serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 153 Conspiracy
Yizhong County Prince's Mansion

The sun has gone down.

The light in the study room has dimmed, and the candles on the desk have been lit.

King Yizhong, dressed in casual clothes, was sitting under a lamp reading a book.

"My lord, someone is here." The voice of the old butler came from outside the door.

King Yizhong slowly put the book on the desk and raised his head: "Come in."

The door of the study opened with a click, and a man in a blue robe and a cloak walked in.

"sit down."

King Yizhong stretched out his hand to the man.

The man dragged a chair, leaned over to the desk and sat down.

Prince Yizhong: "When is your lord going to do it?"

The man took off his cloak and found out that he was the steward of Prince Jing's Mansion. After pondering for a while, he said: "The White Lotus Sect was defeated too quickly. The news just sent was that the Henan Guards had broken into Huai'an City. The White Lotus Sect advocated that Xuesheng lead the remnants to retreat Anhui. Yancheng was also besieged by Shandong Wei, and it is estimated that it will be breached soon."

As he spoke, he sighed deeply, "The Caobang's family property accumulated by generations for more than a hundred years was completely destroyed in less than two months. The factory, as well as the wealth accumulated by those big families for more than a hundred years, all belong to the imperial court."

After a pause, "The Supreme Emperor is a good trick!"

King Yizhong nodded in agreement.

The steward of the Beijing Palace went on to say: "My lord said, find a way to get some self-generated firecrackers from the imperial court. Without a year or two of training, our people can't compete with the imperial court's army at all. But the firecrackers only need training. Three or two months can kill the official army. Only with large-scale equipment of self-generated fire cannons can we compete head-on with the imperial army, otherwise the White Lotus Sect is an example."

King Yizhong pondered for a moment, then sighed helplessly, and said, "It's not that I don't know what you said. But the emperor is not a fool. The five thousand self-generating guns have already aroused his suspicion. If something happens again , he must clean up the entire criminal justice department! The gain outweighs the loss."

He said, with a serious face, "If I'm not mistaken, including the five thousand rods, you should have [-] self-generating guns, which is even more than that of the Yongwei Battalion."

The steward of the Beijing Prince's Mansion quickly said: "My lord is joking. We have few craftsmen and are not skilled in craftsmanship. It is considered good if we can make one or two rods a month."

King Yizhong stared at him closely: "I don't care about this, the five thousand self-generated firecrackers have been handed over to you, you must do it as soon as possible."

The steward of the Beijing Prince's Mansion smiled, "My lord, please hold your breath. As the saying goes, soldiers and horses go before they move food and grass. My lord wants to ask you to help me get a batch of ammunition, and we don't have enough manpower, so wait."

Prince Yizhong's face became ugly, and he looked at him coldly without saying a word.

The steward of the Prince's Mansion in Beijing: "I originally thought that the White Lotus Sect could hold back Shandong's soldiers and horses in Lianghuai, but I didn't expect them to be vulnerable."

Yizhong County King: "I just heard the news that Henan Wei and Shandong Wei will enter Anhui to suppress bandits, and cooperate with Wang Ziteng to attack Yang Kaiwu."

"Shandong is too close to Gyeonggi, and the cavalry of the Yongwei Battalion can approach the city in three days"

"Then you all go to Henan, where it will become a disaster area, and one wowotou can recruit a young man."

"I heard that the imperial court urgently transferred [-] shi of grain and rice to Henan."

"It cannot reach the hands of the common people."

King Yizhong looked at him and said, "Prince Teng will be defeated, and Henan Wei will be dragged in Anhui."

"."

This was an expression of determination, and the housekeeper of the Beijing Palace pondered for a moment, "I will tell my lord what the lord wants."

Prince Yizhong: "The people from Zhenfusi have already gone south, and they won't be able to hide it for long."

The steward of the Beijing Prince's Mansion stood up and said, "You must inform the prince of this matter as soon as possible!"

Prince Yizhong: "Jia Hu is crazy. He is searching the whole city for Man Qing people. Be careful not to run into his hands."

The steward of the Beijing Prince's Mansion: "I will." After speaking, he hurried out.

With a "hmph", the Yizhong County King stood up, walked back and forth in the study, suddenly stopped, and shouted: "Housekeeper!"

The old butler walked in in response.

Yizhong County King: "Go, pass the news of the Shui clan's rebels appearing in the capital to the infantry yamen."

The old housekeeper was taken aback, and opened his eyes to look at Yizhong County King.

Prince Yizhong: "Not going yet?!"

"Yes." The old butler walked out quickly.

It was already dark, and the Jiamu courtyard was brightly lit.

Coming out of Jia Mu's house, Jia Hu thought for a while, then turned and walked towards Lin Daiyu's courtyard.

It is also brightly lit.

The door curtain was lifted, and Jia Hu walked in, only to see Lin Daiyu sitting in front of the desk in the outer room, lost in thought, and Xueyan sitting beside the door embroidering.

Seeing Jia Hu coming in, Xue Yan quickly put down her needle and thread.

Jia Hu shook his hands, quietly walked in front of Lin Daiyu, and called out, "Sister Lin."

Lin Daiyu was startled, looked closely, and found that it was Jia Hu, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes, and said angrily: "You are so unscrupulous, you should scare me. Where did you come from?"

Jia Hu dragged a chair and sat down beside the desk: "I arrested people all afternoon before sending the old lady back."

Lin Daiyu smiled: "Then you have worked hard, sit here and have a good rest." Then Xueyan brought tea.

After taking a sip of the tea, Jia Hu asked, "Why is it so deserted today? Where is Xiangyun?"

Lin Daiyu: "Xiangyun will rest with Tanyatou tonight, and I will ask Zijuan and Qingwen to see her off."

After Jia Hu ate half a bowl of tea, he suddenly remembered the matter of Fengzao Palace, and said to Lin Daiyu, "Tell me something, don't be in a hurry!"

Lin Daiyu was startled, and hurriedly asked, "Did something happen to my father?!"

Jia Hu put down the tea bowl: "Your temper is not as good as mine. Listen to me first, Uncle's side is safe and well, nothing happened. I'm talking about the affairs of the palace and the empress's affairs."

Lin Daiyu felt relieved when she heard this, and then gave Jia Hu a dissatisfied look.

Jia Hu briefly talked about what happened in Fengzao Palace, pondered for a moment, and then continued: "Just now in the lobby of the Ministry of War, the old Duke and the others discussed it and decided to go to Qingxu Temple on February [-] to fight for three days. Offering sacrifices, singing opera offerings, and praying for the empress and the Ninth Prince. All orders and wives must go. I will go to the Daxiangguo Temple to kneel and worship Buddha with the old Duke and the others."

Lin Daiyu was surprised again: "Didn't you say that the mother and child are safe?"

Jia Hu heard this, and shook his head: "I can't explain this to you. The old lady said that every family is so concerned about such a big incident. It would be bad if our family still put on a show at this time Yes, so."

Lin Daiyu's face darkened: "I understand."

Jia Hu stood up, walked over, and took Lin Daiyu's hand, "The old lady and the others are going to hold a three-day peace funeral at Qingxu Temple, and the old man and I just go to kneel and worship Buddha. It won't take long. We're done. I will come back to celebrate your birthday with you because of the errands in the yamen. I will also ask twelve little opera actors bought from Gusu to rehearse your favorite operas, and I will sing them for you in a few days."

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu didn't say anything, but just pursed her lips and smiled.

At this moment, Zijuan and Qingwen walked in, saw Jia Hu heaved a sigh of relief, and quickly said, "Second Master, Mrs. Lin is looking for you."

Jia Hu: "What's the matter?"

Qingwen immediately replied: "It's urgent."

Lin Daiyu stood up and pushed Jia Hu: "Go quickly."

Jia Hu had no choice but to nod, and then walked out quickly.

Lin Zhixiao's family followed Jia Hu panting with a lantern in his hand and ran in small steps.

In a blink of an eye, the two of them had reached the Xinkaijiao Gate of Rongguo Mansion, and saw Lin San standing there with a lantern.

Jia Hu walked over quickly and asked, "What's the matter?"

Lin San approached Jia Hu and said in a low voice, "There is news from the infantry yamen that they have received a report that someone from the Beijing Palace has infiltrated into the capital, and King Zhongshun personally led people to search and arrest them in the east city."

Jia Hu's eyes flashed: "Don't worry about him. How is Mr. Jiao?"

Lin San: "A few people have been arrested and are being tortured. The confiscated letters will be delivered tomorrow."

Jia Hu nodded: "Let's go back home."

(End of this chapter)