Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Chapter 714 The Crown Prince's Worries

The next day, a troop of light cavalry drove out of the imperial city without any hindrance, passing through the north gate and heading northeast along the main road.

In late spring, in March, the lush vegetation and beautiful scenery along the way slowed down the pace of the procession.

Just as the young man in the yellow robe was taking in the magnificent scenery, the road and forests ahead trembled, and the sounds of clashing swords and galloping horses could be heard.

The crowd immediately tensed up, and many people surrounded the young man, adopting a defensive posture.

The young man frowned, but did not appear flustered. Instead, he gestured for the guards to step forward and inquire.

A moment later, a general arrived on horseback, jumped down with a thud, knelt on one knee, and said:

"This humble general, Jia Lian, was ordered to train the musketeer troops. I was unaware of the Crown Prince's arrival and apologize for any disturbance caused. I beg Your Highness's forgiveness."

The Crown Prince's expression softened the moment he saw Jia Lian. Upon seeing Jia Lian apologize, he dismounted, helped Jia Lian up, and said with a smile, "General, you are diligent in your duties to the state. I am more pleased than pleased. How could I possibly blame you?"

As he spoke, the Crown Prince glanced at the vanguard soldiers whose faces were already visible in the distance and asked curiously, "I wonder why the general has come here to train the soldiers?"

Jia Lian replied solemnly, "This humble general was ordered by His Majesty to train the musketeers. For a long time, we have mainly focused on the shooting training of the soldiers and neglected physical training."

The musketeer Army and even the firearms battalion are a powerful force that His Majesty has meticulously crafted, and naturally, such a weakness cannot be tolerated. Therefore, I previously submitted a memorial to His Majesty, proposing to lead the entire army on a long-distance march for training. The chosen route is a round trip of over eighty li from the main camp outside the north city to the Jiuzhang River area in Ningping County.

"I never expected this to disturb Your Highness's procession, Your humble servant..."

Before Jia Lian could finish speaking, the Crown Prince shook his head and sighed, "General Jia's loyalty to the emperor and his love for the country are unmatched in the dynasty. I truly admire him..."

The Crown Prince's words were not entirely polite. It was not yet noon, and Jia Lian's troops were clearly already on their way back. If what Jia Lian said was true, and he had indeed led his troops more than eighty li, then he probably set off before dawn.

From what he saw of Jia Lian's actions, he was so loyal to the king's affairs that it was no wonder that his strict father, the emperor, relied on him so much. This made it difficult for him, the crown prince who was often reprimanded by his father and should have been dissatisfied, to feel jealous.

To prevent Jia Lian from continuing to express his "fear," he explained, "I, the King, have been ordered to remain in the capital. In addition to overseeing state affairs, I am also responsible for arranging the hunting expedition."

As you probably know, every spring and summer, the Emperor would lead the imperial family and princes out of the city for a hunt, and this year he chose Iron Net Mountain again.

"I have already arranged for the necessary defenses. Now that my father is about to return to the capital, I am personally going to Iron Net Mountain to conduct a final inspection and make arrangements."

Hearing the Crown Prince say this, Jia Lian was not surprised.

Hunting every spring and summer is a royal tradition. Although this season is not ideal for hunting, the so-called "hunting" involves artificially preparing animals, confining them in the mountains and forests, and then competing to kill them, so it does not have much impact on the ecology.

On the contrary, the words "Iron Net Mountain" that the Crown Prince mentioned made him secretly alarmed.

When he read the book in his previous life, he had a vague feeling that this place was unusual, as if some major event had happened here. Considering that the power struggle between Emperor Ningkang and the retired emperor was at a critical juncture, the sudden appearance of this place could not help but make Jia Lian speculate.

However, Jia Lian wasn't particularly worried. After all, even according to the book from his previous life, if something really happened at Iron Net Mountain, the emperor would likely be the ultimate victor. This was one of the reasons why Jia Lian had steadfastly clung to the reigning emperor from beginning to end.

The Crown Prince, of course, had no idea what Jia Lian was thinking. Seeing that Jia Lian was silent, he assumed that Jia Lian was being reserved in front of him, so he smiled and said, "I have long heard that the musketeer army that the general personally built is extraordinary, and its combat power far exceeds that of the other six imperial guards. However, I have not yet witnessed it with my own eyes."

"Now that this opportunity has presented itself, I wonder if I, Your Majesty, may have the honor of witnessing it firsthand?"

Jia Lian shook his head: "Your Highness flatters me. It is an honor for all the musketeers to inspect the troops if Your Highness wishes to do so."

As he spoke, Jia Lian gave the Crown Prince a slight bow, then mounted his horse and rode to the front of the army. It is unknown what he said to his subordinates.

Two adjutants rode up to the front of the formation and shouted, "All troops, listen to my command! Form ranks and stand at attention!"

The loud and powerful voice spread like autumn leaves in the wind, and the musketeer soldiers who had been curiously tiptoeing to check the situation returned to their ranks in perfect unison, like machines.

In an instant, the wide avenue became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The army, with its clashing swords and iron horses, stood on both sides, leaving only enough space in the middle for two carriages to pass each other.

Jia Lian turned around, only to find the Crown Prince already approaching on horseback with his men.

He stopped exchanging pleasantries with Jia Lian and instead rode his horse slowly through the middle of the army formation, his gaze sweeping over all the soldiers.

The Imperial Guards were the highest-ranking military force in the dynasty, and the newly established Firearms Battalion was especially so.

After Jia Lian established the musketeer army, and especially after the muskets were further improved and even the problem of the rifling was solved, Jia Lian never doubted the musketeer battalion's combat effectiveness in direct combat.

In a direct confrontation, any traditional army that is fearless of death would lose its will and collapse in the face of the musketeers' powerful firepower.

However, the musketeer battalion clearly had weaknesses, namely, their inability to engage the enemy head-on. For example, their formations were breached by a surprise attack before they could even be properly arrayed; and they struggled in nighttime hand-to-hand combat…

To this end, Jia Lian conducted some targeted training. For example, when marching at night, he arranged enough scouts and torches, and avoided stationing in narrow areas unless necessary... In short, he tried to avoid close combat with the enemy as much as possible.

He only had these three thousand musketeers. He had trained them so hard for so long and spent so much ammunition and resources. He felt it wasn't worth it even if he could only trade one for two in a close-quarters battle.

To improve the musketeer army's flexibility, he also planned to train lancers. Unfortunately, despite his persistent pleading, Emperor Ningkang only provided him with a little over three hundred warhorses, which he then used to reward the three hundred men who had performed best in the previous special training…

Although Jia Lian was not entirely satisfied with the musketeers, others did not see it that way.

Like most people, the Crown Prince didn't quite understand the power of the musketeers. After all, he had never witnessed the Qing warriors crumble like ants before a musketeer unit with less-than-stellar equipment.

He simply felt that, putting everything else aside, Jia Lian's musketeer army was far too well-equipped.

They were all wearing uniform gold soft armor, each with a finely crafted steel sword at their waist, a standard-issue long spear on their back, and other combat equipment whose function he didn't quite understand, but which everyone was equipped with.

The crown prince felt that this was probably the most well-equipped, most complex, and best-equipped army he had ever seen in his life.

In addition, they were all valiant men, and they had both cavalry and infantry, which further enhanced their overall imposing presence.

Upon seeing this, even the Crown Prince, who had initially harbored some doubts about the musketeers, couldn't help but think that perhaps such a musketeer army could indeed create some miracles.

The crown prince silently walked through the not-so-long military formation. His entourage seemed intimidated by the army's imposing presence, following him in silence from one end of the formation to the other.

"Your Highness?" Jia Lian walked to the Crown Prince's side and called out tentatively.

The Crown Prince waved his hand and laughed, "General, you are indeed skilled in military command. Such a military formation is truly rare. Perhaps it is as you said at the training ground: such an army is enough to defeat tens of thousands of troops in the capital."

Jia Lian smiled, knowing that the Crown Prince was mostly just giving him face. Not to mention the local inhabitants who couldn't be sure of the musketeers' true fighting strength, even Jia Lian himself... after all, he had never actually fought in battle; everything was just theory, and he wasn't entirely confident.

"I observe that Your Highness is not accompanied by many people. The journey to Iron Net Mountain is still quite a distance; would you like to send someone to escort you?"

"No need. Since the general has a mission to fulfill, he may leave on his own."

Jia Lian didn't say much. After bowing, he led his team back.

……

As the Crown Prince watched the musketeers, which were heading towards the capital like golden dragons, he suddenly sighed, "I wonder when I will be able to personally command such a well-equipped army and gallop across the mountains and rivers and battlefields."

Sometimes I can't help but think that I, the crown prince, am not as trusted as a mere subject as my father.

Take Jia Lian, for example. He's much younger than me, yet Father Emperor is willing to entrust these troops to him. If it were me, I'm afraid…”

As he spoke, the Crown Prince gave a self-deprecating laugh, though it was unclear what he was laughing at.

The confidants and advisors beside him did not dare to speak, but his chief aide smiled and said, "Your Excellency is joking again. No matter how much His Majesty values ​​the Marquis of Zhenyuan, he is still just an outsider. Your Excellency is His Majesty's eldest son."

If His Majesty did not trust you, why would he have appointed you as Crown Prince...?

Once the old eunuch spoke, everyone else chimed in.

"Indeed, His Majesty still trusts His Highness greatly. For example, regarding this state funeral, many people were speculating beforehand whether His Majesty would allow His Highness or Prince Yun to remain in the capital to oversee the country. But His Majesty did not hesitate to allow His Highness to exercise the power of overseeing the country!"

Since the land reclamation incident, the Crown Prince had been neglected by Emperor Ningkang. In contrast, the Third Prince had been repeatedly favored.

This unusual phenomenon naturally led many people with ulterior motives to speculate. Coincidentally, the Empress Dowager had passed away and the Emperor was leaving the capital. According to regulations, a prince or crown prince was required to remain in the capital to oversee the country.

Among the princes, only the Crown Prince and the Third Prince are qualified.

Many people were waiting to see who Emperor Ningkang would appoint as regent, hoping to glean insights into his true thoughts. The result, however, was both unexpected and predictable.

The Crown Prince retained his rightful power to oversee the country, which naturally brought a sigh of relief to his supporters, who felt that the Crown Prince had not lost the Emperor's favor.

However, the Crown Prince himself does not seem to think so.

"Regency? On the surface, it is I who remain in the capital to oversee the country, but in reality, since the day Father Emperor left the capital, all military and national affairs have been decided by Father Emperor's sagacious will."

Even memorials from both inside and outside the capital were sent by the Emperor to the imperial mausoleum in batches every three days for his imperial approval.

The so-called regent is nothing more than sitting in the palace doing nothing. What kind of regent is that?

Otherwise, how could I not even know about Jia Lian's troop redeployment and training...?

Only the Ministry of War and the Emperor have the authority to mobilize the army of the Great Wei. Apart from them, even the commander of an army cannot take a large number of troops out of the camp without authorization.

Jia Lian would never make such a basic mistake, so he had reported and requested permission in advance.

If the Crown Prince were to oversee the country normally, he would naturally approve such a trivial matter personally, and he would certainly know about it.

Moreover, he had some other thoughts in his mind.

He sensed that Emperor Ningkang's attitude towards him was becoming increasingly cold. Could it be that Emperor Ningkang disliked him so much that he even deprived him of the right to attend the funeral of his grandmother, the Dowager Consort?

After all, it was his blood-related grandmother who passed away, so it was only natural for him, as the eldest grandson, to observe mourning and send off her spirit...

Didn't you see that the Third Prince didn't compete with him for this so-called power of regent at all, but instead happily followed Emperor Ningkang to the funeral?

The advisors vaguely sensed that the Crown Prince was troubled, but they didn't know how to comfort him. After all, they hadn't yet come up with a good explanation for what the Crown Prince had just said, so they could only remain silent.