The Second Master of the Red Chamber

Chapter 735: Saving the Emperor from Danger

Inside the palace, Emperor Ning Kang's mood finally improved a lot.

The forces of the retired emperor were repelled, communications were restored, and everything was under his control again.

Seeing Emperor Ning Kang acting like this, the close associates around him naturally showed even more joy.

"Your Majesty, the Marquis of Zhenyuan requests an audience."

Emperor Ning Kang, who was listening to reports from all parties, became more relaxed upon hearing this and said, "Let him in."

Some attentive officials caught the change in Emperor Ningkang's expression and knew that the young marquis was becoming more and more favored by the emperor, so they all laughed and said, "This time we were able to turn danger into safety, and the timely assistance from the Marquis Zhenyuan really played an indispensable role."

"Yes, Your Majesty has a keen eye for talent and let Marquis Zhenyuan take charge of the Firearms Battalion, which is why our Great Wei has such a powerful army.

This is a blessing for your majesty and for the great Wei."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Ning Kang pretended to be displeased and said, "He is still young, but he is slightly better than the other incompetents. He does not deserve such praise from you."

The ministers smiled knowingly.

Taking advantage of Jia Lian's entry, the ministers who wanted to liven up the atmosphere couldn't help but laugh at each other and said, "Compared to the Marquis of Zhenyuan, Xie Jing's wooden head is too useless.

He arrived with Marquis Zhenyuan and divided his troops into two groups. His military strength was several times that of Marquis Zhenyuan, but he still has not been able to get up the mountain.

Compared with the Marquis of Zhenyuan, he is simply a rotten tree that cannot be carved."

"Hahaha……"

The ministers on Emperor Ningkang's side were in a good mood as the outcome had already been decided.

"That's not the case. I heard that when Old Xie first attacked the mountain, he was quite fierce. But later, the prince went to recruit him personally. This fool ignited the prince with a few words, and the prince desperately mobilized troops to encircle and suppress him, which trapped him at the foot of the mountain.

But now it's all right. With the support of the Sima Camp and others, I believe it won't take too long for him to capture the prince and bring him before His Majesty to apologize."

"Haha, so the reason why Marquis Zhenyuan was able to climb the mountain quickly and achieve the first merit was because Old Xie angered the crown prince?"

"Indeed."

"Marquis Zhenyuan is a lucky general."

……

At one point Jia Lian entered the hall and after paying his respects, Emperor Ning Kang asked what was the matter.

Jia Lian said: "Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"

"explain."

Jia Lian paused, took out the bright yellow silk brought by Shi Ding from his arms, and had Dai Quan present it to Emperor Ning Kang.

Seeing this scene, not only Emperor Ning Kang raised his eyelids, but even other ministers paid close attention.

This color of silk is not simple, could it be...

When Emperor Ningkang was silent while reading the contents of the silk, Jia Lian knelt on one knee and said, "I have received a summons from the Emperor Retired. I know that the matter is of great importance, so I dare not neglect it and will come to see Your Majesty immediately."

Emperor Ning Kang's brows were completely furrowed at this moment.

It was not surprising to him that the emperor would secretly summon Jia Lian.

It seemed that his father, the Emperor, was not willing to admit defeat at all, and even resorted to such inferior means again and again.

But does he really think that he is an incompetent person and that people around him can be easily turned against him?

Thinking of this, looking at Jia Lian, who was kneeling in front of him in armor with a serious expression, he nodded gently and said, "Get up."

Then, his mind returned to the contents of the silk.

He also knew that the relationship between the retired emperor and Jia Daishan was quite good, and he could even understand why the retired emperor used Jia Daishan as an excuse to get closer to Jia Lian.

But what he didn't understand was that the emperor mentioned the secret between him and Jia Daishan, and also the secret about Jia Lian...

As a fellow emperor, Emperor Ning Kang knew that even if the emperor was at the end of his rope, he would not lie.

"Do you know what is said in the silk? What do you think?"

Emperor Ning Kang looked at Jia Lian, showing no emotion.

However, Jia Lian knew that Emperor Ning Kang was testing him.

To be honest, he had thought about concealing the silk, because the silk was deliberately made vague and confusing. If it fell into the hands of Emperor Ning Kang, he would inevitably have doubts.

Jia Lian even suspected that this was what the emperor wanted to achieve. Was the emperor too stingy? Just because he ruined his plan, he used such a despicable trick to harm him?

After much deliberation, he decided to be frank with Emperor Ning Kang.

Firstly, he didn't know whether Shi Ding had read the contents of the silk manuscript. If he had read it but he hid it, wouldn't that be giving Shi Ding an advantage?

In addition, he was also worried that the emperor would use this to blackmail him in the future.

In this case, he might as well be honest. Perhaps Emperor Ning Kang will see his loyalty more clearly.

"I have no idea what the silk says, and I'm not even sure if it really came from the hand of the Supreme Emperor...

I guess someone with ulterior motives may have deliberately forged the emperor's words in order to confuse the public and harm me."

The question and answer between Jia Lian and Emperor Ning Kang left the people around them confused and curious about what was written on the silk.

However, those who served Emperor Ningkang all knew that when discussing serious matters, Emperor Ningkang had very strict rules and no one dared to act rashly.

After hearing Jia Lian's explanation, Emperor Ning Kang nodded without any doubt.

Although he could confirm that the oral order did come from the retired emperor, firstly, the writing on the silk was very obscure, and secondly, since Jia Lian dared to hand the silk to him on his own initiative, it showed that he had no intention of being indecisive.

So he put the silk into the drawer of the imperial desk, without any intention of showing it to the ministers.

This time Jia Lian has made another contribution, he is very pleased and happy. If the content of the silk is spread, it will be unfavorable to Jia Lian in public opinion, so it is better to wait until the truth is revealed before dealing with it.

He raised his head and saw that Jia Lian did not leave. He frowned slightly and asked, "Anything else?" Jia Lian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the one who delivered the silk to me was Shi Ding, Marquis of Zhongjing.

He originally wanted to persuade me to meet the retired emperor, but I persuaded him with my profound words.

He has deeply realized that what he did before was extremely treasonous, and he has always wanted to apologize to the emperor in person, but he has never found the opportunity.

Now, after being persuaded by my humble servant, he has decided to join the light like General Pei.

At this time, he was kneeling outside the palace, waiting for His Majesty to summon him."

When Jia Lian said this, all the ministers were furious, especially the generals who led the troops.

"Your Majesty, you must not do that! Shi Ding just saw that the situation was already decided and was afraid of death, so he decided to surrender. He is completely different from Pei Fengnian.

Although General Pei made a mistake, he was only coerced by the prince and did not cause much harm.

But Shi Ding was different. He led the imperial guards' infantry battalion and took the initiative to charge towards His Majesty's palace.

  Last night, I don't know how many good men from the Royal Army Camp and the Guard Camp died innocently at the hands of this guy!

Your Majesty, this man must not be forgiven lightly."

"Yes, Shi Ding is different from Pei Fengnian. Not dying is not enough to comfort the souls of thousands of loyal soldiers in heaven..."

Military generals stepped forward one after another to stop Emperor Ning Kang from pardoning Shi Ding.

Emperor Ning Kang also had a gloomy expression.

The "Marquises" in the Cavalry Battalion were all loyal subjects of the Emperor. It was precisely because of their existence that he had not been able to interfere with the Cavalry Battalion for so many years...

What's more, the incident of Shi Ding leading his troops to attack the palace did anger him.

Therefore, even if this guy's surrender now would bring him some benefits, he would not want to accept it because he did not want to forgive the other party's sins.

He was about to scold Jia Lian to express his opinion, but a trusted official beside him boldly approached him and whispered: "Your Majesty is worried about not having a reason to take action over there, now is a good opportunity."

"Ok?"

Emperor Ning Kang's expression changed and he looked at the other party.

The old official leaned closer to the emperor's ear, and he didn't know what he said to Emperor Ning Kang, causing Emperor Ning Kang's expression to gradually ease. He said, "Let him in."

Seeing this, Jia Lian, who was originally planning to explain the pros and cons to Emperor Ning Kang, swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

It seems that he is not the only smart person. I don't know what reason this old man used to persuade Emperor Ning Kang so easily.

"I, the guilty minister Shi Ding, kowtow to Your Majesty. Long live the emperor."

Shi Ding entered the hall and bowed his head, but he did not hear the words "stand up" for a long time. He did not dare to raise his head, but just pretended to prostrate himself on the ground.

"Shi Hou?"

"I dare not..."

Emperor Ning Kang's sudden honorific made Shi Ding, whose nose and forehead were pressed against the ground, tremble, and his body became more submissive.

"You don't dare? Is there anything that Lord Shi doesn't dare to do? When you led your troops to attack my palace and slaughtered the soldiers around me, you were very brave."

"I'll be punished by death, I'll be punished by death!"

Shi Ding almost couldn't help but want to defend himself, but fortunately he remembered Jia Lian's words, that in front of Emperor Ning Kang, he only needed to confess his guilt, and there was no need to say more, and he couldn't say more.

If you want to plead for him, he will speak for him.

As expected, Jia Lian said at the right time: "Your Majesty, although Shi Ding is guilty, he was only following orders. Your Majesty is in need of people at this time, so you may as well spare his life temporarily and allow him to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence.

Your Majesty, this time the Crown Prince rebelled, the fighting among the Imperial Guards, and between the Imperial Guards and the Beijing Camp, has caused our Great Wei to lose a large number of elite soldiers.

Although the overall situation has been settled, there are still many remaining soldiers in the palace.

Especially the more than 1,000 soldiers of the Cavalry Battalion who did not participate in the battle from beginning to end. After last night's battle, I believe Your Majesty is also aware of the power of the Cavalry Battalion.

In order to quell the rebellion as quickly as possible and to reduce the number of deaths of our Wei soldiers, I ask Your Majesty to show mercy and allow Shi Ding to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence."

Although Emperor Ning Kang knew what was going on, he still couldn't help but glance at Jia Lian and said, "How could I not know that a defeated general like him could have such a big impact?"

Shi Ding seized the opportunity and said, "I know that I have committed serious crimes. If Your Majesty would show mercy and give me a chance to redeem myself, I would be willing to go back and help Your Majesty.

Your Majesty, the more than 3,000 cavalry soldiers who are escorting the retired emperor to Tiewang Mountain are led by me and the Loyal and Brave Marquis Sun Jia, so they are basically our trusted confidants.

I am confident that at the critical moment, I can make them lay down their weapons and surrender voluntarily."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Ning Kang showed some movement on his face.

But then he said, "No need. I don't need you to be my accomplice. I just want you to do one thing."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

Emperor Ning Kang slowly glanced at his confidants in the palace.

Although he was somewhat tempted by Shi Ding's proposal, because if it succeeded, it would be able to minimize the casualties in his general attack.

However, regardless of whether Shi Ding was exaggerating or not, he now needed Shi Ding to do another thing more.

After many twists and turns, fortunately the final result was positive.

He is already thinking about the aftermath.

It can be imagined that his use of force against the emperor would bring him great criticism.

The reason why no one has come to trouble him now is that he ordered from the beginning not to let any strangers bother him. Even so, there were some ignorant people who took advantage of the peace on the mountain to "make trouble" in front of his palace gate.

This is the case now, let alone in the future.

Therefore, he needed some good excuses, excuses that even everyone present knew were false, but could be used to silence the world's gossips.

"I heard that the prince's rebels broke into the palace of the emperor and kidnapped him. I wonder if you, Mr. Shi, are willing to go with me to rescue the emperor from danger."

……