Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Jia Lian originally intended to live in the military tent with the other generals, but Wu Shiwei and the others, whether out of respect for him or because they regarded him as a wealthy young master, arranged for him to live in the front courtyard of the princess's residence along with the other civil officials.

Although it was called a military headquarters, it was really just a more elaborate and sturdy military camp.

Jia Lian guessed that Wu Shiwei had probably vacated his own general's residence for Princess Zhaoyang to use temporarily. After all, it was impossible for Wu Shiwei to build another temporary residence in such a short time.

Finding the courtyard quite spacious and the houses large enough to accommodate his personal guards, Jia Lian went along with the host's arrangements and raised no objections.

He summoned Xiang He and his subordinates to discuss their future march and the supply of necessary materials.

Once you cross the Ganning Pass, there will be no local officials to receive you; you'll have to rely entirely on yourself, so you naturally need to be well-prepared and have plenty of supplies.

In the evening, Wu Shiwei sent someone to say that a small banquet had been prepared and invited Jia Lian to attend.

Jia Lian thought to himself that, in terms of rank, he was in no way inferior to Wu Shiwei, not to mention his status as an imperial envoy.

However, the identity of the enemy's Gan Ning, the garrison commander, should not be underestimated.

Putting aside the power of such a high-ranking official who was far from the emperor's reach, the fact that he commanded tens of thousands of soldiers was enough to make Jia Lian have to be careful.

His journey was akin to venturing into the lion's den alone; if all went smoothly, all would be well. But if any difficulties arose, Ganning Pass was the only place that might be able to offer him assistance.

A prudent person will naturally treat the things around them as useful tools rather than as enemies.

Therefore, Jia Lian put aside what he was doing and arrived at the banquet ahead of time.

There were only a few people at the table. Apart from Xiang He, who had been invited like him, they were all deputy generals and brigade generals under Wu Shiwei. No lower-ranking generals were present.

These people, when they were with Wu Shiwei, would at least give him a forced smile.

When he took his seat, he barely bothered to even look at them, sitting there watching the handsome soldiers dressed as actors performing acrobatics that they had seen countless times before, utterly lifeless.

Some impatient ones would even sneakily pick up the wine jug and gulp it down when no one was looking...

Jia Lian frowned at first, feeling slighted, but then he understood.

Following their example, I sat comfortably in the seat led by the waiter, observing this unique and interesting military acrobatics, a rare sight in the capital.

Put yourself in his shoes: if he were one of those generals living in the desolate Gobi Desert, enduring harsh conditions with no hope of advancement...

If you suddenly see a young man from a powerful family in the capital who has achieved a higher status than you have worked hard for decades to reach, you probably won't have a good impression of this pretty boy.

"Hahaha, I'm late! I've kept Your Excellency waiting. My apologies, my apologies..."

After about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, Wu Shiwei strode in with heavy steps.

At this moment, all the generals stood up to greet them.

Jia Lian was no exception; he smiled and said, "General Wu, you flatter me. I just arrived myself."

It seemed that Wu Shiwei had only just noticed Jia Lian sitting in the lowest seat when his face darkened. He turned and demanded of the attendants, "How dare you allow the Imperial Envoy to sit in the second seat! It seems I have indeed been too lenient with you!"

"Guards, drag these ungrateful bastards out and give them each eighty lashes."

As he spoke, he grabbed Jia Lian's wrist and headed uphill.

As Wu Shiwei spoke, several soldiers entered the house and began to drag the kneeling servant who was begging for mercy out.

Jia Lian watched coldly. Although he could see through Wu Shiwei's act at a glance, he still played along.

He shook off Wu Shiwei's strong hand and pleaded for the servants, saying, "Please calm down, General Wu. I believe the servants' arrangements were entirely reasonable and they should not be punished."

"Um?"

Wu Shiwei looked at Jia Lian with a surprised expression.

Jia Lian said, "First of all, although I am of the same rank as General Wu, I am far inferior to General Wu in terms of age, seniority, and contributions to the court in battles against the enemy."

Secondly, I am a guest from afar, while General Wu, as the host, has been so hospitable to me. It is only right and proper for General Wu to take the place of the host.

Therefore, please, General, spare them.

Jia Lian knew, of course, that this Wu fellow had no intention of letting him sit in the main seat.

The reason for this whole charade was simply to save face for him. Perhaps it was also a way to put him down and test him, to make him behave himself on his turf for the next couple of days.

Wu Shiwei thought for a moment, then waved to the soldiers and said, "Since the Imperial Envoy has pleaded for you, the flogging will be waived. Go down and reflect on your actions. If you offend again, you will be severely punished."

After saying that, he smiled at Jia Lian and said, "That may be true, but the hierarchy cannot be disregarded. You are, after all, an imperial envoy, representing the princess's dignity. It is only proper that you take the seat of honor."

Seeing that Wu Shiwei was about to pull him away, Jia Lian dodged and said jokingly, "It is true that I am an imperial envoy, but I am only going deep into other countries to be responsible for negotiations with them."

This matter had nothing to do with General Wu. His warm reception of us was already an act of camaraderie among colleagues.

"If I am here today on the Emperor's orders to investigate whether General Wu's military discipline is strict and whether he has lost an inch of our Great Wei territory, then General Wu need not be polite. I will naturally hold the Imperial Sword and sit at the head of the table to interrogate him."

As he spoke, Jia Lian gave Wu Shiwei a meaningful look and gestured for him to enter.

Wu Shiwei was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.

"Well said! But if I, the general, fail to govern my troops strictly and fail to live up to the Emperor's grace, I will dare to lose an inch of my Great Wei territory."

Without Your Majesty's questioning, I will bind my own hands and offer my neck for execution!

Not only me, but every general under my command is the same.

As Wu Shiwei spoke, he gave Jia Lian a deep look, his eyes filled with admiration. His tone changed, and he laughed, "Indeed, a great reputation is well-deserved. I now understand why His Majesty entrusted this important task to my nephew."

I never expected that old rascal Zhang Leng would have such a nephew; I truly envy him.

Wu Shiwei also raised his hand in acknowledgment, then turned and sat down in the main seat.

In his conversation, he actually referred to himself as Jia Lian's elder.

Jia Lian's guess was correct; the play just now was indeed deliberately orchestrated by Wu Shiwei.

He wanted to take this opportunity to see Jia Lian's character.

Even if Jia Lian hadn't pleaded for those people, he wouldn't have actually beaten them to death with eighty strokes of the military rod. Those people were his trusted confidants.

As for Jia Lian, if he doesn't know his place, he might really act all high and mighty and sit in the main seat.

Heh, then he'll let Jia Lian know what it means to be caught in a dilemma, like sitting on pins and needles.

The generals below could make Jia Lian lose face with a single sarcastic remark.

Even if Jia Lian is so arrogant and foolish that he offends everyone, fine, he dares to give only half of the supplies ordered by the court to help him procure, and he can guarantee that Jia Lian will never be able to procure supplies on time again.

As for the princess or the court's questioning, the answer is always the same: the conditions are difficult, it's always been like this. Otherwise, why don't you improve the conditions for our border troops and allocate more money and provisions...

In a way, he was deliberately making things difficult for Jia Lian.

If Jia Lian makes a mistake, he could find himself in a disadvantageous situation.

At best, one would lose face and reputation; at worst, the mission would be botched, and the emperor would hold one accountable and punish the offender.

It wasn't just his generals who were jealous; he himself couldn't help but feel resentful seeing such an old imperial envoy.

However, upon seeing Jia Lian's sharp reaction and even his incisive words, which turned the tables on him, he immediately changed his attitude.

Jia Lian's words implied that although you are far from the emperor's reach, if you offend people carelessly, it wouldn't be difficult for the court to punish you.

Although everyone could tell that Jia Lian's words were a joke, and the examples he gave were broad and vague charges, rather than more likely charges such as embezzlement, receiving salaries without working, or causing harm to the local area.

But it is precisely because of this that his words, while powerful, do not anger him.

Such intelligence and quick wit made Wu Shiwei take notice of them.

After realizing that Jia Lian was not a fool, Wu Shiwei immediately put away his contempt and made it clear that he had a bond with Jia Lian, eliminating any barriers and showing his closeness.

He and Jia Lian's maternal uncle were both generals of the Great Wei Dynasty, and the two were acquainted.

At this point, it was fitting and not abrupt for him to address Jia Lian as his nephew.

Jia Lian found Wu Shiwei's rapid change of attitude amusing, but was also happy to strike up a conversation with him.

"I apologize for being late."

The Oirat prince arrived with an air of authority, speaking broken Chinese.

The scene, which had become somewhat lively under Wu Shiwei's deliberate embellishment, suddenly turned quite cold.

The generals at Ganning Pass looked at the belated enemy prince with expressions ten times colder than they had shown Jia Lian before.

Unlike the officials in the capital, most of those present had comrades-in-arms, sons, nephews, or at least soldiers who had died in battles against the Oirat Mongols.

They could not possibly have any goodwill towards the Oirat royal family.

They were even quite dissatisfied with the imperial court's policy of marriage alliances. However, they were of low status and had no real power to make decisions.

Even Wu Shiwei's smile faded considerably. After gesturing for the Oirat prince to take a seat, he exchanged a few words with a smile and then asked, "I heard that this afternoon the Third Prince was taking a walk with his entourage, and accidentally wandered to the highest point of my Ganning Pass."

"May I ask, Your Highness, what is the scenery like at Ganning Pass?"

As if oblivious to the sarcasm in Wu Shiwei's tone, the Oirat prince smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: "Your pass is magnificent and the scenery is delightful. We Oirat people could never build a place like this."

Everyone loves to hear nice things, so Wu Shiwei chuckled and had no intention of making things difficult for the Oirat prince.

However, his subordinate generals sneered upon hearing this: "A bunch of barbarians who eat raw meat and drink water could not possibly build such a formidable pass."

Hmph, pretending to scout the terrain. So what if you saw us?

As long as this pass stands, you Oirat people should not even dream of taking a single step south!