Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Before Yun Guang and Tao Ran broke camp and withdrew, Jia Lian had already set off north.

Traveling light and quickly, we soon arrived at Juyong Pass.

At this time, Feng Sheng, who had taken over the defense of Juyong Pass, learned of Jia Lian's purpose and personally came out to greet him.

After exchanging pleasantries for only a few moments, he impatiently pressed for details about the movements of Tao Ran and Yun Guang's troops. Upon learning that both men had accepted Emperor Ningkang's offer of amnesty and led their troops away, Feng Sheng was naturally overjoyed.

After arriving at Juyong Pass, his biggest worry was that Tao Ran and Feng Sheng's troops would march north and join forces with Wang Ziteng outside to attack him from both sides. He really wasn't confident he could stop them.

This relieved Jia Lian of his worries.

Moreover, he was quite surprised that Jia Lian was able to regain Emperor Ningkang's trust so quickly, and wanted to get closer to Jia Lian.

Now that Emperor Ningkang has successfully seized power, these "meritorious officials of the Jingnan Campaign" should naturally unite to help Emperor Ningkang consolidate his imperial power more quickly, and also seize more rights from those stubborn factions (the line of the retired emperor) who are destined to lose power.

Jia Lian naturally declined Feng Sheng's invitation to form an alliance. Emperor Ningkang had made it clear that he would sideline Jia Lian for a period of time, so there was no need for him to get involved in the trouble that was to come.

So he took the initiative to ask about the situation of Wang Ziteng's department.

Upon learning that Prince Teng had arrived at the foot of Juyong Pass, Jia Lian followed Feng Sheng to the pass to observe the situation.

As a famous and formidable pass, Juyong Pass truly lives up to its name.

Not only is the city gate magnificent and tall, but the terrain on both sides is also steep, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

This is also the largest and most important barrier connecting the capital of the Great Wei Dynasty to the northern frontier.

At this moment, Jia Lian stood atop the high city gate and indeed saw that the open ground three or four miles away was filled with military formations and tents. Looking down through the night sky, they were scattered like stars, exuding an imposing and powerful aura.

After exchanging some basic information with Feng Sheng, Jia Lian left the city gate with only two attendants.

After arriving outside the military formation and presenting his visiting card, he was soon led to a central tent where he met Prince Teng.

Jia Lian and Wang Ziteng were naturally very familiar with each other, but when they met this time, they couldn't help but feel a little wistful.

After scrutinizing Jia Lian for a long while, Wang Ziteng said, "Speak, what brings you here?"

"Please, Uncle, withdraw your troops."

"Whose meaning is this?"

"His Majesty's decree."

After a brief and direct exchange, both sides fell silent again.

"Do you know that my leading troops into the capital this time is on the orders of the Emperor Emeritus?"

"Know?"

"So what do you think I should do?"

"As ordered, withdraw the troops."

"What happens after the retreat?"

"Come with me to see His Majesty."

Wang Ziteng's brows furrowed deeply. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "How does Your Majesty intend to deal with me?"

Wang Ziteng's reaction surprised Jia Lian, because unlike Yun Guang and the other two, he did not press the Emperor Emeritus and the situation on Iron Net Mountain.

Seemingly noticing Jia Lian's unusual behavior, Wang Ziteng sighed, "I've been operating in the Beijing garrison for over a decade. At such a crucial time, it shouldn't be too surprising for someone to pass me intelligence, right?"

Jia Lian understood.

Since Wang Ziteng was not entirely unaware of the situation, he decided to be frank and open about it.

"His Majesty means that you, Uncle, certainly cannot continue to be the governor of the nine provinces, or at least you cannot truly control the border troops of the nine provinces as before."

His Majesty suggested two options for his uncle.

First, he was granted the title of First-Rank General, bestowed with a General's Mansion, and allowed to reside permanently in the capital.

Secondly, he could become a cabinet minister to assist in governing the country.

Wang Ziteng raised an eyebrow: "Grand General? We've never heard of any Grand General in this dynasty. Is it just an honorary title?"

Jia Lian nodded.

At Wang Ziteng's level, it's not easy for them to get any permanent positions.

They are all specially configured according to needs.

For example, the title of Commander of Nine Provinces held by Prince Teng did not actually exist. It was originally Emperor Ningkang who wanted to replace Prince Teng with the position of Military Governor of the Capital Garrison and give him the job of inspecting the nine border regions on behalf of the emperor.

He was, in essence, an imperial envoy.

Originally, this was nothing special; it sounded impressive, but when Prince Teng reached retirement age in a few years, this position would simply be abolished along with him.

What Emperor Ningkang didn't expect was that Prince Teng, a person transferred from the central government to the border region, seemed to be doing quite well.

They actually managed to mobilize tens of thousands of border troops to Beijing in one go!

Although it was due to the imperial edict of the retired emperor, it also shows that Prince Teng is indeed a capable person.

Now that Emperor Ningkang has just successfully seized power, it is precisely the time when stability is needed in all aspects.

Prince Teng, a figure who could influence the nine border regions and was loyal to the retired emperor, naturally became someone that Emperor Ningkang was wary of.

Therefore, according to Emperor Ningkang's wishes, Prince Teng could not be sent back to where he came from, just like Yun Guang and Tao Ran.

A dangerous person like Wang Ziteng must have his tiger teeth pulled out and be thrown back to the capital to be kept under surveillance.

Therefore, Emperor Ningkang offered two options: one was to grant him a prestigious but empty title, which would both silence dissent and allow him to smoothly take away Prince Teng's military power.

As for the second one, let Prince Teng enter the cabinet...

According to Jia Lian's speculation, one reason is that Wang Ziteng was originally a civil official, and the other is that after this incident, there may indeed be some vacancies in the cabinet that need to be filled.

Of course, both of these options are based on the premise that Wang Ziteng is sensible and will not cause any trouble.

Prince Teng naturally understood Emperor Ningkang's meaning. He glanced at Jia Lian and suddenly asked, "As far as I know, yesterday the Emperor Emeritus publicly acknowledged your status as a grandson of the Emperor and even asked you to lead troops to assist him."

Although you ultimately sided with His Majesty, did His Majesty truly trust you so much that he even sent you to persuade us to surrender?

"Isn't Your Majesty afraid that you intend to take this opportunity to escape, and once you're away from him, immediately raise the banner of the Retired Emperor and join forces with us to rebel against him?"

Jia Lian laughed and said, "Then let me ask you in return, Uncle: if I truly have this intention, would you be willing to do your utmost to help me and strive for the merit of supporting the emperor?"

Jia Lian spoke quite seriously, and Wang Ziteng was momentarily unable to tell whether Jia Lian was joking or not.

But after thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "This move is almost certainly fatal. Moreover, even if we succeed by sheer luck, I'm afraid neither of us will actually gain any real benefit."

Jia Lian laughed.

Yes, so what if we really helped the retired emperor overthrow Emperor Ningkang?

At that time, countless people will jump out and try to seize the benefits from them.

Even if it were the retired emperor, he might not really acknowledge him as his grandson, let alone hand over the country to a bastard.

Throughout history, very few illegitimate children of rulers have been recognized. As for those who have tried to compete with those with legitimate bloodlines to seize the throne, Jia Lian has never been heard of.

The reason why the Crown Prince was willing to trust the Emperor Emeritus was because he was the rightful heir!

After understanding Jia Lian's thoughts, Wang Ziteng asked again, "If I agree to His Majesty's conditions, how can I guarantee that His Majesty will not go back on his word or use this as an excuse to settle scores with me later?"

Wang Ziteng's concerns are quite normal. No matter what, why bother with so much effort when a problem can be solved with a single blow?

This might explain why Yun Guang and Tao Ran were both determined to side with Emperor Ningkang. Without Emperor Ningkang's insistence, they never intended to go to Tiewang Mountain to pay their respects.

They were all afraid that Emperor Ningkang would change his mind and kill them all.

Emperor Ningkang cared for Prince Teng far more than he did for Yun Guang and the other two.

After thinking for a moment, Jia Lian said to Prince Teng, "I dare not make any promises to my uncle as to whether His Majesty will break his word in the future."

But does the uncle have any other choice right now?

As the saying goes, "a new emperor brings a new court," and my uncle happened to be in such a special position that it was already quite rare for him to have the opportunity to die peacefully.

and……"

Jia Lian glanced at the military tent, which had long been cleaned up by Prince Teng, and lowered his voice, saying, "Based on my observations of His Majesty over the years, I believe I understand him quite well..."

"Oh?"

Wang Ziteng leaned closer, looking quite interested.

"I won't say much more; I trust my uncle will make his own judgment. I'll just say one thing... His Majesty is decisive by nature, but lacks ruthlessness..."

Wang Ziteng was taken aback, then said irritably, "Grand Secretary Xiao was so old, and he was beaten to death, not even given any dignity in death. You call that 'insufficient ruthlessness'?"

Jia Lian was unconvinced: "Xiao Jing is an exception. He got what he wanted, and His Majesty also needs someone's corpse to put on a show. If Xiao Jing doesn't die, who will?"

Wang Ziteng had known Emperor Ningkang for quite some time. After carefully recalling the past, Wang Ziteng nodded in agreement with Jia Lian's view.

A lack of ruthlessness... perhaps this is only a flaw that can be considered when applied to an emperor.

But this is clearly a good thing for the officials.

Wang Ziteng understood Jia Lian's meaning.

"So, since His Majesty is willing to give Uncle a chance to choose sides again, he won't easily go back on his word. As long as Uncle doesn't make any mistakes that cross His Majesty's bottom line from now on, with so many ministers left over from the reign of the retired emperor, why would His Majesty not tolerate Uncle as one of them?"

Wang Ziteng said, "Alright, you don't need to say anything more. I'll go with you to see His Majesty."

Jia Lian nodded, not too surprised. He knew from the beginning that persuading Wang Ziteng would be easier than persuading Yun Guang and the other two.

Because he was very familiar with Wang Ziteng, and because Wang Ziteng was a scholar, he was less reckless than those crude warriors, and more refined and had the integrity and loyalty of a scholar.

In other words, scholars are more willing to accept grand principles than soldiers.

But Jia Lian was also a little curious: "Then may I ask, Uncle, which do you prefer, the Grand General or joining the cabinet?"

Wang Ziteng thought for a moment and replied, "I'll join the cabinet."

Jia Lian understood; it seemed that Wang Ziteng had no intention of retiring at all.

That's true, he's only in his fifties, the perfect age to get things done.

But Jia Lian suddenly felt something inexplicable, as if the world line had inexplicably shrunk again.

In the original novel, Prince Teng also rose from the position of military governor of the capital garrison to the position of commander of nine provinces and inspector of nine provinces, before finally dying on his way to join the cabinet.

Hopefully, he can successfully enter the cabinet and take charge in this life, since their relationship is quite good now.