Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Meanwhile, at the Zhanghe Beach camp, after Jia Lian left, Xiang He and the others were worried that the enemy would attack again.

It was only because Jia Lian and the princess had not returned that they dared not retreat to Ganning Pass on their own.

Moreover, the main camp is still far from Ganning Pass. If they encounter enemy cavalry on the way back, there will be no defensible terrain, and the situation will likely be even worse.

Therefore, all they could do was repair the fortifications, treat the wounded, and wait anxiously...

Fortunately, the reinforcements from Ganning Pass arrived as scheduled early the next morning!

General Wu Shiwei personally led his troops to rescue the emperor, and led the vanguard cavalry into the main camp.

When they learned that Jia Lian had led troops to rescue Princess Zhaoyang but had not returned, they knew that Jia Lian and his companion had either been captured or killed, or were trapped in a siege.

Therefore, Wu Shiwei sent people to contact the Wala side while continuously sending troops into the Gobi Desert to search for and rescue Jia Lian and his companion.

With the addition of the garrison at Ganning Pass, the arrogance of the Tatars and the third prince of the Oirat tribe was effectively curbed, but after several days, the whereabouts of Jia Lian and Princess Zhaoyang were still unknown.

Furthermore, with the armies of the Wei, Oirat, and Tatar forces all concentrated in this chaotic region, a three-way struggle ensued, leading to frequent small-scale battles.

After much deliberation, Xiang He realized that the situation here could no longer be concealed from the court. He could only strategize carefully before finally writing a memorial to the throne:

"Your subject, Xiang He, humbly and fearfully reports to Your Majesty:"

Since we received the imperial decree and left the capital, we have been escorting the princess westward, passing through Yanmen Pass, Yulin Pass, and even Ganning Pass.

Thanks to the skillful planning and clear distinction between rewards and punishments by the Imperial Envoy Jia Lian, and with the full assistance of all your ministers, the journey took a total of two months and ten days. On August 26th, we entered Ganning Pass without any incidents or dangers.

Ten days after leaving Ganning Pass, having traveled over 230 li, near the Zhang River, a large number of Tatar cavalry suddenly attacked. Fortunately, Commander Jia Lian noticed this in time, seized the advantageous terrain, and led his troops to repel the invading enemy. In this battle, a total of over 330 enemy soldiers were killed, 200 warhorses were captured, and our side suffered 153 dead and over 300 wounded.

Xiang He paused for a long time after writing this.

This was because his memorial was not only to be presented directly to the emperor, but also the first urgent memorial to the court regarding the Zhanghe Beach Incident.

Therefore, he not only had to explain things clearly, but also had to be careful with his wording. After all, this concerned the court's subsequent definition and punishment of the incident.

Simply praising everything seems inappropriate...

After frowning and pondering for a moment, Xiang He continued writing: "At this time, there was Zhu Dahe, the garrison commander of Ganning Pass. Although he was brave in battle, he was also warlike and reckless, and disobeyed orders. He privately led his troops to pursue the enemy's fleeing main force and was surrounded by the enemy in Yinmu Forest."

This is a treacherous and vicious plan by the enemy, intending to lure our forces to their aid, a diversionary tactic, before they can combine their forces to surround our camp.

Fortunately, the chief envoy Jia Lian was wise and decisive, who saw through the enemy's plot and turned the tables on them...

……

……

It is said that this conspiracy was conspired by Bahamut, the third prince of the Oirat Mongols, and Yachahameng of the Tatars, in an attempt to kill our envoy and abduct our princess in order to sabotage the alliance between the Great Wei and the Oirat Mongols...

Now, Jia Lian is leading a small army deep into enemy territory to rescue the princess, but three days have passed without any news.

Your Majesty, I am terrified and incompetent. I can only submit this petition to Your Majesty and humbly request your wise decision.

The tenth day of the ninth month of the fifth year of the Ningkang era (546 AD), at the hour of You (5-7 PM).

After writing it down, he ordered two copies to be made, and after affixing the official seal, he ordered someone to send a messenger back to the capital via express courier.

Several days later, at the Forbidden City.

Inside the Daming Palace, upon receiving Xiang He's memorial, Emperor Ningkang turned pale and smashed his most cherished writing brush on the floor of the Southern Study.

"You scoundrel! How dare you!!"

After his initial anger, Emperor Ningkang inevitably began to question the matter. Given the gravity of the situation, he couldn't simply accept Xiang He's one-sided account.

Therefore, it was not publicized widely, but only discussed with two trusted ministers.

However, when the memorial submitted by the garrison commander of Ganning Pass was presented, and his account was largely consistent with that of Xiang He, Emperor Ningkang had no choice but to believe the story.

Suppressing his anger, he roared, "Guards! Summon the Grand Secretaries, the Ministers of the Six Ministries, the Director of the Imperial Library, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, the Commissioner of the Court of Transmission, and... the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies to the palace for a meeting!"

A short while later, the ministers who had been urgently summoned arrived at the Southern Study. Seeing that the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, they all tensed up.

"read!"

Following Emperor Ningkang's decree, Dai Quan, who had been standing by his side with a similarly somber expression, spoke in a low voice and slowly read Xiang He's memorial again in front of all the ministers.

Although some people had already heard about it overnight, they still couldn't help but look at each other in dismay when they heard it with their own ears.

"Your Majesty, I am unaware of the news. Could you provide details...?"

"Read it again!"

Emperor Ningkang did not answer, but simply had Dai Quan read out Wu Shiwei's memorial.

Now, no one dared to doubt the veracity of the news. Some were shocked, while others secretly pondered the implications.

This news is truly shocking. The imperial court went to great lengths to negotiate an alliance and a marriage alliance with the Oirat Mongols, only to discover that it was all a conspiracy.

Unfortunately, they were all manipulated by a mere foreign prince.

If this matter is confirmed, not only will the court lose face, but Princess Zhaoyang will also fall into the hands of the enemy. If this gets out, the literati will be outraged, and the court's reputation for being incompetent and corrupt will spread throughout the land.

Many people suddenly realized the seriousness of the matter.

"My esteemed subjects, what are your thoughts after hearing this, hmm?"

Emperor Ningkang slowly swept his gloomy gaze over the group of ministers standing in the hall.

His gaze finally settled on the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial.

If I remember correctly, this was the first person to stand up and support the marriage alliance with the Oirat Mongols.

Upon seeing this, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies trembled and hurriedly knelt down, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I truly did not know that Prince Bahamut was a treacherous person. The reason I proposed the marriage alliance was because Consort Li asked someone to tell me that Princess Zhaoyang was already of age but had not yet been married, yet she was entangled with a minister from a powerful family, which was damaging to the image of the royal family."

It just so happens that Prince Bahamut is exceptionally handsome and fluent in Chinese. What's rare is that he fell in love with Princess Zhaoyang at first sight, so he asked me to act as matchmaker.

Your Majesty, I meant well and thought the Empress Dowager's intentions were very good. I really did not expect such a change in events. Please forgive me, Your Majesty…”

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies had felt uneasy ever since he entered the palace.

Those present were either ministers or high-ranking officials from the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers. He was the only third-rank official, so he knew something was wrong.

Once he understood the whole story, and saw Emperor Ningkang's gaze sweep over him, he immediately realized that Emperor Ningkang intended to punish him, and promptly recounted the whole affair in detail.

He thought that Emperor Ningkang might spare him out of consideration for his birth mother, the Dowager Consort.

But when he finished speaking, most of the others in the hall secretly shook their heads.

At this point, it would be better not to mention Consort Li...

As expected, Emperor Ningkang's expression grew colder as he looked at him indifferently. Suddenly, he waved his hand and said, "The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies is derelict in his duties and incompetent. Not only is he unable to distinguish between the wicked and the wicked, but he also covers up the evil deeds of the villains and helps them to do evil, causing the court to suffer huge losses."

"He is to be thrown into the imperial prison, and after a thorough investigation by the authorities, he will be severely punished according to the law!"

"Your Majesty, I know I was wrong, please forgive me..."

As the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was led away, the others in the hall secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Being deceived by treacherous people is extremely damaging to the reputation of the court and even the emperor.

If we really look at it, those who facilitated the alliance and the marriage alliance in the first place are inevitably suspected of dereliction of duty and incompetence. If we consider it that way, at least half of the people present would be guilty.

Fortunately, Emperor Ningkang's anger had subsided considerably towards the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies.

Therefore, he had no intention of punishing anyone further, but instead looked at the court's key figures and asked, "Now that things have come to this, what do you, my esteemed ministers, think the court should do?"

"Your Majesty, I believe we should immediately send someone to question the Oirat King, demanding an explanation for the Zhanghe Beach incident and for him to hand over those who conspired to harm my wedding delegation!"

"They also need to compensate our dynasty for its losses..."

Those who stand here are all shrewd and capable. They all know that the most important thing right now is to save face for the imperial court.

Therefore, most of their suggestions were to question the Oirat king and make him take responsibility for the incident.

The Minister of War, observing the Emperor's expression, realized that Emperor Ningkang did not seem interested in this suggestion. He seized the opportunity and said, "I believe that the route of this mission has been carefully planned by the court and is absolutely foolproof."

However, this still happened, and it happened within the territory of the Oirat Mongols.

It is clear that the Oirat have broken the alliance. I dare to speculate that perhaps the Oirat are two-faced and are playing tricks on our Great Wei?

Therefore, I believe that, in order to uphold the dignity of the court, we should immediately cease all alliances with the Oirat and send troops to attack them, so that other vassal states will know that anyone who deceives or offends our Great Wei will be punished!

"Lord Fan, you've gone too far."

Let alone the fact that winter is approaching, it is certainly not wartime. Moreover, we know that the Tatars are plotting to unite with the western tribes in order to invade our territory. If we send troops to conquer the Oirat, wouldn't that force the Oirat to form an alliance with our enemy?

I find this suggestion quite inappropriate.

"That's right. Moreover, judging from the news, the Oirat king is clearly being deceived by his son, and he probably has no intention of offending our Great Wei."

In these turbulent times, the best approach towards the Oirat Mongols should be one of appeasement and winning them over…

"I think our main focus should be on welcoming the princess back."

If the princess is captured by the Tatars, how can our Great Wei face the world?

This matter may still depend on the Oirat king, so it is indeed not advisable to offend him.

In my opinion, as long as the Oirat king hands over the chief villain Bahamut and returns the princess, we should put aside our past grievances and continue to discuss the alliance...

Because Xiang He was unaware that Jia Lian had successfully rescued the princess, he naturally did not know that Bahamu had already been killed.

As far as the court officials were concerned, since Nabahamut was a treacherous person, it was naturally impossible for anyone to insist on a marriage alliance.

However, most people still believed that the alliance with the Oirat should continue.

After all, judging from the message Xiang He sent back, the Oirat king was truly innocent...

"Lord Yan is right."

Emperor Ningkang silently watched the arguing crowd in the hall, but his thoughts had already wandered far away.

Although he was not originally in favor of a marriage alliance with the Oirat Mongols, he agreed to it only out of consideration for the overall situation.

But at this point, it's useless to say anything. Once this matter is exposed, in the eyes of the people, he will surely be seen as an incompetent ruler and a bad father, personally sending his beloved daughter into a pit of fire...

It's easy to imagine that if Zhaoyang cannot return to the capital safely this time, he will never be able to wash away this stain for the rest of his life!

Thinking of this, even as the supreme ruler, Emperor Ningkang couldn't help but feel powerless and inexplicably angry.

Suddenly, he thought of his birth mother, the Dowager Consort. If she hadn't insisted on bringing this together, the court probably wouldn't have fallen into the trap of the traitors so easily.

He knew, of course, that the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies was not lying; he had indeed been instructed by Consort Li.

However, being born a son, he felt obligated to uphold his mother's dignity at this time.

However, this should only happen once...

Looking back on some of the things his mother had done over the years, he couldn't help but feel a little resentful, even though he hadn't wanted to make any judgments.

Perhaps, she really has gotten old.

With a soft sigh, he didn't listen carefully to all the ministers' speeches, and finally gave the order: "You have one day. After you leave, you must come up with a plan for this matter. I want to read it myself."

You must all remember this: never let the world think that you are incompetent ministers, and that I am an incompetent ruler.

Emperor Ningkang's gaze was stern and profound, causing all the officials to feel a chill. They all understood that Emperor Ningkang meant for them to find a way to save face for the court!

After agreeing in unison, they each went down to rack their brains, trying to come up with a reply that would satisfy Emperor Ningkang.

Several days later, a piece of good news brought a slight smile to Emperor Ningkang's face, who had been frowning for days.

At that moment, Lin Ruhai, the Imperial Secretary, was presenting his audience in the Southern Study. Seeing this, he seized the opportunity and asked Emperor Ningkang with a smile what was on his mind.

Emperor Ningkang examined him closely for a moment, then had the memorial handed to Lin Ruhai, and said with a smile, "You have indeed recommended a useful talent to me."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ruhai roughly understood what was going on. After taking the memorial and reading it, he found that it was indeed sent back from the west.

It turned out that some of the men who had gone with Jia Lian to rescue the princess that day had returned safely to the camp. Knowing that the princess had not fallen into the hands of the bandits, Xiang He naturally reported this news to the capital immediately.

Indeed, it was good news. When Lin Ruhai saw the letter, which stated that Jia Lian had led only a few hundred cavalrymen to successfully rescue Princess Zhaoyang from the encirclement and even shaken off the enemy's pursuit, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and nod in agreement.

However, I felt slightly worried when I saw the news that Jia Lian had executed Bahamut.

As expected, the imperial court had not given up its plan to form an alliance with the Oirat Mongols. Jia Lian's move would likely be criticized by the court officials.

After closing the memorial, Lin Ruhai cupped his hands and smiled, saying, "Your Majesty has a discerning eye for talent."

However, protecting the princess to the death is his duty. If he can safely escort Her Highness back to the capital, he begs His Majesty to forgive his failure to provide adequate protection.

As a minister who served Emperor Ningkang when he was still a prince, and also a confidant, Emperor Ningkang, considering Lin Ruhai's poor health, always allowed him to sit down when they had private audiences.

Upon hearing Lin Ruhai's words, Emperor Ningkang couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

"If he can safely escort Zhaoyang back to the capital, I will not only forgive his negligence in protecting her, but also reward him handsomely!"

Leaving aside the fact that Jia Lian twice outmaneuvered the enemy and won victories, as described in Xiang He's memorial, he can be considered to have done good without any fault.

After all, the rebellion of the third prince of Oirat was a mistake in the court's decision-making, and had little to do with Jia Lian.

If Jia Lian can successfully rescue the princess from the enemy's encirclement, then without a doubt, it will be a meritorious act of saving the emperor.

Moreover, what he was most worried about was that Princess Zhaoyang would fall into the hands of the Tatars, and that the Tatars would use Princess Zhaoyang to provoke and insult the Great Wei, which was something he could not accept under any circumstances.

Therefore, Jia Lian's rescue of Princess Zhaoyang from the traitors can be seen as saving the last fig leaf for the entire Wei court!

Don't underestimate this small piece of cloth that's just a fig leaf; it's what he needs most right now.

Recalling his visit to the Emperor Emeritus the day before, when the Emperor Emeritus casually asked him about this matter, he felt deeply ashamed and secretly made a vow in his heart.

If Jia Lian can successfully escort Princess Zhaoyang back to the capital, he will definitely reward him handsomely!

Thinking of this, Emperor Ningkang suddenly looked up at Lin Ruhai again, "Ruhai, do you think the court should reward Jia Lian for his bravery and loyalty?"

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"Guards, convey my decree..."

Emperor Ningkang issued two imperial edicts of reward to the Rongguo Mansion and Jia Yuanchun, but he still felt it wasn't enough.

"Order the Hanlin Academy to compile Jia Lian's clever battle against the bandits and his heroic protection of his master into a book, so that it may be sung and performed in the imperial music academy!"

Upon hearing Emperor Ningkang's strange order, Lin Ruhai pondered for a long time before he realized what it meant.

At this point, there should be something eye-catching to reduce the impact of the court being deceived by traitors.

Your Majesty is indeed wise and insightful, worthy of our respect.