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

Lady You's face froze for a moment, then she pleaded again in a mournful voice:

"Grandma, what are you saying? You are our family's matriarch. Everyone in both the east and west mansions respects you and dares to disobey you. Your word certainly carries weight!"

"Please have pity on the master; he's not young anymore, he can't bear this suffering!"

Lady You wasn't really feeling sorry for Jia Zhen; it was mainly because Jia Zhen had repeatedly urged her to ask Grandmother Jia for help.

If I don't handle it well, I'll probably get a scolding and reprimand when I get back!

Therefore, she didn't care whether Grandmother Jia could do it or not; as long as Grandmother Jia did it, she could report back to Jia Zhen.

Unable to resist You Shi's pleas, Grandmother Jia could only instruct Yuanyang behind her:

"Alright! Yuanyang, just send someone to try! Tell them to disperse first. I'll send someone to talk to Jing-ge'er about this tomorrow, and I won't make things difficult for them."

"Yes, Madam! I'll send someone to deliver the message right away!" Yuanyang agreed and walked out of Rongqing Hall, instructing several old women to go to the East Mansion to deliver the message.

Grandmother Jia and the others waited in Rongqing Hall for quite a while before the old women returned to report:

"Old lady! Those guards say only the Marquis's personal command is valid! They are acting on the Marquis's orders; if they desert their posts, they will lose their heads!"

Grandmother Jia hummed a few times. Although she had expected this outcome, she was still somewhat displeased that her words had no effect.

He said to Madam You with a hint of resentment:

"Zhen-ge's daughter-in-law! You heard that too! Now I'm getting old, and apart from Bao-yu's affairs, I can't concern myself with anything else outside!"

"These things, I can't let those men outside make decisions for them!"

"From now on, don't come to me for their affairs. I'm just an old, useless man now, and you all have your own ideas. Let me worry less, and I can live a couple more years!"

Somewhat anxiously, Madam You asked:

"What should we do then? Are we really going to let the master kneel like this in the ancestral hall?"

Grandmother Jia, impatient to say anything more, waved her hand and said:

"You should send someone to apologize to Jing-ge'er tomorrow and admit your mistake! That should be enough to resolve the matter!"

"I'm a bit tired today, and my head still hurts, so I won't keep you any longer. You can go back now! I'm going to take a nap too!"

Seeing that Grandmother Jia was sending her away, Lady You had no choice but to take her leave.

Grandmother Jia was truly exhausted, and said to Sister Feng and the others:

"You should all go back and rest! You've stayed up most of the night worrying about these wretched creatures. Let them deal with their own problems, we'll enjoy ourselves and not meddle in their affairs!"

Lady Wang, Sister Feng, and the others agreed and left Grandmother Jia's courtyard with the help of their respective maids.

…………

More than two months later.

It's now mid-to-late December, and the Lunar New Year is just around the corner. The capital city is filled with a festive atmosphere.

On this day, at dawn, the sun rose in the east, and a gentle breeze blew.

Emperor Jingsheng led a troop of men to the Ba Shang camp for an unannounced inspection.

During this time,

Emperor Jingsheng had been paying close attention to the troop reorganization at the Ba Shang camp, and Jia Jing reported the details to Emperor Jingsheng in a memorial every day.

Emperor Jingsheng attached great importance to the reorganization of the Ba Shang camp, because it was not only related to the court's subsequent reform of other armies, but also a key step in whether the court could have a truly strong army to clear obstacles for the new policies.

For more than two months, Emperor Jingsheng did his best to meet all of Jia Jing's requests.

They provided military pay, weapons, and provisions. They even granted Emperor Jingsheng's request for a court musician to play military songs!

He enjoyed the utmost favor and trust, to the point that there were many rumors circulating in the court, and many ministers secretly cursed Jia Jing for bewitching the emperor.

Emperor Jingsheng had been enduring this in the palace for more than two months, and finally today he had a sudden urge to go to the Ba Shang camp to see the results of the military reorganization.

He summoned Niu Jizong and Wang Ziteng early in the morning, and without any prior notice, went to the Jingying camp to check things out. Then, he went straight to the Bashang camp.

After returning to the capital, Wang Ziteng was appointed as the Vice Minister of War by Emperor Jingsheng, a third-rank official, and was highly trusted by the emperor.

He and Niu Jizong, one a civil official and the other a military officer, one a vice minister of the Ministry of War and the other the left commander of the Five Military Commissions and concurrently the military governor of the capital garrison, were both important figures who would participate in the court's reorganization of the army.

A group of several dozen people rode horses to the Ba Shang camp.

Niu Jizong and Wang Ziteng followed behind Emperor Jingsheng, both with somewhat gloomy and uneasy expressions, while Emperor Jingsheng's expression was not good either.

The reason was that the group was very dissatisfied with the results of their inspection of the Beijing garrison earlier.

Upon entering, one is greeted by a lifeless scene, devoid of any of the vibrant atmosphere typical of a military camp.

There was even a group of soldiers who were caught gambling in the military camp early in the morning by Emperor Jingsheng. Emperor Jingsheng's face darkened immediately, and he went straight to the Bashang camp without saying a word.

To ensure he could see the true state of the military camp, Emperor Jingsheng did not notify anyone in advance.

Even Niu Jizong and Wang Ziteng only learned of this matter when they were summoned to the palace in the morning. Then, under the protection of a group of Imperial Guards, they went straight to the military camp in civilian clothes.

Upon arriving at the gate of the Ba Shang camp, Emperor Jingsheng's eyes lit up, a stark contrast to his earlier inspection of the capital's garrison.

There were practically no defensive measures at the entrance of the Beijing garrison. Only two soldiers were lazily guarding the gate, not even carrying any weapons.

The situation at the Ba Shang camp was different; the entrance was filled with various barricades and other obstacles, completely blocking the passage.

The soldiers standing guard at the camp gate were also different; the soldiers who had stormed the camp were dressed neatly.

They were fully equipped with helmets, armor, waist knives, spears, bows and crossbows, muskets, and other equipment. They stood ramrod straight, and their spirit was clearly much stronger than that of the Beijing garrison.

Behind the barricades and other obstacles lies the defensive point, and beyond that, the tightly closed gates of the main camp.

Beside the camp gate stood a tall corner tower, upon which soldiers patrolled back and forth, seemingly having already spotted their arrival.

This situation was completely different from the previous inspection of the Beijing garrison, where the atmosphere was lax and unprepared.

After observing carefully, Emperor Jingsheng smiled slightly.

Niu Jizong could only manage a helpless, bitter smile, while Wang Ziteng frowned.

What surprised Emperor Jingsheng even more was that

When he asked Niu Jizong to step forward and announce his identity as the governor so that he could enter the military camp, he was unexpectedly refused by the guards at the gate without hesitation!

"By order of the military governor, no one is permitted to enter or leave the military camp without prior notification or a token. Anyone who attempts to break in will be treated as a spy and executed!"

One of the guards, who looked like a military officer, simply waved his hand, and immediately more than a dozen soldiers stepped forward, aiming their crossbows at Niu Jizong and the Jingsheng Emperor and others behind him.