Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

After noon, order was restored at Tiewangshan.

Although Emperor Ningkang's side had completely taken control of the situation at Tiewang Mountain, Emperor Ningkang's troubles had only just begun.

The princes, relatives, and ministers who had just escaped death from the chaos of war were all outraged when they heard that Emperor Ningkang's men had stormed into the Emperor Emeritus's palace, not only placing the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager under house arrest but also killing or imprisoning their close associates.

After their attempt to storm the retired emperor's palace failed, they joined forces and, filled with righteous indignation, rushed to the palace of Emperor Ningkang to offer advice and protest, hoping to bring this misguided emperor back to the right path.

They were not unaware that their actions might anger Emperor Ningkang.

They simply felt that, firstly, they outnumbered and outgunned, and secondly, these high-ranking nobles were the foundation of the empire, so even Emperor Ningkang wouldn't dare to do anything to them easily.

Otherwise, who will help him protect the land left by his ancestors?

As filial sons and virtuous grandsons, and the most loyal subjects of the empire, they naturally could not remain indifferent at such a critical moment concerning the life and death of the empire.

They reasoned that even if they couldn't rescue the Emperor Emeritus and Empress Dowager, they still needed to show Emperor Ningkang their stance. They wanted to let Emperor Ningkang know that even as emperor, he couldn't act arbitrarily or commit treason.

Of course, some of them are concerned about their own vital interests and have no choice but to stand up.

Take, for example, Xiao Jing, one of the current cabinet ministers.

As the Crown Prince's great-father-in-law, he still wanted to save the Crown Prince.

Although the Crown Prince has no chance of turning things around unless the Emperor Emeritus gets out of trouble, he is still in a difficult situation.

But at least the Crown Prince's life must be saved first. Only by saving his life can we plan for the future.

We must not allow the Crown Prince to be executed because of Emperor Ningkang's momentary anger.

Therefore, even though he knew that Emperor Ningkang disliked him, he had no choice but to step forward and volunteer.

A large group of people knelt outside the palace gates, chanting in unison every now and then, "Your Majesty, please reconsider!" The scene was quite intimidating.

I don't know how long I knelt, but I finally saw Dai Quan leading a group of eunuchs as they walked majestically from the palace.

The kneeling crowd breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Emperor Ningkang had finally been moved and compromised, and was going to reason with them based on facts.

They love it when things are presented with facts and reason, so the outcome of the negotiations will depend on the abilities of the leading prince and the key ministers in the court.

With so many people, it was impossible for everyone to enter the palace and discuss matters with the emperor.

Most people thought the same way, but Xiao Jing, who was at the front, noticed the pitying look in Dai Quan's eyes when he glanced at him and felt a sense of unease.

Sure enough, Dai Quan walked up to Xiao Jing and, without uttering a single word, began to sing in a high-pitched voice:

His Majesty's Oral Edict:

This time, the Crown Prince plotted rebellion and held the two emperors hostage, resulting in the wrongful deaths of countless loyal and brave men. His actions are unforgivable and extremely foolish.

As the Crown Prince's father-in-law, tutor, and chief lecturer in the Imperial Study, Xiao Jing should have strictly instructed the Crown Prince to understand loyalty, filial piety, gratitude, and righteousness, and to be able to distinguish right from wrong.

Now that the Crown Prince has fallen to such a state, Xiao Jing bears an unshirkable responsibility.

He was ordered to be flogged eighty times in court as a warning to others.

After Dai Quan finished reading the imperial edict, his attendants seized Xiao Jing.

Everyone around was terrified.

It's understandable that Xiao Jing, who had been teaching the Crown Prince for many years, was responsible for failing to properly guide him when he made a mistake.

But eighty strokes of the cane, and still court caning, isn't that going too far?

With Xiao Jing's old arms and legs, could he withstand eighty strokes of the cane?

So they all spoke up to plead for him, especially several princes, who at this point forgot about "petitioning" and stood up to speak on Xiao Jing's behalf.

Pleading for mercy was of no use. As soon as the servants placed the instruments of torture in the center of the gate, the soldiers immediately took Xiao Jing away.

Xiao Jing was naturally terrified and turned pale, but even after seeing the earnest pleas of a group of highly respected old princes, who recounted his contributions to the Great Wei and the court over the decades, it was still to no avail.

Dai Quan didn't even make the symbolic gesture of consulting Emperor Ningkang again.

Xiao Jing then understood Emperor Ningkang's intentions.

Disheartened, he found some semblance of peace. He straightened his back and shouted towards Emperor Ningkang's bedchamber, "Since Your Majesty insists on sending this old minister to his death, this old minister thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

This old minister only hopes that Your Majesty can spare the Crown Prince this time, for the sake of their father-son relationship, and at least spare his life. If so, this old minister will be grateful for Your Majesty's great kindness in the afterlife!

"Your Majesty! This old minister departs. May Your Majesty enjoy good health, and may our Great Wei Dynasty prosper for ten thousand generations!"

After saying this, he allowed the soldiers to strip off his clothes and robes, then lay face down on the long torture bench and closed his eyes.

Upon Dai Quan's signal, the two burly eunuchs immediately raised their wooden canes without hesitation and struck Xiao Jing's thin, bony back hard.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"..."

The heavy pounding sound struck the hearts of everyone who came to petition, and emotions such as reluctance and fear lingered in their minds, causing them all to stand up and then unconsciously take a few steps back.

When Xiao Jing's voice came into Emperor Ningkang's bedchamber, the emperor and his ministers, who were discussing matters, stopped talking.

However, Emperor Ningkang remained silent, and naturally, no one else dared to say a word.

Then an eunuch ran in and reported, "Your Majesty, Grand Secretary Xiao fainted once when he was being punished with seventeen strokes, and when he was being punished with twenty-nine strokes, he was found to have no breath."

Steward Dai sent a maid to inquire whether the execution should continue.

Emperor Ningkang asked, "How are those people outside? Have they dispersed?"

"Not yet, they're all watching the execution, and many of the old princes are crying..."

"I understand. You may leave."

The eunuch was taken aback, wondering if Emperor Ningkang hadn't heard him clearly.

Fortunately, a senior eunuch serving in the palace gave him a meaningful look, and he obediently withdrew.

……

The caning continued.

Seeing Xiao Jing, who was already motionless and beaten to a bloody pulp, many people cried uncontrollably.

The cries were tinged with a sense of shared sorrow, like the fox mourning the death of its kin.

Because the country was relatively stable during the later years of the reign of the retired emperor, the retired emperor was known for his leniency towards his subjects and rarely abused them.

Many people have forgotten how many years ago it was when the last high-ranking official was publicly flogged to death.

In particular, this person, who was beaten to death and whose body was not even preserved, was still the most noble and respected cabinet minister, the one whom all civil and military officials longed for, a position akin to a sacred place.

Since the establishment of the cabinet, there have been ministers who have been convicted and executed, but after decades of ups and downs, the number would not exceed two hands.

But... not a single person was stripped naked and beaten to death in public like that!

Not to mention, even though the man is clearly dead, they still don't spare his corpse.

For a time, many civil officials who considered entering the cabinet as a secondary goal for their entire lives could not accept it.

An elderly minister, his hair and beard completely white, rushed forward, weeping, and desperately pushed aside the executioner eunuch. After being pulled away, he imitated Xiao Jing before him, wailing and crying out towards the palace:

"Your Majesty, if you continue to be so stubborn and perverse, one day you will incur the wrath of Heaven, and you will surely regret it, you will surely regret it..."

"Old buddy, I've come to keep you company!"

Then, he suddenly rushed towards Xiao Jing's torture bench and died from hitting the bench.

His heroic sacrifice was met with widespread mourning from the civil service.

In contrast, the larger number of members of the imperial family quietly withdrew.

When they saw the soldiers of the Imperial Guard casually drag away Xiao Jing, who had just been executed, and the old minister who had died by hitting his head on the bench, as if they were just two insignificant people who had died.

At that moment, they suddenly understood.

Tens of thousands of people died on Iron Net Mountain this time, including many who were very powerful in the past.

Under such circumstances, it seems that the death of a few more important people wouldn't be a big deal.

Jia Lian was also at a distance and witnessed this "tragedy".

At this moment, he was quite free.

Since taking over the Emperor Emeritus's palace, it seems that he has no place to use his talents in the entire Iron Net Mountain.

Emperor Ningkang never summoned him again, and others, even those who were usually on good terms with him, dared not get close to him.

He wandered around with his personal guards.

No one dared to get close to him, and of course, no one dared to cause him any trouble.

It is not difficult to conclude from this that Emperor Ningkang had not yet figured out how to deal with his nephew, who had been transformed from his most loyal minister into a cheap nephew!

"My lord!"

Suddenly, Jie Jun and Jia Yu rode up on horseback.

Jia Lian turned and glanced at them. "What is it?"

Xie Jun said anxiously, "My lord, something terrible has happened."

Just now, Helian Xiong and Xie Jing arrived at the camp together, and Helian Xiong produced His Majesty's edict, ordering Su Keguang to lead the artillery corps to assist Xie Jing in setting up defenses at key transportation routes at the foot of the mountain, in preparation for any potential rebel attacks.

"This guy surnamed Su, what a waste of the Marquis's trust in him. If it weren't for the Marquis's promotion, he would still be sitting on the sidelines in the Divine Machine Camp. Where would he get his current glory?"

Now look what's happened! Seeing the Marquis in danger, he's the first to jump out and betray him. What a despicable person!

Xie Jun had been loyal to Jia Lian ever since Jia Lian took office as the commander of the Western City Military Command.

He also realized that Jia Lian's current situation seemed somewhat precarious, and therefore he was very dissatisfied with Su Keguang for "kicking him when he was down".

After all, logically speaking, it would be normal for the emperor to mobilize the artillery corps through Jia Lian, the commander of the artillery battalion.

This transfer order clearly bypassed Jia Lian and was directly issued to Su Keguang and the artillery corps, which made all the officers of the artillery battalion feel that Su Keguang had betrayed Jia Lian.

After Xie Jun finished speaking indignantly, he found that Jia Lian seemed indifferent and showed no sign of anxiety. Instead, he looked at Jia Yu beside him.

"Has His Majesty mobilized the musketeers?"

"No."

Jia Lian shook his head and smiled.

It seems that His Majesty the Emperor considers the artillery corps to be the real threat.

Without saying much, he understood some of Emperor Ningkang's concerns.

After all, when he abandoned the retired emperor as his powerful patron and decided to wholeheartedly follow Emperor Ningkang, he had already foreseen the situation that might arise later.

Without explaining anything to Jia Yu and the others, at this point, the more they did or said, the more mistakes they would make.

Only when Emperor Ningkang wants to see him will he have room to make his move.

"Let's go back," Jia Lian said to Xie Jun.

"I'm not going back; I want to stay with the Marquis!"

Jie Jun felt that the emperor had gone too far. It was clearly their Marquis who led the entire firearms battalion to bravely come to the emperor's aid and made the greatest contribution, but just because the retired emperor said something vague about some "secret," their Marquis was subjected to such unfair treatment. It was truly a case of unclear rewards and punishments, and utterly incompetent!

In his view, if the Marquis was truly a descendant of the retired emperor, and the Marquis chose him, his uncle, instead of the retired emperor as his own grandfather, shouldn't he be moved and then become even closer to, trust, and give more important positions to the Marquis?

He made the same promise in front of tens of thousands of soldiers this morning, but then he turned his back on the Marquis and is now trying to seize the Marquis's military power!

How heartless, ungrateful, and treacherous...

Jie Jun didn't want to serve such an emperor, nor did he want to see Su Keguang's smug face. He wanted to stay by Jia Lian's side, thinking that if the emperor had any evil intentions, he would risk his life to escort Jia Lian down the mountain.

Jia Lian naturally saw the determination in Xie Jun's eyes. He was somewhat moved, and at the same time, he was certain that if Xie Jun had really chosen to take the risk and help the Emperor Emeritus that morning, they would probably all have followed him...

But isn't it precisely for this reason that he cannot exchange their precious lives for that false promise and slim chance?

There's nothing to regret. Perhaps Emperor Ningkang is simply too busy right now to consider how to settle things for him.

He believed that Emperor Ningkang would eventually "come to his senses".

Because, in every aspect, he has done enough.

"Go back. You are the commander of the artillery corps. Keep an eye on the artillery corps for me during this time. Remember, if you want to save your life, don't speak up for me at this time, and don't compete with Commander Su over baseless accusations. It won't do you or me any good."

We'll talk about everything when I get back...

Jia Lian didn't want to say too much, but he couldn't bear to see Xie Jun lose his life for being too loyal, so he gave him a word of advice.

Jie Jun wanted to say that he was not a coward, but when he met Jia Lian's confident gaze as always, and combined with Jia Lian's emphasis on the word "come back," he suddenly realized something.

Just as they were about to ask further questions, they saw Su Keguang coming alone on horseback from the direction they had come from.

"Your subordinate greets Your Excellency!"

Su Keguang dismounted and clasped his hands in a salute.

Jia Lian, still mounted on his horse, nodded and said, "I heard His Majesty has ordered you to lead the artillery corps to assist General Xie in garrisoning the area at the foot of the mountain?"

"I have come here to inform Your Excellency of this matter. I have only just..."

"You don't need to say anything more, I understand."

Su Keguang was a former commander of the Shenji Battalion. He met Jia Lian when Jia Lian was the deputy commander of the Shenji Battalion.

Later, Jia Lian was ordered to establish a firearms battalion, which required the transfer of a group of skilled craftsmen from the Shenji Battalion, and he was one of the additional recruits.

Perhaps the court's original intention was to have him check and balance Jia Lian, so that the entire firearms battalion wouldn't be made up of soldiers and horses recruited and purchased by Jia Lian himself.

Nevertheless, he was still very grateful to Jia Lian.

After all, if it weren't for Jia Lian, the Firearms Battalion would never have existed, and he could not have risen from a retirement department to become a fourth-rank military officer in the Imperial Guard, just one step away from becoming a true general.

Moreover, he felt that following Jia Lian would make this step much easier. This was evident from the fact that everyone around Jia Lian rose through the ranks because of him.

Not to mention, he genuinely admired Jia Lian's near-demonic abilities!

Therefore, although the order commanded him to immediately lead the artillery corps down the mountain, when he realized that this special order was aimed at Jia Lian, he immediately went to Jia Lian to explain the situation.

He didn't want Jia Lian to misunderstand, because he knew that would make it difficult for him to move an inch in the entire firearms battalion.

Didn't you see Commanders Jia Yu and Xie Jun come looking for Jia Lian without even a greeting? Didn't you see the disgruntled looks the senior officers of the Firearms Battalion gave him after Xie Jing and Helian Xiong left?

However, Jia Lian seemed to be more open-minded and reasonable than he had imagined. After interrupting his explanation, he looked at him solemnly and said, "Due to personal reasons, I may not be able to command the artillery army for the time being."

However, the artillery corps and even the firearms battalion do not belong to me, Jia Lian, alone. They are the result of two years of hard work and concerted efforts by you and me.

I hope that in the coming period, you and Xie Jun will work together to keep a close watch on the artillery corps and prevent any brother or any cannon from suffering any mishap.

"Can you do it?"

Su Keguang was stunned. After a long while, he nodded heavily, then knelt down on one knee and said, "This humble servant will certainly not fail in his mission."

……()