Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 769: Things decided on a rainy night
Ouchi Palace,

The Hall of Nourishing Heart,
The candlelight of the palace lanterns was still swaying, and the imperial study was brightly lit, just like daytime. On the east wall, there was a huge map hanging. It was a map of the territory of the southern part of the capital that Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong specially asked Dai Quan to prepare.
In the center, there is the appearance of Linshan County City.
just,

Zhang Jinyu's somewhat arrogant words made Baoning Hou change his face anxiously. Not to mention the actions of the Beijing camp, even the transfer of the imperial guards' left guards would definitely be known by the emperor. How would he deal with it then?

He was even more worried in his heart that Marquis Luo Yun's move was aimed at the two commanders of the imperial guards. When they went south, if Marquis Luo Yun did not distinguish the importance of the crime and took action to capture Yi Anxin directly, it would be troublesome in the end, so he just stopped them.

Zhang Jinyu smiled. He had this in mind, but he wanted to get used to it. The Beijing Army had not seen blood for ten years, and most of them were new soldiers. Although they had good weapons and armor, they were not brave enough. Although he had military achievements, he lacked experience in large-scale marches.
Therefore,
It is safer to practice commanding troops inside the Great Wall. As for the number of soldiers, the more the better, whether it is 100,000 or 300,000. Add the remaining troops on the front line, that will be 400,000 troops and horses, which will shock the world.

Emperor Wu sat behind the desk, his expression changing from gloomy to bright. Dai Quan's mouth trembled nervously. Marquis Luo Yun was really bold. At that time, all the power of the court was in the hands of Marquis Luo Yun. He was so young and had not yet married a woman from the royal family. How dare he say such "wild words"?

Despite being nervous, he asked first;
"Your Majesty is loyal and devoted, and everyone knows it. But I would also like to ask you, if Wang Ziteng's troops are really defeated and need to be quelled, how many troops will you need?"

Zhang Jinyu also knew the situation that His Majesty was worried about. He had just spoken nonsense. He had taken it for granted that he was using the imperial court to train his troops and gain experience.
"Your Excellency, if we really want to quell the rebellion, we won't need so many troops. Even if General Wang Jie is defeated, he won't lose so many people. With Daliang City behind him, most of the troops will stay. Your Majesty, as long as the imperial reinforcements arrive to stabilize the army's morale, these troops can be used again. That's 100,000 troops. The Beijing camp hasn't had a war for more than ten years, and the imperial guards haven't seen blood. So I have no idea how strong they are. So to be safe, we need to mobilize 200,000 troops, which means we have 300,000 troops."

Zhang Jinyu pointed to the Anhu camp in the south and said;

"If I lead the army south, whether it is a decisive battle or a step-by-step strategy, I will have enough soldiers. Even if the Taiping Sect and others are sending troops behind the scenes, I feel that the number of soldiers is only 50-50. As the Art of War says, if you have ten of them, surround them; if you have five of them, attack them; if you have twice as many of them, divide them; if you are the enemy, you can fight them; if you have fewer of them, you can flee; if you are not in a difficult situation, you can avoid them. If the two armies fight, I am confident that I will win."

Zhang Jinyu was not exaggerating, nor was he making irresponsible remarks. With the current military strength and military equipment supplies of the imperial court, as long as they looked at the overall situation, they could not lose even if they wanted to. Even if they were facing the Western King, they would not be afraid, because the imperial court was rich and could be defeated once or twice, but the Western King's Mansion could not be defeated even once, otherwise the momentum would be gone and everything would be lost. In the final analysis, it all came down to the supply of money, food, soldiers, and military equipment. It depended first on logistics, and then on whether the soldiers were elite.

The words were sincere, even Baoning Hou Kang Guichen could not find fault with them. Dai Quan was speechless. According to what the Marquis said, it was all reasonable. There were too few people and they lost the initiative. Wouldn't it be more troublesome?

"Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, but all of this is based on your speculation. What if Marshal Wang Jie is defeated in one battle?"

"Of course everyone will be happy. If Marshal Wang Jie really wins the battle, it will be a happy event for the court and Your Majesty. The court will not have to spend money and food, and it will be able to deter the world and save a lot of trouble."

In the end, it was Zhang Jinyu who breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down. Who knows, if Wang Ziteng really performs exceptionally well and takes care of the Taiping Cult and the people behind them in one fell swoop, the court will have one more talented person.

But thinking back, it seemed that Wang Ziteng did not do anything outstanding in military affairs in Red Dream. Although he was promoted to the inspector of nine provinces, he never led troops to fight.

Inside the room, the people who were originally tangled suddenly felt uneasy when they saw Marquis Luo Yun lifting his arm. Marquis Baoning wanted to speak but didn't know what to say. Dai Quan had just finished asking questions and there was nothing else to ask.
Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong did not consider these things, but was concerned about military power. If he really mobilized the army, perhaps some people would jump out. The Beijing camp had nearly 400,000 troops, which involved almost everyone in the court. In this way, it seemed better to move than not to move.

The court does not need to hide its shortcomings.

Seeing Luo Yunhou's lazy look, he became furious.

"You kid, you never say anything nice. If you don't have a plan when we really start a war, I will show you how I will deal with you. As for the Imperial Guards, you will be in charge of the Left Guards, but be careful. As for the Beijing Camp, you will leave the navy and 60,000 soldiers to serve as a decoy. The remaining 300,000 troops in the main camp will all go with you. I will also send the Imperial Horse Supervisor to supervise the army. You tell me how to fight."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong lifted up his yellow robe, stood up and strode to the shadow on the wall of the East Pavilion. His aura was unparalleled. Even Zhang Jinyu did not expect that His Majesty would really agree. Like Marquis Baoning, he stood there in a daze.
When he arrived in front of the shadow on the wall of the East Pavilion, Emperor Wu turned around to look at Marquis Luo Yun and Marquis Bao Ning. The stunned look on their faces made Emperor Wu smile.
"Why, do you two marquises still need me to invite you?"

The thunderous words made the two of them stand up quickly and kneel in front of the East Pavilion. Zhang Jinyu swallowed his saliva and his heart began to beat.
"Your Majesty, I am still a little young. Otherwise, it would be fine to let Marquis Baoning lead the troops."

This was considered an excuse, but the Baoning Marquis beside him suddenly straightened up and waved his hands repeatedly.

"You are joking, Your Majesty. Although I am also leading troops, I am no different from Wang Ziteng. I have no experience in leading troops. How can I make such a boast? The troops still need to be led by Marquis Luo Yun himself."

Baoning Hou's face flushed red, and he was sweating anxiously.
"Okay, how could I not know that the troops are still under the command of Marquis Luo Yun, and you, Marquis Bao Ning, will lead the capital and the Anhu camp. There must be no mistakes. Let's not talk about these for now. Look at the map and see where Wang Ziteng should fight the decisive battle."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong had already decided on the candidate to lead the troops, and then pointed to the red dot on the map, which was the location of Daliang City. For now, that is, tomorrow, Wang Ziteng's army will gather in Daliang City for rest.

Baoning Hou took a few glances and also saw the red dots. Looking down, he saw Linshan County City and Chenzhou.
"Your Majesty, I think we will fight the Taiping Cult bandits in Chenzhou."

"Why?"

Emperor Wu asked in confusion. Chenzhou was the city south of Linshan County. Zhang Jinyu was also wondering where the two sides would ambush. However, with hundreds of thousands of troops, even if they were to ambush, they would not be able to do so.

"Your Majesty, please look, the county city is guarded by tens of thousands of government troops, the walls are high and the city is strong, so it is not a problem to hold out for a few days. The Taiping Sect will definitely attack Chenzhou first, and then the county city. As it happens, Chenzhou is a flat land, a good place for a field battle. As long as the rebel army dares to go out of the city for a field battle, the imperial army will win."

This is where Marquis Baoning's confidence comes from. As long as he can lure the main force of the Taiping Sect out of the city for a battle, then the imperial court's troops will be sure to win the battle and there will be no need for the imperial court to reorganize the troops in the capital.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong nodded after hearing this. This was the best idea. He had thought about it many times and it was nothing more than this situation. The other possibility was what Luo Yunhou said. Linshan County City was lost and the court was in a passive position. He couldn't understand why such a large county city would fall into the hands of the enemy.

"Lou Yunhou, what do you think?"

Zhang Jinyu looked at the map carefully for a long time. He saw some simple drawings of mountains and rivers on the map, and the rest were just words about cities. The names of cities were densely written on it. It seemed that the wealth of Guannei was not just a rumor.

Looking at the palm-sized area in the south of Beijing, only one city stands out.

"Your Majesty, the others are minor matters. I think that the gain or loss of only one city in the southern part of the capital is the most important. It all depends on who is faster. I think that the two armies can only fight a decisive battle in the county city. There is no other place. Either the enemy army attacks the city, or the imperial court troops attack the city. As for the outcome, I don't know."

"Why?"

Emperor Wu then asked,

"Your Majesty, there is a shortage of food in the south of the capital. Only the county city has enough food to feed them. Therefore, even if they fight to the death here, the Taiping Cult will not retreat. Secondly, the court has not heard from this place for so long. Even the people in the Imperial City Department seem to have died. This means that the officials here have long had ulterior motives. As for who is behind this, I don't know. Therefore, this battle is more likely to be dangerous than good."

When fighting a war, Zhang Jinyu never looked at the gains and losses of a city or a place, but only at the logistics and supplies. If he could win once or twice, it was nothing to worry about. The one who laughed out loud at the end was the winner.

With this remark,
Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong's face darkened, he looked up at Dai Quan and asked;

"Is what Marquis Luo Yun said true? Has the Imperial City Department sent any report?"

Dai Quan smiled bitterly and shook his head, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"Your Majesty, there are almost no memorials from the south. A few days ago, I sent some capable people to the south, but there was no news from them. The last group of people sent back a letter saying that there were people of unknown forces who were killing the cavalry everywhere. I think what the Marquis said is almost correct."

In this case, what Luo Yunhou said was 80% right. Emperor Wu paced back and forth, with his hands behind his back, and a fierce look flashed in his eyes.
"The imperial examination will be over tomorrow. You will immediately organize people to review the papers. You will use all the inspectors. One night will be enough. The next day, you will send the list to the Yangxin Palace. I will personally approve it. After that, Marquis Luo Yun, you will go to the Beijing camp to inspect the soldiers and count the military equipment."

Stop and

Then he looked at Baoning Hou Kang Guichen and ordered;

"Marquis Baoning, you are in the Imperial Army camp, and you must also quickly count the troops and horses. The food and weapons are waiting for you. You can go out at any time. Remember this." "Yes!"

Zhang Jinyu and the other two bowed and accepted the order.

Even if Zhang Jinyu panicked and read the papers overnight, it was a good thing that Your Majesty thought of this. This is like forcing a donkey to grind without giving him some breathing time.
"Your Majesty, do you have any other instructions?"

Zhang Jinyu decided to ask clearly all at once, as it would be tiring for anyone to go through all the trouble.

"That's all. Go back and have a good rest. The words here must not be spread to others. Go."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The two men responded and walked out of the Yangxin Palace. They went to the outer room, where the eunuchs helped them put on their raincoats and then led the two marquises away.

As soon as people leave,
Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong hurried back to the dragon throne behind the desk and sat down.
"Dai Quan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the treasury, and the Ministry of Revenue must come up with a plan to prepare the salaries and food. The Ministry of Revenue will take the lion's share of the money, and my treasury will also contribute a portion. As for food, we will directly use the grain stored in Tongzhou. In addition, we will dispatch people from the Imperial City Department to the Anhu camp."

"Yes, I have received your order. The affairs of the capital are handed over to the Southern Pacification Office. The Northern Pacification Office will send troops to follow the Marquis to the Beijing camp, one openly and one secretly."

Dai Quan immediately received the order and thought quickly about the personnel to be assigned. His Majesty still wanted to monitor the situation.
"That's good to know, eh."

With a sigh, he fell into calm again.

Rongqing Hall,
Jia She was gloomy and unhappy. He was not angry, but he was actually amazed in his heart. Yang from the Marquis of Luo Yun's mansion was so charming. All the prostitutes he bought with his own money were mediocre. How great would it be if he could spend a night with such a beautiful woman? It would be a great honor for Marquis Luo Yun.
Thinking of this, I felt a vague sense of jealousy and resentment in my heart, which made me even more jealous. But I had no place to vent, so I could only sit there with my head down.

Jia Zheng sat there accompanying Jia's mother, while the second wife continued to accompany Jia's mother and said nice words to comfort her.

outside the city,

After receiving the letter, Jia Jing suddenly sighed and thought to himself, what is coming will eventually come. He stood up and told the Taoist boy beside him something, and left without even packing up his things.

"Master, when will you be back?"

"Haha, you won't come back this time. You are not old, and it is useless for you to stay here. You can stay or not, it's up to you. I am leaving now."

With a wave of his sleeves, he walked out of the Taoist temple gate amid the puzzled gaze of the Taoist boy.
outside the door,

Lai Wang was anxiously waiting for someone, so when he saw Master Jing leave the house, he quickly performed the formalities.

"Master, you finally came out. The old lady is still waiting for you at home."

"No hurry, go back now and tell me the story again."

Jia Jing was dressed in a Taoist robe, looking like an immortal. He stepped onto the carriage and with a shout from the driver, they went down the mountain road. However, what they did not notice was that there was a wooden house at the other end of the mountain road. There were flickering figures inside. When they saw the carriage going down the mountain road, the figures flickered and disappeared.

"Yes, Master, today, Eunuch Yun from the palace came to deliver the imperial edict."

The faint voices disappeared on the mountain path, and only the sound of rain covered everything.
Rongguo Mansion,
Madam You looked at the courtyard of the Duke's Mansion with tears in her eyes. She felt that things had changed. She was afraid that her rich and prosperous days would be gone from now on, and she would have no one to rely on. As soon as she stepped into the corridor of Rongqing Hall, a shadow suddenly appeared in her mind. She looked carefully and found that it was the enemy figure of Marquis Luo Yun. In a panic, she quickly walked into the hall.

Turn the door around the corner,

When she entered the inner hall, she saw the Rongguo family sitting inside. Madam You could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

"Ma'am, I'm back."

Then there was a cry and a person fell to the ground. Wang Xifeng saw it and immediately stood up and helped Madam You up and sat her on a chair.
"I'm sorry to have troubled you. Men are incompetent and there's nothing we can do."

They cried together, but they were both resentful when they talked. However, no one cared about it in this situation. The old lady had just comforted him, but when she saw this scene, a sad expression appeared on her face.

"Don't worry, we are all daughters-in-law of the Jia family. Live peacefully. Wait for your father-in-law to come and then think of a solution. I will ask about the affairs of Ningguo Mansion."

The biggest worry in Grandmother Jia's mind was the issue of title. She glanced at everyone in the room. The second wives of Xing and Wang, Aunt Xue, Feng Wan, Chai and Dai, Ying, Tan and Xi, and Shi Xiangyun were all sitting aside, with different expressions on their faces.

The two evildoers no longer had their former arrogance.
"Do you two have anything else to say?"

The question was directed at Jia Zheng and Jia She. Everyone looked at the man who had established a family in Rongguo Mansion. Unfortunately, one of them looked ashamed, while the other bowed his head and said nothing. It was obvious that there was no other way. The old lady snorted coldly.
"It's your turn to step forward, but you have no way to do it. Are you going to let us women step forward? You might as well die."

This time, Jia's mother was really angry. Jia Zheng looked ashamed and murmured back:

"Mother, your son is useless. Now, your son will risk his life to write a memorial to plead for Zhen Ge'er."

After saying this, he was about to go back to the study to write a memorial, but was stopped by Jia's mother.
"It's too late to write now. As for Jia Zhen's life, we can think of a way after Master Jing comes back. The two Dukes Rong and Ning were heroes, but not all of their descendants have the same abilities as their ancestors. I know that. With the title, even if they are not capable at the moment, there are always sons and grandsons. Even if only one of them becomes capable, the family power can be revived. This title cannot be lost. Now that Brother Zhen and his father have violated the law, the emperor will punish them, but the title is the foundation of our ancestors, and it must not be lost."

Under the current circumstances, the will of the Heavenly Family cannot be changed, so we can only choose a backup plan and make arrangements for the time being.

"What does mother mean?"

Jia Zheng was still somewhat confused, but everyone present was startled. Lady Xing and Lady Wang were staring at Lady Jia's lips.
"There is no one in the direct lineage, so we can only adopt someone. The candidate must be chosen from the main lineage family, and cannot fall into the hands of the concubine's brother. When they made trouble on the day of Enke, I saw their true colors. They are not presentable people."

As soon as these words came out, it was very clear that the title would be chosen by the families of the two masters of the Ning and Rong mansions. There was no one in the Ningguo mansion, but the Rongguo mansion had many descendants. This made Jia She's heart move. He also had a concubine's son, Jia Zong. If he married into the Ningguo mansion, the family property would be his. Just when he was about to speak, he saw that Jia's mother glared at him fiercely, obviously trying to stop him. Thinking of his second brother, he felt angry.

Jia Zheng was still worried about Jia Zhen and hadn't figured it out. Mrs. Wang knew what Grandmother Jia meant and was about to speak when the maid from the outer room hurried in.

Shouted;

"Madam, Madam, the master is back!"

"Please come in."

(End of this chapter)