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

"In this light, the Prince of Nan'an's uprising is actually a good thing!"

"Of course it's a good thing! We just hope he can show his true abilities and teach Jia Zijie a lesson!"

"That's right! I'll go back and write a memorial right away. As soon as Lan Yu is defeated, I'll submit a memorial impeaching Jia Zijie. Does he really think he's a military genius?"

"And Zhang Hengchen, he should also be impeached. His sycophancy towards the emperor and his bullying of his colleagues are disgusting!"

The people in the hall started discussing it excitedly!

These civil officials, who had been suppressed for many days, seemed to have been freed from their restraints by Xiong Cilu's words, and they rushed to express their resentment and plans.

Some were even so impatient that they were already thinking of writing to the Prince of Nan'an to establish a relationship in advance!

Xiong Cili listened with a smile, without interrupting. When they had finished speaking, he waved his hand, about to say a few more words of comfort, when he suddenly heard a commotion coming from outside the mansion gate.

The commotion started far apart, like a few shouts in the wind, but it quickly grew closer and louder, eventually forming a continuous commotion.

The sounds of gongs, drums, horses' hooves, and shouts from a large crowd surged in from the other end of the long street.

"Great victory! Great victory!"

Everyone in the hall immediately stopped talking, looking at each other in bewilderment, first puzzled, then as if they had heard a death knell.

"Who's shouting nonsense?" Yuan Kai was the first to stand up, his expression changing slightly.

Xiong Cili frowned and called out, "Someone! Go out and see what's going on."

A steward from the Xiong household hurriedly ran out, and a short while later, he rushed back, shouting at the top of his lungs before even stepping into the hall:

"My lord! A great victory! A great victory! The imperial army has utterly defeated the rebels in Jizhou and captured the Prince of Nan'an alive! It is a great victory for the imperial court!"

These words were like a stone thrown into water, causing an uproar in the front hall.

Everyone stood up, their faces filled with astonishment and disbelief.

Yuan Kai's lips twitched, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence, looking strange:

"Wasn't this manifesto just released last night? How come it's already lost today?"

That's way too fast, isn't it?

With such limited abilities, you think you can emulate Emperor Chengzu's efforts to purge corrupt officials from the court?

Chen Sheng slumped into the chair, his face drained of all color, and murmured:

"How is that possible...? It's only been a short time!"

The faint smile on Xiong Cili's face froze at that moment.

He slowly put down his teacup, the bottom of which tapped on the table with a soft sound, yet it seemed to strike the hearts of everyone present.

"Explain yourself clearly," Xiong Cili said in a deep voice, staring at the steward.

"What great victory at Jizhou? What capture of the Prince of Nan'an alive? Did you hear that right?"

The steward, panting, stammered:

"It's all over outside! They say that this evening, Lan Yu decisively defeated tens of thousands of rebel troops of the Prince of Nan'an outside Jizhou City. The Prince of Nan'an was captured on the battlefield, and the Crown Prince of Dongping, who was trying to escape, was also captured."

"The good news is being sent into the city right now, and people are running out into the streets shouting!"

The people in the hall looked at each other in dismay. The words "an incompetent general can lead to the death of an entire army" and "mutual destruction" were still ringing in their ears, but now they felt like slaps to their faces.

The hall fell silent for a moment, with only the increasingly loud and close cheers outside, like a tide sweeping across the entire capital city.

Zhang Tingyu's residence, study.

Unlike the lively discussions among the civil officials in Xiong Cilu's mansion, this place was extremely quiet.

The study faces south, with the window half-closed, revealing a corner of the bluish-gray night sky and the gradually rounding autumn moon.

The candlelight had been replaced, and the bright new flame made the atmosphere of books in the room even more profound.

Zhang Tingyu, dressed in a slightly worn blue-gray Taoist robe, reclined in a pearwood chair with a blue cloth cushion, a cup of Lu'an tea beside him.

Sitting opposite him was a young man in his early twenties, with a handsome face and a hint of immaturity in his brows; he was Zhang Ruo'ai, his eldest son.

Zhang Ruo'ai had only sat for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, and this was the third time he had listened intently to the sounds outside the window. Finally, he couldn't resist and spoke in a low voice:

"Father, the Prince of Nan'an has raised an army in Jizhou to purge the court of corrupt officials, and the whole city is in an uproar."

"My son came back from his classmate's place today. He heard a lot of talk along the way. Everyone said that Duke Jing has made a mistake in choosing the wrong person and is likely to fail."

Zhang Tingyu took a sip of tea, didn't even lift his eyelids, and only hummed in agreement.

"Father!" Zhang Ruo'ai said anxiously, leaning forward slightly.

"Why aren't you worried at all? Everyone outside is saying that Duke Jing has gone mad after winning battles for several years, and he actually sent Lan Yu, a name I've never heard of, to lead the army. Isn't that underestimating the enemy?"

"The Prince of Nan'an is a second-rank general, from a family of generals for generations. If Lan Yu is lost, the capital will be..."

The main concern was that if Jia Jing lost, his own father would also be implicated!

"What's the rush!" Zhang Tingyu gently placed the teacup on the table, then looked up at his son and said sternly:

"Keep your composure in the face of adversity. Being so impulsive and rash is unacceptable!"

Zhang Ruo'ai subconsciously sat up straight, but still couldn't help but say:

"Your son is worried about you!"

"You can start worrying about me when you've become the second-highest-ranking official in the cabinet!" Zhang Tingyu said calmly.

Then, realizing his tone was a bit harsh, he changed his tone and said in a deep voice:

"You just said that there are rumors circulating outside that Jia Zijie is going to be defeated. Then let me ask you, in all these years, every time Jia Zijie has led troops from Liaodong to the Northwest, when has there ever been no such rumor?"

"When we fought the Qing dynasty, some people said he would lose; when we fought the Northern Yuan, others said he was bound to fail; when we fought the Hunxie, some people said, 'Now that he controls all the armies in the country, why is he still talking like this? It's simply incomprehensible!'"

Zhang Tingyu simply did not believe that Jia Jing would lose, or rather, no one knew Jia Jing's true fighting strength better than him.

Many people may consider Jia Jing's achievements such as "breaking through the city gate with a hammer," "charging 50,000 men single-handedly," and "settling the Tianshan Mountains with two arrows" as exaggerated rumors.

But Zhang Tingyu knew that all of this was absolutely true!

Here it must be mentioned that ever since Zhang Tingyu took on the two offending tasks of "initiating a major prison" and "inspecting the capital," and was completely tied to the war chariot of Emperor Jingsheng and Jia Jing, he has been worried and has repeatedly investigated and thoroughly studied all of Jia Jing's past battle reports!

Even in his backyard, there are still fragments of the Jizhou city gate and the remains of the Northern Yuan supply wagons, which are the "original pieces" that Jia Jing smashed and knocked away!

As Zhang Tingyu's investigation into Jia Jing's combat capabilities deepened, only one thought remained in his mind:

In this life, even if it offends everyone in the world, I will stick close to Jia Zijie! Because Jia Zijie represents absolute correctness and inevitable victory...

Upon hearing Zhang Tingyu's words, Zhang Ruo'ai opened her mouth, but for a moment she didn't know what to say!

Zhang Tingyu took a sip of tea, and calmly continued his lecture:

"From now on, you must have your own judgment when facing matters, and not just follow the crowd. The Prince of Nan'an is indeed a rare second-rank general in recent years, but how did he obtain this title?"

"He rose through the ranks by seniority, he relied on his family's inherited status, and the court had no one else to choose from among the less capable, so they promoted him!"

"I have studied his past battle reports. In terms of fighting ability, he can only be described as average."

"When he led his troops to fight in Annam, the campaign was protracted and the results were meager; when he quelled the Japanese pirates, he also suffered more defeats than victories; the few victories he did win were mostly due to superior numbers."

"In terms of real skill, what kind of veteran is he? To put it bluntly, comparing him to Jia Zijie is an insult to Jia Zijie!"

Zhang Tingyu's words clearly conveyed his admiration and respect for Jia Jing!

"But didn't Duke Jing personally lead the troops this time?" Zhang Ruo'ai couldn't help but retort.

If Duke Jing himself were to take the field, the chances of winning would be much greater, but Lan Yu is somewhat lacking in skill!

"That further demonstrates that Jia Zijie is confident in his abilities and has full control over the situation. I suspect that Lan Yu is no pushover either."

"Hmm?! Perhaps Jia Zijie also intends to use the Prince of Nan'an to train soldiers and generals! After all, the Twelfth Battalion is mostly composed of new recruits, who need to be tempered in the flames of war..." Zhang Tingyu pondered as he spoke.

"Using the Prince of Nan'an to train his troops? Isn't that underestimating the enemy?" Zhang Ruo'ai asked, puzzled.

"Hmph! This is ambition and vision! Jia Zijie is no longer looking at problems from the perspective of a commander, but rather with the world in mind, making long-term plans for the affairs of the nation and the military."

"The likes of the Prince of Nan'an dare to raise an army to purge the court of corrupt officials right under his nose. This is true arrogance, blindness, and ignorance!" Zhang Tingyu snorted coldly and said in a deep voice.