he liked to drink broken tea leaves.

"The prophecy tactic is useful."

The Prince of Nan'an finally spoke, his tone firm, his gaze fixed on Mu Chen, and he nodded slightly:

"But you have to be careful not to spread this around. It can only be spread among the common people. You must never let anyone find out that it has any connection with anyone here."

"Otherwise, if word gets out, the Emperor will take our heads before Jia Zijie even makes a move."

Mu Chen's smile remained unchanged as he said:

"Don't worry, Uncle. For this kind of thing, just find a few unrelated people, spend a few taels of silver, and have them spread the word around the streets and alleys."

"Even if they investigate later, they can only find a few beggars who took money to do things, and they will never find out about this house."

After listening, the Prince of Nan'an remained silent for a moment, then slowly put down his teacup. The bottom of the cup struck the rosewood table with a crisp sound, like a final, decisive blow.

"Alright." He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable decisiveness:

"From today onwards, we will proceed in three steps. First, each of you should inform your former subordinates in the capital region that the books that need to be burned have been burned, and the mouths that need to be sealed have been sealed. If an investigation team from the Ministry of Military Affairs comes down, delay it if you can, conceal it if you can, and bribe them if you can."

"The second step is to contact as many people as possible to submit memorials, not impeachments, but petitions. The more memorials the better, as they express concerns about the army's morale, the soldiers' hardship, and requests that the court postpone the clearing of the military camps."

"The third step is for Mu Chen to carry out that prophecy. Do it cleanly, don't rush, but be steady."

The Prince of Nan'an stood up, straightened the cuffs of his black robe, and stood with his hands behind his back in the hall, his posture as upright as an old tree with deep roots.

"Whether Jia Zijie's military orders can even leave the Zongli Yamen after these three steps are completed is still uncertain."

"Even if none of these things stop him, it's not too late for us to raise an army and confront him then."

"To be honest, I've long heard of his reputation for skill in battle! I've also long desired to face him! I'll have the chance to see if my thirty years of military experience are truly no match for a mere child!"

"...Alright, that's enough for today's meeting. If you leave this room, you'll have to keep it to yourself. Go back now."

The old locust tree outside the window rustled in the wind, its branches and leaves shattering the morning light that filled the courtyard, creating flickering spots of light on the ground that fell on everyone's faces like masks, half-lit and half-shadowed.

Everyone stood up, cupped their hands in farewell, and their footsteps gradually faded away, leaving the side hall quiet again.

The Prince of Nan'an stood alone by the window, watching the departing figures of the crowd. He tapped lightly on the window frame twice with his fingers, his eyes flashing with a hint of something unreadable.